The air inside the dome was not as dry as it was outside, so Ray took the opportunity to refill their canteens with water magic.
As he did that he told the ladies about his encounter with the Dragon.
In return they told him that he never left the place where he was standing. The entire thing took place in his mind.
Ray shook his head. "These dragons, this little field trip is going to be a lot more than we bargained for."
Samantha giggled
Ray looked at her curiously. "What's so funny?"
She smiled. "It's just ironic, you saying that, when you, the guy who just beat a dragon puppet, are more than anyone bargained for."
Raymond laughed, "I guess so." He sighed, "at least we have a solid plan now."
"Are you sure you don't want to rest a night before we head out?" Nikki asked. "Today was a lot."
Ray glanced up at the dragon statue then looked back at Nikki. "You have a point. Let's do that."
They decided to take some time to explore the rest of the temple.
There were doors on either side of the altar that led to, what turned out to be living quarters.
There were several bedrooms, each with clean, dressed beds that seemed to not have been touched by time.
There were washrooms with self-refilling, magic wash basins, and toilets enchanted to destroy excrement.
The kitchen was empty but pristine. Finally there was a study near the largest bedroom.
The study was filled with tables stacked with books. parchments and scrolls were strewn everywhere.
All markers of someone becoming obsessed with their studies.
Then they saw him, behind a desk that had been cleared of its contents, a skeleton dressed in the same finery as the one in the tower.
There was a crystal the size of a fist sitting on a little pedestal in front of the skeleton on the desk. Samantha reached over to touch it and it shimmered to life.
This crystal projected an image of an elderly human mage dressed and sitting in a chair exactly like the skeleton.
The bald, clean shaven, old mage looked fairly healthy, but his demeanor was crestfallen and his eyes were red and swollen.
He sighed heavily and looked at some unseen assistant. "Is it working? I hate these things." his voice was hoarse and gravely, and his body shook hard as he began coughing.
As Raymond and the ladies gathered around the image, Ray leaned over to Samantha. "You know this technology?"
She shook her head. "Crystals haven't been used like this in over two thousand years. The few mines that produced them ran dry fifteen hundred years ago. This is ancient technology."
The old mage in the image composed himself and set his gaze on the crystal.
"To whoever sees this, if you do see this, it means I am dead and likely my city with me."
"This is, this was, the city of Ambrosia, capital of the Human Kingdom of Waco. I am Chief Mage Ramsey. My brother and I have made a grave mistake."
Samantha gasped and Alecia jumped to her feet. "It can't be!" they said in unison.
"No, no, Waco was nothing more than a cautionary tale! A myth made up to explain the desert!" Alecia's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
"The Ramsey brothers died three thousand years ago." Samantha said with a hand over her mouth.
"I wouldn't be surprised if those names are lost to history in short order." The old mage sighed. "We were fools and I have no doubt they will wipe us from the books."
"The dessert you stand in now is the result of a preventable decade long war. This area used to be a vast lush wetland" Ramsey conjured an image of a marsh, teeming with life, in his hand.
"Humans and Lizardkin lived in harmony for centuries, it was basically paradise." he stared at the image longingly for several seconds."
"All that changed when the prince and princess of the two kingdoms ran off together. Both sides blamed the other for kidnapping their heirs. Arrogance and pride ruled the day and neither side would listen to the other."
"War broke out and the two kingdoms set out to wipe each other out. The fighting was incredibly fierce, and costly, and so, so unnecessary."
"About three years in, the prince and princess sent letters to their parents. They explained their love and reasoning for running away."
"Both kings believed their letter was a ploy by the other to stop the war, so the fighting intensified."
"Eventually the war angered the Dragons. All of them. The Blue Dragon of Magic couldn't stand to see his gift used only to take lives."
"The Green Dragon of Nature hated that her beautiful home was being destroyed by the senseless war."
"The Red Dragon of War was pissed because the war made no sense, it had become fighting with reckless abandon, no strategy, despicable tactics, no honor."
"The White Dragon of Wisdom always abhorred violence. She sought only to restore balance and harmony."
"Together with the Golden Dragon, they appeared to the two Kings and demanded the fighting be stopped. The Kings refused."
"Not to be defied, the Dragons vowed they would stop the war in one week if the two sides did not."
My brother and I frantically went about looking for a way to keep people safe. We "came up with a way to create a barrier that would stand against anything."
"It would be powered by a crystal and create a dome of pure mana that would stand up to any attack."
"This area was the test and we had no idea the Dragons would do…this."
"They "stopped the fighting" by creating a massive ball of dragon-fire and detonating it. The explosion… was devastating."
"Every living thing between here and the sea was completely wiped out. Vaporized. Our little bubble held, but the world outside is unsurvivable."
"Days, even weeks later, we have been forced to watch as our people are incinerated mere steps outside the dome."
"We have kept the temperature comfortable inside the dome, but we are running out of food and water."
"My brother is looking for a way for us to get ourselves to Americus. I have been entreating the Dragon to allow us safe passage. Neither of our efforts are proving fruitful."
"We also have reason to believe that the Black Dragon is going to make a move. All the death and destruction has fed his power, and his army of the dead."
"I fear we will die in this dome."
"If you find this, it means the dessert has become livable. In my desk there is a pouch of ambrosia seeds. The fruit of these trees are a favorite of the Green Dragon."
"If you take them to her, maybe, just maybe, she will consider bringing life back to this desert."
"Either way when you leave, destroy the crystal in the tower, bring down the dome, and let us be buried forever."