7 Lair of the Sea-king

While the ship went out into the sea, River continued her descent into the water. Occasionally, she would stop and listen for anything out of the ordinary, then continue her search. This went on for a few minutes and she was thankful that her draconic half was a water dragon; they didn't have gills, but they were able to hold their breath for days on end without having to come back up, which their Half-Dragon counterparts inherited.

Suddenly, she stopped in mid swim and began to listen again; something was echoing through the water. It sounded like some kind of animal's call. That must be the lair, she thought, or maybe the sea serpent. She sighed; only one way to find out; she moved towards the source of the noise.

As she swam in its direction, she realized that the closer she got, the more vivid the sound became; it wasn't just one creature, it was hundreds of them, all communicating with each other. Then, she came to a massive cave entrance in the rock face of an underwater cliff, and the voices were clearly coming from inside. River smiled; she had actually found the hidden cave.

Quickly, she dove inside the entrance, and found herself in a massive cave. The walls were shining, lined with undersea crystals and gems, the like of which River had never seen anywhere else. Dozens of water dragons moved around, some talking among each other, others simply moving on her way. One of them spotted River and approached her. She also noticed the dragon's approach.

'You', the dragon said telepathically (water dragons are able to do this when they are underwater), 'Who are you, and how did you find this place?'

'My name is River', she replied, 'And I was searching for this place on urgent business. I was only able to find it when I heard the calls echoing through the sea.'

'And what urgent business are you here on, exactly, may I ask?'

'You may, I am here on behalf of a company on a quest from the White King himself, and right now, we seek the aid of your ruler, Hydraxus.'

The dragon looked surprised at the mention of the White King: 'The White King, eh? Well, I will go inform Hydraxus. If what you say is true, then your meeting should go smoothly. If not, then not so much, and he will know if it is true.'

'I'll take my chances.'

At that, the dragon turned and led River further down the cave and into a maze of tunnels, taking one turn after another. Finally, they came to an entrance to another cave, this one blocked by a massive stone. The dragon turned to River and spoke: 'Wait here.' Then, it swam up to the entrance, which opened up as the stone rolled to the side, allowing the dragon to swim through. As the stone closed behind him, River swam back and forth impatiently; every moment she spent waiting was another moment closer to the serpent destroying her new friends, so she had no time to waste. After a few minutes, the stone rolled away again and the water dragon swam back through. 'Hydraxus will see you now,' he said, 'apparently, he knew you were coming.'

'If half the stories I've heard about him are true,' River replied, 'Then I'm not surprised.'

'Fair enough, I guess. Good luck.' With that, the dragon swam away. River turned and swam into the cavern. Inside, she gasped in astonishment. Treasures of all kinds littered the cavern. Alongside the natural sea crystals, they were incredible to look at.

'It is incredible, isn't it?' said a voice in her head. River turned and came face to face with, resting on a ledge of the cavern, Hydraxus the Wise himself.

He was just as the stories had said: he was nearly ten times as big as the other dragons, his eyes were gentle, but had a hidden fierceness behind them. A massive frill like the fin of a giant fish ran down his neck, back, and tail, ending in a larger frill that angled at the end like a large shark tail. His wings were folded and tucked at his sides, and River could only imagine what they would look like extended. His scales shone as if they were almost different shades of blue, almost as if his scales reflect all the different colors of the water.

River quickly had to regain her composure and attempted to bow to the dragon, as best as one could bow underwater. 'They are incredible,' she said telepathically, 'but it pales in comparison to your own splendor, great Sea-King.'

Hydraxus chuckled: 'The compliment is appreciated, but I am not like some of my brethren, you do not need to shower me with praises. If anything, the only one who deserves such praise is the White King. He did create us after all.'

'I suppose so. Anyways, please hear me out, my friends are caught in something important and we need your help.'

Hydraxus rose from his perch: 'I know why you're here; I always learn of things when word of it reaches my realm. You want me to help destroy the sea serpent that's been attacking the people of the town.'

'Yes. Please, you're the only one who might stand a chance (honestly, I'm surprised that you haven't killed the darn thing already). And not only because it's harming the people of the town, but also because we think it might know where the piece of the Light of Lunare is.'

If River didn't have Hydraxus' attention before, she did now. Hydraxus looked startled: 'It does? This information is new to me. How do you know it knows where the piece is?'

'Our new friend, Kai'sair of the knights, told us that the water dragon riders found the piece, but they can't get close to it because the serpent keeps driving them back.' River said.

Hydraxus thought for a moment: 'And the only way for something like that to happen is if it knows that the piece is there too.'

River nodded: 'My friends and I are on a quest from the White King to find the two pieces, that's how we found out about the serpent, and that's why we need your help. No one fears you more than the sea serpents.'

'Very true,' Hydraxus replied, 'and if you're on a quest for the White King himself (praise be to him), then this is more serious than I thought. News from the land does not reach me as fast as news from the sea. Like recently. I got word of a wyrm that was somehow killed on the river yesterday.'

'Well, that was us! We killed that wyrm.'

'Was it now?'

'Yes. Now please, help us. Every second we stay here talking about it is one second closer to my friends being killed by the serpent.'

'Don't worry,' Hydraxus reassured, 'I can sense them now, they are alive and fighting quite well, I must say, but the serpent is being quite ferocious.'

'So, will you help us. Please, I don't want to lose them.' River pleaded.

Hydraxus thought again for a moment, then looked back at River with a grim determination: 'You're right. If this is a quest for the White King himself, then I must ensure that quest is seen through to the end.' Then, he turned to the entrance to his cavern, which promptly opened as he neared it. He turned his head to River and said, 'Hold on to me, we tend to move much faster than you think in situations like this. There isn't a moment to lose.'

Lighting up in a smile, River quickly swam over and clung to one of Hydraxus' horns.

'Now what?' She asked. Hydraxus looked forward, anger flashing in his eyes, 'Now, we kill a sea serpent. You may want to cover your ears.'

Then he let out a roar that shook through the entire cave; River had to cover her ears. Then, Hydraxus shot forward through the tunnels and out the cave, and into the open sea. River held on tight; Hydraxus wasn't kidding about moving fast. Had she been swimming on her own, she would have fallen behind a long time ago. As she held on, she heard another dragon cry, then another. Looking behind her, she saw a large group of water dragons all mobilizing behind Hydraxus. Together, they zoomed off to where the serpent battled Adrion and Kai'sair to end the monster's reign of terror.