SOLO III
Demon World
Part 029
Gail turns and glides up to the jungle. Away
from the beach and away from the dwarves. Ada follows. You
zig zag through the vines and underbrush faster and faster.
Following her up through the canopy, then over it.
There is a smoking volcano thrust up out of the
center of the island, ringed by jungle and palms. The island is
vaguely roundish. Gail spots a wide shallow stream by the break
in the tree cannopy and suddenly the three of you are flying along
skimming the surface. The stream rushing by underneath.
Quickly you cover half the distance to the volcano's base then Gail
pauses over a sandy bank. There is an enormous claw print
there. Three talons forward and one back. Like a bird of
prey, but one nine meters tall. She finds a spot where the
underbrush is cleared from the jungle like a tunnel clear of vines and
obstructions.
She is racing up the length of the path. It is
well trodden and something huge travels here to drink. Ada asks
"Where are you taking us?"
Gail responds like a teacher. "What is the one
fallen spirit that can still see the astral plane even though they
can't travel through it?" And with out waiting for the answer she
says "Dragons." She is still runing up the path and without
looking back she says "It's the only way to get them off our
tail." And she hooks a thumb over her shoulder.
Running after her, you look back, without breaking
stride. You can see the six old dwarves in pursuit, gliding after
you. Their bodies more like the absence of jungle than the
presence of stars. Their long beards flowing white behind them.
"I'm trying to find a dragon." Gail
continues. "I read that they live on this island." She doesn't
slow down, but suddenly leaps into a huge hole in the ground. The
tracks lead there. Leaping in after her you see it to be a
massive lava tube that goes down, then bends toward the volcano.
Well... at least the walls look like they were melted by something hot
enough burn a tunnel through basalt.
"What use is that?" Ada asks. "Dragons
never use magic and astral the dwarves will be as immune to fire breath
as we are."
"Yes, but not immune to their eyes." Says Gail
rounding a bend and entering a cave with an enormous ancient dragon in
it. "A dragon can see into the astral, even if they can no longer
travel there, and anyone who submits and meets the gaze of a dragon
submits there entire memory to its control. The dragon can..."
And that's all you hear as you can't help but look
into the eyes of the dragon.
He looks back. Body coiled up, and that head
of glistening scales. His eyes consume you. He reads your
spirit. The dragon knows you already. You are committed to
destroying all the demons. He also wants the demons gone.
They are competitors in his eyes.
He unlocks your memory. You remember being
young, your mother, growing up, and your father. You remember the
day it started raining and demons came pouring out of the mines.
You remember getting fed up with killing one demon at a time, rescuing
one child at a time.
Gail gasps. The solid dragon fades into your
mind and your own solid body springs into its place fully formed.
You are now in the form of an astral dragon. This is going to
take a lot of explaining. But first you have to get rid of those
anoying dwarves.
The old white hairs enter the cavern. As an
astral dragon you roar and lunge forward. This gives them
pause. Throwing off their astral cloaks you see a brief flash of
solid gold armor made of layers and plates before they dissappear.
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