Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Awe

Once Cadderly stepped into the opening in the hillside, he was amazed at how warm the air had become.Where he was was more like a tunnel than a cave, with solid but uneven walls and a whole warm cave descending toward the center of the mountain. The young priest took off his traveling cloak, tied it tightly and put it in his knapsack, wrapping it carefully around the Book of Universal Harmony.He wondered if he should leave the book and some of his other most valuable possessions by the entrance, because he thought that even if he survived his encounter with Valentenema, some things might be burned.

Cadderly shook his head in resistance, and slung the knapsack back over his shoulders.He decided that now was not the time to think negatively.He took out a cylindrical metal tube and snapped the lid open, releasing a focused beam (from an enchanted disk inside the tube) that fell in front of him.Then he set off, thinking of Denir's song, for he knew that if he was to have any chance of winning against the dragon, he might have to summon magical powers in a split second. Twenty minutes later, he was still walking, slowly descending a slope of loose rock.The heat was even stronger now; even though Cadderly had dispelled the anti-cold spell, beads of sweat stood on his brow, stinging his eyes.

As he went down the tunnel, he passed several larger chambers, and he was really disturbed, because only a small area in front of him was lit, and there was thick darkness on both sides.He turned the metal shell around the tube to shorten it, widening the beam a little, but Cadderly still had to fight back the nervous urge to conjure magic to light the place. When he came to a narrow tunnel again—and apparently too narrow for any kind of dragon to squeeze through—he breathed easier.The ground descended in a gentle, gradual slope that continued for more than a hundred feet, but then suddenly became vertical, a small hole that plunged into the dark depths.

Cadderly sat on the edge of the hole and strapped on his gear, strapping the lure under the belt and aiming it not far below him.Then he moved down the hole, moving carefully. The air was suffocating, the rocks crowded against him, but Cadderly kept going down, moving until he found the cave suddenly opening wide beneath him.For a moment, his feet couldn't find anything in the air, and he almost fell. He stayed in place narrowly, hooking one elbow around a small protrusion, and lifted his foot up against the solid wall.The young priest reached carefully for the lumen with his free hand, and shining it down and around, found that he had come to the top of a vast cavern.

Probably still a big cave, wide and high, because the beam didn't reflect any ground below him.For the first time since he entered the tunnel, he began to wonder if the path would lead him to the dragon at all.It was obvious that the small opening in the side of the mountain was not the dragon's entrance; it hadn't occurred to Cadderly before that the network of caves in the mound might be extremely intricate and possibly impossible to pass through. The young priest stubbornly focused the light beam, and the end of the light reached farther below.So he discerned the subtle change in color, and found a darker stone that belonged to the ground, about twenty feet below him.He considered jumping straight down—until he remembered that he was wearing a bullet belt filled with a small bottle of extremely explosive shock oil!

Cadderly thought he was lucky; if he was going to continue on this path, he would have to use spells—and he knew those spells would have to be saved for full use against something like old Farren.With a sigh of resignation, he focused on the Denir song, remembering the part he sang to Danica when she fell off the trail.Then he descended toward the floor of the Great Cave, walking in mid-air. Cadderly understood the ecstasy Danica felt, the almost speechless excitement the young woman felt when she was bewitched by similar spells.All rational logic told Cadderly he was going to fall, but he didn't.By using spells, he defies the laws of nature, and he has to admit, walking on air is a wonderful feeling, better than entering the spirit world, better than letting the flesh fade away and float on the wind.

After a while he should have been able to walk onto the stone floor, but he didn't.He strode a foot above the ground and continued through the wide chamber and into the tunnel.In order to justify his enjoyment, he also told himself that it would be quieter to move like this.Despite the ever-present feeling of timidity, despite the fact that he had run away from his friends to come to such a dangerous place alone, the young priest was smiling when the spell ran out. However, the heat increased, seemingly tenfold, and a sound that sounded like a distant rumble soon reminded Cadderly that the road was nearing its end.He stood still for a while on the edge of another large cavern, listening intently, but he couldn't be sure whether the regular breathing sound he thought he heard was his own imagination or a real dragon.

"There's only one way to find out." The brave priest uttered the words heavily, forcing himself to move his feet.He began to squat low across the ground, holding his bare barrel and crossbow out in front of him with his outstretched hands. He saw that the cave was filled with rocks and was surprised that all the rocks were almost the same size and a similar red color.Cadderly wondered if these things had been created by the dragon, perhaps the remnants of the fire-breathing monster.He'd seen cats spit out furballs; could a dragon cough up rocks, then?Cadderly almost let out a nervous chuckle at the thought, but he swallowed it back, eyes wide with surprise.

There was a rock winking at him! Cadderly froze, trying to keep the beam steady on the object.On the other side, another "rock" moved, drawing Cadderly's attention.As soon as he looked around with the light, he knew that what surrounded him were not rocks, but giant red toads, their heads raised higher than Cadderly's waist. Cadderly decided that he must slow down and try to sneak past the grotesque creatures, but somewhere behind him a toad moved.Despite his determination, Cadderly couldn't help turning around sharply.The beam of light swayed over, startling several other monsters.

※※※ "I'm not going to climb up there and fight some goddamned Elder Dragon!" Ivan protested, folding his thick arms across his chest, bringing them up about three inches above the level of the thick snow.The dwarf deliberately averted his eyes from the steep slopes of Night's Blazing Peak. "Ooh," Pikel spat out. "Cadderly's up there," Danica reminded the stubborn yellow-bearded dwarf. "That's Cadderly stupid," Ivan muttered without hesitation.A huge arm suddenly encircled him, and he was lifted through the air and tucked tightly beside Vander.

"Hee hee hee." Pikel's laughter didn't make Ivan feel better. "What are you doing, you red-haired dragon bred dwarf thief!" Ivan yelled, kicking ferociously but in vain, trying to break free from the strong grip of the Fubao giant. "We should just climb up to the cave entrance," Danica reasoned. "Follow Cadderly's footsteps," Shaylin agreed. "Could you hurry up?" Vander asked them both. "Evan is biting my hand." Danica sprang into action, following Cadderly's well-marked footprints up the steep slope at full speed.Xuelin followed close behind, the nimble, light-footed elf moving across the deep snow with considerable ease.She had her bow and arrows ready; Danica was on the trail, she was on guard. Vander plodded behind her, trying to resist the urge to knock Ivan's fierce, stubborn head out.Pikel was in the rear, jumping easily on the trampled snow behind the tall Fubao giant. A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the cave entrance, in the area where the snow had melted away.Xuelin used the elf's heat-sensing vision to look in, but she pulled her head back after a moment, shaking her head helplessly because the air inside was too hot for her to make out anything. "Cadlier's in," Danica said, reassuring herself and the others. "So we're going in too." "Don't talk about it." Ivan's answer came as expected. "The spell Cadderly cast on you last night won't last long," Shaylin reminded him. "At this height, the air is too cold for the resistance of some dwarf." "Better frozen to death than scorched," Ivan muttered. Danica ignored the comment and slipped into the cave.Xuelin shook her head, then followed. Fander lowered Ivan to the ground, to the surprise of both dwarves. "I'm not going to force you into a dragon's den," the volbol giant explained, walking past them without waiting for an answer, squeezing into the narrow opening. "Oh," Pikel moaned, not much of a joke this time, because they were facing a critical moment. Ivan stood resolutely, his thick arms folded across his chest, one foot tapping on the wet stone.Pikel looked at his brother, then the cave, back to his brother, and back to the cave, unable to decide what to do. "Hey, let's go!" Ivan growled at him after a few seconds. "I won't leave that brainless guy alone to fight dragons!" When Ivan led Pikel into the cave, Pikel's innocent face was full of light.And when the green-bearded dwarf remembered that they were striding down the avenue facing a red dragon, the mischievous smile disappeared. ※※※ On the far side of a mountain path facing Yezhi Peak, Druzil watched several dark figures disappear into the high fog that wrapped the mountaintop.The imp wondered where the giant had come from—why would a giant go with Cadderly? —but it was pretty sure that the other distant figures (especially the two squat creatures that jumped up and down) belonged to Cadderly's friends. The undead creature seemed sure enough.Druzil didn't know if the monster could actually "see" the group in the distance, but the line it took was direct and persistent.Something is guiding this ghost from another world, leading it through the darkness of night and the light of day, without hesitation.The monster neither slowed nor rested (a weary Druzil began to wish it would!), and it and Druzil covered an enormous distance in a very short time. Now, with the target clearly in sight, the monster moved even more ferociously towards the base of the bare slopes of Yezhi Peak, angrily tearing through the snow, as if the accumulation of white powder was some kind of deliberate conspiracy, Keep the ghoul-like monster from approaching Cadderly. A creature from the scorching lower planes, Druzil loathes ice and snow.But being a creature from the lower realms of Chaos, the imp eagerly followed the undead creature, rubbing its claws as it thought of the brutal carnage to come. Cadderly moved slightly, one foot at a time, slowly toward the exit at the far end of the cavern.The great red toad had quietened down again, but the young priest felt many eyes resting on him, staring at him with some kind of intent. After moving a few more feet he was right in front of the exit; ten strides would take him out.He stopped where he was, trying to muster up the courage to start running, and trying to figure out if it was the wisest thing to do. He began to lean forward anxiously, mentally counting down the time to start running. A toad jumped over and blocked the exit. Cadderly's eyes were wide with fear, and he scanned anxiously from side to side, trying to find another route.Behind him, the toads had quietly gathered in groups, cutting off any possible retreat. So this is some kind of deliberate round-up strategy?The young priest guessed in astonishment.Whether it was or not, Cadderly knew he had to act fast.He considered magic, but doubted that he would find any aid in the song of Denir.He immediately decided to take more direct action, and began to flash the beam at the toad blocking the exit in front of him, trying to disturb the creature. The toad seemed to sit more securely, its huge belly resting on the stone floor.It popped up suddenly.For a moment, Cadderly feared it was jumping on top of him—but only its head went forward, its mouth opened, and a cloud of fire shot forward. Cadderly took a step back as the little ball of fire exploded right in front of his eyes, flushing his face.He gave a cry of surprise, and heard the toads moving swiftly behind him.Instinctively, the young priest raised his little crossbow.Instead of looking back, he focused on the escape hatch ahead and fired his crossbow.He immediately started to run, following the tip of the arrow, afraid that before he could get close to the exit, a dozen small fireballs flying from behind would burn him to ashes. The toad's mouth snapped open toward the small missile, its sticky tongue caught it halfway, and swallowed it. The arrow tip did not explode!The tongue apparently didn't crush the vial when it grabbed it.And Cadderly, who was charging at full speed toward the toad, had nowhere else to run, no alternatives in place, not even an enchanted walking stick or Frisbee at hand.He frantically flashed the light tube again, ignoring all logic, hoping to scare away that difficult toad again.And it just sat there, waiting. Then the creature let out a strange belch, its throat swelled and then shrunk, and the next moment, it exploded, sending toad entrails flying in all directions. Quickly, Cadderly raised his arms over his face and rushed through the mess of flesh, then lowered his head warily so as not to smack his head against the ceiling of the low tunnel.He ran out of the big cave for a long distance before he dared to turn back to make sure that no toad was chasing him.The terrified young priest ran on, leaning his body through the winding passage, skidding to a halt, and looking back, though he felt the tunnel suddenly widen around him. Cadderly stopped, frozen.He was no longer thinking of the toads, but more worried about the regular breathing that sounded like a storm blowing in a narrow tunnel.Cadderly turned his head slowly, and even more slowly, turned the light tube around. "Dear God Denir," said the young priest silently, as the beam shone across the scaly skin of an impossibly long, impossibly huge Elder Dragon. "Dear God Denir." The beam of light passed through the dragon's spear-like horns, fell on the protruding head of the mythical beast, passed over the closed eyes, and reached the jaws that could easily bite the giant Vander in half. "Dear God Denir," the young priest uttered, and he fell to his knees, without even realizing it, his knees had gone limp.