8 Chapter 7

I entered the double doors.

The room was made of stone, the stones in the walls looked as if they were hand cut by dwarves.

I began to shiver because this room is really cold!!

The stench of flesh in decay pervaded the small chamber.

On my left was a small shelf with a rolled up piece of paper, a scroll?

My hands trembled with excitement as I took the scroll and slowly opened it up.

'Beware the dragon. He is hungry, but you must not slay him because he can help you if you play your cards right'

"Wow, there's a dragon here too?"

In front of me was a spiral staircase leading down. The stairs creaked under my weight as I walked down the stairs and into a tunnel covered with snow and ice.

'No wonder it's so cold in here.'

On my right was a trap door. As I opened it, I noticed a broken fragment of a wooden ladder hanging from the opening.

Another trap! If I had climbed down there without even looking, I would have taken a big step into darkness; and fallen to my death. Well death ifI didn't have godlike power, but I still would have lost.

As I made a 90 degree turn, I saw that the corridor was covered with ice, completely frozen.

"Remember," Hermès said to me, "You must win by using your wits."

"I got it," I said, "No energy blasts, I must use my brain."

I began to go into deep thought.

'The scroll mentioned a dragon. Breathing fire to melt the ice maybe?'

Suddenly I felt warm air rush to my right side. I turned my head and a saw a doorway leading into another tunnel covered with grey bricks instead ice.

"That's odd. Where did that come from?"

As I entered the tunnel, I noticed that the room was very hot. Sweat dropped down my face as fear gripped me. Something was wrong!

As I looked ahead to the next part of the tunnel, all I could see were two eyes in the darkness. They seem to be watching every move I made.

"Is that the dragon?"

Just a couple paces away was huge pile of gold worth a king's ransom!!

The pieces had been melted together.

"That's what the scroll meant. That's how to melt the ice."

I noticed a charred skeleton at my feet holding a shield and a broken spear.

I could hear the dragon breathing.

I grabbed the shield and raised it just in time to block the dragon's flame.

Sweat dripped down my shoulders as the fire hit the shield.

As I stepped back, the beast again breathes flames. I used the shield for protection. It was getting hot! I didn't

know how much longer I could stand it. Even with my god-like strength, I was feeling the heat!

As slowly moved back towards the ice room.

"Come on boy," I yelled as I continued to move back, "you can do better then that."

The dragon stuck it's head out of the darkness and hissed. It had purple scales all over it's long neck. It's head resembling an alligator with rows of sharp teeth like a shark.

"Come on!"

I stepped back into the Ice room with a splash. A puddle! It was working! The ice was melting!

I felt the dragon's fire again, the shield was beginning to melt.

I didn't know how much more of that fire I could take.

As I turned my head, I saw the frozen entryway melting.

I heard something hit the floor on the other side.

I turned my head to the other side of me and saw a black wooden stick about a foot long, it must have been locked it the ice above where I came in.

As the dragon hissed again, the stick began to glow.

'I wonder if that is the Ruyi Jingu Bang'

The dragon turned its head to the glowing stick.

Suddenly the small stick extended to several feet long as if by magic.

The dragon stepped back.

I made a grab for the Ruyi Jingu Bang

I heard the dragon whimper as the stick immediately grew even longer.

Was the dragon afraid of the staff?

No matter, the ice was melted and I could continue on my way.

The dragon backed into the darkness of the tunnel it came from as I walked through a deep puddle to get to the next room.