Leo and the Dragon Ch. 04

"You won't," Arach promised. The thief gulped and looked at her.

"Why not?" he asked, tears streaking down his face.

"Because I will rip your fucking heart out if you keep on shouting like that," the drow girl threatened, brandishing her blade.

"Where's Tear?" Leo asked, reassuringly tapping the thief's shoulder.

"Following the fools, of course. You know they'll die."

"Yes, I guess the dragon won't be happy they let our friend here escape. But still, we should at least try to save them," Leo reasoned.

"What about him?" Arach asked, pointing at the silently crying thief, reliving his terrifying memories.

"Can you find this place again once we're done?" Leo inquired.

"But of course. Do you want to leave him here? Alone? Unarmed? Blind?" Arach retorted.

Leo turned to the thief, pulling out a small dagger and pressing the hilt into the thief's hand. "This place is relatively safe. As long as you keep quiet, you should be fine. Can you do that? We will be back for you, once we have killed the dragon," Leo promised.

The thief looked up at him, his face distorting into a horrible visage. Then, without warning, he began to laugh, a high, hysterical sound tinged with madness.

"You can't kill it! It will feast on your soul! No one, no one, you hear, can stand in its wake!" Screaming with mad laughter, his eyes rolling, he jumped at Arach, The drow girl stumbled back but it was too late already. The thief gasped wetly then he went to his knees, dragging her sword from suddenly numb fingers.

"I-..." she stuttered, looking at the man feebly writhing on the floor, her sword sticking out of his abdomen. With a last, horrible little laugh, he died.

"There was nothing you could have done," Leo whispered, catching up with Arach. She kneeled at yet another intersection, her fingers brushing over a small, silvery circle on one of the rocks. The smell of salt water was in the air and when the paladin listened really hard, he could hear the gentle lapping of waves from somewhere.

"I know but that doesn't make it any less unsettling," she whispered back, leaning into Leo as he kneeled down next to her.

"Just another reason why we should hurry," Leo breathed into her ear, his fingers gently brushing Arach's neck. She sighed softly and snaked one arm around his waist.

"Here's another one, we're still on the right track," she whispered, pointing at the shimmering circle.

"Good, let's make haste then," Leo murmured, half-hugging the drow girl against his chest before rising.

"You know, we still have to finish your first time once this is over," Arach chuckled, rising as well.

"Aren't there more pressing matters than my virginity right now?" Leo asked, a little smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah, there are but thinking about them makes my stomach curl," the drow girl retorted. "Better to think of something long, hard and pleasant instead." Swaying her hips a little, she slipped into the corridor next to the marked rock. Leo fell into step behind her. Together they followed Tear's faintly glowing markings, crawling through the coiling warrens of the earth until Arach suddenly stopped and pulled Leo into a small side passage.

"Now what?" the paladin hissed, his lips brushing the drow girl's earlobe.

"Listen," Arach whispered back.

Leo strained his ears. At first he wanted to shrug off Arach's warning but then he heard it, the soft clinking of metal on metal, muffled by thick cloth.

"Another cultist?" he sighed into Arach's ear.

"Let's find out, shall we?"

She drew her blade and twirled back into the corridor they had just left. Leo followed suit, his hammer gripped just under the head. To his surprise, their pursuer stood in plain sight, his hands spread in the universal gesture of peace. It was no cultist but a red-bearded dwarf. He wore a thick cloak over a bulky suit of armour and a tall backpack made him appear almost hunchbacked. His eyes were surrounded by tired wrinkles but he shot the two companions a fierce grin.

"What do you want?" Arach asked, more surprised than angry.

"A good day to ye too, woman," the dwarf grumbled. "I don't know what's gotten into ol' man Calgore but Zentam dok'Calgore never leaves a debt unpaid. Yer holy man saved me ass back there and for that I'm real grateful. Besides, I'm itchin' for a good, honest dragon-thrashin'."

"Are you sure you're already fit enough for a fight?" Leo asked, innocently. "The poison was some nasty stuff and-"

The dwarf cut him off with a vicious snarl and a swipe of the hand. "Bah, nothin' a good fight won't get out of me. Are we going to kick the dragon's tail any time this century? Or are ye planning on some more blathering?"

Leo shook his head at the dwarf's attitude but Arach beat him to an answer.

"Well, we could always use more dragon bait. Welcome aboard, Zentam."

With a snort, the dwarf shouldered his gear and pushed past Arach and Leo. Shaking his head, the paladin fell in behind him. With the dwarf humming tunelessly into his beard, they continued to follow Tear's trail. A few minutes later Leo realized that it was slowly becoming brighter. And hotter as well.

"Is it just me or is the temperature going up?" Leo whispered at his companions.

"No, I feel it too. Also, it's getting awfully bright," Arach whispered back. Zentam said nothing but his sweat-matted beard spoke volumes.

They silently followed the passage, trying their best to keep in the shadows. By now, it wasn't a mere hint of brightness, instead, an unsettling crimson radiance was oozing into the corridor, throwing disturbing shadows from each hard edge. Irritated, Leo palmed his forehead, wiping sweat from his brow.

"At least we now have absolute certainty on which kind of dragon we have to deal with," Arach grumbled.

"So? Which one?" Leo asked but he already had an inkling. There were enough myths and legends about the kings of the scaly beasts, the fire dragons, their obsession with their riches and their love for burning hot caverns. Even the thief's madness suddenly made sense, the tales spoke of lesser men going insane when faced with a furious dragon. Leo chided himself for not being more sensitive to the man's feelings, in the end it was him who had forced the thief to confront the specter of the raging dragon again and driven him over the edge.

"The worst kind, o' course," Zentam snarled. A moment later he stopped dead in his tracks. Tear had dropped from the ceiling, her hair plastered to her skull.

"I see you've brought company," she whispered at Arach and Leo. "What has happened to the thief, though?"

"Poor guy lost it," Arach replied, casting down her gaze. "Fell into my sword. I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do to stop him."

"And what about you?" Tear asked Zentam, who was openly ogling the tall drow woman.

"What about me? I'm here for the fight and the loot. Got a problem with that?" the dwarf asked, an open challenge in his eyes.

Tear laughed, "Absolutely not! But we'd better hurry, the others just went in here. I'd hate to see them end up as dragon chow." With a small playful bow, she pointed at a painfully bright cave opening, sulphurous smoke pouring from it.

"Let's get crackin' then," Zentam all but whooped, setting down his enormous backpack. From it, he pulled a large kite shield, painted an almost comically bright red. Next came a hefty war axe, one-bladed, but with a wicked spike fastened opposite the wide, single-edged blade. He settled the backpack back onto his shoulders, grabbed his weapon and shield and looked over at the others, battle-lust sparking from his eyes. "Comin'?"

Leo mumbled the command word that would bring his armour into existence. For a much too short moment, cool metal plates engulfed him then the air inside his armour began to heat up as well. Grumbling, he slid his visor closed and hefted his hammer.

"We'd better get to it, then," he snarled, striding purposefully into the cave, Zentam at his side. Tear and Arach shared an admiring chuckle then followed them.

***

To their surprise, they met no resistance as they entered the lair itself. There were signs of habitation, bedrolls, crockery, a few barrels, a makeshift smithy. Some of the walls looked as if they had only recently cooled, with thick rivulets of molten stone pooling at their bases. Hot, acrid smoke rose from rifts in the floor, causing Leo and his companions to choke and cough painfully. When they passed the first open lava vein, Leo felt like he was boiled alive in his armour.

"Hold on," Tear whispered. She intoned a quick incantation and brushed her hand over Leo's shoulder. Suddenly, the oppressive heat lessened somewhat and he could breathe a little easier.

"This will shield you from the dragon's fire, at least a bit," Tear explained. "Just don't try basking in the beast's burning breath."

"I'm not stupid enough to try," Leo chuckled. "Thanks for your concern though."

"You are very welcome, oh mighty hero," Tear giggled.

"Would ye two stop flirting already? We've got a dragon to kill," Zentam hissed.

Tear repeated the spell two more times, touching both Arach and herself. When she raised her hand a third time, Zentam shrugged her off.

"Huh, compared to me smithy, this is but a mild breeze. Save yer spells for when ye really need them, lady," the dwarf smirked.

Tear opened her mouth, no doubt a little barb at the ready, but then they heard the voice, booming, distorted by echoes, coming from a nearby opening. Together, they skulked through the hole in the wall and found themselves on a small natural balcony, overlooking a dizzyingly bright cavern. Pretty much everywhere they looked, they saw piles of glittering metals, sometimes melted together into bizarrely formed stalactites of gold with a gem frosting, sometimes neatly stacked piles of coins. The light came from a large, open lava pool hugging the right side of the cavern, forming a glowing crescent of blazing radiance. Tear and Arach hissed in annoyance as the brightness hurt their sensitive eyes. Huddled in a large semicircle in front of the dragon, about a dozen robed figures stood, surrounding two more of their numbers who had their hoods down. But all that radiance, all that splendor couldn't distract from the monstrosity lounging in the center of all the glitter and gold.

"Would ye look at all the shinies? Even with just one backpack full of it, I'm a made dwarf," Zentam drooled, his fingers drumming on the heft of his axe.

"Let's deal with the bigger problem first," Tear cautioned him, pointing at the beast.

Even up here, more than fifty feet away from it, Leo could feel the power, the malice radiating off that gigantic beast. Curled up like a napping cat, it measured almost a hundred and fifty feet from the narrow tip of its snout to the barbed tail spikes, large, bat-like wings draped over its side like a crimson blanket. Most of its head was a bewildering array of horns and fins, jutting in all directions. And then it yawned, displaying two rows of fangs longer than any man's arm. A long, forked tongue slithered out and tasted the air in front of it.

"You know I never threaten," the dragon rumbled, its bassy voice seemingly coming from Leo's stomach.

"But... but... yer Magnificence, what were we to do? The little fucker ran just too fast for us," one of the robed figures huddling in front of the dragon's perch pleaded.

Without warning, the head of the dragon lunged forward, the maw clamping shut over the speaker's midsection. A sickening crunch echoed through the cave as the dragon bit through flesh, muscle and spine, ripping the man's torso clean off his hips. The legs did one last, involuntary step before they collapsed. Instead of swallowing, the dragon turned its head sideways and spat the upper half of the dead cultist into the lava pool, where it burned up with a sickening hiss and the stench of frying flesh.

"And you know there is only one thing I hate more than thieves; and that is liars," the dragon continued, as if nothing had happened. Its burning orange eyes swept over the other man, who was kneeling in a wet puddle by now, pleading incoherently for his life.

"Bring him into the pens," the dragon ordered, at no one in particular. "You others, go and find that thief. Bring me every little coin. And don't fail me in this," it added, its tongue nudging the mutilated corpse. Two robed figures grabbed the babbling man and hauled him away while the rest dispersed, leaving the dragon alone.

A few moments passed in silence. Leo was thinking furiously. Nothing he had experienced before could have prepared him for the task he was facing now. How could he even begin to damage the beast? How could he survive even a single bite? He shook his head, his gaze meeting Tear's. She seemed calm, relaxed even, a coy little smile playing around her lips. He knew she would help him in any way she could, without even thinking about her own well-being. In many ways, he realized, they were kindred spirits, placing the well-being of others before their own. Then he looked at Arach and saw the fire in her eyes, the will to see this through, one way or the other, and the desire to be with him until the end. Zentam seemed to be completely unfazed by the enormity of their opponent. If anything, he was practically bouncing on his feet, ready to butt heads with the dragon. And suddenly he realized that the dwarf's confidence was rubbing off on him. Leo felt that he wouldn't be fighting this battle alone. Together, he hoped, they could overcome any challenge. Filled with new-found resolve, hefting his hammer, he looked at the dragon.

Its head rose slowly, the orange eyes, pupils slitted like a cat's, focussed on him.

"You can come down now," the dragon rumbled. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"Your murdering ways end now!" Leo called, his voice carrying clearly through the cavern.

The dragon chuckled. Lazily, it dug its clawed forepaw into a pile of assorted items near its belly, producing a shining, silvery helmet. Placing it atop its smallest claw like a thimble, it wagged the helmet like a sock puppet.

"Die, evil beast," the dragon squealed before it puffed a small cloud of flame. In burning orange rivulets, the liquefied helmed dripped down its claw.

"These were his famous last words," the dragon grumbled. "But you are free to test your luck, hero. The stairs are that-a-way," he added, the claw pointing.

Snarling, Leo led his companions down a dangerously narrow flight of natural steps until they were face to face with the beast. Close up, the dragon was even more intimidating, infernal heat pouring off the creature with every one of its bellow-like breaths.

"To be honest, I half expected you to torch us while we came down the stairs," Leo rumbled.

"It has been decades since I've been challenged to a real fight. And you have no idea how hard it is to stay entertained, down here in the caverns. Raping your women gets old after a few months, really," the dragon smugly responded.

"Cocky bastard," Arach hissed. The dragon's head rose, fixing the drow girl with a long, hard stare.

"I'll make sure to get you acquainted with mine," the dragon promised, lazily coming to its feet and shaking out its wings. Leo had to crane his neck to keep his gaze locked onto the draconic visage, now hovering a good twenty feet over his head. He felt utterly out of his depth here. But there was no way in hell he'd let this beast near Arach! Grasping his hammer with both hands, Leo raised the weapon over his head.

"Lord Justice, give me strength!"

"You show him, tiger," Tear whispered, brushing her hand along Leo's back. He felt his whole body twitch, the weight of his hammer suddenly meaningless. Leo looked around but failed to see Zentam. The dwarf had disappeared from view. The dragon gave a bestial roar and swiped his claws forward but Leo already was in motion. Streaming silvery moonlight with every movement, his hammer a blazing star, he lunged at the dragon, throwing his whole weight behind this first blow. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Tear and Arach pale and cower then his weapon collided with the dragon's claw, scaly armour and blood spattering everywhere, bones crumbling with a sickening crunch.

"I WILL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" the dragon roared, its scream of pain causing the ceiling to tremble. With a mighty crack, a stalactite fell from the ceiling into the lava pool, scattering searing droplets of molten stone everywhere. Leo didn't flinch as he got hit by them, instead he focussed his attention onto the huge target in front of him. He saw Zentam happily hewing at the dragon's hind leg, punctuating every chop of his axe with a nasty dwarven curse, especially since the blade failed to cause any discernible damage. A heartbeat later, the dragon roared again, its claw missing Leo by a hair as he dove under it, to get at the beast's belly. Zentam had turned his axe-head around and was shattering scale by scale with the wicked barb, causing the dragon to howl in pain every time his swings connected.

"How do you like my darkness, you overgrown lizard?" Arach shouted, her voice somehow up in the air.

"Annoying. Just you wait. You will watch as I eat your companions alive, drow bitch," the dragon cursed, its head enveloped by a globe of blackness.

Leo launched another scale-shattering strike at the dragon's underside, his magically charged hammer head crunching through armoured scales like a battering ram through rotten wood. The dragon flinched and tried to get away from him, scrabbling backwards, its hindquarters disappearing into the lava. Even farther it crawled into the pool until it had completely submerged.

Leo looked around wildly, his battle rage urging him on to smite any target in sight.

"Where is he?" he yelled, turning to Tear who was mending a wicked burn on her arm.

"Taking a damn lava bath, that bloody coward! I was just getting started!" Zentam howled, raising his bloodied axe high above his head.

"Watch out!" Arach yelled. Leo looked up, seeing the drow girl levitate near the top of the cavern. A moment later, he caught an infernally bright light to the side. Tackling Tear off her feet, he used his momentum to slide them both along the ground. A heartbeat later, he howled in pain as the soles of his boots turned crimson from the heat, the fiery cone of dragon breath immolating the space where he had been just a moment ago. Wildly, he looked around. Zentam just rose from behind his shield, the metal cooling with pained, pinging sounds. The dragon, no, a handsome, red-skinned man actually, was standing on the balcony where they had been only minutes ago, twin ribbons of smoke pouring from his nostrils.

"Did you really think attacking me in the heart of my own lair would be this easy?" he chided, pity in his voice. "There are more hidden byways than you can imagine. Swimming through molten lava, shifting my form? Child's play!" he boasted.

Then he jumped off the balcony, swelling and expanding in mid-air. The ground shook as the full weight of the beast landed on it. Leo and Tear got tossed around like a pair of rag dolls as the floor heaved and cracked. Before they could get to their feet, the dragon was upon them. Almost delicately he impaled Tear with his index claw, causing the drow woman to wail in anguish as his burning digit buried itself in her midsection. With the other claw, he almost playfully hoisted Leo to his feet before giving him a mighty shove. The paladin tumbled backwards, directly towards the lava pool. But before he could topple into the molten death trap, Arach was on him, throwing all her weight into him. Panting with the effort, she helped Leo find his footing then she screamed in fury. The dragon's head was only inches away from Tear's face, the forked tongue almost lovingly slobbering along her writhing form.