The solid rock wall did it’s best to dissuade all explorers, it was seemingly impenetrable. Already in human form Ravanan cast “EVOKE TOOLS” and pulled out his iolite and biotite to cast reveal on the wall.
Faintly at first, but growing brighter, he spotted the outline of a dragon breathing fire in the alignment of the crystal grains in the rock. It was sketchy but more evident than some of the constellations that humans could conjure up from the night sky. At the mouth of the dark dragon was a glowing mark of dried and aged saliva of the previous lair owners. Targeting the spot he cast a small spell “DEW KISS” and the old dried spit hydrated with the moist cavern air and swelled to look fresh and wet.
After the reveal spell ended Ravanan looked again at the black wall and where he had seen the fire-breathing dragon. Without the reveal spell, one would never notice the dragon and his flame breath on the wall, however now that the saliva was there and Ravanan knew the picture, he could see it and the subtle depression of where the flame breath was. It was plain as day to him, so obvious he wondered how he didn’t notice it before. The jagged tongues of fire on the outline was the finest of edging work, well-defined and exact. He ran his fingers over the carving, thinking, analyzing it with critical eyes, the body of the dragon wasn’t carved but was simply the grain of the rock. It wasn’t recessed like the flame breath was. Something belonged in that depression, perhaps another rock, the sunken flame breath sketch was practically begging for a key.
A key. He should have known that there would be a key. He had a key for Black Blade, convoluted though it was. Ravanan ran his fingers through his hair, thinking.
The easiest solution was mud, Ravanan searched the cavern floor and found some smooth cave mud, he scooped it up and filled in the depression, being careful to fill every point and making it uniformly thick. Happy with his mud job, he blasted and baked the mud with his blue flame breath. After allowing it to cool down he retrieved his key and held it in his hands, letting his aura imbue it with natural magic to open any door. The hardened mud key glowed a faint blue as his magic sank deep into it. He then placed the key back into the rock wall and waited for it to open but it didn’t budge.
Ravanan smiled. If it had been that easy he would have been disappointed. He removed the key and smashed it back to dust.
He thought about the cave so far. Where would a flat key shaped like a flame breath be hiding? It could be anywhere for miles surrounding the lair. Most of the rock of the tepui entrance to the lair was quartzite, but there was also plenty of schist and gneiss. The more tabular of the three was schist and he was standing on some of it. Ravanan did a quick reveal spell. Nothing in the tunnel lit up. There was just no telling where the key was.
He retraced his steps and thoroughly examined every flat rock he came to, walls, ceilings, and floors. He passed through passageways and the Hall of Fish, time went by.
As he searched for the key his thoughts returned to Ishida. There was no point in keeping her captive any longer, he had all the answers he needed from her. Before Kalara’s mess he would have ignored Ishida’s proposal completely but now he found himself considering it. And although the future was still too painful to think about he was ready to set Ishida free.
His search had turned up nothing in the tunnels. The blue wizard entered back into the make-shift lair and found Ishida staring at the wall and her new egg. She was so engrossed with putting the egg in its rock nest she hadn’t noticed his approach.
Ravanan stopped before he entered Ishida’s aura. “Have you got the spell worked out for that?” he asked her.
Ishida snapped her head around and saw him returning back to his base form. “I will have.” she said curtly.
“At least find a rock softer than quartzite, the spell will go easier for you and the egg.”
Ishida flexed her wings angrily and looked back down at the egg.
‘Must have hit a nerve’ Ravanan thought to himself, realizing she had been at it for awhile.
“What would you know of eggs!?”
“More than you obviously. I know a good spell for hiding them.”
“Do it then.” she commanded.
Ravanan took no insult at her commanding words, knowing that right now she was simply doing what all dragoness’ do with an egg, they try to hide it. He stayed where he was and let the enchantment go. With a whisper he canceled the barrier above her head as well.
Ishida didn’t make a move or speak.
“Bring the egg.”
Ishida paused at that, “You don’t intend to take it back to Nikhadelos do you?”
“No, just away from my land.
She obediently made for the exit with the egg safely in her grasp. And for the first time Ravanan noticed he was in her aura and not taking damage.
They agreed to a rocky crag that would protect the egg for the next year. Soon he had the egg inside the rock face about a fang’s length in where no being would ever suspect and yet close enough so that the hatchling could break free.
Later they returned to the bottom of the hole where their camp was set up. In that familiar place Ishida resumed her spot where she had spent all her time. Either she was making a point to say she was holding a grudge for being locked up or was it a sign of complete submission like a beaten-down slave.
Ravanan let her be and continued to search for the key. Without a second thought he morphed to human and evoked his sapphire blue wizard’s robe and began to scan the room with his crystals. As he did he thought about the Hall of Fish and the selenite crystal, how it looked like a giant tooth made from many layers of tabular crystals. Then it hit him – the key must be hidden among them, flat and simple. He wanted to go get it immediately but he paused to look over at the freed Ishida. What was he going to do about her while he was down below?”
Even now as he stood there his right shoulder blade twinged. He couldn’t put it off any longer, it was time. He had to decide now since he was so close to his goal. This was his lair now and it held his treasure – Ishida just happened to be there too.
He wasn’t uncomfortable around her and knew her desires, they weren’t a bad thing. After all, he’d had them also a couple of times.
She didn’t have to stay in that spot where he had imprisoned her, she knew this, having left it to deal with the egg. So why did she go back to it?
He looked over at her, seeing pretty much only her back side and whip-like tail. Her actions brought into focus everything that he had done to her: controlling her, imprisoning her, shocking her and the egg, killing her mate, stealing her treasure, biting and eating her flesh, enchanting her to have to answer only truth, and taking away her verbal spells – it all had to be done and he didn’t regret it but he could see how she might be upset.
It’d be fine if she left except that he feared that Somen would hunt her down. He wanted her to succeed in her escape from the Naga, it seemed they were a growing threat. They were an unpredictable and rough group of dragons. From what Kadd said – the Naga weren’t even a unified force. It was more of an idea around the whole planet, a very egotistical idea of the way that a dragon should treat all lesser species. In one aspect Ravanan agreed with them, that dragons should rule – but he strongly felt that Acama was right and didn’t want to see the outcome if humans were to discover them. If the Naga did come looking for Ishida she would need help.
Ravanan let his morph go and went over to Ishida, no longer fearing her poisonous aura. She turned away from him.
Ravanan reached out with his black talons and turned her back around. He looked into her dark red eyes. “I’ve found what I needed, are you coming with me?”
Ishida said nothing.
“You can’t keep sitting there like you’re dead because you’re not. You’re free! Do something.”
“And what would you have me do?” she sounded a little hurt.
“I would like for you to stop playing this game.”
“Then you stop pretending you didn’t hear my forced confess
ion!”
He understood now. Being forced to say her heart before her mind wanted to must have really bothered her. In a softer tone he replied “You’re right. I did hear your hidden desire.”
“And?”
He reached out and stroked her invisible feathered wing, his claws appeared to hover above her red scales. “And just because I freed you doesn’t mean you have to leave.”
The two dragons were soon standing at the water’s edge. Ravanan morphed to his anaconda shape and told Ishida to do the same.
“You’ll need a water bubble around yourself – there is acid down below.”
“Oh I’ve done that plenty of times.”
He looked over at Ishida wondering how many times “plenty” meant for a 76 year old dragon.
“OK, let’s go.” He slithered into the dark liquid. “WATER BUBBLE”
At the giant crystal Ravanan morphed to human. Working quickly, his reveal spell worked on the twenty foot long selenite. He saw the key light up against the transparent crystal and knew right away it was an exact match down to each pointed tongue of fire. He extracted the glassy-looking key carefully and then left the acid bath to stand at the door.
Ishida didn’t lag and slithered up onto the muddy shore. She looked winded as if that was her first time to transform into a snake.
Ravanan stored the key in his pack. As much as he wanted to use it he knew that he should prepare and proceed wisely. Once inside he would have to destroy the door which would take a lot of time and power – they’d be trapped until he did. So he cast Anchor and they left to collect food reserves.
They didn’t waste any time. As soon as they formed outside they dropped their morphs and took off to hunt.
He already knew where he was going and shortly had several cows ready to take back with him. Ravanan piled them up near the anchor and looked around to make sure that Ishida was still off hunting. He thought about what Kalara was going to eat while he was trapped behind that door. Quickly, he enchanted a cow to make it stay fresh then sent it to Black Blade Lair.
But Ishida showed up right then, coming back from hunting in human form and wearing her invisibility cloak. She dismissed her robe and let her human form go, appearing in front of Ravanan. “Why are you sending them one at a time to the door?” she inquired.
“I was testing my spell. It works, so now I can send them all.”
“Are you always so thorough? I would have figured this would be easy now, given all the work you’ve already done in the cave.” Ishida made a mental count of the pile, there were eight - she added her two. “So we have eleven. Let’s go.”
Ravanan knew he had been caught. He sat down and flexed his wings to catch a glimpse of his black scar. “Ishida, I didn’t send that cow to the door. I sent it to a prisoner of mine.”
“So I wasn’t your only one. How many prisoners do you own?”
“Just the one.”
“And you’ve been feeding him this whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Does your prisoner have something to do with the Acama and your stolen treasure?”
“Yes.”
Ishida thought about what he said, she knew he had been robbed and that his hunt is what brought them together. “Well you’ve got plenty of treasure now, and me. Is this new life not enough for you? Instead of feeding him let’s go end him and be done with it.”
“Maybe later after the new lair is secured.”
Thankfully Ishida dropped it and prepared to anchor back to the locked door.
Ravanan joined her at the black door. He pulled the key from his tool bag and set the flat, jagged crystal into its real home. Again he cast “DEW KISS”, knowing that spell may never work again to rehydrate the ancient saliva. The whole rock wall glowed then vanished. They passed through with the supplies then the wall reappeared behind them.
He worked patiently with single-mindedness to demolish the fake door and its enchantments, sleeping when he needed to and Ishida stayed out of his way. Soon his door would be there and it would only respond to his DNA. It was good to have her there so he didn’t have to wonder what she may be doing.
After much time and work over many days the new door was done, he’d finished it as Ishida slept. He trusted her well enough but he wasn’t about to share the door with her, it was his.
Ravanan was glad to get out of the small tunnel that they had been camped in. They both looked disheveled and worn with dirt. With stiff achiness the pair of dragons walked forward, lit with their starlight spells.
The path was steep for a while longer before leveling out, at the end was a drop. Together they peered over the ledge into darkness, the opening of a constructed hole. It was square, carved rock with smooth walls and a vertical shaft. They were beyond the cave and at the entrance to the real lair. Ravanan and Ishida grinned at each other then left to recuperate.
They returned later and were once again looking down the dark shaft. Ravanan didn’t trust it and took a dead monkey from his test fodder pile (most were dead). He targeted the monkey and cast “PUPPET” then sent it down into the hole where four darts shot at it. Ravanan pulled the monkey up to examine the damage. Only one of the darts actually hit the small target, but where it hit looked like a mild acid and was still sizzling. More acid. One of the ancients had to have been green. He carefully removed the dart from the little monkey. It was more of a hollow shard than a true dart and possibly magnetized. Ravanan used his aura to make an electrical field for a test and the shard turned away.
“You ever seen that before?” he asked Ishida.
“I knew it could be done but I haven’t worked much with it. Pretty deadly I’d say.”
Ravanan agreed as he took another monkey and let it slowly descend. He could hear the pffft pffft pffft pffft of the darts as each round flew at it.
After that monkey hit the bottom he grabbed another one. He looked at Ishida “Just to be sure.” he grinned.
More darts hit that monkey too. How many were there? He grabbed another one. Seven monkeys later no more darts could be heard.
“OK, grab a monkey, keep it in front of you and let’s go.” Trusting his aura to shield him and keeping his monkey ahead of him to trigger the trap, he jumped and floated down.
The shaft was wide and deep. During their descent light of his starlight spell revealed alcoves on all four walls. And in each one were jade and emerald dragon masks. The darts had come from the masks’ mouths like shooting fangs.
He didn’t land at the pile of dead monkeys and unspent darts, instead he flew away from them first. Ishida followed his lead.
“Whew. That was something.” Ishida said as she cast her monkey onto the pile.
When the pair of dragons were away from under the shaft Ravanan’s starlight spell went out. He recast it, “STARLIGHT” but it didn’t work.
Ishida tried. “STARLIGHT” with no success.
“EVOKE DIAMOND STAFF” but Ravanan’s trusted diamond staff could not penetrate the darkness. He pointed the staff back to where he knew the pile of monkeys were and cast “ILLUMINATE”. That worked although it was a dim light source.
They looked around for anything to get reference but the walls were still out there somewhere. It was just them. Ishida started to step but Ravanan stopped her. “Hold on.”
He cast reveal on the floor around them but saw nothing.
“Sure wish we were back out in the sun.” Ishida commented.
“I know what you mean. We need to be careful down here, the dark can play tricks on you.”
“I know that.” she shot back.
Ravanan didn’t need her hot attitude, not when the dark seemed so heavy. He’d been at this lair so long that his nerves toyed with the idea of beginning to fray. “Let me think.”
“I am. And I’m thinking too just so you know!”
“Good. Then think in silence.”
“I will.”
“DRAPE MASTER”. A golden crown set on Ravanan’s head, giving him ex
tremely clear thought and mental armor. He targeted an acid-gooey monkey and hurled it away in the opposite direction, it took its dim light with it. And then he took another, sending it in another direction. Ishida helped him until their known area was larger all over.
Ravanan cast “ARMOR” and picked up a foot to take a step.
“Stop!” Ishida yelled. “Are you sure Ravanan? What if this is a trap?”
“Of course it’s a trap Ishida. What would you have me do? Stand here forever? I’ve got my armor on and I’ve cast reveal. The way is lit before me.... I’m going!”
“Just don’t. Please? Not yet. Let’s think some more. What could it hurt?”
He put his foot back down and glared at her. “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid. You’re being careless.”
“No I’m not.”
“At least use a monkey first.” she pleaded with him.
“Ishida. We just threw monkeys all around us.”
“Oh. We did. Right.”
“Get yourself together. Don’t you have anything to help combat mental attacks?”
“We’re being attacked?”
“Can’t you feel the fear pressing on you?”
Only then as they stood there arguing did they notice the little filaments hanging in the air like dust.
“What have we here?” Ravanan pondered. “Don’t let them touch you.”
“What are they?”
“I don’t know.”
“They’re growing.”
“I know. Make an air barrier around yourself!”
The tiny things were now easily visible in the air and coalescing into little black puffs. Soon they’d be the size of apples.
“There’s one in my bubble!” Ishida shirked away from it as best as she could and remade her air bubble to remove it.
‘Let’s get out of here!” Ravanan took to the air flying fast and correcting his flight every time his scar from Ishida twinged; the faster he flew the more often it acted up.
The Cursed Dragon Page 32
