Something Wyverian This Way Comes

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  Shocked, both of the Zweigelan’s heads turn to stare at the male human in Pryllan’s claws.

  “Dragon riding is forbidden,” Syrreth reminded her. “Even we know this.”

  Steve looked straight at the Zweigelan and addressed Ferreth. “Before you joined the Collective you could pretty much do as you please, right? So what did it matter to you whether or not someone hopped up on your back?’

  Both heads were silent.

  “So that tells us that the ban on dragon riding predates Rinbok. Were you allegiant to his predecessor?”

  No answer.

  Steve was silent as he mentally addressed Pryllan.

  How long has Rinbok been the Dragon Lord?

  Nearly a millennia.

  Who did he take over for, do you know?

  Pryllan thought a moment

  Dirgis Drachfyre.

  Thanks.

  “So you were okay with Dirgis calling the shots before Rinbok was in charge?”

  “How do you know that name?” Ferreth demanded.

  Steve patted Pryllan’s foreleg. “I don’t, but she does. Well, she’s heard of him at least.”

  Sarah nodded. “I see where you’re going with this. Ferreth, you were allegiant to Dirgis but you don’t want to be with Rinbok, is that right? That suggests Rinbok has done something, besides forcing you to join the Collective, which has caused you not to trust him. Can you tell me what that is?”

  Ferreth fell silent.

  “Rinbok is going to want to know about this curse,” Steve reminded him. “If you hope to make peace with him you’re going to have to come clean.”

  Both Zweigelan’s lifted their noses a little higher into the air. “We know nothing of this curse.”

  Pryllan growled in response. “My mate, Pravara’s sire, has become stricken by this curse. He is at the first stage and lost his fire. Hundreds of dragons have already fallen victim. You must tell us what you know so that this curse can be lifted.”

  “We are not responsible for the curse,” Syrreth reiterated to the group. “We do not know who cast it.”

  Both Steve and Sarah felt Pryllan’s sigh of frustration. Sarah, however, was looking speculatively at Syrreth.

  “You say you don’t know who cast it, yet you know it’s a curse and that it was cast.”

  Ferreth looked angrily at his twin.

  “We must keep our mouths closed.”

  “Aye, we must,” Syrreth agreed.

  “Aren’t you concerned?” Sara continued. “You’ve lost the ability to use the Collective, which I guess you’re happy with.”

  Both Syrreth and Ferreth grunted in acknowledgement.

  “But you’ve also lost the ability to spit fire. Steve proved that down on the ground. Don’t you see? You’ve fallen victim to this curse, too! Whoever has cast this curse also included you in it. You Zweigelans wanted to get your revenge on the dragons, only it’s affecting you, too. You need to help us figure this out and I would recommend you do so as quickly as possible or else you’re going to lose the ability to fly, too.”

  “How long do we have?” Syrreth quietly asked.

  “Do not believe them,” Ferreth warned. “They are lying.”

  “You are the ones lying,” Steve countered. “We know you know who created this curse. We know you’re involved. Save everyone a massive migraine and just tell us what you know about it.”

  “That proves we are innocent,” Syrreth said matter-of-factly.

  “How so?” Steve asked.

  “We wouldn’t deliberately sabotage ourselves. Therefore we are innocent.”

  “You’re right,” Sarah agreed. “I don’t think you’d willing sabotage yourselves. However, I think that you’ve still been sabotaged by someone else otherwise you would have been excluded from the curse. You said before that you felt remorse for having to give up the locations to the other two Zweigelans. They were clearly angry enough and motivated enough to do something about it, maybe exact a little bit of revenge themselves.”

  “The second Zweigelan was angry when it appeared on the Collective,” Syrreth admitted. “Much angrier than we were when we were forced to join.”

  “Dude, you were set up,” Steve wryly informed the Zweigelan.

  “Do you still want to see all dragons suffer?” Sarah demanded. She pointed at the dragonlet. “You want to see her suffer? She who came to your aid?”

  Ferreth didn’t respond but Syrreth looked over at the young dragon. It even appeared as though his eyes softened somewhat. The Zweigelan’s left head watched Pravara for a few moments before it turned to look back at the humans. Then his gaze slowly drifted up and settled on the young dragon’s mother.

  “Please tell us what you know,” Sarah implored. “Help us help the dragons. We don’t want to see any of them suffer. Not even you.”

  “Did you know this curse was going to be cast?” Steve asked.

  Syrreth nodded. Ferreth, disgusted by Syrreth’s willingness to help, ignored the proceedings.

  Steve nodded and smiled. He gave Sarah a brief hug.

  “Okay, that’s a start. Is this something that all three of you plotted to do together?”

  “No.” Syrreth gave a loud sigh. Ferreth looked coldly over at him and then resumed ignoring him.

  “How did you learn what they were going to do?” Sarah gently prodded.

  “I suspected something like this would happen once I felt the presence of another Zweigelan on that accursed Collective. He was angry. So very angry.”

  “More so than you were?” Steve asked.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” Ferreth sneered.

  “Do you know why the other two Zweigelans cursed the dragons?” Pryllan asked, trying to keep the anger from her voice. “To what purpose? What do they hope to accomplish? Our downfall?”

  “To destroy the Collective,” Ferreth smugly answered. “No Collective, no allegiance. The Zweigelans would be free once more.”

  Just then the trio of dragons flew over Zylan River and passed over the southernmost edge of Anakash Forest. Pryllan glanced down to see that they were once more flying over trees instead of open prairie. She gazed solemnly over at the smaller Zweigelan and caught Syrreth’s eyes.

  “Ask yourself this. If you had the opportunity to be ‘freed’ of the Collective that you apparently hate so much, now that you know the benefits that it provides, would you want to be free of it?”

  Neither Syrreth nor Ferreth answered her. Both were silent as they considered the question. Ferreth seemed ready to give an instant and resounding ‘no’, but Syrreth brought his head next to Ferreth’s and began a hushed argument that lasted close to an hour.

  Several hours later they were approaching the valley most dragons called home. Pravara, much to Pryllan’s delight, hadn’t tired at all. She could only attribute that to her constant questioning of their new companion. After Syrreth had openly admitted to knowing about the existence of the curse, she had relaxed somewhat. They were on the right course. All they had to do is get one of the two heads to tell them everything they knew about the curse so they could better formulate a plan on how to counteract it. She didn’t know if this Zweigelan would be willing to talk to the Dragon Lord, nor was she certain Rinbok Intherer would even grant her an audience, but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t try. Kahvel’s health depended on her and the two humans vanquishing this curse. She hadn’t told anyone yet, but she was quite certain she had fallen victim to the curse, too. She could no longer feel the fire in her belly like she did just an hour or two ago.

  Pryllan took a deep breath and stoked her internal furnace. She angled her head slightly up and blew a tiny fireball. She wanted something tiny so as to not alarm the others. What came out of her mouth was a small puff of smoke. Pryllan tried again. This time no smoke appeared. No fire, and even though she wasn’t at the second stage she might as well have been as she couldn’t use the Collective since no one seemed to be using it any more. At least she could still fly.

&
nbsp; I KNEW IT. I KNEW YOU HAD BECOME AFFECTED BY THIS CURSE.

  Pryllan visibly jerked, threatening to send her off course. She quickly corrected herself and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully, no one had.

  Kahvel? What is it you think you heard?

  THINK? I DON’T THINK, BELOVED. I KNOW. MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE EASILY DETECTABLE. BESIDES, YOU JUST CONFIRMED MY SUSPICIONS.

  Pryllan sighed. I didn’t want to worry you.

  I APPRECIATE THE SENTIMENT, Kahvel’s cross thought came back to her, BUT YOU HAVE FAILED. I AM WORRIED. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG AGO YOU FELL VICTIM TO THE CURSE?

  Just now. I believe I felt my fires extinguish. I used them to ward off an unruly band of humans from attacking the Zweigelan.

  WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?

  Pryllan felt her mate’s genuine concern and it warmed her heart. Kahvel would do anything for her or else die trying in the process.

  HOPEFULLY IT WILL NOT COME TO THAT, Kahvel’s sarcastic thought, BUT AYE, THAT’S TRUE.

  I used to be better and masking my thoughts.

  She felt Kahvel’s rumblings of laughter.

  IF ONLY YOU KNEW, BELOVED. HOW FARES PRAVARA? SHE’S HAD A LONG JOURNEY TODAY.

  Pryllan glanced over to her left and saw that, much to the Zweigelan’s disgust, Pravara was still firing off question after question.

  I think she has been distracted by our newest companion, much to Syrreth’s chagrin.

  WHO IS SYRRETH?

  Syrreth and Ferreth are the names of the Zweigelan’s heads. Syrreth is the left head while Ferreth is the right.

  IT HAS A NAME?

  Plural. Names. They both have names.

  I NEVER KNEW.

  I know you didn’t, Kahvel. Why was the Zweigelan not advised of the nuances of the Collective?

  WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

  They were not told that the Collective would lie dormant unless needed. They believed that they had to be connected to the Collective at all times. They didn’t know they were allowed to contact other dragons in case they needed help, and finally, no one took the time to instruct them how to use the Collective.

  COULDN’T YOU SHOW THEM?

  Anger flashed through her mind. Anger at her mate and sympathy for the Zweigelan.

  WHY DIRECT YOUR ANGER TOWARDS ME?

  For the way Syrreth and Ferreth were treated.

  UNDERSTANDABLE, BELOVED, BUT IT WASN’T MY DECISION. IT WAS RINBOK INTHERER’S WILL.

  I am aware. I am angry at what’s happening to us but I can’t help but feel that we brought this upon ourselves.

  Pryllan couldn’t hear him, or feel him do it, but she knew that Kahvel just grunted.

  HAVE YOU REACHED NEVIR YET?

  No, my love. We are close, though.

  KEEP ME INFORMED.

  I will. Be safe, Kahvel.

  AND YOU, BELOVED.

  “Is everything alright?” Steve asked. He pulled Sarah close and together they waited for the excessively long flight to be over.

  “The return flight is the same duration as the first flight earlier today,” Pryllan reminded him.

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry. I forgot you were listening. Anyway, I think my rear has fallen asleep.”

  Sarah giggled. “You and your narcoleptic behind.”

  “How could your backside fall asleep?” Pryllan asked, confused. “Either you are asleep or you’re not. I didn’t realize certain portions of your anatomy could fall asleep independent of one another.”

  “It’s a figure of speech,” Steve assured her.

  Satisfied with the answer, Pryllan banked right and dropped down below a thin layer of clouds. It was time to start scanning the forest floor. She knew that somewhere nearby were four unremarkable hills in close proximity. In the center of those four hills, facing north, was a cave entrance cleverly camouflaged by the surrounding forest. Thanks to the trees and the unique landscape of the four hills, one hill swelled higher than the other three, but since the trees covering the fourth hill were shorter than the other three it gave the outward appearance of four mounds of equal height.

  Pryllan also knew that the only way to approach these hills, since the trees grew so heavy, was to look for a slight opening in the forest canopy just south of the western hill. Once inside the forest she’d have to continue flying due to the dense vegetation. There was no way that a dragon could approach from the ground, even one as slight as the Zweigelan. Pryllan also knew that certain trees had been bitten off in mid trunk to create an aerial pathway through the treetops that led in to the cave itself. Only the most skilled dragons would be able to navigate the path.

  Pryllan hesitated. A comment from her rider from earlier in the day flashed through her mind. If it was so difficult to find Nevir, how, then, would a sick or dying dragon hope to find this place? Pryllan decided there must be something else she was missing.

  Moments later she spotted the four hills. Locating the western hill, then following an imaginary line due south, she found the canopy opening.

  “Pravara, fly around to my back and latch on, like you used to do when you were little.”

  Pravara looked at her mother, confusion evident on her face.

  “Riding is for babies, mother,” she haughtily informed her. “I am not a baby.”

  “We are about to go through a dangerous path through the treetops. Get on my back. Hurry! Syrreth, Ferreth, stay on my tail as closely as possible. Do not deviate. It would be detrimental to your health.”

  Syrreth nodded. Ferreth looked more curious than cautious.

  Pravara flew over her to her mother and did as she was told. As soon as she hooked her talons into the numerous thick scales on her mother’s back Pryllan tucked her wings close to her sides and dove through the opening. The Zweigelan followed.

  Faster and faster she zoomed through the treetops, whizzing by mammoth tree trunks at a frightening pace. Several times she had to completely fold a wing flat against her back and spiral through the air as the aerial path narrowed inexplicably. Thankfully she was a very good flyer. Not able to take the time to see if the Zweigelan was still following she ducked through several more narrow passages through the tree trunks before emerging into a tiny glade. She snapped her wings open to arrest her momentum. With the harrowing flight over, she settled comfortably to the ground.

  Syrreth and Ferreth were two seconds behind her. Pravara started to detach herself from her mother’s back but a quick command from Pryllan stopped her.

  “Stay there, young one. We have to move fairly quickly through the caverns. We do not want to dally. Steve, Sarah, this is the one time it would be allowed to disobey Rinbok Intherer. The both of you will need to be on my back. Sarah, situate yourself as close to Steve as possible. Steve, please sit next to Pravara. Just in case.”

  Sarah teleported the two of them to Pryllan’s back. Both husband and wife looked at the young dragonlet who was still clutching her mother’s back. Steve gave Pravara a ‘do you know what’s going on?’ look to which Pravara shook her head no. Her eyes had become a little fearful.

  Steve sat down next to Pravara’s head and laid a reassuring hand on her. Sarah joined him moments later.

  “Are you ready?” Pryllan asked. She turned to look at the Zweigelan. “Again, stay close to me. Syrreth and Ferreth, I want you to remember something. You will be witnessing something very few dragons have ever seen. I myself haven’t seen it.”

  “Then how do you know what to expect?” Steve asked from his perch on her back.

  “From Kahvel’s experiences. His thoughts have shown me what lies within the cave.”

  “Good things or bad things?” Sarah’s voice asked her.

  Pryllan thought for a few moments.

  “Unknown.”

  She lifted herself to her feet and headed towards the northern hill. Just as she expected, the hill started increasing in size. The ground sloped steeply up. The surrounding greenery grew accordingly so as to preser
ve the appearance that the hill was no larger than the other three. Walking around the base of the northern hill she found the entrance to the cave covered by several trees leaning in from both the left and the right. She gently parted the trees and waited for the Zweigelan to squeeze through. Syrreth then surprised her again by holding back the left two trees so that she could make it through.

  “You have my thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Syrreth automatically responded before he realized what he said.

  Pryllan chuckled to herself. Syrreth seemed genuinely surprised, even a little shocked, that he knew the proper response. She sniffed the air and smelled sulphur. This was the right place.

  Following her nose she headed down the slanted tunnel. She closed her eyes and switched her vision to her parietal eye. Images appeared. Not as sharp as her primary vision but enough to see the surrounding environment and avoid running into a wall or a low-hanging stalactite. She watched the Zweigelan delicately maneuver around a particularly large and low-hanging stalactite. Syrreth paused to look behind him.

  “I’m here, Syrreth. If you’ll step to the side I’ll take the lead.”

  She passed by Syrreth and Ferreth and stopped as soon as she felt the scales of her chest heat up. While unaffected by the heat she wasn’t too sure how fireproof Pravara was, which was why she had Steve sit next to her. She figured the human fire thrower would have an immunity to fire and heat and since they would soon be approaching a river of lava she needed to be certain it was safe to proceed. She continued on another ten minutes before the tunnel turned sharply to the right. They had reached the beginnings of the great caverns.

  “Pravara? Are you well?”

  “I am, mother. Why?”

  “Steve, Sarah, are you uninjured?”

  “All fine up here,” Steve answered. “I can see why you wanted Sarah and Pravara close to me. My jhorun is tingling like crazy, so I know it’s blocking the heat. I wonder how hot it is out there?”

  “It will get worse, I’m afraid. You can’t see it yet but just ahead is a river of molten rock. I can withstand the heat. I believe Syrreth and Ferreth can also withstand the heat. If you two are alright so far then we will proceed.”