Chapter 12: The Dragon’s Treasure
William hadn’t realised it, but the moment he mentioned Nibbles was choking, Foddle had left to get help. Immediately, Foddle returned with Merlin and Eveador.
“Hmmm,” murmured Merlin, taking hold of Nibble’s lifeless body from William, “very strange, very strange, indeed.”
Merlin then handed Nibbles to Eveador and said something softly to her that William couldn’t quite hear.
“Yes, I think you’re right,” replied Eveador, feeling around Nibble’s neck. “All the symptoms are there.”
“What’s going on? What symptoms are there?” asked William urgently.
“The symptoms of Black Leech poison,” answered Merlin. “It appears the cakes were laced with it. If it wasn’t for Nibbles being a dragon, he would surely have died by now.”
Grudly looked horrified and stuttered, “B-b-but those c-cakes were for t-t-the King. T-that m-m-means …”
“The spy!” snapped Eric. “He’s still out there, and now he’s trying to kill King Arthur.”
William’s mind was still focused on Nibbles.
“So, Nibbles is going to be OK, right?” he said hopefully. “He’ll pull through?”
“I’m sorry, William. As much as it hurts me to say it, I don’t feel Nibbles will make it through the night,” replied Merlin sadly. “He is still breathing, but it is extremely shallow.”
“What about a cure? I vaguely remember Eveador saying there was a cure for Black Leech poison.”
“That’s right! Scarlet’s a cure,” said Sarah excitedly. “You’ve got some, haven’t you, Eveador?”
The instant Sarah said Scarlet, it all came flooding back. William now remembered the story Eveador had told him. He knew she had none, and if he wanted to save Nibble’s life, he would have to journey into the mountains and enter the lair of a ferocious dragon, hopefully being able to sneak the bottle of Scarlet from its treasure pit. It was lucky that William had read so much over the previous weeks as now the knowledge he had gained would be crucial in finding his way there.
“I wish I could say yes,” answered Eveador, “but Scarlet is one potion I do not have. There is only one place I know where Scarlet rests, but it is too dangerous for me or even Merlin to retrieve.”
William looked at Sarah and Eric. No words were spoken, but they knew what needed to be done. Before Merlin or Eveador could stop them, William had grabbed his staff from beside the table and run off. Together with Sarah and Eric, he ran towards Thunder and the other horses.
“Where are they running off to?” said Trevor. “Shouldn’t they be comforting Nibbles?”
“T-that’s right,” whimpered Albert. “N-n-nibbles is g-going to die.”
With a slight smile across his face, Merlin simply replied, “To save a life.”
William rode aggressively through the forest, jumping Thunder over moss covered logs and charging him through shallow creeks. Sarah and Eric could only barely keep up. Even their horse riding ability couldn’t match William in this state.
After hours of riding, they finally burst free of the forest and had arrived at the base of the mountains, the dragon’s lair somewhere atop.
“We have to ride up that?” asked Eric, pointing to a narrow track that snaked its way up the mountain.
“I’m afraid so,” replied William. “It’s the only path to the dragon’s lair that was shown in the books Merlin gave me to study.”
“Just remember to go slow and you’ll be OK,” spoke up Sarah, trying to provide Eric with some sort of comfort.
At a much more cautious pace than before, William began leading Sarah and Eric up through the mountain path.
“Slowly, slowly,” muttered Eric to his horse, as he peered over to his right and looked down at the sheer drop below. “We don’t want to slip.”
As they journeyed further up the mountain, the air became colder and the wind more intense. William often wondered why dragons lived atop mountains and now he knew. The constant gales made taking off for such heavy beasts easier. It wasn’t just the cold and wind that caught William’s attention, though. The track’s condition did, too. The remains of recent landslides strewn across the pathway grew more frequent and this troubled him.
“What if we’re caught on horse back,” he worried, “surely they’ll lose their footing and we’ll fall.”
Realising it too risky to ride any further, William stopped at the next wide section of track and dismounted.
“What’s going on?” asked Sarah, riding up from behind.
“It’s too dangerous to continue on horseback,” replied William. “There’s a good chance a landslide might happen, and if we’re riding, we’re done for.”
Eric turned as white as a ghost.
“L-l-landslides?”
“Don’t worry, there’s not much further to go,” said William, not thinking properly on what he remarked next. “Anyway, the climb up to the dragon’s cave is probably the most dangerous part, not the landslides.”
Eric froze stiff.
“C-c-climbing?”
It was obvious Eric was petrified of climbing the mountain, so William quickly made a suggestion to free him from it.
“Hmmm, maybe it would be best if one of us stays back to watch the horses,” he said, after tying Thunder’s rein around a large boulder. “How would you like to, Sarah?”
Sarah glanced up at William and noticed him flicking his eyes in Eric’s direction. Eric, meanwhile, went about tying up his horse, fear written all over his face.
“Ah, let me think,” she replied, her finger on her chin. “No, I’d rather go with you. I’d hate to miss out on the chance to see a full grown dragon.”
Upon hearing this, the fear on Eric’s face disappeared.
“I guess that leaves you, Eric,” said William. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“I suppose,” answered Eric, trying to sound disappointed, “but if Sarah’s determined to go, I can’t stop her.”
With Eric being left to mind the horses, William and Sarah continued on foot along the rocky path.
“If the path doesn’t lead to the dragon’s cave, where does it?” said Sarah, as they rounded another narrow bend.
“It goes over the mountains and into Evermist,” replied William. “I’m not exactly sure where in Evermist. Hopefully, we’ll never need to find --”
Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound coming from above. William quickly looked up and saw a huge pile of sharp rocks hurtling down towards them.
“RUN!” he shouted.
Sarah and William bolted for their lives, heading towards a small overhang that looked like it would provide some sort of cover from the rocks. With only seconds to spare before being crushed, they ran underneath the overhang. Together, they waited there for the landslide to end.
“That was too close,” said Sarah worriedly, the landslide having ceased.
“I agree,” said William, brushing a thick layer of dust from his robe. “Let’s just hope getting the potion from the dragon isn’t so dangerous.”
With their faces dirtied and their robes looking worse for wear, Sarah and William emerged from underneath the overhang and persisted in their journey up to the dragon’s cave. While they walked, William glanced at his staff’s crystal and saw that it had changed back to blue. This was a clear sign to him that he could now cast spells with it. He hoped he wouldn’t need to, though.
“There’s the dragon’s lair up there,” said William, pointing up the mountain towards the entrance of a huge cave. “We’ll have to climb from here on.”
“Are you sure,” remarked Sarah, a cheeky grin across her face, “remember the Leviarnus spell?”
“I remember,” replied William, as he thought back to his terrifying experience sneaking out of the castle, “but we can’t use it.”
“Why not?” asked Sarah, dumbfounded.
“Well, I’ve read that dragons are very sensitive to magic, so if we cast any spells, it’ll se
nse we’re coming.”
Sarah sighed. “I guess we have no choice. Climb we must.”
With William grasping his staff between his teeth and Sarah following right behind, they slowly began climbing the steep, unforgiving mountain. The climb was harsh, but they both knew they couldn’t give in. They were Nibble’s only hope. With their bodies aching and their fingers frozen by the cold wind, they finally made it.
Cautiously, they walked into the dark cave.
“We have to stay quiet,” whispered William to Sarah. “We don’t want to alert the dragon.”
“Hey,” replied Sarah softly, “I’m not stupid.”
Without another word, they apprehensively walked deeper into the dark cave. Looking up, William could see the roof of the cave was covered with stalactites. From these, a constant trickle of water dripped and made small puddles. While most wizards entering a dragon’s lair would instantly use their staff to light the way, William knew better. He knew dragons selected particular caves for their lairs, caves which were filled with glowing mosses. Not making the mistake of using magic, William and Sarah continued further into the cave. As the light from the entrance slowly faded, the cave walls began to take on an amazing green glow. It wasn’t a bright green, but it was enough for them to see where they were going. Up ahead, William could see the cave curving to the right and sloping downwards.
After rounding the bend, Sarah tugged worriedly on William’s robe.
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
“Hear what?” replied William quietly.
“That!” she said fearfully.
William strained his ears and heard a distant growling, emanating from deep within the cave.
“Here,” said William, and he handed his staff to Sarah, “take this and stay.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going on alone,” said William. “If both of us go, it’ll double the chance of alerting the dragon.”
“Well, if you’re going in alone, take your staff,” she replied. “Don’t leave it with me.”
William looked worriedly at Sarah.
“If worse comes to worse and I have to run for it, you can hopefully slow the dragon down enough for me to get back here in one piece, firing spells backwards isn’t something I’m an expert at.”
“Oh … I see. Well, you can rest assured I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” said William, and he left Sarah huddled behind a boulder.
Making as little sound as possible, William continued deeper into the cave, the sound of dragon’s breathing becoming louder and louder. Soon, William noticed the cave opening up in the distance. This would surely be where the dragon was. Holding his breath, William crept to the edge of the cavern and peered into it from behind a boulder. Inside, he saw a massive dragon, sleeping on a mountain of bones, some animal ... some human. Glittering behind the dragon, William could see a vast pile of gold and jewels. Not only that, there was also armour and shields of would be heroes. Dragons, it seemed, loved anything that shined.
Poking out of a chest, William saw what he was looking for, a small blue bottle.
“That must be the bottle of Scarlet,” he thought. “Now, I just have to get it.”
Ever so softly, William tiptoed into the cavern and towards the dragon’s treasure pile. As he made his way, William was awestruck by the size of the dragon. It could easily swallow him in one mouthful.
Finally, after managing to avoid making a sound, William arrived at the treasure chest. Feeling triumphant, he reached into the chest and, without further thought, pulled out the bottle of Scarlet. This was a big mistake. As soon as the bottle was pulled free, the surrounding gold coins fell inward, causing a sharp noise as they hit each other. Behind him, William heard the shuffling of the dragon. He quickly turned around and discovered the dragon staring at him with its head only a car’s length from his.
“Maybe if I don’t move, it can’t see me,” hoped William, as the dragon’s moist breath filled his face.
The dragon looked sleepily at William for a moment and then turned away.
“That was close,” thought William, his heart racing.
With the dragon falling back to sleep and the bottle of Scarlet tucked under his arm, William started the quiet journey back out of the cavern. After tiptoeing around water puddles and taking care not to kick any rocks, William was now only a matter of seconds away from being free of the dragon’s sleeping den.
“Made it,” he thought ecstatically, and he hurriedly made the few last steps to freedom.
Splash!
“O-oh,” peeped William, looking down at his right foot and discovering he had stepped into a puddle of water. “This is not good.”
A moment later, the dragon let off a terrifying roar. Not prepared to hang around and see if standing still would work a second time, William bolted for it. Out of the cavern he ran, splashing through puddles and half tripping over rocks. The dragon let off another terrifying roar and took chase. William ran as fast as he could, but it was no good. The dragon was closing in fast. If William could make it back to Sarah, maybe there was hope.
Sarah had heard the roaring of the dragon and knew William was in trouble. Quickly, she devised a plan and waited for just the right moment to implement it. In a matter of seconds, that moment had arrived.
“She’s not doing anything,” panicked William, the dragon now closer than ever. “She’s locked up!”
Sarah hadn’t locked up at all. She was taking careful aim at a gigantic stalactite.
“Get down!” she shouted to William.
Even though William didn’t have a clue what she was doing, he did exactly what she ordered and dived for cover. Instantly, Sarah let off a powerful blast from his staff. The bolt of energy scorched through the air and slammed into the stalactite, blowing it to pieces and causing a cave-in just behind William. The dragon’s furious charge had been halted.
“Quick, we’ve got to hurry,” said Sarah, running to William and helping him up. “The cave-in won’t hold the dragon for long.”
With Sarah’s aid, William dragged himself up and they ran out of the dragon’s lair. As soon as they were free of the cave, Sarah turned around and fired a volley of powerful blasts at the cave’s entrance, completely sealing the dragon inside.
Looking worse for wear, William smiled at Sarah.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he said, as Sarah handed back his staff.
“I know,” she replied, “but that’s what friends are for --”
Suddenly, the rubble in front of the dragon’s entrance began to move.
“I think we’d better get out of here,” said William, quickly stuffing the bottle of Scarlet into his pocket.
Sarah smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll be out of here before you can say … Leviarnus!”
Instantaneously, they were floating in midair.
“Come on,” said Sarah, “don’t just hover there.”
William was never that good at flying.
“I think I need a hand,” he answered, wobbling in the air like a bowl of jelly.
Sarah glided over to him and grabbed him by the hand.
“I’ll show you how it’s done,” she said confidently.
In a zip, Sarah had taken William over the edge of the cliff and had begun descending with him at a frighting speed. They were going so fast that William thought they weren’t going to be able to pull out in time.
“We’re going to hit the ground,” he panicked, as the narrow path below filled his eyes. “Pull up, pull up!”
With the grace of a bird, Sarah pulled out of the vertical dive and landed them softly on their feet. She then waved her hands and cast the reverse spell.
“You’d put a rollercoaster to shame,” remarked William, a little unsteady on his feet.
Sarah looked bewildered.
“What’s a roller … coaster?”
William had completely forgotten that Sarah wouldn’t have
heard of such a thing.
“Oh, nothing,” he answered. “Come on, we’d better hurry back to Eric. I’m sure he’s starting to worry about us.”
Without wasting another moment, they rushed off down the rocky path to where Eric would be waiting for them. Upon their arrival, they discovered Eric and the horses missing … something terrible had happened.
William Wright and the Dragon's Treasure Page 12
