§ Chapter 12 §

The dark passageway hidden behind the door seemed to go on for miles. Tarin followed quietly behind Galdor, the rest of the party followed silently behind her. As the light behind them began to disappear, Galdor produced one of the glowing orbs his people carried in the forest. The green light produced a soft glow that illuminated the area around them. Tarin could see tiny gold specks on the walls beside her.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Galdor stopped and signaled to the group to follow his example. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into darkness. Tarin leaned forward and saw that he was watching something lying on the bottom of the cavern. He motioned to her not to speak a word, and then moved back away from the ledge. He walked back down the hallway several yards until the light he carried was almost out of sight from the ledge. He signaled for Eauthrin to join him and the two sat against the wall devising a plan.

As the two talked, Tarin continued to stare into the cavern trying to see the creature sleeping at the bottom. As she stood there watching the darkness, a quiet rumbling was heard emanating from the bottom of the cavern. She quickly looked back at the group to see Galdor and Eauthrin jump as the noise grew louder. The ground began shaking as Galdor joined her at the ledge of the cliff.

“He must have heard our voices,” he whispered.

“But I couldn’t even hear you,” Tarin said as the air grew warmer around her.

“We have to get out of this hallway,” Galdor called to the party. “We do not have time to waste.”

Galdor climbed to the cliff’s edge and swung himself over. Tarin watched as he stood without difficulty and looked to the cliff face. The light of the green orb illuminated what looked like a trail of ledges criss-crossing their way down the vertical incline. He helped her over the ledge of the cliff, and they began traversing the cliff face. The remainder of the party was rapidly behind them, and the group cautiously moved down the ledges.

Halfway down the rock face, a whoosh of air blew them back against the rocks, and Tarin watched as a huge creature flew up from the bottom of the cave. A pillar of fire escaped the beast’s mouth as it leveled off at the hallway, engulfing the entire entrance in flame. Galdor gripped her hand and pulled her behind him, encouraging her to continue down the path.
                The beast continued to fly above them, shooting bursts of flame into the hallway as they stepped onto the floor of the creature’s lair. Galdor produced his bow and placed an arrow onto the string. As he aimed it skywards, Eauthrin drew his swords, and the other Men quickly produced their weapons.

“Get ready,” Galdor called, signaling for Tarin to draw her sword as well. As she did so, the arrow flew off his bow, and implanted itself into the underbelly of the hovering giant.

The creature let out a loud roar and quickly dove down into the cave, shaking the earth as it crashed into the ground before them. Galdor tossed the glowing orb onto the floor, and the dark room burst into the green glow, which showed the immense size of the beast in front of them.

The creature was red in colour, and its wings stretched high above them. Its menacing face was framed by two horns which curled around its jaws. Smoke escaped from its nostrils as it took a step toward the warriors.

As Tarin stood there staring at the beast, Eauthrin ran forward followed closely by Geheed, Filmarc and Manil. Eauthrin stabbed the beast in its soft, golden underbelly as he charged forward. The beast jumped back in surprise, but the Men continued to charge forward. Pansoic shot a bolt from his crossbow, and Galdor loosed an arrow from his bow, both hitting the creature in its long, snake like throat.

Tarin was frozen in fear as the enormous beast swung quickly around, striking the Men with its long tail, knocking Eauthrin, Geheed, Filmarc and Manil to the ground. As it circled fully around, its extended claws slashed out, catching one of the fallen Men on the chest. Pansoic released another bolt, startling the creature before it had the chance to attack the other Men. The body of Filmarc disappeared; his hammer lay on the floor a few feet from where he had fallen.

Manil let out a cry as he got to his feet, axe in hand. The creature roar as Manils axe found its mark, creating a huge gash in the beast’s underbelly. Dark red blood spilled onto the floor as the creature shrunk in pain.

Galdor pulled a scroll from his satchel and tossed the paper into the air while yelling out words Tarin had never heard before. She watched as the parchment began to turn to frost and ice over. Galdor reached up and grabbed the frozen piece of paper, which he then tied to his bow. He drew an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the string. He pulled with all his strength, and shot the arrow at the creature.

Tarin stared as the arrow flew off the bow, bursting into a swirling ice storm instantly. It struck its target directly in the face, and the Elf’s magic began to work. The ice storm engulfed the creatures head, creating a swirling blizzard around it. Seconds later, the magic ended, and Tarin saw that the head of the beast had been entirely frozen.

“Look out!” Galdor called to the Men still standing under the beast.

The creature took a step back before heaving its entire body into the air. The Men scrambled to get out of the way as the giant came crashing down once more, shaking the ground as it hit the earth. As the dust cleared, Tarin saw that the creature lay motionless a few feet in front of her. She stood there, still frozen in fear.

Eauthrin, Geheed and Manil were stopped running as they reached the others, and stood staring at the beast.

“What was that thing?” Manil asked.

“They are called dragons,” Galdor said as he stepped toward the creatures frozen head. “They are very abundant in this world. We were lucky this was only a young one, otherwise it would not have fallen so easily.”

“You mean there are bigger ones than this?” Pansoic inquired.

“No,” he replied. “Not much bigger, but a lot stronger, and smarter. An older one would have heard us climbing down the cliff face, and would have beaten us down here. Sometimes, Elves have found that their spells do not work on older dragons. We were very lucky today.”

Tarin was still shocked as she stared at the fallen dragon. Galdor approached her as she gaped at the beast.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She looked at him, but said nothing. Her mind was fluttering and she did not know what to say.

“Tarin,” he continued. “Why did you not fight?”

Again, she stood there, staring into his dark eyes. No words would come to her, and she looked blankly at him.

“Tarin,” he said again, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “Wake up!”

His touch chased away her fear, and she snapped out of her stupor.

“What-what happened?” she asked as she continued to stare at him.

“You did not fight, why?” he quizzed her again.

“I-I don’t know,” she replied truthfully. “I was frightened and I couldn’t bring myself to draw my sword.”

“You were frightened?” Galdor gave her a puzzled look. “You know you can not be hurt in this realm. There is no need to be frightened,” he released his grip on her shoulders and turned away from her. “You can not do that Tarin. You must be strong.”

Tarin did not know what to say and watched as he stormed away. He picked up Filmarcs hammer, and then came rushing back to the group. He handed the weapon to Manil and signaled to the remainder of the group.

“It’s time to go, we’re finished for today,” his voice sounded angry, and he did not look at Tarin.

She closed her eyes, and the silence of the cavern was quickly replaced with the sound of rainfall.