“I’m a fox.”
He absently rubbed his hand over his beard. “That’s interesting. I think it’ll be better and easier for you if you become an earth dragon. I know an air dragon is a more obvious choice, but you already have some familiarity with the earth. You already have a connection to it. If you want to, you can still become an air dragon but maybe you’ll have to give up more in doing so.”
He seemed to be deadly serious.
“I don’t know what the difference is between those two dragons,” I lied, knowing exactly what made each type of dragon unique.
“Oh, that’s not a problem. I can explain the differences to you. I can even introduce you to someone who used to be a shape-shifter.”
“Yes, that’s alright. But just explain it to me very calmly and clearly.”
“Follow me; I will take you to the mountains. Don’t worry about Flora. She had arranged this so we could meet. She knew there would be a big chance you’d go with me to the mountains.”
Bernardus entered a building with a huge wooden door, and I followed him. I couldn’t recall what he had called this building or what its function was. The gigantic hall where we stood now was truly impressive. The floor was made of marble, and the roof was a giant dome made of glass, causing the space to be very well lit. There were several metal doors in the wall across from us.
There were druids all around us, and I had the feeling I wasn’t supposed to be here, but they didn’t look at me once. Sometimes, they glanced at Bernardus like they wondered why he was here and what he was doing here. I didn’t look a lot like a druid but apparently, they thought I belonged here while Bernardus didn’t.
We followed the flow for a while and boarded a crowded lift with other druids. The lift stopped on different floors so people could get out, and eventually Bernardus and I were the only two people left.
“We have to go all the way up,” Bernardus announced.
“What’s there?”
“The border is there. When we cross the bridge, we’ll be in the territory of the mountain druids. Don’t worry; nobody will look at you like these druids looked at me. We don’t mind people we don’t know being on our terrain. These bureaucrats are all too short-sighted and idiotic.”
The lift stopped again, and we got out. We followed the small hall to the left. Suddenly, it turned sharply to the right and a few minutes later we reached a glass door. There was a wooden, rickety bridge behind the door. I already knew Bernardus was crazy, but he didn’t think I would walk over that bridge, right? It looked like it could collapse any moment now.
“I know it doesn’t look very stable, but I’ve walked over it a few times, and it’s still there. It’s sturdier than it looks,” Bernardus said.
Would he also hop over that bridge? If that was the case, I was shocked it hadn’t collapsed yet.
“You should go first. I want to see if that bridge can hold you.”
He shrugged and opened the door. He walked over it without any worry. He hopped and jumped from one wooden plank to the next. I decided to risk it as well when I couldn’t see him anymore and the bridge had stopped swaying. I stepped outside; the wind immediately hit my face. I didn’t want to look down, it was already scary enough. I grabbed the ropes on both sides of the bridge and put one foot on the first plank. I pushed a bit with my foot. I used as much strength as I dared to, but I remembered Bernardus had jumped so the wood should be able to carry my weight as well. I walked over the bridge as I tightly held on to the ropes.
A couple of minutes later, I found out why Bernardus had hopped and jumped. There were a few loose planks at certain points, and they hung askew. If I looked even further, I could see the bridge even had a few missing planks. Why had I ever even started doing this? I looked backwards, but the building was already far behind me. I didn’t want to go back. I had gotten to this point so it would be better if I continued. I hadn’t heard screams yet, so I assumed Bernardus hadn’t fallen down. I released the ropes and jumped over the loose plank. I started to run; I needed to jump more and further at the parts with the missing planks. I ran and jumped but stopped for a bit when I thought the bridge was swaying too hard. Then, I anxiously held onto the ropes until it didn’t swing anymore.
Eventually, the bridge seemed to be kind of safe again. I didn’t come across any loose planks or holes anymore. Now, I walked normally again and saw a building in the distance. I started walking faster. I wanted to get off this bridge as soon as possible. I reached the wooden door which gave access to the building and opened it. I literally fell inside. Bernardus extended his hand to me and helped me get back up. I passed by him, and he closed the door.
“I started to worry a bit. You took a very long time,” he said.
“I’ll never put one foot on that bridge again. I will never do that again.”
He shrugged and pointed forward to a point behind me. “There is a door further along the hall. Behind the door are some stairs. We don’t have lifts, but it’s not that far down.”
I went through the hall until I reached the door and then went downstairs. I quickly got the impression I was walking in rounds because I started feeling dizzy. Maybe it was a spiral staircase. I suddenly entered a huge room where druids were busy with all sorts of things. I looked around but couldn’t immediately spot any other stairs or an exit. I almost bumped into a druid.
“Excuse me,” I murmured.
The druid hadn’t even noticed me, but now he did. He examined me quickly. “I assume you’re not from here,” he said.
His voice sounded hoarse. I shook my head. “I came over the bridge with Bernardus.”
The druid didn’t say anything after that and walked away. I had expected he might have helped me but apparently, he was too busy. Bernardus appeared and walked towards a wall to my left. A part of the wall moved and slid upwards until there was a hole big enough for a person. Bernardus stepped through the opening, and I followed him quickly. I was afraid the wall would come down fast again. We seemed to be standing in a big glass orb. I felt movement and when I looked back, I saw the wall moving downwards again.
“It’s a double hatch. This orb is now attached to the building, but it will release very soon. Hold on tight,” Bernardus said.
I held on to the metal railing on the side of the orb. I heard a lot of noises when the wall had fully closed. Suddenly, the orb moved. It shot ahead with such force I almost fell over. I was glad Bernardus had warned me and that I was holding onto the railing. We were moving too fast to see our surroundings properly.
“This is the only thing we have which looks a little bit like a lift.”
I looked at him and saw him grinning widely. “Are we going up?” I asked.
“Yes, with great velocity. The lifts of those boring cucumbers are not even as fast as our flying orbs. Actually, we have something far better than those stupid lifts.”
“Cucumbers? Flying orbs?” I asked in confusion.
“We call the Capital druids cucumbers. Sometimes, we call them bureaucrats or other things. And this orb doesn’t really fly. It’s attached to cables, but it appears to be flying.”
A bit later, the orb stopped very abruptly. I almost flew forward but luckily, I was still holding onto the railing. I heard a few sounds and a couple of minutes later the front of the orb folded open. We got out and I immediately felt it was a lot colder here. Bernardus pushed a few buttons on the panel next to the entryway of the orb and the entrance closed. I could clearly hear a few clicks and the scraping of metal over metal now. The orb disappeared very quickly. I narrowed my eyes but couldn’t see it or the cables it was attached to.
“How do you return to that building?” I asked.
Bernardus grinned widely. “Going back to The Capitals is the most fun part. You can zip line then. It takes a while before you’re down though. You end up in the tower. There they will slow you down and get you off the zip line. You’ve probably noticed it already, but we like some adventure. We’re not as s
tiff as those brooms,” he told me.
“I assume broom is just another name for the other druids. Do they know you insult them so often?”
“I don’t insult anyone, especially not when I’m talking about a cucumber.” He seemed to be deadly serious, but I was pretty sure he had used sarcasm.
“Do you think Flora is just a stiff and boring cucumber like the others?”
“Oh no, Flora is cool.”
“I had gotten that impression, yes. What are we going to do now?” I asked.
“Follow me; I will introduce you to Adam. He was also originally a shape-shifter but now he’s an air dragon.”
Bernardus told me more about Adam and the dragons while we walked through the halls. I knew most of the things he told me about the dragons, so I tried to take my environment in more instead of listening to him.
It was dark. There weren’t any torches to light the corridors, but I could still see enough. As we went deeper into the mountain it became a bit warmer, but it was still cold. It also became moister. The corridors surprised me too. It seemed like a whole network of hallways and spaces had been constructed inside the mountain. At first glance, I didn’t get the impression I was inside a mountain; I rather felt like I was somewhere underground. I got the impression Bernardus and I were going down, but I could also be wrong. I couldn’t see much, and it was just a thought; for all I knew, we could also be going up.
Eventually, we arrived at a huge space. I could hear water streaming. Bernardus walked on the right side and held his hand against the wall. I imitated him even though I wasn’t sure what the meaning of this was. Suddenly, he had disappeared. One moment I could see him, but I couldn’t see him anymore now. I felt panic rising but tried to remain calm. Then I felt it; my hand didn’t touch the wall anymore. It was so dark; I couldn’t see anything. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me through the small opening.
“Left wall,” Bernardus said.
I couldn’t see him, but I recognised his voice. I put my left hand against the wall at my left. It became lighter in the first hall I went into.
“Right wall. We’re almost there,” Bernardus said.
“I can see better already now. Just tell me which way we’ll follow,” I responded.
“Well, the first hall you’ll come across on your right side, then the second you’ll see at your left side, and then the third you’ll see at your right side.”
I paid attention to the right wall and went into the first hallway on the right. The light became even brighter, and even Bernardus no longer needed to use his hands anymore now. I paid attention to the left wall and went into the second hallway on the left. There was a lot of light further along this corridor, it streamed from one of the side passages along this corridor.
I counted the hallways on my right side. The light came out of the third hall, the one Bernardus and I turned into. We walked straight through the hall towards the light until we were suddenly outside. There were a lot of trees a few feet from each other. It seemed to be some sort of orchard. I looked at the ground. There was a bit of grass growing, but it was very short, it was mostly just sandy ground. The landscape was pretty flat, tilting slightly downwards.
“What’s this?” I asked Bernardus.
“This is where the apples and pears grow. If you go even further down, you’ll pass by a couple of fields. I’ve forgotten what grows there, but I think corn. The crops need to be planted on different spots depending on what it is. Most of the fields are in the south. You can go to the cornfields and the strawberry plantation from here.”
He pointed to a path on our left while he spoke. It seemed to be a dangerous and small path, but it didn’t surprise me after crossing that bridge. He had given me enough clues. They were crazy here and they all seemed to have a death wish. Where had I ended up? Why had I gone with Bernardus? First of all, I should never have gone with him, but I had. Second, I should have returned as soon as I had seen that bridge. But here I was, next to a crazy lunatic who had dragged me into this.
Fourteen
“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” Bernardus said.
He disappeared between the trees. I considered going back for a minute. I was pretty sure I would be able to find the way back to where we had arrived with the orb. But I remembered what Bernardus had said. I couldn’t go down with the orbs. I would have to zip line to return to The Capitals, and I would probably have to cross that bridge again.
I shook my head. I would never ever step foot on that bridge again. Literally. I was here now. It would be better if I stayed here. I just had to wait and see what the future would bring; I prayed I would stay alive. I was confident Bernardus was crazy and was also pretty sure the other mountain druids were as well. But that didn’t mean the dragons were the same.
Bernardus appeared again. I was confused for a second. I had thought he would have called Adam. But then I saw something moving between the tops of the trees. The guy jumped from one tree to the other until he reached the final row. He bent down on a branch and grabbed it with both hands. He dropped himself lower, so he was only hanging at the branch by his hands. He moved his legs and body back and forth a few times and then released the branch. He flexibly made a somersault in the air and landed with both feet on the ground. I inspected him thoroughly, so I knew for sure he wasn’t a mountain druid.
Nice, very nice. Apparently, the dragons also pulled off such weird actions. He could easily have landed in the wrong way and he could have broken something. At the same time, I was actually a bit jealous of Bernardus and this guy – who I assumed was Adam – because of their recklessness. They were so carefree and without worry. They weren’t careful at all. It was a massive change after being stuck in my village my entire life, having to do everything according to the rules.
“Adam, this is Tatiana. I hope you can help her and maybe show her around. You know what it’s like to be new here. I want her to get used to what life here is like before I throw her into the deep end. It’s not an issue if you can’t be at the plantation because of that. It’s still early for apples and pears,” Bernardus said.
“No problem at all. They can do their work without me for a bit, indeed,” Adam grinned.
“Okay, very well. I am going to check on the strawberries.” Bernardus walked down the path to our left.
“So, what do you normally do now if it’s too early for apples and pears?” I asked Adam.
“The trees aren’t blossoming yet, but we still need to prune the branches and water them enough. And the new saplings were just planted last week, so we also need to take good care of them. Work starts when winter is as good as over and when there’s no more snow falling down because it’s too warm.”
“Then you work longer than the people who work on the strawberry plantation. They only need to work until September or October while you work until the end of November.”
“We might work longer, but also start a bit later than they do. We just started a week or two ago while they’ve started earlier.”
“Is the work fun?”
“Yes, of course. I can climb trees and hang on branches,” Adam grinned. “But we’ll continue to talk while we’re on the way. Follow me.”
He went inside the mountain and I followed him.
“It looks just like a maze here, I’m unable to see well,” I noticed.
It was a rather stupid remark, but I was trying to find out if Adam could see better or if he just knew the way blindly. He seemed to know exactly where he was going.
“You don’t need to see that much. The halls are rather straight. You’ll notice if you constantly turn left or right, you’ll be walking in rounds. If you’re uncertain, just turn the first right, then left and then back right et cetera. You’ll end up somewhere eventually. If you end up in the huge cave where we will pass by in a minute, you can wait there until someone passes by who you can ask for directions.”
“I could wait a long time then. I think I know what cave you’re talking
about. Bernardus and I passed through it a bit earlier but there was no one else.”
“Now it’s rather calm, everyone is working. Sometimes you’ll have to wait a while but usually it won’t be long until someone passes by there.”
I was pretty sure Adam was just turning into a couple of halls blindly. We followed a different way than the one Bernardus and I had taken. It would have been better if Adam had followed me because I still knew the way back to the big room. Eventually, he walked straight past a hall which led to the big room. I heard the water streaming. I called Adam and turned into the hall, ending up in the big room Bernardus and I had passed earlier.
“You almost walked straight past it. I seem to know the way better than you do,” I said.
“You were just lucky. You heard the water. But you won’t always be able to use the water as a tool. That is melted snow streaming down from higher up the mountain. In autumn the snow will be fully melted, and it will become colder again.”
“Yes, in autumn and winter there won’t be any melted snow so then there won’t be any water streaming down. But when that time arrives, I’ll know all the ways to this room by heart. Does this room have a name?”
“Most people call this room the central place. I give it another name since finding out what it’s in the middle of it. I had always wondered why everyone always walks to the side and in the beginning, I didn’t do that. I went to the middle once because I wanted to know what was there,” Adam told me. He walked to the side towards a wide hall.
“And what’s in the middle?”
“Bats. Suddenly, a bat flew over my head when I went to look there. Don’t worry though, they don’t attack anyone. Everyone walks to the side because they don’t want to disturb the bats or wake them. During the winter, they hibernate, and they only fly out at night during other seasons.”
“There are bats who drink the blood of animals. These bats are insect eaters, right? Are there any other halls, caves or rooms where there are bats?”
Dragon Dream Page 8