The Giant Dragons' lair was not dark.
Clusters of crystals covered the rock walls and the ground beneath their feet, forming a path across the level floor that connected to the tunnel.
The moment Tang Qi stepped out of the tunnel, the dazzling glow faded from the edges of his vision, and heavy, scorching breaths washed over his face.
Pairs of innocent, childish eyes cast harmless looks his way. To meet them, he had to tilt his head back and look past the shoulders of the enormous creatures gathered there, toward the dragon hatchlings sprawled on their parents' backs and constantly peering down. "Humanoids! No wonder they smelled so strange!"
They spoke to one another in childish Dragon Language. "I haven't found what they look like in my memories yet. So they walk upright!"
"They look so strange, but they don't seem unpleasant-I mean the one right at the front."
"Why would humans come here? Uncle Dulinken actually let humans into our lair?"
"And who's that in his arms? Such beautiful scales! I've never seen anything like them!"
"What do humanoids taste like? Are they as tasty as the food in our lair?"
Their innocent exchanges, delivered in grating Dragon Language, were like a tide scouring the brain, leaving the Drow Elves' heads spinning
and aching.
Tang Qi was no exception. He looked up at the countless true dragons on either side of the path. Judging solely by the brilliance of their scales and the size of their bodies,
most were Metal Dragons, whose scales shone more brightly.
The Chromatic Dragons with comparatively dull scales, meanwhile, were mostly young hatchlings.
More numerous were the true dragons the size of mammoths, probably juveniles like Butcher.
The few adult Giant Dragons were even more imposing, their bodies three to five times the