Chp.21: Storm

It had been seven days now since the family had split up. Rhaegal and her thirteen sisters had advanced far to the north. They were sure they had already completed at least a third of the way.

They would have been able to tell more easily if they had the map. Unfortunately, however, it was Haku who kept it in his dimensional bag... as well as many other valuable things. Haku had always had a tendency to keep the most important items. That too was probably a way to secure control over them. Of course, no one had dared to try to steal the dimensional bag from Haku while he was sleeping, much less while he was awake. Thus, they had continued without the map. Even without it, deep down, they knew their way around. The movement of the sun was easy to follow: by it they could easily locate north. Once they found it, it was enough to continue in that direction, and sooner or later they would reach the desert. It didn't matter if they moved slightly to avoid the adventurers or the beasts, if they kept going north they would always reach their destination.

The territory had begun to become less barren and rocky, giving way to a flat and grassy land. This was both good and bad: opponents were easier to spot, but opponents could also spot them more easily. Fortunately, the dragons' eyesight was the best in the world, and so at least they had the advantage of the weather. All they had to do was stay alert at all times. For this reason, they had established that four of them would look in the four directions in alternating shifts both day and night, while the others guided them or slept. This way, it would have been nearly impossible to take them by surprise. Even if it was boring, at least it was safe.

A drop of water fell on Rhaegal's face. The dragon looked up and observed the huge black clouds that were covering the sun more and more, so that it seemed that night was falling early. The climate was also rapidly changing: with the arrival of winter, the temperature had dropped even more and the rainfall had become much more frequent. This made their way more difficult, since the rain created mud in which they would have left evident footprints, so they had to worry about constantly erasing them.

Rhaegal instinctively wiped away the drop of water and as he did it he touched the left side of his face. He felt a slight shiver as she did so, and he couldn't help but massaging the spot where Haku had struck. His wounds seemed to burn again.

"They are no longer noticeable" Sisna told him who was beside him. It was true: even the new scales had darkened completely by now, and there was no longer any sign of the cuts on his face.

Rhaegal immediately lowered his paw in shame. "I know. But sometimes it comes naturally to me to do it" he admitted, than he looked up again. "It will soon rain. Maybe we should find some shelter"

A distant lightning followed by a mighty thunder seemed to verify his words. "Unfortunately, there isn't much in this place" Sisna said, looking around.

"Yeah" Rhaegal snorted. For several kilometers he could see nothing but an endless plain, with no place to shelter from the rain. He decided the best thing to do was to ask the others for advice. Talking together had worked many times; perhaps this time too they would find a solution. So he called them all: "Sisters, I think it's clear to everyone that a storm is coming, and judging by those clouds it's going to be very intense. There are no places where we can shelter in this plain. Does anyone have any ideas?"

He expected his sisters to at least think for a moment, but almost immediately Malchia said: "Why don't we just use runes imbued with earth spells? We can activate them with our blood and use them to lift her up and build shelter"

"Right! It's not complicated, we just have to pay attention to the shape to avoid it falling on us" Corgorin immediately supported her.

The idea wasn't bad, but Finiar opposed it: "We wouldn't risk getting noticed in this way? Anyone who passes by here will notice that a mound has appeared"

The objection was legitimate. "We'll just have to pretend it was created by a group of adventurers" Maleficent said. "We'll put up a bonfire, made from the remains of cooked meat, stuff like that. That way they'll think a group of human wizards did this. They may be wondering who it is, but they certainly won't be looking for us"

His sisters continued to argue among themselves for a few minutes, then they decided how to act. Rhaegal had a little trouble keeping up with all that reasoning, but when they came to a conclusion, he was surprised that the solution to the problem was so simple. Who knows how he hadn't thought about it immeidately... but after all, he wasn't Haku.

Haku would know what to do from the start. Haku would have already made at least a dozen plans if he was still with them. But even without him, they managed to get by. They no longer had their brother's extraordinary brain, but by pooling their brains they could achieve a similar result.

The dragons used earth runes to raise a small hollow mound; even if they were a bit tight inside, they still managed to shelter from the rain all together. They managed to finish just in time: just two minutes after they had all gone inside, the rain had started falling from the sky, first slowly, then more and more; the wind had picked up and started to howl violently, and the thunder had begun to rumble continuously. Very soon, the storm released all its violence.

It continued to rain throughout the day, and into the night as well. The light grew dimmer and dimmer, but they didn't know if it was due to the setting sun or the clouds getting thicker. Very quickly, several puddles began to form on the ground. The dragons had built the entrance to their shelter slightly off the ground, so they wouldn't risk flooding it; however, from time to time the water still entered, in the form of raindrops carried by a sudden gust of wind that had changed direction. It was just a few sketches, and it certainly didn't create any problems for the dragons, which, however, were very annoyed by it.

"Shit, I hate the rain" Malchia grumbled as she wrung her neck to get the water off her scales.

"Don't complain. If the desert is like Hak… as the human we captured once described it to us, you'll miss this refreshing rain very much as we traverse it" Keita said, earning just a grunt from her sister.

Rhaegal smiled at that scene, then looked out. As soon as he did, though, the smile faded from his face. "Don't make noise!" he exclaimed.

His sisters immediately fell silent and all the eyes turned to the entrance to the shelter. "What's up?" Sisna whispered.

Rhaegal's eyes narrowed. "There's something out there"

Not far from the shelter, Rhaegal could clearly see a shadow moving in the rain. It was very large, certainly larger than he or any of his sisters. As he watched it, he could hear something that sounded like breathing, though it was hidden by the constant gusts of the howling wind. "Activate the invisibility runes now and don't deactivate them for any reason" he whispered, and one by one the fourteen dragons disappeared from view.

The shadow slowly approached the shelter. A growl occasionally emerged from it, similar to a bear's snout and a tiger's snarl at the same time. When the shadow was close enough, Rhaegal was able to make out its details. It was a huge lizard with eight legs, covered in bony spines and with a huge mouth. The creature was constantly sniffing the air, as if it were looking for something.

Rhaegal shivered. That animal matched perfectly with one that had been described by that hunter who had killed days before: a great basilisk.

The dragons stood completely still as the beast approached the entrance to the refuge. It was too small for it to enter, but it stuck its head inside anyway. The great basilisk's nostrils flared as he sniffed the inside of the shelter.

Rhaegal looked closely at the animal's face. Its mouth bristled with razor-sharp teeth. Its eyes were small, while its nostrils were rather prominent, a sign that it relied more on smell to orient itself. The ears weren't visible, but that was normal: Rhaegal remembered that the old hunter saying that the great basilisks' ears were hidden by their armor. Indeed, the head was completely covered with hard bony plates that looked very sturdy.

Rhaegal braced himself. If the great basilisk would try to enter fully, he would use a fire rune. Even if it was very big, it was still an animal: in all likelihood it would have fled if a fire suddenly broke out. It was a risky move to make in such a confined space, but if he hadn't had a choice, he would have done it.

The great basilisk began to move the earth with its paws, as if trying to enter. Rhaegal prepared to set it on fire. But after a while, the animal retreated and its head disappeared from the entrance. The dragons didn't move, fearing that the great basilisk was preparing a trick, but then they heard the sound of its paws slapping on the ground as it moved away. Rhaegal leaned forward slightly and saw his shadow disappear in the rain.

Even if it was gone, however, no one turned off the invisibility rune. The dragons remained hidden for a long time. It was only the following morning, when the rain had stopped and the clouds had moved allowing the sun to illuminate the plain, that they finally decided to become visible again. "Wow... for a moment I was afraid he would break down the entrance" Sisna murmured as she stepped out and looked around. "Looks like it's gone"

"Good, then let's go too" Rhaegal said. "I don't want to be here if that beast decides to come back and take a look"

"Yeah, I don't want to risk fighting that monster" Serengal said. "Did you see it? It seemed to know we were here, even with the invisibility rune"

"It had large nostrils. It probably has a very good sense of smell and it smelled us" Finiar replied. "It must have been confused by the fact that it smelled something where there was apparently nothing, so it gave up. But maybe it will come back. Rhaegal's right, it's best for us if we leave now"

The dragons were about to set off, when suddenly Tikka exclaimed: "Wait! Look here!"

The others looked where she pointed. They were the footprints the great basilisk had left as it walked away. "They're heading south! That monster is heading south! Darbi, Kotaru and… well, they might meet it! They don't know what it is, they might be in danger!"

Rhaegal understood what Tikka meant: Darbi, Kotaru and Haku were not with them when they acquired the knowledge of the creatures of the place. They didn't know what great basilisks were, nor what their weaknesses were. If they had met him, they could have been hurt. "So what do you want to do?"

Tikka seemed undecided, then gathered courage: "Wait just a day, please! I'll run and go and warn them! I'll explain to them what we know about that creature and then I'll go back!"

"It took us seven days to get here" Sisna reminded her. "You'll never make it in a day. Also, for all we know, they may have changed direction. They may have gone back south, or somewhere else"

"I know, that's why I ask you only one day. If in one day I won't be able to find them, it means that they are far enough away and they won't risk running into that beast. In that case I will go back" Tikka explained.

"It's not safe to go alone" Rhaegal said. "You may meet the great basilisk yourself"

"It's daytime now and that monster isn't exactly small. I'd notice it from kiloometers away" Tikka replied. "I'd better go alone. I'll do it faster and... well, I'll do it faster"

Rhaegal snorted. He was able to read the unsaid of that sentence: Tikka knew that many of them absolutely didn't want to meet Haku. To do so would only cause painful friction. So it was best if she went alone while the others stayed behind. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Rhaegal asked her.

Tikka nodded. "I wouldn't feel at peace with my conscience if I let them risk fighting against the great basilisk" she replied.

Rhaegal looked at the others. "What do you say?". His sisters nodded one by one. "It seems that the majority is in your favor. All right, go ahead. We will wait for you"

"Wait! I'm coming too" Teramon said suddenly.

Tikka shook her head. "I'll do it faster if I'll go alone"

"The two of us won't slow each other down. Besides, it's better to have an ally if things go badly, right?" Teramon responded her.

Tikka thought about it, then she nodded. "Okay. Let's go!" she said, and the two ran south, quickly away from the others.

Rhaegal sighed. He trusted his sisters, but still hoped they wouldn't do anything stupid.