FicWad

Part 17 – On the Threshold of the Dream


Field Station #3, “Uryuuku's Retreat”, February 10th, 1997


High above the distant tree line, wedged deeply into the upper end of a remote valley between two tall mountain peaks, Field Station #3 sits in frozen, wind whipped isolation. Known colloquially to most Wardens as “Uryuuku's Retreat”, named for the famous Japanese Dragon rider who led the original migration of the Hokkaidan White Hellions from Japan to Romania, FS # 3 is built into a large cave, high up on the side of a rock wall, well above the surrounding snowy slopes.

Due to its high altitude, and its mission as a First Responder Station, Uryuuku's Retreat is manned solely by Dragon Riders and their Dragons. Allowing access to all sides of the Făgăraş Mountains Group of the Southern Carpathians, it is an ideal place for a quick response team of Hokkaidan White Hellions and their riders to be able to swoop down the mountainsides in emergency situations.

A large sized stable can maintain up to three Hellions at a time. A side barracks and galley within the cave can house and feed eight humans, with plenty of storage for all sorts of emergency gear, food stuffs, and warm clothing. A workshop allows the riders to maintain their gear, and the station itself. A small wireless room and office has Muggle electronic gear for receiving weather forecasts, and for detecting the various safety transponders that the teams use when they are out in the snow.

Another unique purpose of FS #3 is that it permits exploration teams to access some of the most inaccessible Dragon Lairs on the planet. Like the one that Charlie Weasley and Mayumi Zark are assigned to visit.


The view out of the narrow observation window is of snow, ice, rock, and even more snow. Strong gusts of wind whip the falling ice crystals around in swirls of chaotic fury, buffeting the outer metal shutters noisily against the rocky sides of the station, and causing several of the support cables for the two radio antennae to sing in strange, discordant notes. Overhead, just above their elevation, solid cloud cover from a weather front that is blowing up from the south, continues to butt up against the mountainsides, dumping centimeters of snow, in a very short period of time. To the east, a faint haze of brightness denotes the early hour of the day.

“May, how can we fly in this weather? I mean, is it safe for the Hellions?”

Behind a privacy divider, Charlie and May busy themselves with the application of a scent masker from their head to ankles, leaving themselves feeling slimy and gooey, at least until it dries on their bodies as a film that will prevent any body sweat odors from giving them away to a Dragon.

“Are you afraid of a little wind, Charlie?” May asks teasingly, as she smears the gelatinous compound onto Charlie's back.

With his face turning a cold shade of crimson, Charlie quickly hushes May, afraid that snippets of their conversation will carry to the other side of the barracks, where other Wardens and Riders gather in preparation of various other missions.

Reaching her goop filled hands up and under his arms, to work the masking gel into his armpits, she teases him further by asking, “What's the matter, afraid someone will hear that the Bulldog is afraid to ride a Dragon in a little wind?” She pouts in mock concern.

Charlie merely grumbles in reply.

As she finishes working under his arms, Charlie turns about to face May. With a devilish smirk, she begins to work the gray compound onto his chest. His partially completed tattoo quickly captures her gaze, slowing the motion of her hands over his muscular chest and abdomen. She looks up only when she feels his hands touching her shoulders, applying the compound to her skin. Embarrassed to be so easily distracted, May gives Charlie one of her bright eyed, dimpled, private smiles.

Finished with Charlie, May wipes her hands clean, and turns around to let Charlie do her back. She gathers her long hair on top of her head, holding it up and off of her back and shoulders. She closes her eyes to enjoy Charlie's ministrations.

A few minutes later, as the compound dries on their skin, they each help the other apply a similar product to their hair. While Charlie, with his short hair, has no problems, May sits frowning, as Charlie works a big handful of the blue tinged hair gel into her unbraided locks.

Now an expert at braiding May's hair, both by hand, and with magic, Charlie has no problem re-braiding the wet hair, and then with helping May as she wraps it up to form one large mass atop, and behind, her head. Next, after it dries, she slips an elasticized plastic hood over the mass.

Finally finished with the application of the masking agents to hair and body, Mayumi retrieves the Scarab of Hatshepsut, with the Guardian Chain, and slips it over her neck. As Charlie looks on expectantly, something he has yet to grow out of, May slides her fingernail along the engraved line that runs down the center in the prescribed manner. Instantly the chain begins to wrap around her, securing the Scarab in place, and affording a degree of protection to Mayumi that has yet to be demonstrated. Curiously, the thin layer of dried scent mask peels away from contact with the Chain and Scarab.

“Do you see that, Charlie?” May asks, as the little flakes of mask fall from between her breasts.

Charlie, standing to her side, says, “Yes, if it's the same thing that is happening on your back!”

“All over my back?” she asks nervously, her head peering over her left shoulder.

“No, just where the chain touches your skin.”

“What do you think it means?”

Charlie pauses, then says, “This may be a part of what the Pendant and the Chain do, darling. Maybe to do its job, they both need to have direct touch with your skin.” Then, as an afterthought, he asks, “Do you feel alright? I mean, is it burning or irritating you?”

“There was an odd sensation at first, but it didn't last long. It seems fine now.”

“We'll have to remember to write this observation down in the diary you started.”

May nods, and then turns to reach for the smaller of the two piles of clothing that sits on a shelf in their dressing alcove. Charlie walks over and takes hold of the larger stack.

They both begin to slip on undergarments that are padded in the elbows, shoulders, chest, back, buttocks and hips, and finally, the knees and calves. Developed originally for professional Quidditch players, the undergarments act as body armor, protecting the wearer from scrapes against rock and other sharp protrusions.

The next layer is comprised of thermal clothing that will keep heat in, and let moisture out. A jump-suit like garment, with plenty of Velcro sealed pockets, and a long zipper up the front, is put on over the thermal layer. A second pair of socks are now added.

Each of them now don their heavy, calf high, Dragon-hide boots, and a canvas web utility harness. Charlie's harness has the sheathed blue steel hunting knife mounted on it, that he received as a gift from Mayumi's parents for Christmas. Other items they both have attached include a small first aid kit, an emergency locater flare and tracking beacon, protein bars and a canteen, a sheath for their wand, a compass, and a utility knife. Over their harnesses, they both strap on avalanche breathers.

Charlie then assists May as she dons her white Dragon-hide riding chaps.

Finished helping with her gear, and as May inspects her quiver of arrows and utility flights, and then her bow, Charlie inspects and inventories the contents of the rucksack he will carry. Sectional snow probes, safety lines, a snow saw, a larger first aid kit, an assortment of long lasting glow sticks, assorted spelunking hardware, helmets, masks, two pairs of safety goggles, and a weatherproof tablet for observational note taking, fill out the essential components for their trip.

Walking up to both Charlie and May, all decked out in his riding gear, Fumio Sato calls out in greeting, “Ohayou!”

“Good morning, Sato-san!” replies Charlie, as he seals up the rucksack. Done, he offers a respectful bow to May's uncle.

“Ohayou, Uncle Fumio-san!” says May, as she also bows to him.

Bowing in return, Fumio asks, “Ready to go now?”

“Hai,” May answers, as she takes hold of her bow and quiver. “We just have to grab our cave suits and our snow shoes.”

“I have already taken the liberty of moving them to the stable where they will be attached to the harnesses on the Dragons.”

“Arigatou,” May replies.

“Have the weather forecasts been updated yet, Sato-san?” asks Charlie.

“I am not sure.”

Turning, Charlie says, “May, I'm going to walk over to the radio shack and see if there are any forecast changes. I'll meet you near the stable, okay?”

“Alright, Charlie, but don't be too long!” she replies, as she winks at him.

Watching as she leaves the barracks, Charlie turns back to Fumio, saying in a conspiratorial tone, “Mayumi's birthday is tomorrow. I am planning a surprise party tomorrow evening after dinner. Would you come and celebrate with us?”

May's uncle smiles, answering simply, “Hai!”

“Brilliant! Amaya-san is gathering everyone together at 6:30 p.m. It would be great for the both of us if you would attend, Sato-san.”

“I will be there, Weasley-san.”

“Arigatou!” Looking up at the clock, Charlie says, “Looks like I'd better not keep May waiting any longer.”

“Don't you need the weather update?”

“Oh! No, I got it earlier. I just wanted to talk to you about the party.”


“Hold on!” calls out the Dragon Rider, as the Hokkaidan banks and adjusts to the sudden, shearing blast of cold wind, which buffets them as they round a huge, protruding formation of granite.

Charlie, his face covered by the snow goggles and the protective breathing mask, and otherwise hardened against the elements by one of his mother's hand made woolen scarves, ducks down low behind the back of the man in front of him. With both arms, he holds tightly to the riding straps, praying silently that the leather won't crack and break on him. His legs, thigh muscles burning from overexertion as he applies pressure to the sides of the Dragon to hopefully avoid falling off its back, begin to quiver.

The flight of two Hokkaidans soar upwards, trying to fly free of the icy squall. Wings beating hard, they rise up, until they catch a pocket of quiet air. An instance of pure, golden yellow sunlight pierces the heavy cloud cover, bathing the Hellions and their four human charges in a moment's worth of serene, soul wrenching, peacefulness.

Charlie, rendered speechless, gazes about to his left, looking towards the notch in the mountains where the light comes from. He calls out to the Rider in front of him, shouting, “So this is what it is all about, isn't it?”

“Hai!” is the shouted response.

Then, looking to his right, he sees the other Dragon, with Fumio Sato and his passenger, Mayumi; their image saturated by the golden radiance. As the shadow of the Dragon that Charlie is riding eclipses the light, he relaxes one hand enough to dare a quick wave, which May answers with an exaggerated nod.

A few seconds later, and they are clear of the bright light, and back into the blue shadows. Charlie focuses his attentions on the mountainsides, searching for any sign of lingering wildlife. He dares not look down. Though Charlie has no fear of normal heights, flying on the back of a Dragon as a passenger at an altitude of 2000 meters is still slightly out of his realm of normality.

Looking forward again, he peers over the shoulder of the Rider, his eyes following the contours of the tall peaks.

Out of the corner of his right eye, he sees the other Dragon begin to speed up, and then cross over in front of them. He watches as they take up a position off of their left side, and slightly in front. Then, with the a small semaphore flag, Fumio signals to the Rider in front of Charlie, who pumps his fist front to back in acknowledgment.

Turning his head once more, the Rider shouts to Charlie, “Hold on, we are going down!”

All that Charlie can manage is a quick, “Okay!” in response, before the bottom drops out from beneath him. Then his whole world tilts sharply to his right, as the Dragon begins to spiral downwards, in a controlled maneuver. Eyes closed, Charlie struggles to keep his grip, even as his stomach screams in protest. Inside, he berates himself for ever having left England, and his family.

Suddenly, the Dragon levels off, its forward speed sending them rapidly towards the base of a tall cliff. Charlie dares to reopen his eyes and sit up, looking at his surroundings. Below, and off to the side, he can faintly see the tree line of tall pines through the falling snow. Another banking maneuver, less severe than before, bleeds off air speed gained from their descent. Charlie looks over to see the other trio, who ride slightly behind and to the right of them once more.

As they drop even lower, they bank and turn one more time. Flying parallel now to the rock wall, Charlie studies the packed snow and ice of the ground, and then the slabs of granite.

“There is the cave entrance, Weasley-san!” calls out the Rider, his arm guiding Charlie's focus.

In a small crevice, marked by two weather faded splotches of orange, fluorescent paint, a narrow opening of darkness denotes a small access tunnel that will lead them to a Dragon Lair.


The assignment that they have been given is to investigate the breeding lair of a large female Hungarian Horntail. Reports indicate that she hasn't been seen for over a month since her last feeding, and it was time to be 'officially' worried about her. In addition, a verification of how many eggs she is brooding is desired. The female, known by most as 'Gigi', but actually named 'Igynygnia' on the Dragon Preserve Census report, is a twenty year old Dragon, only with her second clutch. The reason why the Wardens are so concerned is that Gigi is blind in one eye, following a freak accident during her first mating flight. Most Wardens never thought she would survive to raise her first clutch, let alone ever fly a second mating flight, seven years later. Deciding that fate wanted her to live, she is now carefully watched by the Wardens.


Having dismounted both Charlie and Mayumi approximately 100 meters from the tunnel entrance, on stable ground big enough for the Dragons to land safely, both Dragons now hover above the ground. Due to the incessant shearing effect of the strong winds, Fumio waves off the other Rider, letting him and his Dragon find safer air.

“We will be back in three hours. Make sure you use a flare when you exit the tunnel,” Fumio calls out from the back of his White Hellion, as the winds gust, scattering his words.

May signals her acknowledgment, as Charlie kneels down on one knee, attaching one of the snowshoes to his right boot.

With a quick lift of its right wing, and a flick of the tail, Fumio's Dragon turns mid-air, as if on a galleon, and catches the wind, which lifts it easily away from the ground. The swirling snow quickly hides their egress from eyesight.

May turns away from the wind, and kneels, checking the bindings one last time on her own snow shoes.

Charlie assembles the rigid metal snow probes, and then rechecks his own gear and the rucksack. He stands next to May, as she finishes with her bindings. Handing her one of the snow probes, Charlie leans in, his mask next to her covered ear, and shouts, “Everything okay?”

May gives an exaggerated thumps-up, and tests her footing.

Charlie fastens a safety line to the D-ring on her harness, then returns the okay signal. He attaches the other end to his harness. May repeats her thumbs-up.

Still able to see the dark granite wall that is the side of the mountain, Charlie sets off in the lead. With slow, deliberate steps, using the probe sticks to check for unsafe surface snow, and occasionally referring to a Muggle compass, the two make their way slowly, and with careful deliberation, towards the entrance.

Many minutes later, they stop inside the mouth of the tunnel, having found it without incident. While Charlie sheds his snowshoes, May retrieves two paint packs from the rucksack.

“Charlie, do you mind if I repaint the markers?” asks May, somewhat apprehensively.

“Go ahead, darling. You remember the spell, right?”

“Hai,” she answers.

“Remember, swish and flick!”

“Swish and flick! Got it!”

Charlie smiles, remembering fondly the Charms classes at Hogwarts.

Putting her goggles back on, but leaving her mask down, May retrieves her wand/whistle from within her coat, and trundles back out into the snow. Careful to stand a safe distance from the granite wall, she plops down one of the gelatinous paint packs onto the snowy ground. Stepping back, she clears her throat, and with a swish and flick, she verbally casts, “Wingardium Leviosa”. The paint pack swiftly lifts into the air, following the guidance of the wand. As it reaches a height of almost seven meters, May flicks her wand, propelling the gel pack forwards. She concentrates as she tries to overcome the effects of the strong wind gusts, speeding the pack along, until with a loud smack, and a wet splash, the paint pack explodes upon the granite face, smack dab in the middle of the old mark. Bright orange fluorescent paint splashes all over, renewing the marker for future use.

Within moments, the second marker is also renewed. Small drops of paint decorate the hard ice on the ground at the mouth of the cave. May steps on a few of them as she re-enters the cave.

“Have fun?” Charlie asks, seeing the smile on her face.

Taking off her snow goggles, her cherry cheeked face smiles, answering Charlie's question. Then, with a small frown, she says, “I hope we won't get into trouble for using magic like that.”

“I wouldn't worry about it, darling. First of all, I know that most of the other Wardens who have had this assignment have done the same. There isn't any easier way to get the paint into those spots, what with the sharp winds. Would you let your Dragon mount fly that close to that wall in this weather?”

“No, it would be unsafe.”

“'Wingardium Leviosa' is a low-key spell. I would never have suggested that you use it if it was unsafe to do so. Besides, there aren't as many Dragons up here at this altitude.”

“I will just have to take your word for it,” May answers, with a pixie-ish smile on her face.

The two finish removing their outer snow gear, including May's riding chaps, and along with their snowshoes, place the items off to the side of the tunnel, set back safely from the entrance. Charlie digs into the rucksack, taking out the safety helmets, the two pairs of normal safety goggles, the notepad and clipboard, spelunking gear, and a large supply of the long-lasting glow sticks. Taking one in hand, he activates it, shaking it up after having broken the inner glass ampule, and wedges it into a narrow gap in the rock face at the outer edge of the tunnel, where it can be easily seen by anyone flying by to let them know someone is inside.

Setting all the extra gear aside with the snowshoes and coats, Charlie and Mayumi both unroll and slip on their hooded camouflage cave suits, which resemble the suits used by various military units, except that, instead of tufts or grass and twigs woven into the suits, rock gray and earth brown colored strips of cotton cloth hang loosely from the garments. The strips have been treated with a fire retardant and are impregnated with rock dust and chips to give it a more realistic texture.

Hard hats are put on next, along with the safety goggles. Slipping the hoods up over the helmets, they begin to stuff their pockets with the remaining small utility items. May makes sure her quiver and bow are safe inside a soft storage case across her back.

Checking each others' gear, the two begin their descent along the rocky, narrow fissure, that is the tunnel.

Every twenty meters or so, especially near other fissures that branch off into unexplored darkness, Charlie lights another glow stick, placing it in a strategic location, giving them a clearly lit path for their trip out.

Quietly, they both continue deeper and deeper into the mountain. Mayumi takes brief notes along the way every time Charlie lights a stick, recording the condition of the passage floor and ceiling, when they can see it. Too cold for rats and bats, there are no signs of droppings, nor of the strong ammoniac smell often associated with bats in caves.

After several hundred meters of slow, cautious travel, Charlie and May reach the widening of the tunnel where it enters into the larger cavern that houses the lair itself.

Directly in front of them, a few meters from the widening entrance, a large diameter stone pillar runs from the floor up to the ceiling, some twenty meters above them. While it directly blocks their path and line-of-sight, a path leads around to the left, and downwards towards a shelf of wide rock.

As May unpacks her quiver and bow, stringing it carefully, Charlie takes a few steps onto the pathway, following the curvature of the pillar, being careful to avoid any loose rock, and the few small stalagmites that border the circumference of the pillar. He can now see much more.

The cavern itself is a very large, single chamber. The main entrance, as depicted on the map, is a wide mouth, vertical shaft, some 20 meters deep, which then bottoms out, becoming a larger, horizontal tunnel that is almost 100 meters long, sloping gently downwards.

Inside the cave, stalactites hang from the ceiling, with stalagmites growing ever so slowly upwards from the floor. Fallen rocks and boulders, many bearing traces of platinum ore, litter the floor.

Whereas the tunnel was almost pitch black as they moved deeper into it, forcing them to rely upon the faint illumination of the glow sticks; the inside of the cavern, though very dim, has several shafts of muted, blue-white light, emanating from the ceiling over their heads, providing enough light to make it safe for them to see their path and some of the cavern features off in the distance. A large pool of heated water, already noted on the map, creates a mist that covers the far right corner of the cavern, very near where they expect to find Gigi and her brood.

As May moves up beside Charlie, he signals her to sit on a small shelf of rock, doing the same himself.

Leaning in to whisper in May's ear, Charlie asks, “Everything okay?”

May nods in reply.

Charlie indicates for her to turn over the note board, so they can review the map. They look over the cavern, familiarizing themselves with the features and how they relate to the map itself.

After a few minutes of note taking, and taking a short break, May whispers slowly, and cautiously, “It is too quiet! Do you see her anywhere?”

Charlie lifts his goggles, scanning from his left to right, and then upwards.

“Nothing, darling.”

Looking upwards at the hole in the ceiling of the nearest shaft of light, and noting the snow and ice that is choking it, Charlie points upwards, and says, “Do you think you can open that light path a little more?”

“I'll need to get closer.”

They both stand up and check their gear, then set off stealthily along the path as it moves down the elevated shelf of rock that they are on. Making their way to the left, they inch closer to the edge of the rock; to where the path switches back, moving down a slope, towards another large pillar of rock, and several large stalagmites and stalactites, on the main floor of the cavern below.

“I think I can hit it from here.” May hands him the note board and readies her bow. From her quiver, she selects a pair of arrows, appropriate for the job. Moving aside, she lowers her hood, and hands Charlie her helmet, as it interferes with her aim. Pulling back, and taking careful aim, taking into consideration the still air environment of the cave, she lets loose with the first, and then quickly, the second arrow. Speedily, each of them finds their mark, sticking into the underside of the ice. A moment later, and with a dull flash and whump, each of the two dragon blunts' small charges go off, shattering the thick ice, creating a glittering cascade of falling crystals, chunks of frozen snow, and shards of ice plummeting to the floor of the cave. The dull sound of the detonation of the explosive charges is quickly masked by the crescendo of the falling crystals.

Charlie and May watch silently, cringing and wincing inwardly, as the cascade continues, brightening the light considerably, but causing a far more drastic disturbance than expected.

“Bloody hell!” is all Charlie can whisper, as a final chunk, larger than either of them, loosens, and slowly plummets to the floor, shattering into a million pieces.

As a solid silence ensues, they both turn to each other, looks of embarrassment hidden behind their goggles. Silently, Mayumi mouths a curse word. Charlie's nervous smile is his reply.

In the distance, the sudden sound of claws scratching on a rock surface can be heard, as is the faint sound of a leathery wing hide flapping slightly. A rumble of rocks being disturbed is next, followed by eerie silence.

“Well, sounds like someone is at home after all,” Charlie whispers. Then, a few moments later, indicating the path with his fingers, he signals to May that they should continue.

Once again, their camouflage suits blending in with the surrounding rock, they stealthily make their way downwards and forward along the path.

At the bottom, a large pillar off to their left blocks access along the side of the rock ledge. Ahead of them, a land bridge of rock spans a narrow fissure. The way to the right is eventually barricaded by the widening of the fissure.

Using hand signals again, Charlie indicates their advance across the land bridge. While it is fairly wide, the bridge seems shallow, as if it would break, should a large rock fall upon it. Or a large chunk of ice. Like the one that fell only ten minutes earlier, some five meters distant, from the big hole in the ceiling.

They cross over, one at a time, just to be careful. Moving to the right, they find cover at the base of another pillar. Charlie signals for May to scan the cave from the far side of the pillar, while he does the same from the near side.

“Charlie?” May calls out in a barely discernible whisper, crouching down behind the pillar.

Charlie turns to look at May, a question on his face.

“Can you smell that?”

Crouching down and closing his eyes, Charlie takes a deep breath. There is a faint hint of a fetid smell in the air, but he is unsure.

“Something decaying?”

May, a sour look upon her face, nods in agreement. Then, having a thought as to a possible cause, she asks quietly, “Think some mountain goat fell down into the cave, or was dragged down here?”

Although the mountain goat population had dwindled over the last few decades as the Dragon population increased, it was not uncommon to have a small herd of the hearty animals make their way to the rocky slopes and steep mountainsides above the tree line.

“It's possible, darling,” he admits. Then, looking at his watch, he whispers, “It's getting late, we'd better keep going.”

“Hai!”

They stand up and continue to their right, moving closer to the expected location of the brooding female. The sound of water flowing over rocks grows louder, as they approach the large pool of heated spring water. Each cautious step they take, the mist in the cavern grows thicker, as does the fetid smell, causing a burning sensation to grow in the back of their throats, and making the tear ducts in their eyes to begin to water. They move past one pillar, and then another, ducking behind each one at first, careful not to disturb any large rocks, or make any unnecessary noise, before moving around it.

Unable to withstand the stench any longer, Charlie is the first to gag out loud, and then violently vomit the contents of his stomach. May, close to heaving her own breakfast up, quickly slaps her forgotten snow mask over her nose and mouth, which she had tucked into a pocket in her camouflage suit. She takes several deep breaths, holding the last one, before handing it to Charlie, who grasps it with desperation and places it over his face, taking several deep breaths. Regaining control of himself, he signals to May to fall back to their earlier position, and then hands her the mask again, as he holds his breath.

The two Wardens move back to the last pillar they had passed where the air was clear enough to breathe. They both crouch down, and inhale deep lungfuls of the less offensive air.

Their backs to the rock, May turns her head to face her lover, a deep sadness in her eyes. Charlie, feeling the same way, takes her hand. Looking at her reddened and teary eyes, Charlie coughs, expelling some foul tasting bile, and says, “I know, May, but I have to check. I have to see it.”

May nods, sniffles, and hands him her canteen. He unscrews the top of the old Russian military surplus canteen, swishes the clean water around, and then turns his head, spitting it out onto the floor. He takes another pull from the container, before closing it, and swallows the water. Instead of handing it back, he retrieves his and hands it to May, while he stows hers on his harness, under the rock suit.

A few seconds later, each of their stomachs now feeling more settled, Charlie whispers, “The sounds we heard earlier weren't from a dead Dragon. I have to go on and see what is going on, or what has happened.” He pauses, making sure she understands, before continuing, “I'm going to need your mask, dear. We both can't get any closer than this without the filter mask. I need you to watch my back.”

May nods, her eyes still leaking, but not because of the smell. With another sniffle, she whispers, “Don't worry, Charlie, I have it.”

As Charlie takes the mask, and begins to turn, May reaches out suddenly, and grasps his forearm, and says, “You need to be careful, Charlie! You have to come out of this with me, do you understand? We both come out of this together!” Her gaze brooks no argument from Charlie, who quickly leans forwards and kisses her on the lips, then sits back and smiles.

Donning the mask, Charlie thinks about the party tomorrow night; about the engagement ring he purchased for her. Then he thinks about what may lie ahead.

Before setting off, he asks May to do one last thing. “If you fall back to that pillar, you'll have a better field of view, May.” Then, after a pause, he continues, “And you'll have a better shot, should you need one.”

May stands up, and quickly moves to a further pillar, her back to the ravine they had crossed over, the land bridge several meters to her left.

Charlie squares himself away, then decides to take out a glow stick, cracks the ampule inside, and gives it a shake. The dull red illumination grows in brightness. Charlie places it at the base of the pillar he is hiding behind. Then, activating another stick, he tosses it in an accurate arc to the base of a stalactite several meters away. He knows that anything going past these sticks will be backlit, giving May a better target.

Slowly, he resumes his approach to the next pillar. Reaching it, he scans the cave from both sides. Seeing nothing, he begins his approach to the next. With only a weak trace of the foul smell getting past the mask's filter, and the sound of his beating heart in his ears, Charlie nervously tiptoes closer.

Now at the large pillar, with his back to the rock, he slides down until he is squatting on his haunches. He slowly inserts his gloved hand under the camouflage suit, and feeling the harness, reaches for his wand. Then, moving to the side, he peeks around the base of the rock.

The lip of a low slung shelf of rock is some fifteen meters distant. The edge of the shelf runs away from Charlie, where it disappears from his sight under a wide, but short, fall of misty, heated spring water. He can sense where the large pool is that the water collects in, from the amount, and thickness, of the mist over it.

Several stalactites and stalagmites frame the shelf, and the space beyond it. The space that should be Gigi's brood lair.

Taking one last look around, Charlie proceeds towards the extreme right edge of the shelf and the wall. His progress is hindered by many rocks and stones, and a few old bones. Carefully, he picks his spots, gingerly placing one foot, and then the other. His hands feel clammy in his gloves; he almost drops his wand with nervousness.

Finally, he is leaning up against the side wall of the cavern. He slowly peaks around the corner.

If not for the fact that he had already emptied his stomach, he would have filled the mask with vomitus. For the sight in front of him would turn any stomach. Just a few meters, seemingly almost within his reach, the snout of the Hungarian Horntail rests, open mouthed, the horned head almost upside down. The eye closest to him, a milky orb, is cold and lifeless.

Charlie flattens himself against the wall, sucking in lungfuls of filtered air, his heartbeat sounding like the triphammer in the giant Hogwarts clock. Quickly lifting the mask, he spits out the bile that is in his mouth, cringes as the burning feeling in the back of his throat begins anew, then replaces the mask. He shakes off the shock of that first sight, forcing himself to deal with this analytically, as he has been trained to do.

Charlie eases along the shelf, then stops. Listening for any disturbances, he decides to hop up onto the shelf itself. Placing his wand on top of the flat rock first, he muscles his way up the short escarpment, pulling himself up with his arms. Quickly twisting his torso, he rolls onto the shelf safely. He carefully retrieves his wand.

Once again listening for any abnormal noise, he slowly stands, and approaches the dead Horntail. Removing one glove, Charlie reaches out and touches the iron like black scales along the edge of the upturned, bottom jawline. Squatting down next to the upside down head, his hand slowly slides up and under the lower jaw, carefully avoiding the sharper teeth, until he feels the soft tissues under the swollen and discolored tongue. The normally wet tissues feel cold, clammy, and have the texture of a dry chamois cloth.

Deciding that he needs more light, Charlie cracks another glow stick, activating the chemicals inside. Holding two-thirds of it in his closed fist, he shakes it rapidly, watching as the red glow brightens.

Keeping his hand within the open mouth, he makes a few other observations. Slowly, he moves his fist out of the mouth, moving it towards the right eye.

The normally yellow pupil is completely dead, being milky white.

He follows the head, noting the bronze horns on this side are still intact. The neck is next, and it is here that Charlie finds the first evidence of what caused the Horntail's death. Huge bite marks are clearly visible. Charlie blinks, and swallows his fear, remembering what is expected of him. He moves closer and brings the glow stick closer to the wounds.

The illumination reveals the depth of the bite, and the blood, which looks quite black under the dull red light of the glow stick. Charlie, noticing something peculiar, places his wand in his mouth, and reaches under his camouflage suit. His hand returns, grasping the blue-steel hunting knife that Shinkazu and Amaya had given him for Christmas. Using the sharp point, he digs at a spot on the wounded neck, until a Dragon tooth is revealed. Wiping the blade on the back of his glove, he carefully replaces the knife in its sheath. He picks up the tooth, examining it under the red glow of the stick. He carefully pockets the find, and takes hold of his wand once more.

Prevented from traveling farther along the back of the Dragon by the bent and broken wing, and the proximity of the rock wall, Charlie knows what he must do next.

His curiosity and sense of duty finally getting the best of his fear, Charlie pockets the glow stick, and moves around to the other side of the large head, to view the rest of Gigi.

Here he finds the empty socket of the previously damaged eye. He studies it briefly, and then turns away, preparing himself for what he fears may be the worst part.

Looking up, the first thing he sees in the dimness of the side cavern, Gigi's lair, is the exposed underbelly, and the massive violation that has been done to it. A shiver crawls down Charlie's spine, following the trickle of sweat that has developed under the masking layer.

Dimly, he can see great rents in the softer tissues of the belly, indicating that something large has been feasting upon the internal organs of the dead beast. Sinewy muscles and pulped entrails spill outwards onto the ground. Several ribs thrust obscenely upwards, stripped of flesh.

Charlie turns and closes his eyes, fighting back the urge to throw up again. A cold chill crawls over his head and neck, and he forces himself away from the carnage, feeling suddenly weak.

Taking a knee by the upturned head, he drops his wand and the glow stick upon the ground. He doesn't notice the glow stick as it rolls away from him a meter or so. Still gasping, he reaches for his small first aid kit, almost fumbles it, and then finding the ampule of smelling salts, he drops the kit, and, lifting the mask only slightly, he crushes the ampule, and places it near where the smell can enter his mask.

High over his head, hanging amidst several stalactites, a pair of bright purple orbs are suddenly exposed.

The strong smell clears Charlie's head, though his eyes water. He shakes his head a few times, then casts the crushed ampule aside. Taking a moment to gather his wits, he gathers his first aid kit and reattaches it to the harness, then regains possession of the glow stick, and his wand.

The tiny ampule, cast aside, is completely forgotten. The powerful scent of the mixed ingredients wafts upwards, where superior olfactory organs are stimulated.

Just as Charlie decides enough is enough, he remembers that there is a second part to his assignment. The eggs. Gigi's brood.

“Where would they be?” he asks himself, quietly, under the mask. He looks around, careful to not focus on the carnage of the partially eaten carcass. “If I was an egg, where would I be?” he wonders. Then, it comes to him.

Without lifting his mask, Charlie removes his goggles, closing his eyes. Turning in a circle, he tries to sense the nearest heat source, by the feel of the temperature on his face. He stops, and opens his eyes, which now point towards the heated spring. He puts his goggles back on, and moves swiftly towards the water.

Standing up on the shelf, above where the heated water from the spring pours over the edge of the rock shelf into the pool below, Charlie can see a flat table of rock on the far side of the pool, surrounded by the rock wall of the cavern. Several rock-like objects sit perched upon it, some of which look wet.

Charlie, frustrated by the lack of light in the shadowy corner, tosses the red glow stick over the pool, watching as it falls onto the flat table, amidst the rock hard ovoids of Gigi's eggs.

His pulse racing, he begins to count them out in a loud whisper.

“One, two, three..... eight, nine.... eleven!” Eleven eggs, all looking intact from his point of view.


“Charlie, where are you?” May wonders, almost aloud. For what seems like 30 minutes, Charlie has been gone from her sight. She fidgets impatiently with the three arrows that she will probably need should a problem arise. The first one is an explosive Dragon blunt, of the type used to open the hole in the ceiling of the cave. The second one is a flash-bang arrow meant to temporarily blind and disorient. The third one is an extra special one, as it holds ampules of Dragon pheromones, that will hopefully deflect any angry Dragon's attention.

Looking around the cavern, she is silently glad that Charlie had brought the long lasting variant of the glow sticks, that should work for almost four hours. The two he had left at the bases of the rock formations were still doing their job. They also gave May a point of reference, and a sense of direction.

She wonders how long they have been under the mountain now, knowing that the patrol is scheduled to return for them after three hours.

Sitting there on her haunches, with her bow leaning against her, and the arrows in her right hand, her left hand gently worries the garment fabric directly over the Scarab of Hatshepsut. The weight of it against her skin gives her comfort. Strangely, knowing the Guardian Chain of Senemut is securely wrapped around her, seems to give her as much comfort, as does the Scarab.

A sudden itch causes her to try and reach around her back, fingers digging at the spot where the skin is irritated. She drops the three arrows the short distance to the rock floor.

“Damn masking gel,” she mumbles in Japanese, under her breath. She twists her body suddenly, as her bow threatens to slide off of her leg, catching it in time to prevent it from doing so. Alas, as she does move to prevent damage to the valuable weapon, her foot stomps on the head of the third arrow, breaking the ampules of concentrated pheromones.

“Oh, no...”


As Charlie stands peering into the darkness from atop the shelf overlooking the pool of water, several stones fall from the ceiling behind him, followed by the sound of talons scratching on rock overhead. Charlie whips around, wand in hand. Behind the goggles, his eyes are wide in surprise and fear.


The faint sound of Charlie scrabbling to get his first aid kit open causes the outer lids over his eyes to open, though the inner lids, almost transparent, are still closed over his bright purple pupils. The scent of the smelling salts assailing his olfactory organs starts electrical signals racing to his brain, causing him to stir. The sudden rush of Female pheromones hitting his nose starts his heart to beating at full capacity, driving him to full alertness.

Within his now completely awakened brain, purely instinctive and animalistic thoughts occur in response to these stimuli. Sudden movement below! Fresh prey? Where is the Female?

His feet shift, causing him to loosen his grip on the stalactite on his left, sending a shower of mineral chips and bits of rock falling to the floor below. As he looks about, his stomach heaves, ejecting the food he had last eaten, which had been slowly digesting while he was sleeping.


With a loud, wet splat, the full gullet of partially digested Dragon flesh, along with several liters of stomach acid, lands only a meter in front of Charlie, splashing his suit and face with the foul mixture. Where the liquid acid finds his flesh around the edges of the goggles and mask, he begins to experience an immediate burning sensation. The heavy plastic of his goggles begins to react with the stomach acid on it, as does the filter mask.

Suddenly able to see out of only half of the goggles, and knowing the mask will fail at any moment, Charlie reacts by instinctively turning away and leaping, perhaps blindly, off the edge of the shelf, into the heated pool, where he immediately sinks completely under the water.

Rapidly kicking his way back to the surface, fighting off a stab of sudden panic, he scrambles to climb out, coughing and hacking, clearing the hot, mineral saturated water from his air passages. He rips off the ruined goggles and leaky mask, and using a handful of water, wipes at the few spots on his face where he still feels a burning sensation.

He stands up, feeling that his wand is still in his hand, and begins to run again, towards the distant glow of the two glow sticks in the distance, and towards May.


May can smell the pheromones all around her, and curses her foolishness in seven different ways. Now standing, she bends and picks up the offending object that is the broken arrow, and tosses it towards the cavern wall, some 12 meters to her right. She hopes there is enough of the potent chemical left in the head to cause any Dragon to move to it, and not her. To be safe, she decides to move farther to her left, away from the puddle of pheromones from the broken arrow, and closer to the landbridge over the fissure, to the base of the rock pillar there.

Reaching the new spot, she hears a large splash in the distance. She stops and listens, trying to hear more. And then she does.


From high above, seeing the prey below jump away into the inky blackness, only to reappear, as it crawls onto the cave floor, Orcus, the slightly older, but still very young, Black Hebridean Dragon, lets out a piercing scream, which reverberates throughout the huge cavern.


In mid-stride, Charlie is knocked down by the roar of the Dragon. Fear reaches into his chest and squeezes his heart. But Charlie's soul is that of the Lion, and he quickly casts off the momentary paralysis. Getting back up, he runs even faster. His brain begins to function again.

Between himself and the landbridge, the rubble and ice from the freshly cleared light shaft comprise a good sized pile of debris. He makes his way directly towards it, reasoning that the shaft of light, the base of which is now a few meters distant from the pile, and much brighter, in the otherwise dark cavern, might make it hard for the Dragon to see him.


The terrible roar of the Dragon intensifies May's nervousness at first, then triggers the transformation within her to that of a disciplined, and well trained, Dragon Rider. Her nerves calm instantly, she stands, readies her bow, and nocks her first arrow. Her senses sharpen, and she watches as Charlie runs out suddenly from the shadows, and into the shaft of sunlight.

Another piercing scream, and the loud snap of wing hides tightening, as the unseen Dragon takes flight, makes Mayumi yell out, “Move it, Charlie! Run!”


Orcus scrabbles for a better grip as the prey below runs off, out of his sight, which is blocked by a stalactite. He screams his terrible roar once more, then spreading his large, angular, bat-like wings, he lets loose the rocks he has been hanging from, diving into free-flight, over the floor of the cave, and towards where the prey had last been seen.


“Move it, Charlie! Run!”

May's shouted warning energizes Charlie as he rounds the debris pile, and, closing his eyes to protect some modicum of night sight, dashes through the bright shaft of light. Reaching the far side of the shaft, he opens his eyes, and with barely a pause, makes a slight directional shift to avoid a rock pillar, and then on towards the bridge over the fissure.

Behind him, he hears the next roar, and the sounds of the Dragon in flight. He increases his pace one more notch.


Hearing the same sounds that Charlie hears, May tracks Charlie with her eyes as he runs slightly across her field of view, while trying to project the expected position of the Dragon. She begins to pull back on the Dragon blunt arrow.


Orcus bursts out of the darkness and into the cone of light from the shaft of sunshine. Although the thick and scaly ridges above each eye protect him directly from the bright light overhead, the prey is momentarily lost from view as he flies through the brightness of the sunbeams.

With a dip of his black leathery left wing, and a shift of his flat, pointed tail, he turns to the left to avoid the stalactites and the large rock pillar directly in front of him. He turns his head to and fro looking for the prey.

Instead, the powerful scent of a Female catches his attention once more. The direction is indistinct. He cries out a challenge.


May watches the Hebridean; knows the Hebridean. Orcus. She flashes back to that day outside with the Avalanche team at the ravine. She takes a deep breath, pulls back the final few centimeters, and lets loose the explosive arrow. Quickly, she nocks the Flash-bang arrow, pulls back, aiming for the head, and releases it.


Orcus feels the thud, and then pain, as the blunt hits him square on the side of the neck behind his head, then explodes. He cries out in surprise, and then anger. His sharp eyesight then notices a quick blur, right as the next arrow hits him below his right eye, at the corner of his jaw. The impact is only an annoyance, but the blinding flash of the white phosphor charge inside the head sends an intense spike of pain through his optic nerve, into his brain.

He stumbles mid-air, completely stunned, and falls to the ground.


Seeing the result of her attack, Mayumi looks to see where Charlie is. She catches him out of the side of her eye, as he runs full out towards the bridge, only meters away from her position. She calls out, “Run, Charlie!”

She glances back at the fallen Dragon, sees that he is stirring, having regained his feet. She looks quickly towards Charlie, then the bridge, then back to the Hebridean. Figuring out the timing almost instantaneously, she breaks cover and runs for the bridge herself.


Still seeing stars from his right eye, Orcus' anger builds into fury. He swings his head to the right at the sound of footfalls. Two sets of footfalls. He turns his body to see better.

There! His prey is on the run once again. He rears up and blasts a roar into the air, then with his wing claws back on the ground, he begins to charge forward. His brain tries, but is unable to fathom why the smell of a Female is so strong on the prey running in front of him.

Unable to spread his wings because of the rocks and pillars, he continues to scrabble on the ground, chasing his prey.


Charlie watches the events unfold to his left, as he begins his dash to the bridge. He sees the Dragon as it is hit by the two arrows, and watches him fall to the ground, momentarily stunned. He hears May shout his name, then sees her run for the bridge herself. He sees the Hebridean, thinking to himself, “Is that Orcus?”, as it rears up, roars in anger, with tiny little flames escaping his mouth, then drops down, scrabbling on all four appendages after May.

Charlie then watches as Mayumi stops on the other side, and turns, nocking another arrow.

The Dragon is close behind.

“No May! Run! Get to the top! Run!” he shouts, knowing how exposed they will be as they run diagonally up the path that leads to the top of the high shelf.


May hears Charlie shout, but, having the Dragon already lined up, she lets loose with her last trick arrow.

With dead-on accuracy, the arrow strikes, the sharp head implanting itself in the tissues above the upper lip. A cloud of concentrated essence of every hot pepper available in Romania is released in a halo-like cloud around the nostrils and mouth of the Hebridean.


Orcus' senses are overloaded once more, as the hot pepper gas burns at his eyes, forcing the inner nictitating membrane over his eyes to close, and causing him to sneeze ferociously, several times. In blind fury he stops, then reaching within himself, he wills certain valves to open, and swinging his head from left to right, shoots forth a geyser of Dragon Flame.


May, already having turned, is in full flight up the sloping path. As Orcus flame sweeps across the ground from one side of the bridge to the other, she turns her head and slows, fearful what may happen to Charlie.


Charlie hits the deck just as the Black Hebridean lets loose. He is a few meters from the bridge, and sees now, with the Dragon flaming, he is going to have to find another way. He gets up and backs off away from the bridge and ravine. One quick glance to the right, then to the left, tells him there is no choice in the matter.

Holding his wand up, he steps and spins, Disapparating.


The flame quickly burns off the powerful pepper gas, as well as sweeping across the landbridge. His eyes no longer burning, although his olfactory organs still scream in irritation, Orcus sees the prey to his right. He turns his head, then befuddled, wonders why it isn't there any longer. His gaze sweeps back to the left, and sees the other prey, the one that smells like a Female, as it runs upwards to the top.

Orcus quickly follows his new target, half jumping, half scrabbling, over the ravine and landbridge.


May reaches the top of the ramp, and looks back to find Charlie, fear on her face. Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrap around her, turn her, and then Charlie is holding her close. May shudders in disbelief, then with the release of the fear she had been masking.

“C'mon, dear, we're not out of this yet!”

They both turn and run hard for the entrance to the tunnel.


Orcus, now across the bridge, his head just below the top of the escarpment, spreads his wings, and begins to beat upwards, lifting up off the ground.


Charlie leads the way as they approach the rock pillar at the entrance to tunnel. He races upwards, around the rock formation, and into the tunnel. He stops, turning his body at the last moment, to make sure May is behind him.

May, right behind Charlie, sees the Dragon emerge up and over the top of the ridge, its wings beating the air hard. It moves forwards, until it suddenly grabs at the edge of the rock with its fore claws, while its rear claws find purchase on the rock wall. Extending its neck and head forwards, it screams out in anger, then lunges to grab Mayumi in its mouth.

She quickly pushes forwards, knocking hard into Charlie, whose helmet slides askew, as her bow catches the lip under the bill, over his eyes. Then he falls over backwards, as she trips and falls with him. A dull thud sounds as Charlie goes unconscious, his wand falling from his loose grip.

“Charlie?” May cries, looking down into his face, tears streaming from her eyes. “Charlie?” She begins to sob.

Behind her, Orcus crawls up onto the ledge, his head and neck trying to follow his prey around the curve of the pillar. He roars again in his high pitched scream, furious he cannot get to his prey.

The sound of the roar so close almost deafens May. She covers Charlie, trying to protect him. Then, as the sound passes, she spies his wand, and reaches for it. Still on top of his body, she turns, ready to face the Dragon.

Orcus moves closer, poking his head through.

“Stupefy!” May shouts. The ruby red beam strikes the head of the Dragon, partially glancing off one of its horns, before making proper contact.

Orcus shudders, pulling his head back, teetering on the edge of being stunned.

If May had used her own wand, he might have been stunned. But she hadn't.

Orcus rears back with his head, then shoots forward with incredible force, and throws a gout of flame into the tunnel.

May, sensing the Dragon wasn't stunned, hears the mighty intake of breath as the Dragon fills its lungs, and prepares for the inevitable. In a seemingly timeless moment, she places both of her hands around his face, leans down, and kisses him, just as the Dragon Flame washes over them both.