by M. Arcturus
“Yes, I’m very relieved!” Jarrah took a sigh of relief.
“Good,” she said as she patted him on the shoulder and then walked down the plank.
Jarrah smiled and drew his attention back to what he needed to do. He pulled out a small rectangular piece of cloth from his hip pouch and unfolded it. Eyeing the map, he checked to make sure it was the one he wanted. Out of sentiment, he clenched it in his fist, then placed it back inside the pouch. He flexed his knee to see if it would hold up in a conflict. Noting that it was probably as good as what it was going to get, with a heavy heart, he walked the plank down to the dock and clasped hands with his friend Oberon. Honor filled Oberon’s heart as he returned the handshake with Jarrah.
“We could use your help, old friend,” Oberon said, greeting Jarrah warmly. Though he had captured Jarrah’s attention, his eyes were fixed on the surrounding commotion.
Trying to keep from being too distracted, Jarrah smiled and returned the reply, “And, I could use yours.”
Oberon noticed that Jarrah’s smile was just for show. Something didn’t seem right. “It’s good to have you back with us,” Oberon told him as he patted Jarrah on the back. Then, he stepped aside so Jarrah could walk the rest of the dock to shore.
“He’s been like that since we left. I’m not used to seeing him distracted and so unhappy. I didn’t know what else to do other than bring him back in hopes that he finds what he is missing.” Campanula said walking up to Oberon.
Oberon smiled at Campanula, the new captain of the Kinnowwa. “I’ll see to it that he is taken care of. Will you be leaving soon?” Oberon asked. The question shocked Campanula.
“I can’t leave him behind. Besides, the more, the merrier right?” She replied, giving him a smirk.
“Well met. In fact, I really could use another general if you’re up for the task, and our ground troops could use some reinforcements. Unless your crew wishes to stay onboard the Kinnowwa,” Oberon said, hoping that she would jump at the opportunity. “How many crew members do you have?”
“I have a crew of forty men. I’m sure most of them would be willing to fight, and I would be honored to serve as one of your generals,” she replied. Campanula smiled at the thought as Oberon put his arm around her and led her down the pier.
Once they reached the embankment next to the sandy shore, they saw the elves hard at work. As though they were pieces of paper, enormous sheets of metal were being unfolded, revealing a cross-shaped formation. Then, the elves buried the metal crosses into the sand. Some used magic to cause a small sandstorm to sink the metal under the sand while others used a more mundane approach with buckets and shovels.
Campanula approached Oberon and asked, “What is all of this?”
“We’re setting traps for the dragons.”
“You think that a metal trap will hold a dragon?” Campanula asked in disbelief. Her sarcasm was thick.
“If it’s etched with magic, it will,” he said with an arrogant grin.
“Why are some of the elves using magic while others are using a more hands-on technique?”
“Both magic and physical strength take energy. It takes more energy to use magic, but it gets the job done quicker. So, they are all taking turns using one or the other in hopes not to tire out.”
Jarrah eyed the long spears lying around in bundles on the sand. Their sharp points glistened in the daylight. It would take at least ten men to man one spear. Not wanting to think about it, the spears reminded him of the broken mast he and the old Chinese man had used on the white sea dragon when they saved Resheda’s life. Regret gripped him as he reflected on the moment when he saw the egg in Resheda’s arms. If he had known that she was stealing the dragon’s egg, he would have let her die. Once again, he eyed a large metal box that held a furious creature inside. He stated dryly to Oberon, “I will not harm a single dragon.”
“We have no intention of harming them. What do you think the traps are for?” Oberon replied with a slight tone of merriment. He believed his plan was so clever, just thinking about it tickled him.
Campanula was still trying to figure things out, and she was starting to think that Oberon was making the situation far more difficult than what it needed to be. “Why is all of this necessary? It would make more sense if Atlantis would just relocate,” she said as diplomatically as she could, not wanting to put a damper on his plans.
“I wish it was as simple as relocating. I have no clue where the celestial sphere is, and it would only delay the inevitable. The dragons would find us.” Oberon added with a sigh, then looked at Jarrah and Campanula who looked back at him a little confused. “Please, I hope that look isn’t in response to the celestial sphere comment. It would take too long to explain it.”
Jarrah smirked, then added, “Very well, and the creatures?” He asked gesturing to the boxes.
Oberon looked at one of the metal boxes, “Those are gryphons. We need a few for aerial missions and attacks.” Oberon looked at his friend and knew the next question to follow, so he went on to explain. “The gryphons would not have been able to fly the distance between Avalon and Atlantis without wearing out. However, they don’t travel by boat very well. Like birds, they need to be either blindfolded or covered up, so they don’t panic or get sick on the way. It’s also best to box them up, so they don’t fly away in a wild frenzy.”
“If you truly are not planning to hurt the dragons, then why do you need the spears?”
Oberon smiled amused by Jarrah’s questions, “I’ll explain on the way. I think I have the perfect job for you.” Campanula let Oberon and Jarrah lead the way as she lagged behind, absorbing the situation, and noticed the spears on the shore. From the looks of it, trapping the dragons was not going to be an easy task.
Pandora led the group into one of the dining rooms, which set on a lower floor in the palace. The palace guards were everywhere trying to put out fires, which refused to remain extinguished. They were too busy to keep Pandora and Selené from entering the kitchen.
“Look, Sel. What do you think caused this?”
Selené entered deeper into the kitchen as Anthony and Seth darkened the doorway. She walked over to one of the many puddles of ooze and tried to fish out what looked like to be the same substance she was analyzing in the archive, but of a much larger size, and it had a spotted blue sheen on top of the metallic gold coloring. Once satisfied with what she found, she took a piece and kept it in her hand. Looking about the room, she noticed the pots and pans thrown about the place, and on the floor next to the oven were two burnt corpses who were beyond recognition. A slimy substance covered the walls as well as the ceiling and floor. Burn marks along the perimeter of the kitchen appeared to have a hot flash quality to it, which captured the position and posture of the people and winged creatures the moment the flash of fire burst. She walked up to the wall running her fingers over the white silhouettes outlined by streaks of ash. She announced, “Dragons.”
Anthony was astounded. “The cooks must have been working when they were surprised and attacked,” he said. “The dragons must have started the war already!”
“I don’t think so, Anthony,” she said. “The dragons surprised them, but these burn marks are from something else. If the dragons had flamed the humans, there would not be an ashy silhouette on the wall of the dragons themselves.” Her eyes followed a trail of slime to an open hole in the wall. The small door that sealed the hole was ripped and bent in half. “Let me guess, a ventilation system. How typical! Nothing creepier than being tightly packed in a small space with no lighting,” her sarcasm had Pandora in giggles.
“It’s much larger than a ventilation system,” Seth said. “There are lights that will activate for you. They have motion sensors.”
“Okay, Seth, then what is it?”
He dismissed Selené’s tone and continued, “I believe it’s more of a maintenance shaft. It runs deep
under the palace and spiders out in many different directions.”
“How far, how deep?” she asked hoping against all odds that it wasn’t going to be as bad as she thought.
“Deeper and further than what I’ve wanted to travel,” he replied.
“So, you’ve been down there before?” Her comment was more of a dry statement than a question, as she looked down the dark horizontal well.
“It’s not as foreboding as it appears. However, if you think the cargo is down there and want to locate it, it’s going to take a long time. Maybe even more time than what we have.”
“So Pandora, you really want to find the cargo, huh?”
Pandora tried not to let Selené’s question get to her, but she couldn’t hide her discomfort. “I gave my word. Do you really think it’s down there?” She stuck her head into the hole a little farther than what Selené had, and that’s when she heard a growling screech. “What was that?” She inquired ducking back out.
“Still want to go down there?” Seth asked half amused.
“I’ll go down there, but I never said I wanted to, or that I wasn’t scared.”
Anthony came up behind Selené. “What do you make of this?” he asked, hoping she would have an answer.
“I think there’s still much to be learned from the golden substance, but at least I know what we’re looking for.” Pandora turned to Selené, waiting to hear an explanation. “We’re looking for eggs.”
Pandora’s serenity turned into panic, “What?”
“The envoy gave Juron a tiny piece of an eggshell. I’m certain he didn’t know what it was. He was too enticed with the piece of gold, and yet, I wonder. Who in their right mind would steal dragon eggs?”
Seth spoke up, “The first captain of the Kinnowwa, the Asian woman. She must have taken the eggs she found to China to show the emperor. I need to talk to Jarrah. I hope it’s not too late. They were planning on sailing off early this morning.” He headed for the door.
“When did you find this tidbit of information?” Pandora’s eyes were condemning him to yet another soundless death. With reluctance, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned back around on his heels.
“Pandora, please. It’s not like that. I just didn’t have time to talk about it. Still not knowing the full story myself, I didn’t know where to begin, but I can say this: I boarded the Kinnowwa before I went to the palace to free you and found out the history behind the ship and her crew. Please, can we go find Jarrah? He could fill you in far better than what I can.”
“What about the eggs? If we can find the rest of them and round them up by the time the dragons get here, the war won’t need to exist.” Her lucid green eyes searched his snake-like face.
“Would you care to handle this one?” Seth and Pandora turned to face Anthony, who was asking the knowledge riddled Selené.
Selené’s eyes focused on Pandora. “Go with Seth; talk to Jarrah. I’ll help you look for the eggs when you are done talking to him. Maybe even find one of the few survivors of the Secret Guard to help us locate the eggs. Most of them were killed off by the Ackrids, but we may get lucky. If not, we’ll start here and go through the maintenance shaft to find the source. Until then, I’ll be in the archive. I must find out what the eggs are made out of. They seem to have some sort of explosive quality about them.”
“What!?!” Pandora gasped in shock.
“You can’t tell me that two or three baby dragons did all of this destruction on their own. They could have, but not unless provoked. I need to know what the shells are made out of, so we are not surprised if they explode.”
“Is this a bad time to tell you that my mother is also looking for you?” Pandora asked regretfully.
“There is no such thing as bad timing when time is something you don’t have,” Selené retorted jokingly. “I guess I will talk to the Lady first. Where do you think I will find her?”
“The last time I saw her, we were in the southern foothills.”
“Then that’s where I’ll start. Just remember to join me in the archive when you’re done.”
The Lady of Avalon was not that hard to find. She was sitting in one of the arch windows looking out toward the marketplace. Anthony slowly let go of Selené’s hand and walked away with Pandora and Seth on their quest to seek out Jarrah.
“Please take a seat,” said the Lady when Selené neared.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
“You heard correctly,” the Lady said reassuringly. She paused a moment until Selené took her place beside her, “Not too many people could have done what you did during the war with the Ackrids. Your sight, strength, and courage helped out more than what you think it did. I called you here to thank you and to give you this.” The Lady pulled out a crystal cluster. It consisted of many terminated crystals of various shapes and sizes, and all different pastel colors ranging from rosy red to soft lilac with an iridescent sheen. Gently, the Lady handed it over the Selené. “These are singing crystals. Once I help you wake them, their singing will help you advance in your abilities.” When Selené went to accept them, the Lady noticed the piece of eggshell in Selené’s hand. “Where did you get that?”
“This came from one of the kitchens. Except for size, and a slight difference in coloration, it’s the same substance that Juron had in his hand during the trial. At least we found out what the cargo is. Juron accepted a shipment of dragon eggs.”
The Lady stood up, all pale in the face, looking as if she had seen the end of the world. “Activating the crystals will have to wait; we’ve got to notify the dragons at once. They will be pleased to know that we have found their precious fledglings. I can’t believe this, dragon eggs!”
“Well, I need more information,” Selené said, unmoving.
The Lady looked at her puzzled, then added, “What information do you need? Please, make it quick. Now that I know what the dragons are after, we really don’t have much time.”
“We have not found the eggs yet. We know where to start looking, but it may take a while. Probably longer than what we have time for. And lastly, what are dragon eggs made out of?”
“You’re in luck. There are only two people here on Atlantis that can answer that question, and since they’re the only ones who know how to contact the dragons, we’re headed in their direction right now.” The Lady said as she took Selené by the hand and walked through the marketplace so quickly she was practically dragging Selené behind her. “I had no clue that Juron had gotten us into this much trouble. Saving Atlantis may not even be an option now. This is not what I had in mind.” Selené started to jog just trying to keep up.
As they stepped off of the causeway, Selené breathlessly looked around, desperate to find one of her three friends she had to meet up with later. Speaking of not having a situation in mind, Selené had no intention of leaving the palace grounds. How were they going to find her? Just as the Lady summoned a carriage, Anthony and Pandora barely caught a glimpse of Selené and the Lady climbing aboard and realized that Selené might be away longer than planned. Selené shot them a helpless look before the door to the cab was closed, and the horses started their rhythmic trot down the road toward the countryside.
“I’m sorry, Selené. I didn’t know we were going to leave the city, but this has become urgent. Shadow and Kajaka said they were going to go straight home not too long ago. I hope that’s what they did. Otherwise, we’re going to show up to an empty home. I don’t suppose you have ever dealt with dragons.” Selené was still wide-eyed with shock and could only shake her head in response. “When dealing with dragons, there are three things to keep in mind. First you stay out of their way. Second, you give them more respect than what you can muster. The third and most important: don’t mess with their children. If you abide by those three rules, they are your friend forever. The first two rules have a small margin for error. They understand that
people are not perfect, but the third has no leeway at all. Even if we do find the eggs in time, war may still fall upon us.”
“That’s where I get a little confused over this whole urgency thing. Why would they still war against us if we give them back what they want?” Selené asked out of concern and dread.
“I’m not sure what dragon eggs are made out of, but I do know dragon eggs are meant to be the ultimate test of the heart. If you have any desire to own or steal one, you have greed in your heart. Therefore, in their eyes, you are corrupt and need to be annihilated.”
“Juron is the only one that I know of who would have dragon eggs. I’m not even sure if he knows what the cargo actually is. Why can’t we just hand Juron over to the dragons? Would that stop the war?”
“I’m not sure if the dragons would think of it that way. They might,” the Lady replied hoping that Selené was right.
“If dragon eggs are meant to test us for greed, then why have I always heard that dragons have a horde? To have a horde is a sign of greed, is it not?”
“I guess in a way they can be seen as greedy themselves, but having a horde is not true for all of them,” the Lady explained. “Dragons live for a very long time. Most of their treasures are gifts, which are attached to memories. Besides, isn’t a greedy person the biggest threat to a dragon’s horde? If you lived for so long that memories are all you have from non-dragon friends and then someone comes along and steals that gift, wouldn’t you defend your horde? Moreover, treasure isn’t the only thing a greedy person takes. Dragons are also incredibly powerful and wise. Many seek them out for personal gain.”