Chapter Sixty-One: Dragonslayers

The city below looked like it had just been through a war. It had a grand, beautiful architecture that was reminiscent of Imperial Russia - bulbous turrets, and all that - but it had certainly seen better days. About a fifth of it had been on fire, though the flames seemed to have been subdued. Tiny figures were scurrying about with buckets of water, extinguishing the dozens of small fires that had popped up in some of the dwellings and surrounding fields. Several parts of the city's protective stone walls had also been knocked down.

A large crowd of people was gathering in the fields in front of the city's main gates, so that was where Adamsprite intended to make his landing. Cass opened her eyes again as they neared ground level, giving a quiet start as she took in the sight of all the wreckage. The fields outside the city were completely littered with underling corpses - easily multiple dozen of the larger, lizard-like fire-breathing wyrms, as well as their smaller, snake-like basilisk brethren.

The underling corpses were not in good shape. Only a few of them were left in one piece - the vast majority had almost literally been cut to ribbons, torn to shreds, or charred beyond recognition. The sight was enough to make Cass feel even more sick to her stomach than she already did from all the flying. "What the hell happened here?" she asked Adamsprite as they circled round the city, fluttering down toward the corpse-ridden field.

"Yeah, um…" The sprite boy cleared his throat, somewhat uncomfortable with having Cass see some of his uglier handiwork. "The city was getting fucked by a giant swarm of those big shits when I showed up, and, uh… I guess I got a little carried away."

"You guess? I can see their guts all over the place!"

When Adamsprite landed, he set Cass down gently onto her feet, making sure she had her balance before letting her go. He then started to touch down...only to remember, at the very last second, that he no longer had legs. Cass noticed the slipup, saw the momentary flicker of pain flash across the sprite boy's face before it was gone. She looked away before he could realize she'd seen it.

There were a lot of people gathered in the fields, picking through the wreckage, stunned into silence by the sheer quantity of butchered underlings, as well as the grisly, nauseating state of their remains. It was a sight they were clearly not used to. As for the people themselves, they were the first humanoid people Adamsprite had seen since Day One - men, women, children...none of them standing over four feet tall.

The short people seemed hesitant to get too close to Adamsprite and Cass. They murmured amongst themselves, some of them pointing, speculating. The two companions were left standing there in the middle of the field, facing the crowd of consorts, unsure of what to do next.

Cass leaned over quietly to Adamsprite, not taking her eyes off the gathered crowd, asking him in a hushed whisper, "Are those dwarves?"

"Uh...yeah… They're short and most of them have epic beards - I think they're dwarves."

"Don't be a dick."

"I'm not being a dick, you just asked a dumb question."

"Why are they just standing there? Are they going to talk to us?"

"Um… I dunno."

"Well...should we talk to them?"

"I dunno."

"You're a huge help."

"Well, they watched me go fucking nuts on an entire swarm of underlings just a few minutes ago, they're probably kinda freaked out."

"Shouldn't they be thanking you if you helped them out like that?"

"I think I was screaming a lot. Or maybe I was screeching...can't remember. There was also a lot of fire."

"Okay, yeah, I'd probably be freaked out, too…"

"Uh-huh."

"So...then I guess we should talk to them? They're getting a little restless."

"Okay…okay, I think I know what to do. Follow my lead."

"What are you going to say?"

"Just follow my lead."

"No, what are you going to say? Don't just tell me to follow your- Adam! God damn it…"

Adamsprite was already approaching the gathered crowd of dwarven onlookers, forcing Cass to jog to catch up with him. When they started to draw back, he spread his hands out wide, showing that he was not armed. That did not seem to calm the dwarves down very much.

"Hey, uh...um… Fuck me-" Adamsprite shook his head once, took a deep breath. Time to bring it home. "DON'T ANY OF YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?!" he asked the gathered dwarves in as loud a voice as he could muster, which was pretty loud. "THIS IS THE GODDAMN SYLPH OF DEATH! YEAH, THE SYLPH OF DEATH, THE ONE YOU"RE ALL THINKING OF - THAT ONE! Yeah, um…fucking shit- WHY ARE ALL OF YOU STILL STANDING? YOU SHOULD BE ON YOUR GODDAMN KNEES-"

Sensing the opportunity to jump in, Cass stepped forward and planted herself in front of Adamsprite, making sure she was able to throw him a withering glare before turning to face all the dwarves, who by now had all fallen to their knees, not wanting to incur the wrath of the terrifying monster who'd just torn through their skies. All the dwarves, save one - a 'taller' man of about four feet, who wore a greatcoat of gold and black. He had eyes of fierce violet, an angular face, and a beard of neatly-trimmed coal-black hair.

"You guys, uh...you guys can all stand up, you don't have to kneel for me," Cass said to the kneeling dwarves. When none of them moved, she cleared her throat and continued to speak. "Seriously, you can stop kneeling! I don't need you to - oh, this is awkward - I don't need you to kneel, you can all just - why are dwarves so awkward - you can all just stand up!"

Much to Cass's relief, the dwarf wearing the elegant gold-black greatcoat answered her, saving her from digging her grave any deeper. "Tall girl, is that your beast?" he asked, nodding toward Adamsprite.

Adamsprite's sprite body flared with an angry crimson glow. "Did he just call me a-"

"Shh!" Cass whisper-shouted to Adamsprite, not breaking eye contact with the dwarven leader. "Yes! Ehm… Yes, he is my beast! You must forgive his temper, he's not all there mentally, but if you point him in the right direction and tell him to 'smash', he tends to-"

"Stay on topic, Cass, stay on topic," Adamsprite murmured into his friend's ear, doing his best to keep his snickering quiet as he watched Cass try to bullshit her way through the attention of several hundred listening dwarves. "And wait, was that an Incredible Hulk reference-"

Cass's forehead furrowed in a deep frown, but she kept right on talking, even while fantasizing about strangling the sprite boy after the introductions were complete. "-well, he tends to do exactly that! And, uh...well, it looks like he's done a pretty bang-up job so far, so...um… Yeah. You're welcome."

The dwarven noble's other eyebrow slid up to join its twin. "Does your beast speak the truth? You claim to be the Sylph?"

Cass answered immediately, speaking before Adamsprite had a chance to offer up a biting retort. She could already hear him muttering under his breath. "No, I don't claim to be the Sylph. I am the Sylph."

More murmuring, more speculating, more whispering. The dwarves seemed to be growing more curious than alarmed, now, and some of them started getting back up to their feet, much to Cass's relief.

The dwarf nobleman gave a quiet grunt, allowing both of his eyebrows to sink back down. He glanced to the left, then to the right, deep in thought, taking stock of the general reactions of his brethren, and then of his own intuition. Finally coming to a decision, he walked forward, planting himself right in front of Cass, still managing to make her feel tiny even though she was nearly a foot taller than him. He wore a stern expression on his face, his mouth a hard line, his gaze seeming to bore right through her. It took all her willpower not to fidget uncomfortably.

Then the dwarf's violet eyes glinted, his mouth parting in a wide smile. "If you're the Sylph, then I say this bloody well calls for a feast! Well, lads, what say you?"

The crowd of gathered dwarves immediately burst into cheers. Feasts, it would appear, were something they really enjoyed. They started to disperse, funneling back into their city through the main gates. Already, music was beginning to float up into the air.

Once the tension broke, Cass and Adamsprite both released the breaths they had not even realized they'd been holding.

Booming with hearty laughter, the dwarf nobleman threw his arms around Cass and drew her forward into what had to be the most painful bear hug she'd ever experienced. After he'd successfully left Cass with what felt like a fractured ribcage, the nobleman released her and looked over to Adamsprite. "Are you of solid matter, beast?"

Adamsprite blinked twice. "Well, I mean, yeah, when I choose to be-OOF!"

The nobleman interrupted the sprite boy with a crushing embrace of his own, causing the red light of his sprite body to flare bright and spark. "By the dragons, lad, you feel like flesh and blood!" the dwarf exclaimed in surprise, complementing his embrace with an equally painful clap on the back. "Tell me, are you still able to enjoy mead and ale?"

Despite the throbbing in his chest and the discomfort caused by the nobleman's literal ruffling of his feathers, Adamsprite managed a grin. "Uh, fuck yes, I'm still able to get schwasted!"

The dwarven nobleman blinked once. "Pray tell, what is a 'schwasted'?"

"It's not a...it's when...it's what we call getting drunk. C'mon, Cass, let's go eat some massive turkey legs and get schwasted! It'll be like the Renaissance Faire all over again!"

So, there you have it. That's how we met and subsequently partied with the consorts of the Land of Thunder and Dwarves. I guess I kinda stole Cass's thunder in the beginning of her feast. I mean, again, the dwarves are her consorts - which was sort of strange, if you ask me; I thought that consorts were supposed to be reptiles or amphibians. But these dwarves...well, they're certainly not reptiles or amphibians.

What they are is really fucking swell at partying. Yeah, they're so good at partying, I just used the word 'swell' to describe it. Bob has got to be one of the coolest motherfuckers I know - he would give Theo a run for his money when it comes to bear hugs, and he would give Anna a run for her booze when it comes to drinking. The guy was fucking unstoppable. He was a tank. An unstoppable dwarven booze tank.

In the end, it came down to a drinking contest between me and Bob. Turns out, I can't get drunk! Now that I'm...well, er...you know...not exactly human, anymore… No liver, I guess. Or at least, if I still have some kind of liver, it definitely doesn't work the same way. What ended up happening was this - the more I drank, the more volatile my aura became. It would get to the point where the mere act of sneezing would threaten to blow a hole through the roof of the great hall. 'Sprite anatomy' plus 'Knight of Force jazz' plus 'Booze' equals...well, it equals 'I can't drink without blowing shit up'.

Bob won the drinking contest because eventually it got to the point where I couldn't even grab my tankard without having the ale spontaneously catch fire.

Shit, okay, fuck, I'm doing it again - 'Bob' is the Lord of Goldmont Fief. Remember the guy with the fancy gold-black greatcoat? From the fields outside the city? Yeah, that's Bob. And yes, I know, 'Bob' isn't really his name. His real name is actually 'Robert Blackthorne V'. Pretty badass name, if you ask me, but I just like calling him 'Bob'. And hell, he didn't seem to mind!

I hit it off really well with the dwarves. I guess I've been living in my own head with the Eagle for so long, having some good, festive company was something I really needed. Cass, on the other hand, wasn't much of a partier. It took her a little bit to get in the swing of things.

I felt a little bad. I mean, she was the Sylph, the crazy-awesome party dwarves were her consorts… Like I said, I didn't want to steal any of her thunder. This was supposed to be her rodeo, not mine. But then something wonderful happened.

A drunken, burly dwarf by the name of Wymar Redbeard - something of a local legend, renowned for his great strength and skill with an axe - accidentally dropped his drink during one of the more boisterous tunes from the feast's 'soundtrack', provided by Lord Bobby Blackthorne's personal band of minstrels. Cass had been standing next to the heavily-muscled dwarf when his drink went flying and, without even thinking, she snatched it out of the air with one hand and returned it to him.

Everyone might've missed it had Wymar Redbeard not been the center of attention at the time - he had a terrible singing voice, but his fire and enthusiasm made him one of the most entertaining people at the feast to watch. Redbeard had been so impressed with Cass's speed that he challenged her to a Match, which is their version of play-fighting.

Well, this dwarf was ridiculously strong and surprisingly fast for his body type. Cass sidestepped and evaded Redbeard's first few attempts to ensnare her in his crushing grip. Maybe he would've done better if he hadn't been drunk, but…

Well, to make it short, Cass ended up taking him down by jumping toward the muscular dwarf when he got impatient and charged, seizing one of his arms. She used the dwarf's forward momentum to her advantage, planting herself firmly, causing the dwarf to spin around out of control. She extended a single foot ever so gently, tripped Redbeard with it, sent him crashing to the floor. She then shifted her grip up to the muscular dwarf's hand, bending it at a painful angle. It took minimal effort on her part, but the dwarf was unable to escape the grip without causing himself excruciating pain.

No hard feelings with these guys, though - they like a good brawl. Redbeard dusted himself off, got back up, laughed in Cass's face and forced his drink into her hand. They spent the rest of the feast together. And props to Redbeard - the poor guy cheerfully endured an entire night of jeering from his fellow revelers for getting beaten in a matter of seconds by a girl.

As for me, my jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw it all happen, but I never got the chance to ask Cass about it. Since when was she a martial-arts badass? I would have to ask her later. The feast went on, coming to a content conclusion before Skaiarise, involving many dwarves sleeping on the stone floor, or their chairs. Cass and I were invited to crash at the home of Lord Blackthorne, where Cass was given a comfy four-poster bed. I made do with a pile of furs and blankets - I'm technically weightless, after all, and made of 'sprite-light', so I didn't really need anything comfy to sleep on.

Then things got a little more serious. The next day, Bob woke us up and we returned to the great hall where we'd feasted and gotten super-weird just the night before. And I got so fucking jealous, here, when he and his inner circle of advisors gave Cass her quest. Wanna know why I got so jealous?

Well, it wasn't because they asked her to go into the heart of Mount Goldmont and slay the dragon that apparently lived there. That part kinda sucked. No, I was jealous because they fucking asked her to do it. They already believed that she was the Sylph; this was kind of their way of reporting a cracked telephone pole to the city council.

Got a dragon living in your home mountain? No prob, Bob, just ask the fucking Sylph!

My consorts didn't ask me to do shit - they just pointed at a fucking sword ladder and said 'climb, motherfucker, or we'll kill you.' I mean...well, I guess I technically didn't do any of that, but… I still experienced it! Sure, maybe it happened in a...in a dream bubble, for me, but...but I still had to climb that ladder, just like the...the other Adam had to. I still had to go through that, and I remember what it was like.

What I would've given for my quest to have been this easy! Having my consorts just believe that I was the Knight, right off from the get go-

"Adam." Cass's voice snapped me back into the present. "Pay attention, I need you here."

I realized that, while I'd been allowing my thoughts to wander, the strength of the flame I was producing for light had begun to wane. I shook my head once, gave more juice to the fire in my left hand. The passageway Cass and I were traveling through was illuminated once again, though only about twenty or so feet in front of and behind us. Beyond the reach of my fire was pitch black darkness.

Apt, I guess, for a 'secret' passageway that runs underneath a mountain. We'd been walking through this dwarf-made access tunnel for so long, I'd already lost track of time.

"Sorry...keep getting lost in my head, down here. I don't like enclosed spaces..."

Cass looked over at me, an eyebrow arching slightly, concern etched across her face. "You're not having more...trouble...are you? With your mind?"

"Hm? Oh, no, um...no, not that kind of trouble," I assured her. "The Eagle's been quiet, lately. Not so afraid, anymore, I guess. Long as I stretch my wings, every once in a while, let it have some bird time..."

"What about you, Adam?"

"Huh?"

"Do you feel okay? We never got the chance to talk afterwards," Cass explained. "I just felt so tired… And it was weird; when I was looking at your mind, I kept getting swamped with all this random knowledge about how the mind works...couldn't stop thinking about Freud's psyche model. Felt like someone was just shoving things into my brain."

I raised an eyebrow of my own. Yes, I still have eyebrows. "Sounds like you're the one who needs to talk."

"I…" Cass let out a slow breath. "Look, I know that whatever...whatever I did to you, back in that tree… I know that it helped you, I know that. But...it just didn't feel right."

I graduated from a 'raised eyebrow' to a full 'blink'. Sure, whatever Cass did to my mind hadn't necessarily 'cured' me, but it had really helped...gave me kind of a breather, you know, from all the noise the Eagle was making, as well as the noise I was inadvertently making in a doomed attempt to drown the Eagle out. How could she feel bad about it?

When I asked her this, I could tell that she actually had a lot she wanted to say, but maybe didn't know how to put it into words. Gee, who does that remind me of...it was like looking into a human mirror.

"I don't know, it… It didn't feel like me doing the healing," Cass explained. "I could barely hear myself think during the whole thing… And I remember you kept on telling me to stop, but...but I couldn't."

My wing feathers quivered, sending a quiet cascade of orange sparks down my back, where they fizzled away into the air. "I mean, yeah, it kinda hurt...a lot… But it's okay! I had to face those memories, and I clearly wasn't going to be able to by myself."

"You don't understand, Adam, I didn't want to keep on pushing - I knew how much pain it was causing you." Cass pressed on. "But I couldn't stop! Whenever I tried to stop, my brain would start exploding with more Freud and psychology, and more questions, and...and then I'd start poking and prodding around your mind, again, until you started moving back towards those memories. I couldn't stop it."

Ah...okay, this was starting to make a lot more sense. Time to consult the Sprite-cyclopedia that I now had conveniently stored in my brain. Or...well, whatever equivalent to 'brains' that sprites have…

"Cass, uh...how much was your original sprite able to tell you about your role? You know...Sylph of Death, and shit?"

"Dragonsprite?" Cass looked over at me, now. Her eyes, naturally violet, were shining maroon in my firelight. Jesus Christ, she's hot- I blinked once, forcing myself to focus as she kept on speaking. "Um...not very much… Dragonsprite got incinerated before he could tell me anything helpful. Said something about not being supposed to give me too much info…"

"Yeah, fuck that." I rolled my eyes. I, too, felt a little resistance from my inner Sprite-cyclopedia as I accessed the appropriate...'records', was the closest word I could use to describe the contents of the sprite knowledge… I felt resistance, as if the knowledge itself was not too happy about being shared, but I insisted. "Here's a little rundown of what your 'wiring' is. Sylphs are a healing class. You heal, Cass."

"I knew that much," Cass acknowledged. "I'm a 'healer of death'. Still doesn't help me, much. Does that mean I'm a necromancer?"

"Well, the 'Sylph' bit is only half of it. You have to understand the Aspect, too - Death," I said, patiently waiting for Cass to finish talking. Hey, I used to be just as confused as she was - I know how frustrating it feels. "See, the thing about the Aspects is that their names are symbolic, not literal. Like...take my Aspect, for example, Force. Doesn't actually mean 'Force', like telekinesis, you know. That's part of it, but not exactly the 'essence' of Force. I actually used to think it meant 'kinetic energy', and I was on the right track...but, turns out, it actually means 'Movement'. Bit more abstract of a concept, but 'kinetic energy' is a part of Movement. Or how Gino's Aspect, Mind, actually means 'Choice', instead of telepathy or some shit. Get the idea?"

Cass gave me a quizzical look. "How do you know all this?"

"I'm a sprite, too, in case you forgot."

"Okay, then, sprite boy, what is Death?"

"Fear."

It was Cass's turn to blink in surprise. I tried to gauge her reaction, but wasn't really able to in the limited light. "Um...'fear'? That's it?"

I fought the urge to snort. "Fear's a big deal! It limits potential. It's like fragmentation - I am afraid of this, therefore I cannot face this. But a Sylph of Death could, theoretically at least, repair that fragmentation. You're a healer of fear. And I'd say you're doing a pretty good job, so far. I mean, I'm not exactly going insane and trying to murder anyone, anymore… When you helped me back in that tree, you were just being a Sylph, is all. A Sylph doing Deathy shit."

"Well… I'm still sorry those memories hurt so much. I wish there had been an easier way."

"It's okay, Cass. I forgive you."

"You really mean that?"

"I do. Now, watch out for that wall you're about to walk into."

"Shit-" Cass looked forward just in time to see solid stone come rushing up to meet her face. She backpedalled just in time, barely avoiding smacking herself into the end of the passageway. She dusted herself off, glaring over at me when I started snickering. "You asshole."

The passageway underneath Mount Goldmont came to a dead stop. There was a stone staircase that spiraled up into the mountain above us, so it was clear where we were meant to go. I didn't say anything as we climbed the stairs, though I'll admit I was starting to get kind of nervous. Did we kind of just...kind of dive in headfirst, here? I mean, 'diving in headfirst' was sort of the basis for my own quest, back on LORAR, but this was different. Climbing that sword ladder had been scary, but...well, my consorts didn't ask me to slay any dangerous beasts, or anything. If I'd gone up against a dragon in my first week, I'd have gotten roasted!

And what do we even know about these dragons? The Sprite-cyclopedia was being super-cagey about them. Are they big dragons? Small? Sentient dragons, or beasts? I guess I hope they're not going to be overly intelligent dragons if we're going to be killing one of them…

"So, am I the only one who feels your consorts are totally ripping off The Hobbit?" I asked Cass as we kept climbing those stairs, finding the silence to be slightly oppressive.

"What?"

"Oh, c'mon, think about it. We got dwarves, we got a mountain that used to be their home, and we're going to try and kill the dragon that took it away from them. Is there an Arkenstone in here, somewhere?"

"...Adam, where are you getting all this? The dwarves never lived inside the mountains - this is the dragon's home. Weren't you paying attention to what Lord Blackthorne told us?"

Ah. Well, shit. Thought I had a solid comparison, there… "I guess not...kinda lost him at 'dragon', and 'go kill dragon', and 'good luck killing dragon'. Have I ever mentioned how dumb of an idea this is? We're going to fight a dragon. This is fucking nuts."

"The Goldmont dwarves aren't the only dwarves on this planet, Adam," Cass reminded me. "They're deathly afraid of the dragons, you know. They try to hide it, but they don't do a very good job. They don't really know if I'm the Sylph or not...they're just hoping really hard."

"Really? You got that vibe?"

"While you were busy blowing up the great hall with your drinking games, I was listening," Cass explained. "People talk a lot when they're drunk, and dwarves are no exception. These people are terrified of dragons. If I come back with a dragon's head, think of how much that'll cement their view of me."

"Easier to go after your Denizen if your consorts are all behind you…" I murmured in agreement.

"Which reminds me, can you check out who my Denizen is? Are there any sprite records that'll help me out there?" Cass asked. "The dwarves wouldn't talk about him. And I like knowing what I'm dealing with."

"Mm...good idea, lemme check the records…"

That actually was a good idea...why didn't I think of that before? I sent a questioning probe into the Sprite-cyclopedia. More resistance...dang, Sburb really wasn't happy with me snooping around in its library. Well, too damn bad, I'm insisting again...and… I actually winced when my probe ran into something that felt like a wall. There did not seem to be any available records on the Denizens, and I couldn't get through that wall no matter how hard I tried. Nevertheless, I was able to get some things...quick, fleeting images, impressions, feelings...decay, death...sharp teeth...harsh, piercing, reddish-violet eyes…

"You okay, Adam?" I don't know if I looked like I was in a state of discomfort, but Cass was obviously able to sense that my fact-finding wasn't exactly painless.

"Anubis," I was finally able to say, closing my eyes and withdrawing my probe from Sburb's records, taking several deep breaths, allowing my heartrate to slow down. "His name is Anubis. That's...that's the most I could get. Denizen records are on some sort of lockdown."

"Anubis?" Cass's curiosity was more than piqued. "Really?"

"I mean, probably not the literal Egyptian god of the dead," I clarified. "But your Denizen's name is Anubis. And he has a dog's head.

The chamber was, again, tiny. Room for ten people, at most. This passageway clearly wasn't built for large crowds of people... Built into the far wall was a simple square door made out of stone, the only way out of the circular chamber besides the stairs we'd just ascended. I floated back down to the floor and gripped the handles of the stone door. "Alright…alright, you ready for this? Dragon could be right on the other side of this door."

"One sec…" Cass took a moment to access her strife specibus, allowing what appeared to be an alchemized M16 assault rifle to materialize in her hands. She adjusted the sights and flicked off the safety, holding the rifle flush against her shoulder. Then she gave me a single nod. "Ready."

Cass made a face at me, both of her eyebrows shooting up, her cheeks turning a light red color. Um…

"I said that out loud, didn't I."

Cass nodded again. "Yeah."

"Right...fuck it, just let the dragon fry me." With that, I heaved myself against the door, pushing it outward. I was startled when golden light spilled through the opening, causing my eyes to water up. Cass swore as she was temporarily blinded, but my vision recovered much more swiftly.

Just in time for me to see the roiling wall of fire that was roaring our way.

My Aspect immediately surged forth, filling my entire being with humming, crackling even thinking, I threw one hand behind me, shoving Cass back into the opposite wall of the chamber with a telekinetic push. At the same time, I thrust my other hand forward, planting it firmly in space, throwing up a hastily-constructed field of frozen 'movement'. Rather than forming a straight barrier, I pushed the central area of my Force field forward, elongating it.

All the incoming fire hit my Force field on its convex side and was dispersed. The fire did not immediately stop, however - it was a stream of flame, rather than a single blast. The effort required to maintain my field was not small, and I could feel the temperature in the circular chamber rising.

The fire showed no signs of relenting. This was not good… I mean, I could withstand these temperatures for a long while, but the same could not be said for Cass. "Are you okay?" I shouted back to Cass, grunting as I started pushing my way through the door, keeping the concentrated fire at bay.

"Yeah!" I heard Cass holler in response. "I've got your back!"

"Can you see?"

"I have sunglasses on, now!"

"Okay, get ready! Fire's going down, dragon's probably taking a breath!"

It must have been a reflex, what'd just happened. The dragon had to already know where this door was located, so...well, every time it opens… No way anyone could survive a roasting like this, no way anyone would be able to close the door in time after getting blindsided like this…

Damn, we're lucky I can redirect fire.

Sure enough, I felt the intensity of the hellstorm gradually reduce and finally dissipate. I was the blind one, this time - I'd just been staring into all this shit for nearly thirty seconds without flinching, and everything was looking a little washed out. I could make out a giant, open space that appeared to be the heart of Mount Goldmont. The walls were composed of a yellowish-rock, and all the natural light was emanating from these giant golden crystals embeded in the cavern walls.

This door opened out onto a high ledge, I could see that much...but beyond that, I needed to wait for my eyes to readjust once again. I could see several dark, hovering shapes in front of me, but… I gave a surprised grunt when Cass shoved me aside, not waiting for the hostile creatures to charbroil us a second time.

Cass took a knee and opened fire. Her rifle gave sharp, staccato reports as it opened fire, sending little blips of white energy through the air that moved almost too fast to see, similar to tracer rounds. That rifle clearly no longer used conventional ammunition...I wonder what Cass had done to it.

There were five dark, winged shapes that had been the source of all that fire that'd nearly given us the Joan of Arc treatment. But with each burst from Cass's rifle, one of those creatures would explode into a shower of multicolored lights. As my vision came back, I realized that they weren't lights at all - the ledge was now littered with various types of grist.

That couldn't be right…

Cass and I moved forward, right up to the edge of the high ledge we were on. We peered down, taking in the sight of the massive, yawning cavern below...and both of us started swearing when multiple hundred pairs of eyes looked back up at us from the darkness, their attention drawn to the fiery exchange that had just occurred.

I dunno if there was a dragon here, or not...but I did know one thing.

Cass and I had just walked right into a Wyrm nest.