Adam and Jana walked towards the cave, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. A single guard stood at the entrance, a short but probably very sharp and pointy sword hanging lazily at his side. He wore the green uniform of the University security guards, which led to the students dubbing them the Green Meanies in homage to some game or other. He eyed them suspiciously as they approached.
‘Hello,’ said Adam in as relaxed a voice as he could manage. At the same time, he offered the stolen pass. The guard took it without a word and read it. Thoroughly. Adam had been counting on him just glancing at it to check that it was what it was meant to be but this one obviously liked a bit of light reading.
‘Cold night, eh?’ said Adam conversationally.
The guard looked at him over the top of the pass, in the manner of someone who looked over the top of half moon spectacles for a hobby. ‘You not supposed to be at the lecture then, sir?’
Adam had expected this question. He attempted a wry chuckle. ‘Professor Gijsenholm insisted that there was at least someone working in here. I drew the short straw.’
The guard returned the laugh but plainly didn’t mean it. He was vaguely aware that one of the boffins was much younger than the rest but he’d never really been bothered to pay much more attention than that. He definitely wasn’t aware of a young woman. He wasn’t fooled for a second. ‘You two just going in for a little research then are you sir?’
‘Yes.’ Adam nodded enthusiastically, completely missing the innuendo. Jana, being an experienced student, spotted it straight away and had to struggle not to show her disgust.
The guard shook his head and stood aside. ‘All right then. Give her one for me.’ Jana’s knuckles turned white. Almost forgetting to conceal his relief, and still oblivious to the misunderstanding, Adam stepped into the cave mouth. Steeling herself, Jana followed. The guard’s voice drifted after them. ‘Just so long as you remember that’s what you told me.’
There was an instant drop in temperature the moment they entered the tunnel. Torches had been mounted at intervals along the walls, dimly illuminating the way ahead. Nearer the entrance, the flames flickered slightly in the evening breeze, sending the usual eerie shadows flitting nervously around their heads, never staying still long enough for their forms to be made out. Further in, the air was still and damp and the flames barely moved so that the dancing figures merged into each other and could not be seen at all. Jana was reminded of descriptions she had read of the tribal savages in distant continents dancing around village fires during their pagan rites. She shivered, uncertain whether from the cold or the idea.
The passage did not extend that far - less than a hundred feet - before opening into a small chamber. On the whole it was fairly unremarkable and had been used for equipment storage. However, a section of one wall had been roughly decorated. Adam moved closer for a better look. A stone had been used to make crude line drawings of people with spears chasing animals of various kinds and dismembering them for assorted purposes. The animals were all basically the same, being distinguished only by the additions of antlers or tusks or the like. One group, slightly apart from the rest, had been carefully coloured by use of vegetable dyes. The pictures stretched almost from floor to ceiling, all minor variations on the same basic theme. Underneath the tableau, just above the floor, were three lines of symbols that Adam could not understand but took to be writing. To the right of the drawings, dominating the whole scene, was a slightly more sophisticated painting some three feet across. It showed a human figure kneeling in front of a huge red lizard with fire coming from its mouth. A dragon. Even to Adam’s untrained eye, it was obvious that this image had been painted by a different and much more talented artist.
‘Cave paintings,’ explained Jana, informatively.
Adam sighed inwardly. ‘Well I can see that, can’t I?’
‘No, no, no,’ protested Jana, ‘you don’t understand. I mean they’re prehistoric. People used to draw on cave walls as decoration or possibly to leave messages before writing was invented.’
Adam frowned. ‘But people still draw now,’ he pointed out.
‘Well yes,’ replied Jana patiently, ‘but it’s more sophisticated now.’
‘Mine isn’t.’ Adam looked over the paintings again. ‘Besides,’ he continued, ‘these were all done at different times.’
Jana came over to stand by his side. ‘It took a long time to invent writing,’ she answered reasonably. ‘You can see how the artwork becomes more sophisticated as it goes on.’
Adam looked towards his feet. ‘What about that?’ he asked. ‘What does it say?’
Jana shrugged. ‘I don’t think anyone’s deciphered it yet. It’s an unknown alphabet. But there’s still loads of this cave system to be excavated yet. All sorts of clues could turn up.’
Adam looked towards the passage they had entered by. ‘We should get going,’ he said. ‘We haven’t much time.’
The passage continued towards the heart of the mountain. Occasionally Adam noticed traces of quartz and other semiprecious minerals streaking the walls but curiously there were no indications that the cave system had ever been mined. Eventually they came to the section of the wall covered by the huge white sheets. A few tools lay scattered about the ground where people had been working earlier that day. The sheeting ran for some sixty or seventy feet, the last forty emerging into a cavern much larger than the first. More equipment was stacked against the walls and a large table covered with papers stood in the centre of the floor. A few paintings adorned the walls and ceiling. Another passage led out of the opposite side of the cave but it was unlit.
‘Where does that go?’ asked Adam.
Jana shrugged. ‘No-one’s been that far yet. Everything’s been centred around the dragon so far.’
Adam glanced uninterestedly at a few of the papers on the table but he knew there was no time. ‘Right,’ he said decisively. ‘Let’s get a look at this thing and get out of here.’
Cords were attached to the sheets to make them easier to pull down. Adam and Jana had to step back to avoid being buried underneath the reams of material. As the sheets billowed to the floor, Adam caught his first sight of the dragon. The impression of some huge animal skeleton was clearly marked out in the rock. Adam would not have known the difference from the bones alone but the creature was reptilian. It had four squat, powerful legs, and a separate pair of mighty wings. Its tail extended far back into the passage. The long, slender snout contained rows of large, hooked teeth, which Adam suspected could probably have sliced through the rock. The beast was impressive to say the least.
Adam noticed that Jana was not taking in the whole spectacle as he was. She was kneeling at the front end of the fossil near one of the clawed feet. He knelt down to join her. And then he saw what all the fuss was about.
Held between the dragon’s toes was...
You'll have to read the book to find out.
‘Hello,’ said Adam in as relaxed a voice as he could manage. At the same time, he offered the stolen pass. The guard took it without a word and read it. Thoroughly. Adam had been counting on him just glancing at it to check that it was what it was meant to be but this one obviously liked a bit of light reading.
‘Cold night, eh?’ said Adam conversationally.
The guard looked at him over the top of the pass, in the manner of someone who looked over the top of half moon spectacles for a hobby. ‘You not supposed to be at the lecture then, sir?’
Adam had expected this question. He attempted a wry chuckle. ‘Professor Gijsenholm insisted that there was at least someone working in here. I drew the short straw.’
The guard returned the laugh but plainly didn’t mean it. He was vaguely aware that one of the boffins was much younger than the rest but he’d never really been bothered to pay much more attention than that. He definitely wasn’t aware of a young woman. He wasn’t fooled for a second. ‘You two just going in for a little research then are you sir?’
‘Yes.’ Adam nodded enthusiastically, completely missing the innuendo. Jana, being an experienced student, spotted it straight away and had to struggle not to show her disgust.
The guard shook his head and stood aside. ‘All right then. Give her one for me.’ Jana’s knuckles turned white. Almost forgetting to conceal his relief, and still oblivious to the misunderstanding, Adam stepped into the cave mouth. Steeling herself, Jana followed. The guard’s voice drifted after them. ‘Just so long as you remember that’s what you told me.’
There was an instant drop in temperature the moment they entered the tunnel. Torches had been mounted at intervals along the walls, dimly illuminating the way ahead. Nearer the entrance, the flames flickered slightly in the evening breeze, sending the usual eerie shadows flitting nervously around their heads, never staying still long enough for their forms to be made out. Further in, the air was still and damp and the flames barely moved so that the dancing figures merged into each other and could not be seen at all. Jana was reminded of descriptions she had read of the tribal savages in distant continents dancing around village fires during their pagan rites. She shivered, uncertain whether from the cold or the idea.
The passage did not extend that far - less than a hundred feet - before opening into a small chamber. On the whole it was fairly unremarkable and had been used for equipment storage. However, a section of one wall had been roughly decorated. Adam moved closer for a better look. A stone had been used to make crude line drawings of people with spears chasing animals of various kinds and dismembering them for assorted purposes. The animals were all basically the same, being distinguished only by the additions of antlers or tusks or the like. One group, slightly apart from the rest, had been carefully coloured by use of vegetable dyes. The pictures stretched almost from floor to ceiling, all minor variations on the same basic theme. Underneath the tableau, just above the floor, were three lines of symbols that Adam could not understand but took to be writing. To the right of the drawings, dominating the whole scene, was a slightly more sophisticated painting some three feet across. It showed a human figure kneeling in front of a huge red lizard with fire coming from its mouth. A dragon. Even to Adam’s untrained eye, it was obvious that this image had been painted by a different and much more talented artist.
‘Cave paintings,’ explained Jana, informatively.
Adam sighed inwardly. ‘Well I can see that, can’t I?’
‘No, no, no,’ protested Jana, ‘you don’t understand. I mean they’re prehistoric. People used to draw on cave walls as decoration or possibly to leave messages before writing was invented.’
Adam frowned. ‘But people still draw now,’ he pointed out.
‘Well yes,’ replied Jana patiently, ‘but it’s more sophisticated now.’
‘Mine isn’t.’ Adam looked over the paintings again. ‘Besides,’ he continued, ‘these were all done at different times.’
Jana came over to stand by his side. ‘It took a long time to invent writing,’ she answered reasonably. ‘You can see how the artwork becomes more sophisticated as it goes on.’
Adam looked towards his feet. ‘What about that?’ he asked. ‘What does it say?’
Jana shrugged. ‘I don’t think anyone’s deciphered it yet. It’s an unknown alphabet. But there’s still loads of this cave system to be excavated yet. All sorts of clues could turn up.’
Adam looked towards the passage they had entered by. ‘We should get going,’ he said. ‘We haven’t much time.’
The passage continued towards the heart of the mountain. Occasionally Adam noticed traces of quartz and other semiprecious minerals streaking the walls but curiously there were no indications that the cave system had ever been mined. Eventually they came to the section of the wall covered by the huge white sheets. A few tools lay scattered about the ground where people had been working earlier that day. The sheeting ran for some sixty or seventy feet, the last forty emerging into a cavern much larger than the first. More equipment was stacked against the walls and a large table covered with papers stood in the centre of the floor. A few paintings adorned the walls and ceiling. Another passage led out of the opposite side of the cave but it was unlit.
‘Where does that go?’ asked Adam.
Jana shrugged. ‘No-one’s been that far yet. Everything’s been centred around the dragon so far.’
Adam glanced uninterestedly at a few of the papers on the table but he knew there was no time. ‘Right,’ he said decisively. ‘Let’s get a look at this thing and get out of here.’
Cords were attached to the sheets to make them easier to pull down. Adam and Jana had to step back to avoid being buried underneath the reams of material. As the sheets billowed to the floor, Adam caught his first sight of the dragon. The impression of some huge animal skeleton was clearly marked out in the rock. Adam would not have known the difference from the bones alone but the creature was reptilian. It had four squat, powerful legs, and a separate pair of mighty wings. Its tail extended far back into the passage. The long, slender snout contained rows of large, hooked teeth, which Adam suspected could probably have sliced through the rock. The beast was impressive to say the least.
Adam noticed that Jana was not taking in the whole spectacle as he was. She was kneeling at the front end of the fossil near one of the clawed feet. He knelt down to join her. And then he saw what all the fuss was about.
Held between the dragon’s toes was...
You'll have to read the book to find out.