Episode 3, Temple Run

"Nick, why are we in the Scorchlands?" asked James. It had been a few weeks since they stole the airship from that German man. "You're the one who suggested we come here," said Nathan. "But it's so hot," James complained.

Everyone on the crew had roles to play in order to keep the ship running. Nick was the Captain, Pilot, and current Navigator. James was the First Mate and current Engineer. Nathan was the current Lookout and Gunner, and on top of that, Nick was also the cook for the ship.

"Alright, see there's a tent," said Nathan, looking over the side. Nick had the airship stop and dropped the ladder down. "Who the hell are you?" asked Jason. "Well, I'm Nick. This is James, and that's Nathan," Nick introduced. "Well then, let's get acquainted," said Nick. Suddenly, they heard cannonfire. Nick turned and used his scythe to slice the cannonball to pieces, and Jason shot the other one out of the air. "Who's shooting at us?" James asked before climbing up the ladder. "It's government ships," he said as Nathan got in the gunner's seat. "Try to take them down," Nick said slicing more cannonballs before flying up onto one of the ships.

"YOU," said a voice as he landed, and Nick dodged a sword coming from his neck. He looked and saw a woman was slashing at him. "YOU KILLED INQUISITOR BEN!" the woman yelled at him as Nick dodged more sword swings before he thrust his hand out, and chains shot out which she easily dodged by flipping backwards.

With a fierce cry, the woman charged forward, her sword glinting in the dim light. Nick's scythe swung in a wide arc, deflecting her blow with ease. He laughed, the sound echoing through the airship.

"You can do better than that," he taunted, his eyes glowing with dark energy.

The woman gritted her teeth and lunged again, her sword striking against Nick's scythe once more. But the Demon was too strong, and he pushed her back with a burst of Umbra Magic.

With a flick of his wrist, Nick sent a bolt of dark energy hurtling towards the woman. She dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. But as she moved, Nick closed in, his scythe flashing in the air.

The woman parried his strike, but the force of the blow sent her stumbling backwards. Nick pressed his advantage, his scythe whirling through the air in a deadly dance.

Despite her best efforts, the woman was unable to keep up with Nick's speed and power. She fought with all her might, but it was clear that she was outmatched.

With a final, crushing blow, Nick sent the woman flying across the airship. She crashed to the ground, her sword clattering to the deck.

Nick stood over her, his scythe poised to strike. The woman looked up at him, her eyes filled with defiance.

"I won't give up," she gasped, struggling to her feet.

Nick merely smiled, a cruel glint in his eyes. "It's too late for that," he said. And with one swift stroke of his scythe, he ended the woman's resistance.

"That was awesome," said Jason, who had been stopping others from interfering with the fight. The ground was littered with bodies, and Nick thrust out his hand and caught several cannonballs with tendrils made of shadows before they hit Jason. "Hey, gun boy," Nick said as they fought off waves of government soldiers. "I have a proposition for you," Nick said.

"You're gonna have to tell me what that means," Jason said.

"I have a deal for you," Nick reiterated. "How about you come on my ship and join us?" Nick suggested as the shadows blocked a sword swing coming for Jason's midsection. Just as Nick himself was sliced across the chest and knocked down before being stabbed repetitively.

"Oh shit," said Jason. "They do not like you," Jason said, watching him get repeatedly stabbed before he knocked them away with a blast of yellow and blue flames, which also healed Nick's stab wounds.

"Alright, I agree to join you," said Jason as a giant pillar of fire and ice erupted from one of the other ships. "And so does he," Jason said as Marques was panicking and screaming while blasting enemies. "He's not the bravest, but he is strong," Jason said.

Soon, nothing remained of the government ship. "Why are the Emperors after us?" asked Nathan. "Didn't we steal this ship?" Nick asked as Jason and Marques climbed aboard. "This ship is pretty nice," said Jason. "Yeah, I could live here," Marques added. "Well then, let's get formally acquainted," Nick said.

"I am Nick, the Captain, Navigator, and Cook of this ship," he introduced himself.

"I'm James, the Engineer and First Mate of this ship," James said.

"I'm Nathan, the Gunner and Lookout for this ship," Nathan added.

Marques then introduced himself. "I'm Marques, I'm a kitsune so I can change my form and create illusions," he said. "And on top of that, I can use magic."

Then Jason introduced himself. "I'm Jason, I'm a phoenix so I can't die, and I have an owl named Blake," Jason said.

"So, I have this map from the Emperor ships, and it leads somewhere northeast from here," Nick said, looking between the map and the ship's navigation system. "The map notes several places of interest there," he explained to James as he fixed the engine for the third time.

"Yeah, that's all fine and dandy, but when will we get an actual engineer? I can't keep putting things that fall off back," James said. "We need new parts and someone who knows how to actually fix things."

"We'll ask around when we get there," Nick said. "What's the place called anyway?" James asked, taking off his gloves. "It's called Hinode," Nick said, reading the map. "Sounds pretty," James commented.

The ship was stopped above a grove of Cherry Blossom Trees. "It is pretty," said James. "Where are we headed?" James asked. "I'm gonna stay here and patch some holes in the ship. You guys take this map and follow it," said Nick, handing James the map. "Alright, come on. You guys heard him," said James as he, Jason, Nathan, and Marques headed towards the location on the map. Nick grabbed a set of tools from the wall and headed down to the bottom floor of the ship to repair holes in the ship using the wood that was there from when the ship was owned by Inquisitor Ben.

"Alright, this is the place," said James as they stared into a ravine. "Alright then, let's go," said Jason, jumping down into the ravine. "He is way too comfortable with his immortality," said Marques before turning into Nathan and flying down next to actual Nathan, and James followed after.

James landed next to a burning pile of flesh, and when the flames died, Jason was standing there. "Does that not hurt?" asked Nathan. "Oh yeah, like hell, but there's no repercussions, so why care?" Jason said. "There, see that? It's a temple," said Marques, who had turned back into himself. "I guess that's it," said James, approaching the door.

"Bad news, it needs a key," said James. Nathan walked right through the door, and it slid open. "I am a key," he said before he was hit in the side of the head. Everyone looked up to see a huge stone golem with one eye and long arms that could extend and retract. "Jason, get Nathan," said James, pulling out his set of Khopesh and swinging at the Golem's arm, only for the attack to do next to nothing.

Then James saw the Golem compressing its fist into its forearm and then punching James with all the force it had stored. James stood his ground and blocked with his Khopesh before knocking the fist to the side.

With a fierce battle cry, James charged forward, his blades slashing through the air. The Golem swung its arm back, trying to crush James with its giant stone fist, but he was too quick, ducking and weaving as he struck the Golem's legs with his Khopesh.

The Golem stumbled, giving James the opening he needed. He leapt onto its back, his blades hacking away at the Golem's stone body. The Golem roared in anger, trying to shake James off, but he held on tight, his Khopesh slicing through the stone armor.

With a sudden burst of strength, the Golem broke free from James' grip, sending him tumbling to the ground. Before he could recover, the Golem swung its massive fist, sending James flying across the temple.

But James was not defeated. He rose to his feet, his Khopesh glowing with light magic. With a fierce determination, he charged forward once again, his blades striking the Golem with deadly precision.

The battle raged on, the sound of metal on stone echoing through the valley. James ducked and weaved, avoiding the Golem's attacks while striking with his Khopesh. With every blow, the Golem grew weaker, its stone body beginning to crack and crumble.

Finally, with a final piercing bolt of light magic, James struck the Golem's eye, shattering the stone creature into a million pieces.

"Alright, let's continue," said Nathan. "Where'd Marques go?" asked Jason before seeing Marques come out from behind a pillar. "I'm here," he said, his voice shaking. "Where were you hiding?" asked Nathan. "No," said Marques defensively. "I just didn't think my abilities would be of much help in this scenario."

"Liar, you ran and hid," said Nathan, approaching him. "Nathan, leave him alone. He's like 13," said James. Nathan took a deep breath and continued through the temple as Jason healed James.

As they made their way through the temple, they learned that this was once a place of sacrifice. The ancient people would bring their sacrifices here and cut open their stomach and lay their entrails out, and the beast hidden here would feast upon said entrails and let them live another year.

They came upon the skeleton of the beast. "It was a Dragon, not a full-sized one. It was a dwarf dragon. They stay small, but they can also speak and have more intelligence than full-sized dragons," said Marques, looking at the skeleton. "We would not have survived this encounter," he told them. "Well, good thing it's already dead," said Nathan, kicking its skull before stepping on a hidden button. A wall slid open and revealed a pile of ancient artifacts. "Woah, this stuff is super old," said Jason. "Yeah, some of it dates back to before the cataclysm," Marques said.

"What's that?" Nathan pointed at a goblet sitting above everything else, and Marques saw the markings on the walls around it just as Nathan grabbed it. Marques shouted, "NO!"