“Are you sure he didn’t make this up?” someone yelled from ahead. We had been walking in the Frozen Wastelands for two days already. The groups merged into one irregular formation as heavy snow poured down.

We were in a blizzard, one even worse than I had experienced over a year ago. Visibility was barely enough to see the person in front. It was midday, but the entire sky was covered in a grey hue. Specks of white snow seemingly coming from every direction blinded my view.

All the mages and priests used whatever light-type magic they could muster. We gathered around those lights for dear life. Probably, no one in this raid would die from such weather, even if lost, but it would not be a fun experience to be trapped in this storm alone.

“Hush, you!” Someone else reprimanded the person who was complaining. The same guy had been making these pointless comments for the past several hours now. Despite the rebuke, I could tell he was only voicing what many other people were thinking.

“Do you remember how far it was Joseph?” Rhea asked. She had not grown to the point of doubting me yet, but like everyone was sick of this freezing cold.

“Honestly, I can’t say for sure. I don’t think it can be much longer.” I was shivering with cold and just wanted to find a place I could shelter in and rest. Even so, I walked and walked. All I could do was walk.

In fact, about three hours later I felt something in the distance.

I had originally only discovered this soul signature when descending deep into the mountain… a monstrous presence that had left me terrified. With my new abilities, it seemed I could sense it from much farther away. My estimation of its strength was that not even the Adventurer’s Guild Master could match the depth of power it held.

Rhea was walking side by side with someone, leaning in to speak with them, but I didn’t hesitate to interrupt. “We are only a few minutes away,” I said.

Her eyes scanned the area ahead and came back to mine with a skeptical look. “Are you sure? I see nothing.”

“Positive. We should head a bit more to our east though,” I responded.

She passed a message forward and our direction quickly shifted. All the same, I could hear the calls of the doubters in the distance. Clearly, some people believed I was making up this change of direction to save face.

It was only after the silhouette of that gigantic mountain came into view did their moans pause. Everyone paused. Some were excited, but others held a look of dread on their face. The Adventurer’s Guild Master returned to my side momentarily.

“Can you feel it?” he asked.

“I can.” The strength of the signal from the creature inside the mountain was stifling.

“I can feel it as well.” Rhea rubbed the goosebumps on her arm. “You said it was a strong creature, right? Did you ever take a look at what it was?”

“I didn’t dare.” I confessed.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master’s brow creased as a stern look I’d never seen before covered his face. “I’ve felt a presence like this once before…”

“And what was it?”

“A true dragon.” His voice was sharp, and it traveled farther than our own conversation. Dozens of heads turned as voices erupted.

“True dragons have been dead for hundreds of years already! Nonsense!”

“Right! You can’t be saying whatever you want just because of your position.”

Despite the outrage, he did not lose his cool. “That’s true, but there was a recorded sighting merely fifty years ago. Have you all forgotten?”

His comment created uproar before a consensus grew around the possibility that we might indeed be in the presence of a true dragon.

A female voice said, “Then what should we do? True dragons are on a whole different plane to our powers, one we cannot hope to reach.”

It was true: with their intelligence, their life force, their ability to understand and use spells, dragons were at levels no one mortal being could ever hope to match. That didn’t mean they couldn’t be killed by a large raid, though.

The price for killing one might very well be the death of more than half of the people standing here currently. Attacking the dragon was a dreadful prospect. Everyone was silent as they looked towards the Adventurer’s Guild Master for answers.

“I will try to speak with it,” he said. He was the only one here who would have a sliver of a chance of escaping if the encounter went badly.

“Dragons naturally detest humans, especially after they were hunted so earnestly. It will never trust anything you say.” The Tyrant guild leader suddenly spoke out. His reasoning was not incorrect.

“Right, it will not trust my words.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master pointed at his forehead, “but if it can see inside my head and view my true thoughts? It should be able to trust me then.” Clearly, he was planning to use Mind Link if he had to.

After several other contributions to the discussion, the decision was made. We would set up camp on the flanks of the mountain, below the tunnel entrance, and there we would wait for the Adventurer’s Guild Master’s results. He would have to go alone, as sending in several high-level people into the mountain could be seen as a threat. The dragon would never leave itself open to Mind Link with multiple Adventurers.

The walk up the snow-covered slope to a suitable place for a camp was short, but then the time we spent waiting was eerily long. There were no indications of a fight from within the mountain, but no signs of progress being made either. As the hours passed, I could feel a growing impatience and heard sharp, tense words being exchanged on many occasions.

“Do you think he’ll succeed?” I looked towards Rhea who was one of four people with me in a shared tent.

“He has no other choice but to succeed…,” she mumbled. Everyone present felt the same, and the entire tent was dreary. If he failed… we would have no choice but to fight a true dragon: with fatal consequences for many of us.

Time had slowed to a crawl, and even my sense of relief at being out of the snow that had beaten me down had faded. It felt like hours before anything happened, and when it did, I didn’t know if the event indicated success or failure.

The entire mountain shook as a dragon cry reverberated through the skies. Even with all of this snow, the cry was not diminished. My hair stood on end and my soul shook. For a moment, I thought I would pass out.

Snow plummeted from the mountain caps, and I could hear it rumbling above me before several rivers of snow avalanched downwards as fast as waterfall. Fortunately, our ground was a ridge, parting the sliding snow and all that happened was a cloud of icy dust rolled over us. Then utter silence reigned before quick thinking took over, “This is bad! We have to help the Adventurer’s Guild Master!” someone yelled.

Everyone awoke from their stupor and gathered gear and torches. The entire group hurried up the mountain. I couldn’t tell if my ears were playing tricks on me. I felt as if I could hear nothing. The snow beneath my feet was merely a sensation, the breath escaping my lungs, all of it slipped away into nothingness. Was I going to fight a dragon…?

That thought raced through my mind endlessly, and I found no joy in it. The dragon cry alone made me realize what that meant. Dragons were an existence on another plane. Were we all going to die?

That thought took over everything and it dominated my thoughts. It was becoming harder to move my feet and others slowed around me. Was my will this weak? My body tumbled and my hands plunged into the snow ahead of me.

The cold biting my hands and face shocked me awake. Sound returned; rationality returned. The world was quaking, and everyone was struggling to keep their balance. The mountain shook and a crack like thunder echoed through the air.

Dozens of seconds passed before the rumbling ceased. I felt that the mountain would collapse at any moment, and yet it did not. Instead, a gigantic Azure dragon fluttered into the sky. The power of its beating wings was so loud we could hear each flap from here.

My eyes could not believe what we were seeing as the dragon headed northwards. Its lone cry was the only aspect of the scene that could not be questioned.

“Just like that…?” someone said. Someway, somehow… the Adventurer’s Guild Master had managed to succeed.

My sense of urgency disappeared as my curiosity to know what had happened overtook everything. We hurried inside and down that spiral staircase, to the deepest part of the mountain. The Adventurer’s Guild Master was already there waiting for us, his back turned away from us as he gazed into that chamber that I had never had the courage to approach.

“What happened Frederick?” An older Adventurer asked. At first I didn’t understand, but I quickly made the connection. The Adventurer’s Guild Master’s name was Frederick. I had been told once that despite his appearance he was incredibly aged. They must have been long time friends.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master turned to look at us before slowly recounting the tale. It was indeed a true dragon, one that was nearing the end of its life. It held no desire to speak with a human at all, and had merely ignored his presence at first.

He was not discouraged in the slightest though, as the fact it had not swatted him away like a fly was a good sign. The dragon could understand human speech and so Frederick told it the woe of Yetera’s current predicament.

He spoke for long time, without interruption and when he stopped, he received a reply, “Humans cannot be trusted.” Only four words, but the barrier had broken down. It was at this moment that he knew Mind Link was his only option.

“Would you like to see my thoughts and verify my words for yourself?” The Adventurer’s Guild Master had asked. The dragon had opened one eye and glanced at him for the first time. It seemed to recognize that the Adventurer’s Guild Master held considerable power, perhaps a power level that the dragon had not seen in hundreds of years.

The dragon would have understood the implications of Mind Link. It would have no fear of such an engagement. If there was to be a battle of the mind, and of will, a dragon would never lose to one human.

Dragons were truly a creature blessed by the gods, superior in almost every way to all others. Their only limit was in respect to reproduction: it was hard for a dragon to produce offspring. That was the tradeoff for their superiority.

The dragon had looked at the Adventurer’s Guild Master for a few moments and as it would have been aware that the offer would mean the Adventurer’s Guild Master risking having his mind crushed, it demonstrated he was truly desperate.

“Show me,” the dragon had said.

The Adventurer’s Guild Master had cast Mind Link and connected their thoughts.

When he described doing this, it occurred to me that this was probably an extremely valuable experience for the Adventurer’s Guild Master, as dragons were incredibly gifted in magic and just a peek into their thoughts could have provided him with tremendous insights. As though he knew what I was thinking the Adventurer’s Guild Master told us all that he had not dared to explore the dragon’s mind. This had been the best way to show his sincerity. On the other hand, the dragon had perused his memories, and even went so far as to read over his life.

By the time the dragon was done, the Adventurer’s Guild Master had been sweating profusely and couldn’t have held up much longer. He had fallen to one knee but did not fully collapse, “Did you see what you wanted to see?” he asked.

“Fascinating, your life,” the dragon said. “I can see that you did not lie to me. I will die soon, so the fate of this planet has no meaning for me personally.” The hopes of the Adventurer’s Guild Master had collapsed, before the dragon resumed speaking, “However, fortunately for you, I have a reason to want this world to survive.”

The dragon’s body shifted as its tail had moved away. A dragon egg half the size of the Adventurer’s Guild Master was lying there. “Our meeting could be seen as fortunate for both of us, in fact.”

The Adventurer’s Guild Master was not stupid, and had understood immediately this would be a trade of some sort, “What will you have me do?”

“I have not long to live, and I cannot take this egg with me. I have been guarding it for many years already and cannot leave. There is something I must obtain from our homeland and bring it back here. If I leave the egg unattended, no doubt a stray beast will destroy the legacy of my dragon race.”

“I will protect it with my life, you have my word.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master said.

“It is not your word I am worried about…” The dragon muttered, “humans are greedy, detestable creatures. Their gluttony knows no bounds and they swallow up anything they can get their hands on.” The voice had grown guttural as if recalling past grievances.

“I will leave the egg here, and no one will touch it. You personally will protect it till my return. In exchange, I will have no qualms with your other humans using the teleporter. I’ve read your memories already, so I know that is your goal.”

“Understood!” The Adventurer’s Guild Master had bowed.

“I warn you… if you humans betray this deal… I will have no ties with this world. I will do everything in my power to make your mission fail and see that all of your race dies.” There was extreme venom in those final words.

Then the dragon had disappeared deeper into its chamber before taking a passage through the mountain.

“Everyone must clearly understand what this means.” The Adventurer’s Guild Master addressed us earnestly. “No one, and I mean no one, is to have any thoughts about taking this egg. If you do… regardless of who you are… you will die.” His words were spoken as if this was a certain outcome, and I did not doubt his conviction in the slightest.

The dragon was not wrong, and humans were greedy. Having a dragon as a pet – or even a slave – would make your guild immeasurably more powerful. The knowledge that could be obtained from a creature so naturally gifted at learning magic was too tempting.

I could see expressions of greed on many of those present in the room. Even the Adventurer’s Guild Masters stern warning was not enough to push away their desire for the power that was present before us.

“Rhea, you have the stone?” The Adventurer’s Guild Master summoned a barrier behind him. The cavern with the dragon egg was completely sealed off. It simply looked as if there was no cavity there at all. He glanced over everyone once more before making his way to the teleporter in the center of the room.

He forcefully shifted our focus away from the dragon egg and to our goal at hand.

“I have it.” Rhea said while walking to the center. “Come Joseph.” I followed along as well until the three of us were directly in front of those two black prongs, endless symbols engraved on either side.

Rhea passed the stone to me and beckoned for me to activate it. There was no doubt she could figure it out, but this action alone showed the trust she placed in me. It was her way of showing the Valkyrie guild had my back. No one would have any designs on me without them having a say.

I grasped the stone and knelt before fitting it in place. The engravings on each side began to activate one by one as it circled and jumped between the prongs. In mere moments there was a portal waving in front of us: a green jungle waiting on the other side.

I knew at this moment I had finally silenced the doubters: I had not lied, nor wasted their time. Part of me wondered if that was the reason why I was brought along on the expedition, to punish me in the event my words were false. No one could doubt the things I had spoken of now.

“Who will be first?” There was trepidation in a man’s voice. I did not recognize the emblem on his attire and judging from the two people by his side, it was someone from a small guild.

“First or last, does it matter?” The Tyrant guild leader spoke abruptly. “We will all be traveling through.”

And as if it was rehearsed beforehand, someone chirped in immediately. “The Tyrant guild leader is wise, but we should still discuss this.”

“That’s true, I have a suggestion then.” The Tyrant guild leader spoke again. “The Valkyrie guild should go in first, as they were the discoverers of the portal.” There was silence as people pondered his suggestion. Soon, one or two voices called out in favor of the proposal.

“It’s not a bad idea.”

“I think it’s only fair.”

The look on Rhea’s face grew grim, she was about to interject when I stopped her. “It’s okay. I will go in first,” I said. I understood that the Tyrant guild was still incredibly hostile towards me, and because of that, the Valkyrie guild.

The dragon’s words could not have been truer than in this moment. Even if it meant this mission would fail, that our race would be doomed to extinction, the Tyrant guild leader would find joy in the portal malfunctioning and harming me.

I looked at the Tyrant guild leader before plastering a large smile across my face. This was the second time I had this feeling: the feeling that the person I was looking at was the most dangerous threat to humanity. I would cut him down if I had the opportunity.

I grasped my rod and injected a large amount of Mana into it, then set it ablaze. All eyes were on me as I stepped through the portal and disappeared into the other side.