A Dragon's Retribution [Book 3 in Rising Dragons]

Chapter 14: Seeryath V

Immediately after landing, I closed my wings. The adrenaline of the chase had initially kept me from noticing the pain in my wing, but after a few hours, a persistent ache had made itself obvious. A rest was sorely needed. Whether we would receive it was unclear, however. "How long until Thirak gets here?" Azrael asked after taking a long drink from the river.

"Not sure," I responded, glancing at the sky again to make sure we had lost our pursuers. "He has to travel by foot, but he may be able to find a faster way here. There are people who are willing to help regardless of the danger."

The moment I've finished speaking, Azrael stood up, startling myself and a few birds nearby. Following his gaze, I looked up to see three figures starting their decent. "I don't suppose you know what kind of creatures those are?" He asked.

Squinting, I tried to make out more aside from four-legs and wings. "They're not dragons," I replied slowly, "but I can't make out anything else." After saying that, I focussed, attempting to connect my mind with those above us. It felt strange, but then one mind connected with me – it was Thirak's. "It's Thirak," I told Azrael in surprise, "and two others on... pegasi – winged horses."

Azrael snorted, sounding rather disbelieving, but I watched in amusement as his expression quickly changed upon the three pegasi landing nearby before taking off again, this time without their riders. "Found Fáelán and Aldrys," Thirak said, after a few moments of silence. He paused again, before realising the issue. He turned to the two elves, "Seeryath can connect all our minds telepathically to allow for smoother communication, otherwise I can relay everything that they," he said, gesturing at Azrael and me, "say, and they completely understand all that we say."

"Mental communication is fine," Fáelán said after Aldrys glanced at him. I reached out with my mind again, this time considerably less wary, and easily linked our minds together.

It is good to see you two safe, I murmured. We welcome your aid and thank you for the help you have provided thus far.

Got some bad news for you, Aldrys said with a solemn expression. The elves broke the alliance, but it's because they assumed all hope was lost. There's a chance we can regain the alliance.

Would you be able to help us with that? I asked. Even though I knew the elves, I was certain Fáelán and Aldrys would have more pull in the elven society.

After hesitating, the two elves nod, albeit with unhappy expressions. I was thinking we could help the pair with their task first, Thirak said in the silence that followed. They're looking for a necklace that can turn the wearer invisible. It would aid us in future endeavours, and – at the very least – it's better we have it than the others.

A necklace? Azrael repeated curiously. Lying down the dragon cautiously asked, Could you explain?

One of the savannah tribes has a legend, Aldrys begun. They believe that beneath the mountains – the ones to our south, I think – have a city hidden underground. We're assuming it's from an old civilisation that died out. We've heard rumours of such cities or buildings hidden in the mountains before, so there's no reason to disbelieve the legend.

However, Fáelán said pointedly, we're not here to get side tracked but talk about the legend.

Aldrys rolled his eyes. You're no fun, he said jokingly. Anyway, so there's rumoured to be a city hidden underground beneath the mountains or something. The legend goes that the city was deserted and locked away, left with traps and other horrors meant to dissuade people from entering. The reason why the city was shut down was due to the creation of a necklace. There's not too much information on why everyone left. Except, legend had it that the necklace was cursed to make those around jealous of the owner, resulting in bloody fighting over the necklace.