Chapter Twenty One: A dangerous meeting
Zonder and company continued to move at a swift pace through the South lands as they were quickly approaching the dark mountain ahead, along the way plenty of bandits and robbers could be seen but Zonder did his best to ignore anything wrong he saw and keep going on with the team.
?Alright guys up ahead there is a path that leads straight to the mountain, we can follow it up and be there within 30 minutes.? shodaime said still leading the group. They took the path as they entered the forest and up it they went. The path was warm under their feet as if it was being heated, it was bumpy and cracked as if it was traveled a lot but since they had got on it there had been no one in sight.
?Why is it so empty here, I would think in these heavy woods there would be all kinds of lurking activity but I sense nothing.? Zonder asked Pride.
?This path is known as The Trail of Death and the mountain we are headed for is known as the Murder Horn, few dare venture this path their and those who do either don?t come back or don?t come back complete.? shodaime replied.
?So wait you have never been here before, none of you guys have?? Zonder asked.
?None of them have thought I have traveled up this path once before in search of power, I was lucky to make it out alive but I remember the way so fear not.? shodaime said to him trying to relax Zonder.
?Don?t over think everything, just go along for the ride and see where we end up.? bishamonsama yelled up.
?Yup, just keep going head on and everything works out in the end!.? Madara followed up.
Zonder noted what they said as Rei Uchiha seemed to just be trying to hold her cheerful smile. A few minutes later shodaime stopped ahead and so did they as they had not noticed they were just feet away from entering the Murder Horns base, this mountain was huge but cracks going through it would serve as paths for them to move through quickly, As they entered the heat below there feet increased and a smog filled wind began blowing making it hard to see in front of them for moments.
?Keep moving up shodaime said jumping from rock to rock as he and the others ascended the mountain upwards, shodaime finally came to the top and caught a break from the wind and heat below as the others soon followed.
?Man this place sucks, glad I was born in the West.? madara said proudly.
?We sure are high, I hope its safe, we were going up through that smog for awhile.? Rei Uchiha said looking around.
?Well yeah we are pretty high up there but it will be easier to move now and find that castle.? shodaime said also looking around.
Madara however had made his way over to the very edge of the spot they were now on and was looking down and in the distance.
?Hey guys come here!? Zanji said yelling and pointing below. ?Is that the castle?? He asked.
?Woah, good eyes Zanji.? shodaime said with a bit of shock, the castle they were looking at was dark and fire and smoke shot out from it, even though it was hard to see from this distance it was clear this was the place they were looking for.
They began traveling down and around towards the castle being careful to avoid being spotted by any well placed spies they could not feel. shodaime, Zanji and Rei Uchiha were ahead and Madara had fallen back to talk to Zonder.
?So man, we are almost at show time, you ready to fight?? Madara asked.
?Of course and not only that, I plan to win, get the info I need and finish this job quickly.? Zonder said with confidence. They gave half laughs and kept going but as Madara stepped over a rock he seemed to trigger a trap and the ground below them collapsed as shodaime, Zanji Rei Uchiha turned around just to see them fall away and out. The ground reformed in the spot they dropped so there was no way to get to them now.
?What do we do zanji?? Rei Uchiha said with much panic in her voice.
?We keep going and pray like hell we meet up with them later.? zanji said turning to Pride who nodded and they continued.
Zondre and Madara were sliding down a stone pipe as it did zig zags all through out the ride, the heat was growing hotter and the end to this pipe seemed no wear in sight, because of how narrow it was Zonder could not reach for his weapon, meanwhile MADARA who was sliding behind him seemed to embrace this trap as a time to have fun because his screams turned to laughs of joy.
?Will you shut up and try to think of a way out of here!.? ZONDER yelled back at him.
?WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, MORE SPEED MAN WE NEED MORE SPEED, YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS? Madara screamed not hearing a word Zonder said.
Finally they slid out of the pipe which seemed to be on the ceiling of the room they slid in and slammed hard into the floor below from the long fall. The heat was terrible forcing them to stand up fast to avoid burns on their skin. The cave had a red color to it and bits of it were on fire due to the heat, ahead some screams could be heard, having no where else to go Zonder and Madara ran to them.
?Fucking troll, the only hell here is the one I am putting you in along with the rest of those bastards trolls I killed.? A voice in front of them said.
They arrived to see a girl slaying a troll with her sword, she had taken its head right off. Her outfit seemed to be ripped into a low skirt and raggy top which she was prolly using to beat the heat, she had a few cuts and burns on her and looked a bit unstable.
?Ahhh hello there.? madara said to the women as him and Zonder approached, She turned around quickly in surprise and held her weapon ready to strike.
?Who the **** are you two and how did you get down here?? She asked.
?We are here to help people like you, people trapped in places like this should be set free, I imagine the guy running this castle sent you here, well we feel into some trap up top and just landed her. This is madara my companion and I am Zonder, Mod soldier for the Staff Kingdom!.? Zaganite finished.
The girls eyes widened and she lowered her weapon as she approached and circled them slowly.
?Mod Soldier you say, well isn?t today just my lucky day.? She said cooly.
?ummm I guess so.? madara said with a laugh.
?Do you know a way out of here, we need to make contact with our group again and take care of whoever is running this place.? Zonder told her quickly.
?Yeah I know a way out, with you two here it should actually be possible to get out of this Hell now.? She said gesturing for them to follow her. Zonder paused for a moment but then he and madara followed her with nothing better to do.
?We will need to get my friend who is just up ahead, no dout he is taking care of some trolls himself as we have been these last few days, oh sasuke, we have some guests.? jessie said as the smile on her face curved in delight.
Next Chapter: Escaping The Chamber of Hell