The Nemedian Trilogy: Book 02 - The Dragon's Cup

by Jake Adler

  Eagles circled high above them, using the strong air thermals to rise to great heights as their calls echoed across the mountain range. A stiff breeze swirled about them, filling the air with clean scents of stone and snow as the rainclouds slowly cleared, revealing an open, powdery blue sky. The morning sunlight sparkled with a spectacular brilliance as its light was reflected off the snow from the mountaintops, causing the companions to shield their eyes against its glare.

  Although Snow Trolls and Goblins were known to live within the area, Axcil’s friend Folki had informed him that they were few in number. Their greatest concern was the dangers that lurked inside Cave Mirin. Folki had warned his friend of the witch that lived there. Over the years, a handful of intrepid explorers had travelled there in the hope of finding fame and fortune, but had promptly disappeared without a trace. There were those among the Northern Clans who believed that the cave was cursed and that the witch that lived inside it would roam its outer reaches with her familiars, seeking out and killing unwelcome intruders. However, as nobody had ever returned from the place, there was no way of knowing if this rumour was true.

  Whatever the truth, the companions had no option but to travel to Cave Mirin if they wanted to try to free the High Dragon from his entombment. They needed to persuade the witch to release him from the spell that had imprisoned him and to also let him live. They needed him alive in order to force him to return to the Grand Council of the Tuatha Dé Danann to admit his guilt. Only by his own spoken confession, would the others of senior standing in the Grand Council of Tuatha Dé Danann believe that his actions had hidden from them knowledge about the differing warring factions inside the Thirteenth Tier, but also led forced the Northern Clans to ally themselves with the Demons.

  It was a brave and possibly foolish plan, but events surrounding Lady Cillina’s own people served as a stark reminder about arrogance of the Grand Council. They would need the High Dragon’s to admit his own guilt to the Grand Council if they were to stand any chance of securing peace. Once it was done, the Grand Council would issue a formal apology to the Northern Clans and investigate other avenues that could contribute to securing peace and stability in the region.

  As the daylight began to fade and their footing became increasingly uncertain, they decided to set up camp for the night. So far, there had been no sign of Ellaminva and Vank and it was assumed that they had taken decided inside a nearby cave or underneath one of the many mountainous ledges for the night and that they would re-join the group in the morning.

  Gizurr glanced about uneasily, “Great place for an ambush,” he said as he stared up at the enormous vertical cliff walls that surrounded them for hundreds of metres.

  Jetzan nodded, “That is exactly what I was thinking.”

  “Keep your eyes sharp,” Axcil warned as he searched the skies for signs of the Elven girl and the Dragon for one final time that evening.

  The companions settled down for the night, using nothing but their plain grey travelling blankets and a small campfire to help keep the cold at bay. Nightmares plagued their sleep, with images of Draugr with withered hands reaching out towards them with fingernails that had grown long inside the grave. A harsh voice snapped at them just out of earshot, tormenting them as it sought to disturb their sleep. As dawn finally broke across the jagged horizon, they stirred, nervous and exhausted as they blinked wearily the cold, grey light.

  A small stone suddenly fell from atop a nearby cliff, causing them to look up in alarm. Although just a tiny rock, the sound of it falling unnerved them as might be a sign that someone or something was watching them from above. Time passed and the nervous companions saw nothing further as the wind continued to howl eerily as it blew in between the crevices of rock above. After several long minutes of scanning their surroundings for signs of danger, they nervously packed up their belongings and continued on with their journey.

  They soon saw the welcome sight of a Dragon flying directly South towards their position. They waved up towards the pale blue sky as the saw the Vank’s familiar rainbow scales glisten in the sunlight and Ellaminva’s long, blonde hair billowed out from beneath her Dragon riding helmet. The armour of the Dragon momentarily flashed with a brilliant light as it caught the rays of the sun as he swiftly changed his angle of his descent, beating his enormous wings rapidly as he had gracefully landed upon the rocky ground.

  “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Gizurr growled affectionately as he admired the Vank’s magnificence. He had to admit that he already felt much safer now that he had returned.

  Vank beamed at him as he licked his lips, “We had a super meal of roasted mountain goat last night.”

  “Do you have any of it left?” Ragni interjected hopefully.

  Vank shook his head, “We were rather hungry.”

  “How did you both sleep?” Axcil asked quietly.

  “We had bad dreams…” Ellaminva replied with a deep frown as she dismounted from Vank as he began to vent gas.

  “So did we,” Axcil replied as he rubbed his nose, “I believe that these dreams were sent with the deliberate intention of trying to scare us away. This makes me believe that the witch doesn’t want to harm us, but just wants us to leave.”

  Lady Cillina nodded in agreement as she wiped her nose with a cotton handkerchief, “It seems that there is more than one mystery that we must solve inside Cave Mirin.”

  The companions wasted no time in stopping for lunch, preferring to snack upon a handful of dried nuts as they continued on with their journey. Gizurr was more irritable than usual that day, as he had found that he had run out of his beloved Dwarven beer. For many hours following this unhappy discovery, he could be heard angrily mumbling to himself about how unfair life was as he continued to glare at the empty sheepskin bags as if they were personally guilty of the heinous crime. Ragni smiled at his old friend’s antics and quietly handed him with a clay pipe that was filled with a curious dark green weed. The irate Dwarf had readily accepted the offering and soon all became quiet as plumes of sweet-smelling smoke began to fill the air.

  As the second day inside the heart of the valley drew to a close, the group had travelled as far as they could go on foot. Ahead of them at the end of the valley stood a sheer wall of rock that rose for hundreds of metres. They were mindful of the dangers of attempting to climb such an obstacle and had already decided that at dawn, Vank would carry each of them to the entranceway of Cave Mirin. They were close enough now that their journey to the cave entrance would be short, minimising the time that they would spend apart from one another and be more vulnerable to attack. Axcil had stated that he would go first in order to scout for signs of immediate danger.

  As they settled down to rest for the night at the base of the cliff, their sleep was plagued by nightmares that were more disturbing than ever. Pale, creatures with sightless eyes that were no longer human moaned and shrieked at them, as insects scuttled beneath their flesh, waking the companions frequently during the night as they cried out in fear.

  As the winter sun finally began to break out from behind the mountain tops, they slowly arose, tired and exhausted from a restless night. Vank had already been up for several hours and had returned with another mountain goat which he promptly roasted, so that the group could all benefit from a hearty breakfast prior to their entry inside Cave Mirin. Other than their emergency travel rations, they had no idea on when they would eat so well again, so the meat was gratefully received by one and all and the group ate their fill. Once the carcass had been picked clean, Axcil wasted no time in instructing the Dragon to take him to the entranceway of the cave.

  As the Axcil approached the entranceway, his eyes widened at the sight of it. It was at least three miles in width and at least a mile in height and a faint orange-pink glow emanated from somewhere deep inside its shadows. The half-Orc slowly dismounted from the Dragon as he scanned the area for signs of danger. All remained quiet, and after several long minutes he was satisfied that their arrival had gone u
nnoticed. He quietly motioned for Vank to take flight, to bring the others to the mouth of the cave. Before long, they were all stood at the entranceway as they drew their weapons and headed inside. It was on that day that a Dragon, a half-Orc, two Hesparind, a human, two Dwarves and an Elf entered the most infamous cave in all of Nemedia.

  “Shall I travel at the rear?” Vank asked Ellaminva. She nodded without turning to hide her smile as she knew that when nervous, Vank was prone to suffering from severe bouts of wind.

  The rocks overhead glowed in a strange plethora of orange, green, red, yellow, blue, lilac and purple, as if painted by an artist who wanted to experiment with all his oils. A similar rainbow of rocks also littered the ground and a closer inspection revealed them to be igneous in nature, indicating that they had been formed from a source of intense heat.

  Although they had already travelled deep inside the cave, there was no need for torchlight as the rocks shone with their own light. This gave the air a curious orange-pink glow as the companions moved with ease across the uneven ground. As the hours passed, they saw no signs of movement and even the air became still.

  At the end of what they surmised to be an entire day’s travel, they suddenly heard the call of a songbird. It was faint at first, a call that was the most glorious of songs that could only be heard at the height of summer. They each wondered for a moment if it was their imagination playing tricks on them, but then they heard it again.

  It was the song from a Nightingale.

  Its song was so pure and sweet that it would melt even the coldest of hearts. It was a sound that encapsulated beauty and a song that celebrated the joys of life. The companions exchanged confused smiles as they heard its wonderful call once more.

  The air began to stir and soon became filled with the scents of summer. Buttercups, Meadowsweet, White Campion and other wild flowers mixed with scents of green that delighted their senses. The orange-pink glow of the cave began to fade and was suddenly replaced by the white-golden glare of pure sunlight as they passed through what they had thought to have been a cave, to find that it was little more than an enormous passageway that had guided them through the mountainside to what lay beyond.

  They arrived outside, blinking in the light of the midday sun as they beheld the vista before them. In the distance, enormous mountain ranges surrounded an oasis of meadows that were filled with flowers of every hue and colour. In the centre of the oasis stood a gigantic pillar of light grey rock that held a huge stone bowl that was filled with water. A continuous stream of water spilled over the South Eastern side of the bowl, forming a beautiful waterfall that sparkled as the sunlight hit it as it fell towards the earth. Birds of every species flew across the power blue skies as a warm breeze caressed the air.

  Something glinted above the pillar, its cause unknown but the source seemingly originating from inside the enormous rocky bowl. They shielded their eyes against the glare of the sun and saw the faint outline of a stone stairwell that spiralled around the base of the pillar. They slowly began to make their way towards it and soon realised how far away the pillar of rock was, as it took them several hours to reach it. It was at least ten miles in height and a good four miles in diameter. The bowl was also very deep, and Axcil surmised that the depth of the water that it could hold would be at least two miles deep.

  The stairwell was carved into the rock and ascending it would be treacherous as there stone steps were narrow and smooth and there was no handrail to support them. The wind blew stronger, the higher they went and they soon became tired as the angle of ascent of each of the stone steps was very steep. Many hours of laboured travel passed and it was a very relieved and exhausted group that finally reached the top of the stairwell. They were not sure how much time had passed but they were surprised to find that the sun had not moved position in the sky and still shone as brightly as ever.

  As they stared across the azure-blue lake, swans, geese and other aquatic birds paddled sedately across its waters. A swan drifted close by, elegantly dipping its beak inside the water to take a drink, then raising back its head to swallow as droplets upon its beak became flashes of gold as they caught the rays of the sun. Life teemed beneath the surface of the water as water rings and splashes signalled the vibrancy inside it.

  It was then that then that they discerned the source of the glint that they had seen earlier. At the centre of a lake was an island, upon which stood a small building. The house sparkled in the sunlight as the sun shone down upon it with a full force that reflected off its gold leafed exterior, causing its magnificence to flash across the waters.

  There was no apparent means of travelling to the island, as there were no boats or vessels of any kind along the shoreline. They knew therefore that they had no other option other than to swim there or to use the services of the Dragon once more. After several, long minutes of heated debate, it was agreed that Vank and Axcil would do an aerial sweep of the small island, to check for signs of activity. The others would then follow swiftly be taken there one by one, with Axcil going first and then the others being taken one by one. If any trouble began, the enemy would be kept busy fighting the half Orc, leaving the others enough time to swim to the island while Vank would immediately return to offer his support to Axcil.

  Ellaminva put her arms around Axcil’s neck, “Try to not get yourself killed,” she whispered as her eyes widened with worry.

  Axcil nodded gently then kissed her lips, “No witch or anything else will keep me away for long from my woman,” he smiled at her reassuringly as he started to pull away.

  Ellaminva strengthened her grip upon him, “Once this quest is all over I want you to meet my parents,” she said as she stared at him earnestly.

  The half-Orc blinked at her. In Elvish culture, a suitor would only meet the parents in advance of a proposal of marriage. He felt his heart beat quicken in nervous joy, “I would like that very much,” he said as he held her close.

  Feeling slightly awkward as he then saw the beaming smiles of the others who had heard every word, he cleared his throat, “Everyone, keep your eyes alert on what happens when I and Vank land upon the island.”

  The group nodded at him and remained silent.

  To everyone’s immense relief, their arrival passed without incident. Axcil had already attempted to open the front door of the small building, to find it locked. The shutters were also closed, so there was no way of knowing if anybody was inside or not. The companions wondered who the house belonged to, if it was the property of the fabled witch or if it might belong to someone else who might be the guardian of the lake.

  A sudden loud splash behind them made them turn around quickly in alarm. It sounded as if a large fish or other animal had momentarily risen out of the air, before diving back into the waters. Their gaze rested upon the remnants of a recent disturbance some distance away to the South East of them. Several moments later, another loud splash could be heard, this time to the West of them. Whatever it was, it clearly moved underneath the water with great speed and agility. It was also possible that there was more than one creature inside the lake. The companions remained nervous and unsure of what to do, if they drew their weapons it would be interpreted as an act of aggression and they ideally wanted to talk to the witch or guardian of the lake if at all possible.

  It was then that Ellaminva noticed a half-submerged face staring directly at her from the Eastern side of the lake. From what she could see, it was the face of a young woman with stunning light-blonde hair and pale blue eyes. A silver coloured tattoo ran down from either side of her temples and across the centre of her forehead, a mark of magic that was only given to the most powerful of Elven mages from ancient times.

  “Why are you here?” spoke a beautiful voice that seemed to echo across the lake.

  “We seek the witch to help save Nemedia from its destruction,” Ellaminva replied calmly.

  The woman frowned in confusion as more of her and body rose out of the water. The companions gasped in awe at
her beauty. Her face formed a perfect heart-shape, with pale golden skin that was almost entirely covered with silver tattoos that were themselves, decorated with tiny, white diamonds that were nestled deep inside her skin. Although she wore no clothing, the decorations upon her body were so numerous that there was no need to do so to protect her modesty. Her body looked tall and athletic as she stood motionless for a moment above the surface of the strangely still waters, before slowly walking across it towards them.

  Ellaminva made no sudden movements as the woman approached. As the distance closed between them, the woman’s pale blue eyes stared deep into her own. There seemed to be no malice in her expression, only one of curiosity, “You have a glow about you,” the woman said then suddenly clapped her hands together in excitement, “oh how lovely, now I know why your aura matches that of the Northern Clans!”

  The woman surprised Ellaminva by swiftly moving forward to kiss her upon her left cheek, “It has been some considerable time but I do remember being fond of babies,” she paused then looked quizzically at Axcil, “are you its father?”

  Ellaminva and Axcil blinked at her.

  Suddenly Gizurr roared with laughter. Clutching hold of his belly, he swiftly sat down upon the ground as his loud guffaws echoed across the lake. A couple of ducks quacked in alarm and took flight to escape the noise.

  “My dear, this must be a shock for you,” Lady Cillina gasped as she rushed towards the stunned Elven girl to comfort her. With the woman staring at them both with an expression of open surprise, Ellaminva was guided towards an area of grass that was filled with yellow blooms and instructed to sit down, largely because Lady Cillina was fearful that her legs might give way at any moment.