The Prophesy: Book 3 - The Hammer of Atlantis

 

The net descended into the abyss slowly, accompanied by dragons charged with protecting it from any mishap. Meanwhile, other dragons kept Megalodons, which were congressing in ever-greater numbers, at bay.

"What's with these sharks? They seem to congregate here like politicians around money!" thundered Harold.

"Who knows? Maybe there's a pork barrel nearby?" replied Sitar.

Things went easily until the ballasts hit the sea bottom.

«Stop! The ballasts hit the seabed!» ordered Paschal.

The next difficult part began: wrapping the net over the crystal and the basaltic column encasing its lower half. The five Spiders, under fine manual control from their respective occupants, began a delicate ballet. Each Spider grabbed a ballast cable and began pulling them in a pentagonal shape whose centre was occupied by the looming crystal and its pillar. Once the ballasts had been positioned properly, the Spiders gripped the cables and began exerting gentle traction, opening the net.

«Release the lower net guides!»

A dragon pressed on the trigger that unlocked the net from the guiding screws.

«Lower the net! Slowly!»

Above, on the ship, the control brakes were released slowly, and the net resumed its descent. As it progressed downward, the Spiders, opening the net like an umbrella and covering the Crystal, pulled the ballasts cables.

«Release the median net guides!»

The progress continued and, gradually, the Crystal and its pillar were wrapped in the net. As the lower edge of the net came into view from the sea bottom, the last guide was released and the net quickly pulled into position.

«The first phase is complete. Pull the cable up and tie the lower collar to its tip!»

«Ok. The guide cable is back into position. The balloon just resurfaced.»

The next eight hours saw four collars lowered to the sea bottom, and get pulled over the netted Crystal before being tightened in place to ensure the net would not move. There was one five-foot wide collar every twenty-five feet.

«We take an eight-hour rest! The third phase is critical. I want everyone fresh!» ordered Paschal. «What's the situation with the wildlife?»

«Worsening! We have never seen so many Megalodons together,» Samson informed those below.

«Maybe the collapse of the Vortex is a signal of abundant food for them,» commented Enron. «The rumble must have been heard from every ocean and the convergence probably began some months ago.»

«That would be our luck. As if we needed this!» replied Sitar. «If they bug us too much, I'm converting them to fish and chips!»

***

The next work shift began just as the sun was setting over the ocean. The primary cable, composed of sixteen thick strands of steel, themselves made of fifty thinner twisted cables. The main cable strands were of varying lengths, their ends carrying powerful snap hooks to tie to the collars' eyes. To prevent the traction cable from wrapping itself around the guiding cable, the divers installed dive wings that pushed the two cables apart by ten feet. The wings were installed every fifty feet, which required the descent to stop for thirty minutes for each install. Every descent took forty minutes. The whole process of bringing the cable to the bottom would take a bit more then nine and a half days, working twenty-four hours a day, assuming the weather maintained itself, which was far from sure given the growing storm south of their position.

The descent began slowly and the first wing, a chequered red and white painted steel plate shaped like a hydrofoil was tied at the tip of the cable and the guide. It then began to slide slowly with the cable into the sea. Fifty feet later, the next wing, painted yellow and white, was tied in place. The process repeated itself with another wing, an orange and white checkerboard. The colouring scheme repeated itself, with each red and white board labelled with the length of cable below.

As the first shift came to an end, the last wing clip, marked 600, was tied before the shift ended. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon and the swells were at three feet, which was still within tolerance for the safety of the divers. Samson took over the day shift, replacing Typhoon, which had handled the night shift.

"How did it go last night?"

"There was no issue. The swells are increasing. I've sent a decade of Pegasuses to monitor the brewing storm. As far as the Megalodons are concerned, it's getting worse, but I've put every dragon not busy with the cable on patrol. I've asked for another three centuries of dragons shortly before dawn. They should be here in an hour. On the technical side, check the brakes on the main drum. I was planning for the auxiliary brakes to be used while we replace the braking pads on the main ones. They are overheating. The tension is within tolerance, but it is climbing faster then what Paschal's model anticipated. I suggest you contact the prince when he wakes up below."

"Ok. Take care, Typhoon. I'll update the log with anything special during the day."

***

Samson called back the dragon centurie that had been at sea for the past twelve hours, replacing it with two fresh ones and put the other additional centurie on leave until sunset. He updated the logbook, and explained his reasoning: two centuries per twelve hour shift. The main brake pads were replaced before Paschal was contacted by Samson.

«Paschal?»

«Yes?»

«We have issues with the brake pads. They are burning a lot faster then expected. Also the tensiometer reports the tension is climbing faster then anticipated. We ran on auxiliary brakes for the past two hours, during which time we replaced the main brake pads. They were severely gouged by the cable.»

«Send a dragon down to check the cable and wings.»

«It's already going down. The dragon's report should be available shortly.»

Ten minutes later a green dragon reported from below.

«There is a lot of hydraulic pressure on the wings. It is due to the presence of a strong crosscurrent cutting through the path of the guide cable.»

«What is the vertical range and the speed?»

«I have followed the cable. It starts at thee hundred feet and extends down to two thousand feet. The cable and the wings are embedded in it for a length of five hundred and fifty feet already. It travels north at six knots.»

«Descend to the Crystal and check for any additional currents on the way down,» ordered Paschal. «Sitar, pop to Thebes and add the current to the model, including speed and thickness. Get feedback on additional flows from the dragon. Samson, give me the deviation from normal data stream?»

After some quick mathematics, Paschal came back with a temporary decision.

«Resume the descent. Monitor the tension. It should reach maximum just as the first wing exits the current, at the two thousand mark. Keep me informed if things change suddenly.»

Things resumed normally, with reports on the cable's tension being fed to Samson, Paschal, and Sitar. Sitar fed the additional data into the numeric model built with the help of the Sixth Pyramid's Artificial Intelligence, and compared the data with the model's estimate, fine-tuning the equation set to minimize error. By the time Harold took over the deck, the cable had reached its intended one thousand two hundred foot depth. The two exchanged information on weather forecast, issues during the previous shift and problems noted by Typhoon the previous night.

"Enron is off to Thebes to make additional brake pads. He should be back with Sitar by sundown."

"And where is Thorsten? I was expecting to see him?"

"He went off with Enron. He said something about the need to consult the Ancients' archives. He didn't tell me when he expected to fly back."

Late that afternoon, Enron returned with enough brake pads to last a lifetime, accompanied by three centuries of Pegasuses.

«Get everyone out of the water. Thorsten's made another dirty trick of his!»

The divers climbed on the floating deck quickly and the dragons took to the air, pursued by schools of Megalodons. As the last dragon made it out, the Pegasuses climbed to twenty thousand feet and the Elves riding them hanged to the straps. Suddenly the Pegasuses did a reverse roll and began diving toward the sea's surface. At two thousand feet, the strange barrels tied on the Pegasuses' sides were released and fell into the sea. At first, nothing happened, but suddenly, there were a series of powerful geysers as the depth charges exploded, throwing the sharks high in the air and killing many instantly. Wave after wave of Pegasuses dropped their charge and took off for Thebes to reload at supersonic speed.

The impact on the Megalodons was immediate, as they began attacking each other madly, converting the area around the ship into a bloody soup. The Atlantean vessel seemed to be in the pupil of a mad red eye frothing with worms.

"Bloody hell!" thundered Harold, as he watched the events unfolding from the deck.

"Yes it is. I never realized there were so many. I doubt the Dragons would have been able to keep them far from us much longer," replied Sitar as he eyed the sea battle.

"Here comes the next wave," pointed out Enron, just as a centurie of Pegasuses took aim and dropped their load on the feeding frenzy, adding to the mayhem.

"Do you know how many waves are ready?"

"There were two thousand Pegasuses on the field when I left. If things are any indication, that means there are two hundred waves coming in, at fifteen minutes interval. Oh yes. As soon as the sun goes completely down, Thorsten told me to drop this into the sea. If I get his explanation, it will spread from the ship and reach the biomass to react with it, crating a visible target for the Pegasuses."

"Given the size of the circle, is this big enough? It looks rather small in volume."

"I know, but I trust Thorsten when it comes to chemistry. Look at these geysers and admire the efficiency of these drop charges."

As the sun disappeared slowly below the horizon, Enron threw the big barrel off the side of the floating deck and smashed it open with a well-adjusted axe cut. Immediately, the sea took a greenish look, and as the still spinning sea began distributing what appeared to be a sickly colouring, the Atlanteans watched. At first, they only saw sporadic flaring as the material came in contact with floating organic debris, but suddenly, as darkness settled on the sea's surface, there was a powerful, almost blinding light encircling the ship and its eddy.

"There we are. The next wave is just in time to feed the inferno," said Sitar.

As the bombs added more to the biomass, the brightness increased, to the point it lighted the sea for dozen of miles around, revealing the black, sombre profile of the Atlantean ship, which stood out in sharp contrast to the sea's sunset orange colour.

"We're an hour late on our timetable. Can we go back in the water?"

"Thorsten said that after the fourth wave, he would reduce the explosive power, maintaining them just powerful enough to sustain the frenzy. Notice the geysers are now at half height, still one hundred feet, but at this distance, the risk is minimal. The dragons can now focus on protecting the divers at close range, in case an adventurous Megalodon decided to come close."

"Ok. Everyone back in the water. Glide in. I don't want the Megalodons to be attracted by unnecessary splashes."

Things resumed and by the time Typhoon took over from Harold, the lost time had been recovered. He couldn't help but whistle at the show, as each detonation threw huge geysers of orange and bloody red water sky-high. Even at the distance it was, the continuous drumming of the explosions was deafening. It was even worse below deck as the water carried the sound waves much more effectively then air.

"How deep do these charges go?" he asked Enron.

"Thorsten told me he had set them to range from explosion on contact to seventeen thousand feet. He decided not to drop charges to the bottom or closer then two hundred feet to prevent mud from making visibility nil. The deeper the charge the more power it generates due to water pressure, so the deepest charges are also the smallest, but the most numerous. Harp, Paschal and the others must have problems sleeping!"

"I see. Well, you won't be finding it so funny when you go below deck to eat at the galley. The explosions have shattered every bit of china. I had to make myself a copper plate," replied Ian.

"That goes with war, brother. We are still deep in one, in case you have forgotten."

"Ok, Typhoon. Here is the last report: the swell is at four feet and increasing. We are now at 1800 feet. According to Paschal, in two hundred feet, things should stabilize for cable tension and fall back to the expected progression."

The next shift went without a glitch. At two thousand feet, the traction resumed its initial growth curve, clearly telling the deck hands that the lead wing had exited the current. The next time Samson found himself and his deck crew on top, the cable had reached 2400 feet and was progressing down steadily. The battle with the Megalodons was still in full swing, as wave after wave of Pegasuses dropped their depth charges within the orange-red circle that was still widening. As the sun rose above the eastern horizon, the dragons began aerial surveillance. The depth charges were beginning to be a bit too dispersed to offer a continuous ring of fire around their work site. Furthermore, the roughing seas made eye inspection a bit more difficult. Finally, worried about the situation, Samson sent a centurie of dragons below to tighten the security perimeter.

When it was time for Samson to be replaced by Harold, the cable had reached three thousand feet, and the swells were at six feet.

«Paschal, what's the tolerance on the cable for sudden tractions?"

«I put it at two megatons; the cable is composed of a special type of graphite. Why do you ask?»

«The swells are at six feet and it is becoming ever more difficult to work up here. I have ordered all hands tied to safety ropes. The storm is coming our way.»

«Ask Thorsten to make it rain. If it rains far away it loses power.»

«Rain? You say that like it was a cooking recipe!»

«Dad, he only needs to drop a considerable amount of salts in the cloud. And salt is one of the most common elements on earth. I'm sure he can brew up a salt storm of first magnitude! Knowing him, he'll port in the high atmosphere huge blocks of salt and blow them up to dust! The rest will follow. It would be a lot easier then changing wind patterns.»

«I like the idea! Harold, I have made enough depth charges to last us three days. The dwarfs know how to handle the charges and load them on the Pegasuses safely. I'm not needed here for a few days. I'm going to port to a salt flat and get us a few hundred megatons of the white stuff. It's going to be fun! I think I have the perfect place, a salt flat which used to be a lake some years ago." Thorsten replied. "I'm taking a couple of dragons to ensure protection in case I meet some unexpected visitors. Salt is precious, and who knows? Maybe the orcs are exploiting some mines."

"All right. Keep me informed."

Later that day, a strange train of objects were seen flying overhead, heading on a south and east trajectory. At first, Harold was alarmed and he sent out Enron to investigate the phenomenon. The king came back laughing so hard he almost torched the ship before converting back to his Elvin form.

"What's so funny?"

"Thorsten found his salt mine. What you see flying above us are cubes of salt three hundred feet on a side and moving straight for that storm. Once they get over the clouds, they explode, salting the cloud tops. The water condenses around them and falls to the sea. It's a deluge below. By the time this night's over that storm will have lost most if not all of its potential for mayhem! The dwarf king must be in his element: mining!"

Harold blinked a couple of times, then chuckled.

"To each his own. I'm glad Thorsten is enjoying himself. What is happening to the wind?"

"It's slowing down. It's already below sixty miles per hour, and by morning, will be back to its usual ten to fifteen."

"And the swells?"

"They will continue to grow here until the peak is passed by early morning. The night will be rough."

"Do you think this will stop our progress?"

"It depends, do ten-foot swells pose a problem?"

"Paschal did not mention the issue."

"Then let's wait and see."

The day wore on and by sunset, the swell was at eight feet, making standing on the float a perilous exercise. As Typhoon stepped out of the lower aft cabin, he realised there was a lot more trouble ahead then the previous night.

"What's the situation?" he asked.

"The swells are at eight feet and wash over the floating deck every three seconds. Everyone is tied up, but it's becoming ever more risky to do the work. I have no idea what to do. We need a way to break waves."

"I'll think of something. What's the depth?"

"We are on schedule, but barely. The mark is now at three thousand six hundred feet. You have command, Typhoon."

Typhoon decided to have a look at sea level. Maybe it would give him an idea. His first dive almost threw him back on the ship's deck as a wave swept him high above the gunwales. The king decided he needed to be a lot bigger, so he took his majestic dragon form and surfaced. The result was immediate. The wave train, which had been pummelling their float deck from the south, immediately lost kinetic energy on the imposing mass of the Dragon King in its full glory. The swells down from his body dropped to less then two feet, and the floating deck remained dry from water. That was the solution that had evaded Samson.

«Forty dragons to the sea! Take your full dragon shape upon hitting the water and form a ring around the ship by lying on your side!»

As the ring formed, the ship stopped gyrating violently, and the oarsmen were relieved of most of the issues in maintaining the ship at its assigned position. The process of lowering the cable into the sea could continue. By the time Samson took over from Typhoon, the cable had dropped to seven thousand four hundred feet and the swell outside the ring of dragons had reached its peak, very nearly fifteen feet. It would still be a long while before the dragons could break off and do other things.

By morning, the cable had sunk to 4200 feet. Typhoon and the dragon ring took off to be immediately replaced by a new set. Dropping on the deck, Typhoon met with Harold and explained the changes and progress made.

"I'm going to hunt, Harold. We are getting hungry. I'll be back for my shift tonight."

"Ok. Would you mind paying a visit to the salt mine with a group of dragons? I've not seen any salt cubes fly by yet, which is surprising."

"Do you know where the Dwarfs went?"

"Thorsten talked about a salt flat, somewhere up west and north of the kingdom. Take a Centurie with you."

"I'll need to visit the Archives first. North and west isn't precise enough."

"Ok. I think the Blue Pyramid has received a copy of everything in store in the Library and has indexed everything. Don't ask me how it works I'm lost. See the Librarian. If he proves difficult, roast his whiskers a bit!"

"Oh fun! Precise cooking! You know I like my meat raw."

"I do too, but I think that guy's too old to be consumed without a five hundred year stay in meat tenderizer! I don't want you to get broken teeth, an indigestion, or worse, food poisoning!"

Typhoon laughed and signalled for a group of dragons to take to the air. Joining them he led the centurie to Thebes to get the information he needed. His visit to the Librarian proved a lot less difficult then Harold had anticipated. As he walked in Thebes' royal suites while his centurie fed on fresh meat, he met the archduchess of Solon, and they went to the Librarian's office together.

***

"What brings you here, Dianne?" asked the old geezer. "Last time you visited, the library was turned upside down and was transported with everything in it to this place."

"Stop complaining, you are very happy and you know it. You have been working trying to sort out all the books in the Atlantean Library and those recovered from the Ancients. You must have an orgasm every minute!"

"I should have given you a spanking when I could."

"Missed opportunities never come back, old man. Now, here is Dragon King Typhoon, and he needs your help, so you better be good to him because I have not passed the age to give you a spanking!"

"A Dragon in my library? Are you nuts? He could set everything on fire!"

"Not everything, old man, but your whiskers. I have Imperial license to do so if you prove difficult!" replied Typhoon in a voice so sweet it sounded dangerous.

"Harold said that? The Emperor is getting a lot more fun to be with!" replied Dianne, laughing at the bleaching librarian.

"Please, refrain from calling him an Emperor, he has heart burns at being a king, and no one has the heart to tell him Pharaoh means Emperor, although he probably has an inkling that it is so."

"Aren't you young to be king, even for a Dragon?"

"Old man, you need to get out of your books, mites are eating your brain. There should be a section on contemporary history in that junk yard, and it should carry the documents and Imperial decrees, including my father's abdication and my accession to the Dragon Throne."

The librarian frowned heavily as he heard the impudent call his cherished library a junkyard. He huffed and puffed, and blew steam, but never managed to impress the king or the archduchess.

"Now that your blood pressure is high enough to function, can you help us? We need to know where a salt lake could be found in the area?"

"In the kingdom, there are none. That is the second time I get asked that. There was a dwarf a few days ago, and now you. What's with this interest with salt?"

"It's none of your business. What information did you give him?"

"I sent him to the Blue Pyramid, as it has a more extensive coverage of the continent's geology. He..."

Dianne saw the Dragon King disappear.

"Damn it, what is it with these crowned heads? They all disappear!"

"I guess Typhoon popped directly in the control chamber of the Blue Pyramid, much like Thorsten did. I'll be heading back. By the way, have you completed the task the Emperor asked of you?"

"Are you nuts? I've barely finished with passing every scroll in that machine over there, one by one. I don't even understand why I have been asked to do it!"

"That machine duplicates everything and stores the contents in one of the Pyramids' electronic memory for instant access. It sorts everything by alphabetical order, much like you do here. I have been told that the duplicates are sent to the Tessaract library. Each layer of a parchment is reproduced; if it got erased three times, it gets triplicated and each layer is recreated. Now, don't ask me how that works. It's another one of Paschal's marvels. Even the Emperor gave up on understanding the process."

"Is this not sorcery?"

"Are you daft? We are governed by Magic and Sorcerers, in case you were sleeping with your head in the sand!"

***

Typhoon ported directly to the Blue Pyramid control room. The Artificial Intelligence immediately recognized his presence and his identity.

«What can I do for you, King Typhoon?»

«What was the last request by the King of Dwarves?»

«Where to find salt mines.»

«What was the answer to his quest?»

«An ancient lake, 40° 52' 24" N 112° 08' 21" W.»

«Did he ask for more sites?»

«No. There were more but with the giant earthquake some years ago, those vanished under the sea.»

«Thank you; can you port me directly to the Sixth Pyramid? I need to talk to the AI there.»

«No need, ask, it hears.»

«I need one hundred and eleven tracking device, fit for Dragons.»

«As you request. Analyzing. Creating. Duplicating. Porting to your location. Look behind you. It is a ring to put on your front left toe. It will shrink tight to fit. When you shift shape it will become a finger ring. The tracking device is in the orichalque crystal and fed by magic. The range is twenty million miles. »

«That is perfect. Ah, I like the gold!»

«It is yours, your Majesty. I have scanned the image of the Centurie that is travelling with you and created orichalque that matches their respective colour. That way they will not stand out.»

«Good idea, I like it. Sorry to run, but I have to get to that place you located for us and I've not eaten yet.»

«Help yourself!» the Blue Pyramid said as it materialised twenty tons of raw meat.

Typhoon quickly swallowed everything, drank a hundred gallons of water, and then, after thanking once again the Artificial Intelligences for their help, ported right back to the Field of Mars to collect his centurie, returning from a good hunt.

«Take off, heading 284°, for a three hour and ten minutes flight at six hundred miles per hour. Take off at two minutes interval per wing, climb to thirty thousand feet and layer drop at twenty-five feet intervals. Begin!»

The first in the air was Typhoon and he quickly climbed to the assigned altitude, followed by the twenty wings, ten squadron leaders, and the Flight Centurion. The activity intrigued Black White-Wing, and he decided to follow the Dragons at a distance, from sixty thousand feet. A whole centurie of Pegasuses took off behind the Dragons and took to shadowing the Dragons from high above their flight path.

The Pyramids relayed between each other the change of position of Dragons and Pegasuses, and began tracking the Dragons and their shadows, by feeding information requests to different Atlantean units already in the air.

***

Three hours later the dragon centurie flew over the salt mine. What they saw totally shocked them. Below them was a shiny white surface and in the corner, against a cliff of crystalline salts, three dragons were fighting a veritable army of giant bipedal lizards. Blood and members were flying in all directions as dragons flew and dived, biting savagely at the huge predators, each weighing from sixty to one hundred tons apiece. Thorsten was in the middle, eyes red with blood lust, as were the two dragons that had accompanied him in his quest for salt. His tail spines swung on the side of an Albertosaurus, sending it flying in the air and breaking its two hind legs. As Typhoon watched, expecting the ptesauraurus to stay put, he noticed something strange. Barely had it crashed on the ground and his body been broken that it began mending itself. In less then two minutes it came back into the fray at full throttle, as if nothing had happened. This did not add up! First, Albertausauruses had been gone for over sixty-five million years; second, if these animals had been alive, they should be bleeding and the salt should be wet with it and guts; third, there seemed to be no dead animal around, and the battle had been going on for at least six to eight hours!

«Damn it! I know what's wrong! Thorsten and the others are fighting illusions! Notice there isn't any shadows! This is not a normal battle, but a battle of mages and right now our three friends are caught in a battle of will expressed by these monstrosities! They have to use all their will to resist and cannot afford to call for help! I will change that right now! Harp! Port to my position immediately all affairs ceasing! Dragon form!»

«I'm coming, Typhoon. What's the problem?»

«Thorsten is engaged in a battle of mages. It's your speciality!»

Right then Ian and Harp appeared high above the battleground.

«Explain!»

«The only ones projecting shadows are the three dragons. All the others are in effect illusions that are there to drain their energy. What we need to find is who or what has enough power to hold that kind of illusion for eight hours in a row. And kill it!»

After observing things for a minute, Ian noted the same things Typhoon had. But he also noticed that one of the illusions, for such it was, never partook in the battle.

«I wonder why it's not involving itself in the fight?»

«My lord, the only reason it is not involved is because it hides the one that must be tackled.»

«Ah, it's you, White-Wing. Yes, I think you are right. Now, what does it hide? And where?»

«It may be hiding underground, and Thorsten's salt mining might have threatened it in some way.»

«Let me see if this is the case, my lord.»

«What do you plan to do Typhoon?»

«I prefer to keep it to myself, my lord. It may be listening on us.»

Typhoon climbed to the maximum altitude his wings could carry him, at well over two hundred thousand feet then he took a dive, bringing his speed to its maximum and dropping to the ground like a stone. On impact, he reached Match ten and rammed the immobile figure below, passing right through and creating an earthquake that opened the salt flats for miles around. Instantly all the illusions disappeared as the salt flat collapsed. Typhoon, only slightly shaken, crawled out of the huge sinkhole.

«Problem solved.»

«This statement is not entirely true, Lord Dragon. We still need to find out who made these illusions. If they could affect three Dragons, they could affect others,» White-wing stated.

«That's true. Let's clean up this mess. Port everything salty to the sea. Leave anything else behind for examination! All dragons! Porting duty!»

While the Dragon Centurie began porting every bit and piece of salt they met, the Pegasuses kept watch from out of sight, high above the battlefield. Thorsten, eyes red with fury, was a bit taken aback by the disappearance of the foes, and it took Typhoon a few minutes to get through to him. Once the three dragons had regained some modicum of control, they too took to porting salt blocks over the nearest ocean. An hour later, a huge open-pit salt mine existed where once there had been a salt flat. As the boys surveyed the result, it became apparent the entire salt flat extended well below the floor of the pit, and that it had huge tunnels crisscrossing it in all directions, similar to an anthill.

«I wonder what could have built this underground maze?» wondered Ian.

«Have you found anything abnormal?» asked Typhoon.

«Not yet, but we are clearing another layer of salt. Hopefully, we will reach the bottom of this shortly,» the Dragon Centurion reported.

Thirty minutes later the floor had dropped another hundred feet and showed numerous openings going down in the salt dome. The princes and kings shifted shape to smaller form, deciding to take the bat shape for their uncanny ability to fly with echolocation in darkness. They descended in the strange hexagonal grid ever deeper. At first, nothing seemed to justify the structure and its regularity, but at some point, great vaults seemed to materialize as their echo locator indicated wide expenses of open space ahead of them.

«Let's land and examine this cave before progressing further,» decided Typhoon, apparently in charge of the rescue and exploratory expedition.

They landed and shifted to their human shape. Harp produced Bata and began to generate light with it, at first in small quantity, as he did not want to blind them, then with increasing intensity. What slowly revealed to their amazed eyes was a veritable cathedral of salt, with huge pillars, and exits in all directions. As they walked on the polished floor, they noticed rows upon rows of strange oblong objects.

«What are these?» asked Ian, as he examined them closely.

«They look like eggs,» replied Typhoon.

«Eggs? I thought only dragons were rock-based?»

«What do you mean, Ian? Are you telling me these are...»

«Exactly. I did a magic scan and they are a composition of Si, P, Se, and Li, exactly your exoskeleton composition, Typhoon, and your eggs as well. These would be dragon eggs if they had the right shape, which they do not. I'm intrigued.»

«So am I, my Lord, so am I! Let's continue the exploration on foot, and not disturb anything.»

The exploratory team resumed its progress across the vast cavern, reaching the end after half an hour of careful progress. They then began progressing in a downward slope and, an hour later, reached another huge cavern.

«Did any of you estimate the number of eggs, as such must be the case, we saw in the previous cave?»

«I'd say a couple million? There was four feet or so between each row, and each egg is placed side by side to each other, lengthwise. We travelled the cave on about half its length, and I counted over one thousand casings. Given how wide this cave seemed, I thought it might have housed a thousand rows, so two thousand casings by one thousand rows gives two million, Ian.»

«That is an impressive number already, Harp. And what about this one?»

«It's about the same size, so I think it houses the same number of eggs.»

«And, as bats, we crossed five of those caves before deciding to take a closer look. If this is correct, we have found over twelve million eggs,» added Thorsten.

«So far...»

«Ian, you have ways of breaking down open doors! I'm already worried. We need to find out whoever was responsible for this intricate charade and why it was done. Typhoon, lead the way,» replied Harp.

The boys resumed their exploration, finding several more caves, all containing eggs. As they reached another cave they noticed the ceiling had partially collapsed, showing multiple fractures.

«Let's consolidate the vault before doing anything. I don't want that to fall on us! Let's port saline solution from the sea and dehydrate it!» decided Harp as he looked at the fragile structure. «Send magic to sense the faults and seal the biggest ones first, starting from above and going downward.»

An hour later, the vault's major faults were sealed, and another hour later the last crack had disappeared.

«Next step, consolidate the pillars, and we replace the broken and fallen ones before clearing in their immediate area. Go slow with the ones about five hundred feet from us, they seem to hold by defying the laws of gravity."

It took four hours to rebuild the pillars and clear the debris of the cave. A study of the eggs showed none had been damaged, which, given their mineral composition, was not surprising.

«Let's rest. We resume the exploration in sixty minutes,» decided Typhoon.

Everyone sat in a circle, back to back, in order to be able to keep an eye on all directions at the same time.

Just as the boys were ready to resume walking and explore another tunnel, a scratchy sound was heard coming from where they had entered the cave. Immediately, Harp placed them behind a shield that dissociated photons, rendering them totally transparent to light.

«I wonder why you bother, Harp. Bata is the only light source, and anyone walking in this cave will see it and sense it's not supposed to be there!» said Ian, sarcastic.

«You're right. Anyway, we need to see, and this thing probably is blind, given it lives in total darkness.» Harp cancelled the spell, and the boys stayed sitting, watching the cave without moving.

The scratching sound became louder and their fine hearing told them it was progressing toward them at a slow and deliberate speed, as if it was tracking them. It took the strange life form half an hour to come into view of Ian, a short distance away from him.

«It's three hundred feet from me. It's examining each egg carefully. Tracking us as well. If I remember we passed that row an hour before we stopped, as we inspected a pillar and repaired it. It's inspecting the pillar, very carefully. It seems satisfied with the work.»

«I'm glad our handiwork gets approval from the architect!» replied Harp.

«It's effectively tracking us. It passed to the next row we cleared of debris and it's heading away. At this rate it should come in view of Typhoon in thirty minutes as it turns at the end of the line.»

Forty minutes passed before Typhoon could see the approaching life form.

«You didn't tell me it looked that strange!»

«I wanted to leave you the surprise of discovery.»

What Typhoon saw approaching across the next row of eggs would have surprised any biologist: A rotund tank-like animal was walking on the ground using what appeared to be huge flat feet. As it passed each egg, it would extend to each one a cup from inside what appeared to be a protective shell as if it was listening to the life in the eggs. It continued passing each egg in review, getting ever closer to the boys, which were still four rows off.

«Its priority is the eggs, but it's not forgetting us. I think it may pass us as it scans the eggs since it seems to skip a row to optimize the exam process, but once it figures out we haven't left the room it will begin searching for us seriously,» noted Ian.

«Let it come to its own conclusion. I want to see how logical it is,» decided Harp.

The strange life form missed the boys in its next pass and continued checking the eggs. As the boys had walked the entire room in all directions, crisscrossing paths as they cleared it of salty fallouts, the trail was constantly getting hotter and cooler for the nosy egg-tester. As it reached the furthest wall it came to a stop. There was no trail leading out of the room! It did a rapid, very rapid exploration of all exits and none showed the intruders had taken any!

The boys watched it move quietly and were surprised by its speed of displacement. The noise, which had been hard to hear initially, climbed to an annoying whine as it moved furiously around the perimeter.

«It's anxious!»

«Why do you say that, Harp?» requested Ian.

«Wouldn't you be? We are in the nest, and it lost track of us. It has no idea of where we are, and so far, our actions have been far from peaceful. Just look at how the top two thousand feet of the honeycomb is! In her place, I would be anxious, furious and quite near panicky.»

«Lord Harp is right. Remember how you care about us, my lord,» Typhoon said.

«What do we do? You guys better come to a decision quickly because it's concluded we are in this room! Look at her go!» said Thorsten.

Everyone could see the life form move at breakneck speed, travelling row after row systematically. In less then two minutes it would collide with the boys.

«I wonder if it senses air movement, or ground vibrations?»

«I don't think we have the leisure to study its sensory system!» replied Harp.

Ian ignored his big brother's comment and materialized a ball of titanium five feet above ground and let it fall in the middle of the seventh row. The response was instantaneous. The rampant animal literally jumped right where the ball was, lashing furiously at it for a second before it stopped.

«To question one, it senses ground vibrations. Test for number two: sound!»

Ian materialized two tiny balls that collided with each other six inches above ground, making a small click. The response was as furious and as precise.

«Test Number two: it also has capacity to hear sound. Last test.»

Ian displaced an object about their size near the ceiling. The response was even more spectacular. The ramping animal climbed the nearest pillar, extending retractile claws and tried to assault the moving rock from above!

«Establishing diplomatic relations with it won't be easy. It's too panicked to think on terms other then aggression. And we sure didn't start on a good footing. I think it is our bad luck we started mining for salt exactly where it had established its nest!" said Ian.

«We better find a solution quickly. It's becoming frantic!» said Thorsten as he watched the rather massive animal climb on each pillar and throwing itself on the ground from the roof in a desperate attempt to corner the boys.

«My lords, I will attempt something. Telepathic communication. It managed to create these compelling illusions while Lord Thorsten was in dragon form.»

«All right, Typhoon, go ahead.»

«Stop it now!» thundered Typhoon, at the standard frequency used by dragons for telepathic communications. The boys winced at the intensity of the injunction.

«What's with imitating Harp at every diplomatic opportunity?» commented Thorsten.

«It works, that's why. Look at it. It stopped moving, and seems to be looking around or more or less trying to locate the source of the injunction.»

«We need to talk!»

«Leave the nest!»

«We have yet to finish repairing it!»

«I need no help!»

«We damage, we repair!»

«I need no help!»

«Oh yes you do. We repaired this vault, and we expect there are many others that got damaged. We can repair it a lot faster then you.»

«I need no help!»

«I thought only dragons were stubborn as rocks. It seems it runs in the family!» piped up Ian on the same frequency.

«Who is this?»

«The smallest of us, yet the most powerful of all.»

«What family?»

«It seems my family and yours share common traits. We are of similar composition.»

«How so?»

«We lay eggs of similar composition, totally different from those of the other life forms of this planet.»

«Are you an egg-eater?»

«We eat the life forms of this planet, including their eggs; but we do not eat our eggs.»

«What do you mean?»

«Do you eat your eggs?»

«No, I am the Matriarch, I lay and protect eggs until they hatch!»

«I am the Patriarch. I protect my eggs.»

«What about that other one?»

«I don't eat rock. I eat eggs of other carbon-based species, when there are too many for their optimal survival.»

«Why were you attacking my nest if it was not for the eggs?»

«We did not know it was your nest,» intervened Thorsten. «We needed the salt to stop a storm that is threatening one of our tasks at sea.»

«Another one?»

«Yes. The lord of the mines.»

«Why do you task yourself with controlling what cannot be controlled?»

«We need a stable sea to recover a lost object of our ancestors,» Harp stated.

«Yet another one?»

«Yes, the Lord of Magic.»

«You state an object of your ancestor.»

«It has been at the bottom of the sea for seventeen thousand orbits of this planet, and now we need it to finish our task. We have very little time left!»

«This is but an instant in time.»

«We know. We are running short.»

«Why do you need that object in such an instant?»

«This planet is doomed. It will be destroyed in less then three orbits.»

«This is impossible. I selected this planet three thousand orbits ago because it was stable.»

«The destruction will come from outside.»

«This I need proof.»

«Proof you will get,» said Typhoon. «For now, how long before the eggs hatch?»

«It will take one thousand orbits. Then they must feed for one hundred orbits before they are ready to leave the planet.»

«What do you eat?» asked Ian, curious about that.

«Silicon. This planet's crust is a perfect balance for my little ones.»

«We figured as much. Thorsten, Typhoon, Harp, let us join to project to the Matriarch the future we foresaw. What you see, Matriarch is the combination of the work of foreseers that have worked on the problem some seventeen thousand orbits ago, refined by our own work. The past guarantees the future in this case. What we foresee will happen.»

After spending an hour projecting to the Matriarch the past, the present and the future in its main points and explaining what it meant, the boys relaxed, and let the Matriarch digest the information on her own.

It did not take long for the Matriarch to come to her conclusion.

«The nest is doomed. My children are doomed. I failed in my mission!»

«It is not so,» declared solemnly Ian. «Harp, do we have enough space in one of the tessaracts for the Matriarch and its eggs?»

«Certainly. Number thirty-two is unused. It could easily store the nest a hundred times over.»

«Then, Matriarch, it is so decided. We will move your nest to the tessaract my brother identified. One last question, how much crust do you need to feed each one before it needs to leave the nest?»

«One thousand times their weight at hatching.»

«Do you eat all or do you reject some by-products?»

«We eat mostly Silicon, we reject metals.»

«That's perfect. Our mining machines produce a lot of Silicon and we need the metals. We will feed you almost pure silicon from our mining tailings. Just tell us if other minerals are required and we will supply them in concentrated form. Paschal will be happy. He was pissed at leaving all these residues on the moon. He has this idea that mining should leave the terrain in pristine condition. Who cares? The moon will be reduced to dust as well!»

«Another one?»

«Yes, but he is not here.»

«Do you need to be in salt for hatching?» enquired Harp.

«Salt is perfect since it is dry.»

«So, if we supply a situation as dry as this place, it would be proper?»

«Yes.»

«I notice this is relatively fresh.»

«It is a bit warmer then it used to. Before, the water on the surface kept it cooler.»

«We will reproduce the optimal conditions for your eggs. You only need tell us what is needed.»

«Before we continue, how many rooms are there?»

«Twenty-five.»

Figure 14: Silicon Life Form Walking on Salt Flats

«That puts your eggs at fifty million. Ok, it is manageable. Typhoon let us resume inspecting the rooms and repairing them so they last until we move their contents to Thebes.»

«The smallest one leads?»

«He leads in most circumstances. By his statement, he has transferred command to me for the duration of this expedition.»

«It is very intriguing. I have much to learn.»

«You have no idea, Matriarch, you have no idea!»

By sunset, the two other rooms that needed repair were fixed. The Matriarch was amazed at the speed at which the boys fixed the structural issues, and quite pleased at the results.

«It is done, Matriarch. We must take our leave. We have other duties,» declared Ian.

«When will you be back?»

«It depends on how things will go with our task. We know it will require at least ninety rotations of the planet before we are done with it. But we may be back earlier. I may send a task force to start the process. We are numerous, and some of us are free to work on this issue once they are done doing what they are doing now. I suspect Lord Dragon Typhoon will be leading them.»

«I see. Who is lord dragon Typhoon?»

«It is I, Matriarch, I am Grand Patriarch of my clan, and Great Grand Patriarch of the Dragons.»

«I see. That little one must really be something special, to ask and for you to obey.»

«Again, you have no idea. May we have our leave of your nest?»

«I will guide you to the surface.»

«There is no need. We move through rock without need of tunnels. I must hurry, Matriarch, my turn at commanding the recovery is near.»

«If you say so.»

The boys ported to the surface. The Matriarch realized suddenly she was alone in the incubating chamber. She also realized that, had these intruders really meant harm, she would not have been able to hurt them in any way.

The dragons and the Pegasuses returned to Thebes. After a quick pit stop, the dragons continued to the ship to take their night shift, arriving just in time to relieve Harold.

"So, what was the issue?"

"We were mining in the nest of a life form. It defended its nest very effectively. I hope we won't need any more salt?"

"No Ian, the sea is a lot calmer. What life form?"

"A silicon-based one, much like the Dragons. We will need to give it a name. It is unknown, and it does not come from this planet."

"Oh?"

"And it is now under the protection of Atlantis, by my call."

"That's nice, son. You know I value all life forms, as long as they do not consider me edible!"

"You do not understand dad. It is coming with us when we leave."

"What?"

"Dad, it still has a thousand years of incubation to undergo before its eggs can hatch. The planet has at most three years to live."

"And how many eggs are we talking about? A dozen?"

"Fifty... million."

Harold fell on his arse at the number.

"Are you nuts?"

"Well, it eats silicon, and I'm sure Paschal will be happy to find some use for his mining tailings. Anyway, I gave my word, and that is the Word of Atlantis and is binding."

Harold looked at his son, wide-eyed. What other catastrophe would that impulsive little boy do in the next million years?