With five more torches completed, she reluctantly crept back to the half open sarcophagus, searching for something that had caught her eye when she'd first opened it. Sure enough, poking out from the upper left hand side of the mummy's body was a spectacular, jewel-laden dagger. Nervously, Aviva reached in and grabbed it by the hilt. An unexpected, full on surge of power raced through her, unlike anything else she'd ever experienced. Wandering over to the burning torch, she studied its detail in the only light available. Turning the dagger over and over in the iridescent light, brightly coloured rubies and emeralds sparkled beyond belief. That, however, was not the most amazing feature of the weapon. What had taken her breath away was the fact that with the exception of the jewels, the rest of the dagger had been forged from... laminium! Standing dazed for what seemed like minutes, studying the awe inspiring blade, probing its hidden power, not only had she never seen anything like it, she'd also never heard of anything like it either, and she prided herself on knowing dragonkind history. Yes, there were plenty of rings, amulets, earrings, belt buckles even, but a dagger... impossible... and yet here it was, twisting around in the palm of her hand. Even trapped in this cold dark tomb, she could feel the power of the laminium ignite the dragon magic inside her. Up until now, she hadn't realised how cold she'd gotten, and just how much it had drained her, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Quickly the laminium in the dagger changed all of that. Starting to feel totally invigorated, as if she'd just jumped out of a dirty great lava pool in her natural dragon form, with the dagger in her possession, she quickly revaluated her situation. Moments ago she planned to split the sarcophagus in two and try to stand the two halves on top of one another, with a view to getting as close as possible to the opening. But now, with her dragon powers magnified by the laminium in the dagger, there might just be another way.
Stalking around the room, she let her enhanced imagination run wild with all the possibilities. Time and again, the same solution presented itself. Walking past the spluttering torch for a third time, her perception caught a sense of something. Stopping abruptly, she ceased worrying about getting out and concentrated on her surroundings.
'There it is again,' she thought. Just on the edge of her perception, a something, or group of somethings, was heading her way, murderous intent driving them on.
Brought back to her surroundings by the crackle of the flame and the acrid smell of smoke, she knew it was time to leave the chamber, and quickly. Discarding her old dagger for the magical laminium one, which she tucked tightly into the belt on her dress, she pushed aside all doubt about what she was going to do. The solution that kept popping up seemed more than a little risky, but with something ominous heading her way, she was more than prepared to take that chance. Bounding over to the sarcophagus, she slid the lid back on and removed her sandals, knowing that for the latter part of what she had in mind, bare feet would be critical.
"Awww," she groaned as she clutched her head in pain, able to feel them now, getting closer by the second. And they had something with them, something that would... finish her for good, if their thoughts were anything to go by.
'This is it,' she thought, suddenly exhilarated by the realisation that, one way or another, her fate would be decided in the next few minutes. She would either escape or die. Smiling, part of her wouldn't have it any other way. It wasn't her first time in this situation by any means, but each and every time she found herself here, she always swore that it would be her last. Backing up to the cold stone wall, facing the length of the stunningly carved sarcophagus, she took a large, calming, deep breath, knowing they were close, if her enhanced hearing was anything to go by.
With a shake of her head and a wry smile, Aviva opened her eyes and sprinted towards the sarcophagus, dipping into her dragon magic to augment her speed. Five paces in, she jumped onto the ancient tomb, tearing along its entire length. Reaching the end of the sarcophagus, and with every last ounce of power she could muster, her lithe form leapt as high as it could, up the dark stone wall in front of her. Mid jump, she adjusted her centre of gravity, changing her direction just slightly, aiming to hit the wall full on with her feet. Bending her knees, a moment turned into years as she closed in on the wall. Timing it to perfection, she impacted the wall, and with her knees bent, pushed off at an angle that would take her higher up. With a whirlwind of magic supporting her, she shot up the wall, before somersaulting over and across to the opposite side. All she had to do now was continue this, three more times. In the blink of an eye, the next two transitions came and went, all perfectly executed in the manner of the first, but just as it was time for the last one, something far below interrupted her concentration, and instead of hitting the wall cleanly and kicking off, she smacked her foot badly, barely kicking off at all. On any one of the previous transitions, it would have proven disastrous, but because she was right at the top of the ever narrowing ceiling, there was a fleeting chance to turn things around. Literally only a few feet from the square hole of the vent, twisting awkwardly, she thrust out her right arm. Slapping against the side of the opening, as she started to slide down, her fingers scrabbled to grasp hold of the edge. However cold she had been, sweat now raced down her forehead, back and arms as she dangled precariously over the edge of the vent, by just her fingers.
Ignoring the thick beads of sweat that trickled down her nose, she suddenly heard a 'tick, tick, tick' sound from far below. Turning her head and forcing the thought of the drop to the back of her mind, she could, with her enhanced senses, just make out the small gap at the top of the door through which she'd entered, dozens of tiny fluorescent shapes flooding through it.
'Oh no,' she thought, 'not scarab beetles, anything but those... please.'
Sounding like the best stocked clock and watch shop in the world, the 'tick, tick, tick' continued to assault her ears as the tiny bright blue shapes carpeted the sandy floor below. Knowing it wouldn't be long before they locked on to her scent, if they hadn't already, they would have no problem in scaling the walls and coming after her. Mustering all her concentration, and with her muscles burning like an ironsmith's forge, gently, she started to swing from side to side. Even boosting her magic with the laminium dagger did little to ease the pain in her fingers that threatened to overwhelm her. Ignoring the deadly blanket of insects far below, Aviva gave her all. Thirty seconds later, the swinging paid off, and she was able to bring her other arm up and grab the ledge. Pulling herself up so that she was half inside the vent, she paused to catch her breath and give her aching arms time to recover, sweat dripping off her nimble legs, dropping into the darkness below.
Scuttling feet and 'tick, tick, ticking,' jolted her from her rest. Pulling herself fully into the vent, she turned to face outwards, no mean feat in the confined space. Looking out, she could see that the insects had caught her scent and, after completely covering the sarcophagus, were now rushing up the walls on all sides of the chamber. With her only option to retreat, she crawled backwards and waited for them to come swarming over the edge. Sure enough, before she'd backed up ten feet, the first wave swarmed over the lip of the vent. Stopping, she knew that trying to outrun them would be futile. Fingering the laminium dagger, wishing that it would heighten her abilities enough, she closed her eyes, knowing that she only had one hope left. Reaching inside, she searched for the feeling that all dragons have, deep down past their stomachs. Scarab beetles trickled towards her on all four sides of the exhaust that she found herself in. Finding her magic, and with a measure of concentration, the feeling coalesced with the deep breath she'd taken. A measure of calm washed over her on realising it was going to work. Blowing out in the same way she would as her alter ego, a mighty stream of flame lit up the vent like a team of university students lighting their own farts.