Page 27 of Queen's Griffon

Upon seeing Griff, Avera held it out and exclaimed, “Did you know you have an accounting of the fall of Verlora?”

“Aye.” He ignored her in favor of the decanter holding amber fluid.

“The person who wrote it claims most of the continents have volcanoes.”

“Because it’s true. They’re all over the planet.”

“Daerva doesn’t have one.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“I think I’d have noticed if Daerva had a mountain spitting liquid rock.”

“Not necessarily, since most of them have long gone dormant. While there is only one on Verlora, the violence of the explosion caused geysers of shotting magma to erupt in numerous places hence why the whole continent had to be evacuated. Rumor has it that Okkilam has one that’s never fully gone to sleep and spits every so often, just not enough to claim lives or destroy towns.”

A crease marred her brow. “This book also claims that once a volcano ceases to erupt, the ash it spewed will settle and its absorption into the soil renders the ground fertile.”

“Aye.”

“How is that possible if the ash is poisonous?”

“The gases released are harmful to breathe,” he corrected. “But plants thrive on the nutrients in the ash.” At her puzzled look he added, “Think of nutrients as food for plants.”

“If it’s true the ash ends up being beneficial once absorbed by the ground, then given how long it’s been since the volcano erupted, shouldn’t Verlora have recovered by now?” Avera cocked her head as she asked.

“It should have.”

“But?” she prodded.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “The volcano wasn’t the only thing that woke that day.”

“Meaning what?”

Griff’s lips twisted as he stated aloud the secret he’d kept for so long. “You spoke of having an entity called Zhos who was trying to escape. Well, you’re not the only one with a monster problem. Whatever Basil did that day roused an unexpected threat.”

“What did he awaken?” she asked, hugging the book to her chest.

“I’d rather not say because you won’t believe me.”

“I’ve seen much that I thought impossible in the last month. I doubt you can surprise me.”

Griff ducked his head as he muttered, “I am fairly certain Basil woke a dragon.”

Chapter 9

Avera

Avera staredat Griff and digested his claim before repeating it with incredulity, “Are you seriously trying to claim Verlora is besieged by a dragon?” Then again, should she really scoff given what she’d encountered of late?

“Go ahead, laugh even though it’s not funny.” His face turned hard and angry.

“Dragons are but a fable.”

“Are they? Have you never stopped to wonder where those stories originated from?” Griff turned from her to walk to a window. He stared out of it as he sipped his drink.

“Dragons, like other creatures in stories, are the result of someone’s vivid imagination.”

“An imaginary creation that spans continents? Did you know every single culture has some kind of tale featuring a dragon?”

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