Rise of Resistance

Chapter One: Snake Pit

Chapter One
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        Creed stood rigidly in his quarters, he stared out the one sided window that overlooked the rocky reefs of God’s Reach. He was… nervous. It had been at least thirty years since the Empire had fallen, he had been on the run from the DGC and even more so, the Daemons. Nor had he seen the Devine Overlords since they left the Devine Spire three years ago, they had no idea who they were or who he was. They didn’t know he was God, they didn’t know that they were gods either… you’d be nervous too.

        His quarters were dimly lit by several candles that gave off purple flames, along with four or five glowing orbs of different colors that floated haphazardly throughout the room. In the center of the stone room was an old wooden table, made of a tree that Creed cut down himself over four-hundred and seventy-two years ago. The table still stood proudly and sturdily as it always had. Books of all sorts were scattered across its surface, with a bowl in the center filled to the brim with all sorts of exotic fruits.

        “Another few minutes and they will be here…” Creation’s voice echoed in Creed’s head.

        “Yes I know.” Creed muttered. He scratched a small patch of silky skin under his mask and closed his fiery eyes for a moment. “I just hope they’ll take kindly to all of this.”

        There was a harsh knock on the door, a sound that would’ve made Creed’s stomach do a back flip if he had one. “Come in.” He spoke coldly. The wooden door opened noiselessly on its well oiled hinges, and four men walked into the room. One stood tall and rigid, dressed in long white robes. His hair was snow white and his eyes were an artic blue color, his skin was pale and flawless. He smiled weakly as he walked into the room. “Hello Creed.” He spoke softly.

        “Hello Chase.” Creed smiled under the mask. One of the other men, Geary, was about the same height as Chase, clad in black robes and leather armor. His hood was pulled over his head so that it was impossible to see his eyes under the shadow; he had brown stubble on his chin and walked with a sort of stealthy stance. The other, Talon, stood rather lethargically; his eyes were scarlet just like his spiked hair and earring. He wore a half smile that explained his entire attitude: smug. He sat down in one of the chairs with his arms crossed and his fire red robe still on. The other two took seats next to him, and Creed took his seat at the end of the table opposite the door.

        After about thirty seconds of silence three more entered the room, a man and two women. Sedge, the man, was possibly the tallest of all of them. He wore bright yellow robes with hair that came down to his shoulders; brown with a yellow tinge to it, his eyes were a fiery yellow color.

         Aeri stood just a head shorter than Sedge. She was dressed in deep sapphire blue robes with light, blue armor on underneath. Her hair was short and brown, coming to right above her shoulders, with blue streaks running through them. Her lips had a blue tinge to them, and her eyes were such a vivid blue that it was difficult to look her straight in the eyes.
         Finally, Shaith, the last Overlord. She was

barely as tall as Aeri, with vivid green robes, hair, and eyes. She stood rather laid back like Talon, as if nothing could hurt her or catch her off guard. She was very curvy, with long nimble fingers and long legs. She was dressed in leather armor that holstered the handle of a staff. She shut the door behind her and joined the rest of the Overlords at the table.

         Creed toiled with his bright purple robe, its wrinkled surface wrapping smoothly around his long armored fingers. Finally he looked up at the table of familiar faces, and sighed as Destruction snidely stated in Creed’s head “They won’t wait forever ya know.” Creed unintentionally rolled his eyes and pulled himself forward until he was practically pinned to the table.

         “My dearest friends… I haven’t been completely honest with you… and it’s because of this that I haven’t been looking forward to this day.” He bowed his head a bit and took a deep breath. “I’m sure you are all wondering why you were taken into this tower and trained in secret. Why you were all stolen from your family to be supervised by me. A complete stranger… it’s because you aren’t normal beings, you aren’t like the rest of them.

         “Remember how I made you study all of those texts on the Empire? Well I was part of it… in fact; I was responsible for its fall.” Creed lifted his hand and began to pull the mask off his face, an action that they had never ever seen in their entire lives. Several of them gasped, and Aeri clutched at the arm of her chair, staring horrified at what her master was doing.

         Underneath the mask was an almost lizard like face. A snout with no nostrils, and no crease for a mouth, his skin was a sort of mottled grey and black with long purple tattoos on them, it looked smooth and glossy. He stood and proceeded to remove his robes and his armor from the waist up. He had the emblem of light tattooed upon his chest, two purple spirals spun together with a yellow sunburst encircling them.

         His body was lean and muscular, and his neck was much longer than when he was concealed, probably because he hunched his head down so his eyes lined up correctly with the eye holes in the mask. The back of his neck and his skull had long spiked crests the got smaller the further down the neck they were.

         He dropped his mask onto the table with bony yet muscular fingers that seemed unusually long, and looked at his guests who, for some odd reason, had the feeling that he was smiling, even though he had no mouth. The only part of his image that hadn’t changed was his eyes, they still resembled cat eyes, and the right one was purple while the left was scarlet. They still burned like embers too.

         “This is my true image, fashioned after a race that was created at the beginning of Droj itself, one that died off long ago. I am the maker of the planet Droj, the leader of the Empire, and the maker of its demise. I am the one who has trained you in secret for so long, because you are my only hope of retaking the planet from the horror I have unleashed.” Creed was obviously going to fast because the Overlords looked confused.

         “Ok, hold on…” Talon started, but couldn’t seem to find his thoughts right away.

         “You mean, you’re ‘the Creator’? You’re the Creed?” Chase asked for Talon.

         “Yes. I am the true god of this planet.”

         “So we’ve been god’s apprentices ever since we can remember and yet we never knew!” Aeri said slightly frustrated.

         “I would’ve told you sooner, but I knew it wouldn’t have been the wisest decision.”

         “Bull shit!” Talon shouted standing up and pointing at Creed as if he were to point out his lie. “You could’ve told us long ago, all the way when you first pulled us into this place!”

         “But you wouldn’t have been able to comprehend everything, nor would you be able to fully understand until after you were completely trained. Just sit down, and I will explain everything.” Creed said calmly. Talon hesitantly took a seat and Creed did the same.

         “I graduated from the God Guild oh…” Creed stopped to think for a moment “a few billion years ago, I was only three million years old, but I was at the head of my year. So I graduated early, and I was given a planet to mold that was far beyond that of which any god of my stature was given. I got the bare bones of an entire planet, a rock that I could bend to my will. So I decided to craft it after Earth, just a lot more water. I made vast oceans with islands of all shapes and sizes scattered across it.

         “I populated it with all sorts of creatures, of all statures, the Daemons being one of them, the race that I crafted myself after. I made them pure, perfect. They were wise, strong, reasonable, and lived for ages, but it was because of this that they died off. They fought each other with massive civil wars, and eventually they began to cross breed with other races, making tribes of interbred races that fought constantly with each other until eventually the entire population of purebred Daemons died off. I was so disappointed in my failure, but after they died the war began to settle down for a few million years.

         “It was during this peace that Oblivion came into play, there were so many dead after the Daemons fall that they needed a Crypt Lord to horde the dead together. So we made the Underworld in the depths of Droj and Oblivion, whom I didn’t exactly like at first, ruled over the dead and I ruled over the living. I eventually came to like him, but that’s beside the point.

         “A few million years later massive warfare broke out all over the planet. Races fought with each other, completely forgetting their connection with each other. And after a few hundred years of fighting I finally decided that it was time I took action. I gave myself the body of a Daemon and descended upon Droj. I used my godly powers to influence the people of Droj and they eventually began to worship me, I gained followers, disciples and deities. They bowed down before my grace and compassion, children would run about me in the streets, and people would applause when they saw me.

         “I was overwhelmed with pride, and during this I decided to combine all of the races under one union, and within a few hundred years the Empire was born. It stretched all over the planet, combining all races and species together, giving them power in their decisions, and letting them make choices for themselves. I, of course, watched over them all with a committee known as the Grand Council made up of my most trusted friends and colleagues. The Empire thrived for millions of years… it was amazing. But with all good things comes bad.

         “I longed to see the Daemons reborn, I wanted to see them live peacefully among the rest of Droj. I had the Empire under control, why couldn’t I keep the Daemons under control too? This time though, rather than making a massive race, I decided to simply make several of them to serve as my children and pupils. So I created, in secret, three new Daemons, crafted after both the original Daemons and Oblivion. Two of them males, and one female.

         “The first that came looked almost like me, black skin, with the same tattoos that I possess just in red. The second was the girl, but she was too weak to survive on her own, so I infused her body with machines to keep her alive. And the last was just a simple little Daemon, there didn’t seem to be anything special about him.

         “I trained the three of them like never before, and they learned quickly, and they took a liking to me and called me father… but when they were about seventeen years old things started to take a turn for the worst. The oldest one began to get too powerful and greedy, and soon he became evil. He planted the same seed in his sibling’s heads, and soon they all began to conspire against me. They began to hate me, and soon they earned their own nicknames. Ones that are now their real names, for no one, not even I, can remember their original ones.

         “The first was named Terror, because his power was overwhelming and his image struck terror into the hearts of everyone he met. The second, the one made of machine, was named Hatred, because she always expressed a sort of cold hatred to everyone except for Terror, who she admired greatly. And the last I called Shadow, because he blended in perfectly with the shadow of night, and he was always subject to doing the stealth operations in their conspiracy.

         “I tried to control them… but they overwhelmed me. By their twenty fifth birthdays they assaulted me, and injured me. They escaped and conducted raids upon cities all over the world… they did horrible things to everyone. They raped women and children, they ate the entrails of their victims, and they tortured thousands. I fought them, with all my might, but they wouldn’t fall.

         “Then one day, one of my best friends and member of the Grand Council, who was known as the Oracle because he could peek into the future… he told me of two prophecies. One of which is too horrible to speak of, but the other divined the fall of the Empire and the supremacy of the Daemons, and that six children with heavenly powers would be born to aid me in my fight against them, known only as the Devine Overlords.

         “So, thirty seven years ago, today, the Daemons assaulted the Imperial City with an army of Shades, ghoulish creatures that are summoned from tortured souls that can’t go to rest. They left the city in ruins, destroyed the archives, the temples, the Palace and killed most of the Grand Council… it was left to me and my apprentice Merick to seek out the Devine Overlords and train them to fight with me against the Daemons.” Creed looked up at the Overlords; they were dumbfounded; they were gods.

         “You are the six gods of the elements. Aeri is water, Chase is ice, Talon is fire, Sedge is weather, Geary is time and Shaith is life. You are all trained to use your elements and powers to their advantage in warfare and combat as well as other areas, you are formidable opponents to anyone, but you have much to learn. You need to learn the ways of the gods, and you need to begin fitting into your element.”

         “What’d you mean ‘fitting in to our elements’?” Shaith asked quietly.
        “All of you look like regular humans now, but as you grow you will begin to manifest your elements, you will begin to represent your life. For example, Talon’s veins may turn scarlet and his hair might turn to fire, it’s completely up to how you live and the actions you take. Even I don’t know what you will turn into, but within a few years we will see.”

         “So… all these years you hid under that mask because you didn’t want us to know you were really Creed?” Chase asked.

         “And it’s rather tasteful.” Creed chuckled. “Plus I didn’t want anyone I might’ve run into to find out that it was me.”

         “How many are left of the Grand Council?” Aeri asked.

         “Four… possibly five. The Oracle was captured when he escaped from the Imperial Palace, his death hasn’t been confirmed.”

         “Where are they all?”

         “Merick went into hiding as soon as we finished finding you, he’s become a ghost to the world, even I don’t know where he is, and he’ll only return once the second prophecy is fulfilled. Two of the others, Lilly and Zeboria are leading normal lives as civilians; no one knows who they once were. And Cross, the king of Hybe City on Lone Island, has been possessed by Shadow to do his bidding.” Silence followed for a few minutes until Geary broke the silence.

         “So you really are god, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question though. “Where are your swords then? The ones that live, the ones that are bound to your soul.” As if anticipating this question Creed pulled to long, black swords from under his chair and placed them on the table.

         “The twin swords of Creation and Destruction, Creation forged at God’s Haven by me and Destruction forged at Devil’s Haven by Oblivion. They are bound to my soul and mind, they share my thoughts, my desires, everything. They are an extension of my body, and I can control them as if they were my own arms.” The two swords slowly broke apart so that the blades were separated in segments, red and gold strings of will energy connecting them together. They slithered around on the table like snakes, their black surfaces engraved with images of creation and happiness on one while the other was covered with destruction and torture. It was obvious to tell which was which.

         “And they are living, just like you and me.” Creed smiled, once again, even though he had no mouth.

         “They’re beautiful!” Shaith exclaimed as he she stroked the tip of Creation’s blade as if it were a pet. “Thank you.” Creation’s voice echoed in her head, which made her startle, she wasn’t expecting a sword to talk to her. The swords snapped back so that they looked like regular swords again and Creed hid them under the table.

         “So I have only one more question Creed, how do you talk eat and breath with no nose or mouth?” Talon asked.

         “The Daemons were made to have little physical power, but instead had massive reservoirs of mana within their body, the energy that ones soul produces. They used that mana to create will power, which is used in combat to produce spells along with other situations-”

         “Enough with the lecture Creed, you taught us all this ages ago.” Aeri said solemnly.

         “Anyways, the Daemons of old used their stores of will to telepathically speak to one another, making it sound just like regular talking, as if you could hear it, but it’s actually the thoughts being transmitted into your brain. This allows them to keep certain thoughts to themselves, along with speaking to only certain people, defeating the purpose of whispering and other such things.

         “So, why should I need a mouth if I don’t talk with it? And since I’m a god I haven’t the need to eat sleep or breath. Nor do I really need eyes, because my influence allows me to feel and sense everything in the area as if I were touching them, but I figured a faceless Daemon would be rather… uh… creepy.”

         Another bout of silence followed, no one had anything to say, even Creed. “So what are we going to do? Where are the Daemons?” Sedge asked eventually.
         “Hatred and Terror are in hiding, and they’re doing good at it too, I can’t find them anywhere. But Shadow has created a fortress in Mount Agony.”

         “Mount Agony? That’s on Lone Island isn’t it?” Geary asked, concerned.

         “Yes, Lone Island and all of the surrounding islands is part of one of the greatest rebellion parties on the planet, known as the Resistance. It was the home of the leaders of Plants, Lizards, Machines all sorts of species. Their soul purpose was to destroy the Daemons and overthrow the DGC, but they all failed. Shadow has managed to possess Cross, Venus, Scales all of the leaders on the island. And now he has them creating armies and taking over the markets, along with the black markets. He has control over most of Lone Island, dubbing the lands he has control over as “The Shadow Lands”. Lilly is hiding at Northern Docks on the north tip of the island, one of the few parts of the island that’s under Resistance control. She’s been providing me intel on Shadow’s empire.”

         “He currently has total control over the Plants, Machines, and has control over the majority of the lizards. The Phantom Lord has sided with him, and he has a small group of elite minions that are scattered throughout the island. She thinks that the best way to take Shadow down is by attacking his ties. We’ll exorcise the souls of the leaders that he possessed, and then we’ll attack him when his forces are meager and weak.”

         “So who’ll we attack first?” Shaith asked.

         “The islands are about ten miles north of us, so we’ll be traveling to the southern most end of the island, known as “Skull Cross Island” because it resembles skull and crossbones from a distance. On the island lives the last village of independent Lizards that General Scales hasn’t snuffed out. A friend of mine runs the village, so we’ll go there to ask him for the stealthiest way to get to Slitha, the Lizard capital city. Then, we’ll assault General Scales and exorcise him before he knows what hit him. After that, we’ll play it by ear.” The Overlords seemed pleased with the simple, but seemingly effective plan. They smiled casually, and when Creed figured there wasn’t anything else to say he dismissed them to their quarters to do as they pleased.

         “Dinner will be ready in two hours, and we’ll be leaving as soon as possible next morning, so meet in the courtyard at six am.” The Overlords filed from the room and Creed plopped down into his chair, exhausted to some degree.

         “That went well.” Creation stated as he slithered up Creed’s armored leg.

         “Yes, but will the destruction of the Daemons go well to? I think not.” Destruction added with a negative tone.

         “Don’t even mention that…” Creed growled tiredly.

*******************************************************

         Creed readjusted his robes as he walked down the stony cold hallways that lead from his quarters to the entrance hall. Him and Merick had built the Devine Spire all by themselves, it only took them one year with their powers. They simply hollowed out one of the massive rock spires that leapt up from the oceans around God’s Reach, built tunnels and lined them with all sorts of decorations, and caste enchantments to make grass grow in the courtyard, and make certain rooms seem as if they were outside, or simulated combat situations.

It was wonderful place, Creed was proud of it, but it seemed so cold and empty when he was the only one there. Even when the Overlords were there it was still lonely, they looked at him more as an authority figure than a friend. Which he was, but he missed being able to socialize with out being coldly serious and authoritative. He couldn’t wait until he met up with Drake, or Lilly, or someone. Then maybe the Overlords would change their attitude a bit.

         The hallway was cold, and even Creed could feel it through his boots. It was hard to heat a place like this, even if you were god. Solid rock placed in the middle of a cold ocean didn’t stay warm. Creed placed the mask on his face and began to open up the heavy wooden door to the entrance hall.

He had grown accustomed to wearing the mask. It made him feel… safe. After all, it was made out of steel tough enough to withstand a Concussion Missile. You wouldn’t be alive, but the mask would still be standing. Plus it wasn’t just a normal mask; it had a massive amount of will enchanting it. With it on, he could do things that he normally couldn’t do. And if someone else put it on, they would become one with him, as if he were possessing them. That’s why he called it The Mask of Souls.

         Creed walked through the entrance hall that glowed with all sorts of brilliant colors, and walked right through it to the lush green grass of the Courtyard. It was small, yes, but he never intended to use it much. It was just a small little yard, with marble pathways and columns lining its edges, four marble benches lined the columns, and the patch in the middle was infested with bright green grass that felt like feathers on your skin.

         The Overlords had themselves scattered among the courtyard, their spiritual presence overwhelming when they were all in one place. Talon Aeri and Chase were sparring in the middle of it all, the rest of the Overlords picking their favorites and cheering them on, several of them were taking bets, using the Universal Droj Currency (UDC or more commonly referred to as Xees).

         Aeri had solidified a shaft of water into a long blunt pipe that she was swinging madly at Chase and Talon. Chase had sprouted claws made of ice from his fists, while Talon was wielding a five tipped whip made of fire. Of course, all of them were using their will powers to make a protective shield around themselves, thus avoiding any serious injury.

         Creed marveled at how well they fought for their level of experience. They were very accurate, and quick, but they lacked fluency with their moves which made them look like they were stumbling around, and their blows lacked any power. Creed watched as Aeri ducked under one of Chase’s claws and struck him clean in the shin with her staff. He fell flat on his face and Talon forced his whip to wrap around his neck and throw him out of the ring, eliminating Chase from the equation.

         So it was between Aeri and Talon, they stood face to face, just staring. Aeri switched her weapon a bit, making it into a double sided sword that glistened in the artificial sunlight. Talon smirked and attacked her, his whip lashing at her, missing her by a hairsbreadth. She dodged three of his attacks, then jumped up and managed land a blow on his upper back. He fell to the ground and managed to catch himself with his hands, his whip fallen to the side. Aeri kicked away, Talon looked desperate.

         And out of this desperation he flung himself towards his whip and took a blow to his left ankle. Which was a decent sacrifice considering the fact that he manage to swipe up his whip and send all five tips of it across Aeri’s face and chest, draining her shield and leaving two smoldering tears (fortunately for her) right over her breasts.

         “Check mate.” Talon smiled, his eyes darting down to her breasts only become disappointed at the placement of the tears.

         “Pig!” She scowled at him as she walked away, kicking him in the hip.

         “Show some decency Talon, you won’t gain a good reputation as a god when you drool over women, especially another god.” Creed laughed as he walked into the ring. He felt talking to his left and looked over to see Sedge and Shaith handing Geary the money for the bet they lost. “At least Sedge isn’t sexist.” Destruction muttered.

         “No, only Talon is sexist. He’s egotistical and arrogant too. We’ll have to fix that, they all have things that need to be fixed.” Creed replied. He helped Talon up and signaled for them to gather round.

         “We’ll be departing for Skull Cross in exactly five minutes, so grab what you need and meet back here.” No one moved Creed smiled at this. “Very well then, we’ll leave now then.”

         “Uh, wait a minute.” Shaith interrupted. “How are we getting there?”

         “Teleportation.” Creed said smoothly, and with the subtle twitch of his finger the Overlords and himself were flung into an alternate dimension between time and reality, and within a seconds they reappeared in a dark cold room. One of the Overlords, which Creed could not see but he could feel that it was Talon, was throwing up from the unpleasant feeling of teleporting for the first time. He also heard Aeri fall down from dizziness, or perhaps she tripped in the darkness, but she most certainly fell.

         “That was… interesting.” Chase said coolly. “Not exactly the most pleasant experience.” He chuckled.

         “Where are we?” Shaith asked.

         “So many questions...” Destruction muttered in Creed’s head. Creed simply ignored him. He flicked his wrist and a dark purple flame ignited in a plinth on the far wall, surrounded by an array of blood red candles. “We’re in a Worship Center.” He said. Talon stood up and brushed his hand over one of the smooth rock walls that stood on all sides. They had figures engraved upon them, all sorts of figures with Creed and Oblivion, taking different forms and taking different actions. Talon stopped at a figure of Oblivion, he resembled the Grim Reaper, a skeleton body, but they did not resemble that of a human skeleton. The fingers were long and almost tendril like, instead of having two sockets for the eyes he had six, his lower jaw was split into two segments, and the top of his skull pointed up into a crown.

         He had his hands raised towards the skies with thousands of dead bowing down before him. Talon shivered slightly, it was rather… disturbing. He turned back to the rest of the group. “These Worship centers were set up all over the world, along with temples and altars so that people all over the world could come to worship me, and pray. When the Empire fell the Daemons destroyed most of them, except for a few that were hidden well. This is one of them, and it still has a bit of prayer left in it, that’s why I was able to teleport us all here.” Creed said, matter-of-factly. Aeri rolled her eyes out of boredom. Creed headed to a stone staircase that lead upwards, vines and roots grew out of cracks in the walls. “C’mon, we need to head out.” He said, looking over his shoulder. The Overlords followed him up the staircase, no questions asked.

         “Chase and Shaith, come with me, the rest of you scout out the forests for anything unusual: traps, camps, enchantments, anything. I’ll contact you once we get into the village.” Creed said, with a sort of edge in his voice. Several of the Overlords shrugged in acknowledgement and the rest simply stared like goldfish. Creed shrugged and began walking down a narrow trail that was overgrown with a thick population of shrubs and some sort of palm tree. They had to be careful not to fall or get their robes caught on anything, but it hid them completely.

         Creed was once again, nervous. Which was quite odd for him, he was known for his nerves of steel and his fearlessness, but now he was afraid that something terrible would happen. Actually he knew something terrible was going to happen, he just didn’t know when, and he knew it wouldn’t happen for a long time to come too. But he was still nervous about it.

         What made him even more nervous was the feeling he got as the three of them neared the walls of the city, he felt as if someone were watching them. Actually, once again, he knew they were watching him. He knew everything that was going on around him because of his influence, he could feel them everywhere; up in the trees, with a bow and arrow pointed at them, he could feel several mages hunkered down in the undergrowth ready to cast spells at them, and he could feel assassins hiding behind trees ready to leap out and attack. He had to think creatively to get into the city alive.

         The trio stepped out of the forest and walked along a wide, trodden path to a set of wooden gates and stone walls, he glanced up at the walls and the guard towers that were posted every hundred feet or so, once again he couldn’t see the archers that hid themselves on the walls, but he could sense them there. When they were only about fifty feet from the gates Creed told Shaith and Chase to stop, and not move a muscle. He stood there, perfectly still, listening as the breeze brushed at the trees making a gentle roaring sound.

         Creed picked up his right foot and began to take a step forward, and the moment his foot met the ground an arrow whizzed through the air and buried himself in his heavily armored foot. Creed smiled and plucked the arrow from his foot, it didn’t even penetrate it just got stuck under one of the plaits. He chuckled to himself as he heard someone, who he assumed was the archer master, scold the archer who had let the arrow loose. Creed aimed at the wall where the two archers were quarreling and threw the arrow at the wall with even more force and speed than it had been launched earlier, it buried itself a few inches into the wall, and the quarreling stopped.

         Creed turned to Shaith and Chase, he smiled as he noticed that Chase’s claws were out at the ready and Shaith had her staff, which had long serrated blades on either side. “Let me ask you a question Chase, did you happen to live with animals when you left the Spire?” Creed asked.

         “Uh… yeah.” Chase answered, thrown off by the timing of the question. That explained why he used claws though.

         “Alright, the walls are obviously lined with archers and the forest behind us is littered with archers, mages, and assassins. We’re completely surrounded.

         “Damn…” Shaith whispered.

“So we may need to get ourselves a hostage if we wish to get inside. Believe me, I know Lizards, they don’t trust anyone. So just follow my lead.” The pair nodded in acknowledgement and Creed turned back towards the walls.

“Show yourselves, cowards. Or we’ll tear down the walls and bring you down here with us!” Creed shouted up at the walls. For a few seconds nothing happened, but eventually there was a brief shout and the whole wall leapt up and a hundred or so archers, dressed in grey leather armor stood on it’s length with bows aimed at the trio.

“We wish to speak with Drake.” Creed said.
“How can we trust you? You just threatened us!” One of the archers said, his chest was adorned with a cluster of medals, he was the Archer Master.

“I can guarantee you that we will meet with Drake, whether you like it or not. And I can also guarantee you that if you fire these walls will come down.” Creed said coldly.

“Then lets see if you’re promises will withhold. Fire!” The Archer Master ordered, and a shower of arrows leapt from the walls, filling the air with a sharp humming sound. Creed’s neck twitched and the arrows bounced harmlessly off an invisible force. The archers were too stunned to move.

Creed raised his arms up, and four trees uprooted themselves from the ground and hovered in midair. His hands leapt forward, and the trees did the same, propelling themselves into the walls and causing the walls to buckle. They groaned, and a single section on the right side of the gates toppled over, just as planned. The shouts of the guards falling down with the wall filled the air.

Creed straightened his poster and looked up at the Archer Master, who’s eyes were so wide they looked as if they’d fall out of their sockets. “I’m willing to fight even further, if I have to. But you could simply let me talk to Drake and this could all be ended.”
The Archer Master hesitated for a moment, then nodded, with a sullen look on his face. “Tamara!” he shouted off into the trees, and a rather tall lizard, covered from head to toe with leather armor, appeared from the underbrush accompanied with three assassins clad in some sort black scale like armor.

The Lizards approached the trio and the Lizard named Tamara removed the helmet that obscured its face. It was obviously a female, a young one too. Her scales were a mix of warm colors, such as red, orange, and yellow, and they were very vibrant, indicating youth. Her snout and the crest on the back of her head were slender, and the tattoos on her crest suggested that she was the Assassin Master in the town.

“My name’s Tamara. I’ll take you to Drake, but if you try anything my Assassins will drop you in seconds.” She said blandly and distastefully. The Gates groaned open and Tamarah led them into the village, with the trio snickering slightly behind her.

         Snake Pit was much more… primitive than the other settlements and cities that Chase and Shaith has seen over the years. Usually they consisted of buildings made of metal and glass, and had vehicles, and guards armed with guns and Crystal Swords. This village, on the other hand, had dwellings made of wood and stone, and the guards carried swords and bows and daggers, and only the Elite Warriors carried guns, which were out of date assault rifles. “Perhaps some areas of Droj are more primitive than others.” Shaith suggested.

         The closer they got to the center of the city the bigger and more decorated the buildings got. Some were made of beautiful white stone, and they had wooden roofs like the others, but some of them had curled corners with lamps or decorations hanging off of them. There were less and less homes too, most of the buildings were shops or some sort of civic building.

         Eventually they reached the center of the town. A fountain, with a statue of Creed without his armor on stood in the center; his arms stretched out to his sides with his palms turned towards the skies, looking up. Water bubbled out of his palms and eyes, and spouted from beneath the water at the base of the fountain.

         In front of the fountain stood three Lizards, two male (obvious due to the coloring of their scales: blue, green, purple, etc. Cool colors) and one female. One of the males and the female appeared to be a couple, for they stood side by side and attempted to talk over each other, as well as the other Lizard that had his back turned to them.

         Tamara turned towards the trio and looked at them coldly, “Any of you move a muscle and your entrails will be coming out you nose.” She spoke snidely. Chase held back a laugh and a smile, if only the Lizards knew who they were.

         Tamara approached the second male Lizard and tapped his shoulder, getting his attention. She whispered something in his ear, and with a startled look he waved away the other two; who, with agitated looks upon their face, turned and walked reluctantly out of the square and down a narrow alleyway.

         Tamara and the other Lizard turned towards the trio and approached them, scowling. The other Lizard was a head taller than Tamara, but he didn’t look as muscular. His nostril had a small scar drawing off of it, and his crest was tattooed with dragons and wyverns. He dressed in dark blue Sorcerer Robes, and walked with a staff, making it obvious that he practiced magic.

         “Now what is going on here?” He snapped as he stopped in front of Creed, the Assassins behind them shifted so they’d be ready if they tried to kill the Lizard.

         “Pull off my mask.” Creed said.

         “What?” The Lizard said, confused.

         “Either pull off my mask, or let me pull it
off.” Creed said. The Lizard nodded towards the Assassins behind Creed and the Assassin leaned over Creed’s shoulder and pulled off the mask, revealing Creed’s mottled grey face. “Hello Drake. Long time no see.” Creed smiled. Drake’s Jaw dropped.

         “Creed?” He asked astonished.

         “Yours truly.” Tamara looked at the fountain, then back at Creed, and repeated the process two or three times. Her jaw also dropped, and the Assassins who were standing behind the trio dropped the daggers in their hands.

         “Why are you here?” Drake asked.

         “We need your… assistance.” Creed laughed.