Michael Mathias - Kings, Queens, Heroes, and Fools

“Salazar is where you’re headed then?” the pirate gave a gap-toothed grin that combined with his menacing face plate to make him look utterly insane. “If you’ve a few coins for passage, the Shark Tooth ’s your ship, and I’m your captain.”

“If you can pull anchor right now, I’ll fill your fist with coin,” Tyne jingled his belt pouch and glanced at the two zard-men sitting just inside the tavern’s doorway.

Captain Konrath’s grin vanished. He elbowed the man beside him and mumbled an order. A moment later the call for “All hands!” was ringing through the tavern. In less than a turn of the glass, Lord Gregory, High King Mikahl, Maxrell Tyne, and their two men were on the Shark’s Tooth under sail for Salazar.

Morning came all too soon for Hyden and the expedition. He and one of the seamen had taken middle watch, and though nothing had tripped Oarly’s alarm, a large shadowy form had paced the undergrowth at the far edge of the camp. When Hyden looked at it with Talon he could see its aura and knew that it was a predatory feline creature, possibly the mate to the lyna beast that had been their supper. It didn’t linger, but sleep was a long time coming for Hyden. Between Oarly’s snoring, the alien sound of the island jungle, and the whispering of the last watch he didn’t sleep at all.

While Oarly and Phen rolled up the twine and stowed the little bells, Hyden investigated the jungle floor where their nocturnal visitor had been. Prints as big as his open hand, and similar to the paws of the creature they had killed, were plain to see. Hyden wondered if the huge hornets had been feasting on a similar creature. Then he wondered if the porcupine-like quills that coated the animals were some sort of natural defense against the flying insects.

The things that had shaken the lower tree limbs and shrieked at them the whole of the day before were apparently busy elsewhere. Morning passed in relative peace as they worked their way through the jungle. A smaller cloud of flies found them, though. The steady buzz droned on and on, not succeeding in drowning out the clanking, grumbling sounds of their passage.

Near midday they came upon the mound that Hyden had seen. It humped up nearly twenty feet, was easily as wide, and probably sixty feet long, by his best guess. A little hump tapered away from the main mass in a nearly straight line toward the cavern. It corresponded with the aura Hyden had seen when Talon flew over. Up close it looked far less like an overgrown ship’s hull than Hyden thought it would. Oarly paced down its length and then climbed over it. He kicked at the ground with a look of deep concentration on his face.

After a while, during which time the others drank water and munched on dried beef, the dwarf eased up to Hyden. “We found your dragon,” he said. “Maybe the ship’s not far away.”

“The dragon?” Hyden asked.

“It is,” said Oarly. “That’s the bulk of its body there.” He pointed to the mound. “And this long tapering roll is its tail.” He trailed his finger down the long hump that pointed toward the cavern. “And that, I suppose, was its lair.” He grinned and shrugged. “It must have crawled out to die. At least it looks that way. It was a big mother in its day. Must’ve been near three hundred feet from tip to tail.” He turned and pointed out into the jungle. “I’d bet that old boot you made vanish, that not too far out there you’ll find its skull.” Oarly glanced back at the cavern and seemed eager to be into the earth. “Can’t wait to see what’s down there. Might be the big blue bastard dragged the ship down to its hoard.”

“Might be something else has taken up residence in there, Master Dwarf,” said Deck Master Biggs as he stepped up amongst them. He corked his flask after a quick sip and handed it to Oarly. “Might be all kinds of things living in a hole that big.”

Oarly swallowed. “Aye,” he nodded. “But we got a couple of half-arsed wizards, a few swordsmen and some arrows. And I got me axe. All we need now is some torches and we are off.”

“We’re not going to go traipsing in there yet,” Hyden said, thinking of the giant serpent that had slithered in on them back on Kahna. “It’ll be dark soon.” The thing that had stalked the shadows last night crossed his mind as well. “Let’s make a camp here first, and then a few of us will take a look and see how far back it goes.”

“Bah!” Oarly growled, but he still stomped away and went to work. “Anything to keep a dwarf from getting under the ground.”

Hyden chose to build the camp near the dragon mound. Something about the area felt safe to him. Maybe because it was relatively free of trees, or maybe because of the magical aura he’d seen radiating from the earth that covered the wyrm’s carcass, he wasn’t sure which. While the area was being cleared and the fire pit dug, Phen ranged off and found the mound that presumably held the dragon’s skull. When he told them of the discovery, Hyden could see the raw excitement in the boy’s eyes. He hoped he hadn’t brought Phen into too dangerous a situation. He had been planning on leaving Phen at the camp with Master Biggs and the seamen while he, Brady, and Oarly ventured into the cavern to look around. After careful consideration, he decided that Phen’s spells might come in handy in a pinch. That, and he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint his eager young friend. He could remember being Phen’s age, and he had been allowed to hunt the formidable Giant Mountains and scale thousand foot-high cliffs for hawkling eggs.

“Should we set up the pavilions?” Master Biggs asked once the fire was roaring in the pit.

“Aye,” Hyden said. “I have a feeling we’ll be here a day or two. There is no sense in letting the bugs have a free meal while we’re here.”

One of the seamen who had been off gathering wood with Oarly came hurrying back. “We found some flowing water,” he called out as if they had found a treasure trove. “The dwarf sent me back to gather up the empty skins.”

“That’s one less thing we have to concern ourselves with,” Hyden said more to himself than to anyone else.

Before long there was nothing left to do but explore the cavern mouth. Oarly was as eager as Phen to venture into the imposing looking hole. Brady had long since donned his chain mail shirt and strapped a packful of torches to his back. Oarly carefully stowed his battle axe and took out a heavy pick that looked no less deadly in his hands. He slung a coil of rope over his shoulder then dangled some smaller rock-chipping tools from his belt. When he took a torch from Brady and made to light it in the fire, Phen told him that he and Hyden could make all the light they needed with magic.

Oarly lit the torch anyway then looked Phen in the eye. “If the ceiling caves in and separates us, or if a giant bat flies down and tries to eat you for dinner, lad, I’ll not be finding my way back in the dark.”

After hearing that, Phen decided to keep his suggestions to himself.

Hyden strung his bow and strapped a full quiver of arrows to his back. He gave Phen his long dagger to carry. Phen dutifully strapped its sheath to his belt and fixed his brown mage robe so that it wouldn’t interfere with the handle if he needed to draw it.

From above, Talon shrieked out a call and circled them. In his mind, Hyden told the bird to hunt itself a meal, but to stay close to the entrance. He wanted a pair of eyes outside as well as in. After that, they started into the darkness.

Oarly led, followed by Hyden and Phen. Brady, with his sword in one hand and a torch in the other, took up the rear. Oarly’s brand wavered and threw wild shadows back across the dirt floor, but the flames were not bright enough to light all of the cavern. They could have been standing in a field. Phen cast his orb light spell and remedied the problem. The cavern was about twenty paces across, and easily as high. It was relatively clear of debris and the stone was worn smooth from countless years of the great dragon sliding in and out.