“Without it,” began Anna, folding her arms, “this Orb of Dominion really worries me. This may be our only protection against it.”
Ryan had tried not to think what would happen if they became enthralled because the idea gave him the creeps, so he changed the subject. “Even with the spell, this sounds pretty difficult. I don’t like the sound of these Lords of Fear at all.”
Eric sighed. “Yeah, we should think about this on the way to this Kirii Cave. We need ideas, plans. The mace was a good idea, Ryan, but don’t discount that soclarin sword you have. There’s no telling what advantages the real Soliander gave it for fighting undead.”
“True. I’ll keep the mace as backup.”
Eric asked, “Matt, Anna, what do we know about curing poisons? This assassin woman, Kori, sounds like serious trouble with poisoned blades.”
Anna said, “In theory, I can heal that. I need to spend some time trying to communicate with a god. I must ask Novir and the others before we leave, if they have any choices for me, so I can try while we travel. I wish there was a way to do that as soon as I arrive on a quest. It’s a lot of pressure to quickly know a god and reach out to one, get an answer.”
“Yeah,” agreed Matt. “At least the spells I remember will still work. My ability to shield us may be crucial. I suggest we stick together when we encounter these guys. They make me nervous already.”
“Good idea. On the plus side, they don’t know we’re coming or that we have dragons with us. Oh, I just had an idea. When we get near the orb, we should pretend that we’re enthralled by it and are under their control. This would gain their trust that we aren’t a threat and maybe allow us to get close before they realize the truth.”
Ryan clapped a hand on his shoulder. “That’s brilliant. Love this idea.”
“Do we need anything else before we get going?” Matt asked, as another thud shook the building.
Ryan smirked. “Yeah, dragon flying lessons. I think we should ask when we get out there, you know, like we usually do, as if like we’re just confirming how things are on this world.”
“That’s good,” Eric agreed. “They’re intelligent, so it’s not like we have to give commands from reins or something. Let’s check that. Everyone ready?”
Ryan let the others go ahead of him as they left the room behind. He was undoubtedly the one to take on this Lord Voth, but the undead knight didn’t concern him as much as the assassin and her poisoned blades. He imagined her targeting Anna or Matt. Maybe he and Eric needed to get Lord Voth and the assassin away from the other two as a tactic. He sighed, not sure what to do. The Lords of Fear had worked as a team, doing whatever they were up to for far longer than him and his friends. The dragons might be crucial, and after they finished at the Kirii Cave, they needed to discuss what options they provided. Surely they would do more than fly them around. They could affect the success of this quest.
The truth of this became apparent after they stepped from the building and followed a warrior around the corner, away from the Quest Ring. They walked onto the grass, a light autumn breeze stirring the pine trees. The season was the same as on Earth right now.
Behind the structure was an open field, shielded from the distant castle’s view by trees, and it was here that the three dragons awaited in their natural forms. Rays of sun broke through the overcast sky, and Ryan saw that a sheer cliff drop awaited anyone foolish enough to venture too far to one side. A wide crevasse ran perpendicular and away from Castle Arking, a rushing river audible below, or perhaps it was a waterfall out of sight. Mist rose from the cliff, and in the distance, the thick Artem Woods stretched for miles, the leaves turning red, gold, and brown.
He turned to gaze at the dragons, the sheer size and mass of them as intimidating as the wicked talons, white teeth taller than him, and powerful wings. Not counting the necks, heads, and tails, each was bigger than a two-story, single-family home. He’d once seen a video of a jet engine flipping a car upside and hurling it away. The impression that the air blast from one stroke of a wing could send him off the cliff made him uneasy. Just one dragon could more than level the playing field against the Lords of Fear. He also wondered how a brother and sister dragon were different colors, and whether anything else about them was unique, but there was no time to ask.
The blue dragon stood nearest and was ready, silver eyes cold and indifferent as he gazed down at Ryan. Maybe he was imagining it, but he felt some disdain. Brazin’s sister had been flirting with him. Was he irritated about it? Did dragons even fool around with humans? Was it possible? Or was the idea just insulting to one such as Brazin? Ryan wasn’t sure but didn’t feel comfortable with him and was glad to not be riding him.
Past him, Jolian rose to her feet and stretched her wings, a saddle now affixed to her, the warriors who had assisted with it stepping away toward the green dragon beyond. Jolian was noticeably larger than the other two, red scales gleaming as a ray of sun broke through the overcast sky to touch her. She took a deeper breath, the saddle girth expanding and contracting snugly as she did so, before a small burst of flames erupted from her nostrils, smoke curling up from them after it was over. She seemed satisfied and rested on her hindquarters, massive head turning to regard the Ellorian Champions. Her red eyes seemingly met Ryan’s. It was hard
