A Dragon's Bond

by Johnson, S. B.

  "He was." The man took another big chug from his ale finishing it off. "Bartender. Another please."

  As the bartender handed him another glass, he turned and looked at Davin. "Now, why would you want to know about that dreadful place anyway?"

  "We would like to go there sir."

  The man almost choked on his drink. He coughed to clear his throat. "First off let's get something straight. I am by no means sir, so please don't call me that. My name is Tristen. And this is Kala." He reached down and scratched the dog behind her ear. "And why on earth would you want to go there? Nothing but death comes from that place."

  "Actually sir..." Chloe started as the man scowled back at her. "I mean Tristen. We actually need to just go through. There is a beach on on the far side of the valley that we need to get to. From the maps we have it appears the only way there is through the forgotten forest."

  "Ah. I see. You want to go to Dragon Cove."

  "I suppose so. We really don't know the name. Just that it's a beach at the edge of the forest."

  "Well young lady. The only beach I know of outside of the forest is Dragon Cove. And you are right. Through the forest is the only way to get there. So, unless you are searching for death you shouldn't try to get there. And who are you exactly?"

  "So sorry Tristen. We have not properly introduced ourselves. I am Chloe Stewart, this is Davin Willis and that is Derrick Greenwood. Our business there is our own and only wish for you to tell us how to get there if you know the way."

  "A little secretive are we. I guess I can respect that. Seeing as how I am the only one here who knows the way, I suppose I could offer my services to you. It will cost you though. Do you have any money?"

  Chloe nodded. "We do."

  "Well that makes it simple then. You pay me one hundred now and one hundred once we get there. If you agree to my terms I will take you the day after tomorrow."

  "How do we know you're not going to take the hundred and disappear?" Derrick said as he eyed the unknown man.

  Tristen began to laugh. "Well I guess you don't. But I need a room and was looking for a way to pay for it. Besides, you approached me on the subject. Did you not?"

  Davin spoke up again. "If it would make it any easier, we already paid for one of the suites and have an extra room there. If you agree to take us we will let you stay there tonight. We will pay you the first half when we leave and the second half when we get there. Wouldn't that solve all of our concerns?"

  Tristen drank down the rest of his ale and wiped the froth from his mouth with his sleeve. "I suppose that does sound fair. We have an agreement then. Show me to the room and we can discuss the details of the journey there. You are all bonders huh? Funny, I haven't seen blue eyes like that but one other time." He looked at Davin, gazing into his brilliant glowing blue eyes. "You have your dragons with you as well I assume?"

  "Yes." Chloe Replied. "Our dragons are in the stable that is in the room."

  The four headed back to the bonder's suite. Once inside they gathered around the table once again.

  "I know you said before that is was none of my business, but if I am going to take you to the place you seek, I would like to know what I may be in for." Tristen looked at the three seriously, showing only a hint of concern.

  "We think there is a dragon that lives in a cave on the beach you called Dragon Cove." Davin gave a questioning look to Tristen. "And why is it referred to as Dragon Cove."

  "My people have called it that for many years." Tristen replied. "There is in fact a dragon that lives there. I have only seen it but one time though."

  The three kid's eyes lit up in excitement, feeling they were headed somewhere. "What did it look like?" Davin finally asked.

  Tristen took in a deep breath as he began his story. "I really only saw the silhouette of the beast and it's eyes. It was late one night and I was at the edge of the forest when I saw it approaching from above. At first I thought there were six of them. I saw six pairs of bright blue eyes as it got closer to the ground. But I only saw the body of one dragon. It was the biggest dragon I had ever seen and I have seen quite a few in my days. Large ones too. I have seen all sorts of dragons. Many bonders and their dragons travel here to the arena for the Dragon Trials. But never have I seen one with eyes other than green like that of yours Chloe and yours Derrick. But you Davin. It's eyes were blue just like yours. All six pairs of them."

  "Well I have something to show you then." Davin stood from the table and started to walk back towards the stable area. With the curiosity of what Davin was going to show him, Tristen followed closely behind. Davin reached up and pulled the stable door open. The three dragons had been sleeping. They all slowly opened their eyes and when Halo's blue eyes illuminated in the dimly lit stable, Tristen's eyes widened as the opal dragon stood to meet them.

  "Come on out girl." Davin called to her as he stepped aside from the doorway. Halo stepped out into the light of the room. The light danced around in her opal scales as it hit them.

  "My God" Tristen said as he let out a gasp. "His eyes are just like the one's I saw that night."

  "Her actually." Davin said. "Halo is a female dragon."

  "You were bonded to a female dragon?" Tristen's eyebrow raised. "They are all usually males. The females never bond."

  "You seem to know a lot about dragons Tristen." Chloe chimed in.

  "I like to watch the Dragon Trials. I go every year and have learned a lot about dragons and bonders as well."

  Tristen walked over to Halo and ran his hand down her side across her scales. "She's beautiful." Stepping back to look at her again. "Her body shape is like no other I have seen. Her structure is so different from all of the others. Even though each type of dragon has a slightly different build, hers is by far the oddest I have ever seen."

  Davin led Halo back into the stable and tossed down another bundle of feed for the three dragons. He closed the doors and walked back over to the others with Tristen.

  As Tristen sat he began to speak again. "The first part of the journey will be difficult. The snow is deep and the path we will take in not used by others, so it is pretty rough." He reached down and pet Kala's head again. "Once we are halfway down, the path will become easier to travel as the snow thins out. Once we reach the forest, none of you are to stray off. We will need to stay in a group and stay close to one another. The forest is very dangerous. Do any of you even know what lives there?"

  "No. I guess we never really thought about that." Chloe said.

  "We will have to pass right through the land of the lycons." By Tristen's tone of voice they could tell that was not good.

  "What are lycons?" Davin asked.

  Tristen postured up in his seat a little as he began to tell the story. "Lycons are known by some as werewolves. But they are not like people say they are. They don't change with the full moon like some believe. They are actually a cursed people. They are in lycon form all of the time except one night a year."

  "How did they become cursed?" Davin asked as he leaned in closer to the table.

  "The curse was placed on the people of the valley many years ago. One of the young men had seen a woman collecting water from a spring at the heart of the forest. She was very beautiful and the young man fell in love with her almost immediately. He watched her come to the spring time and time again, until he finally spoke to her one day. The two had fallen in love. But the young man was already destined to be married to another. The marriage had been arranged by his parents and he did not love the woman they had chosen. On one day the young mans father followed him to the spring and saw the young man and the woman together. The man's father was so enraged. He waited until his son had left and followed the woman home. The man's father returned to his the village and told his closest friends of a woman that was plotting against them. He had not told them the truth but instead a lie to anger them as much as him. The next day the man sent his son on an errand so that he would not be able to meet the woman. Instead they had planned
to meet her themselves at the spring. When they got to the spring the woman turned hearing them approaching. She thought it had been her love, but turned to only find angry men approaching her with weapons drawn. The woman did not stand a chance against the five strong men and their blades." Tristen stopped for a moment.

  "What happened? Did they kill her." Chloe held her hand to her mouth in shock.

  "They did. They had stabbed and cut her until she was barely alive and and left her to die in the spring. By the time the men had left and gotten back to the village, the woman's lover had finished his errand and was headed to the spring. His heart sank as he reached the spot where the spring was. He had found her nearly dead. He held her in his arms as she passed away into the next life. Before she died she began reciting some words in another language that he could not understand. Just before she passed she began to cry and say how sorry she was. She said something again in the foreign language and handed him a water bag. The bag she had used to collect water from the spring. She told him to keep it always and to drink from the spring as often as he could. Then she was gone."

  Tristen stopped to take a drink of the water he had poured for himself. "That night when the young man returned to the village, he had been met by his father. They banished him from the village and he was to never return. Seeing the blood on his fathers clothes, he knew what had happened. He left without question, knowing he would just be killed if he didn't. That night things began to change in the village and as well for the young man. He had gone to the woman's home as it was the only place he could think to go. He had carried her body there and gave her a proper burial. When the night came, he and the rest of the village transformed into the beasts they would be forever. As the young woman died she had placed a curse on the people that had killed her. Unfortunately this also effected her lover. He thrashed in pain as his body began the transformation. It was as though every bone in his body was breaking all at once. His screams became a roar in the night as he turned into a lycon. He lay on the floor of his lover's home worn out from the change. The village people were now cursed for all times and only changed back to humans once a year so that they could always remember what they once were."

  "What happened to the young man?" Chloe asked hesitantly.

  "Nobody's sure." Tristen replied. "People quit going to the forest all together because of the beasts that were now being seen living in there."

  "Well that's enough story time for tonight." Tristen stood and let out a large yawn. "We should all head to bed. It's getting late and we have a long walk ahead of us. Make sure you stock up on anything you might need tomorrow so that we can leave early the following morning." Tristen walked towards his room and whistled for Kala to follow.

  The three kids slowly began to stand up from the table and headed off to their rooms.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THE VALLEY OF THE FORGOTTEN FOREST

  Early morning came quickly and it was the day they had all agreed to leave. They gathered all of their things and headed out the front of the Inn. Derrick waved to the attendant at the front desk that had been so very helpful. She had even managed to get them each a heavy set of winter gear. She had felt so bad for the lost students and their current situation. The kids didn't feel so bad about the story they had led the workers to believe, when they thought about their real current situation.

  Derrick had procured a sled and he managed to rig up a harness to fit on Calypso. It would make it much easier trudging through the snow, not having to carry their packs. Besides Calypso wouldn't even notice the added weight. Tristen had insisted on carrying his own bag, though it did not seem to slow him down one bit.

  "So, how long till we get to Dragon Cove Tristen?" Derrick was cinching down the final straps to the sled.

  "It will take us most of the day to get down the mountain on the trail. We will set up camp there before entering the forest. From there it will be another day'ss travel through the forest to the place you seek."

  Tristen led them towards the edge of the city. Summit ridge was actually larger than Seaport.The Inn was located just at the end of the city. At night you couldn't see that the mountains on either side open up in to a massive canyon that held the enormous city. Tristen pointed out the large structure that would have towered over even the Keep. "That's the arena where the trials are held. They're quite exciting. You should all check them out some time." They continued walking through the streets. There were many other bonders roaming about with their dragons as well, so nobody paid them much attention.

  They had come to the road leading out of town. Tristen turned to look at the kids. "You're sure about this?"

  "Yes. We really have no choice in the matter." Davin looked back over his shoulder, back towards the direction of the Keep. They had come so far on the journey they had been forced into.

  Tristen turned and headed down the road. The path was becoming further buried in the snow. About a mile up the road was a small bridge crossing a ravine. Tristen stopped at the bridge and again turned to Davin. "This is where we go up into the Mountain. Once we reach the peak of this Ravine we will be able to see the Forgotten Forest."

  There was a small path, just large enough for them and their dragons, leading down and back up under the bridge. The path had not been walked recently and the snow on the ground was fresh from that morning.

  "Here put these on." Tristen threw three pairs of snow shoes to Davin that he had untied from his pack. He had already put his on and was easily walking on top of the fresh snow. After the three had the new foot gear on, life became much easier. They hiked up the ravine for a solid three hours before Tristen finally stopped. Luckily the three had already become accustomed to walking long distances. They stood with their hands over their heads trying to catch their breath. All but Tristen seemed to be struggling with the higher altitude hike. They each took a few big drinks of water while trying to catch a quick break.Tristen turned and continued heading up to the peak.

  "Is he crazy? I think he's trying to kill us." Derrick huffed as he hurried to catch back up to him.

  Chloe and Davin just laughed at his complaining and followed behind. It had been another couple of hours of heavy climbing when they finally reached the top. They all stopped and stared down on the menacing valley below. As peaceful as it looked, beautifully green and lush, they knew what it was home to and what horrible secrets it held. The fog rolled down the mountain, covering the trees below in a gray blanket. The snow cleared up about half way down the mountain, just as Tristen had said. It was getting to be early afternoon and Tristen said they should be able to reach the base of the mountain before nightfall.

  The initial climb down was difficult in deed. The path was steep and the edge appeared as though it would give way at any moment. Tesla and Halo were able to fly ahead over the really narrow spots, but Calypso was pulling the sled. It was becoming more clear why Tristen didn't like the idea of the sled in the first place. They came to a very narrow pass that was just barely big enough for Calypso to pull the sled across. When he got to the end, the ground below the sled gave way and crashed down the mountain side. The sled hung over the steep edge, swinging from Calypso's back. He managed to get his grip and pull the sled up to safety. Tristen only shook his head and continued on.

  The air was slowly growing warmer as they traveled down to the base of the mountain. The snow had become patchy again and they were able to remove the snow shoes that Tristen had provided. They had gotten below the mist that had settled on the forest up ahead when Tristen stopped. He motioned for all of them to be quiet. That's when he pulled out a long black powder rifle. It had been tied to the side of his pack wrapped in a large piece of cloth. He loaded a round and looked down the path. They all stood in silence and waited for what was to happen next. Tristen squeezed the trigger and the gun went off. The shot echoed against the walls of the mountain and off in to the valley. A group of crows took flight out of a group of trees at the edge of the forest and disappeared into
the fog.

  Kala ran off down the path barking away and Tristen ran off after her.

  "Tristen." Chloe called as he ran off. "What is it?"

  They saw Tristen's head pop back up from around the path. "Dinner!" He yelled. He was dragging behind him a small doe that had wandered out into the open. He had made a clean shot, right behind it's ear. "This way. We'll make camp here tonight." He started off the path, waving the kids along.

  The sun was just beginning to set and the shadows on the mountain were getting thicker. He led the kids over a small hill and to a large grouping of rocks and boulders against the mountain. There was a small cave behind one of the large boulders, keeping the entrance to the cave hidden at a distant glance. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small oil lantern along with a box of matches. He began striking one of the matches on the box, but they had gotten damp and it was not going to light.

  "I got this." Davin had grown a small flame in the palm of his hand.

  Tristen smiled and tilted the lantern into the flame that was rising from Davin's hand. "Good for lots of things I bet." He held the now lit lantern up and walked towards the back of the cave. There was a small fire ring and a stack of cut wood next to it. Tristen threw a couple of logs in the center. "Well, let's see how hot that fire of yours is Davin." He gestured towards the logs in the fire ring. Davin smiled and threw a small stream of fire at the logs until they were burning nicely.

  "Well done. Well done." Tristen clapped his hands and laughed a bit. He pulled out a large knife and cut four large chunks of meat from the deer he had shot. Tristen took a thick stick and ran it through the pieces of meat. Propping them up over the fire, he let them sit to roast.

  The night became very quiet at the edge of the valley. The fog continued to linger over the trees of the forest. It made for a very scary look. They were worried about the forest in the daytime, no way would they enter at night.