First chapter of The Glass Volcano: The Wellspring Dragons Book 3.
  A fantasy/dark fantasy illustrated series. Full book available in Kindle format.
  The Glass Volcano. The Black-shine Mountain. Jo khade maja. Vedellesse Sava. All refer to the lair of Kykini Cede, Flame Dragon of Kassak. Shiobe and Sikode have arrived at the mythic Seari monument, their goal to find a way inside, defeat dragon-created trials, and reach the Flame Stone, the artifact of the legendary beast. Sikode has dedicated his life to defeating the magickal challenge held within the object and becoming a dragonmaster, the first in a thousand years. Shiobe, with her historical knowledge of the volcano, vows to help him succeed.
  Luckily, a local climber, Ceten, knows about a secret entrance and will lead them inside the mountain. Unluckily, complications arise to make traversing the already dangerous lair more difficult. Kitta and Rien, Shiobe’s ex-friends from the Soline royal court, vie for the stone. They believe it is an ancient, abandoned dragonpriest artifact that will help them protect their country from a potential Illenan invasion. Following in their wake are bloodmages who want to capture Shiobe. She still possesses the sylf-blessed river rock she stole from them, and they want it back, at any cost.
  Shiobe realizes the bloodmages will hound her until they attain their prize and return it to its purpose of magickally imprisoning the butterfly sylfaone she stumbled upon in the twilight mists. Their success seems guaranteed because of the personal involvement of their deity. She and Sikode believe a dragon fighting with them will overcome the bloodsylf’s touch and help them eradicate the bloodmage threat. They just have to reach the Flame Stone first.
  (Chapter 1 of Book 1 and Chapter 1 of Book 2)