A Trio of Anomalies - The Kingdom of Fantasy

CHAPTER 13 - A LITTLE BRIDGE AND A PILE OF COOKIES

The door to the Kingdom of the Fire Dragons was certainly a peculiar one, being the largest one so far and having the shape of a wheel. The golden wheel had eight spokes, with identical dragon heads at the ends. The wheel itself wasn't very shiny like most other golden objects, as it hadn't been polished for perhaps over a century, not to mention streaked with burnt marks here and there. It stood on a metal stand, carved to resemble the legs of a dragon. The bright yellow portal was located right in the middle of the wheel, and although it's rays were overshadowed by those of the sun's the trio could still feel the heat radiating from the inside.

The trio followed Scribblehopper through the Citrine Door, and they winced as the sudden oven-like temperature took them off guard, leading them to imagine the inside of a black car after sitting all day in the sun. Nicholas took off his jacket and was shoving it into his bag when he took out the music box, now playing an energetic piece composed for eight strings.

"That's Mendelssohn's octet in Eb major," replied Erwin when he was asked, "Don't know why it decided not to play a piece in E major, but I'm certainly not complaining."

"Yeah, I'm more into complaining about this heat to be honest!" said Steve, taking off his leather jacket and rolling up the sleeves of his turtleneck, "Can I have, like, those water tablets you used to make?"

"Hang on, I'm trying to remember an enchantment," Erwin waved his wand and everyone sighed in relief as a continuous cool breeze blew from it. With another flick, he created four cubes of water onto his left hand. The tablets were more like ice-cubes than actual medicine tablets, being the same size and shape, yet they contained exactly a mouthful of water and burst when bitten.

"Sure, those are cool to use in an emergency," Erwin hid his wand in his light blue jacket, "but we shouldn't drink those often, as they're just distilled water with no minerals or anything."

"Well, the sooner we get out of here the better!" Steve continued forward, "Also, don't you feel hot in that?" 

"I don't care," Erwin pulled the soft light blue fabric tighter around him, ignoring Steve's laughter. Even though he grew out of the jacket and its sleeves barely covered half his forearms he still wore it everyday since it was gifted to him on his tenth birthday.

"Hold up a second!" he called to the others, "I nearly made the same mistake, which nearly killed all of us." He snapped a photo of an out-of-place dragon egg next to the portal.

"Oh yes!" Scribblehopper rushed excitedly to the dragon egg, "The map of the Kingdom of the Fire Dragons, ruled by His Magnificent Majesty, King Firebreath III of the Sizzling Cinder! He is from the noble dynasty of Smoldering Lava, and is also known as the King of Dragonaire the Volcano of Vapors, Count of the Steaming Sand Dunes, and Governor of all Great and Glowing Fireballs!"

Nicholas crossed his arms, "For steam to form there must be water, which is the one thing this place seems to not have ... and for dunes to form there must be sand, which is-"

"You kidding me right now?" Steve crinkle his eyes, "Do the names get increasingly longer with each kingdom we visit?"

Erwin jerked his head sharply, before wincing and rubbing his neck as he accidentally sprained it. Turning red he ran swiftly away from the others, holding his phone and leading the way.