Adventure (Dragons & Magic Book 2)

by Dave Higgins

  Edmond looked over at Daffodil. Her eyes sparkled as if she had the same idea. “We could bring the pods from the Green Heart down and explode them near the dragon.”

  Grew snorted. “And it stands still waiting for us, while we do? I have a better idea. We use the frames on level eight to swap the dragon out with something harmless like a mouse.”

  “The frames only change the appearance of something,” Ashley said. “You’d have a fire-breathing mouse, much bigger and stronger than it appeared.”

  “So an almost invisible dragon?” Daffodil said. “Let’s not do that.”

  “What about Dr Mumbo?” Grew asked. “He might not be out of the dungeon yet.”

  “He uses mind magic,” Ashley said. “It’d have the same effect as mine.”

  “Then poison,” Grew said. “The hideobeast stings could kill the dragon.”

  “They could,” Ashley said. “But nothing can penetrate the dragon’s scales.”

  “Hmm,” Grew said, frowning. “There’s only one thing to do: turn the whole dungeon against the dragon.”

  “What?” Edmond asked.

  “The dragon is attracting the heroes,” Grew said. “The heroes are killing the people in the dungeon. So they’ll want to fight to get rid of the dragon.”

  “Well,” Edmond said. “Not killing the people of the dungeon. They regenerate every hour.”

  Ashley shook her head again. “I hide them with an illusion before they die, or shield them with something. Usually I can intervene before someone is killed, but I’m too ill now to be everywhere I need to. Grew’s right, the residents are being killed in huge numbers. That’s why finding Melinda was so important.”

  Edmond blushed. From one perspective, they’d been cutting a swathe of death and destruction through someone’s home.

  “It’s why there are so many undead out there now,” Ashley said. “We can stitch them together afterward... Assuming, someone hasn’t reduced them to a charred mess then danced on the remains.”

  Grew blushed. “Sorry.”

  “You didn’t know,” Ashley said.

  “My point stands,” Grew said. “The dragon is the root of the dungeon’s problems. If we get rid of the dragon, the heroes will stop coming and the people of the dungeon can live in peace.”

  “What part of invulnerable aren’t you getting?” Daffodil asked.

  “I think he has a plan,” Edmond said. “What is it, Grew?”

  “Ashley can slow the dragon’s breathing for a while, which gives us a little time to get close. The roots of the Green Heart are strong enough to hold the dragon down. And there are enough goblins that, if they all swarm over the dragon, their combined weight would make a difference. Once the dragon’s pinned, we use the goo from the Green Heart to fill its nose. We already know it hardens almost straight away.”

  Edmond considered Grew’s vertical hair. If they could get the dragon pinned... but that was a big if. “Your plan still has a lot of holes in it.”

  “You have a better one?” Grew asked.

  Edmond glanced around the group, seeing only blank faces. “I guess not. Let’s go with the crazy plan.”

  Chapter 24

  Oh, Goblins!

  Ashley led them deeper into her chambers, pausing several times to cough. Although, chambers was a big word for a corridor with a door leading off both sides and a set of stairs at the far end. The scent of lavender mixed with damp, and little puffs of dust rose from the carpet.

  One hand clutched to her chest, Ashley pointed at the stairs. “These lead up behind each level. I can ask Grakkrrsh to take me to the Green Heart. But I can’t manage all those stairs any more; which means you’ll have to convince the goblins to help.”

  Edmond swallowed. He was sure King Grork wanted his head on a pike.

  “Melinda, you go with them,” Ashley said. “I’ll disguise you as Tristan, so the residents of the dungeon know not to attack.”

  Melinda nodded, her face sombre.

  Hands clutching her lower back, Ashley straightened and drew a deep breath; then thrust out one arm.

  “The man had skin as pale as a shadow on the moon,

  “A cloak held tight, seemed more to keep the world warm than himself

  “Wherever his gaze stopped, people rushed by with a shiver.”

  In the blink of an eye, Melinda’s appearance shifted, becoming the man Edmond had chased. Even knowing it was Melinda, the black eyes burning against milk-pale skin gave Edmond the creeps. “Won’t the real Tristan mind you using his appearance?”

  Grew snorted. “There is no real Tristan. He’s an appearance Ashley uses to move around the dungeon. Right?”

  “That’s right.” Ashley wheezed for a moment, then let her back curve again. “A fake assistant helps when I want to have someone pass through the dungeon unharmed. You’d be surprised how many heroes have a change of heart and want to leave. I make sure they can exit unmolested.”

  “We should go,” Daffodil said. “This won’t get easier standing around talking.”

  Edmond glanced over. Her shoulders were squared, but her eyes flicked from side-to-side. He made a note to ask her what had unnerved her once they were alone. “Fine. Let’s go. We’ll meet you in a few hours on level eight.”

  Ashley nodded. “Good luck.”

  Edmond took the lead, as much from habit as anything else. He doubted Ashley would have set traps on her private stairs. A short distance later, the steps reached a landing, with a table and chair, a short corridor leading to the right, and more steps leading up ahead of them. Not wanting to visit the dragon, he kept going.

  His chest was heaving by the time he reached the next landing. But the mist curling from the corridor to the right convinced him not to pause. Tired legs and aching lungs were nothing compared to having his movements reversed.

  He stopped on level seven to catch his breath and let the others rest. The smell of rich earth drifted from the corridor to the right. Despite the pain in his shoulders where his armour dug in, the thought of bursting out of the far end and overwhelming a dragon set a tiny glow through his chest.

  Just as he was getting to the good part of the image, Daffodil pulled him aside, out of earshot of Grew and Melinda. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Fight the dragon? No, but what choice do we have?”

  “You know Melinda isn’t your one true love, so why die for her now?”

  Edmond took Daffodil’s hand. “What is this? It’s not like you to run from adventure.”

  “This isn’t fighting a few wights. You could die.”

  How was that different from—? She hadn’t said we, she’d said he could die. “You’re worried about losing me, now you have me.”

  “Of course.”

  He hugged her close. Then, every part of him screaming not to do it, he let her go. “We both want adventure. We can’t let fear keep us from it. Otherwise, we’ll end up running a pig farm.”

  Daffodil wrinkled her nose.

  “If the dragon eats us both,” Edmond said. “At least we won’t spend decades shovelling pig shit.”

  “When you put it like that...” Daffodil kissed him.

  What felt like hours later, Grew coughed. “Shouldn’t we keep going?”

  Edmond broke away from Daffodil and nodded. Dipping in for another quick kiss, then another, he hurried ahead. The steps didn’t vary the way the public ones did. These seemed easier to maintain. What purpose did all that decoration serve, anyway? Was it to intimidate the heroes?

  When the stairs reached level five, Yelash sat waiting for them. His eyes widened when he saw Edmond, but he relaxed when he saw Tristan climb into view. “You decided to leave? A wise decision. The dragon would have burnt you to a crisp.”

  “No,” Edmond said. “We’re not leaving. We’re working with Ashley and Melinda to kill the dragon.”

  “Kill the invulnerable dragon?” Yelash frowned and clambered to his feet. “Ashley must be getting desperate to try
.” Yelash stepped around Edmond and held his hand out to Melinda. “You must be the new witch.”

  “In training,” Melinda said. “I haven’t got much power yet.”

  “If there’s anything I can do to help, ask... Other than fighting a giant dragon, of course.”

  Edmond spotted something on the table where Yelash had been sitting. “You’re writing down your riddles?”

  “Oh, that.” Yelash hurried over and closed the book. “Just a few scribbles. Nothing for general consumption yet.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be a great book.” Edmond shuffled his feet and glanced at the stairs. “We’d better get going. We have a goblin king to talk to.”

  “Grork? Good luck with that. He’s furious since his daughter escaped. That and it’s been so long since another goblin horde made contact, his people are on the verge of mutiny.”

  Edmond raised a hand to Yelash, then marched up the stairs. His legs suggested sitting or strolling instead, but he voted them down.

  On the next level, instead of a corridor to the right, there was a large room. A few zombies staggered around, throwing handfuls of seeds into a low pen. In the pen, short, fat birds pecked at the floor, and—if they got too close—the zombies. The zombies didn’t seem to notice though, even when missing fingers meant the seeds trickled onto the floor rather than into the pen.

  Edmond slowed to a halt and peered hard. The zombies weren’t behaving as he expected. They were feeding the birds, not attacking them. From everything he’d read of zombies, they were meant to be mindless.

  Daffodil pushed Edmond on before he could ask Melinda what was happening; but he slowed enough that she caught up on the stairs. “Did Ashley train the zombies?”

  Melinda nodded. “It’s part of her mind magic. The zombies are essentially humans, just with mushier brains, so she can make them do what she wants. She even gives some of them names.”

  “Weird,” Edmond said. “What have you learnt? Can you do anything like that?”

  Melinda shook her head. “I’ve been trying to control mice, but Ashley says my inflection is wrong and I’m not projecting enough.”

  The stairs ended in another open room on the right. Dozens of goblins sat on comfortable chairs, eating sandwiches. When they saw Edmond, they stood as one and charged. “The imitator! The imitator!”

  Edmond felt himself lifted by dozens of tiny hands and borne away. He tried to struggle free; but, as Grew predicted, the goblin horde were good at holding things still.

  “Wait!” Melinda called. “I’m Tristan Maldorn. You have to do what I say.”

  The goblins carried Edmond into a corridor, either disagreeing with Melinda or pretending not to have heard. At the end of it, one pulled a lever on the wall, sending a section grinding up out of the way.

  Twisting his head, Edmond realised they’d carried him back to the goblin cavern.

  King Grork scowled at Edmond as the horde bore him closer. “Where’s my daughter?”

  “Your Majesty,” Edmond said. “Bess left us in the town above, on her way to an academy to become a scholar.”

  “A scholar.” Grork’s expression grew even darker. “Cut this human limb from limb and display the pieces as a warning to others.”

  Edmond’s mind raced as the goblins pulled him away. He strained his gaze around, seeking the others, but they were nowhere to be seen. “The suitors! I know why there are no suitors.”

  Grork waved for the goblins to stop. “What use is that now? I have no daughter for them to marry.”

  “You’ve been sending out suitors.” Edmond hoped his wild guess was correct. “But none of them have come back.”

  Grork nodded. “We’ve been lucky. They’ve all been accepted and married.”

  Edmond shook his head. “No. They’ve been killed as soon as they reached the surface. The town is swarming with heroes, just looking for goblins to kill.”

  Grork spat. “Damn heroes. Have they no respect for the marriage rites?”

  “They don’t. They’ll keep wiping you all out until there’s no one left. I’ll bet new female goblins would come, if it weren’t for the heroes.”

  “How’re they meant to get here?” Grork asked. “Ride in on a unicorn?”

  “What if I said there was a way to get rid of the heroes? To make sure they leave you in peace?”

  “I’d say you’re a desperate man hoping to stay alive.”

  “You’re right. But I’m a desperate man with a solution.”

  Grork waved for Edmond to go on.

  “The dragon,” Edmond said. “The heroes are coming to fight the dragon. They’ve heard there’s gold down here.”

  “There’s no gold,” Grork said. “Plenty of feathers, but no gold.”

  “So help us get rid of the dragon.” Daffodil shoved through the crowd of goblins. “If we kill the dragon, the heroes will stop.”

  “And if the heroes stop,” Grew said from somewhere nearby. “Then you can expand your tribe in peace.”

  Grork frowned for a moment. “You still stole my daughter under false pretences. I can’t let that stand.”

  Edmond found himself lifted again.

  “Wait,” Melinda said. “Was your daughter ever going to be happy?”

  “What does happiness have to do with it, Tristan?” Grork asked. “Or is it Melinda the untrained witch?”

  “I’m Melinda. Ashley gave me this appearance to convince you. But we’ll have to work together eventually anyway; so either you respect me for who I am, or we all die. You’ll need my magic and I’ll need your manpower.”

  Grork shrugged. “The future is the future. My goblins want revenge for losing the only female in the tribe.”

  “You’re her father,” Melinda said. “Don’t you want to be part of her life? My father tried to marry me off too. I ran away and haven’t seen him since. You want that to happen between you and Bess?”

  Grork drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Not admitting anything, let’s say I don’t. She’s still gone. Crying won’t bring her back.”

  “We know where she is.” Grew crawled between two goblins. “You can send a messenger to her, ask her to visit.”

  “Not if the heroes are still up there, though,” Daffodil said. “The messenger won’t get far.”

  Grork sighed. “You’d better have a good plan.”

  “We do.” Grew explained the plan to Grork.

  Edmond watched the king with anticipation.

  “That’s a terrible plan,” Grork said. “But there’s something else you’re not considering.”

  “What’s that?” Grew asked.

  “Ashley is dying. And she’s the only one that can control that dragon. Sooner or later, we’ll have to fight it. We might as well do it when you’re the ones doing the suicidal part. And if the dragon burns you alive, we can still display your corpses as a warning.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Edmond said.

  Chapter 25

  A Bit Tied Up

  Edmond crouched in the darkness, the others behind him. Being so close to the Green Heart felt dangerous; but after Melinda had smeared them with sap from a plant near the stairs, the roots had taken no interest in them. Hopefully, the dragon would arrive soon so he could put his fear to good use.

  “You ever been part of a surprise party?” Grew asked. “Because that’s what this feels like.”

  “Shut up, Grew.” The quiver in Daffodil’s voice robbed her words of force.

  The nose of the dragon eased from the corridor behind the Green Heart. Yellow eyes stared into the gloom as the rest of its head emerged, followed by a scaly neck. Shoulders wriggling and scraping, then hips, the dragon squeezed through the arch. Even folded tight, its wings dragged on the top. Once through, it strode forward until its tail could sweep freely, then looked back into the corridor.

  Ashley shuffled out a moment later, face pale in the near darkness and both hands gripping her stick. Even with the dragon to carry her some of the way, the
journey had taken its toll.

  “Now?” Melinda asked.

  “Now.”

  With a wave from Melinda, the two roots sprang from the ground beside the dragon, wrapping around its legs. As they did, a screaming mass of goblins raced from the darkness on all sides and leapt onto the dragon.

  Ashley, meanwhile, pushed herself upright and began to recite.

  Edmond heard something about the breath of the serpent, but his heart thundered too loudly to make out most of it.

  The goblins swarmed over the dragon, wrapping around legs, clasping wings, and hanging from scales and spines.

  The dragon shook its shoulders and lashed its head back and forth, throwing goblins off. However, more clambered on; and the soil broke the fall of those it did dislodge allowing them to pick themselves up and charge back.

  Its twitches losing strength, the dragon sank to the ground under the weight of the goblins.

  “We’re up.” Edmond plunged his hands into the sack of Green Heart goo in front of him and sprinted for the dragon, Daffodil a step behind him.

  He let her catch up. If he was going to run at the terrible beast, he wanted her by his side.

  As they got closer, he saw the yellow, hate-flecked eyes of the dragon focus on them. Heat grew in Edmond’s chest as the gaze bored into him.

  His legs wobbled, but he shook the feeling off as imagination and pounded toward the dragon’s snout.

  Five paces from his target, a howling like wind through rafters filled the room as the dragon sucked in a deep breath. Something slammed into Edmond’s shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

  An immense gout of flame filled the space where he’d been.

  Edmond tried to stand, but Daffodil was on top of him. She picked herself up, then grabbed Edmond up in her arms and ran. As she staggered away, a sinuous shrug ran the length of the dragon, sending goblins flying in every direction. Shoulders squaring, the beast tore the roots from its legs and rose to its feet.

  Behind the dragon, Ashley sagged over her walking stick, coughs shaking her body. Her spell must have failed at the last moment. The dragon took a breath as it stomped around. The witch disappeared in a torrent of flame. When the fire ceased, only ashes swirled where she’d been.