Dreaming of the Dragontaur: Chapter 3

“Are you all completely out of your mind?!”

To be honest, that was entirely the kind of response that Victor was expecting from the headmaster. Still, he and his fellow apprentices had to explain what they were going for.

Victor, Sean and Chet went to see the headmaster of the academy. first thing in the morning… well, just after breakfast, anyway. Headmaster Bladebeak was a wise/wizened owl, depending on who you talked to. He wore fancy robes, a big cone hat, and wore a monocle that was enchanted to always stay atop his sharpened golden beak.

Bladebeak always had an open-door policy for his students, even the micros. So the trio were placed upon his big oak desk in the middle of his office/library/observatory in the northeastern section of Brightveil. And after Victor and the others told the headmaster their story, he looked about ready to keel over from how bonkers it all sounded.

“Headmaster…” Victor clasped his hands together and took a breath. “If you don’t believe a word you’re saying, you could always blast us with a Spell of Greater Truth-speak and have us start over.”

“That… was already in effect.” The old owl said uneasily as he adjusted his hat. “But the spell doesn’t let me know if you’ve gone completely insane.”

“I mean…” Chet shrugged. “It all does SOUND weird, I can attest to that. And besides, we all know what Sean’s always going on about regarding teleportation.”

“Watch it…” The green mouse snapped. Victor ignored the two of them and took a step closer to the headmaster.

“Headmaster, I think all of this has got to be worth a try.” Victor said. “We all had the same vision, and we’ve gotten clear instructions to Belgemine’s cave. All you have to do is send us out to try and find her. If not, all we can do is wait around here... with the sword of Damocles up there threatening to drop on us.”

“Alright, listen…” Bladebeak rubbed his feathery fingers against his beak and took a deep breath, before folding digits over each other. “Let’s assume that the dream was real, and you all really DID speak to Belgemine last night. And that she IS willing to save us from… THAT.”

Everyone glanced out the window and beheld the ominous, shadowy fortress that still loomed dangerously over the valley. Everyone gulped, and the Headmaster adjusted his hat again.

“The question is: How could you all expect me to send three micro apprentices out into the mountains at a time such as this?” The owl asked incredulously. “Every other person who has tried to leave has been blasted with unholy lightning! Even our largest macro, gym teacher Thunderthrall the Dire-bear, couldn’t escape!”

Victor paused to reflect on how they had to clear out the entire gymnasium to turn it into a make-shift hospital wing just for the dire-bear. He distinctly recalled signing a get-well-soon card. But the mouse shook his head and stamped his foot to take on a confident stance.

“That’s just the thing, Headmaster; everyone else who has tried to escape has been a MACRO.”

“Uh-huh.” The owl nodded.

“But… you haven’t tried sending out a MICRO.” Victor declared. “My friends and I are so small that there’s a chance that whoever’s in that fortress won’t notice us when we leave.”

“That’s a huge risk, Mr. Victor.” Bladebeak replied. “We don’t know what that fortress, or its occupants, is capable of. They might even be able to see the ANTS living deep in the catacombs.”

“It’s a risk I’ll just have to take.” Victor continued. “It’s better to take the chance that we can find the help we need, than for us to just resume sitting around worrying about whatever’s going to happen. So even if I might die stepping out there…” he put a hand on his chest. “I want to at least have it be because I tried to save the academy that I love.”

Bladebeak, Sean and Chet were silent for a time. Eventually the old owl coughed, and then rubbed his temples with a grumble.

“Well… we are slowly running out of other options…” the owl sighed. “But, okay; assuming you don’t get zapped, are you sure you can make it all the way to this…” He snapped his talons. “What place did you say it was again?”

“Fireforge Mountain.” Chet said. “It’s to the southeast, past the mountains. Not too far.”

“Not too far… for a MACRO.” The owl said with a groan. “I know exactly where that old place is; it’ll be at least a week’s trek for a micro on foot. And that’s assuming you’re leaving with enough food and supplies to get through the swamp.”

“I’ll likely need some access to supplies, then.” Victor tugged on his collar. “I’ll, uh, do whatever it is I have to do in order to pay back the academy and its faculty for whatever the cost might be.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” The owl scoffed. “Honestly we have an overabundance of micro supplies. I think there’s even a spare rowboat you can use in order for you to traverse the rivers.”

“So you’ll approve of my trip to the mountain range to find Belgemine?” Victor asked.

“Well, like you said… we’re running out of options.” Bladebeak frowned. “I just hope to whatever gods may or may not be listening that you don’t die trying to save our dear academy.”

“Well he’s not going it alone.” Declared Sean.

Victor looked at him curiously. “You’re going with me?”

“Me too.” Chet added. “You didn’t honestly think we’d bail after getting this far, did you?”

“Well, I kind of thought you might.” Victor shrugged. “All of this does seem pretty crazy.”

“Well, no dice on that.” Sean declared. “We got involved this far, so we might as well see all of this to the end…” He glanced up at the headmaster. “Uhh, assuming that you’re okay with us joining him, Sir.”

“There’s strength in numbers, even amongst micros.” Bladebeak nodded. “You may all venture out to Fireforge Mountain to see if you can awaken Belgemine to enlist her help… but not yet.”

“Not yet?” Victor repeated.

“Right now…” The owl clasped his hands together and licked his lips. “It’s lunchtime.”

“Oh…” Victor blinked.

He’d been wondering why headmaster had a plate under the apprentices’ feet. And now he knew.

~~…~~

After spending about an hour in Bladebeak’s belly, the three apprentices stepped out of a reformation chamber built beside the shower area of the micro dormitory. Victor and his friend washed off, changed into fresh robes, and stepped out onto a platform connecting to a macro-sized lounge.

“I can’t believe he digested us again…” Sean grumbled.

“He showed a lot of restraint in waiting to let us finish our conversation, though.” Chet added as he wrapped his hair in a towel. “Plus he approved of our quest. Really, we should be thankful.”

“But does he have to digest every single micro who speak with him?” The green mouse crossed his arms. “Honestly… sometimes I think we’re never going to reform again after being eaten.”

“Bladebeak wouldn’t do that.” Victor said reassuringly. “He cares deeply about all of his students, big or small.”

“Oh, you just like getting eaten.” Sean scoffed.

“Yes. And?” Victor smirked. Chet laughed at that, while Sean merely rolled his eyes and grumbled.

It didn’t take long for a staff member, one of the lower-rank rabbit mages among the macros, to arrive in the lounge. He came bearing a scroll wrapped around a bundle of various supplies, and looked down at the three mice uneasily.

“Victor, Chet and Sean, yes?” The rabbit asked.

“That’s us.” Victor waved.

“Ah, good.” The mage offered them a hand. “Headmaster Bladebeak sent me to escort you down through the dungeons to take a… specified course…” He looked all around and brought his voice to a whisper. “…That you mustn’t talk about to a single other student.”

“Uh… okay?” Victor shrugged. Sean and Chet were quick to voice their agreement, before they all stepped into the mage’s hand.

After that, the rabbit held the mice against his chest along with the scroll, looked all around the lounge nervously, and made to flee out of the dormitory. The mice were covered up, meaning they couldn’t see whenever the rabbit went down twists, turns, shifts, and all sorts of other strange maneuvers. But Victor couldn’t help but get the feeling that the mage was being obtuse about his path-finding… on purpose. As if he wanted to confuse the three mice, or anyone who may be trying to follow him. Not that Victor really cared; he had a goal in mind, and didn’t fret about whatever secret passageways were being kept out of micro knowledge.

After what felt like half an hour of pointless wandering, the rabbit eventually stopped. He held the three mice up, and they soon found themselves in the middle of a spooky, dank dungeon. The stone was ancient, there was musky smell in the air, and water dripped somewhere off in the distance. Everything was kept alight by ancient torches, which burned with unnerving fervor. Victor could even swear there were a few random skeletons of macro origin strewn randomly about the floor.

And in the middle of that, there was Headmaster Bladebeak and several other robed macros… all fidgeting nervously beneath a large party banner was strewn about above their heads. An awkward tune played on an accordion; it was trying to sound like an epic ballad. The accordion itself had been enchanted to work on its own, while a mage stood nearby with a row of balloons.

The rabbit mage held the mice before Bladebeak and the others, and they all awkwardly muttered as they looked upon the apprentices.

“H-Hello, boys.” Bladebeak said cautiously.

“Uhh…” Victor looked around nervously. “What’s going on?”

“This is… well…” The owl gulped as he looked around at the other mages. “This is… everyone who’s left to perform the blessing ceremony.”

“The what now?” Sean asked in confusion.

“See, back during the glory days…” The owl scratched behind his head. “There was a tradition when heroes would be showered with gifts, words of encouragement, and even some enchanted weaponry by the head wizards of the academy. It was meant to encourage the heroes to go off and save the world in a time of crisis. But…”

Bladebeak looked over his fellow wizards; some of them weren’t quite that old, and didn’t hold much in the way of inspiring artifacts. One of them held what looked like a rusted sword, another had a rope of some kind… and the one in the back had what looked like a rubber ducky.

“Erm…” Chet tugged at his collar.

“Things have been… bothersome lately.” Bladebeak continued. “Even before that blasted fortress began looming high in the sky, we’ve been having a staffing issue. Eventually wizards get old, and… you know…” He shook his hand around. “They wind up in that big stomach in the sky.”

“Uh-huh…” Victor bit his lower lip. “Well… th-thank you for wanting to bless our journey, Headmaster. I’m sure all three of us greatly appreciate what you’re doing to help.”

“Oh, I just hope it’s enough to get you across the swamp, at least…” The owl gulped as he turned around. “Simon, please step forward with the supplies and the shrinking chime.”

The rabbit knelt down to place the three mice on the floor, while Bladebeak stepped out of the way for a black cat in blue robes. He gathered up the various knick-knacks from the other wizards, and then held up an old bell to ring it. Some powder fell down, followed by some ominous chanting… and then, before the micros’ eyes, all of the items shrank down in seconds. Sean and Chet wandered about to gather up the items to carry them together, while Bladebeak turned to face the rabbit.

“So, what’s in the scroll?” Victor asked as he pointed to it.

“It’s… well…” The rabbit knelt down and held it before the shrinking chime. “The most recent map of the Brightveil region that we have in stock.”

The map shrank down, and Victor picked up in his hands. He balked upon seeing some sort of township on the northeastern part of the swamp that he CLEARLY didn’t recall being there.

“How recent are we talking?” He asked.

“Well… about a hundred years?” The rabbit chuckled awkwardly. “But on the positive side, we’ve gone through the trouble of enchanting it slightly, so that a dotted line forms to guide you toward your destination.”

“Ah, neat.” Victor smiled. “We might even save some time getting to the cave that way.”

“Man, I don’t know about that.” Chet frowned. “Having a magical compass that always tells you EXACTLY where you need to go kind of takes the fun out of exploring.”

“We’re not exploring; we’re off to save the lives of everyone in Brightveil!” Sean snapped. “Speaking of; where’s that boat? We don’t have any time to lose!”

“Ah, yes. About that…” Bladebeak awkwardly fidgeted with his feathery fingers.

Simon the cat placed the rubber ducky down beside an opening at the bottom of the dungeon wall that lead into an underwater aqueduct. Victor, Sean and Chet looked at the aqueduct, and then at the ducky… and then they all looked incredulously at the old owl, who seemed all kinds of apologetic.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sean crossed his arms in anger.

“I’m really, really sorry, boys.” Bladebeak frowned. “We searched high and low to find you a proper boat to shrink down to your level… but we just couldn’t find anything.”

“So now we have to ride around on a duck?” Chet asked incredulously. “Sure, rubber floats, but it could easily be capsized! Plus, what if we all fall off of it?”

“D-D-Don’t worry about that.” Simon said awkwardly. “We whipped up all of the enchantments we could think of to make it immune to being knocked over. Plus, there are little harnesses attached for you to cling onto for a safe grip. All you have to do, is ride along and s-sail!”

Victor raised an eyebrow. “You don’t exactly sound confident saying that.”

“Well… er…” The cat shook his tail about wildly. “J-Just trust me on this, okay?! I did the best I could in such short notice!”

Victor simply sighed; perhaps it wasn’t wise to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, he turned to get up onto the rubber ducky.

“Alright, we’d best get going.” He looked between Chet and Sean in turn. “Hop on, guys. And don’t forget our… gear.”

The two exchanged glances before working to get up onto the duck. Once they were all together. Once they were neatly seated, Bladebeak crouched down to gently grasp the sides of it.

“Once you’re down that aqueduct, you’ll be out past the magic barrier.” He said. “From there… well…” He gulped. “G-Good luck, boys. Do your best to find Lady Belgemine… as fast as you can!”

With that, the owl put the duck down inside the opening of the aqueduct. The waters were quick to guide the ducky forward down the dark tunnel. Luckily Sean found a magical torch amongst their supplies, so he held it up and summoned forth some fire to light their path. As the duck made its way down the tunnel, Victor looked back to see Bladebeak frowning after them.

“Good luck…” He said again, seeming all the more worried.

“We’ll try to get back as fast as we can.” Victor called to Bladebeak and the other wizards. “You can count on us, sir!”

Victor turned to face forward as the duck continued on its path. He eventually spotted a glimmer of light at the far end. He held on carefully, and hoped beyond hope that the magical map would lead him down a few secret shortcuts to Fireforge Mountain. He and his friends wanted to save the academy, sure… but oh, how he wanted to see the real-world form of the lovely Belgemine with his own eyes.

I’m coming… he thought with a hand on his heart. I’ll find you, Belgemine.