NEMO: Into The Depths

Chapter 16: Of Course It's A Dragon

"I think you're overthinking things a bit, I say go in there and get it done, it won't be that hard for you." Alex whispered out, sitting cross-legged on the ground, waiting at the entrance of the colossal cavern.

Elyza paced circles around him, her mind racing with thoughts of the immense task ahead. "Alex, I appreciate your confidence in me," she began in hushed tones, her frustration simmering beneath the surface, "But that is a FUCKING DRAGON."

"You're going to win," he reassured her, his voice steady with conviction. "And if it seems like you're going to lose, I'll jump in and help."

"I thought we were partners," She stressed, continuing, "You expect me to battle a dragon on my own?"

"No, I expect you to win, or at least tire it out or make it believe it's going to lose so it has no choice but to flee."

As she tried to stare him down from the idiotic assumption that she could take down a beast of legend, the look of pure confidence in her abilities he had in his eyes, chipped away at the apprehension in her mind, till it was finally overcome.

She relented with a resigned sigh, "Fine."

"Great!" Alex exclaimed, clapping his hands together with a bit too much enthusiasm. The sound echoed off the walls, reverberating until it dissolved into a low groan. Panicking, Elyza spun around to face the dragon, who was still snoring peacefully, its head shifting into a more comfortable position. "What are we dealing with?" he asked, already aware of how deep a dragon could sleep.

Terra Draconis were members of a species commonly known as dragons. Unlike their brethren, or what most thought were dragons, they were rarely seen flying even though they had the biggest wings of the species, preferring to tunnel underground. And one of this size would surely be mythicised as a minor earth deity. Each breath it took sent tremors through the cavern walls, as if the earth itself was bowing to its presence.

The dragon's scales resembled rocks, and along with the natural matter, actual stones melded with the plates to form a jagged exterior crafted to protect its organic underside. As it slept, its body curled up, it almost appeared as a baby mountain, trapped in the dolomite walls of the cavern. If not for the two's prior knowledge, its red exterior, mostly composed of Jasper, would've hinted to it being a Fire Dragon, which would be pretty disadvantageous, considering they were in an enclosed space whose walls were fireproof.

Suddenly, the dragon yawned, giving the two a perfect view of its swordlike teeth and a maw big enough to swallow them both whole, before it slammed shut as the dragon shifted its head once again. Its head had much softer features than the rest of the dragon, its flat snout having a slight underbite, its nostrils fluttering open to take another breath, pieces of stone jutting out randomly from its skin, disrupting the head's stocky features.

But by far the most insightful feature was its horn. A dragon's horns could tell you its age and even its gender. Unlike other dragons, whose horns were more akin to crowns, earth dragons had what could only be described as a blend of a bull's and a rhinoceros beetle's horn. The keratin pointed forward to form a natural spade to aid with digging, and the females usually sported much curvier and bigger horns. The one snoring before them displayed some of the largest horns Alex had ever seen, and Elyza could discern from the pattern on them that she was female.

"A female dragon of the earth, has to be at least a thousand years old, and judging by the rocks, it has migrated here from somewhere else." Elyza summarised, her voice no longer hushed.

"Took only a minute this time, impressive," Alex professed, before quizzing her for his amusement, "What does it spew?"

Sighing, she focused on the dragon's mouth, trying to look for something that may unveil the nature of its breath, "It can not be magma, there would be a build up of igneous rocks around the maw, and we would be able to smell acid from being this close. My best guess? It either regurgitates rocks or can expel sand, but there is a likelihood it may just not be able to breathe any element, though that would be surprising given her age."