Zookie glanced in the direction of the noise while LT scooted to Zookie’s other side, away from it. He hadn’t meant to start a formal dialogue. He just wanted to convince the creature to let them leave.
“A forest protector is always a friend to the Great Lizards.” He hastily bent his front legs and lowered his head in a short bow.
The dryad dipped his head in a return bow. He glanced out into the forest again. “I am inclined to believe you. I trust if I help you now at great risk to my forest, the kindness will be remembered.”
Zookie nodded. “We Great Lizards have long memories.”
Satisfied, Ferne nodded, too.
“Great!” LT squeaked. “Can we get out of here now?”
“This way,” Ferne said. “My monkeys will hinder the trolls’ advance as much as they can.” He hurried to Lena.
Woody looked at his friends with a proud look on his face. Zookie told himself to remember to congratulate him on figuring out the dryad’s trick later. For now, they needed to get out of there!
Ferne walked past the still dazed Lena. He snapped his fingers and the distant look faded from her eyes.
“I’m hungry,” she said loudly.
“Shush, the trolls are coming,” Zookie said. “You ride on my back and no talking.”
“But—” Lena started.
“Woody, you stay with Ferne,” the dragon said over her. “LT, stay with me. Tim, smash anything that gets too close.”
“Who put you in charge?” LT complained.
“Let’s go!” Zookie said, ignoring him.
The group squeezed into the trees, trying to keep up with the dryad. His small size and familiarity with the forest allowed easy movement for him. Several moments passed before the sound of pursuit changed. The trolls’ grunts and growls changed to howls of frustration. The monkey creatures were doing their job well.
“How far until we get out?” Zookie asked, his sides streaked with glowing purple.
The little creature didn’t respond. His little legs carried him quicker than Zookie thought possible. The dryad darted in and out of the trees, disappearing from sight often.
“Well, then…” Zookie snorted, hoping the dryad hadn’t tricked them. “Hold on, Lena. I’m climbing a tree.” He skidded to a stop.
“Climb a tree?” LT panted, pulling up beside him. “Why?”
“Un,” Tim grunted.
“I need to get a better look,” Zookie replied. “We can’t outrun them forever.”
“You’re just giving them time to catch up!” LT yelled.
“Un!” Tim insisted.
“Not now, Tim,” LT said.
“Un, un!”
Up to that point, Zookie had only heard one syllable grunts from the cyclopes. The double grunt was enough to catch his attention. Tim pointed up through the trees. Far overhead, a hole in the cave ceiling offered a view of the stars in the night sky.
“That’s our way out?” LT demanded.
Zookie growled in frustration. If only he could fly, he’d be able to fly Lena and Woody up to the hole. LT, he thought he could manage. Tim would be a problem, though.
But, he couldn’t fly. Angry puffs of smoke bellowed from his nostrils.
“How are we goi—whoa!” LT screamed as all four of his paws lifted from the ground. “Help! Help!” He flailed around like he was trying to swim back down to the ground. It didn’t help. He kept rising above the trees.
Tim also lifted off the ground with a grunt, the wood elf wrapped around a thick ankle.
“Me next!” Lena yelled. She stood up on Zookie’s back and raised her arms, ready to fly.
Instead, Zookie felt his weight leave him and his paws start lifting from the ground. He fought the urge to dig his claws into the ground to try to stop himself from floating up with the others.
The group rose higher, heading towards the hole in the cave ceiling. LT twisted around in the air, kicking his paws until he looked down and he stilled. “Whoa,” he breathed, his eyes going wide.
Below them, the trolls, hundreds of them spread out all among the glowing trees.
“They didn’t see us, did they?” Zookie asked LT, glancing at him.
LT didn’t answer, his jaw hanging loose. “So many of them…” the tiger said softly.
“We’re glowing targets,” Lena said a large grin on her glowing purple face.
Sure enough, they were glowing targets. It didn’t take long for the trolls to notice them. They started throwing spears, rocks, and sometimes each other, at the group in the air, but they were too far away. The weapons were well short of the mark and fell down among the gathering trolls below them.
Zookie turned to watch the circle opening come closer. So close to freedom.
The trolls swarmed the area. The ugly creatures shook fists and ragged weapons.
Lena poked Zookie between the shoulders. He turned to see her face split in a grin. “Watch this.” She wiped some of the purple glow from her arm with a finger and stuck it in her mouth.
“That’s gross,” Zookie complained. “Don’t do that.”
She grinned wider before she pursed her lips together and spit. The glowing glob flew down like a monster raindrop. It hit its mark, spattering in a troll’s eye. The thing flew to the ground like he had been hit by an arrow. Lena through her hands in the air as they neared the hole in the ceiling.
“Two points!” she called out.
Zookie grinned and shook his head, watching the angry trolls until the group rose through the hole into a dark night sky. They continued up another five feet before floating to the side of the hole and dropping to the ground.
Lena tried to jump off Zookie’s back right as they landed. All she managed was to fall on her backside. “Oof!”
As they watched, large rocks skittered across the ground like they were carried by super strong bugs. They crawled into the hole, somehow holding on to the sides and then on each other until the hole was filled in and invisible to sight.
That last thing Zookie saw before the hole closed was Ferne floating above his forest. He waved and nodded his head. The last rock fell into place before Zookie could acknowledge him.
Chapter 17
The group stood around and stared at the spot where the hole had disappeared. Except for Lena, who stood up and looked at the wrong spot in wonder.
“That was strange,” Zookie said. “I didn’t know dryads were so powerful in magic. He just lifted us up like we were nothing.”
“At least you got a chance to fly,” LT snorted.
Zookie ignored the sting the joke had caused and looked around. They were in a deep and rocky valley, surrounded by tall cliffs and not much vegetation. Stars twinkled in the dark sky high above the cliffs. At least the clouds had moved on for the moment.
“I have no idea where we are,” the dragon said.
“Great,” LT muttered and flopped down. He was tired, hungry, thirsty, and not in a good mood. “What do we do now?”
“Find water,” Zookie said. “We can wash this purple stuff off, get a drink, and decide from there.”
Their glowing provided more light in the area they stood than the stars did.
“Un,” Tim agreed, licking his lips.
“And where do we get water?” LT asked. The ground all around them was rocky and barren. Not a hint of moisture in sight.
Zookie scanned the area before pointing with a wing a little further up the cliff face. “I’ll go up there to get a better view. Valleys like this are usually created by a river or something.”
As the dragon bound up the cliff, using his wings to steady himself, LT grumbled and folded his paws. He rested his large head on them. “I knew that dragon was trouble when he first jumped on me to try to eat me.”
“Un,” Tim said.
“I should have let you eat him,” LT replied.
“Un,” the cyclopes muttered.
“He wasn’t going to eat either of you,” Lena said. “He was just trying to scare y
ou. He likes to play tricks. Don’t you, Tim?”
“Un,” Tim agreed.
“Some trick,” the tiger said.
“You’re a real stick in the mud,” Lena said, sticking out her tongue at LT.
The tiger lifted his head and peeled back his lips to show his teeth. “And you’re annoying.”
“Psht!” Lena hissed. “I’m fun is what I am! Everybody likes me.”
“Oh, really?” LT sat up and twitched his tail in annoyance. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how the little dragon looks at you.”
Lena frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“There are times it looks like he doesn’t know if he should abandon you somewhere or eat you.”
“You’re just being silly,” Lena insisted.
“Am I? Tim?”
“Un,” Tim mumbled, noncommittal.
“Woody?”
The wood elf remained quiet and refused to meet any of their eyes.
“What did I do to him?” Lena asked, sounding legitimately shocked.
“I don’t know, but maybe you should think about cutting out all the silliness.” LT laid back down and eyed the girl in the dark.
Lena stared at him for a moment before shuffling away a few paces. The way she glowed, she was easy to keep track of in the dark. A sniffle came from her direction. Woody stood and cast a glare at LT before walking towards Lena.
LT huffed. It served her right for being annoying all the time. Well, she wasn’t that annoying. Just sometimes. He had to admit she kept things interesting…when their lives weren’t in danger, anyway.
Lena giggled at something Woody did and LT sighed. What was Zookie’s deal, anyway? The tiger rolled his eyes to look at the dragon perched on a rocky outcropping above them. At times, Zookie looked at the girl with something very close to hate, but he also had been really concerned for her safety when she was under the dryad’s spell. LT didn’t know any other dragons, but he decided they were weird. And temperamental.
Zookie launched himself off the rocks with his wings extended. He glided in a wide circle over the valley and towards the group. At some point, he must have noticed he was too low because he flapped his wings twice to gain a little more altitude before landing smoothly in the middle of the group.
The dragon stared at them with wide eyes. “Did you see that? I think I just flew a little.”
“A dragon who can fly,” LT said with sarcasm. “Imagine that. Congratulations, Little Dragon.”
The elation faded from Zookie’s face as he glared at LT. “I didn’t see any water. This valley must have dried up a long time ago.”
“Great,” LT groaned again.
“I think we should keep moving,” Zookie said. “We’re bound to figure out where we are and come across some water.”
“And which way do you suppose we go, oh fearless leader,” TL growled. Large, barren peaks jutted into the sky like old knobby fingers poking upwards.
“Which way is north?” Zookie asked, thinking hard. He twisted his head around.
Lena and Woody walked back to the group and they all scanned the night sky. Thick clouds were rolling back in, blotting out the stars.
“Maybe we should wait for morning,” LT suggested. “Knowing this group, one of you would probably walk right off a cliff or something.”
“Well if I can fly, that won’t be a problem, but okay,” Zookie said, turning to look at Lena.
“Fly!” she yelled, scrambled onto Zookie, and kicked his flanks.
“Are you going to carry us all then?” LT asked. “I mean since you’re an expert at flying now.”
“No,” Zookie said. “I’m still too small to carry you and Lena and Woody.” He paused. “And Lena, I want to try flying without passengers first.”
Lena huffed and scrambled off his back. She marched to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, her lower lip stuck out, barely visible in the dark.
Zookie yawned. “I’m going to sleep. Lena do you want to sleep with me under my wing?” He gave a hopeful look.
Lena thought a moment before shaking her head. Instead, she moved to cuddle close to Tim for warmth. Tim sat with his back against a cliff wall, leaning his head back and with his mouth hanging open. LT lay with his head on his paws, his eyes darting around until his eyelids started to droop.
Zookie stared at Lena for a long moment, clearly confused. He looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it. He lay down and wrapped his tail around his body. He soon fell asleep, his scaly body rising and falling in a slow rhythm.
LT eyed the group through half-open eyelids. Not for the first time, he wondered about the strange group. What had brought them together? It couldn’t have been chance. What kept LT with them? He had thought about leaving them many times but never did.
His eyes settled on the dragon.
Most importantly, what was Zookie hiding? Why was he so desperate to make it back to his home? And why did he keep the useless human girl around?
LT’s mind quickly wandered away from these questions as he thought about the glowing purple stuff on his fir. Was it obscuring his lightning marks?
He fell asleep.
Chapter 18
Ohmbryn waited for the others to fall asleep. The narcissistic tiger took a while, but even his eyes drooped closed and his breathing slowed to a slow, even rhythm. The little wood elf sat up and looked at the others to make sure none of them reacted to the movement. When they didn’t, he stood and slipped away into the darkness.
The terrain was rocky and uneven—nothing like his forest. Sure, the overgrown squirrel liked to claim the forest as his own, but the truth was it belonged to the wood elves. His fellows were notoriously unable to come to an agreement as who among them should lead, so they allowed the fluffy-tailed rodent to do it for them.
Regardless, the forest had a few obstacles here and there, but it was nothing like the rocky land he picked across. He circled boulders, jumped thin cracks in the ground, and stumbled over rocks he didn’t notice with his Nightsight.
Once he was certain he was far enough away from the group, he risked light. “Lumvyre,” he muttered. The tip of his hat began to glow softly. He glanced back the way he came before continuing on, more sure-footed.
Ohmbryn traveled another ten minutes or so before he decided he was safe enough for him to speak without being heard. He plucked the hat from his head, cupped his hands over the light and spoke a single word. “Trana.”
His eyes began to glow and his vision wavered. The rocky area around him shifted and blurred. In the next moment, he was looking at a dirty cave and furry paws lovingly caressing a large walnut.
“Squirrel,” Ohmbryn said in elvish.
The vision the wood elf saw jumped and quickly looked around the cave. “Who’s there? Where am I?”
“It’s Ohmbryn,” he replied. “You’re still in your cave, you dunce. You’re seeing through my eyes.”
“I—I knew that,” Chitty replied. “Who are you calling a—”
“I don’t think we should continue this mission,” the wood elf said. “They’re just kids. Even the big, ugly one.”
“You’re not paid to think!” Chitty replied.
“I’m not paid at all.”
“What do you call being allowed to have a home in my woods?”
Ohmbryn bit off a reply. He had disagreed with his wood elf clan’s elders when they decided to take the pompous squirrel up on his offer to be their leader, but he was just a kid himself at the time. They had refused to listen to him. Now they were kind of stuck with the squirrel.
“I don’t understand why you need to find the dragon’s mountain,” Ohmbryn said. “And where did you get the magic in this hat? It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. It feels dark…dirty.”
“You don’t need to understand!” Chitty snapped. “You just need to do what you’re told. Now, get out of my head!”
The magical connection broke and the wood elf was left s
taring out at the bleak, barren landscape around him. He glanced at the dark hat in his hands. What would happen if he just left it here? He could claim he lost it, but Chitty was too distrusting to believe that. He’d be kicked out of his home. Forced to wander the world alone. Would the dragons take him in?
He shook his head. The Great Lizards were friendly enough, but they were also notoriously private. Nobody knew the exact location of their mountain. Birds whispered that powerful magic surrounded the area, causing travelers to wander off course if they came too close. The fact that the little dragon, Zookie, was dragging them all along with him told of how desperate he was to return. Why, though?
He dismissed sticking around with LT if he was kicked out of his home in the Shadowed Forest. The tiger was almost unbearable. What about the girl and her giant? He liked her and thought she would take him in, but there was something strange about her. Granted, he had never met a human before, but the elders always told in their stories of the humans’ inability to grasp any language other than their common speak. How could Lena understand the dragon and tiger?
That question brought another to the wood elf’s mind. Could she understand elvish? Is she pretending to not understand him?
Ohmbryn stared hard in the direction of the camp. He knew he didn’t want to betray the odd collection of would-be friends, but he was too curious to abandon them. He was also too worried about living out the rest of his life alone, too.
Sighing, he stuffed the hat on his head and trudged back to where the group slept. He’d have to make a decision soon.
Chapter 19
The sun peeked over the mountains to the east, cutting through the clouds of the previous night. Zookie ignored it for as long as he could, but the light made it impossible to sleep any longer. He stood and gave himself a shake. Not that he felt like he wanted to be asleep right at that moment.
“Sometimes, I really don’t like dreams.”
“Un?” Tim asked.
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