Stone dropped below him and he felt his feet start to lose their grip. He shoved hard with what purchase he had left he pushed forward and at the same time shouting, ”Ventus maxus!"

Time slowed and then with a surge of hot air he felt his body lifted and pushed just enough to grasp the edge of the pillar he had been aiming for. ”Inrita!” he cried out, stopping the onrush of air that threatened to tear his fragile grip from the rock. He pulled his body up onto the pillar, careful to not roll off the opposite side. Great shuddering breaths filled his lungs as they attempted to fill his blood with oxygen. That last spell had severely depleted his core. As he stood there he became aware of the pain filling his connection with his dragon companion. She was circling around him, anxious for his safety and happy that he had survived that final leap.

He could see the dragon was favoring one of her wings and as she lifted the wing up to bank around the pillar again he could see a hole where molten rock had burned through the wing’s membrane. “Steria, Steria, girl we will fix that, but first I need to get to the exit. Fly over there and wait for me.”

She gave a chirp of acknowledgment and flew off, pushing support through their shared bond. Hyernan shook his head and prepared to finish the final few pillars remaining. With a few careful leaps, he landed on the platform with the exit to the cavern. ”Inrita," he said to cancel the magic flowing out from him. Without the coolness of the spell, he could feel the heat from the room wash over him once again.

The magical core that was deep within him felt almost empty. Crossing through that much space with two draining spells was difficult enough. The final push at the end saved his life but nearly depleted his core.

Steria lay on the ground, her small chest moving up and down and she keened a soft cry. Her left wing was held out and Hyernan could see two holes burned through the membrane. He could feel her pain through their connection and sent back a feeling of support and comfort.

Exhausted as he was he knew he couldn’t leave the miniature dragon suffering. With a quick snap of the clasps on his satchel, he reached into and fumbled around until his hand closed on a small container of ointment he had bartered for in the southern city of Uwahan. He opened up it and carefully spooned a bit out with a finger and slathered it on the dragon’s wounds.

Steria’s keen changed from pain-filled to a rumble of contentment as the ointment dulled the pain and started to heal the burned flesh. The ointment was infused with an enchantment that was supposed to help heal and restore wounds specifically for dragon kind.

Hyernan stroked the dragon’s head, scratching between the rows of spikes. He lay there on the ground with the dragon resting her head on his chest. As he rested he could see the holes slowly closing on her wing while a faint blue glow emanated from the salve. Despite the heat and not knowing what was past where he lay he felt his eyes grow heavy. Both of them were physically exhausted, and while he could feel his magical core slowly filling, it was still far too empty. With a final thought about what he should do next his eyes closed and both he and the dragon were fast asleep.

Waking up was painful. The several hours it had taken to traverse the various caverns had worn both of them out and both had suffered injuries in the process. Several hours of sleep helped with the exhaustion, but sore muscles took longer. Steria’s wing had fully healed and with the salve not even a scar remained. Hyernan believed that it was worth every kroon he had paid for it.

He stretched a bit where he lay and then with a grunt stood up. Steria lay on the ground watching him and he could sense her hunger through the link. Feeling her hunger made his own stomach rumble. He placed his satchel on the ground and undid the clasps on the side. Lifting the loose flap up out of his way he reached into the now open compartment.

Enchantments were common in the Republic. There were many people with magic cores who could ply various trades. Fewer were strong enough to cast spells, and even fewer were able to sustain any kind of magical output very long. One of the more common enchantments though was increasing the interior size of bags and containers. The magic user would carve runes into the object that was worked on and then the enchanter would will some of their magic into each rune. It was a simple way of allowing anyone with a little magic to make it go much further and provided a valued service.

Hyernan’s satchel had been enchanted by himself, and one of the additions he had added was a side pocket that was both larger on the inside, but also preserved fresh foods for long periods of time. While dried rotan meat and bars of pressed grains were good in a rush, he wasn’t in a huge hurry to live off them forever.

First to come out was a small cooking set, followed by a crusty loaf of fresh lanken bread. Two blocks of yellow menlen cheese, a cured ham of blue rotan meat, and fresh luja fruit.

“Well Steria, luckily for us we don’t even have to start a fire”, he gestured to the lava behind them. “There’s plenty of heat to go around.”

With that being said Hyernan quickly got to work on the meal for the two of them. While Steria liked fresh meat, she also enjoyed well-cured rotan with spicy klonan peppers mixed into it. Slicing the meat and cheese he layered it between the bread and added some klonan peppers he pulled from the satchel.

“Densitas ventus," he muttered and the newly created sandwich floated toward the molten rock below the jutting rock he was resting on. He watched it carefully as the bread started to toast and the cheese melted. The smell of sizzling rotan meat started to permeate the air. With a quick gesture the now toasted sandwich floated back and landed on the wooden board he had set out. A quick, inrita, canceled the spell's effect and he sliced the sandwich into sections.

"Here you are beautiful," he said and handed the toasted section of the sandwich to Steria. He could feel her anticipation as she tore into the offered food. Grinning he grabbed his own piece and bit into it. Melted cheese oozed from the bread, and the klonan peppers filled his mouth with heat. The rotan meat was a perfect combination with the rest of the ingredients.

"Now this is how you travel Steria! None of those traveler's rations all the time and boring flavors," he said, "No, I like my food to taste good." Steria lifted her head at his comment and cocked it. She dipped her head twice in agreement and then went back to her own food.

While the sandwich was delicious, he felt that the meal could use a couple more things. Reaching into the satchel compartment again he pulled out a barnoko puff pastry filled with cream sweetened with quiie syrup. He set that aside and then reached in and pulled out a bottle of Grendlen purple wine. As he sat the additional items down Steria had stopped eating and eyed the pastry and bottle.

Hyernan could feel her interest and said, "No, you can't have any of the wine. Remember last time? You got the hiccups and ended up setting the governor's curtains on fire."

With an annoyed snort, she flicked her tail and knocked the bottle over. It started rolling toward the edge of the ledge. Hyernan lunged for the bottle and managed to grab it before it disappeared forever into the depths of the lava below. As he turned back to reprimand the naughty dragon he saw that she had taken flight, and that his pastry was no longer where he had left it.

"Steria! That pastry is mine!" he yelled after the fleeing dragon. Amusement flooded their shared link as Steria banked around, the barnoko puff pastry clutched in her forelegs. She swooped down and with a flair of her wings landed next to him, the pastry still safely clutched in her forelegs.

With a grumble, Hyernan took the pastry from her and tore off a piece. "Here you sneaky stinker," he said as he bit into his piece. Steria flicked her tail as if to show indifference to Hyernan's complaint and with a hiss of pleasure bit into the pastry, letting the cream cover her face. He grinned at the sight of the miniature black dragon covered in pastry cream.

Steria flicked out her tongue and started to lick the cream off her snout after finishing the last of the pastry. Her forelegs helped with the cleaning effort and before long all evidence of the pastry had disappeared. Hyernan had sat and slowly ate his pastry while drinking the bottle of the Grendlen purple wine. She glanced around and saw the remnants of his pastry. "No, you already had your share, this is mine and I'm not going to let you distract me this time."

Mild annoyance emanated from her and then with another flick of her tail she turned her back toward him, indicating that she accepted his decision this time, but future acceptance was up in the air.

He snorted and popped the last of the pastry in his mouth and finished the bottle of wine. Cleaning up took little time and with bellies full and several hours of rest behind them, it was time to continue their journey deeper into the maze-like tomb.

Flicking her wings the dragon launched herself into the air as he slipped his satchel over his shoulder and bent down to grab his stave. A glance over his shoulder gave him one last sight of the cavern that had come close to injuring or killing them. He wasn't sure what lay ahead, but each challenge had been more difficult than the previous one. The ancient, and highly suspect map he had acquired made it look like the end was near, but with ancient enchanters who were both tricky, and complex in their designs, who really knew.

Striding forward the orange and red glow of the lava started to recede as he moved deeper into the tunnel and further into the ancient chambers protecting the ruler within. He and Steria had overcome every challenge and puzzle presented so far and he intended to finish what had been started.