Dromadus
Kendra and Seth walked down, down, down. Soon all Seth could see was blackness. Glancing back, he could barely make out the moonlit door. Then even that disappeared. Another step. Another. With one hand sliding along the wall, he blindly trusted that the stairs continued.
"Can you see?" Seth asked.
"Yeah," Kendra said, her hand giving his a reassuring squeeze. "Dim, though."
"Should I get out a flashlight?" Seth asked. "Or does that make us too obvious?"
"It would make us pretty obvious," Kendra said.
"You have amazing eyesight," Calvin said. "I see pretty well at night. But this looks like the darkness in the middle of darkness, where, from the highest mountain, under a starless sky, all horizons are black, and light has never touched. But we're beneath the mountain, in the deepest cave, where—"
"We get it," Seth interrupted. "It's really dark."
"You can almost take a bite out of it," Calvin said.
"What do you see?" Seth asked.
"It's so black that I'm kind of imagining faint shimmers of colour," Calvin said. "Like when you close your eyes too tight for too long. Oh, wait, my eyes were closed. It doesn't make a difference!"
"I was asking Kendra," Seth clarified.
"Just more stairs," Kendra said. "They go as far as I can see. A long, straight staircase. Rough steps, carved out of the rock."
"Is it narrow?" Seth asked.
"Pretty narrow. Not much bigger than the entrance. Hugo could touch the ceiling."
"There must be another entrance," Seth said. "A dragon wouldn't fit."
"Unless he goes in and out in human form," Calvin said.
"Good point," Seth agreed. "Kendra, tell us if you see anything interesting."
"Are more stairs interesting?" she asked.
"Barely," Seth replied.
They descended without speaking for a time. Seth was quietly glad to have Kendra's hand to hold.
"I see the bottom," Kendra reported.
"Tell me when we get to the last step," Seth said.
About forty steps later she started warning him. "Five more, four, three, two, last one."
"What does it look like now?" Seth asked.
"A roundish tunnel cut through the rock," Kendra said.
"Not like a natural cave?" Seth asked.
"No," Kendra said. "Like it was drilled. Or burrowed. It looks too even."
They walked forward in darkness. Seth kind of shuffled in the hope that his toes would bump against any unseen obstacle.
"The ground is smooth," Kendra told him. "I see a door! The tunnel ends at a door. Old, thick wood, like the doors at the entrance."
Eventually they stopped. Seth heard Kendra pull the door open.
"More darkness," Calvin said. "With the door closed, do you think it is even darker in there?"
"I think we've reached the limit," Seth said.
"This is big," Kendra said. "Huge. Not a tunnel anymore. I can't see the far side. A big cavern. High ceiling."
"Could a dragon fit?" Seth asked.
"Yes," Kendra said, leading them through the doorway.
"Do you see a dragon?" Calvin asked.
"It looks empty," Kendra said.
"I'm getting out my flashlight," Seth said. Keeping hold of Kendra's hand, he used his other hand to open his satchel and root around. He took out a flashlight and switched it on. The light seemed extra bright after the prolonged darkness. It was a good flashlight with a strong beam, but even so, it barely illuminated the far side of the vast cavern. A large rock pile littered most of the room, a jumble of dusty stone, perhaps the remnants of a cave-in. There was no dragon in view.
Seth swung the flashlight beam around the cavern. There was no other apparent exit. No doors or caves.
"Is he even here?" Seth asked.
"Maybe he's gone," Kendra said. "It looks abandoned. Maybe there's another room."
"Can he walk through walls?" Seth asked.
"A secret passage?" Kendra wondered. "Hello?" she called. "Dromadus? We need your help!"
They listened to the silence.
"This is a bust," Seth said. "That's what we get for listening to a dusty old knight who sat in the same room for a thousand years. Should we be surprised he's not up to date?"
The rock pile shifted, boulders scraping and rolling. Startled, Kendra and Seth both skipped away from the disturbance. The huge head of a dragon craned
up from the rubble, nostrils flaring. The head looked cunningly hewn from rock, the top all knobby, a few tendrils dangling like whiskers from the stony mouth. Seth spotlighted the head with his flashlight. The sudden dust in the air made the beam of light look almost tangible.
This head was bigger than Celebrant's head. Seth tried to imagine the size of the body attached to such a head. It had to fill much of the room, entirely buried in rocks.
"Why would the Somber Knight send you to me?" the dragon asked in a gentle, resonant baritone, dark eyes blinking.
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Seth shouted. "Are you Dromadus?"
"Such is my fate," the dragon responded. "I did not mean to alarm you. Lying quietly can be a useful way to discover the intent of intruders. I believe you mentioned the Somber Knight. At least he fits your description. What is his interest in me?"
"We're the new caretakers of Wyrmroost," Kendra explained. "He thought you could help us."
"The Somber Knight has never taken much interest in dragons except to kill us," Dromadus said. "Why would he want me to advise caretakers?"
"Celebrant is a caretaker now too," Seth said. "He has been attacking Blackwell Keep. The Somber Knight wants to save the sanctuary."
"As do you, I suppose," Dromadus said. "I removed myself from the affairs of wizards and dragons long ago. I will not raise fang or claw against a dragon, least of all the Dragon King."
"We just need information," Kendra said. "Celebrant has the scepter from Blackwell Keep. We need to find the other one. It won't harm the dragons. It will just protect us."
"And the Somber Knight believes that I know the location?" Dromadus asked. "Why would a defeated old dragon know such a precious secret?"
"You were friends with the wizard who founded Wyrmroost," Seth said. "He might have told you."
"Archadius established Wyrmroost," Dromadus said. "The first and greatest wizard. Others helped him. Archadius and I had a friendship of sorts, though in the end he despised me. I am a popular dragon to hate."
"Why?" Kendra asked.
"That is a long story," Dromadus said.
"We came a long way," Seth said.
"You are young," Dromadus said. "It will exhaust you."
"Give us the basics," Seth said.
Kendra elbowed her brother. "We'd love to hear anything you're willing to share."
"How much do you younglings know about me?" Dromadus asked.
"You used to be the Dragon King," Seth said. "We didn't know you were made of rock."
Dromadus gave a soft laugh. "Though I have an unusual form, I am not entirely made of rock. In my prime it was said I had the toughest hide of any dragon. And I was certainly among the most powerful. Many dragons challenged me for my kingship, as happens over the centuries. And many dragons died."
"How many?" Seth asked.
"More than I care to remember," Dromadus said. "But one mattered more than the rest. My nephew, Ezarod. He was my very favourite in the family. A very interesting dragon with great potential. I helped mentor him. I will confess that I liked him better than my own children, who tended to be fierce but dull. But Ezarod did something my children did not. He attempted to take my crown."
"Oh, no," Kendra said. "How terrible."
"I fought him," Dromadus said. "I bested him. He would not yield. And so I slew my favourite nephew to maintain my status. I have never been the same."
"The Somber Knight told us you gave up the crown," Seth said.
"I did," Dromadus acknowledged. "I was already disengaging with my position before the fight with Ezarod, but I had a tradition to uphold, and Ezarod had wounded my pride. I won the fight, but it finished me. Not long after my victory, I effortlessly did the unthinkable. I abandoned my crown. I offered it to a dragon who I thought would make a good leader. He accepted, then was killed for the crown ten years later."
"What happened to you after giving up the crown?" Kendra asked.
"I became an outcast," Dromadus said. "My wife forsook me. My children renounced me. My supposed friends rejected me. It came as no shock. I had done the unpardonable for a dragon: I had become a pacifist."
"You won't fight?" Seth asked. "Does that mean you won't eat us?"
"Probably not," Dromadus said. "After slaying my nephew, I decided to stop ending lives. Originally I had decided never to kill another dragon. Over the years my conviction has grown. I do not believe in harming other thinking creatures."
"Why doesn't a dragon just come and kill you?" Seth asked.
"Not worth the risk," Dromadus said. "Unlike most Dragon Kings, I was never defeated. Why go up against a shunned, undefeated dragon? There is little glory in slaying an outcast. I never stated that I would not defend myself. Whether I actually would or not remains untested. I live quietly. I cause no trouble. I am disliked, but it is easy to forget me."
"Well, I like you," Kendra said.
"You have to like me," Dromadus said. "You want my help. And you know that I could kill you very easily."
"You just hide down here in the dark?" Seth asked.
"Like your Somber Knight in some ways," Dromadus said. "Except I am not waiting to commit violence. Dragons spend a good deal of time inactive. We are large. It requires great energy to move. Even more so as we age."
"Don't you get hungry?" Seth asked.
"Is that a wise question, from a tiny bite of food?" Dromadus asked. "Don't be alarmed. I am not hungry. My dinners are delivered by ogres."
"Dragon meal from Terrabelle," Kendra surmised.
"A filling substitute for villagers," Dromadus said. "Quite tasty. Many dragons partake, some more quietly than others. Who needs to consume people, sheep, cattle, walruses, elephants, whales, or giants? My ogres bring me more food than I can consume. An inactive dragon needs less than you would think. We hibernate efficiently."
"Do you even know where we can find the scepter?" Seth asked. "You weren't clear about that."
The dragon shifted, rocks and boulders rumbling. "Are you truly the caretakers? It seems ludicrous. As if Celebrant made a wish and Marat gave up his post for two mortal children."
"It's complicated," Kendra said. "There weren't many options. And Agad was hoping human caretakers would strengthen the magical defences at Blackwell Keep."
"Have the resources of Dragonwatch grown so thin?" Dromadus asked.
"We're not so bad," Seth complained.
Kendra squeezed his hand.
"I suppose you're better than nothing," Dromadus said. "Which is a small compliment indeed. I do know the location of the hidden scepter. Since the sanctuary was founded, you are the first to ask me."
"Will you tell us?" Kendra asked.
"Explain why exactly you want the scepter," Dromadus said.
"To protect Blackwell Keep and keep Wyrmroost from falling," Kendra said.
"To what end?" Dromadus asked.
"To keep the peace," Kendra said. "So the dragons won't run wild."
"Celebrant is a powerful king," Dromadus said. "Don't you think he deserves to rule his own sanctuary?"
"He helps rule," Kendra said. "But look at the history of dragons. If they get free, they will try to take over the world."
"Likely true," Dromadus said.
"Likely?" Seth exclaimed. "Have you met a dragon?"
"Are you sure this boy is one of the caretakers as well?" Dromadus asked Kendra.
"We're a package deal," Kendra said.
"I believe your motives are correct," Dromadus said. "I believe your intent is sincere. But only a fool gives up something for nothing. What can you offer me?"
"I thought you were a pacifist," Seth said.
"A pacifist need not be a fool," Dromadus said heavily. "Sometimes pacifists have greater need for strategy than those willing to fight."
"Do we have anything that you want?" Kendra asked.
"Not that you can rightfully give," Dromadus said. "So it must be promises or services. Promise me this. The next time you have the opportunity to kill a dragon, show as much mercy as possible. Work to save the dragon, not to kill the dragon. Can you make that vow?"
"You think we'll have a chance to kill a dragon?" Seth asked.
"You already killed Siletta," Dromadus said.
Seth stared at the ground. "You know about that?"
"Dragons can recognize a dragon slayer," Dromadus said. "I better than most. If you promise to show as much mercy as possible the next time a dragon falls into your power, and if you promise that each of you owes me an additional favour of my choosing, I will reveal the location of the hidden scepter."
"I'm going to be running errands for the rest of my life," Seth muttered.
"Excuse me?" Dromadus asked.
"I just owe some other people a favour too," Seth said. "They're piling up."
"Not a favour that makes us betray our duties as caretakers," Kendra clarified.
"Nothing that betrays your fundamental morals or duties," Dromadus said. "But it might be difficult and uncomfortable."
"Can I talk about it with Seth?" Kendra asked.
"Be my guest," Dromadus said. "If it aids in your deliberations, be aware that this is my only offer."
"All right," Kendra said.
Seth huddled close to his sister.
"You have to do it," came a voice from his pocket. "You need the scepter. It's not a bad deal."
"You can still talk?" Seth asked.
"Told you I was brave," Calvin said. "The dragon is impressive. Like a talking mountain."
"Calvin is probably right," Kendra said. "We just have to find the scepter."
"Quieter," Seth said. "He can probably hear us."
"Every word," Dromadus said. "Who is the third party?"
"My secret ally," Seth said. "A hero of great renown."
"Have you reached a decision?" Dromadus asked tiredly.
Seth looked at his sister. "You're right. We have to do it."
"We have a deal," Kendra said to the dragon.
"Very well," Dromadus replied. "I will hold you to it. I am not beyond exacting revenge for broken oaths."
"Message received," Seth said. "Where do we go?"
"You must walk the Path of Dreams," Dromadus said.
"Is that an actual place?" Seth asked.
"The scepter lies at the end of the path," Dromadus said.
"And where does the path start?" Seth asked. "At Wyrmroost, I hope?"
"In this chamber," Dromadus said, shifting again. Boulders ground against one another.
"Really?" Kendra asked. "Right here?"
"Archadius built this lair to house me and to hide the start of the Path of Dreams," Dromadus said. "The path will not be easy to walk. You could lose your lives."
"We figured," Seth said. "Can we go get a friend? Maybe two? Some people to walk the path with us?"
"No," Dromadus said. "The path is meant for caretakers."
"What about me?" Calvin asked from Seth's pocket.
"I suppose the invisible hero can join you," Dromadus said. "But only because I am in an indulgent mood. His size amuses me."
"We have a servant," Kendra said. "Not a person. A limberjack. Like a living puppet. Can we—"
"Only you two and the invisible hero," Dromadus said. "I control access to the Path of Dreams. Do you wish to try for the scepter or not?"
"We want to try," Seth said. He glanced at Kendra. "Right?"
She took a deep breath. "Yes."
"Then back away," Dromadus said. "I haven't moved this much in centuries. It would be a shame if I accidentally crushed you."