Draka

I had not wanted to go out through the gate for one simple reason: the archaeologists. On the bright side, deciding what to do about them was item number five on my list, so I was kind of forced to make progress and deal with that.

They hadn’t been there the last time I checked, but that was a few days ago, and I knew that they came and went. They didn’t seem to have any contact with the Council since no one had opened the gate, so hopefully I wouldn’t have to worry about one of the mercenary companies being sent to check the place out.

Either way, at that moment I had no idea what was outside the gate. I was going out. That was happening. Even the thought of going back was met with unhappy resistance by the dragon, and after what she’d done – letting my emotions run wild – I didn’t want to push her too much.

That whole revelation was confusing more than anything else, though. Sure, maybe she was filtering any outrage or horror I should be feeling, but how would I know? Clearly she could get rid of emotions before I even became aware of them. But she was also being pretty restrictive with what she stopped. Anything that didn’t hinder our survival or enrichment seemed to be fine. I had no reason to suspect that she’d messed with things like affection, embarrassment, guilt, fear, joy, or a host of other emotions. So, why didn’t she? And considering that she could pretty much cripple me with emotional overload anytime she wanted, why hadn’t she just stopped me when I pushed on, despite her fear?

The only really satisfying explanation I could think of was that for all her bluster she truly didn’t see our relationship as adversarial. She hadn’t stopped suppressing my feelings to show what she could do to me, but to show what she was already doing for me, all the time. And if she saw me as part of herself, why would she try to hurt me?

Again I wondered where the line between Dragon and Draka really was. Part of me wondered if there even was one. Because that was another possible reason. If she felt everything I did, perhaps she was only stopping what she disliked, things that came from me that she didn’t want to deal with. I had no problem with the idea that she could simply ignore whatever fear or embarrassment bled through from me. Perhaps embarrassment and guilt were simply emotions that she didn’t feel, or even really understand. It would fit with what I knew of her pretty well.

That had nothing to do with the problem in front of me, though. I didn’t expect anyone outside the gate. There hadn’t been anyone there when last I checked, though there were signs of them coming and going. They certainly hadn’t dismantled the campsite, and I’d seen a bunch of stakes in the ground around the gate last time I was there, like markers. There should be an hour or two left until dawn, at least, so even if they were there they should be asleep. But I still didn’t want to risk being seen. If they saw the gate itself open, that was one thing. So be it, let them try to explain it best they could. If they saw me I’d have to do something about it, and I didn’t have many options.

Are you sure that you won’t at least try to go back? This seems like an unnecessary risk, I thought.

At first all I got was an annoyed grumble, but then she said, “I cannot be bothered to turn back when we’ve gone this far. If there is anyone out there, we will deal with them. Either you take the lead and we do it your way, or I can happily do it my way. I leave it to you.”

Right. She wasn’t scared. She just couldn’t be bothered. At least I tried.

As I got closer to the end of the tunnel I began to move more and more carefully, listening for any sound, but all I heard were my own steps. They didn’t seem to have gotten the gate open before, but they might have figured out the trick and returned. I wasn’t going to chance it. When I reached the gate it was still closed though, with no sign that anyone had entered but me. So far, so good. Now to try something new.

I shifted, and continued forward until I was touching the gate as much as I could in that form. Then I tried to channel my magic into it, willing it to open. It was a strange feeling. Usually I would just put a hand on the stone and make a connection that way, but as a shadow it felt slippery, for lack of a better word. Like my magic slipped and skidded off the stone, until I found just the right angle where I could push and the ‘force’ went straight into the stone. It was exhausting in a way that I had never experienced before, but after several tries I felt the familiar pulse of magic from me to the stone, and the gate slowly opened with a hiss of loose, disturbed soil.

With every inch that the doors moved I expected torchlight to fall through the crack, and I was prepared to push the shadows before me so I could slip out, but I never needed to. There was no one outside. The dig site was empty. I still remained in shadow as I moved out and looked around, but there was no one there. I was almost a little disappointed, but consoled myself with a reminder that the point of caution is so that you don’t get screwed the one time out of a thousand that it’s warranted. With a mental shrug I shifted back and turned to close the gate. All that caution for nothing.

As I prepared to close the gate I heard excited voices coming from up top, outside the large hole that had been dug against the mountainside. I shifted again not a moment too late, as the voices were quickly followed by lights. Two blurry blobs marked the two people who approached. "See?" a female voice said, speaking quickly and full of enthusiasm. "I told you I heard something, and look! It's open! It opens, just like I thought!"

I quickly moved along the stone and up the slope, keeping away from the light. I would really prefer not to draw any attention, and a shadow where there should be none would probably stand out.

“Right up to the markers, too,” she continued. “I knew it! What else could have disturbed the dirt that way?”

"Well, I… yes," a male voice said as they moved down the slope, sounding very put-upon. "It's not like I can deny it. Well spotted. You were right, I was wrong."

"Ah!" the female voice groaned. "That's not what's important! Well, it is," she said, giggling with excitement, "but it's not the point. The point is those old texts you found were right! There's a passage into the mountain here, look! And it’s ours to explore. Ours!"

I got out of the hole and shifted back, crouching flat with just my head peeking over the edge so I could see them. As I'd thought, two people, a round, lively young woman and a very tall older-looking man, were approaching the open gate. The woman was dressed in fine but practical clothes, while the man was wearing what I could only describe as a night shirt and had clearly been dragged out of his bedroll moments ago.

She thrust her lantern into the opening, lighting up the featureless tunnel. For reasons beyond me, that excited her even more.

"Who knows what could be inside?" she said with wonder, as her bemused companion looked on. “Do you think this is it? The Dark One’s lair?”

“Tavia, again, the Dark One is not a confirmed historical…” the man began, but he was cut off by a third voice.

“Sir? Madam?” a man called, and I retreated towards the trees as I saw him approach. He was a rough-looking guy, lean and muscular with long, messy hair, and he was carrying a sheathed sword in one hand. “Please!” he said, “I have asked you before, let me or one of my men know if you want to leave the camp!” His tone made it very clear that yes, he had asked them before, and he was fed up with it.

“But mister Barro, the gate –” the woman began. The rough man, Barro, cut her off.

“Madam, I understand that something exciting happened,” he said, “but there are wolves and bears in these woods, and worse. That wyvern has been spotted in this area. For all you know it’s waiting around our camp, just hoping for one of us, a distracted young lady perhaps, to wander off on their own. Vulnerable. Exposed. Please,” he said emphatically. “I do not want you to go missing only to find your stripped, bloody bones two days later.”

Even though I couldn’t see her, I could almost hear her rolling her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “I apologise for frightening you. Now would you please rouse the others? We’re getting an early start today.”

The whole situation was annoying. Half an hour ago I’d thought that I wouldn’t mind much, but now that I was faced with the reality of people going into my mountain I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t want people in the mountain, at least not these people, and I needed to figure out what to do about it. The fact that it was my own fault didn’t help. I could have tried to find another way out, but I’d been too impatient.

I considered just killing them. It would probably not be a problem. I’d just pick the guards off one by one, and then the two scholars would be easy. I could even wait until they went inside, then follow them and shut the gate behind us. No one would ever find them.

I stopped that train of thought as soon as I became aware of what I was thinking. Dragon, I thought at my constant companion, are you preventing me from feeling anything for these people.

“They are an obstacle, are they not?” came the reply after a few seconds. “We should consider our options. You know what my solution is.”

They are, and I do, I replied. But would you please not block my pity and empathy for innocent people? They have done us no harm. When I… advise you, I would like to feel all the consequences of… solutions like that. Please.

I felt something like a mental shrug. “I suppose. But if it makes you unreliable I will remove it again.”

It wasn’t sudden this time, perhaps because the dragon wasn’t trying to make a point. The idea of eliminating this little expedition, piece by piece, became unacceptable. I didn’t hate myself for thinking of it – maybe the dragon was blocking that – but it became obvious that I couldn’t kill them just because they did something I didn’t like. They hadn’t actually hurt me. They didn’t even know that I existed! And really, what was the worst case scenario? They got in there and started exploring the place? So what? Unless they built a huge scaffold and tried to climb up the hole in the ceiling, they’d never threaten me. Hell, I wouldn’t even hear them…

… but they would be there. And I would know. And there would always be the risk of them actually building that scaffold, or someone with abilities I’d never even considered might have another way of getting up. Maybe I shouldn’t take their quiet disappearance off the table just yet. It would be so easy.

I really needed to talk to someone about this.

I spent most of the next few days hanging out by the dig site. Switching back to being awake during the day was always annoying, but with my exceptional ability to nap it wasn’t as bad as it might have been.

The two scholars, the woman named Tavia and the older man, whose name was Ramban, spent the better part of two days preparing to enter. Most of those days were spent arguing over a collection of books, scrolls, and loose leaves of paper, trying to figure out exactly what they should expect. I seriously couldn’t understand what the point was, because in the end they did what they should have done from the start: they packed some basic gear, took the man called Barro, and entered the tunnel. Unfortunately they had a guard by the door, and he took his job seriously. Otherwise I would have followed them in.

They returned maybe three hours later, talking excitedly. From what they were saying they had only reached the initial chamber, the ‘hub,’ as they called it, and listening to them I might have thought it was the most amazing find in the history of archaeology.

To be fair, maybe here, and to them, it was.