The Home Stone

The four others rushed to where the elf had found the priest. Roma reached him first and slowly raised his head and cradled him. She spoke softly to him, reassuring the young lad that he was safe now. In the courtyard of the tower someone had lit a bonfire and burned all the books that the priests had in their library. It looked as if someone or something didn’t want Shannon or Brianna to find a certain book, for Roma had figured out that is what they had come here for. Turning her attention back to the young man lying in her arms, she said for all to hear. “I think our journey ends here. They have destroyed all the books that could possibly have helped us.”

Then the young priest began to say something in a broken voice.

”They ... didn’t… get … them all,” he sputtered, blood beginning to ooze out of the side of his mouth. “There … is a secret … room … top … floor.” Then his eyes closed and he began to cough. A few seconds later he was still. He had joined the rest of the priests.

Shamus now ordered the bodies buried and then everyone inside. Even the horses. They worked well into the night before stopping to fire up the stoves and cook some of the food that the priests had stored in the well-stocked larders, but no one was in any mood or had a great appetite. That night Shamus had a double amount of men watching for any movement, but the night turned out to be a quiet one. Whatever had come and destroyed the priests was gone and probably far from here.

It was early in the morning when one of the guards spotted something up in the sky. Not taking any chances, Shamus had his archers train their arrow on whatever was coming this way. Closer and closer it flew and when it was near the tower it began a slow spiral downwards. Then Roma shouted. “It’s a Roc!”

Shamus quickly ordered his men to stay their weapons and prepare for the arrival of Shannon. They all watched as the great bird swooped lower and lower until it landed on the grass outside the doors of the tower. Jumping down from the great bird, Shannon thanked the Sky Elf and then ran to meet Roma and her new friends. Shamus and the others watched as the bird and its rider lifted off the ground with such ease and quickly soared up back into the sky. Roma explained what had happened here and that something destroyed all of the books except they did not find a hidden door where the one she needed was being kept. Shannon and Brianna them mounted the stairs that led to the top of the tower in search of the secret door. Leaving the others below they began to climb. The tower was several hundred feet high and the stairwell was narrow and slippery in some parts that were still covered with blood where some of the priests had died making their ascent more difficult. Closer to the top the steps were dry and when they reached the top landing, Shannon felt a slight prickly sensation that told her that what she sought was nearby. The two began to search for a hidden door or some sort of release lever so they could gain entrance to the hidden chamber. They searched and finally after some time Shannon found what she had been looking for. She placed her hands on the wall and spoke some ancient elvish words and the wall disappeared, leaving the two staring at a room untouched by the carnage that took place earlier that week. They entered the room and began to search the half dozen or so shelves for a book that contained a spell that Shannon would need.

Meanwhile down below Raven and Roma questioned Shamus as to what could have killed all of his men back there where they had planned to camp and all of the priests here.

Looking directly at the two, he only spoke two words. “A dragon.”

The two fell silent. There were legends of dragons that roamed these lands thousands of years ago, but no one in this time has ever seen or heard one. Hours went by and finally Shannon and Brianna returned.

“Shamus tells me that this was done by a dragon,” said Roma. “How can this be?”

“Not a dragon,” answered Brianna, before Shannon could say something. “The creature that did this wasn’t a dragon, but a demon created by it. It is a magical creature made of fire. An elemental it is and can only be killed with another element of the four that we know of. Earth, wind fire and water. Water puts out fire and so it can be killed with water, but the flames must be completely extinguished. If any remain, then the creature will regenerate. No magic can harm this thing of fire, only water.”

Brianna faced the mage and told her that while she was studying the spell to rid the world of the dragon, the she did a little research on what the evil creature can do. How it would use its magic and this fire monster was one of them. Satisfied, Shannon turned to face the others. Shannon was surprised that this young Drow could know so much about dragons. When this was over, she would question her more on this subject, but for now the mage girl had to study the spell that would render the dragon’s magic useless, so that Brianna could destroy the creature.

“We must leave here in the morning,” Shannon said. “We can’t take all of your men with us. A large party would be spotted too easily, but just a few of us should make it to Winsome without being spotted. Have you brought what I asked you to? He nodded that he had and then showed her the white furs that would keep the six of them warm once they entered the Snowlands. Seeing that all was as it should be, Shannon then told everyone to get as much sleep as possible, because in the morning they would all leave. They would take the horses as far as the Great Northern Divide and then give them to his men to take back to Castle North.