The Chosen One- Book One (Editing)

Chapter 16- Cave of Wonders

Silverfang blinked the sun out of her eyes, a yawn escaping her jaws. She stood onto all fours and slid a claw into her bag. Pulling out a plastic baggie of berries, the dragon headed toward the river. Silverfang sat on a rock, her tail sinking into the water. She finished the berries, placed the baggie on the ground, and dove into the water. While she swam through the water, Silverfang saw several krost swimming through the water. Some of them chewed on plants, while others blended into the rocks and darted out to catch fish. The creatures hid behind plants when Silverfang swam by, but one of them reached out and nudged Silverfang's claw. The dragon resurfaced for air, and continued swimming against the current toward the waterfall. Again, Silverfang took in a huge breath and jumped directly under the pounding water. Silverfang didn't know why she was doing this, but she vaguely remembered some family member from the mountains suggesting this. Some of my memories are coming back, she thought. Silverfang leaned back, ready to swim out, but fell backwards instead. She slipped on a rock, landing back into the water. The dragon hooked her claws into the holes in the rock, throwing herself onto a cave pathway. Silverfang breathed in the cool air before entering the tunnel.

It was definitely shielded quite well from the outside. Silverfang ducked under a stalactite and entered the actual cave. Colored crystals gleamed from little crooks in the rock, lighting up the entire place. Silverfang's lifted a claw to brush the smooth rock. In the center of the cave, a huge, turquoise crystal jutted out of the ground. A layer of small green and blue crystals surrounded it. Silverfand walked over to a suspicious rock. She pushed it aside, revealing a small drawstring bag. On one side, there was a strange rune was engraved in the thick fabric. She pulled open the bag. Inside, reflecting the light from the cave's crystals, were several glass-like stones with different runes engraved on each one. Silverfang pulled the bag closed and replaced the rock. She picked up the bag, took one last look at the crystals, and left the cave.

Silverfang brought the stones back to camp, unsure of what to do with them. She roused Icetail, who was the eldest and might know something about the stones. Once Silverfang showed her the stones, Icetail's face took on a grave expression. "Show me where you found these," she said. "Before the cave disappears." 

While they walked toward the cave, Icetail told Silverfang about the Time Caves. Located in several strange locations, the caves traveled through time and appeared randomly. They stayed in the present only if someone stayed in the cave. "We have maybe half an hour before the cave disappears." Icetail commented. "So let's hurry." The dragons sped up, but they couldn't fly because Silverfang was still wounded. When they finally reached the river, Silverfang sucked in a large breath and dove underwater. Icetail was right behind her, and they swam toward the cave. The entrance was starting to close, and Silverfang ducked into the tunnel. Icetail crouched down and crept through the opening. The cave looked the same as before. "You should put the runestones back. I recognize them. If they're away from the cave when the opening closes, it messes up the time warp and destroys the orderly system they operate by." Silverfang nodded, pushing aside the rock and placing the drawstring in its spot. It glowed for a second with a bright blue aura, and then faded to the original color. Silverfang slid the rock over the hole and turned to find Icetail picking through the pile of gems. "Here," she said, handing a crystal to Silverfang. It seemed to change color every second. "There are certain crystals here that strengthen the power of certain types of dragons. For example, an ice crystal-" She held up a blue-white gem. "-boosts the power of Ice types. That tetrinax crystal you're holding? It was meant for the Chosen One." 

After collecting crystals that would help the rest of the dragons, Icetail thanked the cave, with Silverfang following suit. The dragons dipped their heads to the crystal, and left the place. When they returned to camp, some of the dragons were already awake. Frozenclaw, Venomwing, and Steamblade were up and heating the breakfast. "Hey, you're back." Venomwing said. "Where were you guys?" Silverfang held up the crystals. "We found this Time Cave and collected some loot from it." She gave Frozenclaw a peculiar crystal made of ice. She touched it with the tip of her claw, and it glowed blue. Frozenclaw nodded, pocketing it. Steamblade received a large marble. Beneath the surface, fire and water churned. Flashscar received an electric blue crystal. Inside, a single bolt of lightning was frozen. Venomwing had a bright green jewel with a splash of acid and a blade of grass inside. Scorchtail's was a red gem with a blue flame inside. Silverfang glanced at her own crystal. It was crystal clear. Inside, there were thirteen spokes in a circle. Each one represented a single element. She tucked the jewel inside her backpack and helped everyone else remove all signs that a group of dragons had ever been there.

Silverfang slogged through the bog, her claws sticky with mud. The air was humid and sticky, and Silverfang had to occasionally swipe her forehead with a sweaty cloth. She was at the end of the entire group, with Venomwing and Frozenclaw in front of her. "Hey, deep part ahead! Someone get me a new branch!" Flashscar yelled from the front. Silverfang broke a long branch and passed it along to Flashscar, who drove it into the mud. It sank in halfway before reaching a rock. Silverfang was careful to step around the deep space, but her claw slipped and sank in. She tried to pull it out, but only sank even further. Silverfang concentrated and tried to lift herself out of the mud, but she only managed to levitate a few inches. By that time, Silverfang was already waist-deep in the mud. Finally, Venomwing saw and used her grass powers. A thick vine grew longer and wrapped itself around her waist, tugging and lifting Silverfang out and dropping her a few feet away. She was covered in mud and in a terrible mood, but the group kept walking.

Night fell, and there was nowhere dry for the dragons to stay. Icetail decided that they should take shelter in the trees. Each dragon picked a thick branch in a cluster of trees and ate the food from last night. Silverfang wet a cloth and wiped the dirt and mud off her scales. Silverfang hung her bag on the branch above her, curled up, and fell asleep on the branch.