Chapter 28—Deal with A Dragon

Merlin pulled out a clean shirt and pants from his saddlebag, dressed, then slung the medallion around his neck before turning to examine the caves. If he was going to save Arthur, he needed to be fast. With a newfound wisdom, Merlin hiked around the outskirts of the lake, toward the dark cavern he had seen from the perspective of the great tree. It was located to the right of a small waterfall with a broad opening partially concealed by shadows. He climbed the slippery rock face as swiftly as he could, then entered the dim interior. Before he could take half a dozen steps, a gush of flame swept across his path in warning.

“Who dares to disturb the rest of my kin?” growled a voice from the darkness. Large, glowing ovals lowered to a level with Merlin’s. Fire glowed in the maw of the very large and very much alive dragon. “Another foolish human. I should have known. Prepare to die, little man.” The maw opened, and beyond the yellow teeth tumbled a burning, swirling mass.

“Wait!” called Merlin. “Hear me out. I did not come to disturb the peace of your kin. I came to help you.”

The great dragon’s tail twitched with surprise. One yellow eye glared at him. “Help me? You think you have the ability to aid me, little man? What possible help of yours could I need?”

“I know of the bone dragon. I know of Simone and that she stole an egg from this cave.”

“Simone did not steal the egg. It was a weasel of a man just like you. Men cannot be trusted, so now you will die.” The dragon dipped her head. A foot with large, black tipped claws crashed down beside Merlin, making him stumble.

“Stop!” Merlin pulled the medallion out from under his shirt and held it up for the dragon to see. “You made a promise, did you not?” He shook the medallion in front of the dragon like a talisman. “I call on you to honour your promise and fulfill your oath.”

The dragon stared at the medallion then threw back her head and roared. Flames shot from her mouth and blasted the ceiling of the cave. Fire raced across the surface and curled down the walls. Sweat broke out on Merlin’s face as the temperature rose in the confined space.

“You would call on my honour when the two-legged oath breakers steal eggs and enslave the unborn? You have one last chance to explain to me why I should honour your request. If you do not convince me, you will die right here. Right now.” The massive head lowered. “Speak true, oath breaker. I will know if you lie.”

Merlin opened his mouth to protest that he wasn’t the oath breaker, but at the narrowing of the dragon’s eyes, the words stilled. This was not the time to proclaim his innocence. Dragons saw all peoples the same. Their view was that one rotten egg spoiled them all, and he was just another oath breaker among all humans.

Merlin paced, as he thought through his next words. The yellow eyes followed him, intent on his actions. Merlin spoke.

“Dragons are an ancient race. You have always known magic because you are born of magic. This place,” he gestured toward the lake and the valley visible beyond the cascading waters of the fall, “is the birthplace of magic. I know that the dragons have guarded this place, ferociously, not just because it is their home, but also because it is the source of their strength, and their existence. Naturally, you would call this place home. Yet the dragons are in decline, and I think I know why. Can I ask you a question, great dragon?” Merlin paused, waiting for permission. The dragon nodded. “The eggs are not hatching anymore, are they?”

The dragon tilted its head. “How would you know this?”

“The elements told me. You watched the altercation between the sorceress Simone and myself? You saw me transformed into the tree?”

The dragon nodded. “The battles between humans are the scurrying of ants to dragons. We care not what happens to you.”

“Well, as a result of that altercation, and my transformation, I learned a great deal about you. As a tree, I could feel the ebb and flow of magic in the valley. I held it in my roots, tasted the sweetness of life and the bitterness of death. I could feel the waning life in your clutch of eggs. They are dying, aren’t they?” he said gently.

The dragon’s lips parted in a heavy lipped snarled. Angry rumbling filled the silence.

“It is not your fault,” Merlin said hastily. “I am not blaming you. Any true parent would be desperate to help their little ones, if they were sick or injured. And I think you were desperate enough to make a bargain with the sorceress, Simone. She demanded one of your eggs in payment, didn’t she?”

The dragon tossed its head, and the claws dug deep furrows into the surface of the rock. “She lied,” spat the dragon, smoke rolling from its snout. “She sent another to steal an egg. She broke our accord.”

“What did she promise at first? What was the agreement?” asked Merlin.

“The witch promised to bring the Druid’s healing to the valley, to reset the balance of the magic. Not since the time of the battles with the two-legged rulers of old, has the valley seen a renewal of magic. The battle with the old kings sealed us away, made it impossible for dragons to leave the valley. We have been imprisoned here for over a thousand years.”

Merlin frowned. “You can’t leave the valley? Why?” he asked.

“There is an elemental barrier that stops us, a power that drains our strength. Each cave you see along this wall face used to house a family of dragons.” She gestured at the opening, streaming with late day sunlight. “Some dragons tried to leave, but they died as they flew into the barrier. As they died, so did their eggs.” A fat tear leaked from the corner of her fierce eyes. Merlin watched it wend a curving path through the scales beneath her eyelid, mesmerized. “So, my kin stopped trying to leave the valley. We stayed here, and died here. Slowly, one by one, the caves have emptied as the old ones perished and increasing numbers of eggs refused to hatch. I have gathered all the remaining eggs here, in my nest. A month gone, my mate died.” A second tear fell as she blinked. “I am the last. The last of my kind. If I die all the eggs die.” The dragon lifted its head with pride. “I will not abandon the eggs. Without me, there will be no one to care for them.”

“Then let me help you,” said Merlin. “Please. I know I can.”

The dragon tilted its head, growling. “That is what the witch said too, and in the end, she betrayed us. She sent a man to steal an egg, when I wouldn’t let it leave the valley. And look what she has done to that child. She has enslaved it! I will burn her to a crisp if I ever see her face again. That is, if there is anything left to burn after I tear her limb from limb.”

Merlin shook his head. “Your little one lives a half life. She is not truly alive. Her soul is enslaved to the witch Simone.” The dragon snarled deep in her throat. The rumbling bounced small pebbles in the dirt. Merlin placed a hand against the wall to steady himself. “But I can help your enslaved youngster. I need to help her, in order to stop Simone’s attack on Camelot. Our needs are aligned, can’t you see that? Let me demonstrate my good faith, right now,” he urged. “If I fail to help, you may burn me to a crisp as I stand.”

The dragon’s head lowered, the burning yellow eyes glaring into Merlin’s. “That is a guarantee, little man.” The head raised. “You have one chance to prove your good intentions. What is your plan?”

“While I was a tree, I saw a way to help you. I will destroy the barrier by bringing the elements in to balance. Once the balance is restored, your eggs should recover. You will be free to leave the valley then.” Merlin paused, locking his gaze on the dragon’s closest eye. “May I ask what you will do if the barrier is removed?”

She rumbled deep in her throat and the acrid smell of sulphur filled the cave. Merlin coughed, eyes streaming. “That is none of your concern, “she growled.

Merlin shifted his feet, considering the dragon’s temper, then took a small step to the side. “I beg that you do not harm the people of Camelot, as your child is being forced to do. They are not your enemy anymore than I am.”

The eye glared at Merlin. “Your time is running out,” she warned. She huffed again and a small spurt of flame curled around her jaw.

“Fine. I will need to examine an egg, to test the elements afflicting it, in order to find the right combination to balance.”

“I will bring you the sickest egg.” The dragon turned and shuffled back into the depths of the cave. A short time later, she returned with an egg clutched in her right claw. Gently, she set it down on the stone floor. The dragon bent its head and breathed on the egg, warming it. “My child lives, but it is a near thing.” She moved back. “Now, prove your heart, or prepare to die.”

Merlin stepped forward and knelt beside the egg. It was the palest blue of a morning sky with white marbling meandering across the surface. Roughly the size of a horse’s head, he leaned over the egg and placed his ear against the warm shell, listening. He heard a faint shuffling inside the egg. He sat back up and then placed his hands on the egg, closing his eyes as he searched for the life force of the embryo. Just as his roots while he was encased in the body of the great oak had soaked up the elements of magic in the soil, Merlin sought out similar elements of magic that made up the infant dragon. Fire, earth, water, and spirit spun around the soul of the baby dragon, making up the core of its magic, but something was off. The spirit of the dragon was sick. Merlin traced the spirit elements around him, searching for the cause of the sickness. He sent his spirit into the element, soaring along side the raw elements. Suddenly a barrier formed in front of him. It spread out below and above, and to both sides, a great thunderhead of death, squeezing in from all sides. Merlin gasped at the size of the sickness. He pulled back, trying to get a sense of its breadth and direction. He soared along the edges, searching, searching.

The soul sucking blackness was slick, like rancid oil. Shaped like an inverted bowl, it hung over the valley and the lake. There was no question about it, the barrier was the source of the sickness. He pulled back, returning to the sick dragon. He could not heal the valley, not yet. But he could save this little one. Merlin reached into the mind of the little dragon and corrected the balance of the spirit within the dragon, drawing clean spirit from the well beneath the earth and feeding it to the dragon’s mind. He put a bandage of sorts over the connection, to stabilize it. He gave the infant one more quick check and then withdrew with a gasp. Merlin fell to one side, exhausted with the effort.

The dragon nosed him aside and breathed over her egg, bending her own ear to listen. Her head jerked back and she glared at Merlin.

Merlin moved away, to stand closer to the entrance of the cave. The dragon dragged a claw over the shell and then breathed on it again. She cooed to the egg in a surprisingly soft singsong voice. After what felt like forever, the dragon left the egg and shuffled closer to Merlin.

“You have been true to your word, little wizard. My child lives. It is feeling better.” She eyed his exhaustion then cocked her head to one side. “I do not know your name. What is it the two legs call you?”

“Merlin.”

“Well, Merlin, you will be allowed to live this day. I can’t promise anything for tomorrow, but I will grant you this. What do you need of me? Do you need to rest before you heal the other eggs?”

“Your name would be a great start,” Merlin smiled.

“I am called Tanwen.”

“It is good to meet you, Tanwen.” He bowed to the dragon. “A rest would be welcome, although my time is short. It is urgent that I stop Simone and recover your stolen egg, but in order to do that I need your help. I promise to return and heal all of your eggs, if you will help me now. I know you can’t leave the valley yet, that can’t happen until all the balance is restored.”

“What is it that you need?”

“I need to see the place where you bury your dead. Take me to the bone dragons.”

Tanwen’s head bent low to listen to Merlin’s words.