The Path of the Adventurer

Chapter 14

The minecart rattled furiously down the steep fiery cavern after Erion pulled the lever. The path meandered in several directions, making several sudden rapid turns. The unchanging occurrence of stone, obsidian, fire, and lava remained all the way through the tunnel; and the track was on a long path of rock between to long paths of lava. The cart's enchantment kept it in place to prevent it from falling off the rails and protected the company from the lava.

Huffey and Magon stayed in the back of the cart, while Erion and Tikana (who was holding tightly onto the Dragonstone) had the front view. The four adventurers fearfully bellowed as the minecart sped down the tracks. The bloodthirsty dragon Deadeye soared after them, with an obvious instinct in his eyes that meant nothing other than sheer destruction.

"YOUR FATE HAS BEEN CHOSEN!" Deadeye screamed as he exhaled a wave of fire toward the minecart.

"Duck!" Shouted Erion. As the burst of fire blew over the minecart, Erion and his friends hid their heads inside the minecart before the dragonfire was gone.

Tikana had her hand pressed strongly against her mouth, while she grasped the Dragonstone even tighter in her arm. "I-I-can't take it!" She mumbled.

"Hold on!" Magon warned. "We'll be out of here soon!"

"Should we use magic?!" Huffey shouted to Magon. "It could slow 'im down!"

"I can't, I'll drop my staff!" Magon replied. "Can you do anything?"

"Definitely, my lad!" Huffey replied. He poked his head out of the minecart and held his hands toward the dragon. His orange hair flowed gloriously due to the blitzing speed of the ride.

"So the little dwarf has decided to show himself! How foolish!!" Shouted Deadeye as he accelerated. "It is only a matter of time until my furnace starts burning once again!"

"AQUA!" Huffey exclaimed. An abrupt burst of cool water splashed onto the dragon's head, briefly slowing him down. Satisfied, Huffey cast the same spell again, instead being much bigger than before. Yet again, Deadeye emerged and continued to chase them. Huffey cast his Aqua spell several times, slowing Deadeye down bit by bit. However, Huffey's last blast of water stunned Deadeye completely. Erion, Magon, and Tikana poked their heads out, and the dragon was rolling in pain, quickly leaving sight when the slope was now a long even surface. "MY EYES! IT STINGS! IT STINGS!" Deadeye wailed loudly.

"We're getting away!" Magon confirmed as he looked ahead. Large, uneven boulders in the cavern surface and lava pouring from crevices rushed before their eyes. He peered his eyes and noticed a narrow gap in the path ahead. "It's a small cave!"

"We must be out soon!" Erion grunted. "Right?"

Huffey shook his head. "We haven't reached the mines yet, laddie..."

"Hide! Who knows what's in there!" Magon commanded.

The minecart zoomed straight into the shaft before it rapidly climbed a lightless upward slope. Luckily, this slowed the minecart down. When the cart began to rattle slowly down another flat area, Erion looked up. The cave still felt warm, but it had something that was completely different from what they had seen previously: Crystals like lanterns in the midnight. "Wow... Guys look!"

Tikana, Huffey, and Magon looked out of the cart - although Tikana paid no heed, as she was too busy throwing up.

"I wonder what Deadeye would think if he knew this was in his lair?" Huffey joked.

"He probably does already, considering that his goblin slaves used to work here." Magon admitted.

"You're right. To speak the truth, lad, this makes me feel at home. Never thought I'd feel like this in the home of a dragon!"