Master's Mind (The Dagger of Dragon Rose Book 1)

I’m on my way home, to a home I don’t know - Anonymous

Hope awoke to the smell and sound of sizzling bacon from outside if his tent. He arose, dragged a crude comb through his hair, and stepped from his tent. He took a quick look around camp as he emerged. Narissa was curled up on the ground in front of Taren’s tent, the weapons circled the outskirts of the clearing, and Shaunna was sitting in front of the fire stirring the contents of a frying pan. There was no sign of any movement from the others.

He sat on the log next to her. “I know who you are, and I know what you are. If you try to harm Taren, I will stop you.” He looked into the fire as he spoke.

Shaunna began to laugh. “You truly are your mother’s son. The difference being, she was smart about her unbelief.” She looked at him. “Truth be told, I was hired to kill Taren. Certain facts have come to light to challenge my conviction about harming him. If I really wanted him dead I would have just let him bleed to death last night. I would have been paid for doing nothing. However, I brought him to you, because I knew you would be able to save him. If I was going to harm him, why would I have done that? Besides, he is my only way out of a life that I hate. Why would I want him dead?”

Hope looked ashamed. She was correct, he hadn’t really thought out the events that had unfolded over the past few days. He was a bit surprised that she had come out and admitted her original intentions, but he supposed he hadn’t really given her a choice. If she had lied to him, he would have known. That was one of the curses of being a wielder, it was impossible to lie to each other.

“I’m sorry.” Hope said.

“I’ve know you for a long time, Hope. You know what is at stake here more then most. You know of the bargain that was struck between the king and my parents.” She kept her voice low so the others would not hear her. “There is quite a bit riding on whether or not Taren recognizes his father’s oath.”

Hope was about to respond, but stopped himself when he saw Taren emerge from his tent. The young king stepped into the early morning light, stretched, and looked around. He carefully stepped around Narissa, so his passing would not wake her, and a approached the fire. One look at Shaunna’s face told Taren that things had not gone as planned.

“What happened?” He asked. “You don’t look very happy.”

“I got to Brightbay, and I tried to find my contact there. He is hiding so deep that even I wasn’t able to find him. I asked around the city, trying to find a certain thief that I was going to ask to join us, but he is nowhere to be found either.” It was apparent that she was having trouble controlling her frustration.

“Who is this thief that you were going to invite without consulting me first?” Taren asked.

“I don’t know who he really is, but he is supposed to be this legendary thief. I thought that his skills might come in handy on our journey.” She said. “He goes by the name of Satchel.”

Taren burst out laughing. The sound echoed through the clearing causing Narissa and Parel to awaken and come over to see what was happening. By the time they reached the fire pit, Taren had fallen off of the rock he had been sitting on and was rolling around on the ground. He was laughing so hard that it was difficult for him to catch his breath, and tears were streaming from his eyes.

“What’s going on?” Parel asked, watching Taren with a concerned look on her face.

Shaunna and Hope just shrugged. They were as mystified as anyone.

They had to wait several minutes for Taren to regain his composure. “I am sorry.” He looked at Parel, still giggling. “She went to Brightbay to ask Satchel to join us.”

“Why is that so funny?” Shaunna asked angrily?

Parel smiled in spite of herself. “Satchel is not in Brightbay. He has been with us the whole time.” Seeing that the others were still not comprehending, she continued. “Taren is Satchel.”

“That’s impossible.” Shaunna said.

“Why” Taren asked. “You went to Brightbay looking for Garz Tish, the master of the Thieves Guild. After Parel and I broke him out of prison, I imagine he has buried himself so deep in a hole, that even he doesn’t know where he is.”

Shaunna was staring at Taren, open mouthed.

“Had you answered my question last night, I could have saved you the trip.” He said.

“You are the greatest thief in Brightbay? The thief that some have said is the greatest in the world?” Shaunna still didn’t quite believe it.

“I have heard the rumors that I had been considered a legendary thief in Brightbay,but world renowned? That is a bit hard to believe. I was very careful after getting caught my first night out, but I didn’t think that I was world famous.” He said.

“You got caught your first night? How are you not in jail?” Shaunna asked.

It was Parel that answered. “I didn’t report him.”

Taren stopped the inevitable questions. “We need to decide where we go from here.” He turned to Shaunna. “You said you knew where we should go.”

Shaunna smiled nervously. “We need to go to the ruins of Avaleht. There is something that needs to be retrieved from there, or you will not be able to get the Sun Fire Orb.”

Both Taren and Parel stared at her blankly.

“Avaleht was the name of the city that was the Elf kingdoms capital.” Shaunna explained, correctly guessing the source of the blank looks. “I don’t expect you to know the name. Only the Elves and those that survived the attack remember it existed at all.”

“There were other survivors?” Taren asked.

“A few.” Hope answered. “Not very many.”

The conversation lulled as Shaunna passed the plates of food around, placing one on the ground in front of Narissa. The meal was consumed quickly. Shortly after, the tents were packed away, all of the gear was stowed in packs, and the fire was extinguished. The weapons that had been patrolling the perimeter of the camp all returned to their respective wielder. The little four pointed star flew in circles in above Narissa.

“Cyan, is there anything against a wielder carrying a weapon for another wielder?” Taren asked. “That little star is bound to get tired with no place to rest.”

“It has not been done before, but it is not forbidden” Cyan answered.

“Can you tell our little friend that...” He realized that he did not know the weapons name.”

“Her name is Amber, and yes I will tell her.” Cyan said, a touch of mirth almost detectable in the metallic voice.

The small star stopped flying in circles over Narissa and flew over to land in Taren’s hand. He quickly placed her in the same pocket in which he held the strange crystal cylinder.

They followed Shaunna out of the clearing, maintaining the Easterly heading that they had been following previously. The morning had been warm and clear while they were breaking camp, but it grew foggy and damp as they moved deeper into the trees. The fog was so thick, that Taren would have barely been able see Shaunna’s back not far in front of him, had he not been an Elf. He knew that Parel would be having trouble seeing, and he did not know how well Narissa would be able to see.

Shaunna started talking as she walked. An endless stream idle chatter flowed from her lips for several hours. By the time that the fog lifted, tempers were wearing thin. As visibility improved, and the day warmed, Shaunna ceased her constant chatter. Taren smiled as he realized what happened. She had given them something to follow, even if they couldn’t see. His heart swelled with gratitude as he turned and saw that Parel was still with them. The sour look on her face showed that she was not as understanding as he was towards Shaunna’s vocal guide.

They walked for several hours in silence, pausing briefly to partake of a light lunch. The sun was low in the western sky as they stopped to make camp for the night. They were all too tired to pitch their tents, so they laid their bed rolls out in a copse of some sort of strange glowing trees. They quickly ate a small meal of dried meat and bread.

After dinner Shaunna began to explain the plan for the next day. “We should reach the ruins be mid morning tomorrow. We will want to find what we are looking for and be away from there as quickly as they can. Going there is one situation where I will be a liability.”

“What do you mean?” Taren asked.

“I am half dark elf. Places where murder has happened are dangerous for us to linger in. The old hatreds run deep, and the spirits of the slain will rise up to slay us. I am only half, so I don’t know if my Light Elf side will protect us, or if it will even delay the wrath of the dead, so we need to hurry.” Shaunna explained.

“What are we looking for?” Hope asked.

“I don’t know.” Shaunna admitted. “Taren will know it when he sees it.”

“This is just great!” Parel exclaimed. “You are leading us to a place where your very presence puts us all in danger, and you can’t even tell us what we are looking for?”

“I have not seen my grandmother since I was a child. She only told me what one of the two items required to obtain the orb is. It is the sword that no mortal is supposed to be capable of wielding. She did not tell me what the other one was, but she did say that the Elf king had it.” Shaunna explained.

Parel rose from her bed roll, fire burning in her eyes. “Shaunna, may I speak with you in private please.”

They walked a little ways into the trees, far enough that the boys would not be able to hear them. As they stepped behind a large tree, Parel rounded on Shaunna.

“What are you doing?” She demanded. “It’s like you have taken over leadership of this whole affair. Taren is the one that should be making the decisions.”

Shaunna’s face was deadly serious when she answered. “I am trying to help. I don’t know where the orb is, but I do know who does. My grandmother has been the guardian of the secret for the last hundred or so years. My mother was to become the next secret keeper, and we both know why that didn’t happen.. For three hundred years my people have guarded the orb from those that seek it. For three hundred years we have waited for the one foretold in the prophecy to come claim it. For three hundred years, we have waited for Taren.”

Parel rolled her eyes. “How can you possible know it’s Taren?” She demanded.

“Simple, The first of the two tokens required to obtain the orb is the sword that no mortal is supposed to be able to wield. The sword that Taren used to Free Narissa from her enchantment.” She paused a moment to let that sink in. “Taren is able to wield the Star Fire Sword.”

Sudden comprehension dawned in Parel’s eyes. “I was wondering what that was. I have never seen any weapon like that. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”

Shaunna listened patiently, no smile coming to her lips. “Why do I have the feeling that this was not the real reason that you asked me to come speak with you?”

The fire that had been smoldering in Parel’s eyes ignited. “You can’t have him. He’s mine.” She said in a low voice.

“He is not yours to have, ‘Human’.” There was deep dislike in the inflection with which she said the word Human. “There is more going on here than you know. There are oaths that must be kept and alliances that must be built. Something is coming that few know about. Taren is key to everything.”

Parel made a scoffing sound in the back of her throat.

“It has been clear since you heard about my lineage that you don’t like me. As wielders, it is impossible for us to lie to each other. That is the only reason I said anything. I have tried to be nice to you for Taren’s sake. I even gave you something to follow in the fog this morning, because I knew that your weak human senses would have gotten you lost.” She took a step closer to Parel. “You better pray that you stay in the Kinglet’s good graces. The moment you fall out of them, you are dead.” Without another word she turned and went back to her bed roll.

Parel watched Shaunna go in incredulous silence. Had Shaunna really just threatened her life. She slowly walked back into camp, her mind reeling with the information. What did she mean that there were oaths that must be kept and alliances that must be made? It didn’t make any sense.

“Did you girls have a nice talk?” Taren asked as Parel approached.

She looked at Shaunna, and the smug look on her face caused a rage such as Parel had rarely felt to rise within her. With a loud “Harrumph”, she turned and stormed from the camp.

“What was that about?” Taren asked?

“She didn’t like what I had to say.” Shaunna answered. “It is no secret that she has never liked me.”

Narissa watched Parel as she disappeared into the trees.

“She will be all right.” Shaunna said as she wrapped herself tightly in her bed roll. She has Oran to look after her.”

It didn’t take very long for her breathing to deepen and slow as sleep over took her. The rest of the party followed suit.

Taren had been in the midst of the same dream that he had been having every night when a voice broke through his consciousness. “Taren, wake up” He was sure he had heard the voice somewhere. It was a strange voice. It sounded a bit like one of the actors that he had seen in a play with his mother. The actor had worn a device that made it sound like he was speaking through a thin sheet of metal. The reverberation of the metal had a very peculiar effect on the voice. “Taren, you need to wake up.” The voice urged again.

Recognition began to seep through the drowsy stupor. “Cyan?” He asked.

“Taren, I can not locate, nor can I contact Oran.” Cyan said.

It took a moment for the severity of the comment to sink in. If Cyan could not contact Oran, that meant that Parel was missing.

“Maxx has tried to contact him as well. There is no sign of him, or his wielder.”

Taren stepped out of the copse of trees so he could see the moon. It was just past midnight. Parel could be anywhere by now. He turned toward the large cat that was slumbering peacefully next to his bed roll.

“I don’t think I should wake her. I wouldn’t want to be on the business end of her claws again.” Taren said as he stopped several feet from her.

“I will ask Amber to awaken her.” Cyan said.

A few moments later, Narissa rose to her paws and stretched. Taren winced at the sight of the toothy yawn and the claws that scratched at the ground. The memory of the attack was still fresh in his mind.

Narissa sauntered over and nuzzled Taren.

“Parel is missing, can you go look for her?” He asked

Narissa bobbed her head once as an affirmation and she turned and bounded into the forest.

He decided that he should find out what was talked about between Shaunna and Parel. It wasn’t like Parel to just fly off the handle, but she had been agitated since Shaunna showed up. Whatever was discussed may be an important clue as to why she had gone off alone.

Shaunna opened her eyes as Taren approached. He noticed that her right arm was tight against her body, as if she were gripping something. Her posture was not one of someone that had just awakened.

“Shaunna, what did you and Parel discuss when you had your private conversation?” He asked.

Shaunna visibly tensed. “Oh, this and that.” She answered.

“Can you be a bit more specific?” He asked.

“We discussed whether or not I was trying to wrest leadership of the quest from you, we discussed her dislike of me, and... there was one more thing... What was it?” She placed her index finger on her chin in mock concentration. “Oh yes. She told me I couldn’t have you.”

Understanding began to dawn in Taren’s mind. Parel had never had any competition where he was concerned. Suddenly here was an extremely attractive threat. She was jealous.

“What was your answer what was your answer to that?” He asked.

“I simply told her that you were not hers to have.” Shaunna explained in a sweet voice.

Taren had the feeling that she was not telling him everything. “What aren’t you telling me? he asked.

Shaunna shook her head. “Curse the mind link.” She sat up and faced him with a serious expression. “I told her that there are certain things that must be done that only you can accomplish. I also told her that I will kill her if she ever falls out of your good graces.”

Taren was taken aback. “YOU SAID WHAT!?” He could feel the blood running to his face. the news did not bother him as much as it should have, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “Why would you say something like that?”

Shaunna shrugged in indifference. “She has made no pretense about her feelings towards me. I just figured that I would return the favor.”

He climbed into his bedroll. “We should all try to get some rest, at least until Narissa gets back.”

He closed his eyes, his breathing slowed, but sleep did not over take him. Why had the threat on Parel’s life not upset him more than it did. He should have been furious. He should have told Shaunna to leave, and never return, but he hadn’t done so. He actually found the situation rather comical. He didn’t think that Shaunna would really kill Parel, but that didn’t change the fact that Parel was now missing.

He was now creeping along a dark alley way trying to get home. The shadow that had been following him was still there. He had to make the courtyard at the far end before the shadow caught him.

The temperature suddenly dropped. He raised his staff as a second shadow stepped in front of him.

“Taren.” Shaunna’s voice broke through the dream. “We need to go. Narissa is on her way back, she has made a discovery.”

Taren opened his eyes, and found himself to be staring into Shaunna’s beautiful face. The sight was mesmerizing. He felt as if he could stare into that angelic face forever.

“Come on Taren, we need to be ready to go as soon as she gets back.” Shaunna looked around worriedly.

“What’s going on?” Taren asked thickly as he climbed out of his bed roll and began to put it away. “What discovery has she made.”

“She found out why we can’t contact the others. The have been taken by Silax.” She explained. “It looks like the Mother Dragon is hunting us.”

The news caused Taren to redouble his efforts at getting his bedroll put away. He had heard stories of the Mother Dragon. It was said that she was the one that had killed his father. It only took a few moments for them all to be ready to move. They waited in tense silence for any sign of their shape shifting companion.

While they waited, Taren looked around. It was still dark and it looked like sunrise was still several hours off. His sleep had been troubled, so he was still tired.

They were all startled when Narissa burst soundlessly from the trees. In an instant she shifted from her tiger form. She was still running as she scooped up Parel’s pack and slung it over her back.

“We need to go now!” Narissa exclaimed. “She’s right behind me.”

They followed her out of the east side of the trees at a brisk march. The the canopy of leaves that covered the forested area hid the sky. An unnatural fear drove them forward hour after hour until they were all hardly able to place one foot in front of the other. A copse of strange glowing trees in the distance gave them a goal to keep them moving. If they could get to the safety of the trees, they might be able to rest.

The first light of dawn was just cresting the horizon when they arrived at the stand of trees. The glowing trees apparently marked the end of the forest. There were large blocks of stone that were over grown with thick moss all over the place. The carcasses of low buildings could be made out in the distance. A sheer cliff that looked like it may have been part of a wall once reached towards the sky. The sound of a large waterfall could be heard in the distance.

Shaunna shook her head. “I had hope to never see this place again.”

“I know what you mean.” Hope agreed. “This is where our lives were destroyed.”

“As Shaunna said, the clock in ticking. We need to find what we are looking for and get out of here.” Taren said. “Any ideas where to start looking?”

“I have an idea.” Hope said. We should start at the cliff. There is a secret door there that leads to a cavern beyond. When I was in there twelve years ago, I found something very interesting.”

“What did you find?” Shaunna asked.

“Come, I will show you. I’m sure it is still there.” Hope said as he stepped from the trees.

The group made its way towards the cliff as fast as their weary legs would move them. They were getting approaching the cliff when it happened.

“Look at the brave little worms.” A fluid voice said in their heads. “You will all make a nice snack.”

They all turned as a large black creature descended from the sky. The Mother Dragon landed between them and the forest. The dragon was enormous. Her black scales glittered in the early morning light. Her solid gold eyes glittered malevolently. She folded her wings close to her body as she took a step towards them.

Her advance was halted as a bright bolt of light shot from within the forest striking her in the side. Black scales rained from the spot that the light hit. As she turned a great stream of fire issued from her mouth, catching the forest trees on fire. The trees burned for a few moments until a bright blue flash extinguished the flames.

“The Ice Blade.” Silax growled and advanced on the forest.

“Let’s go.” Shaunna suggested. “Now would be a good time to get into that cavern that Hope found.”

They all turned and continued on their way. Large, mossy, stone blocks lay scattered thoughout the area grown over with various forms of vegetation. As they came around an especially large block, the area opened into a vast expanse that was overgrown with wild flowers, ferns, and other plants

“Behold, the Gardens of Night” Shaunna said, a distinct note of sadness on her voice. With no hesitation, she lead them into the gardens.

They had not gone far when the ground opened up under Taren, and he fell several feet into a room below. As he entered the room the torches along the walls came to life. He rolled over on his back and laid there trying to recover the breath that had been knocked out of him.

“Taren, are you okay?” Shaunna called.

“Yes, I’m fine.” He groaned. “Get to safety. I will find a way out of here, and I will join you as soon as I can.”

Shaunna’s face disappeared from the hole in the roof.

Taren gingerly climbed to his feet. His chest hurt, but he was sure that he had not broken any ribs. The little that he had learned from his mother over the years made him think that the pain would be worse if he had.

He found himself in a study of some kind. The room was devoid of furnishings, save for a single chair, a desk, and a large bookshelf that was laden with hundreds of large books, all bound in an identical fashion. There was a large book on the desk with a dried inkwell, a very nice feather quill, and a small dish of sand.

He sat in the chair and examined the book. It was a journal of some sort. The date of the last entry was his birthday twelve years ago. It was written in a neat script that was easy easy for him to read:

This past year has been very difficult without my beloved wife. The children are growing so quickly. The more time I spend with them, the more convinced I am of my certainty that they are the children of the prophecy. That being said, there must be hard times ahead of us all. I only hope that I will be able to protect them for as long as possible. Morganna, Tarea, Saria, and Taren. I love them so much, but I am afraid that my hope will be for naught. I have a sense of time creeping up in me, of the circle closing. I fear that the gypsy’s words will soon come to pass.

This was his father’s journal. The last entry was made the day that he was killed. A single tear escaped Taren’s eye at the thought. He looked at the bookshelf. Those must be the rest of the volumes that chronicled the great King’s life. He didn’t have time to sit and just read. He would have to remember where this room was so he could come back. This was the only way that he would be able to learn what kind of man his father really was.

He grabbed the book from the desk and stashed it in his holding pouch. He may not have the time to read all of the books, but he could at least take this with him. The door hinges screamed as he opened the door. Twelve years of neglect had taken their toll on the metal.

As he stepped through the door, the torches ignited in the hallway beyond. The walls and floor were a smooth, grey, material that he had never seen before. Directly across from the door a small tickle of water ran down the surface of the wall. The once smooth floor was now uneven and broken where roots from beneath had broken through the hard material, causing it to crack and fragment,

The hall ran perpendicular to the room. To the left the hall ran evenly. To the right the hall ascended as it went. Thinking that he should take the route that lead to the higher ground, he turned right.

The floor continued to rise as he traveled up the hall. His mind wandered slightly as he walked up the ascending hall. He was worried about Parel. He was fairly certain that she was still alive, it was rumored that the Mother Dragon liked to use live bait. The thought did little to ease his misgivings at her having been taken by the large black dragon.

He wasn’t paying attention until his foot hit large root that had broken through the floor. Pain shot up his leg as he stumbled forward, catching himself on the bottom step of a narrow staircase. The stairs spiraled up into the darkness. A cool breeze blew from the top of the stairs, a sweet smell dulling his senses. He no longer felt the pain in his leg. He found it very difficult to think.

“Where did this come from?” Taren wondered vaguely.

The smell on the breeze was intoxicating. The only though that he was able to hold onto was finding the source of that smell. He started climbing the stairs, not climbing as fast as he should have been able too. He felt no pain, but his leg was not able to support him as he ascended the thin spiral. He had no idea how long it took him to reach the top of the staircase. He had been able to speed the process slightly by crawling on his hands and knees around the mid-point.

The breeze was stronger at the top of the stairs. The sweet smell caressed his senses, beckoning him forward, increasing the drive to find the source. Rising to his feet he used the wall to support him as he limped down the dark hall that led away from the stairs. There wasn’t enough light for him to see, even with his ability to see in the dark. He briefly though about conjuring a magic ball of light, but the thought faded almost as quickly as it had formed.

A nagging feeling entered the back of his mind, it felt as if he should not be here. Something was wrong. There was great danger here.

A sudden impulse triggered battle reflexes, causing Taren to dodge out of the way as a heavy sword landed where he had just been standing with a loud clanging sound. His mind was suddenly clear for a moment, but the sweet smell made the clarity fleeting.

Taren dodged again as the creature swung the massive sword. As he rolled on the floor, his hand came in contact with the smooth surface of the purple glowing cylinder that was the SunFire sword. He closed his hand around the object, causing the sword to flare to life. As the fiery sword appeared, it was as if the confusion in his mind was burned away by the purple fire.

The light of the sword illuminated the area, allowing Taren to see his attacker. The creature had to be at least nine feet tall. Long black hair covered the body. Tightly chorded muscles rippled under the course pelt as it raised the sword to it’s shoulder. Small, beady, eyes stared out from under bushy eyebrows. A large, bulbous, nose hung over a mouth filled with sharp fangs.

“A Troll!” Taren Spat

“How you escape Gol’s trap?” The troll asked, glaring at Taren. “Put sword away, it hurt’s Gol’s eyes.”

Taren did not respond. He just stood staring at the troll in open defiance.

Taren side stepped as Gol took a lumbering step forward, trying to maintain the distance between them. He knew that the troll was purposefully making himself look slow. He knew that as soon as it got close enough, it would strike with the speed and accuracy of a poisonous snake.

They circled each other for several moments, Taren trying to keep the distance between them; Gol moving ever closer with each step, but not as close as his large legs should have brought him.

Sudden realization flooded into Taren’s mind. Gol was trying to keep him moving. The blasted troll was trying to tire him out. He lunged at the troll swinging his sword in a tight arc.

Sparks flashed as the swords met. He had expected the troll’s strength to be to much for him, and the troll had though the same thing based on it’s surprised grunt. They stared into each other’s eyes for moment, and Taren saw a mixture of hatred and respect in the glare that the creature was giving him.

As they pushed away from each other, Taren dove between the monster’s legs. Spinning around, a slashed the back of the enormous leg. His sword passed through muscle and bone with no resistance.

Screaming un rage and pain the large creature fell heavily to his knee, his leg no longer able to support his weight. He swiped his sword savagely at the smaller combatant.

Taren dove towards the troll, narrowly missing the blade of the weapon. Rolling to his feet, he thrust the blade of his sword through the hairy abdomen of his opponent. Fire erupted from the wound, quickly engulfing the Gol in blazing brilliance.

The smell of burning hair mixing with the agonized screams of the troll filled the hall burned away both the sweet smell and any chance that the mind numbing need to find the source of the intoxicating smell.

The pain in his leg returned as the adrenalin of the battle left him.

The torches in the hallway ignited as the fire that had been the troll burned itself into ashes, . Taren extinguished the sword and placed the cylindrical object into the pocket where it usually was stored. The light of the torches illuminated the bones of several creatures scattered on the floor. Some of the bones looked brittle, as if they had been here for quite some time. Others gleamed with newness in the bight light.

As Taren turned to continue down the hall, he found his way barred by a large metal door. A heavily corroded lock hung from loops that connected the door to the wall. He pushed against the door with all of his might, but the old lock held.

He examined the lock. It was rusted beyond any possibility that he would be able to pick it. Pulling his short sword, he hacked at the lock. After a few minutes with no results, he stopped. The blade of his sword was now nicked in several places where it had hit the lock.

“Oh, no, It’s going to take me days to smooth those out.” He groaned looking at the ornate blade of the sword that his Human father had given him. Shaking his head he thrust the sword back into it’s scabbard

If only Cyan were here. He could freeze the lock to make it brittle. Unfortunately, the sword had not been with him when he fell into the study. He examined the door to see if there was any other way that he could possibly get it open. The hinges were on the other side of the door. The door was solid metal with no trace of any rust at all. There was no way that he could see to get pas the door itself, so he turned his attention back to the rusty lock. If he’d had access to a full set of thieves tools, this would have been easy. A little acid and the lock would not have been an issue. Unfortunately the nearest thieves guild that he knew if was three days march to the west, if they had even bothered to rebuild it.

No matter how he looked at it, the only option was to continue to hack through the lock with a sword. He wasn’t about to use either of the swords that he had gotten from Jarno, he had already damaged one of them in the attempt. That left one option. He pulled the crystal cylinder out of the pocket where he kept it stashed. As he wrapped his hand around it the mystical sword formed. He swiped the sword in an arc, expecting the same resistance that he had experienced with the other blade. He was unprepared for the ease at which the sword sliced through the rusty metal. He was unable to compensate for the over-exertion and fell hard against the door, yelping in pain as he came down too hard on his injured leg.. The large door swung silently open, causing him to fall to the floor dazed.

He lay there for several minutes. This was going to be a very long day, he could tell already. After he sufficiently regained his composure, he climbed to his feet.

He was in a large room that was empty, except for a dais in the center. On the dais there was a pedestal that had a bright light shining from the top. In the light two objects revolved around each other. Glowing runes adorned the floor around the dais.

Curiosity got the better of him, so he decided to go and see what was floating in the light. As he reached the first rune, there was some resistance to his progress. It was as if the air itself were condensing to impede his progress, but it did not stop him. He struggled to move forward, feeling as if he were trying to walk through deep water. The resistance ceased after he passed the large glyph, allowing him to move forward unimpeded, much like a diver emerging from the ocean.

Part of his mind told him to leave, to flee this place before it was too late. Another part told him to continue, for this was what he had come here to find. On the off chance that this was what he was looking for, he continued on.

The objects that were floating in the light appeared to be a pair of gloves: one black, one white. He reached towards them, but his hand was repelled as soon as his hand touched the light emanating from the pedestal. As his hand was pushed back from the light, a message appeared at it’s edge :

Seeker beware

The talons shall grant thee great power if donned appropriately

If donned inappropriately, calamity shall by thy doom.

If thou still seeks their power, remember the order of conflict

What were the talons? What king of power would they provide? The questions were innumerable. He stared at the gloves floating in the light trying to decide if it was worth the risk. Hope had said that he had found something. Here was something that Taren had found. It would be worth collecting both items, just to be sure.

He started trying to puzzle out the riddle of the light. He found that he was able to figure things out better when he vocalized his thought process. There was no one here to hide from, so he did just that.

“Hmm. I think the key to this is in the last line. Remember the order of conflict. Conflict...” He sat on the floor staring at the gloves as they spiraled around each other, much as he and the troll had circled during the battle. He had always been good at puzzles and riddles, so he wracked his brain. “Conflict is usually instigated by an unwholesome force threatening, whether they want something or just want to pillage. Then the opposite force comes to defeat them.” Folding his arms he glanced down at his legs. “Black is usually linked to evil or unwholesomeness. Based on that, I should put the black glove on first.” He sat for several minutes checking and rechecking his logic. Not seeing any other possible answer, he climbed to his feet.

He reached towards the light again, and his hand passed through with ease. He snatched the black glove and pulled it towards him. The glove was much heavier than he thought it would have been. He was apprehensive about what he was about to do. He was hoping that his logic was sound. What if he was wrong? Was he really willing to risk the promised calamity for this unknown power?

He thought about his father, Paron Elloy, that had been killed by the mother dragon. He thought about Zorah and Jarno, the only parents that he had ever known. He thought about Parel, taken by the Mother Dragon. If donning this new power would give him greater ability to protect his loved ones, then yes he was willing to take the chance.

Closing his eyes, he slipped his left and into the glove.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard a scream, “TAREN, NO!”, but he didn’t think very much about it. All he could think about was the power that was suddenly coursing through him. He felt as if he could accomplish anything. The power was all encompassing, and yet it was incomplete somehow. There had to be a way to get more power. He looked around the room until he saw the white glove and he knew that he had to have it. This was the key to ultimate power. He snatched the white glove out of the light and greedily jammed it on his right hand as quickly as he could.

He didn’t realize how tired he had become. As the power evened itself out, his head began to hurt. He had experienced headaches before, but this was something new. It felt as if something had reached into his head and removed part of his brain. He slumped weakly to the dais cradling his head in his hand. Wasn’t there supposed to be something that he was supposed to be doing? He couldn’t remember. All he knew was that his head hurt.

A loud thump reminded him of the friends that he had left. What if they had not been able to find safety. This thought forced him to his feet. There was no way out of this room, except the way that he had come in, so he went out the way he came to find a way back to the surface.

Shaunna turned back from the hole in the ground that Taren had just fallen through. She had called down to make sure that he was all right, he had said he was, but she wasn’t sure that she believed him. She would have Hope check him out when they were all back together. Hope, Narissa, and Shaunna continued their path toward the cliff face. The weapons had kept up a steady barrage against the Mother Dragon, but they had been mostly ineffectual. The attack that was most effective were the bolts of light that Shaunna knew were coming form her crossbow, Eric. While the attacks against the dragon were not doing much damage, it was keeping the dragon’s attention towards the weapons and away from their wielders.

Hope lead them to the cliff face. There was an old torch holder bracketed rock. He reached up and pulled the metal fixture. It pulled forward, but nothing happened.

“That was impressive” Shaunna said sarcastically.

“What? There is a door here. I know there is.” Hope said, pulling on the bracket again. Still, nothing happened.

Shaunna pulled her daggers out and dipped them into the deadliest poison she had. “Well, my friend. I guess today is a good day to die.”

Hope slowly pulled his sword from it’s scabbard. The sound of the metal sliding out of the casing echoed eerily through the ruins. The Mother Dragon seemed to hear the sound. As she turned toward Hope, Shaunna and Narissa, a stream of white light shot from the trees. The stream was much brighter, and much more powerful, than the bolts of light that Eric was shooting. The light hit Silax directly in the eye as she turned. Blood flowed from the wound, dripping on the ground and igniting the foliage underneath.

“What was that?” Shaunna and Hop asked in unison.

Narissa grinned as she dropped the pack that she had been carrying to the ground. “That was Amber.” Without another word of explanation, she instantaneously changed into her tiger form.

Shaunna and Narissa charged at the Mother Dragon. Hope was less eager to face her. He had never actually seen her before, but he had listened to the stories that his mother had told. He was not eager to rush headlong into battle against a superior foe, but he knew that Shaunna was right. It would be better to die fighting than to do so cowering in a corner. With his mother’s battle cry upon his lips, Ularen Hope ran to catch up with the others.

By the time that the women had reached the dragon, the Crystal Blades had broken through the cover of the trees and were physically attaching the dragon now. Every now and again, a bright stream of light would shoot out of the tiny star hitting the dragon and opening new wounds. Scales rained from black sides of the beast, and blood flowed freely from several wounds. Fires were burning in, what had once been, the Gardens of Night.

Shaunna was the first to reach the dragon. She swung both daggers as hard as she could, but the dragon was too fast for her. Silax jumped out of the path of the attack. Shaunna was extremely graceful, so the inertia of the attack did not throw her off balance, but the ground shaking under the dragon’s weight did.

Hope saw Silax jump, and had to jump out of the way of Mother Dragon’s trajectory. He dropped as the Dragon’s clawed foot almost took his head off. A large drop of dragon’s blood landed right next to his head. Counting his lucky stars that the blood had not fallen any closer to him, he climbed back to his feet. He remember how his mother had told him that the ancient Elven smiths had used Dragon’s blood to forge their swords. The Elven steel and the dragon’s blood often resulted in the swords having special powers.

Wishing for a miracle, Hope drove his sword onto the pool of blood that had almost hit him in the head. As he withdrew the blade, it glowed with a faint golden light.

The Crystal Blades kept up their relentless assault of the dragon, until the unthinkable happened. Cyan Iceblade cried out “TAREN NO!” just before the large sapphire that was his heart stone exploded into thousands of tiny shards. He hung in the are for a moment, his blade went dark, and the clattered to the ground. The other weapons paused their attacks, uncertain what had just happened. Was he dead? That wasn’t supposed to be possible. The Crystal Blades were immortal, or so they had thought. Yet here was one of their own laying on the ground, lifeless.

Embolden by the death of the sword that had caused her so much grief over the centuries, Silax renewed her attack with a new energy. She swatted at the blades as they continued their attacks. A jet of flame erupted from her mouth as Narissa clawed her hind leg, tearing several scales from it. She kicked back and felt her claws connect with the flesh on Narissa’s side. The large cat fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Hope swung his sword in the a wide arc. As the blade struck the dragon’s leg, it passed through the flesh like a hot knife through butter stopping when it hit bone. He dragged the sword from the wound and dodged out of the way as Silax screamed in mixed pain and fury.

“You will be the first one that I eat, son of Sareth.” She growled at him.

Hope stood up boldly. “Mother Dragon, see that I no longer fear you. I have found your weakness..”

Silax knew that he Elf was right. His sword was now a dragon killer. There was something else that was bothering her as well. From under the ground another, greater, power was emanating. It was a feeling that she had not had in a very long time. The Dragon Talons had been found and were now being wielded by one that had the power to use them. She began to feel nervous for the first time in a very long time. Between the power of Hope’s sword and the power of the talons, the tide could very easily turn to the Guardian’s favor.

Deciding that discretion was the greater part of valor, she jumped high into the air and flew off to tend to her wounds.