The big man grinned at him “We've got about five hours left before the Maktuul sacrifice Valeria. Let's give the dragon his scroll, shall we?” He offered an outstretched hand to the young mage to help him up.
Teryn accepted the hand. Standing hurt, but not as much as he thought it would. He gave his body a good stretch and cracked the muscles in his neck.
“Why not?” he said, returning the grin.
He walked over to the Great Dragon and snatched up his glow-sword. Then he took up the scroll and looked around on the Great Dragon for the place where it would fit. It took some time, but he eventually found a spot above the beast’s left hind leg where it looked like a singular scale was missing.
That must be the spot.
With a little help from the Great Dragon himself, he climbed up to the right spot and placed the scroll there.
“Ly min taph plok!” Teryn shouted, invoking a glueme spell. A strange golden light grew out of the corners of the scroll, and it became one with the Great Dragon. Instantly, the beast got up, throwing Teryn to the ground in the process. The beast shook his wings to rid himself of the malaise and growled so loud it shook the whole of Mount Malabohr.
“Oh, I feel so much better! Now I can save the world again!” the Great Dragon exclaimed.
Teryn picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. “Does that mean you'll take us to save Valeria from the Maktuul, Great Dragon?”
The Great Dragon roared with delight. “Of course. Hop on and I shall take you to their lair. If you survive, I'll even take you back to Coontan afterward for free.”
The Great Dragon helped the two of them climb onto its back and warned them to hold on for their lives. The magnificent beast spread out its wings fully, ran off the side of the mountain and took flight for the first time in a thousand years.
* * * * * * * * * *
They made great time as the dragon zoomed through the sky. Teryn watched the trees whip past them on the ground and marveled at how wonderful flight felt. He’d never experienced anything quite like it. He glanced over at Talon, who did not seem similarly impressed.
His companion was clinging to the back of the dragon with both hands as if his life depended on it. Teryn chuckled. He’d finally found something Talon was scared of, and it made him happy in a weird way.
By the time they arrived at the Death Beasts’ lair, some of the Maktuul were already outside the anthill preparing for the full-moons ritual. The dragon flew in a little closer and the Maktuul spotted it flying toward them immediately.
A few of them went back inside to warn the other Maktuul of the danger. Of the ones that remained, Teryn, even from a distance, could see a look of sheer terror in their eyes.
The Great Dragon opened its jaws and spewed fire upon the Maktuul warriors. A massive jet of hot flames shot forth, engulfing several of them. When the flames stopped, the three could see mounds of charred, lifeless ash where the creatures’ bodies used to be.
Panic started to set in on the mound, but the Maktuul were determined not to go out without a fight. Waves of them ran out of the mouth of the giant anthill, only to suffer the same fate. The Great Dragon’s wrath was spectacular to watch.
Soon, the Death Beasts started to get the message, and no more of them ran out to meet them. The Great Dragon circled the gaping maw of the mound’s opening a few times so the three could stare down into it. What they saw did not give them much hope.
The hole was vast and dark. It seemed to bore through the mound almost to the very base. Every fifty feet or so stood a landing on which dozens of Maktuul stood, brandishing their poisoned weapons, ready to defend their home and their queen against any attack.
But the Great Dragon was prepared for this. He took to the skies, climbing higher and higher until Talon’s face turned green from the speed and motion sickness. Then the beast began its descent.
As it careened towards the giant maw, the beast inhaled a deep breath. When it was mere seconds from crashing into the opening, the beast let loose a swath of fiery breath that had no parallel right down the center of the shaft.
The heat melted most of the defending Maktuul warriors instantly. Then the beast swooped and swerved to keep from crashing into the mountain and leveled off. It was a wild but effective tactic.
Teryn looked down into the maw once more. This time, there was nothing standing at the ready to attack them. The coast was clear.
“I've cleared you a path, humans,” the Great Dragon told them. “Now go down there and find your girl, then come back up when you’re ready. I shall stay up here and take on any Maktuul foolish enough to come find me, but I cannot help you with your battles below where the queen surely awaits.”
Teryn’s lips curled into a half-smile. “I have just the spell for the queen - megablast!”
The Great Dragon nodded its massive head. “Good, good. Now go, and do not dally. Your friend is not safe yet, Little One.” The Great Dragon rolled slightly, almost shaking them off of him as he did so.
The two heroes readied themselves and then jumped off the Great Dragon's back and began their descent. They looked at the many tunnels they had to explore that lined the hole all the way down. The tunnels were still mostly empty for the moment, but they knew that would soon change. Still, nothing stopped their descent into the mound as they barreled towards the bottom at breakneck speeds.
“Sok pof!” Teryn chanted a few moments before
