Chapter 11: Crushing the Dragon Air

The apes lead them to a passage heading upwards to the mountain. Their trek began with long stone steps. On the sides of the steps, there were statues of dragons with large wings frozen in poses of taking off into the sky.
“I’ve never seen those kinds of dragons depicted in the temple”, Helena muttered under her breath.
“They are all that is left of the Wind Dragons. They used to leave here along with my ancestors-but they haven’t been seen in centuries”, Kane hissed.
“And the Dragonair Gem? There are Pokémon here?” Butch asked.

“I know not what of this poke man you speak of. But the Dragon Air Gem contains the essence of Wind Dragons. It’s what keeps the islands afloat.” The ground suddenly shook that forced everyone to the jagged steps. Then as quickly as it had come, the ground quieted. There were noticeable new cracks in the stone as the apes forced them back to their feet.
“What the…” Helena winced as she spat out some dirt.
“It is our patron guardian god, Crusher. He has not been given tribute in months and he is taking it out on the Dragon Air Gem’s protective barrier”, Kane explained.
“You speak as if this Crusher has done this before”, Kirby mused. The Atwala tiled his head down.

“Yes…but Crusher has protected us for generations. We owed it to the god.” A soldier jabbed him with their spear and chirped them to keep moving.
The shaman had led them a square shaped passage carved in the face of a marble slab. Though largely hidden by overgrowth-there were still traces of carvings of wind dragons and Atwala. The passage was dark and reeked of mildew. The shaman lit a single torch and ordered them inside. The walls appeared to have been treated roughly recently. Stone carvings were defaced and pieces were littered all over the floor. Buckets of tools strewn all about their feet suggested just what happened to them. The passage snaked tightly around pillars that made everything disorienting in the dark. At last, they were shoved into a large domed room. In the middle was a rectangular altar with a large statue of a humanoid golem in the center. Lining the edges of the room were eight doors. The shaman had to stop and look at a piece of crumpled paper he pulled from the pouch on his leg. Helena happened to glance at their feet. All of them, including the apes, were standing in a shallow pool of water. It was only about three or four inches at best. Aside from the doors there were no other visible means of ventilation. And the room was roughly twenty feet in diameter. She looked at Kane who’s seemed to be shifting to the third door on the right. Butch had been ties behind her. “Psst, hey hot head. We need cover.” Butch tilted his head. “Ugh, make some steam you dumb ape!” An ape got into her face and held the tip of its spear close to her face.

“What did you call me, you blue salamander?”
“Ya heard her. Why don’t you make a demand to be top ape? Why is that guy the leader?” Cassidy trilled. The ape scratched its head and then its chin as it put its own thoughts together. “No no, this guy is better qualified to be the leader”, Elijah quipped as he nudged his shoulder towards the one next to him. “Don’t be silly. My jailor appears to be the toughest one of the squad”, Kirby huffed. The apes started to argue with each other and their voices filled the chamber. The shaman was trying to read the map and roared that he couldn’t concentrate. Helena glared at Butch, hoping to get the hint. He seemed to understand-or he made up his own mind. He sent a little bit of flame to the ground, creating puffs of thick steam. Between the arguing and the fog, the apes lost track of their quarry. Helena whispered to the group to follow her.
“How did you find me here?!” Kane had taken advantage of the chaos caused by the knights to slip away. He was now pressed inside an empty alcove and was using his teeth to try and break the chain on his manacles. “I saw you glancing at this hallway. And if it weren’t for us, you’d not be currently trying to break your chains without a spear in your back. You’re welcome”, Helena scoffed.

“And without them I couldn’t swipe this”, Sparx chimed in as he twirled a key around his arm. Kane grumbled as Sparx unlocked his shackles and then went to assist the team.
“I…suppose I owe you some form of minor gratitude. That does not mean I owe you my entire respect.” The ground began to quake again and the ceiling formed cracks above. Only the vines kept them back from falling right on the team’s heads.
“We have to appease Crusher quickly. I…I know of a shortcut but it is dangerous. Are you best prepared for battle?” Butch tapped the handle of his lance on the floor and made it spark. “Bring it on!” Kane pressed his cloven tipped hands against several runes in the alcove before shoving the right edge of the back wall to make it turn. A brush of chilly wind graced their faces as the door creaked open. Kane told them to hurry before the apes figured out their location.

Sun dripped between gaps in dense foliage above their heads. Pillars in the form of dragons and Atwala were dotted through the mossy stone hallway. A sweet smell graced their noses from the massive plumage of flowers around them.
“Wow, this is kinda pretty”, Cassidy commented. “Do not be fooled. This place was sealed off because…” Kane’s words were cut off by the sound of grinding stones and snapping plants. Piles of stone that had previously appeared to be just fallen debris began to rumble and rise. The stones took on a blocky humanoid appearance. Crystals grafted themselves to the golems in the forms of claws, clubs, and blades. Dark flames burst from what appeared to be eye sockets as they focused on the intruding party.
Six of them had surrounded the knights and stood about two feet taller than them. Kirby gripped his axe. “I see your point, Kane.” The ground shook again though the golems didn’t appear to be affected.

“We don’t have time to play Minecraft with these jerks! Kirby, do you think you can make an opening?” Butch barked. Kirby’s axe glowed with Earthy power and he slammed it into the ground creating a shockwave in front of them. The forefront golem’s leg crumbled and it staggered into another making that topple. “I’ll keep them busy. Looks like this is my turf. You guys go ahead!” Kirby yelled at them. The team hesitated on his words. A golem lurched forward and slammed its crystal club where they stood. The ground bounced under the strike and lurched the party upwards. Kirby had thrust the edge of his axe just in time. A golem from behind lashed out their claws in the air and caught Elijah and Cassidy in its grip. The golem raised its fist and slammed them into the ground and kept them pinned. A green sphere of earthen energy slammed into its arm and shattered it. Elijah and Cassidy braced themselves as the golem fell forward under its own weight. The impact didn’t come. Kirby was standing before them with his hands slammed against the golem’s shoulders. His forearms were glowing with green crackling earth energy as he gripped the beast and hurled it high above his head sending it back towards the previously broken one. Kirby wrenched the broken hand open and plucked up the two like kittens.
“We don’t have time to be messing around. I’ll catch up later, I promise. Now go!”
The sounds of Kirby’s battle echoed behind them as they pressed further forward into the garden. As they ran more of the golems began to rise from the grassy floor. Helena iced any of them she happened to see twitching. The garden’s exit ended at another jetty. A long rope bridge suspended from there they stood and reached out to another floating island. The island was lined with a high stone wall and twisted trees. A faint purple light could be seen from their position.

“Crusher’s shrine is ahead. I suggest we approach this with utmost respect.” Another quake rattled the bridge. “Right…Elijah you’ve got this”, Butch chuckled nervously.
The wind pressed and bounced against the bridge as the party slowly crept across the chasm towards the central shrine. The further they traversed the wilder and colder the winds became. Kane was clutching the satchel strapped to his back tightly and muttering soft prayers during the trek. Ice began to form along their visors as they stepped onto the frosted grass. Butch fell to his knees and gripped the ground. He was never happy to be on solid turf. Kane walked past him without so much as looking down. “The Dragon Air Gem will be past this barricade. We must hurry. Leave it to me to placate our guardian. I don’t want your reckless behaviors to make things worse.”
Butch stood up with lance in hand. “Yeah, I’m still holding on to this just in case. Personally, this Crusher sounds more like a bully than an actual guardian.”

“Indeed. You’d think a protector would be kicking those apes out by now”, Cassidy joined in. Kane waved his hands in protest.
“No no you are mistaken! He is a great god I can assure you.”
Past the stony barricade was a large convex pit. Surrounding the bit were stone benches and more statues of the wind dragons and Atwala-or what the group could determine from the bits of broken legs left. On the far end of the pit was the object of their search. The Dragon Air Gem was a massive grey colored spherical stone covered in intricate runes and held together with five gold bands. A spiral of wind was holding the gem ten feet off the ground. Beneath the statue with their arms outstretched was a wind dragon and an atwala carved far more intricately than the others they had seen. Surrounding the statues and the gem was a circular wall embedded in the ground. From this short wall a mystical barrier that encompassed both the gem and statues.
Behind the gem hanging from a crude cage was an icy blue dragon. His purple wings flopped through the gaps in the cage and swung to and fro in the frigid wind. Chains had been fastened around its neck and had been fastened to a plate five feet below.
Crusher stood at the same height with the gem. He was a humanoid golem with a smooth bald granite head and wide square chin. Metal bracelets were fastened to his thick arms and roughly shewn plated armor covered his massive chest. Its cold blue eyes were transfixed on the gem it was trying to get to by swinging its large rocky hammer. Kane ran to the center of the stadium and fell to his knees.

“Oh, great Crusher! Please accept this offering and spare your wrath upon us!” He placed the sack before him and opened it up. Inside were scraps of dragon crystal and gold that shone on the icy glade. The giant stopped and stomped over to Kane. His heavy footsteps left deep squarish indentations in the earth. He leaned over and pushed the trinkets with a think stumpy finger. A crooked smile materialized on their jagged face. Then Crusher raised his mallet and slammed it onto the trinkets.
“THIS IS NO TREASURE. CRUSHER WANT TREASURE! DRAGON MEANS TREASURE! AND CRUSHER…WANTS GEM! AND YOU NO GET GEM!” Crusher heaved up his hammer right over Kane’s head. A streak of flame graced across the grass just as the earth giant connected deep with the earth. Butch skirted across the stadium pit with Kane in his arms. Crusher coughed up black smoke and roared. “YOU DON’T GET AWAY FROM CRUSHER THAT EASILY!” He pointed his free arm at Butch and his hand shot from its wrist like a harpoon on a chain. The fist connected with the red knight in the stomach and sent him colliding with the wall just in front of the bleachers. A sinewy vine that had been connected reeled the hand back to Crusher’s arm. Butch clutched his abdomen as he peeled himself from the wall.

“Ow…I just got reminded why I quit football after the tryouts. You okay, Kane?” Kane was sitting there flabbergasted. The all too familiar howling bane of the apes rose among the din.
The shaman and their crew were making their way across the bridge as they crawled and grasped the ropes in a frantic race to reach the other side. Helena and Cassidy jumped to the side as the horde shoved through and swarmed into the area. “As if things could not get any worse and what are we going to do about Mister Hammer?” Helena cried out.
“I’ll try to keep Crusher distracted. You might want to scrape Butch off the floor.” Elijah offered before jumping into the stadium. He picked up a piece of broken rock at his feet and chucked at the golem. “Hey! Big guy! Over here!” Crusher looked over his shoulder. “You’re not as tough as you pretend if you can’t fight a bunch of stupid monkeys!” “WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU LITTLE SHRIMPY VIOLET?!”

“You heard the knight! All that power and you let a bunch of flea bags run all over the place. That’s why the Atwala don’t give you tribute. Because you suck!” Sparx joined in. “NO ONE IS STRONGER THAN CRUSHER! NO ONE! NO OOOOOOONE!”
With a mighty swing of his hammer, the giant knocked five ape soldiers out in one blow. Another who had tried to get their paws on the Dragon Air Gem was grasped by the vines in his fist and was crushed. The rest of the apes scampered away and ducked out into the brush. “HA HA HA WHO IS WEAK NOW?!” A black shard appeared from nowhere and embedded itself into Crusher’s head. Crusher’s hands went down to his side and he stared blank eyed into space. The shaman jumped on to the giant’s back and seated himself on the creature’s shoulders.
“Humph, not exactly what I had planned but one should never pass an opportunity. Now then-let’s just see what is so special about this so-called guardian. Crusher swung his hammer at Elijah as he caught him by the handle and dragged him along the dirt. His leg moved to crush the boy and got caught in a block of ice. Cassidy grabbed Elijah as Crusher tugged and grasped at the icy manacle to break free. Butch came from behind and slashed his fire lance against Crusher’s back. The flames died on contact against the giant’s rocky skin. The hammer swing down again but only hit the cinders of a drying flame trail as Butch strafed left. Cassidy was moving upwards into the bleachers.

She tried to reach for an overhanging tree but the bark was slick and the nearest branch was too high. Kane was still sitting there.
“Kane! Hey snap out of it!”
“Why…after everything we gave…why would Crusher…” Cassidy grasped the atwala by his shoulders and shook him.
“Hey, Kuzco wannabe! You need to get your people together and get out of here! You said you were the king, right? Time to act like it.” Kane blinked and hung his head before uneasily nodding.
“Nice to see you back in the game. Um…before you go, can you um…help me get in this tree, please?”

Crusher shrugged off the ice and fire strikes like mere mosquitos. Butch hurled his fire dripped lance at Crusher’s chest just as Helena shot ice at it drenching it in a gush of water. All it really did was temporarily daze the shaman and made Crusher wet. The giant snarled as he pulled the lance from his chest and tossed it back at Butch. The lance graced his helmet and cracked one of the horns. The shaman wagged its finger at the two knights calling them pathetic. He had failed to notice an electrically charged arrow striking the wet rock on its perch. As the arrow graced the puddle, electric energy spiraled up and shocked the gaudy ape. He staggered back and fell from his roost. Elijah tried to grab the shaman in a stranglehold trying to keep it from grabbing its staff. His small frame could barely hold on to the beast and the shaman flung him off. The ape wrapped its fingers around its staff and shook the topper making the bones rattle. Crusher lumped toward the boy and began to reach for Elijah.
Stone hands grasped Crusher’s hands and jerked him back. The golems they had encountered previously and then others were piling into the stadium and were pinning Crusher down. Kirby stood in the archway and brandished his axe towards the giant. “Hold him down boys! Cassidy! I take it that black thing is bad right?”

“Its about time you showed up, ya lunk!” Cassidy teased as she prepared a large charged arrow and struck true to the shard stuck in the giant. The giant groaned even as he struggled by the barrage of his former minions. The shaman gulped and ran over the wall. Crusher shuddered and looked bewildered.
“YOU NOW FOLLOW GREEN MAN? WHY?” One of the golems hefted Kirby on to their shoulder. This particular one showed fresh wounds on their face and arms.
“Dragon Knight of Earth is stronger than all of us. But he does not destroy us. Earth Knight nice leader.” Crusher snarled as he glared at Kirby. “NO CRUSHER IS STRONGER! CRUSHER IS BETTER LEADER!” He smacked the smaller golems aside and charged at Kirby.

“Leave him alone you big bully!” Elijah’s fist connected with Crusher’s hammer flinging it from his grip and colliding with the side of the stadium. Kirby and Crusher dove for the hammer. Helena iced the grass at the golem’s feet and he slid off to the side. Kirby’s arms glowed crackling green as his hands grasped the hammer’s handle and heaved it up with ease despite it being twice his height. Crusher got up rubbing his sore hand seeing he was outnumbered. “CRUSHER WON’T FORGET THIS, DRAGON KNIGHT.” He heaved himself over the garden wall and leapt into the thick clouds down below.
The group were surrounded by Atwala who were bowing before the dragon knights. The ice dragon, Cyril, had been freed and fed once the group had descended lower to a mountain below the shrine.
“It appears my people have chosen a new god to worship Earth Knight”, Kane surmised. “Worship? I like that. You know, I have never gotten the respect I deserve and…oh…you mean the green guy with the hammer. Speaking of which, what are you going to do with that thing?” Sparx chided. Kirby shrugged and handed it over to one of the golems. “It’s too big for me anyway and we need to get back to the temple. Bash I am counting on you and your crew to protect these people while we find a way to stop the Phantom Knight for good.” The golem nodded and kneeled before Kirby.

“We shall do as you will great earth knight.” The ice dragon rolled his eyes.
“Yes, yes old boy. We’d like nothing more than to stay and be a part of your…eh…primitive, barbaric society but a dragon’s duty is always utmost important.”
Kane shook his head. “If you must, you must. But know that it seems I was wrong about you Knights. Perhaps it did take you a long time to finally help us but you came and pulled through. You are part of he Atlawa tribe no matter where the winds take you.”
“Thanks Kane. We will do everything we can.” Elijah responded. Butch patted him on the back.
“Well guess we’re back on the purple express again. Let’s head home. Ugh…I’m going to feel this bruising in my ribs for a week.”