"Are you sure about that?", I asked the criminal when we were very close to the island, but still away to not beach our ship on the shore.
"Roseblood forces tend to avoid passing near Fire's lair since he usually kills anyone that gets too close to it... So we should be safe here", he explained and, with a sigh of relief, I dropped the anchor on the seas, stopping our ship from getting into shallow waters.
Soon, we dropped on the water in a small boat and started to paddle our way to the dry land... The volcano in our sights gave a little bit of fear, however, mainly with the smoke leaving from its top. If he really killed anyone who dared get too close, how we would get the fire element at all?
Upon reaching the shore and reaching the base of the volcano, it got a little scarier... The volcano was giant and it seemed like it could erupt any moment now. We had to do it quickly, before Fire could cover us under his magma, so I scanned the area with my eyes, searching for an entrance...
"Are you seeing some kind of temple in the volcano or anywhere close?", I asked the others, but they shook their heads... Not even a sign of life was there, it seemed like the magma just didn't give enough time for it to flourish again before covering and burning it again.
"Well, there's no temple here... If there was, it was destroyed by Fire himself... The only place where we probably can enter is... Well... On the top of it...", he said, pointing out to the volcano's mouth, from which the smoke just continued to leave.
"On the top of the volcano?", I asked for confirmation, and, to my dismay, he nodded... But with a deep breath, I gathered my courage deep inside me.
"Alright then... Let's go to the top...", I said and walked around the unstable volcano, looking for the best place to climb it up.
The fox was the first to find the best place, showing to us a path that went around the volcano, narrow, camouflaged... And of course, very dangerous and easy to trip, falling down the whole volcano. That was the only path we found, however, so we just started to climb up through it.
After walking for a while, with our legs hurting a bit with the uneven path, we reached the top... The smoke there was somehow magic, probably... Because despite how much we were forced to inhale it once we were there, they caused nothing to us. I wonder if the magma was also fake or magic... Well, that was a risk I wasn't willing to take...
"Fire? Are you there?", I called for the god, looking at the magma as if expecting him to appear from there...
But nothing happened for a few seconds, leaving us in a tense silence that just wasn't absolute because of the sounds of the volcano. Suddenly, then, a bulge formed in the middle of that magma lake, and little by little, it started to increase, shaping itself in the form of a human... But a human with a gigantic side, looking down on us...
"Who dares to disturb me?! Have I not warned you? Animals, plants... You are not allowed anywhere near me!", he said and raised his arm. By reflex, I jumped to the side and the others did the same while the god came down with his magma hand, trying to crush us, but he missed.
"Wait... I really don't want to bother you any longer, so just give me your element, and I will be gone", I told him, raising my hands to show I don't want to fight him, while also using them to cover my head. Not that it will actually protect me from the hot magma.
"You want my element? Then return later... How about never?", he said and slid his magma hand across the edge of the volcano, leaving a trail behind it... I just ran away from it the fastest I could.
Unlike Earth, this god seemed to be really angry for no real motive... Even the fox was being attacked, but he was very fast to properly dodge the hands of the god.
"Wait, what is the problem Fire? Why are you so angry?", I asked in an attempt to understand the situation and maybe stop him from attacking.
"Well, why don't you ask yourself, random knightess who invited herself to my lair as if it was your home! This place is mine, and it was made for me to be left alone!", he shouted and then raised his hand again, shaping it into an axe and swinging it towards me, my friends, and the criminal as well. I tried to jump over it, but the axe was too large for me to complete the leap without landing on the axe and burn myself a little.
To be honest, I don't believe in the answer he just gave me... I really do think he's angry for no real reason as if he had problems in controlling it... The problem was one, however, if he continued enraged like this, our chances of surviving here are close to zero. He needed to calm down...
Unable to properly move with the burn on my leg, I saw Fire raised its axe, ready to take advantage of my situation now. In desperation of the situation I started to look around for something that maybe could help and that's when I looked at the shoulder bag and remembered what Earth gave me... That small stone.
"Throw the stone on the fire!", I shouted to Jeffrey who was with the shoulder bag and he quickly nodded, throwing the rock on the lava right before the axe came down against me.
I closed my eyes at that moment, but I felt no pain, just the heat of the magma... When I opened my eyes again, the god pulled his axe away, and I finally was able to breathe, calming myself down after having almost died.
"... It makes some centuries I don't feel the power of a calming stone...", he said and started to sharing to a much more friendly size, though he was still made out of magma, that wasn't so friendly. "I am sorry for what I did just now... I have some... Rage problems. Well, I am glad that you survived... And if you have this stone, you must have met Air... If she believes in you, then so do I. What do you seek here?", he asked and I looked to my friends while trying to stand up, ignoring the pain on my leg.
"Well... I am seeking your element... You have the last one I seek", I said to him and Jeffrey showed the bottle with the elements to the god. Nodding a little to himself, the god then considered what we said and then smiled.
"Okay, I will give you my element... Just meet me at the bottom of this fire pit", he said and the level of the magma lake started to decrease, revealing a ramp on the inside of the volcano, leading down to the bottom of the volcano where a platform was set, with the god waiting for us there. It seemed too easy and too much walking... We were probably going to face our very first test while going down inside the volcano.
I wonder if I have said this already, but the Volcano named "Fire's Lair" is the only lair of the four gods that the humans happen to know. You might be wondering why, but this chapter has probably showed you. With his rage issues, the god kills anyone that gets near the volcano and doesn't let any life flourish near it... So the humans can see the destruction he does periodically from very far away and sometimes, they even see the god shape himself on top of the volcano and throw fireballs with his own hands from there. So it's almost impossible that he hides himself, at least no behaving like that.
By the way, sorry I am publishing this late, I thought I had set the timer.