Strangely the way he'd uttered that last sentence, as if justifying himself, he ventured to ask:
— Who are they?
— I don’t know.
— What they want?
— I don’t know.
— Why did you get Garo-lin?
The dragon did not answer, and Garo-nan was almost giving up, when he just received another question:
— It is not obvious?
And without saying anything else, Dul'Maojin pulled the reins of the mombelula, causing it to point down and increasing speed to the point where a conversation is no possible.
***
When the sale was withdrawn from her eyes and her feet were loose-so that she could walk on her own and stop stumbling on stones, slowing the way – Garo-lin was struck by the sudden brightness of a cloudless sky. To compensate, since she was now awake, they wore the same cloth that covered her vision to muzzle she and force her to no longer give her opinion about what was happening.
As soon as she became accustomed to the light and could look around, she recognized the place immediately.
Had never seen it, but had already studied much about the mines of the Low Inland Valley, which stood on the border between a great expanse of barren land constantly ravaged by the Nanfan winds and the desert region of the Lost Marshes.There the landscape was different from the green of the Inland Valley where the Vashashis lived. It was drier, much colder, and with large quarries, where two or three mines were still trying to withstand it, even with its product having a quality far inferior to that of the Gran'Otto Mines. This was one of those mines, which had been open beside what might have been a great mountain of stone, but which was now reduced to a ruined quarry.
It was said that the region had once been the richest of Almakia, and that from there came all the wealth that fueled the rebellion against the domination of the ancestor handlers and which until today surrounds the Royal State. But all this great history had become a ghost, wandering desolately through the stone valleys, searching for something that had long ceased to exist. The remnants of that time, and a few ambitious ones who ventured into those places, survived in very poor conditions. Or at least that was what Garo-lin had read in a book.
Although the scenario was exactly like the description, and the atmosphere, heavy and cold as a dead place that insisted on living from a past that would never come back, people did not seem exactly few and far less miserable. The mine operated at full steam, with large barrels puffing with black smoke, and through the immense passages on the rocks, loaded carriages were coming, which soon returned empty. This fact left Garo-lin confused, because, due to the little she knew about mining, the process was the opposite.
They all worked tirelessly, focused on what they was doing, as if they were obstinate in accomplishing a goal. When the small group escorting the vilashi passed, none of them seemed to care and continued with stares and firm movements.
Even observing them for a single time, Garo-lin was sure that they were not souls: if they were, they would not be doing that heavy work. But they were not from any people she had ever seen. Completely different from the people who led her, their skin was much darker than that of Sumerin Gran'Otto, pulling more into the gray, as if they had been made from the same smoke that came from the pipes and stones that covered the floor. However, she soon lost sight of this work zone by being pushed up a narrow staircase and walking down a stone hall and her most pressing concern did not let curiosity about those people continue.
To the two men who took her from where she was imprisoned, three more joined, who remained silent all the way, as if this were specifically their work. The one she had first seen, before she had been hit on the head, held firmly the rope that bound her hands and forced her to walk. The other, who seemed to be their leader, the greatest of them all and with a black beard, walked ahead, clearing the way.In the stone corridor, she analyzed the situation carefully and saw how easy it would be to use her almaki to get rid of the ropes and at the same time burn the one who held her and those who were behind, still being able to attack the leader. Even with them knowing they were dealing with an almakin, it was obvious that they underestimated her and could not even imagine that she had a second-order power.However, her bruises would not allow rapid movements: the pain would not let her focus and might faint just for use a portion of her energy to handle the required amount of almaki in an attack. Under all these circumstances and adding to the fact that he did not know what they intended, trying to be rebel would be stupid.
— Should not we call the others too, boss? – Asked the one who held her, and there was a clear continuation to the unanswered question, but which she could almost hear being uttered: after all, it is the Fire Dragon.
— They're going to Sutoorin now. And do not forget that almakins do not act like us, they have a code of conduct. He will not attack us and we also have the Dark Stone in our favor.
Garo-lin heard that name and looked suspiciously at them, as if he could find something in his foreheads that told him what it was.
Even though he did not know what it was, the confidence the leader seemed to have in that, to the point that he believed that only four more companions would be enough to deal with the Fire Dragon, could only mean two things: either he was extremely dumb, or knew exactly what to do. Of the two, she preferred to hope for the first.
Soon they reached a platform in the quarry, a hole that seemed to have been dug out to have that shape. It was an area of level ground, so that one could walk there smoothly, from a plan higher than where they came from, and which afforded a view of the whole mine if they dared to walk near its edge.This edge was steep as a cliff, full of pointed rocks at his feet, which warned that any fall would be fatal. Unlike the stony ground in the areas where they passed and where those gray workers were, up there the place was practically clean, except for some immense pieces of fallen rock that were pushed aside and spread out random.A giant stone wall surrounded the entire place, as if a giant hand had removed a huge piece of stone and left a misshapen slit. In it were some temporary constructions and a wide open space, big enough to... a mombelula! The obvious thought came to her mind.
Those mines were just south of their village and it was not an easy place to get to, as it was necessary to pass through a region of hills, and the rocky composition of the scenery obviously hindered the way. The most efficient and quickest way to get there would be with a mombelula, and the Fire Dragon had one. If he acted as planned by those people, being above the ground in a driving medium like that, by itself was already a great advantage.
Attacking an almakin on one of these creatures was impossible because of the way they move. So they needed to make room for him to land and lose that convenience.
Thinking about it, she realized something else: how did she get there without a mombelula? Had she been unconscious for a whole trip that could take days, or did these people have some quick way in which it was not necessary to care about geological factors?
— The bird must have done its work already. Let's wait – said the leader, his voice echoing around the place, and motioned for the others to take places that seemed to have already been set.
It was taken down from one of the buildings – made up only of two wooden struts holding up a roof of thin metal plaques – pushed to the floor anyway and tied firmly to a stake.
— Don't move – the man warned, laughing at his own joke, since even if she wanted to move, it would be impossible, and then she went off to talk to the leader.
Now, with the prisoner properly positioned, it seemed that all that remained was to wait for the guest to arrive so that the interesting part could begin.
Garo-lin tried to pay attention to what they were saying, but the distance, the echo, the wind, and the throbbing in his head made it difficult, making the words just a tangle of meaningless sounds. The tightness in his body against the stake increased the pain she felt, making her thoughts mix and become confused.
>
She could not imagine the reason why those people wanted the Fire Dragon and thought they could do it by using it. In their little conversation while they thought she was still unconscious, she had not found anything obvious. They did not talk like people who wanted revenge for something committed by the Dul'Maojin, somehow extorting the family or as someone who wanted to charge something using drastic measures. They looked more like...
— Pirates! She mumbled loudly, but her voice was completely muffled by the gag.
She'd heard about them before. In his village, it was a custom to tell the children that if they went too far they could be caught by a pirate, so Garo-lin had always imagined them as evil monsters. Only at the Institute had she discovered that they really existed, but that they were not the horrible creatures that appeared in her nightmares, but people like her.But one thing was certain: they were thieving thieves who respected no limits and followed no law. They walked in gangs made up mostly of people against the Royal State and acting on their own, or simply had no better option in life than to dishonor things.There were also souls within these groups, those who were always below the others, who never had a chance within the Institute and were conditioned to live forever in a third order.They worked on the outskirts of the Capitals and in large cities like Routes. Nomads, took advantage of the resources of certain places until they exhausted them and then left. They seldom attacked the villages directly, since they searched for things of value and the maximum that the vilashis possessed were their houses and the small gardens. But during the harvests, they made the roads dangerous for those who traveled.
If that group heard that important almakins were in Godan, it was clear that they saw an opportunity there to achieve something.
However, it was about Krission Dul'Maojin. To attack the one who would dictate the direction of Almakia was the same as attacking Almakia herself, and they would have no forgiveness, wherever they went. Even if there was a slight chance that the Fire Dragon would come after her, he would surely be stopped by Zawhart, who would put common sense in his friend's head by saying that go hunting pirates for a vilashi made no sense at all.
So what Garo-lin should do was wait for them to realize that she was of no use and, at best, abandon her, to disappear from their sight. But she knew they would not do it that way and even if she were as insignificant as they were in Almakia, they would probably throw her over the edge of the platform without thinking too much about it.
Predicting her tragic end, she laid her aching head on the stake and let out a despondent sigh, mourning her incredible bad luck... at least she had been able to review her family before all, which was a comforting thought.
It was then that something caught his attention:
— What?! – She realized that something was different from the normal in herself and she began to shake her head to check it out.
Along with the pain, she could see that the right part of her hair was still precariously trapped as usual in her village, all to one side, as she had done that morning before leaving. But the left side, where she had taken the blow, had disappeared, and it was not because of the injury. It had been cut at the height of her ear, leaving only the tips that she saw as distorted shapes from the corner of her eye.
— Unbelievable! – She snorted, only imagining the damage.
It was not enough to have hited on her head, drop her unconscious on the cold ground, to drag her there by tugs, and to tie it up as a pretext for bait. They had to destroy what to her represented her birthmark. Along with her yellow eyes, her mingled hair was what showed to the world that she belonged to the Inland Valley and that an almaki power could not change that fact. Leaving aside whatever the real reason for her to be there or the possibility of being killed by them, Garo-lin began to formulate the various ways of making those pirates pay for what they had done. She was a vilashi with an almakin strength and for the first time in life felt that it would be able to use its capacity in a cruel way at the level of the Dragons.
Her sinister thoughts were soon dispelled by a familiar noise that made his heart chill. The unmistakable flapping of wings and the movement of the pirates indicated who they were waiting for arrive.
Without believe, she tried to look up at the sky, to convince herself that it was not something caused by the state of her head, but the cover of the building did not allow her to see much of anything beyond the stone wall. Then the orange mombelula landed near them, not in the part where obviously it would have been advantageous for the pirates, but near the edge of the quarry.
As soon as the creature touched the ground, the Fire Dragon jumped and walked determinedly as the men waited. The three who had joined them then took something from their belts. With rapid movements, what appeared to be metal cylinders opened and turned into spears, each with a distinct shape and blade. Properly armed, they were in position to attack, just waiting for the moment or an order. The other two, although they also had similar cylinders, only folded their arms, with a confidence that made Garo-lin be frightened.
Unlike them, the dragon did nothing to indicate that it was preparing to attack or defend itself, even with that clear demonstration of the group's intent. He just moved closer, staring at her, as if this concentration somehow prevented him from blowing those men into flames, which seemed to be exactly his will. But getting to her ignoring anything else would not be so simple. A few paces away from where he was, two men stood in his path and made him stop, just as the other three stood back so he could not back down.
Seeing his situation and finding grace, the dragon asked:
— Think you can stop me?
Why had he come? Why the Lightning Dragon don't stoped him?
Instead of thinking about the answers, Garo-lin wanted to scream that it was a trap, that he should not have come and that she can dealing with the situation by herself. But even if he could, she knew it would be the same as screaming at one of the stones around him. Both the dragon and the pirates would not pay any attention.
— Then the heir Dul'Maojin came – said the leader of the pirates, as if he were trying to start a politely conversation.
— If you let her go, I can pretend this did not happen," he replied, showing that he did not care for their hearty welcome.
— Not until we let some details straight.
The Fire Dragon said nothing, just stood still, and the leader considered that this meant he could continue:
— We'll release her if you make a deal.
Far from anyone who seemed willing to make a deal, the dragon replied in his usual friendly way:
— Do you think the absolute Krission Dul'Maojin will make a deal with guys like you, idiots?!
— Then we should make you think better of it? – and he nodded to his subordinate, who just made a quick move with his hands.
Before Garo-lin could recognize the gesture as a maneuver, she felt something slip beneath her head and down her face, curling subtly around her neck. It was then that she noticed that from the ground all around her gushed tentacles appeared from what appeared to be gray roots. They came crawling under the rocks, as if they were squeezed into small holes and now had their own life to go out and obey their master. The one who kidnapped her was surely an almakin of nature, and that explained the unseen way as he had managed to get close to her before and even how he could move quickly without a mombelula: nature's almaki handlers can easily open paths and convince wild animals to help them.
— If you do not cooperate with us, the Vilashi will suffer the consequences.
The dragon looked at Garo-lin, who, even with the threat of being suffocated only with a little more tightening of the plant, tried to shake his head in a negative sign.
— What you want? – He yielded after calculating for a few seconds.
— Guarantees. We want you to join us.
He did not seem to have understood the proposal, which sounded out of every context. The Heir of Fire join to the pirates?
It
was the same as asking him to become a vilashi and to plant potatoes.
— Do not think we do not know what's happening in Almakia, Fire Dragon. Even if the Borders are said to be open, we know very well that this is a lie. We know that there is a plan and that the Royal State is being manipulated by you. There was a meeting on Routes and you were there. We want information!
— I do not know about any meetings! – Dul'Maojin said, and Garo-lin knew it was true, since he had been with her all along the city.
— Do not try to fool us, Dragon! The almakin of nature, who did not keep his pose firmly calm as his leader's, threatened to root his roots. – Why else would you be in a village other than to convince them of something with this false propaganda of the Institute? – The heiress Dul'Maojin and that crazy kodorin are gathering the almakins for something great and we will not let that happen!
— Bohor! Warned the leader, and the almakin fell silent, in a way that clearly stated that he would continue if he did not respect the orders of who should.
— What are you talking about? – The dragon demanded, as if it did not matter to him at all. – What I do or do not do is my business! – Just give my protégé back or I'll have to get her back!
The leader stared at him, as if analyzing him, and then declared:
— You will be at a disadvantage, Krission Dul'Maojin. We know the weakness of almakins like you and we also have our means and allies. Southern Realm is willing to help us. Balance is an illusion you have created and will not last long.
— There is no balance when you proclaim yourself the most important people in the world! The almakin of nature could not keep still. – You have no right to choose the rights of others!
Seeming finally to understand that they were not ordinary thieves, Dul'Maojin glanced over at her, checking, and then asked,
— What you want?
— It is very simple, Fire Dragon – the leader began, using a tone that Garo-lin knew well of the speeches of his masters at the Institute. – We are at a crossroads and the decisions we make now can define what Almakia will be. You are the future of Almakia. It is time to change the landscape of Dominion, to become stronger, to leave aside the tradition of Families!
Almakia_The vilashi and the Dragons Page 21