Cordell

Cordell wandered through the tunnels of the cave, searching for a perfect room to do his experiments. He expressed his gratitude for the use of Hydea’s space, and was also thankful for a small clan and a Ridgeback for a leader: many sprawling tunnels with no one living in them.
Upon finding a small, secluded room that was to his liking, Cordell entered and placed his satchels down in the far end of the space. A lab coat, goggles, gloves, and scientific jewelry peeked out of one, while his glowing chemicals radiated from another. He dug through a third satchel and removed a large string of electric lights, which he strung around the room. The lights levitated with magic, so there was no need to break through the rock walls of the room to add attachments.
Cordell grabbed the free end of the lights as his cyan eyes began to glow. A blue bolt of lightning danced across his dark patterned arm and shot into the wire, and soon the room was lit in a cold, light blue glow. The Skydancer smiled. It reminded him of his home, a bit. Now that this was finished, he began to suit up in his apparel and arranged his chemicals in the back of the room. His notes on his experiments were nestled at the bottom of the chemical bag, which he pulled out and examined.
"Specific gravity 3.62," Cordell muttered. "Gas pressure normal." He moved the tubes and beakers to the positions he recalled them being the last time he worked with them.
The goal of these experiments was simple: he had observed that dragons who fought in the Volcanic Vents were exposed to the toxic gases of the region, which caused increased fatigue and minor respiratory problems for a time after leaving the venue. Cordell hoped to find a chemical compound that would protect against the volcanic fumes and keep dragons healthier and better able to endure the region. He always felt it odd that there was a magical solution in place as non-Water dragons explored the Kelp Beds, but no one thought it prudent to protect against harsh terrestrial issues in places like the Volcanic Vents.
Carefully grasping a bottle of light blue liquid, Cordell poured half the contents into a beaker. He then closed the beaker with a large rubber stopper, which had a hole in the top for a tube to attach. Cordell repeated the process with a bottle of light green liquid and swiftly poked a glass tube through the hole of the stopper. The tube snaked upwards into a clear globe, which was held in place by a circle of dark wire.
The midnight Skydancer's eyes narrowed behind the purple lenses of his goggles as the two liquids began reacting with one another. The mixture started to froth and darkened to a crimson, and grey gas began swirling up the tube. Cordell checked over his notes again to ensure that these occurrences align with what happened before. The grey gas almost seemed to dance in the glass globe as more of it escaped the liquid below. Cordell noted the measurements on the glass utensils.
Without warning, the globe shattered, and the grey gas erupted toward the Skydancer. His cyan eyes widened in alarm and he immediately began flapping his blue-flecked wings in order to dissipate the smoke. Unfortunately, a backdraft bounced off the cave wall and the smoke hit Cordell squarely in the the face. He spluttered and coughed, moving his arms to cover his face and reflexively squeezing his eyes shut despite his goggles. His flapping wavered, and he collapsed backward, still coughing. Cordell opened his eyes and, after seeing the gas lingering above his head, resumed flapping until the air around him was clear. As soon as he could no longer discern any remaining particles, Cordell took multiple deep breaths. He figured he inhaled some of the gas, but it most likely wasn't enough to cause any issues. But as the Skydancer rose to his feet, he began to feel searing, pulsing pain in his head. He gritted his teeth and slowly walked out of the room, as even the gentle tread of his feet against the stone floor aggravated the pain. Cordell reached the middle of the hallway before collapsing. The tan dust on the ground shot up and enveloped him.
***************************
Red exited the main living area of the cave and began flying slowly through the empty corridors that branched off at the back. Ever since Hydea had become a Ridgeback all those years ago, Red mused, she had frequently indulged in her newfound desire to tunnel by expanding any living quarters they had far beyond what Red saw as conceivable capacity. They never had a huge clan, so surely these rooms would never see frequent use.
Red never went into the empty areas of the cave, but during her last meditation she sensed a strong feeling of unease emanating from there, which struck her as highly unusual. Her faceted blue eyes narrowed as she peered through the empty corridors and rooms.
A moment later, she came upon a lithe figure lying in the middle of the hall. It was clad in laboratory gear, and a pair of blue-flecked webbed wings extended off its back. A Skydancer.
Red flew closer and pressed her small hand on the dragon's chest. Its heart was beating, but faintly, and it was not breathing almost at all. Alarmed, Red closed her eyes and stretched her arms out over the Skydancer. Cone-shaped streams of water slowly flowed out of her yellow-tipped claws and encapsulated the dragon, creating an oval bubble of liquid. Red's eyes opened as she continued the procedure. The water began to glow blue as any harmful magic and toxins were cleansed from the Skydancer's body. The Fae could see its chest rising and falling more rapidly now, and the water stopped glowing and seeped off the dragon and through the dry stone floor of the cave.
The Skydancer opened its eyes, revealing the light blue color of the Lightning flight.
*******************************
As Cordell opened his eyes, he saw a red Fae with swirled yellow markings wearing red healer's garbs. The Fae's dark blue eyes were textured like an insect, and narrowed as he slowly raised his head from the... damp floor? He didn't remember the floor being damp when he passed out.
"Who are you and what are you doing in here?" the Fae asked. Though she lacked inflection in her speech, Cordell could sense concern and confusion emanating from the Fae.
"I-I'm Cordell. I'm a scientist," the dark Skydancer began, trying to hide the worry in his voice. "I asked Hydea for space to work on my research and she offered it willingly."
Th Fae blinked. "What exactly are you working on? I found you unconscious and barely breathing, so I healed you with water."
So that's why the ground was damp, Cordell thought. Though he was surprised at how badly he was affected by the gas, he maintained his composure. "I'm working to synthesize a compound that will prevent the side effects of prolonged exposure to the Volcanic Vents. Some of my equipment exploded under the pressure and I was exposed to the gas." He paused for a moment and joined his gaze to the Fae's. "Thank you for discovering me when you did. I would be in much worse shape if you hadn't."
The red Fae smiled, and Cordell sensed relief wash over her. "I'm glad you are alright." She glanced around the hall before continuing. "Why don't we leave and get you some fresh air?"
Cordell smiled back before turning to face the room in which he worked. He could see the broken glass littering the cave floor. "I have to clean up my mess first," he replied.
"Oh, don't worry about that." The Fae's eyes began to glow dark blue, and she held her arm out toward the entrance to the room. Bubbles of water materialized from her claws and floated into the room. They absorbed all the glass fragments in a clear liquid orb, which floated outward and stopped near the red Fae's shoulder. "Now please take this healer's advice: get some fresh air."
************************
Cordell walked behind the red Fae toward the main living area. The ball of water and broken glass hovered near the top of the Fae's right wing now as she flapped through the cave.
Besides a dull headache, Cordell felt normal otherwise. The water magic the Fae used to heal him must have helped in that regard, Cordell mused. "I never learned your name," the Skydancer said.
"I am Red," the Fae replied, maintaining her forward momentum.
"Red, thank you again for your help. And I'm sorry I caused such a commotion for you."
Before Red had a chance to answer, the pair reached the main cave area. Cordell squinted a bit at the light from the glowing insects illuminating the room. Outside the cave, the Hewn City was as dark as ever.
"Ah, Cordell!" A voice boomed as a fully-armored female Ridgeback approached the Skydancer. "How goes your research?"
Cordell smiled awkwardly. "It could have gone better..."
"Then you should take a break! I'm taking Larry to the Sandswept Delta for a bit of practice, you should join us!" Hydea's enthusiasm flowed from her in waves.
Cordell shot a quick glance at Red, who he sensed was apprehensive. "Sure, that sounds good. I haven't had a chance to test my magic skills in a while."
"Wonderful!" Hydea grinned excitedly. "We will leave shortly. Make any preparations necessary." Hydea stomped off toward a red Guardian in silver armor, who he assumed was Larry.
Cordell could sense surprise radiating from Red, and he turned back toward her. "I don't think that was wise, Cordell," Red began, her insectoid blue eyes locking onto his. "I may have healed you, but you aren't at perfect health just yet. Please consider resting."
The Skydancer shrugged. "I feel fine, aside from a slight headache. Maybe Hydea's right and a bit of battling will do me good. Besides, you said to get fresh air." He smiled at the Fae, who narrowed her eyes. "Fine," Red responded. "But don't say I didn't warn you if you hurt yourself more." The Fae turned away and flew toward another room in the main area, the water containign the broken glass trailing behind her.
Cordell glanced at the darkness outside the cave entrance. Hopefully this little excursion will do me some good, he thought.
*****************************
The desert of the Sandswept Delta seemed to stretch to eternity. A small breeze scooped up a bit of sand and blew it into Cordell's face, causing him to waver in his path as he flapped behind Hydea and Larry. Despite the dull pain in his head, the Skydancer felt surprisingly alert, and smiled as he peered over the miles and miles of tan sand. An occasional palm tree jutted out of the sameness, and a blue stream snaked around the dunes.
In front of him, Hydea and the red Guardian called Larry landed near the stream. Cordell followed suit, his claws landing in the sand with a soft hiss. The Skydancer sunk into the sand up to his knuckles, while the two larger dragons sunk at least to their ankles.
Hydea peered at their surroundings, her eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. "Now all we do is wait," she remarked, her voice carrying over the emptiness. Larry nodded in agreement, and joined her in watching their surroundings.
After a short time, Cordell caught sight of a red shape moving in the distance. He turned to his fellow dragons and motioned with his tail toward what he saw. A Carmine Serthis slithered toward the three dragons, creating an undulating trail in the sand as it moved. It did not seem to have caught sight of them yet. Hydea flapped her wings and took to the air while Larry remained where he was and crouched in preparation. Cordell also flew up and came to a hover. As he maintained this position, he closed his cyan eyes as he sought Lightning energy to power his magic attacks. His antennae quivered slightly as he became in tune with the surrounding magic.
And then he heard it. A horrific mixture of high-pitched jingling, low-pitched clanging, and all sorts of other sorts of sharp, ringing vibrations slammed Cordell's ears. He clutched the sides of his head in pain and cried out, squeezing his eyes shut and spiraling down toward the sandy terrain as he lost control of his flying. The Skydancer couldn't even hear the sound of himself hitting the ground over the cacophanous din wreaking havoc in his head. He managed to open his eyes and discovered his vision swirling before him. A red and black shape swooped down near him and seemed to be asking if he was alright. A red and silver shape bounded toward him and must have been doing likewise, but all Cordell could focus on was the ringing. Past the two close shapes he saw a brighter, snake-like shape slinking toward him. Cordell gritted his teeth and brought himself to all fours, locking his warped gaze on the bright shape. The horrendous sounds continued. "Stop it!" the Skydancer screamed as he squinted his eyes and sprinted forward. Though it was nearly impossible to tell, the bright shape in front of him seemed to halt. "STOP IT!" Cordell launched himself at the shape and wrapped his claws around what he realized was the neck. The momentum brought the shape quickly to the ground, and the Skydancer could feel thrashing beneath his hind legs and tail. There was a weak clawing sensation on the sides of his front legs, but it was nowhere near as painful as the ringing in his ears. He maintained his grip, and the shape's motions slowed gradually before stopping completely. Cordell's vision became slightly clearer over the undulating swirls, and he saw many dark-colored objects adorning the body of the shape he just killed. He swiftly scraped them off, and his claws dug far enough into the shape that they became stained in blood. Once he piled the dark objects together next to the dead shape, the din ceased. Cordell looked up and saw Hydea and Larry staring at him. He could sense worry and confusion strongly emanating from them. The Skydancer's light blue eyes widened in alarm as he peered downward. The Carmine Serthis lay motionless, its arms spread from its body and its tail curled behind him. It bore an expression of astonishment and terror in its open eyes. Near the Serthis' head was a pile of small bells made of some dark metal, each strung on a red ribbon, which were now shredded. Then Cordell saw the crimson stains on his claws.
"Cordell?" Larry's voice startled the Skydancer out of his disturbed stupor. Cordell slowly brought his head up to look at his fellow dragons again. "I...I..."
"Let's get you home," Hydea said, cutting off Cordell's speechlessness. "Here, climb on Larry, we'll fly you back to the Hewn City."
************************
Cordell awoke in a cave that smelled strongly of herbs. He opened his eyes to see a dimly-lit room with glowing insects in jars strung along the ceiling. Beneath him, the Skydancer could feel dampness. He realized Red must have healed him when Hydea and Larry brought him back from the Sandswept Delta. He must have fallen asleep on the way back... I only hope nothing else insane happened, Cordell thought.
A loud sigh caught his attention, and Cordell swung his head toward the right. Red hovered in the entrance to the room, and the Skydancer could sense vindication in the Fae. "You can't say I didn't warn you," she said, her insectoid eyes narrowing. "What happened out there? You didn't seem injured per se..."
"Well, one minute I'm fine, and the next..." Cordell had to pause as he recalled the gore. "The little bells on a Carmine Serthis about drove me out of my mind." Suddenly, his bright blue eyes widened in alarm. "The gas!"
The Skydancer could sense Red's annoyance dissipate into fear. Her head crests expanded upward. "Oh no..."
"I have to synthesize it again! I need to understand how to counteract it!" Cordell leapt to his feet and began racing toward the labyrinthine corridors, ducking beneath Red as he exited her space. He skidded to a halt on the dusty floor as he made another realization. The Skydancer turned his head back toward where he left Red. "Do you have a face covering of some sort I could borrow for a while?" he called to the Fae.
***************
Panting hard, Cordell began resorting his chemicals with his gloved claws. It took him only a few moments to rummage through Hydea's vault and find a bunch of scarves, which judging by the craftsmanship and thickness would be good enough protection against gases for the time being. Perhaps he could request a plague doctor mask at the clan's next Baldwin trip...
Once he had donned his apparel, he wrapped a black aviator scarf around his maw, with a burlap mantle above it. It was very warm and a bit itchy, but the Skydancer figured that the outer burlap layer would be thick and catch most particles, while the more finely-woven scarf would catch any missed particles.
Once the beakers and liquids were arranged as he remembered them, he leafed through his scattered notes to find the most recent information on the experiment. His buffeting the gas had spread the parchment throughout the small cave room. Good thing they're dated, Cordell thought.