When Krall thought about the different chapters that made up his life, he always separated those chapters by the different levels of freedom he experienced. Although he had not been born a slave, he had not been born free either. His father was brutal and territorial of his home, his possessions, and his family. Even as a very young orc, Krall always wanted to explore and move, but his father guarded his family jealously, and none his young were ever allowed to venture out of earshot and eyesight where they could help drive off intruders.

Krall found it somewhat fitting that despite his father’s paranoia of outsiders and guarding their territory, there was nothing he could do to stop Vdekshi’s undead horde that had kidnapped Krall, his brothers, and other young orcs from nearby families. The creatures had come in the night with no thought or fear in their heads, so they cared nothing about the trophies hung outside or the primal bellowing that Krall’s father usually used to scare off invaders.

Krall’s kidnapping and enslavement by Vdekshi meant even less freedom for the orc. He could not choose what to eat, where or when to sleep, what to do, or even whether he would live. Vdekshi had taken the very little that Krall ever had, and he spent every waking moment, and many of his sleeping moments as well, in fear that Vdekshi would take the last thing he had left, the very air from his lungs.

And yet, merely by surviving under Vdekshi’s harsh ownership, Krall had proven himself strong and determined. Vdekshi had made him an offer. He could leave the fortress where Vdekshi was keeping him if Krall would hunt dragons for him. Krall had heard stories of the dangers of dragons in his youth, and yet Krall decided that the danger was better than remaining inside the fortress. There were many things that were keeping him a prisoner, and Krall decided he would never let his fear become one of them.

The first time that Krall left the fortress in search of a dragon, Vdekshi had given him a map to follow to where he suspected the dragon was hiding. Krall had followed the map precisely, but when he arrived at a bridge that had been washed out, Krall found that he could not swim and could not follow the map, and so he turned around and went back. When he reported the situation to Vdekshi, the necromancer had hit him hard on the back of the head with his silver staff and asked, “And was every part of that river too wide and too deep to cross? Next time, keep looking around until you find a way across!”

Krall had returned the next day and searched up and down the path of the river for hours, but eventually he did find an area suitable to cross. After Krall made his way across the river and looked back to the other side, he felt elated. It was the first time in his life he had accomplished something beyond the simple instructions that he had been told. He had tested and explored and he now had a new path to follow. While he knew that he still belonged to Vdekshi and would still have to return to him, it was the first time that Krall had actually gained more freedom in his life, even if just a little bit. It left him ever after hungry for more.

Krall’s first assignment to capture a dragon had not ended in success, but Vdekshi was willing to let him continue trying until he gave up or died. Krall always accepted more hunting assignments, and each time he kept pushing his boundaries. He would take alternate routes or experiment with different techniques than Vdekshi and his lackeys would tell Krall to use. Krall was always honest about his deviations to see if he would be punished, but he never was. Vdekshi made it clear he cared about results, not methods.

But Krall had pushed his luck too far, and eventually Vdekshi had caught on that he had been killing the dragons to avoid bringing them back to him alive on purpose. Enchanted shackles had been placed on Krall’s wrists to ensure that he would never disobey or mislead Vdekshi again. And he would only be allowed to hunt following very specific orders, rather than choosing his own path or methods.

After tasting even a portion of freedom, enduring the enchanted shackles was unbearable for Krall. He had tried to resist for the first couple of weeks, but Vdekshi’s dark magic was strong, and Krall was forced to comply. One night Krall decided that he would rather lose both hands and die, than continue to endure the shackles, and he determined that the following day he would do just that.

That was the night that Krall had dreamt of Nomad and his dragon, Wander. That was the night that he had learned from the wise Immortal the true path for an orc to find freedom and peace. That was the night that he had been bathed in Wander’s green flame, and all of his boundaries had been consumed. When Krall awoke the next morning, he found that the shackles were gone, and all that was left were two scars on his wrists where the shackles had apparently burned away.

Though escape from Vdekshi and his fortress meant Krall had won a great freedom overnight, he found that there was still more freedom he would need to win. Freedom from hunger, freedom from the cold, freedom from fear, freedom from anger, and freedom from loneliness were just a few of the battles that Krall had to face soon after his escape. Though it was often hard and sometimes painful, Krall never regretted his freedom for a moment.

***

Krall stood perfectly still in the dank, smelly dragon’s cave, a prisoner inside his own body. Because of the hex that the witch was putting on him and the others, Krall could not move a single bone in his body. His fingers could not release their grip on the torch he was holding, even though sparks and debris were falling off and stinging his hand. He could not turn his head to see the status of his comrades. He could not even unloose his jaw to shout a warning to his enemies about the three young black dragons that were silently moving behind them to block their escape. Krall had never felt so trapped in his entire life.

Jarkt had already spit on Krall’s face, and now stood right in front of him, gloating about something or other. Krall really couldn’t care less what that idiot had to say. He was too busy trying to find a way out of the cave. Out of the corner of his eye, Krall saw the wall of the tunnel they were in glimmer and gleam in his torchlight. He realized that the sides of the walls were wet with poisoned blood from the young dragons’ ravenous and messing feasting from so many meals.

Krall continued to watch the dragons move slowly and silently in front of their only route to escape. They had a very small window of opportunity left to escape, and Jarkt, the witch, and the others with them were too preoccupied to realize what was happening. Krall had to do something or it would soon be too late for all of them.

Jarkt was now shouting in Krall’s face, which was starting to become too distracting to think. Their noses were practically touching. Krall suddenly had an idea, and he acted on it without even thinking. He in took a huge breath and then exhaled sharply from his nose. Fortunately the foul smell of the cave had made Krall’s nose a bit congested, and a huge ball of mucus shot directly into Jarkt’s mouth.

Jarkt backed away spitting, gagging, and cursing. He looked at Krall with an expression of pure hate and rage, and drew his sword to kill the orc where he stood. That was exactly what Krall had been hoping for.

As soon as the three dragons saw the gleaming metal weapon, they abandoned all attempts at stealth, and issued a series of roars and hisses at their would-be attackers. The witch immediately forgot her hex on Krall and the others, and fled out of the cave, pushing one of the other dragon hunters down who was in her way. With a great snap, the fallen dragon hunter was snatched up in the jaws of one of the dragons, and taken back into the dark abyss of the tunnel from which the young dragons had emerged.

Finally free to move again, Krall wasted no time throwing his torch at the wall of the cave, instantly igniting it in hot, oily flames. As the two remaining dragons reeled and screeched at the flames, Krall grabbed Tarun and Solimar by the arms and pulled them along with him past the dragons and through the tunnel that would lead to their escape. Though the flames licked their clothes and the dragons snapped at their heels, the three managed to get to the tunnel. As they passed the dragons, Krall felt a sharp pain on the back of his leg, but kept running.

Even as the walls of the tunnel began to widen out, and the flames were farther from them, the inside of the tunnel started to feel like an oven to Krall, Tarun, and Solimar. Despite the oppressive heat and the increasing pain in his leg, Krall kept running and pulling the others along, sure that their freedom was not far beyond. After a minute more of intense running, they had reached the opening of the cave and breathed the cool, clean air of outside.

Their freedom was short-lived however. No sooner had they emerged, than they found themselves frozen in place again by the witch who was waiting for them just outside. She moved toward them with a wicked and cruel look on her face as she continually muttered the words of her chant. Krall could tell that she expected the dragons to follow soon, and she intended for them to be the bait.

Just before the witch had reached Krall, out of the corner of his eye he could see a massive blur of hair and tusks rush by, and suddenly the witch was airborne. Krall turned his head to see Piggy atop his boar where the witch had just been standing. She landed several feet away with a hard thump, and something inside Krall’s head gave a lurch.

Krall looked over at the witch, who now appeared as an old and haggard woman with sunken eyes, crooked teeth, and thin patchy hair. “TRESHIGAN!!” yelled Krall, recognition finally rushing though his brain. How could he have ever forgotten the name of someone so terrible? And how could she have ever found him? Krall realized that if she now looked as she appeared before them, then her power must have been all but used up, and he rushed to take care of her before she could do any more damage.

Before Krall could reach her, Treshigan had removed a loose tooth from her mouth and spit it at the ground. The tooth had exploded in a cloud of gray smoke. After the smoke cleared, Treshigan was nowhere to be found.

Before Krall, Tarun, Solimar, and Piggy had a chance to catch their breath, Jarkt and his archer Preke came running out of the cave, followed immediately by two of the dragons. As Jarkt and Preke ran directly towards them, Krall assumed that they were coming to attack him. It wasn’t until they came closer that he could hear Preke screaming to Krall and the others, “Somebody stop him! He’s trying to kill me!”

Krall saw that indeed Jarkt did have his sword raised to strike at his own archer, and he blew a sharp whistle to Solimar. The elf deftly pulled out an arrow and shot Jarkt in his sword arm, but the pain did nothing to slow him down. With purple foam gathering around his mouth, Jarkt cut down his companion before he could reach them. As he watched the pathetic excuse for a man betray his own friend, blood began to rush in his ears and the world around him began to turn red as he felt an incredible rage engulf his mind. Krall looked down to the excruciating pain in his leg and saw a long black and purple quill sticking out of the back of his pants, stained with blood.

After all he had been through and all he had escaped, how could he have still ended up as one of Vdekshi’s sick and rage-fueled experiments? Krall saw Jarkt turn his sword against one of the nearby dragons, and was quickly snatched up in the beasts jaws.

How could someone like Treshigan have found him after all this time? Krall saw the other dragon whip its tail to launch quills at Piggy and his boar. They were both struck, and boar instantly became enraged, threw Piggy from its back, and charged the dragon. The boar was caught by the dragon’s claws as soon as it came within its reach.

Had he ever been truly free from Vdekshi’s influence at all, or had he merely pretended to let Krall escape so that he could play a part in a grander scheme that led to the poison and death of everyone he cared about? Krall saw Piggy run and leap onto the back of the dragon that had killed his boar, and the enraged dwarf began furiously hacking past the dragon’s scales with the Dragon Stone spikes on his club.

Had Nomad really visited him in a dream, or was his memory no more than a fantasy and illusion of the night? If Krall had been found, did that mean that Wander’s fire was not as powerful as he believed? Did either of them ever exist at all? Krall saw Solimar fire arrows tipped with Dragon Stone at the face of the dragon that Piggy was attacking. He saw the dragon launch a second volley of quills at Solimar, hitting the elf in the chest.

Did freedom even really exist? All the years that Krall thought he had been following his instincts and trusting his judgment, had he really just been following a path that he could never escape? Were his choices still bound like his wrists were all those years ago? Krall saw Piggy grab hold of the dragon’s neck and swing around to strike his club at the creature’s throat. He saw Solimar lose all reason and rush forward with two Dragon Stone arrows to stab the beast in the legs. He saw them both crushed underneath as they finally brought the dragon down.

The agony and rage that Krall felt was too much to bear. His heart pounded furiously and his muscled burned with a mad strength. He wanted to inflict that pain and death on someone else. He wished that Vdekshi were standing directly in front of him so he could deliver vengeance and retribution upon the cruel necromancer, but since he was not, Krall would deliver it to anything else that crossed his path. That is when the dragon that had killed Jarkt decided to turn its attention to Krall.

As the dragon moved forward, Krall used one hand to remove his Dragon Stone dagger from the sheath at the front of his belt. With his other hand, Krall removed the second Dragon Stone dagger he always kept hidden in the back of his belt. As the dragon lunged its head forward to snap Krall in its jaws, he swung both daggers around and caught the dragon unawares by stabbing both sides of its head with his daggers.

Krall held the dragon’s head in place with his unnaturally strong arms and looked into the dragon’s eyes. What should have been eyes of strength and pride and majesty were instead empty black spheres of agony and rage. Krall looked at the face of the dragon with pity and disgust as he wondered how Vdekshi could ever be so demented and cruel to condemn any creature to such a short, brutal, and twisted existence. In a burst of incredible strength, Krall spun his arms around to twist the dragon’s head sharply to one side. There was a loud and sickening cracking noise, and the dragon stopped moving.

Still filled with rage, Krall was actually excited to see the third dragon emerge from the flaming opening of the cave. The dragon staggered, its wings were badly singed, and its eyes were closed, but it came out roaring and hissing all the same. Krall shouted a mighty cry of his own and charged at the dragon, but a moment before he reached the creature, its head fell from its body and Krall saw Tarun standing next to it holding his Dragon Stone sword, which was covered in poisoned dragon blood.

Without even knowing why, Krall charged at Tarun with his daggers and rage. Tarun immediately dropped his sword and grabbed Krall by the wrists to hold back his weapons. After a brief struggle, Krall abandoned the daggers and used his own sharp teeth to bite Tarun’s arm.

Something about the taste of Tarun’s blood in his mouth awakened something in Krall, and his strength and rage began to fade. He fell backwards to the ground, and the heartbeat that had been pounding so loudly in his ears just moments ago, now seemed to fade to almost nothing.

Krall looked in horror at the bite mark on Tarun’s arm, with the purple foam that had come from his own mouth. “I’m so sorry,” he weakly managed to say. “So, so sorry.”

“I know,” Tarun said, kneeling down and lifting Krall’s head in his arms. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save Solimar and Piggy.”

Though Krall’s strength was leaving him, the rage was leaving him as well, and his senses began returning. How was that possible? He had never seen victims of the poison calm down before their deaths. The rage always took them to the very end. Krall tasted Tarun’s blood in his mouth again, and his instincts told him there was something important about that. Krall felt like his very breaths were numbered, but he had to somehow find the strength to tell Tarun.

“You’re special,” Krall managed to whisper to Tarun. “You and Shon. You have more to do.”

“I know,” said Tarun. “The mother dragon is still out there and we have to kill her before she can poison anything else. And we need to stop your old master from poisoning any more dragons.”

“Yes,” whispered Krall, “but more than that. You have power, Tarun. Inside you.”

“That’s enough,” Tarun said. “We have to get you somewhere to rest so you can heal.”

“Stop and listen,” said Krall, barely audible now. “Take the wagon. Be great. Tell Shon I’m sorry I couldn’t help him find his parents.”

“Don’t die,” Tarun said. He was holding his injured arm and tears were running down his cheeks. “It’s not supposed to end like this.”

Krall closed his eyes and heard the sounds of the leaves blowing in the wind and the birds chirping overhead. He smelled the grass below him and the pollen in the air. He felt the sun shining on his skin. He swallowed and tasted the last of Tarun’s blood drain from his mouth and noticed that the bitter taste of the poison foam was gone too.

“It’s alright,” said Krall. “Not the end. I’m free.”

Shon stood in the middle of camp holding Stick with both hands in a blocking maneuver, and then brought it down hard in front of him in a striking motion. During the two weeks he had been with Solimar, the elf had taught Shon some defensive techniques he could use if he ever had to use the staff in a fight. Shon didn’t like the idea of using such a powerful conduit of magic as a blunt object, but Solimar had told him, “If you’re dead, it won’t matter how magical the staff is. You would do well to practice how to protect yourself.”

Shon now found himself practicing the techniques, not to better prepare himself for a fight, but to keep himself from hearing his own thoughts. The hot sun of noonday shone brightly on Shon’s head, making sweat bead up on his bald scalp.

“Go home where it’s safe, little larva,” the cold voice in his dream had said to him weeks ago. “You could never be one of them.” The memory of the dream echoed in Shon’s mind, as if he could hear the cruel voice just as clearly now as he had that night.

“Shut up!” Shon shouted out loud as he swung Stick around wildly. “I’m not a coward!” After brining the staff down hard upon his imaginary foe, Shon recalled the cruel, distant laughing of the voice in his dream. “No, I am a coward,” Shon said panting and out of breath. Hot tears began to well up behind his eyes. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”

Shon began carrying Stick back to his tent, with the intention of sleeping away the rest of the afternoon. Physical exertion didn’t seem to be quieting his thoughts after all, so maybe a nap would shut them up for a while. As he stood in front of his tent, however, he suddenly heard a piercing scream cut through the thoughts in his head.

Shon spun around to see where the scream had come from, but there was nobody else in the camp. He then heard another scream and realized he wasn’t hearing them with his ears, he was hearing them with his mind. Grasping Stick firmly and closing his eyes, Shon tried to locate the direction that the screams were coming from.

Shon realized very quickly that the screams were coming from the direction of Alderfold, and they were accompanied by feelings of acute terror. As he tried to decide what to do, Shon heard another scream from the town with a very clear message. Dragon!

Instantly a flood of images raced past Shon. He saw a large black shape flying distantly overhead against a clear blue sky. He saw the inky black shape move across the forest map of his dream, devouring huge, quivering X’s wherever it went. He saw the dragon emerge from the fog of the mountain, and swallow the injured cougar with one terrible bite in all her horrible glory. Then just as quickly as the images came, they left and Shon found himself still standing in the middle of camp. There was no immediate danger around him. For the moment he was not in harms way, and if he just stayed where he stood, he would probably remain safe.

In the front of his mind, Shon could hear the cruel distant voice telling him he was too small and afraid, and the only actions he was good for were standing petrified where he was or hiding under the wagon. But at the thought of the wagon, something tugged at the edges of his mind. Shon remembered how he had followed a similar tugging to escape the bear and find the poisoned animals and even locate the dragon’s cave. Is that what Empress meant by thoughts from the Ether? Shon decided to move and see where the stream from the Ether would take him now if he followed it.

The first place that his feet took him was to the green wagon where Krall kept the bundle of Dragon’s Bane that Shon and Tarun and delivered to him weeks ago. After retrieving the bundle, Shon ran off in the direction of Alderfold, leaving the distant cruel voice behind him.

***

Although he knew he was heading towards danger, Shon had been unprepared for the pandemonium and terror that would assault him from all sides once he had reached Alderfold. He saw women and children running away from the town in a panic. He saw grown men cowering behind doors, porches, or anything else that might hide them. He saw sheep with long quills sticking out of wool coats stained red and purple from poisoned blood and purple foam dripping from their mouths as they attacked the shepherds who had once protected them. The building where Shon had met the town headman was missing a wall.

Overhead, Shon saw the cause of all the madness as the huge black and purple dragon circled in the sky on outstretched wings. Shon wondered if she could have somehow grown even larger that the first time he had seen her. Shon kept his hood up tightly around his head and did not look at the dragon long. Even now, he could feel the pain and rage emanating from her.

Shon held the bundle containing the Dragon’s Bane tightly in his fist. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to use it, but he was sure that he was the only one who could save these people from the dragon above them. But why was she even attacking the town? She had stayed away and only attacked wildlife and livestock before, so why would she terrorize the town today? Could she somehow know what Krall and the others were planning to do back at her cave? If she did, why was she here instead of protecting her nest?

Shon kept his head down, trying to avoid looking at the dragon, and hoping to avoid being seen as well. Looking at his feet as he ran, Shon suddenly found himself tripping over someone small underfoot. After he hit the ground, Shon looked up, expecting to find a frightened child. Instead he found a pair of spiteful eyes glaring back at him.

“Watch where you’re going, idiot!” said a harsh, but high-pitched voice. It was the small man from the other dragon hunting party. The one that Jarkt and the others had called Mutt. Shon remembered the way Jarkt had treated Mutt the last time they met, and felt sorry for tripping over him.

Shon’s pity for Mutt was short-lived however. As soon as he looked at Mutt to apologize, Shon heard the thoughts in his head and the situation suddenly made sense. “You’re the reason the dragon’s here!” Shon shouted over the noise around them. “You stole something from her, and she followed you here to get it back.”

“Shut up!” hissed Mutt. “You want her to hear you?”

“I don’t care if the whole town hears me!” Shon shouted. He focused his mind on Mutt, but he couldn’t retrieve any more information at the moment. “What did you take from her?”

“None of your business,” said Mutt. “Treshigan says she needs the dragon gone for a few hours to set traps, so I make sure it’s away from the cave for a few hours. I do as she says and I stay alive.”

“Treshigan the witch?” asked Shon. “I thought you two were both Jarkt’s slaves.”

“Doesn’t he like to think that,” Mutt said with a sneer. “We’ll be done with him soon enough, and then he’ll be lucky to be alive.”

There was a roar overhead and Shon glanced up to see that the dragon was now circling closer to the ground. “Look,” said Shon, “I really don’t care about any of that. If Treshigan’s orders were to lead that thing away from her nest, that’s fine. But we have to get you out of this town before more people get hurt or someone gets killed. I think I have an idea of how we can get the dragon to follow us if we act quickly.”

“Are you insane?” Mutt squeaked. “I’m as good as dead if I don’t have this crowd to hide in!”

“So you’re just willing to let these people suffer so you can cower behind them?” shouted Shon.

“What have any of them ever done for me?” asked Mutt. “You know when we came through this town the first time, Jarkt had me on a leash?! You think any of these people came forward to help poor little Mutt with the rope around his neck? The dragon can have the whole lot of them for all I care!”

Shon felt such disgust at Mutt’s words that bile began to rise in his throat. He wanted to throttle the little man, but he knew that attacking him wouldn’t solve anything. He had to get them out of there. He tried to calm down and focus on the problem in front of him.

“Look, I know you’re angry,” Shon said, as calmly as he could. “But you know, that anger probably just started out as loneliness from your pancreas.”

Mutt stared at Shon in bewildered silence for a moment. “What in the world is that supposed to mean?” Mutt asked.

“It’s something an old teacher of mine would have said,” Shon said. “Look, forget it. The point is, I have something that we can use to keep the dragon away, even if you don’t have the crowd to hide in.”

Mutt eyed Shon suspiciously. “What is it?” he asked.

“This,” said Shon, pulling out the bundle of Dragon’s Bane, “is a plant that the dragon can’t bear the smell of. Just the residue of its smell has already saved my friend and me before. So let’s get you out of here, and we can use this to keep the dragon at a safe distance.”

“That’s your plan?” said Mutt, with contempt returning to his voice. “A smelly plant? Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll take my chances hiding here in town. It’s working out pretty well for me so far.”

At this last comment, Shon’s patience was more than spent. “We don’t have time for this,” said Shon. He grabbed Mutt by the wrist and before he could think through the situation, he used his free hand to remove his hood. Dragon! Shon called out with his mind. What you seek is down here!

As soon as Shon reached out to the dragon with his mind, he regretted it. The pain from the dragon hit Shon so forcefully, that he nearly lost his grip on Mutt’s wrist. The dragon’s reaction was also immediate and as she craned her neck in their direction, it was clear he had gotten her attention.

“What have you done?!” Mutt screamed at Shon. He then surprised Shon by deftly twisting the wrist that Shon was holding and using his other hand to pull back Shon’s middle finger, causing Shon to immediately lose his grip on his prisoner, and drop to knees. In a series of rapid movements, Mutt then kicked Shon in the ribs, punched the side of his head, and snatched the bundle of Dragon’s Bane out of Shon’s other hand.

“You should’ve just stayed out of it,” Mutt jeered right before he ran off with the Dragon’s Bane. “Good luck with the dragon.”

Shon’s vision began to blur. He could not tell if it was from the pain of Mutt’s unexpected blows, or from the increasing proximity of the dragon with all her rage and pain. Shon considered trying to pull up his hood to protect himself from the pain, but decided it was a futile effort. He had lost the Dragon’s Bane, and he had lost any chance of saving the people in the town. He was practically numb to the pain as a feeling of profound failure and hopelessness overcame him. He had not felt so helpless since being trapped by Treshigan and her magic.

And yet the stream of thought that had tugged him into action before still trickled past his mind. After all, when faced with certain defeat and humiliation it was Shon that was able to save them from Treshigan’s curse. Why not again? He could try couldn’t he? What did he have to lose?

As Shon grasped Stick firmly in his hands, he could hear still hear the thoughts and screams of everyone else in the town, but now his attention was focused solely on the dragon above him. He stared directly at her, trying to read her thoughts and send them back to her. This only seemed to make the dragon more angry than ever.

More, Shon thought to himself. I need more! He could tell that his mind was instinctively withdrawing from a portion of her pain and torment, and he tried to overcome the impulse. In the remaining reasoning left to him, Shon thought even a dragon like her must have a limit to the pain she could tolerate. I don’t need to feel it, Shon told himself, I just need to let it flow through me back to her unfiltered.

As Shon focused more and more on the dragon, time seemed to slow down in his mind. As the dragon descended towards him, he found it odd that he had time to think about his parents and Empress and Grodin. He wondered how long he would miss them when he was gone. Then he thought of Tarun with the dragon hunters who still had to kill this dragon coming down at him. They still need me, Shon realized.

With one last burst of strength and willpower, Shon opened his mind to its utmost limits. He was vaguely aware of the familiar egg inside his cloak pocket burning white hot against his skin, but he paid it no mind. The pain of the heat was nothing compared to the pain he was channeling from the dragon and back to her mind.

I need it all, Shon thought. I need all of her.

The dragon was now almost on top of Shon with open jaws and outstretched claws. As his vision continued to blur, he noticed that she really did look like the inky black shape from his dream. The black shape continued to grow and blur, until there was nothing but black, and Shon felt nothing at all.

The sun was beginning to set when Shon and Solimar walked into camp outside of Alderfold. Tarun, Krall, and Piggy had already set up the camp earlier that day, and were now sitting around a campfire eating their supper. All three of them looked up when the wizard and elf entered the clearing.

“It’s good to see you,” said Krall, standing up. “I was beginning to worry. I thought for sure that you two would be here waiting for us, considering how anxious you were about traveling as a pair.” Krall added a wink at his last comment. “How did tracking the dragon go? How much of her perimeter were you able to locate?”

“Forget the perimeter,” said Solimar, sounding exhausted. “We found her lair.”

Krall stood for a moment in the fading light of dusk, with shadows from the firelight dancing across his shocked face. “You found her lair?” he finally said. “How in the world did you manage that?”

“We’ll explain after we have some dinner and rest our feet a bit,” said Solimar. “We had to hurry to make it here by today, and Shon is especially exhausted. He went through a lot to get us as far as we did.”

“Of course,” said Krall, still looking surprised. “Have a seat by the fire and we’ll get you some of this stew that Tarun prepared.”

“I didn’t know you could cook,” said Shon as he sat down on a log by the fire.

“I didn’t know you could track a dragon,” replied Tarun with a smirk, ladling some hearty stew into a wooden bowl. “I guess we’ve both got some surprises to share with one another.”

“Uh, how about you start by telling me about that,” Shon said, pointing to a large, black, shiny object sitting next to Tarun. “Is that a sword made of rock?”

“You like it?” asked Tarun with a wide grin, handing the bowl of soup to Shon. “Krall suspects it’s the only Vedionite sword in the world. You wouldn’t believe how sharp it is!”

Solimar raised an eyebrow and looked at Krall. “Did you seriously let him make a sword out of Dragon Stone?” asked the elf. “And it hasn’t shattered yet?”

“Not yet,” said Krall with a chuckle. “Though Tarun won’t trust our wagon to carry it with all of its bumping and shaking. He carries that thing around with him everywhere. We had some pretty tense moments when shaping it, but it sounds like nothing like the excitement you two were having. How could you have found that dragon’s lair so quickly?”

Solimar and Shon began telling Krall and the others about their encounter with the poisoned bear and all that they had learned about the strange purple poison. Shon explained how he had used his magic to sense and track down animals that had been poisoned, and how he and Solimar had mapped the locations of the animals they found. Finally they told them about the pattern of kills that had led them to the dragon’s lair. When they finished, everyone sat silently around the campfire, considering the new information.

“It sounds like you both had a very dangerous two weeks indeed,” said Krall. The sun and finished setting by this time, and the stars were beginning to appear overhead. “I’m sorry the rest of us weren’t there to help.”

“Well what about you three?” Solimar asked. “Were you successful in your task, aside from Tarun’s new fragile toy?”

“I’d say so,” Krall replied. “We collected enough Dragon Stone, and then some. Piggy was able to fashion it into enough weapons for the job of taking down this dragon at least.”

“But do we even need the Dragon Stone weapons?” Tarun asked. “If her poisoned blood is as flammable as Shon and Solimar say, can’t we just light the dragon on fire and burn her from the inside out?”

“I’m afraid not,” Shon said. “Solimar tried using a flaming arrow on a poisoned elk that we came across early on. We thought it would put him out of his misery faster. That’s when we learned that the poisoned blood only becomes flammable after the animal has been dead for a while.”

“Besides,” said Krall, waiving a hand, “it’s too early to start strategizing how to kill the mother. Now that the lair has been found, our first priority has to be neutralizing those eggs of hers.”

“You mean we’re just going to destroy totally harmless dragon eggs?” asked Tarun. “Couldn’t they just be taken back up to Dragon Country instead of killing them?”

“Those eggs may be harmless,” said Krall, “but the dragons inside them are not. The moment a dragon hatches, it’s deadly. No matter how young it may be. And to be caught by a mother dragon while carrying her eggs is about the most dangerous situation a person can be in.”

“Besides,” Krall continued, “the moment those dragons hatch, they’ll be a whole new kind of abomination. Even more than their mother.”

“What do you mean?” asked Tarun.

“I suspect that Vdekshi is to blame for poisoning the mother,” said Krall, “but she must have had at least some life before Vdekshi got to her. I’d bet anything that those dragons will be born with the same poisoned blood pumping through their veins. Their entire existence will be consumed with pain and rage. I think destroying the eggs will be more of an act of mercy than cruelty.”

“Who’s Vdekshi?” Shon asked.

“That’s Krall’s old slave master,” said Tarun. “He’s a powerful necromancer, and the one who we think poisoned the dragon. It’s kind of a long story.”

“Oh,” said Shon, looking around at the others. “And did everyone else already know this?” The others stared at Shon for a moment, and then Piggy broke the silence by blowing his nose on his hand. “Alright then,” he said. “Carry on. I’ll just pretend that what you just said wasn’t incredibly scary.”

“We’ll all need to leave first thing in the morning,” Krall said, turning back to the others. “If Shon is right about the mother leaving to hunt each morning, then the afternoon will be our best time to sneak into the cave and destroy the eggs without the mother anywhere nearby. Shon, do you think you’ll be able to sense if the mother is nearby or not?”

Shon shifted uncomfortably on the log he was sitting on. “Actually, I needed to tell you about that,” said Shon. “I can’t go back to that cave. What I sensed the last time we were there was just too painful and dangerous for me to handle. I’m… I’m sorry.” Shon lowered his head and stared at his lap.

Krall and Tarun both opened their mouths to object, but Solimar raised a hand to silence them. “Believe me,” the elf said, “if I thought that Shon was just being a coward, I would be the first to say so. But I was there when we were at the dragon’s lair. I think Shon is right to stay behind. In fact, if he does go, he could put us all in even more danger.”

Tarun stood up and then sat next to Shon. “I never suspected that he was a coward,” Tarun said, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I only wanted to assure him that we would keep him safe.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” said Solimar.

“No, we can’t promise your safety,” said Krall, “but we can watch your back. You’ve become an invaluable member of our hunting party, Shon. Are you sure you can’t join us?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Shon, pulling his hood over his head. “I’m sorry to let you down, Krall.”

“I’ll trust your judgment,” Krall said, and then turned to the others. “Shon will stay here in the camp tomorrow and keep an eye on the wagon and the animals. That way the rest of us will be able to travel faster. We’ll be leaving before sunrise tomorrow, and by tomorrow evening we should have fewer dragon eggs to worry about hatching.”

***

Krall hid behind the trees closest to the entrance to the dragon’s cave and inhaled deeply through his nose. “It all smells so wrong,” he said. Nearby, Piggy sat on the back of his boar, trying to calm it down. The boar was sniffing heavily through its large nose as if in a panic, and was swinging its head from side to side and trying to back away.

“I know what you mean,” said Tarun. “It smells terrible over here.”

“It’s more than that,” said Krall darkly. “I’m familiar with the smell of death and decay, but this is different. It’s like I smell the death without the decay.”

“That’s one of the most unnerving things about the animals killed by the poison,” Solimar said. “Any flies, worms, or anything else that would usually start cleaning up the refuse just immediately dies when it tastes the poison. It’s one of the reasons that Shon and I started burning their bodies.”

Tarun was surprised how at the mere mention of Shon’s name, he felt so disappointed that his friend wasn’t with them. After being apart for two weeks, Tarun had been looking forward to spending time with Shon again, even if it was near a foul-smelling cave of death.

“Well, terrible smell or not, we’ve got to go in there,” Krall said. “It’s not quite noon yet, so we’ve got as good a chance as ever that the dragon is gone hunting. Let’s hope she stays out all day like you suspect, Solimar.” Turning to Piggy, he added, “You and your boar stay out here and keep a lookout for the dragon. You know the signal if you see her coming.”

Piggy cupped his hands around his mouth and made a nearly flawless impression of a crow cawing. Tarun realized it was the first time he had heard the dwarf use his voice, other than the grunts and groans he made when he woke up most mornings.

“Come on,” Krall said to Tarun and Solimar. “Let’s get this done as quickly as we can. I want to be as far away from here as possible when the mother gets back.”

The three of them emerged from behind the trees and dashed across the clearing in front of the cave’s entrance as quickly and quietly as they could. Krall held his black knife at the ready, Solimar’s bow was drawn with a Dragon Stone tipped arrow notched, and Tarun held his large stone sword with both hands.

When they reached the mouth of the cave and saw how dark it was inside, Krall put his knife away and retrieved a wooden torch from his pack. He found that the side of the cave’s entrance was smeared with thick blood stained purple with poison. Krall smeared the cloth of the torch against the wall and then used his flint and steel to strike sparks against it. The torch ignited immediately, and the three of them began walking down into mouth of the cave.

Although the opening of the cave was very large and easily wide enough for Krall, Tarun, and Solimar to walk side by side, they decided to walk in single file behind Krall because of the numerous quills and other poisonous debris that littered the sides of the cave.

After they had been walking for several minutes, the tunnel they were following began to slope downward. In the torchlight, Tarun saw the half-eaten remains of some now-unidentifiable animal. “It’s disgusting to think that any poison could cause a dragon to live in such a way,” Solimar whispered, nearly gagging.

“Is this not how most dragons live?” Tarun quietly asked. “Don’t they all bring their prey back to their lairs?”

“Above all else,” Solimar whispered, “dragons are very proud creatures. Even the ones who are barely more intelligent than beasts would never allow their caves to fall into such disarray as this. If dragons could still speak, they would never stop talking about their shame and rage to learn of another dragon living this way.”

“Dragons used to speak?” Tarun asked.

“Not all dragons,” said Solimar in a quiet tone that almost sounded like reverence. “But once a long time ago there were the Great Dragons. Enormous dragons that were intelligent enough to speak, and it’s rumored that some of them could even use magic. They were some of the most mighty and majestic creatures that ever lived.”

“Solimar was raised in a tribe that revered the Great Dragons,” Krall whispered over his shoulder to Tarun. “They practically worshipped them. As for me, I can’t say I’m sad that such powerful creatures have disappeared. Let’s just say that if you ever found yourself facing a dragon that could speak, you would only be alive as long as it wanted you alive. There’s no fighting a dragon like that.”

As Krall finished his sentence, he came to an abrupt stop. Tarun looked over Krall’s shoulder and saw that in front of him the tunnel branched off in three different directions. After a moment of silence, Tarun asked, “Should we split up and each take a passage?”

“Given our circumstances,” said Krall, “that would be about the worst thing we could possibly do. Besides, we only have the one torch. Solimar, which way do you think we should go?”

“Most dragons would only keep their eggs in the largest chamber of the cave, surrounded by gold, precious stones, and other treasures,” said Solimar. “However, it seems clear that this dragon has even abandoned her usual instincts for riches, so I’m afraid all we can do is guess.”

Krall sniffed the air in front of each passage several times. “The air seems to be foul in every direction,” he said. “Although the foul smell to the left does seem to be somewhat familiar. I can’t put my finger on it, but it is not an inviting smell. What do you think, Tarun?”

Tarun looked at the three passages in front of him. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what Krall had taught him about following his instincts. He thought about the three directions in front of him, and waited to see if the feeling of optimism and strength he associated with his instincts accompanied any of them. Instead, as his eyes were closed he heard a faint sound of clattering rocks coming from the direction to his right. Instead of optimism, the slight sound filled him with dread and cold fear.

“Did either of you hear that?” Tarun whispered.

“Hear what?” Solimar asked. “I’ve only heard the sounds of us talking.”

“Never mind,” Tarun quickly said. “I think we should choose the middle tunnel and take it quickly. This cave becomes less inviting every moment we stay still.”

“Agreed,” said Krall, starting to look more uneasy as well. “Any direction we choose will be better than lingering here in indecision. Center tunnel it is.”

After a minute of walking, the tunnel opened up into a large and spacious cavern. In the center of the cavern, they saw a large pile of stones, wood, and other debris. “Good instincts,” Krall said to Tarun. “It looks like we found the nest.”

Krall, Tarun, and Solimar began climbing up the pile of rocks. When they reached the top of the nest, Krall used the torchlight to view the inside, and what he saw made his blood run cold. In the center of the nest, Krall saw three enormous broken empty eggshells. One of them was dripping purple liquid.

“They’ve already hatched,” Krall said with terror creeping into his voice. “We have to get out of here now!”

As the three of them ran out of the cavern and up the tunnel they had entered from, Solimar began cursing and muttering. “How could the eggs have already hatched?” said the elf, panting. “Their mother only started brooding a few months ago. There’s no way a dragon could incubate and hatch that quickly!”

“It must be that cursed poison,” said Krall. “It must have changed the dragon and her young more than we even realized.”

“What do we do now?” Tarun asked as they continued running. “Kill the young dragons and the mother?”

“The first thing we need to do is get out of this cave and get somewhere that I can think straight,” Krall replied. “We came here equipped to destroy eggs, not kill dragons. Let’s just get to where the tunnel branched off and keep heading upward. If we keep running at this pace, once we reach that spot we should only be a few minutes from the mouth of the cave.”

As Krall ran, the jostling torch in his hand made strange dancing shadows on the cave walls. The shadows unnerved Tarun, and he wished to get out of the cave even faster. Soon the torchlight revealed the opening where Tarun had selected their path, and he began to feel relief that they would soon be out.

The light from the torch continued to play tricks on Tarun’s eyes, and as they neared the opening where the tunnel branched off, he almost thought he saw the shadows of other people moving in front of the opening. The moment they emerged from the opening, Tarun’s feeling of relief turned to confusion and then panic.

Tarun, Krall, and Solimar were frozen still in their tracks. Tarun tried to ask Krall what was going on, but he could not turn his head. He could not even speak. A moment later, emerging from the darkness and into the light of Krall’s torch, strode Jarkt. Behind him was the witch Treshigan, and his other two fellow dragon hunters.

“I thought I heard something down here,” Jarkt said, with malice dripping from his voice. “Where are you freaks off to in such a hurry? We’ve been here for hours searching the tunnels for the dragon’s nest. Could it be you’ve found it already?”

Tarun tried desperately to speak so he could tell them about the hatched dragons, but with his jaw locked in place, all he could do was loudly hum and growl.

“Are you trying to threaten me, boy?” Jarkt shouted. He used the back of his hand to strike hard against the side of Tarun’s face, sending blotches of color and stars into Tarun’s field of vision.

As the lights and colors inside his head began to fade, Tarun closed his eyes to try and focus and stay calm. With his eyes closed in the darkness, Tarun was able to make out two quiet, but distinct sounds. One was the low murmur and mumble of the witch Treshigan chanting her curse to hold their bodies still. The other sound seemed to come from the tunnel to his right, and sounded like a collection of low discordant hissing.

Tarun opened his eyes again, and immediately wished he hadn’t. Just outside of the torchlight to his right, he could see the flames flicker and reflect off of three pairs of jet black eyes.

Shon’s eyes watered and he held his nose as the dead skunk burned in front of him. The skunk had no poisonous quills on its body, which meant that it must have been poisoned by secondhand contact. Shon didn’t know what the diet of skunks consisted of, but Solimar suspected the animal was poisoned when it ate a grub or rodent that had eaten some larger carrion poisoned directly by the dragon.

Shon and Solimar only had one day left before they had to return to Alderfold to meet up with Tarun, Krall, and Piggy, but he felt certain that they were getting close to finding what they were looking for. Though when he was honest with himself, Shon had to admit that he wasn’t even entirely sure what he was looking for. In the past two days he and Solimar had found more and more animals killed by the strange purple poison, though the more they found, the more time they had to spend burning the bodies to prevent further contamination.

“Did you mark this one down on the map?” Shon asked Solimar. His voice sounded strange with his nose still covered.

“Of course,” replied Solimar. “And I marked it with a dot, as you asked. It’s still just as random as ever, though.”

Shon held out a hand, and Solimar handed him the map. Shon studied the several markings on the paper. There were X’s anywhere that Shon and Solimar had found a “primary kill,” or animal that had visible poisonous quills on its body. There were short dashes to indicate where they had found a “secondary kill,” or animal that they suspected was poisoned by eating a primary kill. And then there were small dots showing where they had found a “tertiary kill,” or animal that they thought was poisoned by eating a secondary kill or other tertiary kill. As Shon studied the markings, he had to admit that Solimar was right about it looking almost entirely random.

Shon folded up the map, handed it back to Solimar, and then rubbed his temples. The constant aching in his head was getting worse, but he was also starting to get used to it. The way that he and Solimar had been able to find so many poisoned animals was by Shon opening his mind to its limits to magically sense any of the pain caused by the purple poison. The method had been effective, but had also come at a cost. At times Shon felt as if he were sensing the pain of the entire forest.

The flames from the skunk began to die down, and Shon dared to unplug his nose for a moment to test the air again. The scent of burnt flesh hung in the air mixed with a smell that was strangely metallic to Shon’s nose. The lingering smell was foul, but bearable enough for Shon to begin breathing through his nose again.

“This fire seems to be under control,” said Shon, kicking some loose dirt onto the skunk’s charred remains. “We should start searching for the primary kill that started all of this.”

“I already searched the area while you were starting the fire for the skunk,” said Solimar. “I found a few of the poisoned quills, but the kill itself was nowhere to be seen. From the amount of blood left behind though, it must have been something big. Perhaps an elk or a moose.”

“You think the dragon must have come back for the animal?” asked Shon.

“I think that’s exactly what she did,” replied Solimar. “Any other animal eating it would have left some remains.”

“Yeah, well it’s too bad she didn’t come back for the animal sooner,” Shon said with a sigh. “If she had, at least a few more creatures would have been spared that kind of suffering, like our little friend the skunk here.” After a moment of thoughtful silence, Shon added, “Why do you think she takes so long to come back for some of her kills, Solimar? Wouldn’t she want to eat them just as soon as she could?”

“I could not say,” said Solimar. “This dragon’s behavior is most unusual for its kind. Most dragons hunt in very predictable patterns from their lairs, which is why establishing a hunting perimeter is so important. But this dragon’s hunting seems to be completely random.”

Shon had to admit that for all the tracking and note keeping they had been doing, it felt like they were no closer to locating the dragon. They had learned quite a bit in the past week about the behavior of the poison however. They learned that after a poisoned creature died, the poison began to break down and lose some of its potency. They also learned that it was this breaking down of the poison that made it combustible, so the longer a poisoned animal had been dead, the more flammable it was.

Yet for all they had learned about the poison and its effects, the behavior of the dragon itself seemed as mysterious as ever. Shon would spend hours every evening staring at the markings on the map, trying to pin down a pattern or clue that would reveal the dragon’s movements. He felt as if he were on the edge of understanding, but there was still a piece of information that he was missing. The sensation of feeling so close, yet so lost, was maddening for Shon.

To make matters worse, Solimar had allowed Shon to direct their movements for the last several days, and it did not seem to be going well. Something in the back of his mind told Shon that they were going in the right direction, and yet they were finding fewer and fewer primary kills than they had before he started setting the direction. He knew that Solimar wanted to travel back to the areas where they had found more primary kills, but for some reason that idea felt wrong to Shon.

“Give me just a couple of minutes to rest my brain,” said Shon. “My headache is starting to get me distracted. Once I’ve had a chance to clear my thoughts a bit, I’ll start searching for the next poisoned animal.”

Shon pulled the hood of his cloak completely over his head and closed his eyes. As he began to relax and focus his breathing, he put a hand over the pocket where his mother’s familiar egg laid securely against his chest. Once again he was struck by the thought that the stone seemed to have a slight pulse. Shon realized that he must have been more exhausted than he thought, because almost immediately after his eyes were closed, he was caught up in a dream.

In his dream, Shon saw the map with the many markings of the animals killed by the dragon’s poison. Except instead of the map being the size of a piece of paper, it was the size of the whole forest. Shon found himself falling towards the enormous map, and as he did it began to become a cross between the map and the forest itself.

As a paper sun rose over the forest map, Shon saw an inky black shape move across the surface, leaving large X’s wherever it went. The X’s moved around across the map as well, but eventually, each of them would stop moving and wherever the X’s stopped, lines and dots began to appear. Shon watched the sinister inky shape move almost until the edge of the great paper, and was relieved to see it go, but before it was gone, Shon saw it turn completely around and head back in the direction that it came from. As the inky shape moved back along its original flight path, Shon noticed that any X’s that had not moved far enough away would disappear when the shape passed by them the second time.

Understanding began to wash over Shon as he saw the pattern emerge. As the black figure continued to move back to its point of origin, there were fewer and fewer X’s, so that only the points farthest away had any X marks left at all. Shon’s excitement at the discovery was replaced by horror however, as he noticed that the inky black shape was heading exactly for the spot where he was now standing on the map!

Shon tried to run away, but the ink on the page began to pool around his feet, and he found himself stuck to the black liquid as if it were tar. The shape continued to come closer and closer, devouring large X’s in its path, and Shon’s head began ringing with pain. He could feel the tiny heartbeat sensation of the familiar egg in his pocket become as hard and fast as a drum, and the stone began to grow hot on his chest. He clutched and pulled at the cloak, trying to get the stone away from him before the heat burned him, and a moment before the huge hideous black ink monster was upon him, he managed to throw off the cloak.

Shon was suddenly aware that he was sitting on the forest floor, out of breath, heart racing, and eyes wide open. His cloak lay in a small heap next to where he sat. He looked around at the peaceful woods surrounding him, and saw Solimar walk over with a puzzled expression.

“What’s the matter?” Solimar asked. “You said you were going to get some rest.”

“It was a dream,” said Shon, panting. “Thank goodness. I didn’t even realize I was so tired. Solimar, how long was I asleep?”

“What are you talking about?” Solimar asked. “You just told me you needed some time to rest, and then pulled your hood over your head. An instant later you began flailing around and pulling off your cloak, and now you’re sitting here asking me strange questions. You actually think you fell asleep and had an entire dream in a matter of seconds?

Shon was confused. His dream hadn’t been exceedingly long, but he was sure that more time must have passed than mere seconds. He had seen so much. He had seen the map forest and the black form and the X’s and lines and dots and…

Shon’s head shot up as he remembered what he had learned. “Solimar!” he shouted. “I’ve figured it out! I know the dragon’s pattern and why we’re finding so few new kills here!”

“Calm down,” said Solimar, giving Shon a look as though he were becoming mentally unstable. “It’s obvious we’re finding fewer kills in this area because we’re getting farther away from the dragon’s lair. I figured that out this morning, but thought you’d be too sensitive to listen to reason.”

“What? No!” Shon said, shaking his head. “We’re finding fewer kills here because we’re getting closer to her lair.”

“Shon, I’m glad you’re trying to be useful by using your abilities,” said Solimar, “but I think that mentally tracking down these demented animals is having an effect on you. You’re not making any sense.”

Shon grunted in frustration that Solimar didn’t understand what now seemed so obvious to him. “Hand me the map,” he said.

When Solimar handed him the map, Shon began tracing a finger along the markings, looking for the right pattern. “Ah ha!” he said after a moment, drawing a line with their charcoal pencil. He then made another line, and then another. When he finally turned around to show Solimar the map, he had drawn six lines across the paper, all branching outward from one spot like the rays of the sun.

“You see,” Shon said, pointing at the lines, “every morning the dragon leaves her lair to hunt. As she goes, she uses her quills to poison animals large enough to get her attention, and then keeps flying in the same direction. Near the end of the day, she turns around and flies back to her lair, eating the animals that have since died of the poison.”

“But why would she wait to let the poison kill her prey?” Solimar asked. “She’s a dragon. She could devour them the moment she spotted them if she wanted to.”

“I don’t know,” confessed Shon, rubbing the top of his head. “Maybe it has something to do with the way the poison breaks down after the animal has been dead for a while. Maybe she thinks they taste better that way. Or maybe she thinks the poisoned blood doesn’t taste as bad once it breaks down some. Maybe that’s why we found more primary kills further away from her lair, because they hadn’t been poisoned long enough to be appetizing before she headed home.”

“That’s nonsense,” scoffed Solimar. “Coming back for long-dead meat is not the way dragons eat. There are no dragons that hunt the way you’re describing.”

“But that’s just it,” said Shon. “You said yourself that this dragon doesn’t behave the way she’s supposed to. That’s what’s made tracking her so difficult. Look at the map! See those areas where we found so many secondary and tertiary kills, but no primary kills? Doesn’t it seem strange that the placement of all the primary kills is so random, but the areas with only secondary and tertiary kills line up almost perfectly? And they all lead back to the same area on the map!”

Solimar took the map from Shon’s hands and studied it quietly. After several minutes, Solimar looked up from the map and raised an eyebrow to Shon. “I’m not convinced that you’re right,” said the elf, “but the area that the lines point to is only a couple of hours away, and the idea is plausible, even if it is ridiculous.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” said Shon. “We’ve got a dragon to find!”

***

Looking directly at the mouth of a cave littered with bones and poisonous quills was not nearly as gratifying as Shon had imagined it. In fact, it felt much more like the sensation he felt as the huge black ink monster had been flying toward him. The seriousness of the situation hit Shon as soon as they found the cave, and it left a pit in his stomach.

“Well who would have thought that crazy one second dream of yours was actually right?” whispered Solimar. The two of them crouched, peering through the dense trees surrounding the large clearing in front of the cave. “I guess Krall was right about sending you with me after all.”

“Speaking of Krall, we should probably head back to meet up with the others now,” Shon said, beginning to shake unconsciously. “I’m sure they’ll all want to hear about – AHHHHH!!!” Shon clutched his head and writhed on the ground in pain.

“Shhhh!” hissed Solimar. “Shon, be quiet! What’s wrong with you?”

Shon tried to say that the pain was far more intense than it had been the first time he had encountered the dragon. He tried to tell Solimar that something had changed, and that it was now more dangerous than ever, and that something was terribly wrong. He wanted to say all these things, but the pain in his mind was so great that no words could escape his mouth.

He tried reaching out to Solimar’s mind to express what he could not say, but the attempt only produced the effect of causing the elf to fall to the earth in pain as well.

“Stop it!” Solimar said through gritted teeth. “What are you doing to me?”

Shon somehow managed to pull his hood over his head. To his dismay, he found that even that did not block out the pain completely, but it was enough to break his connection with Solimar. With the hood over his head, Shon was able to weakly blurt out the words, “Get. Away.”

Solimar must have understood Shon’s plea, because the elf began to slowly drag him away from the cave. When they had gotten some distance away, Solimar led Shon to a small brook where he could take a drink. Shon found splashing the cool water on his face refreshing, but even more calming was steady sound of the stream. “That sounds familiar,” Shon muttered.

“What happened back there?” Solimar asked, once Shon was standing again.

“We have to get the others,” said Shon, looking Solimar in the eye. “There’s something in that cave, and it’s even worse than we thought.”