As Spike and his crew headed to the top of Skull Mountain, they saw an ancient temple, and Spike said, "I never knew this was here. But this is where the map leads, so let's get going."

As they entered the temple, they saw a shrimp-like creature who said, "Ah, you've come. I assume if you've made it this far that you have Captain Gunn's magic lens?"

Spike nodded and pulled it out, asking the creature, "And who are you?"

The creature said, "I am Salaza. A long time ago, I used to be part of Captain Gunn's crew. Those were the days, back in my youth. Then again, we Prawn live for several hundred years." before clearing his throat and continuing, "Since you have the lens, I'll take it." After Spike handed him the lens, Salaza put it in a slot and said, "The first true test is nigh. Within this temple is Captain Gunn's pet Cryptling. This is the Test of Strength. Defeat the Cryptling and the next clue will appear. Are you ready?"

Spike nodded, drawing his sword and readying his pistol hand, "Bring it on!" He had to admit, this reminded him of his Trials at the Forge, it was spot on to the traditions, facing a strong creature as a test of his strength. The only difference, the Forge trials were on his own, he had his crew with him in this fight.

As the Cryptling emerged from the temple, it was well beyond the normal size of its species. Normally, Cryptlings were only about the size of a lion, this one was the size of an elephant. Spike gulped and asked Twilight, "Any ideas Twi?"

Twilight nodded, "Its legs are its weakness, if those legs give out, it won't be able to keep up with us. But we also outnumber it, so a full-on battle should be easy enough to take care of it."

Spike smiled, he was getting used to shooting his hand pistol, and with the Doctor's naval experience, this wouldn't take long. As he shot off a bullet towards its leg, the Cryptling did nothing, and the bullet ricocheted off its leg, "Crap, it must have been trained to be bullet resistant! Well, tactics like that won't work, so I guess it's the old-fashioned way." before the crew charged at it.

As the crew attacked, the Cryptling thrashed around, until it suddenly stopped from a slap from Fluttershy, and she stared into its eyes.

Spike wondered what she was doing, just looking it in the eyes, when he realized she was using 'the stare,' her signature technique for dealing with unruly animals. It may be big, but there was no animal who could resist her stare, not even cockatrice could resist it. He sheathed his sword and yelled, "Everyone, stand down, let Fluttershy take care of this!"

The crew did as they were ordered, but some of them wondered if this was safe, letting Fluttershy take on the beast herself.

Soon enough, the Cryptling rolled over like a puppy who wanted his belly rubbed, and Fluttershy did just that while saying, "Who's a good big scary monster? You are! Yes, you are!"

Salaza's eyes widened, and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was really seeing this and said, "While highly unusual, you did technically defeat Captain Gunn's pet Cryptling, so you've passed this test. Let me see the map for a minute." when Spike handed him the map, he spoke, "Rejuviortis Spiritiato!" and the map gave off a bright glow before turning back to normal, showing the next clue.

When Salaza gave him the map back, Spike thanked him, "Thank you for your help. Considering that we've come, I suspect you have no other purpose here, do you?"

Salaza shook his head, "Other than keeping Spot here fed, there's no reason for me to stay."

Spike thought for a moment and said, "I know a great place where we can take Spot to be taken care of, and if you'd like, you can join my crew."

Salaza smiled and said, "Thank you, that's a kind offer. That I will accept. If you have a place where Spot will be well taken care of, I'll gladly join your crew."

As the spoke, Twilight was contacting a friend of hers who could take care of the Cryptling, and sent it via a teleportation spell and told him, "He's safe and sound with A.K. Yearling, he'll be well fed and have his fill of excitement."

As they headed back to the ship, Spike asked Salaza, "If you don't mind me asking, did Captain Gunn study the ancient traditions of dragons? This test reminded me of my trials at the Forge, which is off limits to anyone who isn't a dragon."

Salaza nodded, "While Captain Gunn wasn't a dragon, he was fascinated with their culture, and many of his exploits were similar to dragon culture."

Spike smiled, "Impressive. It would have been nice to meet him."

And so, Spike and his crew have come one step closer to finding Captain Gunn's lost treasure, but there are still dark things brewing in the Spiral. Will Spike be able to take on the coming darkness? Find out next time!

"What is it with these cliffhanger endings!?"

Next Chapter: Sunken Siren Sisters Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes