I do not want any more excuses, General Baldin. You have already disappointed me too many times, I won't admit one more failure, General. From now on, I will take over personally. Let no more decisions be made without my approval. We will go to The Dragons’ Mountain, dominate all we can give while a squadron at your command awaits the princes in a ‘lovely’ ambush. Prepare everything so that nothing fails, it is your last chance, general, and you know what that means. Do you consider yourselves qualified for this mission I commend to you, general?” asked the princess, not trying hard to disguise her insulting disdain.
“Nothing will fail this time, Your Highness, you can be sure," replied the general, forcibly sure and with a good lump in his throat.
“I hope so," replied the terrible sovereign, no longer looking at her interlocutor and dismissing him with a contemptuous gesture, indicating that he should withdraw.
The day after the opulent banquet, quite early, the giants, with their king and their prince departed back to their kingdom, but not before bidding a very cordial farewell to the White Magician and his new friends.
After the farewell, the princes, the orc generals, Hans, Garin and Baldrich met with the magician, who initiated the encounter.
“Well, my new friends, what brings you to these ungrateful lands? I suppose that the coincidence of your presence with that of the dark squadron must not be entirely coincidental, am I mistaken? I am also happy to deduce that the endless war between men and orcs has come to an end and, apparently, in quite a friendly way," said the magician, casting a significant complicit glance at the princes.
“Well, you're not wrong," said the princess. “Men and orcs, we began a new era with an alliance, with the main objective of defending ourselves with guarantees of the sombers and culminated with the marriage between the heirs of the two kingdoms. And as for the dark ones, we learned that they were going to the Dragons’ Mountains to recruit some of them into their ranks, so we decided to go intercept them to avoid it or to do the same as them, in case they arrived late. But a welcoming committee waited for us in the Slanted Mountains that we managed to reject, and the unfortunates who burned yesterday were the ones who managed to escape our enemies," the princess said with some pride.
“And how are you supposed to dominate the dragons?” asked the White Magician.
“I am a good sorceress and the magician Baldrich taught me and trained me to dominate the beasts. And in the Slanted Mountains I was able to subjugate a giant snake," Lirieth proudly said.
“Did you dominate Kasariviel?” the snowy wizard wanted to know.
“Yes, that's what they called it, it was a huge snake," added the princess.
“Yes, and quite stupid if we compare it to a dragon," said the magician, who asked Baldrich: "Magician Baldrich, how many dragons have you dominated in order to have the honor of teaching a noble princess the difficult art of dragon domination?”
“No master, we looked for him in Belvichu to help us, but we couldn't find him," Baldrich said.
“Well, I don't want to discourage you, even though a snake, no matter how giant it may be, lacks an advanced intelligence like ours. On the other hand, a dragon’s one is different. They have a shrewd intelligence, far superior to ours, and in order to master them you need years of training and a lot of experience or an unusual skill. And I deduce that you are not ready to do so. However, I do, so if you don't mind, I will join your cause. A few adventures will do me good, and even more so if it is to help defend you from the somber tyranny," offered the magician with incipient enthusiasm.
“For my part, I would be delighted if you would join us, and I would be honored if you would agree to teach me and train me in the ability to subdue dragons," Lirieth requested.
“I would be honored to receive that knowledge, too," Baldrich added.
“Then I will be happy to initiate you in such matters, although I cannot guarantee that I can remain with you until you really master this skill," warned the White Magician.
“We should not take too long to continue on our way," intervened Syriel.
“You are quite right, young prince, we should not delay in reaching The Dragons’ Mountains, but, before we go, I beg you to accompany me: I have something that belonged to one of your elf ancestors and I think it is your responsibility to guard it," the magician invited the prince.
The White Magician led Syriel through the labyrinthine passageways of the cave until they reached a cavity of few mentions which was full of drawers and trunks arranged in an orderly fashion and filled with weapons, scrolls, and all sorts of objects and utensils.
The wizard rummaged through an old but well-preserved trunk until he extracted a beautiful dagger and raised it to the height of the expectant prince's eyes, vocalizing:
“Hide, Dagger of Justice.”
Then the weapon disappeared and the magician showed his hands with a certain theatricality to the surprised prince, who was even more astonished when the object reappeared when the sorcerer pronounced:
“Show yourself, Dagger of Justice.”
The dagger was seen again in the hand of the magician, who, handing it to Syriel, invited him to try it.
“Take it, try it, it's not my magic that makes it work, but the magic within the dagger.”
Syriel took it and pronounced the magic phrases linked to the weapon, making it appear and disappear from his hand several times.
The prince admired the beauty of the stiletto, especially a white gemstone that occupied almost the entire stab and that for only a sigh shone in unison with the red gem on his necklace and the golden jewel on the stab of his sword.
“What is this white jewel?” the prince wanted to know.
“It is the heart of a petrified white dragon. There are dark magical arts capable of obtaining such gems and confers incredible powers on the objects which they are attached to," replied the White Magician.
“Are you capable of performing such arts?" asked Syriel.
“I would deceive you if I said no, although I have never wanted to use that kind of magic that leads those who practice it to dark paths and destinations," said the snowy magician. “It belonged to your mother's grandfather, Ronel. Use it carefully and in cases of extreme necessity to defend yourselves, since if you use it to attack for no reason it will disappear from your hand before it hurts your victim. So, try to show it only when you need it, and hide it again when you are done," added the elf.
“Thank you very much," the prince thanked, bowing his head as a polite thank you. “Did it ever belong to my mother?”
“No, she never wanted it, she didn't like weapons, not even invisible ones," exposed the elf.
“Who made it? the prince inquired.
“Alginel, one of the best elven blacksmiths known. The spell of invisibility was cast by an old and mad elf magician who now lives like a hermit in strange caves in the Badlands and who is about to go looking for dragons," joked the magician.
“Well, I hope I'll never run into such a character," Syriel continued. “Can we go now?”
“No, not yet. I must tell you more about the
