CH 43 The Dragon Cave

We had been flying for about an hour. I could barely see the Lizard Lands now. In the distance, I was already able to make out some new mountains. The dragon I was riding had amazing speed.

From what I could see, there were significantly more mountains than where I just came from.

Verdurous suddenly made a sharp dive.

I almost felt like I could not hold on.

We got close to the ocean before he began to pull up. The tips of his wings skimmed the surface of some waves in the ocean as he flattened out his flight path.

It was scary but fun at the same time. That last dive brought us close to shore. There were no beaches. The ocean crashed up against a steep cliff.

We made one last incline. I could see his intended destination. There was a large opening, starting around 100 feet above the ocean in the side of the mountain.

He flew into the opening with his wings spread wide. The entrance had to be big enough for a fully-grown dragon. Verdurous was almost a spec in comparison to the opening.

The light quickly left us as we went further into the mountain. Again we dived down. I could see an orange hue at the bottom.

The dive had to be longer than the mountain itself was tall. We came through an opening in a ceiling.

The area around was lit up by lava in various areas. Various sizes and lengths of stalactites and stalagmites along with other variously shaped cavernous structures littered the area. Vents, pools and smaller caves were some more examples of what I could see.

A perfect place for dragons to reside, if I do say so myself.

I could not see any definite walls. It made me wonder if this place was larger than the peninsula above the water.

Verdurous took me over to a plateau, halfway up a mountain. It was high above any lava. I didn't feel like melting today. I was happy to land here.

The plateau we landed on was like a front porch to several caves. I saw two dragons were sleeping with their heads sticking out of individual caves.

There were fourteen cave openings on my current level. Another ten were scattered in the walls on the mountain walls above. Even in this massive underground cave, this mountain was on a totally different level.

Verdurous lowered his neck. I hopped down.

"Thank you. I appreciate your help."

He let out a roar. He lowered his nose down and pressed the top of his head against me. I pet his head a few times before he pulled away.

He turned and flew up to one of the caves in the wall above. The last I saw of him was his tail disappearing into the dark of his cave.

Now that I was here...

"What do I do now?"

I whispered to myself. The only two dragons in view were sleeping. I did not want to just go and wake them up.

I began taking in my surroundings. There was a ledge where a lot of light was coming from. I decided to take a look down the side of the mountain.

There was a large lake of lava at the foot of the cliff below me.

"Don't want to fall in there. Immortal or not."

I made my way back to the center of the plateau I was on. I looked up at the ceiling. There were large stalactites hanging. Most of them were sharply pointed. One was wide and had a very dull and smooth, rounded surface.

I saw something move on the stalactite I was focusing on. I narrowed my vision in an attempt to see the movement better.

All of a sudden, the entire thing began to move. The surface began to rotate.

I suddenly realized what I was seeing.

Wings spread apart and revealed a gigantic dragon, hanging off of an actual stalactite. His wings were wrapped around him, concealing his presence quite well.

He let go of his hold and began to fall. His wings spread out and slowed his descent. It wasn't slow enough for a gentle landing. His claws slammed into the ground before me.

Rubble and dust were thrown into the air. He pulled his head back first before he lunged his head at me. He let out a nearly deafening roar, mere feet from me. His wings were outstretched in a threatening manner.

I stood still. I squinted in the heat and breath, smashing against me from his roar.

He finished his display and pulled his long-necked head, back. This dragon was mostly a reddish-tan color.

I was in awe at his size. He could be mistaken for a small mountain himself. He could easily reach the upper caves in the walls without his rear legs leaving the ground level.

Verdurous could be an afternoon snack for him. If he decided to eat me, I suppose I could compare myself to a single popcorn kernel to a large adult human.

I began to see more dragon heads poking out of their caves nearby. Probably to see what all the fuss was.

"DOOTHROOKEEEEN. VALKEET NYNTHORPAS, NUUMAHN."

I had no fucking clue what he said.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

I began to feel the ground shake.

"HE SAY, LOOK AT SCARED HUMAN."

I heard a booming voice coming from my right. The shaking came from the footsteps of another dragon, emerging from his cave. Almost the size of the one before me. Not as tall, though.

This new dragon that speaks Eysian, was black with an almost glowing red underbelly.

"HE NOT LIKE INTRUDER. WHAT COMES YOU HERE FOR?"

His Eysian was broken. But I understood enough.

"I came to seek the rainbow bird."

The black dragon stomped toward me until he was close enough to swipe at me.

He hit me with his small finger.

I was launched halfway across the plateau. I took a moment to get my breath back. The tan dragon looked amused.

I stood up and held my ground.

"If you help me, I can leave sooner."

I tried to reason with him. No dice.

The tan dragon looked pissed. He rotated his body. His tail lifted up and slammed down right next to me. It left a massive indent in the ground.

"SCARED HUMAN NO MOVE? HUMAN DIE IF NO LEAVE!"

"I won't leave until I find the rainbow bird."

The black dragon reeled his head back. He seemed confused.

"HUMAN... NO SCARED?"

"No, I'm not scared. I mean you no harm. I was told to come here."

"WHY COME FOR TAAFFEITE?"

When the tan dragon heard that word, taaffeite, he became enraged. He roared again. He began to charge at me. His steps left a more considerable impression than the black dragon.

His right front claw reached toward me. In a single quick movement, he bumped me backward and smashed the majority of my body underfoot. My shoulder and head were all that was spared between two of his toes.

"GAARROT PLOLTHRESH, ZEROLITHMEE PAF VILORRR."

He rolled his tongue on his last word. I never imagined I would hear a dragon rolling his tongue.

I was in pain. This was nothing compared to some previous experiences, though. At this point, this harassment was getting annoying.

"HE SAY, DUMB CREATURE DIE. SCARED NOW?"

"No."

I simply responded. I coughed up a little blood. He let loose a massive dragon smile. His heavy foot began to lose weight on me. He was slowly pulling away. I decided to try my explosive regeneration again.

I could feel my body begin to heal.

I was interrupted by intense pain.

Speed healing a broken body is very different than regenerating lost limbs. I forced my way through the pain. By the time his view of me was unobstructed, I was fully healed and beginning to stand up.

When he realized I was fine, he stomped his foot down in disbelief.

"EHYSKAA?"

The black dragon charged at me. He showed his side to me. His wing was folded up and pulled close to him. He extended it quickly and launched me up into the side of the mountain.

My body left an impression on my landing spot. I was still healing from the landing. My body was limp because of this.

I peeled out of my crater and fell. I managed to land on my feet. The cracking sounds I heard, I'm sure were my legs breaking on that landing. I held my place as I healed up. I raised my head in defiance of their attempt at harming me.

The black dragon was furious. He charged at me all over again. I was getting tired of this dance. In my annoyance, I could feel my anger building.

"Please stop. I don't want to hurt you."

I tried talking once more. He ignored me.

I was close to a cave entrance. The black dragon began to halt in his tracks. I heard a roar to my left.

A white dragon emerged from the nearby cave. Was it defending me?

It was roaring furiously at the black dragon. Its size was insignificant in comparison, but he was still continuing his advance.

The white dragon looked at me. He extended a wing behind me and used its wing to launch me into the air. I was thrown back into the middle of the area.

I looked up in time to see the white dragon retreat back into its cave. I see now. It was protecting its cave.

I clawed at the ground as I forced my way back up, yet again. I was really tired of being thrown around like this.

I felt power ebbing through my body. I knew what was happening. I had the power I wanted. I did not need to go overboard.

The tan dragon took the initiative. He brought a claw over to me. He was trying to crush me again. I easily dodged.

I gave a powerful punch to his hand. He almost tripped over himself as his entire hand was forced under him.

I could feel the ground rumbling again. The black dragon wanted more. He came at me with an open jaw.

He snapped at me and missed. I countered with another big hit on the side of his face. His head launched to his right side.

I felt pain. My entire left side torso was bitten into by the tan dragon. I pulled away from the flesh that was being held onto by the massive jaw. I spun around.

I had enough.

I reeled back my right arm. I put everything I had into this punch. I think I let loose more of my power than I intended.

I could hear a loud crack. When my fist landed on his lower jaw, my entire arm split apart. Shreds of bone and flesh splattered everywhere in my immediate area.

The tan dragon roared in pain. I could see part of his jaw dangling. I broke his jaw. He tried to roar at me again. He was interrupted by the pain of attempting to move his mouth. He began to retreat. He ran off of the cliff that oversaw the lava lake and I saw him flying away.

I looked at the black dragon. He was visibly disturbed by the larger dragon in full retreat.

"HA HA HA HA HA..."

A burst of loud female laughter began to emanate in the area. It was almost ethereal. There was an echo behind the laugh.

Other dragons began to retreat into their caves. The black dragon cautiously took the long way around me to his own cave.

The laughter continued. No dragons were still visible. Where was this coming from? I readied myself for another flight.

"You need not fear me."

The voice was still giggling.

"Oh my. I have not seen Koregill run away in terror before. Ahhhhh. That was an amusing sight. Thank you for that, human."

Her amusement seemed to be dying down.

"Who are you? Where are you?"

I called out.

"You said you were looking for me. You should know who I am."

I heard some smaller rubble fall. I turned to the source of the sound. I saw nothing.

I heard another sound. Rocks rubbing against rocks? I saw some pebbles falling. They were coming from above. There were gashes in the wall. I looked at the spot harder.

Something was moving. I couldn't make out what I was seeing. I picked up a small rock and chucked it at the location. I still had my strength. The rock flew abnormally fast compared to what I was expecting.

The result was the rock not hitting the mountain, and an eerie sound like a crystal resounding throughout the entire underground.

"It seems you have found me."

The spot I was looking at began to shift and move. It was like a mirage shifting in place. The odd movement shifted and began to fall. The being crashed into the ground.

The sound was still very crystalline. The image grew clear. Colors of many variations began to show through.

This was a dragon. Her scales were made of crystals. They were bright and reflected light of all colors.

"The Rainbow Bird?"

She bowed to me.

"What brings you here? Are you a hunter? Do you seek fortune? Fame? Honor through hunting?"

"I was told to come here by the Guru of the lizard-people. He didn't tell me much beyond, look for the rainbow bird."

"Hmm... Hmm.. ha, ha, ha. You don't even know why you came here? You ended up fighting bull dragons and you don't know why?"

"I do recall being told that your father served Rage."

Her laughter halted.

"And I now have..."

"What does Rage, have to do with you?"

"Well, I have the power of his potion. As well as his consciousness, inside my head."

Her eyes narrowed at me.

"I knew humans were bad at jokes..."

"You call a broken jaw on that big ass dragon, a joke?"

My arms were fully regenerated now.

"You saw one arm get bitten off and the other smashed to bits, no?"

I held up my hands and moved them around to show the ease of articulation.

"If what you say is true, what do you intend to do? Will you enslave me, as my father had been enslaved by Rage?"

My thoughts began to race. Was Rage more of a tyrant than I thought?

'Of course not. Her father was enslaved by hunters. He was in a similar situation as you and Sophie. I tortured that hunter until he transferred slavery over to me. Then I killed the hunter. Her father was a great friend of mine. These crystalline dragons are the most exotic life forms in the world. They are only born once every 10,000 years. The fact that she is here means that she broke that precedent. A second crystal dragon in two generations is unheard of.'

"I see."

"Did you figure out what to do with me, human?"

"Rage tells me that your father was enslaved by a hunter. He forced the hunter to give him ownership. Rage didn't take your father from you, he saved your father from a hunter."

She seemed surprised.

"Tha... that's probably a lie!"

"He said that your father and he were good friends. Maybe we could be friends too."

"So, you DO want to enslave me!"

"No. You don't have to be a slave for us to be friends. If I wanted you to be my slave... you saw what I could do to that other dragon. I could force you if I wanted to. I don't want to, though."

"A ploy to get me closer to you. If I fly away now, you could never catch me again."

"That's fine. I'd be a little sad though. I like to make new friends."

She stood there, quiet. I sat down to try and be less threatening. She looked as though she were pondering what to do.

She took a step back before she showed her full wingspan. Not nearly as wide as the two dragons I had just fought. The colors on her wings were incredible, though.

She began to beat her wings.

"Wait!"

I stood up and took a few paces toward her. She topped her wings but stepped back in response to my minuscule advance.

"Before you go. Taaffeite, is that your name?"

Her wings lowered.

"Yes..."

"It's a nice name. I'm glad to have met you."

I bowed at the waist.

I heard her wings begin to flap again. They made a mysterious sound as the wind passed by her crystal scales.

She lifted off and began to fly away.

I let out a sigh.

"Crap. What do I do now?"

I was tired from using my explosive regeneration. I figured a nap should be fine.

I looked up at the cave where Verdurous had taken up residence. I thought about trying to get up there, but the wall was a sheer climb. My strength from the potion was gone already, too. I settled for the nap.

I wouldn't dare attempt to enter any of the caves on my level. Not after the white dragon shooed me away. I might just piss off more dragons if I tried.

I just sat against a wall.

I began to browse my tattered clothing. I was basically wearing a makeshift tank top at this point. My pants had many holes. My right pant leg was missing from the knee down.

I never expected to have clothing problems all the time like this. I feel like I need new clothes every other week.

My eyes became heavy. I leaned my head back against the wall.

I succumbed to my sleep in no time.