She lifted one eyebrow and leaned around into the caves mouth to squint into the darkness, unafraid, though the sound was most definitely out of the ordinary. After a moment it was followed by another deep, echoing growl that managed to sound at once frightening and frustrated.
She shrugged and stepped into the dark, not in the least intimidated by the growling, as out of the ordinary as it was.
“What’s the matter? Step on your own tail again?” She asked into the darkness, following the cool cave wall with her hand as she walked. There was a sense of dampness to the cave though the stone itself was completely dry to her touch.
“No,” A sullen rumble answered her from some distance up ahead and the sound of small pieces of metal falling against other pieces of metal, like coins being dropped, echoed toward her. Just ahead she could make out the soft glow of firelight.
“Then what’s the matter?” She asked and blinked as she emerged into the light at the end of the tunnel.
The cave into which she had walked was immense. Even though torches lined the walls high above her head and a fire burned in a rough fireplace large enough to roast a house in she couldn’t see the ceiling. More light glinted from the many surfaces of gem stones, coins and who knew what else that formed a small mountain at the back of the cave. It was next to this mountain of gleaming metal that the dragon sat, the light catching off of his white and gold scales as if he too were a precious gem as he pawed through his hoard with enormous, clawed hands. He was growling and muttering to himself as he shoved aside mounds of gold coins, the odd gem incrusted crown and, on occasion, pieces of armor.
“I lost it,” He snarled and lifted a particularly gaudy crown into the light to examine it before he tossed it to the back of the mound where it rolled into the dark. Lynn heard it clatter to a stop long after it had vanished into the unlit back of the cave.
“What’s an it?” Lynn asked and continued her way to the fireplace.
His tail thrashed in agitation and he threw a handful of bits and pieces into the dark after the crown.
“One of my enchanted rings. The one that turns anyone that steals it into a pig. You haven’t seen it by any chance, have you?” He asked and at last turned his head to look at her through one gold-green eye.
Lynn shook her head. “I can’t say that I have. Are you sure you didn’t put it in that small trunk where you shoved the rest of your rings the last time you got into a cleaning fit?” She asked and retrieved a silver vase from a nook hidden to the right of the fireplace. From it she dumped two dried, petal-less flowers into the hungry flames of the fire and replaced them with the two she had picked on her walk.
“I don’t have…fits,” He huffed and turned completely to face her. A wide, almost boyish grin, if a boy had ever had teeth enough to eat a cow whole, took over his face when he saw the flowers. “Ah. You remembered.”
“What else does that ring do?” She asked.
He shrugged his massive shoulders. “I don’t think it does do anything else. Why?”
She shook her head. “I just can’t understand how someone could want a magic ring that does nothing but turn someone else into a pig.”
“All dragons have something of it’s like in their hoard, my dear, and when I had it made I wanted something no one else had thought of before.”
Lynn laughed. “If you had it made then how can you not know if it does anything else?” She asked and threw herself down into a battered, well loved, wing backed chair placed to one side of the fire place. He moved to the other side of the fireplace and coiled himself comfortably there. He then turned his head to observe her through one unblinking, cat like eye, his search obviously forgotten.
“Sometimes, as enchanted objects age, they decide that they’re going to do something completely different from their original programming. I once saw a ring that was meant to turn princes into frogs cause an errant prince's arrogant head to keep swelling until it exploded.”
“Eww.” Lynn wrinkled her nose and the dragon laughed. If she hadn’t known him and what the sound was it would have been a frightening experience. His laugh was deep and throaty and made the entire cave rattle while exposing way too many sharp teeth.
“That random spell change…Is that anything like the time you sneezed and turned yourself into a cow with a devil’s tail?” Lynn asked and he looked thoughtful for a moment.
“In a way I suppose. If I hadn’t been in the middle of trying to cast a spell it probably wouldn’t have happened.” He paused to think about it. “When magic is left to its own devises it often does things that are completely useless.”
“You’d probably still be stuck that way if dragons weren’t natural shape shifters,” She observed.
He nodded. “Probably.”
As the silence between them settled into the silence of two beings that had known each other for far too long Lynn sighed.
“So, what’s my lesson for today, Master?” She asked at length and the dragon uncoiled himself to return to his hoard.
“Help me find that blasted ring and we’ll call it good,” He muttered and shoved his nose into the gleaming pile where he snuffed huge, noisy lung fulls of air.
“Careful or you’ll get coins stuck up your nose again,” Lynn said as she stood and moved to join him. Slipping and sliding on the mound she scrambled up one side and disappeared around one edge.
She shrugged and stepped into the dark, not in the least intimidated by the growling, as out of the ordinary as it was.
“What’s the matter? Step on your own tail again?” She asked into the darkness, following the cool cave wall with her hand as she walked. There was a sense of dampness to the cave though the stone itself was completely dry to her touch.
“No,” A sullen rumble answered her from some distance up ahead and the sound of small pieces of metal falling against other pieces of metal, like coins being dropped, echoed toward her. Just ahead she could make out the soft glow of firelight.
“Then what’s the matter?” She asked and blinked as she emerged into the light at the end of the tunnel.
The cave into which she had walked was immense. Even though torches lined the walls high above her head and a fire burned in a rough fireplace large enough to roast a house in she couldn’t see the ceiling. More light glinted from the many surfaces of gem stones, coins and who knew what else that formed a small mountain at the back of the cave. It was next to this mountain of gleaming metal that the dragon sat, the light catching off of his white and gold scales as if he too were a precious gem as he pawed through his hoard with enormous, clawed hands. He was growling and muttering to himself as he shoved aside mounds of gold coins, the odd gem incrusted crown and, on occasion, pieces of armor.
“I lost it,” He snarled and lifted a particularly gaudy crown into the light to examine it before he tossed it to the back of the mound where it rolled into the dark. Lynn heard it clatter to a stop long after it had vanished into the unlit back of the cave.
“What’s an it?” Lynn asked and continued her way to the fireplace.
His tail thrashed in agitation and he threw a handful of bits and pieces into the dark after the crown.
“One of my enchanted rings. The one that turns anyone that steals it into a pig. You haven’t seen it by any chance, have you?” He asked and at last turned his head to look at her through one gold-green eye.
Lynn shook her head. “I can’t say that I have. Are you sure you didn’t put it in that small trunk where you shoved the rest of your rings the last time you got into a cleaning fit?” She asked and retrieved a silver vase from a nook hidden to the right of the fireplace. From it she dumped two dried, petal-less flowers into the hungry flames of the fire and replaced them with the two she had picked on her walk.
“I don’t have…fits,” He huffed and turned completely to face her. A wide, almost boyish grin, if a boy had ever had teeth enough to eat a cow whole, took over his face when he saw the flowers. “Ah. You remembered.”
“What else does that ring do?” She asked.
He shrugged his massive shoulders. “I don’t think it does do anything else. Why?”
She shook her head. “I just can’t understand how someone could want a magic ring that does nothing but turn someone else into a pig.”
“All dragons have something of it’s like in their hoard, my dear, and when I had it made I wanted something no one else had thought of before.”
Lynn laughed. “If you had it made then how can you not know if it does anything else?” She asked and threw herself down into a battered, well loved, wing backed chair placed to one side of the fire place. He moved to the other side of the fireplace and coiled himself comfortably there. He then turned his head to observe her through one unblinking, cat like eye, his search obviously forgotten.
“Sometimes, as enchanted objects age, they decide that they’re going to do something completely different from their original programming. I once saw a ring that was meant to turn princes into frogs cause an errant prince's arrogant head to keep swelling until it exploded.”
“Eww.” Lynn wrinkled her nose and the dragon laughed. If she hadn’t known him and what the sound was it would have been a frightening experience. His laugh was deep and throaty and made the entire cave rattle while exposing way too many sharp teeth.
“That random spell change…Is that anything like the time you sneezed and turned yourself into a cow with a devil’s tail?” Lynn asked and he looked thoughtful for a moment.
“In a way I suppose. If I hadn’t been in the middle of trying to cast a spell it probably wouldn’t have happened.” He paused to think about it. “When magic is left to its own devises it often does things that are completely useless.”
“You’d probably still be stuck that way if dragons weren’t natural shape shifters,” She observed.
He nodded. “Probably.”
As the silence between them settled into the silence of two beings that had known each other for far too long Lynn sighed.
“So, what’s my lesson for today, Master?” She asked at length and the dragon uncoiled himself to return to his hoard.
“Help me find that blasted ring and we’ll call it good,” He muttered and shoved his nose into the gleaming pile where he snuffed huge, noisy lung fulls of air.
“Careful or you’ll get coins stuck up your nose again,” Lynn said as she stood and moved to join him. Slipping and sliding on the mound she scrambled up one side and disappeared around one edge.
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