Tail of the Dragon

by Timothy Reihm

  Chapter 5

  The bird that alighted on the branch cocked its head curiously. Its tawny feathers stood up on the crown as a passing breeze gave them a gentle stroke. The small creature moved toward a succulent red berry that hung above. Craning, it pulled a drupelet from the ripe fruit.

  It stopped, bent its neck, and carefully wiped its beak clean against the bark. As it raised its head for a second serving, a movement caught its attention. It turned and with bright, nervous eyes watched the black head with the darting tongue move toward it.

  The small bird froze, not sure what to do. It stared straight into the other creature’s face, unable to look away. The moment hung, still, like the berry above.

  The breeze came back around on its circuitous course, catching the bird’s wing and causing it to rise perceptively.

  Instantly, the small creature exploded in a cloud of yellow feathers as the wide black mouth crushed its fragile bones; its bright eyes fading to the color of spent ash.

  A knock on the door caused Ariel to start. For a moment, he wasn’t sure where he was. He looked around the room, as if expecting something to be there. He arose, walked outside where three of his housemates stood.

  ‘Get dressed. We’re going on an adventure,’ Gadreel blurted.

  ‘Where to?’ Ariel responded.

  ‘We found something we want to show you,’ Helel answered. ‘Gabriel and I were exploring the gorges south of here and found these incredibly warm pools that bubble from the ground. We came back to get you guys. Except for Raphael, everyone else is in. Are you coming?’ he asked in a tone that seemed a challenge.

  Ariel couldn’t explain why, but Helel made him uncomfortable. He was as friendly as any of the housemates, but he seemed to look right through you, like he was evaluating you. It gave him a nervous sensation.

  However, the prospect of a little excitement overcame his discomfort and he quickly agreed to go. Despite the lack of bright light coming from the mountain, it was still possible to see. The forest around their tree radiated a soft glow that showed them their path, yet the abundance of shadows lent the scene an eeriness that reminded Ariel of the tiny yellow bird.

  ‘Why didn’t Raphael want to join us? Ariel asked the others.

  ‘The bookworm wanted to get ahead on his studies.’ Helel answered. ‘I told him we have at least ten hours before the mountain light returns and an additional hour before class begins, but he wouldn’t listen to me. Maybe he doesn’t like us,’ he continued with a smirk.

  ‘Or perhaps he has other priorities,’ Gabriel responded.

  They walked together through trees so tall and thick that it was difficult to navigate. Luckily, Helel remembered the route well enough to prevent them from getting lost. The terrain became more and more hilly until they came upon an area with sheer cliffs rising from the edges of the trail, which soon confined them tightly on both sides. Now the only visible light came from high above. After hiking for about thirty minutes they emerged onto a rocky opening surrounded by steep canyon walls. In the silence of the twilight they could hear a gurgling noise coming from all around the group.

  'The sound you are hearing is from underground water bubbling to the surface. There are at least twenty pools in this little canyon that are incredibly warm,' Gabriel explained.

  They turned off the main path unto a smaller one that led them directly to one of the pools that lay at the foot of the steep canyon wall.

  Helel plunged right in, followed closely by Ariel. It was amazing. He could touch bottom near the edge and found a rock to sit on, keeping his head just above the surface. The water soothed his muscles and the hypnotic sound lulled him into a comfortable stupor. The two-hour walk had been well worth the effort, and he was certainly glad he had joined his friends.

  They lay soaking in the pool for hours, talking about the walk, the academy, and individuals they had met over their first few days. Ariel enjoyed the conversation and relaxation that the environment produced. He was beginning to drift off in a contented daze when Helel offered up a challenge.

  ‘I bet no one can climb that wall,’ he said.

  Everyone glanced around wondering who would take up the challenge. Gadreel responded first. ‘I’ll do it. Coming Ariel?’

  Without hesitation he assented and climbed out of the pool to join Gadreel. No one else volunteered, so the two of them scouted out the cliff edge alone, looking for a route up the face. Ariel located a thin crack in the side of the cliff that provided adequate foot and hand holds. Ariel led the way, with Gadreel following close behind. Below the others offered shouts of encouragement, which grew quieter as they climbed.

  They reached a small ledge about thirty cubits above the pool. They stopped to rest and waved to their friends below, who were lulling comfortably in the warm waters.

  ‘Do you ever get visions while you are resting?’ Ariel asked.

  ‘I do. Last night I seemed to be some sort of big cat running through a jungle. It was incredible,’ Gadreel replied, smiling broadly at the memory.

  ‘Do you think it means anything?’ Ariel continued.

  ‘I’m not sure. I don’t think I’m going to turn into some sort of tiger, but who knows,’ he chuckled.

  For a moment Ariel thought about describing his vision from the night before, but decided against it. Why would such a violent image come into his head and why did it fill him with such unease? He could still imagine the broken bird hanging in the mouth of the frightening creature. He wasn’t sure what the animal had been, perhaps some sort of dragon?

  ‘Do you want to climb higher?’ Gadreel interrupted his thoughts.

  It was quickly apparent that they would either have to jump into the shallow pool below or keep climbing. They spotted another ledge seventy cubits above that seemed to have a path leading down the gorge to the west.

  The lower part of the climb was easy, with plenty of crevices and jutting rocks to hang on to, but as they climbed higher, these holds became harder to find.

  ‘I can’t find another hold,’ Ariel yelled down to his friend as they entered a section of the climb where the rock was as smooth as polished marble.

  ‘Over to your right,’ came the reply.

  He noticed the small crevice. If he grabbed it and swung across, there was a small ledge that stood at the base of a long, wide crack.

  He gripped the rock firmly, shot one furtive glance down at his friend, and jumped. Just as his feet left their hold, the rock gave way and began to fall. As he tumbled past Gadreel, his housemate reached desperately, grabbing Ariel’s forearm. Ariel swung in a wide arch as Gadreel clutched fiercely. He slammed into the side of the cliff with a thud and hung there, dazed. As his senses cleared, he found a foothold and held an outcropping tightly.

  From above Gadreel chuckled, ‘Are you going to make a habit of this, Ariel?’

  Carefully the duo made their way up to the path they had seen from below.

  ‘That was exciting,’ Gadreel said as they pulled themselves to safety.

  ‘I think I’ve had enough excitement for today. Thank you again, my friend,’ Ariel responded.

  The ledge was about a cubit wide and stretched horizontally to a point that seemed to be directly over the pool. They both sat on the ledge to catch their breath and looked out over the canyon below. They had scaled over half of the canyon height and were now able to appreciate the true beauty of this place. There were, in fact, at least twenty bubbling pools in the canyon, but more impressive were the boiling fountains that intermittently shot plumes high into the air. Each time they erupted, large rainbows appeared in the mist before fading away with the falling water.

  ‘Uh, do you notice anything unusual about the pool where we left everyone?’ Gadreel asked.

  Ariel peered down at the pool. It seemed much smaller from this height than he remembered it being, and it was empty. ‘There is no one down there! Did they leave us? Why would they do that?’

  Gadreel replied right away, ‘It sure seem
s bright out, doesn’t it? We have to go! We are going be late for class!’

  A sickening panic rose up in Ariel. How much time had passed while they climbed? Why had no one warned them? Had they taken so long that the others, knowing the time, had gone back?

  ‘Lets go!’

  They made their way down the path. It was slow going and when they reached the canyon floor, another thirty minutes had passed. By the time they found the pool, the light was beginning to infiltrate deeper into the canyon.

  'The others are probably heading into class right now,’ Ariel observed miserably. ‘What happens if we are late?’

  ‘I have no idea.’ Gadreel replied. ‘Maybe we can slip in the back and won’t be noticed.’

  They decided against returning home for their school supplies and detoured to the river to save some distance. Yet despite this shortcut they were a full hour late when they finally walked through the academy gates. They quickly made their way to the classroom and quietly as they could, slipped into the back row and took two empty seats. Trainer Pravuli seemed fully immersed in a story about the construction of an important building in the south of the city and hadn’t seemed to notice their late arrival. Ariel looked around until he saw where Helel and Gabriel were sitting. At that moment Helel turned around and made eye contact, giving him a small wink and a smile.

  ‘Helel is responsible for this,’ Ariel whispered to Gadreel.

  ‘Come on; there has to be some explanation. What about the others?’

  ‘I’m telling you. I think he planned it,’ Ariel replied in a louder voice.

  ‘Ariel and Gadreel, would you please join me at the podium at the end of class? It is not enough that you come in late, but now you disturb your classmates by tittering like hens,’ the trainer’s voice cut through their discussion.

  The remainder of the period passed by painfully. Neither Ariel nor Gadreel had any supplies and had to content themselves to sit and listen, knowing that they faced a serious reprimand, and possibly worse. Ariel felt intensely ashamed, but also betrayed. How could their friends have deserted them that way? And how had he been that irresponsible to let the time get away from him?

  With a mixed sense of dread and relief, the two friends fought the current of exiting students to reach the trainer’s desk.

  ‘I know that you have a riveting excuse as to why you were over an hour late. And I’m sure that your discussion during class was of universal importance and superseded anything that I was attempting to teach. However, I am a simple trainer. And I prefer to believe that punctuality and respect still hold a place in the Kingdom.’

  Gadreel began to say something, but a withering glance from Trainer Pravuli stopped him in mid-sentence.

  ‘I would suggest that each of you review the material that you missed today in class. You are responsible for any content that we covered. But more importantly, I hope that you take this opportunity to consider your role here. You are important to our work, and if you don’t get that, we all suffer. We all make mistakes, but you need to learn from those mistakes.’

  ‘I can’t believe that we didn’t get in more trouble,’ Gadreel said as they exited the classroom. ‘I was expecting to be paying for this for the rest of the year.’

  Ariel nodded but couldn’t reply. He was utterly ashamed.