Dragon Wolf Hero
Chapter 6
Vor entered the tunnel and used his dragon sight to search for danger. The ground beneath him began to rumble and the walls of the well collapsed. He could feel his companions fall into the tunnel and push him into the deeper darkness.
Wilstra shouted above the noise of the falling rocks. “The true dragons are using the wells to return to the surface.”
Sennranor appeared calm and took the lead, pointing her staff forward and and lighting the crystals embedded into the walls.
Vor pulled Wilstra to one side. “How long do we have?”
Wilstra placed a hand on the wall and closed her eyes. The rocks tell me the dragons are already here.
The loud boom sounded like the end of the world in the small dark tunnel.
The rush of air sent dust flying as a bright blue light short from the well and crashed through the domed mosaic ceiling, the stone cap on the well and soared into the open air of the valley. The companions watched as the snow started to fall as a cold wind howled into the small opening of the tunnel.
Vor took the lead and raced into the darkness. “Too late.” The eyes of the dragon form could be useful in the dungeon and he pushed his mind to allow the transformation of his sight, while maintaining the human form as he climbed into the darkness.
The ground opened into a deep wide cavern and leaped into the air, the dragon form returning and his wings stretching as she soared across. In a darkness of the tunnel on the opposite side he returned to the human form, then realized the companions were missing.
He scanned the cavern and watched as Sennranor and Wilstra climbed down from a ledge and race across a bridge as the cavern began to collapse in the pit below. The sturdy construction held strong until the last moment when a large rock dropped from above and smashed through the center of the bridge.
Vor sighed with relief when the dust settled and waved to his companions as they climbed series of steps carved into the wall of the cavern and met him at the stone arch leading into the old mines. He laughed when he realized he took the hardest path instead of seeing the obvious well worn path leading into the mines of the dwarven kingdom. He decided to let the dwarf lead the way. “I was foolish to run ahead, my apologizes to you Wilstra. The mines are your kingdom and I will humbly follow your lead.”
Sennranor raised her staff and lit the path into the mines. “Eohnin lead the humans to the surface and met the caravan at the Towers of Gell at the southern end of the valley. The storm delayed their passage so the humans are gathered together and waiting for the high winds to calm so they can form a column and push their way through the snow and reach the open plains before dark.”
Vor said, “How do you know this?”
“Eohnin and I communicate with thought images, and he is wondering about the constant thoughts of you…also he wonders if Cindaln, a human woman in charge of the group escaping the collapsing castle is a friend of yours?”
Vor thought the elves were masters of hiding emotion, but the woman was tripping over her words and avoiding direct eye contact. Ree-Ninn used to do the same before she ended their courtship.
The dragon and the wolf are natural enemies in the wild, and without a magic circle to reverse the transformation, the danger of staying close was too real.
Vor was devastated, but others in the wolf pack shared the same warnings. The transformation made the kingdom of the north a powerful human settlement in a single generation, but the cost was too high in his mind.
Wilstra stood fuming with anger and shouted above the noise of the collapsing bridge. “I can see why you became the king of the northlands, running into danger without a moment of hesitation. I warn you, the mines are no longer here. The dungeon is alive and growing, I can sense the approach of monsters and the start of a new age. The dwarves, the elves, and the humans are going to be ancient history if we cannot reach the king of the dragons and stop this madness.”
Sennranor stood leaning on the stone arch and considered the situation. “The opposite is true. The monsters are frustrated with the rise of the humans, and soon all magic and the endless variations or all manner of creatures will vanish from this world as the power of the core burns out. The dragons returned to the surface because the core was damaged, and I think the end started when the magic circles were destroyed.”
Wilstra said, “The magic circles were not destroyed, the magic was released into the world. I can see the magic in the rocks.”
Sennranor continued. “The crystals should be glowing bright with the magic!”
Wilstra said, “The crystals are natural formations, the magic is unnatural and not compatible.”
Sennranor pounded a first on the wall in frustration. “I understand. The last founding mage, the idiot who tied the magic circles to the core of the world did not realize that when the connection was broken, the feedback of wild energy caused the dungeon to form and release the last wave of infinite possibilities. The dungeon is creating all manner of wild creations as the power drains out like a star losing it’s light.”
Wilstra cried. “The elf is correct.”
Vor stepped into the corridor leading into the old mines and walked for long distance while he thought about the predictions of the elf. Sennranor matched his pace. He looked into her eyes, then reached out to hold her hand. “Founding mage?” He wondered if the mage was from another world, perhaps the world he lived in before waking up in the crazy world of monsters and magic. “So I did this?”
Wilstra shouted. “Yes!”
Sennranor gripped the hand of the human as she held back a the anger in her voice. “Yes.”
Vor appeared lost in his thoughts.
Sennranor searched for the words to comfort the human she wanted to save, the man without a kingdom. The power of the dragon was fading and he was returning to his natural human form, and when the dragon is gone she will know the core at the center of the world is gone. “Ree-Ninn, Yyin and Grald cleared a path and Eohnin is leading the humans to the plains below the mountain ridge.”
© J. Bateman
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