The School of Dragon Riders [Dragon Riders #1]

Chapter 27 (edited)

Medea

I was lost in thought during our walk. I was thinking and walking without paying attention to my surroundings. I hoped that I would get to Shade before the others did. They had a map though, so I knew I had to hurry.

I looked up at the giant mountains, wondering how I was supposed to get past them. I was certain that there would be a tunnel leading either underneath or through them. I never knew there were such huge mountains in the Outlands, but I guess that those who go there never return.

We were walking for hours, and I was getting hungry and thirsty, but there were no rivers or any sort of water nearby. It was just a bare patch of land with occasional trees and a lot of mist. I sensed no animals.

My biggest worry was that a rider would spot me. I knew that I had to go undetected in order to have a chance to kill Shade. He would sense me sooner or later, but better later than sooner. My tongue was as dry as sand by the time we reached the mountains. We were walking for a whole day without a stop. The land was starting to get steeper, and the terrain was full of rocks with no path leading upwards. However, going upwards would probably take me a year, considering I couldn't see the top.

I decided to stop under a big rock and rest. I put my things down as the sun started setting. Areton was hungry and thirsty as well, and I told him to fly around and see if he could find something for himself. I decided to search for water. I made my way through rocks, searching for any sort of liquid. The tiny stones crunched under my feet, but everything was dry.

I kept looking, and Areton found water already, but far away. He told me he could come back for me, but there was a risk of getting spotted, so I told him to stay there for the night. He obliged and I broke our conversation.

I was too thirsty to notice that the rock I was about to step on seemed loose, and when I stepped on it, it started trembling, although I was certain I was standing on the ground. I tried moving away, but my leg was stuck at a strange angle, so I crouched carefully to try to get it loose.

I jerked it quickly, and instead of getting it unstuck, I made the rock break loose. It started falling, and I was unable to jump off. The fall seemed short, but I landed roughly with my whole body slamming to the ground. I felt my foot break and I grunted. My breath was knocked out of me, and I couldn't open my eyes from the pain.

After a few minutes, I could breathe normally again, and I opened my eyes. I was in some sort of a cave, and the hole I fell through was far above me. The rock I was on broke when we hit the ground, causing my foot to break, but at least it was unstuck now. I tried standing up using the wall as support, and I managed after a few painful minutes. Even touching my foot to the ground caused blinding pain.

The only light was coming from the hole. I looked around and saw that the cave was bigger than I thought. It was made out of stone and there was no water nearby. I saw no way out. I sighed, and a small patch of light coming from a corner caught my eye. I looked in that direction and saw that it was actually an opening. The light seemed like a light that would come from a torch.

I was certain that it wasn't there before, and that could only mean that somebody was carrying it.

I held my breath as the light came out. Carrying it was a short man with a long beard. He looked like a dwarf from stories and legends, but dwarves weren't real. He looked around, and when he saw me, he almost screamed.

He started approaching me as one would approach a bear: slowly, silently, and carefully. Except for the silent part. He was obviously trying to be quiet, but his footsteps were loud and they echoed from the cave. I was just standing there, looking at him in surprise. I was starting to think he was actually a dwarf.