Chapter 34: 1.34 Ashes & Embers

Faragi

I should seriously stop doing this. 

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I wasn't sure how, but it seemed Velariah had fallen asleep against my shoulder after an hour or so. 

Nice guard she was, I wouldn't be trusting her to stay awake anymore. You had one job Vel! 

Oh well. 

It didn’t seem much was going to happen, anyway. There was literally nothing nearby. It made me wonder what caused the scorpions to be further up the mountain and not here. What would they eat? I had seen nothing yet that would pass as scorpion food. And what about those flying creatures? Did those Pteranodon monsters feed on scorpions? I didn't know. What a weird ecosystem... 

Velariah still had her head on my shoulders and was sleeping soundly with a slight smile. The light from the campfire really made her face look cute. At least I could stare now without her noticing... 

I looked over to the other two sleeping figures. I had actually expected Seralyn to be a snorer, it would fit her character, but no.  

All in all, it was all peace and quiet for our party. 

Except for me, obviously. Somebody would actually have to keep watch, seeing as a certain blissfully asleep elf wasn't going to do it. If only she wasn't so adorable when she slept, I might have actually awoken her. 

I poked around in the fire out of boredom with a stick and added some more wood from a small pile next to me. When I thought the night was about halfway I quietly poked Seralyn with the same stick that I used to pry around in the fire. That was going to leave a burn mark. 

I grinned as the elf was violently awakened. Revenge was sweet indeed.  

It was a miracle she didn’t scream out.  

''Ouch.'' She whispered. ''What did you do that for?'' 

''I felt like you deserved that for earlier today.'' I put on an evil smile. ''It's your turn to keep guard. 

Seralyn sighed. She then turned to Draco on her knees and shook him awake none too gently. 

With the lizardman awake it was time for me to try to catch some sleep. Good thing I had this elven pillow that seemed inviting. I rested my head on her hair and took in its wonderful smell. Did she have some kind of shampoo I wasn't aware of? The smell of roses was strong from such a short distance and I doubted it was simply from the block of soap. I would have to check some time. 

I would leave that for later. For now, I emptied my head and just found myself overtaken by the smell. 

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When I awoke, I found my head resting on Velariah's belly and Seralyn looking into my eyes from across the campfire.  

''You're finally awake, huh? You've been drooling over her for a while now.'' 

Oh no. 

Sure enough, I found saliva leaking from the corner of my mouth. It seemed Velariah was still asleep. I was at least thankful for that. 

''You sure there's nothing going on between you two? Both of you looked adorable sleeping like that!'' She exclaimed happily. 

''None of your business.'' I stated. 

That seemed to wake the white-haired elf up. Well, she would have to get up eventually. We were going to see if we could reach Ember today. 

I had initially thought we were going to have to leave the cart behind, but the terrain didn't seem to be an issue at all. No rocky surface in sight, not too steep a slope. We could do this!  

I lowered my abdomen to the floor and created a new rope which I then had a half-asleep Velariah bind to my rear.  

We had to cut it loose the previous day or sleeping was going to be extremely uncomfortable for me. We had also managed to fill one of the crates halfway with the scorpion stingers.  

After a short breakfast for the others and some water for me, we continued our way to the top. We found and killed several more scorpions without much of a hassle and I could feel some things wiggling through the ground thanks to my tremor sensitive legs. When I impaled the ground with one of them the moment I felt something crawl through it, I almost instantly regretted my decision.  

When I lifted up my leg from the dirt, there was a maggot the size of a wine bottle attached to it. I had pierced it like a skewer but it was still wriggling and trying to escape. 

I was disgusted. 

Velariah saved me by scraping it off my leg with her sword. I guessed this was what the scorpions preyed on.  

''Thanks.'' I sheepishly said. 

''No problem.'' Velariah spoke. 

We ran into several more scorpions and I got some action again as a fairly large group attacked us. I had actually received a hit from one of their stingers as I had to deal with two at the same time. Unfortunately for them, it had hit the carapace under my human body and didn't actually pierce it. Long live exoskeletons!  

We took a small break after the last attack and Draco cut off the stingers with a knife that he had specifically bought for the occasion. As it turned out, we had one crate completely filled and were now working on the second.  

Further up the volcano we came across some interesting ball shaped rocks that were scattered throughout the dirt and I could see a few attached to a few rock spikes that started to fill the terrain now. There was still a clear path leading upwards, but every here and there a few spikes popped up.  

I believed I knew what they were but I wanted to make sure.  

''Draco, could you lend me a hand. Or rather, an axe.'' 

''Sure, thing. What do you want me to do?'' He walked up to me. 

I held up the smooth round rock that felt relatively lightweight.  

''Could you cleave this in half?'' 

I put the rock down in the dirt. 

''No problem.'' 

I took a few steps back and Draco brought down his massive axe on the poor rock. It got pushed into the dirt but I could see it split in half.  

I fished up the two halves and was met by the sight of a radiating amethyst formation within each half of the rock. I was right! I had found a geode! And it was a beautiful one too. 

''You done playing with that rock?'' Seralyn called. 

I showed her the cleaved open geode. 

''Look!'' 

Seralyn raised her eyebrows. 

''I know, they are useless. Pretty, but useless.'' 

What? 

Velariah stepped in from the side. 

''These gems can't hold any magic, as such, they don't have much value.'' 

I looked at the geode in my hands. This would be worth a small fortune back on Earth... 

Screw this world. 

At least it was pretty... 

I decided to keep it and put the shining minerals in the crate that held the iron ore.  

''Aww, I'm sorry Elania.'' Velariah said as I put it in the crate. She patted my back. 

''The real interesting gems are found in dungeons; those can hold magic and are used for enchants.'' 

''Thank you Velariah.''  

That was certainly some interesting info. Now I could simply stop caring about the whole mineral thing. I had been looking forward to finding interesting gems, but if they were useless in this world there wasn't much of a point to looking for them. Maybe if I found really shiny ones, I would take them.  

After travelling for a while more and killing several more scorpions the dirt ground made room for solid volcanic rock instead.  

Seralyn complained about the now bumpy ride and I had told her to go walk herself if it annoyed her. She actually listened and jumped out of the cart. Seems it must have actually bothered her and she didn't do it for the sake of complaining itself. Velariah and Draco had remained quiet.  

Either they weren't affected as much, didn't care or were just extremely lazy. 

We were starting to near the summit and I started to see a certain yellow crust on some of the stone pillars. Now this, would be valuable. Far more valuable than these people would ever know.  

''Draco, could you hand me a crate and a knife?'' I called out as I walked up to one of the pillars with the cart still bound to my behind. 

''What are you going to do now? That stuff is useless as well you know?'' Seralyn stated. 

''Oh, my sweet summer child, you have no idea what you're talking about.'' I spoke. 

''Huh? What's that supposed to mean?'' 

''Nothing. Maybe I will show you one day what this stuff can do.'' I said as Draco handed me a knife and put the crate down next to me.  

I started scraping off the brittle yellow stuff as the others watched with interest. 

''So what can this stuff do?'' Velariah seemed quite curious. 

''Hmm.'' I thought for a second. ''I believe you can use it for certain soaps that prevent infections. The only other use I know is too dangerous to tell you, I could however, show you one day.''  

Someday should be alright. Sulfur was one of the three ingredients for gunpowder but I would have to be careful with that. It wouldn't hurt to have a supply of this stuff ready, just in case.  

I had to go to several of the pillars where the yellow element had ''grown'' like moss, but I managed to fill one of the crates completely. That was one more thing cross off my list.  

We continued our journey to the top. I saw a large plume of smoke rise up in the distance and assumed that was the crater. Just before the crater there was a separate path that split off from the main path and lead down a bit to the other side of the crater. Since there was no dragon in sight, I decided to take that path instead. 

I had to admit I was scared to death that the volcano might randomly erupt. I was fairly certain however, that eruptions were always precedented by seismic activity before the eruption actually happened. It just so happened that I was practically a wandering seismograph. I thought we'd be alright in case of any real danger.  

We made a crescent descent around the crater. The heat was gradually rising as we moved down the path. I had Draco and Velariah walk this last bit. The path was still fairly wide, more than enough for three carts, but I didn't want to risk anything. If anything large attacked us here and we were forced to ditch the cart I'd rather not have them sit in it.  

The path led into a cave which I assumed would be Ember's lair. I mean, I hadn't expected any less of a dragon. I was made aware of the fact that her eggs needed heat, after all. Where else to find more heat than close to the volcano's core? 

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We stepped into a large hollowed out room inside the volcano walls. The core of the volcano with molten magma wasn't visible or anything. I mean, that would make no sense, right? If the core of the volcano was not separated by the large wall all the way in front of us, the lava would just stream in during an eruption and kill Ember's eggs. This was a perfectly logical solution. 

I didn't expect dragons to be stupid.  

Speaking of dragons. Around the room were eggs the size of high school freshmen. They were orange and had red veins enveloping the shells from the outside. Within the ring of egg lay a dragon curled up like a dog in a dog bed. That would be the easiest way to describe her half-curled position. 

It was a magnificent sight to behold. To see a dragon with one's own eyes was a privilege that just wasn't there for anyone from Earth. A set of clawed arms and feet. A massive, long tail that ended in a spiky ball. Her entire body was covered by blood-red scales with the ones on her belly having being yellow. Two horns that each pointed in a different direction to the side of her head, each one was twisted upwards. A large set of wings that covered half her body as she seemed to sleep. Her eyelids were closed but I knew she knew we were here.  

I didn't know how to make our presence known but it seemed the dragon took action instead.  

Her eyelids opened and she moved her head to face us. 

It was Velariah who spoke. 

''Greetings miss Ember.'' 

''Greetings young Velariah, Elania, Seralyn, Draco.'' An older female voice called out to us. 

How did this dragon know my name?  

Why was I even surprised? It was a damn dragon. A dragon! Weren't they supposed to be insanely smart? 

''Greetings, miss Ember.'' I repeated what Velariah had said, not wanting to look rude. 

Draco and Seralyn did the same. 

''How is life outside the Searing Peak?'' Ember asked of Velariah.  

''Quite a few things happened as of late. The most recent word has it that something spooked the mountain lynxes out of their natural habitat. Besides that, we uncovered a dungeon near Dawnleaf and Elania appeared here.'' 

''Ah, miss Elania, yes, an interesting one. I believe you have come to talk to me, yes?'' 

What was I going to say? 

''Yes, miss Ember. I've been meaning to talk to you about a certain dream or vision that I had, but I believe you do enjoy small talk as well. I heard not many people visit this place so I'd be happy to talk some more if you'd like.'' 

That was the least I could do for a solitary dragon. I hoped she appreciated the gesture. 

The large dragon laughed and a gust of warm air hit us as she did so. 

''Oh, Elania, child, you're an interesting one, aren’t you?'' 

I believe I've been told that earlier.  

''I appreciate the gesture, I might take you up on that, or at least have you promise me to visit again someday.''  

She paused for a few moments which had me wonder if I should reply with anything, but then she spoke again. 

''But first, let us hear about this... vision of yours, it sounds... intriguing.''  

''Uhm, where to start.'' I paused for a moment, recalling my dream. ''I found myself in some kind of cave with a large spider that said I had undergone some kind of evolution. It then said that if I wanted more info, I should find out someone called an ''Ancient One''. I inquired Valtheril, who I believe knows you, and he sent me your way saying you might be the being in question or at least, know more.'' 

The dragon laughed again. 

''Yeah, Valtheril and I may have met more than once in the past. He had his own reasons for that. With regard to your vision, I am afraid I have to disappoint you. I am not the person you seek.'' 

What a bummer.  

''Would you happen to know who could have been meant by that?'' I asked. 

''There is only one being that grows older than us dragons. I don't see any other possibility, however, that being is unable to communicate with other beings. If it is somehow able to communicate with you then that would be... quite extraordinary, and that is an understatement.'' 

This dragon had me on the edge of my seat. 

''And what would that being be?'' I asked, unable to contain mu curiosity. 

''A dungeon core.''  

Velariah gasped.  

''A dungeon core, you mean to tell me they are sentient?'' Velariah asked in shock. 

''Correct.'' Ember replied. ''I have never heard of one being able to communicate with other beings. That would be an anomaly.'' 

''I've been called worse.'' I half joked. ''I have to admit, the spider called the Ancient One its master. Would that mean that the dungeon core was talking through the spider?'' 

''That seems likely'' Ember responded. 

I started thinking out loud. 

''So let me see if I can get this correct. A dungeon core can allow its spawned monsters to speak. The thing is, these monsters cannot communicate with anybody so that means the core cannot communicate. The thing is, apparently spiders are able to somehow, someway able to communicate with me. Thus, a dungeon core can communicate with me.'' 

I could see Velariah's gears grinding in her head as she tried to process what I had just said.  

''That... sounds insane, but plausible.'' 

''Moreover, it seems a dungeon is eager to talk to me.'' 

''I'm pretty sure such a thing has never happened before....'' Velariah seemed at a loss for words.  

I looked behind me to see Seralyn and Draco in shock as well. 

''Which dungeon, though?'' I asked to no one in particular. 

''I would assume it's the one you uncovered.'' Draco suggested.  

''I mean, there were spiders outside that dungeon. There was even one that looked exactly the same as the one in my dream. Ember would you happen to know more about anything like that?'' 

''If the dungeon controlled a spider much like the ones outside the dungeon, I would assume the spiders outside the dungeon had gone feral.'' 

''What does that mean, exactly?'' I asked. 

''Sometimes, monsters escape the confines of a dungeon. When that happens that are cut off from the dungeon's influence and their actions become erratic. Their behaviors are dumbed down to their primal instincts such as reproduction and defending territory.'' Ember explained. 

''That seemed to be what that hellspider queen was all about when it ''communicated'' with me.'' 

''So the spiders originated from the dungeon?'' Draco asked. ''When did that happen and why was the quest issued so late? When we discovered the door, it seemed to have been shut tight for quite some time.'' 

''Good point.'' I noted. 

''We should try to find any further info regarding that quest.'' Velariah suggested. ''This doesn't sit right with me.'' 

There was something fishy going on, that was for certain.  

''If it's true that I can communicate with that dungeon and it's non-hostile, don't you think we should be able to find out from them?'' I asked. ''I mean, Draco, you said it's a silver tier dungeon, even if things go sour, we should be able to handle ourselves in there, right?'' 

''Certainly.'' 

I thought that was going to be the easiest, most effective option. I would like to see if we could find a healer somewhere first though.  

''Thanks a lot for your help Ember.'' I took a bow as much as I could. 

''Glad to help Elania, do any of you have any further questions?''  

''I do!'' Velariah called out. ''Would you be so kind to bless some iron ore we acquired?'' 

Bless iron ore? What exactly would that entail?  

''No problem, child. By the way, do promise to ask your father to stop by again sometime. I do adore his company.'' 

''Sure!'' Velariah called as the unloaded the box of iron ore. 

A dragon's blessing, color me intrigued. 

She nonchalantly dumped the ore on the ground and fished out my geode before taking a few steps back. 

The dragon moved her head forward to the pile of ores and took a deep breath. 

Uh-oh.  

As I expected the dragon breathed fire into the ore. The entire area heated up considerably and I found myself taking multiple steps back from the radiating heat. 

I had expected the ore to actually melt but it didn't. When the dragon was finished and retracted her head, the iron ore looked to be glowing with a strange red color much like her scales. It flickered yellow and then red and seemed to alternate between the two, as if it were gemstones instead of simple ore. I was curious what that blessing had actually done. 

Velariah grabbed the spade from the cart and thanked the dragon with a bow before she started shoveling the ore back into a crate.  

Yeah, that stuff was bound to be hot. I was surprised it didn't burn the crate.  

''If that is all, I suggest you children leave. I would normally love to have you around for the company, but it seems the volcano is going to erupt soon. Lest you want to be burned I suggest you move out of here quickly.'' 

Volcanic eruption? But I hadn’t felt anything move in the ground? Spider legs, why have you failed me? 

Velariah loaded the crate onto the cart and I turned around to leave. We'd better get out of here quickly. I didn't want to experience an eruption from up close. 

''Thanks a lot for your help Ember, we will be sure to stop by again someday!'' 

''Looking forward to it.''  

Just as we exited the cave entrance, I felt soft tremors flow through my legs. 

It seemed Ember was right.  

We better run. 

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