Fiore shivers and wraps the thick woolen coat tighter around her, moving a bit closer to Jack as she does - Aeson said it's 50 degrees, but she's used to Vegas, where it's usually about 90 degrees due to being in the Mojave Desert!

Jack frowns, seeing her shiver for the fifth time in the past minute, and asks "How far are we from this dragon's den? Nest? Whatever they call it?"

Aeson calls over "About ten more minutes!"

Fiore blows into her hands, trying to warm them up, and mutters "Good, because I don't think I'll last much longer than that."

Jack moves a little closer, asking "Cold?"

Fiore shivers as another gust of wind goes right through the coat, and says "Vegas doesn't usually get this cold." The detail that they left Camp Muir - which is, surprisingly enough, actually manned by Elves - about thirty minutes ago isn't helping matters, and even the spells Rania cast don't seem to be helping much.

Or, maybe they are and I'd be a block of ice right now without them. She doesn't particularly want to test the theory out, honestly.

Thankfully, a shape in the snow comes into view in about five minutes, and Aeson points to it while calling over "There! That's the entrance to his den! Go towards the side, but don't go into the hole itself!"

Fiore sighs in relief, and starts making her way forward with renewed vigor. Having their destination right there is apparently enough to give her a temporary boost of energy against the bitter cold.

Once they're in the shelter of the near-invisible outcrop, just outside a massive hole in the rock and snow that slopes down into the mountain, Aeson says "The entrance is hidden away. We're well off the usual track hikers take, for instance. And the rocks surrounding the entrance are usually completely covered by snow, making them almost impossible to see if the weather were any worse."

Fiore shivers, wrapping her arms around herself and pressing into Jack's side, and says "Trust me, he did a damn good job of making himself nigh-on impossible to find. Are we going to go in yet, or…?" Or are they going to just freeze outside the hidden hole in the mountainside?

A deep rumble emanates from the hole, followed by an even deeper voice asking "Who dares to disturb my rest?"

Aeson and Rania trade nervous glances, before Rania clears her throat and calls down "Rania and Aeson Fenlar, children of Gaelin and Tanelia Fenlar, rulers of the Kingdom of Amonserin."

"Ah, Gaelin and Tanelia's children…Gaelin's spoken at length about you two in his visits. What brings some Elves to my den? More vampire minions?"

Aeson calls down "No, Great Dragon, someone else entirely? A young woman on the run from him, and…one who claims to be your son."

Jack walks up to the edge of the hole, taking that as his cue to introduce himself, and calls down "My Mom is Alice Fallon, and I'm Jack! We lived out in South Carolina for eighteen years! When I started sprouting dragon scales, Mom told me to find my father, a dragon named Drayce!"

There's a moment of silence, and then they hear "Enter. But, be warned, Jack. If you are lying to me, it will be your end."

Fiore swallows nervously, and says "Now I'm getting why you two were so worried about Jack's reaction…" Jack…Jack is a teddy-bear of a dragon, she couldn't see him killing anyone - well, not on purpose, anyway. Sagami was extenuating circumstances, and he said he just tried to knock her out.

This dragon, though…whoever he is, he'll either burn them to a crisp or swallow them whole if he doesn't believe Jack.

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Aeson and Rania nod, and Aeson says "It's going to get hot real quick, Fiore. Be ready to get that coat off fast. There are four of us, Great Dragon! We'll come down one at a time!" After they get a rumble in reply, Aeson says "Wait for me to call up. Jack, I'd recommend you go second to catch Fiore."

And then…Aeson slides down. Not unlike slipping into a slide, actually.

Jack and Fiore trade glances, and Jack mutters "It's a slide?"

Fiore kneels down, running a hand along the edge of the hole, and says "It's perfectly smooth…" Not like glass, per se...but smoother than any stone or ground she's ever felt before either.

Rania says "It's been worn down by the Great Dragon over the years. Getting out, however…there's a rope for that, for everyone who doesn't have massive talons or the ability to float out."

Fiore raises an eyebrow, asking "So…for Aeson and I?"

"Jack, to, since he can't use his wings. I can just levitate everyone out, though."

Aeson's voice calls up "I'm at the bottom! Jack, you come next! Just slide down!"

Jack glances at Fiore, then says "I'll catch you at the bottom, alright?"

Fiore nods, and says "I'll meet you there."

Jack sits down at the edge of the hole, and after a moment's hesitation he pushes himself in. To his surprise, it really is just like a slide - not perfectly round, no, but smooth as plastic nonetheless.

It's pitch-black, though, making him glad neither he nor Fiore are afraid of the dark.

After about ten seconds, the steep drop levels out somewhat…and then he's abruptly dropped onto his feet in a large cavern as the slide just suddenly ends in a sudden foot-deep drop.

Aeson's arm keeps him from falling flat on his face, and he says "That's why you need to be ready to catch Fiore. Because I'm not touching her with a ten-foot pole, no offense."

Jack rolls his eyes in Aeson's direction, and says "'S not her fault, you know."

"That does not change the detail that I like being in control of myself, especially here. And it took eight hours for Alfric to come back to his senses, and an extremely cold soak to be able to get back into his armor."

Jack huffs, then says "At least he's back to himself, that's more than can be said for two Werewolves I saw her electrocute when we escaped Mythos. Fiore! You're good to come down! And it's a heck of a lot warmer down here, Aeson wasn't joking!"

"I'm coming down!"

Aeson promptly takes a few steps to the side and in about a minute they hear a whooshing sound. Jack braces himself, and catches Fiore before her feet can hit the ground. After a moment, he asks "You good?"

Fiore nods, her hair brushing against his face, and says "Yeah, thanks for the save. You can...you know, put me down now?" She's not complaining, but...the last thing Jack wants to do, most likely, is let this dragon think he's soft.

Aeson calls up "You're good to come down, Rania!"

"Look out below!" Rania comes sliding down, and they hear her land on her feet like she's done this a hundred times before - which, in all likelihood, she probably has.

Fiore murmurs "Everyone look away, else I'll probably blind you." After a moment, she makes her palms start glowing brightly so everyone can see inside the cavern.

Jack waits for his eyes to adjust, then says "Thanks, Fiore." Looking around, he can't see the source of the voice - but, the space they're in is absolutely massive. Half his block could fit inside here easily!

There's a shifting sound from behind all of them, and when Fiore points her hands in that direction they see…a solid wall of flaming, crimson red. Bigger than his house, without a doubt - it's when the wall shifts that Jack and Fiore belatedly realize that's no wall at all…but part of the 'Great Dragon's' side. Fiore swallows at once, moving closer to Jack on instinct as the absolutely massive creature in front of them stands up to its full height. Easily twenty feet tall, with clawed 'hands' big enough to pick up all four of them at once without even the slightest bit of trouble whatsoever, clearly-defined muscles that bulge and contract underneath scales that look more like armor than anything else…and a gigantic mouth filled with teeth sharper than swords that look easily as long as Fiore's arm with his lips pulled back like he wants to eat them, just under intelligent golden eyes fixed on the four of them. Eyes filled with a mix of fury and wariness, worryingly enough.

Aeson murmurs "And now you get why we were so worried about Jack's reaction…"

Fiore nods weakly, even as she starts slipping the coat she's in off - this dragon very clearly controls the element of fire, if the way it feels like an oven in his presence despite the freezing cold temperatures outside is anything to go by.

And he looks like he wants to kill them all.