‘I have such bad memories of this place,’ said Blackrose, ‘for it was here that the witch Karalyn stole the Quadrant that brought us from Pella. And yet, here we are again.’ She glanced at Sable. ‘I hope we are not staying for too long.’
‘That depends,’ said Sable.
‘On what?’
‘On how much mass can be transported by a single Quadrant.’
‘It should be able to handle a pile of gold without any difficulty, as well as five dragons and three humans.’
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘but there are other useful things here that we could take to Dragon Eyre. You told us that your world was lacking in metals; well, guess what? This castle is sitting on a massive amount of iron, much of it neatly, and conveniently, stacked into ingots within the caverns. In some ways, it would be a lot more valuable to us than the gold. We could trade it, or turn it into weapons; whatever we fancy. Also, there are piles of supplies in the deeper caverns, including enough grain to last us weeks. This place was stocked for a long siege. Some of it’s been looted, but much remains.’
‘Iron?’ said Blackrose.
‘Yes, as much as we can carry.’
‘I don’t know how much that could be, as I have never seen a Quadrant tested in that manner. For large shipments of materials, a portal was always set up, requiring two Quadrants.’
‘What happens,’ said Maddie, ‘if we try to take more than the Quadrant can cope with?’
‘I would be speculating if I tried to answer that,’ said Blackrose.
‘You might arrive without a tail.’
‘Or without a rider.’
‘Hmm. Maybe we should test it first; or perhaps we could go in relays? I mean, there’s nothing to stop us ferrying stuff back and forward. We could take the gold, and then come back for the iron, or something along those lines.’
‘I like your thinking, Maddie,’ said Sable. ‘That would seem to be the safest course.’
‘Here’s what we’ll do,’ said Blackrose. ‘Broadwing will patrol the vicinity to the east, Ashfall to the west, while Sanguino and I protect the castle area. Deepblue will accompany the three humans into the caverns as far as she is able, to assist with the extraction of the gold, iron and other supplies, which will be piled up in the forecourt. While that is being done, I can consider the plan of how we take it all to Dragon Eyre. As you know, I hate delay, but after having waited so long already,’ her gaze lingered on Sable for a moment, ‘a few more hours will make no difference. Let’s set our new departure time for dawn tomorrow. Are we agreed?’
‘My Queen,’ said Broadwing; ‘Ashfall is returning.’
They turned, and saw a tiny black speck in the western sky. The sun was on the horizon, and Sable lifted a hand to shield her eyes from its glare.
‘She’s fast,’ said Maddie.
‘She is the fastest among us,’ said Blackrose, ‘but we all have our talents.’
‘I noticed a great store of leather in one of the caverns,’ said Sable, nudging Millen. ‘You might be able to stitch together another harness without all of that horrible tanning business.’
‘It’s not much use to me if I don’t have a dragon.’
Ask Deepblue. She’s too shy to approach you, and you’ll combine well together; you want to ask her; be brave.
Millen blinked, then glanced at the small blue dragon, who was watching Ashfall approach.
‘Maybe I should ask Deepblue,’ he whispered.
‘That’s a great idea,’ said Sable. ‘You can do it when we enter the caverns.’
Ashfall circled once overhead, then alighted onto the castle forecourt.
‘The coast has been inundated,’ she said. ‘The small harbour town has been swept away, and the ocean has encroached several miles of farmland.’
‘How strange,’ said Blackrose. ‘Perhaps there was an earthquake at sea; they can sometimes trigger large waves. Maybe that’s what Broadwing sensed.’
‘The damage stretches north and south as far as I could see. I could have gone to look, but I wanted to come back with the news first.’
‘I have assigned you to patrol our western flank while we remove the supplies from the caverns. It would be wise to take a closer look; please do so.’
Ashfall tilted her head. ‘I shall.’
Sable gestured to Maddie. ‘We’ll be on our way if that’s everything agreed.’
‘Report back to me within the hour,’ said Blackrose, ‘so I can judge the extent of materials to be transported.’
‘No problem, boss.’
‘Do not refer to me as “boss,” Sable. “Your Majesty” or “my Queen,” those titles I find acceptable, but not boss.’
Sable smiled, then nodded to Maddie and Millen. ‘This way. Deepblue, you can follow us in. The caverns on this level are all big enough for you.’
She led the way towards the ruined castle gates, Millen and Maddie by her side, and Deepblue a few paces behind. Huge fragments of masonry were littering the courtyard beyond the shattered gates, and of the keep, only a single high wall was still standing, the rest having been reduced to a great pile of rubble at its base. Sable turned left, and walked towards the cliffside, where there were several openings in the rockface.
She paused by the entrance to the closest cave and crouched down. ‘Someone’s been here.’
‘Who?’ said Maddie.
Sable gave her a look. ‘I cannot tell that by a single footprint.’
Millen hovered his foot over the mark on the ground. ‘It’s about the same size as my boot.’
‘So, it’s probably a man, then,’ said Maddie. ‘A looter? You told us that some supplies have been looted. Malik’s ass, I hope they haven’t plundered the gold.’
‘I’d expect a lot more footsteps if that were the case,’ said Sable. ‘I don’t see any going out. Let’s be wary in here; we might not be alone.’
‘But he might attack us,’ said Maddie.
Sable rolled her eyes. ‘We have a dragon with us, remember?’
‘Shall I burn any who
