Dragon's Howl

When the team arrived back in Baskar, they held a strategy meeting. They needed to find the hideout of the Demons, and strike them down once and for all. But no one could quite figure out where they were. Unless, they were on one of the islands that was surrounded by mountains, and inaccessible by a ship of any sort. Then, they would need to find a way to fly to those places.

"I've got an idea," Lyle said, "Maybe Dr. Moro can redesign Lucrecia to fly." That response was met with both girls throwing some of the pillows in the room at his face, knowing that he wanted to ride her because of her female semblance. Lyle rubbed his nose, and shrugged.

"Well maybe history can give us wings once more. Ancient stories talk about how my ancestors rode on a flying Dragon in order to find the hideouts of Demons. Her name was Lombardia, and I'm sure she can help us out. All we've got to do is to find out where in the world her nest is," Sasha stated.

Nobody knew the answer to that. Finally, Lyle suggested heading to a town called Crescent. It had gotten its name from the crescent moon shape of its island, with rocks guarding the cove seeming to form the outline of the rest of the moon. It was considered a town of rumors, most of them turning out to be truth, maybe they'd heard something about Dragons that could help the team out.

* * *

They instantly went to the saloon, and ordered something to eat. It was then that Sierra asked the waitress, "Excuse me, Miss. Have you heard anything about a Dragon? My friends and I are searching for the legendary creature, and any leads would be greatly appreciated. We can pay for the information if you need." That surprised the team, Sierra wasn't one to just give her money away.

The woman looked surprised. "Surely you can't mean the monster that lives in the caves north of here. It's in the middle of the ocean, just south of Vensnia. You can't miss it. But please, don't go. That beast would just fry you whole, any adventurers who go to slay it never come back."

'Lombardia alright,' thought Sasha, 'She always was a powerful creature. I guess she's already woken up, with the battles upon us, or it could just be that those explorers are really starting to bother her. I guess we should go right away, and appease the Dragon. I'm sure that if I tell her my name she'll at least listen to what we have to say. If not, well at least I've got Virginia Maxwell Enduro's blood in my veins. Her skills at debating could come in handy when we're up against a Dragon.'

"I'm not scared. Let's go right away. I'm sure the Dragon can't be as bad as these people are making it out to be, usually the people that die in these fights are the local braggarts who only want to show off in front of their friends. We're all professional Silver Wolves," Sierra said. Lyle and Sasha nodded, Jacob just sat there looking uncomfortable. But one look in Sasha's eyes and he calmed down.

* * *

As luck would have it, the cave was over a natural hot spring. Steam was jetting out of the ground in many places, causing burns if anyone ever walked into it. Once, when he wasn't looking, Jacob's hand touched the boiling air. He yelped, and jumped back. Sasha had to tend to his wounds, but wasn't happy about the delay. 'Why is this boy always getting in trouble, is it because of his lack of confidence? You know, now I'm really starting to sound like my ancestor, when Jet would think of Virginia. Could it be, that I am falling in love with this young boy? As if, he's only a little whelp.'

They continued on for quite some time. But after awhile, they arrived at the deepest part of the cave. Sleeping there, was a great beast. The Dragon Lombardia was mostly white, with red and blue on various limbs. Her breathing seemed to shake the earth, even though it was the peaceful and quiet breath of a dreamer. Heck, it was louder than when most normal humans snore.

"Should you wake it?" asked Jacob, "I don't think I like the idea of this creature coming to eat me. Maybe we should go with Lyle's idea, Dr. Moro can make us a Golem that flies. It'd be so cool too, we can paint it to look like a Dragon if you want one so badly, people'll never know the difference."

"Stop being a baby Jacob. We don't need a Golem, it's impossible for them to fly. I looked over several books at Moro's lab. I was only joking about reconfiguring Lucrecia to make her fly, it was just to get a rise out of the rest of you, you know how she looks," Lyle admitted.

Suddenly, they heard a loud laugh echoing throughout the cave. When Sierra and the others turned around, they saw the Dragon had awakened. She looked from person to person, noticing that these young travelers hadn't yet brought their swords out to try and strike her down.

Sasha apologized, "We're sorry if we've disturbed your sleep, Great Lombardia. But I am Sasha Vanderbuilt, descendant of Lilka Jane Enduro, daughter of your ancient Dragoon, Virginia Maxwell. The Demons are returning to the world, and we need the help of one as powerful as you to defeat them."

Sierra sighed. "This girl must have taken a course in the art of Kiss Ass sometime in the past. She acts like she says things like this all of the time."

*Thou hast no desire to harm me?* inquired Lombardia, *Thou art truly the descendant of my Dragoon. I too can sense the foul stench of Demons returning to this world. If thou hast a heart that is pure, and a soul filled with light, then I will be willing to lend thee my strength.*

Sasha stepped forward, not afraid of anything. She waited for a minute, knowing that the Dragon was judging her reasons. Soon, Lombardia backed off once more, and flew a little higher.

"Thy heart is truly pure, thy soul speaks nothing but the truth. Very well, thou can count on me to be thy wings. Fly higher always, brave humans, aim for the sky and do not stop," Lombardia called. With that, she swooped low, and picked the four Silver Wolves up on her back. They exited the cave, flying as high as the clouds. Soon, the Dragon saw what appeared to be a fortress on an island to the south that was cut off from the rest of the sea by mountains. She began to descend, and landed before it. Wondering what it was, the friends went inside. What they saw, would shock them.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I know my cliffhangers are evil. But I like them as a device. They add more mystery and intrigue. We've finally found a Demon's fort, what'll happen next?