“So, yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Rodin concluded.
“But… there’s another world down here that we’re not even aware of?,” Brandy inquired. It was obvious that both she and Random were doubting his story.
“Like I said. The Priest I was telling you about sent me over here. When I saw El Nath for the first time… well, that was something only rumored about back where I come from.”
“Well, nothing’s been said about what you’ve described. But I’ve seen you fight, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever beheld… a combination of swordplay and magical prowess that can only be defined as-“
“Ah,” Random interrupted. “Put a cork in it. We’ve reached our destination.”
“Hmph! Well, now we can get to it. What do we have to do.”
“Obviously we go through that door.”
The three walked towards the large gate, carved with images of the being they were about to challenge. Rodin held his sword cautiously at his side, preparing for the worst. Yet when they reached the gate…
“Stop!,” boomed a voice. “You have not the sacrifice needed to enter the Shrine of Zakum.”
“Sacrifice,” said Rodin. It wasn’t as much an inquiry as it was a statement. “We need a sacrifice to enter?”
“Yes. The Zakum cannot be summoned without the Eye of Fire. I can make an Eye of Fire for you…”
An old man stepped out from behind a stalagmite. Seeing as these were caves filled with molten magma, his choice of clothing was rather odd- full-blown robes and a head-wrap.
“Oh, joy,” Rodin said, staring at him. “And what would you need us to do to get it?”
“Well,” the man replied, “First you need to navigate an obstacle course of a mine that involves breaking countless boxes open in order to find keys to open an even larger box from which you get the ore. Then you need to make numerous jumps over a river of lava while avoiding stone faces that spit flaming rocks and poison gases… and also the falling rocks… and then you harvest gold teeth from the Zombies.”
“And then you make us an Eye of Fire.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I have some gold ores right here…” said Brandy.
“NO! NO SACRIFICE FOR YOU!… Er…” The strange man looked around nervously. “There’s a special component in the Zombie teeth that is necessary for the-“
There was an uncomfortable pause. Rodin, Brandy, and Random (who was on the fringe of knocking the man’s face off out of rage) waited for him to continue.
He didn’t. What he did do, however, is fall to the ground with several throwing knives in his back.
“What the…?!” Rodin gasped. He frantically searched the cave before finding the cause of the attack.
A Priest and an Assassin were walking slowly towards them. Rodin knew them.
“Aurida! Grab-” He paused to scoff at the name under his breath. It’s hard to say it with a straight face, Rodin thought. “Grabbersit! What the heck are you doing?!”
“Those are the guys you were talking about?,” Random asked hastily.
Considering the poor footing and confined area of the cave, Rodin hesitated before answering. “Yeah. But don’t make the first move.”
“What?! He was willing to sacrifice you, his only ally, to relieve himself of an enemy! How will he treat you now that you are one?”
“Obviously well. If he didn’t mean well, those first knives would probably be in us. You’re forgetting that he could turn us all into statues if he wanted to.”
“Ah… Good point.”
They approached with infinite calm. Come on, Rodin thought. You can make an entrance, we get it.
“Rodin,” said Aurida in his holier-than-thou diction. “We … seek your help with this.”
That shocked him for a minute. Aurida… needs my help? Why should I…
“Because,” Aurida turned and said. “I gathered the sacrificial item from the market. Seeing as your only other method of getting it is now disposed of, I am now your only route into Zakum. However…” Aurida paused for effect. Rodin reconsidered his footing and laid his hand on the hilt of his sword, his sweaty palm itching pre-emptively. “We cannot take Zakum on alone.”
Rodin considered this. “Then why did you come up here?”
“I knew you would be here. And I knew you would help in exchange for a most valuable reward… your precious sister.”
“Aurida. If you’re asking for my help, be sincere about it in the future.”
“Rodin, just because our desires temporarily align does not mean I want to ask you for your assistance. Believe it or not, I bear no ill will towards you.”
“And the constant threats reflect that. Now…” Rodin thought about it. If Aurida wanted to kill Zakum, it would probably just be to further his specific purposes. Yet, if Random and Brandy didn’t kill Zakum, Terra would never become normal again… and helping Aurida might yield his sister and cause Grabbersit to be called off.
The awkward pause was ended by Rodin’s statement on the matter.
And Aurida smiled while Brandy and Random exchanged nervous glances at his verdict…
“Alright… I’ll help you.”