Chronicles of Den'dra: A land on Fire

by Spencer Johnson

  “So it’s true… Why didn’t you come after me?” Urake grimaced at Cero’s question.

  “You made it very had to do so. I nearly lost the trail a dozen different times. By the way, what did you do to your trail in the dry creek bed in the Black Forest?”

  “That time I backtracked in my footsteps, then climbed up on an overhanging tree. How did you get past the creek?” Urake chuckled as he remembered the place where the trail had entered the water and come out three different places. Each of the resulting trails had returned to the water eventually.

  “That took a while to get past. It was a genius idea really.”

  “How far did you follow me? I think I saw you in the Draeld with Emeck, but that could have been a dream. I did remember seeing Emeck though. It wasn’t until I saw him here that I recognized him from the dream”

  “I actually met Emeck in the Black Forest about the time that I lost your trail. It was about the time that you were in Warton. We were able to follow you all the way to the south of the Draeld. We lost your train when we ran into the army.”

  “You ran into them too? How did you know that I was in Warton?”

  “Emeck was able to see you. He used a tailor that apparently sold you some cloths.”

  “What do you mean used? That tailor was weird. He just kind of froze and dropped a coin. I got out of there as fast as I could.”

  “The tailor was Emeck’s work. You, on the other hand, are apparently immune to his powers. We chased you all the way to the Draeld where we lost you again.”

  “Wait… Emeck made the tailor act like that?” Cero looked confused. “I thought that you were in the Black Forest.”

  “We were. Emeck is a scanner telepath. He can sense people at a distance. Every now and then, he was able to sense you.”

  “So he is Gifted?” Cero felt the familiar sensation of being watched and turned to see Emeck in a mighty attempt at focusing. “What is he doing?”

  “My guess is trying to break past your defenses.” Cero watched until Emeck gave up the attempt and wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow.

  “It’s incredible. You can block me out without even thinking about it. Not only that, I can see you standing there, but whenever I focus on you, I think I can sense you somewhere else although I can never put my finger on it. How do you do it?” Emeck joined the discussion animatedly.

  “I wasn’t aware that I was doing anything.” Cero watched Emeck shake his head.

  “He is rather talented. Back to what I was saying. When you saw us in the Draeld, Emeck was able to get a fix on your location. We found your trail again and followed you to the river with the stepping stones where we ran into the army. Where did you go from there?”

  “I went around the Sand Sea then up into the Outlands. After that, some guys in black robes started chasing me. One of them was able to throw fire. I think I fell and can’t remember what happened after that. The next thing I remember was being up in the Garoche Heights.” Cero intentionally lied about the part involving the dwarves and was mildly surprised when Urake didn’t press him on the point. He wasn’t entirely sure what he believed right now, but talking about an extinct race was not going to help.

  “We spent some time in the army then as guests of the elves. After that we came north then met up with the Princess. That about sums it up until you arrived.” When Cero didn’t make any response, Urake let the conversation fade and glanced over his shoulder at the travelers. The camp had already disappeared in the forest below. The mountain side was a little rocky with only an old trapper’s trail. Most places it was only the rocks having been nudged out of the way over the course of many passings. Other places melted into the landscape as the travelers chose different paths to surmount some obstacle.

  “I'm not sure, it is almost like I can sense a dragon is near, but I’ve been sensing it since yesterday afternoon.” Inadar confided in Torroth that her senses had been slightly tingling all morning.

  “And you still sense it?” Torroth glanced up to make sure that no one was eavesdropping.

  “That is what I said isn’t it? I think it is coming from that Cero kid.”

  “Kid? He is about the same age as you.” Torroth laughed as Inadar made a face.

  “Whatever, it was strongest when he was standing right next to me, I think.”

  “You think! What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I don’t know. He is just weird. His father is a famous assassin and he didn’t even know. Apparently he has been traveling around the Braebach by himself. Did you know that the taller dark haired one is Gifted?” Inadar had been hearing snatches of the conversation.

  “You are one to talk.”

  “Whatever, that makes two of us in this group. Isn’t that, like, dangerous? Won’t there be people trying to hunt us down?” Inadar indulged in an infrequent paranoid streak.

  “Inadar… everyone except for me in this group is Gifted.” Em’risi had spoken with Torroth before they had set out that morning. She had informed him about all the others as well as confirming that he was not Gifted himself. He could have cared less about not being Gifted, but he did feel uncomfortable being surrounded by people that he had helped to hunt in the past. Inadar fell silent again until sometime later she found herself again walking next to Cero. Focusing, she was able to narrow the faint emanation down to a bundle swinging on Cero’s waist. She was a little disappointed that she hadn’t discovered the other Dragon Lord yet was curious at the same time.

  “What is that, if you don’t mind me asking?” Inadar pointed at the well wrapped bundle.

  “I'm not sure. I found a dragon skeleton up in the mountains and this was there. I think there was a few others, but they were all broken. This is the only one not broken. Kind of pretty isn’t it?” Cero unwrapped the round stone and held it up to the early morning light.

  “It is. Can I see it?” Cero hesitated but handed it over anyways. Inadar held it up and was admiring the way the light made it glow when she heard Torroth gasp. “What is it?”

  “It was actually glowing. Not just because of the sunlight, but glowing.” Torroth took the stone and tried to replicate the effect, but for him it was opaque in the light.

  “Let me see.” Cero took the stone again and held it up. This time he had his back to the sun. The veins of clear crystal came to life with a light that shimmered and glowed.

  “It feels like when I can sense a dragon when you do that.” Mesmerized, Inadar let slip a dangerous truth while she watched the stone glowing.

  “When you sense a dragon?” The stone stopped glowing and Cero turned to Inadar who realized her mistake.

  “I mean it reminds me of a dragon.” Inadar desperately tried to backpedal.

  “So you have seen a dragon before?” Cero caught Inadar with his crystal blue eyes and she couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “What she means is that we have seen dragons before. In the distance.” Torroth came to Inadar’s rescue.

  “You lived on the western side of the Braebach? That’s the only place where the dragons still live.” Cero caught Torroth this time with his eyes and held him speechless.

  “In a book. We saw a picture in a book.” Inadar came to the rescue this time.

  “In a book in the distance.” This time Cero caught them both. Inadar tried to shake the overwhelming urge to tell the truth.

  “What is holding you up?” Urake appeared and rescued the both of them.

  “Nothing. We were just talking.” Cero smiled disarmingly.

  “Well, talk and walk. By the way, Aleest…! We are almost at the snow line. Elmet won’t be able to continue in the snow.” Urake caught up with the tamer a moment later.

  “That kid is weird. I almost told him everything.” Torroth watched Cero who was walking up the line while he replaced the strange glowing rock in the bag.

  “Would you believe that I almost did to?” Inadar scowled furiously.

  “Try to avoid speaking to him. Perhaps
his Gift is the ability to make people tell the truth.” They both watched as Aleest slid off his horse and gave it a fond hug before whispering something in its ear. Elmet gave a nicker and began trotting back down the trail towards the camp.

  “Its creepy how well trained that horse is.” Torroth muttered in disbelief as he watched the warhorse take a corner on the switchback.

  “Better keep up or I will be sending you back after the horse.” Urake warned Aleest one last time before the column began moving again. The going was considerably harder now that they had to break a train through the deepening snow. At first it wasn’t much work, but after a little while, they had to begin taking turns in the lead breaking a trail for the rest. Their pants were soaked before long. Aleest, as Urake had feared, was having the hardest time of it. He began lagging farther and farther behind while the softer hearted volunteered to take his place breaking trail. They stopped to catch their breath for a couple minutes and despite his evident fatigue, he struck out towards a stand of trees some distance away.

  “Aleest, this is just the beginning. It is only going to get harder from here on out.” Urake shouted the admonition to the lad who waved back in acknowledgement.

  “We would be doing him a favor by leaving without him. Ouch! What was that for?!”

  “You talked.” Arken was hunkered down on his heels next to Niman who for some reason refused to forsake the bigger man’s side.

  “Whatever, I haven’t said a word since we left the camp and you still don’t want me to talk?”

  “In case you hadn’t noticed you were talking again. Ah, ah…! You mouth is opening and usually after that you make talking noises.”

  "Give him a break Arken. He has been relatively quiet since we left. As for Aleest, I will have a talk with him when he gets back. It isn’t that much of a walk back to the camp from here." Urake hunkered down and looked the motley group over. Torroth and Inadar were off by themselves to one side sitting on their heels. Niman and Arken were glaring at each other on the other side. Arken was steaming wherever he was wet giving an indication of the passive use of his Gift. Emeck was gazing with a perplexed expression at the cluster of trees that Aleest had disappeared into. Cero was shaping a seat in the snow with his bare hands. Urake watched as he finished the seat and sat down. Oddly, his clothes weren't the least wet nor was his hands red from handling the snow. He didn't look chilled in any way.

  Everyone flinched as a deep rumbling growl drifted out of the stand of trees. Urake seized his bow while everyone except for Cero hurriedly jumped to their feet. A moment later and an enormous white bear broke out of the trees at a gallop. Urake notched an arrow and was about to let it fly when he noticed Aleest mounted on the beast's back. A couple of the other members of the party were not so observant and lost their courage when the bear drew closer. They stopped when they heard Aleest's laughter.

  "I told you that I could keep up." Urake shook his head at Aleest's comment.

  "You did not mention that you planned on taming a snow bear." The rest of the party, except for Cero who kept his place, chose to maintain a safe distance. When he did move, it was towards the bear who shied away. Aleest glanced up with a surprised expression.

  "He's afraid of you. I can't explain it. Kosovo says that your shadow is scary."

  "My shadow?" The sun had been direct for the first half hour or so after the first light, but now had risen behind the upper level clouds and shed a diffused light that all but obliterated shadows.

  "Ya, he says it is brighter than the snow in the sun.” Cero looked the bear over before backing away. Kosovo looked more at ease. When Urake announce the end of the rest period, Aleest took the lead. The big bear was able to effortlessly break a trail wide enough for two men abreast. This made it easier for the rest to follow. It took a bit before half the group was able to follow closer than fifty paces.

  “Cero, are you cold yet?” Urake asked as he looked Cero’s furs over and observed that only a little dry snow clung to his clothes.

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “For one, you were laying in the snow earlier.”

  “It felt good. Are you cold?” Cero looked up at Urake.

  “Now that you ask; I don’t feel cold, I should but I don’t.” Urake paused and bent down to inspect his boots and pant legs. There was melted snow, but it had frozen and flaked off when he brushed at it.

  “We should be freezing like the rest of them. Except for Arken which is expectable. Aleest looks comfortable on that giant bear. Niman and Torroth look cold, but Inadar looks fine…” Urake mused out loud.

  “I never get cold.” Cero commented as he watched their fellow travelers.

  “You never get cold, you can block Emeck out without any effort, and ferocious animals are terrified of you. What else can you do?”

  “I don’t know. It just happens. Weirder things happen when I get scared.” Urake didn’t press for more details so they walked on with only the sound of the snow crunching under their feet. When they reached one of the rock cliffs that broke up the snow fields, Kosovo turned to the one side and Aleest hollered back something about a way up the mountain further ahead. His prediction turned out to be in the form of a place where the cliffs shortened and dipped under the snow for a short space. The snowfield was steeper here and made climbing more difficult, but it beat lugging everything up a cliff.

  After achieving the top of the snow field, they found another ridge cutting across their path. This one was only a minor obstacle because it was more of a broken pile of rock jutting out of the snow. Kosovo, with Aleest riding comfortably, was the first to the top with Cero shortly behind. By now the bear had grown used to Cero’s “shadow”, as Aleest put it, so he didn’t more than watch Cero as he approached.

  “Can I touch him?” Cero stood a safe distance away waiting for a response.

  “Sure. I think your shadow went away because he isn’t afraid of you any longer.” Aleest slid down and watched as Cero cautiously approached. Kosovo only gave Cero a cursory sniff before settling back down and for all appearances going to sleep.

  “How do you do it?” Cero petted the course hair on Kosovo’s shoulder tentatively before taking a step back.

  “I just let him know that I didn’t want to hurt him. After that, it was only a matter of asking him to help me. He really is a friendly bear once you get to know him.”

  “That’s awesome. I wish I could do something like what you can.”

  “I don’t know. Your physical fitness is pretty awesome. If Kosovo hadn’t wanted to carry me up here, I would be back down there with them.” Cero looked down the slope and saw that Urake was in the lead, but everyone else was still only halfway up the ridge. He vaguely remembered having jogged up the hill so he could get a better look at Kosovo yet hadn’t thought of it as strenuous activity.

  “These kids are all show offs I tell you. I wish I was that young and energetic, but now that I think about it, I don’t think I was ever that energetic. We almost to the top?” Niman’s sudden stream of speech was prompted by the fact that he was a few paces ahead of Arken and out of reach.

  “Shut up!” Arken huffed in an irritated manner.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s annoying!”

  “Why is it annoying? Do I sound annoying or is it what I say that is annoying?”

  “Either one. I get annoyed every time I hear you.”

  “That is a rude thing to say. First, you save my life then you get mad…”

  “I'm beginning to think that saving your life was one of the worst decisions of my life!”

  “I'm shocked! How could you say that about another human being?”

  “SHUT UP!” Urake turned around when he felt the snow beneath his feet turn to slush at the same time a wave of heat made his exposed skin tingle.

  “Hey! Leave him be Niman. He could probably turn you to ash where you stand if he got mad enough.” Urake warned Niman who gaped at Arken in astonishment.

  �
��I can…? I mean, I can if I want to.” Arken recovered from his own surprise and tried to look down his nose at Niman. The effect was reduced by the fact that he had to look up the hill at his antagonist.

  “His power is making fire? How awesome is that! Wait, you told me that I was Gifted. What can I do?” Urake realized that a nagging urge to yell at someone disappeared as Niman’s mood suddenly lifted.

  “Yours is a little more complicated. I think it has something to do with healing people, but it also seems to infect them with your mood. Either Arken is more sensitive, or the rest of us are more skilled at blocking the effect.”

  “So what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Niman squinted at Urake as if he was expecting the man to laugh and say it was a joke.

  “Simply put, you are the most annoying individual that I have met and yet people feel better when they are around you. It is a paradox that I don’t care to explain further.” Urake shook his head and returned to climbing the hill.

  The rest of the day passed uneventfully without any more major obstacles obstructing their path. When the sun began to sink in the horizon, they came up on another bluff that sort of ran along their path. It didn’t take long to find a cave big enough for the party to fit inside comfortably. Kosovo elected to stay outside to the relief of most of the group. Cero unwrapped his rock and set it to glowing. With a little experimentation, he discovered that he didn’t have to be touching it to get the effect. It was possible to think about it and attain the same glow. Everyone tried the magic rock, but when anyone except Cero and Inadar touched it, the glow would fade and it would become as dark as any of the other rocks that littered the mountain side. With the light, everyone unpacked their bed rolls and ate what food they had that didn’t require much preparation. Aleest moved out with Kosovo and everyone else decided to get some sleep.

  Urake found himself wide awake after laying in his bedroll for hours. Getting up, he felt his way to the entrance of the cave where he could hear Kosovo snoring softly. Another figure was sitting in the gloom. Stars were hidden behind the clouds but it didn’t have the feel of a storm.