It was a rocky and barren landscape of rough stones covered in white moss while smoke rose further up. Thankfully, there wasn't much wind, but the journey was still challenging. Relma became aware her boots were wrong for it. Ronald had brought an extra cloak and clothes, but more was needed as they increased. It led sloping upwards to the knees of the black mountain. Animal bones could be seen here and there, and this place had an aura of desolation.

Relma didn't like it and wondered why anyone would live here. She almost wanted to go back into the forest fire. Then she thought better of that idea and wished she were home in bed. It would be nice to be back before this adventure nonsense happened.

So much for wishing their problems away; it wasn't an option.

"This isn't..." began Ronald. "Where are we?"

"On the northern edge of the forest, if I have a guess," said Estela.

"Northern edge?" asked Relma. "But that is in Wrynncurth's territory."

"We could go back into the blazing inferno if you want," said Estela.

"Be serious, Estela," said Relma. "We have to get to Gel Carn. We can wait until the flames die down and then-"

"Be hunted down by Ajax?" noted Estela.

"Estela is right, Relma," said Ronald. "We're going to have to go a bit up and then make our way along the crags."

"We'll have to watch out for dragons," said Estela. "Wrynncurth is sure to have sentries flying above."

"If he does, then some will be coming here soon," said Relma. "They'll be attracted to the flames. So we should get out of sight."

"But there is nowhere to hide here," noted Ronald.

Relma looked up at the barren peaks. Then she noticed some piled stones like a marker. She pointed toward them. "What about those stones. Quick."

They made for them. As they did, Relma felt the cold seeping into her. This place was cold in a physical sense but also in a spiritual one. She had the feeling that nothing lived here in this place. It was nothing natural anyway.

Soon, they had gotten behind the stones and found that they were piled in such a way as to make an alcove. Like someone had made them for shelter. But who?

Either way, they could only be seen from one side like this. And then only if someone looked right at them. They huddled together and stayed close for warmth. Relma put her hands within her sleeves and shuddered.

"How could it get this cold this quickly?" asked Estela.

"I don't know," said Ronald, "but I'll light a fire. That will warm us up."

"Someone could follow the smoke right to us," noted Estela.

"Do you want to freeze to death?" asked Ronald. "No one will notice with all the smoke coming off the fire."

Sure enough, the fire had spread to the eaves. The flames were now burning brightly, and the smoke rose ever higher. Ronald didn't bother to make the point again. Instead, he laid out some firewood he had brought and took some out of Estela's pack. Then he set about making a fire.

Once it was blazing, he produced a cooking pot and several ingredients. Using some salted meat, I began to cook a meal. Relma realized that she hadn't eaten anything all day. When the food was done, she wolfed it down with the others.

"I'll admit," said Estela, "it was a good idea to bring extra."

"Mmmph," said Anya, struggling in a corner.

"Shouldn't we feed her?" asked Relma.

"It isn't that far to Gel Carn," said Estela. "And anyway, she might yell and attract attention."

"Look at this," said Ronald.

Relma looked up and saw that he had found something on the far side of the alcove. It was a small hole tunneled into the rock. Through it, she could get a good view of the burning forest. She felt a bit guilty.

Estela soon was by her.

"This place must have been made deliberately," said Estela. "We should clean up and move on. Someone may come soon."

At that moment, a shadow passed over the outside. A gigantic black shape descended to circle around. Soon it came down from the other side and landed in front of the forest.

"A dragon." realized Ronald. "It's a black dragon."

The dragon landed, and Relma felt a bit disappointed. It had looked awe-inspiring and vast when looking at its shadow. But as it turned out, most of that was its now furled wings. The dragon itself couldn't have been much bigger than a large cow and might have been much smaller.

"That thing is much smaller than I thought it would be," said Estela.

"It's probably a baby dragon," said Relma.

"No, there are no baby black dragons," said Estela. "I read about this in Father's library. When a black dragon is killed, they reform at the point of their hoard. Though it takes a while."

"Then how do they reproduce?" asked Relma.

"They don't," said Estela. "I think they are created by Adrian Wrynncurth from black magic or something. But, I don't know, it was a boring book."

Then another dragon, much more significant, landed near the smaller one. It nodded to him in respect. "Lord Adrian, what is this? What has caused the fire spirits to arise in new wrath?"

"I say, it does appear to be a rather large flame, doesn't it?" said the smaller dragon. "Not the sort I'd like to roast sheep over. Cin'Dar must have gotten very out of sorts."

That was Adrian Wrynncurth? No, it couldn't be. So it must have been a dragon with the same name. And the title of Lord.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"What made him angry, Lord Wrynncurth?" asked the larger one.

"Oh, he's not angry. He's just roused," said Adrian. "He's gotten up in arms on behalf of the person who woke him up."

"That's Wrynncurth?" asked Estela. "But he's supposed to be the largest of all the Black Dragon Flight."

"He looks huge to me," said Ronald.

"Who woke him up?" asked the larger dragon.

Adrian brought up a four-fingered claw and produced a pipe from within one of his scales. He lit it with a match, thoughtfully looked at the flames, and smoked a draft. "Not at all sure. I'll have to ask him.

"Though I wager those ne'er do wells hiding in the alcove might know a thing or two about it." Relma froze. Instantly, they sprinted for the exit. But before they could even reach it, the door was blocked. Adrian Wrynncurth's many-toothed face was staring at them. His eyes were flaming green, and he stank of death and decay. It dawned on Relma that although he wasn't much larger than a cow, cows were huge.

"I say, you can't outrun a black dragon on foot, my fine fellows," said Wrynncurth in a cheerful tone. "No one can."

Estela drew her sword and swung it. Wrynncurth sniffed, and her blade seemed to go right through Wrynncurth. Then Relma saw why.

Estela's sword blade had melted into nothing. It would have been absurd if she'd been looking at a picture of this moment. A group of teenagers was cornered by a dragon with a pipe out of his mouth. As Relma was living it, it was terrifying.

"That was one of my weaker acids," said Wrynncurth. "Rather proud of it. It can't be seen and works right quick. I hope you know I could have had you all melting instantly with that. Now drop what's left of your sword and surrender. I'll give you a chance to account for yourselves."

Ronald threw aside his weapon. Estela dropped the haft of what had been her sword.

"Good," said Wrynncurth. "Now, who are you, and where do you come from?" His gaze turned to Anya. "And why are you holding one of his children captive? I like a good story, but keep it short.

"I've got a spot of trouble in the forest to address." He motioned with his head.

"We're running away from Telix," said Relma. "He kidnapped me, and my friends came to rescue me. So now we're trying to escape."

"And I wager that the blaze out there is your doing then, my girl?" mused Adrian.

Relma shifted beneath his gaze. She had the feeling he already knew the answer. "I tried to talk Cin'dar out of it."

"What you neglect to mention is that you started the sparks that got him started." Flask of oil over a broken tree branch, eh? Very clever, if destructive."

"How did you..." began Relma.

"Well, some people can read people. I can read memories," said Wrynncurth. "Still, you're a strange one to read. Your memory is very bright. It'd be a challenge reading it.

"No matter. It's best to take care of this blaze right quick. I think Cin'dar has had his fun. Anias, escort these fellows out." He blinked and looked at Anya. Then he breathed, and the ropes decayed. At once, the wolf girl charged at Estela, only for Adrian's tail to be put around her neck. There was a blade at the end. "None of that, my girl. We'll have no fighting now; I haven't the time for it."

Then, he slithered out of the alcove and stood atop it. Relma followed and found her under the gaze of dozens of black dragons. Where had they all come from? None were greater than Anias, who looked down on them.

Relma glanced to where Adrian was standing in front of an inferno. It looked like a vision out of hell itself. Wrynncurth sat on his haunches and slid the pipe to the side of his mouth. "Down, you spark! No more fuel for you!"

Then the face returned. It was larger down, burning brighter, and filled with unfathomable hatred. "I am fire. I am heat. I am a thousand charred corpses burning on a thousand battlefields. All who know me fear me, and all who seek to halt my path are consumed by my will.

"No mere dragon can halt my power."

"Ah, but I'm not a mere dragon, old chap," said Wrynncurth. "I've got living memory of Smyngoth the Greater. I watched him as he curled up and raised the black mountain over him. And I'm in no mood for your nonsense.

"Be off with you at once, or I'll see that you'll never start a flame again."

"The memory of Smyngoth pales before the power bestowed on me by Anoa the Bright," said Cin'der. "My flames have consumed whole cities. My wrath is the undoing of nations. My gaze alone reduces all things to ashes.

"Anoa alone could control me. And he is now dead. His heirs are a pale shadow of what he once was."

"Heirs?" asked Wrynncurth. "What the blazes are you talking about, old chap? Anoa's heirs fell long, ages ago."

"They have risen again," said Cin'dar.

Wrynncurth glanced at Relma. "...Ah, so that was why I couldn't read her. Thanks for the information, old chap. But this contest has gone on long enough."

"Fool. I am eternal," said Cin'dar. "I will blaze without relent. My fire shall spread across every forest, every field. The rivers will be quenched and reduced to steam. The seas will boil to nothing. All shall be reduced to ashes and burned from existence."

The fires rose higher, and all the flames in the forest seemed to be mustering. A wave of flame shot toward Wrynncurth, who took his pipe out of his mouth. Instantly, the fire stopped.

Wrynncurth sighed. "You are a rather aggressive fellow, aren't you? No matter. Do give my regards to Anoa, wherever he is."

Then he unfurled his wings and beat them. A wave of wind was unleashed from them. As he did, Wrynncurth and the other dragons spewed a wave of acid. The winds became a vortex that pulled the flames into it, quenching them in moments. Yet Cin'dar roared, and the fires burned anew upon the air itself. An ocean of sparks appeared, battling with the wind and acid.

"I cannot be contained forever! All shall burn beneath my gaze!" cried Cin'dar. "Your every effort... only... prolongs... the... inevitable..."

Then he was gone.

"Why was Anoa friends with him?" asked Estela after a moment.

"Father often has to work with people he doesn't like," said Ronald. "Sometimes, he even pretends to be friends with them."

"Well, now, that changes things, doesn't it," said Wrynncurth. He put the pipe back in his mouth and turned to them. "I thought there was something strange about the way you thought. You've got the blood of Elranor in you. That shifts your thinking.

"If it is your desire, I shall gladly return you to Gel Carn."

Relma blinked. "Why?"

"When I gave Telix permission to kidnap women for his broods, I only told him not to seize nobles," said Wrynncurth. "I suppose it never occurred to him that he might be kidnapping a Heir of Kings."

"Why are you letting him kidnap people in the first place?" asked Relma.

"Well, he does need people to populate his new domain," said Wrynncurth. "And since they struck first, I feel justified in striking back. Unfortunately, it'll be a long time before the dragon they killed will reform. In the meantime, I'll have to assign someone to guard his hoard. Most inconvenient."

"That's hard on the people you're kidnapping," said Relma.

"Well, yes. I suppose it is. But they are commoners, so they are worth far less than that of a noble," mused Wrynncurth. "And a noble is worth far less than the life of a single black dragon. So it evens out."

"They probably don't see it that way," noted Relma.

"Well then, it is fortunate that their opinion doesn't matter," said Wrynncurth. "Now climb aboard my back; I will carry you to Gel Carn. Anias Celcorn carries the other two. We'll have to be off soon."

"Wait!" said Anya. "These four are prisoners of my father, Telix. You must return them at once."

"I think not, my girl," said Wrynncurth. "Keeping the Heir of Kings prisoner is the sort of thing which provokes wars. It is best for all involved to negotiate an end to things now that we have what we want.

"One of your children was killed," said Anya.

"Yes, and he'll be very annoyed when he comes back. Likely has to replace part of his hoard. And hunt the ones who took it," said Wrynncurth. "For now, he's dead, and we blacks don't much concern ourselves with the dead. It is much better to focus on the living. I'll have you escorted back to Telix at once. Tell him this business, with the Heir of Kings, is getting a bit risky for my tastes."

"I will tell my Father your words. But he will not be pleased," said Anya.

Well, that is a risk we all take when making decisions," said Wrynncurth. "Now come, Relma, onto my back. We have much work to do."

"So, you're not angry? asked Relma.

"On the contrary, my dear girl," said Wrynncurth in a cheerful tone. "I'm positively blind with fury. To have some of my subject's money stolen is the highest possible insult I could sustain. I considered burning Gel Carn down and killing everyone inside, but I decided against it.

"Not good business, you understand. I could crush them as naturally as breathing. But then the economy would all fall apart. That would make it harder to increase the size of my hoard. And, of course, the Harlenorian Kingdoms would take burning down Gel Carn personally. We'd have crusades and dragon slayers and all that nonsense.

"No, better to let Telix have some fun to make a point. Now, come along, all of you. We'd best be off. I'm sure Pandora and Arengeth are anything but pleased you are gone."