The True Dragon

by Andy Holland

  Chapter 16: Failure

  Perak watched in fury as John disappeared into the darkness. The boy was meant to die by his hand, preferably slowly and painfully, not by merely falling to his death. A second after John fell Perak heard a soft thud and a gasp of pain, followed by a sickening crunch. Was that fall high enough to kill him? He couldn’t tell, unable to see the bottom, but before he could fetch his torch to illuminate the hole, he heard a loud and ominous rumble from the chamber below, as if something large and heavy was being moved. This was the Circle of Death, so something large and heavy could be something very unpleasant and Perak shrank back from the hole in alarm. But the sound stopped as suddenly as they had begun and when the echoes had faded the hidden city was once again silent. Perak remained pressed against the circular wall, not even daring to breathe as he listened intently for any signs of life from below. He stood frozen against the wall for a long time, but he heard nothing, no True Dragon and more importantly, no John. Perak straightened himself, regaining his composure and setting his mind back to his task. Whatever was down there, he had to know what had happened to John. He hurried to where he had left the torch on the wall and used it to light a second one from his backpack, which, now feeling confident he was safe, he held aloft over the edge of the railing, lighting up the hole below. The drop was considerable, definitely enough to have killed John, but there was still the possibility that he could have survived. His eyes scanned the floor, and to his dismay, John was nowhere to be seen! That fall should have at least caused him serious injuries, enough to stop him escaping, but he had evidently been well enough to start moving and to catch him, Perak would have to climb down into this hole. If this chamber led to the outside, with the head start John had it was plausible that he could get away. He should never have waited for so long to move!

  Perak's panic subsided quickly. If John had moved, it meant that he was still alive and Perak could still kill him himself. He wouldn't have escaped that fall unharmed and therefore wouldn't be able to move quickly. Just as before, Perak would be able to track him and eventually, put an end to him once and for all. He just needed to remain calm and focus on getting down there. First of all, he needed to light up the cavern below to determine how he would climb down. He had a length of light rope in his backpack, which wasn't strong enough to carry his weight, but could be used to lower a torch into the cavern. As he lowered the torch, he realised that there was a huge black Dragonstone directly beneath them, presumably the reason for the existence of this room. Judging from where John jumped, he must have hit this stone on the way down, breaking his fall. Perak could see that the dust had been disturbed but couldn't work out which way John had gone. Then he gasped in horror: directly beneath him was a sleeping True Dragon, its nose just metres from the dangling torch! How had he not seen this before?

  Perak instinctively began to pull the torch up but quickly stopped himself, realising that he still needed to know what had happened to John. The creature appeared to be asleep, and if he were very quiet, he would be able to stay and watch for a while longer. Besides, the True Dragon was far too large to get through the opening into the building above, so even if it did wake he should be able to escape quite safely.

  He tied the rope to the railings, keeping the torch dangling above the sleeping True Dragon, and lowered his head over the edge to look at the creature. The light from the torch was insufficient to tell which of the monsters this one was. It definitely wasn't the black one, that beast was unmistakeable, which would suggest the green one, but somehow it didn't look quite right. Either way, the creature was enormous, and Perak was very glad that it was asleep. Perak looked at the floor around the chamber and saw that the dust looked undisturbed all around the beast, suggesting that it had probably lain asleep in this spot for some time. John was nowhere to be seen, yet he must have landed right next to the dragon if not on its head. The creature stirred slightly, opening its jaws slightly to reveal a vicious-looking set of razor sharp teeth before snapping its jaws shut again. Perak shivered involuntarily. That thing must have killed John. There were no tracks leading away from where he would have landed, and if he had landed on the creature, which seemed very likely, it wouldn’t have taken much effort for it to kill him. It could have even done so in its sleep. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became to him. John was already dead.

  Blue flames flickered out of the True Dragon’s nostrils as it snored quietly. There might be a way out of the city through that chamber, in fact, he was certain that there would be, but trying to get past the creature would be suicidal. He would have to find another way out. Perak carefully pulled himself back up and retrieved the torch he had lowered into the hole. He extinguished it immediately and retrieved the other from where he had hung it on the wall by the entrance. He would have to ration the wood if it was to last long enough for him to find a way out of this city. He felt disappointed that he had not killed John himself, but it was fitting that he was killed by one of those monsters. These were the very creatures that John had used to destroy the Blue Dragon army, and now, by pursuing John into that hole, Perak had used one of those creatures to kill him. Yes, he could and still would claim responsibility for his death. It was just a shame that he didn’t have his head to prove it.

  Perak had no time to dwell on this. He retraced his steps out of the building and back into the streets. The torch that John had hung by the entrance had finally burnt away, and the only light was from the one that he carried. It would have to be enough. He had carefully memorised the map while he waited for John to arrive and had a good idea how to get out. There were three possible exits, one of which wasn't far from here and he intended to waste no time getting there. He hurried through the dark streets, sticking to the wider main roads to avoid getting lost in the narrow side streets and heading towards what had been marked as the southern entrance on the map. This was the nearest and also the most promising of the three possible exits. Although focussed on getting out, this deserted city intrigued him. Blue Dragon tradition demanded the immediate destruction of all conquered towns and cities, so the only ancient cities he had seen were the great cities of the North East, from where the Blue Dragon race originated. Even they didn't look that old though; any buildings that fell into disuse were pulled down and replaced with newer, better buildings. Few buildings were more than a few hundred years old. But this whole city was much older than that, perhaps over a thousand years old and had been left untouched for hundreds of years. Many of the buildings were crumbling, but then again, many were not and had stood the test of time much better than he could have expected. He had little knowledge of Worm Dragons, a collection of races that posed little threat and almost no opportunity, living where they were safe from Blue Dragon attacks, but it appeared that they were skilled builders and much could be learnt from them. Other Blue Dragons might be horrified to hear this idea, but then again few were as pragmatic or as visionary as he was, which was why he was so clearly destined to lead them. Studying these ancient structures could reveal how to perfect their own buildings, still staying faithful to their design concepts but making use of the Worm Dragon's techniques wherever it made sense to do so.

  But Perak had little time to admire their handiwork. He wanted to be out before sunrise so he could join his comrades and fly back together. He jogged towards the southern edge of the city, covering the distance in good time but when he arrived, he immediately realised that it had been a wasted journey. The southern gate had collapsed, possibly deliberately, so there was no way through the thousands of tonnes of rock that stood between him and the way out. He fumed quietly for a moment, weighing up his options. There were two other exits that he had considered, the East and West entrances, but if this tunnel had been deliberately collapsed the others may have been as well. Jerome had indicated that the Worm Dragons believed that there was only one entrance so it would make sense for them to have collapsed the other two as well, leaving just the Northern Entrance that John had colla
psed.

  But Perak refused to believe that he could be stuck in here. It made little sense to build the city in a way which allowed them to get trapped like this, even if they could dig their way out they would want to be able to evacuate quickly if they needed to, in the event of an invasion or a damaging earthquake. There must be other ways out, ones that would be hidden. He closed his eyes and thought back to the picture of the map. Where would he put a hidden exit? Two places sprang to mind, one that wouldn't be far from here, in the south east of the city. There was a large number of buildings that were uniform in design in that area, and he suspected were residential in nature. If this were a Blue Dragon city, he would want to be able to evacuate that area quickly. In the centre of that area was a large open space which could have served well as a gathering point, so logically any exit would need to be near there. Yes, he would try that spot first!

  Perak hurried through the streets in what he assumed was the right direction, relying on his exceptional memory to navigate his way. He really had to move quickly now as he didn't have a lot of time before he ran out of wood for torches and then he would be trapped in the darkness. There was a sudden change in the nature of the buildings, going from grand, multi-story buildings that varied in appearance from building to building, to a series of almost identical, two-story buildings that were much more modest in design. As expected, this appeared to be a residential area. The streets were arranged in a grid, and it was easy to navigate through them to the open space he recalled from the map. When he reached there, he could see the cave walls that marked the city limits. It was hard to believe a space as vast as this was underground. He stopped to change torches, lighting a fresh one from the dwindling one that he was carrying and then held it high above his head to illuminate the area in front of him. It was hard for him to work out what this space was for. Perhaps it had been a marketplace or something similar, or maybe it had been left open to allow people to congregate before evacuating if necessary. He hoped that was the case and began to examine the cave wall, searching for signs of a hidden exit. A series of small buildings were grouped together next to the edge of the wall, low, inconspicuous structures that stood out only in their location, being the first buildings that he had seen that were built against the cave wall. He jogged over to take a closer look. They were all quite small and looked like they were probably used for storage, although of what he couldn't tell as they had been unused for hundreds of years. He stuck his head through the empty doorway of one to have a better look. It was empty, just a storage shed. He looked at two more identical buildings and was tempted to give up before trying a fourth one, which is where his luck returned to him. At the back of the room, there was what resembled a storage closet, but the door looked out of place, and Perak instinctively knew that this was one of their hidden exits. The closet door was unlocked, and although it was very stiff, Perak was able to pull it open. Just as he had predicted, there was a hidden tunnel behind! Without any hesitation he rushed through the door, excited to get out. However, he hadn't travelled more than twenty minutes when he was forced to stop. The tunnel roof had collapsed, and although there was no way he could be sure, Perak was convinced that this collapse was unintentional. It could have been possible to dig through, but if the tunnel was unstable, it could easily collapse on him, trapping him forever. He paused for no more than five seconds before turning around and running back out. Perak could have been downcast, but instead, he was now even more focussed than before. This route may have been closed off, but he was sure that the tunnels had collapsed naturally, rather than having been deliberately sealed. There was another very similar place in the city, and it was bound to have evacuation tunnels there, and now, he knew where to look. He changed torches again, now down to his last one, but he wasn't concerned. It would last long enough for him to get to the other side of the city and find the tunnels and once there, nothing would stop him getting out.

  He set off in a jog, his footsteps ringing out across the deserted city. He could have tried to muffle the sound but there was no one here to hear him, and he would be doing it out of habit alone. He passed many strange and unfamiliar buildings, but any interest in the abandoned city had now passed, he was only eager to get out of here and rejoin his men. He quickened his pace a little, noticing that the torch was burning faster than he thought it would. Before long he reached the other clearing and headed straight for the cave wall, looking for the storage buildings that sure enough, were lined up against the wall. It didn't take long before he found an almost identical building to the one in the other clearing, with a tunnel entrance at the back. Opening the tunnel door, he noticed that the air smelt distinctly fresher: was this a sign that this tunnel led to the way out? He didn't hesitate to find out, charging straight ahead into the dark tunnel. Just after he started running a flicker of pain caused him to drop the torch as the flames finally reached his hand, the wood almost completely burnt away. He paused momentarily, deciding what to do. He couldn't use it as a torch any longer, but the tunnel was quite straight, and light from the dying flames would carry for some distance. He had no other option anyway, so he carried on, heading into the darkness. He sprinted along the tunnel, hoping that he wouldn't be caught by a low hanging rock but knowing that he was running out of time before he would have no light whatsoever. The tunnel wasn't quite as straight as he had hoped, slowly curving to the right and upwards. The light from the remains of the torch faded slowly into nothing and Perak found himself in complete darkness, stumbling along the tunnel feeling his way along the walls. Panic gripped him for a second, the fear of being stuck here in the dark, but he pushed the thought away, reminding himself that the tunnel was bending upwards, towards the surface. This had to be the way out! He moved very slowly now, one hand in front of his face and one on the smooth wall, feeling his way very carefully. The air started to feel a little cooler now, or so he thought, and it gave him even more hope. He relaxed a little, becoming accustomed to walking in the black and settled into a regular stride, confident he was on the right way. Suddenly his foot caught onto to something solid, and he tripped forward, just managing to stop himself banging his head on the wall in front of him. Was this the end of the tunnel? He ran his hands over the smooth rock, trying to find some indication of where to go now. This didn't feel like a cave in, it was clearly built this way, but why would the tunnel lead to a dead-end? Then he found something with his left hand, some sort of handle. He tried to move it but it was very stiff. He took hold of it with both hands and tried to lift it up, but it wouldn't budge. Then he pushed down, putting his whole weight on it and he felt it start to give way. It made an unpleasant grinding sound as it inched downwards until he felt something click and the door sprang open, letting in brilliant sunlight - the way out! The dawn air was cold and damp, but he had never felt as happy in his life. He rushed out of the tunnel into the morning light, shielding his eyes from the rising sun. He was free!

  "Perak, I presume," a cold voice greeted him. "Make one wrong move, and it will be your last! You're under arrest!"

  Chapter 17: A painful discovery

  Crystal stood at the back of the group, nervously watching the tall blue-haired man who stood just metres away from Captain Amos. He was heavily outnumbered, and two of their group had transformed, ready to attack him if necessary, but she was still deeply afraid of him. Perak's reputation was terrible, and even with these Golden Dragons, she didn't feel safe.

  "Drop your weapons," the Golden Dragon captain ordered. "Do it slowly."

  Perak didn't move, glaring at Amos in silence, as if weighing up his chances of defeating him. Then he noticed Crystal at the back of the group and his eyes narrowed in recognition. His fists clenched and twitched slightly, one hand edging towards the handle of his sword. But the Golden Dragons were too quick. Two dark, grey, clawed feet clapped together around Perak's torso, pinning his arms to his body. Crystal didn't recognise the form that the Golden Dragon had adopted as it wasn't one that she had seen
before, but it looked immensely strong and almost as large as a Rhino Dragon. Amos enlightened her.

  "Ever seen a Rock Dragon before, Perak?" the young captain asked. "I would be surprised if you had. Flightless dragons have to keep themselves to themselves, even ones as large as these. Not many of us learn this form, being flightless, but it has its uses, in particular, its incredible strength. My comrade could crush you without any effort, should he choose to do so. Even if you could transform into your Blue Dragon form it wouldn't make much difference, he could crush your head with just one claw."

  "He seems to need two to hold me now," Perak countered defiantly. "Am I that terrifying that he has to use an extra claw? Even after a night running about underground and outnumbered ten to one?"

  Perak was goading the young man, trying to manoeuvre him into giving him an opportunity to escape, but it was to no avail.

  "I don't think he's too familiar with the form," Amos replied. "He's trying to avoid accidentally crushing you. Are you sure you want to distract him from that task?"

  Perak said nothing in reply, grimacing slightly in the uncomfortable grip. Crystal was sure she heard something crack, perhaps a rib, but Perak didn’t say a word.

  "Enough," Amos said, approaching Perak and holding out a metal collar. "Do you recognise this? Your government provided them for us, just in case we ran into you."

  Crystal had never seen such a collar before, although she knew exactly what it was as John had described them to her. It was a dark metal ring with a series of spikes pointing inwards, designed to prevent a prisoner from transforming. The Blue Dragons forced all of their captives to wear these and John had seen them in the prison camp. Perak didn't even look at it and said nothing in reply.