Jo and Braddoc did as they were bid, each putting out a left hand to grasp the smooth wood of the staff. Jo gripped Wyrmblight with her right hand, the sword held canelike, with its tip resting on the soil. The great sword’s six feet of steel made it too heavy to be wielded with but one hand. Jo bridled at the indignity of setting the sword’s tip on the ground, but she wanted to be ready for whatever she would face. Karleah closed her eyes and began to murmur softly, words spilling from the old wizardess’s lips.
As the incantation wore on, the squire looked down at the dwarf and said calmly, “If the Immortals favor us with luck, Braddoc, Verdilith will still be nursing his wounds, unprepared to meet Wyrmblight again.”
“That’s hoping for a lot of luck, Johauna,” Braddoc answered smoothly. His brown eye glinted at Jo. “Let’s hope we are so lucky.”
Jo ground her teeth and nodded. “For Flinn!” she shouted just as Karleah finished her spell.
The strange feeling of being yanked from the physical world seized Jo. Next came the disjunct sensation of existing momentarily in a separate state, and Jo knew she was traveling through the solid rock of the mountain. Her blink-dog’s tail had allowed her to blink from one place to another, but never had she traveled more than twenty yards or so, and never felt the medium around her. Now, she had the odd sensation of wading through earth and rock, and the impression that whole minutes passed by. The feelings lasted longer than her longest blink ever had, and she had time enough to worry that the spell had failed. Then hard earth, smooth and cold, formed beneath her feet.
Jo released Karleah’s staff and dropped to a crouch immediately, Wyrmblight swinging into position before her. The squire blinked her eyes, trying to focus them in the sudden blackness of the dragon’s lair. The inside of the cavern was dark save for the twinkling of tiny lights far above Jo’s head. For a moment she wondered if Karleah’s spell had transported them to somewhere beneath a night sky. Then, in the gloom surrounding her, she made out a stalagmite projecting up from a sandy floor.
Behind Johauna a sudden hiss broke the silence, and the squire whirled about. Light flared from the top of Karleah’s staff; Jo held back her sword. Easy, girl, Jo admonished herself. No need to take off Karleah’s head. Jo glanced at Braddoc and nodded to the far side of the wizardess. The dwarf moved to flank Karleah, and Jo did the same. Whatever the cost, she and Braddoc would protect the old woman.
The light from Karleah’s staff extended in all directions, and Jo could see to the farthest corners of the immense cavern, though the edges were but dim outlines. Before Jo and her companions lay an enormous chamber, its length too vast to properly judge. About one-third that distance separated the ceiling from the floor. The tiny spots of light Jo had mistaken for stars still twinkled overhead; in fact, they seemed to shine more brightly now that Karleah’s spell had lit the cavern. They seemed to be little crystals, and Jo wondered briefly if they were anything like the abelaat stones.
No Verdilith in sight. Before Jo knew whether she was frustrated or relieved, her attention was drawn to the huge mounds of glittering coins and gems lying not more than a minute’s walk away.
Jo stared at the flowing mound of treasure, a mound so vast she could not see it all without turning her head. The mountain of riches sparkled with gems and pieces of jewelry, casually lying beside golden goblets, platinum plates, and copper kettles. Coronets and diadems winked at Jo, and for a moment the orphan from Specularum couldn’t believe her eyes. Such utter opulence couldn’t really exist. Johauna heard Braddoc gasp in disbelief as he, too, gazed in wonder at the mound. For a long moment, the squire was lost in the gleaming magnificence of the wealth. Then the memory of Flinn returned, and she threw off her avarice.
Jo shot out a warning hand when Braddoc took a step forward. She stared intently into the eyes of her two companions and shook her head in warning. Braddoc frowned, then nodded. Jo gestured for the three of them to start circling around the cavern before checking out the treasure hoard. The squire glanced briefly at Karleah’s light, and for a moment she resented it. With that second sun blazing in the cavern, even the blind bats would know of their presence. Now that they knew, though, it made no sense to put out the light. The idea of stumbling through the dark and into Verdilith’s maw certainly didn’t appeal to Johauna Menhir.
The three stepped forward, weaving their way through the stalagmites and piles of rocky rubble that littered the floor of the cavern. Jo’s senses strained to detect any sign of life—movement, blood, noxious breath, the shudder of giant footsteps… . But she sensed only the sand crunching beneath her boots and the vision of gold swaying before her. She tore her gaze away deliberately and stared at the cavern surrounding them.
She continued walking along the edge of the cavern, taking care to stay within the more protecting confines of the wall. The treasure pile was so vast and high that the green dragon could easily be lying in wait behind it. Perhaps he lay in the open area beyond the treasure—the area that was so clearly the wyrm’s lair.
Where is Verdilith? Jo thought angrily, then tried to calm herself. You’re using anger to cover fear, girl, she told herself sternly. Could Flinn have injured the wyrm so badly that we’ll find a dead dragon? she wondered. Having heard many tales of the recuperative spells dragons use, that seemed highly unlikely. No, Verdilith has to be somewhere just up ahead, Jo thought. She lifted the heavy sword slightly higher.
As she moved along the wall of the main chamber, the stalagmites became taller and more tightly clustered. Several of the larger ones obscured the squire’s view, and Jo grew worried. The stone pillars also cast looming shadows in the light of Karleah’s staff. Jo’s tension grew, and her hands gripped Wyrmblight tightly. The perfect place for an ambush, she thought. Her ears strained for some sound and her eyes sought to pierce the occasional patch of gloom.
Then Karleah’s light faintly gleamed off a shadowy, scaly mound ahead. More gold? Jo wondered suddenly, her heart beating fast. Or the dragon’s chest scales?
A minute flapping movement on the ground a few feet away distracted Jo. She halted abruptly. Karleah and Braddoc stopped behind her. “Did you see it?” Jo whispered tersely, breaking the silence. Her voice sounded harsh and inordinately loud in the cavern.
Karleah shook her head, and Braddoc peered forward.
Still staring at the spot where she was sure she had seen movement, Jo inclined her head slightly toward the dwarf. “Something moved! It’s just ahead—up by that next pile of rocks!” she said.
Braddoc and Karleah both stared at the patch of lighted sand cradled by two stalagmites and smaller rocks. Strained moments passed, and Braddoc said, “I don’t see—”
Then, suddenly, the three of them saw the little flutter of movement that had caught Johauna’s eye. There, on the sandy floor of the dragon’s cavern, crouched a bat. A ray of light shifted and hit the creature, and Jo saw the tiny thing clearly. It flapped its wings helplessly, then opened its mouth and squealed.
Chapter III
Johauna stepped forward, preparing to brush aside the creature with her boot. “It’s just a bat,” she said in relief to Karleah, behind her. She extended her leg to kick the tiny, squawking animal out of harms way.
“Wait! Jo!” Karleah croaked in sudden fear.
Something hard and heavy crashed against Jo’s shoulder. The squire lost her balance. “What the—!” She fell to the cavern floor, only just glimpsing the massive object that struck her. Where the bat had once been, a seething lump of metamorphosing flesh now lay.