Page 14 of Scaled Hearts

The test plank holds my weight, so I tilt my head upward, taking in a deep breath. The sky is so clear here. I’d be in awe if I had time.

Carefully, slowly, I pick my way across the bridge. It’s a curious sight, a bridge on an island with flying lizards. I wonder who constructed this bridge, and why it’s here at all.

The crossing is nearly over and I feel as though I can breathe again when suddenly the plank I step on snaps in half under me and my foot goes straight through! As I pull it up, the entire bridge sways and the rope at the end starts to fray even more.

“No!” I yell, watching the rope with wide eyes. I hadn’t come all this way just to die! I had to make it across! With nearly inhuman speed, I rush the both of us to the end, praying no more of the bridge breaks.

It only takes seconds to cross but it feels like hours and I fall down, happy to be on solid ground once more. I have to take a few deep, heaving breaths before I find the strength to stand once more but I resume my journey, more determined than ever.

The higher I get, the colder the air feels. I shiver, wishing for a cloak. I reach a ledge where I spot the opening of a massive, yawning cavern. Despite the chill, warm air blasts from the cave, defying all logic.

Should I go inside, I wonder? Something tells me that the answers I’m seeking are inside that cave.

I pull on Solionus’ reins but he whinnies, rising up on his hind legs, yanking backwards. “Calm down. I’m sure it’s fine,” I say, trying to console him. He whinnies again, trying to break free from my grip.

“Okay, okay,” I say, petting his neck. “You stay out here then, scaredy-hoqin.” There’s a tree a dozen steps away and I walk him over, tying him to it so he won’t get lost or fall off the mountain.

Opening my bag, I look inside for a flint. I pick up a thick branch and tie a strip of cloth around it before striking the flint against a rock and light the torch, turning back to the cavern.

As I head inside, I realize I have no idea what I’m doing. Something has drawn me inside though, and I intend to find out what. Taking a step forward, my foot crunches something under me and I leap away, my entire body going cold.

My torch illuminates the ground and I gasp. It looks like the armor of the orcs at home, but it’s all melted and twisted up. I reach out, touching it and a piece breaks off. I drop it like it scalds me and step backwards, bumping into something else that drops to the ground.

It doesn’t look like Orc armor. I don’t recognize it at all. Is it Dark Elf? It’s hard to tell, as the metal is warped and bent, like it was crushed under heavy weight. Are these the men who created the bridge? Is this why the path seemed so well worn?

I shudder, realizing I’m in more danger than I expected. There are no stories of dragons in my land. No mythical legends of beasts roaming the skies who snatch up unsuspecting animals or people. If the dragons are real—and I’m starting to suspect they are—the only people who might have spread the tales are now dead.

The thought sends a chill down my spine. I take a cautious step forward and spot the glint of a sword. Reaching down, I pick it up from the ashes only to realize it’s broken in half, the blade now jagged at the end. I toss it down and it clatters, hitting something.

It’s another sword, this one a broadsword, nearly half my height. It’s bent in half, like someone smashed the ends together. Who could have done such a thing? Was it the dragon?

I’m starting to feel nauseated and I step backwards, accidentally disturbing a pile of ash. A large object rolls out of the pile, down to my feet.

I clap my hand over my mouth, stifling my scream. Oh god! It’s a skull!

My feet take me back to the entrance before I realize it and I’m about to head for Solionus and flee for home when I stop myself, swallowing hard. No matter how scared I am, Kara is probably more terrified.

After yesterday – was it yesterday? It seems like a lifetime ago – she had to be out of her mind in fright at what she had done. I can’t let her go crazy and die. I just can’t. I take a deep breath, steadying myself. Turning around slowly, I venture back to the cave, taking my time as I walk deeper.

I swallow hard at the skull, avoiding it as best I can. I try not to think too hard about the additional piles of ash that I step around as I explore deeper into the cavern.

Another dozen yards in, I stumble upon a massive chamber. The ceilings are much higher here, at least twenty feet high. My torch only lights up about fifteen feet or so ahead of me and the entire chamber is nearly pitch black.

As I venture inside, my steps start to echo. No, not echo...clink? Something is under my feet. Biting my lip, praying I’m not stepping on more dead orc bones, I reach down to examine the floor. I brush a bit of dirt away, picking up something shiny.

Holding it aloft, I examine it with the torch light. It’s a red coin with three black triangles overlapping. A riel! I stifle a gasp, wondering if that was the noise I was hearing. Casting my torch downward once again I realize that the entire floor is shiny.

I bend down and run my fingers along the floor. It’s not a floor at all! It’s more coins of different colors! I recognize the elven coins we use on Kaynvu, the dalers, jetons, ducats, riels, and ipias, but there are others I don’t know. Naga maybe?

I stare in amazement. The entire floor is nothing but coins! There’s coins as far as the eye can see, heaps and mounds from what my torch illuminates. There’s more worth here than I’ve ever seen in my entire life! There are piles that reach halfway up the wall, mounds the size of an orc, stacks that tower precariously high...

If I was to fill my satchel with the coins, I’d be richer than any of the orcs. I’d be richer than half the dark elf population of Ter! I venture backwards a little, taking in the sheer size of the stash.

Leaning on a stalagmite mound, I bite my lip as I contemplate the thought. I’m not here for money. I’m here to find a cure for my sister. This won’t matter if I can’t save her. I turn, coming face to face with an eye the size of a basketball.

I jump back, hand over my heart. The creature the eye is attached to lumbers to its feet, the torches on the wall illuminating as it rises.

I realize all at once what Agatha meant by a lizard with claws and wings. There’s a dragon in front of me, and it doesn’t look happy.

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