Chapter XVI
Ruin Mountain
They were shown down one of the tunnels by Katon, the Kings Advisor. His frame was thin, skin pallid, eyes sharp, alert, as with all the underlings he was dismissive of the dark, his cloak bore the crest of the full moon, and he strode with assurance knowing every aspect of his world. He informed them that his people had also been troubled by the Dragon, and that it had held the land above in thrall for a long time, though they had remained safe within their darkened enclave. It had grown ever more confident as each new challenge to its power had failed.
Andreas listened intently, it appeared the Dragon did not have any prejudices as to who it disliked, worse still any confrontation ended badly for those it attacked, and for those that attacked it; so the question was not what its weaknesses were, but if it had any at all.
“It has plagued us for some time,” said Andreas. “And this is not the first time my people have tried to find its lair so that we might have at it. We also sent an army out to meet it in the field, which the beast defeated.”
Katon nodded in understanding of the sacrifices made by his brethren, and his tone became softer, more measured.
“We have been forced to remain below more than we are used to,” said Katon, his heavy voice reaching out from the dark. “While we are here, we are safe; but there will come a time when we too will have to venture outside and make a stand. So should you ever return this way then anything you find out that can help defeat the creature, or afford us some advantage would be gratefully received: there is one thing, some would consider your quest a foolish one. So few to face so mighty beast, is that not unwise?”
"Our initial quest was to find its den I guess things have changed since the time of our setting out from Dragon City," said Andreas.
"And we maybe few but we have the courage of thousands with us, and we do not expect to fail," replied Achil.
"None who go to their doom do. We all face adversity with the contempt it deserves, and we grow courage out of a desperate hour; is your courage really any different to any who face such a tyrant," said Katon mournfully.
"It is in the very nature of people, to dare and not fear the dark," replied Andreas. "We know what lies ahead but we are still more than willing to stand against the barricades and face the great horror. You say that some believe that what we are doing is foolish, yet I say to you that what we are doing has to be done, for the security of our people, and we are resolved to do such a deed. You say that it springs out of desperation; that maybe so, but only in such times as these, do we discover that noble strength of heart that lies within each of us. So if I am to have an end, then let it have some value for those I am sworn to protect."
"Such an attitude is highly commendable, but tell me this, when does your sacrifice cease to have value, and instead it becomes mere folly."
"A life is never squandered when it is given up for others, you see our freedom is worth such a sacrifice, and such sacrifices are worthy of freedom," replied Andreas.
"None of us are giving up our lives for anyone, I intend getting everyone home, there shall be no sacrifices for good or ill on this trip," replied Achil sternly. "This Dragon will find it's bitten off more than it can chew."
Katon smiled slightly, "I think perhaps you will find that that's a poor choice of words."
As they approached the end of the tunnel, two men stepped out of a hidden alcove; they had been standing guard at the gate.
“This is as far as I go, round the next corner you will find the exit and beyond that Ruin Mountain,” continued Katon. “Good luck and may the Gods be with you.”
He waved them goodbye and turned to the guards at the entrance, to get their report on the day's happenings. The four waited a moment staring back at the last friendly faces they would see before they confronted the Dragon.
Achil took the lead and moved off. The tunnel opened out into a cave, there was a rush of cool air on their faces, a feeling they had not felt for some time. They stepped into the light and immediately covered their eyes from the glare. The sun had drifted lazily across the sky unencumbered by the creeping murky embrace of any menacing clouds. It was late afternoon; the mountain like some potentate, fixed its unflinching gaze upon them. Achil was the first to move, the distance they had travelled whilst in the tunnels now became apparent. By that evening they would begin their climb up the mountain. The land was barren, difficult to traverse without being seen; luckily no one saw their passing. They made their way warily and slowly toward their goal, finding every crook, cranny and recess to hide beneath or behind. As mid-afternoon turned to late afternoon they were fortunate enough to find an outcrop of rocks to rest under. And removing their boots to flex their feet, and letting their heavy bags drop to the floor, they stretched to ease the soreness of their travels, and supped, before sitting and pondering the final stage of their journey.
“I’m going to investigate further up the mountain,” said Nishga. “You lot remain here so I know where to find you, hopefully I won’t be too long.”
Before any of them could remonstrate that it was too dangerous for her to go alone, she disappeared.
Nishga stumbled over some rocks looking for a path, natural or otherwise, that would lead them up to the mountain. She picked her way passed the desolate wastes, passed broken shattered blackened trees, passed barren darkened petrified earth. She felt an ever growing unease a feeling of being watched which became exaggerated by the deathly stillness, and the only noise came from her stumbling feet. Even with the cloak wrapped tightly round her small frame, she felt exposed, naked to the fear the Dragon posed. Her mind unconvincingly fought against the instinctive urge to run back to the others, but somehow she kept on. Ruin Mountain aptly named for its many protruding sulphurous vents and its hard shale like poisoned skin that wept and oozed profusely as though it had a thousand open soars. And as Nishga searched for a better path, a better road to travel, the ominous shadow of the mountain cast its vigilant gaze upon her. She moved gradually forward until she stumbled across something unexpected; an opening between pillars that had been carved out of the mountain. At its base were a large number of rocks that had only recently fallen away, probably after the last landslide. Here was a doorway into the heart of the mountain. Nishga drew in a deep breath and entered, it was obvious that no one had been that way in an age. She fought with the cobwebs guarding the entrance, ducking beneath some spiders that seemed like silent guards to an ancient kingdom. There was a small atrium which she quietly passed through, and to her amazement she stepped out into a large hall, light softly penetrated from small alcoves above her. There were all around, what must have been in their day furnishings, now decayed and shattered and covered by thick layers of dust lying like silent broken tomb stones. A long table lay cracked at its centre, most likely from the mountains many rages, rocks were strewn across the floor. Tapestries some torn still hung, in silent contempt of the anger thrown at them. One of them had a fairly familiar theme. A king with a full moon in the background seated on a throne, in his hand the hilt of a sword in the shape of a wolf's head. He wore a tunic with a coat of arms on it. There was also a large standard with an image of a ship upon an ocean; each sail had depicted on it the head of an animal. An eagle, a wolf, a bear above which were five stars. Nishga found something strangely familiar about them, as she carefully made her way round the table; she unfortunately pulled one of the heavy unbroken chairs out from under it. It made a screeching harrowing sound on the stony floor. She stood statuesque in the gloom, her heart pounding, unable to bring herself to move, and yet there was no indication, no sound to signal that any creature had been disturbed by her presence, no shadow moving in the dark. Her eyes relaxed and were drawn to the tapestries hanging from the walls, some were burnt, while others were frayed and ripped. They had designs of landscapes, giving her a picture of the way things once were before any volcanic hell or cataclysmic quake had drowned old inhabitants and ancient lands.
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sp; She noticed that behind the tapestry of the King was a door; taking out her Crystal to light the way she slowly stepped carefully passed the scattered reminders of a forgotten age and strode purposefully out into a small passageway. The thought suddenly occurred to her that the light no matter how dim might alert the Dragon to her intrusion, if it were close by. She would move with more care so as not to be spied, after all the point was to investigate, so controlling any fears she may have had, she continued on. Inside the doorway; to one side there was an opening that led into a chamber, to the other side of which was a staircase. Nishga entered the chamber, the first thing her eyes gazed upon was a broken desk, near to it shelves were scattered on the floor. Next to the shelves were the shattered remains of clay pots overlaid with fine ash. Her eyes fell upon those that were unbroken. They had clay lids and wrapped around them was a fabric that had been tied and sealed shut by wax. The wax looked to have congealed but not melted leaving the contents of the pot untouched by time. Nishga took out her dagger and started to jab at the wax. It crumpled away. Finally with the string exposed, she was able to pull the lid free; and slowly it lifted off.
A rush of stale air leapt up slapping her in the face. Reaching inside she felt something smooth, soft, gripping it firmly, but taking care not to tear the contents Nishga pulled it from its tomb. It was a scroll, bound in linen, tied with a ribbon, which slipped off without much effort. The scroll opened rolling onto the floor. It was both pictographic and written in Ancient Suberian. The language was difficult to decipher but not impossible. Her finger scanned across each line. Apparently the mountain had always been angry, the people that had lived there had been its stewards. There had always been a Dragon at the heart of the mountain. Captured and enslaved there. That was a time when such creatures were plentiful. The guardians, by means of a complex pulley system, would open and close certain vents, which eventually would release the simmering smouldering core, and let the mountain vent its anger. Down the vents they would then pour something referred to as Abdu-Frill which for a time would humble the mountain until the process had to be repeated. The scroll went on to explain how to make the substance. Nishga opened up another jar this one contained instead of scrolls, clay tablets and also a key. On one of the clay tablets was a man holding the key, next to a door, and behind the door was a chain mail coat. Beneath that was another picture, this time with a man wearing the mail coat and facing the Dragon. It poured out all its wrath, phlegm, and venom over the man. Who stood unharmed, unblemished, unaffected. His shield and armour protecting him from being consumed. Whip in hand; he used it to tame the mighty creature.
Nishga placed the scrolls beneath her belt and searched round the small chamber to see whether there was anything else useful to be had. Once sure that nothing of value could be found she placed the key in her pocket and left. She hurried up winding stairs, to see what might be found elsewhere. Each step was taken with care and increased apprehension. As she rose, she found to the left of her another doorway cut into the mountain. Inside was black beyond dark; she took out her crystal and pondered a moment. What effect would the light have? She heard a clank toward the back of the room. Her heart beat so fast she thought it would break through her chest. She drew in a deep breath to try to calm it and thought back to the Nashvilly and what they had taught her. The laws of Natural Time Motion, she would use her understanding of that to move within a different time frame. Concentrating hard, the crystal began to glow. Time began to slow around her. Then with a confidence given to her by such a power, she began looking around. And when she had finished it was as though no one had been there at all.
In that time Nishga had checked to see where the noise had come from, and if anything inhabited the room or whether like the one downstairs, it was long vacant. To her relief the room was empty not only that, it was filled with pulleys and levers of all different shapes and sizes. A rat had scurried across the pulley system making the sound she had heard, but when her eyes fixed on it she almost laughed. It was caught in the air, captured at the moment when she had altered the way she moved within times natural orbit, it was frozen just as it had jumped between one pulley to the next. Holding the Crystal in her hand, she lit up the room, a part from the door at one end, it was a confining suffocating cold hard looking place, and the pulleys were mostly broken shattered wheels. Chains littered the floor; as a smithy she admired the technical skill required to build such a system. Along the back wall ran a series of flaps she walked over to one of them, as she did so, she let her light fail, as she reached out to open it. A rush of cold air informed her that there was a vast void beyond, this time Nishga felt something, a hidden threat, looking out into the emptiness, fear gripped her, and a strange foreboding took her that she had not felt since they had been chased by the witches. It was rising up out of the penetrating darkness. Slowly she lowered the flap, breathed in once more and crept away from the pulley room. Not realising that she had just looked upon the Dragon as it slept. There were more rooms, some locked away preventing her access, she quickly peered into what she could, but finding nothing of interest; Nishga made her way back out of the mountain and down to the others.