Setting the Trap

My night of rest contained less sleep than it did tossing and turning. Unable to control my growing anxiety about the following morning, I found myself staring at the dim glow of runes and the occasional security footage of the dragon resting atop its horde. When the triop finally awoke, we moved quickly onto beginning our day, starting with a breakfast of fried lizard—again. I had never imagined that Tennessee Fried Chicken would be my last meal before a life-or-death situation, but here I was. 

Not wanting to make it the last fight we spent together, we went over the strategy again. In an attempt to lighten the mood, we shared a few jokes, mostly at my expense, and even had a fun conversation about what everyone hoped to purchase with their current earnings. But the time eventually came. So, packing up our gear and leaving the pets with enough food and water for multiple days, we loaded ourselves onto the freight elevator.

I had already opened the massive blast doors from the control room, revealing the sizeable pit that sloped down into the dimly lit expanse. It would be a long way down if we were to stumble beyond the metal railing of the elevator, nearly three thousand feet to be precise. Luckily, with no freight or animals to speak of, we had plenty of room to enjoy the rickety elevator's descent. 

With a flick of the security card, I activated the ancient device, which began to hum with magical energy. Over the next ten minutes, it slowly lowered itself down the long, diagonal shaft before eventually emerging into an offshoot of the cavern of our upcoming grand battle. The dim blue light of shimmer crystal lamps, the same that had radiated their eerie glow down the length of the elevator shaft, now dotted the walls. They cast odd shadows dancing along the rough stone surfaces, giving the uncomfortably warm space a strange and unsettling feel.

The sound of rushing water echoed through the cavernous room as the stream that had slowly worked its way through the complex finally reached its own end as a waterfall. It fell from nearby, dropping a hundred feet before splashing down not far from the elevator exit. The pool of water rippled, distorting the stone basin it poured into, and the closer I looked, the more I realized that the rocky surface beneath was, in actuality, bones. Saying nothing to my companions, honouring our vow of silence in this dangerous space, I continued to follow the pool of water as it transformed into the small stream that eventually disappeared into a river of wet sand. The coarse granules gradually dried the farther we moved from the thin falls, but continued their meandering path forward.

Remaining off the dunes, so as not to alert the dragon to our presence until the time was right, we travelled along a rocky path following this earthen stream. Eventually, both sand and stone came to a small set of cut-bedrock docks capable of mooring two or three shimmer ships—keelboat-sized vessels that travelled across the sand sea using magic-infused shimmer crystals.

That was when the first problem with our encounter reared its head. The heat of the sand and the water that lay beneath had created a low-lying fog that obscured the floor. And, while we had seen it in the security camera, being trapped beneath the thick blanket was significantly worse.

Shit. I thought as I began to think of ways to fix the problem. It was hard to tell from the camera that it would be this bad. But why could we see the dragon so well? Unless—

“Iz, this isn’t good.” Rionriv’s voice whispered, mirroring my own thoughts. “How am I supposed to make it to the other side if I can’t see the stone platform? I thought we'd have a bit more visibility."

“Check the upper wall formations against the battle map,” I whispered with my hand on my temple. “Jump to that wall and hope it’s there.”

“Hope? Reassuring. Want me to use a sonic tsunami to clear the fog?”

“No, that would definitely alert the dragon to everyone. Plus, you need every drop of magic for the final strike. Remember that. Just necessary spells.”

“Grr—‘kay.”

Glancing over my shoulder towards the sorceress, I watched as the shadow of Rionriv waved her hand through the dense fog. In an instant, I felt the full strength of her empowering magic wash over me. As it did, the faintest lime green shield enveloped my body, bathing me in a sickly glow, protecting me from the acid spray I expected our foe to be harnessing. I observed it for a moment, clenching my fist as I experienced a sense of confidence fill me at the sight of the protection my companion provided. This would be my first layer of defence against imminent death.

With a look back her way, I watched as she then pulled out the battle map before drawing a sigil in the air. Spending a portion of the night on crafting this particular spell, I was curious to witness how it would work in practice. The electricity hung aloft before her for a moment as Rionriv reached for the central glyph before disappearing in a blink of silent, blue lightning. In the distance, an arc flash on the other side of the harbour revealed her silhouetted form as she reappeared moments later near the proposed small rock outcropping.

“Ha, perfect landing.” She boasted in the back of our minds.

“Good job, get ready. We’re counting on you.”

“You can rely on me, oracle. Good luck.” There was a moment of pause before she apprehensively added. “Don’t die.”

“Not planning on it.”

Releasing a nervous sigh, I looked back at Aesandoral and Sharzin. I could barely make out their anxious looks through the fog, but the way their silhouettes stood told me all I needed to know.

“Don’t be nervous," I reassured them quietly. "We’ve trained for this. We’ve got it. You two have the easy parts away from the danger. Let’s get to our starting positions and keep our eyes open. Aes, your potion is now crucial—”

“You should take it.” She insisted, drawing closer as she extended a hand with the bottle.

“It’s not advised to take more than one at a time. I’ve got my strength potion, and Sharzin has her precision one. We’ll be relying on your perception to spot the dragon through this fog. Trust in yourself, number one. I trust in you.”

She revealed a nervous smile before pulling the glass object back to her chest.

“Alright." I finished, looking between the pair and gripping onto my staff. "Go time.”

Giving me a nod, the two began to move. Aesandoral immediately doubled back to the dock entrance, where she was set to take up position behind some abandoned crates we had noticed the night before. Meanwhile, Sharzin and I followed the southern wall towards a small crevice. We moved slowly, our backs to the cavern’s rockface as we carefully felt our way along the narrow lip of stone we had to move across. Eventually, and quite suddenly, Sharzin stopped.

We're not in the alcove yet. I began to think. Why did she stop? Oh no, are we—

“We’re out of path,” Sharzin reported in the back of my mind. “It looks like a smaller boulder came down and broke away the lip.”

“How can you see that?”

“Short legs. Closer to the ground than you. Try to follow me. I see a path.”

I watched as Sharzin’s blurry form hopped into the fog. Straining my eyes, I caught her shadow, faintly illuminated by the blue lamp light, as it leapt across three barely visible stones half buried in the sand. The groundling moved quickly and gracefully, before jumping back towards the wall, landing flush with it.

“Your turn.”

Looking forward at the places where Sharzin had jumped, I was hardly able to see the outline of the earthen steps. I released an anxious chuckle, glancing down at my barely visible feet that I knew to be attached. Finally, with a deep inhale, I positioned myself and took my leap of faith. 

A rock appeared beneath me as I landed. The space was barely big enough for me to plant both feet, but I had managed. Exhaling a sigh of relief, I adjusted my angle towards the next, faintly visible stone.

Much smaller than the last platform, I anxiously inhaled a deep breath once more before making another lunge. This time, I caught the edge with one foot as the other slipped out from beneath me. Tightening my core, I tensed my body, shifting the center of gravity forward. And, with a series of rapid huffs, I managed to find my balance atop the stone.

Phew! Go exercise. No way I’d been able to manage that without hitting the gym. The magic of muscles!

I waited for a moment, steadying my heart racing as I glanced at the blurry form of Sharzin and then towards where the third stone should have been. With a jump, I caught the step firmly with my left foot, but my right missed completely. Dropping through the fog, it sank into the sand.

Though it had only been for an instant, I knew that the game was now on.

“Go time, everyone!” I tapped my temple and announced as I slipped the elixir of strength from my bag. “Pop your potions. Zin, run!”

Chugging the elixir, I tossed the empty bottle out into the sandy marina before readying myself on the rock for the dragon to emerge. As I scanned the fog in my defensive stance, I readied my staff and prepared for the attack to begin at any moment.

The final fight was here.