Mason belched loudly, feeling a little bit of goat try and wiggle its way back up his throat. Swallowing it down with a content smile, he grinned at Baudron, who was lying beside a pile of bone. The brown dragon looked almost intoxicated after having eaten half a dozen goats.

"I think we wiped out the entire group," Mason said, not feeling the least bit remorseful.

A happy groan was his only reply, and he stretched. Beside him lay a similar bone pile, all that remained of the seven goats he had eaten-one more than Baudron. He didn't know when their hunt had turned into an eating contest, but he knew for sure he had won!

Above them, the soft red glow that tinged the grey sky was disappearing behind a far off mountain peak, and the shadows grew longer. Soon it would be dark.

"We need to find a cave or something."

Baudron raised his head, blinking at him sleepily. "How so?" he drawled.

"Well, you said it yourself. We don't know what is out there, and those Dragons fought something. It'd be better to hide somewhere than sleep in the open, right?" Mason said as he scanned their surroundings.

They sat on a steep mountain slope, a few red bushes close by, and not a single goat left insight. The cliff down to the desert was far off in the distance, only recognizable by the lack of mountain peaks. If they continued a little further, it would be completely out of sight. Boulders and gravel lay scattered across the slopes, but he didn't spot a single cave. Across the chasm lay another mountain, one with steeper drops and outcrops. Deep shadows dotted an almost sheer cliff area.

"There might be some caves over there," he said as he pointed.

Baudron struggled up, blinking groggily as if he had just woken. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if there are Storigians inside?"

Mason frowned as he tried to recall what Storigians were.

"Those stone drakes?" Baudron asked, and he yawned.

"A, those things."

They examined the shadowy spots, searching for an alternative until the last of the murky sunlight disappeared behind the mountain.

"We don't have a choice," Mason whispered and jumped in the air, floating towards the opposite side.

The sound of a tent-sail unfolding told him Baudron was coming, and he headed towards a small shadow. After a few moments, he could make out the opening of a cave. They could both fit through the entrance, and it was situated smack in the middle of the cliff. He reasoned that unless those stone things grew wings, they wouldn't be able to get inside.

As he sailed forward, he noticed that warm currents flowed through the higher air regions, moving away from the mountains. They carried the smell of sulfur, the smell of volcanoes.

He changed his direction a bit and flew past the entrance, looking inside. All he saw was a glimpse of a larger cave beyond. Turning back, he sucked in a deep breath as he angled towards the entrance. At the last moment, he closed his wings and landed on the edge, exhaling a small stream of fire as he looked around the oval-shaped cave. It looked empty. Stalactites hung from a ceiling that was higher than he had expected. There were also no visible crevices or openings that connected it to another cave.

Stepping further inside, Mason blasted a cone of fire across the ceiling, incinerating a host of dusty cobwebs. Wait… webs? He hadn't finished the thought when tattling like hail on a windshield came from all across the cavern. Spiders the size of his hand scuttled into view from small cracks and from behind boulders and stalactites. Their legs had spiky protrusions that latched onto the stone, causing small bits of dirt and debris to fall and drift in the air.

Mason's heartbeat tripled as he blasted a cone of fire across them. Like wet firecrackers, the spiders exploded into gore that quickly roasted and burned in the heat. Charcoaled spider bodies fell on the ground dozens at a time, but the others didn't seem discouraged. More and more swarmed from places he hadn't even thought to look, and from all sides they rushed towards him.

There are too many! Mason thought, wondering why it always had to be spiders. Stepping backward while spewing fire, he jumped out of the cave. He fell below the ledge, turning in mid-air and unfurling his wings. Angling them back, he glided from the wall, feeling his tail grind against it. As soon as he had some distance, he looked around. Baudron was circling above him, staring at the entrance with a look of revulsion.

A squirming mass of spiders poured from the entrance, and a tapping sound came from all around. Spiders in different sizes poured from each and every little hole in the mountain. Some were half as big as him, and he felt like gagging.

Flying further away from the wall, he circled close to Baudron.

"Perhaps we should try a volcano?"

"Look out!" Baudron's shouted as he closed his wings and fell down.

Mason flinched, then copied Baudron's move. Something wet and sticky struck his hind legs and tail. It felt like a wet towel wrapped around them, and staring down in shock, he saw a thick white spider web binding his tail and legs together.

"FLEE!"

Baudron's shout came just in time as he flapped hard, shooting a few meters up. More webbing passed below him. Following it to its origin, he saw an enormous spider amidst uncountable smaller ones. It had a multitude of red, glistening eyes on its hairy head, and from between its two mandibles shot a thick stream of liquid. Mason climbed higher as fast as he could, the webbing falling short, disintegrating as it fell to the ground.

When he was away from the mountain, he swallowed and shook his head. That was way too close. Baudron was climbing towards him, dodging webbing twice, and when he finally joined Mason, his eyes were wide with fear.

"Did you see that? What kind of spider gets that big?"

Mason let out a stuttering laugh before shaking his head. "Of course I saw that! Let's find a good hiding place before something sees us up here." Turning around mid-air, he saw a thick plume of yellowish smoke rise from a mountain not too far away.

"Over there!"

Flapping forward, he felt a tingling from his tail and legs. Great! This stuff is poisonous too? Without thinking, Mason blew a thin layer of fire across his own legs and tail. It felt like standing below a warm shower, but the webbing curled up and disintegrated instantly. The scales on his legs and tail had a slight discoloration, but the tingling stopped.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," he growled as he flew towards the volcano.

Below them, the grey stony mountainside was cracked and filled with small fissures. Trickles of smoke circled up while a dim red glow tinted the edges. The larger plume was further than Mason had anticipated and bigger too. When they reached it, a soft roaring came from an enormous tear in the mountain below them. Smaller plumes of yellow gas hissed from holes all around it as if the mountain was a pressure kettle. The tear's edges were curled up as if something had burst out from the ground. Seeing the hazy, familiar red glow of lava below, Mason shivered in anticipation.

"I'll go first!" He had to roar to get Baudron to understand him. The other nodded, staring down with a look of distaste almost as bad as when he had seen the spiders.

Mason fell, his wings stretched out behind him, ready to get out if anything happened. The air became hotter, the thick stink of sulfur reminding him of the first time he woke as a dragon. He flung out his wings and came to a jerky stop amidst the waves of hot air from below. He hovered just above the edge of the enormous fissure. There were plateaus all along the sides of a river of lava that bubbled and hissed. It came from the side of the mountain, where it had melted its way through the stone.

Picking a ledge, halfway down and not easily reachable, he flew inside the opening. With no signs of spiders, stone drakes, or giant bats, he landed on the ledge. It was wide enough for a dozen dragons, and as he felt the hot glow of the lava below, he sighed in relief. Baudron circled above him, and he signaled the brown dragon to come down. It took a few attempts before the other noticed, but eventually, he reached the ledge.

Landing with a loud thud, Baudron quickly moved close to the wall, far from the edge. "We need to find a better hiding place next time…" he grumbled as he curled up.

Says you, Mason thought with a grin as he examined the lava below. "I'll be right back, just going to sit a bit lower to warm up."

"Get warm…. Go fall in, why don't you?" Baudron grumbled, sounding half asleep.

Mason grinned, the abundance of energy washing away his sleepiness. Looking down, he saw another ledge below, so close to the lava he could probably touch it. Jumping down, he glided through clouds of red energy particles feeling invigorated. The image of the spiders crawling from the walls suddenly popped up. Blinking, he did a barrel roll, looking around. All he saw was darkened stone, yellow gas, and a reddish glow that tinted everything and made him feel warm and cozy. Landing on the ledge, a lot smaller and with crumbling edges, he felt the heat seep into his bones. It felt remarkable, and on a whim, he moved closer to the lava.

The brightly glowing, almost white lava was tinged at the edges from yellow all the way to red and should have blinded him. But instead, it almost seemed he was looking at slightly murky water. He could see the currents below, and for the first time, he imagined how Jake must feel. He wanted to jump in but instead carefully lowered the tip of his tail in. After a second, he yanked it back out. It felt as if he had tried entering a tub with almost boiling water. Grinning, he gazed down. But not like a boiling pit of lava that would disintegrate most things it touched. He couldn't wait to get stronger and swim in the lava.

He stayed at the lava for a long time before flying back to Baudron. The brown dragon was fast asleep, curled up with its head on its tail. Watching the other, Mason wondered how great it would have been if Jake had been here. Not that he would want to be anywhere near a volcano! The realization hit him like a sledgehammer. What would happen if he found Jake? His friend was a water dragon, and being in a place like this might actually hurt him or worse. He, on the other hand, couldn't even imagine living anywhere else anymore. No! It doesn't matter… we will find a way. We always do. Stuffing the fear to the back of his mind, he shivered and knew he would have to come to grips with it sooner or later. But not right now, because he would have to find Jake first. And from what he had seen so far, his friend could be on another side of the world.

Curling himself up, the happy and fuzzy feelings gone, he wondered how his parents were doing. He hadn't had a lot of time to think about them, and he wondered if they were even still alive. Many people had disappeared after the mingling event had happened.

He stayed awake, tired but his mind busy, filled with problems he couldn't solve.