Chapter Five
Thundertree
Now that Lyra had pointed it out, Toby couldn't stop noticing how quiet Emmaline was on their journey to Thundertree. He knew enough about women not to ask her if she was alright, as she would surely bite his head off. He left that to Lyra whom he noticed having quiet, earnest conversations with the fighter when they broke for camp in the evenings. This spring was proving to be an unpredictable one. One moment it was bright and warm, the next the clouds had gathered and they were drenched in rain. It was during a gloomy bout of weather that they approached the ruins of Thundertree.
When they first spotted the jagged outline on an old bell tower over the treetops, Emmaline stopped dead in her tracks and took a deep breath. Lyra put a hand on her arm.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" she asked softly and Emmaline nodded, her jaw set.
"Yes, I'm fine. It's important that I face this."
She started walking again with more purpose and drawing her bow. Beorn and Lyra also kept their weapons ready and Toby peered around through the trees for danger. But all was calm and birds twittered uncaring in the topmost branches. Soon they found the weed infested track and they came across the first ruined house. The roof had long since caved in and ivy grew thick up the walls. As they rounded its corner they saw dozens like it, lining a main street of sorts. Rubble lay everywhere, now overgrown with bushes and creepers. Toby found his eyes drawn irresistibly up, over the rooftops and the forest to the mountain rising in the distance. Mount Hotenow had lost its conical shape in the eruption, half of it had been blow away leaving an awful scar.
The whole place was eerily silent and one of the first things they spotted was a sign nailed to wooden post nearby. It read,
'DANGER – Plant monsters AND undead! Turn back now!'
Toby cocked his head at the sign.
"Who do you suppose put that there?" he wondered.
"Maybe our elusive Druid?" Beorn suggested. "He's the only person who comes here that we know of."
Emmaline's sharp eyes scanned the village.
"Let's find him then. I don't fancy being closhed by an undead."
Most of the houses were empty shells with stone walls and open to the air. A quick glance inside showed they were filled with debris and leaves. Some of the buildings however appeared to be mostly intact with wooden shutters over the windows and doors that had swelled and buckled after years of neglect. As they made their way towards the middle of the village and the tower on the hill, they all heard a rustling, scuttling sound to their right. They all whirled around and glared at the nearest derelict house.
"Undead?" Lyra asked Beorn from the corner of her mouth. He frowned.
"I'm not sure. It could be –"
But before he could finish the sentence the rustling noise came again and Toby caught a glimpse of something moving in the underbrush. It looked like a jumble of sticks and moss moving of its own accord.
"That's a twig blight," he said, recognising it at once.
Emmaline gestured for them all to back away slowly.
"Where there's one twig blight there's dozens more," she said. "But if we don't disturb them might be they'll leave us alone. Everyone stick to the middle of the path and don't touch anything."
Toby remembered all too well how twig blights liked to ambush travellers on the road, swiping at their eyes from low hanging branches. They'd ruined some of his books when they journeyed through the Mere of Dead Men so he kept his cloak wrapped tight around his body as they continued down the street. At the end of the path they came across a small house that appeared to be in better condition than the others nearby. The doors were reinforced with heavy iron bands and new shutters protected the windows.
"I think this is the place, look," said Lyra, pointing to a wooden band hanging from the porch. Several tubes of metal dangled from it, clinking merrily in the faint breeze. "Druids like to use wind chimes."
Beorn strode up to the cottage and rapped thrice on the door. The noise echoed around the street but after several tense heartbeats, no one answered.
"Um, Mr Reidoth? Reidoth the Druid? Sir?" Toby called uncertainly.
"Maybe he's not in?" Lyra suggested, going on her tip toes to squint through a gap in the shutters. "Definitely someone living here though, I can see food on the kitchen table."
Emmaline was the only one not examining the house. She had an arrow nocked and was slowly revolving on the spot, watching. Suddenly she gave a cry,
"Lyra! Behind you!"
Lyra spun just in time to avoid being slammed into the wall by a thick, rotting arm. The undead came shambling out of the bushes, its jaw hanging slack and bulging eyes glaring at the party. Emmaline wasted no time and let loose her arrow at the creature. It found its mark easily, lodging in the zombie's throat. What Toby did not expect was for a puff of ash to explode from the point where the arrow hit and blow into Lyra's face. She coughed violently and stumbled backwards.
"Torm's balls that stings!" she wheezed, blinking her eyes furiously as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Three other undead had joined the first and Toby quickly lifted his hands before him.
"I think these things have been corrupted somehow by the eruption, don't get too close to them!" he warned, letting loose a tongue of flame.
It also struck one of the undead and just as with the first a cloud of ash burst forth. The Party backed away sharply. The corpses shambled after them but they were slow and rather stupid, and party knocked them back easily with ranged attacks. When Lyra brought the final creature down with her throwing dagger a moment of calm followed before the door of the cottage opened.
There stood a gaunt, white-bearded human clutching a gnarled wooden staff. His pale eyes took in all four of them standing with their weapons drawn or spells prepared before standing aside and gesturing them into the cottage with his staff.
"Well come on then," he grunted.
The party exchanged looks before slowly putting away their weapons and trooping across the threshold.
"Reidoth?" Lyra asked hopefully as the man closed the door behind them. He grunted in confirmation as he slid a heavy bolt into place. Then he crossed to the stove and started making tea.
"Thanks for the help," said Emmaline sarcastically which elicited another grunt from the Druid.
"You had it under control," he shrugged. "Now, what are you young ones doing here? Didn't you see my sign?"
He set four mugs down on the table and Toby politely picked his up, only to falter when he smelt the pungent aroma coming from it. It didn't look like any tea he'd ever drunk before.
"We're looking for you actually," said Lyra. "Qelline Alderleaf said you might be able to help us. We're trying to find Cragmaw Castle you see."
The Druid raised a bushy eyebrow at her and took a gulp of tea before asking,
"Any why would you want to go that goblin-infested ruin?"
"My cousin, Gundren Rockseeker has been kidnapped by the Cragmaws and taken there. I'm also getting worried about his brothers Nundro and Tharden. They should have been back in Phandalin by now but no one's seen them," said Beorn.
Reidoth considered the dwarf without speaking for several moments. Toby saw Lyra drink some tea and then struggle not to pull a face. He surreptitiously put his down behind a biscuit jar.
"Seeking to rescue family is noble enough," Reidoth concluded eventually. "I do know where the castle is and I'll guide you there. But first I need your help."
Lyra beamed at Beorn and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Of course we'll help in any way we can. What the problem?" she asked.
Reidoth beckoned them over to the window where he opened the shutter and pointed.
"See that tower on the hill? Was once a wizard tower, but its owner fell fighting the ash zombies that rose after the mountain erupted. Now the cottage at the base is infested with giant spiders and a young green dragon has claimed it since I was last here."
Toby felt his heart skip a beat and he exchanged an uneasy look with Beorn.
"A – a dragon?" he stuttered.
"Aye, Venomfang it calls itself. And it's got a gang of simpering worshippers."
Beorn frowned.
"Who'd worship a dragon?" he asked.
"Folk in black masks and cloaks, hiding out on the east side of town. I've seen them offering loot to the dragon. You get rid of that monster and I'll take you to Cragmaw Castle."
Toby was dismayed to see Lyra's eyes shining with unbridled joy. Neither of them had ever seen a dragon, let alone fought one.
"Now wait just a second," he said hurriedly as Lyra opened her mouth to accept the job. "Let's think about this first. Do you really think we're capable of taking on a dragon?"
"It's only a young one," Emmaline pointed out and Toby's shoulders slumped. He'd really hoped she'd be on his side. Lyra nodded emphatically.
"Exactly. Come on Toby, we can do this! It's not like we're walking in blind, we know where it is, we can come up with a plan!"
"Well if you want to lay some sort of trap, the dragon's not there right now. I saw it fly off this morning to hunt. It's usually back by nightfall," supplied Reidoth.
Lyra clasped her hands together and looked at Toby with pleading eyes. He squirmed and looked to Beorn for support but found none there.
"I have to do everything I can to save my cousins, you understand that," said Beorn.
They all looked at Toby and after dithered for a moment longer he gave a great sigh.
"Oh alright," he groaned. "We'll kill the dragon."
As it turned out the dragon had taken care of the giant spiders for them. The party found their dried up husks and the bedraggled remains of their webs when they forced their way through the door of the cottage at the base of the tower. Aside from the spiders it was filled with broken and rotted furniture and not much else. The entire western wall had been smashed, opening out into the tower. Toby pinched his nose against the acrid smell wafting from the tower and peered up into it.
"Yep, that dragon has definitely been living in here."
The tower was about forty feet tall and all the interior floors had been collapsed leaving bare rafters criss-crossing it. A rickety wooden staircase curved around the wall but ended abruptly in splitters about halfway up. At the very top Toby could see blue sky. The remains of the ceiling tiles crunched under foot as he stepped into the tower properly.
"So, what sort of trap were you thinking of?" Toby asked as Lyra joined him. She had a thick coil of rope slung over one shoulder.
"Well, we could set up some sort of net that would entangle it as it enters the tower?" Lyra suggested. Toby tried to keep his countenance steady.
"I don't think a rope net is going to hold a dragon for very long."
Lyra placed a foot of the bottom step of the staircase and tested her weight on it. It creaked but held.
"It doesn't need to hold it forever, just long enough for us to get in a few good hits," said Emmaline. She ducked under one of the fallen ceiling supports and used her foot to shift some of the debris on the floor.
"There's a chest here," she called.
Toby wasn't paying much attention, he was craning his neck and watching Lyra climbing the stairs, a sick feeling in his stomach. He gave a yelp as one of the steps broke clean through when she put her foot on it, but Lyra managed to grab a wall sconce and save herself. Beorn leant in to mutter in Toby's ear.
"You know how to cast feather fall don't you?"
Toby nodded and fumbled in his component pouch for the eagle feather his mother had given him. Emmaline was still rummaging through the chest.
"There's plenty of coin here, about a hundred and fifty gold and a good eight hundred silver. These are very nice."
Toby wrenched his eyes away from Lyra's ascent for a second to see the handsome set of goblets Emmaline was holding up. They were tarnished silver with moonstones set around the rim.
"I see some spell scrolls for you, Toby," said Emmaline. She shut the chest. "We'll collect all that after we've dealt with the dragon."
"Bit of a pathetic horde for a dragon," Lyra commented. "Though I suppose he's only young."
She had reached the top of the stairs and was now rocking backwards and forward on the balls of her feet, her eyes fixed on a thick rafter about six feet in front of her. She took a deep breath and then launched herself into the air. She grabbed the beam and used it to swing herself across the tower to a ledge on the other side.
"I don't think my nerves can take this," Toby whispered as Lyra tied off the end of the rope, gave herself some slack, and prepared to jump again.
Ten times he had to watch her leap from one part of the tower to the other, creating a pattern like a spider's web with the rope. When she was done she used the last of the rope to slide down to the ground floor.
"You couldn't have used the stairs?" Toby asked weakly.
"This is quicker," said Lyra, blinking innocently.
Toby was about to scold her further when they all heard the swoop of mighty wings and a shadow passed over head. The party scurried into the cottage and took up position by the window so they could see what was happening outside. Toby heard voices exclaiming in common and then felt a thud reverberate through the cottage. Through the grimy window he saw that the dragon had landed just outside.
He knew logically that he was looking at a relatively young dragon, but that didn't stop him from being appalled by the size of it. It was easily three times as large as a horse, with a long spiny neck and thick tail ending in a point. The wings could have covered the roof of Lyra's mother's tavern. The monster was facing away from them but through its legs, Toby saw a group of six people kneeling before the dragon in reverence. All of them wore black robes and spiked masks. These were surely the cultists Reidoth had mentioned.
One of them deposited a sack before the dragon and the creature used a single claw to delicately look inside.
"Diamonds, your greatness, as requested," the cultist simpered, staying in a half-bowed position. The dragon gave a great snort and puffs of smoke erupted from its nostrils.
"It will do," said the dragon coldly. Its voice sounded like a hiss of steam escaping from a kettle. "Next time you will bring magical artefacts. Now leave me, I wish to rest."
It took up the sack in its teeth and launched itself into the air again. The cultists retreated and the party inside the cottage raised their weapons. They heard a clatter of claws on the roof and then the whole structure rumbled as the dragon climbed down. The party waited, tensed with weapons in hand, and then they heard a frustrated snarl. The dragon was muttering to itself in a harsh, guttural language none of them understood, but that Toby recognised as draconic. Its muttering grew more and more frustrated and the wall shook more violently. Lyra peeked into the tower and grinned.
"Its getting tangled up!" she whispered triumphantly. Then the smile was wiped from a face and she yanked her head back as a spiked tail came lashing down.
"Who dares enter my lair?!" the dragon roared.
"Not much a lair is it? More of a hovel!" Lyra called back.
Toby's legs felt like jelly.
"Lyra!" he whimpered. "Don't antagonise it!"
"I think it's a bit late for that now," Beorn grunted, slipping a throwing axe free of its holster and stepping forward to get a clear shot.
He and Emmaline fired their weapons at the dragon which howled in pain and rage.
"Thieves! Sneaks! Worthless worms! I will snap your spines and feast on your marrow!" Venomfang yowled.
Toby steeled his nerves and leant through the gap in the wall. Angling his head up he saw the dragon, one of its wings and a hind leg entangled by the rope and the others swiping furiously at the party. Close to, Toby saw its hide was a poisonous shade of green. He blasted a firebolt at it and the flames rippled across its scales, leaving a mild scorch mark in their wake. The dragon bared its dagger-like teeth and drew back its head.
"Watch out! It's going to –" Toby started to warn but the others knew exactly what was coming and scrambled out of the line of fire.
Emmaline grabbed Toby by the scruff of his neck and dragged him further into the ruined cottage just as a cloud of evil-smelling poison filled the base of the tower. Beorn, being the slowest, breathed some of it in and began coughing and hacking. The poison was also drifting through the hole in the wall and Toby threw and arm over his mouth and nose.
"We need to get out of here!" Emmaline coughed, her eyes watering.
They all dog-piled out the door and sucked in fresh air. They barely had a moment to collect themselves however when the side of the tower burst open, masonry flying everywhere, and the dragon emerged with a roar. It spread its wings and the ropes snapped like they were made of straw.
"Told you that wouldn't work!" Emmaline snapped at Lyra who shrugged.
"Bought us time didn't it?"
Venomfang launched into the air and flew in a wide circle around the party. Emmaline shot an arrow but it missed. Toby gulped, one thing he did know about dragons was it was much harder to fight them in an open field. The monster dived and they all threw themselves to the ground to avoid its sharp claws. But Toby was too slow. He screamed in agony as both of the dragon's front talons gouged into his flesh. Then he was hoisted ten feet off the ground before being dumped. He rolled in the dirt and then lay still, gasping in pain and shock as scarlet blood stained his clothes.
He heard Lyra shout his name but he was so dazed he couldn't even lift his head to see where she was. Then someone knelt beside him, he felt a calloused hand on his shoulder and warm healing magic flow through his body. His vision sharpened once more and Beorn's face swam into view.
"You alright?" the dwarf asked and Toby put a hand over his thudding heart. His shirt was still soaked with blood but the cuts seemed to be closed.
"I – I think so," Toby panted. "But I also think this was a really, really bad idea!"
Beorn hauled Toby to his feet and they both turned to face the dragon as it wheeled around for a second attack. Emmaline had positioned herself on some slightly higher ground and had an intense look of concentration on her face as she drew back her bow. Lyra backed up to Toby and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Look, you just took a dragon's claw to the chest and fell out of the sky, and you still got back up! You can kill this thing!" she cried. Her eyes glowed with golden light and Toby felt his heart swell with confidence. He raised his hands and cast chromatic orb.
A roiling ball of lightning crackled through the air, making all their hair stand on end as it passed, and struck the dragon squarely in the face. The creature gave a piercing shriek and landed with an almighty thud. It shook its spiny head furiously as sparks skittered across its scales.
"Insolent – arrogant – parasites!" Venomfang screamed.
Beorn and Lyra charged with their weapons and took swings at the dragon's flanks. Beorn's axe bit into the scales and blood oozed from the wound. Emmaline loosed another arrow which imbedded in the creature's wing joint. Toby was just thinking they might win this bout after all when the dragon's neck stretched wide and its jaws clamped around Emmaline's arm. Her bow snapped and her bones crunched sickeningly whilst she howled in pain. Venomfang also swiped viciously at Toby and Lyra who both fell backwards with deep gashes in their chests.
Then the dragon took to the sky again, though blood rained down and spattered the ground.
"Emmie!" Lyra cried, ignoring her own wound and dashing to the fighter's side. Emmaline slid down the boulder she'd used as a perch and slumped against it. Her arm was a mangled mess.
"We're toast," she groaned. "I'm not shooting anything with this!"
Beorn went to work trying to stabilise the injury but Toby knew even he wasn't that good. Toby lifted his eyes to the sky.
"It's coming back! We need to take cover. Lyra? Do you think you can – Lyra?"
But his friend had disappeared. He turned this way and that trying to see where she'd gone until Beorn shouted at him to help move Emmaline behind the rock. Toby rushed to comply and the three of them crouched down as the dragon approached. Then, as it passed the tower with his mouth wide for another breath attack, Lyra came flying out of the hole in the wall and leapt onto the monster's back. She threw her arms around its neck and clung on for dear life.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Toby screamed, his eyes popping.
"All part of the plan!" Lyra shouted back in a strained voice. "Now someone hit it with something!"
With the dragon suitably distracted Beorn threw his second handaxe which lodged in the creature's flank. Toby however was hesitant to shoot as he might hit Lyra. His friend had stupidly taken her hands of the dragon's neck, using only her legs to hold on, and draw her short sword. Lyra drove the blade into the base of Venomfang's skull. It gave a final screech and before crashing to earth. As it thrashed in its death-throws, Lyra was flung clean off its back and landed about twenty feet hence.
Once the dragon stilled, its wings and legs all bent out of shape, Toby ran over to Lyra's side. Her face had gone white as a sheet and Toby saw why at once. Her leg had snapped and bone was visible through her torn breeches.
"Does it look bad?" Lyra asked tremulously. Toby swallowed his sudden urge to vomit and forced a smile.
"N-no. Just a scratch."
Lyra's head slumped back and she grinned, her eyes unfocused.
"Dragon-slayers," she whispered happily.