Chapter 55: Not Ready
The Dragon’s Pit loomed before Baines, a cavernous maw carved into the mountainside, its jagged entrance exhaling a faint, sulfuric warmth. The air thrummed with ancient power, a pulse that seemed to resonate with the very stones.
Baines stood motionless, his sharp gaze fixed on Smallfoot, who now bore a human form that radiated an unfamiliar intensity. ’She’s changed,’ he muttered, his voice barely audible over the distant rumble of the pit.
The transformation was stark, not just her newfound ability to shift into a human guise, but something deeper. Once a 3rd star dragon, comparable to her rider, Smallfoot’s strength now eluded precise measurement. She hovered in a nebulous space, stronger than a 3rd star, but not quite a 4th star.
’Or is there a different ranking for dragons?’ Baines mused, his mind sifting through possibilities. Her aura had shifted, exuding an air of maturity, dominance, and a subtle undercurrent of danger that marked her as a true dragon.
The title no longer felt like a mere label; it was a mantle she wore with undeniable authority.
His curiosity sated for the moment, Baines spoke, his tone clipped and direct. "Alright, take me there."
"Huh?" Smallfoot’s eyes widened, her delicate human features twisting in disbelief.
She had just unveiled a monumental change in her being, a transformation that should have sparked awe or at least a question. Yet Baines stood impassive, his expression as unyielding as the stone around them.
’Does he hate relating with people that much?’ she wondered, a flicker of frustration crossing her mind. With a resigned sigh, she turned and led the way into the Dragon’s Pit, her footsteps echoing softly against the rocky floor.
As they descended into the shadowed depths, Smallfoot broke the silence. "That thing you taught me, it was the same technique you used to mimic the dragon’s tongue, wasn’t it?" She glanced back, hoping for a response, but Baines remained silent, his focus fixed ahead.
Undeterred, she continued, her voice gaining strength. "That technique... it was like a key unlocking something I’d forgotten. Memories of our ancestors and stories came flooding back, which was the story I told you about. Days later, the changes began. My scales thickened, my body grew larger, redder. I remembered the Eye of Truth, the Dragon Fear, the long-lost magic of our kind, I remembered everything."