[COMPLETE] R E V E R S E #NaNoWriMo2k17

Chapter 13

He woke up slowly. Instantly, he knew that he was lying on a bed. Heat blasted at him from every angle, and he winced at the pain in his chest. Something hovered just in his line of view, and his squinted, going slightly cross eyes to see it.

"HI!" The dragon barked loudly. "WELCOME TO THE BLACKSAND ANNEX!" His voice was rough and made the hair on his back stand.

He yelped, scrambling backwards. His back hit against the wall against him. "Who the fuck are you?"

The Spiral seemed to freeze for a second, before humphing and sitting down, right on the floor. His orange eyes caught the firelight, glowing creepily. "The name's Janak. I don't usually see dragons washed up on the shore, let alone ice dragons."

"Ajax," he answered slowly. He still wan't sure if he could trust this dragon. As far as he knew, Ice didn't actually have any real allegiances with Fire, due to their boundaries.

He looked around the room. The walls were made from diorite bricks, cemented together. Light shone from the ceiling, and he looked up. The entire room was lit up by lava. Molten rock shifted slowly above him, held back only by a heavily reinforced glass cover. Ajax was flabbergasted. Didn't they know about the dangers of being burnt?

He noticed that the Spiral was looking at him expectantly. "Uh... where did you say I was again?"

"Ha! Yar in the bloody Blacksand Annex, home of Fire's greatest creators!" He answered proudly. "M' mate's out getting food, but she'll be back in a few hours. I was collecting resources when I saw ya lying on the shore and I thought, 'Jeepers! This guy's arse is gonna get roasted if he keeps lying there!' So uh, yeah. I decided to take you home and let you rest." He poked his wound, which was covered with a bandage. "You cut yourself pretty hard there, lad."

"Well, thanks." He answered gratefully. The dragon seemed to relax a little, and he realised that he had been nervous about how he would react. After all, it wasn't every say you find someone from the other side of the world washed up on your doorstep.

"Right, well. What are you doing all they way across the ocean anyhow?"

"Mission," he answered vaguely. "We overshot our destination. We were going to the Isles."

He squinted. "You overshot it pretty hard lad. Isles is a far, far way from here."

"I know." A thought occurred to him and he suddenly bolted upright. "Wait, how long was I out?"

"Uh, a day? I dunno, it's been about ten or ish hours since I found ya on the shore. It's nightime now."

"Crap," he muttered. "Crap crap crap. I just wasted a day."

"What, are ya on a time limit or something?" His eyes narrowed. "I'm sorta suspicious, if ya can't tell."

He realised that this dragon could completely usurp his mission if he wasn't careful. He weighed his chances, before caving in.

"Have you heard of the rumours about the Shade?"

The effect was instantaneous. Janak's face moulded into a look of fear. "You've heard it too?"

"Yes." He snatched at the opportunity and barrelled on. "My commander sent me on an important mission straight to the harpy headquarters in the Starwood Strand. Spy mission. Figure out exactly if these rumours are true, or if they're just bluff. The fate of the entire world depends on it."

The Spiral dropped his gaze, flustered. "I didn't... sorry that I was suspicious. I should've trusted you, considering that.."

"Apology accepted." Guilt weighed him down, but when he remembered his objective he forced himself to forget about it. "I'll probably head out again tomorrow morning."