Chapter 10-4

Garkhen sighed. “Yet somehow, I doubt they have ships.”

Almonihah grunted in acknowledgment, but said nothing. After a moment's silence, Zakhin'Dakh screeched, I could fly more!

The half-bronze dragon patted his big friend on the flank. “Too far t' fly, Zakhin'Dakh. You'd get so tired your wings'd fall off 'nd we'd all drown.”

Zakhin'Dakh screeched in disappointment at this news. Garkhen gave the Ranger an odd look, wondering if he'd just got a glimpse of a sense of humor from the usually dour half-bronze dragon. But Almonihah's stoic expression revealed no hint of mirth that the Warder could see.

They spent quite some time in the yard, chatting. At last a pair of elven guards, in company with a human and a dwarf carrying a couple of sacks, approached the small group.

“The council's apologies, but their deliberations are taking... a considerable amount of time,” the dwarf announced. “While you wait, we have come with a meal.”

He and his human companion came up to the fence and lifted their sacks over it. Garkhen stood and walked over, accepting them with a quiet, “Thank you.”

“You'll be informed as soon as the council has come to a decision, but...” the dwarf looked up at the sun, already on its way down, “I would not count on that being today. Will you need bedding for the night?”

“I would appreciate whatever you can provide,” Garkhen stated.

Almonihah shrugged. “Don't need it. 'nd Zakhin'Dakh's fine with th' ground, too.” The griffon nodded in agreement with a cheerful chirp.

“Right, well, we'll see what we can scrounge up. Not exactly used to friendly visitors here, not least... ones so unusual,” the dwarf said, seeming a bit embarrassed. With that, he waved a farewell, and he and his companions went back to their business in the village.

The sacks held simple fare—some fruits and nuts from the village, and a fair-sized piece of meat that was enough to make Zakhin'Dakh content for the time being. After their meal, Almonihah stood up and started going through combat drills while Zakhin'Dakh watched. Garkhen was... less than enthused about this activity, but when none of the villagers seemed concerned by it, determined it was better than the restless pacing Almonihah sometimes resorted to while waiting, and settled down himself to watch and rest.

Near sunset, the same pair came with a couple sacks of ferns (“Sorry, the best we can do on short notice like this.”) for bedding, then left the three friends again. Garkhen arranged them as comfortably as he could in the small building after the sun finished setting. Zakhin'Dakh settled down in the grassy yard and soon fell asleep, and Almonihah propped himself up against a corner and shut his eyes.   

********************************

Yep, just a quiet, short section while I work on homework. 

Chapter 10-3

After a moment of shock, the other councilors all burst out into arguments at once, their voices blending into a cacophony of senseless noise. After another moment, it died down, as discipline overcame their first instincts to object.

Once they had restored order among themselves, the louder of the two humans said, “Perhaps it would be best to discuss this in more... comfortable environs. It is clear we must at least allow these... people into our village.”

The other councilors nodded in agreement, and soon the elves who had watched them on their way here materialized out of the forest around the three friends to guide them in less hostile fashion. For all this, though, there was much mistrust in their gazes as the odd group made its way through the jungle.

Almonihah watched those around him with equal mistrust. He knew they'd been ready to shoot him just a few minutes ago, and he didn't doubt they'd be just as willing to do it now if their leaders decided they should. He just wondered why they were all elves when half of the councilors hadn't been—maybe only the elves came out to hunt?

The Ranger also noted the way these elves moved. Zrathanzon was half-elf, and so the half-bronze dragon had learned something of elves from his mentor. But these elves were not like any Almonihah had seen or heard of before. The elves he knew of were lords and ladies, or merchants and craftsmen, or farmers and laborers. These... they moved like the jungle was the only home they'd ever known. Were they natives of this island? And if so, why did they differ so much from their kin on the mainland?

Garkhen caught none of this, but he did watch how the councilors spoke among themselves. It seemed that the female elf held some seniority or authority above the others, but that did not mean they agreed with her. The non-elves seemed to be arguing the hardest—including the dwarf, in contrast to his comparative quiet earlier. But he didn't know who was arguing for which point.

Zakhin'Dakh didn't really understand what was going on. He thought these other people were threatening his friends, but they weren't fighting, so he guessed everything was okay.

It took a couple more hours before they reached their destination. It was heralded first by a thick layer of underbrush, which their guides led them through in an odd pattern that Almonihah realized was probably done to hide tracks.

At last they broke out of the underbrush and came face-to-face with a rough stockade. The front of their group was already entering a nearby gate, and their guides soon led the three friends in behind them. Behind the stockade was a village of surprising size, its homes oddly elegant compared to the rough nature of the stockade protecting them. They still had a certain roughness to them, but the wood was carefully worked and closely fit.

Almonihah and Garkhen were led over to a small building with a large, fenced yard.

“You will stay here while the council deliberates,” one of their guards told them. “You may stay in the yard,” he added, looking at Zakhin'Dakh.

The griffon, pleased at being addressed individually, perked up and nodded his head with a cheery chirp, then jumped over the fence and settled down in the yard. Almonihah followed, while Garkhen went inside the building.

He came out to join his two friends after a few moments. “It is empty,” the Warder stated. “I do not think they intend for us to stay long.”

Almonihah shrugged. “Don't really want t' stay.”

Garkhen nodded. “Indeed. I only hope that they will aid us, for we are in sore need of help.”

The Ranger snorted. “Could say that.”

**************************

Sorry for missing the post last week! I'm still getting my schedule for this semester figured out. I'm rather looking forward to being done...

Chapter 10-2

Try as he might, Almonihah could catch only glimpses of their captors. He could tell they were all around his friends as they led them through the jungle, but they moved like they were part of the trees. All that Garkhen or Zakhin'Dakh could keep track of was the voice ahead of them, telling them which way to go.

Eventually they stopped, in a patch of jungle that seemed much like the others.

“You will wait here,” their guide said, still concealed in the underbrush ahead of them, “While I go and inform the council of your presence.”

And with that, he was gone. They waited for a long, tense time... maybe an hour, Almonihah guessed. At last someone returned... and this time they showed their faces.

A small party of people—three elves, two humans, and even a dwarf—emerged from the jungle. The elves moved like their brethren, unseen and unheard until they chose to reveal themselves. The other three... well, they weren't as bad as Garkhen or Zakhin'Dakh, but the elves certainly put their skills to shame.

“Well!” The dwarf exclaimed as he made his way into view. “This is quite the little group, eh?”

“Well-armed, clearly dangerous,” one of the humans remarked, looking at the two half-dragons and the griffon suspiciously.

“The bronze one moves as if elf-trained,” one of the three elves commented—their guide, from his voice.

Another of the elves, the only female of the group, held up her hand as if to stop the discussion. “We will hear them out before making our judgments,” she firmly stated.

“Yes,” the third elf agreed. “What brings so unusual a group to our shores?”

“Javni'Tolkhrah,” Almonihah stated, flatly. “Madness-Touched. Big one attacked our ship, so we drew it off 'nd landed here.”

“Why didn't you return to your ship?” The suspicious human asked.

Almonihah glanced over at Garkhen. He didn't really want to talk about it...

Garkhen sighed. “We carry something that we wish to destroy, which seems to attract such creatures.”

That caused some rapid discussion amongst the small group.

“We certainly don't want something like that here!” The suspicious human said, loudly enough for the three to hear.

The other human, quiet until now, spoke up. “And yet such a thing would hardly be less dangerous in the hands of the pirates.”

“I don't know, maybe it'd get some of them eaten!”

Things continued in this vein for a while, until the female elf again cut the rest of the group off. Once they were quiet, she turned to Garkhen.

“What is the nature of this item you carry?” She asked. “It seems we shall decide little without knowing more of it.”

“Dangerous,” Almonihah stated, scowling. “Not safe t' talk about.”

“It... has shown the ability to tamper with memories and desires, yes,” Garkhen said to his friend, “But I think speaking of it is safe, so long as we do not remove it from its protections.” He turned to the group questioning them. “We do not know its true nature, save that it is difficult to destroy and possessed of considerable chaotic powers. We know not how to destroy it, for which purpose we were going to the mages of Midport. And we have had no desire to experiment with its powers. But it seems capable of drawing the Madness-Touched to it of its own accord.”

“We have no more desire to bring trouble upon you than you have to receive it, but we have no way to safely dispose of it. I fear that, were it cast into the ocean or deep in the earth, it would twist the animals or the soil itself to its purposes. We must destroy it... we need only know how.”

Almonihah growled, unhappy at how much Garkhen had revealed... but it was too late now.

The six were silent for a long moment, taking in what the half-blue dragon had said. At last the elven woman looked at her companions. All nodded at her, though the louder human seemed reluctant.

She turned back to the three companions. “Then we must aid you.” 

**********************

Gasp! Help? But can they trust it? 

Chapter 10-1

Chapter 10: The Price of Shipping

“The ends do not justify the means, nor the means the ends. That the goal was righteous does not excuse evil deeds, nor do good deeds cover an evil heart.”

“And yet does this mean that evil deeds can never be done to stop a greater evil? My heart says no, but my mind...”

It wasn't long before Zakhin'Dakh wanted to hunt. Almonihah wanted to get further from where they'd been spotted, however, so he urged his friend to fly a little further.

When he spotted some prey below, however... there was no stopping him.

Almonihah kept a wary eye out for any pursuit while Zakhin'Dakh ate and Garkhen stretched his legs. He doubted anyone could follow them very quickly through that thick of jungle, but... it never hurt to be sure.

Zakhin'Dakh had just about finished eating when the Ranger heard a soft sound. He nocked an arrow and raised his bow... only to spot three arrows pointed at him.

“Your ears are keen, dragon-man,” an elven voice said. “But you are outnumbered, and our arrows fly true. Put down your weapons.”

Almonihah growled softly, and Zakhin'Dakh growled much more loudly. Looking around, Garkhen raised his hands.

“My friends, I do not think it wise to fight...”

Almonihah just bared his teeth in response... but slowly, he lowered his bow, and stored his arrow back in his quiver. Zakhin'Dakh kept a wary eye on all the arrows pointed at them, but he stopped growling.

“Now,” the elven voice said, “You will follow us, and we will see what we should do with you.”

********************

Yeah, a short post because I had too much fun with my time off. But hey, another cliffhanger! 

Chapter 9-6

Eating and resting felt good. In fact, it felt like maybe they shouldn't bother continuing on until the next day. After the terror and flight of the morning, all of them were rather exhausted. Even the normally energetic Zakhin'Dakh seemed to be drooping a bit. And thus, they decided to camp for the night, even though sunset was still hours away.

Soon Garkhen and Zakhin'Dakh fell asleep... but Almonihah forced himself to stay awake. They were, he reasoned, in a likely hostile locale where who-knows-what might be prowling the night. One of them, at least, had to stay awake and keep watch, and if the other two were too tired to do it, well, he'd have to. Maybe he'd wake Garkhen later in the night. But for now, he would pace about to keep himself awake, looking warily into the jungle with its noisy creatures as the last light of day faded from the sky.

He awoke with a start the next morning. At some point he'd given in to the desire to sit down for a moment... and fallen asleep himself. Almonihah stood up abruptly and looked over their little campsite. Zakhin'Dakh and Garkhen were still asleep... he checked his pouches. Everything seemed to still be in place.

Still wary, he walked the perimeter of their camp again, but still saw no signs of nighttime intrusions. He was just about to relax slightly when his sharp ears picked up something that didn't blend in with the bird calls and other sounds of the jungle around him.

Voices in the distance.

He ran over to Garkhen and rapped on his armor (he'd slept in it!), urgently whispering, “Get up!”

While his fellow half-dragon awoke, Almonihah hustled over to his griffon friend and similarly woke him. In a few moments, the three were all awake, huddled together at the center of the clearing.

“People coming. Should get away from here,” Almonihah stated.

“Because they are likely pirates?” Garkhen surmised, then sighed. “We cannot evade them forever if we wish to get off this island.”

“Still not a good time t' meet them,” Almonihah asserted.

What those? Zakhin'Dakh interjected inquisitively.

“Pirates are... bad people. Who kill other people t' take their stuff,” Almonihah replied, after a moment's thought.

The big griffon growled deep in his chest. Not kill you. Me kill if try.

“Going t' fly away for now,” Almonihah stated, as he started getting Zakhin'Dakh's saddle ready. “Don't know 'f there are too many t' fight, and don't want to.”

“But at some point, we shall have to,” Garkhen added.

It took only a few minutes to break camp, and they were soon airborne again. Behind them they heard shouts of alarm, but they soon faded behind them as Zakhin'Dakh sped away. 

************************

Yeah, neither Almonihah nor Zakhin'Dakh know the Great Eagle word for 'pirate'. :D

Hope everyone had a good Christmas! I should figure out Draezolnian religious festivals sometime. Hmmm...

Chapter 9-5

Once he was satisfied no danger would immediately attack them, Almonihah turned back to his two friends. “Not going t' pass out again, Garkhen?”

Garkhen shakily got to his feet. “No... I think I am well enough off,” he stated, though his voice seemed uncertain.

The half-bronze dragon walked over to Zakhin'Dakh. Are you okay?

The big griffon screeched quietly. I hurt everywhere.

Almonihah looked him over as Zakhin'Dakh also stood. “Nothing's broken that I see,” he stated, patting the griffon lightly on a leg. “Just bruised.”

“We are... fortunate,” Garkhen stated as he carefully walked over to join them. “I doubt I could channel much healing power in my present state, and we are far from any aid.” He paused, then added more quietly, “I pray the ship survived.”

Almonihah nodded. “Well... got t' find a way off this island,” he said, after another long moment of silence.

“Indeed,” Garkhen agreed. “And given the name of this place, I doubt any others we meet here will be friendly.”

“Pirates 'll have ships, though,” Almonihah replied. “Won't want t' let us use one, but they'll have 'em.”

“Yes...” Garkhen trailed off, thinking.

“Better start walking,” Almonihah said, after waiting briefly for Garkhen to continue. “Don't think we can do much here.”

Walking good now, Zakhin'Dakh added. Wings tired.

“Think we're both grateful for your tired wings, Zakhin'Dakh,” Almonihah said as he led the way into the jungle.

Traveling through the dense underbrush of the jungle's edge was slow going for the little group—particularly Zakhin'Dakh. Almonihah could only hope there wasn't anything hostile nearby, for the massive griffon was making enough noise making his way though the vegetation to tell anyone for miles around they were there.

Well, perhaps that wasn't true. The jungle was scarcely a quiet place. The calls of birds, monkeys, and stranger beasts filled the air, and the three friends were scarcely the only ones disturbing the underbrush (though most other movements nearby seemed to be going away from them). The Ranger paid close attention to the sights and sounds of their surroundings, thinking that he'd have to hunt for at least Garkhen here, given that they'd hardly packed for a jungle expedition. Hopefully Zakhin'Dakh could hunt for himself, though...

They fought their way through the jungle for hours. Finally they reached a clearing. Almonihah looked over at Garkhen, who was clearly fatigued.

“You stay here. Zakhin'Dakh 'nd I 'll go hunt.”

Hungry! Zakhin'Dakh agreed.

Garkhen nodded, too tired to wish to speak much, and sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree while the other two took off.

They returned a while later with half of some sort of hoofed mammal. It was... sort of like a deer, and Zakhin'Dakh had enjoyed the half he'd eaten, so Almonihah figured it would do for himself and Garkhen. The griffon set the other half down as the two hunters landed. Almonihah set about starting a fire and cleaning and dressing the remaining... beast. He, at least, had a few useful things in his belt pouches, and he could cram some cooked meat in them after they'd eaten their fill. 

*******************

Yeah, sometimes even adventurers have to do boring things like get food. :D

Chapter 9-4

The next moments were a blur of noise and chaos. Men stabbed and chopped at tentacles with spears, axes... whatever they had on hand. They seemed to do little more than annoy the beast, which responded by seizing them and pulling them underwater or crushing the life out of them before tossing them aside. The ships' mage somehow managed to stay clear of the tentacles, but even his spells hardly seemed to slow the beast.

Garkhen, meanwhile, was chanting as swiftly as he could, putting every ward on the ship possible. He had nothing that could hold the beast back, nothing that could save the sailors from being snatched by tentacles... but he could keep the ship in one piece for just a few moments longer.

Just... a few... more... seconds...

Almonihah had taken off, his unsteady flight betraying his lack of practice with his wings. But he had such a huge target that wavering about in midair hardly mattered for his aim. Not that his arrows seemed to phase the massive creature. He caught a brief glimpse of Tirel in tiger form, dangling in midair as he held on to a tentacle with his teeth, but then he lost sight of the Wyre again.

Zakhin'Dakh was also in the air, darting in to slash at a tentacle here and there when he could, then flying back out of reach. His talons, at least, seemed to do actual harm to the monstrosity, but it simply had so many tentacles.

Almonihah growled deep in his throat. This was hopeless. There was no way out. Everyone on the ship was going to die, and he and Zakhin'Dakh... well, unless they could make it to that Pirate Isle...

The amulet, he muttered to himself, coming to a sudden realization. This thing was probably a Javni'Tolkhrah. And that meant...

Zakhin'Dakh! He yelled out in Great Eagle. Get Garkhen!

Unquestioning, the huge griffon looked for a break in writhing mass of tentacles. Finding one, he dove down, weaving between death and danger to his other friend. With a loud shriek, he plucked the half-blue dragon up off of the deck, then flew back upwards.

It was clear he had the beast's attention now. Garkhen only just barely had time to process what had happened before he saw tentacles closing in on them from all around. With a quick spell-prayer, he summoned up a ward. He couldn't hold it for more than a brief moment... but a brief moment was enough them to break through to clear air.

Almonihah was there waiting for them. We have to take the Amulet away from here! He shouted in Draconic.

Garkhen gasped in sudden understanding. “But where shall we go?”

See land! This way! Zakhin'Dakh shrieked, guessing that he was being helpful. He started flying to the west.

“Prob'ly that Pirate Isle they were talking about,” Almonihah commented, looking behind them.

The massive beast had, indeed, ceased attacking the ship in order to follow them. Zakhin'Dakh's flight was leaving it behind... but he was leaving the half-bronze dragon behind, as well.

Hey, Zakhin'Dakh, let me catch up, he called out.

The griffon looked behind, saw he was leaving his friend behind, and slowed down until Almonihah could reach him and get in his saddle. Then they flew off westward, thunder rumbling behind them.

A griffon can see far across the sea, and it turned out the island Zakhin'Dakh had seen was quite distant. By the time they were nearing its shores the griffon was struggling to stay in the air, and Almonihah had gotten off to fly alongside him to lighten his load.

The island did not look particularly hospitable. Two low cone-shaped mountains, cracked and topless, trickled smoke into the steely-gray sky, while waves crashed on craggy shores below them. Between the two a dense jungle grew, dark and threatening under the stormy skies.

It was towards this jungle that Zakhin'Dakh directed his tired flight. He practically crashed rather than landed, sending Garkhen sprawling on the ground to his side while the big griffon came to a stop, panting heavily. Almonihah landed next to them, warily looking about for danger.

But for now... all was quiet, save for the crash of waves on cliffs behind them. They'd lost sight of the beast sometime as they'd flown... but none of them doubted it was out there, waiting...

***********************

Yeah, bad day. Sorry this is a week late--last week I was writing an academic paper instead of for fun.

And no, you don't get to know what happened to Tirel just now. >: D