There was a flash of light. Then he was moving through space and time at an incredible speed. Suddenly, it was over, and Cole found himself lying face down in the mud. The Dragonmaster pulled himself up on his elbows and wiped the mud from his eyes. A gray overcast sky was shedding a pale light down upon the dead plain on which the Dragonmaster and his friends found themselves. Cole got to his feet and continued to clean himself off. "Where are we?" he asked to anyone who was listening.
"Gimme a second," answered Connery, who was kneeling down and writing something in the mud. Finally, he picked up his Spear and rose. "According to my calculations, it has only been about a fraction of a second since we stepped into the portal."
Mirage pulled himself up and made his way over to the thief. "Then how come it's day now?"
"Time zones," Connery said simply as if that explained everything. The thief released a sigh when the other four men looked at him blankly. "The sun hits different parts of the world at different times of the day and night. Right now, since it's early in the day here, night time has just begun over on the Western continent. And since it was just a few hours till morning near Yin-Pral, it is already day here. Understand?"
Cole nodded even though he was only slightly sure about what the little thief just said. "You still haven't said where we are, Connery."
Connery scratched his chin. "Well if my guess is right, we're very close to Yis-Toril."
"There's some good news," said Mirage.
Argile secured his Axe to his back and joined the conversation. "Considering our position, what should we do next?"
Cole quickly cleaned the blood from his Sword and sheathed it. Next he took in the plain on which he and the Knights had landed. He guessed that at one time, the plain had been covered in rich green grass. But now, only gray dirt could be seen for miles. To his north, a very impressive mountain range dominated the horizon. "Something's not right," he said finally.
"I agree," concurred Fox. "Why aren't there any troops guarding this portal?"
"Overconfidence?" suggested Connery.
Cole shook his head. "We need to watch ourselves from this point on. We're right in the middle of the lions den, and that means the danger is ten fold."
"So where do we go from here?" asked Mirage.
Cole pointed to a mass of dark clouds in the distance. "I'd bet the Destiny that's where Yis-Toril is." The Dragonmaster removed his Helmet and pulled his cloak tighter around his Armor. "Deactivate the magic of your Crests unless we're attacked. The less conspicuous we are, the better."
The Knights obliged, and there was a colored flash around each of them. Weapons secured, the five heroes resumed their trek to Yis-Toril. By night fall, they could see the lights from the city itself. But what caught their attention the most, was the ominous black tower that reached all the way up past the clouds. "I don't like this," whispered Mirage.
"There is something very powerful and very evil in that city," added Argile.
Cole nodded silently. "Let's keep moving," he ordered. "We should make the city's outskirts in another couple of hours."
The closer they came to the city, the more signs of life the five saw. Work teams of humans were lugging mined ores by the tones back and forth from the city. The terrain around the city became more rocky and tough. The five heroes were able to conceal their themselves by making use of the land around them. They made their way close to one of the work details, and quickly dispatched three of the dark armored soldiers. Mirage and Fox clasped on that dark full plate armor while the other three men donned thick cloaks to hide their weapons and identities.
With the two fake guards in the lead, the five men integrated themselves with the worker gang heading back inside the walls of the city. Cole took a heavy load away from an old man. "Thank you, dear boy," said the man.
Cole smiled back. "My pleasure, sir. You just take it easy until we get into the city."
The gang continued on until it came to the high walls that surrounded the city. Dark armored soldiers with whips were there to greet them and hurry the slaves onward. Cole resisted the urge to lash out and kill the dark soldiers. He grudgingly followed their commands and dumped the bag of ore into a nearby pile. A large horn sounded throughout the city, and soldiers started yelling at the slaves to quickly eat their dinner and get back to work. By this time, Fox and Mirage had ditched their borrowed armor for cloaks and rejoined the others.
Cole and the Knights followed the old man to a tent where a thick gruel was being handed out. Each man took his share and found a seat at a nearby table. Cole was disheartened by the condition of the city. Once paved streets were now nothing but mud, all of the buildings were falling apart, the people were all dressed in tattered rags, and in the very center of the once great city sat the black tower reaching into the sky. There was a shuffle next to Cole, and the old man from earlier sat beside him. "May I sit with you, my friend?" asked the old man.
"Certainly," replied Cole as he slid over on the bench to make room.
The old man quickly ate his gruel. Cole watched the poor man as he licked to bottom of the bowl to get the last of the horrible food. When he finished, Cole pushed his own bowl of gruel in front of the old man. The old one's eye went wide, and Cole simply nodded and smiled. The other tore into the food with ferocity. "I haven't seen you here before," said the man as he ate. "Were you brought in from another captured city?"
"Not exactly," said Mirage.
Just then, Cole's elbow slipped off of the table, and his cloak felt part way open. The old man caught a glimpse of the Dragon Armor, and his eyes went wide. "I know you," he said in a awed whisper. "You are the Dragonmaster from the West! Have you come to save us!?"
The old timer started to get excited, and Cole was forced to put a hand over the other's toothless mouth. "Yes, I'm here to help you and your people. But first I need to know about the one who leads the dark forces which have enslaved the Empire."
The old timer looked around cautiously and then pointed to the black tower. "He came with his Knights and Dragons and destroyed the military. Then he killed the Emperor and seized control of the Empire. He lives in the black tower called Xobelisk. In fact, he calls all of Yis-Toril Xobelisk."
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" asked Argile.
The old man's face creased with concentration. "Yes. Just a couple of days ago, one of the Dragons returned with, supposedly, a very important prisoner. I couldn't see much except that it was a woman, and that she had a mix of blue and blond hair."
Cole's face went pale at what the man had just said. "Leeta," he breathed. Then he was on his feet and moving.
"Ah shit," groaned Connery. "Loverboy strikes again." The thief and the other Knights rose to give chase to their leader.
Fox pushed the other bowls of gruel in front of the old man before getting up himself. "Thank you, old one. Have these as a token of our thanks." Then he charged after Cole with the others.
The old man watched the four men dash from the table to try and catch the fool Dragonmaster. He slowly rose, and as he did so, his shape began to change. Moments later, the thin, pale form of Thiss stood in his place. The Shadow Dragon gave a small chuckle. "Those fools have fallen right into our trap. Master Kole will be pleased." He nodded his head and disappeared into the shadows.
Cole had done the one thing he couldn't. He let his emotions get the better of him. With only one thought in his mind, the Dragonmaster cut down the guards outside of Xobelisk Tower in seconds. When the Knights finally caught up with him, he was already disappearing inside the shadowed entrance to the Tower. The inside of the Tower was constructed of the same fathomless black material as the outside. But what struck Cole as odd, was the fact that the first floor was much larger than the outside view suggested. Weapons drawn, the five heroes made their way through the black walled halls of Xobelisk.
Connery was constantly looking up. "There isn't a single torch in sight, yet there is plenty of light in these halls." He tapped the wall to his left with the tip of his Spear. "And these walls..."
The White Knight didn't get to finish his sentence. The fathomless wall suddenly shot out and absorbed the small thief. "Connery!" cried everyone at once, but it was too late. He was gone.
Cole slammed his fist against the wall, which was once again solid. "Dammit! This is all my fault! If only I'd been paying more attention!"
"Yes, you were not thinking before you acted, my friend," answered Fox in a much calmer tone. "But it will do no good to continue to blame yourself at this time. We must focus on finding Connery and, if she is truly here, Leeta."
The Dragonmaster could only nod. He raised the tip of his Sword and led the Knights deeper into the Tower. Moments later, the hall ended and turned into a large oval chamber. Cole took two steps into the chamber, when the walls came alive. Armored figures leapt out at the heroes from all directions. The Goddess' Sword burst into white flames as Cole made several wild slashes to keep his foes at bay. Cole reached his left arm into his cloak, and it reemerged with the Dragon Shield.
There were colored flashes all around the Dragonmaster as the Dragon Knights activated their Crests. With his team set, Cole focused on his enemies. But every time his eyes fell on one, they seemed to be nothing but a shadow. One of the shadow creatures lunged at him. Althena's Blade burst into white fire again when Cole went to counter. The creature cried out in pain and dissolved from the Sword's pure light. The other shadow creatures attacked, and the Knights struck back in kind. Weapons flaring with colored fire, each Knight was able to keep their mysterious foes at bay. "How long do you think we can keep this up?" yelled Mirage.
Cole shrugged. "At least until something stronger comes along."
Suddenly, Argile cried out as eight of the creatures converged on him. The shadows covered his massive body and pulled the Black Knight to the ground. Cole tried to fight to the big man, but the rest of the shadow beasts attacked again. None of the other three men could reach Argile in time, and the Knight was sucked into the floor. Then as suddenly as they had appeared, the shadows dissolved back into the walls of Xobelisk.
Cole screamed a stream of curses and charged out of the room, with Fox and Mirage on his heels, in search of his kidnapped friends. He quickly came upon a stair case and scaled it without a second thought. The three men had gone up several flights when it finally ended. They entered a new chamber, and there was a pack of nergols there to meet them. "Dragon Flame!"Êflew from Cole's lips before anyone else could act. The dragon of flame incinerated the Viles instantly. The heroes left the burning ashes and continued their way through the never ending halls and passages of Xobelisk.
"It feels like we're going up," remarked Mirage.
Cole's only reply was an increase in his pace. The minutes passed until they came to another set of stairs. Cole took a quick look up his intended path and began his ascent. They had gone only a few feet up the staircase, when dozens of bony arms emerged from the walls. Fox howled in pain and frustration. Several claws grabbed him by the legs and pulled him into the wall. Cole and Mirage called out in horror as another of their friends was taken away. The bone hands disappeared.
The remaining two heroes said nothing. Cole tightened his Helmet and Shield and continued to climb. The two men went up another couple of flights before the stairs ended. This time, they found themselves in a room filled with hanging chains. Cole knew what was coming, but he had no way to defend himself. The chains shot down from above and wrapped themselves around the Dragonmaster and the Blue Knight. Both Cole and Mirage were pulled up into the darkness.
Cole lost track of Mirage immediately. He could feel himself being pulled upward at a tremendous speed. Anger burned in every portion of Cole's body. With a thought, Cole transformed that anger into an intense flame with which he burned through the chains. His metal bonds relinquished their hold, and Cole plummeted into the dark void around him. And then he landed on solid ground.
The Dragonmaster slowly rose to his feet. Sword ready, he started forward. He was now in a rather large chamber. Aside from the usual black walls, there were a number of pillars as well. Once again, the room was lit by an unseen light source. Ahead, Cole saw a table with what looked like maps laid out on its surface. His feet moved a little faster, and the Dragonmaster was soon looking down on a map dated back to the time of the Great War. There were marks all over the map, but several especially caught Cole's attention. A few areas on the map were circled in red paint. There was a circle on the Western continent, one was around an area six hundred miles southwest of Xobelisk, and there were a few more spread out across the map. But Cole's eyes were drawn back to the one closest to Xobelisk. It was a mountain range. "No, it couldn't be," he said in a whisper.
A foot step echoed somewhere in the chamber. Cole spun around, ready to fight. A lone figure stepped from the shadows, and the green eyed warrior's face went pale. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever get here," said a mirror image of the Dragonmaster.