“Too similar,” Alex added. “Something on the island was affecting the dwarfs.”
“But what could it be?” Thrang asked. “The record gives no clue at all, and the writing stops without explaining anything about what happened. Kat is unable to sense anything on the island, so what could the trouble have been?”
“I don’t know,” said Alex, pacing back and forth. “Yet there is something here. Something that doesn’t want to be found.”
“Whatever it is, it seems to be leaving us alone,” said Thrang, closing the book with some effort. He sighed in frustration. “We’re not here to find out what happened to the colony, we’re here to find the tomb of Albrek.”
“So you think we should continue our quest and not worry about what happened here?” Alex asked.
“We should worry about it, but not let it get in the way of our quest,” Thrang answered. “We have two weeks on the island, so we should make good use of them. Tomorrow we will explore the third level and gather all the treasure we can find in the time we have. As long as these troubled feelings don’t return, I don’t know what else we can do.”
“And if they do return?” Arconn questioned.
“Then we’ll do what we have to do to protect ourselves and complete our adventure,” said Thrang.
“Very well,” said Alex, refocusing his thoughts. “We should all pay attention to our feelings, though. Hopefully we won’t have any problems before the Seekerreturns.”
They all agreed, and Thrang led them up the stairs toward the deserted dwarf village. As they went, Alex tried to relax his mind, but something was poking at his thoughts. The troubled feelings he’d had earlier in the day still reminded him of something, but even now he couldn’t think of what it was.
When they climbed out of the dwarf ruins, they found that Barnabus had their dinner nearly ready. Nellus and Thrain were watching the empty space where the bronze door had been and seemed relieved when Alex and the others emerged.
“What happened?” Nellus questioned.
“I’ll explain as we eat,” said Thrang, moving toward the campfire. “We’ve learned some things, but not everything.”
Barnabus served the food, and Thrang slowly recounted what he had read from the giant book.
Alex had a hard time paying attention to the story or his food; he was still trying to remember what it was he had forgotten and what his strange feelings reminded him of. He knew the answer would come to him eventually, but for now, his thoughts were cluttered and confused.
As the others prepared to sleep, Alex remained by the fire. They all agreed it would be a good idea to keep watch, and Alex had drawn the first shift. Arconn also remained by the fire, but remained still and quiet. Alex listened to the breathing of his friends as he watched the fire burn down, still trying to relax his mind.
“You seem troubled,” Arconn said at last.
“The feelings we had earlier today remind me of something, but I can’t remember what,” said Alex, shifting his position slightly.
“Yes, I feel the same way, though I don’t know why. Perhaps an answer will come to you in your sleep. Often our minds find answers when we stop looking for them.”
“Yes,” Alex agreed. “I suppose I should try to sleep.”
Arconn said nothing more, and Alex slowly moved away from the fire and lay down on his blanket. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to relax, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
How strange,Alex thought in his dream.
He felt awake, even though he knew he wasn’t. He was sitting on a beach, possibly the beach they had landed on that morning. The wind blew his hair, and the smell of the sea reminded him of the sailors he’d met on the Seeker.For several minutes he remained seated, and then he slowly rose and looked toward the land. It looked exactly as he remembered it from earlier in the day, with one large exception.
Sitting directly behind him was an enormous dragon.
“So, you are what Kat could feel. The presence that moved away when she got too close,” said Alex.
“I thought it best that we meet in your dreams,” said the dragon, its voice softer and friendlier than Alex had expected. “I hope you will forgive my intrusion, but meeting face-to-face would have been difficult.”
“I am surprised to see you here,” said Alex, watching the dragon for any sudden movement and trying not to look into its eyes.
“And I am surprised that you are so young,” said the dragon.
Alex was not afraid, though he thought perhaps he should be. This dragon was much larger than Slathbog had been, and even if this was only a dream, he knew the dragon still had a great deal of power.
“I require your assistance, young wizard,” the dragon said. “I can offer several things in return for your services.”
“Why do you require my help?” Alex questioned.
“Because you are what you are,” the dragon answered. “You are a wizard of great power, and I need that power to accomplish my goals.”
“Why would I agree to help a dragon?” Alex asked. “I’ve met one of your kind before, and I doubt your goals will be something honorable.”
“Yes,” said the dragon, its voice sounding thoughtful. “You met Slathbog and destroyed him, as was right. And because of your encounter with Slathbog, you mistrust me, which shows wisdom on your part. However, I am not like Slathbog; I do not hoard wealth nor seek out the lesser races to destroy them.”
Alex considered the dragon’s words for several minutes before he replied. It seemed to be true that this dragon did not care about the dwarf treasure scattered across the island. Still, dragons were dragons, and Alex knew he had to be careful.
“What is it you wish of me?” he asked.
“A spell,” the dragon answered. “A spell to hide this island from all who seek it.”
“Why do you wish that?” Alex questioned, surprised by the dragon’s request.
“So the past will not be repeated,” said the dragon, sounding strangely sad.
“It was you, then,” said Alex as he considered how dangerous a dragon might be in a dream. “You destroyed the dwarfs that lived here.”
“Sadly, yes,” said the dragon. “I did not mean for it to happen, and while most of the blame is mine, the dwarfs still share some of it.”
“Will you tell me what happened?” Alex asked.
“Long ago I chose this place to hide,” the dragon began. “I had grown tired of my long travels and wanted only to sleep and to dream. This island was a good place, far from the lesser races and secluded by the sea. For hundreds of years I slept here, and then the dwarfs came.”
Alex remained quiet.
“At first I was not aware of them,” the dragon continued. “The dwarfs dug their mines and found their treasures, and I remained asleep. Then they opened new mines and looked for more treasures. That is how dwarfs are, so I cannot blame them for that. The mining was noisy, and it slowly woke me from my long sleep. They had a wizard with them, and he was the first to realize I was here.”
“So you destroyed the dwarfs before they could attack you,” said Alex.
“No, nothing like that,” answered the dragon. “The dwarfs attacked me while I was not yet fully awake. Their wizard, a dwarf named Languinn, had great power. He believed that he could drive me away or even destroy me. When I woke fully, it was to his attack. Startled by his magic, I thought only of defending myself. But my anger began to burn inside of me, and being a dragon, my rage got the better of me. I swept down on my attackers and destroyed most of them before I was able to shake off my madness.”
“You destroyed most of them, but not all?” Alex questioned.
“No, not all. Languinn and some of the other dwarfs hid themselves in the underground archives. I tried to apologize, to make things right, but Languinn would not speak to me, even in dreams.”
“So he and his people are still down there?” Alex asked, stunned by the idea.
The dragon shook his head. “They died off, until only Languinn was left. Even then, alone in the dark, he would not speak with me, though I tried many times.”