Sunlight bathed Caviath's scales, leaving an unusual warmth on her body. Consciousness slowly came back to her, along with one crucial detail.

  Wait… the sun could never reach this far in.

  With that she opened her eyes, looking around searching for any hint of those annoying adventurers.

  Nothing, there is just… nothing here. My hoard! She shot up.

  Where is it?! They couldn’t have just taken it, their pockets wouldn't be able to carry it all! Caviath searched frantically, eyes darting to every inch of the cave. Trying to find any clue as to where her precious items could have gone.

  My banners, my gold, that beautiful silver amulet. Where has it all GONE? No no no no, I need to find them, need to find who hired them.

  They couldn't have gotten all of that information about me so wrong on their own, must’ve been lied to. They must have been manipulated by a green dragon so it could gain my treasure. Oh, they are going to regret making their presence known.

  With the situation clear to her, she started to exit her cave, forgetting her earlier assessment that got her up and about in the first place, too angry to notice or care. When she got to the exit of the cave, she paused, finding the scenery to be starkly unfamiliar.

  Did those boneheads teleport me? There is less snow here, and my lair was much higher up; it’s also more open here. Eugh, can this day get any worse? Now I have no idea where to look, better try anyway.

  With one powerful flap of her wings, she lifted from the ground, staying low to keep some modicum of stealth, and to find them a bit faster. As she searched, it only cemented that she had somehow been moved from her lair; it was too green for one. Even in summer, there would still be a lot of snow in her territory, but it just wasn't the case here.

  Where in the nine hells am I? Nothing here is recognizable…

  Maybe I should find someone to give me directions or a map…. Yeah, that seems like a good idea, humans love to settle everywhere.

  Her eyes scanned for any sign of civilization. Anything would suffice - a town, a village, a hut, or even just an abandoned campfire. At least she could track someone from the scent they’d leave behind.

  I think I see a road nearby, should be a good place to land.

  With the area being clear of tall trees, it allowed her to land with ease and get a nice view of the road. She tried to call on her mana; to change her shape to fit that of a human female, but nothing came. She attempted once more, but nope—still her big, wonderfully scaly self. The once easy spell to cast suddenly would not work for the life of her.

  Caviath couldn't make any sense of it, what did they do to her? She couldn’t find any source of mana within herself. So she tried a different spell; Wall of Ice, and nothing.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Caviath tried again…

  Nothing.

  And again, this time saying the incantation much slower trying to calm herself, and eventually getting the same results.

  I must be dreaming, some elaborate dream. A dragon who can't cast spells, HA. What a joke… But it can’t be. I can FEEL everything! The things happening right now, while insane, are coherent so WHY can’t I feel anything when I say the proper incantations?!

  The leaves rustled in the wind, as if whispering about the crazy lizard muttering gibberish. The forest offered no solution to her predicament.

  I just need to keep trying, there is just no way. First, they arrive, and call me a stupid white dragon. I look and act nothing alike to them! They knock me out, take my entire hoard, teleport me to Bahamut knows where, and now I can’t even use basic magic!

  Just great.

  -oh, guess I’ve done more damage than I meant to. Caviath looked behind her and saw the few trees that had once been untouched, were damaged, toppled over, and a couple even in pieces.

  Free wood for whatever that human profession is called.

  Refocusing on herself, she tried one final time to try and cast a simple polymorph spell, and the same old answer came.

  Nothing.

  She sighed. Just please let me be able to–

  As she opened her mouth; a cone of freezing ice shot out in front of her, causing the nearby grass and shrubbery to freeze instantly. Relief washed over her eyes for what could have been if all of her defining features were mysteriously absent.

  Right, this… changes my approach. I will just have to win whoever over with my natural charisma and stunning colors. She ended with a smug look.

  Upon further inspection, this “road” Caviath stood on, was extremely narrow and seemingly didn't follow a straight path. Or even a flat and smooth one at that, which only told her mind that this was a lesser-traveled road.

  Well, that can be good and bad, the only question is which direction to go. Any wasted time is a larger chance my hoard is lost forever…. The best bet would be away from the mountains. If only I woke up a bit earlier in the day.

  Once again, Caviath lifted herself off the ground, this time gaining much more air, allowing her to follow this “road” with her eyes.

  - - - - - - - -

  She had been flying along the “road” for a few hours now. It was early evening, and she’d need to stop and rest at some point. Her wings were starting to cramp - the wind currents just weren’t as agreeable as they were back in her territory.

  Or maybe some kind of magic I didn’t know about was helping me, and now it’s gone.

  Her eyes flitted back and forth from one side of the “road” to the other, looking for any offshoots that could lead to a village or a cottage. She was taking extra care not to miss anything in this forest.

  Until the trail turned sharply left, the trees gave way to rocks, and the rocks gave way to a cliff face.

  She slowly lifted her eyes; eventually hitting the horizon line, and what she saw shocked her.

  What in the world…

  She saw multiple pillars on the horizon. Pillars that seemed huge, once she realized how far it must be. It looked… almost beautiful. They covered a significant portion of the horizon, each one different in size, some taller and others wider. It was nothing she had ever seen, and her curiosity was piqued.

  Unfortunately, she was getting tired, so she would have to wait until it could be investigated further. She decided that it would be safe enough to sleep out in the open, and definitely not because she wanted to be able to view these strange pillars more before sleeping.

  She landed on a small hill surrounded by trees, but not tall enough to block her view. Once she found a comfortable spot, which took her longer than she would like to admit, she found herself staring at these objects of beauty, unable to take her eyes off them.

  When the sun began to dip below the horizon, she was rewarded for her fascination with these pillars as they began to light up, one after the other. Every single one of them started to glow with light, and it was breathtaking. The sight alone made her forget how drowsy she was, and she once again found herself just staring at the view. She couldn't think of anything that would compare with this scene, other than just one.

  This does remind me of the lights I would see lighting up small villages…is it the same here? Are all those pillars just housing people? That would be amazing! Oh, so many questions to ask! How are they made? What are the materials? If they can make these, then what else can they make?

  I wonder if those are humans, but who else has the ambition to do something like this!

  Eventually, she had to answer the call to sleep. She found herself oddly excited for the next day, despite what happened to her. Of course, the assailants that forced her here would pay, and hopefully she could find assistance in getting back to them.