The dragons of Acacia were not as fast as the white steeds of Yewland, but they were tough and quick to recover. Kaliam had stopped their journey only once to feed and water the dragons and to allow the team a brief rest. No one except Kaliam knew what to expect from the Shattered Lands. Glimpses from Alleble rarely ventured there, and most only remembered its name from childhood tales told around the fire during the harvest season. In fact, most of the newer maps of Alleble did not even depict the Shattered Lands at all.
And so the dragon riders were filled with great dread when they saw the red glow on the horizon. It was not from the sun, for it had set far to the west hours earlier and would not rise again for many hours more.
“Do not despair,” Kaliam said as he rode the swiftest dragon. “We will find Antoinette.”
“I should have gone with her,” Aelic said, riding his dragon near Kaliam. He reached for the hilt of Fury. “I would have kept her safe.”
“I am sure you would have tried, Aelic. But you cannot blame yourself for this. Antoinette erred by leaving us that night. She was caught between two paths and would not see the right way. You tried to talk her out of it. Lady Merewen did also. Antoinette made the choice—not you.”
“Still, I knew she would go,” argued Aelic. “And I am her friend. I should have gone with her.”
“Friendship is the foundation of much that is good,” Kaliam said. “But using it to justify an evil decision does not bring good to anyone. If you had gone with Antoinette, there is no telling what wickedness might have befallen you! Be content that you have done the King’s will in this. And though Antoinette abandoned King Eliam when she left us that night, King Eliam has not abandoned her.”
“You are starting to sound like my grandfather,” said Aelic.
“Captain Valithor?” Kaliam smiled. “Ha! Yes, I learned much from him! His wisdom and courage will never be forgotten. How I wish he was here with us now.”
Just then, they heard a series of low rumbles in the distance.
“Is that thunder?” Aelic asked.
“Nay, it is Pennath Ruin,” Kaliam replied. “Or one of the other volcanoes in that miserable place.”
“The Wyrm Lord was entombed within a volcano?”
“I am not certain, Aelic,” Kaliam said. “No one but perhaps the King himself knows for sure. The legend, as I have heard it, says that the Wyrm Lord is locked in a vault beneath a lake of fire. How a creature could survive in such a place for these many long years, I do not know. He is said to be the firstborn dragon. And firstborns have queer powers, it is said. Ah! It seems so strange to speak suddenly of this as real when it was for the longest time only legend.”
“How will we find the tomb?” Aelic asked.
“We search for the lake of fire,” Kaliam answered. “And there may be other things that lead us to it.”
“What do you mean?”
Kaliam sighed and smiled grimly. “Paragor is seeking the tomb also,” he said. “Four legions of knights are easy to find . . . even in the dark.”
The landscape beneath the riders changed markedly. Just a few leagues before, there had been thickets of firs and pines and tufts of long grass. Now there was nothing but harsh rock. Shattered gray shale lay everywhere, cratered by missiles spewed from the volcanoes or punctured from below by thrusts of jagged black volcanic rock. Smoky gray wisps of ash floated about on stifling hot breezes. Ahead lay clusters of active volcanoes with their reds and fiery oranges. But none were larger or more volatile than Pennath Ruin. That giant stood in the center of the landscape like a shadowy guardian wreathed in smoke and ash. Only trickles of molten rock veined down its slopes, but there were deep rumblings from within.
The riders came to rest on a broad but uneven shelf of rock, fenced in almost entirely by rows of sharp black stalagmites.“Where do we start our search?” asked the Acacian rider, Sir Danebass.
“We are looking for a lake of fire,” Kaliam replied. “Either that or any sign of Paragor and his legions. Spread out in teams of three. Circle above the mounts, but be wary of them. Your dragons can withstand more heat than you can, so keep a safe distance. If you find the enemy, do not engage. Stay out of sight, see what you may, and return here so that we may plan a course of action.”
Kaliam waited anxiously for Sir Wahlion, Farix, and Oswyn to return, wondering what had become of them. At last, three winged shapes appeared high in the red vaporous sky. The dragons floated lightly down to join the others.
“We have found signs!” Sir Oswyn said. “But they are not encouraging.”
“Signs of what?” Aelic blurted out.
Sir Oswyn looked at Aelic with sympathy and said, “Signs that the enemy has been here. Culverts, dams, and channels—all on the backside of Pennath Ruin. To what end it was built, I do not know. But all of it was abandoned. There was nothing living abroad.”
Aelic hung his head at the news.
“Take us there,” Kaliam commanded. “There may yet be enemies about, for they are dark like this landscape.”
Deep thunder growled within Pennath Ruin as riders soared around its base. They gave the volcano a wide berth, for it bubbled tempestuously as if it might rain fire down on top of them at any moment. They came at last to the backside and found the scene as Oswyn had described it. Structures of iron stood, wheeled engines and shafts made for delving in rock. Rails had been laid and toppled carts lay in many places. There were canals cut into the side of the mountain. Some led away from the base of the volcano and were half filled with cooled magma. Others were blocked with dams or had channels diverting flows elsewhere. One great culvert was still full and flowing with white-hot lava that oozed continuously from the volcano’s mouth. And everywhere there were tracks and trails and the prints of uncountable boots.
“I should have thought to bring Mallik!” Kaliam said. “He would certainly guess the work of the enemy. His folk know all things concerning rock and iron.”
“I am puzzled by this riddle,” said Farix. “These structures, the equipment, and the channels—they appear to me to be the work of many strong Glimpses. An army of four legions like the one we saw near the Blackwood could do this, yes. But this does not appear to me to be a recent endeavor.”
“Lady Merewen, do you know anything of this?” Kaliam asked.
“If I did,” she replied indignantly, “I would have told you long ago. The Prince’s armies were constantly on the move while I served the wrong lord, but no rumor of labor in the Shattered Lands reached my ears.”
“I am sorry, Lady Merewen,” Kaliam said. “I did not mean it as an accusation. I am simply at a loss.”
“Could the heat and soot make this look old when it is actually new?” Aelic asked.
“Maybe,” replied Farix.
“Captain, come up here!” called Sir Wahlion. He had scaled a twisted rocky outcropping and now stood high upon it. Kaliam and the others followed.
“What is it?” Kaliam asked. “What do you see?”
“Well, sir, from down there I did not see much of anything,” said Sir Wahlion, pointing out into the wasteland that stretched between the base of Pennath Ruin and the next volcanic mount. “But it takes on a different look up here.”
Aelic stared out into the wasteland, and indeed it did look dif ferent. It was somewhat concave like a shallow valley or . . . “It is the lake of fire!”
“What?” Kaliam asked.
“Sir, look!” Aelic pointed. “Do you see the way the channels at the base of the volcano all curl away? Think of how the lava would flow if the channels were not there!”
“Yes, yes! I see it now!” Kaliam said excitedly. “Pennath Ruin would fill this crater over time, and it would become a lake of fire! Riders, to your steeds! If we are right, we must search this blackened valley for the tomb!”
They took to the air and soared out above the empty lake, but as they circled and began to search, there came an ominous rumbling from Pennath Ruin. Smoke issued forth from unseen vents and swirled into the sky. The mouth of the volcano went dim, and it became strangely quiet.
A blinding flash of orange lit the sky, and with the sound of cannon fire, Pennath Ruin erupted. Hot ash rained down upon the riders, and large hunks of rock began to fall.
“Take cover!” Kaliam bellowed. But it was too late. A jagged rock, streaked red and glowing like an ember, hit Sir Wahlion as he tried to race away. He and his steed fell still burning to the shattered ground. Another piece of smoking debris struck Lady Merewen’s dragon just as she left the ground. But Farix upon his dragon dove down hard and fast. The dragon reached for Lady Merewen’s limp form, gathered her gently, and flew swiftly away. The riders who survived gathered on a ledge at the other side of the crater.
“Lady Merewen!” Kaliam cried when he saw that Farix carried her in his arms.
“She lives!” Farix yelled. “The stone struck her steed, but she is only unconscious from the shock.” Kaliam took her from Farix and laid her gently on the ground. He brushed her silver hair with his hand, and her eyes opened.
Suddenly, another explosion rocked the landscape. They turned and watched in horror as it seemed that the entire backside of Pennath Ruin was turned to molten red and began a long, slow slide into the basin.
“The lava has overflowed the channels!” Kaliam yelled.
Lady Merewen looked up at him. “Go,” she said. “If you do not act now, we may never know.”
Kaliam started to argue.
“I will be fine,” she assured him. And with a slight sway, she stood. “Now, go! Find the tomb!”
Kaliam leaped into the saddle and urged the dragon into the air. The lava flowed steadily into the valley. Steam issued forth like geysers and great clouds of ash and soot swirled. Kaliam guided the dragon below the mist and just above the broken ground. Close behind him Aelic steered his dragon steed low, while scanning the wasteland. They circled round and round, and all the while, streams of molten rock poured into the basin.
“Kaliam!” Aelic yelled. “There! I saw something! Turn!” Aelic wasn’t sure if Kaliam had heard, but then he saw Kaliam’s dragon wheel about.
“Yes, I see it!” Kaliam said. “Some excavation! We’ll land there!” As the dragons floated to a stop, they saw more clearly the large rectangular cut into the rocky terrain. They dismounted and came to the edge and looked down. Stairs were cut into the rock and led steeply down beneath the surface.
“I will go,” Aelic said.
Kaliam looked back to Pennath Ruin. It continued to vomit a fiery stream of orange into the valley. “No! The lava is too close!” Kaliam said.
“We have to know!” Aelic said, and he leaped down the stairs. He disappeared from sight, and Kaliam waited. He waited for what seemed an eternity, and then he felt a rumble beneath his feet. He looked up at Pennath Ruin, but it was engulfed in a billowing cloud of ash. He felt a surge of hot air, fell to his knees, and coughed violently. Aidan’s dragon screeched, then raced away. Kaliam grabbed the reins of his own dragon just in time. He looked up at the lava flow. It was only twenty yards away.
“Aelic!” Kaliam screamed down the stairs. “Aelic, you must come now! Aelic, the lava is nearly here!”
And then he saw Aelic’s hand grasping out of the darkness for the bottom steps. The lava crept slowly over the edge and began to trickle down the first step. Kaliam went to the opposite side and reached down. “Aelic!” he screamed. “Grab my hand!” But it was no use. Aelic was too far down the steps—he could not reach him! Kaliam looked desperately about. Then he had an idea. He leaped on his dragon and snapped the reins. He brought the creature to hover so that its tail hung down into the opening. Kaliam leaned over, craning his neck to see. Aelic’s hand was no longer moving. The lava descended another step.
“Aelic, wake up!” Kaliam yelled. “Grab the beast’s tail!”
But Aelic did not stir. The lava surged down another step. Then another. Kaliam watched helplessly as the lava edged forward. He knew he must do something or it would become Aelic’s tomb as well.
“ON YOUR FEET, THOU LUMPISH, TARDY-GAITED CANKER-BLOSSOM!!!” Kaliam yelled in his best imitation of Captain Valithor.
Suddenly, Aelic’s hand stirred. And there he was, standing in the orange light cast by the lava.
“DON’T JUST STAND THERE, YOU EARTH-VEXING CLOT POLE! GRAB THE BEAST’S TAIL!!”
Aelic’s hand shot out and clutched the dragon’s tail. Kaliam snapped the reins. The dragon lifted off, and Aelic flew out of the opening just as the molten rock reached the bottom step. The ground fell away, and the dragon swung Aelic up onto its back behind Kaliam.
“You really are starting to sound like . . . my grandfather,” Aelic said, hacking and coughing. Kaliam grinned over his shoulder at Aelic.
“Well, it got you moving!” Kaliam laughed. “Could you see in the tomb?”
Aelic turned to Kaliam. “Yes, the tomb is empty!”
Kaliam sat suddenly rigid. “Then it is as we feared, the Wyrm Lord has been set free.”
