Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

            Blackscales was disappointed and disturbed by what Icksazro had said. He had thought of himself as very mature and nearly perfect, but the elf had said just the opposite, that he was a young and inexperienced dragon rider and had very much left to learn and master. He looked downwards and put his head in his hands as he considered the words more closely.

            Icksazro looked at him sympathetically before saying, “Many things you can learn about on your own. Go and see Inferno and discover what you can learn about each other in short bits of time, and I am sure he is eager to meet you today.”

            Blackscales looked up from his hands and smiled at the wise-seeming elf before standing up and telling him farewell. He walked over to the door that led to the main room and turned around.

            “Just, keep the others here until I’m back, and please don’t tell them what I’m doing or where I am.”

            The elf nodded, and Blackscales burst through the hidden door and raced over to the door leading to the outside world. He carefully and quietly opened the door, bringing in a wave of fresh, cool fall air. He stepped outside and breathed deeply, and at that moment he was solely focused on the chilly, yet friendly night. He felt Inferno’s presence in his mind.

            “Are you coming or aren’t you?” The dragon asked as he shifted his physical position somewhere in the nearby forest land.

            Blackscales began walking slowly as he replied, “I’m just enjoying my time outside and stalling until our company wakes up.”

            Inferno ceased his complaining as Blackscales walked through the town as casually as he could. The rider wanted to be sure that anyone watching him wouldn’t think something was amiss, but he doubted there were any conscious humans in that town anyway. It took him only a short while to find his way to the side of the town that was the opposite side of his entry, where Inferno had gone after they arrived to find a shelter for the night.

            Blackscales studied the door, looking up and down and left and right, deciding exactly how he would get through. In the end, he simply decided to open it and walk through before closing it firmly shut again. He felt a little nervous and fearful as he carried out his plan, though he was sure that he was all alone, aside from Inferno occasionally jumping into his thoughts.

            “Let’s have some fun; you have to try to find me!” Inferno said playfully. “Don’t worry; it’s obvious enough for you to have fun too.”

            Blackscales rolled his eyes and began searching for the dragon, trying to see through Inferno’s eyes the approximate location. It was a surprisingly short time before he found a river and heard a loud splashing noise. He figured that his companion was fishing or something.

            The rider raced along the edge of the river, following the flow of the water beside ridges, caverns, and crevices. Finally he followed the river over a slight upward slant in the gr*ound almost like a hill, and emerged onto the top. Blackscales looked around and saw that the river led down a steep slope and ended at a large lake that he couldn’t see the end of. He also couldn’t see Inferno.

            He hopped down the hill, carefully looking all along the stream as he ran, looking for Inferno. He had heard that the dragon was splashing at about that point; near the lake. Blackscales rushed over to the edge of the lake and looked around for him, but the dragon was nowhere in sight. The rider looked everywhere for him, but the dark, empty blackness didn’t help in the search.