It was cold and damp on the mountain side. And all the team members huddled gratefully round the fire Charlie had conjured. Cora stood in the middle and directed her speech to everyone around her.
'I don't know what is wrong with this mountain, but I do know it isn't as it is supposed to be.'
Some murmured in agreement. Aral nodded, staring at the short woman. She had felt it multiple times now since they had entered the mountain.
'Safety is of course our highest priority. And our first step will be making camp. We weren't supposed to be here for this long, but now our situation has changed.'
Cora motioned toward the group of dragons who were stationed about half a mile away at a safe distance.
'We have been lucky to locate this small group. But their behaviour is unnatural. I propose a new mission: for us to find the source of their distress and make sure it is dealt with.'
The group stayed silent at this. Aral could feel uneasiness spread. Cora's eyes quickly glanced at her before continuing.
'Making camp and establishing an organized, strong base is most important right now. But what do you guys think what our next step should be?'
''Finding a way out would be nice.' Eric opted. 'Maybe we can try the tunnels. Best option would still be flying with the dragons, but then we would have to get them mobile.'
Sounds of agreement were voiced at his idea.
'Of course, Eric.' Cora nodded, shaking a little from the cold. 'I'm afraid the second option isn't possible. At least not for a while. Those dragons are still agitated and they haven't flown away on their own accord either. So they're as stuck on this mountain as we are.'
Aral conjured a blanket, frowning a bit when it turned out a little frayed and not as thick as she had meant, and handed it to the woman. Cora smiled and thanked her, throwing it across her small but muscular frame.
'We'll start marking down new roads from this base and make our way back to camp. But still I think it is vital to keep strong contact with this camp as to not lose our dragons yet again.'
'And how do you propose we do that?' Tuck was the one to voice this question. 'We're with only ten-' He clamped his mouth shut for a second.
'We're with only nine…' he softly spoke, eyes hardening for a moment. 'Safety is first, dragons come second. But what is the safer option? Staying here and setting up camp or finding a way out as quickly as possible? Our supplies aren't infinite.'
Aral thought for a moment and remembered the time she had felt stuck on the field with her high heels. She cracked a small smile at the memory of Charlie carrying her back.
'Sorry for asking but what about apparating? We have a rough idea of our location and know where to apparate to…' she trailed off, embarrassed when she heard someone chuckle at her words.
'We would be at high risk of splinching because the magic from the dragons would throw us off.' A male team member explained. 'Besides I also felt it. There's something really off in this mountain and it might influence our magic even more.'
Aral's eyes flicked from the man to Cora and down to the blanket around the woman's shoulders. She then focused her gaze on the blanket around her own, just as frail as the other. Next she thought of the lumpy pillows and ragged blankets Eric had conjured when they first got separated from the rest.
'It already has.' She whispered.
All eyes turned to her and she looked up.
'It already has started affecting us.' She stood up and looked around at the tired faces around her. 'The moment we set foot in this mountain we have been weakened. Our magic slowly draining from us.'
Eyebrows knitted together and confused but thoughtful looks were exchanged.
'You said you felt muted.'
She turned to Eric, who had spoken up.
'You felt muted when the ceiling started coming down on us. I felt the same. My spells simply wouldn't work the way they normally would.'
'This is getting stranger by the second.' Cora sighed.
Charlie had been silent since the meeting began but now spoke up from behind Aral.
'I say we split up into two groups. One focuses on the dragons, creates a connection and looks after their welfare. The other group will be exploring the paths in the mountain and try to find a way back to the entrance. I know splitting up isn't the safest option, but we can't choose between the two. This group is filled with some of the most highly skilled people I have had the honour of working with. The task before us may be difficult and the risks are high, but I believe this team can get it done.'
Aral turned slightly and affectionately touched his arm while giving him an encouraging smile.
Cora stayed silent, mulling over the options. Or the lack thereof.
Finally she spoke up. 'All in favour of Charlie's proposal, raise a hand.'
Aral, Eric and Cora raised their hands. And slowly others followed. Until everyone silently agreed with the plan.
'Great. Let's get started then.'
- Line -
67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74…
Aral counted her steps carefully as she walked down the dark path. Together with Tuck, another wizard named Marku and another witch named Gina, Aral had the task of finding a way out of the mountain.
It already proved to be a bit of a tedious and frustrating job. Aral halted as she reached counting to one hundred steps and addressed her partner in this job, Tuck.
'One hundred steps again.'
Tuck scribbled something down on his paper and they continued through the dark.
They had already crossed one path off as it led to a dead end. Right now they followed the sixth vein of pathways, which spread out across the mountain in an extremely difficult pattern.
24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31…
Once the vote had decided their plans the next step had been dividing the team into two groups. Aral had wanted to join the group which would focus on the dragons, however Eric and Charlie had quietly reminded her of the last two encounters she had had with dragons. Needless to say, no one thought it would be wise for Aral to immediately jump back into contact with them. Especially now that the dragons were agitated.
So now she was stuck counting her steps, following the endless dark paths into the bloody mountain.
…
Fuck.
How many steps was I on?
I just passed 60? 65?
Aral grunted in annoyance and halted.
Begrudgingly she admitted, 'I lost count'.
Tuck just smiled.
'We were on 72 steps.'
'Thank you.'
73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79…
Right at about 100 steps they reached the end of the narrow path. Tuck quickly jotted down the exact spot and made the light from the tip of his wand spread into the darkness. It revealed another circular room. Like the one they had first walked into when the group had to scatter.
Aral immediately put her arm in front of Tuck, keeping him from entering.
'This place seems oddly similar to the cave in the beginning.' She murmured.
Tuck hummed in agreement. The orbs of light circled around the room and passed over the strange cracks in the ground. Aral frowned at the memory of that day.
She opened and closed her mouth. Then nibbled on her bottom lip.
'What is it?' Tuck asked.
'I'm not sure. But when we entered that room Cora had told us to scatter, because it was a trap. But what kind of trap? Whose trap? I forgot to ask her because of everything else going on, but now…'
'I have been thinking about the same question. She didn't say anything about it. What I do know however is that these hallways and these caves have been carved out by goblins in medieval times. But there had always been rumours they tried to trap humans, to eat them, to make them their toys.' He explained.
Aral shuddered at the last thought.
'Yeah, it isn't pretty. But they probably made it up when we had the Goblin Wars, to make them seem repulsive enough to kill.'
'Probably.' Aral sighed, silently tracing the lines in the floor.
Last time they had opened up to drop anyone who had dared step on them.
'But these traps are still active. Something is still using them.'
'What do you mean?'
Aral cast her own light to hover low to the ground and reveal the cracks.
'What if whatever is behind these traps is also causing distress to the dragons?'
Tuck glanced between the cracks and Aral. Thinking over her words.
'It is possible. But how would we ever find out?'
Right.
They stood at the entrance for another minute. Tuck then sighed and scratched something down on the paper in his hand.
'Let's go back and report to Cora. The tunnels are making me go crazy.'
Aral nodded and glanced around the cave one last time before turning around and following Tuck back.
'Right.'
- Line -
Charlie was slowly stepping forward towards one of the dragons. They had been working for hours now. Normally they regularly contacted the dragons and cared for them. But the usual caretakers hadn't shown up for days after the incident. So Charlie could understand why the dragons were anxious about their sudden appearance.
The biggest dragon usually stayed in front of his group. Carefully assessing the witches and wizards in front of him. No one was allowed closer than where Charlie was standing right now.
Charlie's gaze flicked back over to Cora, who still kept her eyes on the dragon.
A low growl made Charlie flip his head back around. His steps halted.
'Alright.' He breathed.
His wand was still in his sleeve, out of sight. He wouldn't risk breaking the dragon's trust by whipping it out. He sank down to the ground and shifted till he found a comfortable position on the outer rock.
'Stay there for now. Let's see how close we can get, but don't push it.' Cora's voice carefully spoke behind him.
Charlie nodded and sat back, leaning on his hands. Made the dragon see he was no threat and worthy of his trust.
- Line -
Aral was biting down on a piece of stale bread sitting in front of a little fire, again a ratty cloth strung across her shoulders for warmth.
They had all quickly realized how much their magic had been touched. The way simple warming spells had become difficult. The way the usual hum of Aral's magic was cold. A few weeks ago Aral would have felt ecstatic, would have screamed in joy to feel the cursed weight of it lifted. The darkness… gone.
A few dragon tamers raised their voices and Aral turned to watch them. They had gotten considerably closer to the creatures. Considering how agitated they were. Cora was among them. Aral was still waiting for her to finish up to tell her about what Tuck and she had found.
One of the smaller dragons cried out when one stepped a little too close. It flicked its head up high, spreading its wings.
Aral wanted to turn back around, but something about the movement irked her. Made her keep watching.
Another dragon, a considerably bigger one, growled.
'Easy, guys…' Cora quietly urged. 'Let's pull back.'
Slowly they moved backwards. The smaller dragon cried out again.
The sound echoed in Aral's head. It cried again, harsher. The sound was sharp in her head. Aral yelped in pain. Her eyes squeezed shut, hands holding on to the sides of her head, hoping to calm the raging in her skull.
The buzzing got louder and louder.
… hidden down…
Louder and louder.
… their darkness is…
Lights flashed before her eyes.
… please…
Aral's green eyes shot open. She jumped up from her place and turned towards the group slowly moving backwards.
Her eyes passed Cora and the familiar ginger-brown head of hair. She saw Eric turn towards her, eyes assessing the witch stalking forwards.
But her eyes focused on the small dragon. Its glowing eyes focused on hers.
...please…
'What are you saying?' Aral asked, brows furrowed. 'What darkness?'
All eyes turned to watch her.
'Aral…' Charlie reached for her.
But Aral moved out of the way, out of his reach.
'Aral! You can't-'
The dragon gave a croaking sound. Its beak opened slightly as it tried to communicate with her. The bigger one stepped in front of him, wings tense. Sounding a soft growl.
'I know, I'm sorry. But what is he saying?'
Charlie glanced between Eric and Cora, perplexed by the way Aral was speaking - literally speaking - to the dragons. All he could hear were growls and huffs.
Aral looked the big dragon in his eyes and wasn't afraid when she stepped forward again. Something about her, it might be the way she looked at the dragon or the way her magic hummed in the air, made the dragon calm down a little and lower himself to her height. No longer intimidating and on edge.
'What are you trying to say? I can only hear small bits and pieces. You're making my head explode.' Aral continued, slight annoyance hidden in her voice.
We feel it…
'What do you feel?' Aral asked, frowning. Was this about the draining magic, did they feel it too? Dragons were very in tune with the natural magic of the world so it would make sense that whatever it was the mountain was hiding could be felt by them.
Darkness…
Aral froze and let out a shaky breath. Her shoulders sagged a little. Whenever darkness was spoken off she felt her magic slither in her gut. And even here, her magic dampened considerably by the mountain, she could feel it.
'Do you- do you mean… me?' She asked with a shaky voice.
The dragon did not say anything for several seconds.
No… Similar…
Similar? Aral frowned. She stepped forward again. Coming much closer to the dragons than all the others had after trying for hours already.
Aral shook her head. A pit forming in her stomach. Again she nibbled on her lower lip. It was confirmed then. Something was hiding within this mountain, something dark, and it had started affecting all of them. Keeping anyone from coming in or from going out.
'Why don't you fly away? There's a safe place where you can go, far away from this mountain.' Aral proposed.
The dragon looked her deep in the eyes. His starry gaze making her freeze in place. Something was drawing her into his gaze. She had a feeling it was similar to what she had done with the other dragon before.
But this time it wasn't a memory, it was a feeling.
Fear, confusion, and anger all rolled up into one. But there it was. A soft glimmer of light very deep down. Hidden. No, not hidden. Weakened.
She pulled back, out of the dragon's aura, and turned around. Walking up to Charlie she let out a sigh.
'The thing has been affecting them too. They are too weak to fly, let alone carrying us with them.'
Charlie just dropped his head. Secretly he had suspected it, but if the dragons feel the magic that is harming the team as well… it is darker than they had expected.
He signaled for Aral to follow him and together they walked over to Cora.
'Going by your faces, you don't have good news,' the woman grumbled.
'No.' Charlie let out another sigh before continuing. 'Whatever is affecting us is also affecting the dragons. Which means-'
'It is not just from the magical earthquake,' Cora finished.
'What if-' Aral started, wringing her hands unconsciously. 'What if I didn't just make the earthquake that day? What if I woke something up…'
Charlie and Cora exchanged looks.
'Whatever could you have woken?' Charlie asked.
'Tuck told me about how the tunnels in this mountain were made. Goblins, right? But I was meaning to tell you, we found a cave similar to the one where we first got seperated. With cracks in the floor. You said it was a trap, how did you know?'
Cora shifted on her feet uncomfortably. Aral observed the woman, frowning.
'Boss once told me about something inhabiting this mountain. Old stories, legends, they were supposed to be creepy stories to tell around campfires, so I didn't make anything off it. But now…'
'But now, what?'
Cora sighed, closing her eyes. 'After the Goblin Wars the Goblins living in this mountain disappeared. There is a consensus amongst the scholars that the Goblins had been greatly weakened and couldn't reproduce children as fast as they died. But there were rumours, told by old and superstitious scholars, that something had snuck into the mountain, killed the remaining Goblins and had taken up residence there. But centuries ago wizards and witches already started using this place as a creature and dragon sanctuary. Although, back then it was more like imprisoning them. They put all these kinds of containment spells on the mountain to contain the creatures they brought. But they never thought about the creature that already lived inside it. It's been locked up for years, unable to escape.'
The air felt even more deprived of oxygen. Charlie's face was just blank, shock, confusion.
'And I broke the containment wards,' Aral whispered. Surprisingly enough she felt complete calm take over her body.
It wasn't a complete mystery to her anymore what was going on. There was clarity where before there had been mist. And right at the centre of it all something she could recognize: a dark creature.
A feeling of determination settled inside her. Something she hadn't felt since…
She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She knew she had to admit it. Speak about it. At least to herself. She can't ignore her past any longer. She let the memory flood through her mind and all the feelings that belonged to it crash through her heart.
The last time she had felt like this she had found a young boy. A young boy who had been woken up by strange sounds coming from downstairs. And when he came downstairs he found a strange woman in his home. Aral. His parents were behind her, but they were gone. Before the realization could hit the boy Aral had cast a spell over him. Making him forget she was the one who had killed them. Had made him an orphan.
A tear dropped from her eyes directly onto her cheek. She let it all go.
She had made that boy an orphan.
But then, standing inside that home in front of that boy, she felt something inside her crack. The wall the darkness had built up inside her to keep the real Aral from coming out. That wall was breaking underneath the sorrow and pain she felt for the boy. And that wall came crashing down as he came running into her arms, seeking solace as his parents lay dead on the ground.
She had offered him soft hugs and sweet words. Then got him to come with her and secretly she found a place to keep him safe, promising no one could ever touch him.
When the boy had touched her that wall had broken down and she had reawakened from a dark slumber. She felt determined then, as she felt it now, to come out of that shadow and break everything Voldemort had built.
More tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn't feel defeated. No, she finally felt a scrap of courage left inside her. A small scrap, but enough. That darkness inside the mountain was just like her. And she was going to beat the crap out of it.