Harry Potter and the Stranded Mists of Spring

Chapter 29 - The Dragon Tunnel

Thursday on Myst arrived around midnight on Earth the night before. Harry's team was getting used to the differences in the time, even though they couldn't quite describe it. The days on Myst were shorter. So were the nights. That meant if they wanted to be on Myst at the beginning of the daylight hours, they need to arrive roughly two Earth hours earlier than they did the day before. After doing that for the previous three days, that meant they were now arriving at mid-night.

"Who is going to the Dragon Tunnel?" Harry's entire team wanted to know.

"Charlie, what's the plan?" Harry asked.

"The dragons are quietest around mid-day. They seem to prefer the dimmer light when they hunt, so my plan is to have you go in at noon. I'll use multiple charged citrine crystals to light the interior of the tunnel. That should discourage them further and help keep them away. In addition to that, I have some phosphor salts I intend to sprinkle along the caldera entrance. That should actively repeal them for about 30 minutes. That should give you that long, no more," Charlie cautioned.

"Is that enough time, Harry?" Justin asked.

"It will have to be. We'll record everything we see and use a pensive to examine it later. Look at everything. Ron, Justin, and Dean stand guard. Edward, Wendy and me will do the investigating. Charlie will sound the alert when it's time to retreat," Harry told them.

"What do we do until noon?" Ron asked.

"Continue your activities as usual," Harry told his team. "We'll gather in the dragon observation area above the tunnel an hour before noon."

And that is what they did.

^^^

Harry's team was alert and ready when the time came. They gathered at the agreed-on location, moving together down to the door on the north side of the Dragon Tunnel which would give them access to it. As Charlie anticipated, the number of dragons using the tunnel fell off significantly as the light inside the crater became the brightest in the middle of the day. Tossing in the citrine crystals discouraged them even further. When the way looked clear, Harry and his team went in.

Charlie scattered the phosphorus salt across the entrance on the caldera side of the tunnel.

Harry, Wendy, and Edward immediately moved to investigate the route where the best piece of physical evidence found to date was found.

Dean, Justin, and Ron stood guard, warily watching all the various ways into the tunnel for anything that seemed out of place.

Harry stooped down, following the narrow path on top of the low ledge along the wall of the Dragon Tunnel, beyond where the scrap of fabric and melted glass was originally found. There was another, smaller lump of glass, not quite as melted as the first one about halfway to the distance to mouth of the tunnel outside the crater. They did a quick analysis using the hematite and were able to determine that indeed, at some time in the past a witch or wizard had come this way. But the only other piece of physical evidence they found was outside the tunnel, to the side of the apron which overlooked the Eastern Road and the sea below. On the north side of the apron, a steep narrow set of steps hugged an equally steep cliff, carved into the rocky mountain side. Down two flights of those, a rather large piece of a torn cloak was found caught on a bit of volcanic rock. Harry went down to retrieve it, discovering a bit of a second nearby, while Edward and Wendy did their best to cover him.

"Incoming, Harry," Wendy shouted, when a dragon swooped towards them from the sea.

Wendy flung herself flat, trying to turn herself into a less appealing target, and almost succeeded when Charlie rushed to her rescue, throwing a handful of the phosphorus salts at the creature. The phosphorus ignited and the dragon roared in protest, apparently believing the flames Charlie was throwing were a threat to her young, whom they all suspected was on the other side of the tunnel.