* * *
It had been quite a dizzying half hour for the old shopkeeper. Laminium ball and bombs... he'd never heard anything quite like it. But given everything that they knew... vote rigging on the council, nagas, dark dragons and prisoners in the Antarctic... nothing should have surprised him. Still... it did! It was a bold move from the nagas, if indeed it was them, and one he considered particularly hard to pull off.
The smell of freshly boiled charcoal preceded Tank into the workshop, forcing Gee Tee to sit up in his chair, his long, discoloured tail wriggling about on the floor behind him as he did so. Tank handed him one of the swirling mugs of steaming hot charcoal. Inhaling deeply, the master mantra maker savoured the aroma, before a frown creased his forehead.
"What else is in here?" he enquired quizzically.
Tank looked up at the ceiling as he replied,
"I'm not sure."
"Hmmm," muttered the shopkeeper, sticking a long, scaly finger deep into the dark, churning liquid.
Tank shook his head at the old dragon's impatience.
"Ahhhhhh," uttered the master mantra maker, pulling out a perfectly formed, pink marshmallow, the size of a tennis ball. "Lovely!" With one quick flick of his finger, the marshmallow rocketed up into the air, performed a sedate loop just below the ceiling and, once gravity had got hold, headed back towards the gaping chasm that was now the shopkeeper's wide open mouth. As soon as it was in reach, his jaws snapped shut.
"So... what do you think?" reiterated Tank.
Forgetting all about his delicious sugary treat, the old dragon considered the question carefully before he replied.
"From what you've told me, that bomb was clearly designed to cause maximum devastation, and if not for... whatshisname...?"
"Steel," put in Tank.
"If not for Steel's brave actions, then by all accounts it would have succeeded."
Both paused momentarily, taking long draughts from their dragon sized mugs. Tank looked ill at ease in his human form (something Gee Tee had now come to accept in the shop, despite his initial protests), holding in his lap a mug twice the size of his head.
"What I can't understand is why any dragon would do such a thing. The death toll could have been catastrophic."
"To spread confusion, chaos, fear and panic no doubt," replied the old shopkeeper. "Why else?"
"But what sort of dragon could do such a thing?"
Waving the index finger of his free hand at his young employee, he began to shake his head.
"Think, my boy. You so nearly had it."
Tank's brow creased fervently, so much so that the lines across it resembled furrows ploughed in a field. Across the room, his boss was still admonishing him.
'What sort of... dragon?' Tank thought to himself. And then it came to him, well... sort of.
"Oh, so if not a dragon... then who?"
"Not necessarily 'who' youngster, but... 'what'?"
Pausing, Tank thought hard about what the old dragon had just said.
"What on earth could possibly threaten the dragon domain in such a way?" The more he thought about it, the more impossible it seemed.
"Put the pieces together," whispered Gee Tee cryptically. "Your friend is the key."
This practically gave it away.
"PETER! So you think Manson's behind it all?"
Pulling in a shallow breath, the master mantra maker took another slurp from the giant mug in front of him.
"Interestingly, I was talking about Flash. But now that you come to mention it, perhaps Manson is behind it all."
"I'm not quite sure I follow."
"I was thinking that the whole laminium ball thing seemed so un-dragon-like. And as you so rightly pointed out, what kind of dragon would do such a thing? But what if it wasn't a dragon at all? So, if not a dragon... who, or what, else could it be? I'm inclined to recall Flash's not so happy encounter in the Antarctic."
"You think the nagas were responsible?"
"It does kind of make sense, well... from a certain point of view. But now you've mentioned Manson, I do wonder if they're not in it together."
"How so?"
"Well, think about it. Almost certainly the nagas would have no qualms about using a bomb to wreak havoc on the dragon population. It would probably be relatively easy for them to co-opt a dragon by blackmail or some other means, given that they have little in the way of morals. Once that's done... BOOM!"
"But what about Manson?"
"Remember what Flash told the king, youngster. The naga king is being held against his will in the Antarctic. What if Manson is in some way blackmailing the nagas in an effort to make them do his bidding, using them as tools to attack the dragon domain? It wouldn't be totally beyond the realms of possibility."
Picking all the pitch black boulders of charcoal out from the bottom of his mug, Tank slipped them between his lips. Because they'd been in the drink, they dissolved seductively on the journey from his mouth to his stomach, creating a kind of slippery bliss. After much consideration, he turned his attention back to his employer.
"I suppose it does kind of fit. But if that's the case, does it mean that the nagas are here amongst us? Can they take on dragon form? That seems unlikely, doesn't it?"
"I grant you unlikely, but nevertheless... possible. There are areas in and around the larger dragon cities across the world where they could disappear without any real trouble. Given the right contacts and enough money, pretty much anything's possible."
"And if the nagas were behind the laminium ball bomb, shouldn't we contact the king, or at least try and investigate it ourselves?"
"I'd bet a year's supply of top notch charcoal that young Flash is doing exactly that, even as we speak."
Nodding in agreement, the more Tank thought about it, the more everything the old shopkeeper said fitted perfectly into place. Wondering about whatever Flash was up to, he truly hoped his friend was okay.
"Speaking of the king," piped up Gee Tee, totally interrupting his employee's train of thought, "I've had an idea about counteracting the vote rigging that would appear to be going on in the council."
This piqued Tank's interest as it was something they'd been working on for some time now; creating a forgery of the ring was proving incredibly difficult.
"Go on," suggested Tank, keen to hear what the old dragon had come up with.
"If we are to assume that one of the 'dark' or 'light' outlawed objects in that room is responsible for what is happening, and is stealing the power it needs to operate by hijacking it from the king's ring, then what would happen if another, more powerful item were put on that particular shelf? One that would supersede the object already stealing power, one that would give the ring no choice but to offer up all of its power."
"Sounds great. Where on earth are we going to find such an object?"
Bursting into laughter, the shopkeeper's resonant booms bounced off the workshop's walls.
"Look around my boy," urged the shopkeeper, spreading his wings and opening his arms. "We have a veritable treasure trove of magical items, all of which can be adjusted to meet our needs."
Letting out a little chuckle, Tank knew the old shopkeeper was right. However, there was still one particular little problem.
"But how on earth do we get it into the council chamber?" he asked sceptically.
Flashing him a smile that was as wide as it was cunning, the old dragon replied,
"I do believe we're long overdue for one of our King's Guard inspections."
Shaking his head more in admiration than anything else, it was at times like this that Tank just sat back and marvelled at the true genius he knew his employer to be.