The four Cyclopes before him had been defeated easily without giving them a chance to fight back. However, they got up even as they were injured by Vaeludar’s half dragon body. The two that had injured eyes had opened their eyes in gushing red, the belly-scratched Cyclops, and the leg-scratched Cyclops got on their legs as if they had never felt the pain Vaeludar gave them.
“What do you suppose you are?” asked one of them. “A human wearing a deceiving dragon costume?”
“Oh, no,” answered Vaeludar. “I am very much human and dragon. I am a hybrid; half human half dragon. The name id Vaeludar.”
“Vaeludar?” exclaimed the leg-scratched Cyclops. “I heard that name before; that is the name of that one little kid of that dragon Ralenskrit and that woman Belverda. Yeah, that little midget guy.”
“Midget?” Vaeludar’s eyes grew in great anger. “You’re saying I’m two inches tall? Now you have gone and done it.” Vaeludar rose high into the air. “Let me show you what happens to those who would call me small.”
Vaeludar closed his eyes and reopened them, showing they were pure white. “Now turn to stone,” said Vaeludar.
From head to toe, the blinded Cyclopes turned into pure, solid stone in five seconds. Normally he would breathe fire, but he suddenly had the power to turn living creatures to stone like a Gorgon.
After turning the four giants to stone, Vaeludar blinked and his eyes went back to what they were: blue-sclera, gold-iris, and red-pupils. Having another easy victory, he touched back on the ground.
Vaeludar sighed heavily, turned away and saw the men, Alaric, and the Unicorns all staring in shock, awe, and amazement. It seemed there was more to Vaeludar than met the eye.
Alaric was the first to walk to Vaeludar who was flying down from the high boulder. Many reactions were in Alaric’s eyes.
“How did you do that?” he asked. “No Dragons or humans could turn any creatures to stone.”
“I have no idea I could have,” answered Vaeludar. “I felt like I suddenly turned off and was possessed by a different spirit. I felt like I lost control of my own body. I may have more powers than I could imagine. Only the creatures of the Gorgon species can turn humans and creatures to stone.
“Question is: how do I have such a power and where did it come from? I could see only one answer: my mother. She may have been a Gorgon instead of a human, but she had been a friend of your father so that can’t be true.”
Vaeludar turned to the four, stoned-sculptured Cyclopes and he saw something different; only two were Cyclopes and the other two were not; they only had badly damaged eyes.
Giants!
Two stoned Giants, which both had one badly battled-cut eye, were with Cyclopes. When Vaeludar first learned about Cyclopes and Giants about years ago, he learned they were bitter enemies and rivals, fighting for territory in the northern mountain border that hide the Forgotten Lands (or the Northern Region) beyond.
“Alaric,” Vaeludar pointed at one Giant and one Cyclops. “Look at their eyes very closely.” Vaeludar showed Alaric the four humanlike giants and their eyes every closely.
Every man and creature looked at the four stoned creatures they thought to be Cyclopes, and their eyes caught the differences between the regular Cyclopes and the Giants with badly, beaten eyes.
“When did a Giant and a Cyclops start working together when they are supposed to be rivals in snowy mountains?” asked a man.
“Not ever in a lifetime,” said a Unicorn.
The Unicorn King with five Unicorns and Geraldus, with ten men riding on horses, entered the open area. “They’ve never been allies for anything,” said the Unicorn King. “They have long been enemies.”
“And they moved in direct sunlight, but their eyes can be stunned by the sunlight,” stated Vaeludar. “I found a cave not too far from here. Here let me show you.”
Before Geraldus followed Vaeludar or went anywhere, he ordered a few men to fetch his stolen horses and head back to the village.
After that happened, Vaeludar led the groups of men and Unicorns to the cave he found, descending about five feet. He was joined with five men, six Unicorns, the Unicorn King, Alaric, and Geraldus who were dismounting from their horses. When they first entered, there was a horrible stench: dog’s breath and dried food waste mixed with the worst odor of a skunk.
“That smell,” said Alaric, trying to hold his breath.
“This is a cave where Cyclopes and two bad-eyed Giants dump bones of their victims,” said Geraldus. “You’ll get used to it.”
“I’ll never get used to the smell,” argued Alaric.
“I do not smell anything,” said Vaeludar. “I am capable of holding my own breath for hours.”
“Just look around,” ordered Alaric.
The group explored the large cave stretching back a long way.
Vaeludar went to the back of the cave and saw tall, web clayed pots, hardly worth a single gold coin. He passed other rusty, old items such as kitchen pots and pans. No gold or jewelry were among the rusty metals he saw.
Then in one corner he saw sheathed swords piled on the ground. Several long spears stood along the cave’s walls. Several axes were placed next to the swords.
He picked up one spear and brushed off the dust. The grey metal shined and showed no sign of rustiness after the dust was brushed. He placed it back and grabbed a sword lying on the ground. He pulled the swords a few inches and saw the blade colored as grey steel.
He gazed at a bunch of weapons piled in the corner he was in. The sword he was holding he flew back into the pile.
Vaeludar was enjoying himself by looking at the weapons. He never saw anything like them: snake-curved spears, light swords, long axes with
