Night of the Dragon

could better help her friends in the long run by not helping them now.

The priestess looked around. Farther up, another opening beckoned. It would require a precarious climb, but it was her best chance of entering the mount.

With the staff dismissed, Iridi crawled like a spider up the rock face. She had no illusions as to her chances; what confronted them was a powerful thing of evil, even more so than the blood elf, whose own dark deeds were even greater in number than she had imagined. Yet, it was now all up to her. That was something that she had sensed from the beginning of her journey, that there would come a point when she would be called upon to make the crucial decision or act, upon which all else would be decided. This had to be that moment.

Krasus, Kalec, Vereesa, and the dwarves were all prisoners. It made perfect sense to her that she should choose one or more to locate and immediately free. As the ranger herself had indicated, Krasus was likely the best choice of all those.

And yet, as Iridi reached the entrance, she knew without doubt that it was the nether dragon for whom she was about to begin her search...

THIRTEEN

“Do you sense that?' Kalec asked Krasus. 'Something is going on just beyond the mount....'

The dragon mage did not answer, his attention, as earlier, on the entrance to their prison.

This latest silence only infuriated the young blue more. He had tried speaking with the other dragon half a dozen times, but Krasus never so much as nodded. He sat like a statue, and while Kalec understood that his companion had something in mind, he had given indication more than once that it would have been good if the other had included him in the details.

Krasus knew that Kalec still leaned toward the blood elf's offer, although only long enough to regain the upper hand. There was merit in that, but not enough considering that it was Sinestra who was the true darkness of Grim Batol.

And so, Krasus did not argue with Kalec, but chose to work on what was possibly an even more remote hope.

'We're no better....' the blue remarked bitterly.

Despite his current task, Krasus could not help but be curious. 'What do you mean by that?'

'My lord Malygos, now that he's whole again, has had nothing good to say of the mortal races and their abuses of magic. He proclaims that only dragons are worthy and capable of wielding magic properly.' Kalec shook his head. 'Right now, to me it seems like dragons wield it worse than anyone else....'

Krasus was about to reply, when he sensed a presence moving down the corridor in their direction. It did not radiate the magic that permeated Zendarin, the mageslayer, or, most important of all, her. Perhaps it was finally what he hoped it would be.

A skardyn strode into sight.

Rather than be disappointed, Krasus's hopes rose. He made a grunting sound identical to some of the speech that he had heard them use earlier.

The scaly dwarf looked his direction.

Krasus caught the creature's gaze... and held it. He did not do it by any true magical means, but by sheer will.

From Kalec there came a brief, muted sound. The blue now had some inkling of what he planned.

The skardyn stood motionless for a few seconds, simply staring back. Then, slowly, it entered.

Yet, it was not toward Krasus it went, but rather the nearest wall. Eyes ever tied to the dragon mage's own, the skardyn began climbing.

Krasus guided it with his gaze. Over the space of several millennia, he had become very adept at mesmerism. It was very rare for him to use this skill, for he despised any who willingly enslaved another even for a short time, but there were times of necessity, such as now.

Despite its squat form, the skardyn was an agile climber, not at all surprising considering it lived in the caverns within and below Grim Batol. Krasus had it continue its ascent until it was now near the ceiling.

At that point, he turned his gaze to the shard floating in the air. The skardyn leapt.

The heavy dwarven body enveloped the shard. As it touched the magical fragment, the skardyn's form flared golden. Despite clearly being in immense pain, the creature did not release its hold.

Skardyn and shard finally dropped to the floor.

'Is it still alive?' Kalec asked.

'Its death was unavoidable.' the dragon mage replied somewhat sadly. As one who served and defended life, he regretted when circumstance demanded such cold manipulation of another creature on his part, even a creature such as this. Shaking off his regret, he asked in turn, 'Can you feel the difference around us now?'

At first, Kalec did not look as if he understood. Then, the blue suddenly frowned.

'The shard... Its influence is lessened. Just a little, but it is less.'

'It was a hunch I played. The very rune that makes it immune to much magic is also what enables it to act as a buffer, so to speak, of the shard's powers.'

Kalec struggled with his bonds. Krasus could detect the blue using his magic, but to no avail.

'You will not be able to do anything,' the red explained.

Kalec frowned. 'Then what is the point, old one? Why did you go through so much trouble if we still can't escape this chamber?'

'But we can... if only we work together.'

The other dragon did not look confident. 'There is still some other force besides that shard keeping us so weak... and something else keeping you even more so, Korialstrasz.'

'Do not concern yourself with that last. Sinestra planned long for my particular coming, knowing—as you might put it—that I must interfere. I was assailed by storm and sea monster and magic from various dark elements, including naga whom I suspect had the choice of serving her will or suffering terribly. All of it, including a wound that does not completely heal, were to make me weak enough to overcome once I came here...and I willingly let that happen.' Krasus straightened. 'But I am not so weak as any of you think... and that is why, with both of us together, we should at least be able to free ourselves of these bonds.'

'But what else wearies us?' Kalec persisted as he readied himself.

'I have my suspicions, but to speak them would be to only add more uncertainty to our situation. Should we escape this chamber, we can deal with that and all else as needs be.'

'Murky as ever. Your queen must love mystery....'

Krasus did not show how the last comment sent pangs of remorse through the older dragon. The red was not all that certain that he would survive this to see his beloved mate again. True, hehad often been in dangerous situations, but evidently age was catching up even with him.

That did not mean, however, that he had any intention of abandoning his self-chosen role as Azeroth's protector until death truly did claim him.

'Let us concentrate our wills together,' he said to Kalec.

It was not something the blue obviously desired, but he nodded, then closed his eyes. Krasus did the same.

The magic of a blue dragon was different than that of a red, but even Krasus was surprised by the particular traits of his companion's. There was a touch to that magic that did not feel at all akin to any other blue's with whom Krasus had been in contact throughout his existence. That even included Malygos himself.

And then Krasus knew what it was that made Kalec unique not just among the blue flight, but all dragons.

He was touched by the power of the Sunwell.

Kalec did not know this himself; that was obvious to Krasus immediately. The influence was subtle and deep. Indeed, it blended so much into the blue's very essence that Krasus could think of It only as done on purpose.