Mind reeling, Emily pushed herself up, the edges of the coins pressing into her bare thighs. She stared up at the immense, still form of the stone dragon. Had she misheard? No—there was no mishearing speech that bypassed her ears to enter her mind directly.
"K—kill you?" she whispered, still unbelieving. "No. I could never!"
"What are you talking about?" Sigrid yelled from the ledge. "What's he telling you?"
Emily ignored her, her gaze locked on the dragon's motionless stone form. Beyond the immediate horror of killing a creature who had shown no malice to her, there was the absurdity of it. "I came here to save my friends, not to commit murder," she said in a low voice.
"That makes one of us!" Sigrid shouted. "Is the dragon challenging you to a duel? He'll have to let me fetch Grognak if he wants a fight!"
A low, rumbling chuckle echoed through Emily's mind.
"I knew there had to be another way," Emily said hopefully.
Emily's mind was suddenly full of terrible images, of great fires sweeping across landscapes, of the screams of soldiers, and the terrified running of unarmed villagers. All this she saw through the dragon's eyes, each screaming face framed by a blast of fire from the dragon's snout. Entire cities burned to the ground in her mind's eye.
Tears poured from Emily's eyes as the awful visions continued.
The images in Emily's mind shifted to scenes of an emaciated, weak Ignis Draken munching unenthusiastically on a tree branch. Then the visions shifted again, and she saw a tall, thin, bald human dressed in the crimson robes of Eyri Abbey standing in this very cave—at once, she knew this was Arctulus.
"W-why not?" Emily asked, rising to her feet. Coins clinked on the ground as they fell from her body.
Emily racked her brain, attempting to remember science lessons from school, unconvinced that cold weather alone could shatter obsidian.
Emily blushed, then scowled. "Hey, didn't you say you were going to stop reading my mind!"
"He's reading your mind?!" Sigrid yelled. "Don't let him manipulate you, Emily!" Heedless of retaliation, she bounded down the rough staircase and ran towards Emily.
A sharp, focused jet of smoke shot from the dragon's nostril, slamming into the rocky surface beneath Sigrid's sandals. The rock glowed cherry-red for an instant, and one sandal caught alight. Sigrid yelped in surprise, instantly leaping backward and stamping her foot down to put out the fire before it consumed her only clothing. She shook her fist at the dragon, scowling, but did not attempt to come any closer.
"I thought you were a pacifist," Emily said.
Emily held her tongue.
"I feel like Sigrid would probably be more willing to kill you than I am, though," Emily said wryly.
"Aye!" Sigrid yelled.
"But, but!" Emily's throat felt horribly dry.
"That's—that's—" Emily's whole body flushed red with anger. "You can't put that on me! I'm not responsible for the actions of others!"
Emily glanced back at Sigrid, whose eyes told her to kill the dragon. Typical Sigrid. She looked back at Ignis Draken, the immense mound of obsidian scales before her. She could not fault his words, though she desperately wanted to. And the summer solstice was mere hours away. She thought of Aria and the other statues. She thought of everything that had happened to her in Thessolan, of the trials she'd endured to retrieve the other two ingredients. Finally, she thought of the terrible images that Ignis Draken had projected into her head.
Fresh tears welled in Emily's eyes as she asked, voice shaking, "How? How do I do it?"
"Climb?" Emily looked up at the dragon's immense obsidian form, dark and shining, each scale almost the length of her own body.
Emily glanced back at Sigrid, who stood in a fighter's crouch, seemingly ready to pounce on the sleeping dragon and begin pummelling it with her fists. "Stay there," she said. "I'm—I'm going to fetch the Heartflame."
Sigrid nodded curtly, remaining in her defensive crouch.
Turning her back on her companion, Emily approached Ignis Draken. With a trembling hand, she reached out and touched his scaled leg, which was smooth and cool—much cooler than the surrounding cave.
The glass-like surface was not greatly amenable to climbing, and Emily struggled briefly to find purchase on it with her hands and feet. She would need to use the Bronzeband. Focusing on it, she willed the obsidian scales to crack and deform, forming holds for her hands and feet.
Emily slid off her dwarven sandals, knowing that her bare feet would provide greater purchase for the climb. She secured herself on the initial holds and reached for the jutting edge of a scale. As she moved up, she couldn't help but think of how Richard had used the Bronzeband to reshape Aria's gown and even to trap her. This was the first time Emily had used the Bronzeband's power on living stone.
On the way up the dragon's leg, Emily used the Bronzeband as sparingly as she could, preferring to reach for the natural holds that the edges of the scales provided. Adrenaline pushed her upward and onward, and her body was soon slick with sweat in the cave's sauna-like heat.
The way became easier as she crested the dragon's shoulder, allowing her to crawl and then to walk once she reached the dragon's back. The heat intensified as she continued towards the Heartflame, negating the strange coolness of the dragon's scales, which soon warmed Emily's soles.
On the other side of the dragon's back, she began the descent down his shoulder and then followed the crick of his elbow. This side was far less steep, as the dragon's foreleg rested on a massive pile of gold.
Looking back at the dragon's form, she knew she had found what she was after.
On the side of his massive chest, at the place where two enormous obsidian scales met, a large spiraling whorl indented the stone. Golden light—the same light that suffused the cave—emanated from its center.
Without warning, the scales shifted beneath her feet, and Emily dropped into a crouch, clinging onto the scales. The dragon's foreleg was moving, pressing itself up against the dragon's body, so close that Emily could reach out and touch the glowing whorl.
Emily felt sick. She had kept the thought of what she was about to do away from the front of her mind, by focusing on the climb, but now there was nothing else to think about. Not when the Heartflame, the final ingredient, the object of her quest, was separated from her by a thin layer of obsidian.
Emily stood up and pressed a hand against the whorl, slowly caressing it. She could feel the Heartflame's heat and felt it resonating with the Stoneshell, which glowed orange against her chest.
Without even consciously deciding to do it, Emily found that she was willing the obsidian wall of the dragon's chest to open, that she was willing the Heartflame to come towards her, to join with the Stoneshell. Her palm was flat against the center of the whorl now, and she could feel the obsidian warp and crumble beneath her touch. She closed her eyes, thinking of Aria, and of Brom and Jivaro, and all the other statues she would restore to life by ending the life of this one.
Resistance came with a low, grating sound that filled the cavern. The dragon's form shuddered violently, and Emily's mind was flooded with cries of protest. The whole cave began to shake, pieces of the rocky ceiling falling in clouds of dust. Emily dug her toes into the dragon's scales, crouching down to maintain her balance while still pressing into the whorl with her right hand.
Emily drew a sharp breath and closed her eyes tighter, trying to shut out the tears.
Emily gritted her teeth and pressed her hand deeper into the crumbling rock, her muscles screaming in protest. Sweat poured down her face and body, every fiber of her being focused on the stone between her and the Heartflame.
Finally, when Emily had pushed her arm wrist-deep into the stone surface, there was a loud click, and conflicted screams in her head ceased. The scales around the whorl retracted, almost mechanically, like the iris of a colossal eye, almost causing Emily to fall forward from the suddenness of the release.
Stumbling but catching herself, Emily looked up to see a gaping cavity in the dragon's chest. In the middle of this cavity, suspended in the shimmering, superheated air, beat a solid, head-sized orb of orange fire: the Heartflame.
Even from a few yards away, Emily could feel the orb's immense heat blast her skin. She was used to heat from the Stoneshell, but this was a stronger, harsher heat, which she knew would be dangerous to her if she got much closer. How, then, was she to take the Heartflame back to Paja Abbey?
"Emily! Are you there?" cried a voice from above. "What happened? I felt the cave shake!"
Emily looked up to see Sigrid adorned with golden jewelry, wrapped in a purple rug. But most noticeably, she was floating in midair, above the Heartflame.
"I didn't know you could fly!" Emily shouted up at her.
"It's this rug!" she replied, tugging at her coverings and beaming. "Provides both modesty and the power of flight! It's keeping me cool too! I'll see if I can find you one!" As if to demonstrate the rug's powers, Sigrid swooped down closer to the Heartflame and then did a loop in the air.
"That's amazing, Sigrid, but I think it's loose!" Emily shouted.
"Oh Frostfang!" Sigrid shouted, the color fading from her face as her makeshift garment slid down her body. She snatched at the edge of the rug but was not quick enough to arrest its fall. Her eyes went wide as she watched it plunge towards the Heartflame.
No longer in possession of the rug's power of flight, Sigrid also fell, towards the Heartflame, her body instinctively curling into a tight ball.
Emily screamed, instinctively pulling a shaft of obsidian from the dragon's body in a desperate attempt to intercept Sigrid's fall. But her pull was too wild and imprecise—chunks of obsidian broke off the dragon's body and fell in every direction.
At the same time, Emily heard a horrified scream and then felt a sudden hard presence crash into her. She lost her balance, falling with the thing that had hit her, tumbling down, down, off the stone dragon's forearm and into a giant pile of gold coins.
When the world stopped spinning, Emily found herself looking directly into a pair of bright green eyes. The parts of her body that did not have bits of coin and jewelry poking into them were pressed against something warm and, while not exactly soft, not particularly hard either.
"Are you hurt, Emily?" Sigrid asked.
Nothing felt broken. "I don't think so."
Sigrid swiftly got to her feet and then helped Emily up. She was bedecked in almost enough jewelry to cover her nudity.
"You're not going to be able to take that stuff when we teleport," Emily said. "Unless some of it's enchanted, I guess."
Sigrid's hands were shaking, a tremor running through her powerful arms. She stared up at the Heartflame. "The heat," she whispered, her voice rough. "I felt it... even from that far. It would have..." She didn't finish the sentence, just shuddered and forced herself to look away, her gaze landing on the pile of treasure.
Emily looked up at the spot where they'd fallen from and saw the purple rug was hanging in mid-air, draped over the Heartflame. She had expected it to burn up on contact, but clearly one of its enchantments was resistance to extreme heat.
"I need to go fetch it," said Emily.
"The rug?" Sigrid asked. "Good idea, I'm feeling a little exposed down here."
Emily cocked an eyebrow. "Not for you to wear—for us to carry the Heartflame!"
"Oh, is that what that orb of death was?"
Emily nodded. "It seems like the rug you found can withstand it though."
Sigrid sighed deeply. "I guess I'll see if I can find something else to wear, then."
Emily was already climbing up the dragon's stone forearm, and soon found the spot where she'd been standing before. The immense heat and light from the Heartflame was entirely concealed beneath the purple rug, allowing Emily to reach for it without burning her hands or even feeling its heat at all. As her fingers pressed into the soft purple fibers of the rug, she paused for a moment.
There was an air of finality in the voice that spoke inside her head. Emily pulled the wrapped-up orb towards her body, knowing that Ignis Draken would not speak to her again. As a profound silence fell within her mind, a new sound reached her from the world outside: a distant, angry shout echoing from the tunnel entrance far behind Sigrid.
Emily found Sigrid digging through the dragon's hoard, trying to fit extra bracelets on her arms and legs. "Let's go," she said, clutching the orb to her body. It felt weightless, still floating under its own power, like a day-old helium balloon.
"Mmph mmph mmph," Sigrid replied, cheeks bulging.
"What?"
Sigrid spat out a load of gold coins. "I said, I'm still looking for something for us to wear. Sure you can't spare that rug?"
Emily recalled the heat of the raw Heartflame. "Yeah, I'm sure. Not super happy about it myself. You know how nice it would have been to have an enchanted flying rug the first time I teleported somewhere?"
The sounds of voices and clanging metal from the tunnel entrance were getting closer, reminding Emily they had more pressing things to worry about than clothing.
"Sigrid, did you hear that?" Emily urged, her eyes darting towards the entrance.
As if in reply, a loud cry bellowed from the cave's entrance. "Thieves! Murderers!"
It was Hodor, and he was running towards them, brandishing Grognak. "How dare you defile the chamber of Ignis Draken!"
Behind him, a hoard of fire dwarves rushed into the cave, brandishing pickaxes, torches, and other weapons. A volley of arrows sailed over Emily and Sigrid's heads.
Emily looked at Sigrid. "We really need to go." Clutching the wrapped-up Heartflame against her side, she prepared herself to teleport to Paja Abbey.
Sigrid, however, was rushing straight towards Hodor, her face red with rage.
"Sigrid, no!" Emily shouted, sprinting after her.
"Nobody but me wields Grognak!" Sigrid shouted, wrestling the axe from Hodor and flinging him into a pile of treasure, where he landed with an anguished groan. "We can go now," she said to Emily, axe gripped tightly in both hands.
Emily grabbed Sigrid's wrist and shouted, "Paja Abbey!"
The two women went up in flames, disappearing a moment before a second volley of arrows sailed through the spot they had just vacated.
The world reformed, and Emily stumbled forward onto a deep, soft carpet. The sulfurous stench of the Crucible was gone, replaced by the familiar, comforting scent of old books. She was still clutching the rug-wrapped Heartflame, steadying herself against its floating mass.
Beside her, Sigrid dropped into a defensive crouch, Grognak held ready. Her eyes darted around the library suspiciously. A few of her golden treasures—clearly enchanted—had made the journey with them, though not nearly all she had tried to take. "Where in the Frostfang's frozen hells are we?" she growled.
"Paja Abbey," Emily breathed, a wave of exhaustion so profound washing over her that her knees buckled. "We made it out."
"Emily!" came a bright, relieved voice. "We were starting to worry!"
Sigrid spun instantly, leveling Grognak towards the source of the voice. Aria and Talyndra stood near a large table. Talyndra, grinning, raised one hand in a placating gesture, while her other hand hovered at the hilt of her twin swords. Behind her, Aria's face broke into a wide smile.
Sigrid's eyes flicked from the green-skinned wood elf to the statue with a moving face. "Right," she muttered, lowering her axe slightly. "You did mention a living statue."
"It is so good to see you again, safe and sound!" Aria's eyes were fixed on the bundle in Emily's arms. "Is that...?"
Emily nodded, pushing the wrapped-up Heartflame in front of her. "It's wrapped up in this magic rug. Be careful though, it's really, really hot."
Aria moved forward to take the bundle. The moment it left Emily's hands, she staggered, almost falling, but for Sigrid's steadying arm. "That teleportation must take it out of you," she said. "And after opening a dragon's chest!"
"What?!" Talyndra exclaimed. "A dragon! You have to tell us what happened!"
Emily smiled weakly, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"I am certain Emily will have much to tell us once she is properly rested," Aria said, pushing the Heartflame towards a table that also held a pail of sparkling Azure Essence and the Shard of True Reflection. "I am heartbroken that I was not able to accompany her on this latest journey, but she appears to have found very capable help."
Sigrid met Aria's gaze and nodded, blushing slightly. "Sigrid Wyrmtamer, at your service."
Talyndra reappeared with a couple of clean monk's robes slung over one arm. She handed one to Sigrid and slipped the other over Emily's shoulders.
"All three ingredients are now assembled," said Aria, gazing at the three magical objects. "The ritual will begin at dawn."
"Dawn..." Emily repeated, the word sounding distant.
Sigrid gave a low whistle, patting Emily on the shoulder. "You rest up, Em. I'll ask your friends if they have any good grub." She glanced down at a jewel-bedecked necklace that had survived the teleportation. "I'm not sure this quest was quite worth it, but it was certainly interesting. Next time, let's do it with our clothes on the whole time, okay?"
"I can't promise anything," Emily sighed, pulling the sides of her robe over herself. "Except solidarity."