Tribulations of a Dragon

Another day! Another time to explore the underground! Jumping out of bed, I put on my pants and vest. Ever since growing scales, sleeves have been a problem, so I stopped wearing them. I still need my pockets, though, so I have to keep wearing my vest and my pants.

More important than my wardrobe is my hoard! I have so many rocks, and the deeper we go, the more we find. My favorite is a sharp, orange, and heavy rock. The short smith says he can't buy it because it's so brittle and heavy, and he can't process it. But I don't care about that. It's pretty, and I will keep it between my green rock and the silver one.

I need my tool belt! Ever since getting a blessing from our guardian, fetching my belt has become so much easier. All it takes is using my tail to pick it up and bring it to my hand. With a few knots, I have it on and I'm ready to go. Today, I'm gonna be digging a tunnel toward the mountain with another team. I haven't dug with them before, so I hope I can learn new ways to dig.

Crouching down and readying myself, I leap out of the window, grabbing onto the ceiling of the tunnel outside and beginning my trip toward the tunnel I've been told about. It's connected to the guardian's home, leading to the water holes. There are more and more of us who accept the gift of the guardian, but a few don't want to leave behind our old selves. But I'm still myself, I just have stronger claws, a tail, and I am stronger. I can also see where to dig by how the magic flows, and I couldn't do that before.

If the magic flows too strong, it means we have to be careful, or risk the tunnels collapsing. The short smith has told us about support frames, but the elder prefers if we could wait until after the town has been rebuilt. So instead of supports, we dig safely! Avoiding the big magic flow and clearing out the thin areas hasn't caused any issues so far. It does mean we have had to leave behind some fantastic rocks, but once we get the supplies, we can start digging those out as well.

We dig out handholds along the ceiling of all our tunnels as we make our way into the ground, so those of us with larger claws can climb along them, over the carts and transporters.

Our tunnels, so far, go seven tunnels deep into the ground and most stones we find are yellow and blue, but the blobs of other colors prove that there are a lot of different kinds of rocks here. The short smith told us that we needed to bring the white ones into a deposit hollow, but he wouldn't tell us what for. It doesn't matter! I can write on bark with it, and I can knock pieces off to make the stones flat.

Hammering the rocks to be flat is difficult, but that's part of the fun. Finding the right ones and hitting them just at the weak spot so they flake instead of shatter is fun. And with the flakes, I can use them for my home's walls, but not all of them work for it. Some of the rocks are too soft and will crumble, but the ones that work are beautiful and smell great.

And our tunnels smell very nice because of all the different rocks. And I can smell that our people are working hard, both because of the sweat and also the smell of metal hitting rock.

Soon, the sounds of pickaxes striking stone sing our songs as I get closer to the tunnel I've been given today. Before I turn a corner, a friend calls out to me, smelling me before I get there.

"Hi, Drach! We've already started, but something feels odd. Can you have a look?"

I can! As someone who has accepted the gifts of our guardian fully, my sight has changed so the veins and weakspots in the rocks are clearer, and we can see so well that we don't need lights. Although when someone from the surface comes down, they have to bring some light, otherwise, they'll trip and get hurt, and we need to stay in a glowy mushroom room before we head up into the daylight.

But it's worth it! I can smell magic, I have talons that can make marks in rocks, and my tail can pick up things!

"It's right over here."

She takes me to a wall, and it does smell odd. The air coming up from below this wall smells stale, and I think it might be a pocket of bad air.

"Good thing you stopped digging. I think this is a hollow and we need to be careful."

All of our tunnels lead up, but bad air doesn't want to go up. Unless we heat it up first! And I can do that with the gift! With a pickaxe in hand, I start gently digging into the weakened wall to make a small hole. It's slow going, and the others have started heading farther up into our older tunnels to warn about the bad air, leaving me alone to solve the problem.

The short smith told us that we should run away from it, since it has killed many dwarves, but we figured out that if we heat up the bad air, it leaves the tunnels. And now that the warning has been given, more like me are gathering in the pocket rooms to prepare. Paths will be closed and sealed while we work.

My work with the pickaxe begins to make its way through the wall, and the flow of magic changes as the bad air flows out into the room I'm standing in. It's already filling up fast, so it's great that we got the others out.

Feeling the magic of our Dragon, I pull it to me and start raising my heat, causing my scales to glow. Before I get too hot, I have to take off my clothes, since I don't want them to burn. Dropping my things in a corner is good enough, since the whole room will get hot.

With the magic flowing and my scales glowing, the bad air starts rising out of the tunnel, ready for the next gathering point. Watching the magic in the bad air flow as I breathe on it is fun, like breathing onto a pile of dust. I can make flames like our guardian, but it takes a lot more effort than just raising my body's heat. Some of the others say it becomes easier, but I can't do it well yet, and I can't train when I have to do this. The short smith warned us that falling asleep is one of the signs that bad air is trying to kill you, and if I die here, I can't explore the hollow!

As I work, the bad air keeps flowing, so it must be a large hollow hidden behind this wall. I'm looking forward to finding out what new rocks we might find! Maybe I can find something valuable so I can trade it with the strangers for gold.

Given how much air flows from the hole I made, I have to speed up the work by raising my heat even more. Doing so isn't difficult, but my tools are smoking, so I should have handed them to someone. Maybe I can get some symbols inscribed on the hafts next time to make them more durable.

The heat of my scales works to make the bad air climb up the tunnel and into a small dug-out hollow, ready for the next in line to heat it again. We're getting good at setting up our chains of scaled goblins to make the bad air go away, but the risk to the others who can't hold their breath as well or see the magic as well is something we always have to think about.

We were lucky when we first discovered the bad air. Some of us complained about their heads hurting and getting sleepy, but when someone fell asleep while walking was when we knew that we had to be very careful. Several tunnels were lost to it after opening a hollow, but since then, with the help of the short smith, we have been able to get rid of it slowly.

The short smith explained that it could kill anyone, not just make them sleep. And his people used small animals to detect it before they made a contraption that would burst when it appeared, screaming at them to get out. I have asked about how to make something like that, but he says it's expensive and pointless when we can see it, so we should learn to solve the problem with our own means. And we did!

By working our magic and heating us up, the air moves in circles, with the hot, bad air leaving and cold, good air from above coming down to replace it.

It takes most of the day to clear up the hollow, but the more I heat, the easier it becomes as my warmth spreads through the tunnel. With enough cleared and the flow stopping, I can begin making the opening wider and see what hides in the hollow. With my scorched hammer and chisel, I widen the hole leading in there.

Stones fall away in chunks, and the vent becomes an entrance. With my scorched tools and belt to carry them strapped on again, I step inside to explore. The sight of crystal roots and spires growing from bulbs greets me in a gorgeous display of natural magic. Sharp, white spires glow with concentrated magic, gathering up the magic around us and bringing it to a yellow core where the spires meet.

Most of the cave is covered in crystals, and the magic is dense enough to make my scales glow on their own with a soft green light. The crystals shine back at me, especially when I make my scales glow a little more. The light hitting the clearer crystals appears to shine in different paths, lighting up different areas behind it.

I need to get one of those clear crystals for the short smith to see. He might know something about them or what I can use them for.

Some of the visiting traders brought crystals and told us about their uses in magical rituals, but I don't recognize these from their collections. And unknown things can be dangerous, so I have to be careful. I can feel our guardian's hoard above me, so I know I'll be safe, but that doesn't mean I can do anything I want. So, with a steady hand, I reach out and scratch a nail along the surface of my chosen crystal.

My talon leaves a mark! The crystal is soft! And as I grab it, I notice that it's fragile, too. The small pillar snaps right off the bulb without much effort. Fastening it to my belt, I'm ready to explore some more before heading back out.

The further I go into the hollow, the wider it gets while leading upward. I want one for my own hoard, but the short smith told us to wait since some of the crystals that can be found in tunnels are dangerous. These don't feel dangerous, but I'm going to wait. Rushing into something would be too risky, and getting in trouble because something shiny distracted me would be terrible.

The sloped ground feels cold and slightly moist, and where the walls aren't covered in crystals, they look like they have been built with layers and waves of different stone colors.

The more I explore, the more exciting things I see! Stone like frozen water and grass growing from the ceiling. I can't touch the grass, though, it's even more fragile than the crystals and snaps at the lightest touch. The ones I did break fit in my pouch, so I can ask about those as well.

The cave continues for another distance and I can't see the end, but I've already gone further than I should have alone. Turning around, I take the first steps to head back. The slope isn't steep, but I have to be careful not to slip on the rocky surface. The rocks and crystals further down are sure to hurt if I fall onto them.

"Any threats?"

"I didn't find any, but stay aware, safekeeper."

Having a safekeeper greet me is comforting. They love fighting, but there aren't many threats down here, so they don't have much to do. Maithos, the one who greeted me, is much larger than me, but sweet as honeyed bread. We have to reinforce the ceilings if we want the safekeepers to join us on the ceiling to avoid the transporters. But our progress is slowed by not having enough people with the knowledge to forge handholds to embed in the rock.

"You brought food? I got more."

Oh! I didn't. I didn't know we would hit a hollow today, so I thought I could head back for a quick snack. My kind friend hands me a large chunk of meat and leans against the wall as I accept it.

"Thank you."

"S'okay. Food's better with friends."

His gentle smile deceives the roughing up I get as he places a hand on my head and ruffles my hair. My misfortune is that his hand holds onto my horns, causing him to shake my entire head while laughing at me.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

His hand disappears from my head and the world takes a while before it settles down again, which greatly amuses the brute. As rough as he is with me, I know he's being gentle because I've seen how the safekeepers treat each other. The battles they get up to for fun would break someone like me. Or unaware adventurers.

One such adventurer challenged a safekeeper, thinking the brutes dumb, but the quick wit and unrelenting brutality soon showed the strangers that we were not worth the fight. Our gifts giving us the power to defend ourselves might seem like the biggest gift from our guardian, but the strangers not wanting to fight is better. We don't want to fight anyone, but we aren't foolish enough to forget that some of them do wish for our execution. We hope that those are few and lost in the many more who want to build friendship.

It's a topic many of us think about, but we do all want to take part in more than Tuiran. Those who've visited Oakhold to help build homes come back talking about all the exciting things they see. And I know more of us want to go see that as well. Because of the danger, we haven't had any opportunity to go.

"Are you okay to stay here while I head up, Maithos?"

"Yep. Will keep an eye on any baddies showing."

"Thank you."

As our guardian has taught us, we must show our appreciation, so Maithos gets a pat on the arm for his good work.

Heading back to the known tunnels, the group exploring waits for me at a resting den. A larger area dug out to make room for three groups to rest without getting in the way of the transporters. Many other junctions have resting dens as well, and the stone not brought to a hollow is brought to the surface so we can strengthen the roads to withstand the weight of our guardian.

Looking around, most of the paths around us have been reopened, so they must have felt it was safe while I scouted the hollow. There's still some bad air left, but the short smith has told us that he knows a way to make it safer for us. But he needs to finish building some contraption with our guardian's wing.

He isn't telling a lot of us what he's making, but he grumbles a lot about trying to figure out how to make it work and withstand the weather. He has been told to ask our guardian, but he wants to solve the problem on his own.

Now that I'm back in the maintained tunnels, I can start climbing on the ceiling again. It's a lot of fun to do and much faster than walking behind the transporters.

"Hey boss, do we go down to dig more, or head for another tunnel?"

"You can head down and see what you found, but we aren't digging more in that tunnel for now. I want to know what the short smith says about what we found. Look."

Taking the crystal from my belt, I hold it out for my group to see. They're quick to grab it from my hand and inspect it. With a warning to be careful, they start handling it with a gentle touch.

"What do you think we can use it for?"

"I don't know. It felt like it gathered magic, but we need to ask the short smith and Lily. They might know some good uses."

"Want me to run up and ask?"

"No, thank you. I'm not needed down here anymore, so I wanna get some surface air."

This time, I'm the one who gets a pat on the arm as she hands back the crystal, and we part ways. With a quick jump, I take hold of the grips in the ceiling and start heading up to the surface. Markings around me change to show where I am. We have more symbols now to tell us how deep we are, on top of which tunnel we happen to find ourselves in.

Our new homes have given us a lot more room without the walls being moved. And the elders have mentioned wanting to make houses for visitors or newcomers like Lurram and the short smith's people. And we can't know when our guardian brings more, but we have a lot to learn from the ones she has brought so far.

The handholds make it easy to climb up, and at the resting dens closer to the surface, we have tunnels leading up to houses on the surface. That makes it easier for those of us without carts to move up and down and lets the transporters have their own tunnels for goods. They sometimes complain about small rocks and dust falling when we pass over them.

At the top of the climbing tunnels, markings and colors show where to go for what. Most of us know our way around, but it's easy to get lost down here. The one I have to follow is a yellow star showing daylight. It leads into the light tunnel so we can get used to the brightness again before heading to the surface.

Glowing mushrooms grow along the dirt walls and reach out for us as we pass by, trying to eat a bit of our magic. Touching them feels funny, like a tingling numbness, but they only ever take a little.

Their scent, mixing with the soil, is fantastic and earthy, and it flows into the tunnels below, mixing with the metallic smells down there to create a wonderful place to work.

I look forward to returning to explore some more. Not that it isn't fun to learn more up here. The short smith always has such fun stories to tell about his own people living in caves.

Crossing through the light tunnels leads to the entrance house and gives access to the streets above. Even with the light tunnel, the daylight is harsh on my eyes and takes a little time to adjust to.

"Boop! What are you doing up here? Do you have anything to sell? I know someone who wants to buy it!"

The friendly assault on my nose is a clear sign of Gidia showing up. I don't know why she thinks she has a buyer for my crystal, but she is the best bargainer we have. She hasn't embraced the gift as I have, but-

"Hey! That's my hammer, Gidia! Give it back!"

"Ooh, but I could sell it for seven gold coins. But okay, here you go. What's that shiny stone for? Is it valuable?"

"I don't know. I'm heading to the smithy to find out."

"Smart! Hrally will know for sure. If you wanna sell it, come to me, okay? I'll get good coin for it!"

"I might not want to sell it. Maybe we can use it for something of our own."

Mentioning not wanting to sell is enough for Gidia to lose interest, but she doesn't leave before booping my nose again.

"Your snoot is cute!"

"My snoot is strong and intimidating!"

It is! No amount of laughing will change that, and it looks more like our guardian's snoot than a goblin's, except for the color; mine is more green than hers. I don't think Gidia believes me and I can't stand my ground when she just runs away.

I'm gonna leave with the rest of my wounded pride and go find the short smith.

And up here on the surface, the dragonbringer has shown us that to get around town, the roofs are easier to use. Climbing pegs have been added to the newer buildings, allowing us to climb up on the roof without having to look for handholds.

Getting up on the roof gives a good view of the town and the rebuilding. We're putting the kilns to good use and building stronger and safer homes, with roofs made for us to use.

I'm not the only one up here. In fact, there are a lot of people who choose to use the roofs now, leaving the streets for wagons and visitors. Reaching the smithy doesn't take much time since I don't have to worry about how crowded the streets are or about running around buildings. And they have an entrance for us up here, so we can climb into the storage area, but I have to remember to close the latch, otherwise I'll get yelled at again.

"Greetin's boy. What'd'ya want me t'talk 'bout now?"

For how rough he is when he speaks, he's very friendly to all of us. And he never treats us as children, or pretends we aren't here. Instead, he often laughs when we ask him questions and smiles whenever he gets the opportunity to just talk about things. I think he feels at home already.

"I found this crystal in a hollow down there. Do you know what it is?"

Holding out the crystal, he looks at it before taking it. Rolling it between two fingers for inspection, he studies it in depth. I hope to one day find something that he hasn't seen before, but I can tell that he knows what this one is.

"Aye. Common one 'round 'ere. Y'ain't gettin' much fer it, but y'say ya found it down below? Dinnae know yer diggin' deep enough fer that. Heed me warning, boy. Don't let yer greed get yer head gobbled. Dangerous beasties livin' down there, an' they'll take one look at ya and ring fer dinner."

That's why we're careful and have the safekeepers. We have had a few creatures attack, but I haven't seen any. Someone mentioned that they looked like bald wolves with more legs, but they were too much of a mess for the short smith to say what they were.

"What about the crystal? Can it be used for anything?"

"Aye, but y'gotta wait. We ain't got a smeltery fer it. Mayhaps dragon's fire from a willin' beastie could work in place o' rock blood. Might give a steady burn. Yer lightin' the fires of me mind, boy! Schemes an' notions lurin' me away from me smithy!"

His schemes include giving me a slap on the shoulder while laughing. If not for my tail hooking under a table, I might have fallen over.

"But what is the crystal?"

"Aye, aye. Never did say, did I? T'is a common crystal fer magefolk. Trogg's Eye. Ain't useful fer much, but y'got some spells this works fer. Splits magic, so y'can cast yer spell an' get two of 'em, but weaker. Ain't much use, but it ain't bad either. Get yer hands on a proper clear one, an' y'got a mighty powerful catalyst fer yer wand or stave. This one y'got 'ere, I reckon it's grade seven. One's th'best, but twelve's th'worst. Good find, but difficult t'sell. Might be the loon elf got uses; those 'chantin' folk got their ways."

It's possible that Lily has some uses. If it can cast the same spell twice, it must have some uses. There are a lot of times when I'd want to do things twice, but the weakening effect might be too much. Between him and Lily, Lily is definitely the more experienced magic weaver. She knows so many odd things, and she's been trying to teach others now that we've been given magic. So I have to ask her as well.

"Thank you, Hrally. I appreciate the help."

"Boy. I owe ya me regrets.-"

"What for? Have you done something?"

"Lemme speak, ya wily-tongued Kobby! When yer guardian brought me, I judged yer harshly an' crudely. Dinnae meet ya nor give ya thoughts o' kindness. Ye've proven me old grooves need changin' and shown me naught but kinship."

"Thank you, but I don't know why you're telling me."

"Tellin' all o' ya! Bloody 'ard work with yer jumpin' 'round like bull's lice, but I ain't lettin' me ways become a grudge! Now git! Get yer crystal seen by tha' loon!"

Being handed my crystal and pushed out the door of the smithy is a clear sign that the embarrassed smith wants to return to his work, and I have to find Lily now.

Finding Lily is often a very hard thing to do, since she wanders throughout the entire town, inscribing weird signs into anything she can get near. I don't think there's a single house left without her markings, but the hum of magic shows that she's doing something. And I doubt it's a bad something. The first place to look is the grumpy alchemist's shop where she lives.

"Hello. I must say I do find your scales to be quite beautiful. Should you find yourself shedding, might I ask that you save the resulting material for my inks?"

She found me. I'm left in an awkward position of being halfway up the smithy's wall, and looking back, she's standing in the middle of the street, looking directly at me. Letting go of the wall, I fall to the ground and land on my feet. These bent legs work so well for jumping and landing, but I can't wear shoes anymore. But I have to address her request before I start thinking about shoes.

"I don't know if I like that, but I have this that I'd like you to look at. I'm sorry."

Before I get a chance to grab the crystal again, she takes it from my belt with her surprising speed and begins to inspect it.

"Do not worry your adorable little head with such trivialities. I shall make do with the abundance of alternatives the bounties of your people provide. I shall rephrase as I hear myself sounding like a barbarian. I have been given ample resources to practice my craft by your gatherers, hunters, and your own groups. Though valuable, I do not wish to overstep by making demands of your bodies. Now then, this crystal. The clarity leaves much to be desired, yet it is clear enough that I may show you the power of it. Given your departure from that uncouth brute's workplace, I assume he has given you some description of its potential, but I can show you what it can do."

With the crystal in hand, she tells me to watch closely as she kneels down onto the wet stones of the street and starts channeling magic and speaking words I don't know. The crystal begins to glow, and she starts waving it around over one stone in particular. Magic flows from the crystal, leaving behind traces in a distinct pattern that shows purpose.

As she finishes her waving, the magic settles into the stone, leaving markings that match those of the magic she channeled.

"Now you shall see what it can do. It is more than a simple focus, though potency is not a strength it bears."

Moving the crystal to the stone next to the marked one, she taps it, and the same markings, in the same order, appear.

"How did you do that?"

"Simply cast the enchantment you desire to multiply and, with this as a focus, you may repeat the cast. Though both enchantments have become weaker, which is why such a focus is often seen as wasteful. Strengthening your enchantments through the use of foci is often necessary in order to utilize the potential of the materials. Consider this: would you send all of Tuiran's guards and hunters to hunt a single animal? Much the same, you would not send a single hunter to hunt a pack of wolves. One is wasteful and the other is dangerous. Such is the case with enchantments as well. Each enchantment's potential is bound by what it requires as well as what the materials can supply. When a crystal such as this may be used, the benefit lies in not having to cast twice, yet the crux of the matter remains. In such a case, the enchantment does not make significant demands of the caster, so simply casting twice is rarely an issue. Or the enchantment may demand power that the twin casting cannot provide."

I don't think I understood all of that, but I want to learn more about these enchantments. Maybe if I do, I can think of some way to make use of what we find down in the tunnels.

"How come you don't just use more magic? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

"A thought many have had. And a warning is in order. A given focus has a certain potential capacity. Should you exceed that, you may find the results undesirable. Kira, your guardian, attempted to perform a simple enhancement but exceeded the capacity of the metal. The result of which was melting. Now, if metal melts, how would a crystal react?"

I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that this crystal is fragile, so it might...

"Shatter?"

"You are correct! It would shatter, sending shards throughout the area, though the force of such an explosion would depend on the magic poured in. The potential damage it may cause has given rise to it becoming a weapon used in deadly warfare. Though the Gods themselves decreed that such actions would be blasphemous, as life is precious and the caster would often die as well."

I'd rather not die... It sounds much safer to use metal as a focus instead, then. And I can smell that she's carrying some different types of metal. Maybe I should have gone to her to ask about the metals we've found down there as well.

"Can you teach me how to make the enchantments?"

I have never before felt in as much danger as I do now. I don't get a reply to my request, but she takes my hand and starts dragging me toward the main road. I think I've made a mistake...