The Crown Jewels

The Crown Jewels

“You’ve been tipped off about the Queen’s treasury: rumored to be full of precious seeds, metals, materials, and even the court’s armor collection. It’s always closely guarded by both knights and members of the court, but if you could only just get inside, there’s surely some damage to be done- and loot to be snatched.”

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Hellbreaker 4578

Sylvie 3629

Melody 3424

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Word Count : 2321

  The jungle was an unforgiving place. If the Oviraptors were bad, they were nothing compared to the wild nature of the jungle. Hellbreaker shuffled forward, feeling the weight of the humidity sticking to his skin. Since his “talk” with the oviraptors, he had found the place they spoke of. It took him more sleepless nights than he cared to admit, but he had found just where they came from. Miraculously, he had avoided the guards of Atlantis as well. For a dinosaur his size it was quite the feat. By the time they found him he was already dangerously close to the dome's heart. Luckily for Hellbreaker, the oviraptor he intimidated was less than stellar at their job, and none in the court had heard of him yet. Unluckily, he was a massive albertosaurus. So now he was being led to his cell, as they called it, chained down like a rabid animal.

  The humidity in the jungle alone was exhausting and now Hellbreaker had to attend to the court, a collective of “Iguanodons”, “Euplosaurus”, and of course the sniveling Oviraptors from before. Starting a fight in this place would be incredibly reckless, even for him, but starting one to get out was almost worth it. Breathing was hard in the jungle, and every step had a sizable chance of being squishy wet mud that clung to his feet. The Iguanodon tied his chain around a tree, pounding the stake at the end into its bark, ensuring his relative safety. “Stay.” It commanded, like Hellbreaker was a feral dog. He huffed, baring his teeth at the dinosaur as it turned away. He settled himself on the forest floor, tucking his limbs away and curling his tail around himself. The court paid him no mind, feasting and playing games Hellbreaker only could guess. It was rather humiliating for him. Here he was, an elite predator who laid claim to a vast stretch of land now shackled to a tree somewhere in the jungle.

  A fellow prisoner near him shuffled closer, clearly trying to do it in a sneaky way but failing miserably. Hellbreaker squeezed his eyes shut, praying that this stranger wasn't actually trying to talk to him while they were in the equivalent of jail. “Psst!” They hissed, a little too loudly. Just ignore them Hellbreaker, they'll leave you alone. “Hey, psst!!” They hissed louder. Hellbreaker pressed his eyelids together so hard he was becoming dizzy. “PSST!” They said, louder still. If he just ignored them, it would be fine! They would leave him alone and he could plan how to get out of here. “Alright, fine whadda you want!” Hellbreaker burst out, interrupting his fellow prisoner. They shuffled even closer, their emerald eyes shifting around to catch if anyone was listening in. “You don’t want to be here right newbie?” Hellbreaker just frowned in response. “Look, I can tell you’re a smart guy, so here's the deal. You help me operate a jail break, and I’ll lead you to all the treasure you could ever want. I’ll even throw in a favor or two, for good luck.” They whispered, a snide grin spreading across their face. “You want to operate a jail break while the ‘court’ is breathing down our necks.” “Yes!” the dinosaur nodded enthusiastically. “See I knew you were smart, not like those other guys. I’ll show you how it's done, it’ll be as easy as blinking.” The cryolophosaurus chimed. “So, are you in or not? I’m not against leaving you here. Y'know they usually kill the big ones like yourself before too long.” They spoke absentmindedly, scratching their chin with a claw. Hellbreaker turned to the court, who were… they called that dancing? He didn’t much love the idea of being a prisoner, but the opportunity to at least try to escape was incredibly alluring. If he was going to die here, might as well go out with a bang? “Fine, but if you turn you’ll be the first I take with me.” He snarled. The dinosaur, seemingly oblivious to Hellbreakers threats, smiled widely. “Excellent. Come on, let me show you how its done.” He narrowed his eyes, his frown somehow deepening. “You and me are not going anywhere, we are chained to the ground.” “Oh yes, I almost forgot about that.” They tugged lightly on the chain in a few places before pulling slightly harder on a specific link. The chain fell away easily, as if they had turned the cool metal into water with simply their touch. “Now come! Mind your step around the tails.”

  The stranger and Hellbreaker moved in the shadows of the members of the court, keeping to the fringes as they moved and careful to not draw more attention than they needed to. The stranger introduced themselves as Melody, a midnight blue cryolophosaurus from a forest far from the dome. She was looking for her sister when she got kidnapped, also looking for the source of the mysterious plants like he had been doing when he got captured. “Now I’ve got a friend that's coming to help us out. She might be a little excentric, but she’s got charm enough to make up for it. And trust me, you do not want to get on her bad side.” Hellbreaker snorted in acknowledgment, dreading meeting yet another stranger. They already sounded an awful lot like Sylvie, but he wouldn’t call what she had ‘charm’, more like accidental beguile. Hopefully this stranger was more riveting than she was. “Ah and here she comes now! Was beginning to think she got captured or something.” Melody winked, elbowing Hellbreaker. He snarled in response, a low threatening growl. “Play nice now, we can’t have you two getting caught before we even get to the place. Melody dear, where did you say it was again?” Hellbreaker only knew one dinosaur who talked like that. He whipped his head around to see none other than Sylvie standing before him in all her irritating glory. His eyes narrowed, just her mere presence irking him. “What’re you doing here?” “I could ask you the same thing darling! But if you must know, I was following you. Unlike you, I don’t disappear for nights on end without telling anyone. When I saw you head into those doors I couldn’t let you go alone. You are lucky the guards of the dome didn’t kill you the moment you stepped on their territory darling!” She lectured, an unusual protectiveness creeping into her tone. “Why’d they let you through then.” He pressed, phasing it more as a rhetorical question. Sylvie sighed dramatically. “That is what you are worried about? They were most delighted by my singing talent of course. Hellbreaker darling please, I know I look gorgeous but my captivating looks isn’t the only alluring gift I possess.” “You should really attend one of her concerts, Sylvie did a wonderful rendition of a human song recently.” Melody chimed in from below the two large beasts. Sylvie giggled, covering her mouth with a claw. “You are too kind!” Hellbreaker was silently wishing he had less morals than he currently did. If he was half the dinosaur, he’d just leave. Unfortunately, Melody was right about Sylvie's wrath.

  “You are here to assist?” Hellbreaker interjected, interrupted Sylvie and Melody’s idle gossip. “Oh yes! Sylvie would you mind? I think today’s the day for a little pilfering. And before you ask, of course you get half the amount we can carry, I’m sure Hellbreaker wouldn’t mind.” Sylvie clicked her claws together excitedly. “Oooh yes, I would be more than happy to! Those trinkets would be an excellent addition to my collection.” “Then it’s settled! Here's the plan…”

  Hellbreaker crouched at the gates to the treasury, cloaked by the shadow of the jungle. Guards stood at its entrance, iguanodon and euoplocephalus alike. They were annoyingly watchful, sharp eyes constantly scanning the tree line. He heard Sylvie take a deep breath beside him, peeling away. She approached the guard a few meters away from them, humming to herself. The guard instantly reacted, taking up a defensive formation. “What are you doing here?” One of them commanded, a large black-color iguanadon. “Oh dear, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to intrude! Really I mean to harm, I am Sylvie. You must have heard of me? I find myself becoming quite popular around here, why I was just asked to perform later today for the court! Such an amazing audience you know, truly you must stop by later to see my performance! Ah, I appear to be lost however… I really thought I was heading in the right direction! My apologies, oh but excuse me, I’ve been chittering away all this time and I haven’t even gotten your names! It is a pleasure to meet you, I do so love what you’ve done to the place!” As Sylvie continued to ramble, Melody snuck forward to the supposed treasury. She traced a claw along the smooth rock, intricate carvings chiseled into its face. A triumphant look crossed her face as she sunk the tips of her claws into a hidden hole and she began twisting them around carefully. The guard was visibly getting more annoyed by Sylvie's presence as she made up increasingly far fetched stories. Hellbreaker shifted uncomfortably. He was supposed to go out and help Sylvie should the plan go sideways, but there were far too many dinosaurs for him to get out of it without shedding some blood and he hadn’t exactly had earning some new scars on his todo list. Melody turned her claw just so in the lock, and with a satisfying pop, the door opened just a hair. She slipped inside without a moment of hesitation, hiding in the inky darkness that Hellbreaker saw just a glimpse of. His heart pounded in his ears as he waited for the signal that this was the place they were looking for. His own breathing sounded too loud and blinking felt too overt. What seemed like hours later, he spotted Melody’s green eyes reflecting in the dark. She motioned with a single claw before disappearing again, presumably to gather as much treasure as she could.

  Hellbreaker moved as quickly as he dared, which was little faster than a snail. It was made harder by the fact that he carried a small basket in his jaws. If he didn’t hold it steady and balanced, it would give them away in an instant. At the very least he was just smaller than the iguanodons. His nails brushed the grass that curled around his feet as he moved. As he moved closer and closer, his breathing hitched, terrified that somehow the guards would hear the slightest breeze. His steps got slower and slower, reaching closer and closer to the door. He nudged it open slightly with his nose and slipped inside, pulling it back so the light pouring in was reduced to a pinprick. Hellbreaker didn’t let out his breath just yet, they still had to get out in one piece, but he turned to behold the treasure that Melody promised. Somehow even in the near darkness it seemed to glow brighter than the sun. Jewels of all colors glittered in the fading light, reflecting their rainbow light onto ornate armors and the same seeds the oviraptors had polluted his forest with. He almost regretted not speaking up to take some of the treasure for himself, but he had no place to put it. His territory was becoming increasingly more dangerous, and it would surely be stolen within a day. Melody prodded his side, holding up some of the alluring treasure in her claws. He bent down to let her slide it into the basket, turning to shovel up more to take with them. In just a few scoops the basket was nearly heavier than he could carry. Hellbreaker had to physically stop Melody from dumping more into it. She frowned slightly, but still reluctantly obliged, clutching the last of the treasure in her claws. She crept to the door, elbowing it open to peer outside cautiously. Even if he couldn’t see them, he could hear Sylvie still trying to keep the guards attention, though they were trying to forcefully turn her away now. Melody slinked away as easy as could be, pausing to look back at him as she reached the tree line before darting away and disappearing. He wanted to chase after the thief for abandoning them so close to the finish line, but even he had to admit she held up her end of the deal, even if she left them hanging. He stuck his nose out the door, feeling the door resist him slightly. Sylvie was struggling now to keep their attention. The large iguanodon that had first addressed her was trying to forcefully, albeit kindly, lead her away. The euoplo were exchanging worried glances, somehow still oblivious to what was happening just outside their peripherals.

  Hellbreaker moved slowly out from the shadows, careful to remember to close the door behind him so that the guards would be none the wiser. He managed to slip away as quiet as a mouse as Sylvie finally relented and allowed herself to be led away by the iguanodon. He was frankly surprised that the amount of jewels he was carrying hadn’t given him away, the bright gold glare and soft clinking a weird pleasant presence compared to Melody or Sylvie. He’d have to seek her out later, although she might find him first in this forest.