Ch. 4 Nanai Mines

[Terrasphere]

Next chapter, coming right up!

Ch. 4 Nanai Mines

Ryu woke up in his guestroom several hours after the tournament. Healed of his wounds but completely naïve about the time, he first pondered Peridon’s early departure from the arena. After much inner debate, he believed that there could only be one reason why Peridon left so early. He was taking the Emperor Sword to a man named Senteeri.

Looking through the holes in his leggings and shirt to see if any scars remained, Ryu stood up and left his room in search of King Fordan. Looking down every corridor and inside every room, Ryu had finally found Queen Vuna, who told him that her husband was in the throne room. Scurrying as quickly as he could, Ryu finally arrived at the large double-doors, the gateway to the throne room. As he was about to fling the door open, a soldier barged through it, frantically hurrying down the hallway. Curious as to what that was all about, Ryu open the door, discovering that the king was evidently discussing matters of extreme importance with Bandir.

“Good. There you are Ryu,” said the king with a look of deep dismay. “We’ve heard…”

“This man is a thief, your majesty,” interrupted Ryu. “He and Peridon have plotted to steal my Emperor Sword!”

“Fool!” yelled the enraged Bandir. “I have done nothing of the sort. Sorry for the outburst, your highness. May I explain to him?” The king nodded. “Yesterday, as I was securing my lodging for the night at the local inn, I overheard a conversation between two men about how easy it was to steal the sword from the great Ryu.” Bandir took a deep breath; sweat trickled down his face. “That is when the confrontation became intense. I forced them against the wall of the inn, knocking the first bandit out. The innkeeper, angered by the violence in his inn, hid behind the counter, frightened of our…brawl. So I took them outside, although the conscious bandit was a little difficult to handle. After practically dragging them to a secluded part of town, I threatened him.” Ryu, looking deeply troubled, was listening attentively. “He finally revealed his plan with Peridon, and I learned that the unconscious one was supposed to meet Peridon in the hallway at 1:00 AM, so I took the sword, made sure both were unconscious, and set out with the full intent of giving Peridon the sword in order to catch him. Since it was dark enough in the hallway such that even his torch could not light either of our faces, I tricked Peridon into thinking that I was one of those foolish bandits.”

Looking frustrated, Ryu exclaimed, “But you nodded to him just after you defeated me! You were acknowledging his escape!”

Sighing, Bandir replied, “Don’t you pay attention to anything? After each fight, Peridon, along with King Fordan and Queen Vuna, nodded in approval to the victors, that is, if they looked in the direction of the king, which is customary at these events. But as I said, Peridon didn’t even see me. It was too dark!”

Now angrier than confused, Ryu cried, “Then why’d you let him get away with my sword?”

Bandir snapped his fingers, and a few guards came in with a rather beaten pale man. “Got away, huh? I think not. These soldiers tracked him down in the field, finally finding and apprehending him an hour or so ago. And, yes, they did recover your sword.” Pausing for a moment, Bandir took from out of his sheath the Emperor Sword. Smiling, Bandir said, “I wanted to keep it clean.” Then he laughed. Smiling, Ryu graciously received his prized blade and thanked Bandir. “Don’t bother talking to Peridon, by the way. I cut out his tongue to prevent him from ever concocting such a devious and deceitful plan again. He sure learned his lesson.” Turning to the guards, Bandir ordered, “Take him to prison. King Fordan will decide when he is released.” The guards escorted him out of the throne room.

“That time will not be soon,” laughed King Fordan. “Anyway, back to the important recent event at the Nanai Mines. I’ll keep it short. I have just been informed that a small band of hoods has attacked and taken all of the workers hostage, evidently wanting the diamonds for themselves. Bandir, I want you to send a small detachment of troops to the mines, along with Ryu. We will surely be able to crush these impudent ruffians and regain our source of wealth with even a minute amount of men, for these outcasts seem to be unorganized.”

“I will go myself and solve this problem, my liege, along with Ryu and about five or so soldiers,” said Bandir. The king nodded with approval. “This shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“Please hurry,” ordered the king. “Those fools could kill the workers at any time. I fear that they already dead,” the king said, with a worried look on his face. “Good luck.”

After kneeling down on one knee in respect, Bandir and Ryu, with their differences now resolved, packed up for the journey to Nanai; Ryu made sure he had all of the necessary weapons such as the Emperor Sword and the Tri-Rang. Then they began their two-day ride with six of the most powerful soldiers in Camlon’s Royal Guard: Hilk, Clavius, Xaver, Rion, Melith, and Gelu. Ryu learned a lot about the individual soldiers as they rode through the countryside, but Bandir would not reveal anything that happened to him in the past year, not even information about Hizan. Unsatisfied and annoyed that he had no way of getting this information from Bandir, Ryu returned to talking to Xaver about his family life.

The journey was especially long and boring. Nothing in particular occurred along the way. During the two nights of which the companions slept on the rugged terrain, Ryu did not even dream of his sister or anything else for that matter. As they were riding on the final day, Melith noticed the entrance to the mines in a small gorge as he came to the top of a ridge, along with a small mining village in the distance. A quarter of a mile further down the road was the ruins of the former city of Nanai, which was never properly cleaned up after the desecration of the earthquake machine.

Stopping the party to discuss strategy, Melith warned, “Some of those scoundrels are guarding the entrance to the mines, and no doubt some more are looting the huts for any spare food or supplies. We should be careful, especially since innocents are involved.”

“I agree,” said Gelu. “What are your orders, general?”

“I doubt that they are expecting our entire group, so Ryu and I will come in from the south, moving directly toward the entrance,” said General Bandir, with confidence. “Gelu, Xaver, and Hilk. You approach from the east, while Clavius, Melith, and Rion will approach from the west. Hopefully, they will not notice you as you make your way around the buildings. Ryu and I can easily take care of those guarding the entrance, but you need to protect our sides in case reinforcements await us from the supply huts. Understand?”

Each member of the Royal Guard shook his head, but Ryu seemed a little unsure of Bandir’s orders. “What if the enemy already knows we are here, and they do await us from the east and west of the village?”

“Men, be careful as you round the outskirts of town. Move in slowly and get your bows ready,” Bandir said convincingly. Ryu looked satisfied.

After tying their six horses to a few trees at the top of the hill, the plan commenced, and Ryu and Bandir leisurely walked down the center of town toward the entrance. Immediately, the three guards pulled out their bows and aimed at the two. Doors suddenly opened from buildings on both sides of town, and four more came out from the east and three from the west, all preparing to fire.

“What is your business here?” asked one of the guards cruelly. Chuckling slightly, “It’s not like it matters. We’ll kill them anyway. Fire at them men!”

Luckily for the party, Bandir’s plan worked. As soon as the order to fire was given, the Royal Guard effectively disabled all opposition on the left and right of Bandir. Oblivious to the deaths of their own allies, the three at the mine entrance still launched their attack. Ryu raised his shield to deflect the first assault from the guards, but the unexpected occurred. Bandir stretched out his hand, and it started to glow red. A loud crack sounded throughout the canyon, triggering the instant ear covering by all the troops, despite the side they were on. In addition to the sound, however, a blaze of fire shot out from Bandir’s hand, incinerating the midair projectiles and turning the guards into a pile of blackened bones.

Gawking at the general’s extraordinary power but angry by their temporary loss of hearing, Ryu and the Royal Guard glared at Bandir. Waving them into the cave, they all entered the mines together.

Unlike most mineshafts, these were fairly well lighted. Strings of torches along both walls successfully lit the entire trail. Eventually, they all regained their hearing, which was an unfortunate side effect that Bandir would consider before unleashing another deadly conflagration attack. As they descended farther and farther down the winding tunnel, the air began to become musty and cold. Stimulated by this change in atmosphere, Xaver finally decided to ask his question. Whispering, he inquired, “Where is everyone? You’d have thought we’d seen at least one worker by now, or at least one of their capturers.”

“I know what you mean,” whispered Ryu sympathetically. “I’m a little frightened for them. Who knows what dangers they are being exposed to at this very second?”

Ryu and the rest finally arrived at a split in the tunnel. Bandir stopped to contemplate this new dilemma.

[Terrasphere]

Meanwhile, the group of brutal bandits forced the miners to work in the diamond mines, but they weren’t harvesting diamonds. “Come on,” yelled the leader. “Death to all if the artifact is not found.”

A miner spoke out against the tyranny. “But the lava levels this far down rise and fall like the tide. Lava will surely envelope this entire room in a few measly hours.”

“You dare speak out against me?” asked the leader, surprised. “Lieutenant, show that miner that insolence is not tolerated.” The lieutenant grabbed the miner, who fought back with all of his might, but to no avail. As the other miners watched with fear in their eyes, the lieutenant overpowered their friend and pushed him into the molten magma below. “Now get back to work!” ordered the lieutenant. The search resumed.


At long last, Bandir finished deciding on the components of each party. “Hilk, Rion, and Gelu will accompany me in the exploration of the eastern area of the mine, while Ryu, Melith, Clavius and Xaver will explore the western region. Good luck to all of you.”

Ryu’s party took the path to the left, but after a few minutes, Ryu mentioned how warm it was getting. “We must be getting near the ruins of the palace of Nanai, as the lava flows under it cause this intense heat throughout the mines.”

Continuing their walk down the twisting corridor, Xaver noticed a shadowy figure in the distance. “Look!” Xaver shouted excitedly, pointing to the figure. The silhouette lifted its head, turned around, and bolted down the tunnel. “Get him!” The group chased him, unknowing of the probable dangers that could lurk in the slightly lit darkness ahead. Before long, the ominous, dismal, atmosphere became even more terrifying when a loud smash sounded, causing some of the weak overhanging rocks to collapse onto the ground ahead of Ryu’s company.

“Should we turn around, Ryu?” asked Clavius politely.

“No. I have a better solution,” Ryu answered with certainty.


The miners were still searching for the mysterious relic desired by the leader of the outlaws. Letting his troops compel the miners to do his wishes, he quietly waiting for the great discovery. Suddenly, however, the brief peace was disturbed when one of his men dashed into the lava-filled cavern, out of breath. “General Mendora, a small group of men are coming this way,” he said. “I caused a landslide of rocks to block their path, but I don’t know how long it will last. They must be strong if they defeated the men in the village.”

“Don’t worry. We are more than a match for them,” the general assured. “Even I and Lieutenant Hassen will overpower them.” Relieved, the lookout went to the entrance of another passageway.


“Back away from the pile of rocks, men,” ordered Ryu. “I will move this rubble out of our way.” With this word, Xaver, Melith, and Clavius immediately flat against the hard rock walls, leaving Ryu to put his plan into action. Before long, Ryu morphed into an immense dragon, unfortunately unable to unfold its wings because of the tight constraints of the walls and ceiling around him. The great dragon slowly opened its mouth, giving sight to fangs and rows of deadly teeth. A noise like the wind lightly blowing was suddenly emitted from the dragon, soon followed by a devastating ray of flame. Directing the fire at a concentrated point on the trouble, the barricade appeared to be showing signs of weakening, and the blaze entered farther and farther through the rocks ahead. Cheering Ryu on in hope of his success, the tremendous heat in such a confined space began to cause the Royal Guard to sweat exceedingly. The inferno finally ended, and a hole now existed in the rocks. While reverting to his human form, Ryu noticed that not all of his soldiers were in fighting shape. Sadly, the heat overwhelmed Xaver, causing him to faint.

“We’ve no time to waste,” claimed Ryu. “We’ll return for him later. The miners might not have much time left, if they still live.”

Heartbroken by what they had to do, they squeezed through the new passageway and continued onward. Soon after the incident, the group detected an eerie red glow on the wall fifty or so feet down the tunnel, where the string of torches also disappeared.

“We are now under what was Nanai,” Ryu informed. “It might be a little hot down here from now on, but you should be able to take the heat considering you could tolerate what happened back there.”

“Be careful from now on,” commented Melith. “The enemy is near.”

At the end of the tunnel, Ryu could hear harsh voices, along with the tapping of picks against the volcanic rock. In order to see what was happening, he stood flat against the wall, barely sticking his head around the rock. To Ryu, armored men were forcing the miners into doing hard labor for them, most likely harvesting precious diamonds. A very imposing man stood toward the left side of the chamber, appearing to be commanding the others, while another man stood at his side.

Without consulting the other two, Ryu suddenly darted out from his cover and threw his Tri-Rang at three of the enemy troops, which hit the first and second but missed the third before returning to Ryu. Melith and Clavius followed, pulling out their bows and aiming at random enemies.

“Ahh, Ryu. Remember me. We’ve met down here before, when you destroyed the earthquake machine.” Laughing, General Mendora said convincingly, “Unlike last time, you don’t actually think you can win this fight, do you? We completely outnumber you! And we have these hostages! Oh no. You will not win.” Turning towards his minions, “The lieutenant and I will take care of these three. Men. Kill the miners!”

Recognizing the former Knight, Ryu drew his sword. Clavius and Melith rapidly started firing arrows at the hoods in order to save the miners, but it was not long before Mendora and Hassen were upon them, swinging with endless fury. Although they had killed one of the soldiers, Clavius, Melith, and Ryu were forced to withdraw into a defensive position, fighting with sword and shield to protect themselves from the enemies’ vicious melee strikes. Despite the fact that the numerous miners fought back with picks and fists, the evil soldiers’ skill was greater, and they quickly overpowered the unfortunate workers. Screams of terror filled the air, as they were slowly murdered one by one, until all the innocents lied dead, after which the six remaining soldiers watched the combat of their two superiors, obeying orders to leave Ryu, Clavius, and Melith to their general and lieutenant. The sounds of suffering from the dying miners and cheering from the enemy was almost too much to bear for Clavius, who’s morale had dramatically diminished. As Clavius and Melith double-teamed Mendora, they soon realized his flawless technique with his sword and shield was formidable. Mendora blocked both attacks and constantly kept them on their toes, noticing that Clavius’s parries were getting steadily worse. Concentrating all of his assault on Clavius, Clavius fell, leaving only Melith and Ryu left in the fray. In the mean time, Ryu had his hands full with Hassen. Although Hassen appeared to be weakening, Ryu felt something different with each strike. Finally it happened. As Ryu struck Hassen’s shield, his Emperor sword shattered! Panicking greatly, Ryu tried to draw his Dragon Sword, but it was too late. He had been knocked to the ground, and Hassen poised to make the final blow.

[Terrasphere]

Fortunately, all of a sudden, arrows whizzed through the chamber and the six soldiers dropped like flies. Hassen, foolish enough to suspend his deathblow by looking up at the other tunnel, saw Hilk, Gelu, Rion, and Bandir enter the chamber. Taking this opportunity to recover, Ryu decided to end it right then and there. Scales and claws emerged from his skin, increasing Ryu’s size so incredibly that his own body obstructed the view of Bandir and the others, preventing any sort of missile attack. With one deft move, the dragon’s mighty arm knocked Hassen over the cliff into the chasm of lava below. As the lieutenant was falling, however, he stopped his descent by driving his sword into the hot rock about ten feet down the cliff and began to gradually climb back up. Believing Hassen to be dead, Ryu turned his attention toward the general, who had just finished removing his blade from Melith’s chest.

As Bandir, Gelu, Rion, and Hilk dashed to various sides of Ryu in order to get a clear shot, Mendora taunted, “You think that because you outnumber me, you have won. But I will even the odds.” Mendora rose his hand as Bandir had done at the entrance, and a bright flash of light blinded the Royal Guard, while strangely leaving Ryu and Bandir’s sight intact. Feeling around for solid walls or each other, they were effectively disabled. When Hassen reached the surface, he ran to the side of Mendora, who was standing near the edge of the cliff. Bandir and Ryu got ready to attack, and the four stared at each other for a few seconds, unsure of who would make the first move. At last, Ryu started the offensive by unleashing a deadly breath of fire on Lieutenant Hassen, who hid behind the safeguard of his shield. Engulfed by flame, the pain of holding the blazing hot shield in place was overwhelming, but it was Hassen’s only hope. Bandir charged towards Mendora as soon as the first move was made. Mendora, angered by this cowardly ranged attack, swiftly placed his right hand in front of him, sending out waves of relentless electricity at Ryu. Continuously shocking Ryu was not enough to get him to quit, although one could hear the agonizing growls coming from inside the beast. The voltage was finally too much for Ryu, who ended the assault. Mendora had not been aware of Bandir, however, who, with shield outstretched, rammed him well off the cliff into the lava below.

Again assuming a standing position, Hassen screamed in terror, “General!” Enraged by a burning desire to avenge, Hassen sprinted toward Ryu, jumping to slash at his extended neck.

Laughing, Ryu speedily beat his wings in the direction of Hassen, increasing the wind current and blowing Hassen to the ground. Trying to regain his footing but to no avail Hassen, who was now in a crouched position, was slowly sliding toward the edge of the cliff.

“Nooooo!” cried the lieutenant, as he toppled over the edge. Bandir hurried over and looked into the lava, but could see no trace of the general or the lieutenant. Ryu turned back into his human form and joined Bandir in his mindless gaze into the molten rock, while Gelu, Rion, and Hilk, calmly waited for their eyesight to return, if it ever would.

“We’ve failed miserably,” Bandir said solemnly. “All of the miners have perished, and even three of our own men have died in this so-called rescue. And the other three are blind! It is all my fault. If I had just kept our group together instead of splitting us up, maybe everyone would have lived.” Bandir covered his face, for tears started to form in his eyes.

Putting his hand on Bandir’s back, Ryu tried to comfort him. “Only two of our men are down. Xaver passed out back there in the tunnels.” Ryu’s face suddenly became stern and serious. “Besides, you are a general. I don’t know how you acted as Hizan’s general when you lost troops, but you can’t mourn every loss like this. It will scare those under your command. Be strong, and just don’t make the same mistakes again.”

“You’re right Ryu.” Turning to the soldiers, “If this loss of sight is anything like the loss of hearing you incurred earlier from my conflagration attack, it is only temporary.” Pointing to the passageway Ryu emerged from when he entered the vast chamber, Bandir said to the three blind members of the Royal Guard, “When you guys return to your normal state, we will leave these mines through that tunnel, pick up Xaver, stock up on any supplies in the mining village outside, and return to Camlon to inform King Fordan of our costly victory. You have all done well and will be rewarded for your great service to Camlon, especially Ryu.” Now facing Ryu, Bandir, with a grin on his face, whispered, “I have a special offer for you.”

The orders were carried out perfectly, and the companions reached Camlon Castle within a few days.

[GSMaster]

It just keeps getting better!

What's gonna happen to the Emporer Sword, you just can't leave it broken...

[Terrasphere]

It might be a while before my next chapter is completed. I'll try to finish it this weekend.

[GSMaster]

You better! ;D

[Terrasphere]

They take time to write though!

[GSMaster]

I'm kidding take all the time you need.

[Terrasphere]

Theanks.

[GSMaster]

Yur welcum....

[Terrasphere]

How dare you make fun of my accidental typos...

[GSMaster]

I thought that was funny