Origins (Book 4 of Alfireán age)

Headlong Into Danger

Alf stood before the twin crystal pillars guarding the entrance to the caves, waiting for the King to return.

"How long do you think he's going to take?" Rex asked Valarinnia, who was impatiently tapping her foot on the hard stone floor.

"I don't know. This is his idea, not mine," Valarinnia jerked her head toward the prince pacing back and forth in the narrow tunnel. "And if Vackzilian weren't breathing down our necks, I would never let my father in there alone to test something so harebrained."

"It is not harebrained," the prince protested, stopping his pacing and glaring at the princess. "The principle is sound. We know the smaller machines are controlled by the larger ones. If we can disrupt their communications, infiltrating the facility will be simple. The only uncertainty is whether our jamming spells will work or not."

Princess Valarinnia huffed, crossed her arms, and continued to tap her foot on the floor.

Silence filled the room until a fist-sized green sphere bounced off Alf's arm. "Here," the grand champion said, grinning impishly as she brandished the T.A.G. device that should have been in Drakovian's possession. "If we're going in there, we should have one of those fiery phoenixes of yours."

"That's not a bad idea," Alf replied, while Drake stopped and scowled at the device in Zaphaniea's hand. The prince then reached into his pocket, but came up empty-handed. Letting out a disgusted sigh, he resumed pacing back and forth.

Alf took control of the tagged sphere and wrapped one of his fire-imbued, phoenix-shaped shields around it.

"That's too large," King Delavarian said, jutting his chin at Alf's spell as he emerged from the wall between the pillars. "The first floor of the facility is a cramped maze with security measures around every corner."

"I see," Alf answered while the smell of earth filled his nostrils. Concentrating, he shrank his movable shield till it wrapped snugly around the green sphere. "Wait," he said as realization dawned on him. "Does that mean it works?"

The king nodded. "I was able to attack the smaller bots without alerting the leaders, and vice versa. With your jamming signal, I can confirm they do not group aggro anymore."

"Excellent," Drake declared, the blue light of the crystals shifting over his young features.

Rex pushed off the wall and clutched the hilt of his new sword. "So no point man?" he asked.

"Yes," King Delavarian answered, stroking his beard and narrowing his eyes. "Though it is still extremely dangerous." The king glanced back over his shoulder at the entrance to the mysterious facility on the other side of the earth wall.

"To be honest, I'm not yet certain I should let you all in," King Delavarian said, glancing at his daughter in concern. "But time is of the essence. Just try not to draw the attention of more than one group of bots at a time, or things could get messy very fast."

Olivia looked up from a gem she was etching jamming spells onto. "You're not coming with us?" she asked.

The king shook his head. "I'm still recovering from my injury, and I need to stay behind in case Vackzilian attacks while you are gone. If he does, I will hold him back long enough for you to return."

"Understandable," Drake said, snatching the T.A.G. back from Zaphaniea and heading towards the crystals.

The king stepped into his path. "I also think you should stay with me," Delavarian told the prince. "You're not a fighter, and you'll be a liability to the rest of the group."

The prince's face remained stoic, but his shoulders stiffened "True," he answered. "However, our goal is to take full control of the facility, which will require someone skilled in hacking control systems. I have interacted with the security room in my palace since I was a child, and my knowledge will be integral to our success."