In the Realm of Dragons

by George Ivanoff

  About the Book

  You’ve always been obsessed with dragons. And when you find out there are legends about them near your school camp, you have to investigate. Soon, you stumble upon two strange-looking eggs – it seems the tales are true! But will the dragons be friend or foe?

  Will you gain a powerful sidekick, or will you step into a perilous world of fire and ice?

  YOU CHOOSE …

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  You Choose 10: In the Realm of Dragons

  Copyright Notice

  For Victoria Edith Lawson Kammel (Hi Tori!), the biggest dragon fan I know – G. I.

  AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

  You scream as the ground gives way beneath you and you fall.

  THUD!

  You land on the hard ground. You grope around for your torch, until you finally grasp it in your hand and switch it on. Struggling to your feet, you make sure that you’re unhurt, and then look about.

  You are in a pit with rock walls. You look up. It’s high. That was quite a drop. You’re lucky that a couple of bruises is all you got.

  You call out for help.

  There is no response.

  You groan. Why did you go off on your own? That was a silly thing to do. You should have stayed at the school camp.

  But how could you resist the possibility of dragons? You’ve been obsessed with the mythical creatures since you were little. When you found out there were legends about dragons having once lived in Wenley Caves near your school camp … well, you just had to investigate.

  So, here you are, stuck at the bottom of a hole in a cave. And no one knows where to find you.

  You slump to the ground and knock against something. You shine the torch downwards. There’s a smooth object half-buried in the sand. You dig it out. It looks like a large egg, about the size of a football. It’s bright red. You continue digging and find a smaller egg, about the size of an ordinary chook egg. It’s a sort of teal colour.

  Could these be dragon eggs? you wonder, excitement building.

  But what good are they to you if you’re stuck in a pit?

  You notice a slight breeze. Still holding the smaller egg, you wave your torch around and find a crevice in one of the rock walls. You can feel a waft of air coming through it. Is it a way out?

  But the crevice is tight. You’re not even sure you could fit.

  If you want to try squeezing through the crack in the wall, go here.

  If you’ d rather stay where you are and shout for help, go here.

  You look up and shout for help.

  To your surprise, a face appears. Wide eyes peer down at you from behind orange-tinted glasses, and long dreadlocked hair explodes from under a pith helmet, hanging around a thin, bony face. The eyes glare at you.

  ‘In a bit of a pickle, I see.’ The voice is sharp and brusque, not at all friendly. ‘Myfanwy Adeline Thelma Binglington-Smithe, cryptozoologist, at your service.’

  Crypto-what?

  ‘Cryptozoologist,’ snaps Myfanwy. ‘I study animals that conventional science has yet to acknowledge. And I search for evidence, proof of existence, so that my name will go down in history and be on the lips of every school-aged child.’

  You doubt that any schoolkid would willingly remember a name like Myfanwy Ad-something Whatsit Who-Cares.

  ‘I have a rope that I shall use to rescue you,’ calls Myfanwy. ‘But first I require you to look around and tell me if there’s anything down there with you. Then, and only then, will I lower the rope.’

  What?

  ‘You heard me,’ insists Myfanwy. ‘No search, no rescue. Once you have reported on what is in the pit, I shall lower the rope.’

  Seriously? you think.

  Now, do you tell this crazy crypto zoologist about the eggs you found?

  To tell Myfanwy about the eggs, go here.

  To keep the eggs a secret, go here.

  You can’t just sit here and wait. You decide to try to exit through the crack in the wall. Reluctantly leaving behind the big egg, you pocket the little one and wedge yourself into the crevice.

  It’s a tight fit. You take a deep breath in an attempt to make yourself slimmer, and squeeze along. Even so, the rock wall catches at your clothes and scratches at your skin. For a brief moment you think you might get stuck. Your heart races and sweat forms on your brow.

  You accidentally drop the torch. There’s no room for you to bend down to get it, so you continue without it. Your panic rises.

  But after a metre or so, the crevice starts to widen. You see light up ahead and quicken your pace. Moments later, you emerge into a cavern.

  It is an extraordinary sight. Stalactites hang from the ceiling and stalagmites protrude from the floor. Glowing lines of phosphorescence wind their way around these rocky structures and spread out along the walls and ceiling like a spider web.

  You weave your way between the structures towards a tunnel at the far end of the cavern. Reaching it, you see that it is in fact two branching tunnels. One ends a short way ahead with a burst of daylight; the other is dark and gloomy with no visible end.

  You are about to head for freedom through the short tunnel when you hear an indistinct whispering from the other one. It’s insistent and enticing, and strangely also seems to be inside your head.

  If you want to investigate the sound, go here.

  If you’ d rather just get out of here, go here.

  You don’t think you can trust this weird cryptozoologist. You pop the small egg into your pocket and bury the larger one. Then you shout to her that there’s nothing to report.

  Myfanwy grumbles as she lowers the rope and pulls you up. She’s wearing a pastel yellow safari suit that has short pants and sleeves, and heavy hiking boots. She looks quite comical with the suit, helmet and dreads, though her voice is anything but funny.

  ‘Are you absolutely certain nothing was down there?’ demands Myfanwy. ‘No bones? No eggs? Nothing?’

  You nod, make your excuses and hurry off. As you exit the cave, you look up nervously at the precariously positioned rock on the mountainside above the cave. It seems as if a strong breeze could make it topple.

  You head back to school camp, glancing anxiously over your shoulder. You can’t see her, but you’re worried the strange cryptozoologist might be following you. You quicken your pace, race back to camp, run into your cabin and slam the door shut.

  You take the egg out of your pocket and stare at it. Could it really be a dragon egg? You can feel your excitement mounting. Maybe you could get it to hatch. It’s all about keeping the egg warm, isn’t it? Perhaps you should put it by the heater.

  But then your stomach grumbles. You look at the clock on the wall. It’s past lunchtime. If you don’t hurry, there won’t be any food left in the cafeteria. You could hide the egg under your pillow until after you’ve eaten.

  To hide the egg and head out for lunch, go here.

  To stay and heat the egg to see what happens, go here.

  You walk along the tunnel and out into daylight.

  Your jaw drops and your heartbeat quickens. Everything looks different from how it did when you entered the caves. A rocky landscape spreads out before you, craggy mountain ranges in the distance. The trees are tall and slim; glossy trunks with eruptions of gold leaves. The bushes are scraggly and spiky. And … the sky has a purple tinge. It’s as if you’ve stepped into another world.

  You continue to walk ahead, mouth hanging open in amazement, the earth and stone crunching beneath your sneakers like broken glass. You look down. The ground is littered with sparkling azure pebbles.

  A screechi
ng sound fills the air.

  You look up.

  Can this get any more astonishing?

  You look away, blink, rub your eyes and turn back. No, you aren’t dreaming.

  There are two dragons in the sky: a gigantic red dragon with accents of orange and yellow spewing flames, and a blue and white dragon spitting bolts of ice. They’re fighting!

  It’s incredible! It’s unbelievable! It can’t be real.

  A ball of fire strikes the ground to your left, exploding in a burst of heat. You are thrown to the ground. Your heart is thumping overtime and you’re shaking all over as you get to your feet.

  Okay … so this is real!

  The battling dragons are coming closer to you.

  You look back, wondering if you should return to the shelter of the caves. But you’ve walked quite a distance.

  A bolt of ice hits the tree to your right. The tree freezes, encased in glittering frost.

  There are some boulders not too far ahead. Perhaps you should seek shelter there?

  If you want to run back to the caves, go here.

  If you want to head for the boulders, go here.

  Heart pounding, you race for the caves. You can hear the dragons screeching above you. You can feel the alternating chill of ice and heat of flame at your back.

  The shrieking fills your ears and the air around you reverberates with the sound. You leap into the cave entrance.

  WHOOSH!

  An icy blast from the gaping jaws of the blue and white dragon strikes the cave.

  You are snap-frozen in mid-air, encased in ice, unable to move. The chill seeps into your bones and your consciousness slips. You are doomed to a frosted forever!

  You gently place the egg under your pillow, lock your door and head off for lunch. Sadly, there is not much choice left by the time you get there, so you eat a stale cracker with some cold celery and brussels sprout soup.

  You return to your cabin to discover that your door has been forced open. Inside, the room is a mess. Drawers and cupboards have been emptied, the contents thrown out onto the floor, everything has been swept off the shelves and your bed has been turned over.

  The egg is gone.

  You hear the screech of tyres from outside. Through the window you see a pick-up truck kick up dust as it tears across the campground.

  ‘I shall be famous!’ hoots Myfanwy through the open driver’s window.

  You are lamenting the loss of the egg when Mr Strickland, the strictest teacher at your school, looks in the door.

  ‘What in the world have you done to your cabin?’ he bellows. ‘This is unacceptable! You will be staying here to sort out this mess instead of going on the lake excursion this afternoon.’ He storms off in a huff.

  Not only have you lost the dragon egg, you are now also missing out on fun camp activities.

  What else could possibly go wrong? you wonder as you start cleaning up.

  And that’s when you trip over your bag, landing on top of it and smashing the iPod you weren’t supposed to have brought with you to camp.

  Lunch can wait. The dragon egg is way more important.

  You lock the door, switch on the heater and place the egg in front of it.

  And wait.

  And wait some more.

  Did the egg just move?

  You stare at it intently. It shudders. It jitters. It rolls forward. A crack appears in its surface, slowly making its way through the shell, spreading and splitting.

  SNAP!

  The egg splinters apart, revealing the cutest little dragon you’ve ever seen. It is bluey-green in colour, with tiny wings and round eyes that seem too big for its body. You reach towards it but are interrupted by a harsh knocking on the door.

  ‘Open up, you brat!’

  It’s Myfanwy’s voice.

  A word suddenly forms in your mind – HIDE!

  You look down at your mini dragon. It’s really small, so you pick it up and gently put it into your jacket pocket.

  You open the door to the cryptozoologist’s withering stare. ‘Nothing in the pit, huh? Luckily I went down to double-check and guess what I found? An egg. A dragon egg! Were there any other eggs?’

  You shake your head.

  ‘I don’t trust you.’ Myfanwy points an accusing finger at your face. ‘If I find out that you’re lying, there’s going to be trouble.’ She pauses. ‘Why is it so hot in here?’

  You shrug.

  She gives you one last scornful glare, turns abruptly and marches off.

  You close the door, switch off the heater and gently take the dragon out of your pocket. Wow! It’s grown already. It’s twice the size it was.

  Friend. The word springs into your brain. You look at the little dragon and wonder if it’s somehow putting thoughts into your mind.

  There’s another knock on the door.

  ‘Hey, it’s me, Ravi. You weren’t at lunch, so I just wanted to check that you were okay.’

  It’s your best friend. Should you let him see the dragon?

  If you want to introduce Ravi to the dragon, go here.

  But if you’ d rather keep it a secret, go here.

  You open the door and hold out your hand, with the little dragon sitting in your palm.

  Ravi stares at it for a few seconds, slowly opens his mouth and then lets loose the loudest, most piercing scream you have ever heard. It could shatter glass! Throwing his arms around hysterically, he runs off.

  You’re stunned by his reaction. This dragon isn’t scary – it’s cute!

  Now what are you going to do? You’re about to close the door when Myfanwy appears.

  ‘I knew it!’ she screeches. ‘You were lying. That is a dangerous animal in desperate need of scientific study.’ She leans in and glares at you. ‘Hand it over, or I’ll call the police.’

  You look sadly at the dragon. You really don’t have any choice.

  Go here.

  You make a dash for the boulders and throw yourself behind them. Peeking out, you watch the battle unfold in the sky above.

  The red dragon spews fire at its opponent. The blue and white dragon dodges and retaliates, shooting three bolts of ice from its mouth in quick succession.

  The fire dragon swoops low over the landscape, towards the cave. The ice dragon follows, spitting another frozen bolt. The first dragon pulls up, avoiding the chilly blast … which hits the cave. You watch in awe as the cave is suddenly encased in ice.

  You breathe a sigh of relief. If you had run to the cave, you would have been frozen inside it. But you haven’t escaped danger yet.

  A ball of flame hurtles towards you. You duck down low behind the boulders and you feel the heat radiate around you.

  Your pocket jumps. What was that?

  You take out the egg. It’s cracking. The heat must have activated it!

  The teal shell shatters, revealing a little dragon. It’s bluey-green in colour, with tiny wings and round eyes that seem too big for its body.

  You feel another blast of heat from the fire dragon and a word echoes through your mind – RUN!

  Do you follow the mysterious instruction?

  If you want to run, go here.

  If you want to stay hidden behind the boulders, go here.

  Run? Where would you run to? You would be out in the open where the massive dragons could see you. You decide it would be far safer to stay right where you are, hidden behind the boulders.

  The little dragon flaps its tiny wings and rises up out of your hand. Where is it going?

  An almighty wail makes you look up to the sky, just in time to see the fire dragon’s wings struck by an ice bolt from its opponent.

  As the mini dragon departs, the fire dragon comes hurtling towards you. The creature roars, sparks from its mouth showering over you. You spring to your feet, ready to run. But it’s too late.

  You and the boulders are crushed beneath the weight of the dragon’s bottom as it crashes down.

  You walk down the tunnel, the indistinc
t whispering inside your head.

  You notice there are glowing crystals embedded in the wall. The further you go, the more there are, until the tunnel opens out onto a gigantic crystalline chamber. It’s like being inside a massive thunder egg.

  In the centre of the chamber is a huge throne made up of crystals jigsawed together. Whereas the surrounding crystals are pale in colour, these are vibrant reds and oranges.

  You take a step forward.

  CRACK!

  You look down. You’ve stepped on a bone. Suddenly you realise that the chamber floor is littered with them. You back away as the bones start moving. Some come together, connecting like pieces of a gruesome puzzle. The puzzle takes shape, forming the skeleton of a large creature – a dragon!

  The dragon slowly clambers up onto the throne, then turns its bony head towards you as its gaping eye sockets stare down.

  You gasp in terror.

  A skeletal hand reaches up from the pile of bones beside you and snatches the egg from your pocket.

  ‘I am the Guardian of the Realm of Dragons.’

  Did that skeleton just speak to you?

  ‘Yes. Yes, I did,’ the voice booms impatiently through the crystalline chamber. ‘Now stop interrupting and listen. You darn humans are all the same – always interrupting. Can’t you just pay attention?’ The creature sighs, then continues. ‘There is a quest you must undertake. A quest to retrieve the last power crystal that will complete my Throne of Influence, with which I will at last be able to bring harmony to the Realm of Dragons. Will you go on this quest?’

  To agree to go on the quest, go here.