BETH

“There!” Beth pointed at the shuttle’s main view screen.

“Are those dragons?” Birgitta asked from the seat on her left.

Tern sat in his hollow further back in the shuttle and cycled through health and module checks. “More of Rahgon’s kind. Swarms of space dragons, as you named them in your language.”

“All them aliens, kind of scary,” Leopold said from the pilot’s seat in the front. “These controls on the other hand, are magical. I am not flying any boat without these controls ever again.”

Beth leaned forward. “Leo, please stop talking about the control plates. I have also piloted this shuttle and you don’t hear me bragging about it.”

“That is not fair, Beth. You, Tern and Birgitta keep nagging about the dragons and their breeding grounds. All the damn time,” Leo said. “Thus, for the sake of fairness, I should be able to nag about these controls.”

“That is different,” Birgitta said, waving her hands. “Way different.”

Leo shook his head, but didn’t argue.

“If all those dots are dragons, there must be thousands.” Beth pointed at the screen.

“We are mighty and we are many,” a deep voice placed inside the mental channel Tern had set up for the crew.

“Rahgon,” Tern said. “How was your flight?”

Leo grunted at that comment.

“Space smells wonderful close to home,” Rahgon said.

Leo grunted again.

Beth leaned back again, looking over the planet again. “Rahgon, how many of your kind are there?”

“We are millions and millions more to come,” Rahgon said.

Beth nodded. “I don’t see millions swarming around your planet and its three moons. Are you trying to joke with us, Rahgon?”

“No,” Rahgon said.

“I thought it would be more,” Birgitta said.

Freet floated forward from Tern’s side. “Beth, you need the context before you decide. You should see Rahgon’s mind as I see it. You don’t see most of them because of the cloud coverage and I am sure that humans cannot see through mountain walls and ceilings. I am pretty sure about that, Tern has told me many things about you.”

“Boring. Let’s go,” Leo said and upped the acceleration. “I should tell you about this one time when I and a group of combat suits were stranded in a swamp. We took a hit and crashed into the dense jungle, splashing into a pool of thick sludge. Scary stuff. It grabbed onto our shuttle and pulled it down, without concern about the passengers. Very non-concerning sludge, that is.”

Beth winked at him. “Why is it that you always crash your ship in these stories?”

“Yeah, why is that?” Tern added.

“Forget it,” Leo said.

“Leo, don’t be like that. I want to hear it. Or at least read it. Send it to me later. We were just teasing with you,” Beth said.

Beth recognized that smile widening on his face. He had feigned being hurt.

The descent through the outer layers of the planet’s atmosphere went smoothly. A few minor moments of turbulence and a couple of flybys by eager, younger dragons. They looked at their shuttle with their big, sharp eyes and puffed flames out from their nostrils and stretched out their wings. A display of dominance. Just normal behavior from adolescent dragons. A particular small and distinctively purple colored dragon flapped past the main view screen. Its purple scales sparkled in the strong sunlight.

“Home. Just putting the mountains into view, it provides a certain sense of safety,” Rahgon said. “Humans, welcome to my world. The planet of Shuvoq. Home of dragons.”

“Space dragons,” Beth mumbled for herself. But when you thought about it, all things existed inside space. In that case, humans might be called space humans.

Tern pulled in a new video onto the main view screen.

Leo grabbed, turned it around and zoomed in. “ Do you want me to land on one of the peaks or that giant square-ish center plateau? I don’t want to cause any unnecessary ruckus. Dragons have sharp teeth and I don’t want the shuttle damaged.”

“Just at the edge of that plateau will be fine,” Rahgon said. “There will be no harm to your shuttle.”

“I can see dragons lumbering about, I am not keen on upsetting any of them. What if we land on someone’s tail?” Beth said.

Tern sighed, she was sure she heard him do it. As the bond between them deepened, the omf picked up more and more human mannerism. He had spent almost three years in her head now, so maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“Leo will do fine,” Tern said.

Rahgon roared in the background, flapping past the front of the shuttle.

The world of Shuvoq came into full view. The mountain was huge and it was only the highest, visible peak on a mountain range which extended across the planet’s surface. According to the data presented in the holographic reality, it stretched across half the surface’s circumference. The mountain range’s base bordered against wide fields of wet mud. There were some smaller peaks and rocky hills, but mostly it was covered by those vast fields. Yes, the famous space dragon mud. Even from this elevation she observed dragons playing around in it, and always in pairs. By covering themselves with this mud, it triggered something inside them, making them fertile. The active chemical in the mud was a complex assortment of minerals and compounds which were mixed on the slopes of the mountain and pooled around its base. When rain poured down, the drops struck the rocky surfaces, loosening the minerals and when the flow slid down they mixed together, creating this perfect blend of breeding mud. For this particular mud to be made, they needed these specific conditions. The high mountain, with the correct mineral composition and heavy enough rain, and fields which could support the wet mud. Couldn’t have the fuck-mud slip away.

“You explained it to me, Tern. But seeing all that mud, it’s just too much,” Beth said, during their final approach. “But they don’t have to keep the eggs covered in mud during their gestation process? Before they hatch, I mean.”

“No. Our eggs are put in the open on top of the highest peaks. They need sunshine and windy conditions,” Rahgon said.

“I am eager to see these eggs,” Birgitta said. “And maybe to touch them.”

“Sounds precarious,” Beth said. “And stupid. Would they just not fall over the sides?”

The shuttle rocked and Rahgon’s arrow shaped head placed right in front of them. “Dragons are mighty. We are mighty before even breaking our shells. It is our legacy.”

“I used to know someone who called himself mighty,” Beth mumbled quietly.

“There is no ‘getting used’ to when being around an alien space dragon. I thought being around Tern and Freet was awesome, but Rahgon is a step beyond that,” Birgitta said. “What are you meaning, Rahgon? Do eggs need to be hardened through exposure? I don’t get it.”

“I know the context. It’s bec…,” Freet started.

“Enough. We are landing. Let’s talk about it later,” Leo said.

Leo landed the shuttle on the edge of the open square area. The handful of dragons in the vicinity moved out of the way. Their scales would probably protect them against the weight of their small shuttle, but risking stirring the rage within them seemed unnecessarily stupid. Leo disconnected from the control plates by lifting his palms off the console.

“Stay together, people. Don’t wander off,” Beth said. “The dragons look cute, but the strength behind their claws and the flames from their nostrils are lethal.”

“Don’t stare,” Birgitta added. “Don’t show dominance. Remember what happened with Milo?”

Beth shot her a cold look, but kept her mouth shut. Birgitta just said how things were, as plain as day, she didn’t mean to anger Beth.

“Yes, mam,” Leo said.

Tern floated up to Beth’s side. “Let’s roll.”

“That was a pun! I am sure of it,” Leo said. “You have a sense of humor, Tern. I knew it.”

“To make puns and jokes are to waste time,” Freet said.

“I cannot understand how we are of the same species,” Tern said.

“Then you have a malfunction inside you and which you missed with your health checks,” Freet said.

Tern turned his body around, displaying a certain part of his surface to Beth, seams in the form of a square were created before the module slid out. A sidearm meant for human use was lying inside the module.

“Freet is cheerful,” Beth said. “I don’t need that, I have these guns.” Beth brandished her thin arms. She had excheried more, but the distinction between her inhuman strength and lack of muscles was still present.

“You never know,” Tern said and the module slid back into him and the seams merged with the shell. “Freet, you coming?”

Freet finalized her module checks and joined them.

The planet’s atmosphere was friendly to humans and so no suits were required. Beth also decided to leave her mace behind. There was no need to show dominance.

The rear hatch slid aside. A wind blew against the stone walls, creating a distinct whining sound. The air was arid and smelled faintly of wellness. It sounded weird, but the smell felt healthy.

“Don’t forget this.” Birgitta handed her the black twig wrapped inside its holster.

Beth grabbed it and tied the holster to her hip. “I know.”

“Don’t whimper,” Birgitta said. She formed her hand into a pistol, put it at her hip and snapped it up. “Boom, dead. Wild, wild west style. You will be quick drawing on any fucker who looks at you weirdly with that hand cannon.” She blew on her finger, as if it was a smoking gun.

Beth put a hand on her forehead. “Birgitta...”

“It’s important,” Tern said. “Our bond has been perfected. You are a fully fledged companion of mine now. It’s important to display it by wearing your Branch of Companionship fully visible. Especially when our alliance with the Celeste Clan is so new.”

Beth nodded. “I don’t see Rahgon waving around one of these? And she is bonded with Freet.”

“Firstly, Rahgon is the only dragon bonded who is bonded with an omf. Secondly, if you look closely enough, it dangles from a string around her neck,” Freet said. “Pay attention or you might miss that which is right in front of you. Stop being so full of yourself.”

“Wow, that is harsh. Calm down, Freet,” Beth said.

Freet flew past her without another word.

“But I have never seen Rahgon use her branch. Also, I don’t find it practical,” Beth said.

Tern pushed lightly at her. “We move out. You don’t have to use it, but keep it close to you.”

Beth jumped off the ramp and landed with slightly bent knees on the hard surface. It was sheer rock. “Rahgon, where are we going? I want to see all the views and attractions. Can I walk to the edge and look down the side of the cliff?”

“No. The wind will grab someone tiny as you and throw you down the slope,” Rahgon’s deep voice boomed in her head.

Rahgon stepped forward from behind the shuttle, her size still came as a surprise to Beth.

“Tumbling down that slope might be lethal.” Birgitta came off the ramp.

Leo walked off next. “With the speed and maneuverability in this boat, I think I would be able to catch up with you and catch you with the rear hatch. These boats can stabilize through that wind, especially with these controls.”

“Leo, you have never experienced the winds of Shuvoq. Only dragons can navigate its might, not pilots in their vehicles. My father expects us. To the mountain’s blessing,” Rahgon said.

Rahgon’s companion, Freet floated forward to the dragon’s side. “Tern, you will have to take your three humans in your bubble. The drop is a long fall.”

“Of course,” Tern said.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“The dragons live underground? But you are large creatures, how can that work? Don’t you need space to extend your wings and breathe fresh air?” Birgitta said.

“This is the way of life in this world. The way it has always been and the way it will always be. The mountain is their God,” Freet said.

Beth went down on one knee and placed a hand on the naked rock. It just felt like ordinary rock, not like she expected the surface of a God to feel like. But then again, how would the surface of a God feel like? Warm or cold, soft or hard? But a mountain was not sentient or alive.

Younger and smaller dragons played on the rock around them and in the sky above them, but didn’t dare to approach them. But there was another dragon, one who almost challenged Rahgon’s size. Its scales were colored emerald green and its head and snout had a more prolonged and narrower shape to it. There were no scars or any signs of injuries on it, a contrast to Rahgon’s face.

This dragon approached them. “Are these the allies you bring in the time of war?” The green dragon casually dropped into their mental channel. “Their flesh barely amounts to a bite. A snack. They are nothing.”

“Wyrhgon, my brother, calm down,” Rahgon snarled.

Wyrhgon moved smoothly and calculated where Rahgon lumbered on her muscled legs. “Father will not look too kindly on these beings. You went away for a long time and brought back a war. And these tiny things. Not kindly at all.”

Rahgon growled and displayed her massive teeth, even wisps of flames puffed from her nostrils.

“Be seeing you.” Wyrhgon flapped his wings and dove into an opening in the rock face.

“I must admit, they move very gracefully. They turn on a dime and accelerate like nothing else. I fear they could outmaneuver a starship, but not with me on the controls,” Leo said. “I wonder, how it would be to pilot one?”

“Pilot a dragon? Ride it, you mean,” Birgitta said.

“You are not allowed to ride a dragon, so don’t even entertain the idea,” Beth said.

Leo sighed. “The one time I am positive about these aliens and you shut me down. Thanks for the encouragement.”

“To the mountain’s blessing.” Rahgon lumbering forward, focused on her destination.

“What just happened?” Beth asked.

“Fighting siblings. Just like humans,” Birgitta said. “That is actually very interesting, how certain behavioral patterns translate almost the same in alien species as they do in us. Like you and Milo.”

Beth scratched her head. “You are correct as you often are, Birgitta. I just feel it, this Wyrhgon is an asshole.”

“Yes, that was weird. Weirder than usual, alien-wise,” Leo said.

“All species have their rotten eggs,” Birgitta said. “And assholes.”

“But if you don’t have assholes, how will you be able to distinguish the non-assholes?” Tern said.

“Are you wasting time with a joke, or is this an actual, scientific observation?” Freet said.

“Freet, go and eat breeding mud,” Tern said. “Beth, like I said, the assholes give the non-assholes distinction.”

Beth nodded. “I guess you are correct.”

Beth had not liked the way Wyrhgon had talked or moved about. It was too calculated, as if he looked for an opening in their armor and under their skin. And how he undermined and provoked Rahgon, that was not okay.

“The context I am getting, I looked at Rahgon’s mind when the exchange occurred. To watch for which parts lit up with activity. Wyrhgon is a sneaky fucking bastard and he has a talent for words. These words even have gotten him the grace of the king, their shared father,” Tern said. “Wyrhgon sneaks and speaks while Rahgon grunts and blunts.”

“You got all that from looking at her mind?” Beth asked. “Seems a bit more than just context.”

“I am an intelligent, sentient being…,” Tern started.

Birgitta stepped in between them, and Beth began to argue, but a hand was placed over her mouth.

“Don’t. We don’t need conflict within our tight group. You saw what happened onboard the Final Sight. Just accept it, even though you don’t agree with the deduction. You don’t always have to be correct, Beth,” Birgitta said.

Beth rolled her eyes and removed Birgitta’s hand. “Alright.” She wanted to snap back at Birgitta for that specific comment, but held her tongue.

“The mountain’s blessing. Come or I will leave you where you stand,” Rahgon grunted, a short distance away.

“We are coming!” Leo and Birgitta said at the same time.

They were led through an opening on the mountain wall, but the path was short and ended abruptly with a circular hole in the floor. The hole was at least five times the size of their shuttle and should be plenty big for dragons and their flapping wings.

“You will fall until you cannot fall any further,” Rahgon said and dove into the hole with her wings tightly tucked against her body. Freet fell in after.

“There is a joke in there somewhere, even though I am unable to see it, but I am sure,” Tern said. “Get around me.”

Leo and Birgitta stepped up beside her, and put each one a hand on her shoulders.

“I would much rather have flown the shuttle down here. It would have fit. Easily,” Leo said. “I don’t like giving away piloting controls to some else. It is jarring, not being in control.”

“It’s alright to be scared of heights, Leo. I have this story. I was a little girl and I was playing in the garden,” Beth started.

Leo shook his head, looking over the edge, his hands were trembling. “Please, shut up. ”

Beth and Birgitta exchanged a glance. Would it be rude of her to laugh? She suppressed the laughter, Leo didn’t need to be humiliated. Not right now, at least.

Tern’s bubble activated, its transparent walls grew up and curved around them. Tern floated forward, always at the center of the bubble. Beth was used to this form of travel and had thus lowered her center of mass, and offset her feet, giving her just the right balance. They floated over the edge and stared down into the black abyss. There were some living flames on the sides of the drop, which provided some illumination. Leo squeezed her shoulder so hard that it probably would leave a nice bruise, but even so she determined that it was not fitting to flow her skin into metal. Leo needed the support, both mentally and physically, and she would be there for him. Tern took them downwards into the dark.

-

The drop was uneventful. Tern took it slow and steady, it took ten minutes before the bottom started appearing beneath them. Leo managed to only throw up twice, but Tern handled the waste by absorbing it through his body, reusing the biological matter for his own purposes.

“We have arrived,” Tern said.

They basked in light and warmth as the tunnel opened up into a gigantic hall. A hall which rivaled the size of starship, and not the small ones like the Final Sight, but more in line with the awesomeness of dreadnoughts. Pillars of different thickness and spacing were spread all around, and each one of them was decorated differently. There had to be thousands upon thousands of the pillars, at first glance they looked impossible to count. Younger dragons flew slalom around the pillars and were chasing each other. Older and bigger dragons flew in straighter lines, their heads moved as if they discussed important matters, and some were lying on their sides devouring food. Big crystals balls hung from the ceiling, thousands of them and each of them carried illuminating and living flames. Tern landed them on the hall’s floor and disengaged the bubble.

“You have been blessed by the mountain,” Rahgon said and when she stood right in front of them, the scar which went across her snout, which they had inflicted on her during their battle back on the mingling planet. Beth was filled with remorse, she couldn’t have known that they would end up as allies. And friends.

“We have been blessed by the mountain,” Tern repeated.

Rahgon led them through the hall. It had to be many kilometers long, it just kept going and even more pathways branched to the sides. There were many more than thousands of the pillars, there had to be many millions of them and each one was so uniquely made and decorated.

“I don’t have the words to describe how I feel. It’s too large and too beautiful,” Birgitta said.

“This will be a great story and the moral will be: don’t judge the mountain for it’s windy peaks, but instead for the gigantic and magical chambers which might lay underneath,” Leo said. “It still needs some polishing.”

They had not reached the end of the hall, but a rocky hill rose from the ground and on its flat top there was a large throne and on this throne the biggest dragon that they had ever seen, it made Rahgon look like a child.

Rahgon stepped forward and bent her neck down, going down on her forelimbs, with Freet on her side. “Father, these are my friends. Freet, Beth, Tern, Birgitta and Leo. Friends, this is my father, the great king, Xeulius the fifth.”

The king dragon grabbed a live animal from the side of the hill and devoured it in a single bite. The animal looked to be a cross between a whale and an elephant.

“I will patch in the king to our shared mental communication,” Freet said.

“Humans, you are small and puny. With all the praise my daughter has laid upon you, I thought you would be more,” the king said. “Puny.”

A green scaled dragon of similar size of Rahgon sneaked around the king’s throne. Wyrhgon, Rahgon’s brother, the one which had given them such a warm welcome on top of the mountain peak.

“See what your beloved daughter has brought us. War and a so called ‘powerful’ allegiance. What does ‘Celeste’ even mean? And these humans, they are tiny. Puny, as you so truthfully tell it, my king,” Wyrhgon said, almost whispering in the king’s ear, but it was fully put into the mental channel. His words sounded like spoken butter, if such a thing was possible.

Rahgon grunted, her face trembling. She was angry, her brother got under her scales.

Freet and Tern floated forward together, giving no heed to the fighting siblings. Beth had no idea what to do, there was nothing she could do to disarm the conflicts among the dragons. She knew them not. But these conflicts would tear at their allegiance no matter what. This Wyrhgon was so clearly poisoning the king with his well placed words. What would a display of Beth’s strength do? Probably further the harm.

“The Clan war is here, no matter how you feel. They will invade your planet. They know how important this world is to you. Ruin and destruction, they seek. Your planet is situated badly, bordering against several clans. We have come to aid you, which is inline of our allegiance with Rahgon and your kind,” Freet said.

“War. You brought a war to our doorstep. A war which might end us all,” Xeulius grunted. “I don’t understand how that could be an act of allegiance. The dragons of Shuvoq have done well without the omf before, and no one has dared to fly too close to our borders. Then you arrive and suddenly there are signs of one of your Clan wars coming to us.”

“If this war destroys our home, we will fade away as sure as the mud dries in the sun,” Wyrhgon said. “You brought this war to our doorstep, little sister.”

“And fight we will.” Rahgon roared, flames licking into the air.

Wyrhgon spat on the floor in front of his sister and snarled. “Fight? With these puny reinforcements and allies? Our moon sized weapon platforms and the mountain mounted fire cannons, they will contribute. Your allies, they will be cannon fodder for the first three seconds of the war.”

“You don’t know what you are talking about, brother,” Rahgon said.

“Yes, sister. I know you will fight and you will fight well. You are mighty,” Wyrhgon said. “This has been proven countless times. But instead of bringing real, strong allies, you brought us them. And the war! You brought the very war that threatens to put us on the brink,” Wyrhgon said. “And you brought cannon fodder to it. Useless. Father, I always said how useless Rahgon is on the negotiation table. Look at what she brought.”

The king shifted his giant body on the throne.

They didn’t listen. Beth bit down on her teeth. The Clan war was coming no matter what, but Wyrhgon and the king didn’t listen. Wyrhgon spook and the king listened, and if Wyrhgon wanted the king to look down on Rahgon and her new allies, then that was what happened. Beth tensed her hands into fists, the frustration boiling inside her.

“Enough of this bullshit.” Beth stepped forward, Birgitta placed a hand on her shoulder but she shoved it away. “You stop this goddamn meandering. We will fight and I am pretty sure that you have judged us too soon. I didn’t see any of your kind coming to Earth and offering your aid. Giving your lives to defend it. But here we are, ready to lay our lives down, to aid in your defense. And what do you do? Call us weak and puny. You fucking lunatics. I should pull that tongue out from your ungrateful snout.”

Sweetness trickled into her mouth as her rage grew.

“You don’t speak to the king like this,” the king said. “Step over the line one more time, small one and I will take your head off your shoulders. Humans do look tasty.”

Tern floated in between her and the king’s throne and he whispered to her. “Please, don’t fight here and with them. Save your strength.”

“We will fight,” Beth mumbled.

The king looked down on her with a confused face. “Daughter, these are your responsibility and any ill intent they do on our people, you will have to answer for.”

Rahgon nodded.

-

“My chambers are this way,” Rahgon said as they left the king’s throne and the condescending eyes of Wyrhgon.

Some sense had to be knocked into that green scaled asshole of a dragon, Beth thought for herself as they walked through a branching corridor that led away from the main hall.

“Anger creates anger.” Tern floated against her leg.

“I didn’t like the look and sound of that Wyrhgon dragon. Not one bit,” Leo said, Freet floated closer to him.

Birgitta put a hand on his shoulder. “None of us did.”

“Some sense needs to be knocked into him,” Beth whispered.

A dragon with blue scales clung atop a rock wall and used its powerful claws to dig out a new pillar, extending the dragon hall with a new corridor. The grooves created by the dragon were decorative and maybe they even told a story, but it was far too early to tell. The dragon carved with precision and calculated motions, the work went slow, but the result, the first half meter of the top, looked absolutely stunning. More beautiful than most of the pillars they had passed since the mountain’s blessing. The dragon noticed them and dropped down. About a quarter of the size of Rahgon and with scales that glittered blue in the overhead fires.

Rahgon leaped forward to meet the new dragon. They rubbed their snouts against each other and some thin wisps of flames were exchanged. The blue dragon moved with agility and quickness where Rahgon moved with strength and bluntness.

“This is Elzrig. My oldest friend,” Rahgon said.

Elzrig, the blue dragon’s roar echoed through the corridor. “Friends of Rahgon, are friends of mine,” Elzrig placed into the mental channel.

“Thank you,” Tern and Freet said at the same time, as they approached the blue dragon. “We are always in need for some more friends.”

“So, I guess it went cliff-shit with the king and Wyrhgon?” Elzrig said.

The sides of Rahgon’s mouth rose, as if she smiled and something approximate to a laugh was placed on the mental channel. “Cliff-shit indeed. Wyrhgon and his snake tongue. Maybe we should smear cliff-shit on his face?”

“Game on, Rah,” Elzrig said.

“There is so much conflict among them. Even more than in humans,” Birgitta said. “I wonder if it’s because of their size and potential higher amounts of hormones? If one is ten times as powerful, would they be as likely to be ten times as greedy and jealous?”

“Humans are known to be shitty as well. Don’t second guess our ability to screw things up. Just look at Saif,” Beth said. “Freet, what is it about these pillars?”

“Every dragon that is born on this planet claws their wanted future into the very rock. They carve what they want to become,” Freet said. “Elzrig here, is a younger dragon. Not adolescent, but not an adult either. Thus, his pillar work has only begun.”

Birgitta injected. “But, but. I guess some dragons have to die prematurely. Right?”

“Yes, next of kin will always finish the pillar work. Always,” Freet said. “No pillar is left unfinished. Never.”

“This is sacred,” Elzrig said.

“Just seems like a major hassle. And look at Elzrig’s pillar, it must take many years to create new ones,” Leo said. “Not exactly industrial effectiveness.”

Freet floated up the Leo. “Efficiency is not always better. Elzrig’s work is special. He has spent fifty years, in human terms, on that half meter of a pillar. When done, it will be the most impressive pillar in this mountain.”

“Hold up and back up for a second there. Fifty years? But he is still an adolescent dragon,” Beth said.

“Right, how slow do they grow?” Birgitta said.

“We never stop growing. The king is the largest of us all, and this is because he has been alive the longest. Around five thousand years, he is. Rahgon is nearing the passing of her second century, we are all very excited,” Elzrig explained. “And like they said, I have just turned fifty.”

Beth stopped in her tracks, stunned by the revelation. “But that means that it’s a huge investment to help you grow up from the moment you exit your eggs. Whenever some of your kind dies, that is the loss of hundreds of years of effort. The scaling is just remarkable.”

“We live slow and long lives,” Elzrig said.

“That’s interesting, because in your terms, humans have barely been ‘hatched’ before death welcomes us to its domain,” Birgitta said. “I am on Beth’s side, that is remarkable.”

Rahgon, with Elzrig on her side, stopped outside a huge, arched doorway. It slid aside on their approach, revealing a high ceiling and spacious chamber. There was a round opening in the ceiling, which was closed by a hatch-like door, but it looked to serve the same purpose as the mountain’s blessing had. Rahgon had her personal way out of the mountain.

“So, we don’t have to go through the hall to get out?” Beth pointed.

“No,” Rahgon said.

Beth sighed. It was nice being able to avoid any possible encounters with the assholes.