CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FOUR
The sphere having been forged and imbued with magic, Demetrius thought his task was done and expressed his desire to go back to Radda to help the survivors with the task of burying the dead and rebuilding.
“Out of the question,” King Garun stated in a tone that allowed no room for debate.
“The task you required of me is complete,” Demetrius returned irritably.
“On the contrary. The wizard requires your continued assistance. There is one last thing that the crown requires of you. You must escort Vallen to the dragon’s dwelling and ensure the safety of the sphere when the wizard captures the beast.”
“I am not a soldier, Your Highness. I couldn’t possibly protect it better than your men of war.”
They were in the same room he had first met the king in, which was just as dark and mysterious in the daylight hours. Garun dismissed the servants who were attending him and drew close to Demetrius. “Let me be blunt with you, since you are not wise in the ways of politics. I do not expect the wizard to survive the encounter with the beast.” Garun’s hazel eyes seemed to pierce his soul.
“Do whatever you must to secure the sphere for Talvaard’s interests.” Demetrius was catching on to the king’s subtle words. “What interests would those be?”
Garun frowned. He was not accustomed to being questioned. “Let us merely imagine that it may be of use to us one day in the future. In the event that a certain kingdom begins to grow too powerful …” his words trailed off. He called his servants back into the room. “Take our guest to prepare for his journey,” he instructed them.
“Where are we going?”
Garun smirked. “You are going to Kerosh Pass in the Viss Mountains. I will remind you of the importance of having that sphere brought back here.”
“Why me?”
“Vallen trusts you now. Do not fail me,” Garun warned.
The servants escorted Demetrius to a room located two doors down. He was given fresh clothes to change into, as well as a lightweight suite of chain mail. The wizard was also there, though he refused to take anything the servants offered to him. “I will not have it said I accepted anything without payment,” was his excuse. Demetrius figured the real reason was because they were not made by Oakvalor hands.
“How does anyone know where this dragon lives?” Demetrius inquired, still having doubts that it even existed.
Vallen pointed to a large map that hung from the wall. “The border between our kingdoms crosses through the mountains of Ward and Viss. Within those mountains is a cave the creature calls home. We cannot hope to use the sphere within his domain, so we must draw him out into the open. One of the mountains is level at the top. That is where we will make our stand.”
Demetrius was uneasy by the way Vallen seemed to be talking about their future encounter. Assuming the dragon was real, it was unlikely that he would be of any actual help to the wizard. Demetrius sighed heavily and half listened as the wizard babbled on. It was going to be a long journey.
—
Demetrius scrambled up the cliffside, almost slipping on the jagged rocks several times. The wizard had convinced him to enter the cave alone while the wizard stayed at the top of the mountain. Demetrius initially didn’t care as he still didn’t believe there was a dragon. But seeing the massive creature inside the cave suddenly put a lot of things into perspective for the smith.
The beast had seen him and that immediately caused Demetrius to turn and run. No amount of money or threats from the king could make him stay and do anything. He reached the plateau, his only thoughts on escaping and running as fast as he could. Vallen stopped him in his tracks by letting fly a blast of lightning. “Stay focused. I cannot do this alone!”
He knew if he tried to flee that Vallen would kill him. The wizard might trust him, but that didn’t make them enemies any less. The ground shook beneath his feet and he looked around frantically. A mighty roar of the dragon echoed off the mountain tops. Demetrius covered his ears, afraid he might go deaf from the sheer volume. The dragon shot up into the sky, a blur of red against the blue sky.
“How are we going to get the beast to land?” he yelled at Vallen.
Vallen withdrew the sphere from a leather bag strapped across his shoulders. “That is the good news. We don’t need it to land. We just need it to fly overhead. It is a fire dragon, the deadliest of its kind. As in nature, fire can be extinguished by ice. The magic infused within the metal has a twofold purpose, the main being that it will keep the dragon’s fire at bay. The other purpose is about to be tested.”
Demetrius’ face turned pale. “Tested? You don’t know if your magic works? Divines save us!” Vallen ignored the smith’s terror.
“This is not something that has been done before, but I know it will work. The magic will imprison the creature inside. I will distract the beast from there,” he pointed to the edge of the plateau, “and you hold the sphere up in the air as the beast flies over.” He handed the sphere to Demetrius.
“I thought this was going to kill the dragon?”
Vallen shook his head. “Dragon’s cannot be killed. At least, not the way we can be killed.” The sound of rushing wings filled the air, and Vallen sprinted to the edge of the mountain top.
“Where do I stand?” Demetrius shouted at the wizard.
Either Vallen didn’t hear him or Demetrius didn’t hear the answer. He threw himself to the ground as the massive dragon shot by. The dragon landed close to Vallen, dropping down onto an upraised platform of rock. Demetrius watched with panic as the beast spewed forth gouts of flame from its mouth.
He expected to see Vallen consumed in fire. A blue light flared to life and protected the wizard from the flames. The dragon went airborne again. The force of the wind from the dragon’s wings seemed to be turned into a weapon and flung Vallen off the cliff.
Demetrius cried out and ran over to the edge, expecting the worst. He found Vallen holding onto the ledge. Using every last ounce of strength, he pulled the wizard back up.
Vallen’s facial expression was all the thanks Demetrius needed. The dragon was circling high above them. “Get back over there, quickly.” Demetrius held the sphere tightly and ran back to where he had been standing. Death seemed certain to him. The dragon shot downward, halting overhead and flying a complete circle.
There was a sudden eerie silence. Why couldn’t he hear anything? He heard Vallen’s voice inside his head.
If anything happens to me, keep the sphere safe! Do not let the safety of the world be jeopardized by the greed of men.
The dragon swooped over the plateau and Demetrius lifted the sphere high into the air as it passed above. The dragon jerked awkwardly in the air. All life seemed to leave the beast and it crashed with jarring force into the ground, rolling and tumbling toward Vallen.
The beast, and the wizard, disappeared over the cliff edge.
Do not fail!
Those three words echoed in his mind the rest of his life.