Something Wyverian This Way Comes

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  Steve and Sarah looked at each other at the same time they heard Pryllan’s shocked reaction in their mind:

  A curse? Who would want to curse the dragons?

  “Are you sure?” Steve asked. “Who’d want to curse you dragons?”

  “Ask yourselves who – crunch – would want to curse us? Who has – crunch – the motivation to do so? By the way, I’m finished, so you may turn around now.”

  Steve and Sarah turned around and stared in wonder at the transformation happening before their eyes. Sciathan’s scales were becoming shinier. His eyes had cleared and he was now able to hold himself up off the ground indefinitely. Becoming stronger by the second, Sciathan turned back to the spot where Pryllan had dropped the carcass and gave a final lick to the dark stain on the rocks.

  “Pardon me. I do love the taste of decaying flesh. So many flavors running rampant over your tongue. How could you not enjoy that?”

  Properly grossed out, Steve’s eyes shot skyward. “Ewww. Dude, you said you were done.”

  Sciathan flicked his tongue out and ran it through several of his larger fangs.

  “Focus,” Sarah reminded the black dragon. “What were you saying about the person who had the motivation to curse the dragons?”

  Sciathan nodded. He arched his back and stretched his muscles.

  “The answer to that question is simple. We wyverians have no natural enemies. Nothing has threatened us since that fiasco several years ago with the human sorceress. By the way, I hear you played a part in that.”

  Both husband and wife nodded.

  “As I was saying, there are no known enemies of the dragons, yet last year we picked up three.”

  The two humans stared at Sciathan; shock was evident on their faces.

  “What three enemies? What happened last year, anyway?”

  “I know the dwarves finally discovered that city they had been searching for,” Sarah mentioned. “Kri’Entu was telling us about it. It’s their version of Atlantis. Is that what you’re referring to?”

  Sciathan nodded.

  “The dwarves had apparently lost a city. How someone is able to lose a city, I’m not sure. It was during this excursion that our diminutive allies stumbled across the lair of a creature that would play a significant role is this curse. Tell me, famous Nohrin, what do you know about Zweigelans?”

  Chapter 4 – A Double Dose of Revenge

  Steve looked at his wife and shook his head. She mimicked him. Neither one knew what a ‘Zweigelan’ was. Sciathan had said ‘lair’, so Steve figured it must be some type of monster. Sarah wasn’t so sure.

  “Never heard of ‘em. Since we haven’t, would you care to tell us what a Zweigelan is?”

  Sciathan nodded. “A two-headed dragon.”

  Sarah was shocked. “A two-headed dragon? Really?”

  Focusing his clear silver eyes on the two humans, Sciathan nodded. “Indeed. They are a rare cousin to the wyverians. Smaller, leaner, and much more confrontational, a Zweigelan is an elusive creature that thrives on creating chaos whenever and wherever it can.”

  “Why would Rinbok Intherer tolerate that?” Sarah asked. “He doesn’t really strike me as the type of dragon who’d allow any sort of dissent.”

  Steve smiled at his wife. “Dissent? Nice word!”

  Sarah returned his smile. “Thanks! It was on my word-a-day calendar last week.”

  Sciathan’s expression was grave. “He doesn’t, which is the whole point.”

  Steve nodded, understanding.

  “Oh. That makes sense now. You said three. There are three Zweigelans? What happened last year to make these three two-headed dragons hate you guys?”

  “One Zweigelan was located and forced to swear allegiance to Rinbok Intherer and join the Collective.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” Steve asked.

  If you believe yourself to be superior to everyone around you and therefore be exempt to anyone’s rule, don’t you think you’d view your subjugation as a negative experience?

  Steve and Sarah looked up at Pryllan flying in circles high in the sky. Even Sciathan was watching her, whether jealous that she could still fly and he couldn’t, no one could say.

  “Once the Zweigelan had joined the Collective everyone could see that perhaps this wasn’t Rinbok Intherer’s wisest move,” the elder continued. “The creature’s thoughts were dark and full of anger. We wyverians made a dangerous enemy that day, however the Dragon Lord determined the problem was resolved and dwelt no more on the matter.”

  Steve raised a hand. “I have a question. Have you ever encountered a Zweigelan before?”

  Sciathan nodded. “Once, many years ago. Believe me when I say they are cunning and not to be trusted. Ever.”

  Surprised that a dragon would refer to another dragon with such distaste, no matter how distantly related they were, Steve shared a look with Sarah.

  “They are an unpleasant bunch,” Sciathan continued, noting the surprised look the two humans had shared. “I recall it being resentful that there weren’t more of their kind, although why this would bother them remains a mystery to me.”

  “Why?” Steve prompted.

  “Because they do not tolerate other wyverians, especially their own kind.”

  “Why’d they wait so long?” Sarah wanted to know.

  Twin silver orbs focused on her as Sciathan cocked his head slightly to his left. If a dragon could have raised an eyebrow it would have done so then.

  “If they were that distrusting and resentful of their dragon brothers…”

  “Cousins,” Sciathan corrected. He briefly flicked his long forked black tongue out of his mouth and looked longingly at the dark stain on the rocks.

  “Fine. They’re your cousins. Whatever.” Sarah took a deep breath. “If they didn’t like their cousins that much then why would they resort to such a devious scheme to harm the dragons? Why would they wait so long? If they are as long-lived as the other wyverians, why now? Why not go on the attack centuries ago?”

  “Because the first Zweigelan was forced to surrender the locations of the other two.”

  Steve nodded. “I bet that ticked the other two off.”

  “One was located,” Sciathan told them. “It was forced to join the Collective as well.”

  “What about the third?” Sarah asked. “I take it that one was forced to join, too?”

  Sciathan’s black tongue snaked out of his mouth several times in rapid succession. “The third remains at large.”

  “And you suspect number three is the culprit?” Steve asked.

  Sciathan nodded. “I do.”

  “How would a dragon, even one with two-heads, be able to create a curse such as this?” Sarah wondered aloud. “As far as I’m aware, dragons don’t have jhorun, do they?”

  Sciathan shook his head. “They do not.”

  “Then how could they cast the spell necessary to create this curse?” Sarah demanded. “Something doesn’t add up.”

  Sciathan easily lifted himself off the ground and approached Sarah. “Do you not think the renegade Zweigelan has the motivation to find someone that could?”

  Steve choked. “Could what? Create a curse? Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s only one wizard in Lentari, and that’s Shardwyn. I doubt very much his services are for hire like that. There’s no way he’d be involved with a scheme like this.”

  “Thaden wouldn’t be able to do it,” Sarah reminded her husband. “Not only was he a poor excuse for a wizard, he had his jhorun stripped from him. So the Ylanian wizard is out.”

  “There might be another Ylanian wizard,” Steve suggested. “I remember Ylani’s capital, Zaran, had a resident wizard, too. What about him?”

  Sarah stared at Steve with a look of pity on her face. “Have you forgotten when we went undercover with Rhenyon up there? We were able to find out that everyone in that neighboring kingdom had subpar jhoruns when compared to the people of Lentari. There’s no one there that’s powerful enough
to do this. Trust me. Ylani is out.”

  Steve nodded, pleased. “Then that leaves Lentari, and since we know Shardwyn wouldn’t do anything like that, it couldn’t possibly be a wizard’s doing. Everyone is spoken for.”

  Are you sure about that?

  Both humans looked up as Pryllan’s shadow passed over them.

  “Don’t even go there,” Steve warned. “You’re suggesting there’s another wizard out there and his services are for hire. That’s not even funny.”

  I did not mean to offend. I merely offer it as a suggestion.

  “No one is offended,” Sarah assured the dragon. She frowned at her husband. “She’s only trying to help. Now apologize.”

  Steve sighed. “Sorry, Pryllan. Didn’t mean to bite your head off.”

  Bite my head off? That is physiologically impossible.

  “It’s a figure of speech. It means I shouldn’t have been rude.”

  I see. Your apology is accepted.

  Steve smiled. “Thanks.”

  “It’s an interesting suggestion, though,” Sarah conceded. “What if there is a second wizard hiding in Lentari?”

  Steve held up his hands.

  “Wait. Just wait a minute. Let’s say for the sake of argument that there is another wizard out there and he’s the one that cursed the dragons. What ties would he have to the wyverians? I mean, what’s his motivation? I thought we were talking about these two-headed suckers?”

  “We are,” Sciathan confirmed. “We have identified the motivation behind this curse. Now we’re attempting to discover how the curse was created so that we might better understand how to neutralize it.”

  “So you’re suggesting that this third Zweigelan is the one responsible for bringing about this curse?” Steve shook his head. “I find that hard to believe. Even if there were renegade wizards lurking about in Lentari, and I’m not saying there are, how would a completely conspicuous two-headed dragon manage to contact one? I don’t care how small this dragon is. Can you just imagine a Zweigelan trying to sneak in to Donlari?”

  “What I can imagine,” Sciathan countered as he fixed his silvery eyes on Steve, “is that if this Zweigelan was half as active as the first, then it’s highly possible that it could have learned about the existence of someone, anyone, who might be able to help it exact revenge.”

  “What does that mean?” Steve asked, puzzled. “Half as active as the first? What is it that these Zweigelans do?”

  “The Lentarian Zweigelan accosted travelers and asked them riddles,” Sciathan told them.

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Steve said as he turned to Sarah. “Sounds like the Egyptian sphinxes.”

  “I’m not familiar with that word,” Sciathan admitted.

  Nor am I.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Steve told Sciathan, briefly glancing up at Pryllan. He looked back at the small black dragon and shrugged. “I’ll be quiet now.”

  Sarah stifled a laugh.

  “If the traveler answered the riddle correctly,” Sciathan continued, “then they would be free to go about their business.”

  “And if they didn’t?” Steve prompted, already guessing what the answer would be.

  “They’d lose everything they were carrying.”

  “That’s so not what I thought you were going to say.”

  “What does the Zweigelan do with its winnings?” Sarah asked.

  Sciathan gave the approximation of a shrug. “Unknown. It was reported that its nest was extensive. My guess would be that it keeps its victims’ possessions as a type of trophy.”

  “Suggesting that it was a hoarder,” Sarah deduced. “Got it.”

  “So what now?” Steve wanted to know. “Where do we go from here? If we are to assume everything Sciathan said is right…”

  “If you are to assume what I said was right?” Sciathan repeated, incredulous.

  “It’s a figure of speech. Relax. Now, if what the elder says is true, where do we go from here?”

  “I think the first thing we should do is check in with Kri’Entu and Shardwyn. They need to know what’s going on.”

  “Knowing Rinbok Intherer as well as I do,” Sciathan began, “he won’t want our troubles publicly announced to any other species, including the humans.”

  “Not even if the humans offer their help?” Sarah asked, annoyed.

  “Have you not met the Dragon Lord?” Sciathan countered.

  Sarah nodded. “Good point. Tell you what. We’ll promise not to let the king know what’s going on, only that we’re helping Pryllan and Kahvel with a personal problem. That way Rinbok would be able to keep as much dignity as possible. Would that suffice?”

  It would.

  “It would,” Sciathan echoed, mirroring Pryllan’s sentiments.

  “Are you going to be alright up here by yourself?” Sarah asked the elder black dragon. “Would you like me to lower you to the ground? At least you’d be able to find some food.”

  “There will be no hunting for me.” Sciathan shook his head. “I am too old to try and sneak up on unsuspecting prey and if I were to find game, without my flames I might as well ask my prey to smash themselves over the head with a rock.”

  I will find more game which will hold him until this infernal curse is broken.

  Steve relayed Pryllan’s thought to Sciathan, who nodded his appreciation. The elder dragon looked forlornly up at the sky.

  “Don’t worry,” Steve assured the small dragon. “We’ll break this curse and get you back in the air before you know it.”

  “You cannot guarantee that with any certainty,” Sciathan argued. “That being said, thank you for trying.”

  After Pryllan had deposited several more hapless victims onto the ledge next to Sciathan’s cave, Steve and Sarah bid farewell to the elder dragon and returned to Pryllan’s open palm. Together they retreated into the sky and vanished amongst the clouds.

  We go to R’Tal?

  Yes, Steve nodded. We need to check with Shardwyn to see about the possibility of any other wizards being in Lentari. Maybe there’s some type of test he can do to check for unregistered wizards.

  Unregistered wizards? Sarah repeated, laughing. Is that a technical term?

  Steve shrugged. For now. Pryllan, how long will it take for you to get there?

  Perhaps two hours.

  Steve turned to his wife. Couldn’t you teleport her there?

  I would rather fly as teleportation is an unpleasant sensation.

  It does take some getting used to, Steve agreed. Alright, we fly.

  Approximately two hours later Pryllan was approaching the many orchards north of R’Tal castle. A subtle shift of her weight forward had her dipping below the heavy moisture-rich clouds that were blanketing the castle and threatening to rain on the many villagers below. Thankfully the clouds managed to keep her massive form concealed. In fact, not one human noticed that a wyverian had just passed directly over the castle less than a hundred feet away.

  Landing quietly at the base of the large grassy mound with fruit trees all around them, Pryllan quickly hurried into the mouth of the large, dark cave. This cave, Pryllan knew, had been constructed by the human king for any dragon to use while in the area. At the time, it had been an unprecedented gesture on the humans’ part and was largely responsible for an invitation to open negotiations between Rinbok Intherer and the human king, Kri’Entu. That historic meeting had culminated with the first ever wyverian-human pact that anyone had ever known.

  Steve’s thought suddenly appeared in the midst of hers.

  Rinbok agreed to meet with Kri’Entu because of this cavern?

  Pryllan jumped with surprise. Once again she had forgotten that her thoughts were being broadcast to two human listeners.

  Sorry. We’ve landed. Usually you turn off the telepathy and resume normal talking.

  Withdrawing her senses, Pryllan nodded. With her thoughts once more accessible to her and her alone, she took stock of their situation. They had just emerged
into the huge cavern below the orchard. The total absence of light didn’t disturb her in the slightest. Quite the contrary, most dragons preferred the dark and actively sought out caves that were buried deep within mountains, or concealed within broken slabs of rock, as was the case with Sciathan.

  Closing both of her eyes, she switched her vision to her parietal eye. This organ was concealed beneath a flap of her skin directly between her two primary eyes and could be detected by observing a patch of skin that was slightly duller than her typical emerald green color.

  The confines of the cave leapt into focus for her and she glanced down at the two humans. Sarah was clutching one of her mate’s hands and was whispering in Steve’s ear. Finished with whatever she had to say, she watched Sarah blindly cast her eyes about the cavern.

  “There is nothing to see, Sarah,” Pryllan gently told her. “Do not look so alarmed.”

  Pryllan’s gaze shifted to Steve, who was subtly gesturing with his right hand. Knowing what was coming; Pryllan quickly switched back to her primary vision and kept her eyes closed. Several seconds later a huge fireball appeared and zoomed around the cavern to light the torches placed at twenty foot intervals on the walls.

  Sighing inwardly, Pryllan opened her eyes and looked back at the two humans. She blinked her eyes with surprise. Sarah had vanished.

  "Has Sarah gone to ask about the renegade wizard?”

  Steve nodded. “Yes. She told me that she’s going to give the Kri’yans a friendly hello and then see about talking to Shardwyn.”

  “And you did not go with her?”

  Steve shrugged. “I offered, but she doesn’t want to leave you alone in here, so I’m to keep you company.”

  “Appreciated, but unnecessary.”

  Steve smiled. “Trust me, I know.” He slowly sank down to the floor and rested his back up against the closest wall.

  Pryllan settled herself to the ground as well. “What will you do if the wizard knows naught of a renegade sorcerer?”

  “I don’t know,” Steve admitted. “The way I see it we have two possible avenues to explore. First, we see if we can find whoever is responsible for creating the curse. And second, even if the existence of another wizard is confirmed, we still need to interrogate the mastermind of this whole nasty affair.”