Dragon Wars

by Raymond L. Weil

  Jennifer listened to Collin in surprise. She had never heard of this before, but it made sense. It explained how people had managed to survive in their valley and nowhere else. There was a lot about the old world and the Worldfire that no one knew. In the early years immediately after the war, very little had been written down.

  Collin stopped in front of a large mine entrance. It dwarfed the horses, and you could see darkness inside. From the descriptions Collin had read, he knew this particular mine went far into the hill.

  The two climbed down from their horses and Collin started to tie the horse’s reins to an old rusted out vehicle. He didn’t want the horses to wander off and leave them stranded. As Collin was tying the reins to the vehicle, the horses started tossing their heads and their eyes grew wide. He stopped, looking at them in surprise. Uneasily, he looked up into the sky to make sure the dragons weren’t the cause of the horse’s sudden jumpiness. The two horses moved closer together, and it seemed to Collin as if they were breathing heavier.

  “They’re sure spooked by something,” said Collin. He reached out and started petting and talking soothingly to both horses, trying to calm them down. Collin looked around the old mine site, but could see nothing that would explain the horses’ actions.

  Jennifer walked over closer to the mine entrance and tried to peer inside. She could only see in a few feet before darkness concealed everything. They would need Collin’s lanterns to do any exploring. She had also noticed the horses’ sudden edginess. Perhaps it was just the strangeness of the mine site itself that was scaring them. She knew that Collin would have them calmed down shortly. He was wonderful with horses.

  -

  Just inside the mine entrance, hidden in the darkness, Gilmreth watched the young human female. The large dragon stayed still, not wanting to give his presence away. For several days now, Gilmreth had hidden in the cave during the daylight hours.

  At night he rose and searched the valley for food animals. On each of the two preceding nights, he had killed several cows and fed. It was necessary for him to replenish his waning strength before he took on his main food targets, Fireheart and Braxam.

  Gilmreth was deeply angered at finding two more surviving dragons already feeding on the animals in this valley. They would be his first targets. Once the two dragons were killed, Gilmreth could begin feeding on the humans. With the number of humans that were in this valley, he would be able to feed for quite some time.

  -

  Jennifer gazed into the mine, feeling uneasy. She felt as if she was being watched. A cold chill ran down her back, and she shivered. Even though it was warm outside, she suddenly felt cold. She wondered if there was something inside the mine that was scaring the horses. She took several steps backward, feeling as if she needed to get away from the mine entrance. She didn’t think that Collin and she should explore this one.

  “Collin, this mine entrance is too large. We need one that is much smaller so the dragons can’t enter.”

  Collin looked over at Jennifer as she walked away from the mine entrance. For some reason, Collin felt calmer the farther from the entrance she got. The horses were still nervously stomping their hooves.

  “This was the main mining operation,” Collin said. “The other big hill has smaller entrances. That’s probably where we should have gone to begin with.”

  “Let’s try there,” spoke Jennifer, taking one of the reins and climbing back up on her horse. “I don’t like this area. Something just feels wrong. The horses don’t like it either.”

  “I know; I feel the same way,” Collin replied as he got back up on his horse.

  The two turned and rode away toward the other tall hill. The farther from the mine entrance they got, the calmer the horses seemed to become. It was as if they had sensed a danger and now knew that it was receding.

  Turning around in his saddle, Collin gazed speculatively back at the large mine entrance, wondering just what had frightened the horses. Going around a small hill, the mine entrance vanished from sight. The horses seemed almost normal now. Maybe it was just the strangeness of the mine site that had frightened them.

  -

  Inside the mine Gilmreth watched, feeling his hunger rage. It had been so tempting to kill and feed upon the two humans and their animals. It had been years since the dragon had fed upon a human. But Gilmreth knew caution. Humans had created him, and he still feared them to a point.

  Once he was satisfied that there were no powerful humans here like the ones under the great mountain, these would become his prey. Gilmreth settled back down. He still had several nights of hunting to do before he was strong enough to take on the other two dragons.

  -

  Jennifer and Collin were several hundred feet into one of the mines. Each held a lantern and carried a small pack plus a coil of rope.

  Jennifer put her hand against the wall and jumped back as loose dirt and several stones fell from the roof. She started coughing from the dust in the air.

  Upon entering the mine, one of the first things they discovered was that all the wood bracing had long since rotted away. They hesitated even to enter this particular mine shaft.

  “Careful, Jennifer,” warned Collin, reaching over and pulling her back toward the center of the tunnel. “Don’t touch anything.”

  Jennifer paused, gazing into the darkness where their lanterns didn’t penetrate. “I don’t think this one is going to work. If rocks fall when we just touch the walls, what will happen when we bring hundreds of people as well as animals in here?”

  “Let’s check the other mine,” suggested Collin, taking a deep breath. “We have to find one that’s safe.”

  The two turned around and walked carefully back to the mine entrance, being careful not to touch the walls. Reaching the entrance, they stepped out into bright sunlight. This was the third mine they had checked. The first two had cave-ins within a hundred feet of the entrances.

  The two walked the several hundred feet to the last mine. Peering in from outside, they could see that everything looked relatively intact.

  “I hope this one is okay,” Collin spoke with frustration in his voice. “I don’t know where to look next if this one is as bad as the others.”

  Jennifer nodded and followed Collin into the mine. The entrance was about fifteen feet wide and eight or nine feet tall. Two rusty metal rails led inside and vanished into the darkness.

  “I think they used these rails to bring the ore out,” Collin stated.

  They had gone about two hundred feet when Collin stopped with a surprised look on his face. Holding his lantern up higher, he gazed at the timbers that braced the walls and ceiling. Reaching out, he touched one and was surprised at how solid it felt.

  “These timbers are different,” he said as he ran his hand over the wood. “They must have been treated to resist rot.”

  “That’s a good sign,” Jennifer spoke with relief on her face. “That means the ceiling is adequately braced in this section.”

  “Let’s go in farther,” suggested Collin, feeling growing optimism that this mine might be safe. “Let’s just hope these treated timbers continue the farther in we go.”

  Farther into the mine they went and soon the sunlit entrance had vanished far behind them. Jennifer estimated they had come nearly two hundred yards when their lanterns showed the tunnel widening. A few more steps and they suddenly found themselves standing in a large manmade cavern.

  “What’s this?” Jennifer gasped in amazement, her eyes trying to take in everything within her lantern’s light.

  Her lantern didn’t shine to the other end, but what she could see was astonishing. The ceiling must be a good twenty feet above their heads, and the cavern was at least several hundred feet wide. Massive timbers reached to the ceiling, bracing it in places. Along the nearest wall, a number of what looked like small wood buildings stretched along it.

  Collin walked farther in wanting to see just how large this cavern was. After a few minutes, he was satis
fied that they had found what they had been seeking.

  “I think this is where our ancestors took shelter during the war of the ancients. That would explain all the extra bracing. It also explains why the timbers we have looked at are all still intact. The ancient miners must have put a special treatment on the wood to stop it from rotting.”

  Jennifer was quiet for a long moment as she continued to gaze around. There was a lot of stuff lying around in the floor of the cavern she couldn’t identify.

  They walked farther into the cavern so they could see more. As they continued, the two were amazed at the size of the cavern. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the far end. They found several smaller tunnels that led off deeper into the hill. From one of these, they could hear water dripping.

  “We need to bring our fathers here and show them this,” Jennifer said finally. Turning toward Collin, she took his hand. “If we put food in here and some of our animals, the dragons will not be able to reach us. We will be safe here!”

  Collin nodded in agreement. “This is the answer to our prayers; our people will be safe in this cavern. The dragons would never be able to dig us out. With enough food and water we could stay in here almost indefinitely.”

  “We need to move quickly,” Jennifer responded, her eyes looking across the cavern. “The dragons could start hunting people any day now.”

  There was so much to learn here. If this was where their ancestors had waited out the Worldfire, there might be some interesting items waiting to be discovered in this cavern. Jennifer could hardly wait to come back and explore it more thoroughly.

  “Let’s go home. We need to bring our fathers back tomorrow.”

  Collin nodded his head in agreement. This was far better than anything he had expected to find. Now they would have to show it to their fathers and then talk the villagers into coming. That would be the hard part.

  The two began making their way back across the cavern. They had made the right decision in coming here to search the old mines. Collin was sure both of their sets of parents wouldn’t be happy when they found out the danger they had placed themselves in. But considering what they had found, Collin was certain they would be forgiven.

  At the entrance to the cavern, Jennifer stopped and gazed back into the darkness. “It’s hard to believe this has been here all the time. Who knows what we might discover inside.”

  “We will have time to explore later,” replied Collin, reaching out and taking Jennifer’s hand. “For now we had better go back home. We don’t want Jason giving my dad that note.”

  The two continued walking back toward the entrance holding hands. They would return tomorrow with their fathers and explore some more.

  Jennifer felt immensely relieved. With what they had just discovered, they might be able to survive the dragons. She glanced over at Collin and hoped they would be able to survive. Someday, she wanted to build a life with Collin and have his children. This cavern might just allow that to happen. Their future had just become a little bit brighter.

  -

  Back at the main mine, Gilmreth settled down to sleep, his stomach still aching with hunger. It was all the dragon could do not to take to the air and find the two humans he knew were still in the vicinity. The humans and their horses would make for a good feeding. But for now, Gilmreth knew he had to keep his existence a secret. In time, the other dragons and the humans would learn of his presence. Then he would be able to feed and finally eliminate the blazing hunger that constantly burned within.

  Chapter Five

  Andrew, Collin, Anson, and Jennifer stood in the large cavern inside the mine. Andrew and Anson stared in astonishment at what they were seeing. When the kids had told them the day before what they had found, they had found it hard to believe. They were in what was obviously a natural cavern that humans had expanded and lived in for quite some time, as evidenced by the buildings on one side.

  “We never suspected this was here,” Andrew spoke softly into the silence, his eyes looking around the dimly lit cavern. “This is where our ancestors lived during the war.”

  “They must have lived here for months; possibly years,” added Anson, walking over and examining what was obviously an ancient stone oven used for baking.

  “This cavern must be nearly eight hundred feet long,” commented Andrew, peering toward the far end. He had brought several large lanterns, and they had placed them strategically throughout the cavern to furnish a dim light. “It looks as if it’s about three hundred feet wide or more.”

  “There are two smaller tunnels at the far end,” Collin spoke from where he was standing next to Jennifer. “We could hear water dripping in one of them when we were here yesterday.”

  “If we have a source of fresh water, this cavern could be a life saver,” commented Anson, walking back over to the other three. “We could build some pens on the far side for the animals, and rebuild those old buildings to live in.”

  “How long would we have to stay here?” asked Jennifer, looking inquisitively at her father. It was just beginning to dawn on her that this cavern could be her home for quite some time.

  “I don’t know,” her father replied with a sigh, looking over at Andrew. “The dragons won’t leave until they get hungry. That will be what drives them away.”

  “It could take awhile,” Andrew said to Jennifer. “We have no idea how long a dragon can go before it must feed again.”

  “Dragons are supposed to be immortal,” Collin added in a steady voice. “They may grow hungry and weak, but they will not die. They will stay until hunger forces them to look for food elsewhere.”

  “But that might take a long time,” Jennifer said in a concerned voice. “We could be talking about staying in this cavern for months! Will the village people be willing to do that?”

  “Perhaps longer,” responded Collin, putting his hand on Jennifer’s shoulder and squeezing gently. “The dragons might return to our valley several times to make sure there’s no food. At least here we would be safe.”

  “I’m sure some of the village people and farmers will listen,” Anson spoke, thoughtfully. This cavern would obviously offer some much needed protection from the dragons. “It will be much safer in here than out there.”

  “That’s what we want,” responded Jennifer, looking at Collin who smiled back reassuringly. “A safe place from the dragons.”

  “We don’t know how long it might take before they leave and don’t come back,” added Andrew, looking at Jennifer and Collin. He knew living in this cavern would be difficult. “We will just have to prepare for the worst. Anson, I’m going to take Collin and explore that tunnel where the kids heard water dripping. If we can find that water source it would be a big help.”

  “Jennifer and I will check those old buildings out,” Anson replied with a nod. “I’m curious to see if there is anything still in them.”

  Jennifer and her father walked over to the nearest building. Jennifer buttoned her jacket up as they walked. It was cool in the cavern. Not cold, but definitely cool enough for a light jacket. She wondered if they would be able to build fires inside the cavern to stay warm. If they did, where would the smoke go? They would also have to bring in a lot of wood. That would mean venturing out of the safety of the cavern periodically.

  “Collin and you shouldn’t have come in here yesterday,” her father said in a slightly scolding voice. “Anything could have been in here. You could have gotten hurt.”

  “I know,” replied Jennifer, lowering her head. She didn’t like to upset her father. “But we had to find a place that was safe from the dragons. No one would listen to us when we suggested these mines.”

  “You did that, and I recall you mentioning the mines to me. I should have listened, but Collin or you could have been seriously hurt exploring these old mines. I want you to promise me you will never do something like this again.”

  Jennifer nodded her head. Her father was right. That one tunnel had been extremely dang
erous where she had dislodged the dirt and stones. Then there was that larger mine where the horses had been frightened. She still wondered what had alarmed the horses so badly.

  They reached the first building and Anson pushed open the door. It was about four hundred square feet. The door creaked open, and Anson stepped inside as the light from his lantern lit up the interior.

  The room was empty. Several closed doors led to other rooms, but Anson was afraid to go in much farther. As old as this structure was, he suspected it wouldn’t take much to cause it to come tumbling down.

  “This looks like where a family might have lived,” Jennifer remarked from where she was standing just behind her father. She could well imagine a small family living in this cabin. Living here day after day and night after night waiting until it was safe to go back outside. Waiting for the Worldfire to end. “I bet all these small buildings are the homes of our ancestors.”

  “You’re probably right,” replied her father, turning and gesturing for Jennifer to go back outside.

  For the next thirty minutes, they explored the various structures and other artifacts inside the cavern. They found more stone ovens and numerous other items. Many of these were mystifying, as they didn’t know what they could have been used for. It was also obvious that most of the things that could be used for setting up a settlement, such as their village, had been removed.

  “We have to start bringing food in here,” Anson remarked as he gazed around the cavern trying to judge what all needed to be done to make it livable for a large group of people. “We need to go to the general store and see what supplies we can bring to the cavern. A lot of work will have to be done before we can live here.”

  “How will we ever get enough food and supplies for twelve hundred people?” asked Jenifer with a bewildered look upon her face. “There’s not that much food left in the entire village.” She was just now beginning to realize everything involved in moving the village people and farmers into the cavern.