Fate of Thorik
Page 17
High overhead, Draq arched his long scaled neck as he made a quick turn to the left while flying over the forest beyond the lake. He had been scouting for several hours in search of signs of danger but found the valley to be peaceful. His trained eyes worked their way back and forth to ensure he had not missed anything before he turned to head back.
Once he made this decision he straightened out his body and leaned his head slightly down, increasing his speed. His wings flapped hard before he tucked them in back to stabilize his flight as he shot like an arrow across the valley. The angle of his descent had him heading near the bridge at the mouth of the river. He was uncannily fast.
From the air, it would have looked as though Draq was to crash into the river just before the bridge as he rapidly approached it. With ever increasing speed, he pulled up just far enough to rocket his way under the bridge and out over the lake where he glided mere inches from the calm water, twirling the layer of mist above it.
Craning his neck to improve his streamline shape, he lowered himself into the water. The massive speed and his aerodynamic features allowed a smooth entry into the water with nothing more than a ripple.
Flying underwater was slower than in the air, but Draq was just as graceful. Turning and gliding like a giant manta, his only limitation was how long he could hold his breath while searching for food. Fortunately he didn’t have to test his endurance as he spotted a three-foot long toothfish. It darted quickly to the side as Draq flew by him on his first pass. The chase was on.
Diving down after the fish, Draq performed an underwater ballet of twists and turns, racing around ancient columns and arches. Frightening away schools of smaller fish during his pursuit, he turned quickly to avoid parts of the Mountain King statue’s face, as it rested on the lake’s bottom. It was at that point where he captured his prey and bolted to the surface for air.
Thrusting his body out of the lake with his meal in his strong jaws, his wings quickly shed their water. Spreading his wings back out to full length, he flew up toward the headless Mountain King, finally landing and eating his dinner on the empty neck of the statue. He was able to view the entire valley from that vantage point as watched Ambrosius pass the boat docks near the city.