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Dragonwatch: Book 4 Scourge of The Titan Valley

Chapter 15: Temple

Notes:

Hey guys sorry, this has taken me forever to get you all another chapter, but here, it's short but I hope to add more soon, thanks for all the reviews and kind comments they were the only things that motivated me to continue this. Sorry in advance for any errors.

Chapter Text

Seth was so excited that he could barely sleep, he could read minds! He was still trying to wrap his head around it. After attempting to read Kendra’s mind again, he found himself unable to penetrate the wall of light in her head. He had almost asked Nocte about it, but he didn’t want to be scolded for trying to read minds without permission.
Seth lay in his sleeping bag, trying to read the minds of the others. He found that when he tried to read the sleeping team members' minds, he could only get a hazy reading.
From around him, he could hear Nocte wake Warren and Vanessa for their watch shift. Seth tried to read their minds but they were too far and he was already exhausted. Not wanting to drain himself more, Seth curled into his blanket, conserving warmth in the chilly night. He couldn't remember when exactly sleep had come but stark dreams left him vivid images of being chased by Humbuggle. Or had Seth been doing the chasing? He recalled running through endless corridors of dark castles and the weaving tunnels of the Under Realm. It seemed like he had been running all night when he had cornered the dwarf. Before he succeeded in whatever he had been aiming for, the dwarf shifted into a colossal dragon. The last Seth remembered of the dream was the gargantuan teeth inches away from his face.
Seth had jolted awake, his skin layered in a cold sweat. In an attempt to shake out the dream, he looked around, bleary-eyed. The sun was just barely poking over the horizon. Everything was covered in a thin layer of frost: the ground, the trees, even a few of his sleeping teammates had thin layers of frost coating their hair. Seth reached up to brush the tiny ice particles out of his hair. He was freezing!
Tanu, who was on watch, was attempting to start a small campfire. Andromadus sat near him on an old log that Tanu and Trask had dragged over to serve as a seat. Stan stood next to Nocte, seeming to discuss strategy for the day from what little Seth overheard.
He stood up and draped his blanket around him like a cloak for warmth.
“Good to see you awake Seth!” a small voice piped up. Seth, startled, looked to see Calvin perched on a tree stump near him.
“Hey, Calvin,” Seth acknowledged. He often forgot the large nipsie was there. Being so small, it was a miracle he hadn't been stepped on yet.
“You look cold,” the nipsie remarked. Seth held out his hand and the nipsie climbed on, brushing off frost as he went.
“What makes you think that?” Seth asked rhetorically
“Your hair is all frosty and your shivering,” Calvin said.
“Aren’t you cold?” Seth asked.
“No. I was earlier, but Tanu and Mara cut and recycled bits of an old handkerchiefs and made me a sweater,” Calvin said.
As Seth took a closer look, to see Calvin's new addition. The sweater fit Calvin snug, packing in heat. It was a dark blue color held together by delicate golden stitching, Mara’s handiwork probably.
“Fancy,” Seth said.
“It’s warm too!” Calvin said.
“Wish I could wear it,” Seth said half-jokingly.
“I wish I could share it with you,” Calvin said, “but why don’t you substitute that by warming up by the fire?” Seth assumed he was right. So, letting the nipsie scale onto his shoulder, he trudged over to the now roaring campfire.
Tanu was now roasting a hotdog, Seth's grandfather doing the same.
“Morning,” Seth muttered, basking in the heat of the open flame.
“You look chilled,” Tanu commented after taking one look at Seth.
“Come warm up and grab a hot dog,” Seth's grandfather encouraged. Seth shuffled over, limbs huddled together.
“Want me to grab you a coat?” Tanu offered. Seth shrugged, too embarrassed to ask. Tanu got up and Seth witnessed the bizarre sight of Tanu opening a knapsack and climbing in. Seth knew the bag had a whole room in there from when Kendra had shown him. He also knew there was an injured unicorn in the bag, but seeing Tanu climb down and completely disappear was still an odd sight.
Tanu returned a moment later. He clambered out of the knapsack and tossed Seth a coat. The coat was midnight black, sleek in design, and fit to challenge the cold. He also noticed that it looked like a woman’s coat but he didn’t complain.
Seth let Calvin down, placing him into a pant pocket. He shrugged on the coat. It was a little big but it fit well enough with a little sleeve rolling.
"Does it fit alright?" Tanu asked. "That one belongs to Mara, so it won't fit perfectly."
"It’s good," Seth assured, pulling the hood over his hair.
"Want a hot dog?" The Samoan offered.
"Ya sure." Seth shrugged, accepting a hot dog and skewer from Tanu.
Seth had a hard time trying to get his hotdog cooked right. Tanu had told him that it was near impossible to set a hotdog on fire so Seth could cook it as long as he liked. Tanu was wrong, Seth had barely been roasting his hotdog for a few minutes when it burst into a roaring flame. Seth panicked, trying to blow it out. He was making no progress when suddenly the fire completely disappeared from the hotdog. Seth looked around in confusion. Nocte winked at him from near Andromadus. She must have quenched it using her darkness. Ronodin had taught Seth the trick when he still believed Ronodin was his brother.
Seth flicked his charred hotdog off the skewer to Tempest. The griffin seemed to quite enjoy it and gave a grateful squawk.
The others started to wake not long after. Warren and Vanessa were up next. Warren managed to limp over the fire unassisted, and he used a spear to roast his hotdog despite Tanu offering him a skewer. Vanessa pointed out that he should have used a sword because it would fit more hotdogs. Tanu had to forbid using swords as hotdog skewers, something Seth had never expected to hear.
Mara was awake next. Seth watched as she walked stiffly and painfully with a limp. She came and stood near Seth.
"Can I have my coat back?" she asked, her voice deep and husky. Seth unzipped the coat and handed it to Mara. The weather was much warmer now and Seth didn't need it as he had before. Mara slipped on her coat. She seemed to have trouble getting her right arm in but she managed.
"How are you doing?" Tanu asked. Seth was confused for a second before he realized that the Samoan had asked Mara.
"Tired, hurting. Nothing new. Got a bit more sleep as night,” she told him, coming to sit next to Vanessa and Warren, accepting a skewer and shooting Warren a skeptical look at his unorthodox way of hotdog cooking.
"It's too quiet, and sober,” Warren announced. "If you were to use one weapon to cook a hotdog, what weapon and why?" Seth was immediately put off by such a weird question.
"Sword," Vanessa said instantly.
"A mace,” Tanu said. "You can put a hotdog and each spike."
"I have been blind to the possibilities," Warren said. “What about you Stan?"
"I'm not going to encourage this,” Seth's grandfather mumbled.
"What about you Mara?" Warren urged.
"Use a shield, it would work as a huge frying pan. If it was big enough you could cook around a hundred hotdogs." Mara said.
"I’ve truly been missing out," Warren groaned. Seth chucked. He had a hunch that he had really liked Warren before he lost his memory.
"What about you Seth?" Vanessa asked.
"Ummm, probably a spear." Seth shrugged.
"Nocte, if you could use a weapon of choice to roast a hotdog what would it be?" Warren called.
"What is a hotdog?" Nocte drilled.
"Like a sausage but smaller," Vanessa told her.
"Oh, well, probably some sort of halberd. Roast more than one and do it from a distance so you don't get all the heat from the fire in your face," Nocte answered.
"Nice," Warren said. Vanessa laughed.
"What are you all laughing about?” Kendra said, yawning. Seth hadn't heard his sister get up.
"Kendra, quick, if you could use one weapon to cook a hotdog what would it be?" Warren asked before Kendra could say anything. Kendra stood there taking a moment to process.
"Does a hotdog skewer count as a weapon?" she asked.
"Anything can be a weapon if you swing it hard enough,” Nocte asserted.
"Then a hotdog skewer, like a normal person," Kendra said. Warren gave a long fake exasperated sigh.
"Open your mind to the possibilities Kendra,” Warren said.
"Well, it looks like you are already exploring those possibilities." Kendra laughed, gesturing to Warrens's hotdog-laden spear.
"You really shouldn't use weapons as utensils,” Trask said, startling everyone.
"I've seen you use a dagger to cut steak,” Mara reminded Trask. Tanu started laughing but changed it to coughing.
"What's life without using objects for the exact opposite of their intended purpose?" Warren asked jokingly.
"You would know, you never use the stuff for the right purpose,” Vanessa bantered playfully.
"Ouch!" Warren exclaimed, faking offense. Seth had a hard time believing that they were in the middle of dragon territory during a draconic rebellion where they could all die. Now it just seemed like a group of friends out on a hike or a diverse family reunion. Seth met eyes with his sister and smiled.

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Kendra’s anxiety raged within her. Andromadus had just barely informed them that, now that everyone was reunited and his powers were still at their strongest, that they should attempt to brave the dragon temple today. The timing made sense to Kendra; she was just nervous. Up until this point, she had been preoccupied with fleeing various magical creatures, finding Seth, and staying alive. She hadn't thought much about their main reason for coming: retrieving the harp from the dragon temple and fulfilling the deal that they had made to the late giant queen. They didn't have the opportunity to mess up, the world was counting on them to help stop the dragon war.
Kendra glanced over at Bracken. The unicorn had come out of the knapsack to join them in the dragon temple. He had healed incredibly fast and was now acting like not much had happened. Kendra was relieved, they needed all hands on deck for this mission. She thought that having Bracken on their side would be a huge help for their upcoming confrontation. Especially since Warren was being sent back to Fablehaven to properly heal from his injuries.
Kendra also tried to brainstorm who the guardians of the dragon temple might be. At Wyrmroost, the temple had been guarded by dangerous and legendary dragons. Was Titan valley going to be the same or would they have guardians of a non-draconian nature? Her train of thought was derailed when Seth approached her.
“Hey, Kendra, ” he said
“Hi, Seth.”
“So to the dragon temple?” Seth said.
“Yeah, unless you want to be sent back to Fablehaven till we can try to get your memories back from Humbuggle,” Kendra told him.
“Nah, I’m gonna help, then we are getting my memories back.” Kendra nodded. It was going to be nice to have her brother working by her side again.
It wasn't long before Andromadus called them all to gather around, then he told them the news. His power as a newly transformed wizard was fading which meant he only really had enough energy to get them to the dragon temple once after dropping off any injured or those who wanted to stay behind at Fablehaven. They had one shot, every move had to count. That did not help Kendra's nerves. She had been trying to take comfort in the fact that if things went wrong, Andromadus could teleport them all to safety, and that they could try again. But that lifeline was now gone, they could only rely on their gear, their wits, each other, and a huge amount of luck.
Kendra had hugged Warren goodbye and watched her cousin disappear with Andromadus. The wizard reappeared a few minutes later alone. Andromadus called them and announced their strategy. They were going to teleport to a forest near the entrance of the temple where they would rendezvous with Nocte. They would then find out that she had discovered, then go from there since they had no idea what the temple would contain. It was all happening so fast, Kendra was suddenly standing in a circle with the group and, with a sudden flash and the sensation that reminded her of traveling via the translator, she stood standing in a different forest. Nocte stood by, her pitch-black helmet concealing her fair features.
"Ready?" she asked her voice quiet yet piercing, solemnity etched in every syllable.
"What did you find?” Grandpa Sorenson asked.
"Your chances are not looking good, from what I can tell the first guardian is Verí, a Catalan dragon that breathes poison and can rot its surroundings with just its stench-”
"Wait, we're going against a dragon who can kill us by breathing?" Knox asked.
"They can also breathe some fire as well,” Nocte completed. Knox paled.
"how do we get past it?" Tanu asked. Nocte shrugged.
"I am the only one who would be able to enter the general vicinity of the dragon due to my undying status. The rest of you would have to find a way through and somehow avoid the poison in the air."
"We have a unicorn horn and Bracken," Kendra reminded everyone, pulling Bracken's first horn out of her belt to show Nocte. The dragonslayer stepped closer to evaluate the horn.
"This might do, unicorn horns are powerful protectors of purity and the poison would not affect you as you hold it, but Catalan dragons are some of the most potent poison wielders, you would need to make sure that the horn doesn't run out of power in the dragon's presence," Nocte cautioned.
"Oh, I've got that covered," Kendra assured,
"So who is going to go against the dragon?" Tanu asked.
"I will. Any volunteers will be welcome but probably unneeded. I do not doubt that I would be able to slay the beast," Nocte stated with confidence. She continued saying, "The poison in the air would most definitely remain, so your team would have to come through in groups holding the unicorn horn then one would go through again and pass it to the next group."
"How about the rest of us just go into the knapsack and someone will carry us through after you slay the dragon," Vanessa pointed out.
"Good idea," Nocte acknowledged.
"So where's the temple?" Seth asked, looking around.
"This way.” Nocte gestured for them to follow her. They walked behind the dragon slayer. Despite her heavy armor, she made no sound as she tramped through the thick undergrowth. Kendra ended up at the back of the group with Seth.
The company walked for a few minutes before the trees cleared and a ginormous lake came into view. It stretched farther than Kendra could see and was wider than twice the width of her old school.
"Woah, big lake," Seth acknowledged, coming to stand by Kendra.
"I know right?"
"It makes you wonder what kind of monsters are hiding in there," Seth said.
"I was told that the name of the lake actually translates to ’Lake Death’," Kendra told him, Seth chuckled.
"Probably a fitting name considering the first thing we hear lurking under there is a huge poison breathing dragon,” he remarked, resuming his quick pace.
As they followed Nocte around the shore of the lake, a huge gaping cavern came into sight, it extended down below the lake. Elaborate dragon carvings were etched into entrance pillars flanking the opening. Some of the carved stone dragons looked like average dragons, some had animalistic heads, one had snakes growing out of its shoulders, some were so disfigured Kendra could hardly tell they were dragons. Surprisingly, there wasn't a live dragon in sight, though it made sense that they wouldn't want to draw attention by posting an army at the entrance, but what about all that talk about the dragons redoubling their defenses? Kendra spotted some of the air shimmering irregularly just beside her and froze. Seth noticed it as well.
"Raxtus?" Seth whispered, startled, Raxtus? She hadn't seen the dragon in forever. The slivers of the dragon's form flickered into slight for a moment. Kendra and Seth froze, waiting until the others were out of earshot.
"Where have you been?" Kendra exclaimed in a hushed tone.
"Hiding. Nocte Stella is one of the most feared dragon slayers in the world, most dragons dare not to even speak her name. I know she is on your side but I am still too cowardly to confront her, ” Raxtus said.
"Are you going to come with us into the dragon temple?" Kendra asked
"I will try, since I am now a full-blown traitor to my kind, why not? As a dragon of light, I should be immune to the poisons and fire of Verí,” Raxtus told them.
"Do you know anything else about the other guardians?" Kendra asked with urgency.
"I have heard rumors that one of the guardians is an abomination, an undead dragon, a draconic phantom. Call it what you wish, but those are only rumors. Although I have never heard of a dragon becoming undead. I have honestly doubted such a thing is possible,” Raxtus divulged.
"An undead dragon?" Seth questioned, warily.
"Just be careful,” Raxtus cautioned, ”I'll try to watch out for you but no promises that I could be able to stand up against any of the guardians."
"Kendra, Seth, let’s go,” Tanu called from across the shore. The rest of their group had already made it to the entrance. Kendra and Seth sprinted towards Tanu, sliding over the smooth wet rocks of the beach. They skidded to a stop near the entrance of the tunnel.
"We are going to go in as far as we can without encountering the first guardian so we can get out of the open,” Grandpa Sorenson informed them., leading everyone into the tunnel.
"Ready?" Kendra asked her brother,
"Ready as I'll ever be." Seth shrugged
"Then here goes nothing."

Notes:

I plan on updating this weekly and I hope you enjoy it. All advice is welcome. I have big plans for this and hope that all you Fablehaven fans like it. :)