Sekali, "The Sister City"

 

                                Chapter 76

 

     Sekali and his companions heard the rumble echoing up through the cavern. Uther, who had been spinning the shaft of his axe in his hands, thoroughly impatient, jumped up from the rock he was sitting on and looked down the tunnel.
     “Finyat!” He bellowed and raced after his friend.
     Sekali glanced at Aria expectantly. She drew her blade and sighed in exasperation, following after Uther.
     “He lives, or I would know.”
     Sekali followed her into the tunnel, drawing his blade as he broke into a steady run. It took a while to get there, amid his ignored requests for Uther to stop. Uther was either not listening, or did not hear him. Sekali believed he was just playing the thick-headed dwarf he was so good at playing.
     Once inside the large chamber, which Uther foolishly charged into, as if he had a battalion of his kinsmen backing him, there sat Finyat upon the massive belly of the Hunter Dragon, holding a brightly burning orb of light.
     “About time you made it. I was wondering if I needed to pack my treasure out piece by piece, or use that wonderful little pack of yours, Aria!” Finyat laughed and jumped to his feet and began dancing a jig upon the belly of the dragon.
     Uther stood speechless with Sekali at his side. Suddenly, Aria began laughing. Soon she was wiping away tears from her eyes at the sight of Finyat dancing upon a dead dragon, as if he had no care in all the world. Of course her reaction fed Finyat’s fire, and that is when he began to really show off.
     At her approach he leapt from the dragon and did a somersault in mid air, landing perfectly on both his feet and one hand, the orb of light swinging wildly in his other upraised hand. He landed before Aria and growled as if he were the dragon.
     “Halt, who dares invade my lair! I shall splinter and smash your bones!” With that he made the most evil look he could muster, glaring at Aria.
     Uther joined in, bellowing in deep laughter to see Finyat making such a fool of himself. “Why bless my grandfather’s grandson’s beard! But tell us, how did you manage this grand deed Finyat?” Uther approached Finyat and slapped him on the shoulder hard, and was returned with a mighty, heroic grin.
     “You should have been here for the battle, Uther. First I drew my blades and challenged it to a duel . . . one on one. It accepted, and so I was forced to do battle with it. It was a long exhausting fight, but the better half of this cave’s population was the victor!” At that, Finyat began dancing about Uther gleefully, circling him again and again, until Uther asked, under his breath, about the treasure.
     Sekali’s heart leapt into his throat at the mentioning of it; the richness of dragon plunder might be useful in their quest. “We need to find its treasure. We could benefit greatly from it.”
     Finyat held up a hand and stopped dancing, putting on a regal air. “Ahem! My treasure! I fought it and defeated the mighty dragon one on one, and without help; the treasure is mine.”
     The three stopped and silently stared at Finyat. Aria took off her backpack and held it out for Finyat to take. Finyat merrily walked over and reached for the pack, but Aria lifted it higher than he could reach. Finyat seemed to get the message instantly.
     “Aria, I will give you ten percent of the proceeds for the use of your pack.
     She bit her lip, her silvery eyes beaming playfully at him. “Finyat, if there be a treasure hoard, you will be gifted with a lifetime of packing it out . . . if other greedy hands allow it while you are journeying back across the sea to stash your first load. Finyat, gold and steel are very heavy.” She winked at him playfully, taking on a cocky stance.
     “Alright, we’ll split it evenly.”
     But Aria continued as if she had not heard him. “It will take all of us quite some time to gather it up and pack it in this little backpack. If you do it yourself, who knows if another creature might happen along and challenge you for it.”
     Finyat lowered his head in mock shame. “Oh, alright, equal shares . . . but I get first pick!”
     “Now you’ve made a bargain.” Aria said, laughing in triumph, grinning from ear to ear at Uther and Sekali who were listening intently.
     Uther narrowed his eyes upon Finyat. “Where’s the treasure, Finyat!” To which Finyat shrugged.
     “I don’t know . . . search me.”
     Uther looked around and then up into the tunnel where a stream of silt and dust cascaded down upon the slain dragon’s belly.
     “I did not explore the area up there very far. It must be up there, I suppose.”
     Aria shook her head. “No, it won’t be up there. A dragon is too suspicious to let its treasure out of its filthy sight. Look about the cavern, and especially look for anything that could be secreted into a crevice, or a hole of some sort; it might be buried.”
     They all split up and searched. Aria’s guess had proven correct. With some searching, Finyat found what they were looking for. Deep in a crevice, behind a large pillar of rock, at the back of the cave he saw some silver coins scattered about on the surface of the uneven floor. He called to everyone and pointed. Finyat quickly explored the large crevice , being careful of any possible traps, like a balancing stone, the dragon may have guarded the treasure with. But he found none.
     As Finyat explored deeply into the crevice, his mouth dropped open. Before him lay the plunder of the dragon. The gold lay in heaps, torn-open bags and chests. Mixed within the coins, were some weapons and shields, armor and items of a curious make. Aria had been right; the plunder of a dragon was great. Excited, Finyat called to his companions.
     “Here, here, come on in. It is safe!”
     They all entered the area in which Finyat had secured, their eyes reflecting ten-thousand points of light, from a small mountain of treasure.

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