A Rose Amongst the Dragons, page 14
part #1 of A Rose Amongst the Dragons Series
Sterling was in the best health so he made a fire and prepared a small meal of beans for everyone. Even Thelton ate the offered food. The mood in the camp was very gloomy.
“Why didn’t you warn us,” Trevor asked? “I’ve never been through something so horrible in all my life. There was only one of those little men, and a whole army of us. We could have stopped him if you had prepared us.”
As Thelton took a bite of salty beans, he glared at Trevor. He realized that his side molar had become loose in the jousting he had taken. His tongue kept wiggling it while Trevor lectured him.
“Dragon Slayer, I’m talking to you. Why didn’t you warn us? Or better yet, why didn’t you slay the wind thing?” Trevor asked as he continued to taunt Thelton.
Thelton kept eating, for Trevor wasn’t much of a threat. He was the smallest man there. Why was he King Wolfgang’s first Advisor?
“Don’t ignore me,” Trevor yelled at Thelton. He knew that it wasn’t anyone’s fault for the gyroid; it was just one of the many horrible things found in the forest. Since he felt ill willed and needed somewhere to focus his anger, he picked Thelton. Trevor went over to Thelton and stood directly above him. Thelton didn’t look up.
“For a hero and a leader, you don’t lead much.”
Not too far from Thelton, Flance was in a great deal of pain. He wondered if his hand was broken. He never stopped mourning over the loss of his right hand. It would be devastating if his left was broke.
Trevor felt awkward as he stood above Thelton. Thelton didn’t acknowledge his presence. Angered, Trevor picked up a stick.
“Hey, hero, I am talking to you. You know these woods. You should be preparing us for the dangers in it. You should be leading us. Get up old man and defend your ways,” Trevor took the stick and broke it over Thelton’s head.
Thelton shot his hand out and grabbed Trevor’s feet, he yanked them out from under the impudent boy’s body. Swiftly Trevor’s face met the ground, cracking the bones in his nose. Thelton rolled him over and shoved his face into Trevor’s.
“If you want to live, you will never touch me again.”
Trevor looked away, his disgrace swelling. He had been humiliated in front of the men. His pride was wounded. The rest of the men roared out in laughter. Trevor would not forget this. Thelton would pay, and then he would be sorry. For many, it hurt too badly to laugh, and they promptly stopped. Thelton went back to eating his beans. Flance looked away disappointed. He had hoped more would have come from the squabble.
Tents were constructed and beds were brought out. The men went to bed early without much talking for they had all been through a lot and they all ached.
In the morning, Sterling made breakfast. Everyone slept in, even Thelton. No one was in a rush to awake to their malady. The morning passed by quickly as everyone rested. Toward mid afternoon, many of the men were still sleeping.
While Thelton and half the others slept, Flance had gathered a few of the men a short way from the camp. They conversed quietly together.
“He is not a leader. He would ditch you in a second if he could. He is so sure of himself that he even thinks that he can bring in all the dragons alone. No man can do that, not even him.
“This mission is not about the individual man. It is about the king and it is about the kingdom. I am aware that every man is valuable, everyman. We learned that yesterday when my son saved us all. Everyone plays their part. Everyone gets the glory.
“I am a dragon slayer. I am good. The king has trusted me. And I am the only man here that knows where the queen’s nest is. This is not about me, this is about our kingdom. Chose me to lead, I will not let you down.” Flance whispered trying to rally the small group.
Trevor rubbed his face, it hurt, and however, his pride hurt more. “I’m with you. Thelton is not fit to lead. I believe he would ditch us. I would follow you anywhere, Flance.”
Edward didn’t trust Flance, and so he challenged him, “Flance, what do you mean this is about the kingdom? You aren’t even from Andleburg, you are from Candleshaw.”
“The dragons are bigger than just Andleburg, which I highly respect. The dragons are about the tri-kingdoms. They are about every one of us. If we leave this mission in Thelton’s hands, he will betray us all. I will not, I will value everyman's skills and we will work together as a team.”
Edward replied to Flance. “I agree that Thelton is not a people person, but he is highly skilled. Until this mission, I have never even heard of you. I put my trust in the king and he puts his trust in Thelton. My loyalties stay with Thelton.”
“I completely agree with Flance, come on men, and join me in uprising against Thelton. I am the king’s First Advisor.” Trevor declared. He wanted to avenge Thelton for making him look like a fool.
The majority of the men in the secret combination liked Flance’s words. Thelton had turned out to be a uncaring person. Most of the men were put off by him. Still, they were hesitant to follow Flance since he was from another kingdom, an outsider.
Freelone had been quietly resting away from the men. He could sense that an uprising was taking place. Since he valued Thelton; he was not interested in the party revolting. Vegus forest had already proven itself as very dangerous; therefore, they needed to stay united and work as a team. He stood up, pain radiating across his body. His head pounded. He limped over to the circle of men.
“Any plans you have of overthrowing Thelton ends here,” he said. His large stature demanded respect as he challenged them.
All the men acted surprised at such an accusation.
“We were only discussing the possible dangers of the forest we have to meet,” Flance lied.
Freelone stared hard into the group. “You better be right. We need to be united men; we cannot waste our energy fighting amongst ourselves. As you have already seen, we need each other. I will warn you now; I will personally take any man out that tries to stir up the men. That includes you, Flance.” Freelone sat down in the middle of the men, daring them to continue their plans. For the moment, Trevor decided to hold his thoughts in.
…
During the early evening, camp was packed up, and the men were on their way. Thelton was a bit more humble and slightly less rushed with his body hurting like the rest of the men. They continued walking in silence for hours. Every man was aware of their own afflictions. The mood was heavy. The foul weather added to it.
It was hard to see the sky because the canopy of trees was so thick. Only traces of the sun made its way past the trees and brought minimal light to the forest. Soon after the men arose the light dissipated even more. They had to fire up their lanterns to be able to see clearly. As they walked, the forest echoed with several loud booms of thunder. Momentary flashes of light followed the lightning bolts above. Huge drops of rain came splashing down. The rain was sharp and burned. Any part of the skin the rain touched, sizzled and reddened. The smell of onions radiated with the rain. A drop stung Thelton’s hand, forming an oval splash mark. Thelton reached into his side pack and pulled out a poncho made of Torris leaves. The Torris leaf was thick and impermeable. He draped it over his body and kept walking. While he walked, he removed a small amount of salve and put it on his wounds.
The rest of the men stopped walking because they were screaming and scurrying about. Most were unprepared for the rain.
“Thelton,” Flance yelled out. “You must stop.”
Thelton turned to face the men. “As the leader, I will make those calls. There is no point to stopping. The rain will come down on you if you move or if you stay still. We must keep going so that we can reach Firelake by nightfall.”
Several of the men dropped to the ground and were howling in pain. A few had ponchos of Torris leaves that they draped over their body and were able to find protection. Some of the men got the rain in their eyes and were clawing at their sockets. There was much moaning and agony.
“Thelton, then go on alone. The men need help!” Flance shouted.
Freelone approached Thelton. He had found a covering and was hiding under it.
“What is going on, Thelton, why is the rain burning the men?”
“That's what happens in the Vegus Forest. If it is too much for you, you are free to leave.”
“I know what happens,” one of the men named Nate said, coming face to face with Freelone. “There is sulfur acid on the leaves. I work with chemicals and I recognize it. With the mixture of the sulfur, rain and the electrical charge in the air, the rain becomes acidic. I am sure your small mind has no idea what I am saying. Basically, it means that the rain will burn away your skin. It would be best for us to find cover.”
Thelton began walking away from the men. “Your men can all stay here, and sizzle away. I assume that it will rain all night. According to wizard boy there,” he said pointing to Trevor, “You will all be dead by morning.” Thelton coughed as the vapors burned his lungs. “I will continue on to Firelake. The lake is in a clearing away from the trees, and I doubt the rain will be acidic next to the lake.”
Freelone found wisdom in Thelton’s words. Since the acid was being caused from the sulfur from the leaves, it would be best to find a clearing, or maybe a cave. He decided to rally on Thelton’s cause. “Listen, men, I know that you are being burned by the rain, but if you stay here, you will die. Keep walking, and there will be a clearing by the lake. It is the only way to survive.” Freelone instructed.
The men followed Thelton as the searing rain continued. Their skin felt like it was melting off their bodies. Twelve men didn’t make it, the rain was more than they could handle. They took off in a run, looking for shelter. The rain had lightened to a mist after an hour. They continued to walk for four more hours. It finally stopped raining.
Close to the lake, the forest began to illuminate. Over the top of the trees, light was shooting up into the dark sky. Many of the men began running as fast as they could. It was all they could think about, getting out of the acid mist.
Through the clearing of the trees, the lake was a brilliant sight. Flames of purple, orange, yellow, and blue danced on top of the lake. The flames rose as high as three meters in places. For most of the men, this was their first time at Firelake. Their souls filled with energy and excitement at the brilliant sight of the fire on water. Their burning skin was momentarily forgotten. The flames seemed to dance in rhythm. Some would rise while others fell. They would intensify and fade. Patterns would form, and flames would shoot straight into the sky. The men had never seen anything so magical in their lives. They all walked toward the lake in a trance-like state. They were hypnotized by the energy of the fire. The closer they got to the water, the warmer they became.
The lake was not barren. There were five different camps set around it. All of them were on the same quest, to find the queen dragon’s nest. The word had not reached them that the queen had been located. Thelton rolled his eyes as he saw the camps. “More men. I am so tired of the men.” He thought.
Thelton dumped his things in a pile and walked toward the lake. Everyone watched in shock. He was the only one that knew the secrets of Firelake. He walked straight into the water. The flames quickly consumed his skin. Every part of him was covered in fire. Thelton didn’t call out in pain, he didn’t move at all. He just stood there as the fire danced on him. The men kept watching, wondering what would happen to their leader. The established campers were confused by the arrival of all the men and by the actions of Thelton. All that could be heard was the crackles of fire. After an hour, Thelton emerged from the water. Flames and water dripped off his bulky body. He walked over to his things and dropped to the ground. With a smile on his face, he went to sleep.
Some of the men feared the lake while others were curious. A group of five decided to follow in Thelton’s footsteps. They went to the lake’s edge and slowly went in. First a toe, a leg, and then up to their waist. The water was tepid and comfortable. The flames immediately attached to their bodies. One man screamed in fear even though there was no discomfort. The flames were warm and therapeutic. They could feel their muscles relax and the pain from their burns dissipate. Heads stopped pounding. Broken bones mended. The fire seemed to possess healing powers. While their physiological body healed, their minds were carried away to their deepest fantasies. For the time they were in the water every sense was enlightened.
Soon more men were joining. After awhile, every man around the lake was in the water. As they stood in the midst of the restorative power, everything healed; also there was a sense of spiritual enlightenment and revitalized strength. Over time, some men were satisfied and renewed so they exited the lake and went to sleep. Other men refused to leave the therapeutic waters. It was the greatest they had ever felt in their whole life.
Flance stepped out of the water, he noticed the welts from the acid rain were gone. He also noticed that his broken toe had healed. He wondered if the lake had healed his diseased lungs. With much hope and faith he drew in a huge breath of air. Immediately he began coughing. Disappointment set in when he realized his lungs were just the same.
In the morning Thelton awoke. He took note of the situation at hand. Most of the men were sound asleep. There were still twenty men in the water. The flames danced on the men as they were lost in their minds. The sun shone down on everyone, sometime in the night everything had dried.
“Men,” he called out. “We will leave camp in an hour.”
After everyone had breakfast, and the camp was packed, the men started off. Twenty stayed behind in the lake, their minds lost to the power of the lake.
Thelton noticed even though they had lost twelve men on the way to the lake, and twenty stayed behind, they had still added forty to their original number. There were now ninety men in the party from the extra men they had picked up at Firelake. Thelton wished they all had stayed in the lake.
Since Thelton no longer knew their direction, Flance was in the lead. Thelton had spent most of their journey deciding best how he was going to rid himself of everyone. The men wouldn’t be hard. But, without Flance, Thelton had no idea where the queen was. He needed to get Flance to tell him the location of the nest. He had his plan laid out in his head. He would do it that night.
Flance had his own plans for the night. Once they stopped, they would only be two and a half days away from the queen. He had been working hard at aligning himself with the men. He was pleased with Thelton’s lack of leadership and his heartless character. Many of the men were finding that they didn’t care for Thelton at all. Flance would use the night to overthrow Thelton, and he was sure he would have the men on his side.
As the men walked, they joked and told stories. They all had been energized by Firelake and they felt great. Time passed quickly. Toward the later part of the evening, they came to a large mud lake. The men with wagons avoided the mud and went around. Thelton, Flance, and Freelone went around. Some of the other men were curious about the deep brown mud. They put their hands in it, finding it warm, smooth, and gooey. After feeling satisfied with their test, some jumped in. The mud felt amazing as they swam across. They called out for other’s to join them. Thirty men jumped in. It was refreshing. They had mud fights, mud wrestling, and mud fun. They played and played until they noticed that the hunting party was well ahead of them. None of them wanted to be left behind in the forest, so they quickly got out and caught up.
As they joined the party and walked, the mud began to dry. The more it dried, the hotter it got. When it was almost set, the mud began to burn. The thirty men began screaming. The mud was scorching. They tried peeling it off, but it didn’t move because it was set like stone. After five minutes of intense heat, the stone covering cooled down. When the heat stopped the stone was solid, trapping the men inside its cocoon. For some men, their bodies had been entirely covered in mud. They were trapped within its casting and couldn’t move anything. Other men only had their feet covered, and the dry mud held their feet in place.
“Help us,” they yelled to the rest of the party. Everyone dropped their things and rushed to the aid of the thirty men. Tools were brought out as they chiseled and banged at the rock. Nothing. Not a chip not a scratch. There was nothing they could do, the stone was impermeable. They worked at it for hours. Finally, it was Flance that decided it was time to abandon the stuck men. He had a destination he wanted to reach before nightfall and he needed to reach it if he was going to win the men’s favor and overthrow Thelton.
Downhearted, the group walked away from the entombed men. The men that were left behind yelled and screamed, as they begged not to be left vulnerable in the forest. Not one man stayed behind to protect them, for no one dared to be left as a lone guard in the forest.
After a hard push, they had arrived at the base of a rocky mountain. Three crystal clear waterfalls cascaded over the side. Water sprayed and drenched their hot bodies and cooled them down. A rainbow appeared over each falls. The area created a sense of serenity, causing most of the men to forget that they were still in the dreaded Vegus forest. Behind the largest of the falls was a cave.
“This is where we bed tonight.” Flance called out, as if he was offering them all a gift.
Inside, the men dropped their things. They were glad to be out of the elements. Some of the men actually lived in caves. It felt homey and comfortable. Most praised Flance for his choice accommodations.
The cave was beautiful and very deep. There were stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. Several gems were stuck in the rock shining and casting prisms on everything, the men’s eyes widened in delight at the gems. Not knowing their value, they began collecting them.
“I have one more surprise for you men. You have all earned it.” Flance left the cave and went to the wagon. He returned with several flasks of whisky tucked in his good arm.
The men became excited and quickly rallied around Flance. The gems were forgotten. “To the best men of the kingdom.” Flance declared. “You men braved the Vegus Forest and your very lives to serve the king.” The men cheered at his words. They felt joy to be in such a nice cave and the chance to have a drink and forget their woes seemed the very thing they desired.
