Over the next week Miranda got to know the layout of the cavern. There was a shower room at the end each of the hallways the led from the main ballroom which were just small rooms with pools in them fed by constant waterfalls, a kitchen and a cooled cavern used for storing food both right off of the dinning hall, too many bed rooms to count and a larger, mostly empty room which she could only guess was a general purpose room. She ran into Derrick several times over the days, their chats were brief and she was still wary of him so she tried not to pry too much despite how curious what he said about his family in the heart room had made her. Their conversations were Mostly about the dragon's history and the different applications of mana, derrick showed very little if any emotion while they talked but he never shied away from a subject or told her to leave so at very least she could guess he wasn't annoyed by her.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Miranda woke up early, finally getting back to a regular sleep schedule, as she began walking toward the dinning hall she noticed several golems carrying boxes of crystals going into the door that led to the lift.

“Hmm, I wonder what’s going on?” she began to fallow the last of the golems down the stairs “I probably shouldn’t be fallowing them.” she thought as they entered the lift room “It should be fine, Burtrum would stop me if I was going somewhere I wasn’t suppose to.” Two golems entered in behind her carrying bags full of weapons and the platform began moving up, slowly gaining speed. “Were going pretty high up, I wonder where all of this is going” her eyes lit up “maybe they’re going to the crystal store room! Burtrum said I wasn’t allowed to go there, but knowing where it is would help me figure out how to sneak in.” It was even longer than the trip to the heart room before the platform began to slow down and stopped in front of a door with a familiar cloud carved into it, as the door opened she winced as a light came through it.

When her eyes finally adjusted she gasped, it was the sky; she hadn’t seen it in days, the sun felt warm on her skin. Suddenly a memory came rushing to her “Oh No!” she thought as she backed up fearing what happened to her the last time she went outside. After a few seconds she calmed down enough to realize that she was fine, she looked out the door and saw that there was a large platform extending from the door with clusters of crystals jutting out from either side “Oh, there must be a field out here too I wonder why Burtrum didn’t tell me about this.” As she stepped out onto the platform she stopped for a second as a fierce gust of wind hit her, after adjusting to the wind she stood for a moment soaking in the sun on her fur before noticing several boxes like the ones the golems were carrying further down the platform, and next to them was Derrick in the same outfit she first saw him in, checking the boxes over with several other golems. He looked different though, not in appearance but in posture, over the last week when she saw him he was always composed but now he was leaning against a crate and idly tapping the tip of his tail, if she had to out a word to it it would be casual.

“So were you ever planning on telling me about this platform?” she asked as she walked over to him

“Burtrum is there something wrong with your voi…..” he stopped, as he looked up and saw her walking towards him his face was frozen in mid sentence and his wings began spreading slightly in surprise. There was a long moment of silence as he stared at her, “Wha..What are you doing here?” he asked as he pulled his wings back

She had to keep herself from laughing at the befuddled look on his face “I was just fallowing the golems, I thought Burtrum would stop me if I was doing something wrong”

“Burtrum” he said looking at one of the crystals along the side of the platform, there was a pause for a second or two

“Yes Master” said a voice coming from the crystal as it turned green

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”

“Who do you....Oh! My apologies Master, with the number of golems I have active and my vision occupied with tracking the merchant I was unable to monitor the lift”

“Well then call the lift back and open the doors.”

“Yes master, but it will take about four minutes to get here”

“And?”

“The merchant will be here in two minutes” there was a moment of pause

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’LL BE HERE IN TWO MUNITIES?!” He yelled as his wings spread to their full width

“Um, Master, I believe your startling our guest” Derrick quickly looked over at Miranda who, while surprised at the sudden outburst, was doing all she could to not laugh at the exchange.

He turned around for a second and took a deep breath in and out as he once again furled his wings before turning back towards her “My apologies for that outburst” Derrick said calmly as he began walking towards her quickly “if you would please fallow me over here” he took a small crystal from his pocket and placed it on the ground near the wall, he touched his claw to it and a glowing mist seemed to fallow his hand as he began to write glowing symbols on the ground that extended several steps from the crystal “Please step behind these symbols”

“Okay” she said stepping behind the glowing line “What are these symbols?”

“I don’t have time to explain” Derrick said as he placed his hand on the crystal “just stay here and please be quiet.”

There was a bright flash of light from the crystal, when she could see again Derrick was walking away from her in his usual calm demeanor

“What was tha” Miranda began to ask but before she could finish asking her question she felt something push back against her “wha” she said as she put one hand out and it was as if the air had a bit of resistance to it.

Just as Miranda was about ask Derrick what was going on she heard a loud roar coming from beyond the platform, making her take a step back, followed closely by a large shadow; a few seconds later a huge figure landed on the platform followed by another and then another. Because of the angle of the sun she could only make out a vague outline of the creatures; what she could tell was that they were big, much larger than Derrick; they landed on two rear legs while beating two large pairs of wings to steady themselves before coming down, using the wings as front legs, each had a pair of what looked like saddle bags as well as a large pack attached to their backs. As her eyes adjusted she could make out details like dark blue scales and splotchy white and blue stomach bands. They were dragons, much larger and a different color from Derrick but still visibly dragons.

“Your pack wyvrens are just as impressive as ever” Derrick said looking up at the creature as a smaller figure dropped down from the first ones head

“Flatter me all you want” said the figure in a low rough voice “I’m not gonna give you a discount.”

“Can’t blame a drake for trying” Derrick replied, holding out his hand “it’s good to see you Richard”

The figure grabbed his hand and shook it firmly “Good to see you too kid” He was a dragon like derrick only a little shorter, with green scales and several smaller horns going from the middle of his head down his back; he was wearing a simple pair of brown pants and thick black jacket.

Derrick motioned toward the golems and they began unloading the crates from the wyvren's saddle bags. “So how have you been Richard? It feels like it’s been ages since we last met”

“I’ve been fine” He responded, turning around to watch the golems “business is good and the winds are fair so I can’t complain, unfortunately because business is so good I still have a few more deliveries to make today and I can’t stay for long” he raised his hands above his head and stretched, extending his wings as far as he could, when he did Miranda saw that the fabric like skin on his right wing was completely gone, making it look like a huge skeletal hand.

“That’s a relief” Derrick said under his breath

“What was that?”

“Nothing, I just meant that it’s good you’re business is doing well”

“I understand, you don’t want an old fart like me hanging around”

“No no, It’s nothing like that, It’s just that my lair is a bit of a mess right now”

“This mess wouldn’t have anything to do with a unicorn would it?”

Miranda’s heart sank

“Wha....What makes you say that?”

“I wasn’t gonna say anything but this place is covered in unicorn scent” Richard said sniffing at the air

“Um, yeah, well, you know how adventurers can be, they always have to die in the bloodiest way possible”

“Aint that the truth, At least it’s a pleasant odor.”

“Phew” Miranda though “That was too close; wait, what did he say?”

“So Down to business, I’ve got your commissions and mail here” he said pulling a few envelopes out of his jacket and handing them to Derrick

“Mostly just the standard order with a custom job or two. Anything specific you want to order from my next stop or just the usual?”

“Actually there are a few things I want to change about my next order” Derrick said pulling a small piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to Richard who quickly looked it over

“That’s a lot of greens, you aint going soft on me are you?”

“No not yet at least, I just thought that any guests I have might appreciate a more varied menu”

“Hey it’s your money, it's good to hear you're actually having guests”

After what seemed like forever to Miranda the last of the crates was loaded into the wyvren's bags, they were fed and watered, and Richard had finished working out the details of the next order with Derrick.

“Well I gotta be going kid” Richard said shaking Derricks hand again and climbing up the first of the wyvren's neck “We’ll catch up more next time”

“I’ll hold you to it, may the winds be under your wings”

“Thanks kid” Richard said as the dragon began to turn around “Oh and don’t be too angry it’s just business.”

“Angry? What are you talking about?”

Before he could get an answer the wyvrens began flapping both pairs of their wings and jumped of the platform quickly becoming spots on the horizon.

Derrick’s shoulders slumped as he sighed heavily “That, was to close for comfort” he said as he walked toward the lift door while going through the envelopes

“Is it alright to come out?” Miranda asked feeling her way to the edge of the wall derrick had conjured earlier, looking around it to see that while the wall behind her was still visible anything directly behind it couldn't be seen.

“Yes Ms. Lummi, thank you for hiding”

“I thought you said that Unicorns smelt bad when they died?”

“I did”

“So why did he say it was a pleasant scent?” she asked crossing her arms and looking him straight in the eyes as he walked towards her

“Well, you see, a Unicorns scent is different to each dragon, what’s sweet to one might be fowl to another.”

“What a load, he’s hiding something” she thought “I’ll play along for now” “Oh” She said, trying not to make her doubt too obvious “I guess that makes sense. So why did I have to hide?”

He stopped for a moment to pick up the crystal he had used to make the wall, which was now visibly smaller, making the wall dissipate before looking through his mail “If another dragon found out that I’m allowing you to stay here as you recover they might see that as a sign of weaken….” He stopped, looking at the last envelope in the pile

“Is everything alright?” Miranda asked, walking around him to see what he was looking at. The envelope in his hand was light yellow with a large wax seal shaped like a pair of dragon wings stretched upwards with a star in the middle.

“DAMNIT!!!” Derrick shouted causing Miranda to jump backwards in shock “They can’t do this! I hosted it last year!”

“What are you talking about? What did you host last year?”

“The ball” he growled as they headed into the lift which had just arrived “It’s a yearly gathering of noble dragons that’s supposed to be hosted by a different dragon every year and I hosted it last year but the seal on this envelope means that I’ll be hosting it again this year”

“Oh, is...is it really that bad?”

“Normally no, It’s usually an enjoyable time where we gather to discuss current events, business tactics and art”

“So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that whenever I host this event it becomes little more than an excuse for families to either challenge me or throw their daughters at me in an attempt to gain access to my horde.” The lift stopped and as soon as the door opened he began almost jogging into the main hall

“Oh” Miranda said again, having to jog lightly to keep up with him as they entered the main hall “that’s pretty bad”

“That’s one way to put it. Burtrum open the horde room and prepare for long range communication, Ms. Lummi I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to wait in your room”

“Why, Where are you going?”

“To have a word with the rest of the council” He said while standing in front of the large doors with the sun carved into them “the process of contacting them takes an enormous amount of energy and Burtrum will only be able to maintain the healing field in a few key areas So I would be best for you to stay in your room until I’m finished”

“Oh, okay” She said as she began walking to her room “Um, good luck.”

“Thanks, I’ll need it if I'm to get out of this”

As Miranda entered the hallway that led to her room she stopped for a second and peeked around the corner “He said the horde room right?” she though “It would be nice to know whether the name is literal or not”

The large doors began to creek, as they were slowly pushed open she could see a bright light coming from inside, but before she could get a good look Derrick ducked inside and the doors closed.

“Damn, almost saw what was in there” She began walking toward her room “wait is it getting darker” she thought as she opened the door to the hallway, Miranda turned around and saw that the crystals that were lighting up the ball room were growing dimmer “SHIT!” she shouted as she began running to her room, she fumbled with the handle as the lights in the hall began going out one by one “Come on, COME ON!” She shouted as the door flew open causing her to suddenly fall in her room just as the last light in the hallway went out.

The lights in her room flickered for a moment causing her heart to skip a beat but they stayed on. “Thank the gods” she said as she closed the door and walked over to her bed “I guess I’ll be stuck in here for…….I have no Idea how long I’ll be in here for, Burtrum.” She waited a few seconds “Burtrum?” there was still no answer “Burtrum!” there was still no response “I guess I’ll just have to wait” she thought as she laid down on the bed “It’s been quite the day so far, I’ve seen more emotions out of derrick this morning than I have since I got here. That’s good, if there is a heart under all that indifference then I might be able to convince him to help me. I’ll just have to look for the right moment, until then all I can do is wait.”

Miranda closed her eyes and tried to sleep but her mind kept returning to what the other dragon, Richard, had said about her scent being a, Pleasant odor, and the excuse derrick gave when she asked him about it “Why would he lie about me smelling when I die?” she thought to herself “And if I don’t give off a smell when I die, why did he save me?”

*Knock Knock Knock*

“Wha” she mumbled, sitting up quickly

“Ms. Lummi are you awake?” came a voice from the other side of her door

“Yeah I’m up” she said looking at the lamp on her desk, it was white with a bit of orange “How long was I asleep?”

“May I come in?”

“Um, sure” said Miranda as she stood up and stretched. The door opened to reveal Derricks imposing figure. “Oh” Miranda said, quickly pulling her arms to her side “It’s you”

“You were expecting someone else?” Derrick asked as he entered the room

“Well um, I was kinda expecting Burtrum, what are you doing here?”

“Burtrum's going to be unavailable for a little while, and we have a few things to discuss.”

Miranda sat back down on the bed “So, how did your meeting go?”

“Not well I’m afraid, because I hosted the Ball last year that normally means that I wouldn’t host it this year, this also means that because I’m out of the running I don’t have a vote in deciding who hosts the ball next so I didn’t attend the meeting to decide. They used the opportunity presented by my absence to exploit a loop hole to make me host it again.”

“What kind of loop hole?”

“The selection for the host of the ball works in a kind of cycle, at the beginning of each cycle any of the houses can be selected to host the ball, but after they are they must wait until every other house hosts the ball and the cycle starts over before they can be chosen to host it again. Last year, when I hosted it I was the last in the cycle, so, because a new cycle started I could be selected to host it again. Normally, as an unspoken rule, a house isn’t selected twice in a row, even if the cycle does start over again but it isn’t technically prohibited; and because I wasn’t there to contest the decision it was passed.”

“If you knew this was a possibility why didn’t you attend?”

“I try to spend as little time with the other houses as possible” Derrick said leaning against the wall “Dealing with them is just.....a lot.”

“Oh, so, when is this ball?”

“At the end of the month, until then things are going to become, a little hectic around here as we get ready, also, on the day of the ball I’m going to have to ask that you stay in this room, this is supposed to be a dragons only gathering and your presence could cause, complications.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, is there anything else you needed to, discuss”

Derrick pushed off the wall and stood up again “Nothing to discuss but I do wish to apologize for my outburst earlier this morning, I didn’t mean to be so….Livid, around you”

“Its fine, its actually kinda nice to know you've got some emotions under all those scales, now that that’s done with do you think we could eat, I kinda skipped breakfast”

“That sounds nice” he said as he exited the room in front of her

“So why did you ordered all those vegetables from that dragon, Richard, was it?”

“Well, um, you see, I actually wanted to try out a few new recipes for the ball”

“I see it's funny though I thought you ordered those ingredients before you found out you were hosting the ball.”

“Yes, well, uhhhhhh, Burtrum, are you awake yet?”