“After what you did, even King Halvar will be forced to admit he was wrong.”
“Assuming he doesn’t kill me when I return.”
Birger sniggered. “He wouldn’t dare. Besides, you now have quite a few dwarves willing to protect you. Even if he was foolish enough to try, they wouldn’t allow it.”
This gave Ethan a good degree of comfort. Though he wasn’t actually looking forward to seeing the king again, at least this time he wouldn’t be defenseless – something he had felt all too often since arriving in Lumnia.
It wasn’t long before the dwarves began to grow restless. They wanted to be off as soon as possible, but none appeared willing to say anything directly to Ethan. From the snippets of conversation he could hear, they were uncomfortable about being exposed and in the open. Most of them had only been outside the mountain a few times in their life, and then only briefly. The brighter the morning became, the more agitated they grew.
“I suppose someone will have to carry Jonas,” Ethan eventually announced.
Two young dwarves stepped forward and bowed low.
“We will carry him, Lord Dragonvein,” said a young dwarf with a short blond beard.
Apparently, in anticipation of this possibility, they had already weaved a makeshift net from some rope. It was looped on each end and long enough for Jonas to fit in the middle. Within moments he was swinging limply between the two volunteers, who easily bore his weight.
“Not exactly a feather bed,” laughed Markus.
“He’ll live,” chuckled Birger.
At a normal pace, the journey back to Elyfoss would take almost twice as long as their flight out. Jonas awoke the next day, embarrassed and sore. It didn’t help his mood when both Markus and Birger teased him relentlessly about being carried along: “like an old sack of turnips”.
Ethan’s dreams were becoming ever more confusing and surreal. He could feel the dragons reaching out for him. And even though his actions after touching the creature were hidden from his memory, the events leading up to it were becoming clearer.
The old dragon who had saved them had not wanted to reveal itself. But it could not allow Ethan to be taken to Shinzan. It had been watching him from afar through the eyes of the tiny dragon he had first encountered. But something had happened. At first only the sorrow returned after recalling the moment when Hronso cornered him in the forest. But then the truth washed over him like a massive wave. The creature had sacrificed its life for him. It had destroyed itself to unlock Ethan’s dormant abilities. That was how he had driven Hronso away. Through the death of a dragon.
After this revelation, he wept for more than an hour. The dwarves looked at him with concern and confusion. Markus did his best to console him after he’d explained what was wrong.
“There was no way for you to know what it intended,” his friend said. “And if it hadn’t done what it did, you’d be dead right now. I don’t know what these dragons want from you, but whatever it is, they obviously think it’s worth dying for.”
“The Dragonvein family has always had a deep connection to dragons,” said Jonas, who had been listening to their conversation from his bedroll nearby. “It’s in your blood. And your particular connection seems to be extraordinarily strong. Stronger than I would have thought possible.”
“Was my father’s connection strong too?” asked Ethan, wiping away the last of his tears.
“I believe so. That’s what he said, though I never actually saw him with a dragon. He told me that he could hear them whispering to him. He didn’t talk about it often, but I do know there have been times in the distant past when the Dragonvein family actually lived amongst them.”
“Where are they now?”
“They live on the other side of the world in a land of vast jungles and rolling hills. They prefer to stay away from everyone – elves, dwarves, and humans.”
“There’s no jungle now,” said Markus. “The Dragon Wastes are about as inhospitable as it gets. From what I hear, Shinzan destroyed everything there after the war. Most people think he killed all the dragons too. But I guess they were wrong. Makes me wonder though. How many of them are left?”
“That would be something well worth knowing,” sighed Jonas.
They both looked at Ethan, as if expecting him to have the answer. He spread his hands. “How should