Dragons' Onyx (15 page)

“That would be like announcing that we are here,” Prince Darok whispered back. “It is for times like this that you have a dwarf along. I can see fine.”

The tunnel was small and winding. Several other tunnels branched off of it, but Prince Darok continued to follow his nose towards the dragon’s lair. For over an hour, the group pushed slowly through the maze of tunnels until Prince Darok stopped at the intersection of two tunnels.

“The smell is so strong that I am not sure which branch is best,” he whispered to King Arik.

“Perhaps Prince Midge can check them both out without being detected,” suggested King Arik as he opened his breast pocket.

The fairy prince popped his head out of the pocket and stared into the darkness. “I am willing to go anywhere for the Bringer,” he chirped softly, “but I will have to walk. I cannot fly without some light to guide me. I would smash into a wall.”

“Let me go on alone,” suggested the dwarf prince. “If everyone will stay here, I will return shortly.”

King Arik nodded, but he was not sure if the dwarf had seen him. The sound of soft footsteps going off into the distance was the only confirmation that Prince Darok had left. The king and the three elves stood alone in the darkness, feeling helpless and lost.

Suddenly, bright light flooded the tunnels, and Prince Darok’s scream reverberated off the narrow stone walls. King Arik watched in frozen amazement as the dwarf came running towards him. Prince Darok’s beard was on fire and his clothes were smoking. The bright light faded, and soon only the dwarf’s burning hair lighted the tunnels. King Arik grabbed his water skin and forced a stream of liquid into the dwarf’s face, extinguishing the fire.

“Blazing axe!” exclaimed Prince Darok, “I think we have been noticed.”

“Are you sure?” Prince Garong chuckled softly.

A tremendously loud inhuman screech tore through the tunnels.

“You have upset the dragon,” warned Eltar. “Perhaps we should retreat while we can.”

The small party huddled in the darkness, grappling with indecision until the silence was split once again.

“Where are you, dwarf?” boomed a hungry voice from the darkness. “I do hope that disgusting hair has been thoroughly removed. It tickles my throat on the way down.”

“Retreat sounds like a good option to me,” gulped Pioti.

“We would only have to come back again,” warned King Arik. “I am not leaving without the Dragons’ Onyx.”

“How large is this dragon?” Prince Garong asked the dwarf. “Can it come into the tunnels?”

“Not the one that I saw,” replied Prince Darok. “Its head maybe. It was huge.”

“Then we are fairly safe in here for now,” surmised Eltar. “Let’s wait for it to go to sleep.”

“Are we sure that the dragon has the gem?” asked Pioti. “Perhaps there is no reason to confront it.”

King Arik drew the Sword of Heavens. The vibration of the blade was intense and King Arik had to use his considerable strength to control the sword. It pointed directly down the tunnel that had been illuminated by the fire.

“I am pretty sure that the gem is with the dragon,” declared the king. “Of course this close to the gem, it is hard to know for sure. The Sword of Heavens points down that tunnel.”

“Listen,” said Prince Garong. “Something is going on.”

The small group fell into silence. Sounds drifted up the tunnel from the dragon’s lair. At first the sounds were of movement only, but soon muffled voices were added to the din.

“There is more than one of them,” warned Pioti. “That loud cry that we heard must have been a call to the others.”

“Quiet,” Prince Garong commanded softly.

Eventually, the noises subsided, and the tunnels fell silent once again.

“It was a meeting of some type,” Prince Garong related to the others. “The dragons have dispersed to watch the exits from these tunnels. They call the exits small holes. I think that means that the dragons are too large to fit into them.”

“It also means that there is no escape for us,” warned Pioti. “The dragons will be waiting for us to appear when we try to leave.”

“They will be waiting for a dwarf to leave,” Eltar pointed out with feigned malice.

Suddenly, there was tremendously loud screeching emanating from the dragon’s lair. The noise ripped through the small tunnels like water flowing into a sinking boat; the longer it lasted, the louder it got. The ruckus died as quickly as it had started, and the only sounds left were the soft whimpering sounds of a wounded animal.

“What was that?” questioned Eltar.

“That was a battle,” announced Prince Darok. “I will go see what happened.”

“No,” declared King Arik. “The responsibility for restoring the Sword of Heavens is mine. You have already suffered enough today.”

“Then we shall go with you,” stated Prince Garong. “Your safety is our responsibility.”

“It may be,” affirmed the king, “but it is better if you are still alive to rescue me if need be. Wait here.”

King Arik did not wait for a response. He carefully made his way through the dark tunnel towards the sound of the whimpering. The tunnel started to grow lighter, and King Arik’s eyes were able to detect the sides of the tunnel. As he rounded a bend in the tunnel, he saw a large circular chamber. There was a large opening on the other side of the chamber, and dim light was pouring in to reveal a large green dragon on the floor of the room. The dragon was nursing a large gash in its side and did not notice the king at first. Arik stood staring in awe, frozen by the sight of the mammoth beast licking its wound with gentleness.

Suddenly, the dragon looked up and glared at King Arik. Smoke flew from its nostrils, and flame belched from its mouth. King Arik instinctively threw up his arms to protect his face. He smelled the burning of cloth and felt tremendous heat on his arms.

“You!” gasped the dragon. “Have you come at last?”

King Arik peeked out from behind his arms. The dragon had tilted its head and was peering at him curiously. He lowered his arms and looked down. The front of his tunic had been blasted away by the dragon’s fireball, and the dragon was staring intently at the Breastplate of Alcea.

“I am King Arik of Alcea,” declared the king. “I have come for the Dragons’ Onyx,” he added hesitantly.

“I know nothing of any king,” scowled the dragon. “What right do you have to the Dragons’ Onyx?”

“I carry the Sword of Heavens,” declared King Arik. “The Dragons’ Onyx must be restored to it in order to banish the Darkness.”

A flurry of activity outside the chamber caught the attention of King Arik and the dragon. A blue dragon entered the chamber and stared at the one on the floor. Several more dragons filtered in, but they did not seem to notice King Arik. The king began sweating profusely as fear took hold of him.

“Are you all right, Rylana?” asked the blue dragon.

“What happened?” inquired a yellow dragon.

“What happened is Gorga,” snarled Rylana. “I warned you that I could not hold him off forever. He finally showed his true association with the Foul One.”

“The Dragons’ Onyx?” asked the blue dragon.

“Gone,” Rylana answered dejectedly. “And if only he had waited another day.”

“Why another day?” quizzed an orange dragon.

“Look,” Rylana pointed with her snout. “See who has finally arrived.”

A chorus of growls emanated from the dragons, but Rylana spoke swiftly, “Do not harm him.”

“Are you sure he is the one?” questioned the yellow dragon.

King Arik felt thoroughly exposed and helpless while the dragons discussed him. He wanted to turn and run back up the tunnel, but he knew that he could not. Never again would he get the chance to openly talk with the dragons if he fled now. He tried to calm his fears and stand tall before the large beasts.

“No,” admitted Rylana, “but look at what he wears. It is the symbol of Dragon Heart.”

“It is a human piece of clothing,” snarled a red dragon. “I will not accept him as Dragon Heart based upon something the humans created. They make all sorts of designs for their clothing. It means nothing.”

“But it did not yield to my fire,” Rylana pointed out. “Plus he says that he has come for the Dragons’ Onyx. I think he must be considered genuine.”

“That is not enough to satisfy me,” countered the blue dragon. “The humans probably have many tales of the Dragons’ Onyx. He could just be another treasure hunter looking to steal what is ours.”

King Arik bristled under the accusations and slanders against his character. “I have a voice, you know,” he bellowed over the noise of the dragons. “You need not discuss me as if I was yesterday’s meal.”

“Not yesterday’s,” snarled the red dragon. “More like today’s. Not much more than a snack in any event.”

“Speak if you wish human king,” invited Rylana. “You will be allowed to speak in your own defense.”

All of the dragons fixed their attention on King Arik and he spoke the phrases he remembered from the vision given by the Sword of Heavens.

  The dragons fly in wind-blown skies

  Until the Dark One stirs the realm

  Then inky black infests our eyes

  'Til Dragon Heart can take the helm

“Where have you heard those words?” demanded the yellow dragon.

“The Sword of Heavens issued a vision when it was time for me to search for the Dragons’ Onyx,” answered King Arik. “While I could not see who spoke the words, I recognize some of your voices from the vision. Rylana’s in particular is familiar to me. You also spoke of Gorga and his desire to steal the Dragons’ Onyx for his own. Is that what just happened?”

“It is,” Rylana nodded her huge head. “I am convinced that you are Dragon Heart, but I fear that I stand alone in this. Perhaps you should leave while you can. All is lost now anyway.”

King Arik saw the doubtful stares of the other dragons. He felt a feeling of having encountered this moment previously and thought about the mark upon his chest. He shivered at the thought of removing the protective Breastplate of Alcea, but he knew that it was required to convince the other dragons. With slow deliberate motions, King Arik pulled off the breastplate and stood bare-chested before the dragons.

“Is this what you were looking for?” he asked boldly.

The dragons gathered closer to inspect the king’s chest. Arik tried to close his nose to the stench of their breath as their heads inched closer.

“I told you,” Rylana announced with vindication. “Can there be any further doubt?”

“So he is Dragon Heart,” sighed the blue dragon. “What of it? He is too late to stop Gorga from destroying the onyx. We are all doomed.”

“We are not doomed,” retorted Rylana. “This is how it is supposed to be. The prophecy has just begun.”

“What do you mean?” questioned a gray dragon. “If Dragon Heart had come yesterday, he would have been able to get the onyx, but it is gone now.”

”If Dragon Heart had come yesterday,” countered Rylana, “Gorga would not have acted yet. Do not forget the words to our prophecy. Until Gorga stole the Dragons’ Onyx, he had not acted wrong. Until the Wrong One was positively identified, the prophecy could not move forward.”

“Rylana is correct,” agreed the blue dragon. “Dragon Heart could not purge the evil until the evil had come. Today we verified that Gorga is the Wrong One.”

“We have known that for some time,” argued the yellow dragon. “He conspires with the Foul One.”

“Until today,” Rylana pointed out, “he has only conspired. Today he acted on his thoughts, and that makes all the difference in the world. Let us recite that of our prophecy that we can reveal.”

The dragons nodded in agreement and spoke verses of the prophecy in unison.

  The dragons fly in wind-blown skies

  Until the Dark One stirs the realm

  Then inky black infests our eyes

  'Til Dragon Heart can take the helm

  A human small, yet bold and strong

  Will seek the onyx that we hold

  He must kill the one who’s wrong

  And purge the evil from our fold

“You want me to kill somebody?” questioned King Arik when the recital was over.

“That is what is required of you,” replied Rylana. “If you want the Dragons’ Onyx, you must kill Gorga and take it.”

“What is the purpose of being your Dragon Heart then?” questioned King Arik. “If any thief can kill Gorga and steal the onyx, why does the prophecy matter? Why shouldn’t I just negotiate with Gorga for it?”

“Gorga is the mightiest of us dragons,” warned Rylana. “I am the only one of our fold that stood a chance of standing up to him, and my skills were far from adequate. No ordinary human can kill him.”

“Besides,” added the blue dragon, “he has the Dragons’ Onyx. If you do not get it from him quickly, he will destroy it.”

“Destroy it?” echoed King Arik. “That cannot be. The world is lost if he succeeds in destroying the gem. Why would he do such a thing?”

“Because the Foul One wishes it,” answered Rylana. “Gorga has sold his soul to the Foul One.”

“Who is the Foul One?” asked King Arik.

“Humans call him the Dark One,” answered Rylana. “They are one and the same.”

“Sarac,” the king said bitterly. “Very well, I will find Gorga and kill him. Where does he live?”

“He will not return to his lair,” declared the blue dragon. “While none of us can stand up to him alone, together he would fear us. He will take the Dragons’ Onyx to the Foul One. It will be too late to stop him.”

“He may not,” interrupted Rylana. “Gorga may have sold out to the Foul One, but he likes to control things. He may use his possession of the gem to bargain further with the Foul One. It would be more like his nature.”

“The Sword of Heavens will still lead you to the gem, won’t it?” asked Prince Darok from the darkness of the tunnel.

“The dwarf!” exclaimed Rylana as black smoke poured from her nostrils.

“Stop,” shouted King Arik. “The dwarf is with me. He means you no harm. I also have three elves with me. Do not harm any of them.”

Rylana’s eyes drooped into a sad-looking face. “It shall be as you wish, Dragon Heart, but you should remove such temptations from our sight.”

“You should not be hunting men,” proclaimed Dragon Heart. “Men can learn to live together with your kind as they have done at the Castle of Man.”