Quest into Hidden Realms

by Tom Gallier

  "Exactly. We're here to defeat this dungeon, claim all of the treasure and glory, and get out alive to enjoy it," Killum said. "We can all sit around and admire Asha’s sweet tush later."

  Everyone nodded and snickered. Well, Asha just sighed and shook her head. The battle-mage patted her on the shoulder before turning back to continue.

  He noticed the first booby-trap glowing a very faint blue. It was a bone the size of a chicken leg next to the wall. Since they were walking as close to the wall as possible, it was well-placed.

  "Don't touch," he said, pointing it out.

  "Does your magic allow you to see what the spell does?" Asha asked.

  "No. All I see is the glow of magic. That one was a pale blue. The tree that exploded was red."

  It would be nice to have access to an online manual to study up on spells. He wondered if they were still working out the bugs, or if they were trying way too hard to make it as realistic as possible. His silent reverie was interrupted by what he spotted ahead.

  "That's interesting," he said.

  There were four stones embedded in the wall. Two were ankle high, and two near the cave's ceiling. All glowed red, and there was a red glowing web stretched between them. In his mind red meant danger, and so far on that mountain it signaled explosive.

  Beyond the magical barrier the cave split up into five tunnels. None of the other tunnels were larger or showed any indication of more use. Killum didn't want to split up, much less waste time going down tunnels with no treasure at the end.

  "What's the matter?" Rand asked. "Pick a door and we'll see what we win."

  "There's an angry red barrier stretched out across the tunnel," he said. The battle-mage pointed at the four stones. "For all I know, the explosion might blow us out of the cave and into Purgatory for five years."

  "Find something to hide behind," Asha said. "I'll hit it with a thunderbolt."

  No one had a better idea, so they moved back up the cave and around a bend. Killum had everyone lie on the floor and press up against the wall.

  "Let the blast go past us."

  "Asha will probably be a projectile, too," Fergus said. "I bet she'd leave a bruise."

  "She can bruise me all she wants," Rand mutters.

  "Shut up," Killum snapped. Then he called back to the sorceress, "We're ready."

  He stayed at the corner to see what she did. Mostly, he wanted to ensure she didn't do anything too dangerous. She already had two deaths in five days. More often than not she took dangerous chances.

  Killum held his breath when she called up the thunderbolt. Before she threw it, the sorceress held up her left fist and activated her magical shield. Then she threw it with all of her might. The bolt thundered through the barrier and struck the stone walls beyond.

  Ka-BOOM!

  When the dust settled, Asha was still standing behind her shield. The red glow of the barrier could be seen in the dust, so she knew her attempt had failed to destroy the barrier. Killum stood up and was about to join her and discuss what to try next, when Asha let out an angry cry and charged the barrier behind her magic shield.

  Ka-BOOM!

  Killum was knocked back a dozen feet by the blast. Asha landed atop him. The impact knocked all of the air out of his lungs, forcing him to all fours gasping desperately.

  "Sorry," she said with a strained voice. "Oh wow, that hurt."

  The others quickly helped them to stand. Killum took a little longer to recover his breath, so Asha and Rand went to see if the barrier was down. He joined them a moment later.

  "I don't see anything," Rand said.

  The battle-mage moved closer, peering through the lingering dust. There was no sign of any glowing rocks. The barrier was gone, and the cave's ceiling lost about a foot of rock where the barrier had been.

  "I think you cleared the booby-trap."

  A dragon's roar thundered through the cave. Killum almost pissed himself. He and Asha shared a wide-eyed look, before Tiana raced past them.

  "Run!" the thief shouted.

  Tiana stopped in the middle of the chamber. Killum and the others joined her as they heard the dragon charging up the tunnel. He looked deep into each tunnel off that chamber, and they all had glowing booby-traps. Except one.

  Pointing to the far right tunnel, "That one. Follow me."

  The battle-mage took off running. Tiana was fast on his heels, with Asha, Rand, and Fergus following. He ran as fast as he could and still see magical booby-traps in time. There were a few, but nothing that blocked their passage.

  He rounded a sharp corner and burst out into a vast chamber. They all skidded to a stop and gawked. Killum's mind went blank for a second. He'd never seen anything like it before, whether in a game or in real life.

  The vast chamber was well-lit with glowing globes embedded in the wall about halfway up. The floor of the cavern reflected the light back in silver, gold, and every color of the rainbow. There had to be as much gemstones and jewelry as coins. He saw stacks of gold bars. Silver bars. Open chests overflowing with gems and jewelry. There were even life-sized statuary cast in silver and gold.

  Rand was the first to speak. "Now that's a dragon's hoard to write home about!"

  "We could buy an entire kingdom with this treasure," Fergus whispered.

  The dwarf moved first. He dumped his coin purse, and started stuffing it with gold coins and gemstones. Tiana, Fergus, and Asha quickly joined him. Killum pulled his purse free, but something shiny caught his eye. It was way in back, above a shelf in the cavern that looked like where the dragon would curl up and sleep. The silvery globe glowed with the brightest magic he'd ever seen. It was hard to believe that glow couldn't be seen with the naked eye.

  "What is that?" he whispered, walking toward it. The floor shifted under his booted feet. Coins and jewelry didn't make the firmest foundation, but that silvery globe called to him. As he drew closer, Killum realized it wasn't a silver globe, but a helmet. A silver Corinthian helmet like the ancient Greek Hoplites wore, with a bright red horsehair crest from front to back. A pair of dragons, one of each side, was worked into the metal. "Wow. Such power."

  He could almost feel magic as he approached. Once he reached the dragon's bed, within a dozen feet of the helmet, he slightly shifted the way he looked at the helmet. A dark red script appeared above it.

  Dragon's Lair Helm. A Bound Object. Control the dragon Gyevikxus.

  "Is that how men can ride dragons?" he wondered aloud. "This dragon must've escaped, taking the helmet that controlled him to ensure he would remain free."

  The dragon burst into the chamber with a roar. He stopped to spew fire in all directions.

  Dragon (Lvl 66). Neutral.

  "Thieves! This is my treasure," Gyevikxus shouted. "All thieves must die! I will devour you all, find your respawn sites, and devour all of you four more times!"

  "Well now, that's just rude," Rand said. The dwarven warrior lifted his battle-axe in both hands, grinned, and taunted, "Tonight I will stride out of here in dragon-scale armor!"

  Asha threw a thunderbolt at the dragon. Ka-boom! But Gyevikxus slapped it aside as if it was nothing. Checking with his magical sight, Killum discovered the dragon was pulsing with dark, crimson magic. They were doomed if Asha's thunderbolts couldn't hurt him.

  "You caught me with my defenses down once, sorceress," the dragon growled, eyes narrowing at her. "Never again."

  Fergus starting shooting arrows at the dragon's eyes. Gyevikxus shielded his face with a wing, while sweeping the other out to smash aside Asha, Rand, and Tiana. Then the monster looked at Killum and froze.

  "Get away from there, human! I will chew you for an hour before I let you die!"

  Can he really keep me alive like that?

  Ignoring the others, Gyevikxus rushed towards Killum. The battle-mage cast his spells of Temporary Blindness and Disorientation in quick succession, but neither fazed the dragon. He didn't need Farsee to see what the beast intended. Killum then hit him with Gatecrasher.
/>
  That slammed Gyevikxus backwards across the chamber to smash into the stone wall, and it rattled the ground as well. Dust fell in streamers from above and the treasure shifted, with mini-landslides occurring all around. Asha led Rand, Fergus, and Tiana in an attack before the dragon could recover. Her thunderbolts made the dragon cry out in pain, and writhe in agony, but then his tail swept their feet away.

  Killum wasn't even sure the tail swipe was on purpose, but it did the job. All four of his friends looked dazed, lying on their backs or on all fours. Gyevikxus recovered a lot faster, and rolled to all four feet. His head dropped almost to the ground as a low, menacing growl rumbled out and shook the very air.

  The battle-mage couldn't use Gatecrasher again. The cooldown period wasn't over. His lightning ring was pathetic compared to Asha's thunderbolts, and fireballs wouldn't hurt a fire-breather. Then his eyes fell upon the Dragon's Lair Helm.

  "Come to daddy," he said, racing over to the helmet.

  Gyevikxus was too intent on killing his friends to notice. Killum picked up the helmet, turned to face the dragon, and placed it upon his head. Magical warmth flowed down into his body, making him feel just a little giddy.

  Congratulations! You have won Dragon's Lair Helm! This is a Bound Object. The Dragon Gyevikxus is yours to command. He will serve you loyally and obediently. This helm is also Gyevikxus' lair, and he will enter or leave whenever you speak his name.

  "Gyevikxus," Killum said.

  The dragon seemed to turn into a mist, which was immediately sucked into the helmet. In the blink of an eye the threat was gone. The silence was deafening.

  "How the hell did you do that?" Fergus demanded.

  They were all gawking at him. All were splattered with blood and unsteady. Every single one of them looked like he or she was surprised to still be alive.

  Killum looked around. He'd conquered the dungeon. Gyevikxus was his dragon, his vicious pet attack-dragon at that. And all of the dragon's treasure was theirs for the taking.

  "You saved my life," Asha said.

  He actually saved all of their lives. She was just the only one of them who had died, so understood better how important it was to not die in that realm.

  "Take cover. Hide," the battle-mage said. "I'm about to bring the dragon back."

  "Why?" Tiana cried. "We barely survived his attack."

  Killum tapped the helmet. "This helmet controls him like it's a subjugation talisman, so I think he has to obey me now. But you might want to hide just in case it all goes south."

  They all found something to hide behind. Killum remained up on the dragon's bed and took a deep breath. If he misunderstood what the helmet was about, then he was about to die.

  "Gyevikxus."

  The dragon came out of the helmet, looking like it burst out of his forehead, and coalesced before the battle-mage. Gyevikxus appeared facing him, on all fours, and looked around. Killum noticed he looked towards each of his friends, so hiding from him wasn't going to be easy.

  Gyevikxus growled, before lowering his head. "What is your command?"

  Chapter 33

  "Is Gievexus the dragon's name or a magic word?" Rand asked.

  Killum almost answered, but to speak the dragon's name would be to suck it back into the helmet. The dragon spoke up before he could figure out how to correct Rand.

  "Gyevikxus, dork," the dragon said. "It's my name and the magic word."

  "Did the big lizard just call me a dork?"

  "He's a very smart dragon," Fergus said. "I like him."

  Killum jumped in before it got out of control. "How do I address you without activating the spell?"

  "The usual practice is to just shorten my name," Gyevikxus said. "Call me Gye, master."

  Killum cringed. "Yeah. Don't call me 'master' anymore. My name is Killum."

  "Hi, Gye, I'm Tiana," the thief said. "You're gorgeous."

  Gye's massive, terrifying head swung around to the thief. "You're my favorite, Tiana."

  The dragon turned to Asha, pushed his snout into her belly to shove her back a step, and stared into her eyes. The sorceress's eyes widened as everyone tensed.

  "Don't ever hit me with one of those overgrown lightning bolts again," Gye said slow and menacingly. "I don't like it."

  "Be nice, Gye," Killum said. "These are my friends. Asha has been my friend the longest."

  "Even the surly dwarf?"

  "Well…"

  "Hey, I'm right here," Rand said. "I can hear you."

  "Of course Rand is my friend and valued member of our motley crew," Killum said. "He'll be your friend too, but he is an acquired taste."

  "Your friends are my friends. Especially Tiana and the elven ranger."

  Fergus stepped forward with a wave. "My name is Fergus. Rand is okay, just stay upwind of him. He farts a lot."

  Everyone looked at Rand, who shrugged as he squeezed one out. "I like beans."

  Tiana and Asha waved their hands before their faces as they moved away from the dwarf. Fergus laughed, and Killum just shook his head. They probably weren't making a good impression with the dragon.

  "So, Gye, from now on I will be calling on you to help us in fights," Killum said. "Besides being huge and physically powerful, and breathing fire, is there anything else you can offer?"

  "I have limited magic. Mostly defensive," Gye said, giving Killum a curious look. "But warriors generally ride me into battle."

  "That's actually awesome," Asha said. "Now I'm a little jealous."

  "I'm a lot of jealous," Tiana said.

  Killum noticed a place on Gye's shoulders where a man could ride straddling his neck. There was a long line of sharp spikes behind that spot, running down his spine and tail. There were no spikes on the neck, but Gye's head was covered with horns and spikes.

  "How do I keep from falling off? Is there a spell for dragon riding?"

  Gye made an odd shrug, and a fine leather saddle appeared. It was bright red, with silver trim and decoration. Wide leather straps crisscrossed the dragon's shoulders to keep it snuggly in place.

  "Want to go for a ride?" Gye asked. The dragon bowed and pressed his shoulders to the ground, bringing the saddle down low enough to climb into. "You're not afraid of heights, are you? I won't like it if you throw up on me."

  Killum tried to act nonchalant, but he felt like a ten year old boy in a candy store. He had his own flying dragon. A real, live flying dragon mount. He quickly, and a little awkwardly, climbed into the saddle and pulled the safety strap across his lap.

  "Is that strap going to be enough?" Asha asked.

  "My magic will keep him from falling out. The strap is only to make the rider feel safe."

  With that, Gye turned into the tunnel and rushed through at a furious rate. Killum hung on tightly and ducked low to keep from hitting the ceiling. The dragon reached the entrance in just seconds, and launched himself out like a missile. His vast wings started beating hard and fast, the powerful thump-thump-thump in the air was felt in the battle-mage's chest.

  "This is like riding a rocket!"

  Gye flew up so high it got cold and Killum was able to touch clouds. Then the dragon did a power dive into a small valley, scattering a herd of deer in a clearing. Killum hung on for dear life, but at no time did he even feel like he would come out of that saddle. Indeed, he could feel magic binding him to it.

  "To guide me, you can either speak your commands aloud, or think them," Gye said. "The helmet will transmit your commands to me. So be careful what you think."

  "You can read my mind?"

  "Nothing deep, but I can hear your surface thoughts, like when you talk to yourself, as long as you are wearing that helmet."

  The first thing that popped into his mind, I better be careful what I think about Gye.

  Gye nodded. "Absolutely."

  Killum spotted his friends watching from the lair's entrance when they passed. Gye flew over the peak of the mountain, and then down the other side very low to the ground. He flew super
fast nape of the earth, even catching an unwary mountain goat and swallowing it whole before the battle-mage's eyes.

  "That's how I hunt," Gye said.

  "Follow the Forest Road northward a little ways," Killum commanded. "I want to see if there are any Dread Ones guarding the road."

  The dragon veered sharply and flew over to the road in just a second. They flew up the road, close enough to the ground for Killum to see without using his Farsee. It wasn't long before he spotted a small horde of ork zombies coming down the road.

  He pointed. "See them? Dread Ones."

  "Do you want me to kill them?"

  "Yes."

  Gye didn't hesitate. He swooped down like a hawk after a rat. Killum watched and waited with bated breath. That was how battle-mages should fight, astride a powerful dragon mount. They dropped down to fly nape of the earth over the road for a moment, before bursting out of nowhere above the undead orks. The unholy monsters cried out before Gye incinerated them with dragon fire.

  Killum cried out in battle joy. "Wahoo! That's how you do it."

  "Unfortunately, the undead are inedible. I ate one once, and was sick for a week."

  They made another pass to ensure all of the Dread Ones died. Then he ordered Gye back to the lair. As they approached the lair, he used his Farsee to zoom in on them. One and all had looks of wonder. It made him all tingly proud.

  Land in front of my friends, Killum thought, mostly to test Gye’s telepathic abilities. Can you carry two of us at once? I'd like to give my friends rides.

  "I am very powerful. I can carry all of you on my back all the way across these lands and back."

  The battle-mage landed astride his dragon. His friends had the most amazed looks on their upturned faces. Killum carefully remained outwardly calm, as befitting a powerful battle-mage.

  "Gye is very powerful. He can carry more than one of us," Killum said. He caught the sorceress's eyes. "Asha, would you like to go for a joy ride first?"

  Her jaw dropped. Their gaze became so intense that Killum had to avert his eyes and look at Fergus for a second. Asha looked the dragon over, gnawed on her lip, and finally nodded.