Fighter

by Isaac Hooke

  Yeah, I know, he said. I just felt really bad, probably because that was our first stop. Hopefully it gets easier.

  It didn’t, but he stopped giving coin to the next two caravans the dragons spotted.

  Maybe he’s not heading south after all, Weyanna suggested after the third fruitless stop.

  Malem decided to start checking every caravan and wagon, regardless of direction, and they stopped two more, but also found nothing.

  The road wound away to the southeast, and Malem almost took it, but something stopped him.

  We continue south, he said.

  We’re not sticking to the road? Gwen asked.

  Look at the shrubs there, near where the road loops, he sent. Do you see how the undergrowth seems trampled? I think a caravan, or wagon left the road here, and continued due south.

  What’s due south? Gwen sent.

  Wendolin was the one who answered. That would be the Tetranite mountains.

  Are there any known passes through those mountains? Gwen asked. Or any settlements of note?

  No, on both accounts, Sylfi replied.

  Then why would a merchant caravan travel to those mountains? Gwen said.

  Why indeed, Malem told her.

  And so they continued due south, leaving behind the road. They stopped encountering caravans of any kind.

  They traveled for about an hour, until small peaks appeared on the distant horizon. The peaks were blunted, as if ground down by giant wheels—or just the wind and the rain.

  Tetranite? Gwen asked.

  These are the Tetranite mountains, yes, Wendolin replied.

  Well look at that, Malem said.

  A small cloud of dust rose from the distant horizon, near the shoulders of those mountains.

  It looks like we found the caravan we’ve been looking for, Weyanna said.

  I’m not sure it’s the one we’ve been looking for, Malem said. But it is a caravan, certainly. Increase your pace, dragons!

  He couldn’t help the sudden pounding he felt in his chest. Because if it was the caravan they were looking for, then Goldenthall, and thus Banvil, awaited ahead.

  Balor, it’s time to face your doom.

  10

  Malem slid off of Sylfi’s wing and helped Gwen to the ground. Then he approached the three wagons that sat abandoned ahead, wagons that squatted there in a neat row on the shoulder of the mountain. They had stopped before a small, rocky trail that wound up the scree of the sloping cliff.

  He sent ahead some cliff thrushes he had Broken to act as scouts.

  The drivers were all dead, covered in black veins. Inside the wagons, amid the different cheap curios, he found the bodies of soldiers, and a man in rich silks—the merchant and the sell swords he had hired to protect him. Some of them had dark veins crisscrossing their features, while others had stab wounds.

  He shared the vision of the birds with the others bound to him.

  “Dark magic,” Wendolin said. “Definitely has to be Goldenthall.”

  “Is it safe to approach?” Xaxia asked.

  “Just a sec,” Malem said. He had the birds check the undercarriages of each wagon, and confirmed no one was hiding beneath them.

  “It’s safe,” Malem said. “But you’re not going to like what you see.”

  She shrugged, and approached with Timlir and Grendel to investigate.

  Malem followed after them.

  “You’re going to climb that winding trail to the mountain, aren’t you?” Aurora said.

  “Good guess,” he told her.

  “Why do you have to drag me along?” Aurora said. “Can I wait here? With the wagons?”

  “No,” Malem said. “It’s not safe. Goldenthall could be lurking anywhere here, waiting to strike. If we leave you, we could return to find your body lying on the ground, covered in black veins.”

  “Fun,” Aurora said. “Okay. I’ll come.”

  “Like you had a choice,” Timlir commented.

  “Shut up, little shit,” Aurora said. “I don’t need some dwarf talking down to me. Or talking up, in your case.”

  “Oh, ho!” Timlir said. “The bitch is getting lippy now! Maybe I should show you the business end of my ax!”

  “You’re welcome to try,” Aurora said. “Because then I’ll introduce your genitals to the business end of my boot heel.”

  “Sounds like a fair trade,” Timlir said, unlooping his ax.

  “Timlir…” Malem said warningly.

  The dwarf glanced at Malem, and then reattached the ax to his belt. “I was just playing with her, Breaker.”

  “Of course,” Malem said, turning his attention to the wagons, and the rocky trail beyond it.

  Xaxia glanced into the caravans in turn, and removed her head in disgust each time. “Well, that’s certainly not pretty. I was hoping to grab some loot, but there’s nothing valuable enough to warrant moving those bodies.”

  “Isn’t the merchant carrying a coin bag?” Weyanna asked.

  “Well, sure,” Xaxia said. “But it’s covered in feces. His belly is split right open. I’m not touching it.”

  “A squeamish bandit…” Sylfi said.

  “The question is, are we going to fly to reach that terrace, or walk the trail?” Weyanna asked.

  “I’d prefer to walk it,” Malem said. “The three of you will be exposed to attack if you approach the terrace by air.”

  “Goldenthall’s dark magic won’t be able to penetrate our scales…” Brita said.

  “It’s not Goldenthall I’m worried about,” Malem told her.

  “All right, guess we’re walking,” Sylfi said.

  The dragons transformed, and dressed in the clothes they had left in their big saddles. Weyanna wore a white dress, but otherwise had no weapons. Sylfi and Brita both donned leather leggings and chest pieces, and slung bows over their backs. Gwen gave them arrows drawn from her Infitas Quiver.

  “All right,” Malem said. “We climb the trail.”

  He beckoned toward the path, and waited until everyone was ahead of him, and then followed on the rear.

  “Why do you dragons bother to wear leather armor?” Xaxia asked Sylfi as they clambered onto the trail, which could only fit them in single file. “When your flesh is basically armor enough? Weyanna wears only a robe, after all.”

  “It’s all about perceptions,” Sylfi said. “And managing expectations. If an enemy thinks the armor is protecting us, they’ll spend extra time and effort trying to strike us in those areas where they perceive us to be more vulnerable, such as our faces and hands. Plus, it will also come as an immense surprise when they do hit us in those exposed areas, and discover they can’t do any damage.”

  “Or I’m sure they’ll be surprised when you suddenly turn into dragons,” Grendel said.

  “Yes, see?” Sylfi said. “She understands.”

  “What about magic weapons?” Gwen asked Weyanna. “Those will hurt, won’t they? Maybe you should wear at least some armor.”

  Weyanna shook her head. “Armor won’t help against those types of weapons anyway.”

  They continued the march in silence, trudging upon the rocky, winding trail. Sometimes, someone stepped too close to the edge, causing a small section to cave, sending tiny rocks tumbling down the scree. Ahead of him, Xaxia lost her balance when the brink yielded beneath her foot; Malem steadied her by grabbing onto her hips.

  She pulled herself back onto the trail and gave him an appreciative glance.

  Malem sent his birds ahead to scout, and discovered a small cave near the top of that trail, about a mile or so up the mountain.

  “There’s a cave,” Malem said. “It’s a bit of a hike.”

  “Oh, joy,” Sylfi said. “You know how much I like caves.”

  “Why don’t you like caves?” Grendel asked.

  “Well, some are all right,” Sylfi said. “It’s the confined ones that we Metals despise. I’m sure you can imagine why.”

  Grendel seemed puzzled at first, but then un
derstanding dawned on her face. “You can’t transform.”

  “Bingo,” Sylfi said.

  “I don’t think I can take another cave myself,” Gwen said. “After the last one… undead, kobolds, gazers, a lich.” She shuddered.

  “Hey, an esteemed member of our party killed a lich,” Xaxia said. “May I present, the great Aurora, master of unprovable boasts.”

  Wendolin and Aurora were walking in single file ahead of Malem, so he easily saw the latter woman shrug.

  “We’ll be safe in her hands, don’t you worry,” Xaxia continued. “With her sword, she can down a thousand foes at once.”

  Aurora looked back at Malem. Her eyes were lit with hope. “I agree to help you! Now take off this collar.”

  “Doesn’t work like that,” Malem said. “You can’t just ‘agree’ to something I didn’t ask for.”

  “But I’m offering you my help,” Aurora said.

  He chuckled. “Sure. But as soon as I give you the sword, you’ll use it against us. Kill everyone here.”

  She frowned. “I give you my word not to do this.”

  “That means nothing to me,” Malem said. “I don’t know how good your word is.”

  Aurora glowered at him. “I’ve never gone back on my word.”

  “Again, we don’t have a history,” he said. “Other than when we were on opposite sides of the battlefield. So I can’t trust you. Sorry. No sword.”

  She opened her mouth, and he thought she was going to start cussing him out, then she bit her lips and looked away.

  In twenty minutes, the cave mouth appeared in the distance.

  “That’s fairly big,” Sylfi said. “Why didn’t you say so? We’ll have no problem transforming in there.”

  As they got closer, Weyanna announced: “It’s a dragon’s den.”

  “How do you know?” Xaxia asked.

  “The smell,” Weyanna replied.

  “Why would Goldenthall… Banvil… be invading a dragon’s den?” Grendel asked.

  “Has to be to acquire some item the dragon has,” Wendolin told her. “A magical artifact of some kind. Though how Banvil knew this particular dragon had it, is anyone’s guess.”

  “He’s been traveling to Redbridge often since we returned,” Malem said. “Perhaps he heard a rumor in one of the taverns.”

  “Perhaps,” Wendolin agreed. “Though in my opinion, it’s more likely Banvil personally placed it with the dragon for safekeeping when the demon invaded this world twenty years ago. Before your father banished the Balor.”

  Gwen, in the lead, was the first to reach the wide opening. The trailed widened before it, forming a terrace of sorts in front of the cave entrance. That terrace was covered in a thick layer of iron, with the stony waste matter of slag all along the edges.

  “I hate mountains,” Gwen said, staring into the partially illuminated cavern beyond. “They hide so many nasty things under them.”

  “Didn’t we just have this conversation?” Xaxia asked her.

  Gwen gave her an indifferent look. “Doesn’t mean I can’t bitch about it when I please.”

  “And bitch about it you certainly do,” Xaxia said.

  Gwen turned toward the Metals. “So if this is a dragon’s den, where are all the monster bones littering the cave entrance?”

  Wendolin was the one who replied. “This dragon obviously cleans up after itself.”

  “Either that, or it only eats out,” Brita added.

  “Or it’s not a dragon…” Xaxia said. “What’s with the iron?” She tapped the metal terrace with the heel of her boot.

  Timlir knelt to examine the iron layer. “Looks like someone set up an outdoor kiln here. Perhaps for cooking purposes.”

  Malem reached out, and sensed an energy bundle deep inside the cave. A powerful bundle. “There’s definitely something in there. And it’s powerful. We’re talking dragon level energy.” He paused. “I think… judging from the activity levels, it seems to be asleep.”

  Malem didn’t dare attempt to touch that bundle with his mind, not wanting to awaken it. Instead, he sent his birds inside, but they didn’t get very far before he had to turn them back—it quickly became too dark to see.

  He reached out, searching for a mountain lion or anything else that might have suitable night vision, but found nothing.

  “Hm, this is a problem,” Malem said. “I can’t find any acceptable scouts.”

  “We’ll just have to explore it ourselves,” Gwen said.

  “Wait, we have another problem,” Malem said. “Abigail and Mauritania are the only ones who could create light globes. Unless any of you can?” He glanced at Wendolin, Weyanna, and Grendel in particular.

  “Not me,” Weyanna said.

  “Light globes aren’t my specialty,” Wendolin said.

  He looked at Grendel, but before she could say anything, Xaxia said: “Guess we’ll have to use good old-fashioned torches. I think I saw some lamp oil in one of the wagons down there. Timlir, come with me.”

  “Me, why?” Timlir said.

  “I want you to climb over the dead bodies in the wagons,” Xaxia said, heading down the trail.

  “What!” he said. “What do you think I am? Some obedient monkey to do with as you please?”

  “Just come on,” she said.

  Grumbling, the dwarf followed.

  “You forgot to ask me,” Grendel said, raising a palm in front of her. A globe of pure light formed above her open hand.

  Xaxia came to a halt. “Well, that’s handy.” She and Timlir returned to the opening, and then she gestured toward Grendel. “Lead the way.”

  Malem considered sending the birds inside to scout along the periphery of Grendel’s light cone, but he’d have to keep turning them back to stay within the illumination, so their usefulness was questionable. Also, they might accidentally slam into the cavern wall when they turned around. Plus, their flapping wings would add unnecessary noise.

  So instead, he instructed the birds to stand guard outside and to alert him if anyone untoward approached.

  “Xaxia, Timlir, I want you on either side of Grendel, leading the way,” he said. “Aurora, Wendolin, you’re next. Sylfi, Brita, Gwen, you follow after them. Weyanna, you’ll join me on the rear.”

  Grendel entered with her escorts, and walked into the dim light of the cave entrance. The others followed. The cavern extended on either side of them, its far walls cast in shadow.

  Grendel brightened the ethereal sphere in her palm so that those walls lit up, and the frontal portion of the resultant cone of light extended at least twenty yards ahead.

  The party advanced.

  The walls were relatively smooth, as if worn down over the years by whatever creature lived in the cave, no doubt when it rubbed against the walls while traveling back and forth between the depths and the surface. The stone was a mixture of gray and black, though the darker colorations came in strange, splatter-like designs…

  Apparently Xaxia was thinking the same thing, because she said: “Is it just me, or do the black veins on those walls look like splattered blood?”

  “Maybe it is blood,” Wendolin said.

  “That’s gross,” Gwen commented.

  “Think about it,” Wendolin said. “If this is a dragons den, it can be expected that blood would splatter and soak into the walls when the dragon fed, or staved off intruders.”

  “Let’s keep all conversations mental going forward,” Malem said.

  “That means excluding those of us who aren’t bound to you,” Xaxia said.

  “It does,” he said. “Watch for hand signals.”

  They continued forward in silence, their eerie footfalls the only noise in the darkness. Those footsteps echoed from the walls, and from the way it diminished as the party continued, he knew everyone was trying to step as softly as possible.

  Should the Metals transform? Gwen asked. There’s enough room in the passage to fit one of them… or all of them if they spread out in a line.

&nbs
p; No, Malem replied.

  Why not? Gwen pressed.

  Brita was the one who answered. If we transform, our advance will be a lot noisier, with each footfall rumbling throughout the cave. If stealth is our objective, then it behooves us to remain in human form. However, if you want to wake the dragon, then yes, we can transform.

  Ah, Gwen said. Never mind. Let sleeping dragons lie, as they say!

  Who says that? Wendolin asked.

  Rustics like myself, of course! Gwen quipped.

  The tunnel eventually opened into an expansive cavern. The floor was covered with gold coins and other valuables, from magic weapons to chandeliers. Stalagmites protruded from the treasure at intervals, and provided several potential hiding places for Goldenthall.

  Malem sensed the energy bundle coming from somewhere on the far side of the room, but couldn’t otherwise see anything in the darkness past Grendel’s light cone. It’s still asleep, as far as I can tell.

  Does anyone see it yet? Gwen asked.

  No, Wendolin sent.

  I see it, Aurora said.

  Where? Malem asked.

  Up your ass, Aurora told him.

  Malem frowned. He drained some stamina from her in punishment for the comment, but felt only defiance in return.

  He sent her a private thought. Behave when you speak into my mind. Or I’ll cut off your access.

  Go ahead, she sent.

  As you wish. He muted her.

  He surveyed the cavern, trying to find a way to advance without disturbing the treasure. He noticed a thin aisle between the wall and the hoard, offering a route free of treasure. He pointed at it.

  We circle the treasure pile, Malem said. Keep a look out. Goldenthall could be hiding behind any of these stalagmites. Don’t touch anything, unless you want to wake the dragon.

  That’s a myth, you know, Gwen said. That dragons can instantly detect when someone takes their treasure.

  Actually, Weyanna said. Some dragons have the ability to lay detection spells on their hoards, and they do indeed awaken when someone touches it.

  So I guess that rules out Goldenthall hiding inside the treasure itself, Gwen said.

  Unless this dragon doesn’t have the detection abilities Weyanna mentioned… Wendolin commented.

  Malem made a circular gesture at those not bound to him, and pointed at the wall. Xaxia frowned as if she didn’t understand, and she waited until the others moved ahead of her before nodding her head, and falling in behind them with Timlir and Grendel.