by F. P. Spirit
Fran cleared her throat. “I hope y’all ain’t spreadin’ more untruthful rumors ‘bout myself and that ol’ goblin fart.”
Seth covered his mouth with his fist and coughed into it to hide a laugh. If he stayed with these two much longer, it was going to ruin his snarky reputation.
Kalyn and Raina both stood straight to attention.
“Us?” Kalyn asked.
“We would never.” Raina added.
“Didn’t think so.” Fran grabbed a staff leaning against the tree. “Now then! Did ya bring us some wings, Raina?”
“Yes ma’am, I did!” Raina put her fingers to her lips and whistled.
A soft buzzing sound began to thrum in Seth’s ears, steadily growing louder and louder. The horse nearby whinnied loudly as faint shadows fell over them, making Seth glance upward. He nearly went slack jawed as he watched two giant dragonflies, one green and one blue, swoop into the clearing and circle around the trees.
Kalyn covered her head and ducked as the green one swept over her, nearly hitting her with its long black legs. “Holy gurgling gargoyles! Watch where you’re going, you googly-eyed brain buzzer!”
The giant dragonflies landed on either side of Raina, twitching their large antenna and dancing on their dainty legs.
Raina giggled. “Compliments of the Archdruid.”
Kalyn stood with a huff, straightening her clothes.
“Kalyn, you n’ Seth take these o’ersized bugs to Serpent’s Holler. It’ll be faster.” Fran said. “Raina n’ I’ll take that horse and dog to Bendenwood with us.”
Kalyn and Seth exchanged glances, then looked back at Fran.
“You mean we have to ride these things?” Kalyn asked.
Fran nodded.
“Yes!” Seth pumped his fist in the air.
“What about Elfar? Can he ride with me?” Kalyn asked.
“It might be best if he came with us. The added weight might be too much for the dragonfly.” Raina said.
Kalyn looked down at the big lynx, who yawned with a bored expression, seeming oblivious to her plight.
She sighed. “Oh, fine. If I must, then I must. But I’m sure he’ll miss me.”
At that, Elfar stood and, with his tail in the air, sauntered away into the woods without so much as a glance back at Kalyn.
Seth smirked. “Yep. Looks like he’s gonna miss you real bad.”
Kalyn glared at Seth with a lofty expression. “He is. He’s just going to hide it behind a mask of stalwart independence.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Sure, he is.”
“All right, chil’ens. Ain’t got the time for bickerin’.” Fran shambled up to Seth and held a pack out to him, “Take this, young feller. Iff’n all goes well, ya won’t be needin’ none of it, but I don’t want to be sendin’ the both o’ ya off without some food n’ supplies.”
Seth took the pack from her, then paused as she bent down and dropped her voice low. “I know you is the distrustin’ type and don’t has much faith in us, and that’s good n’ well. So, you’ll unda’stand when I say that I don’t trust you much neither. That said, I ‘spect my Kalyn to come back safe n’ sound. If she don’t, I swear by my pretty straw hat, I will end you.”
Seth spiked an eyebrow, a little taken aback by the colorful wording, but then a wicked grin broke across his face. “No promises. She’s pretty annoying, and I get the feeling there might be a few really big, hungry snakes ‘round where we’re going.”
Fran stood back to her full height to reveal Kalyn standing right next to her, arms crossed.
Kalyn cleared her throat. “If the two of you are done making pointless threats…” She jerked her thumb back at the dragonflies, “I’d like to get this done and over with as soon as possible. I have all I need, and if you’ve got the food, we should be set.”
Seth shouldered the pack. “Fine. I call the blue one.”
“Not if I get to it first!” Kalyn shot toward the dragonfly, but Seth dashed under the creature, scrambling up a leg, bounding up to its back and seating himself before Kalyn could make it around the creature’s long, outstretched wings.
Kalyn skidded to a halt, her mouth falling open. “Hey! No fair!”
Seth crossed his arms and shrugged. “What can I say? Being a lil’ feller has its perks.”
Kalyn grinned, seemingly in spite of herself. “Fine. Take the blue one. I really wanted the green one anyway.”
“Have either of you children ever flown one of these before?” Raina asked, hands on her hips, as Kalyn mounted her dragonfly.
Seth shook his head. “Nope!”
“Nope. Is it hard?” Kalyn asked.
Raina shrugged. “Oh, not really. Especially for a Deepwood tracker.” She quickly explained the best techniques for guiding the creatures while in the air, “It just mostly involves leaning in the right direction. It’s really not too hard.”
Seth and Kalyn looked at each other, and a mischievous smile slowly twisted up the corners of Kalyn’s face. “Last one to Serpent’s Hollow is a rotten zombie?”
“You’re on!” Seth nudged his dragonfly in the sides and held on tightly as it took to the air with ease, Kalyn’s dragonfly right on his heels.
“Don’t take unnecessary risks! Remember!” Fran shouted after them.
No promises! Seth laughed in his mind. He angled his dragonfly in the general direction he knew they needed to go, grinning from ear-to-ear as the cool wind rushed by his face.
Airship
How does something that big stay airborne in the first place?
The golden orb of the sun rose over the lush green canopy of the forest far to the east. Birds flitted across the treetops, playing “Follow the Leader,” their morning song permeating the waking wood with sweet music. Traces of morning dew evaporated off the leaves of the tall surrounding trees. The lingering smell of smoke filled the air, the burnt remains of the large green dragon still smoldering down in the clearing far below.
Lloyd Stealle stood on the upper floor of the Darkwoods monolith, gazing out the wide-arched window that faced the eastern horizon. The young warrior had relieved Martan halfway through the night, taking up the second half of the overnight watch.
They all had agreed on this necessary precaution, especially after the surprise appearance of the large green dragon the night before. Furthermore, there was no telling if, or when, the other larger green dragon would make its reappearance. Yet the night had passed quietly, the morning sun now on the rise as the surrounding forest woke up for another day.
Lloyd circled around the top floor of the monolith, scanning the area through all four windows—yet all he saw was a peaceful ocean of green treetops spread out before him, ending to the north and west in a jagged wall of tall black peaks. It was the beginning of a beautiful sunny day, with clear blue skies in every direction.
As the young warrior returned to the east window, something caught his eye. There was a tiny black speck on the horizon, far off in the distance, that hadn’t been there a few minutes before. He wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, but after a while, the spec appeared to grow in size. Whatever that is, it’s headed this way.
Lloyd squinted his eyes, his immediate concern that the spec was the returning ancient green dragon. Yet he saw no hint of green from the object in the bright morning sun. Still, whatever it was, it continued to grow larger. Lloyd got the sense that whatever it was, it was fairly big. I better go tell the others.
The young warrior climbed up the short flight of stairs, to the floating dais above the monolith’s central pillar, and spoke the word that made the disc magically descend to the sub-basement.
Glolindir’s eyes snapped open—once again he was in his blankets on the floor of the wide oval chamber that had once served as Larketh’s living room. The room was di
m, lit only by the golden flames of the small fireplace that magically never went out.
Two darkened forms lay in blankets next to him—Elladan and Donnie, if he remembered correctly. Martan and Cyclone were both curled up in chairs near the fire, while the two squires, Syndir and Lamorn, lay strewn across either side of the long couch.
This time, however, Glo immediately knew what had stirred him from his elven trance—the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell at the other end of the room. Someone was charging down those spiral stairs at breakneck speed. The loud noise had woken the others as well. A loud clapping noise sounded next to Glo, the lights in the room flaring to life.
Elladan sat next to him, the bard’s hands firmly clasped together. Donnie and Martan swiftly scooped up their weapons, and rushed over toward the base of the stairs. A moment later, Alana came bursting out of the bedroom, sword in hand as she hurried to join the others. Elistra, trailing behind her, cried out, “What is it this time?”
Cyclone, still sitting in his chair, rubbed his face with his hands and grumbled, “They’re all nuts. It’s probably just Lloyd…”
As if on cue, the warrior’s voice cascaded down the stairwell. “Don’t worry, it’s only me!”
Cyclone sat back in his chair, and folded his arms across his chest. “Told ya.”
Glo, Elladan, Donnie, and Martan all exchanged an embarrassed glance, the latter two lowering their weapons. As Lloyd spilled out of the spiral stairwell, Cyclone gave him a dark stare. “You better have a good reason for waking me so early.”
Lloyd stopped at the base of the stairwell and bent over, his hands on his knees as he huffed to catch his breath. “Some… some… something’s coming…”
Elladan cast a quick glance at Glo, a single eyebrow raised, then pushed forward through the others. “What do you mean, something’s coming?”
Lloyd took a deep breath, and stood back up. “There’s something headed… this way… something flying… something big.”
Glo felt a chill run up his spine. Could it be the other dragon? The huge green one?
Elladan spun around, his eyes sweeping from Glo to Elistra, his anxious expression mirroring Glo’s thoughts. “We better go and have a look.”
Glo swept his eyes across the room, seeing grim faces all around. They had been lucky in their battle with the first green dragon. The chances of fooling another dragon into an equally compromising position were slim at best. Alana gave Elladan a nod.
“You go on ahead—the rest of us will gear up.”
The lady knight spun on her heel and marched swiftly back toward the bedroom, motioning for her squire, Syndir, to follow. At the same time, Cyclone pushed himself out of his chair, and pulled out his pieces of armor.
“Wait one moment, and I’ll join you,” Donnie declared, rushing back over to his blankets to fetch his vest and sword belt.
Glo shifted his gaze toward Martan. “Can you join us as well? Your eyesight is probably the best out of all of us.”
Martan gave him a dubious look. “I’m not so sure about that, but I’ll come if you want me to.”
The archer went to gather the rest of his gear. Meanwhile, Elistra strode quietly up to Glo and whispered softly to him. “I’m going to stay here and meditate on this. Please be careful up there.”
Glo gazed down into those bright violet eyes and saw the genuine concern in them. He grasped the seeress by the hands and gave her a warm smile. “I promise.”
Elistra gave him a small smile back, then stood on her toes, and kissed him soundly on the lips. It was a short kiss, but Glo’s head swam from it nonetheless. The seeress then pulled away, went over to a chair, sat down crossed-legged, and firmly shut her eyes. At that point, Donnie and Martan returned.
“Ready,” the rapier-toting elf announced to them.
Lloyd and Donnie led the way, with Glo and Elladan next, Martan bringing up the rear. As they swiftly ascended the spiral stairs, Glo silently wondered to himself if they would survive this day.
When they reached the top of the monolith shaft, Lloyd led the way to the eastern arch, the others following close behind. The “speck” was now noticeably larger. In fact, in the short time it had taken him to get the others, it had grown large enough to clearly see its shape—it appeared to be a ship, floating in the air.
“An airship!” Donnie exclaimed, his voice filled with wonder.
Lloyd had heard of airships before, but he had never seen one. This one was close enough now that you could definitely see the shape of its hull. It did not appear very different from a sea-faring vessel, but there were no masts or sails visible above the deck. Instead, there was a bright blue pulsing ring of energy that encircled the ship, close to the aft. Lloyd was familiar with how the ring worked, his mother, the High Wizard of Penwick, having explained it to him. Yet now that Lloyd actually saw an airship, it brought more questions to his mind. His face scrunched up as he shifted his gaze to Glo. “Can you explain something to me?”
Glo’s eyes remained fixed on the airborne craft. “You want to know about the ring?”
Lloyd shook his head. “No, I already know that. The blue ring is powered by a great air elemental—the ring spins like a giant propeller, pushing the ship through the air.”
Glo responded with a slow nod. “That’s basically it. So, what is it you want to know?”
“Well…” Lloyd hesitated, feeling foolish about even asking the question. After a moment’s deliberation, he took a deep breath and plowed ahead, the words practically spilling from his mouth. “…even with the power of a great air elemental, how does something that big stay airborne in the first place?”
Glo finally turned to face Lloyd, a slight laugh escaping the wizard’s lips. “That is a good question. If the craft were made of normal wood, it would never even lift off the ground.”
“You need special wood,” Elladan said from behind him. Lloyd spun his head toward the bard, and saw the half-smile on his face. “The wood has to have magical properties that makes it lighter than air. That’s how airships float in the first place.”
Lloyd reached up and scratched his head. “Magical wood? Is that even a thing?”
Elladan let out a short laugh. “It is… and don’t feel too bad, Lloyd. It’s not exactly common knowledge.”
Lloyd was still digesting this new information about ‘magical wood’ as he turned his gaze back toward the airship. The vessel was nearer now, but still appeared to be a few miles away. Lloyd narrowed his eyes, scanning the vessel for any markings that would indicate its name, or point of origin, but he could see none. “I wonder what fleet it belongs to?”
Martan, quiet up till now, chimed in. “It’s running a purple flag with a golden design of some sort, but I can’t see what it is from this distance.”
Lloyd gave the archer an appreciative nod. “Good eye, Martan. I can barely see the flag from this distance.”
Glo commended the archer as well, then steepled his hands together in front of his mouth. His expression grew more pensive with each passing second. “Well, wherever they’re from, the next question is, what are they doing out here?”
No one had an immediate answer. It was Donnie who broke the short silence. “Well, I don’t know why they’re out here, but it sure looks as if they are heading straight for us.”
Lloyd returned his attention to the airship. Sure enough, the sandy-haired elf was right. The airborne vessel had altered its course, and was now headed directly for the monolith. Elladan leaned forward, his eyes glued to the approaching craft. “I think it best we find out their intentions.”
Glo shifted his gaze to the bard and eyed him curiously. “And just how do you plan to do that?”
Elladan spun his head toward Glo, and gave the elven wizard a sly wink. “I’m going to send them a note.”
Glo arched an eyebrow, but listened in earnest to the bard’s idea. A short while later, Elladan had scribbled out a message on some parchment, and handed it over to Glo.
Lloyd skirted around behind the tall elf, gazing over the shoulder not occupied by Raven. The errant bird had reappeared a day earlier, once the green dragon had been dispatched. She had not left Glo’s side since.
Lloyd completely understood how the fearsome creature might have scared Raven away. The dragon had been huge from their perspective, so he could just imagine how large it appeared to the tiny bird. Lloyd gave Raven a brief smile then glanced at the note the bard had crafted.
Greetings to those in the approaching airship. If your intentions are peaceful, then please halt your approach to the monolith. We will gladly meet with you to parley in a neutral location. However, if your intentions are not peaceful, then be aware you are trespassing on territory belonging to the Baron of Ravenford, and will be dealt with accordingly.
Best Regards,
Elladan Narmolanya, Emissary of Ravenford
Lloyd glanced at Elladan skeptically. The Baron never sanctioned them to claim ownership of the monolith in his name, nor did he give them the right to act as his emissaries. Glo seemed equally concerned, the elven wizard arching an eyebrow yet again at the bard as he rolled up the parchment. “You sure you want to send this?”
Elladan placed a reassuring hand on the wizard’s shoulder. “Trust me, it’ll be fine.”
Elladan seemed quite sure of himself. Lloyd glanced at Donnie, but the slight elf merely shrugged. Martan remained quiet throughout the entire discussion. Glo hesitated a moment longer, then let out a deep sigh. “Very well.”
The wizard handed the parchment to Raven and spoke to her briefly in elvish. “Revia an i’ gwelu cair.”
The bird squawked once, then took off and winged her way across the sky toward the approaching airship. The black bird’s tiny form dwindled as it sped across the distance to the airborne vessel. Lloyd was watching her progress when a dark shape suddenly detached itself from the ship’s hull. He squinted his eyes, trying to determine the identity of the dark form. That looks like a…
