[RICHARD'S POV]
I heard a voice coming from deep within the cave that made us all scared. And it said, "You guys are back already?"
Elora and I were scared because we knew no one had gone into the cave since we arrived. So, who could it be? We couldn't take any chances because we had barely escaped the queen's wrath in Norrich.
As we heard the voice, I stood up and pulled out my little dagger and pointed it in the direction where the sound came from.
While standing in a combat position, Elora also picked up a stone, ready to fight. My mind raced! Who could have snuck in? I thought to myself that we were being followed. I tried to look as deep as I could, but it was too dark for my eyes to capture anything.
"Reveal yourself!" I demanded, hoping to see who hid with us. But the cave became silent.
Then, a beam of light began to glow within the darkness. It was green and the size of a grapefruit. Its glow was soft and calm.
The beam started to float towards our direction.
Nicholas was quiet, but then I noticed a furious look on his face as it moved closer to us. "Step back!" he commanded us.
So, Elora and I went behind him. Nicholas's palms began to spark. The wizard's energy beam was a fiery blast of orange and yellow, with blue streaks, like lightning and fire mixed together.
"Reveal yourself, or fall where you stand!" Nicholas said. After he said that, the green beam paused.
Nicholas was ready to kill whatever was behind the darkness. So, we waited for an answer, but there was no reply. It just kept glowing.
Out of frustration, Nicholas stretched his hand out, pointing to the direction of the beam, and released a powerful blast at it, attempting to kill whatever it was.
Because we needed to be cautious since our lives were already in danger, since we barely escaped from Norrich. I knew the queen wouldn't just let us go so easily.
The blast that Nicholas had launched made Elora and me step back a little further behind him due to the powerful force.
When it struck the beam, I noticed the fiery blast disappeared, as if it was being sucked into the beam. Almost immediately, there was a reverse in the blast, and it struck Nicholas back, hitting him hard on the chest, which sent him off his feet and onto the ground.
Elora and I ran to his aid while he was still on the floor. "How did that happen? What is really behind that darkness?" I held out my dagger and gently walked in front of Nicholas and Elora, trying to confront whatever it was that was behind the beam.
"Come out and face me, you coward!"
We all stood back and waited, then the light went off, but we were all still curious, so we were quiet, while our eyes were still fixed on the darkness.
Suddenly, I saw a figure stepping out of it. A 4ft lizard that stood like a man, it had green scales, wearing a brown robe, on its chest I saw a necklace with a green gem covered in a silver coating, and it could also talk like a human.
"Lower your guard, Richard. If I wanted you dead, I would have done it a long time ago, ah haha," he said with laughter.
I wondered how he knew my name, but that wasn't the issue at the moment. I was still on my guard with my dagger pointed at it.
"What do you want from us? You almost killed him!" I turned to Nicholas, still on the floor, his clothes were burnt at the spot where he took the blast.
While Elora was beside him, but both their eyes were fixed on us.
"I am Dracos! You don't need to be scared. I'm not here to harm you. It's obvious that if I wanted any of you dead, I already would have done that before now."
After he said that, we all became at ease. Then I wanted to let him know my name, but he cut me short, saying, "Oh, I know who you are, Richard Krios. Ah haha, are you shocked? Ah haha, I am a Khronox!"
"What does that mean?" I asked. Nicholas was getting on his feet when he replied to my question, "He means he can live up to a thousand years."
Dracos added, "That's right, young Richard. I knew your father and your grandfather. I have been part of your family for generations. I was brought up by your ancestors.
They saved my life during a war between my kind and the human race. It was bloody and lasted for years.
Sadly, all my kind were killed, and I was just a baby when young Krios took me and hid me somewhere safe from the war.
I became adopted by them, and in return, as gratitude, I made a vow to protect the Krios family till my death!"
As he explained, I realized that he was the voice behind the shadows that spoke to me in my apartment in Norrich.
Nicholas got up and dusted his clothes, and we all got acquainted with Dracos. Then I asked him, "How can I unlock the journal? I'm sure you can use your magic to find the Dragon's Tooth."
Not letting me finish, Elora suggested that we should go somewhere more safe, saying the queen's knights could still be on the lookout for us.
I knew the cave was too exposed and easy to locate, so I nodded in agreement.
Then I asked, "Where will we go?" She suggested that we should head out to the capital city of Savoyen, assuring us that she had an uncle who stayed there, she also said we would be safer there,and far from Helen reach.
We were short on food and other supplies, so we decided to head out to Savoyen and gather what we can for a few days before we continue our journey.
But there was a problem - we couldn't pass through the gates of the city without being noticed because of our new ally, "Dracos".
Nicholas said, "We won't be able to blend in if he's seen with us. We'll need a disguise."