Michael Mathias - Kings, Queens, Heroes, and Fools

“It’s a sign, Sir Hyden Hawk,” the dwarf broke in. “We’ve got to get back down there and burn those feasters out.”

“If we don’t,” Brady chimed in with a wary glance at the stumpy-legged dwarf, “this fargin lump will never shut up. I think he took an injury to the skull yesterday.”

Hyden laughed and directed his attention from Phen to the others. “How do we go about it then? I’ve never burned out spiders before.”

Oarly’s plan was simple. Hyden agreed to it, and not long after, the four companions, along with Deck Master Biggs and one of his men, stood at the point where yesterday’s exploration had ended.

The two seamen carried buckets of water and extra torches. Hyden’s part was easy. All he had to do was fire arrows wrapped in oiled cloth into the spiders and be ready to assist the dwarf if he needed it. Oarly had the hard part. How the dwarf was up and about and so ready to take on the spiders with the pain of his fresh wounds, was beyond any of them. He supposed it was a testament to the potency of Master Biggs’s liquor. Nevertheless, Oarly insisted on being the one to douse the webs with lantern oil.

They counted three spiders. Oarly raced down toward the webs on his short stumpy legs calling out, “For Doon! For Doon!” as if he were charging headlong into a battle. He slung the highly flammable liquid onto the first web and its maker, and himself as well. Then he ran back and huddled behind a rock formation. Hyden lit an arrow and loosed it at the huge spider then readied another. Phen stood dutifully with the torch waiting on Hyden’s command.

The web went up in a great whoosh of flame. The spider wiggled and rolled crazily, but finally curled up into a charred ball. As soon as the smoke cleared, Oarly ran in and began dousing the second web. There were two spiders there, and one of them came after Oarly with surprising quickness.

“Light it,” Hyden said and Phen reached out touching the wrapped arrow tip with the torch. The arrow arced out over the cavern floor and came down just over Oarly’s shoulder. It missed the spider, but the sudden appearance of the flame startled the creature. No sooner had it returned to its web than Hyden’s second arrow ignited the lantern oil. Oarly darted away from the blaze with a wild grin on his face and started dancing a jig and howling. At least that’s what it looked like he was doing. In truth the dwarf’s arm had caught fire and he was wheeling around trying to put it out. Master Biggs started after the dwarf with one of his buckets and ordered his man to follow.

“But the other spider’s not dead,” the seaman said fearfully.

A glare from the Deck Master replenished the man’s courage, and a few moments later they were heaving their buckets at Oarly. Master Biggs finished the task by dousing the last spider with oil and tossing the dwarf’s torch at it.

After Oarly calmed down, they wandered cautiously into the cavern shaft. It narrowed considerably and seemed to end, but the light of Phen’s magical orb revealed another opening higher up in the rock.

It took all of a moment for Hyden to climb up and look. He stood there in awe for a long time. Golden statues from ages past grew like mushrooms out of piles of coins. A gleaming sword, and a half dozen chests bursting with gold and jewels littered the cave. A giant jeweled collar with a smaller collar dangling from its clasp leaned against a broken piece of ship’s mast that was laying under a half-eaten fish the size of a man.

A chill froze away Hyden’s amazement. He could see a pair of jade eyes peeking out of a busted chest. They were staring directly at him, and he knew he had found what he was after.

“Oarly,” Hyden called out. The dwarf had crawled up and was peeking over the edge of the rock, but was too stunned to respond.

“Oarly,” Hyden yelled again, thinking that the dwarf was still down with the others. Hyden suddenly remembered the words of the White Goddess from his dream. When you recover the Skull of Zorellin, you’ll find great danger with it.

“What is it?” Oarly responded as he pulled himself over the edge.

“How long does it take one of those spiders to spin its web?” asked Hyden as another thought occurred to him.

“The turn of a glass, or two,” Oarly answered absently. “There’s no need to worry about them webbing us in, lad. I can tell ye firsthand that our fire was plenty hot.” He held up his charred sleeve as proof.

“I’m not worried about the spiders,” Hyden said in a voice that carried his fear with it. “I’m worried about how soon it’s coming back.”

“How soon what’s coming back?” Brady asked as he joined them.

Phen crawled up, followed by Master Biggs who answered for Brady. “Whatever was eating that godsmackerel?”

“It’s, it’s… It’s still fresh,” the seaman stated the obvious with a whimper.

Phen was too excited to be afraid, and as soon as he’d finished speaking, he realized he should have kept his mouth shut, but it was too late.

“Hyden look,” he pointed at the huge half-eaten fish. “Look at the size of the bites that’ve been taken out of it!”

Hyden investigated the teeth marks in the dead fish and decided they were left by a dragon. Luckily it wasn’t an older one. He judged by the size and spacing of the marks that this wyrm would be around sixty feet from tip to tail, with a head the size of a mule cart. Claret’s hissed warning from his dream the night before echoed through his head. Not all dragonss are scapable of understandingss. Do what you mussst.

She was telling him that their friendship was between the two of them, he decided. He thought he understood. Just like she might destroy a village and its inhabitants, he might have the need to kill this young dragon. She wouldn’t hold it against him if he did. He was glad for this insight, for without it he might try to find a way to spare such a beast, if it could be done. He was glad that it wouldn’t matter in this case, not if they got what they were after and hurried out of there.

“Grab the Silver Skull, Brady,” he ordered. “It’s there in that chest.” He pointed at it. “Get it, and let’s be gone before our host returns.”

“Are ye daft, lad?” asked Oarly. “Here is freedom for all of King Jarrek’s folk.” He indicated the treasure. “There’s enough to buy all of the slaves back, and then some.”

“Aye,” Hyden agreed. “And what are you gonna do with it? Are you going to swim it off of this island? Grab a handful each of you, then come on.”

“He’s right,” Master Biggs agreed, as he shoved jewels and coins into the water bucket he was still carrying. “The Seawander’s not the ship to haul this load. We’ll have to come back for it.”

Since Phen made no move to pick anything up, Brady handed him the Silver Skull. The boy didn’t seem to care about the value of the treasure around them at all.

Brady waded through a pile of gold and silver coins over to the gleaming sword that was jutting majestically out of the pile. Grinning ear to ear he pulled his old blade out of its sheath and slid the pristine piece of well-forged steel into its place. It fit well enough, he decided, and he tossed the old weapon away. Then he went for a decanter full of diamonds. These he gathered not for himself, but for the people of Wildermont. Each one he shoved into his pouch was freedom for two or three of his countrymen, and it appeared that he was trying to get them all.

“Enough!” Hyden finally yelled. He was getting an uneasy feeling. “Let’s be gone before it returns.”

Reluctantly they agreed. Oarly let Hyden lead the way to the lip they’d climbed. The dwarf was burdened with the jewel encrusted statue of some strange looking animal that he had heaved onto his shoulder. It looked as if it weighed as much as Phen.