Dream II - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

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Race: Saurian

Bloodline Powers: Improved Strength, Rending, Firebreath
Greater Mysteries: Fire (Noble) 4, Wind (Noble) 3, Sound (Advanced) 1
Lesser Mysteries: Heat 4, Oxygen 4, Embers 4, Pressure 4, Current/Flow 4

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Samazzar dangled in the darkness, a mad grin on his face and adrenaline pumping through his veins.  Distantly he could feel pain in his shoulders and chest where the harness bit into his scales, but that hardly mattered.  The wind around him swirled and flowed through the twists of the deep cavernous valley.

It was alive

He could feel it like the breath in his lungs.  It brushed across his skin, speeding and slowing in time to the breezes on the surface that were filtered, channeled and concentrated by time and stone until the bottom of the gorge was a constant storm of action.

It howled like an animal, and Sam could practically feel the caged beast around him.  The air itself vibrated, rattling his teeth and claws as it ignored his scales and the tremors burrowed directly into the core of his being.

His eyes watered, irritation from the stinging wind and the auditory assault drawing involuntary tears of pain in the dark, but Samazzar barely cared.  Information was flowing into his mind as the concept of sound exploded around him like the mystery of wind had only a minute before.

It didn’t matter that Sam’s broken ribs ached.  He didn’t care that the world around him was almost complete darkness, nothing more than a sliver of light far above him where the depths transitioned into the surface world.

In the distance, he felt another gust of wind ripple across the prairie followed a second later by its echo in the valley itself.  Samazzar could feel the mournful howl rising in the distance, and now he could almost see the air itself shaking as it rushed through narrow rock formations.

He pushed the sound out of his mind, instead focusing on the wind which he reached out and snared with his will.  It broke off from the front, redirecting itself toward Sam and pushing him back toward the rock face of the valley wall.

The pain from his harness erupted as Sam reached for the handholds carved into the stone.  He couldn’t see them with his eyes, but he could feel the gaps in the wall through his connection with the wind.  More than that he could hear them.  They didn’t produce much sound, but the flow of air over the holes made the barest of groans, but now that was more than enough.

Sam grabbed hold of the grip, his claws blurring slightly as they magically sharpened and dug into the stone to stop him from swinging away from the wall.  He pushed upward, climbing a pace or two while dangling face down over the abyss until he could swing his feet under him and begin his ascent toward the light in a more normal fashion.

For almost a minute he clung to the rock face, body heaving from exertion.  A scan from his magic revealed a number of deep claw marks in the side of the valley where something much larger and stronger than him made a similar ascent.

He familiarized himself with the patter of the gouges.  The wide spread of the gashes torn from the wall, each punctuated by a deep hole from a dew claw, driven like a piton into the wall to stabilize the beast as it climbed.  Samazzar’s mind blurred as he thought back on the various monsters, but mundane and legendary that were said to occupy the area before finally settling on a likely culprit.  From the markings, there were at least two options, but either was more than a match for him in his prime, let alone injured.  With a grimace, he reached up to begin climbing as fast as his battered body could bear.

Then, it was simply a matter of work.  One hand above the other, finding the rungs carved into the wall unerringly due to his magical senses.  The excitement over his double baptism began to fade as the pain from his shoulders and left side became more pronounced.

His initial assessment was right.  The sudden stop at the bottom of his rope had broken at least two ribs and shredded the scales on his shoulder.  There were plenty of potions that could set him on the path to recovery, but all of them were with Dussok and Takkla.

Samazzar’s breath came in short hisses as the dull ache in his side transformed into molten agony.  It was like a spike of glass and steel had been driven into him just below his arm.  With every reach for a new handhold, it felt like a mallet was driving it deeper, and every breath sent shivers of pain through his entire body as his nerves throbbed in time with his expanding chest.

One arm after another, stretching up into the dark, Sam dragged his tether after him.  Through ragged gasps he could feel it pulling at him, dragging at his muscles and trying to yank him back down into the darkness below.

The wind didn’t help.  Samazzar could feel it coming and with his new level of control over the mystery he could partially fend off the gales that rushed through the valley toward him, but Sam quickly learned that his mastery wasn’t as precise as he had expected.  Even if he could grab hold of the air rushing toward him, there was always a gust right after it.  As much as Sam redirected, he couldn’t quite form a wall around himself so he was left with no other option but to cling tightly to the wall as his muscles burned, hoping that the latest squall wouldn’t send him hurtling back into the abyss.

After about ten minutes of stop and start climbing, the urge to just let go began to build.  Samazzar didn’t quite regret throwing himself from the edge of the cliff, gaining insight into two mysteries at once was a major accomplishment, one that he wouldn’t quickly discard.  Still, it felt like his arms and back were weighted down with bags of lead, and a concerned voice in the back of Sam’s mind kept worrying that the constant physical activity would puncture a lung or lead to some sort of internal damage, but he didn’t really have another choice.

Moving hurt.  Stopping hurt.  Dropping down would lead to the straps digging into his already injured body, aggravating the injuries he already had.  The only real option was to push through the pain.

His breath rasped, hot and ragged, and Samazzar found himself making mistakes.  Not major ones, but despite knowing exactly where every one of the rock handholds was located via his magic, Sam’s arms felt heavy and clumsy.  Sometimes it would take two or three attempts to actually get his fingers to close around the lip of stone.

Finally, his senses found a cave above him.  A deep wound carved from the side of the valley by wind and rain and painfully expanded by pick axes and sweat.  If Samazzar took a moment, he was sure he could use the wind to track and find every one of the rough blows that had widened the cavern enough for a small village to be built inside.

The rough ip of the edge scraped across his forearms as Sam dragged himself over the edge and rolled onto his back, a pace from the open air.  For a second or two he just lay there, letting the adrenaline fade from his body as the pain grew to fill its wake.

He waited for almost a minute.  The agony didn’t abate, but he acclimated to it.  Gritting his teeth, Samazzar pushed himself back up onto his knees before standing up and facing the mining encampment.

The village wasn’t big, consisting of maybe ten buildings made from stone brick standing next to a warren of tiny homes carved into the rock itself.  Running down the center of the opening was a set of metal rails for a cart of some sort that ended at a set of scaffolding that looked like the landing platform for the lift that was hidden in the dirt up above.

A couple of humans stood next to one of the larger buildings, overalls covering cracked and calloused skin as they lounged on what looked like an infrequent break.  They were pale, their complexion far lighter than anything that Sam was used to from Vereton itself.  Past them he could hear a din of voices as if a number of people were talking.

He limped toward the building, tapping into the mystery of sound to listen in.  Almost immediately he made out Adam talking to some unknown human.

“-sure they left?  We haven’t had a chance to visit many of the other camps, but Vereton hasn’t heard back in quite a while.”

“Aye,” the unknown man replied, his voice cracking in the middle of the word.  “Wasn’t sure whether they knew we were here or not but Flannahan saw ‘em looking over the edge of the cliff.  It’s real hard to see down unless we’re foolish enough to drag a torch near the edge, but it ain’t that hard to see someone silhouetted against the sun.  At least four of ‘em and it wasn’t the transport team.”

“Course,” he continued, voice hardening.  “That was right bout the time the transport team left with a couple wagon’s of ore.  Shoulda been back at least a week ago and I’ll be honest.  Food’s running a bit low.  Some of the boys are starting to get worried.  If you could sort that out I’d be a lot happier.  We can pile up the ore here for a bit, but if we run out of food we won’t have much of a choice but to climb out and make a run for it.”

“That would be a risky bet,” Adam replied.  “Some of you might make it, but its more likely that none of you would reach Vereton alive.  It sure looks like they’re sweeping the plains with raiding parties.”

The other man chuckled dryly before responding.

“Don’t I know it boy.  It’s beyond my last choice, but the other option is starving down here.  I’ll take a run for freedom that probably won’t work before I turn to cannibalism.  That’s why I wanna know.”

“Can you ensure that we will get food and water?  Ain’t nothing to eat down here boy.  We can mine until the warehouse is full and hold tight for a while after that, but if there aren’t any supplies, I’m not gonna tell the miners to starve down here with me.  Least topside they have a fighting chance.”

“Andres!” One of the humans near the waiting outside the building called out, pointing in Samazzar’s direction.  “Another one of those lizard things showed up, just like the other two said.”

“That’ll be Sam,” Adam said.  His metal boots clanked against the cavern floor as he began moving toward Samazzar.  “We’ll do what we can to get you your food Mr. Sahlme.  I can’t promise we’ll be able to get through the blockade, so if you don’t hear back from us in a week or so, all I can say is that you should do what you need to.  I don’t think anyone can ask anything more from you.”

The door to the building opened and Adam walked out, followed a step later by a bald man a half a hand bigger than the tall human and about twice as wide, mostly around his gut.  The other man reached up, scratching the back of his head as Takkla and Dussok slipped out of the building past him.

“That’s more than a lot of folks would say, knight,” the bald human rumbled, taking a step forward to clear the doorway.  “Lot of the rich and powerful types back at Vereton would tell me to man my post even if the sky itself fell.  Explanations wouldn’t matter, just parros.”

“The mine is important,” Adam replied with a smile clapping the other man on one of his beefy arms, “but it hardly matters without the miners.  Vereton will need your iron sooner or later.  There is an army out there, and armies don’t come cheap.  Whoever put it together is going to want to use it before too long, and that means an attack on the city.  An attack we’ll probably need your iron for.  Still, if the iron won’t get to us due to the blockade, there’s no purpose in asking for a meaningless sacrifice.”

“I’ll drink to that, knight,” the massive man leaned to the side and spit on the rock floor.  “I’ll hold as long as I can, but if I have to leave, I’m leaving.  The boys and I will probably tell these bandits or whatever they are where the mine is too.  Maybe they’ll go easy on us if we do that.  Gotta do what we gotta do to survive after all.  But my niece lives in Vereton.  Nice girl.  Married a shitstain of a guy.  You get me food and water, and I’ll get the city iron.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Adam said, nodding his head firmly at the miner.  A second later he let a smile crack the grave expression on his face.  “At a very minimum, I got you to stop calling me boy.  ‘Knight’ isn’t a huge improvement.  Maybe next time we meet I’ll get you to actually call me by my name.”

A couple of the miners chuckled, smiles finally appearing on their faces in the torchlight.  The big man- Andres, glanced at Adam for a couple of seconds, as if measuring him, before joining the other workers.

“Don’t push it, knight,” he rumbled.  “Still, you bring back enough food and I’ll get you drunk enough on Jamie’s swill that you won’t be able to walk for a week.  That’s a promise.”

“It’s made out of fermented mushrooms and a special ingredient!” A miner in the crowd shouted out helpfully.

“Special ingredient?” Adam asked dubiously, looking over the crowd of pale, muscular men.  “That doesn’t sound promising.”

“Pretty sure he uses lamp oil,” another man chimed in.  “Even if he doesn’t, it sure tastes like it.”

The first man turned around, shaking a fist theatrically at the other miner, smile still draped across his face.

“Shut up Dawson, I didn’t see you turning down your share last night-”

Sam tuned the rest of the conversation out as Meredith, Takkla and Dussok walked up to him, followed a moment later by Adam.

“Are you all right?”  Meredith asked, leaning forward to peer at Samazzar.  “You tripped and fell over the edge right after I got started.  I was worried about you but Dussok said you would be ok-”

“The little dragon didn’t trip,” Dussok cut in, shaking his head.  “The fool jumped.  Look at that insane grin on his muzzle.  He probably went through a baptism and gained another level while the three of us were stuck doing the hard work.”

“The fall was fun,” Sam replied, eyes twinkling mischievously despite the steady burn in his side.  “Hitting the end of my tether hurt like crazy though.  Somehow, climbing back up with broken bones was even worse.”

Takkla sniffed, crossing her arms in front of her as her eyes narrowed into a worried glare.

“You deserve it,” she said dismissively.  “My heart practically leapt out of my throat when you jumped over the edge.  Dussok and I keep telling you to act with a small amount more restraint, and there you go, plummeting into the dark with only a fraction of a warning.”

“I’m sorry?” Samazzar asked experimentally, wincing as another twinge of pain ran up his side.  “I just had a feeling that I was almost there.  I don’t know if I would have been able to break through if I waited a minute or two and thought about things.  It really felt like it was ‘jump’ or wait weeks if not months for another moment when the circumstances were right.”

“Also,” he continued hopefully, “if you could pass me a mending potion and a salve of pain numbing I would appreciate it.  I’m actually in quite a lot of agony right now.”

Takkla rolled her eyes, but that didn’t stop her from reaching into the pouch at her side and pulling out a ceramic container and a small glass vial.  Sam gratefully took the concoctions from her, trying not to think about the time and parros he had invested in their creation.

He tipped his head back, downing the peppermint and egg yolk flavored potion before removing the brownish-red lid to the salve.  With a wince he began working the thick, tar-like substance under the straps of the harness he was still wearing.

Almost immediately the ragged pain abated.  Sam could still feel it but it was more distant, almost like it was happening to someone else rather than boring into his aching body.

“Wait,” Meredith cut in, confusion on her face.  “What do you mean, baptism?  Did Sam seriously jump off a cliff in the middle of a reconnaissance mission in order to improve a rank in the mysteries-”

She stopped for a second, cocking her head to the side.  For a moment she chewed her lower before frustration got the best of her.

“Actually, HOW did that work.  I thought the three of you were fire magi and the last I checked there isn’t a source of elemental flames waiting at the bottom of the gorge.”

“Ms. Lewtin,” Adam cut in sternly, his brow furrowing in the flickering torchlight of the mining cave.  “Things are a little lax amongst the knights because we are all working together, but it is considered impolite to ask a practitioner what their mysteries and levels are unless you are demanding a duel.  I don’t mind if the saurians know what my abilities are, but many people like to avoid publicizing those sorts of facts.”

“Oh I don’t mind,” Sam replied with a cheerful wave his hand that brought an immediate, albeit dulled twinge of pain.  “I am also studying the mysteries of sound and wind.  Neither of them are as flashy as fire, so that’s what people tend to focus on, but wind is a powerful ally.”

Adam’s frown softened.  The big man knew Samazzar’s mysteries.  They’d talked about their abilities over drinks more than once, but he suspected that Merideth’s addition to the conversation changed things.

Maybe Sam shouldn’t have been so forward about his studies with Pothas, but at the same time, that wasn’t how a dragon operated.  If he needed to hide he could, but most of the time was spent out in the open, soaring through the air.  Power and casual arrogance.  Unless there was a compelling need to conceal his abilities, Samazzar didn’t see the purpose.  It was better that his opponents had some idea what he could do so that they could fear him.

Adam took a deep breath, letting the air hiss through his teeth for a second as he steeled himself.  He looked Samazzar in the eyes and grimaced.

“The bandits are still out here Sam.  Andres, the foreman, says that they have enough supplies for a week or two, but beyond that he isn’t sure how long they’ll be able to hold out.  It’s good that they’ve managed to survive this long, but right now they’re more or less cut off from the City.  We need their ores and they need our food, but trade is all but impossible under the current circumstances.”

“And we’re no closer to finding where the ‘bandit’ army is hiding itself,” Samazzar replied.  “Meaning Vereton has nothing to strike back against.”

“We need to take back the initiative,” Adam said heatedly.  “Burn a storehouse, ambush a raiding band, something to tell the bandits that they can’t operate with impunity.  At the very minimum we need to scare them a bit so that we can resume normal operations in the resource colonies.”

“If the resource colonies are still in one piece,” Dussok rumbled.  “I doubt any of the others could withstand an attack from the bandits.

“I know,” Adam replied with a deep sigh.  “By the mysteries, do I know.  Still there’s nothing else to do but check.  The Patrician needs solid information.  Right now the guard and the knights are trapped behind the city walls.  If we can find survivors for them to evacuate, or better yet a target, it would go a long way to lifting the gloom that’s choking the city.”

The human glanced out into the darkness of the gorge.  Another gale of wind howled past the cave mouth, shaking the flexible ropes that were tied to a stone block just inside the entrance.  Nine tethers, four for the harnesses of the rest of the group, and five evidently for the denizens of the cave, whipped back and forth.

Adam clenched his jaw and nodded once before striding over to the rock and beginning to hook the rope up to his harness.  A second later Meredith and then Dussoka and Takkla followed him.

Samazzar reached up, checking his own harness to ensure that his rope was still securely connected. The leather bit into the cracked and oozing scales of his shoulder and chest, drawing a hiss from him.  His potion was doing its work, but Sam hadn’t spent a prodigious sum acquiring the sort of reagents needed for a potion that would heal his injuries in a matter of minutes.

His broken ribs would heal in under a day.  That had seemed like more than enough when he had brewed the complex alchemical compound.  It was only now as he stared up at the dark cliffside, the memory of the claw marks from down below fresh in his mind, that Sam had a twinge of regret over his stinginess.

The climb was going to hurt.