Briden peeked around the rock the party hunkered down behind, then turned back to the others and whispered, “Three more goblins; sleeping.”

  “Good,” said Protozoa, his eyes glowed white like his silvery-white hair.

  The party leader was not elderly; quite the opposite. His kind sometimes had silver hair from childhood.

  “We can slip by them and get into the shaft that leads right to his lair,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Zorlo grunted, his eyes glowed a deep blue. He looked down to meet the gaze of his smaller companions. “Can’t we at least kill one of them?”

  “Focus Zorlo,” Protozoa whisper-scolded; his eyes glowed red. “The whole time we’ve been here that’s all you’ve carried on about. Can’t I kill one of them? When can I kill one? Oh look, let’s kill some of those goblins over there.”

  “Yeah.” Zorlo affirmed. “That is focusing.”

  He slapped the sword hanging from his belt then motioned to the swords on the belts of his two companions. “I thought that’s why the three of us – you know, the warriors – came along!”

  “Keep your voice down you oaf.” Briden hissed as his eyes flared a deep yellow before returning to their usual, subtle blue..

  “We are here to protect Shezaheza, and to help her find the lantern and get it back safely.” Protozoa clarified.

  He turned in the direction of the aforementioned seeress. The other two turned as well.

  Lovely Shezaheza stood still as a statue with her eyes closed. Her pristine features and smooth skin resembled the face of a fine ceramic doll. One long lock of blonde hair escaped the tail pulled tightly behind her head; the stray tassel hung down over her right eye.

  The three warriors said nothing. They stood, staring at the motionless, silent female for a moment.

  The sound of a goblin shifting in its sleep in the chamber beyond the rock they used as cover caught their attention. The creature stopped moving and began to snore.

  Shezaheza neither moved nor spoke.

  After another moment Briden said “I didn’t expect this place to be so large.”

  “Me either,” Protozoa agreed. “The map only showed the first level.”

  “We must be close now,” Briden declared. “We’ve searched five levels with only one more to go.”

  “Actually…” Protozoa gave a long pause, his eyes shifted from white to a soft lavender glow.

  “Actually what?” Zorlo grumbled; the big warrior’s eyes faded to gray.

  “There are three more levels underwater.” the leader of the group said reluctantly.

  “Perfect,” Zorlo said as his eyes shone red.

  The three stood in silence another moment.

  The seeress remained still with her eyes closed. She twitched her nose and then rubbed it with the back of her wrist.

  “Ghost Light,” Briden said. “That’s what this lantern is called.”

  “Yep,” Protozoa confirmed.

  “Wonder what it does?” Briden followed up.

  Zorlo began tapping his foot.

  “I think it looks into the past or something like that.” Protozoa nodded. “Yeah. It’ll let her see into the past and whisper into people’s ear; that’s what Shezaheza said.”

  “Whisper to people in the past?” Briden’s eyes turned orange.

  Protozoa shrugged.

  “This is ridiculous,” Zorlo whisper-shouted.

  “What now?” Protozoa asked the bigger warrior.

  “You won’t let me kill anything and every few minutes we have to stand around and watch her take a nap.” Zorlo shook his head. “Why did you even bring me on this so-called adventure?”

  Protozoa rolled his eyes and started to respond but Shezaheza interrupted in a musical voice.

  “I am not napping. And you were brought along because you are dependable and dangerous.” She opened her eyes, which glowed a brilliant pink. “I’ve located the lantern; it’s definitely in the hoard. I saw it sitting in a corner on top of a wooden chest.”

  Each spoken word ended with a faint, metallic chime.

  “Good,” Protozoa looked at each of his companions in turn. “Then let’s get up that shaft and grab it and get back to the bridge.”

  “Let’s do this.” Briden gave two thumbs up.

  “Wait,” Shezaheza spoke up.

  The three warriors looked at her and waited.

  “He’s awake,” she informed them.

  Protozoa and Briden’s eyes turned pale yellow. Zorlo’s turned deep crimson; the bigger warrior smiled.

  “Ah rabbit shit,” said Briden.

  “What should we do?” asked the party’s leader, momentarily confounded.

  Zorlo sneered. “What’s wrong fearless leader? I’ll bet you won’t mind if I kill this one?”

  “Absolutely not!” Shezaheza whispered authoritatively. “Mother says our people have a long and storied history with his kind. We shall bargain with him.”

  “Bargain???” Zorlo gripped the hilt of his weapon and pulled the first few inches of steel from its sheath..

  “You threaten me?” the seeress asked calmly; her eyes turned black.

  “What?” Zorlo quickly released the hilt of his sword and let the blade settle back into the throat of the scabbard. “No! No Shezaheza I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Very well.” the female said in a sweet, melodic voice. Her eyes returned to a pale pink glow.

  “I shall spare you,” she informed the big warrior. “But no more of your insubordination. We have work to do.”

  Zorlo nodded obediently.

  “Compose yourself,” the seeress looked directly at the party leader. “You are, after all, the First Sword on this assignment. Behave accordingly.”

  Her voice retained its musical quality through her scathing critique.

  Protozoa cleared his throat and straightened his back. “I only sought guidance Sororess.”

  “Of course my brave protector.” the sororess stroked the first sword’s face gently.

  The warrior maintained his outward bearing. Within he both basked in her affection and flinched at the possibility her kindness was but a ruse concealing an imminent strike.

  Shezaheza handed Protozoa a small pouch that fit in the palm of his hand. “We will enter together, all of us. I will remain in the shadows that I may keep watch over his intentions and movements. You will pour out the contents of this pouch and ask him to accept it as trade for the Ghost Light.”

  “What shall I do Sororess?” Briden asked hopefully.

  “And I?” Zorlo inquired eagerly.

  “Try to look regal.” the sororess replied coldly. “Remember what you are.”

  She looked at Protozoa then, as if an afterthought, shifted her eyes to her right where Briden and Zorlo stood. “Try not to say or do anything stupid.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Sororress Shezaheza’s eyes glowed a deep purple as she met the gaze of her first sword and nodded.

  “Let’s go!” Protozoa looked at his two fellow warriors, then took flight.

  Wings buzzing he darted around the rock and zipped over the three sleeping goblins, any of whom were more than five times his size. Without looking back the warrior flew directly to the opening in the cavern ceiling and vanished up the vertical shaft.

  The other two warriors followed the first sword’s flight path. The final fairy, Sororess Shezaheza trailed almost lazily behind.

  Protozoa, Briden, and Zorlo emerged from the shaft into a carved chamber, They instantly noticed a pair of large, glowing yellow eyes fifty yards ahead.

  The eyes were the size of cantaloupes, set four feet apart with narrow, vertical pupils. The illumination they cast reflected off a sea of spilled gold and silver coins with islands of gemstones and shimmering jewelry lining the floor halfway to where the fairies hovered.

  In a grumbling growling voice, the thing behind the eyes said, “Little fairies, thou cometh to plunder Gorzam’s loot. I shall not allow a single coin to leave here in thy greedy little hands.”

  Protozoa looked at Briden, then Zorlo, then back at the eyes ahead of them. “We come not to steal from Gorzam, but to offer a trade.”

  The first sword shifted his weight forward to signal the warriors on his flanks. The three fairies flew forward, their wings humming like giant bees.

  The glowing eyes suddenly rose straight up, almost to the roof of the chamber. A trail of smoke followed the eyes and flash of rolling flames fell away from the dragon’s mouth and dissipated as it spoke again, this time in a voice that boomed and echoed across the stone walls..

  “I trust not the trade of the fay, for thou art a trickster race of conniving swindlers and mischief makers.”

  The thick-scaled head of the great serpent was the size of a heifer, its mouth filled with sharp, curved teeth the length of daggers. The neck stretched forty feet with the girth of a one-hundred year old oak tree.

  The monster’s scales shone like obsidian. Its right front leg slid forward heavily; four digits like fenceposts ending in two-foot talons lay flat atop the layer of coins and jewelry. The body was massive, the size of a barn or larger.

  The three fairies stopped short about twenty yards from the dragon. Protozoa quickly opened the pouch and turned it upside down.

  A flood of many-colored gemstones poured forth from the tiny pouch. Green emeralds, yellow and clear topaz, red rubies, blue sapphires, sparkling diamonds, garnets and agates of every conceivable color fell like water from a giant bucket out of the pouch that fit in the palm of a fairy’s hand.

  Round gemstones, ovals, trilliants, cabochon cuts, pear-shaped crystals, octahedrons, cubes, baguettes, heart shapes, cylinders, rough cuts, marquise cuts, rose cuts, checkerboard cuts, snowflakes, double-terminated points, and braided-cut stones continued to fall by the thousands.

  A pile of sparkling gemstones quickly formed atop the coins below Protozoa. That pile grew and spread as the seconds passed. Still the torrent of shiny stones and crystals fell without slowing in the least.

  Protozoa had to fly higher as the pile reached ta height of four feet, then five. The pile of precious stones grew to six feet tall and easily eight feet across and still gem after gem and stone after stone poured from the tiny pouch.

  Gorzam’s eyes darted back and forth between the stream and the growing pile. His tail crawled out from behind him and gathered a small pile of stones from the larger mound, then scooted it back to just below his head.

  The dragon looked the stones in his sample pile over thoroughly, using the very tip of his tail to roll individual gems over or pick them up. He looked back at Protozoa, who continued to hold the small pouch upside down before him.

  The fairy had been initially startled by the outpouring of gemstones. Thereafter he was stunned, even amazed by the endless stream creating the large mound on the floor.

  After several minutes of watching gemstones come out of the pouch like water out of an irrigation pipe, the fay warrior struggled to remain patient. How much longer must I hold this stupid bag in place for this?

  Briden and Zorlo did as they were told. They hovered silently with straight backs and smug expressions. Inwardly they too were becoming irate over the preposterous situation.

  Without warning the steady stream of gems became a trickle. The trickle stopped and two emeralds fell out; half a second later a ruby and three orange garnets dropped onto the pool of gems. At last the pouch was empty.

  The heap of gemstones on the chamber floor rose to seven feet off the ground and sprawled out ten feet from its center. The value of the pile in gold coins would have been inconceivable.

  Gorzam sniffed the pile then leaned his neck back as if to study the three fay from a new perspective. The dragon could not conceal his desire for the gems, nor his pleasure at finding them authentic. Dark smoke rose from his nostrils.

  He shifted his great yellow eyes to his left and towards the far end of the chamber where the fairies had entered. Speaking directly to Shezaheza, who had slipped into the room after the three warriors approached to present their offer, Gorzam rumbled:

  “Tell me then, O dark fay, that which thou hope to acquire with this generous offering thy minions set before me?”

  Without hesitation the sororess replied, “The Ghost Light of course.”

  “NEVER!” the black dragon half-roared, sending plumes of fire to the ceiling where they expanded in all directions before disappearing.

  In the silence of Gorzam’s brief pause the goblins in the chamber below and in several other nearby chambers could be heard crying out in alarm and scampering away.

  “Such a magical artifact cannot be priced in coins or gems,” said the dragon indignantly. “It is unique, the only one of its kind in these realms and it shall never leave my collection.”

  “However,” the dragon continued as it brought forth a man-sized statue of pure gold, wrapped in its tail.

  Gorzam sat the statue on the fairies’ side of the gemstone mound. The shining gold sculpture depicted a bald young man with a perfectly chiseled physique and three wide eyes on his face; two where one would expect to find them and a third slightly above and between these. A fourth larger eye was centered in the statue’s chest. In his left hand the young man held a scale and in his right a wheel with eight spokes crossing within it over a small inner circle – the solar wheel or spirit wheel.

  “I will trade thee this golden statue of the sun god Saeir, worshipped by the ancient Guths and Turgs, among others on this continent thousands of years ago.”

  “A generous offer, oh noble dragon.” Shezaheza replied in her musical voice. “On behalf of my matron I thank you, but I am afraid I cannot accept this.”

  Gorzam growled, a deep thunderous rumble that vibrated through the stone all around the fay. A sheet of yellow-orange flame escaped his mouth and danced along the ceiling to disperse against the wall high above the sororess’s head. She felt the heat like a weight pressing down on her from above. Not a threat, merely a consequence of a fire-breathing dragon’s growl, the display nonetheless got the attention of all four fairies.

  Twin plumes of deep orange fire rose from the dragon’s nostrils as he responded to the sororess. “Sister of these fearsome warriors, and daughter of thy dark matron I wish no harm to come to the four fay who have travelled so far to trade with me.”

  He lowered his head to just above the golden statue and licked it with a tongue of fire, causing it to shine like the sun it represented.

  “Three-thousand and eight-hundred pounds of solid, purest gold young one. In weight alone approaching but not equal to the pile of stones thou hast brought for me,” the dragon’s explained, his voice the sound of great boulders smashing together with the undertone of a thunderstorm.

  “Consider also,” Gorzam went on. “The simple, austere beauty of the sculpture, bearing likeness to the painting of Saeir on the temple wall at Ellengard. A magnificent representation of the solar deity’s all-seeing nature, his role as divine judge, benefactor of his faithful and woeful bane of their enemies.”

  The dragon shifted its weight and came up onto all fours. It sounded like a landslide as it moved.

  “This piece once stood in the doorway of the sun temple in Ladora City. Six thousand years old, an antique even by dragon’s standards, can thou see?” The dragon’s voice approached something amicability. “This too is a priceless treasure able to buy thy matron anything in the realms, from a king and his army to a city-state along the Arm.”

  “Gorzam, we need the Ghost Light.” Shezaheza explained.

  “Thou shall not have it!” the dragon bellowed, shaking the chamber with his voice.

  “We’ll bring it back after the matron is finished with it.” the sororess pleaded.

  “Lies and fay trickery!” Gorzam spat.

  A ball of orange-blue fire rolled from his mouth down over the statue, melting part of the back of the head and turning both hands, along with the scale and the solar wheel, into liquid gold that ran down the arms and dripped onto the floor. The three warrior fay had to scatter in three directions to avoid the flames that splashed over and off of the statue.

  “Look at what thou hast caused me to do fay witch!” Gorzam shouted.

  The dragon’s angry voice nearly deafened the for fairies. He stomped forward on his left foot and the chamber trembled.

  “I bear no responsibility for this damage!” he boomed. “Thou shall take the trade yet as it is and without further compensation for its flaws!”

  Twin streams of fire shot from the dragon’s nostrils out to each side striking the walls to the left and right. Large craters melted into the stone of each wall and lava flowed down onto the floor.

  The air in the chamber became sweltering, nearly taking the breath of each fay. Sweat ran down the faces of the warriors and they flew backwards almost to the entrance shaft in an effort to get away from the heat.

  “Take thy statue and be gone from my lair little fay!” The dragon arched its neck and lowered its head, fire seeping from the sides of its mouth as it shifted forward.

  “That will do Gorimzviriogzistis!” Shezaheza declared in a voice much deeper than her usual tone.

  Her words rang with undeniable authority. A faint echo followed each syllable.

  The dragon flinched, then gasped, yet no fire escaped its mouth or nostrils. “How came thee to know that name???”

  The great serpent spoke in an almost shrill tone many octaves higher than before. He took a full step back.

  “My matron is all-knowing and eternally wise.” said the sororess. “She of course armed me with your true name before sending me here; I had hoped to avoid using it.”

  “Speak it not again.” the dragon pleaded. “For I have no defense against it!”

  “First Sword, retrieve the Ghost Light.” the sororess ordered.

  Without hesitation Protozoa whisked to a corner behind and to the left of the dragon, where a plain-looking wooden lantern sat atop a closed chest. The fairy took the lantern by the handle and darted back to the other side of the chamber.

  All the while the dragon growled involuntarily but did his best to suppress the sound. He spoke not another word.

  “When our matron is finished with the lantern we shall return it.” Shezaheza reiterated.

  “Perhaps.” the dragon said. “It matters not; your matron’s use of the artifact will serve as my revenge, for all who deploy the light are consumed by the lantern.”

  “It will not be this way for the matron.” Shezaheza assured the dragon.

  She nodded to Protozoa, who motioned to the other two warriors. The four fay disappeared back down the shaft in the blink of an eye.

  Out of the chamber below and into a long hallway they flew. A dozen goblins shouted, barked, and pointed to the fay as they passed overhead.

  “There.” the sororess motioned to a crack in the stone through which moonlight entered the hall.

  The four fairies exited through the crack and found themselves on a rocky hillside on an island of great boulder piles and rock outcroppings as far as the eye could see. To their right the sea crashed against a sheer stone cliff below them.

  Zorlo trembled at the site of the ocean. The dark fay are thwarted, made ill by natural saltwater and are unable to fly or sail over it.

  Shezaheza waved a magic wand before her and said: “Bridge of Tarsainesiag appear and allow us passage back to our forest across the sea!”

  The shimmering likeness of a sturdy bridge appeared before the fay. It stretched into the distance, eventually entering a portal that had formed in the air above the sea. One by one the fairies stepped onto the bridge and walked in the direction of the distant portal.

  The sororess looked back over her shoulder a final time and smiled, her thoughts on the noble dragon who had loaned them the Ghost Light. After a moment she turned and walked onto the bridge above the ocean, its magic protecting her from the saltwater below.