The Egg

The plan was simple. Get into the museum, get the egg, and get out. Each of us had our own tasks to complete in order for things to run smoothly. Todd and Nodd were to distract the guards. Jael was to stand guard. And I was to steal the egg from its display case.

We stood at the base of the steps leading up to the entrance of the Royal Museum. Jael stood leaning on her blackthorn cane, studying the stone facade of the building, designed to look like a castle. “May Lady Luck be on our side,” she muttered, trudging up the steps. Todd and Nodd looked at each other and shrugged, following her. I tightened the knot holding my ponytail in place and sauntered after them.

The lobby of the museum was huge, with groin vaults and lofty arches modeled after the style of the Ancients. The Royal Seal was carved in black marble in the center of the white marble floor: a unicorn with its front leg curled around a torn flag. Colorful tapestries decorated the walls, depicting tales of knights fighting dragons. A young woman sat behind a large marble counter at the far end of the lobby, a map of the museum etched into the wall behind her.

I stepped up to the counter, my eyes studying the map behind the receptionist, trying to locate the path to the eastern tower. I slid four forged admission tickets across to the receptionist, who barely glanced at them and waved us through.

I took the lead, guiding my partners in crime up a series of stairs and through the labyrinthine exhibits, showcasing Ancient arcane instruments, fossilized remains of dragons, and the scepter of the first king of Khoris. The place was crawling with guards, one posted between every other torch sconce.

I glanced at Todd and Nodd, wondering what sort of plan they had formulated, but their expressions betrayed nothing. I hoped that whatever they were planning would work. I chanced a look at Jael, who tapped her cane against her boot. The cane was really a staff used for bludgeoning opponents in traditional stick fighting. Most of the guards seemed to be twice her size, but I had seen her in combat before, and it was a sight to behold.

Finally, we came to the top of the stairs to the eastern tower, which was more heavily guarded than the rest of the museum. Jael and I hung back while Todd and Nodd continued on to follow through with their part of the operation.

Todd walked up to the guard standing at the top of the stairs, with Nodd in step beside him. “Any weapons, powders, or potions?” the guard asked, bored. Behind the guard, I could see five guards standing around the room. Behind Jael and I, a guard stood in an alcove located every ten steps.

“How about a riddle?” Todd asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. The guard raised his eyebrows and I thought he rolled his eyes. The guard’s silence seemed to encourage Todd. A sardonic smile spread across Todd’s face. “They come out at night without being called, and are lost in the day without being stolen. What are they?”

“I don’t know,” the guard said, without taking any time to consider, already over Todd’s antics.

“Come on,” Todd said, “you have to guess.” As the guard thought about it, Nodd inched closer to him, almost imperceptibly.

The guard gave up, tossing up his hands with a sigh of defeat. In that moment, Nodd held up the guard’s scabbard victoriously, chuckling. “They’re stars!” Todd exclaimed, racing down the stairs after Nodd. It took a second for the guard to realize what Todd and Nodd had done. Then he was clambering down the stairs, calling for backup.

Jael and I stepped out of the way, pressing up against the wall of the stairwell. One by one, the guards in the tower filed out of the room to chase Todd and Nodd. After a long moment, Jael and I peeled ourselves off of the wall and quietly stepped into the tower room. Lady Luck seemed to have smiled down on us, having the tower emptied of guards so we could safely steal the egg.

In the center of the room, with an oculus casting a circle of heavenly light over it, sat the egg on a marble pedestal. It was about the size of a large cat and the color of a stormy sky, glinting in the light. I cautiously moved toward the egg, careful as to not make too much noise. Jael stayed in the doorway, her back to me, gripping her staff in both hands.

The plaque on the pedestal informed me that the egg was an ancient dragon egg, thought to be the offspring of the legendary Muromir, the dragon slain by the first king of Khoris and thus giving birth to the kingdom. The egg itself was dead, but thought to still possess enough power to destroy the world.

A cacophony of metal clanging echoed up the stairs, overlaid by Jael’s bellow, “Dana, grab the egg!” Without hesitation, I grasped the giant egg with both hands and started for the stairs. I quickly changed my mind, when guards began to shove past Jael into the display room. Jael made quick work of two of the guards, the staff breaking their armor into pieces and knocking them out, but she was quickly overwhelmed.

As soon as the opportunity presented itself, I dove through the door and flew down the stairs, holding the egg out in front of me. I heard a chorus of shouts behind me and the sounds of guards in pursuit, but I kept running, not daring to falter even once. If it had to be me following through with the last part of the plan, then so be it.

Only when I got to the bottom of the stairs, I missed the last couple of steps and tumbled to the floor. Since I had no hands to catch myself, I face planted on the ground, smashing the egg with my hands and then my chest.

I expected some abnormally large egg yolk and a mummified dragon embryo to spill out of the egg shell. But what did spill out of the egg was a blinding white light that consumed my senses.

I furiously blinked away the searing pain in my eyes. The white light persisted for a while and eventually subsided. But instead of the marble floors and stone walls of the museum, I lay on fluffy clouds under a periwinkle sky. I pushed myself to my feet, wiping shards of eggshell off my tunic.

“Welcome,” an ethereal voice whispered from behind. I spun around, jumping when I saw a host of wyvern angels floating in the air behind me. Humanoid bodies, feathery white wings, golden horns sprouting from their skulls, and golden scales wrapping around their necks and extending behind their ears.

Who are you? Where am I? I wanted to ask. All I managed to muster was a bewildered grunt.

A blonde angel smiled at me. “You have done something very bad, Dana,” they said.

I furrowed my brow. “I understand that stealing is bad, but…” I trailed off when the creatures’ expressions simultaneously soured. I had a feeling that they were reprimanding me for something worse than my trade.

“You destroyed Muromir’s egg,” another angel with a black crown of braids said.

“It ended the world,” a third angel with auburn curls added.

I stared at them, stunned and open-mouthed. “I’m sorry,” I murmured solemnly.

The blonde angel inclined their head. “Luckily for you, we were feeling generous today.”

“We restored the world to as it was just before you broke the egg,” the angel with the black braids said.

“But this deed will not go unpunished,” the angel with auburn curls added.

“Th-thank you,” I stammered, unsure of what to say. I wrapped my arms around myself to shield myself from a sudden chill that had washed over me.

“Do not do it again,” the blonde angel said as a bright white light once again consumed me.

As the white light ebbed, I noticed that I still wasn’t in the museum. Now I was in a dimly lit cell, a manacle clasped around my ankle and chained to a heavy iron ball. Jael sat next to me and Todd and Nodd sat on the other side of the jail cell, all similarly restrained.

I glanced around the cell, taking in my surroundings. Gray stone walls, straw piled in the corners, an iron door with a small window, another window on the opposite wall letting dim gray light illuminate Nodd’s pale green eyes.

Jael turned to me, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “Any ideas on how to break out of this joint?”