Something Wyverian This Way Comes

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  Steve looked at Sarah, unsure if he had heard that right.

  Rinbok lives in a mausoleum?

  I am unfamiliar with that word.

  It’s a place where dead people are buried.

  Then aye, you would be correct.

  Does he like living there? Sarah asked. Or is that something he was forced to do when he became the Dragon Lord?

  It’s an honor every wyverian strives for.

  Oh.

  The location of the cavern is a closely guarded secret, revealed only to a select few.

  Do you know where it is?

  Aye.

  How?

  Pryllan was silent. This time she was able to get her mind under control so that she wouldn’t disclose any additional details.

  Steve tapped his wife on her shoulder to get her attention.

  It’s because of Kahvel. He knows, and since he knows, Pryllan knows. Am I right?

  A sense of guilt washed over Pryllan as she realized she had inadvertently acknowledged how she had come to learn of the cavern’s location.

  Sarah put her hand on one of Pryllan’s massive claws.

  Don’t worry, Pryllan. Your secret is safe with us.

  You have my thanks.

  So how old is this elder dragon? Steve asked, changing the subject. He looked at Sarah and then up at Pryllan. Does anyone know? And what did you say his name was again?

  We are seeking Sciathan. He was hatched nearly three millennia ago.

  Steve blinked with surprise. Three thousand years old? Wow! Steve tried to whistle but was unable to hear anything. If Pryllan were to share her sight and aural abilities, then they would be able to converse normally, but apparently the dragon was reluctant to connect with more than one human at a time.

  Precisely, Pryllan agreed.

  How much of these mountains have been charted? Sarah wanted to know.

  Sarah stuck her head through a gap between Pryllan’s claws and looked down at the miles and miles of pristine forest covering the rugged peaks. Every so often they’d pass over a small lake and she would catch a glimpse of Pryllan’s massive body as viewed from down below.

  I don’t see any roads, Sarah thought. She turned to look back the direction they had come from. No structures or signs of civilization. There’s nothing but mountains and trees. Is this why the dragons choose to live around here? They prefer their privacy?

  Aye. Wyverians are typically solitary creatures, preferring isolation to companionship.

  Clearly not all dragons feel that way, Steve argued. Take you and Kahvel, for example. He’s liaison to the humans. He must like a little company now and then.

  Pryllan gave a small shake of her head.

  He used to. Now he has become a traditionalist. He would be content to live on the most remote mountain he could find. And we would be if not for the fact that he knows I crave companionship, which is what brought the two of us together. And, he knows I prefer to fly with a rider, which puzzles him to this day. Thankfully he supports me and my decision.

  You can have the best of both worlds, you know, Sarah told the dragon. Have Kahvel find his ideal setting for your nest. Then all I’d have to do is see it once and then Steve and I could visit whenever you wanted.

  Pryllan glanced briefly down at Sarah, who winked up at her. Sarah’s desire for her happiness and safety were easily read in her thoughts, and that made Pryllan determined. Determined to do whatever was necessary to assure the safety of her family. If she had to fly half way around the world then she would do so without thinking twice about it.

  And we’d be there every step of the way.

  For the second time that day, Pryllan was surprised. She had temporarily forgotten that two humans were listening to her thoughts.

  Takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?

  It does.

  Two hours later Pryllan was flying in slow circles around one of the three peaks. The center peak, a barren mountain devoid of trees, shrubs, or any type of greenery, rose sharply into the sky, culminating in a jagged point thousands of feet off the ground. Neither Steve nor Sarah could see any caves on the mountain’s surface. After they started circling around for the fourth time, Steve looked up at Pryllan.

  What exactly are you doing? We’ve been going around and around this mountain for close to fifteen minutes. I don’t see any caves. Should we try another mountain? Looks like that one to the east has caves all over it.

  No. He’s here. I can smell him.

  Where? There’s no place for him to hide.

  I don’t understand.

  What’s not to understand? If you can smell him, and since we don’t see him, then he has to be hiding somewhere. The question is, where?

  Sarah laid a hand on her husband’s arm and indicated she wanted to ask a question.

  Pryllan, do you see his cave?

  Aye.

  Steve was surprised.

  Where?

  Pryllan swooped low and circled back around to the eastern side of the crag.

  Do you see the split in the rock? High up the mountainside, perhaps several hundred feet from the summit?

  Steve had seen the crack but hadn’t figured a dragon could have made into an opening so tiny.

  That? You can’t be serious. There’s no way a dragon could fit into that. I don’t even think Pravara could slip in there.

  That crack runs mostly vertical, Sarah observed. Although near the top it does level off a bit. That’s where I can see a slight bulge, as though a piece of the mountainside is ready to break off and fall to the ground. There’s a ledge there. A small dragon might be able to use that as a cave.

  I certainly cannot fit through there. I will have to drop you two off and wait up here.

  Husband and wife eyed each other uneasily.

  Is that the only way? Steve asked.

  Aye.

  Are you absolutely sure? Sarah asked. Are you sure there’s a cave behind that crack?

  Aye. My gaze has been able to penetrate a dozen feet or so into the cave as I fly by. How much the cave widens I am not certain, only that it does.

  You sure we have the right dragon?

  I have not detected any other wyverian activity in the area. This is the location Kahvel indicated. It must be him. Besides, he knows we’re here.

  Steve sat upright and automatically glanced down at his clenched fists. His hands had turned red and were ready to ignite should the situation call for it.

  How do you know?

  I can hear him growling. Something isn’t right. I do not recall hearing a growl like this before. It is deeper than most growls, even deeper than Kahvel’s. Additionally, it sounds muted. We must be ready to depart at a moment’s notice.

  Steve pointed at the nearest neighboring mountain which was wearing a blanket of thick pine trees.

  Look at that one. It has trees everywhere. It’s the perfect place for a dragon to hide. Are you sure you don’t want to check it out first before we place ourselves in danger?

  A tree-covered mountain most assuredly guarantees you will find no dragons nearby.

  Why?

  Trees will burn, Pryllan explained. Dragons are territorial. No dragon would choose a setting where they could be driven out by a rival. While not impossible, it is highly unlikely you will find a dragon nest on any other type of mountain besides a barren one. Observe the other two peaks. Both are covered with trees. Thus, this is the correct mountain, provided Sciathan has not moved on.

  You can smell him, Sarah remembered, so…

  Sciathan is nearby, somewhere on this mountain. The only cave I can see is the one behind the split in the rock.

  Pryllan flew close to the massive crack on the eastern face of the mountain and hovered there. The amount of air being displaced by her immense leathery wings would have ripped the trees out of the ground had there been any nearby. As loud as the howling winds were, they could all hear the growls emanating from deep within the hidden cave. If the elder dragon was holed
up in the cave, he was giving every indication that he wanted to be left alone.

  We have no choice here. We must make contact with Sciathan. Steve, be ready to protect Sarah. Sarah, be ready to teleport the two of you to safety.

  I’ll take us back to your nest if I have to, Sarah promised her.

  Excellent. Are you ready?

  Steve took his wife’s hand and held it tight.

  We’re ready here. Don’t worry about trying to get us down there. Sarah can just teleport us down there.

  Acknowledged. Whenever you’re ready.

  Sarah closed her eyes and brought up a mental picture of the small ledge in front of the somewhat horizontal section of the large crack. Once she was certain she had the image safely centered in her mind she ordered her jhorun to move the two of them to the mountain. Their perch on Pryllan’s claw was replaced by a narrow expanse of rock that was only ten feet wide at its widest point and stretched south for about fifty feet before it eventually tapered away and disappeared into the sheer walls of the mountain. Instantly apparent were the vicious growls coming from within the depths of the cave. Pryllan was right. Another dragon was here and it certainly wasn’t happy to see them.

  I will be in touch.

  Steve turned to look up at Pryllan, who was circling high overhead.

  Trust me, it’s appreciated. Here we go.

  Still holding on to Sarah’s hand, they turned to face the split wall of rock. Steve nervously cleared his throat.

  “Umm, hello? Is anyone there? We’re no threat to you. You don’t need to keep growling at us. We’re friends to the wyverians.”

  The growls didn’t cease. If anything, they increased in volume. Steve paled. He let go of Sarah’s hand and stepped in front of her, igniting both of his hands as he did so. He decided to try again and this time he dropped a name he hoped the dragon would recognize.

  “We’re friends! My name is Steve and this is Sarah. We know Rinbok Intherer. Surely you’ve heard of him?”

  Something stirred deep within the darkness of the crevasse. A creature was pulling itself along the ground. Both humans quickly glanced up to make sure Pryllan was still nearby, which she was. When the creature finally emerged into the daylight Sarah went instantly sympathetic. It was a dragon, but the poor creature was in very poor condition.

  It was thin, weak, and very sickly in appearance. It pulled itself out onto the ledge and collapsed to the ground. The growls they had heard were coming from its stomach. The poor dragon was starving.

  Forgetting that this was, for all intents and purposes, an unknown dragon, Sarah rushed to the sickly wyverian’s side.

  “Are you Sciathan?”

  The feeble dragon nodded. It focused its bleary eyes on Sarah and blinked with surprise.

  “A human. What is a human doing here?”

  “At the moment I’m helping you. Pryllan! We need you to go hunting! Quickly! Find something. Anything!”

  High above, Pryllan banked sharply left and headed towards the closest source of water. Every dragon knew that locating a watering hole would be the quickest and easiest way to find game.

  Steve approached the small black dragon and squatted down low.

  “Are you hurt? No offense, man, but that right wing of yours doesn’t look right.”

  “That’s because I broke it several weeks ago when I discovered I couldn’t fly,” the dragon softly told him.

  Husband and wife shared a look. Sarah nodded and patted her shirt, verifying her medallion, a gift from Shardwyn years ago, was still there. She pulled the medallion up from beneath her clothes and activated the hidden compartment, revealing a tiny vial. She uncorked her precious elixir and applied a tiny drop to the dragon’s crippled wing. In just a few seconds the bones had rearranged themselves and had healed back together. The dragon nodded appreciatively but was still too weak to move. The elixir could heal all manner of wounds and injuries but it couldn’t cure starvation. Sarah returned the vial to her medallion and slipped it back under her shirt. She looked compassionately down at the helpless dragon.

  “How did you break your wing?”

  “I told you. I lost my ability to fly.”

  Steve nodded. “You’ve contracted this malady that’s spreading around, haven’t you? Have you lost your ability to spit fire, too?”

  Sciathan weakly nodded. “Aye. Let me tell you, it came as a surprise to me.”

  “The loss of flight is stage three,” Sarah recalled. She put a friendly hand on the dragon’s shoulder. “Without the Collective, you wouldn’t have been able to call for help.”

  “Aye. I’ve been stranded here without any way to hunt. Complicating matters is my lack of strength to climb down.”

  “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

  “It has been so long that I do not remember.”

  “How long do you typically go between meals?” Steve wanted to know.

  “A wyverian in his prime can go without sustenance for weeks at a time. The older a wyverian gets the more frequently they need to feed.”

  “So we’re standing in the presence of a super hungry dragon,” Steve concluded. “That’s just great.”

  “Fear not, human,” Sciathan told him. “I haven’t fallen so low that I’d resort to eating a human. Besides, they taste terrible.”

  “Tell me you’re joking.”

  Sciathan eyed him and said nothing.

  Steve took Sarah’s hand and pulled her away from the thin dragon. “Uh huh. We’ll wait over here, thank you very much.”

  “Your escort has left. You are over a thousand feet from solid ground. What exactly do you think you could do to prevent me from attacking you? I won’t, but I could.”

  “Your bedside manner sucks for someone who needs our help,” Steve said as he adopted a neutral tone of voice. He ignited both hands and faced the dragon. “Unlike you, my fires haven’t gone out.”

  Sciathan visibly recoiled backwards a few feet as he eyed Steve’s flaming hands. Sarah laid a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, honey. I’ve got this one.” Sarah turned to face the elder dragon. “First, it’s rude to get all snotty with us when we’re here to try and help you. Second, you have no idea who we are so you don’t know what we’re capable of doing. And third…”

  Sciathan suddenly rose several feet off the ground and swung out over open air.

  “And third,” Sarah continued, “if you so much as threaten myself or my husband, I’ll drop your sorry hide off this cliff. But, I’m sure we won’t have to resort to anything like that now, will we?”

  The small black dragon looked down at the distant ground and swallowed nervously. It nodded. Sciathan was returned to the rocky ledge and lowered back to the ground in front of a very smug Sarah.

  Sciathan regarded Steve for a few moments before he returned his attention to Sarah. Finally he lowered his head in a tiny bow.

  “Nohrin. I have heard of you. Never would I have believed that it’d be the two of you who would have come to my aid.”

  “It’s the two of us and Pryllan,” Steve corrected. He had relaxed somewhat but his hands were still that ugly shade of red which usually signified a blast of fire would be following shortly.

  “Ah. Kahvel’s mate.”

  “Do you know her?” Sarah asked.

  “Not personally, no,” Sciathan admitted.

  “Don’t worry. Pryllan will return shortly. I’m sure she’ll have no problem finding some game.”

  Sciathan sighed and sank down to the ground in an effort to conserve his limited energy. He angled his head to watch the two of them.

  “What do you know about this bug you’ve caught?” Steve asked. His hands had finally returned to a healthy pink color.

  Sciathan blinked his large silver eyes uncomprehendingly at him.

  “Your disease,” Steve clarified. “Whatever it is you caught. What can you tell us about it?”

  Sciathan gave a tiny nod. “Quite a bit. When
I realized that I had become confined to my cave, I began to think about my predicament. When that’s the only thing you’re able to do, then you do a lot of it.”

  “That means you know something about what’s going on, don’t you?” Steve said excitedly.

  Sciathan nodded.

  I will be there momentarily. I have found the partially dismembered carcass of a bolger. Please make sure there is room for me to drop it next to Sciathan.

  “Oh, gross,” Steve muttered to himself.

  “What?” Sarah asked.

  “Pryllan must have temporarily cut you out of the loop. Trust me, that’s a good thing. She found a partially eaten bolger. She’s bringing it here for him.”

  “Partially eaten? Couldn’t she have found something better?”

  Steve nudged Sarah and looked at Sciathan. The black dragon was drooling so much that a small pool had formed under his head.

  Pryllan arrived and plopped down her grisly find on the ledge. She retreated back into the air and resumed her circling of Sciathan’s peak. The elder dragon’s eyes went wide with excitement.

  “I think we should wait elsewhere,” Sarah suggested. She had promptly turned around so that she wouldn’t have to look at a half-eaten animal.

  Sciathan shook his head. “No, Nohrin, stay. You must hear this. It’s essential that I impart what I’ve learned to someone who is capable of helping.”

  Sarah started to turn back around when she heard the first crunch of bones snapping. Sciathan was tearing into his meal and enjoying every second of it. Steve caught Sarah’s arm as she was turning and rotated her back around so that she was facing away from the mouth of the cave.

  After hearing Sciathan take the third or fourth bite, Steve had to turn around and face the same direction as Sarah. Swallowing nervously to try and clear the queasy sensations running rampant throughout his stomach, Steve began humming.

  “I have figured – crunch – out quite a bit about this ailment,” Sciathan was saying, between bites. “Turns out it’s not – crunch – an ailment after all, nor is it – crunch – a disease. It’s a curse.”