When Palin woke up this time, he was in the air. He opened his eyes to look up at a dragon! The huge beast was holding him in its' claw. He looked over to Tera who was in the other claw still asleep. "Tera, wake up" he whispered, trying not to be heard by the dragon. "What now?" she asked groggily. He pointed up to the forest green dragon.
Agriston cringed at the sound of an earsplitting scream. He looked down and found that the girl in his right claw was screaming her head off. My ears are going to break if I don't shut her up, he thought. So he decided to do his funny little trick. Besides, he needed a good laugh. So he let go of the two captives. Down they went screaming their heads off. A few seconds later, he looped de-looped and dived straight down. Quickly, he got under them and straightened out. Then he heard two thuds on his back. At least the screaming stopped, he thought to himself.
Palin heard the dragon chuckle. "Are you going to eat us or what?" he asked. The dragon looked at him with yellow eyes. "Me?" The words echoed in his mind. "Oh no, I'm just bringing you to Khirak, the King Dragon. He might eat you. I'm Agriston".
"I'm Palin, son of Shandon. This is Tera, daughter of Sharn," he said pointing to Tera who had fainted some time ago. "So, why are you taking us here?"
"Well, I'm a gate guard. I make sure that anyone that passes through the gate gets taken to Khirak. He's been a bit tense since the attack".
"Let me guess. You were attacked by a giant black snake, right?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"It happened in two of the other three regions."
"I see," muttered Agriston. "But then why did you come here?"
"We are trying to destroy the snake that attacked your land".
"Well then, I'm sure Khirak will let you go."
"Thank you. "
The Kingdom of Rentarak was bigger than anything Palin had ever seen. Dragons flew in and out of giant doors. In the middle of the city was a giant tower reaching higher than the clouds. Palin knew that was where Agriston was going. He also knew that was where Khirak, the King of Dragons, dwelled.
Tera didn't talk the entire trip, even after she awoke. She had a worried look on her face. He wondered what she was so worried about. Suddenly Agriston shouted "Hang on!" and tilted straight up. Palin grabbed onto one of the spikes on the dragon. Tera did the same. Palin's hand were slipping. He tried to hold on but his hands let go and he started falling. At the last moment, he grabbed the end of the dragon's tail. Finally, Agriston straightened out. He flicked the end of his tail and Palin flew through the air back onto his back. Finally, they had reached Khirak's lair.
Khirak was sleeping quietly dreaming of a gold palace ruled by humans. When he woke up, one of his guards approached him. "Lord Khirak. Agriston is here with captives".
"Bring them in!" he ordered. The door opened and Agriston stepped in with two middle size beings. "Your honor" Agriston said. "These two say they are on a quest to destroy the snake that attacked us".
"Is that so? How do you know they speak the truth?"
"Why else would they be here?"
"Maybe they're spies."
"But that's crazy" exclaimed Agriston.
"Take them to Physen!" he ordered.
"Yes my lord."
Agriston took them into a separate room. The door closed behind them and a small light shone through the ceiling showing an old purple dragon. Palin used the Zinorite from Gin-lak for more light. Her face was full of wrinkles and patches of scales had fallen off. Her eyes were closed. "Physen" Agriston said quietly. She opened her eyes and looked up. They were green and full of sadness. "Ah, a human, I always knew I would see one" she said in a soft, ancient voice.
"Mistress Physen, Khirak thinks these two may be spies but I believe their story. They say they are on a quest to kill the snake that attacked our city".
"I see human, what is your name?"
"Palin".
"I see, Palin, look into my eyes". Palin stared at the beast for a long time. "The boy speaks the truth," she said finally. Thanking her, they left the room.
When they got back to Khirak, they told him what Physen had said. "We should kill them none the less," said Khirak.
"But that's crazy. Physen would never lie! You know that".
"Just move out of the way or be killed yourself!" he shouted and dived for Palin. He was a meter away from him when he stopped. Khirak started choking as if he was going to cough up another dragon. Palin looked beside him to see Tera chanting away in words he couldn't understand. Suddenly, a huge red spear in the form of a snake shot out of Khirak's mouth. Then a huge flame covered the demon. A loud hiss came from it and then it fell to ash. Palin and Tera both looked behind them to see smoke coming from Agriston's nostrils. "Look!" he shouted pointing at Khirak.
To be continued…