XIII

"Aaaaaaaaaaa, you have a Dragon! Great, great. You are really a Dragon," Nicholas said excitedly and started singing a song in a language that was unknown to her, but still close. The melody itself gave her enthusiasm and strength. It was as if all worries had evaporated in an instant. She started singing as if she knew the lyrics.

It never occurred to her that she didn't know what it was about, but her voice moved and fit in the singing with Nicholas as they walked, turned, climbed, then got off, then turned again.

"Yes, yes, you are the one! My heart is happy," a wide smile lit up her guide's face.

"Do you know what we sang?" Hilda asked.

"They go to the dragon. The ancestor of all dragons. To your ancestor. Yes. Don't look at me in amazement. But I can't speak well. The priest will tell you."

After almost an hour, they came to a wall.

"Wall here, wall there." Smiling he said.

"How far do you think we have gone?"

"Maybe a few miles," she tried weakly.

"In the underground yes, almost eight kilometers, but on an area of only about two hundred yards." He laughed at her stunned expression.

"Yes, that's the way things are."

"Do you think it's easy to get to Seth's church?"

"From the surface it is almost impossible. Just this way. There were attempts, but everyone was killed. Don't worry," he said, when he saw her turning around in panic. "It was a long time ago and the bodies were removed."

"And, maybe the dragon ate them, who knows," he spoke again. "In other parts of the cave, at a great depth, there is a fast current of water that leads to the ocean, to an unknown place, maybe it took everything and everything is clean. That's why you felt the humidity and the cold air current. However, there are many things in the caves that we do not know, we must not even try to explore, because maybe, maybe, the dragon is lurking in the darkness. Enough chatter!"

She just talked.

"No wonder, when you are so sweet and sweet."

Luckily the darkness hid her cheeks.

"And now, it's time to go inside."

Silent click again and part of the wall moved. A faint scent of resin and herbs reached her nose. They stepped inside.

"Hold on. The door closed. Stay there. I'm going to see if it's safe."

He went to the opposite wall, which was some five or six meters away, and opened the massive wooden door, peeked in and out. The door closed and she waited.

Alone. Her gaze began to explore the room. Lacquered wooden shelves surrounded the walls, and on them were sacks of medicinal and fragrant herbs, vessels and bottles of various sizes from which the divine scents of resin and oil came. In the middle are large wooden boxes closed with heavy lids with iron fittings.

"God, does this still exist in these modern times, with so many thin and light materials, plastics of all kinds. Just unbelievable, like in a time machine. Or as a backdrop for a film about a bygone era."