After the initial exhilaration, Ryan took stock of himself and realized he was gripping the reins hard but not pulling on them, probably from many years of good horseback riding habits. He jammed his feet into the stirrups, his body tight. But he made himself relax and start gazing around. Turning in the saddle revealed Anna looking a little tense, but she smiled. Not far behind and gaining was Novir on the blue dragon, and just behind, the green one with Matt and Eric. He really wanted a GoPro to capture this experience for forever.
Moments later, the crevasse ended, the cliffs disappearing as they emerged from it, a shimming blue lake below, more forest all around it, snow-capped mountains in the distance. The sun streamed out in places, lighting up a fleet of fishing boats to one side. Suddenly a shadow appeared on Ryan and he looked up as Brazin overtook them, four enormous legs closer than comfortable, especially when he dove toward the water, the tail coming perilously close. Jolian followed him down, both dragons skimming their feet across the calm waters. The spray from Brazin struck Ryan, who stayed dry inside his armor. He laughed as they climbed again, the powerful wing strokes propelling them up faster than he would have believed. The ground fell away, and he wondered just how many thousands of feet in the air they were now. It became quieter, more peaceful, colder, and even boring as they disappeared into the clouds.
And then suddenly they were above them, bright sunlight all around, nothing visible but the sky above, the white moody clouds below, eddies from Brazin ahead of them whisking up. Nearer now than before, the tallest mountains poked above the serene view. Wanting to share it more, he reached behind him with one hand and after a moment, felt Anna’s hand grip his. They rode this way for a long time, and as they went, Ryan considered the task before them, reminding himself of what training he had received in swordsmanship and battle tactics.
The batlike kirii at the cave, and the unknown leviathan, concerned him less than the Lords of Fear. But right now, something bothered him about Brazin that he couldn’t quite identify. He sensed his own distrust and that the friendliness of Jolian was the only reason he didn’t outright dislike her brother. Novir seemed to think nothing of it, so he wasn’t sure what to believe. He felt certain that Brazin was only doing this for Jolian, and that if the red dragon somehow fell, Brazin would leave them behind. He didn’t want to be alone with Brazin, or give him a chance to abandon them. He decided that as long as someone monitored the blue dragon, maybe everything would be fine. Not being able to trust those who’ve summoned him away from his life and into danger made these quests even more troubling.
Ryan wasn’t sure how long they were above the clouds, but it seemed like over an hour. They passed between the nearest mountains, and when they dove beneath the clouds, he saw they were quite a distance into the range. He realized their flight had made it harder to mentally follow the map he’d memorized. But then he saw a town off to one side and wondered if it was the one he’d noted. Were they getting near? The green dragon came up beside them with Eric and Matt giving them a thumbs up and huge grins. Ryan didn’t really have anything he wanted to say, but he realized knowing more sign language as those two did could help in situations like this. The idea of riding dragons so often that he needed that made him laugh.
Brazin banked sharply, which was the only warning Jolian was about to, and now it became concerning as they tilted wildly to the left, a dragon no longer directly below them, but the ground far below, just like when a rollercoaster takes a sharp turn. They glided in circles, the earth rushing up. Ryan began visually searching the area for threats and the cave they needed to enter, but he saw neither, just a cleared area barely big enough for three dragons to land one-by-one, moving aside so another could arrive. Jolian dropped last, powerful wing blasts sending loose leaves and dust into the air. The landing was surprisingly smooth for a creature this size. Ryan exchanged looks with the others, noticing as he did that the dragons appeared on alert but relaxed as if they sensed nothing amiss. He took a long drink of water from a flask in the saddle, seeing Eric doing the same.
Novir was already grabbing a crossbow and quiver of bolts from the saddle pack, then a cloth sack before dismounting. Ryan got himself unbuckled, then helped Anna. He took the quiver and crossbow from his saddle despite not being sure how to use them. Then he climbed down the rope ladder to the ground, almost sorry to be standing on his own two feet again after that ride. Everyone soon gathered in one place, near the heads of the dragons. Even Jolian, with her benevolent attitude, was simply frightening this close to that gigantic mouth. Ryan could have walked straight into it and been swallowed whole.
“Where’s the cave?” Eric asked of Novir, looking around. Ryan didn’t see it either, just pine-covered, snow-capped mountains all around, the foothills covered in thicker foliage, boulders of every size gathered in old rock falls. They stood on uneven earth with more stone jutting up, most of it smooth from weathering. He had seen a trail leading past this spot and a way to climb down to it, and it made him wonder what had made it. Whatever it was wouldn’t be much of a threat to dragons, and likely wasn’t dumb enough to try something. They were taking a chance trusting the
