49 Into The Inferno Part 1 (1/2)

The walk to the mountain was rather uneventful, not that Finn was expecting it to be. He kept a respectful distance away from Orn and Hein as they spoke quietly to eachother along the way. However, he was not bored, because he had quite a talkative companion by his side.

”I can't believe she is making me come with you! How could she do this to me? Do you not realize how much danger there is...”

Maorn's complaining was constant as he adjusted the glasses on his nose, and he only did so in Finn's language to prevent the Chief from hearing, which Finn found amusing.

Finn could tell Maorn was terrified of coming along, not that he could blame him. He didn't feel even an ounce of strength coming from his lanky form. Although for Maorn, that might actually be a blessing.

In Finn's view, because Maorn was so weak, it meant that he would be virtually invisible. Why would the fire drake waste even a second on him when there were much bigger threats nearby? His strength was his intelligence, not his combat abilities.

Even so, it was still possible to be hurt in the crossfire, so when they got there, Finn would be sure to have him stay a safe distance away.

Hours passed as they walked, and Finn found himself impressed at Maorn's stamina. Having judged him as a bookworm type, Finn was pleasantly surprised that Maorn didn't even look to be breaking a sweat even after all this time.

Hmm, I guess all the traveling he's done really makes a difference... Finn didn't even consider the same for the Chief and his son, but for a normal human, it was quite impressive.

It took many hours before the group reached the base of the mountain of their former home. Taking a long pause, Finn could hear the Chief speaking lowly to his son. Although he couldn't understand it, Finn could hear the sadness in his voice.

Just like he remembered, Finn walked up the same path he did before, eventually coming upon the entrance to the stone village. Walking past the abandoned homes, Finn could feel fluctuations in power coming from the redhead.

Looking up, Finn saw Hein looking at each and every stone house, his shoulders tense in anger as flickers of flame peeled off his clothes. He saw Orn grab his son's shoulder and say something to him. Immediately, the energy fluctuations ceased as Hein regained control of himself.

That lasted until they came upon the harrowing scene of the central square. It was unchanged since the last time Finn saw it.

Destruction and carnage, with bodies scorched black strewn about in various states of despair, burnt alive in their death poses.

Finn could feel pulses of power eminate from both Orn and Hein as they looked upon the scene. To them, it served as a reminder of what they were fighting for, motivation for what they must do.

After a brief moment of silence, the group continued on, lead by Orn and Hein up the mountain path. As they grew closer to the cave, Finn's instincts started whispering softly to him, that there was danger ahead.

The whispers grew into shouts, which turned into screams as he drew near. It wasn't long before the group were all standing a distance away from the dreaded cave. Just like he remembered, the entire area around the entrance was scorched black from intense flame, likely the fire drake marking its territory.

”We're here...” Orn grunted as he unhooked his his whip from his belt. Reaching back, Orn also grabbed the spear attached to a loop on his back under the shield. Hein followed suit, unslinging the bow off his back.

Once they were ready, Orn signaled for a group huddle. ”Remember, we will engage the beast. If you see an opportunity, you take it. I'll... leave it to your discretion.” Orn explained Finn's role in this fight.

After Maorn translated and seeing Finn nod, Orn donned a grim smile. ”There are no guarantees in this fight. This beast is powerful, and you must not let your guard down.”

Hein slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a smile. ”Don't be so melodramatic old man. We won't die so easily!”

In spite of the situation, Orn smiled at his son, reaching his arm out. ”If we die, we will die gloriously.

Hein laughed and clasped arms with his father. ”That's the spirit! Let's kill this bastard!”

While the father and son duo said their pieces, Finn nudged Maorn with his claw. It was time for him to retreat to a safe distance. Writing down in the dirt, Maorn read what he saw out loud.

”It's time for you to go. Move a safe distance away. Flee if it becomes too dangerous.”

Maorn looked up at Finn and nodded. Patting his large claw, he said with sincerity, ”Good luck, and may the goddesses bless you.”

With that, Maorn backed away and started running to safety. Finn watched him leave, and turned his attention to the cave where his instincts were telling him to follow in Maorn's footsteps.

However, deep inside his heart, Finn actually felt kind of excited. It was the knowledge that he was willingly doing something dangerous that gave him a feeling of morbid anticipation.

Standing right in front of the line that designated the fire drake's territory, Orn asked one final time. ”Are you ready?”

Hein smirked as his grip on his bow tightened. ”Let's do this!”

Nodding in satisfaction, Orn tightened his grip on his spear as the duo stepped over the divide. All at once, they released their suppressed auras completely.

Wow... Finn was in awe of the strength he sensed from the two humans. It was like a tidal wave of force slamming into him, the heavy oppressive aura from the father was only matched by the violent and explosive aura of his son.

As it was predicted, Finn wasn't the only being who sensed the appearance of two powerful auras...

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

A deep and menacing growl emanated from the depths of the cave in the distance. An orange glow appeared in its depths, which illuminated the inside of the cave as it approached the entrance.

When that monster reached the opening, Finn was reminded exactly how terrifying the fire drake really was. The orange glow was created from the drake's body, which was currently on fire. It looked as though someone had doused its blood red scales in gasoline and set it ablaze.

Seemingly taking its time, the beast casually strode out of its cave, each step causing the earth to tremble a bit. As it drew closer, Finn was further reminded just how small he really was. This massive beast was over two and a half times his size by comparison.