“Wait, wait, wait.”
Kegohr thrust his arm forward, stamping his foot as he did so. The front of the shield seemed to break away, a disk of fire that surged a dozen feet across the practice yard before dissipating into smoke.
“Now, it’s good for attacking as well as defending.” Kegohr beamed proudly.
We spent the next hour trying different variations on our techniques. I learned how to send Untamed Torch in circles and spirals to left and right. I manipulated the fireball into totally different shapes, including a jet of flame for enemies at short range.
Vesma and Kegohr tried larger and smaller shields, pointed ones they could stab with, and, of course, Kegohr’s ranged attack. We fetched wooden practice weapons and sparred against each other. We tested the use of our abilities in a real fight, until the weapons were charred from bouncing off burning shields and we were all in need of a rest.
“Damn, we’re good.” I sat and quenched my thirst with water Vesma had fetched.
“You lot learn quick.” Rutmonlir walked into the practice yard, his habitual scowl replaced by a grin.
“How long have you been watching?” Vesma snapped.
“Long enough. And you might want to be a bit more friendly to the guy who nudged you in the right direction.”
“Thank you, Master,” she replied with a bow that was not quite low enough for his stature.
“That’s more like it. I came to tell you that we’re taking the class down into the valley tonight, for a lesson in nocturnal animals. But I reckon you’ll be better off staying here, practicing what you’ve just learned. I’ll tell Faryn and the rest that you’ve been excused from this one. Unless you’d rather go look at owls?”
“No, Master,” we said as one.
“All right, then. Carry on.” He stomped away and vanished into the guild house.
We looked at each other. None of us had ever been excused from a lesson before. I’d asked him for the chance when we’d been on the mountain path, and he’d refused. Now, he’d had a change of heart. I could only guess at the reasons, but I suspected I’d somehow made him proud and earned a night off. The unexpected privilege would have been exciting, even if it just gave us a chance to keep sparring, but I could think of a better use for the time.
If the masters left us here while they went down to the valley, then no one would expect to see me until the morning, and even then, the class would be sleeping in. I had a whole night to get up to the Ember Cavern, rescue Nydarth, and come back to the guild. An opportunity like this might never come again.
“I have something else I need to do,.” I said as I set aside my cup of water. “Can you two cover for me?”
They looked at each other.
“You off to meet a lady?” Kegohr asked.
“Nothing like that,” I said. But then, I remembered Nydarth in her female human form. “Well, not in that sense, anyway.”
“What are you doing?” Vesma asked.
Back on Earth, whenever I’d had a secret mission, I’d kept it to myself. But then, any other time I’d had a secret mission, I hadn’t had friends I could trust the secret to. Colleagues, yes. Superiors even. But not friends. Not like these two. I didn’t want to put them in an awkward position, but didn’t I owe them the truth?
“There’s a dragon,” I said. “Or a dragon spirit, at least. Her name’s Nydarth, and it’s thanks to her that I ended up here.”
“You’re off for an evening with a dragon?” Kegohr raised an eyebrow. “And they make jokes about a human and an ogre.”
“It’s not like that. She’s trapped in the Ember Cavern, and I’m going to rescue her.”
“Are you stupid?” Vesma cuffed me across the back of the head. “The Cavern’s full of monsters.”
“I know. I’ve been in there, remember?”
“That was just the top levels. It gets more dangerous as you keep going down.”
“I can handle it.”
“Really?”
“I’ve been waiting for a chance like this. Besides, I have new technique variations. Where better to test them than the Ember Cavern?”
“Idiot,” Vesma said.
“Guess you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” Kegohr said. “Can we help?”
I shook my head. “This is my mission. I’ll do it on my own.”
It took most of an hour to collect my sword and some provisions. By then, night had descended and the other initiates had headed down into the valley, escorted by most of the masters. The guild lay silent as the servants took the opportunity to rest.
The pillar of fire illuminated the front entrance, and guards were stationed along the battlements. The rear fortifications were also guarded, but the only light they could see by were the two torches above the gate. So, I avoided the gate and snuck out through a back door Faryn had showed me.
I jogged up the hill, determined to waste as little time as possible. All those runs were paying off, as I made good time and barely broke a sweat. Around me, crickets chirped and owls hooted. I heard something rustling in the long grass beneath the trees, then a squawk as a predator descended on its prey.
Soon, I’d left the trees behind and was on a bare slope. Small rocks rolled away from beneath my feet as I ascended. I went slower to make sure I kept my balance as I focused on my surroundings for any potential danger. At last, the ground flattened out and I found myself standing in front of the entrance to the Ember Cavern.
I adjusted my belt, checked the sword and knife sheathed there, and shifted the pack on my back. It held a few things I might need in an emergency or if this took longer than planned: water, dried beef and biscuits, bandages in case I got wounded, even a few healing herbs that Faryn had shown me how to find.
This was it. Another step into the unknown.
Four guards assigned to
