After hugs and goodbyes right after lunch, Felicity climbed onto Maeze’s back, strangely thankful for the alone time. She enjoyed people but she intended to enjoy this opportunity to soar into the clouds with Maeze. Her dragon lifted her azure wings and with a mighty flap they lifted off the ground. It took only moments for them to reach the clouds and climb above them.
Felix remained with her, protective of the younger dragon. Rykert hovered with his dragon, the two males watching out for them. She did not know how she felt about that.
“Where are we going again?” Felix transmitted this to Rykert, but she heard him.
“Remember the first time you dunked me in the search of treasure?”
“Oh yes. We are returning to that treasure?” Eagerness threaded Felix’s statement.
“Yes.” Good humor interwove Rykert’s.
“Felix dunked Rykert?” Maeze inquired.
“He neglected to tell me he had located treasure when he abruptly dove for it. We plunged straight into the ocean, with no warning. I got soaked.” Rykert’s amusement could nearly be felt, even here, above the clouds.
“I forgot. And I found what we believe is Fergus the First’s treasure. He would have enjoyed that I dunked you.” Felix’s wings made no sound as he set their course.
“He would. He was contrary like that.” Rykert filled in details for a delighted Maeze.
A sense of peace and harmony settled over Felicity as they sped through the air on a new quest. She enjoyed her companions and the task ahead. She did not know what the next few days would bring, but a part of her also didn’t care.
All too soon Felix began their descent. While doing so she and Rykert kept watch of people on the water or nearby. Many humans did not know of the existence of dragons and most never saw one. They tended toward silly stories and fairy tales and plenty of untruths so it was better for them to simply not know.
“We are about to get wet,” Felix warned as they neared the surface of the water. His dive showed perfect form and Rykert clearly had done this with the dragon before. They disappeared beneath the surface of the calm water.
Maeze showed no hesitation. She followed as Felicity worked to dull her scales. No need to dive deep for this treasure, but it still made sense to mute Maeze.
It took her a panicked minute to spot Felix, who Rykert had also muted. He appeared more rust colored and this should make him less noticeable as they made for the depths. Felicity changed Maeze’s scales to more resemble the water surrounding them.
A second of panic about whether she could breathe, but all the times before when she entered water had proved that Aasguards could breathe under water. Somehow. She no longer questioned this ability. Dragons appeared to have no difficulty in this matter either as Maeze showed no signs of discomfort.
Felix never hesitated as he throttled through the water toward something he could clearly sense. Felicity opened her own senses, both to maintain their safety, but also to determine whether Maeze could perceive the treasure as Felix did.
A simmering awareness awoke within Maeze. As though it had been slumbering. She stopped following Felix as closely.
They could not talk in the water, but Felicity felt a new confidence emerge within Maeze as to their direction. Felicity joined Rykert in fully watching for lurking predators and other dangers. As they were land based animals, they knew little about what lived in the oceans.
Shadows in the depths below them made her senses slam into the highest awareness. She kept watch, with her sword close at hand. Water fighting was different than land battles, but she had been trained and could hold her own in this ocean.
As expected, the water was cold this time of year so Felicity adjusted her body temperature. The cold would barely register as they headed deeper and deeper. The sensation of being surrounded by water didn’t necessarily bother her but Felicity admitted this environment was not her niche.
Dry land fighting remained her preference. The consolation was she dove with others. Two dragons and two Aasguards should be capable of combating any trouble they encountered.
Felix and Rykert disappeared suddenly, and while she gasped, Maeze didn’t seem fazed. She kept on their course, speed never altering. Within seconds they also entered the same tube that expanded as soon as Maeze’s bulk reached it.
They remained in water for several meters and passed through vegetation into a world Felicity had never encountered. She gaped. One moment they were in the water and the next on a solid rock surface.
Crystals sparkled from the ceiling and lit the rock formations that made up the floor, walls, and ceiling of the cavern. It resembled the chamber where Aasguards lived in Montequirst, yet retained its own uniqueness. Here everything sparkled. Not from a glass ceiling, but from the embedded crystals that appeared lit from inside.
Rykert had already dismounted Felix and now he helped her.
“What causes the crystals to be lit?”
“We have no idea.” Rykert sounded cheerful.
Felix headed straight for the towering treasure that covered the vast expanse of floor. He invited Maeze to join him over his shoulder. She skipped in her eagerness.
Felicity smiled. “She is so cute.”
“She is.” They watched the two dragons enjoy their proximity to treasure. “Did she receive the treasure signal or whatever it is that makes Felix aware of nearby treasure?”
“She did. Do you believe all dragons have the ability?”
“I expect so. Since it improves their health I imagine it is innate in all of them.” Rykert inspected the place. “It looks much the same as the last time we were here.”
“This is vast enough for another treasure or two, but it would not accommodate multiple treasures.” She turned in a full circle to take in the space.
“I agree. Although it could probably be expanded.”
“Yes. Although it is not overly deep. No Aasguard would touch it, but humans could eventually reach this depth.”
“Back when Fergus likely carved this space out for his treasure, humans had no hope of reaching these depths. It would be incredibly rare, even now, but with crystals doing what they can do, the times are changing. A human might eventually be able to locate this treasure.”
“I agree. Do we move it to one of our treasuries?” This conversation reminded her she had not visited hers in ages.
“I imagine it is safe for now. Until we determine a better place for it. I am feeling that Atlas is our best solution.”
“It is deep enough that it might be difficult for us to reach that island and city.” She was leery of the nerve-racking plunge.
“That means it will remain safe.”
‡‡
Rykert felt Felicity’s trepidation. He enveloped her in his arms and was heartened when she nestled closer.
“I can almost feel Fergus here, even though I never met him.”
He thought about her subdued statement. “That might be why I enjoy visiting here. You can feel his essence here. Everything about this space speaks of him.”
“We have to move on to the next treasure do we not?”
The heat they generated helped to dry them. Both dragons had sloughed off the wet but his and Felicity’s clothes remained damp. They could raise their body temperature to dry the clothing faster if needed.
“We should. It will take time to dive to the next one. We shall have to take a break while diving to Atlas.”
“I have never understood how we can breathe while underwater. I just know that I can.”
A good point. “I could not as a human, so it must have something to do with our change to Aasguard.”
“There is a lurking, irrational fear in the back of my mind that I will not be able to breathe once I am under the water.”
“If it has not failed you in the last millennia, I imagine you are safe.” He teased her but also hugged her tight.
She laughed softly. “I agree.” Then they parted so they could continue with the next stop.
Maeze shook off the treasure she had buried herself in and galloped around Felicity in anticipation. Felicity spoke with her for a few moments and he caught that she made certain the young dragon was okay with the sea.
While Felicity spoke with her, he turned to Felix. They ascertained that the next treasure was close, at least by air. It would take some time on a ship, but for dragons it proved a short jaunt.
Felix remembered the location of the next treasure and Rykert felt he could find it himself if need be. The females joined them and soon they left the chamber of Fergus the First’s treasure and entered the ocean depths again.
While dark at these depths, all four of them could see. Before he had fully enjoyed their adventure in the ocean, Felix rose to the top where they made certain no one was about. A dragon and rider erupting from the sea might cause panic to any nearby fishermen or people on ships.
Once they assessed that no one was about, Felix surged into the air, climbing to above the clouds again. Maeze followed him as though they had done this numerous times in the past. He and Felicity kept watch but nothing stirred.
The flight to the second treasury took half an hour and soon they plunged into the water again. This time Maeze detected the nearby treasure at the same time as Felix. The same excitement that usually gripped Felix overtook her as well.
She didn’t try to take the lead, which he appreciated as Felix was larger and a warrior in his own right. And he and Felix had visited this treasury before. A cranky octopus lived near the opening and those creatures enjoyed dining upon anything they could capture. A dragon might be a stretch for most octopi, but this monstrous one might be able to manage Maeze.
He conveyed this information to Felicity who straightened herself in preparation for an upcoming battle. He also entered the battle calm and kept watch as they dove deeper and deeper.
Their bodies adjusted as they swam deeper and deeper. Holding onto a dragon with one’s leg muscles required a different position in water but again, his body adjusted without much thought.
Felicity had not mentioned noticing the difference, despite not having been on a treasure hunting expedition before. He counted that as a good sign. This trip took longer than the previous hunt. The water here was clear and contained far more life.
Part of the problem for him was he wanted to see everything around them and watch the creatures swimming by. They lost interest in Felix and Maeze early on once they ascertained both were higher on the food chain. Both dragons conveyed this and the creatures passed them by.
Many of these he had no knowledge of. A sad state of being for them and him. The magnificence of many of the swimming creatures made him breathless. The size of others made him ponder whether the dragons and Aasguards were perched at the top of the food chain. Yet none of the sea predators bothered them. As had happened before.
The entrance to the chamber drew near, this one an unassuming ledge with a crevice at the seam. Felix slowed as he approached the crevasse but they saw no sign of the octopus who patrolled these waters. They remained alert in the event they did encounter him.
Felix did not plow through the opening as they had learned their lesson on that front. Rykert eased off his back. The opening widened but it would not allow for both of them at the same time.
Felicity copied his movements with Maeze, and he ushered them single-file after Felix so he could take the rear. Better for him to watch their backs as he had met the octopus before.
For all they knew, something even bigger might have eaten the octopus. Not a particularly comforting notion.
Once they entered the pool beyond the opening, they needed to surface. Felix was already in the process of doing so. Rykert watched closely but his dragon encountered no issues. Maeze followed with the trust of youth. Felicity kept watch of everything, the mark of a great warrior.
They all surfaced and Felix heaved himself onto the ledge that offered access to the cavern beyond where the treasure was located. He tested it before helping Maeze to clamber up from the pool. Felicity hoisted herself with an agility he admired. Her warrior garb plastered to her body and he enjoyed watching her muscles contract and pull as she straightened to take in the chamber.
“Wow.”
“Yes, this one is impressive too.” He launched himself out of the water and joined her. Water sluiced off them as the dragons immediately made for this treasure as well.
Of a similar size and expanse as Fergus’s the impressiveness here might stem from the chamber itself. Formed out of a rock he had never witnessed before, it shone in shades of green, blue, and white. Not marble or granite, but some other type of stone that nature had made.
“This treasure is also sizable.” Felicity took in everything as her long braid dripped. “Do you know whose this treasure might have been?”
“I have not been able to determine this one. My guess is I did not know him or her.”
At him saying her, Felicity’s head cocked. “This feels feminine.”
He paused. “That might be why I could not determine who this belonged to.”
She knelt by several necklaces. They all had been paid in this sort of jewel before but these were far more delicate than many he owned. Not that he had any desire to wear any of his own jewels.
None of them did. Yet it made sense that a monarch or wealthy individual would have paid a female Aasguard in jewelry they felt she might prefer. Felicity’s notion that this treasury belonged to a female made sense.
“Is this Aasguard dead?” At Felicity’s statement he started.
“Why do you ask that?”
“It feels like…” Before she answered a new chest formed and coins spilled into it.
“Oh. This belongs to a living female Aasguard.”
“I believe I know who she is.” Felicity glanced around the chamber. “If this belongs to who I believe, it makes sense. Lucy the Lucky loves the water. We used to tease her about being a mermaid. It makes complete sense that she would have her chamber here, deep in the ocean.”
“Felix.” He called to his dragon. “This treasury belongs to someone who is still living.”
Felix and Maeze joined them again. “That means we must respect her treasury. Although I am certain she would not mind in the least that we are here.” Felicity patted Maeze.
“It is nice to have a few moments with treasure. Especially before we determine whether we can reach Atlas.” Felix flicked water off his tail.
“We shall need to stop in the middle to give our bodies time to adjust.” Rykert warned his dragon, but mostly spoke for Maeze’s sake. Her behavior thus far indicated she would copy exactly what they all did, but he believed in communication.
Felicity’s hand tucked into his. “Well, here goes.”