Golden Mane, Book One of The Adventures of Sarah Coppernick

by SJB Gilmour

  ‘All you have to do is find the base of the enchantment, Sarah,’ Angela instructed. ‘Like this.’ She constructed a small enchantment on a piece of rock.

  Sarah stared at it and could clearly see the base of the spell. ‘Quassico!’ she commanded the Magaeic word for ‘break’. The spell shattered. Angela gave a small gasp and lightly touched one finger to her temple.

  Full of concern for a teacher, Sarah gave a startled whine. ‘Are you alright?’ she asked. ‘Did I hurt you?’

  Angela smiled. ‘No dear. Thankfully that was a small spell and it hadn’t been there very long.’

  James chuckled wickedly. ‘I wouldn’t want to be inside Mautallius’ head when his spell gets busted.’

  The group kept going through the tunnel that Ronny was tirelessly digging. Finally, he reached a dark layer of black rock and stopped.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Sarah asked him.

  Ronny shook his head. ‘I don’t know,’ he confessed. He lifted his goggles and rested them on top of his head. ‘I should be able to dig right through this stuff. It doesn’t seem to be any harder than ordinary basalt, but it’s as tough as diamond. I think it’s the enchantment.’ His dust-mask made his voice seem oddly metallic, but Sarah knew it was a vital piece of equipment for him. His burrowing had made them all cough quite a bit during the past few days.

  ‘Let me,’ said Angela. She squeezed past the others and put her hand to the black rock. She shut her eyes and concentrated for a moment. She opened her eyes and turned to the others.

  ‘It’s a spell,’ she told them. ‘It’s very strong. I don’t think a human put it here. It’s something foreign.’

  Ronny looked at her. ‘Well, whoever put it there probably didn’t want someone like me to get through it.’

  ‘Do you want me to…?’ Sarah suggested.

  Ronny shook his head. ‘That’ll alert Mautallius.’ He shut his eyes and sniffed several times. ‘Wait a minute. There’s a crack in the barrier that opens into a large cavern down that way,’ he told them. ‘There must have been some seismic activity here. Not uncommon in volcanic areas. There’s a gap.’ The gnome gave a chuckle. ‘Means whoever put the enchantment there either doesn’t know what he’s doing or is just plain sloppy. Good luck for us either way!’ Ronny put his goggles back on and resumed digging, this time on a steep downward slant.

  The group followed him for several more metres to a large cavern that opened out several hundred metres in all directions. Sarah’s eyes, which by now had grown accustomed to the dark, could make out huge stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling. Somewhere, water was dripping. She could hear the monotonous drips echoing throughout the cavern.

  ‘Where are we?’ Sarah asked Ronny in a quiet voice. Her words echoed softly off the sloped walls of the cavern.

  Ronny looked around thoughtfully, blinking through his goggles. ‘We’re directly underneath the main hall in Troll Mountain. But something’s not right. The barrier I couldn’t dig through before is that roof,’ he said, pointing at the ceiling. ‘This isn’t natural,’ he repeated. ‘Those stalactites should be met by stalagmites from below. Someone or something cleared the floor of this cave. It’s been occupied…’

  James looked around. ‘We just don’t know by what.’

  Angela turned to Ronny. ‘Where have you led us, Master Mason?’

  He pointed to the flat cavern floor. ‘I think this is someone’s lair. Look there,’ he said as he pointed across the cavern floor to a huge pile of bones.

  Sarah stared at the bones and then suddenly realised she was staring at a skeleton of what once had been an enormous creature.

  Mel gave a gasp and raced up to the bones.

  ‘Is that a dinosaur?’ Sarah asked Ronny.

  ‘No, Miss Sarah. That’s no dinosaur. That’s a dragon. That’s what’s been trapped down here.’ He removed his mask and goggles and hung them on a strap on his coverall. He grinned at Angela. ‘Dragons are compulsive pack-rats. I bet there’s a hoard down here somewhere and that’s where your Rufus is. Let’s go and wake it up.’

  ‘Dragon?’ Sarah protested. ‘Another one? Are you sure?’

  ‘All this time underground must have addled your wits, Mason!’ James scoffed harshly. ‘That thing’s been dead for centuries!’

  ‘Oh yeah? When was the last time you saw a dead dragon?’ Ronny held one stubby finger to his temple and raised his eyebrows confidently at the Master of Flora.

  ‘Ohh, the poor thing,’ Mel was murmuring.

  Sarah was surprised to see her friend so concerned about the creature. To date, Mel had seemed to be the most bloodthirsty of all her companions.

  James was looking puzzled. ‘A while,’ he admitted. ‘During The Reaches War, I saw plenty. Too many,’ he lamented with genuine regret. ‘But, they weren’t bones, just dismembered or ashes… Alright, you’ve got me. I’ve never seen a dead dragon look like that. But I know what an old pile of bones means when I see them. That thing’s dead!’

  ‘It’s not dead, doofus,’ Mel hissed at him.

  ‘Quiet now,’ Angela told her, placing one hand on her shoulder.

  Ronny walked carefully around Mel towards the skeleton. His boots splashed through the shallow puddles underneath the huge stalactites. Though his footsteps were light, their echoes sounded very loud in the giant cavern. He came to what appeared to be the skull and bent forward and whispered into the small hole where the dragon’s ear once had been.

  Abruptly, the air around the skeleton shimmered. There, in front of their very eyes, flesh and scales appeared on those bones! In seconds, the dusty skeleton had transformed into a mighty dragon. It was three times the size of Cexil, the guardian underneath Conundrum. The huge dragon yawned and stretched out on the cavern floor. Then it shook its massive head and focused its eyes on Ronny.

  ‘Well, well,’ the dragon drawled. ‘What the devil is a gnome doing all the way down here?’

  ‘Whoa!’ Mel breathed. ‘A diamondback!’ She nodded at James. ‘See? Told ya.’

  ‘Hello, there, Dragon!’ Ronny said brightly. He gave a florid bow. ‘I am Ronald Mason. I’m here with my friends.’ He gestured to the others, who all nodded and murmured hellos. ‘I’m sorry to wake you, but we’re here because we’re trying to sneak inside Troll Mountain.’ His greeting was marred somewhat since he was covered from head to toe in dirt and dust.

  ‘What the hell is he doing?’ Sarah hissed to Angela. ‘We don’t know whose side that dragon’s on!’

  ‘Shh,’ said Angela. ‘He’s doing the right thing. Never lie to a dragon. It infuriates them.’

  The dragon craned its long, long, scaled neck and peered at them each in turn with enormous glowing red eyes. When every member of the group had been minutely scrutinised, the dragon turned back to Ronny.

  ‘How did you get here?’ The dragon asked.

  Ronny told the dragon about their ordeal so far. When he mentioned Mautallius, the dragon roared in frustration.

  ‘Kevin and I used to be partners! Then he locked me down here! He took my gold and paired up with that demon! All this time I’ve been unable to get out! Now you’re going to be stuck here too!’

  Then Sarah realised this dragon was female.

  ‘Of course, Sarah,’ Angela murmured, having read the young Golden Mane’s thoughts. ‘The female of the species is often bigger and more powerful.’

  Sarah stared in wonder at the massive beast.

  Ronny looked at her sadly. ‘Surely Mautallius didn’t take all of your hoard, my lady?’

  The dragon squinted at him. ‘Of course he didn’t,’ she replied smugly. ‘But you’ll not get your grubby little mitts on the rest of it…’ She began to bluster.

  James pushed past Ronny. ‘We don’t want it,’ he told her with a dismissive wave. ‘Well,’ he hedged, ‘not all of it. Truth be told, we weren’t sure who was down here, but we had a hunch that whoever it was, it was someone who had themselves a little stash of something.’

  The
dragon peered at him suspiciously. ‘And just what part of my little stash, as you put it, do you want?’

  James shrugged. ‘Not sure,’ he told her. ‘Whatever it is, it’s got a friend of ours trapped inside it.’

  This seemed to mollify the dragon a little, but her ridges were still raised and her enormous teeth - some bigger than Ronny - were still barred warningly.

  ‘Who are you and whom would you be rescuing?’ the dragon demanded then.

  ‘James Isaacs,’ he introduced himself. ‘Master of Flora and proprietor of Sundew Farms, Columbia.’ Then he shrugged. ‘We’re looking for a fellow called Rufus.’

  The dragon chuckled. ‘And I am Siouxanne,’ she replied. She seemed a little more at ease but still looked at them all very keenly indeed. Her ridges went down and her scales glowed iridescently and rippled beautifully as she moved. Her enormous wings were covered with millions of glowing scales that glittered and sparkled like jewels. She spread her enormous wings out and winced painfully.

  Mel gave an involuntary gasp. ‘Oh you poor thing,’ she murmured again. ‘How long since you’ve flown?’

  Siouxanne peered down at Mel who was all but crying. ‘Why do you care, little witch? Why should it matter to you if the wings of an old lizard like me have withered from years of being idle?’

  Mel reached under her cloak and pulled Jimbo out. ‘I found him after his parents were killed. He was the only one of his clutch to survive… I’ve been waiting to find another diamondback to care for him. He’s sort of been a familiar since I found him.’

  ‘Killed?’ demanded Siouxanne. ‘Who would dare kill a diamondback?’ She was terribly offended by the idea and her eyes whirled dangerously.

  Mel nodded. ‘There was a war on Vendor,’ she told the dragon.

  Siouxanne tilted her head. ‘Was? So The Reaches War has ended?’

  Mel nodded. ‘Dragonkind beat the phoenixes. The Reaches of Vendor are safe again.’

  ‘But a lot of you were killed,’ James added sourly. ‘Stupid war.’

  Siouxanne turned and gave James such a terrible glare that he gulped nervously. ‘Stupid to you, perhaps. It may not be long before you yourself fight a war you take more seriously.’

  James curled his bottom lip and nodded. ‘True,’ he admitted.

  Siouxanne turned her attention to Jimbo. Her jewelled eyes became soft and kind. Mel’s firedrake could barely move. The little beast evidently thought the dragon was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His jaw dropped and his eyes very nearly bulged out of their sockets.

  ‘Oh, wow!’ he squeaked. ‘She’s gorgeous!’

  Sarah padded quickly through the ice-cold puddles on the floor to stand next to Mel. ‘What are you talking about? Why can’t she fly?’

  Mel waved with her free hand at Siouxanne’s wing muscles. ‘Her muscles have shrunk from lack of use, Sarah. She can barely hold her wings out straight. We’ve got to fix them for her.’ She turned to Sarah and the others with a look of desperation. ‘We’ve got to help her!’ she insisted.

  Sarah cocked her head sideways and thought for a moment. ‘Wolfenvald would know how,’ she muttered to herself. Then she cast the thought out to the forest home of werewolves. How do I help this creature?

  It took a few moments but eventually, she heard the voices of Wolfenvald within her mind. ‘There is a life-giving spell within the hairs you possess, Golden Mane,’ said the voices.

  We’ve only got one left. Are you sure that’ll be enough? That thing’s as big as a house!

  ‘Size does not always matter, Golden Mane,’ replied Wolfenvald.

  Sarah wagged her tail and nudged Mel. ‘Give her the gold hair.’

  Mel’s eyes widened. Then she let Jimbo perch on her shoulder while she dug into her satchel for the jar. There, at the bottom was the last hair left. With shaking hands, she tipped the jar out onto her palm and then offered the hair to the enormous dragon.

  ‘Take this, Madame,’ Mel said respectfully. ‘It will help.’

  Wordlessly, Siouxanne licked the hair up out of Mel’s outstretched palm. The effect was almost immediate. The dragon’s entire body began to glow and shimmer with bright gold light. What began as a croaky yawn from Siouxanne soon became a mighty roar as her muscles flexed and tripled in size. Sarah nearly swooned as this happened but she managed to stay conscious enough to see that even though the dragon had been impressive before, now that she was returned to her youthful and much stronger state, she was absolutely stupendous. She and most of the others backed away carefully while Siouxanne stretched and shook herself. Only Mel stood her ground directly in front of the mighty beast.

  Siouxanne roared again and looked down at Mel with a grateful smile. ‘Well, little witch you are rare indeed! We have a task before us, I see. For now and till the end of time, let it be known that you, Melanie Hazelwood, regardless of what you may become in the future, will always be Amixo!’

  ‘What’s amixo?’ asked Sarah.

  ‘It means friend to dragons!’ Angela breathed. ‘It seems young Melanie here has picked herself up a very powerful ally. Like she said, Siouxanne’s a diamondback dragon. That means she’s among the most respected and powerful of all dragonkind.’ She shook her head with awe. ‘I’d feared young Jimbo was the last of his kind.’ Then she smiled with pride. ‘If a diamondback declares someone to be amixo, every dragon alive will fight to the death for that person if they need to.’

  ‘Wow,’ said Sarah feeling very awed. She padded forward to face the dragon. ‘My name is Sarah Coppernick.’

  ‘And I am Siouxanne, Master of Fauna,’ replied the dragon quite formally. ‘You have been honest and restored my strength. So long as you fight alongside with Amixo, I will aide you! I have your friend Rufus. He is held within a tome that I cannot open.’

  Sarah tilted her head. ‘Could we borrow it?’

  James looked chidingly at Sarah. ‘Would you lend something to a bunch of complete strangers?’ Then he grinned at Siouxanne. ‘You’re right. There probably is going to be a war sometime soon and we need Rufus to be a part of it. We’ll trade you,’ he offered. ‘What would you say this tome of yours is worth?’ He looked around appraisingly. ‘Tell you what. Looks like there’s not much to eat down here. You must be hungry. Why don’t you let us shout you a feed while you mull it over?’

  He nodded at Ronny. The gnome nodded back, opened his satchel and began hauling out an enormous amount of food.

  ‘I’m afraid I haven’t any beans,’ the gnome apologised to Siouxanne, ‘but I should have enough to keep you going for a bit.’ He produced half a dozen baked hams and several roast turkeys. He fished out chickens by the score. He then hauled out two whole sides of beef and five enormous platters of roast vegetables. He topped all that off with eight entire barrels of chilled ale and several crates of red wine.

  The dragon quaffed the barrels of ale in one gulp each then belched thunderously. ‘Par’n me,’ she mumbled, wiping her mouth with one enormous forepaw. Then she proceeded to make very light work of the pile of food. At last, after swallowing a crate of bananas, crate and all, she eyed the wine.

  James nudged Ronny. The two of them opened the bottles as fast as they could, emptying them into one of the beer barrels that she had drained dry. As soon as they were finished, Siouxanne, picked up the barrel and sniffed at it. Her eyes closed in appreciation and she took a sip that was several bucketfuls big. She swished it around in her mouth and then swallowed. She opened her eyes and grinned at the barrel in her claw. She sniffed it again and then drank the lot in another huge gulp.

  Then Jimbo surprised them all. He disappeared through a portal. Moments later, Mel’s satchel gave a mighty lurch. Startled, she opened the enchanted bag and Jimbo flew out carrying his bright red bucket of Mexican flame tree beans in his talons. He flew towards the mighty dragon with the bucket and deposited it on the ground in front of her. Blushing furiously, he flew back to Mel’s shoulder and buried his head in her hair.

  The
dragon raised one huge jewelled eye-ridge at the tiny firedrake then picked up the bucket. With one long talon, she gingerly pried off the searing hot lid and gazed gratefully at the glowing red beans inside.

  ‘Why, thank you, young fellow!’ she said gratefully to Jimbo, who peeked back at her then again hid his face in Mel’s hair bashfully.

  The dragon then tilted her head back and scoffed the entire contents of the bucket. Instantly, her enormous belly rumbled like rolling thunder.

  ‘Oh, my!’ She whirled her eyes in appreciation. ‘Excuse me,’ she said and turned her head towards the vast expanse of the cavern. She belched out a huge fireball that filled the cave with light and heat. It blasted several of the enormous stalactites off the ceiling and then dissipated on the wet floor. Warm, moist vapour from the evaporating puddles filled the air and the cave suddenly felt like the inside of a glasshouse.

  James breathed in the humid air. ‘Now, this is more like it!’ he declared proudly. He marched purposefully up to the dragon. ‘Not bad, are they?

  ‘Did you grow those beans?’ the dragon asked warmly. Now that she had eaten, her mood was much brighter.

  ‘Indeed I did,’ the cocky bald botanist replied. ‘Whaddaya say? You’ve been stuck down here for a while, so you’re probably not up to date on the current market. We’ll forget about currency if you like. I wouldn’t want you to think I’m ripping you off. If you need spices, herbs or just more of those beans, I can have ‘em for you.’

  Siouxanne’s eyes narrowed a little suspiciously.

  James was beginning to become impatient. ‘Look, I’m not in the habit of nicking stuff from dragons. I’m not a dwarf! Apart from getting Rufus out of that tome, we also need to get up through your ceiling. Mautallius has an army of about four thousand trolls up there. That’s bad news for everyone. And,’ he added, looking a little embarrassed, ‘well, a couple of our party went ahead to see what was going on and got themselves trapped as well. We’ve got to get them out and have a chat with Kevin.’