Eric caught Ryan’s eye and said, “We would like a moment alone to discuss our plans.”
Denir nodded. “Of course. We will step outside and prepare the saddles and what supplies you may need. Please join us when ready.”
“Thank you.”
Everyone filed out, Jolian the last to go with a last look at Ryan before closing the doors. They waited a moment for the voices to move farther away, and within a minute, the sound of enormous wings snapping in the air reached them, the ground shaking slightly from the steps of dragons.
Anna smirked at Ryan. “I think she likes you.”
He tried to put her on the defensive instead of himself. “Jealous?”
She chuckled. “I can’t compete with that.”
They all laughed a moment before turning serious, with Eric, as usual, being the one to get down to business.
“Anna,” he said, coming over to her, “how are you doing?”
Ryan thought she looked like she didn’t want the reminder of what had happened on Earth as she pursed her lips. He shared her concern. The car had almost certainly crashed. The only question was how hurt her friends were. It might also cause another round of attention from the media, as if they needed more of that.
“Worried,” she admitted. “There’s nothing I can do. It’s already too late.”
Ryan came around to her, wanting to make her feel better. “Try to have faith. I know we’ve argued about God and all, and I’m sorry about that. You don’t need faith in Him so much. I know it takes an effort, to just trust that everything may have worked out fine, nothing but minor bruises and scrapes. We can’t know and letting our minds go to the worst possible outcomes… well, it won’t help us all get back to find out the good news that everyone is fine.”
She smiled, putting a hand on his arm. “Thank you, Ryan. You’re right. I need to focus on our own problems right now.”
“Yeah. Just, if you need anything about all of this, we’re all here. You’d do the same, helping us if it had been us instead of you, so don’t think you’re being a burden or something. We’re all family now.”
“Yes,” said Eric, “just physically protecting each other isn’t enough. There’s a lot more going on with all of us. Fear, uncertainty, not knowing what the hell we’re doing.”
“I hear you.”
Eric turned to the table and gestured for them to come over. “Memorize the map in case we get separated. Keep your own money bag, too.”
They studied the map, noting roads and the compass direction, anything that might be useful should they be on their own to find their way back to the Quest Ring. The importance of not becoming lost or separated hung in the air.
To the east loomed the Galla Mountains that they had seen outside, the dwarven Kingdom of Hamarven toward its southern end and directly east of their position. Most of the Minari Kingdom lay west, but they’d never see it. To the northeast, past the Artem Woods, more of the mountains awaited with the town of Valegis nestled between the peaks. And nearly due west from there, outside the peaks on a plain, lay their ultimate destination of Ortham just over the border with Gisla Kingdom. If they got lost, it looked like all they had to do was walk south, parallel to the mountains. They had three options for that. Walking along the foothills risked attack from anything in them. Walking through Artem Woods to the west of the peaks offered the same. But still further west, miles from the trees, lay a road all the way from Ortham down to Castle Arking and the Quest Ring. As long as the mountains were on their left, they were heading south when coming back.
With the map memorized, Eric asked Matt, “Are you certain you can cast this Mind Shield spell?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t look hard. Getting the fish eyes will be the issue.”
“Without it,” began Anna, folding her arms, “this Orb of Dominion really worries me. This may be our only protection against it.”
Ryan had tried not to think what would happen if they became enthralled because the idea gave him the creeps, so he changed the subject. “Even with the spell, this sounds pretty difficult. I don’t like the sound of these Lords of Fear at all.”
Eric sighed. “Yeah, we should think about this on the way to this Kirii Cave. We need ideas, plans. The mace was a good idea, Ryan, but don’t discount that soclarin sword you have. There’s no telling what advantages the real Soliander gave it for fighting undead.”
“True. I’ll keep the mace as backup.”
Eric asked, “Matt, Anna, what do we know about curing poisons? This assassin woman, Kori, sounds like serious trouble with poisoned blades.”
Anna said, “In theory, I can heal that. I need to spend some time trying to communicate with a god. I must ask Novir and the others before we leave, if they have any choices for me, so I can try while we travel. I wish there was a way to do that as soon as I arrive on a quest. It’s a lot of pressure to quickly know a god and reach out to one, get an answer.”
“Yeah,” agreed Matt. “At least the spells I remember will still work. My ability to shield us may be crucial. I suggest we stick together when we encounter these guys. They make me nervous already.”
“Good idea. On the plus side, they don’t know we’re coming or that we have dragons with us. Oh, I just had an idea. When we get near the orb, we should pretend that we’re enthralled by it and are under their control. This would gain their trust that we aren’t a threat and maybe allow us to get close before they realize the truth.”
Ryan clapped a hand on his shoulder. “That’s brilliant. Love this idea.”
“Do we need anything else before we get going?” Matt asked, as another thud shook the building.
Ryan smirked. “Yeah, dragon flying lessons. I think we should ask when we get out there, you know, like we usually do, as if like we’re just confirming how things are on this world.”
“That’s good,” Eric agreed. “They’re intelligent, so it’s not like we have to give commands from reins or something. Let’s check that. Everyone ready?”
Ryan let the others go ahead of him as they left the room behind. He was undoubtedly the one to take on this Lord Voth, but the undead knight didn’t concern him as much as the assassin and her poisoned blades. He imagined her targeting Anna or Matt. Maybe he and Eric needed to get Lord Voth and the assassin away from the other two as a tactic. He sighed, not sure what to do. The Lords of Fear had worked as a team, doing whatever they were up to for far longer than him and his friends. The dragons might be crucial, and after they finished at the Kirii Cave, they needed to discuss what options they provided. Surely they would do more than fly them around. They could affect the success of this quest.
The truth of this became apparent after they stepped from the building and followed a warrior around the corner, away from the Quest Ring. They walked onto the grass, a light autumn breeze stirring the pine trees. The season was the same as on Earth right now.
Behind the structure was an open field, shielded from the distant castle’s view by trees, and it was here that the three dragons awaited in their natural forms. Rays of sun broke through the overcast sky, and Ryan saw that a sheer cliff drop awaited anyone foolish enough to venture too far to one side. A wide crevasse ran perpendicular and away from Castle Arking, a rushing river audible below, or perhaps it was a waterfall out of sight. Mist rose from the cliff, and in the distance, the thick Artem Woods stretched for miles, the leaves turning red, gold, and brown.
He turned to gaze at the dragons, the sheer size and mass of them as intimidating as the wicked talons, white teeth taller than him, and powerful wings. Not counting the necks, heads, and tails, each was bigger than a two-story, single-family home. He’d once seen a video of a jet engine flipping a car upside and hurling it away. The impression that the air blast from one stroke of a wing could send him off the cliff made him uneasy. Just one dragon could more than level the playing field against the Lords of Fear. He also wondered how a brother and sister dragon were different colors, and whether anything else ab
out them was unique, but there was no time to ask.
The blue dragon stood nearest and was ready, silver eyes cold and indifferent as he gazed down at Ryan. Maybe he was imagining it, but he felt some disdain. Brazin’s sister had been flirting with him. Was he irritated about it? Did dragons even fool around with humans? Was it possible? Or was the idea just insulting to one such as Brazin? Ryan wasn’t sure but didn’t feel comfortable with him and was glad to not be riding him.
Past him, Jolian rose to her feet and stretched her wings, a saddle now affixed to her, the warriors who had assisted with it stepping away toward the green dragon beyond. Jolian was noticeably larger than the other two, red scales gleaming as a ray of sun broke through the overcast sky to touch her. She took a deeper breath, the saddle girth expanding and contracting snugly as she did so, before a small burst of flames erupted from her nostrils, smoke curling up from them after it was over. She seemed satisfied and rested on her hindquarters, massive head turning to regard the Ellorian Champions. Her red eyes seemingly met Ryan’s. It was hard to tell, given that they were bigger than a horse. But he saw kindness in them, which Brazin’s baleful gaze made easier to recognize.
Warriors were now saddling the green dragon, Sebast, as he crouched to make it simpler for them. Ryan tried to watch in case he needed to do the same thing, but he couldn’t see much from here. Was saddling a dragon noticeably different from a horse? It almost had to be.
Approaching Novir, who stood beside Denir, Ryan said, “So we’ve ridden dragons before, of course. It’s just different across worlds.”
Novir smiled. “Say no more.” He led him toward Brazin, who cooperated by crouching and moving the nearer blue wing back. “You see the saddle is before the wings, of course. These may differ from others, but unlike a horse, dragons can at least tell you how to saddle them, if you must. They know where we are going and will largely take care of direction, but if you must, you can use the four straps to control the flight path. One each left, right, top, bottom. Use two at once as needed and flying straight and level means pulling on the top and bottom at together.”
“Got it.”
“I will lead the way, but they know where the Kirii Cave is, generally.”
“Generally?” That was hardly good enough. What if something happened to Novir?
Novir winked and used a small rope ladder to climb the side of Brazin, settling into the seat and strapping himself into the saddle with a wide belt that he hooked to it once before and behind him. As he started pulling up the ladder, he yelled down. “Of course, I don’t need to tell you to always strap yourself in first in case they decide to take flight. Things like a rope can wait!”
“I just wanted to see if you knew that!” Ryan joked. He wondered what other “obvious” tips he would not think of and learn the hard way. If he fell off a dragon high in the air, would it realize and be able to catch him? Finding out wasn’t appealing.
As Anna went to get a scroll with information about gods from Denir, Ryan walked to Jolian. Was he supposed to pass in front of or behind Brazin? With horses, you avoided going behind unless you put a hand on their rump to let them know you were there. A startled horse had been known to kick and badly wound or even kill a fool. Would a dragon do it by accident, or would Brazin do it to Ryan on purpose? He wasn’t sure what would happen as he neared the giant head, but the blue giant suddenly rose and let them pass under his neck.
“I think you need to go up first,” Ryan said to Anna when she joined him. He took her hand to the rope ladder. “I can be in front for control, if I need it. I’m more used to, well, horses anyway.”
“Yeah,” she muttered, looking apprehensive. But she climbed the ladder and clambered into her seat behind his. Ryan followed, grinning. He hadn’t been this close to a dragon before, except after he’d killed it. The expanding and contracting dragon body as she breathed him feel like he was dreaming, and despite the danger awaiting them, for the moment he didn’t need to face it and marveled at what he was doing.
At the top, he found Anna trying to adjust the straps and so he briefly helped her, figuring it out. A wide belt opened on one side and had to be tightly cinched around the waist. Then two hooks fastened it to the saddle. She had already gotten her feet into two stirrups that were unlike those on a horse in that it firmly attached them to the saddle. This meant no trying to control the dragon with the feet. The stirrups seemed more like another way to brace yourself.
Keeping his weapons out of the way, he soon had himself situated and tested his own security of position, feeling reasonably satisfied, trying to ignore the forty-foot drop to the ground. It being so much worse than falling off a horse made him chuckle nervously. He thought that if he was going to get killed or worse on this quest, at least he was getting one hell of a ride first. He looked over to see Eric helping Matt get seated in the rear spot of Sebast’s saddle, the two of them arguing a little. Jolian shifted beneath him the way horses do, the motions stronger because of her size, and he suddenly wondered if the others might get sick. That would be very un-champion like, puking from the back of a dragon, especially if Eric did it and Matt caught a face full as they flew. At the last minute, he untied his helmet and put it on for some protection from the wind. Or maybe it was for Anna behind him.
Jolian’s neck twisted as she turned her enormous head back to him. “Are you ready, Pride of Andor?” Her voice boomed but sounded similar to when she was in human form.
“I was born ready,” he said.
“Good.”
With no other warning, Jolian took several giant steps forward, smote her wings once, and lifted off just enough to get past the cliff edge. And then they dove over it, the feeling like the first incredible drop of a rollercoaster. He heard Anna scream behind him like girls always did at the amusement park, but then Jolian straightened out and turned into the crevasse to soar just below its top. Wind buffeted Ryan’s chest in a steady rush. The great snap of leathery wings was intermittent as they glided. Trees roared by on either side of them, above the canyon, and white water splashed hundreds of feet below among rocks, more trees, and a brief shoreline beside the river, the occasional four-legged animal startled into fleeing at the sight of them hurtling by. Jolian’s head lifted a bit and the amount of wind striking Ryan suddenly dropped. Was she doing it on purpose, creating a pocket of calmer air?
After the initial exhilaration, Ryan took stock of himself and realized he was gripping the reins hard but not pulling on them, probably from many years of good horseback riding habits. He jammed his feet into the stirrups, his body tight. But he made himself relax and start gazing around. Turning in the saddle revealed Anna looking a little tense, but she smiled. Not far behind and gaining was Novir on the blue dragon, and just behind, the green one with Matt and Eric. He really wanted a GoPro to capture this experience for forever.
Moments later, the crevasse ended, the cliffs disappearing as they emerged from it, a shimming blue lake below, more forest all around it, snow-capped mountains in the distance. The sun streamed out in places, lighting up a fleet of fishing boats to one side. Suddenly a shadow appeared on Ryan and he looked up as Brazin overtook them, four enormous legs closer than comfortable, especially when he dove toward the water, the tail coming perilously close. Jolian followed him down, both dragons skimming their feet across the calm waters. The spray from Brazin struck Ryan, who stayed dry inside his armor. He laughed as they climbed again, the powerful wing strokes propelling them up faster than he would have believed. The ground fell away, and he wondered just how many thousands of feet in the air they were now. It became quieter, more peaceful, colder, and even boring as they disappeared into the clouds.
And then suddenly they were above them, bright sunlight all around, nothing visible but the sky above, the white moody clouds below, eddies from Brazin ahead of them whisking up. Nearer now than before, the tallest mountains poked above the serene view. Wanting to share it more, he reached behind him with one hand and after a moment
, felt Anna’s hand grip his. They rode this way for a long time, and as they went, Ryan considered the task before them, reminding himself of what training he had received in swordsmanship and battle tactics.
The batlike kirii at the cave, and the unknown leviathan, concerned him less than the Lords of Fear. But right now, something bothered him about Brazin that he couldn’t quite identify. He sensed his own distrust and that the friendliness of Jolian was the only reason he didn’t outright dislike her brother. Novir seemed to think nothing of it, so he wasn’t sure what to believe. He felt certain that Brazin was only doing this for Jolian, and that if the red dragon somehow fell, Brazin would leave them behind. He didn’t want to be alone with Brazin, or give him a chance to abandon them. He decided that as long as someone monitored the blue dragon, maybe everything would be fine. Not being able to trust those who’ve summoned him away from his life and into danger made these quests even more troubling.
Ryan wasn’t sure how long they were above the clouds, but it seemed like over an hour. They passed between the nearest mountains, and when they dove beneath the clouds, he saw they were quite a distance into the range. He realized their flight had made it harder to mentally follow the map he’d memorized. But then he saw a town off to one side and wondered if it was the one he’d noted. Were they getting near? The green dragon came up beside them with Eric and Matt giving them a thumbs up and huge grins. Ryan didn’t really have anything he wanted to say, but he realized knowing more sign language as those two did could help in situations like this. The idea of riding dragons so often that he needed that made him laugh.
Brazin banked sharply, which was the only warning Jolian was about to, and now it became concerning as they tilted wildly to the left, a dragon no longer directly below them, but the ground far below, just like when a rollercoaster takes a sharp turn. They glided in circles, the earth rushing up. Ryan began visually searching the area for threats and the cave they needed to enter, but he saw neither, just a cleared area barely big enough for three dragons to land one-by-one, moving aside so another could arrive. Jolian dropped last, powerful wing blasts sending loose leaves and dust into the air. The landing was surprisingly smooth for a creature this size. Ryan exchanged looks with the others, noticing as he did that the dragons appeared on alert but relaxed as if they sensed nothing amiss. He took a long drink of water from a flask in the saddle, seeing Eric doing the same.
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