Chapter 10 - Here There Be Dragons

The blackness of the room beyond the door crept into the cavern. Dragon odor escaped as well, the nauseating cloud reeking like a charred scrap of armor. “If a silver dragon smells like that,” Racti joked, “I’m glad I never met one.”

“So far, so good,” Tannyr responded, peering in to the darkness. He gripped his battle-axe tightly with both hands, ready to place a critical blow if needed. Everyone followed suit: Auric drew his sword and slashed it in the air in front of him, and Racti armed himself with his sword in his right hand and dagger in his left. Teria selected an arrow from her quiver and placed it against her bowstring, while Zengrath and Sartrem moved behind the others.

“Let’s go. It would be better if we surprise them before they ambush us.” Auric was the first to proceed into the shadows ahead. When the last of Auric’s white hair disappeared from sight, his companions made their way through the doorway.

Even Auric’s elvensight couldn’t pick up a quick movement in the dark. Two creatures lurked about, circling the party and growling inaudibly.

“I feel something in this room,” Auric uttered, scanning the darkness around him. “We’re not alone.”

“Maybe,” Zengrath added, “the dragons are in here with us.” With a flip of Zengrath’s hand the room was brightened, revealing the two that had evaded Auric’s sight.

“Goblins?” Teria’s face sunk. “We come for dragons and all we get are two measly goblins.”

One of the goblins flailed his arms in the air. “Measly goblins? We stronger than you can imagine, wench. Our master sent us here to stop you.”

Auric recognized the dice-playing snowball thrower and his companion from their earlier encounter.

“Who is your master? A silver dragon?” Auric took a dominating step toward Gorgbuk, who put up his fists.

“No, master is not dragon. He is…” Gorgbuk gasped as an elbow to his ribs from Freznot silenced him. Gorgbuk rubbed his chest. “He looking for dragons too. We go with you to find them.”

“If your master can’t find the dragons, what makes him think we will?” Sartrem argued, drawing a dagger and waving it in the air at Gorgbuk.

“You smart. He been watching you. You escape from lizards, you outsmart black elves, and you get through big door.”

A thunderous rumble in the cavern ahead tilted the ground beneath them, especially Zengrath, causing the wizard to lose his balance and concentration on the light spell. The room was again shrouded in black as Racti and Tannyr helped Zengrath to his feet and led him in the direction of the sound. The voices of the confused goblins faded into the distance in the opposite direction as they ran off shouting, “They went this way, after them!”

Auric’s elven eyes peered ahead of the group, straining to focus beyond the boundaries of his infravision to determine what had caused the rumble. At last, he made out two silver shadows awaiting them deeper in the cavern.

“Stop here,” Auric whispered to the closest companion behind him, “I can see dragons.”

Teria, the one closest to Auric, ran her finger along her bowstring, plucking it. “Do they see us?” she whispered back.

“Dragons have excellent eyesight, but they haven’t seen us yet. They’re facing the other way.”

“Then let’s keep it that way!” Racti ducked behind a cluster of large rocks, pulling Auric and Teria down with him. Still cloaked in darkness, Auric noticed the shapes of Tannyr, Zengrath and Sartrem concealing themselves behind another clump of boulders.

Auric stared at the dragons before him, mouth open in awe. The goose bumps on his arms rose to attention as he watched the marvelous spectacle. The dragons’ wings, tucked neatly against their backs, were larger than those of most of the dragons Auric had seen before. A mane of thick fur bloomed around each dragon’s head. Auric wished there was more light so he could see the shape of these creatures in more detail. He waved his arm in the air so Zengrath could see him, but he gained more than the wizard’s attention.

One of the dragons had turned around and noticed Auric’s signal to Zengrath. “Don’t think I can’t see you. Come out from your hiding places.”

“Now you’ve done it, Auric,” Tannyr grumbled as he stood up, knees cracking. The others stood soon after.

“We can see you perfectly,” the other dragon, obviously a female, spoke. “But you’re having trouble seeing us in the dark. We shall help you with that.” The female dragon cocked her head and spit a ball of flame away from the group. The cavern was flooded with light, granting Auric’s wish.

Scales of silver reflected the luminous yellow flame, glittering with the splendor of the fantastic beasts. The male was slightly larger than the female. His patriarchal face sagged a bit, showing his age. “They seem almost amazed at the sight of us, Stryloc,” the female purred to the other, noting the expressions of awe from the small figures staring at them.

“Yes indeed,” Stryloc replied, tossing his blue-lavender mane. “You would think they’ve never seen a dragon before.” Stryloc chuckled, shaking the ground lightly.

“Dragons, yes. Silver, no. Truly, you’re an amazing sight,” Auric responded as he stepped closer to get a better look. A cautious look in Stryloc’s eyes froze Auric in his tracks, holding him at that distance.

“Amazing or not, I’ve come here with a purpose and I’m going to complete it,” Teria said. She fished a thin arrow from her quiver and loaded her bow, aiming it directly at the female dragon’s shimmering eyes.

Zengrath reached toward the bow, grabbing the arrow just below the head. “Wait, we don’t want to provoke the dragons to attack.”

“Wise decision, wizard. While we’re a peaceful breed of our kind, we do attack if provoked, and can be quite deadly.” The female dragon opened her wings slightly and displayed her full body mass, taking in a deep breath of air to appear larger.

Teria slowly lowered her bow, trying to mask her fear with a stern expression. “Peaceful breed? Silver dragons have been attacking towns and village, leaving them mercilessly destroyed. You call yourselves peaceful?”

The female dragon lunged her head toward Teria, her nostrils inches from Teria’s face. The archer could feel the hot, dry breath of the dragon crawling along her neck. She stood shaking as a chill of fright shot straight down her spine. The dragon’s large piercing eyes glared at her. “Our attacks were vengeance against the descendants of those who killed and captured our ancestors.”

“Calm yourself, Rhulyrn,” Stryloc interrupted, and then turned to Auric and the others. “We do regret that innocent lives were taken, but justice needed to be served.”

Rhulyrn moved her head away from Teria, who stumbled back in relief at being out of the dragon’s intimidating gaze. Luckily Racti was right behind Teria to catch her under her arms as she almost fell. Racti grinned as he helped her stand.

“Tell us your side of things,” Auric suggested to the dragons. “We’ve already heard several accounts of the situation already, and each one fits more pieces to this puzzle. We’d like to hear your side of the story now.” Auric sat on the closest rock and waited.

Stryloc nodded to Rhulyrn and began:

“Our kind has been hunted for thousands of years; even the primitive humans preyed on the first silver dragons. Our parents told us about the killings that took place; the burnings and mutilation of silver dragons all over the world. They said it was because we were believed to have some power, that we would bring an apocalypse to the world. I tell you, we have no such power!” Stryloc clutched a rock in its claw, crushing it between his talons. The shards of rock showered to the ground at his feet. By now, everyone was seated not far from the dragons, like children around the village storyteller.

“Just the foolish beliefs of a cult,” Rhulyrn added sardonically. “One of the clerics managed to imprison our parents here in the mountain for centuries. I don’t know what kind of magic he used, but it was not of this world.”

“I know of the magic that was used to imprison your parents,” Zengrath said, “and what has infected you with this unnatural rage that has caused you to create such damage.” He slowly rose to his feet and stepped toward the dragons. They sat quiet and harmless, heeding the old man’s calming words. “I also know how we can stop it, but to speak of the power behind the Silence in the common tongue would be to tear the voice from my throat and the life force from my body.”

“What on Kulnor is he talking about?” Tannyr looked around for an answer, but only Racti shrugged.

“Furthermore, what is he doing? He’s getting too close to those dragons,” Teria whispered to Auric.

“It’s as though he’s wearing a charm over the dragons,” Auric whispered back. “I heard rumors that he was born among dragons, but never believed them. Now I think I’m beginning to…”

Rhulyrn and Stryloc stretched their scaly necks so their heads were both in front of Zengrath. Unlike Teria, Zengrath remained calm and steadfast. In an instant the orange light of the flame shifted to an icy blue as Zengrath and the dragons closed their eyes in unison. Now the air had a scent of incense, and a purple halo encompassed the trio, their minds relaying information over the ethereal waves that connected them.

Everyone watched curiously as the trio stood in this stasis for several minutes. Racti, despite Auric’s attempts to stop him, called out to Zengrath, but the bubble that formed around the mage and the dragons silenced his voice to no more than a whisper.

In a moment it was over. The glow and the blue lights were gone and the cavern returned to normal, though the sense of mystery remained. Zengrath returned to his friends, a victorious grin on his face.

“I’ve never seen such magic performed in my day,” Sartrem gasped in amazement. “What did you do?”

“I created a thoughtlace, a magical web where the dragons and I could share our thoughts. I told them about the Silence and its presence here in the mountain. They agreed to help us if we destroy the source of the power over them.”

Sartrem raised a mouse-brown eyebrow. “If the dragons are as powerful as they claim, why do they need us?”

“The dragons themselves are powerless against the Silence, since they are under its control. If we can defeat the source of the Silence’s power, then the dragons can use their full ability to help us out of here.”

Tannyr’s already confused expression grew. “I thought that you said the dragons are what caused the evil.”

Zengrath nodded. “That I did, but that was before. Remember the spirit from the staff, or the goblin’s ‘master’? Whoever or whatever that entity is, it’s using the Silence against all of us, even the dragons.” The mage slammed his staff against the ground.