The following is an extract from my upcoming fantasy adventure. Game of Runes Book 5: Caverns of Chaos

Mygrayn the minstrel says, ‘An excellent choice, it’s one of the best myths of the Jade Hills, and always popular in the taverns. Now, wyrms lived in the glorious land of Duros long before halflings ever did, and long before dwarves or humans or even elves. The dragons lived in the swamps, and the forests, and the Fenland plains, and in the Bear Back mountains that run from north to south and form the spine of Duros.

‘These dragons were lowland wyrms, not the highland Freak dragons of the Scarlet Lakelands. The highland dragons are gnarly, scaly, fire-breathing beasts, sometimes tamable, but often not. They are grand, proud and ruthless.

‘The lowland wyrms are small and wily,  bigger than a barn have four legs, not two like their highland kin. Lowland wyrms enjoy breathing fire and roasting their foes, but they can’t lay waste to cities. They’re rich in reptilian cunning did don’t speak the common tongue of elves and men, but roar and howl to intimidate their enemies and their prey, of which they have many.

‘The few foolish rulers who’ve captured a wyrm do not often live long to enjoy their trophy, and not one alive can claim to have defeated one in single combat. Lowland wyrms also have the ability to turn invisible. Well, not invisible, but they can change the hue of their scales to the colour of their surroundings, to blend with their background.

‘In this state, they can and only be seen if they open their eyelids to reveal their emerald eyes, and most wyrms will squint for prolonged periods of time so that the only sign they’re lurking nearby, are the green slits of light, which are often dismissed as faerie lights. Many travellers learn too late how cunning the lowland wyrms are.

‘The reptiles have lived in the Fenlands for centuries, feasting on each other and lesser reptiles, gorging on cattle and livestock and anything that’s squatted swam or clawed the land. It was the fauns that first drove the wyrms from their forests and into the hills.’

Funul the faun cries, ‘Hear, hear!’

Mygrayne bows to Funul and continues, ‘The fauns hoped to fell the forests and create a grand plain akin to the plains to the Copelands, and the Copeland fauns were skilled at fighting wyrms after many bitter years of combat, and soon the number of wyrms was greatly diminished. Next to arrive were the northern halflings.’

Horo the halfling shouts. ‘Huzzah!’

Mygrayne bows low to Horo and continues, ‘Though only the gods remember if they were forced out of the realm of Ferrum or sent to colonise the Fenlands by their monarch. The halflings had long experience of fighting Freak dragons and wyrms and lizards of all sorts, and soon the swamps were a hostile and often fatal environment for any wyrm. Then the humans arrived by boat and ship from the capital, Duro Regentis.’

Sir Kana says, ‘Yes, our minstrels still sing the tales of the brave soldiers from our capital city.’

Mygrayne bows and strums his lyre to the knight and continues, ‘The humans were tall and proud, they wore golden armour and were highly skilled in warfare. The humans were savage and brutal and relentless in exterminating any wyrm they found within one hundred miles of the coast and their harbours and their precious ships.’

Then the dwarves came over the mountains, and through the mountains, and from under the mountains, and drove the wyrms from every cave and cranny, slaughtering the wyrms with axe and fire and hammer.’

Drollo the dwarf says, ‘Aye, aye we did!’

Mygrayne bows to Drollo and continues, ‘And the wyrms were driven back and hounded and hemmed on all sides, and the lizards were angry and resentful. So the wyrms took refuge in the cave of Nok, which, at that time, was a single great cavern. Wyrms are territorial and are no better at sharing their territory than were the humans, fauns, halflings and dwarves. The wyrms took to fighting among themselves, tearing with their teeth and claws at each other’s long necks and bellies, gouging and tearing and biting.

‘The wyrm’s bloody battles raged and shook the walls and ceilings of the caves even the foundations down to the foundations of the hills. As the wyrms fought, their tails smacked the cavern walls and caused great cracks to run along every surface, until the cavern resembled a giant spider’s web carved into the rock. 

‘The wyrms battled until only a few were alive, and the great scaly corpses of the fallen created great pools of reptile blood. The remaining wyrms licked their wounds and circled each other in the darkness. Their emerald eyes glinted and wisps of smoke rose from their nostrils as they prepared to unleash their fiery breath on each other. 

’Sistut, the biggest and strongest but also the most injured wyrm, knew she had to press her size advantage while her strength held out, for she knew she could not survive a prolonged battle. Her attack was furious and deadly and she killed two more wyrms. But her ferocity caused the roof to crack and great slabs of rock fell from the ceiling, killing one wyrm and fatally wounding another.

‘The falling rock reduced the size of the killing grounds, restricted Sistut’s mobility and left her enormous frame vulnerable to attack from her last two foes. Tugtug was a young and energetic and foolhardy wyrm, and the other, Unddnu, was sly and slight and cowardly, yet highly cunning. Unddnu the Sly taunted Tugtug the Rash to be the first to attack Sistut the Great. Unddnu the Sly called Tugtug the Rash a coward and a snake. And Tugtug was stung by the cunning words and leapt for the throat of the mighty Sistut, who defended herself with tail and claw and fire. Their struggle caused a thunderous crashing as more rock and stone fell from the ceiling, trapping the two beasts, and trapping that now mortally wounded Sistut.

‘As Tugtug smelled victory she tore at Sistut’s neck, exposing her own belly to Unddnu the Sly who quickly slashed and sliced Tugtug’s unarmoured belly, causing Tugtug’s stomach to burst open and spill its entrails across the cavern floor.

‘Tugtug was dying and Sistut was dead, and Unddnu roared her victory. Yet this caused yet more rocks and boulders to crash from the ceiling, causing the mountain to collapse on itself, leaving only the stump of the hills we see today. Under the hill, the once mighty cavern became a series of tunnels, passages, chambers, rooms and holes, and the grass and trees that soon covered the hills were famed for their remarkable green hue. 

‘Many emeralds, claimed to be the eyes of the wyrms, have supposedly been dug from the hills by brave or reckless adventurers. It cannot be said without question that the Jade Hills take their unusual and iridescent colour from the wyrm’s eyes buried there. Nor can be said with any certainty of what happened to Unddnu the Sly, and many claim she yet lives and prowls the caverns of chaos and feasts on the flesh of those foolish enough to enter her domain.’

ENDS.

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