Chapter 17

the Magic War, Part 4: Dragon Heart

After hours of ritual sex magic between the three siblings, they use their intertwining bodies to augment and combine their powers and sharpen their arcane senses. Adunbi, Osa, and Ekina are then able to determine that one dagger is a dagger of long throwing and the other is a dagger of returning; they learn that the metallic winged sandals will allow the wearer to run many times faster than normal and for many times longer than normal, and they find out that the amulet grants the wearer the ability to change forms into forms found in the night stars, including that of a fish, a crab, a dolphin, a whale, a scorpion, a snake, a chicken, a crane, a peacock, an eagle, a rat, a pig, a goat, a ram, a horse, an ox, a giraffe, an elephant, a bear, a tiger, a lion, a wolf, a dog, a monkey, a centaur, and a dragon, and to become a twin of any human ever seen.

They debate about who should get what and decide that Quivina will get the winged sandals so that she can scout and keep up with Ekina when she flies. Captain Vulkarias will get the dagger of long throwing and the dagger of returning, along with all the gems. Adunbi gets the gold and silver coins to pay for the needs of his soldiers. Ekina gets the amulet of form shifting.

A few days later, Jellen is guiding the ship through the narrow path through the shallow waters that lead to the bay where Osa first met Jellen. Once in the small bay, the ship is hidden from any casual viewing, either by land or by sea. From there the sailors row the archers and warriors over in small dinghies, while Osa swims and Ekina flies, carrying Osa’s dragon egg.

A quick sweep of the town reveals nothing, not a single Orangeman. But there is the stream that leads to the trail that leads to the caves that the beast man and the dragon live in. Osa leads Adunbi, Ekina, and Quivina to the cave of the beast man. Once there, they decide that Adunbi and Quivina will go inside the cave here and try to capture the beast man, while Osa and Ekina will go around the outside to find the larger opening that the dragon uses.

Adunbi and Quivina enter the cave; Adunbi walks ahead while Quivina stays behind just inside the entrance, her bow at the ready, waiting for the first sounds of trouble. Adunbi takes off his foot covers and uses the hard stone cave floor to summon the power of the earth in the same fashion he would use his stone.