Dragon Child: The Journey Begins

Chapter 29

Hmm. I feel like I've passed this wall before.  Am I going in circles?

It is really hard to see, but thankfully there is a slight glow along the walls.  Unfortunately,  though, they all look the same to me.

Have I ever mentioned that I'm really bad with directions? I'm sure I would have gotten lost in my den if the paths weren't straight forward. After all, a dragon doesn't need side paths to fool intruders. What kind of idiot would intrude into a dragon den anyway?

Wait a minute, why does that remind me of my mother's current situation? Well, that's beside the point.

My current situation is that I seem to be utterly and hopelessly lost in this twisty dungeon. Also, strangely enough, I haven't met any of the dungeon denizens since I left those humans.

Of course, the same could be said for my little Umbra, who has successfully gone missing. I haven't seen her at all either. Not even a slight little trace of where she's gone.  She's playing to win this game of hide and seek. I would expect nothing less from my daughter.

However, that doesn't solve my current predicament. That being the problem of me being completely lost.
I don't think that I could even make my way back to the humans. 

I am not even sure how this happened.  It's not like we were very far into the dungeon.  We didn't even take any turns yet! How did I get so lost?!

Urgh. Forget it. I'm just gonna follow my instincts. I'm sure that I will eventually make my way out of this maze.

What worries me is that even if I do find my way, I won't have found Umbra yet.

Hmmm. Now how to solve this problem?  I could simply call out to her. But then, she's playing a game of hide and seek. My baby hatchling is too smart to answer me if I were to do that.

Okay.  The first step to finding a solution to a problem is recognizing you have a problem.  I guess the next step is figuring out what exactly the problem is. 

The problem is that Umbra is missing and she took all the shiny things with her. No, wait. That's not it.  Um, she's missing and I miss her shiny things dearly...er, um, I mean I miss her dearly! That's right. Don't doubt me! Umbra is number one in my heart, not the shiny things she has! What's with that look?!

Ahem. Anyway. The problem is that I can't find her.  Yep. Perfectly stated. Now, how do I find her? I can't just wander around in this dungeon forever.  That would be terribly boring, plus I'm sure I would get hungry at some point.

Speaking of hunger, maybe I can lure her out with a delicious smell! Except, I forgot that I don't have anything to eat with me.  Well, that's a bust. 

But, I'm sure I'm on to something. If not a smell, then how about a shiny thing?  I'm so smart! I could probably write a book, "101 ways to lure a baby dragon".

Hmm, thinking again, that's probably not something I want others to read.  Hatchling kidnappings would skyrocket, and I don't want to face a dragon's wrath, especially a dragon parent's wrath!

I digress. Okay, now I need a shiny thing. I could use my wonderful hair crystal, but I already lost that once. I don't ever want to go through something so heartbreaking again, so I don't want to risk losing it. 

Alright, hair crystal is a no, but then, what shiny thing should I use?  Looking at myself, I don't really think anything stands out as shiny. Also, it's hard to get a big shine from a shiny object in this poor lighting.

Ugh! I'm back to square one! Now what do I do?!

Hey, wait. What's that? Something strange just emerged from the wall of the dungeon. It kinda looks like a button. I so want to press it.  I mean, I probably shouldn't. Who would press a suspicious button in the middle of a dungeon? Eh? What's with my hand?! Why is it.....oops. I pressed it.