'Hot springs,' he thought, 'are just pleasure personified, that, and chewing your way through a whole block of charcoal... totally the best dragony things to do on the whole planet.'
If there's one other thing that dragons like, it's gossip. They can often be found sharing the latest rumours and shooting the breeze about pretty much everything. Talk about the next big project was commonplace amongst groups such as the engineers. George had overheard some of them back in the city above ground speculating on rumours of a planet-wide transport system being built, harnessing geothermal power.
'Pure fantasy of course,' he thought. 'Just like the idea of different flavoured charcoal and that absurd rumour about each city getting its own automated dragon wash. Utter madness!!!'
With others in the room starting to get a little bored because of pretty much the same views on all the walls, George returned to his thoughts about geothermal power. It was widely hoped within the dragon community that with the right guidance and a gentle nudge or two, humans in the coming decades and centuries, as they develop, will become more advanced technologically and take up the mantle of geothermal power because of its abundance and pollution-free properties. Most dragons hark back to the Roman times and point out that the Romans themselves were subtly nudged in the same direction and achieved great success, especially at Pompeii, that is until the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
One of the regular updates, once again interrupted George's wandering mind.
"They've nearly reached Freetown and will soon be changing to a south westerly heading," muttered Axus, with distinctly less enthusiasm than an hour earlier.
Over the course of the rest of the day, the prisoners and guards followed the planned route exactly and made relatively good time. Axus continued with the regular updates, with many in the room paying more attention than others; some closed their eyes and meditated, while others, chiefly Osvaldo, left for short periods, before returning later.
Once the convoy entered the trench at the Falkland Islands, the tension in the room ratcheted up another level or two. Some paced and held whispered conversations, dragon bottoms shifted on stools, betraying the nervousness they all felt. Even Axus was more agitated than George had ever seen him, something he would have thought impossible only a few hours ago. Not able to stand still for more than two seconds at a time, constantly berating the technicians for the smallest of things, and flitting in and out of the room like a headless chicken, the famed engineer was the total opposite to the cool, calm pool of radiance that was the king. The monarch seemed totally unaffected by the tension and pressure, standing next to the stools in the middle of the room, looking like he didn't have a care in the world: the calm centre of a hurricane raging all around him.
"Majesty," called Axus over the hustle and bustle of the control room, "the group are about five hundred miles out from the entrance and should arrive in approximately one hour."
The king gave the engineer a nod of understanding. Axus continued.
"The facility is fully provisioned for the prisoners; it should just be a matter of the guards releasing them from their harnesses, and then using the mantras they're equipped with to bring them round. There should be a short crossover period after the mantras have been used, between the fugitives waking, and being fully conscious and aware. During that time the guards will be able to make their getaway and blow the shaped charges beyond the entrance of the tunnel, sealing it with thousands of tonnes of rock and ice for all time.
George knew that the whole sorry episode was nearly at an end now, but as he glanced around the room at the different projections, he couldn't help but pity those dragons being carried to their internment, to live out the remainder of their days in that horrifying environment, so totally alien to any and all dragons. Even worse, to know that you would end up dying there as well, with absolutely no chance of ever successfully mating or reproducing at all. A wave of sorrow washed over him and once again he thought of Troydenn and wondered exactly how things had gone so horribly wrong.
Everybody's focus was with the here and now, given that the group were on their approach to what was effectively their jail for the rest of their natural lives. As minutes passed, the images on the walls started to deteriorate... becoming blurred, or cutting out altogether. Unbelievably, Axus became even more frantic, something that had to be seen to be believed.
"What seems to be the problem Axus?" asked the king, calmly.
"It's the telepathic booster Majesty. We've increased the power output to beyond maximum, but the range is just too great. It might be that the cold is having an effect as well. I'm afraid the images will continue to break down. There's nothing more that can be done."
"How long before the convoy reaches the cavern?" enquired the king.
Striding over to a great map on the desk at the very front of the room, Axus began to study it carefully, just as the projections on the walls began to flicker more frequently. Turning from the king, the touch of a grin beamed past his scraggy beard.
"They're only a few minutes from the entrance, Majesty," he sighed, sounding relieved.
As the king nodded, everyone went back to work, focusing their efforts on getting everything they could from the projections.
Although George could see the left and right side projections out of the corner of his eyes, his concentration remained on the back wall and the view from the dragon flying far behind. It seemed there was less interference with this projection, maybe because it wasn't quite as far up the trench as the others. As far as he was concerned, it was also easier to make out exactly what was going on.
All of a sudden Axus pointed at the front projection and excitedly cried,
"There it is, the entrance to the cavern!"
Everyone in the room, even George, turned to face the projection on the front wall. Through the distortion and interference they could just make out the gaping entrance to the containment facility, backlit by the artificial lights that Axus and the other engineers had installed for the prisoners' benefit.
At that exact moment... ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE!!!!!
It was difficult to tell where, or how, it all started because of the poor quality of the images, but one thing was for sure... the supposedly sedated prisoners were all transforming from their human guises back into their natural dragon forms. Everybody in the room looked slack-jawed and stunned at this shocking revelation, everybody but the king, and Osvaldo Rosebloom.
Some of the prisoners had broken free of their restraints and had changed back into dragons while dropping towards the ground at perilous speeds. Heading towards the ground as tiny black dots on the projections, arms waving precariously on either side, they dropped like a stone, only to blur and transform before hitting the bottom, swooping back up as a dragon, fully ready to join the fight against their captors. Other were changing while still attached to the guards that were carrying them, some bursting free, taking their subjugators by surprise, others spiralling out of control towards the ground, their new found bulk too much to maintain steady flight. Mundane had turned to chaos in the blink of an eye, as magic ricocheted around the cavern.
Every projection in the control room was the same: dragon fighting dragon. Flame spewed from the mouths of different beasts, talons raked, heads butted, tails thumped, with putrid green blood splashing everywhere. It was difficult to make out from the black and white images exactly who had the advantage, as wings were punctured, sending guards corkscrewing down to their deaths, momentum used to skewer the enemy onto stalactites and stalagmites indiscriminately, and razor-sharp teeth slashing mighty chunks of scale and flesh throughout the aerial battle. Deep in the middle of the skirmish was the terror-inducing sight that they all feared... the huge matt black dragon that was Troydenn, going on an absolute rampage.