Illusion of Fate
Chapter 5: Skirmish
The corridors had been long and dark, seeming to have stretched on for eternity as they twisted and turned like a coiled viper. But now they were behind the party of three, whom had just entered the central chamber of Deepmoor temple. Such a room could be described as nothing short of magnificent, the decayed walls painted an emerald green and the supporting stone columns adorned with a decorative golden “stripe” as it were, twisting the length of the columns right up to the ceiling. The hall was stretched over in the shape of a large dome, many beautiful and intricate carvings engraved wall to wall in the massive chamber; yet what was most impressive was the treasure laid upon the central altar, a gargantuan pile of glittering jewels seemingly left there as a gift for any passers-by.
The three intrepid adventurers were amazed by the sanctity and beauty of the room, though it somehow gave Lawrence a troubled feeling. He frowned for a moment, shrugged, and then stepped forward, with Renee and Kyle soon following.
As they reached the altar in the room’s centre, they all began to feel apprehensive and uneasy – but it was soon readily apparent as to why. Skeletons were found clinging to the treasure, the long-dead corpses of previous adventurers who’d heard the tales of Deepmoor and had come searching to see if there was truth to the legends of boundless wealth; something that they had discovered to be true after all, yet it appeared to be the last thing they saw. The question that was now being pondered on the minds of the three was what could have killed these past explorers; an answer they found out soon enough.
The pile of treasure rumbled and shook as if it were possessed, beginning to throb slightly as it did so. Renee, Kyle and Lawrence all took a few steps back in shock, and then…
…the pile burst, coins, jewels, gold and the corpses flying through the air and scattering throughout the room as a fearsome creature was revealed beneath; a massive dragon, nearly as large as the altar itself once uncurled, it’s scales a crimson red and it’s eyes a glimmering gold. The dragon shook its head and turned to face the intrepid party, glaring at them as it did so; whilst they were frozen to their respective spots, paralysed with an unprecedented fear, the dragon flared its nostrils and small wisps of smoke flew up from them, its sharpened black claws scraping against the ancient stone altar as it drew itself to full height. Now awoken, the dragon was not happy with this intrusion; it had been sleeping since before it could remember now, and it was not most pleased about being disturbed from its peaceful slumber by a small group of ragtag adventurers.
In other words, it was pissed off.
The jaws of the dragon were flung open wide in a heartbeat, and a rumbling gurgle could be heard from the beast’s stomach. Quickly turning to his two friends, Lawrence mouthed the word “run” – for the gurgling drowned out his voice – and the three of them dived out of the way as huge orb of flame shot forth from the mouth of the dragon in their direction, crashing into a nearby pillar and singeing it as it did so. The building shook as if a quake had just shook it, and the dragon staggered backwards by a small amount as it reeled from the impact of firing the flame; though it was not long before it began charging itself to fire another one on the party below.
The trio split up and each ran towards separate pillars, with Lawrence and Renee diving behind their pillars with time to spare; Kyle was not as quick, however, and the dragon fired the flaming orb towards the young boy before he reached the pillar. Kyle shrieked as he finally reached the pillar, diving behind with not a moment to spare as the fireball exploded upon impact, scorching the side of the pillar. Kyle remained as still as he could, hearing the telltale scrape of the dragon’s shadowy black nails as it dragged its scaly claws along the floor of the decayed temple.
Renee, breathing heavily yet as quietly as she could, saw the dragon approaching Kyle’s pillar from the angle of her hiding spot. As she subconsciously slid one of her feet across the floor by an inch or two, she heard a faint scrape and looked down to see a small gold coin resting by her smallest toe. Bending over quietly, she picked up the coin and tapped it gently against the pillar, with just enough care and control as to attract the attention of Lawrence but not the dragon. As he glanced towards her from his refuge, she made a few gestures toward him, denoting her plans and mouthing the word “Kyle” whenever she wished for Lawrence to pass a message on. Once she was finished he nodded, and so Lawrence turned towards Kyle who was hiding behind the pillar closest to him.
Kyle was breathing heavily and shaking, a look of unbridled terror shining forth from his eyes as he glanced towards Lawrence, who was then gesticulating wildly – juggling? Dancing? No, he was gesturing throwing. And? Cutting. Gulping, Kyle nodded his head, which Lawrence communicated to Renee. The mammoth creature now had almost reached Kyle’s pillar – but before it could do so, it flinched as it felt a coin smack into its left cheek. Growling softly, it began walking towards Renee, noticeably faster than it had towards Kyle, its stomach grumbling worryingly.
Now the beast was distracted, and Kyle leapt out from behind the pillar; hesitating not for a moment, he threw the axe into the air and watched in spin repeatedly as it flew, in a way gracefully, through the air; where it soon plunged itself deep into the shoulder of the towering beast. The creature let out a startled cry and staggered moments after the axe impacted, struggling to keep balance with only three legs in commission; it was not long before the creature collapsed onto its right side, plunging the axe in further and causing the poor beast more pain. The three of them stepped out and walked up to the dragon, standing near its side as it breathed heavily, weakened by the agonising pain. Kyle looked towards Lawrence with a raised eyebrow, asking why he had not yet delivered the finishing blow.
“We came here to claim the treasure and to become wealthy, not to kill an almost defenseless creature,” he explained.
Pausing, he looked around for a moment before continuing, “This temple is the dragon’s home, Kyle. The worshippers who used it long ago have long since left, and the dragon now claims it as his territory. In retrospect, the treasure has probably been meticulously collected by the dragon over the years, and belongs solely to the creature; we have no true right to take what is not ours – we were looking to take unclaimed treasure, after all, not steal another being’s property.”
A short silence followed this, punctuated by Lawrence’s finish, “We should go. We’ve done enough damage here.”
As they turned to leave the dragon grunted, its eyes half-closed, and with the little strength it had it lift and swung a claw gently towards Lawrence; a scream, a scar, the claw fell back once more and the dragon fainted in pain, albeit seeming to grin a little. Blood began to flow really quite freely from the three large gashes extending across Lawrence’s chest as he collapsed to the ground. Renee shrieked, Kyle gasped, they bent over; both attempted to stem the flow of blood but the wound was too large and great, and Lawrence already could feel his vision beginning to dim. This, it appears, is the dragon’s revenge, he thought, inflicting one last blow upon me for the pain we wrought it.
Tears welled up in Renee’s eyes as she watched Lawrence begin to fade from life before her very eyes, and she clutched his hand as she did so, begging him to stay as she wept into his wounds. Lawrence sighed despondently, despising the fact that his time on this world must have been cut short so; yet he was in some small way pleased, as he was able to spend his last few moments with the two people that brought him the greatest of joys simply by being there – his two beloved friends.
“You’re going to a better place, Lawrence…” Kyle murmured softly in disbelief.
“I only hope they’re ready for me…” Lawrence whispered as he slowly drew his last breath.
A lone tear trickled from his eye.
And then he died.