The Scavenger took a deep breath and said, “We must aim at different parts. James, use your power to prevent the Loch from going underwater. Daniel – you attack the lower part, which will be inside the water. Archer, you attack the upper part, which will be outside the water, so that the water does not nullify your fire. And Matt, you help move me wherever I can cause maximum damage.”
The children nodded with determination. Suddenly, the Loch burst out of the water.
The Scavenger engaged the Loch, while the children assumed their positions quickly.
James drifted the water away from the Monster. In a flash, Daniel uprooted a tree and entangled the Loch’s lower tail. Without losing any time, Archer climbed the upper tail and blew fire all over it. Matt summoned a small tornado about the height of the Scavenger. The Scavenger boarded the tornado and shot towards the Loch.
Realizing that it was weakening, the Loch lurched to the lake, but James was ready.
Concentrating hard, James lifted the water of the lake very high into the sky, leaving the land dry. The Loch hit the ground, confused.
The Scavenger raised the Lightning Sword and roared. A lightning bolt fell from the sky, striking the Loch hard.
When the bolt struck, there was a massive explosion. The Scavenger jumped away from the lake area and James let the huge waterbody down. The sheer power of the attack was too much for the Loch Ness Monster to handle. It disintegrated into pieces and disappeared.
The Scavenger grinned. They had won.
***
News
The voice was cold, dark and evil. Archer felt terror.
Archer was in a dimly lit room. He could see a man in dark robes and a hood.
Kneeling in front of him was a man that Archer recognized – Triton.
“My Lord,” Triton said, his voice shaking. “We… we couldn’t d-do anything!”
COULDN’T DO ANYTHING! The man in the robes shouted. You had five prisoners! FIVE! And how many Black Hunters were with you? More than five hundred! And you couldn’t stop them!
Triton winced. “My Lord, he used magic to escape…”
Of course, you fool, the man said. What did you do to prevent that?
Triton hung his head. “I… I am sorry, my Lord.”
The man flexed his arms. Leave at once, warrior, before I kill you! You’re alive this moment only because I need you to head the Black Hoods! Leave!
Triton hurried away from the room. He opened a door and went outside.
Archer suddenly heard the man talking to himself.
My enemies are close, the man said. Yes… I am coming. The first piece will be mine, and only mine!
The man started to walk towards the door. Yes… For decades, I have been searching for the first piece. Now, I know where it is… I am coming for you, Scavenger…
“What…?” Archer exclaimed, waking up.
The Scavenger was shaking him. “Come on! We have to reach the Tomb of Death quickly before the Death Lord reaches there.”
Archer looked around groggily, taking in the grey and barren landscape, the trees devoid of leaves. The sun beat down hard. For a moment, Archer wondered where he was.
Then he remembered his dream.
“Triton, the man in robe… where… how…?” he mumbled.
“Whoa, whoa,” the Scavenger said. “What are you saying?”
Archer took a deep breath. “Well, I had this dream…”
Daniel, Matt and James woke up groaning too. They listened wide-eyed as Archer narrated his dream.
When he finished, James clicked his fingers.
“The Elite Warrior,” he said. “Of course it would be him. It seems he has told the Death Lord about the Tomb of Death.”
“Wait,” Archer said. “So you are assuming the man in robes was the Death Lord?”
The Scavenger replied, “Yes. Who else could he be?”
“But you said the Death Lord was hunting for the first piece, so how could he be in Triton’s lair?” Matt probed.
“Unless he wasn’t there at all,” the Scavenger finished. “He must be meeting Triton somewhere else.”
“Well, who cares?” Daniel said. “I think we should reach the Tomb of Death fast.”
“You are right,” the Scavenger said, picking up his backpack.
The Scavenger whistled, and five white steeds came running up to them. The children helped the Scavenger saddle them.
With another whistle, the horses took off. The children whooped in delight.
The horses stopped after an hour and trotted about nervously.
Archer looked ahead to see a waterfall with a snow-clad mountain rising from above it. There was a hole on the top of the mountain and, though it looked serene, the horses whimpered nervously.
“We have to leave the horses,” the Scavenger said. “Something’s disturbing them.”
Everyone dismounted and the horses disappeared.
Daniel’s horse threw him off before he could dismount.
“That horse hates me,” Daniel grumbled, brushing himself.
“We will have to climb those rocks to reach the mountain,” the Scavenger said, leading the children forward. He muttered a spell and a rope with a hook appeared in everyone’s hands.
“Follow me,” the Scavenger said, swinging his rope.
When the rope gained speed, the Scavenger let it go. It got hold of a rock. The Scavenger tugged it to make sure it would not slip. Then he shimmied up the cord and went down to the rock. He freed the hook and threw it away. Then he slowly made his way up to the mountain.
Matt did the same as Archer followed. Then came Daniel, and finally James.
After a strenuous climb, they were on top of the mountain.
James looked down the hole. “What’s inside?”
The Scavenger looked at him. “Only one way to find out.” And he jumped.
Everyone followed.
10
Matt landed on a soft ground, perplexed.
But then he sensed that the soft ground was neither clay nor soil, but covered with tendrils. He jumped ahead.
The tendrils and creepers entwined around his legs, bringing him down. He struggled to free himself, but the vines had him trapped.
“Don’t fight back!” the Scavenger shouted. “It will only get worse!”
Matt raised his head to find the Scavenger and his other friends safe on the other side.
Matt
