Wings of Fire: Legends ~ Drip and Scorch

Chapter 9 ~ Drip

After a very long and nerve-racking walk, Scorch and I eventually arrived safe and undetected at the cave he had suggested. The entrance was very shabby; a simple wooden doorframe rotting away with time. As we entered, it began to grow dim and I could see Scorch fumble around for something.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"Ow!" Scorch replied after hitting his head on the cave ceiling. "Something to make a torch out of. I can barely see!"

I looked at him with an odd expression. "You can't see?"

The cave was dark, but it wasn't enough to hinder my sure-footedness.

"Well, obviously! You're the one with night vision, not me!"

Suddenly, I beamed with excitement. This was probably another SeaWing ability I hadn't yet discovered.

"Hold up," Scorch realized. "You have bioluminescent scales! You can light the way for us."

How could I have forgotten about that? I wondered. I began to flash my bioluminescent scales, my heart fluttering with excitement, but the soft aura accounted to barely anything.

"I still can't see," Scorch informed.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I'm still trying to get the hang of this." I tried flashing them brighter and the room glowed a lovely blue hue, reflecting off the slightly damp rock walls and lighting the way.

"Woah!" I exclaimed, looking at our surroundings. Highly reflective blue insects lined the walls of the cave, almost as if they were glowing. I was surprised to see that insects further down the cave were visible just as brightly as the ones next to me. Even stranger, I felt an odd presence that I couldn't quite place my fingers – Talons, now, I thought – on. For some reason, the old, barely taught, fading religion of my tribe ancestors came to mind. I never believed in it.

"The old record books never said anything about this!" Scorch remarked, amazed. "It's almost as if a whole ecosystem has just formed itself down here over the years, without us even knowing!"

As we walked further, stunned with awe, the mineshaft opened into the spacious area that Scorch had suggested we practice in. Surely, it was plenty enough room; probably four times bigger than my old secret cave.

I remembered the paintings of those dragons that I had drew on the inside walls of that old secret cave. All that time studying, observing, trading for treasure, and none of it had got me to where I was. It was my persistence, my dad and his father's great-grandfather's old map to the dragon den, and Scorch who had got me to where I was.

And now it was time for me to be one of those majestic flying dragons.

I came back to reality as my eyes adjusted even more to the darkness, revealing the countless rotten boards, boulders, and sharp tools littered on the floor.

"Oh, here's a torch!" I said as I spotted one on the floor. I grabbed it and handed it to Scorch in the dim light.

"Wow. This thing is ancient!" Scorch chuckled. He exhaled a little tuft of fire onto the torch. He took a few tries before it actually lit.

With the torch's extra light, I was now able to see the many mineshafts dotting the walls. Rickety old wooden minecart ramps led to each one of them. They seemed eerily dark, even the one we came from. The light of the torch gave a completely different mood than the soft, blue, reflective light of my scales, and the intriguing fluorescent creatures weren't visible anymore.

I caught a whiff of smoke from the torch. "Eww, it smells like burning hair," I said.

"I don't think it's that bad," Scorch said as he put the torch on one of the wall mounts. The mount was so rusty it almost crumbled away.