Sierra greeted me with a frown at the Heart of Bartleby. "What's wrong?"
"Uh... nothing," she said, but I was a tad suspicious. "Let's go."
"What about Grace?"
"She... has other business, I told her I'll take care of you." She gave a false smile, which bothered me even more. "Come on."
"Don't worry, we'll stop Morgie if she's here!" I said.
Sierra gasped.
"Did I... say something bad?"
"N-No," she replied, shaking her head. "It's nothing." She let me open the door into Azteca.
I was hit with waves of tropical heat and humidity. Good thing my clothes are enchanted to stay clean and cool or I would have sweated like a dog! I saw a parrot-dude in exotic headwear, gripping a staff tightly and with a look of worry. I beelined to him.
"Excuse me," I said.
He leapt and turned, startled to see me and Sierra. He sighed in relief.
"If you mean you were going to become cooked bird, trust me, I'm as cool as they come." I chuckled at my own humor.
"I am Pacal Redmask," he began.
"Good, we were looking for you!" said Sierra, showing him the tattered message she had held on to.
He gasped. "Thank Mother Moon you came, young Magicians! I am one of the three mystics who wove the spells that guided our messenger to you."
"You mean, the Quetzal?" said Sierra, smiling. "It's okay. My professor is taking good care of it. My name is Sierra, practicer of Myth and this is Katie, my charge. She is a master of Ice Magic."
"Thank goodness it is safe," sighed the parrot mystic, leaning on his staff in support. I saw he was very tired. "But as you can see, I stand alone at the edge of the City of Three Winds. My fellows, Tezcat Threestar and Zaylin Reedwalker, are lost. My allies are gone!"
"There's still hope," I said. "Don't count them out. If they're captured, we can save them. Tell us everything you can about the situation."
He smiled a sad smile, then sighed again. "The comet Xibalba brought the Shadow Queen to Azteca, and she laid waste with her Umbra Legion."
"We're already one step behind," groaned Sierra.
"We can catch up," I said with a sneer. "I have a personal bone to pick with that witch!"
"I beg your help," said Pacal. "Defeat the Crazed Thunder Horns in the City of Three Points, beyond the Zocolo, to learn what has happened to Tezcat Threestar!"
"We're on it," I said, clicking my fingers with a grin. "You stay here in safety and we'll fetch you when we find out the skinny."
He looked at me oddly.
"She means when we get the information," sighed Sierra.
We managed to find the Prospector here, looking for tiny UFOs that were hiding in the world. Not only that, but Eloise(who had kindly directed me to a rocksmith to help me learn about jewel socketing back in Wizard City) asked me a favor - Marleybone needed some samples of rare exotic flowers in Azteca. Actually, these quests won't activate until you complete the first quest and Pacal moves into the Zocolo. I just showed this show early. Also, I took this picture before Katie reached Avalon so forgive her wand here.
Considering the giant honking comet hovering over the city, I had a feeling that those flowers would be one of the few survivors if we didn't stop Morganthe.
Despite the name, Crazed Thunder Horns are actually from the Fire School and have 2680 HP. The mob fights are going to take longer, although Katie finds them no threat - a good buff Snow Angel and Sierra's special sauce makes them crumple in defeat. ;)
"Tell me where Threestar is!" I demanded from one of the defeated tritop warriors.
"Tezcat Threestar?" snorted the defeated warrior. "Shadows chased him down into the Maw!"
We hurried back to Pacal who paled(if you could see behind his feathers) in horror.
"The Hungry Dead?" I asked, not liking where this was going. I had a feeling I know what these "hungry dead" were in actuality.
"When the comet Xibalba appeared in the sky ten cycles past, the Aztecosaur oracles pronounced doom," explained Pacal. "They fled Azteca to hide underground where we bury our dead. The Maw is the entrance to our tombs, the caverns known as the Cenote."
"Oh gross," I muttered.
"But when the Shadow Queen appeared in Azteca, our dead stirred... and they were hungry!"
Sierra gaped. "The Hungry Dead... are undead! But the last time I dealt with undead was..."
"Come," said Pacal. "Let us speak closer to the city. Meet me in the Zocolo proper."
He fluttered out of the caves and we quickly followed him back into the outskirts of the city. The comet was not lightening my mood.
We found Pacal standing near a broken statue. The place had clearly seen better days.
"Where is she?" I demanded. "Where's Morganthe?"
"Then we shake them down and force them to fess up," said Sierra.
"It is crucial that we find Tezcat Threestar down in the Cenote," said Pacal. "And make sure he is safe. You can get there through the Maw."
"Okay, we'll find our way there," I said. I then saw Sierra spacing out. "Hey, sis! You okay?"
"Yeah... I am... fine..." murmured Sierra, but I had a feeling she was off in her own little world.
I thought I'd give you a little spoiler on what Azteca's fate is. ;)
Unfortunately, Morganthe must have seen us coming and made it hard for us as the Maw was filled with rubble. I growled in rage, having a bad feeling about this. Had I known this was one of her evil plans to stall us, I would have blown the blasted thing open myself. Sadly, ice magic is not the best for explosive power.
"Come on," said Sierra. "We'd better tell Pacal the situation."
"Blocked off?" cried Pacal. "What a dastardly diversion!"
If only we had known how prophetic that statement was...
"Can we find something to blow the rubble to dust?" I asked politely. "Ice magic isn't known for... well, you know... making things go boom."
He rubbed his feathered chin, then got an idea. "Find the alchemist Xipli Tailbiter in Three Points. He is a bit... different, but he might have a good idea for clearing the path."
Boy, was this guy different indeed! I would have fled screaming if Sierra hadn't reminded me we needed his help.
"You need to get through the rubble to rescue Tezcat Threestar?" laughed the tritops. "Heh heh heh, I can perhaps help you with that!"
I needed an aspirin, stat. :(
"If you can help me gather some ingredients," said Xipli. "I can make you a strong concoction. Go to Lolomilie Smoke Eye and ask for Salt of Stone. Then Corica Sweet Chile, for sulfur. And charcoal from Potake White Ash."
"What the heck?" I said. "What sort of names are those? Can you at least give us directions?"
He did and it was quite hard to deal with these people. Potake said that the Crazed Thunder Horns had made her drop the pieces of cooked wood, so we had to pick it up off of the ground, and we had to beat the stuffing out of MORE of those goons to get the Sulfur that had been stolen from Corica.
Xipli was true to his word... that WAS a strong concoction, PEEEEYUUUU!!! @_@ But Sierra lit the fuse and we ducked and covered as the rubble shattered under the massive explosion that left a foul-smelling cloud.
"Is anyone there?" said a voice from inside.
We found our man, er, dinosaur. Little did we know that this was only the beginning of a tragedy that would end in tears and self-depredation...
[To be continued...]
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