Shaun’s face lit up. It sounded good to him. He quickly opened his rucksack and tucked in. Louis and Ava joined him: with all the excitement they had forgotten they had missed breakfast. Shaun couldn’t help noticing Herne’s face was taut and troubled.
‘It’s not good news, is it?’ Shaun said as he put his arm around him. ‘Just tell us the truth: what lies ahead?’
Herne sat down beside them. ‘It saddens me to say but it would be impossible to travel on foot. You could never survive in that heat for such a long time. But not only that, the terrain is wild and rugged and in places impossible, terrifying and dangerous with the constant threat of the dragons flying overhead. And even if somehow you managed to climb the mountains and cross the deep troughs, when you finally reach their border you would face the impossible task of crossing a deep ravine, and then climbing a solid, sheer cliff face which soars skyward, a towering barrier to their land. If you intend to continue this journey, then you must take Star and myself with you. Flying is the only way to reach your destination and your only chance of succeeding.’
Shaun glanced over to Louis and Ava. ‘What do you think? We must go on: the Great Wizard has put his trust in us, we are their only hope, but I feel if we ride with Star and Herne we will surely perish, if the two patrolling dragons don’t catch us then once we cross their border there will be so many dragons we are bound to be spotted, and as we found out, they are not interested in making friends, just intent on incinerating any intruders.’
Louis rubbed his beard as he pondered a moment. ‘I agree we have to go on, but Herne paints a bleak picture. I honestly don’t know. Even if we manage to reach their land, how would we find a way to explain? As you say, they don’t seem interested, only in making sure their secret land remains just that – a secret.’
All of a sudden Ava jumped up, her face lit up. ‘I have an idea: just stay there, I will be back shortly. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’ She ran out of the tunnel and disappeared from view.
Louis looked to Shaun. ‘What is she up to?’
Shaun shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’ve no idea but she seemed so confident. Let’s just wait and see.’ They waited and waited, and after a nerve-racking hour or so Shaun was becoming more and more worried. ‘We’ll give her another few minutes, then we will have to go and find her: we should never have allowed her to go alone.’
Louis leapt to his feet. ‘We can’t wait any longer. I’ve suddenly got a bad feeling about this!’ he shouted as he strode along the tunnel with Shaun and Herne trying to keep up, but as they rushed around the side of the mound they came face to face with an enormous dragon, its huge eyes bearing down on them.
Herne drew his sword and pulled his two friends back before stepping forward, waving his sword towards the dragon, but it just stood there making no attempt to attack. Shaun suddenly threw back his head and laughed out loud as he ran up to the dragon and wrapped his arms around its huge leg.
‘It’s okay!’ he shouted to his two startled friends. ‘It’s Ava. Look, her wristband. She has shape-shifted. It’s perfect: we can travel all the way with her, at least the dragons will allow her to tell her story.’ He turned to Louis. ‘Go and fetch the rucksacks: we will leave immediately before the sun gets too hot.’
Herne wasn’t convinced. He held his sword high, pointing it towards the dragon. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said, looking up at this monstrous beast. ‘How can a young girl turn into that?’
‘She’s a shape-shifter, a gift all elves possess. She has done it before when we were in trouble,’ Shaun replied as he indicated for Herne to lower his sword. ‘It’s perfect. Can’t you see a dragon entering the land of the dragons? Perfect, but we will have to make sure they think she is on her own. Even a dragon carrying intruders might provoke an attack.’ Louis joined them with the rucksacks. Shaun took out the red and green sacks of fairy dust and turned to Ava. ‘You had better squat down otherwise we’ll never be able to climb up on your back.’ Herne shook his head in disbelief as the dragon immediately slumped to the ground. ‘Don’t just stand there, Herne, give us a leg up.’ Once on-board he sprinkled a handful of dust from the green sack over himself, Louis and Ava. ‘That’s so we can talk and listen to any conversation Ava has with the dragons,’ and a handful from the red sack over Louis and himself. Ava rose to her feet and spread her huge wings to lift them off the ground and soar swiftly skyward. Herne waved them off just as the two passengers disappeared as the fairy dust took effect.
The sky was clear and there was a warm, light breeze as the morning sun peeped over the high mounds ahead. It was indeed a perfect day and for the first time on that journey the three of them were confident that at least they would get the chance to plead their case. But their newfound positivity waned slightly as the two dragons suddenly appeared from behind one of the tall formations a short distance away. As they approached they flew menacingly past, their inflamed eyes locked onto Ava before turning and flying back, one either side, constantly belching out a storm of flames and obviously trying to intimidate this stranger to their land. Shaun and probably Louis, too, was praying the magic dust would last until they reached their destination because if they suddenly appeared it would probably result in their instant incineration.
One of the dragons drew closer to Ava, grunting and making a low, rumbling sound. Shaun could just make out what it was saying, instructing Ava to follow them, and she replied, ‘Lead the way, I will follow. I wish to speak to your leader.’
With that, the dragons flew together in front of Ava, escorting her towards the border. After a long flight without further communication they approached the deep ravine with the towering cliff face just as Herne had described, and as he said, it would have been impossible to climb. The two dragons flapped their wings and rose vertically, soaring up to the top of the cliff face and coming to rest on top of a huge ledge overlooking their secret land.
Shaun and Louis looked on in awe at the unbelievable landscape. They had passed through some strange yet intriguing areas on this journey, but this was something else: a spine-chilling reminder of the life-threatening dangers of their quest. The whole area seemed to be on fire or smouldering with hot gases, creating a blur of a heat haze engulfing the whole land: a truly eerie, terrifying place but somehow mesmerising with the ever-changing colours and shadows as the sun filtered through the clouded haze, washing the mountain tops with spectacular effect. Without warning, one of the dragons took off and Ava responded, gliding off the ledge in pursuit with the other dragon following behind.
Finally after a long, arduous journey through seething heat and suffocating acid fumes, they approached a yawning chasm running between two mountain ranges, and they came to rest on a rocky outcrop overlooking the abyss. Sheer, rugged cliff walls rose majestically from the base with caves and recesses on both sides, all with a ledge protruding from their entrances. Again the two dragons were communicating with Ava and one by one they swept off the rocky outcrop and swooped down, twisting and turning. Shaun felt his stomach do somersaults, the same feeling he experienced when on a scary ride at the funfair. As they continued to descend the two dragons were sending out a strange, loud, high-pitched squeal, and to Shaun’s relief finally came to rest on the floor below. Shaun and Louis were just recovering from the ride when the whole area between the mountainsides was filled with the deafening sound of the squealing which was loud enough to burst their eardrums, and they both put their hands over their ears and buried their heads into the back of Ava. But worse was to come as they glanced up to see a dragon emerge from each of the caves. They stood on their ledges continuing to squeal, and all together they glided off their ledge and swept down to land, completely surrounding the intruders.
Slowly the dragons directly in front of Ava opened up to allow one of the dragons at the back to move forward. It was much larger than the others, a monstrous beast that shook the ground as it thudded its way towards her and came to a stop a few metres away, its huge, evil, red eyes
bearing down on this unwelcome intruder.
‘Where have you come from and why do you enter our land?’ it bellowed in a harsh, growling tone.
‘I have travelled from the other side of Colgilor to seek your help,’ Ava replied nervously.
‘Our help?’ boomed the dragon. ‘Why would you need our help, and why should we oblige?’ But before Ava could answer, Shaun and Louis suddenly materialised and the whole area erupted as the dragons started squealing again, followed by blasts of flames shooting up into the air. The heat was so intense it was like being in a furnace. Shaun knew they were in trouble as the leader shuffled closer, its eyes flashing, its huge tail thrashing from side to side, and its gigantic claws raised menacingly towards them.
Shaun jumped up onto his feet, bravely raising his hand. ‘Please listen to what we have to say. We come in peace: we have travelled a long way to seek your help.’
Just then there was a voice from the crowd. ‘Let them explain. I know these beings: we have met before. They risked their lives to save me.’
‘Yes,’ cried another. ‘This is my offspring. It is true what he has said and I carried them on their journey to the Land of the Dwarfs. There is no evil in them.’ He moved closer. ‘There was another with you, a young elf. Has she not travelled here with you?’
Shaun whispered to Ava. ‘I think it’s time you showed yourself. I think we are safe now.’ She responded, lifting her tail up beside Shaun and Louis. They climbed onto it and she gently levered them down onto the ground. Shaun turned to the dragon leader. ‘This is the young elf: she has shape-shifted into a dragon, as we thought we would have more chance of speaking with you arriving with her.’
Slowly Ava sank to the ground and gradually transformed back to herself as the whole crowd watched in deathly silence. The leader looked down on the three tiny beings. ‘It is in your favour that you helped one of us, so your lives will be spared but you will not be allowed to leave our land: it is a secret and sacred place and must be kept so.’
‘But we must return,’ Shaun said. ‘The Great Wizard sent us on this journey. We will carry out his building with or without your help.’ This only succeeded in incensing the dragon leader. His fiery eyes, blazing in anger, sent out a blast of flames in their direction, but, quick as a flash, Shaun whipped out the hammer and pulled Louis and Ava close to him. Just before the flames reached them, the hammer emitted the golden spray of magic dust which encircled them, forming a golden shield and the flames bounced off. Before the leader could attack again, the sun disappeared behind a huge bank of black clouds which quickly flooded the sky and the sound of the thunder echoed through the valley as forked lightning discharged, crashing down all around the startled dragons, and torrential rain swept over them, something they had never before experienced. And to Shaun’s surprise and puzzlement his gold ring was oscillating and sending out a golden ray of light which flooded the mountainside opposite. As quickly as the change arrived, it suddenly cleared away and the sun reappeared. The golden ray of light started swirling in a strange, eerie movement which seemed to lure the attention of all of the dragons, their eyes totally locked onto the mountainside as though mesmerised. Slowly the golden light faded and to Shaun’s amazement the face of the Great Wizard appeared.
‘You must listen carefully to what I have to say.’ His voice was loud and commanding. ‘Our land is in great danger and we need your help. The evil Wizard is gathering a huge army and has been joined by other evil sorcerers: their combined magical powers make them very, very dangerous, not only to our area of Colgilor, because if he succeeds in conquering us he will surely take over your land.’
‘I hear what you say but how can we help?’ said the leader.
‘In order to defeat the evil Wizard we need the magic legendary weapons created by the Dwarfs for the gods, and we know they are lying at the bottom of the valley of fire inside the gods’ magic ships the Skioblaonir.’
‘Yes, I know the place: we call it the prohibited area, as our ancestors were warned they must not enter that part of our land otherwise the gods would cause death and destruction on us all. But even if we agreed, how could these three tiny beings recover the ship? It is said that the valley is a raging inferno: we could not survive in that heat, they would shrivel up before they even entered the valley.’
‘Don’t be deceived by their appearance. The boy Shaun has great powers, as you have just witnessed. He even possesses the Great God Thor’s magic hammer: he could destroy your land, but he has come in peace to ask for your help. Do you think the gods would want their beautiful land of Colgilor to fall into the hands of evil? No, they would want you to assist us. If they didn’t, they would surely prevent us taking their ship and weapons, would they not?’
‘I suppose, but how could we help when we are not allowed to enter that prohibited area?’
‘Although we know the name of the valley, they have no idea how to get there and what dangers they might have to face. If you would make sure they arrived there safely, they will do the rest.’
‘Very well,’ replied the leader, ‘but on one condition: if you are successful, which I very much doubt, but you somehow recover the boat and its contents, two of our dragons must accompany them back to your land and remain with the boat until you have won your battle and return the boat back to its resting place here in the flaming valley.’
Shaun stepped forward. ‘Yes, I give you my word. I will return with the boat once we have succeeded, and would it be possible to have our two dragon friends to escort us?’
The leader turned to the crowd. ‘Are you both willing to travel with them back to their land if they succeed?’
‘Yes,’ said the mother, ‘it will be an honour for me and my offspring and we would look forward to visiting our old mountain cave where we first met our small friends. We would also like to carry them to the boundary of the prohibited area, if they agree.’
‘It is decided, then, and maybe this can help heal the wounds between us. It has been too long since we had the freedom to fly anywhere in Colgilor without being hunted by the Dwarfs.’
‘Yes, I agree,’ replied the Great Wizard. ‘I give you my word. I will speak with the Dwarfs. As you say, it has been so long ago most of them don’t even know why you are their enemy. Shaun, once you have retrieved the boat, bring it back to my cave and the two dragons can stay with me: they will be safe there. And you, leader of the dragons, you will all be welcome to visit our land once we have rid ourselves of the evil element and peace once again has been restored. Some of the old caves your ancestors used are still there: you will have the freedom to come and go as you please.’ With that, the Great Wizard raised his caduceus as a gesture of friendship before his image slowly faded from the mountainside.
The leader looked to Shaun. ‘You will have to be very careful when you enter the prohibited area: not only is it dangerous with treacherous terrain, it was also said by our ancestors that the gods placed some terrifying monsters to patrol the area to make sure that no creature or being that entered would survive.’
‘Thank you for your advice,’ replied Shaun. ‘We will make sure we are on our guard throughout the journey and we will speak with you again when we have completed our task.’ The two dragons pushed their way to the front and Shaun helped Louis and Ava to climb on-board the young dragon before scrambling up behind them. They shuffled, trying to make themselves comfortable as the crowd opened up, allowing the mother to move forward, plodding down the valley with its offspring and its three passengers close behind. They were seen soaring skyward and gliding over the clifftop of the mountain range. The landscape was constant throughout the journey, mountainous with deep gorges and ravines all shrouded in an ever-swirling haze and the suffocating, pungent gases making it difficult for them to breathe.
Finally they came to rest at the foot of a mountainous wall rising vertically and disappearing into the soft folds of the haze above. The wall continued in both directions, forming an impregnable fortress.<
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‘This is it,’ said the dragon. ‘This is the forbidden area our leader spoke of: we were all brought here when we are young and told of the dangers both to ourselves and to our area of this land. If we venture inside: total destruction.’
Shaun gazed skyward. ‘Is there no way we can enter? How high are these walls?’
‘Too high: no one has ever tried, but it was said there was an opening around the other side, but we have never seen it.’
‘Then we must go and take a look. Can you take us around there or do we have to go on foot?’
The dragons looked at each other. ‘I can’t see why we shouldn’t as long as we don’t enter: we won’t be breaking our pledge.’ They set off flying a few metres above the ground, trying to stay below the worst of the haze. The wall seemed unending as they flew further and further on: it was indeed impregnable. But as they swept around a bend they came upon a strange sight: set in the wall was a huge archway with rugged rock pillars either side of a curtain of fierce, scorching flames throwing out plumes of hot gases. The dragons came to rest a few metres away. ‘I think we should turn back: there is no way anything could survive passing through those flames. I’m afraid this has been a wasted journey, but I’m sure the Great Wizard will understand.’
‘We are not about to give up yet,’ said Shaun. ‘Lower us down onto the ground while I think.’ Louis shook his head. ‘I hate to say this but the dragon’s right, you can feel the intense heat from here. We would shrivel up before we even got anywhere near.’ Ava nodded in agreement, a sad, disappointed expression on her face.
But Shaun as usual was undeterred: he moved slowly forward and, raising his gold ring towards the flames before closing his eyes, Ava and Louis cried out with glee as the flames began to slowly die down, but just before they were totally extinguished there was a flash of light and the flames shot back up, burning even more savagely.
Shaun pondered a moment before a grin tagged at the corners of his mouth. Louis glanced at Ava, shaking his head: they both knew Shaun wouldn’t give up and this grin indicated he’d come up with an idea, probably a dangerous one at that. Shaun opened his rucksack and lifted the silk shroud the Grey Elf had given him.
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