Secrets of the Mountain

To say the morning was cold was an understatement. The temperatures lately had been gradually getting lower and lower until there was a nip in the mountain air. This sort of discomfort didn’t stop Cor, however.

Over the course of a few weeks, he’d hired dragons to spread the word of a jewel hidden deep within a mountain. A mountain that rested on land unclaimed by tribes.

This jewel was said to contain ancient magic that granted the wielder a single wish...or so the story went. While some found such an idea to be something out of a fairytale, there were others that found themselves swept away with what they could possibly do with such power. A jewel that would bring their wildest dreams and fantasies to life.

Cor sat near one of the many entrances to the tunnels that burrowed into the mountain. His gaze was fixated on the dragoness who was accompanying him. A white dragoness who went by the name of Sleet. She was examining her talons and prettying herself up for the dragons that would arrive for this hunt.

Despite the fact that Cor normally enjoyed working alone, he found himself in need of someone to fund this endeavor. Through some of his connections, he’d been directed to this dragoness.

While she was very apprehensive to part with any of her gems, convincing her proved to be very easy. All he had to do was promise that she would be the one who got to keep the rare jewel.

Sleet sighed and raised her head, then did a double-take as she realized Cor had been staring at her. “I know I am likely the most captivating thing you have seen in your life, but must you stare at me, darling? It makes me rather uncomfortable...which does not mix well with the boredom I feel waiting for others to show up.”

“Of course...my apologies,” Cor responded turning his gaze outward. “I was just lost in thought. If anyone does arrive at this tunnel, I want you to direct them inside so they can begin searching right away.”

“So that they can find my jewel as fast as possible?” Sleet asked as both a question and a reminder.

“Yes. Absolutely.” He turned and looked at her, tilting his head, “what all would you wish for if this artifact were given to you?”

Sleet looked up in thought, then grimaced, “I never truly thought about it, darling. Simply having it in my possession is enough of a gift. Perhaps I would wish that I owned a second one.”

“So that you could give it to your daughter?”

“Gods no. I would not dare let her touch either of them. She might try to ‘improve’ them as she would do with my other accessories.” With a sigh she continued, “no, I would likely keep them in my home. They would certainly be an interesting conversation piece.”

Now Cor was the one who felt uncomfortable. He nodded his head slowly, forcing a smile before turning his attention forward again. There was likely no way for a dragon like him to understand a dragoness like her. Luckily, they never would need to talk again after this endeavor.

* * *

“Mom, how much further do we have to fly?” groaned a young, brown-scaled dragoness.

Tera, who was a darker brown, looked over her shoulder at her daughter. After a few seconds, she looked forward again and scanned the area. “Are you complaining?”

“No,” the youngling said with an indignant huff, “what if we need to get into a fight when we get there? I don’t want us to be exhausted.”

Tera let out a small chuckle and grinned. “That’s a fair question, Pebble. I hadn’t thought about that.” She looked back at her daughter once more with an approving glance. “We’re getting close, though, so taking a break is not necessary. Please check our supplies and ensure we didn’t forget anything.”

“Again?” Pebble complained.

“Yes, again.”

“Fine...in my bag, I have four pouches of water, along with six pouches of dried beef, since there probably aren’t a lot of animals for us to hunt in the mountain.” She patted the somewhat large sack she was carrying, then pointed to the bag her mother had, “you brought four ropes, a pick axe, a few gems, some whetstone to sharpen our claws, and your super dangerous ‘never-ever-to-be-used-by-Pebble’ dagger just in case you need to defend yourself.”

The dark brown dragoness nodded her head, “very good. Can you think of anything else we’re missing?”

Pebble sped up so that she was flying next to her mother, looking at her with a wide smile. “A game? Or anything fun? All we packed were supplies. You didn’t even let me bring any books!”

“We’ll have plenty of time for games later, dear,” Tera remarked, “for now, let’s just focus on getting that jewel.”

“Fine,” Pebble remarked. She remained silent for the rest of the trip, finding it absolutely fruitless to argue with her stern mother. Regardless, she never doubted their bond. The two of them were an unstoppable team. Especially with her mother teaching her lesson after lesson of how to survive in Nuira.

Krygem was making good time. He easily glided on the wind on his way to the cave to find the jewel. He didn’t want it for absolute power or anything dull like that, it was an artifact, and should be treated as so. He wanted to study it, learn what it could do, not use it for something silly as wishing for something.
Ugghhhh! Why does this place have to be so far away? This pack is killing me.
 
He had packed plenty of supplies. Chicken Jerky, beef jerky, a few fruits, a camel pack full with two or four days worth of water, a first aid kit - just in case someone got hurt- , and his note taking supplies and a set of battle claws his friend had lent him. He also had his herb kit, but it was so light he barely noticed the extra weight. 


He moaned inwardly, he forgot he’d have to wait when he got to the cave, he had a buddy coming along with him. Well, more like a acquaintance he had met when he was young... Okay, really he was a bodyguard but he did know the arrogant weasel. His friend’s name was Lysorath, a hulking pale gold wyvern. He stood taller than Krygem, but still some how managed to fit in tiny spaces like a cat. Maybe it was the fact that he was covered in bushy sharp scales that flattened against him like feathers. But wow did Krygem resent him sometimes. Lysorath thinks he knows everything. He’s a warrior for heavens sake, but still he knoooows everything aparentl!

Krygem faltered in flight for a moment, were those two brown specks in the distance other dragons? They were flying in the same direction as him! He felt the feathers along his back rise has he spiraled upwards so he was but a speck in the sky, he could still see the two other dragons clearly, they seemed to be talking. He narrowed his eyes to try and make out better details, one seemed smaller than the other, and its scales were lighter, not as dark as the larger one.
Not as large as me. 


He growled, would these dragons be enemies? He didn’t want to fight, only to study the ancient magic the jewel possessed. He felt a sudden urge to wear the fore paw battle claws Lysorath lent him, would they make him feel safer? He did have a well armored underside. What would he do if they attacked him from above? He panicked for a moment before composing himself. They probably weren't violent or anything, besides, he had the aerial advantage! He could dive and be gone before they had even flown up to him.



He felt unsettled, not about the two other dragons, something about the jewel’s story wasn’t quite adding up to him anymore… Krygem wasn’t called Riddler for nothing, there wasn’t a puzzle he couldn’t solve, not a riddle he couldn’t crack, not a mystery he couldn’t figure out, so why was this one… so… so insubstantial?