Tom's Arthurian Legacy: Box Set Books 1 - 3 by T. J. Green

Author:T. J. Green [Green, T. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Arthurian Fantasy, Witches and Wizards, Teen and Young Adult, Fantasy Books, fairy stories, myths and legend, Magic and mystery
Publisher: TJ Green
Published: 2018-06-06T22:00:00+00:00

24 The Price of Dragons

The Chamber of Transformation was carved out of the rock deep beneath the left peak, and was accessed by a long tunnel that started in the town. It was rough hewn, long, low roofed and stiflingly hot. A central pit filled with flames lit up the cavern with a lurid glow, casting the faces of the goblins, trolls and fey who worked there into strange contorted shapes. The air rang with the sound of saws and hammers and the zing of metal on metal.

The dragon Arthur had slayed was spread on a large flat area of stone, where half a dozen goblins had already started to peel away its scaly skin and strip its veins and arteries of gold. Tom was forced to agree with Raghnall. As gory as it was, this was fascinating.

“I was right,” Raghnall said, self-importantly. “This is Viridain. Or was.”

“Do you name them all?” Tom asked.

“Only the ones we see most often. Although there are bigger dragons, this one was bold and caused many deaths over his long life. His hoard will be huge.” Raghnall looked excited at the prospect of new gold. “And,” he added quickly, “his hoard is not yours, Arthur. It belongs to the city.”

“Don’t worry,” Arthur said. “I think I’ll have enough gold.”

“Do you know where his hoard is?” Beansprout asked.

“Not exactly, but I have a good idea.” There was a speculative glint in Raghnall’s eye.

“Of course you do,” Nimue muttered.

Above the dragon’s body was a series of wooden walkways, ropes and pulleys, and large buckets. Next to the body, running along the floor to the fire pit and other areas of the cave, were tracks carrying wheeled containers into which various parts of the dragon were placed.

The goblins had already made a lot of progress. Shiny gold sinews and what were once veins and arteries were already overflowing one container. With a shout and a mighty push, a goblin leapt onto the flat-bottomed trolley the container was on, escorting it to the edge of the fire pit. He leant on a bar which applied the brakes, and then, manipulating another switch, the cart tipped, sending the gold sliding over the edge.

Another goblin had started to fill a cart with the dragon’s glittering scales, and yet another was loading what appeared to be the organs and viscera into a trolley destined for a different part of the cave. It was such a clinical operation that Tom felt repulsed.

“The process of transformation starts with the death of the dragon,” Raghnall said. “The organs start to change from flesh to jewels, but we have found that the application of heat speeds up the process and improves the quality of the gems.”

“So the whole dragon turns into gems?” Beansprout said.

“No. Not at all. There are parts that are quite unusable! But we are adept at getting the most out of them,” Raghnall said smugly. “Of course, it has been quite some time since we have had a dragon to transform. They are notoriously difficult to kill.

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