by Andy Holland
However, it did struggle to get as close to the wall as she could, and each time it swiped at her with its enormous clawed feet she managed to narrowly avoid getting caught. It could have roasted her with its fire, but it seemed reluctant to do so, intent on capturing her with either its claws or teeth. Stuck underground, it probably had limited opportunities for food and was presumably unwilling to miss this opportunity to eat.
Crystal, understandably reluctant to become breakfast, dashed along the cave wall, frantically searching for any way out other than the way in. It was only as she had done almost a full lap of the cave that she remembered the tunnel the True Dragon had burst out of. It might be a dead end, but then again, it might be a way out. The creature swiped at her yet again, and this time, just after the claws brushed past her, she slowed dramatically and turned around, dropping under the surprised creature and flying in the opposite direction. It roared in fury, unable to turn as quickly, but before it could change direction, Crystal darted through the hole in the molten rock and into the dark tunnel, praying that it wasn't a dead end.
This was another long, wide tunnel, much like the tunnel that she passed through to get to this city. The rock surrounding the entrance was still very hot, glowing orange and providing enough light for her to see where she was flying. Unlike the other tunnel, it came to an abrupt end after just a couple of minutes of flying. Crystal stopped and looked back in terror, before realising that the creature wasn't following her. Hard to believe as it was, it hadn't seen her enter the tunnel and was still looking for her in the ruined city. As long as she remained still and quiet, she just might stay safe. She lay down in the tunnel and froze, trying to breathe as quietly as possible and without producing any flames.
The True Dragon produced sporadic bursts of flame to illuminate the city, and each time it did, the tunnel lit up, and Crystal was able to see her surroundings. Although the large passageway appeared to come to an end, she could see a small hole on the right that led to another, narrower tunnel. It was far too small for her to use as a Golden Dragon and the only way through was as a human. Seeing as the True Dragon could easily find her here if it had the sense to look, Crystal didn't hesitate, transforming and entering the tunnel.
To her surprise, this narrow tunnel was just a metre long, leading to a wide open space. Very little light made its way through from the True Dragon's flames, and she couldn't see what was ahead of her, so she transformed back and allowed her dragon eyes to adjust to the dim light, still nervous of lighting up the way ahead with a fireball in case it attracted the True Dragon.
When her eyes had adjusted to the light, she quickly recognised where she was, and could barely restrain herself and keep from roaring in delight. Spread out in front of her was the original hidden city, where she had last seen John. This must have been the northern end, as she could see the domed roof of the central building just to the south of her. She had found the last Dragonstone!
***
Back above ground, things were looking grim for the remaining members of the group. They had been reduced to just one Blue Dragon long ago although even he hadn't been seen for a while, and now both the Golden and Brown Dragons numbers were dwindling. The green True Dragon was their biggest problem, and it was systematically picking off dragons one at a time. Retreating would be their best option, but even that would be challenging as the creature was focussing on dragons that were flying away from the battlefield, determined to not let a single one escape. The black one would have been far worse had it not been for the attempts of the bronze True Dragon's to harm it. It was futile of course, the larger dragon was clearly indestructible, and the only thing it was likely to achieve was its own death, which might please Gabriel, but that would leave the black True Dragon free to join up with the green one and finish them all. Perhaps Jude had been right to leave it alone.
Gabriel! Jude called, his thoughts audible to all. What are we doing here? We need to retreat now! That bronze one won’t hold him for long.
We have a job to do, Gabriel replied stubbornly, flying high above them. Nina will return with the lances soon. We can finish them.
Gabriel, we couldn't kill them when there was just two and they couldn't fly, Mark told him, narrowly avoiding the black True Dragon, and only doing so as the bronze one had distracted it once again. We've lost too many already. We know that they can heal in the Circle, that's useful information. It shouldn't die with us.
They will be the ones to die, Gabriel replied defiantly. We shouldn't have listened to those Blues. If we'd have used the lances ourselves this would have all been over already. It's a job that requires speed—
Stop! Listen to yourself! Jude commanded. You were in charge, and you made that decision. If that was the wrong decision, make the right one now.
Jude now found himself the new subject of the green True Dragon and had to concentrate on flying instead of arguing with Gabriel. He dodged left and right, avoiding the snapping jaws of the beast, but he couldn't shake it. He dived downwards, moving very quickly and only pulling out metres from the ground. To Mark's horror, the creature was able to match him and stay just behind him. It wouldn't be long before the monster caught him.
Gabriel! Mark called in despair. Do you really want us all to die? Order the retreat.
How? Gabriel replied. We have no tunnels near here. There’s nowhere to retreat to. His voice sounded defiant, but Mark heard an edge of panic in his words.
The green True Dragon was gaining on Jude and Mark's friend was tiring. If they were really going to stay and fight, then that was what Mark would do. He dived towards the creature, which was too focussed on catching Jude to look up. He might not be able to harm it, but he could slow it down enough to allow Jude to escape. Just as he reached the creature, he stretched out his claws to brace himself for the impact and hit the creature's right wing. He was unable to damage it at all, but his weight unbalanced the True Dragon, and just for a second, it lost control and turned away from Jude. Mark recovered quickly and flew in the opposite direction, hoping that the heavy creature wouldn't be able to turn as quickly. It didn't take long to realise that he was mistaken and now, he was the focus of its attention, and it was angry. It roared loudly before flooding the air behind him with flames which only narrowly missed him, but it wasn't going to give up on him that easily. Just as Jude did, he managed to evade its attacks by dodging from side to side, but the creature appeared to have unlimited stamina and was relentless. It was just a matter of time before it caught him.
Then, just as the creature closed in for the kill, the bronze True Dragon struck, attacking the green True Dragon in almost exactly the same manner that Mark had tried, dropping on to it from above at high speed. Mark had only been able to unbalance it, but the bronze True Dragon was much heavier, and the huge green True Dragon was knocked to the ground, landing in the forest below with an almighty crash. The bronze True Dragon managed to stay in the air, continuing to fly and only narrowly dodging a retaliatory attack from the black True Dragon.
That was close, Jude commented, flying over to join Mark. Thanks for your help, I don't think I could have lasted much longer. Although for a moment I thought all you had done was sacrifice your life for mine.
I had the same thought, Mark replied. I didn't see that bronze True Dragon coming.
Neither did the green one, Jude said. It hadn’t attacked it before. They’ll probably both go after it now, which is bad news for it but will give us a chance to escape. I don't care what Gabriel says, I'll take the punishment for disobeying him. Order what's left of your men to retreat. The nearest tunnels are to the north. I'll do the same with mine. Otherwise, none of us will get out of here alive.
Better demoted than eaten, Mark agreed. Dragons! Retreat, immediately! Everyone follow me to the north.
Follow Captain Mark, Jude echoed. Leave now or die!
Ignore that order! Gabriel replied furiously. They do not have the authority to give that order. We will fight. Look, her
e comes Nina with the lances!
Everyone turned to see a single Golden Dragon approaching with a bundle of lances in her claws. They must have been heavy, as her flight was laboured and she was flying quite slowly. Just as she approached, the green True Dragon rose up from the forest beneath her, apparently entirely uninjured, and snapped its jaws shut on her body, completely engulfing her. If this didn't convince Gabriel to leave, nothing would.
Flee! Mark commanded, ascending and turning to the north. Flee while we can!
Just as he spoke, the black True Dragon caught the bronze one with a glancing blow, sending it spinning through the air and crashing into a lake below. The creature landed heavily in the shallow water and didn't move after landing. The black True Dragon roared triumphantly, and instead of landing to finish the job, ascended to join the green True Dragon in the air.
Now we have to fight two. It was Captain Arion, the commander of the central base, who had appeared by Mark’s side. Order your unit to flee, Captain Mark. Gabriel can’t object now.
Mark searched for his dragons, wondering if any had survived and if they had, whether any of them had a chance of getting out of here alive.
***
This time, Crystal knew exactly where to find the Dragonstone. This city was all too familiar to her, and she wasted no time flying to the Stonehouse on the other side of the city. As she flew, she pondered how to destroy this one. Unlike Red Dragon Stone Houses, the Worm Dragons hadn't built theirs to withstand a prolonged attack. They had chosen a similar exterior design with the domed roof, but this was for ornamental rather than defensive purposes. Had the Red Dragons designed their Stone Houses like these, the Blue Dragons would have found it incredibly easy to destroy them and wouldn't have had to have taken the trouble to bombard them with those heavy metal objects.
However, despite the building's fragile appearance, Crystal suspected that damaging it would still present a considerable challenge to her. She might be able to send a large rock through the domed roof, but she couldn’t see how she would hit the stone itself, not without first destroying the building above and then clearing out all of the rubble. Striking the building just once would probably be enough to draw the attention of the brown True Dragon, and then it would just be a matter of time before it could tunnel through and get her.
She landed on top of the building and weighed up her options. As a human, she could get in through the front door and go down the corridors to the chamber, but there wouldn’t be much she could do once she had got there. The space underneath was ill-suited to her technique for attacking the stone, and she wouldn’t want to be stuck in there when the stone smashed, as she might not survive the resulting explosion. No, she would need to get at it from inside the city. Perhaps there was a weak spot on the roof. She tentatively clambered over the dome, struggling to maintain her grip on the smooth, curved surface and trying in vain to find any cracks. It was too well designed, having stood the test of time very well, and Crystal couldn't see any obvious way that she could start to chip away at the roof. She was beginning to wonder if she might have to leave the city and search for help after all. However, as much as she could do with the assistance, she had no idea where to look, and it did mean flying in a part of the Circle where there were the fewest tunnels to hide in, should she run into either the Green or Black True Dragons.
Lost in her thoughts as she dwelt on her failure and unappealing options, she was startled by a distant roar from the neighbouring cave, and she lost her grip, sliding down the smooth dome towards the edge. She panicked, needlessly as she could glide to the ground if she fell, and scrambled about for something to grab onto, just managing to catch her claws on something at the edge of the dome. It was a vented section that she hadn’t noticed before, designed to allow air to flow into the building. This could be what she was looking for. Unlike the rest of the dome, the vents were weak, and it didn’t take her long to tear them out, leaving a space that was just large enough to get through. She squeezed through the gap and blew a fireball into the darkness, lighting up the large chamber. She could see the circular hole but not the Dragonstone beneath. She pushed her body all the way through and flew down onto the balcony overlooking the Dragonstone. Her fire did nothing more than illuminate the Dragonstone, as she had expected, but she had confirmed what she had thought. If she could widen the hole around the vent and then throw a rock in just the right direction through the hole, then it could hit the Dragonstone, and if the rock was big enough, she could destroy the thing. It would have to be a fantastic throw, but it could be done.
Crystal didn’t delay any further. The Brown True Dragon was still searching for her, making a racket as it did so, and it would eventually think to look here. She exited the building swiftly and searched for a good projectile. Pickings in this city were leaner than in the other, neighbouring city, but eventually, she found a promising section of a wall that had collapsed. Thrown hard enough at where the vent had been, it should knock through the wall and widen the gap. The sound of the impact would certainly attract the brown so she would have to work quickly, but the wall was all broken up so she wouldn’t have to search for her next piece. The first piece she selected was of a decent size but not too heavy, and she was able to take off with it and build up to a good pace, flying in wide circles above the Stonehouse. She began her approach, concentrating hard on hitting her target. If she missed, the noise of the impact would still attract the True Dragon, so she had to be accurate. She released the rubble at the last second, flying past the building without seeing the impact, but she could hear the loud thwack and saw the cloud of dust that appeared. Her aim had been true, she was sure of it, and she was supremely confident as she wheeled around to inspect her handiwork. Alas, when the dust settled, she saw that the building was still intact, with not even a crack to indicate that she made any progress. The rubble had been fragile and had exploded into many pieces without doing anything noticeable to the building. Her efforts had been unsuccessful, and her only consolation was that the True Dragon, making enough noise itself as it tore up the other city in search of her, hadn’t heard anything.
She was not in the mood to give up that easily. The damage might not have been visible, but she must have weakened the wall. She just needed to hit it again. She had already lined up a selection of chunks of the fallen wall and grabbed the next, hoping that it wouldn’t crumble as easily as the last piece. She was more confident of her aim this time and flew a little faster. Just as was the case last time, a great cloud of dust was thrown up by the impact, but this time, there were two key differences. The dome was still intact, but this time, a long crack ran from the vent along the top of the wall. One more hit might do it. The other difference she didn’t notice immediately, not until she was circling in the air carrying her third piece of wall. The True Dragon had fallen silent. It was listening out for her, presumably having heard the last impact, and was trying to determine where the sound had come from. It didn’t change anything, Crystal told herself, she still had to destroy the roof, but this strike had to be very good. She held nothing back, flying as hard as she could as she carried the rubble towards her target, throwing it forward at the last second to try and hit the dome even harder than before.
The result was far more obvious than last time. There was the same heavy thud upon impact, but this was followed by a loud cracking sound and the sound of rubble crashing to the ground. The cloud of dust temporarily obscured the building, but she was confident that she had inflicted significant damage to the building. If there was any uncertainty regarding whether she had made a big enough hole in the dome, there was none regarding whether the creature had heard her. It bellowed angrily, the sound shaking the buildings below her. Now she really had to hurry. As the dust settled, she circled back to inspect the roof and was ecstatic to see a gaping hole where the vent had been, large enough for her to fly through if she was careful. She could attack the Dragonstone!
Before she could think about celebratin
g, the other side of the city lit up, flames emerging from the tunnel she had used to get in. The creature was coming, and it might not take long to get through. Crystal dropped to the ground, carefully selecting her next projectile. The Dragonstone was tough, but not as tough as the dome had been so she shouldn’t need to use such a large piece of rubble. Besides, flying through that hole carrying a large piece of rubble would probably be beyond her. The sound of furious digging forced her to focus, and she selected her weapon, a mid-sized chunk of wall that would be well within her capabilities. She circled five times, building up her courage as much as her speed as she prepared to fly through the hole and bombard the Dragonstone. She kept her eyes fixed on the hole in the dome. It was going to be tight, flying through that, but she was sure that she could do it. She began her approach, flying in a nice straight line as she drew near to the building. She was lined up perfectly with the hole and held her breath as she pulled her wings in close to slot through the narrow opening. Then disaster struck, and as she flew through the hole, her right wing snagged on a jutting out piece of the dome. She was lucky in that it just spun her a little, not actually damaging her wing, but it was enough to force her to release the rubble early, way off target. She was only just able to correct her flight path at the last moment, throwing open her wings and managing to slow a little before crashing into the chamber wall. She slid down the wall and hit the ground, fortunately landing without any injuries. The rubble merely crashed through the railing that went around the hole, before smashing apart on the wall behind.