Mystery of the Draconics

by Wanderwing

The Beast's Den

We continued walking, the light getting brighter as we moved forward. Soon we didn’t even need the torches to see anymore. Suddenly the tunnel stopped narrowing, and we reached a rounded chamber. The roof towered above us, almost appearing to be a sky. We stood stunned; it was hard to believe what we were seeing.

We moved cautiously out of the tunnel into the chamber. Seeing the trees this far underground seemed impossible. Stoic said, “How do you think all this got down here? Do you suppose the druids did this?”

“I suppose that’s the only explanation.” I said, “But this seems like it would take a huge amount of power to manage. What do you think Brightflare?”

“I’m not positive. I want to look around a bit before I make any judgments.” Brightflare said.

Somehow, there seemed to be a grove underground. The green glow we had been seeing came from the ceiling above us; it shimmered, as if some sort of magic powered it. There were trees around the edges and at the center one group of trees stood bent. They seemed to have been shaped into some sort of den.

“Okay,” Brightflare said, “I suppose whatever built that den could have carved out this cave, which would explain why the tunnel leading to it was dirt instead of stone. But as for why it would come down here, or the light and the somehow surviving plants, which would take either a huge amount of energy or a long complex ritual, maybe even both.”

My mind returned to the Timberwolves we faced earlier and I realized we may have a problem. Then the rumbling started. A strange sound, akin to a tree being yanked up from the soil, echoed through the grove. A sound of growling swiftly followed. It was then a huge timberwolf lumbered slowly out of the entrance to the den.

“By Celestia’s mane…” Stoic said, his words trailing off.

I was equally shocked, the beast stood at a height that dwarfed even Stoic. Then I noticed something even more peculiar. Around the beast’s heavily vined neck there seemed to be some sort of collar. It was huge, and seemed quite ornate. Then the thought of how the druid in the windows had seemed to control the plants came back to me, was it possible the druids had found a way to tame timberwolves?

The idea seemed unfeasible; timberwolves had been feared ever since the first rumors of their existence were spread. I shook my head to clear it; there would be time to think about this after we were safe.

“This thing might be too strong for us; I think it might be time for a retreat,” I said quickly beginning to back towards the tunnel, not taking my eyes off the huge wolf. Things are never that simple though, as the tunnel we came through began to echo with growls and the baying of more timberwolves.

“Well horse-feathers, it looks like we’re in real trouble now,” Falling Star said, “Well, I hope you boys have enjoyed this because things are starting to look pretty grim. Got any more bright ideas Wander?”

“I just might,” I said, mind working overtime, “Brightflare, do you think you could put a shield spell at the end of the tunnel? One just strong enough to hold back the one or two wolves who could fit through at a time?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage something like that,” Brightflare said, quickly beginning another incantation. “It is going to keep me a bit distracted though. Do you three think you can handle the big one?”

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Stoic said. The creature had begun to speed up, as if it had only been sleeping before we got there. It faced towards us, rage in its eyes as it caught our scent. I had a strange feeling that this creature as very old, but that time had only made it more cunning.

Its eyes shined with the strange light all timberwolves seemed to contain. Falling Star had been thinking of a way to fight this beast as soon as she saw it; she was a much more careful planner than any of us had known at the time. “I think I have an idea,” Star said as she drew one of her throwing knives. “I am going to need one of you two to distract it, I think Wander should go, he should be able to fly fast enough to escape if things go wrong.”

“Okay I’m on it,” I said, quickly unclasping the feather flaps, and removing the pendant. I would need every advantage I could get during this fight and I certainly didn’t need to be slowed down.

“Okay just try and keep it facing towards you and focused!” Star called as I took off.

I flapped around the creatures head, breathing a quick burst of flame to draw its attention. It whipped its head forward with a speed that seemed impossible for its size and I only barely managed to roll out of the way. The jaws snapped shut only inches from my wings.

I quickly snapped out of the roll and dived low, the creature following my movements. I heard a thin whizzing sound, followed by a thump and a terrible pained roar from the timberwolf.

I looked at the creature’s face and saw the handle of one of Star’s knives sticking out of its left eye. I heard Star yell with the sound of success in her voice, and saw her pump a hoof in the air. Suddenly I didn’t seem very important to the wolf as its verdant blood dripped from its wound. Its howling intensified and it charged towards where Stoic and Star were still standing.

Stoic said, “Great throw Star, think you can manage another?”

“I have five more knives to throw but I’m not sure I could hit its eye when it’s this mad.” Star said, “It’s moving and thrashing around too much.” she answered.

“Okay then, I guess it’s my turn.” Stoic said, fire burning in his eyes.

He moved forward to meet the wolf’s charge, and with an astounding amount of force smashed the creature to the side with his shield. It turned the beast’s charge but didn’t stop it, causing the heavy creature to skid and fall. “Take that you overgrown lawn ornament!” He yelled, “This one’s for Courage!” He screamed with a newfound hatred and leapt atop the monster.

He began slamming his pointed horseshoe into the creature. Again and again it smashed into the wood, tearing deep gashes in the barkflesh. More green blood and sap poured from its wounds but the creature was far from done.
It began to rise and Stoic had to leap down to avoid being crushed as the creature rolled to clear him off. It howled again, but it was a different pitch than before, now tainted with pain and perhaps even fear. It swiped at Stoic with its sharp claws, too smart to try biting at him, it knew of his weapon now and feared it getting too close to its face.

While the creature was distracted I had been preparing myself for an attack run. I flew above the creature, its one-eyed gaze locked on to Stoic. The creature was still made of wood, and at upon its back there were several bushes, a few of which seemed old and dry. This would make them a perfect target for my flames.

“Stoic, move back!” I yelled before I began my dive. The creature swiveled toward me just in time for me to hit it with my flame breath as I flew above it. It howled with agony as the bush caught fire and the flames burned at its face.
It was then Brightflare yelled up to me, “Nice shot, but we need to hurry this up, those noises it’s making are really ticking these smaller ones off. I can’t hold this shield forever.”

“We are doing the best we can, try and hold out a little longer, I think this beast is on the ropes,” I called back. I was getting pretty winded and I didn’t have the power for another breath strike so soon so I landed back by Star who had moved to flank the creature.

“Nice work flyboy, we might actually beat this thing, here help me hit it with some more of my knives, maybe we can finish it off,” Falling Star said, setting two of her knives at my hooves.

Stoic had the creature’s attention again, and was ducking and weaving through every blow like a dancer despite his heavy armor and shield. He struck out at the creature whenever he saw an opening but it was clear this fight would go on for a long time if things stayed like this.

Star said, “Don’t aim at the neck, that collar looks metal, try and hit the wolf’s face or if you can’t manage that, right in the shoulders of the front paws. If it can’t move those than Stoic can probably get the final blow much easier.”

“Okay, I’ll take left you take right, that sound good to you Star?” I asked.

“Sure,” Star said, “Now let’s do this, I want to see what this thing’s guarding.”

I flew around to the creature’s other side and landed as quickly as I could. Both Stoic and the creature had begun to slow, the two powerhouses both tiring. As the creature swung his claws caught the edges of Stoic’s shield, tearing the straps and sending it flying off of his foreleg. This unbalanced Stoic, the creature noticing this moved with his paw to strike at him and that’s when I saw an opening, on the creature’s left shoulder. It was one of the gouges Stoic had caused earlier, and I could see a vine rippling and pulsating just beneath it.

I knew if I could hit this vine I could stop the attack, and if I couldn’t Stoic would get hurt, probably even die. Things seemed to slow down, my heart racing in my chest. I clenched the knife tightly between my teeth, and tossed my head, sending it flying. I thought for a second that it had gone wide, that I would watch a stallion who pledged to help me die, but then another satisfying thump sound and a sudden creaking of wood.

At the same moment as I had launched my knife Star had thrown hers, both of us striking the two front legs in the space of moments.

The creature thumped to the ground, still alive but unable to move. It still tried to lash out with its mighty jaws, although even if it had killed us I doubt it would have survived anyway.

Its howls and bellows had turned to whimpers as it found itself unable to move. I began to feel pity for the beast, it was just defending its territory, being as an animal always is. “Stoic, can you put this thing out of its misery, please?” I said, wanting the moment to pass as quickly as possible.

I looked away as he thumped his horseshoe cleanly between its eyes. The creature whimpered once more and became still. Suddenly with a strange sound, it began to change. The wolfish features melted away, muzzle and head withdrawing back into its body. The core of the body stretched taller, becoming a trunk and branches.

“Guys, I could use a little help over here!” Brightflare called. “Wait, that’s odd, they seem to be slowing down.” Flare’s body was drenched in sweat; he had been holding the spell for far too long. The beasts behind the clear blue wall began making a strange noise, and then fled back up the tunnel.

Stoic grabbed his shield from the ground and slung it across his back. “I think we need to get out of here, we are all exhausted and we need to rest.”

“Yeah but,” Brightflare started pausing for breath, “Those things… just ran back up the tunnel, and that’s the way we used to get in.”

“Yeah, but the tunnel is narrow remember? I think we could get through if we walk together and only need to fight one or two at a time.” Stoic said.

“Give me a moment; I need to go get my knives.” Star said, still seeming quite energetic, “I don’t really want to wait but I can see you are all pretty beat, think there are a few more rooms back at your inn Wander?”

“Yeah, I am sure there are, let’s just get out of here for now. I can’t wait to come back tomorrow, I bet there is some great stuff down here,” I said. I hated that we had to leave but our ordeal had drained us all.

Star gathered her knives and we began our trek back through the tunnels. We heard a few timberwolves as we got to the mirror chamber, but they must have run down the side passages when they heard us coming.

“Okay, let’s all head through together, hopefully its easier going back than it was going through,” Brightflare said.
We passed through the mirror as if it wasn’t even there. We climbed the stairs slowly, our ears drooping with tiredness. We walked all the way back to town without incident, and mostly without talking. I think we all thought of this retreat as a small defeat. We arrived back at the inn, coming in through the pub entrance, and surprisingly found Warmhearth still awake sitting behind the bar.

The place was empty as it was long past midnight. “Warmhearth,” I said, “I think we are going to need three more rooms, and a few stiff drinks.”

“Here are the room keys, got just enough for you. Hold on while I go get a barrel of that special cider opened up.” Warmhearth said kindly.

Brightflare declined cider when it was offered him and simply went to his room. He said he was too tired to hang around in the bar and I believed him, spell work like the kind of stuff he managed that day takes huge amounts of energy.

Falling Star, Stoic, and I sat at the bar and drank until our heads got foggy. Warmhearth sat with us and had a few drinks as well. She listened to our stories with an awed expression. We avoided talking about the mirror; it was an uncomfortable topic for each of us.

“Oh, Wander I almost forgot, a few hooded folks were here, asking questions about a black pegasus with a book cutie-mark. I didn’t tell them I knew you, but I told them I’d give a message if I saw you. They said they had information for you, something about the Druids you had been talking about. I’m not sure you can trust them, but they left me an address for you to meet them at, one week from now. They definitely knew you, but I’m not sure if they know about your, condition.” Warmhearth said seeming uncomfortable. “I don’t even think one of them was a pony at all, he had a beak, and a lion’s tail. He was a gryphon, and not a small one.”

“Well Wanderwing, that sounds pretty shady to me,” Stoic said, words slurring just a bit, “Well if you need to go, I’ve got your back, I like your style kid.”

“Thanks Stoic, but I need to think this over first. Thanks for the message Warmhearth. I think it’s about time for me to head to sleep. I’ll meet you all here in the morning; do not leave for the church without me.” I said.

Falling Star said, “That sounds like a pretty good idea. Come on lets walk up together.” We both headed for the stairs, Stoic calling up behind us, “Maybe I’ll do the same soon, but I don’t think one more glass of cider could hurt.”

Falling Star and I parted at the top of the stairs to head to our separate rooms, “You know Wanderwing, I’m impressed. You did good work down there today. I can’t wait to find that treasure tomorrow, goodnight.” Falling Star said.

“Goodnight to you too, and thanks for the compliment.” I answered before heading into my room.

For the first time in a long time I collapsed to my bed, after barricading the door as always, and slept soundly. Not a single nightmare in my head. All I felt was excitement for tomorrow, and a strange flutter of happiness thinking of Star’s compliment.