It was even possible it was Dragon Souls.
Jason froze.
Could that be it? He hadn’t given it much thought before, but now that he made the connection, he couldn’t help but think that the Dragon Souls might be out in the night, searching, and he couldn’t help but think they might be responsible for the energy he felt building.
If that were the case, he would need to be much more careful.
He closed his eyes, focusing on that energy again, and let the sense of it continue to build around him. There was a distinct signature to it. That power was there, radiating, but Jason couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.
He drew upon more energy through the dragon pearl, using his own heat, but that wasn’t enough. What if he could use the energy he detected?
There was no reason he shouldn’t be able to draw upon that. He could feel it, and it pressed outward upon him, and the more that he felt, the more certain he was that there was something there for him to pick up on. He focused his mind, using as much as he could to reach for the awareness out there. It had to be there, but what was it?
Taking a deep breath, Jason pulled in that power.
At first, there was no change.
But gradually, the sense of energy he detected began to stir around him.
As he focused on it, it began to draw toward him.
And then the rumbling exploded.
It wasn’t far from him.
He veered off the path and headed down the slope, making his way carefully. He held on to the dragon pearl, maintaining a connection to it, using his sense of warmth and channeling it through the pearl. All he needed was a possibility of power, though he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to use it in anything other than a destructive sense.
When he’d used the dragon pearl before, he’d destroyed, attacked. The only time he’d done anything differently was when he had connected to the energy within the pearl to repair his bow.
There had to be another way. As he focused on it, he could feel that energy rising.
He brushed past a pair of pine trees and ignored the needles as they pressed against him. Jason took a deep breath and focused on the energy building. If he could pull that and borrow from it, then he could use it again. What he wanted was to pinpoint the location of the energy rising around him.
Whatever was out there was important.
Jason turned toward the sense of it and had started to draw upon that power when it exploded again.
This time there was a definite rumbling, and it was only a few paces from him.
He started running.
A distant part of his mind knew he should be more careful, knew he should be running away from power like that, not toward it. Whatever power was out there, whatever energy was causing this rumbling, was dangerous to him; and yet, he couldn’t help but head toward it, knowing that whatever power he was detecting was something he needed to be a part of.
He wasn’t sure whether it was another dragon or whether it was something else entirely. The longer that he ran, the more certain he was that he was going to find something. Dragon Souls or dragon, either would be beneficial to discover.
He began to detect the buildup of energy once again.
This time, he froze, using everything in his being to draw upon that power, feeling the magic surging within him. It flowed through him and he pushed outward with it at the same time, trying to use what he could detect of the magic in order to pinpoint its location.
The rumbling evolved from it, much like it had either time before, and this time, Jason thought he knew where it was.
Below him.
How could that be?
As he focused on it, he couldn’t help but think that it had to be below him, but how was that even possible?
The tunnel. A mine.
While his village had tellum mines, Varmin had iron mines.
Could that be what he detected?
Maybe it wasn’t anything other than mining activity and not anything magical. They could be using the same explosive powders the people of his village used in the festival. He didn’t know enough about the mining process to be sure whether or not that was the case, but it fit.
Jason slowed, looking around, and this time when the power began to build again, he focused on it. Rather than trying to draw upon it, he just listened to it.
It pulled on his senses. It was a strange sensation, almost as if the air became charged with energy. Were his coat off, he suspected the hair on his arms would stand on end. The longer he was here, the more certain he was that the power was continuing to build, and he let it work through him.
He was certain of the source. He had channeled the energy, drawing it through him, and in doing so, he was able to determine the location with much more clarity. What he was looking for was some way to reach the mines.
There was a part of him that worried it was coming from a Dragon Soul. He would need to be careful. He had to keep them from finding the dragon pearl he carried, and he would need to protect the ice dragon as much as he could.
Making a steady circuit, Jason found the darkness outlined near a hillside. Trees grew up on either side of it, and he approached slowly. As he did, he realized what it was. A cave.
If it was the dragon, then he had to investigate.
Family, then village.
This was the reason that he had come here. If only the dragon was able to help him. Then again, the dragon was able to help him. He had the dragon’s pearl. He had access to that magic.
He focused on the power flowing through him and pushed it outward through the dragon pearl. It began to glow, and he started forward into the cave.
The walls were smooth, leading him to think they might be naturally formed. The ground was slick, though not quite icy. Could this be a stream heading through here? Many caves were formed like that. Not only the cave near his village, but there were the remnants of another that was not nearly as large as the one he had once explored with his father.
He held on to the dragon pearl, holding it up, letting the light flow over everything. In doing so, he could feel the energy that filled him, flowing away from him and into the length of the tunnel.
Power began to build again. This time, Jason paused, waiting. He hadn’t been within the tunnel before when it had exploded, and there was a part of him that worried what might happen, but when the rumbling occurred, he felt it only vaguely.
It was almost as if the tunnel itself served to protect him.
More than ever, he was certain that the power came from underground. He probably should have put out the fire overhead, keeping the forest from burning down, but he didn’t think there was anything to be worried about. The flames had been surrounded by the snow, and they were distant enough from the rest of the forest that there shouldn’t be any danger there.
Jason followed the contours of the tunnel. It angled downward and then veered off to the right. As it did, and as energy continued to build, he hesitated.
That power was near.
Now that it was near, he was certain it wasn’t caused by an explosion. It was almost as if there was an intention behind it.
He started forward, creeping carefully, and when he rounded a curve in the tunnel, light caught his attention. He stuffed the dragon pearl into his pocket, blinking out the light he carried with him.
Someone else was down here.
Jason crept forward, moving slowly, keeping his head and body pressed against the side of the cave. Energy built again and he resisted the urge to pull upon it, to let it flow through him. If he were to do so, it would only run the risk of alerting whoever else was down here, summoning that energy.