Chapter 3- Mountain of the Silver Dragon

Drained and fatigued, Auric sat down to rest. As he lowered himself onto a pile of bones, a rib-bone was jostled loose and rattled as it cascaded down the pile. The deathly familiar clatter of the bones sent a numbing shiver down Auric’s back. He jumped to his feet and whirled around nervously, legs quivering. He felt ashamed about his over-reaction, and being so easily frightened. Auric knew he’d feel better once he was outside.

“Come on,” Auric muttered, “we must get moving. This place frightens me.” Racti helped Auric carry the litter, and Auric noticed by the grim look on Racti’s face that he mourned for Tannyr more than anyone else did. He looked at Zengrath, then at Tannyr’s body, knowing that everyone shared the burden of Tannyr’s misfortune. Hoping they would soon reach the end of the tunnel, the trio continued on past the fallen Hunter.

The infernal warmth of the tunnel was soon dissipated by cold gusts of air. Hugging themselves tightly against the icy blast of wind, they marched on, the bones strewn about the floor adding to their discomfort by continually scratching their legs and tripping them up.

* * *

After monotonous hours spent in darkness, they could finally discern light up ahead. Soon the glare of sunlight reflecting off the snow outside formed a blinding wall of light. They shielded their eyes, but welcomed the gleaming rays. As the party rushed to the end of the tunnel, Auric noticed the bones decreasing in number as the amount of snow increased.

Auric scanned the area outside of the tunnel, trying to regain the party’s bearings. The tunnel had exited onto a wide cliff, over the edge of which was a deep chasm. The mountains across the chasm resembled rocky teeth that chewed on the yellow-tinted sky. One mountain, which stood slightly larger than the others, stood out like a vampire’s fang thirsting for blood. Its twisted and jagged peak broke through a thick layer of ominous gray clouds.

Auric guessed that this was the dreaded mountain Zengrath was afraid of. A cold feeling of darkness trembled within Auric as he watched the mountain, knowing it harbored a great evil in its depths.

A bird soared overhead, singing a mournful cry as it passed behind the mountains across the chasm. It was a strange sight to see in a place so devoid of life.

“Which way do we go from here?” Zengrath approached the pensive half-elf, who was lost staring off distantly into the mountains.

“The path leads down that way.” Auric pointed to a path that hugged the mountain as it sloped downward to the east. “Tannyr said we can find a route that cuts through the mountains.” Auric looked to Zengrath for approval, but got none. He knew Tannyr had been mistaken before, and Zengrath knew it as well.

The winds whistled and moaned as the adventurers descended the mountain path. Trying not to slip on the ice on a downward slope was a tedious task in itself. The cold bit and snapped at their faces, hungry for their body warmth. The snow fell much harder now, and it became increasingly difficult to see what was below them. They had entered a cloud layer, a whiteout that shrouded everything in a thick, white blanket.

Suddenly, a stray snowball arced through the air, barely missing Auric’s head. It struck Tannyr’s litter, covering the dwarf’s face with a patch of wetness. Auric looked around to see the source of the snowball. “Where in blazes…”

Two more snowballs soared overhead.

Zengrath approached Auric, pointing downward. “I heard something ahead, perhaps voices. I can’t see anything though.”

“Zengrath, take the litter and stand with Racti as close as you can to the mountain.” Auric handed him his end of the litter and drew his sword. He descended slowly into the cloud layer, disappearing from sight into the sheet of nothingness.

* * *

Below the cloud layer, the ridge was wider in several places. Two goblins stood near the edge of the ridge, throwing snowballs and insults at each other. “You dwarf-loving, dung-eating cheater!” taunted the larger goblin.

Auric stood close to the side of the mountain to keep from being seen. Nasty creatures, Auric thought. He knew most goblins weren’t as dangerous as orcs or kobolds, but he had heard stories of some clans of mountain goblins gouging eyes and slicing limbs for the sheer enjoyment of watching their victims flouncing around in pain.

“I no cheater. You just sore loser!” The smaller goblin scooped a handful of snow in his scrawny hands and tossed it at the other. The snowball splattered against the larger goblin’s pudgy face. Scowling angrily, the large goblin formed his own snowball and heaved it at his companion, but missed completely.

Bad shot! These goblins couldn’t possibly pose any threat; they were too stupid, Auric decided. He couldn’t help smiling to himself at the amusing characters in front of him.

The larger goblin gave a look in Auric’s direction that contradicted his last thoughts. Ergulad! What have I done now? Auric pressed his body closer against the mountain, hoping that perhaps the goblin didn’t notice him in the mist. He could be wrong about the goblins; they may be stupid, but they could still be deadly. Auric winced at the thought of what the goblins might do.

“Funny elf! Come here!” shouted the goblin, pointing at Auric. Auric slowly approached the pair of goblins, sword held tightly in his sweaty fist. He tried to remain calm, but he knew he wouldn’t fool the goblins.

“Gorgbuk say Freznot cheat when Freznot no cheater.” The puny goblin looked up at Auric. It was barely three feet tall with green skin that covered its bony figure. Auric glanced over to the large goblin, which looked the same except for the fact that it was much fatter and had thicker ears.

“I tell you dice are good. Look!” The goblin handed two small black cubes to Auric. The six facets were carved with different colored skulls. He looked at the dice and shook them but couldn’t detect obvious signs of tampering with the dice.

“There’s nothing wrong with these dice as far as I can see.” Auric handed them to Gorgbuk. The large goblin looked the dice over, still dissatisfied. “I assure you, Gorgbuk, these dice are fine.”

Freznot grinned victoriously at Gorgbuk, who drew back his fist, about to punch him.

“Then we see in game. Roll dice!” Gorgbuk cleared an area of the ground free of snow, and dropped the dice into the area. Auric was about to leave when Gorgbuk grabbed his arm. “Stay and watch.” Auric sighed and returned to the playing area.

Freznot grabbed the dice with his left hand, and rolled them. One of the dice rolled into the snow, and the other came up as a red skull. “Reroll one that went into snow!” Gorgbuk demanded.

Freznot picked up the die with his right hand, which concealed another die, quickly transferred the secret die to his left hand, then rolled it. Another red skull came up. “Two red skulls! Double score!” Freznot jumped up and down like a little child, swinging his arms in the air. He began dancing in circles around Gorgbuk, laughing and taunting him. The larger goblin, annoyed, shoved Freznot into a snow pile.

“Now my turn.” Gorgbuk was about to pick up the dice, when Freznot leaped in front of the playing area, stopping him. Freznot snatched the dice and stepped back. The look on Freznot’s face, it seemed to Auric, held some concern, but about what he did not know.

“I want to make sure dice good before you roll, to make sure youÿdon’t cheat.” Freznot looked at the dice, and then handed them back to Gorgbuk after shuffling them in his hands, secretly replacing his die with the real one. Gorgbuk rolled the dice, and two white skulls came up.

“Two whites? I lost!”

“Pay up, Gorgbuk!” Freznot held his scrawny green hand out to the larger goblin. Gorgbuk only looked at it. “Freznot won! You must pay!” Freznot quickly made a snowball, and threw it in Gorgbuk’s face. Gorgbuk, regarding this as an act of aggression, threw a snowball of his own. It soared over Freznot’s head and over the cliff. Auric sighed at the silly goblins, who began wrestling on the ground, paying no attention to him.

As the two goblins threw snowballs at each other, Auric slipped off back to his companions. He chuckled mildly as he related the story of the goblins to the others. Suddenly, a loud gong sounded from one of the mountains across the chasm.

Auric rushed back to where the goblins were still exchanging snowballs. Freznot and Gorgbuk ceased their scuffle, and looked up at the sound of the gong. Shivering, the goblins leapt to their skinny feet and ran off down the mountain. “Hurry! He calls for us!”

“Racti, after them!”

Racti, still above the cloud layer, quickly set the litter down and rushed down toward Auric. Auric and Racti gave chase, but the goblins had already disappeared. Who was calling them? Auric thought to himself, puzzled. The two exchanged inquisitive glances and shrugged as they returned to their companions.

“I know what the gong was for.” Tannyr caught his breath and began brushing the wet broken snowball from his face.

Somewhat startled but joyous, Auric rushed over to Tannyr and hugged him. “You’re alive!” Auric’s grin stretched between his pointy ears. “How do you feel?”

“My body aches all over, but I think I can still walk.” Tannyr pushed himself free from the litter. Auric stood close to him as the dwarf rose to his feet and tried to stand. “I can stand now. I’ll be fine.” Tannyr took a deep breath and patted his stomach. He looked like a bear waking from a long hibernation.

“You said you knew about the gong?”

“Yes. It came from the Mountain of the Silver Dragon.” He pointed to the mountain in the distance across the chasm that Auric had noticed earlier. “I didn’t think they were used anymore.”

“Silver dragon? Does it have anything to do with the dragon Racti saw at the stream?”

“I don’t know. It was called that because of some clerics who worshipped a silver dragon there.” Tannyr grunted in disbelief of the clerics’ foolish notions, as he called them. “Who knows what goes on in the foul depths of that damned mountain?” Tannyr shivered at the thought.

“Perhaps there’s treasure in that mountain. You know, clerics always pay tribute to their gods.” A malicious glow appeared in Racti’s eyes. He slowly stepped toward the edge of the chasm, as if the mountain was drawing him closer to it. He seemed in a trance, not a bit his normal self. Zengrath grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Auric would have done it himself, but the wizard was closer. Racti shook out of his reverie, and looked at Zengrath.

“Racti, no! That’s where the evil dwells,” Zengrath shouted to him. The power behind the wizard’s grip surprised the thief. He weakly tried to pry his arm from Zengrath’s grasp. Zengrath released Racti, and the young thief looked at the mage, wondering where his sudden surge of strength came from. Maybe a spell, Racti thought. He then looked at the ground. He stood only a few steps from falling into the chasm. Realizing why Zengrath had stopped him, he walked away from the edge of the cliff, shaking off thoughts of his near-death.

“What now?” Tannyr shouted impatiently. He looked at Auric for an answer, but the half-elf was silent. He didn’t know what to say.

Zengrath cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him as he spoke. “As much as I fear the evil power that dwells in that mountain, I say we must go there now.” Zengrath sighed and closed his eyes.

Something is different about him now, thought Racti, and I think the mountain has something to do with it.

“Let’s go then!” Tannyr had already started down the path, with Zengrath following close behind. Auric followed after him, watching the mountain closely for any sign of the goblins. Racti, still shaking off the effects of his trance, slowly followed the others.

By the time they reached the end of the path, the snow was knee-high to the humans and half-elf, and up to Tannyr’s waist. The dwarf fell several times due to his injuries, and Auric stopped to help pull him out of the snow. The wind blew through the canyon between the two sets of mountains, making it more difficult to tread through the snowy path. Cold and tired, the adventurers pressed on.

Zengrath suddenly stopped, and looked around at the cliffs across the chasm. “We should be nearing the entrance into the Mountain of the Silver Dragon soon. It’s marked by a dragon head carved out of the rock above the mouth of a cave.” Auric wondered how Zengrath knew so much about the mountains, when before he knew little if anything. Even Tannyr seemed confused by this show of knowledge. He grumbled under his breath.

“How do we get up there? The next path could be miles from here,” Auric commented, looking up at the sheer mountainside.

Racti’s face lightened. “Anyone have a rope?” Racti reached into his small backpack, and pulled out a grappling hook.

Tannyr’s brown eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Thank Beunar!”

Auric handed Racti a coil of rope, which Racti tied to the hook. “There we have it!” He began to swing the hook around in small circles at his side. “May I do the honors?” Auric bowed to him, smiling and chuckling to himself.

The thief, skilled at rope use, whirled the rope around several times, and released it. The small hook soared upward, and as it caught in a cleft in rocks at the top of the cliff, the metallic chink of the hook against the stone amplified loudly between the two ledges.

Auric tugged on the rope to make sure it was taut against the rocks. He nodded and started up the rope. Tannyr, who was ready to climb, looked at the others impatiently. “I’m not going to be the last one up. I’ll go next.” He waited until Auric was halfway up the mountainside before he pulled his husky body onto the rope. Despite his injuries, Tannyr ascended with his usual strength.

The next to ascend was Zengrath, who had really wanted to be the first up the mountain. The frail wizard had some trouble climbing, but he clung tightly to the rope. Finally Racti started his ascent. He tied the end of his rope around his waist to catch himself in case he fell.

As Racti climbed the sheer cliff of the mountain, the others looked down on him, waiting for him to reach the top. Hurry up, thief! Zengrath mumbled under his breath. He didn’t know why exactly he had to get to the entrance, but something urged him on. Voices called to him, coaxing him to continue forward. “I’ll wait for the rest of you at the entrance, wherever it is.” Zengrath started off but halted at Auric’s command.

“No. I can’t let you go on alone. We need you, Zengrath. Stay here.” Auric grabbed the wizard’s arm, restraining him.

“Let go of my arm, Auric!” Zengrath growled, each word spoken with an unusually stern inflection. Zengrath’s face grew deathly dark, as if a shadow cloud hovered over him. His eyes reddened with ire. Auric had never seen this side of Zengrath before, and it disturbed him. Auric held his ground, but tried not to look directly into the mage’s fiery eyes. After a while, Zengrath’s face slowly returned to the normal, kind face that Auric knew. Tannyr only looked at Zengrath, perplexed.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s causing this madness. I’ve heard voices ever since we left the first cave. It must be the Silence.” He shook his head, confused at his own behavior. He normally felt strong and confident, but for the first time he felt as though he was truly weak against the power of the Silence.

“Are you sure you’re back to your usual self?” Auric wanted to release his grip, but had doubts. After a sincere nod from Zengrath, Auric let go of the wizard’s frail arm. He looked over to see Racti being pulled up over the edge of the cliff by Tannyr. “Now let’s continue. I’ll lead. Any objections?” He looked around at his three companions, hoping none of them would disagree. All three shook their heads. There wasn’t even a doubting look from Zengrath or Tannyr. With that settled, Auric marched ahead of the others toward the entrance.

The path on this side of the chasm was lined with large chunks of a smooth sparkling black rock. Zengrath stared curiously at the rocks, intrigued by the different multi-colored specks that appeared and vanished randomly. “It’s not like any gem I’ve seen before.” He reached down to touch one of the large pieces of rock, and at first touch an egg-sized piece broke off and fell to the ground, shattering. The crash of the stone resonated down in the chasm below them and amplified against the mountain. The boom was such that it felt as though the earth shook. Startled, the wizard jumped back away from the rock.

“Let me try.” Racti approached the rock, curious to repeat the mage’s experiment. He also reached his hand out and pressed it against the smooth, frictionless surface of the rock. It was warm to the touch, and the heat softly pulsated into his hand. He frowned, disappointed that the rock didn’t shatter as it did with Zengrath. He snapped a piece of the rock off. “I’m selling this back home. I should get a lot of gold for this!” He laughed and put the dark stone in his pocket.

“Enough with the blasted stones! Let’s move on. My nose is freezing!” Tannyr shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth. Zengrath and Racti looked at him and then continued walking along the path.

* * *

An hour or so later, the snow had turned to an icy rain. Travelling became more difficult as the snow and the new rain froze on the ground, making it slippery. The winds had stopped by now, but the iciness still hung in the air. “Good thing this ledge is level ground, and not going uphill,” Racti commented matter-of-factly.

“I agree. Or else we’d never make it with this damn ice,” Tannyr replied, covering himself tighter with his cloak.

An abrupt shout from Auric halted the party. “Hold on, what’s this?” He looked at a long staff sticking out of a large rock. The embedded staff was made of a light-colored but dull metal, carved with intricate interwoven patterns, which toward the top divided into two serpents twisted around an eyeball-size gem. The eyes of the serpents were tiny emeralds. ‘”It appears to be some sort of wizard’s staff.”

Zengrath froze suddenly at the sight of the staff; he had seen it before. “This is the staff of Normagus. But how did it get out here? I thought he died inside the Mountain of the Silver Dragon.”

A whispery voice spoke from behind them. “Perhaps someone put it there.” A tall figure in a cloak approached, sword emerging from the cloak. The figure removed its hood to reveal a dark-skinned face and a mass of long white hair. His golden eyes were fixed on Auric, glaring at him.

Auric recognized the individual as the dark elf who had appeared to him in the vision at the stream. “Flygin! How in Kulnor did you get out of prison?” Auric sneered at the shadow elf in contempt. He wondered where the elf’s army was, but said nothing.

“Some of the guards were sympathetic to my cause, so they helped me escape. But that doesn’t matter, Auric Ravenhelm. What does matter is that you fell into my trap.” The elf loosened his cloak, and stepped toward Auric, ready to strike.

Zengrath, who had been in silent meditation as Auric and Flygin conversed, spoke up. “Imminus dain armen dolari!” The wizard raised his hand, and a pig, possibly the brother of the first one, appeared. “Blast it,” Zengrath said. He repeated the phrase with a slightly different intonation. The pig disappeared, and a small white flame shot from his hand and landed between Flygin and the party. The dark elf watched as the flame spread into a circle around Auric and his companions, enclosing them in a ring of white fire.

“Don’t worry, the fire is harmless to us, and we’re safe as long as we remain within the circle,” Zengrath whispered to Auric.

“Damn you, wizard!” Flygin hissed in disgust, and turned back the other direction, his cloak flapping in the chilled winds. As he stomped off, Flygin waved his sword in the air, shouting and cursing. “I’m not completely finished with you yet, Auric! Your friends won’t always be there to protect you.”

After Flygin had departed, Zengrath lowered his hand. The circle of fire slowly subsided, then disappeared.

“Well done, Zengrath. I almost forgot how afraid Flygin is of magic,” Auric said, grinning.

“So, Auric, how is that staff in the rock a trap?” Racti looked at the staff, keeping some distance from it. Even though he wasn’t a wizard, he felt a cold, eerie aura of strangeness about it.

“I don’t know Racti, but we must be careful.” Auric turned to Tannyr. “Tannyr, could you hack away at the rock with your axe?”

“No, the hunk o’ rock would break the blade. I’ll use my pick instead.” The dwarf reached behind him, and unhooked something from his belt. He held out a small mining pick made of steel, with a jeweled handle. “It’s my father’s special pick, used for mining gold out of my family’s mines at Lornehoeth.” Tannyr smiled as he took a tight two-handed grip on the pick, and swung it at the rock. The mighty blow broke several large pieces from the rock.

“Look, Tannyr, it’s the litter of the pick,” Racti laughed. No one said a word.

* * *

After a half hour of hacking at the rock, the staff started to sway. Zengrath grabbed the staff, and pried it out of its rocky sheath. “Behold, the magical staff of Normagus.” Zengrath held it pointed in the air above his head, pride filling him. He lowered the staff, and struck the ground with it five times, a ritual with intentions known only to wizards. Auric didn’t understand its significance, but Zengrath took great pride in its results.

“Hey, Zen, can I see that gem?” Racti reached for the staff, but accidentally knocked it from the wizard’s grasp. It soared through the air and crashed on the rocks of the ledge.

“Look what you did, you clumsy thief! I’ll ring your scrawny little…” Zengrath again grew fiery-eyed. He reached out to grab Racti’s neck, but the agile thief dodged the less dexterous mage.

Suddenly, a strong hiss came from the broken staff that lay on the ground. The eye-sized gem, which was now cracked with a small hole in it, was giving off a bright scarlet-red glow. Smoke rose from the gem, and formed into the vague shape of a human. Zengrath’s anger faded and he fell to the ground, weakened by the draining of his power.

The apparition didn’t look at the party, but instead drifted in the direction they were headed, mumbling something that sounded to Auric like “eggs.”

“Let’s follow it. Who knows, it may lead us to the entrance.” Auric pointed to the misty figure and pursued it. Tannyr ran to follow Auric. Racti helped Zengrath to his feet, a lingering hint of fear still in him.

“You may actually have saved us, Racti. If I had continued to hold the staff, that evil spirit could have possessed me and destroyed all of you.” Zengrath hugged Racti. “Come, let’s follow that spirit.”