to rise again, not now, not ever. He means to destroy them, destroy you.”
The dragon blinked once, its huge eyelids came down with an almost audible thud and it moved one massive paw enough to expose an equally huge claw that was as long as Jon was tall.
“So,” it said, quietly and almost with a pleasant tone, “Your father means to kill me and any of my associates left alive.”
Jon nodded his head, “Yes, that’s right, and if you aren’t going to tell us how to get the Staff of Sakatha then we’ll figure it out on our own.”
“I will help you,” said the creature, “and I will even explain my reasoning so that, should you survive, you might tell your father.”
“You’ll help us,” exclaimed Sorus, “but why?”
“In the beginning the elementals created the world, shaped it, fashioned it, for a period of time beyond your comprehension. After that they created plants and the great tree shepherds to tend to them. Then, finally, they fashioned the living animals, both thinking and bestial, to live upon the world although I do not know why they did this.”
“Go on,” said the First Rider his hand on his chin.
“The elementals and the shepherds intermingled with the living animals and the children born of these unions became the great powers of the Old Empire. We overthrew their rule. Yes, I myself am child of the elementals. I now believe the elementals let themselves be defeated as part of some greater scheme, and, just as the elementals passed, so too must we, their children, in order to let the world go on without us. My kind ruled for many tens of thousands of years, perhaps hundreds of thousands before the Emperor rose and ended all of that. Now, I simply wish to die, and if Sakatha regains his staff he will use it to coerce me into doing his bidding once again. I shall fly the skies and terrorize his enemies, slay those that oppose his rule. I see now why the elementals chose to let themselves slip into oblivion. Our time is over and that is something Sakatha the Great will never grasp. Your father,” Chusarausea nodded to Jon, “has the proper idea, but those that oppose him are mighty and do not conceive that they can be defeated. I suspect they are correct and once again shall rule the world, that the Emperor shall be reborn and that even the elementals will rise from their long hidden places. There will be terrible war, the loss of countless lives, perhaps even the destruction of the world. I refuse to be a part of such a scenario and therefore I give you the secret to the Staff of Sakatha!” it said as its voice rose to a crescendo.
The four men looked at one another but said nothing, their eyes wide as they gazed at the terrible creature, and it rose up on its forepaws. “The staff is embedded in the central stone of the white marble Temple below. To unlock it from its hidden location you must strike it forcefully with one of my talons.”
“But, we are apparitions, we are not really here,” said Sorus his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “How can we take one of your talons?”
“You cannot,” said Chusarausea. “But, upon the same stone in which the Staff of Sakatha is embedded rests one of my talons left for expressly this purpose.”
“We were right there,” said Jon. “There wasn’t anything.”
“It is there,” said the great green dragon with a hard look in its eyes. “You must look closely, but it is there.” With this final pronouncement the conversation seemed over.
“Thank you Great Green One, your words and your vision are both noble and true. My father will hear what you said, that I promise,” said the young gray knight and bowed deeply to the dragon. The creature looked at him through tremendous green eyes and a small smile curled on its face as it nodded its head. Then the creature closed its eyes and put its head down upon its paws.
Chapter 29
“How do we get back?” said Sorus with a look towards Jon and the others and then he glanced around and realized that they stood in the center of the stone circle with the lizard priests, back underground, as if the strange interlude never happened at all. “Oh,” he finished.
It took the lizards a moment to orientate themselves to the new situation and by then the well-trained warriors, Odellius, Jon, and Vipsanius, had swords raised and ready, “Tie their hands behind their backs,” ordered the First Rider to Odellius, “and hurry up about it. I can’t imagine it will take long to reinforce those darklings and ghouls.”
Odellius quickly found a length of rope in his pack, tied neat knots behind the creatures, while Jon went over to the massive crystal block in the center of the stone circle and stared intently at it. His gaze traveled up and down its sides as he looked for the curved shape of the talon and for a long moment he could not see it. Then the shape suddenly seemed to appear on one side of the block and he stared again for long moments.
“Hurry, Jon,” said Sorus but the gray knight did not reply, his eyes fixed on the block.
“Here goes,” he said and reached forwards, grabbed at the block, and clasped his hand. When he pulled it back it held a thick green talon which he raised over his head and plunged down into the stone with all his strength. The talon slipped through the stone block like a rapier through unarmored flesh, the jade rock shattered into a thousand glass shards and left behind a long staff that looked like a mummified crocodile.
The reptile men immediately dropped to their knees and began to murmur in prayer while only the leader of the creatures kept a wary eye on Jon who bent down to pick up the staff.
“I’m sorry to take this from you,” Jon said holding the staff in his right hand and the claw of the great green dragon in his left. “This is the claw of Chusarausea the Great and I imagine you might find it useful. While I cannot let you have the Staff of Sakatha, I offer you this in exchange. Perhaps not a fair trade but it is better than nothing.”
Usharra did not understand the words of the human warrior but the intent was clear enough. He knew the Staff of Sakatha was momentarily lost to his people, but the fact that it was once again found meant the death cult would try to obtain it, use it to not to bring Sakatha back to life but to control the lich thing hidden in the vaults below Darag’dal. He nodded his head and said, “Take what you must warrior, I accept your gift in return, but I do not speak for all my people and others will learn of this and chase you to the ends of the world.”
Jon didn’t understand the language of the creature nor did the others, although the two remaining reptile priests looked at their leader with open mouths and swaying tails. Jon lay the talon at the feet of the leader and then looked to his friends, “Perhaps now is the best time to beat a hasty retreat before the darkling forces return in great numbers.”
The First Rider smiled and Sorus nodded his head, “Let’s get out of here!”
With that all four men backed out of the center of the great stone circle and towards the exit as they kept a careful eye on the reptile men, “The knots will hold for a bit,” said Odellius with a huge grin. “Let’s go!” The four began to trot towards the exit at a quick pace. When they cleared the stones a couple of darklings stood at the doorway across from them while a pair of reptile men, apparently survivors of the earlier battle, stood with their backs to the outer stone ring.
Jon, Sorus, Vipsanius, and Odellius ignored them as they dashed across the open floor to the dark corridor beyond, “Tenebrous!” shouted the First Rider and fumbled in his packet for a light stone. “Lead us out of here or I’ll know the reason why.”
“There is no need for threats,” said the dark shadow, its voice low and rumbly as before. “Follow me, but once we reach the surface I cannot guarantee your safety down the mountain. The darklings are on the move and Thantos seems to have survived.”
“Then stop talking and start leading,” said Odellius looking over his shoulder back at the main chamber where the white marble stones stood. It took him a moment to realize why the site bothered him when it suddenly dawned on him, the stones, thousands of years after their construction, looked exactly the same as in the dream, as if no time had passed at all. Then they were off into the darkness as they followed the strange shadowy creature.
They jogged along the narrow corridors with the First Rider in the rear and Sorus right behind Tenebrous who floated along, apparently able to effortlessly keep at a pace they found comfortable. Sorus noted the First Rider’s voice as he ticked off turns, “left, right, right,” as they made their way down the passages, and he turned to look at him as Odellius’s heavy breath filled the hallway. “Why are you keeping track of our turns on the way out?”
