measure.
Over the eons, my kinfolk moved on.
Leaving me to guard the sin.
When was the last to leave?
It has been so very long.”
Finally, we arrive at a set of massive stone doors
Etched with glyphs of history and wars
As they creak open
“As I said,” The griffin continues peering into the dark
“The Sin is...” He stops for a moment
Falls silent and then
We can feel his mana grow unstable when...
“Where is it!!!!!”
He lets out a roar shaking the foundation
Piercing our ears
He looks at us
His eyes sear
Consumed by rage he can no longer think clear
“Run!” I call as we bolt down the hall
He gives chase, pouncing off the walls
Heading left then right
This place like a maze
Finally reaching a dead end
A thousand mile drop
Looking down, my head's in a daze
“No choice.” Leigh says “We have to fight.”
Watching her light her flames I know she's right
Still his loneliness a result of losing his pride
I conjure mana in my hand as my chest squeezes tight
His animal instincts - He crouches forward to attack
Aiming directly at him Leigh fires a blast
With his massive wings he gives a flap
Extinguishing the fire, with a shockwave, we're knocked back
Almost knocked off the edge
Safe, only barely
He pounces forward at Leigh
And it's scary, very
Claws out ready to shred
I leap in front, throwing up my strongest mana shield
And he cuts through it like bread
Losing my balance as the claws come at me
Instantly, I drop
And part of me is happy
I honestly didn't want to cause him anymore pain
All too often that's the name of the game
Falling, falling, suddenly I'm caught
By a net made of mana
Under my weight it's taunt
Then, like an elevator, it begins going up
Arriving back where I started he jabs at me
“Way to show him your stuff.”
Tom stands before me
Containing the beast
With nothing but his power
I guess I can thank him at least
The griffin struggles against it's mana confinement
“This is turning out,” Tom gives a grin “to be one pain
of an assignment.
I got what I need.
How bout you?
What say we hit the road without further adieu?”
Trial 8: Taxing Taxi
Through a flaming corridor
Courtesy of Leigh
We arrive on the shores of Tampa Bay
Florida, beautiful as the sun sinks low
The whiplash of the weather change, a warm breeze
blows
We stand in silence, the three of us hold
Waiting for the others to speak what needs to be told
“Well,” Leigh starts “Guess we owe you a thanks.”
“That would do for a start,” Tom remarks while here on
the banks
“Well, I'm waiting.” He looks at me smug
“Yeah, yeah.” I mumble
You have no idea how raw this rubs
“Th-thank you.” My tone almost inaudible
“I'm sorry?” He grins “I couldn't quite hear you.”
“Thank you.” I groan.
“Once more with feeling!”
“That's it! Keep it up and you're gonna be bent over
keeling.”
“I'm just messing with you.
So, what now?” He asks
“Well,” Leigh begins “We've touched on all the prior
thefts.
Now, I suppose we do our best.
We need to make sure no other Sins get stolen.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” I say “Let's get
rolling.”
“And I take it you know where the other Sins are?”
Tom's words hit like a kidney punch, hard
“Do you?” I ask
“As a matter of fact I do, buddy.
Considering we're on the east coast
The easiest Sin to go for now would be the Sin of
glutony.”
“And what makes you say that?” My jaw tense as I ask
“Because Nate, The Griffin had a map
Hanging clearly in one of the chambers.
I took a quick peek before you sparked the danger.”
“You're saying it's my fault?”
Instantly, a line of flames sparks the sand
“Boys!” Leigh snaps “Stay on task!”
As quickly as they came, the flames don't last
“Tom, where?” She continues
“On the top right border,” He says calmly “of Missouri
and Illinois.”
“No.” I sink my head in disappointment
“You're positive?”
“No.” His tone sarcastic “I just heard they have great
ointment.
You know it?”
“Dragon's peak.” I say begrudgingly
“It's a hidden town of murderers and thieves.
There's only one way to get there.
You can't do it by any other means.”
“And just what exactly is the way to get there?” Tom's
tone full of snide
“The devil's taxi,
Also known as the taxing taxi.”
“I thought that was a fairy tale?” Tom quickly replies
“Made up by O.D.s who couldn't get the job done right.
If they lost a perp, they'd blame it on the taxing taxi.”
“And Goblins, magic, and Jack Frost aren't fairy tales?”
I say
With that he's dumbfounded, he hasn't got an answer
The point is mine
He's in my palm like a tiny little dancer
“The taxi's real,” I continue “And it is untraceable.
That's because the passenger's mana is the fuel.
It drains you.
And if you're not careful it can kill you too.
So, try not to call it if you can't see it through.
Pull out one gold shilling each.” I say
“What for?” He asks
I simply give him the look as he responds “Okay. Okay.”
Myself, Tom, and Leigh pull out our coin
“Flip em in the air as high as you can.”
My tone, uneasy
I swore I'd never go back
Once in the air, I throw a scatter-ball of mana at them
Knocking them away like a baseball bat
Suddenly, a shadowy vortex appears
With a slimy devil hand grabbing the coins, clear
Then it holds up five fingers covered in grime
“That,” I say “Would be our wait time.”
“Well, well, brother. I'm
