Last Chance

There was no time. The dragon would be upon us in moments. Working together, we scrambled through our equipment and hashed out the general idea of a plan. It would have to do; we were out of options.

After collecting all the rope from our bags, we started by tying ourselves together at the waist. If we were going to be on a dragon, one that was moving and thrashing and flying high above the ground, we needed to ensure no one would fall off, and staying together seemed to be our best chance. We had enough slack between each of us to move around, and we adjusted ourselves until I was reminded of a kindergarten class on a field trip, each child secured to a long line so they wouldn’t get lost.

That slightly charming mental picture was quickly replaced when an image of us all falling to our demise popped into my mind, but I forced it out.

I would be the first to act. I was physically the strongest of the group, and Pira provided me with a set of barbed gloves to aid in my task. My job was straightforward: as the dragon approached, I would jump onto its back, anchoring us to the beast. Pira would immediately follow, then Estelar, and I would help both of them gain purchase on the dragon as fast as possible. Finally, Andra would jump. She was the smallest and the most dexterous, and she could manage the precise timing needed to jump before it was too late.

We knew we wouldn’t be able to do this alone; none of us could jump THAT high. To aid us, Estelar prepared a variation of the wind magic he had used during the jelloon crisis, stabilizing our leaps and landings. He also agreed to be a last resort in case we fell, tasked with using all the wind magic he could to cushion our fall and make sure we survived. He looked dubious at the thought of that outcome, but he was already fully immersed in his conjuring so no objections were forthcoming.

Once we were on the dragon’s back, it would be Pira who would investigate the collar and disarm it somehow. Estelar would provide support for her in case she encountered magical impediments, but the bulk of his focus would be keeping the wind magic at the ready. Andra and I planned to attempt to give them stability against the dragon’s protests, but this task was vague. Would we be able to soothe the creature? Reassure it that we were trying to help?

I hoped that Andra’s attunement with the draconic remnant meant she could maintain steady footing on its back and possibly communicate our intentions to it. Besides, our options were limited, so we had to make do and hope for the best.

The rest of the plan hinged on our mage and mechanic getting the collar off successfully and the dragon settling peacefully once it was free. So much of this plan seemed to be made of guesses and “what ifs,” but our time was up. It didn’t matter that it was an uncertain, high-risk plan at every single step, with the team working with no proper information. We had to make it succeed or die trying.

My ears rang at the escalating cacophony of the draconic remnant as it approached us. It was close enough now that I could see through small gaps in the unstable cloud formation to reveal bits of dull gray scales and scoured flesh.

The time had come.

The dragon had approached from a height that was a bit below us, skirting along the ground, but we knew it would be aiming for the mountaintop above us. Sure enough, as it reached the foothills we had climbed earlier, the draconic remnant swung upward, careening past our cliff and heading to the peak directly. This was our chance. Without allowing myself a moment to think, I jumped as the dragon roared past our position.

I crashed into the deity, the jolt of the impact jarring my entire body and stunning me. I scrambled to grab on, struggling to form a good grip, and for a second, I panicked as I felt myself slide a bit. But then I realized that I was buoyed by a cool wind, the current holding me in place thanks to Estelar’s support. It took me a second longer, but I found the strongest grips I could cling to and hung on for all our lives. The others should already be following me.

I craned my neck to look back, but the swirling clouds and twisting of the dragon kept me from getting a proper look at my party. All I had to go on was the alternating tug of slack and pull on the rope around my waist. I hoped they were jumping aboard and that I wouldn’t suddenly be yanked off the beast’s back to my death.

An instant later, through the raging of the dragon and the deafening howl of the wind, I heard a guttural scream below and behind me. It was Andra; she’d made it. That meant the others had, too. My heart pounded in my ears as I tucked my head and held on for dear life.

The first step of the plan had succeeded somehow.

From here, we were temporarily stuck. We couldn’t continue moving towards the collar until the dragon had finished its steep climb to the peak. I felt the blood receding from my face as my consciousness faded in and out. How many Gs were we pulling? How much further was the top of the mountain? The rope tied around me was pulled tight; I knew I was doing the bulk of the work keeping us on the dragon’s back. I could no longer feel my hands inside the gloves, unsure if I was grabbing anything anymore. I considered relaxing my muscles for the briefest moment in response to the numbness, but the tickle of conscious thought left in me screamed not to do that.

I redoubled my efforts to hold tighter. No matter what, I would not let go.

It was probably just a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity before the ascent slowed and the draconic remnant steadied itself above the peak. It was still thrashing a bit, but it had slowed. I moved carefully to the side, relaxing my grip a bit so that my party could climb to where I was holding on. From here, we would make our way to the neck.

“Left!” I heard Andra yell just before the creature threw itself to the left. I braced and rolled with the dragon’s jerking motion, narrowly avoiding being thrown off.

“Left again!” Another yell paired with another motion of the draconic remnant. Once again, I stayed on.

Whether due to some bestial instinct or through her connection to the dragon, Andra could predict the movements of its flailing. I saw my three party members draw even with me, and I exchanged relieved looks with them. So far, so good.

Step by step, hand over hand, we inched our way up the dragon’s spine. Each time it tossed itself sideways, Andra was ready with a warning. We crawled slowly along until we reached the bulky and rounded collar encircling the dragon’s neck. The collar, which looked to be made of leather and mechanical pieces, was massive but mostly smooth on its surface. It had a few handholds on it, but there weren’t enough spots for all of us to hold on. Knowing our priorities, Andra and I slid backward a bit, forfeiting the stability of a better grip to allow our teammates to work.

The dragon was still bellowing and the wind was still blowing in gusts around us, but even with the constant noise drowning out their conversation, I could tell Estelar and Pira were working desperately to uncover the mysteries of the collar. Long moments passed as Andra and I waited, rolling back and forth with the dragon’s outbursts. I pleaded with whatever god was listening.

After what felt like an agonizingly long time, a thunderous clang rang out. Several pieces of the collar fell away onto the mountain below. The dragon twisted, altering its direction a bit, but it kept moving and roaring. The work clearly wasn’t over, and I crawled slightly closer so I could hear more of the heated conversation happening between the mage and the engineer.

As I got within earshot, I could make out more of the inner workings of the collar. What I could see was a bit of a mess: tubing and sigils carved inside, with some parts fused together. I realized with horror that a few needle-like pieces protruded from the collar and pierced into the skin of the draconic remnant itself. I could see why simply yanking it off would be impossible.

“It’ll kill us all!” Estelar yelled over the wind, mid-discussion with Pira. “The magic would be too unstable!”

“This is the power source here! If I can just get it out the pump will fail!” Pira shouted back, pointing at a glowing component.

“If you do that, it’ll backflow and explode!” Estelar was growing hoarse from the yelling.

“What if we jumped as I did it?” Pira asked. “Your magic can save us, right?!”

“From the impact, yes, but not the explosion!” Estelar answered. “Not even the capital would survive this much energy being released. We’d blow a crater twice the size of the city!”

I froze for a moment in shock. An explosion, and one that could cause that much damage? People would die, a lot of people. Including my party. There had to be other options.

“What if we killed the dragon?” I interjected, drawing their attention. “If we can’t remove the collar without setting off a nuclear blast, should we kill it to save everyone?”

Estelar and Pira shook their heads vigorously in unison.

“Its death is the other trigger,” Estelar replied. “This is wired into its life force. If it dies, so does everyone else.”

I gasped. It had to have been rigged this way all along. If anything had actually managed to harm this dragon, the first prince had ensured that a huge chunk of the map would be wiped out with it.

The cruelty of this world never ceased to amaze me.

I saw a parade of memories move past my mind’s eye, my brain running through everything I had experienced in this world in an attempt to find a way out of this situation.

I remembered Elias leaving the capital to visit us personally. Had he foreseen this possibility with the dragon and evacuated?

I remembered Elias’s empathy in allowing us to make plans that included leaving the draconic remnant alive. In reality, he’d had no choice but to let us do that, given the outcome if we’d killed it.

Everything the prince did was to an end. Everything was meant to benefit his situation. Even his moments of apparent altruism were steeped in selfishness.

I had come to terms with the hopelessness of our situation in other circumstances before. But this time, after we had gotten this far in our plan, I had begun to have real hope. Now that hope was being crushed mercilessly.

I felt a spasm in my gut and lurched sideways. I threw up everything in my stomach, finally succumbing to the motion of the rampaging dragon and to my own crumbling psyche. Estelar and Pira looked at me with pity, but the dragon’s cries drew them back to the collar with brows furrowed in thought.

“There is one way!” Estelar called out. “I can purify it.”

“That’s insane!” Pira barked back. “You don’t even know what this stuff is!”

I had a general idea of what she meant after weeks of being on the road with a mage. All purifications, cures, and treatments had to be dealt with individually with specialized care. The hangover cure was just one example of how narrowly focused certain magic must be to work. It was like how antibiotics were worthless against a viral infection. If Estelar didn’t know what he was dealing with, he couldn’t possibly treat it.

And yet I believed in him.

“The basic theory of purification stems from returning all material to its base form and removing impurities.” Estelar began examining the tiny parts of the collar even more closely as he spoke. “The fluid in the tubing is acting as a catalyst to transmit the energy. If I can dilute it by breaking it down, I could force it to release small amounts of energy in a measured way.”

“So you wouldn’t need to know exactly what it is to dispose of it,” Pira replied, nodding. Then she looked visibly concerned. “And if your calculations are off?”

“I either try again or we all explode.” Estelar sounded matter-of-fact, but his movements were frantic as he worked.

I felt the blood drain from my face. It sounded like too much of a risk.

“What if we quit this whole plan? What if we jumped off and let the kingdom handle the dragon directly?” I asked, my desperation palpable.

“The longer the draconic remnant remains in this state, the closer to death it will naturally drift. If we leave now, all the people below will almost certainly die.” Estelar was dedicated to his preparations, not bothering to look up as he worked.

The creature, which had been idly circling the peak and spasming with anger as it flew, suddenly lurched into motion. It was flying in one direction, and even from where I was hanging on, it felt purposeful.

“It’s heading for the capital now!” Andra yelled from across the draconic remnant’s back. “It’s following the traces of magic released by the collar to find its source! We’re running out of time!”

“It changed direction as soon as we opened the collar,” Pira said. “I’m sure the mages had contingency plans for a tamer’s death but we don’t know what those were. And now that the magic signature is visible, it's going to crash straight into the capital.” She whipped around to Estelar, determined. “I’ll believe in your abilities Estelar. What can I do to help?”

Estelar nodded and began directing her as he continued his work, occasionally writing in the air with his finger as he sorted his thoughts. I watched him, remembering the conversation we’d had about cures and magic.