Chapter Seven

The only path through the Misty Mountains was what was simply known as the Misty Cave. It was used for rare journeys to and from the village of Mist…the opening of the cave resembled the empty black eye socket of a skull…shrouded by the heavy mist that encircled the mountains…the unsurpassable peaks of the Misty Mountains were invisible due to the thick fog…the incessant sound of dripping water echoed throughout the cave and died away in the valley…

"We can’t try mountain-climbing?"

Cecil and Kain stood at the Misty Cave…Kain gazed in apprehension at the inky darkness…

"Mountain goats won’t even climb the Misty Mountains…" was Cecil’s reply, and Kain sighed heavily, adjusting his dragon helmet.

"That’s what I was afraid of, man…"

Reluctantly they started into the blackness of the cave, and Cecil felt the moisture instantly cling to his eyelashes and hair…it glazed his dark armor, making it glow strangely in the light of the torch. The steady soothing sound of dripping water resounded from the rocky walls, and large V-shaped stalactites dangled from the low ceiling. As the shadows of the odd stone formations danced lazily in the cave, Cecil and Kain more than once imagined them to be summoned spirits, here to remove any unwanted visitors. The atmosphere was damp and chilly, and a thin veil of fog crept silently throughout the tunnels.

The two interlopers began hesitantly through the tunnels of the cave, eyes darting left and right, wondering what would be lurking around the next corner…or behind them…after a few false alarms Cecil finally forced himself to relax…it’s just a cave…nothing comes in or out of this cave…

The dreary mist made navigating the tunnels almost impossible…Kain swore furiously, drawing the torch close to his face.

"It’s those damn summoners…" the dragoon grumbled, the torchlight glittering in his eyes. "—They do these crazy mind tricks to keep us away from their God-forsaken village…"

Cecil shook his head.

"Those mind tricks never stopped Baron when the Edict was in effect…"

Kain drew the torch even closer to his tan face, and Cecil could see his jaw set firmly.

"—And those mind tricks won’t keep Baron away this time either…"

Kain began again with a more determined pace…Cecil watched him in amusement…Kain, you proud noble bastard…He sighed and hurried to catch up to Kain…the torch was blazing but it was nearly masked by the oppressive fog…it burned with a strange hissing as Kain swung it left and right…more than once Cecil could have sworn he heard a fleeting whisper in his ear, and the hair of his neck would bristle as he spun around to look. Of course, nothing was ever there….that part was predictable…He felt his brow dampen more than it already was…He was on the verge of asking Kain if he heard anything when a long, hissing breath resounded in the darkness of the cave.

Cecil froze, and it felt as if his blood did the same. Kain’s arm fell numbly to his side, the flame whipping left and right.

"Leave this cave now, men of Baron…"

A mysterious voice echoed through the Misty Cave…it was neither male nor female…it sounded unearthly…supernatural…

"What in the –"

"It…was…nothing…" Cecil managed to proclaim…it had to be our imagination…those summoners, Kain, remember? They’re playing those mind games…trying to make us turn back…

"We have…to go…on…"

Kain turned to him, his shocked look clearly saying ‘are you crazy?!’ but he nodded after a moment…

Neither of them spoke for a while.

It was nothing, Cecil kept repeating to himself…another voice kept contradicting him…it was definitely something, it said…you just have no logical explanation for it and that’s why you’d like to think you never heard it…

At last Cecil claimed that he caught a glimpse of light peeping from the darkness…the mist had grown so thick that they were practically wading through it…Kain squinted hard to see the light Cecil indicated, and he agreed that it must be a way out…God, this mist is thick…it’s hard to tell where the mist ends and these puddles of water begin…The fog seemed to coil around them as the drew closer and closer to the light.

Another hissing breath rose steadily in pitch then slowly faded.

Cecil froze in mid-stride. Kain lurched back, stumbled, and fell to his knees in a puddle of icy water.

"Cripes! Now I’m –"

"Do not dare to come any closer…"

The omnipotent voice threatened again…this time Cecil had no doubt that it was real…

"What are you?!"

Kain had climbed to his feet and now stood, gazing around the puffs of mist angrily.

"Show yourself!"

Cecil could hardly see Kain through the shroud of mist…it had noticeably thickened…he could make out the forms of limestone columns…in the dim light they resembled soldiers standing guard…

…at the crystal room of Mysidia, Cecil thought in despair…my God, will I ever be able to forget that?

"Ones from Baron –"

The ethereal voice echoed through the tunnels once more. Kain halted.

"—Return to your homeland and you will not be harmed…"

Kain scowled and cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Where are you?! What are you waiting for?!"

Cecil glanced back…whatever it was seemed as if it might come at them from all sides…and what can we do to prevent that? He watched the swirling mist…

"—You dare to press onward?"

Cecil paused…the voice might as well have asked them if they were ready to die…No, Cecil thought; this is the part where I choose if we live or die…

"We’ve been ordered to deliver a message to the Village of Mist!"

Wrong answer…Cecil told himself helplessly…the mist swirled around him…

"—Then I am left with no choice!"

The mist began to whirl around Cecil, churning angrily through the columns and stalactites, the drops of moisture whipped through the tendrils of fire, causing the flame to hiss and sputter…As mist rose from the ground like spirits, Kain clutched the torch close, hoping that the flame would remain lit…it was useless…the flame was extinguished with one last dying gasp…

They were left standing in inky black darkness…

Cecil heard Kain swear loudly, then he heard the torch strike the ground with a thump and a splash.

"Who are you?!"

Kain was still demanding an answer from the disembodied voice.

"Why don’t you show yourself?!"

The mist was becoming denser, and as it rushed around them it roared so loudly that they could not hear each other if they dared try to speak. Cecil closed his eyes as the blinding fog swirled round and round. It almost felt like a hurricane…only it seemed that there would never be a calm in this storm…Cecil felt himself being dragged forward, and through the haze he could see Kain, his big arms wrapped tightly around one of the columns as he laid on the ground…his armor screeched against the rocky ground…

The air in the cave was barely breathable now…Cecil felt like he were choking on the mist…or maybe a better word would be drowning…

"What’s happening, man?!"

Cecil couldn’t reply to Kain’s shout but he tried to make his way toward the dragoon. The instant he shifted his weight in the direction of the flowing mist, he lurched forward and tumbled to the ground. He finally managed to raise his head and he saw Kain, his teeth gritted and his fingers digging deep into the grooves of the column. Cecil felt himself being drawn by some great force toward the columns…where they had first seen a trace of light; he scrabbled frantically for a crevice in the wall or ground but he found none…

"…Can’t…hold…on…anymore..!"

Cecil heard Kain’s gasps as he released his grip on the column with one arm.

The instant Kain’s fingers relaxed the swirling fog abruptly ceased. Everything was silent…the breathing of Cecil and Kain was suddenly deafening as it took the place of the steady roar of the mist…

Kain laid on the ground, dazed…he inhaled deeply, trying to catch his breath…

"What…in…God’s holy name…was…that?"

He gaped at Cecil, his chest rising and falling…Cecil gave no answer but climbed painfully to his feet…how strange he thought, alarmed, looking around…the mist…it’s not nearly as thick as it was before…but –

"—Kain, the light is gone…"

He heard Kain shuffle around uneasily. The dragoon said nothing as he surveyed the surroundings.

"The exit couldn’t have caved in…" Cecil mused, regarding the sudden darkness in bewilderment.

"It’s another one of those damn summoner tricks," Kain declared, rising to his feet. "You know, to scare people away…"

Kain was invisible in the darkness…the only thing Cecil could see were the two eyes of the dragoon…he paused…

"Kain, go see what happened to the light…"

Kain’s boot scraped quickly on the ground.

"Me?! Man, are you crazy?"

Cecil sighed.

"What is it? Are you afraid of the summoners or something?"

Kain grumbled an answer and to Cecil’s relief he started toward the limestone columns…there were several thuds and curses from the tall man stepping into the columns…Cecil could see the slight movement of the dragoon’s shadow as he weaved his way through the strange maze of stalactites.

"There’s nothing here, man –"

Kain’s voice announced at last from the semi-darkness.

"—But I still don’t know what happened to the –"

Kain’s voice was cut short by a piercing screech and a sudden overpowering rush of sleet and rain. The icy particles poured from the darkness like a tremendous tidal wave, and Kain was bodily tossed back. An icy film glazed his blue armor and stung his eyes and face. The tsunami of sleet washed over Kain, and he struck a column and pin-wheeled through the air, finally crushing heavily against the wall. The column receiving the brunt of the attack shuddered, crystallized, then exploded into millions of pieces. Cecil threw his hands over his face and felt the shards of limestone and ice and rock and sleet beat mercilessly against his helmet…particles of ice stung his eyes through the eyeholes of his mask and he squeezed them tightly shut, feeling a great pressure in his forehead. Another column creaked then shattered and rained limestone across the cavern floor…a miniature river swamped with cubes of ice streamed across the ground and gushed over Cecil’s boots…he stumbled and slipped and slid across the floor toward Kain.

The spray of sleet and mist ended only seconds after it began. Droplets of water trickled from the remaining column with a steady dripping…

Cecil lay still for a moment…his head throbbed…God, it felt like his entire body throbbed…

"What…happened…man?"

Kain groaned, groggily pulling himself from the ground.

"You didn’t see…anything…?"

Cecil knelt down in the darkness, searching for Kain.

"It was too dark …" the dragoon was groaning as he tried to pull himself to his feet. "And the mist…Where’d it all come from?"

No reply…Cecil groped along the floor, the chilly water sloshing over his gauntlet…

"Where’s the torch?"

Kain shrugged as he leaned stiffly against a column…Cecil froze as he thought he heard another raspy breath…he listened intently…it’s just Kain, he told himself with some relief…but I don’t really believe it…his hands clinked around on the rocky ground as he searched for the torch, and at last his fingers wrapped tightly around it.

"It’s too wet to light again anyway, man…"

Kain’s discouraged voice rang out again. Cecil shook his head but after feeling the rivulets of icy water gush over his hand from the once oil-soaked rag, he tossed the torch aside in disgust.

"What was that?"

He heard Kain shift in alarm.

"The torch…"

A sigh of relief…

"You were right…"

Cecil shook his head and started in the direction of Kain’s voice…light or no light, they could not just stand around in the Misty Cave and wait for something to happen…Cecil stepped carefully into the remains of the columns…what kind of force did this, he wondered…the summoners, as Kain would have said…they know how to keep people away…

Suddenly they were not cloaked in darkness anymore…

An eerie pale blue light illuminated the tunnels…reflecting through the patches of fog that still lingered…Cecil looked back…Kain was clearly visible…droplets of mist clung to his face and ears, and his hair protruding from the dragon helmet was frozen stiffly…water soaked the dark blue armor, making it shine in the iridescent light…

What in God’s name is going on….

He turned back around….

Two blue orbs flared in front of him…

Cecil’s blood froze…

My God…

A sharp intake of breath followed by an earsplitting scream nearly deafened the knight…there was a sudden shifting of everything in front if him, like the cavern was moving, but he realized that it was something alive…something strangely white and large…scaly…a reptilian face…those blue fires were eyes, he noticed with stunning clarity…thousands of razor sharp teeth glittered as the narrow jaw drooped open with a hiss…

A dragon…his mind screamed at him…there is a dragon between you and the village of Mist…

Cecil had enough to time to shout an oath and whirl around, diving onto the icy floor and sliding away from the eruption of ice and sleet that burst from the gaping jaws. He heard his armor grinding on the ground as the precipitation rained down his back. As he skidded across the floor amidst the sleet he shouted for Kain to get out of the tunnel because there was dragon there for God’s sakes…

…He saw Kain, spear raised resolutely above his head, leaping bravely and foolishly toward the white dragon…

Idiot! Cecil swore in despair…but seconds before Kain buried the spear into the creature’s skull, the pale head lashed out, its nose butting into Kain’s gut, sending the dragoon smashing into a column…his spear bounced uselessly to the ground…while Kain lay in a daze, the dragon’s merciless jaws struck again, clamping onto Kain’s boot; it snatched him violently left and right, and Kain bellowed helplessly, digging into the floor for support…

Cecil gaped in horror at the scene…the damn dragon was about to tear Kain to pieces and I’m just watching it…He leaped to his feet in an instant, teetered off-balance, finally got control of his legs, and charged without bound toward the dragon.

"Come and get me, hellion!"

The creature ignored Cecil and yanked Kain’s boot again, and the dragoon bellowed in pain. Cecil stumbled over the thrashing figure and toppled toward the dragon…his face hovered inches from the razor sharp teeth…God…the only thing Cecil could do was thrust his fingers at the beast, planting two of them deep into the flaring nostrils…The dragon immediately released Kain and recoiled with a squeal, its warm breath gushing over Cecil and its thick forked tongue lolling out of its mouth. It drew its head back threatening to crush Cecil, but instead it lurched its entire serpentine body against the tunnels, obliterating several columns and a large portion of the ceiling…

"Kain!" Cecil shouted breathlessly. "Get up!"

Cecil himself was struggling to regain his footing…the icy floor wouldn’t allow it…Kain rolled wearily onto his stomach, his chest heaving as he attempted to hoist himself to his feet. The jaws of the dragon snapped again, latching onto the man’s ankle, and Kain shouted in agony…It lifted him from the floor and tossed him high over its scaly head, flailing like a rag doll, and Kain crashed senselessly against the wall. Cecil noticed in terror and fascination that the dragoon was lying close enough to stroke the beast's belly if he dared...it seemed that all he could do was stare, paralyzed…he glanced behind him…Why? There’s no one there to help you and Kain…

He noticed suddenly the source of the pale blue light…

He torch that he had thrown aside as useless was ablaze with a strange bluish flame…he hardly even thought about it as he extended his hand desperately reaching for the torch… it’s burning while it’s laying in the water, he thought incredulously…

There’s our help…

His fingers closed on the torch and he drew it close to him triumphantly…Cecil stood quickly, determined to distract the creature so Kain could escape.

Before the huge head twisted around toward the lifeless dragoon, Cecil lunged toward it…What am I doing? He asked himself with some amusement…playing the ‘hero’…He thrust the flaming torch directly into the nose of the dragon, and it shrieked…Cecil watched in awe as the icy film encasing the ancient scales melted away…The huge neck recoiled and the monstrous body twisted and shrank away from the fire. Stones pelted Cecil’s armor as the Mist dragon thundered into the columns. Its head striking the ceiling and narrow tunnels…As Kain miraculously wavered to his feet, Cecil stared at the dragon’s tremendous clawed forearm, which raised with unnatural speed and swiped him across the slippery floor…the ground was no longer there…he lost sight of Kain as he tumbled over and over, the torch torn from his hand.

Kain was propped against the wall, his foot dangling out and resting against the ribs of the dragon…He opened his eyes weakly…everything was dark…the body was blocking the pale blue torchlight and Cecil and the cavern and everything else that proved he was actually still alive…The pain in his head was proof that he was indeed alive…He watched dumbly as the dragon’s head battered Cecil to the ground…the torchlight dimmed then brightened…it dimmed once more then completely disappeared except for the light outlining the reptilian body…Kain was so close to the dragon’s soft belly but he had no weapon…his spear had been lost long ago…he dropped to his knees hastily, praying that he could find the spear or anything left of it…his gauntlets jingled against the ground and he feared that the dragon would turn on him any moment, disembowel him, and then…well…it wouldn’t matter what it did next…Sweat dripped from his feverish face as he groped for the shaft of the spear…it’s lost you idiot, a voice screamed in his ear, just get up and run you’ll never find it in the dark…

After a heart-stopping moment his fist closed around the spear, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He drew one more deep breath, closed his eyes…my God, am I really going to do this?

Kain leaped to his feet with a roar…he leaped too quickly, in fact…his head reeled and he staggered left and right before forcing himself to remain on his feet. He gripped the spear close to him, drawing it close to his body…a scraping sound made his heart nearly stand still…the dragon’s scales scraped along the ground as it shifted its gaze toward him…

God…I am crazy, man…

For a brief moment he stood with his eyes closed, the spear pressed nobly to his chest…he took a deep breath…it almost seemed like he had all the time he needed to make his next move…

As the burning blue eyes gazed emotionlessly at him, Kain gave a mighty shout and lunged at the beast, the spear hovered above the creature for half a second then it disappeared as it buried deeply into the dragon’s hide…muscle…sinews…heart…

An ear-splitting wail rose from the tunnels and Kain felt that his head would burst…He finally released the spear, his hands covered in blood…As he backed away he gaped in horror…thick dark red blood spouted from the wound, poured over the beautiful white scales, stained the ice and water and rocks beneath the magnificent animal…It squealed again, pathetically, the deafening sound echoed throughout the cave…the huge head lashed back and forth, and Kain backed away again…he was blind-sided by the whipping tail which struck him with such force that he careened through the air and struck a column, shattering it instantly…As he gasped for breath, the dragon turned its fangs on him…Now there’s nowhere to go…Kain laid his head back into the icy water…

Cecil opened his eyes as he heard the shattering of a column behind him…he rolled over painfully…Kain was lying amidst the rubble of the broken column…the mist dragon was injured…angry…and it turned its attention to the senseless dragoon lying in the icy water…

Don’t even think about it just do something…

A strange warmth was near Cecil’s head and he didn’t think twice about what it was…it saved me once why not try again...? He clenched his teeth…

"Burn in Hell!"

Cecil snatched the torch burning with its pale blue light from the ground and lunged at the beast, his heart thudding in his chest so loudly that he thought it would drown out the sound of his voice…As the dragon’s head whirled in his direction Cecil thrust the burning torch directly at its face, into its pale blue empty eyes…the flame sputtered and hissed against the icy flesh then it fizzled away…an agonized yowl erupted from the creature resounded through the tunnels and possibly through the entire mountain chain…the bluish flaming irises melted away instantly and seeped from the eye sockets, pooling around the flaring nostrils…liquid fire oozed over the snout searing away the icy flesh of its face…the wail echoing through the cavern penetrated Cecil’s dark helmet so he tore it off hastily and clapped his hands to his ears to block out the horrible sound…Ice, flesh, muscle, bone melted away from the ancient mist dragon as it was consumed by the bluish flame…the sludge of the azure eyes dripped from its face like tears…the claws, head, and tail struck at anything and the huge wings lashed against the narrow tunnels, tearing pieces of rock and ice away…

Kain swam in unconsciousness for several minutes…Cripes, what happened…when the screeching of the animal started he remembered everything…he was vaguely aware of Cecil calling his name…his hands were numb and frozen but there was something warm around him and he noticed in horror that it was blood...my God I’m dying…it took a moment for him to realize that it was not his blood it was the dragon’s blood…and his spear was lying in it…Cecil shouted again…hold on man I’m coming Kain wanted to say but his lips wouldn’t cooperate…

The smell of burning flesh and blood was sickening…Cecil spun around, choking and gasping for fresh air, but the air in the cavern was cold and he had no choice but to look back at the creature…

The silhouette of Kain was pasted in front of the beast…his left arm terminated into the spear, clutched firmly in his fist…Kain he meant to scream there’s a dragon behind you, man…but he was speechless…

To his surprise Kain whirled the spear around in his hand coolly…

"Let me finish it, man –"

Before Cecil could speak Kain uttered a barbaric cry and spun around, thrusting all six feet of the spear deep into the dragon’s gaping mouth…it couldn’t scream anymore…blood gouted from the mouth around the spear and bubbled hideously onto the ground…a frantic high-pitched gurgling was the only sound it could make…

Kain wrenched the spear free of the tough skin and backed away, watching in bewilderment as the blood continued to gush from the creature…it ran in rivulets through the cracks and crevices on the floor…it was nauseating…Kain bumped into something and spun around quickly…

"Cecil!"

The knight stared at the dragon grimly…

"That’s why no one visits Mist…"

Kain nodded in fascination…

"But it’s not stopping Baron this time…"

He glanced back at Cecil, who shook his head…

"You okay, man..?"

Kain nodded, indicating the dragon with a nonchalant sweep of his hand.

"You know it takes more than this to bring me down…"

As Cecil turned his gaze back to the creature, its icy flesh began to melt…

In a matter of seconds Cecil and Kain stood alone in the Misty Cave…a blood tinged icy lake surrounded them in the tunnels…After a moment of awed silence, Kain spoke:

"Did I ever tell you I hate dragons?"