The Unbidden: A New World (1) (Short Parts)

Part 63

We awoke shortly after daybreak. My body was severely sore, but I couldn't rest any longer. There was a dragon that needed killing, and I was going to be the one to do it. I looked around our camp to see the Absolvers of Yuna a few dozen feet away. The only ones who appeared to be awake were the hobbits.

One was messing around with some tools while the other returned bearing three rabbits. Traci noticed my gaze and waved to me with her free hand. I made a loose gesture like a wave in return. My attention turned toward Aurias.

"Can you ensure that we know if they plan to make some sort of jump on us?" I asked him.

"Yes, Xavier. Now that I have unlocked another of my abilities, I can further assist in your endeavors," he replied in his usual tone.

I stood up and patted my robes down, brushing off the blackened ash and char sticking to it. I roused Jayde from her slumber. It took her some time to fully awake, and by that time all of Absolvers of Yuna were up and ready. We ate and drank quickly before mounting Aurias. He knew the last mile of direction that Loht took, so we followed it.

The witch and her companions weren't far behind us. It was obvious where the dragon had flown to as large splotches of dried blood had sprayed across the ground and vegetation. The seven of us followed the path laid bare. We rode for at least four hours before the witch's horses needed rest, but we pressed on diligently.

The heat had reached its peak in the afternoon, which was around the time we came across what must've been Loht's lair. The jungle had opened slightly and the elevation went up moderately. The entrance to the lair was only several hours from the hamlet.

How did they not know it lived so close by? I thought. The entrance was for a massive cave in the side of a hill. Mossy vines hung down several feet, covering the cave from an aerial perspective.

Piles of bones littered the outside in varying states of decay, so the smell of rotting corpses was amplified in the tropical heat. I could tell we were at Loht's lair not only by the sheer size of the cave entrance, and littered corpses, but due to the huge claw marks that were dug into the ground and the puddle of fresh blood that seemed to be flowing from inside in a steady stream.

I swallowed and peered inside. The sunlight was directly overhead, but the density of foliage and the canopies blocked out a large portion of it. I told Jayde and Aurias move to the sides of the cave entrance to be out of harm's way should the dragon spew flames once more.

I didn't possess any real offensive capabilities that could best the beast aside from the wind combination I created. I doubt I could communicate with it, considering it was a dragon after all. Either they could speak a bunch of languages, or they spoke their own, tough-to-translate language, if at all.

The cave was so large and deep that I was unable to fully gaze inside. I created a fire mote and enlarged it to the size of a basketball, gently pushing it inside the cave.

It drifted lazily at least a hundred feet, illuminating a large area inside. As it drew further in, the darkened shape of Loht's body curled up began to appear. The dragon didn't seem to notice the ball of fire as it encroached on the beast. Only when I took my first step into the lair did it react. A deafening roar rocked my body to its core. I was forced to cover my ears, but it didn't help.

I steeled myself, ready to cast my ice wall a few times over in the high chance Loht decided to attack with its flame breath. When the roar subsided, the dragon adjusted itself in such a way that its tail dragged along the ground behind it. I then noticed the two large, brownish-red shaped oval objects its tail tried covering.

Loht's a mother, I thought as the realization dawned.

A sense of pity rose through me. I had to quell it almost immediately as she maneuvered in a rapid motion around her eggs toward me. Taking advantage of her slight sluggishness, I casted one of my newer spells, Force Push.