The Fire Horse (Chapter Seven)

The king of Soros popped out of a hidden back door above a high ledge already sitting on his throne. There was another longer ledge below him where at each side was a widened staircase that wounded up towards the second level then two more connected staircases that went the rest of the way to the top ledge.

The whole framework of ledges was built into the mountain itself while the rest of the room was carved in granite showcasing an architectural base.

l The Saurian king surveyed who was below him as tall, helmed armored reptilian guards with spears guarded him at each level. There was only one other that was missing, it was the kings visor the one who left to attend to the eye in its the socket of the Salamander in the darkest depths of the mountain below.

Atop the throne was an expression of the sun in its iconography which shined its rays in an arc above as well as outward from where the king sat. Whereas the King himself wore a much less bold version of the symbol above his head in the form of a golden tiara with a less grande sun in the center of it.

The king of Soros also wore a weathered look as he studied his audience below him. The sun archer Zoomer stood in the king's gaze along with Inspector Plodok just as the others he brought along with him. Soros was wrapped in a gold necklace of dark rubies around his faded green neck. A distinguished red robe with golden borders covered most of the lizard king's lower half except for his brown sandaled legs down to his thick toed feet.

There was a great echo within the room as the king of Soros broke the deaf silence," Archer...why the delay in bringing the Inspector from Pacwad before me?"

A jittery Zoomer stepped forward to address his king, "Your majesty...", Zoomer began in earnest," The Inspector and I witnessed something amazing happen down at the vault..."

"You are not answering my question!", the King shouted down before restating it again for Zoomer to answer correctly.

"I wanted to go in depth with the Inspector...you see he was once a padwa he can spot clues that for most of us would go unnoticed!", Zoomer rapidly explained

The king of Soros pried Zoomer for more of an explanation, "So, what was it that you witnessed at the vault door?" The king of Soros leaned back in his throne as feigning a boring answer given back to him.

"The vault door began to open by itself!", Zoomer said

The king of Soros leaned forward a little, in disbelief prodded Zoomer, "Go on archer...without the key...by itself...what happened then?"

"I had to go inside in order to find out what happened to Visor Anole.", Zoomer said in despondence at what he was about to reveal.

To Zoomers surprise he was cut off by the king who asked, "Please tell me the eye was still intact in its proper place of the statue."

Zoomer fell to his knees as he revealed in his grief at being the only one to have last seen him, "Visor...Anole...was nothing more than a pile of ashes..."

"A tragic loss no doubt...", the king stated before returning to the incident, "We must morn later, do you hear me archer, what we face has dire ramifications for not only the Kingdom of Saurian but Pacwad as well."

As the king said this, he looked at Plodok to tell him, "Inspector, come forward to tell me what next happened."

Plodok came forward though before he began, he helped Zoomer back to his feet once more. Then Plodok told the king what happened next," The vault doors again closed by themselves which left Zoomer trapped inside. That meant that he too could have met the same fate as your Visor."

"Though Zoomer somehow was able to escape from behind the vault doors.", the king asked in an accusatory way.

No one answered the king which allowed the king to re-think his position before asking either his archer or the inspector," What happened next, then?"

Zoomer and Plodok looked at each other before Zoomer deferred the floor to his friend as he did not witness how the door was reopened, "If not for the Eternians who stand before you!", Plodok told the king as he showcased all three, he then said," Especially that child, who just so happens to hail from Igniton as both prince as well as outcast!"

Everyone now wanted to know just what Plodok was referring to as he went on," You see the prince has been plagued by terrible nightmares which is why he was allowed aide from Eternia. The Eternians King allowed for this man hailing from Eternos City to be the princes stalwart guide to Pacwad. I was a witness as my former padwad teacher guided the prince through one of his nightmares once more."

"To help clarify all this backstory I will now tell you not what opened the vault door open in order to save your archers life but who it exactly it was that did it!", Plodok said as he pointed to the prince of Igniton himself.

"How was this young prince able open the door without the key?", the King of Soros asked in disbelief

"If your Visor were here, he would tell you.", Plodok remarked to remind the king just how valuable he was in the end.

"For all I know this could all be orchestrated by all of them!", the King of Soros accusing the outsiders of conspiracy.

"We were all in panic as we did not know how to reseal the vault again!", Zoomer stated to his king, "If not for Plodok figuring out that it was the prince's ancestry which expressed a magic within him. Then the boy used his own hand as a key to reseal the vault door!"

"Then there is only one way to prove the validity of your story to me.", the king of Soros then went on to reveal, "You must have the prince open the vault door once again in front of me!"

"The elementals of the labyrinth revealed themselves to us! If we were unable to reseal the vault then they would be running amuck in the city right now!", Zoomer warned his king.

"I neither have the time nor luxury to ruminate on this matter. I have only one recourse, the entry point to the vault must be permanently sealed off from threatening Soros forever! the king declared

"May I offer another suggestion?", Plodok asked the king

"Make it fast Frog!", the king of Soros rudely imparted.

"Simply keep guard of the vault until we return with the eye of the salamander. I presume that Zoomer is not the only archer with alchemical arrowheads equipped to handle the fiery toads we encountered.", Plodok added

"You presume much Plodok as the labyrinth holds many more threats within its confines besides those fiery toads you encountered.", the king imparted

As the king of Soros became more irritable the guards around him did as well. Malcome had never seen this side of Plodok as the frog's brashness was boiling him in water as the fumes rose up leaving a foul odor in his wake.The frogman was definitely leaping way over his boundaries at this point.

The one person in the room who felt the tension rising up was the prince of Igniton.

Styx began to notice her prince tensing up as she was closest to him, yet she was unprepared for the prince to step towards the King of Soros!

"What you didn't see with your own eyes does not make it untrue!", Prince Trace told the King of Soros

"What audacity!", the king said outright.

Styx was held back by Malcome from going out to retrieve her prince from angering the king of Soros. Though from what Malcome could tell the king almost seemed amused by the challenge telling Styx." Let us see how this plays out. Trace's courage may get through to the king with the addition that he is also of royal blood as well. Status does make a difference."

"It was Inspector Plodok that figured out since I am a prince of Igniton that my lineage goes back to Brahm. Which makes me a descendant of one of the Wizards who bestowed that stone for which you kept guarded.", the prince illuminates

"The fact that you know the location of the eye makes you a threat. I also understand from Plodok himself that you are an outsider of your own kingdom. These two points lead to possibly making you one of the very culprits to have taken the eye.", the king accuses

"The prince has the full support of Eternos behind him!", Malcome cries in the prince's defense.

"I will make you see that I am the key to your labyrinth behind that vault door! I accept your challenge!", the prince tells the king

"That is enough, Trace!", Styx shouts out to him

"I would advise you to listen to your guardian, boy.", the king tells him

This upsets young Trace who feels that he is not being taken seriously though everything is connected to him. Trace feels that he has the answers at least that is what Plodok has partially shown. Trace becomes frustrated at being ignored by the King of Soros.

"One of the Frog riders, the ones outside the city have said that something large is heading through Saurian territory!", a Lizard man guard tells his king from a post nearby a balcony.

"Was there anything else mentioned about this vehicle? Does it pose a threat?", the king asks

The lizard guard replies," Perhaps, the Frogs say that the large vehicle has toppled some of their Ribits before it gave way to a wild horse that left a blazing trail of fire behind it."

"It's him! My other half! Where is he? I need to know!", Trace said as he became distressed.

"We have a visual, your highness!", a lizard guards tells the king as two large monitors are raised from either side of the room.

As the visuals show on both screens from two different angles, the Lion carrier is giving chase to a fiery red horse!

"I can feel him!", Trace says as he holds his head tightly

"What's going on with the boy?", the king of Soros asks Plodok

"He's receiving a precognition in real time the same one that he has been receiving in his nightmares.", Plodok tells the king in the most rational way that he can.

"Eyow!", Plodok screams as he lets go of Trace in pain!

Plodok starts blowing on his webbed hands when Zoomer attends to them. Plodok in pain is also alarmed that both his hands have been scarred from being burned by the prince who begins to run towards an entrance of one of the balconies!

"He's changing!", Styx says as she watches Trace's body begin to metamorphosize right before not just hers but everyone's eyes!

In amazement the prince is transformed into a rather large red bird with flaming wings as it flies out of the castle!

"Go! Archer, go with Plodok as well as the Eternians! Please recover the eye of the Salamander! I will set my guards to the vault door as you requested! Though unless you come back with the eye in no less than two days, I will have to condemn the area leading to the Salamander under a burial of rock!"

The chase is on as both Malcome and Styx reclaim their horses while Zoomer rides Plodoks Ribit across the draw bridge and thusly away from Soros castle! The riders now race from behind a cloudy trail where the back of the Lion carrier can be seen chased by hopping robotic Ribits!

Malcome tries to contact Rotar from his communicator to no avail! There is no reply from the Igiton Titan who was far ahead of Malcome while Styx came in dead last atop Clapper! Malcome tells himself to stay the course as the other Ribits closed in on the Lion Carrier. Though the Fire Horse as seen in the courtroom of the Saurian King was the real catch if anyone could catch up to its blazing lead!

Malcome heard Styx shout at him from behind, so he pulled on Stryder to slow his gallop a little.

"That form...the one my prince changed into...it must be how his other half escaped Igniton Tower!", Styx shouted from behind Malcome as he rode on.

Malcome reimagined in his head for the first time a story read to him as a child which he shouted aloud," Where the Wild Horse Runs to!"

"What?", Styx shouted as she elaborated," That old story book I read to young Trace as a child!"

"Hold on, I have a call to make!", Malcome told Styx as he set out an open signal on his communicator for Plodok to pick up on!

After a bit of static, Plodoks voice came on Malcome's communicator to greet him!

"Inspector Plodok, I as well as Lady Styx have come upon a revelation!", Malcome burst in.

"Don't include me in your halfcocked deduction!", Styx yelled out.

"I do believe that what the young princes are doing is playing out a story called 'Where the Wild Horse Runs to'", Malcome told his friend through his communicator.

Malcome gave a broad smile as he heard Plodok croak with enthusiasm through the communicator!

Then after the transmission suddenly broke off, it came back on with Plodok saying," I am receiving some kind of interference far ahead of us! It is another subsonic frequency that is an anomaly to my Ribit sensors! The signal is leading all of us towards the Desert of Fire!"

Plodok continued on saying," I fear that wherever this strange signal is leading us will be the end of the line!"

"I have little chance of catching up to you though I can follow on till that point!", Malcome insisted on his end of the call through his communicator before adding," However, I cannot get through to Rotar on my communicator! I need to know what his status is could you commandeer the Lion Carrier in order to find out?"

" I will do just that my friend! With as little damage to your vehicle as possible.", Plodok added before telling Malcome,"

"I do not believe Rotar has been compromised in anyway. I just want to know his status, if he's even the one driving the carrier! Though be careful not only of yourself but the carrier as it belongs to my prince not me!", Malcome jested.

"Not to worry friend! Also, I must say that hopefully we do not find an evil wizard as in the story book the two princes are role playing in!", Plodok added forebodingly

Malcome replied in earnest, "One can never be too sure my friend, take care!"

"So, now you suspect Rotar as well?", Styx said scorned.

"I entrusted Rotar with the carrier itself. My intentions are to find out if he is alright!", Malcome corrected

"What you had better hope for is that Rotar does not injure or maim either the frog or lizard! For Rotars first duty is to serve as well as protect the prince not them!", Styx warned with little care.

The Lion Carrier roared along the arid desert sands in pursuit of the fiery horse as it blazed its fiery hooves ahead of it! The Ribits hoped along beside as well as behind the much larger carrier! The Ribit that Plodok was inside of gave chase to the carrier at the center of a V formation!

Zoomer was fidgeting behind Plodok as he spoke into his consol communicator to instruct his fellow riders," At my command, I want all the Ribits beside me in the rear to form a knot on the backside of the pursued vehicle!"

After Plodok gave his command, he fell behind a little in his hopping Ribit which created a gap between both riders beside him. As his Ribit fell backwards away from the carrier, Plodok had a targeting screen on a visual screen above the dashboard which showed a targeting censor zeroing in on the back of the carrier. Once the target was locked into position of the carrier, Plodok yelled into the communicator," Now, make the knot!"

On command, all at once both flanks of Ribits leapt like a long chain with the first two grabbing both sides of the carrier's backside behind its rear wheels! Once anchored onto the back of the carrier with suction cups of their four frog legs the rest inked in the same fashion behind them! The four Ribits pulled on each side of the carrier with enough pull to begin slowing it down a little!

Immediately, Plodok pressed forward on his steering wheel to launch his Ribit high into the air as well as onto the backside of the carrier for a satisfied landing!

"Disengage!", Plodok said into his communicator, "Disengage!", Then just as quickly as the chain of Ribits had latched onto the backside of the carrier they quickly let go of it as they scattered away to resume another V formation behind it!

The Ribit on top of the carrier crawled forward two legs at a time while using the powerful suction to not get flung off as the speed began to hasten once again!

"What are we going to do now?", Zoomer asked in the back seat of the Ribit.

After finally locking the Ribit into a steady position, Plodok hit some controls on the panel of his cockpit before replying," I am about to make a sunroof!"

What Zoomer could not see was that the mouth of the Ribit was opening up at Plodoks command to its widest before a long telescopic prob almost like a tongue revealed itself. The tongue projected itself away from the Ribit before spraying a liquid from its metal appendage. Plodok manipulated the appendage from inside the cockpit as it sprayed its liquid in a circle, around back and around again. The performative action was repeated for many rotations until Plodok automated the Ribit to do it for him.

"The tongue of the Ribit can release a strong acid, which should be powerful enough to make us an entrance.", Plodok said as he leaned back into his chair.

Inside the cockpit of the Lion carrier, Rotar was intent on catching up to the fire horse in front of him! Though his focus was interrupted by an alarm which flashed on the control panel as wall sounded. The sensors of the Lion carriers showed a three-dimensional display of the carrier with some other object on top of it!

In addition, the scanners showed a three-dimensional area in red warning of danger! The area was indicated as the Desert of Fire.

Fairly soon given the speed of the carrier it entered into the Desert of Fire! The area was covered above in smoke as well as around by geysers that shot off streams of fire!

Then a large crash was heard behind the cockpit of the carrier!

"No!", Rotar screamed as he brought the Lion Carrier to a screeching halt in the coarse black sand of the fiery desert! Rotar then activated the mouth of the Lion carrier to open before leaping from his chair to race towards the back of the carrier where he then saw a gaping hole in the roof of the carrier! There was the wreckage of melted metal as well as fumes which rose from under titan as he carefully crawled past the wreckage.

Rotar then hastily made his way below deck to the cargo bay as the mouth of the lion began to open. Once the carrier front entrance was unveiled Rotar was fully concealed within the cockpit of his own vehicle the Tail-Blazer.

The Tail-Blazer shot out from the lion's mouth of the carrier just as the upper section of its torn apart hull was being lifted like a large pan with the suction of the Ribits telescopic tongue!

After flinging the top part of the breached hull with the Ribits tongue, Plodok opened a channel on his control panel, then after connecting he tells Malcome at the other end," Your driver of the carrier has made a break for it in a blazing fast ride of his own!"

"Get on after him! Stay on his tail until I can catch up to the carrier and join in!", Malcome hurriedly replies just as he sees the dark horizon of the flaming Desert of Fire in the distance before him!

"I am all of red beats which probably wouldn't calm Capper down if I did have any!", Styx says as her horse becomes extremely frightened dispute keeping pace.

"I am hoping the carrier is not far past the threshold between both deserts!", Malcome says to ease Styx nerves as both riders get closer to the hellscape before them.

"There is a large craterous chasm which the fire horse has treaded into! Along with the rider chasing it!", A frogman relays to Plodok who has once again given chase on his Ribit!

There is a wide girth between the wildfire horse to what is a craterous platform before a cave where a cracked red column reaches above it! The closest chaser of the wild horse is the Tail-Blazer as it is driven by Rotar though unseen to him a fiery spark seemingly falls from the blackened sky surrounding the open chasm!

The spark then forms into a shape as first as a pair of wings then a whole bird of prey! The bird of prey makes its mark like a meteoric missile atop the wild horses back! The fiery horse loses control as it tries to shake loose its attacker! A trail of fire is left behind the wild horse as it zig-zags around the open chasm! The frenzied fire horse becomes crazed as its mount begins to change from a fiery hawk into a somewhat larger figure.

The wild horse regains its senses enough to continue towards its destination until it collapses before the platform along with its rider who is shown lying beside its crazed ride as an unconscious prince Trace!

On the platform where the maw of the darkened cave emerged three figures. In what could be representative the shape of a triangle a golden armored figure tall as well as masculine stands at point where beside him stand two women. To the gold-plated warriors right is a tall red-haired woman in a red almost feathered cape wearing a half golden mask partially covering a lifeless black eye on her left side. The frightful woman carried a golden birdcage in her right hand while her lowered left arm clenched a small box in its talon like grip raising up the lifeless robotic arm to the elbow then halfway towards the shoulder sits a robotic red winded bird. The women on the left side of the menacing golden warrior tall as well dark, who had long white hair a slender face, long neck with a necklace of bold blue while most of her shapely body was bare save for a short bosomy purple cloth tied to a cape that reached to the bottom of her bare backside while below her midriff was a purple cloth only covered her crotch which let opened her thighs as well white covered buttocks.

Plodok caught up to his Ribit riders all lined up in a row as they watched ahead of them the lone warrior Rotar exiting his vehicle. Plodok noticed that the subsonic anomaly was not showing up anymore on his frequency readings. A voice came through on the intercom, it was Malcome saying that he along with Styx had made it safely to the Lion carrier.

"We've caught up to the prince's other half as well as the prince himself; they are both unconscious by the broken tail or the back entrance into the Salamanders Labyrinth.", Plodok explains

"Rotar is on the field where the two princes lay, there are three unknown figures atop the platform leading into the Salamanders Labyrinth."

"I will be there shortly in the meantime can you find out what's going on?", Malcome asks

"I thought you would never ask, friend Malcome!", Plodok says before signing off.

"Attention Ribit riders!", Plodok informs his contingent," I one half to encircle the one that we had been chasing, his name is Rotar!"

"Everyone else follow my lead as we introduce ourselves to the three strangers atop the platform!", Plodok ordered the rest of his Frogmen contingent.

The first batch of Ribits rapidly encircle Rotar who is close to the unconsious princes.

The rest of the Ribits lead by Plodok meet the strangers where they are at above the platform.

The four Ribits that surround the strangers on the platform open their mouth to reveal several sonic blasters as Plodok warns," Give yourselves up now or get sonic blasted! The choice is yours!"

"Get behind me ladies!", the gold faced warrior tells the two women behind him as he gets in front of them.

"Blast him!", Plodok orders his riders who begin to emit high frequency sonic attacks from the mouths of their Ribits to no avail!

The sonic blasters attack i somehow nullified to silence in the palm of the warriors red gauntleted hand then he stands aside to announce," Shadow Ninjaku, attack! Slay these absurd creatures who threaten me your master!"

The so-called Ninjaku who appear as masked fighters clad in black uniforms unleash themselves upon the riders inside there Ribits! Though what appear as shadow warriors turn out to be more shadowy silhouettes in the form of a warriors as nothing can stop their assault! The Ninjaku pass through the yellow domes of the Ribit cockpits like phantoms where they perform what their master commanded them to do!

Only Plodok escapes as he ejects from his cockpit with Zoomer in the back seat!

Plodok shoots his sonic blaster at the platform as his seated portion parachute down towards the ground where more Ninjaku await them. The other Ribit riders turn to face the attacking Ninjaku which breaks up their circled formation around Rotar!

The leaping Ribits make it harder for the Ninjku with their shadow swords to slay as they did with the idle ones.

"It's just no use my sonic blasts do nothing against these shadow creatures!", Plodok told Zoomer who seemed to be thinking while reaching into his quiver.

"Do you have a special arrow in that quiver of yours Zoomy?", A concerned Plodok asked as their green parasol lowered them towards there doom.

"I have an arrow for incoprorial creatures somewhere in here...", Zoomer said as he searched with just the tips of his four yellow fingers.

"Grab the twin flames, bring them to me!", The gold faced warrior ordered his Ninjaku warriors.

The red-haired women reached out with her clenched taloned arm while still held its small case to touch one of the Ribits with its deceased rider inside which charged the Robot to life! The women performed the same act onto the other two Ribits. The women then sent her controlled Ribits after the slowly descending duo of Plodok and Zoomer!

The Robots trained their open mouths with sonic blasters inside them at the pair when the where shattered apart by a controlled funnel of hot air! Rotar continued his hot air attack on the Ninjaku with his triple-headed mace as it blew their lithe bodies away! Rotar guarded the descending duo until they landed safely on the ground.

"You must be Rotar we thank you kindly for saving us!", Plodok told Rotar who stood silent staring a hole into the women in the red cape.

The Ninjaku had grabbed the princes while Rotar was busy saving Plodok and Zoomer when in addition to that the loud thunder of the Lion carrier could be heard from behind him.

The platform which the villains stood on was being lowered back down to the ground to accept the princes being carried to them by the Ninjaku.

"Rotar return with us to our sanctuary. Your obligation is to protect prince Trace, which I will honor so long as you join me!", the women in the red cape offered a stoic Rotar.

Malcome came charging with in with Stridor at the villains stealing away the prince along with his other half! This was until Malcome along with his steed stridor were driven to the ground by a freezing blast of cold! Though before the treacherous cold could cause them more than unconsciousness, Rotar blocked its path with his shield, thus saving both Malcome and Strider!

"Nooo! The emboldened fool keeps me from nourishment!", cursed the dark women with white hair.

Then an arrow struck the dark women in her right shoulder causing it to become numb until she herself was becoming solid ice!

"I have one more arrow that should intensify your transformation!", Zoomer said until the women he was aiming at looked into his eyes with a dark and petrifying stare that halted Zoomers aim as well as his courage.

Zoomer's body shivered in freight as he lost his nerve to shoot his second arrow at the dark women!

"What did that woman do to you?", Plodok asked as he tried to comfort his friend Zoomer.

"Behold!", the red -haired woman told Rotar as she opened the small box with her taloned hand to reveal two round shaped orbs the size of marbles one was red while the other blue in her possession!

This was all that was left to convince Rotar to come join her as he came onto the platform as it rose back up the opening above them.

Plodok yelled out as he used some sort of pen sized gadget to blink into Zoomers eyes in order to snap him out of his freight, "The eyes! The villains have both eyes!

The gold masked warrior announced before he went into the opening behind the others, "I now leave you with the shame of utter defeat! Though one of your own has joined in with my other accomplice know that if we were to ever cross paths again that your defeat would be more that final it would be everlasting! Lord Komodo has spoken!"

Then without a care the only one to have introduced themselves takes his leave back into the darkness of the entranceway until it explodes from within!

"The entranceway is completely sealed off in a pile of rubble!", Plodok says as Malcome starts to recover from his cold snap.

Once they are all able to all three compatriots including the horse Strider make their way back onboard where Styx the witch has been waiting with concern for their return.

It is Plodok who is the most qualified as well as able to drive the Lion carrier away from the area which now becomes more unstable with loud tremors being heard in the distance.

Plodok pleads with Malcome about returning to Pacwad which becomes a unanimous decision,

Unfortunately, upon their return along with Zoomer the most despondent of news is learned at Lucida. Where in a specially sealed casket afloat in a small pond lies a comatose Gomot as seen through a glass capsule. Gomot is asleep in-between two worlds the alive and the awake represented by lying partially afloat above as well below the water of the pond.