Princess Cari Land Cross Arc Part Three

 The Scorpion Lady And The Snake Lady

They woke up and felt the cold damp temperature stroke their burnt faces and cool them down. However, wherever they were they could not see. It was so dark that they could put their hands right in front of their faces and they would not even be able to see where the edges began!

Their eyes felt a painful ache as The Observer summoned a ball of fire that was reflected from all over. They then had to wait for their eyes to adjust before they noticed that they were surrounded by coins, goblets, plates and all kinds of jewelry made from bronze, silver, gold and all kinds of precious stones! Cari and Ryo looked at them with a strange hunger that they could not describe. The beauty of everything in this place was so enchanting that it put their minds in a trance. They both had a strong urge to collect all their eyes could see and stuff it all in their pockets and bags. Yet the more that they wanted to, the more their inductees told then not to. There was something poisonous about the treasure.

"How are we going to get out of here?"

"Look around. Also I think we need to keep those children close. Enchanted treasure and dragon blood are not a good combination."

"Cari, Ryo stay close to us alright?"

This shaped them out of their trance.

"Right!" They said yet looking at each other feeling slightly crept out at the unison of their word.

"By the way,  how old are you two?"

"Well a year has passed since I rescued my sister from my mother and I was twelve back then so I would day I have only just turned thirteen in the winter."

"Eleven now."

"Well that is-you two are so young! Why-"

"What! I was five when I started,  by the Demon Realm, I was only nine or ten when I slayed my first dragon!" The Chronicler retorted.

"Oh yes I forgot about that!" He said bluntly. "But still…"

"Urm, Chronicler… Who are you?"

She looked aside.

"I think I will tell you when I am ready." 

"Oh? And when will that be?"

"When we are ready to take them up again. You are not entitled to know everything about us."

"Tell me,  Chronicler, you know you have magic don't you?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then why don't you use it as much as us? Dart, Cari here uses out more than you do!"

Her face darkened and there was a child-like viability in her eyes.

"I have a complicated relationship with my magic."

The Observer rolled his eyes as he looked around and spotted a keyhole. He then spotted that it was next to a door. He then walked up to it and then looked inside the keyhole.

"Chronicler, I have a job for you."

She then looked at him. She then walked up to the keyhole. Her eyes brightened as she pulled out a lockpicking kit. She knelt down on both knees and soon had the door open. She then looked back to see that Cari and Ryo were looking at the enchanted treasure again.

"Cari, Ryo!"

They smaller out of it and then ran over to them. They soon entered a room where scorpions littered the ground.

"It's about time you came to this room." Said a woman with an ice cold beauty with grass green eyes and coal black hair.

"You are expecting us?"

"Of course Cari. After all, when it came to light that you would be heading off world we knew that you would be heading in this direction. So we set up a few 'obstacles' in your way." She said as her eyes turned to The Chronicler. "Did you not think that the Dark Matter Lord doesn't know who you are, or where you came from? Did you honestly think that he doesn't know the Sand or Desert Planes better than you? He was strolling in them before you were even born!"

Yet upon hearing about Dark Master Lord Gajellidor, Cari felt herself tense up as she looked aside.

So he's following us? He's actually following us? Why? Does he still think that we are still a threat to him? Has he not made his point already?

"Now,  time to see if I can exterminate this threat before it gets too big, shall we!" She sang.

Suddenly the scorpions raced to them and Ryo sent out a ball of fire at some of them. Yet they continued to race to them. The Observer outstretched his hand and more of them all turned to dust. The Chronicler looked at this and did the same. They turned more and more to dust. Meanwhile the woman laughed at this as she clapped her hands.

"I forgot you were students of the great Dark Lady Grasharlo. However, I will not make that mistake again." She said as she rose to her feet.

She looked at Cari as she took her step down. She smirked and drew her sword.

"Tell me, what did the Dark Master Lord Gajellidor do to you?" She asked.

Suddenly her body seized up. She just could not move as she raced to her. She was about to hit her until she pulled out her dagger. She immediately blocked it almost instinctively. Her eyes met the woman. She then tried to push away but she could not. She was just too strong,  yet she too was equally strong. She knew that they were at a stalemate.

"Tell me, how did he hurt you?" She asked.

She felt herself shake slightly, yet she drove all her mind to keep the pressure on. Yet she could not move as her mind went over the knife and the pain from the wound that he gave her. Yet, even though the wound had healed into a scar the pain returned. She just could not get it out of her head.

"Cari! Snap out of it!"

Her mind woke from the memory just in time to dive out of the way from a large scorpion tail. She then dived back as she took out her crossbow and loaded an arrow. Then the tail struck down. She rolled out of the way and aimed. She drove the trail down again, yet she rolled and raised the crossbow. She then spotted another strike and she rolled. She could see the tension on the sting was increasing. She pulled out her dagger as the tail came down, she rolled forward. She drove the dagger upwards and drove it through the trail chopping of the stinger. She then spotted the blade come down and she drove the dagger up and forced her arm upwards and fired directly into her heart. She flew down and looked at the arrow and pulled it out.

"Dark Matter Lord…"

She died before she could finish at this, Cari frowned.

"What do you think that she was about to say?"

"Do you think that it matters?"

"No, I guess not."

They collected their things as they walked to the other end where there was another chamber. The door opened in it's own and they checked for traps as they walked on. They noticed small scorpions scurrying around. 

Cari looked at The Observer slightly worried. He looked better but his red face gave away that the damage of the sun was still there.

"Are you alright?"

"Should be. Even though the cold air had helped the heatstroke, I have not fully recovered. Speaking of which are you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"When she mentioned the Dark Master Lord, you seized up. Why?"

She looked aside.

"I don't know."

Ryo placed a hand on her.

"Car' what did he do to you?"

She could barely look at them as she showed them the scars. His eyes widened as he placed his hand on it with worry. He gently held her arm as he looked at it closely. He then hugged her. The Chronicler placed a hand on her hand.

"Cari, why did you not say?"

"Didn't think it was important."

"Cari! What if that was part of his plan?"

"It wasss." Spoke another voice. They looked onwards to see a woman that looked similar to the scorpion lady by this one had the lower body of a snake.

"I guesss that Sscorpa is dread?"

"If you are talking about that scorpion lady then yes."

She laughed.

"Yes well I should have expected that from you. Now, Cari, I will save you for my mistress Medmara. However, as for the rest of you, I will not!" She said as she rose and slithered over to them. Soon their eyes meet the sought of her scarlet claws and long vampire-like fangs with purple venom running down her mouth.

She then went to pounce on them but they all dived out of the way and she threw out her claws and went to strike down to Ryo but this was stopped by an arrow to her hand. She looked at Cari and pulled it out and let out a hiss at her and she then turned her attention to the girl. As she did she did not notice Ryo took out his scythe and went to strike her down, but was immediately stopped when he was hit by the tail. She then looked at the boy and went to strike him again. He dodged out of the way and then thrust out the scythe head to her arm. Seeing this she moved back as he almost staggered to her. She then went to stroke him with her tail again but he was soon able to roll the scythe and cut into the tail. He them ran in for the kill and soon her head rolled.

Cari then rushed to him.

"Are you alright?" 

He let out a sigh.

"Yeah. Didn't give her the chance to cut me."

"Good."

They soon were about to look around the place more when The Chronicler picked up a dusty carpet.

"What is it?"

"A flying carpet."

"Thought they didn't exist."

"They do, in fact there is an annual tournament called the carpet surfers. And as I know how to ride one of these get on."

They all did and they gripped the carpet as The Chronicler gripped the corners and the carpet rose up. They soon zoomed through all the chambers and were out of the temple. They soon left the desert behind. Though they could not leave the heat behind.