Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Hero of Time ❯ The First Steps In ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6-The first steps in

The countryside rolled past the riders slowly, easing them into the horrors ahead. At first there were peaceful avenues lined with trees and flowers of all sorts. These ended the moment they passed the stone archway that marked the boundaries of the protected zone. Soon enough, the trees began looking wild and the flowers turned to weeds and poisonous plants like wolfsbane and nightshade. The trees then vanished as steep cliff walls like those in Ikana or Gerudo Valley rose up around them.

The grass of the path soon faded too, leaving only hard rock beneath the hooves of the mounts. The sky was slowly turning darker, fading from gray to a most chilling violet and black. The path suddenly ended at a bottomless chasm across which there was no bridge, at least not a visible one. The horses were spooked, and would not go any farther. Everybody dismounted, including Hagrid from his large Abraxan, a variety of winged horse.

"How do we cross," said Harry. "There's no bridge across!"

` "Really? Just watch this, then!" William threw a rock into the chasm and it landed on a shimmering silver span about a hundred feet long that faded in and out of view. Gripping his walking stick tightly, he crossed the span in safety. Everyone of reasonably normal size followed his lead and was soon across, but the bridge began to crumble the moment Hagrid stepped onto the first stone.

"Hagrid," said Dumbledore. "I think it would be safest if we left you behind to guard the horses. You may use magic if you deem it necessary to protect the horses. We shall see you when we get back."

"Thank yer very much, sir," said the half-giant, gripping his flowery pink umbrella very tightly. He gave a wave, and then began to herd the horses slowly and gently back toward the tower. Malon breathed a sigh of relief, since she was especially fond of horses. There was a small ramp up to a broad, flat shelf that those who remained soon found. The shelf was broad and dusty, and there was a huge cave entrance surrounded by stones in a gray arch.

"Hold here please," said William. "I have a spy who was supposed to meet us here with valuable information. This will only take a moment." He pulled out a small red ocarina from a pocket and said, "This ocarina is not especially magical, but it suffices." He then played a few notes on it and then played Saria's Song. A small figure appeared in the cave and walked out, followed by two fairies.

"You will not find your spy on your side," said Majora's Mask in Skull Kid's voice. "You will not pass this cave entrance!"

"You leave my friend alone," Link shouted. "I will make sure you are burnt to a crisp this time, Majora's Mask! Kafei, I would recommend you stand back unless you want to get turned into a kid again!" Link took out his quiver and readied a Light Arrow on his Fairy Bow. He was just about ready to fire when Harry, Professor Lupin, and Professor Dumbledore unleashed three Stunners. Skull Kid crumpled to the ground and the foul mask slid off his face.

"Will he be all right," Link asked as he hurried over to the fallen imp.

"Sure he will," said Harry. "The Stunning Spell leaves him unconscious, but a dose of healing potion should help him."

"Why do you care about him," said Kafei. "He turned me into a kid and nearly made me miss my wedding!"

"Skull Kid did nothing of the sort," said Tatl, a gold fairy, with a chime. "He was hypnotized by the mask, which is full of black magic. Before the Four Giants created the lands of Termina, an ancient tribe of humans used it in hexing rituals. So, it was the mask that turned you into a kid, not the Skull Kid. He was an innocent victim, like you were."

"You weren't there when he returned Majora's Mask to Malsio either," said Link. "I was, and Tatl and Tael, and he was shaking when the four giants left, as if he was sad to see them go. He also shook with grief when Malsio appeared south of Clock Town. It seems that Drakan stole this mask and infused it with some of his own evil."

"Your assessment is quite correct," William said. "Now, we shall wait for Skull Kid to awaken, and he will be back to his normal, fun-loving, flute-playing self. Koume, Kotake, if you would be so kind?" The two witches circled Skull Kid and applied various healing salves to his scratches and wounds.

"Uhh…" said Skull Kid, groggy. "What happened to my head?"

"Majora's Mask happened to you again, old friend," Link said.

"Link, I think I liked you better as a kid," said Skull Kid. "Well, I think I'd best give my report now. Link, please set me down, I can stand on my own thanks. Well, Drakan has a great army, full of Moblins, Stalfos, and other assorted monsters. The quickest way up to his castle is through the tunnels of Pentagram Mountain to the south."

"Excellent work, Skull Kid," said William. "Now, I think it would be safest if I sent you back to the Lost Woods, in case Drakan sends his minions after you."

"Not so fast," said Majora's Mask, rising from the ground and glowing brightly. "Skull Kid is mine!" The foul piece of decorated yew wood attached itself to Skull Kid and led him away from them, cackling.

"Sis, let's watch him carefully," said Tael, the purple fairy. "We need to make sure he doesn't do a repeat of what happened in Termina. Besides, Link has Navi, and she seems to be as good as you are, if not better!" Tatl and her brother then flew off after the foul mask.

"Well, that's settled," said Alzeroth sulkily. "Now, about the armies Drakan is sending, since I can tell they concern you. We have some powerful allies on our side who are willing to fight for freedom-mercenaries and professional knights, trained by the best we could find on any world we searched. We have also enlisted some of the local dragons to fight on our side."

"Why do you have dragons on your side," said Harry. "Experience has told me that they are nothing but savage monsters."

"Sure, the dragons you know of are savage monsters," said William. "Those are, however, of an inferior breed-not at all like the dragons we have on our side. Dragons can either be mindless, savage brutes or intelligent, reasoning beings. We have some intelligent dragons on our side, masters of aerial combat and full of the devastating fire we know so well. Ah, here comes one of their runners now!"

As the party turned and looked, a human-size person ran down a nearby hill toward their position. As he approached, they saw he was a draconian-a dragon reduced to a half-human form by black magic. Well, that is how the draconians started off, but now they reproduced like humans, except that they laid eggs. He saluted briskly before William and Alzeroth.

"Report from General Pyros for you, sir," said the draconian.

"Let's have it, Lieutenant," said Alzeroth.

"Very well, sir. The red and blue dragonarmies are in position, supported by our respective dragons. Green and black forces are taking up marching orders with us, and the whites are guarding the northern front. The Metallic Brethren are awaiting your orders, sir, and all anticipate a good fight."

"Excellent news indeed," said William. "Tell the Metallic Brethren to take up reserve positions in the safe zone and await further orders before striking. The four armies here are to take up positions around the Drakanian Temple and await my arrival there before besieging the fortress. A lightning-quick move to the proper location will spare us casualties. Dismissed!"

"Thank you, sir," said the draconian, gliding back up the hill toward its armies. Within two minutes, the armies could be heard marching off to war, chanting in their loud voices. This is a rough guess of what they said in part:

We are going off to war today!

With the swords in our hands, the battle will surely

Go our way!

Left, right! Left, right! Left, right!

It will be a fateful fight today!

We will never let our plans

Ever go astray!

Left, right! Left, right! Left, right!

Marching off to war's our way!

Even if we lose our lives,

It's all okay!

Left, right! Left, right! Left, right!

We are fighting heroes at home far away!

With Ember leading us we will surely

Win the day!

Left, right! Left, right! Left, right!

"They do tend to be a little enthusiastic," admitted William. "But they are good at following orders, even better than the guards at the Deku Palace. And that is considerable praise, since the Deku Palace guards and those at Hyrule Castle are the best that I know of. I do not associate with goblins-they tend to be a smelly, disgusting lot in these parts."

"And how did you get draconians onto your side, not to mention Ember?"

"Professor Lupin, I have connections with all the major pantheons in our universe. I have also a network of spies and such assigned to Drakan's forces; Skull Kid was one of those such spies. We have two more we shall meet-two people I am sure one as learned as yourself, sir, will have little trouble recognizing. Now, I shall have to divide this party into three for safety's sake-we will seem less of a danger to Drakan and his forces if we split up until we are safely behind his front lines. I have arranged a Portkey that will allow Hagrid to join us once we reach the summit of Pentagram Mountain."

"Why's it called Pentagram Mountain?"

"Hermione, when seen from the air, the mountain looks like a perfect pentagram. The pentagram is, I do believe, an ancient symbol of evil. Certain religions worship the pentagram and the evil deities people associate with it. It all seems a little weird, but it is not unlike the cult of Ganondorf in Hyrule or, even worse, the cult of Drakan on that same world."

"There's a cult of Drakan," Nabooru said, nonplused. "I've never heard of them until now. Who are they and where are they from?"

"The cult of Drakan is a highly secretive and virtually unheard-of organization. They consist of members of all races except the Kokiri and meet at the new moon. They were lead by evil Twinrova until their demise and have since gone into hiding. They were started by honor-less Gerudo who worshipped Drakan, the god of evil. The only reference to Drakan I could find outside of vague myths and legends was a word in Old Gerudo-Drakan, meaning Chaos, evil, et cetera. Old Gerudo is a dead language in your time, so I have had to go back a few millennia. Now, if we are quite finished, I think we have some work to do."

"Quite correct, William," said Alzeroth, taking over. "Now, the parties shall be divided as follows. Princess Ruto and the Indigo-go's will take an underwater tunnel to the fields at the peak of Pentagram mountain. Mido, Saria, Malon, Romani, Anju, Kafei, Princess Zelda, Professor Lupin, and Sirius will go on some pegasi. Hagrid shall meet us with some additional friends we sent on ahead before you got here at the fields. The rest of us shall do a bit of cave exploration. There need be no worries, as the armies of monsters Drakan has are fighting our forces."

The parties divided as they were told and everything went normally for those not traveling underground. The Indigo-go's and Princess Ruto swam through the river under the hills to the fields without difficulties. The party traveling on pegasi, sentient varieties of winged horse, arrived moments later. The party taking the caves of Pentagram Mountain, though, had its share of difficulties and mysteries.