Dragon Vòlkan

Dis Chapit (10)

Mòn lan reveye

(The Mountain Awakens)

They rested and lounged into the following afternoon. Life settled into a simple routine. Delicious food, storytelling, sightseeing flights, long baths and lovemaking. One night, Violette was playing at the dragon’s feet with her magic; as she danced around him, magic pools of purple frost coated the ground. Little bits of purple smoke rose from the ground making many things: little roses, unicorns, and even a few ribbiting frogs. Suddenly, a butterfly swarm of smoke and light attacked the dragon. He shook the earth rolling on them and nipping at them. They tasted delightfully sweet, like mountain spring water with a tinge of a floral taste. “I made them taste like my favorite fruit back home, it’s called a quenepas; they are small green with sweet white flesh inside!” Her violet orbs glittered with pride.

Finally, a dragon that looked much like him but had no legs at all.

The two laughed jovially then went to join the eggs for slumber. She clutched the eggs to her chest, watching them glow more brightly and change to soothing colors: baby blue or pink. The dragon curled up around her and she molded herself to his coils. His head was above it all and he looked down on his maiden and his eggs feeling a jealous pleasure.

They awakened suddenly, when there was a boom and then an unearthly hiss. Violette jumped and looked to the dragon for reassurance. Wakhangli’s eyes went wide, telling her this was serious. She put the eggs carefully away. He picked her up and they flew topside to see what was the source of the noise. it was coming from the caldera, which the dragon referred to as the cool bath. A white plume of steam billowed into the air. They flew around it and could see signs of cave-ins and ground shifting.

“Come, we must make the treasure safe!! Move it into your tunnels!”

“Is it safe?”

“Yes, but not for long. We’ll have to evacuate. The whole island could be unsafe if it’s bad enough, which it may be.”

“What is it?”

“The volcano has awakened for the first time in more than four centuries. The people will see the sign and know what it means. Let us make safe!” The dragon moved one pile of especially dear objects to two large silk sacks, but the rest was shoveled into the tunnels which the dragon then collapsed. He remembered every spot. She collected everything of hers in a single trunk, and put the eggs in a tiny gold chest wrapped carefully in velvet.

On the second day ash started to fall from the sky. The dragon stuffed himself with food, took his bags, Violette and her luggage, and the spider and her much smaller bags and took to the sky headed to town.

From the air they had seen that the docks were packed. However, the town itself was mostly deserted. He landed in the main street and made his way to Dragon’s import/export. Two laughing men with their arms loaded with goods came out of the shoppe. Their faces were suddenly masks of horror when they saw the dragon. He fried them on the spot. Soon Anya came out, she was bloodied from struggling with the men and seemed pleased with Wakhangli’s justice. Violette asked if she had an hour before they left and was told that it would not be more and that she should be careful about looters.

She went to M. Noire’s shoppe. It was empty, but when she went downstairs there was a note in elvish addressed to her, describing his efforts to fulfill his promise, where he had sailed to, and directing her to a hidden safe with the combination where her two potions were stored. She also went to the docks and saw that the last ships were loading and there was clearly not enough room for everyone. She hurried back to the dragon’s shoppe.

Anya and her husband had brought out the very best of the treasures. They were rebalancing the load as the flight would be very long; Tzapp had already left on his own. She mentioned the predicament at the docks but was ignored. She dropped that but suggested that they take off from the docks as it was a bit closer. This was accepted, particularly as it would give everyone a chance to make sure they were well seated.

When they arrived at the docks, two of the ships were pulling away and the last was not taking any more passengers. But everyone turned and began cheering for the dragon. They applauded and called out ‘Kommodore, kommodore’ over and over. Two children came over with bundles of flowers and a woman thanked the dragon for the potion that had saved her life and the blessing it would be to her girls.

Violette wept with joy to see that her actions had been vindicated, but the dragon did not seem as pleased. Yes, he received the adulation proudly and seemed to enjoy it but when she commented on it, he said, “Humans! Give them an inch and they will take a mile. They want me to sacrifice my treasure and help them instead.”

“And of course, you shall!” The elf asserted. “You can recover your treasures later and you could regain them fivefold in the future anyway. These people have nowhere left to turn.”

“You are mistaken,” he told her flatly in dragon speech; “their fleeting lives are of no concern to me.”

“Then neither is mine! Go on and leave without me.” She dismounted and took her precious gold chest and walked away without looking back.

“Stop!” He roared yet she did not listen. “Alright, I will take one load of humans to the nearest shore and come back for my treasures.” She turned, ran back, hugging and kissing him. This entire time the people had not stopped cheering and clapping.

Wakhangli quieted the crowd and made his announcement. He would take the twenty lightest people with no luggage. After some disorganized pushing and shoving this was revised to the first twenty pregnant women or women with babies and toddlers. A couple of older, but still small, children went with their mothers. The spider webbed them in to keep them in place. The dragon took off but it was clear he was struggling. Gretchen demanded he land again, which he did. She told the dragon that she preferred to see the volcano erupt, that there was no more in life for her. Violette could see the weight burden was still too much so she went to help the old woman, taking her chest with her. She promised that she would with the treasures, sorting them by preciousness with the old woman’s help so that the dragon could maximize his load of treasures. This was agreed and the dragon took off again, still burdened but gaining sufficient altitude.