KiahleyDeborah: December 2012

So, this is a story I have been working on for a good while. I made it for my sister Caitlyn and am working on the other portions of it.

The Finding

Close to the border of Harinavin and Kinkar, a day’s journey from Exmoor

Zadok dismounted his speckled, dark gray pony, and proceeded to walk toward the cave that Jakin, his most trusted friend, had just pointed out to him.

“What are your thoughts about it Zadok?” Jakin inquired, his single eye calmly searching the landscape; growing dark with the setting sun.

Handing his ponies reins to Jakin, Zadok inspected the ground around the cave, and the entrance itself. “It looks as though nothing has passed this way in quite a while. It’s probably empty, unless it has a back entrance or something. It should be safe enough for all of us to stay just the night.”

Jakin nodded his agreement and proceeded to call out orders to the men, mishas, and occasional halfling, who made up their merchant caravan.

Zadok smiled at the sight of his friend, the only puh-hin in their caravan, calling out orders that almost sounded like requests with his perfect speech. At 4 feet and 2 inches, unless his cyclone-like horns were counted to add about a foot, he was smaller that most of the other workers, but he never let his height, or brilliant green skin tone, diminish his authority in any way.

His chuckles faded into an instinctive shudder as he turned to face the yawing maw of the cavern. Squaring his shoulders he shrugged of his prickly unease and boldly set forward through the looming darkness. Although, due to his Halfling heritage, other people, animals, trees, buildings and most anything usually loomed above him. Also after years of getting stepped on he had nimble feet that carried him safely through any mischief.

The calm stride he started with shrank to almost a tip-toe, as he entered the dark cave. With no trees to cast shadows, the setting sun lightly illuminated the cave for a good distance. Glittering stalactites and stalagmites jutted from the ceiling of the cave and floor like enormous cathedral pillars and the steady “drip…drip” of water was the only sound shattering the heavy silence. This place seemed to have a story begging to be told as was evidenced by paintings on the walls and broken arrows and blades littering the ground. As he peered closer at one of the drawings, the sun finally slipped below the horizon and with the loss of the gentle illumination the cave suddenly began to feel downright foreboding. Zadok came to a curve in the cave pathway he was taking and found and oh so conveniently placed walls sconce with a weathered torch. He made quick work of lighting it with his trusty flint and tinder that a certain blonde hobbit maid had given him for his last birthday. “How Kay-Tee would tease me for fearing the darkness” he sighed wistfully and immediately berated himself for being so foolish as to broadcast his position to any unwelcome ears.

Looking back one last time at his swarming camp and the twilight evening dotted with fireflies, he gathered his courage and continued on until he came to a rather spacious chamber that, unbeknown to him, contained the potential to shape his future forever.

A large hole in the roof of the cave fed a beam of light to the floor of the otherwise dark area. What he saw caused all breath to leave his lungs and a chill to creep down his spine.

There, lying in the center of the floor was an abnormally large skeleton: the skeleton of a dragon.

Zadok took a moment to calm down and catch his breath. Never before had he encountered a dragon, even just the skeleton of one was fearsome to behold. As a child he had hungrily clung onto every word of the tales of the beasts he had heard from traveling storytellers. Tales of woe and ruin, of princess sacrificed to save their people and of brave heroes who risked all to rescue the fair ladies and restore kingdoms. With all of these thoughts churning in his mind like the winged steeds of mishas, his awe and trepidation of the reptile was nearly overcome by his eagerness. He slowly made his way down the side of the bowl-like dip in the floor. As the distance closed between the halfling and skeleton, his courage grew.

Once he reached the bottom of the chamber, he boldly approached the skeleton. One hand remained on his scimitar, in expectation of any hidden horrors. His foot tapped something small and pointed, causing him to halt his approach and glance at the ground, not quite sure what to expect.

Bending down he picked up the most interesting dagger he had ever laid eyes upon. The handle was the head and neck of an ivory dragon with rubies for eyes, leading down to a set of wings for the hand-guard. The removal of the ruby-adorned, ivory sheath, revealed a fiery, crimson red blade that curved down smoothly to a sharp point.

He gazed at the magnificent craftsmanship that this dagger embodied. The minute details were the work of skilled hands.

Zadok gazed up at the skeleton, pondering the reason that the only item to be found was this dagger. Under normal circumstances, a dragon’s cave would have a hoard of valuable items. He gazed at the skeleton, as though trying to obtain the secrets that it contained.

He approached the dragon and bent down by a foot. Seeing the claws he thought of his shop, and the people who would pay a high price for them. Bending down cautiously, still on the lookout for anything that could possibly be lurking about, he removed them with great care and placed them in a pouch on his waistband, making sure to tuck in the intriguing blade alongside them.

Seeing there was nothing left to be found in the chamber, he slowly made his way back to the cave entrance.

He glanced toward the back of the cave as he came to the opening. Although he was quite eager to breathe the fresh air again, he could not resist shooting a final glance back into the gloom of the cavern.

As his eyes adjusted to the sun’s fading light, he searched out Jakin, who was still delegating the setting up of their camp. “The cave is completely devoid of anything living, the men can set some things in there if need be. When you have a chance though, I need to speak with you privately.”

Jakin’s emerald eye squinted in an expression of confusion, which quickly transformed into one of resigned understanding, “All right Zadok, whatever you need.” He proceeded to call out instructions and moved some men to the cave.

Zadok appreciated his friend not openly questioning his secret. Jakin trusted Zadok whole-heartedly. They shared a feeling born out of many shared adventures and narrow escapes from hairy situations.

Jakin’s eyes took on a wistful quality as he silently recalled past adventures.

“Like the time when we offended an entire clan of dwarves and they backed us up to a cliff with their pick axes. And then Zadok had to do some fast talking to convince them that we knew where a fairy gold stash was, then I had to jump off that same cliff with him and swing from vine to vine when the fairies came to get their gold back. Now those were some angry natives!”

Zadok shook his head; this was no time for standing around idly recalling past escapades, there were things to be done. He began walking about instructing, delegating, and helping as needed, all the while absentmindedly stroking the pouch that held the dagger and claws. This was shaping up to be quite an interesting evening indeed.

The Marketplace of Exmoor, Kinkar Two days later

Kay-Tee peered about the slow-moving marketplace, her eyes lingering on the cloudy sky and drizzling rain. It was the calm before the noontime storm, and it had been a very bleak morning. However she knew that in half an hour the sun would burst through the clouds luring shoppers out in full force.

She spied a human couple slowly making their way around, “Come on folks; the best prices around, the best fruit in all of Kinkar.” Kay-Tee paused to rub and clear her sore throat; she had been calling out, and trying to make sales all morning long. A grimace overtook her features; this was just her luck, her voice was going out and the mid-day shoppers were just beginning to haunt the streets.

“Great, now I look like a gargoyle and I’m going to scare away any customers that would come. I wish I could just pack up my life and move right on out of this stinky ‘ol market!” She thought.

Surprisingly, the couple came over and bought a few of the fruits, which were on display. Once they left Kay-Tee took a moment to check her stock. She shuffled through the crates and found things to her liking: plenty of fruit to last her through the week.

Growing bored with the lack of customers; she closed her crates and retrieved her striped cloth to cover her stand: break time.

Kay-Tee strolled down the familiar streets and couldn't hold back her sigh; it was time for a change of scenery, her heart yearned for adventure. She wanted to see mountains, ford rivers, visit faeries, discover unknown secrets, taste, touch, smell, and hear everything under the sun.

She waved hello as she passed the bakery, Caroline, the baker’s daughter, always the enthusiastic one, waved back; eager as always for an excuse to pause her work. Kay-Tee chuckled as she continued on towards Zadok’s merchant tent. Actually, she had mixed feelings about leaving; she knew this sandy, desert town like she knew the back of her hand: every alley and shop was like a familiar friend.

As she thought of the town’s residents she chuckled again; though most of them knew of her, many shopkeepers still thought she was just a child. Not that she was surprised by that, seeing as she barely pushed the 3 foot mark; the average height of a female halfling.

A smile overtook her thoughtful frown and she increased her speed as she neared Zadok’s familiar, well-worn tent: his business conducting headquarters.

Unable to curb her impatience to see one of her closest friends, she jogged the last few feet and pushed aside the colorful burlap flap that marked the entrance to Zadok’s world. The randomness of his goods struck her afresh every time she visited. Walking into the tent was like entering a zoo, sometimes her ears would be greeted by the purr of cheetahs and the roaring of lions or the howls of monkeys and neighing of horses. Also the smells of cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg blended with the smells of fresh fruit, far off places and exotic items reached her nose creating a not altogether unpleasant medley.

The crates of fruit and vegetables lined a curtain wall, while stacks of clothes and colorful fabrics/cloth barricaded another. He had everything from an assortment of genuine antelope sandals guaranteed to increase swiftness (which seemed to be an especially in demand item among less honest individuals) to shimmering spider silk fabrics woven by the hands of the elves themselves. An opening at the back of the tent led to a set of makeshift animal corrals, which had once housed everything from oriental platypuses, chalupacabras, and the occasional inebriated gnome.

Needless to say, Zadok had a most interesting item assortment.

She strolled toward the back opening, to find Zadok, and was shocked, and slightly confused, at the sight of some of his newer items: jars of eyeballs marked: Squirrel, and claws that looked large enough for a dragon. She also spied a few items that appeared to be a part of the food selection, but she wasn't quite sure she really wanted to know what exactly they were.

She shuddered at the thought of what some of those grotesque blobs could possibly be.

Zadok burst from the back entryway; his face lit up with a smile when he saw her, “Kay-Tee!”

Jakin trailed behind him, that characteristic frown of his eased slightly when he saw her standing there; not quite smiling but that didn't really bother her at all.

Zadok rushed to her and she found herself buried in a hug; she was fairly certain that he enjoyed doing this because she was almost the only other being he knew, that he gave hugs to, who was shorter than he was. Kay-Tee smiled secretly: he only topped her by about 5 inches.

He released her stepping back with his hands on his hips, “So, how have you been Kay-Tee? We missed you during our trip.”

She rolled her eyes he always said that, she listened impatiently as he recounted tales about their latest trip and listed all of the newest items they had found out about. She normally loved hearing about the traveling-merchant lifestyle, which her best friends lived. But today she actually had news of her own, besides the normal day-to-day news. She just wasn't quite sure when she should when she should tell them; her mind had been made up that morning and she had plans to leave this boring desert town and have her own adventures to tell stories about.

The crazy grin on Zadok’s face, his sparkling eyes and animated gestures, all brought her attention back and she listened to him tell his tale.

“So there I was, walking around the Misha marketplace minding my own business, simply looking to find some great bargains on exotic items.” He shook his head and looked so pitiful, Kay-Tee almost laughed at him. “Then the most horrific thing happened,” his eyes widened like a full moon, “I was simply attacked by Misha saleswomen!”

Kay-Tee simply exploded into laughter at this; she remembered him previously explaining how he believed saleswomen to be far worse than the average salesmen because they were totally convinced that you were their next customer and could talk for hours on end about one little item and its magnificent attributes.

A scowl covered his features for a moment before he joined in with her hearty laughter as he simultaneously tried to finish his tale. “I made my escape as fast as possible, but they did lead me to a few valuable exotic items.” He now wore a smug grin, “And, I retrieved the claws of a peculiar creature, I bet you could never guess what it was?”

“What was it?” She rolled her eyes, he was always so ridiculous.

“A dragon!”

She peered at him, curious as to how he had possibly accomplished that. Long ago she had made up her mind that he could look fearsome to no one alive. “Well, are you going to tell me or not?” Patience had never been her strength.

Grinning like a young boy she had seen earlier that week, hiding a toad from his sister, he questioned Jakin, “What do think my friend? Should we tell her?”

Jakin’s only answer was a blank stare and his lips twitched slightly, almost as though he was thinking of smiling. Zadok turned away and sighed dramatically, like he had just had a long, drawn-out argument and was finally giving in. “All right we might as well tell her, it’s not as though she would have given us any other choice.”

He smiled psychotically and signaled Kay-Tee to lean in closer, looking around to ensure that no other ears heard his secret, “To be completely honest, on our way back we stopped by a cave for the night and I happened upon a dead dragon. So, I took its claws hoping they would fetch a nice price in the market.”

He looked so sheepish now; she couldn’t help but laugh at this, and proceeded to tease him mercilessly, “ha, so this is the end of your grand tale, eh? You were trying to make me believe you had killed a dragon! Even if I hadn’t known you so well it would be hard for me to believe that somebody as short as you possibly do something like that.”

She now allowed herself a secretive smile, for now she was the one hiding a ridiculous secret. She crossed her arms defiantly, “actually, one of the main reasons I came here wasn’t just to stop by and say ‘hey’ to my friends who I’ve been waiting forever to see. Nah, I had a different reason, an event I’ve been planning during your absence.”

It was now Zadok’s turn to be puzzled and in the dark. Normally, he was the one with secrets and stories after he had returned from one of his trips. He was now at an uncharacteristic loss for words. He turned to glance at Jakin and, spying the confused look on his green face, he realized that Kay-Tee was alone in her secret.

Kay-Tee felt quite pleased with herself as she realized she had them both at a loss for words and confused, for once in their long friendship. “Aren’t you going to ask me what MY secret is?” She quite enjoyed this feeling, and was going to make it last as long as possible.

Zadok sighed, and then smiled sweetly, hoping to annoy her. “Why of course, Jakin and I would be delighted to hear all about your plans. But perhaps it could wait until after we had our afternoon meal, I’m simply famished! Would you care to join us Kay-Tee?”

His snooty smile and uncaring attitude annoyed her more than she liked to admit, so she smiled and decided to play his little game, “Why of course we can wait, no sense in rushing a good story, right?”

The only response he gave was a grunt as he whirled around on one heel to gather provisions for a meal.

Kay-Tee smiled and stifled a chuckle, she could tell he was curious and upset that she hadn’t given in to his antics; not that she ever did. But that was how they joked, she rubbed her hands together as she looked around his random shop; maybe she could get him to give her a few necessary items for her journey.

Zadok searched through pretty much all of the food he still had in stock, looking for something other than monkey brains and squirrel eyes. To any unknowing passer-by, he may have looked slightly crazed in a search for the perfect morsel; in reality, he was wondering about Kay-Tee and her little secret.

He could not, for the life of him, come up with any solid guess as to her strange plans and behavior. As he searched the fruit crates he became increasingly worried; what was she planning? Was she going anywhere? Was she seeing anyone? Why was she being so secretive? Rolling his eyes at the last question, he snatched up a few mangoes and began a search for oranges. She was probably being secretive just to annoy him and make him worry. If that was truly her goal, she had succeeded.

Grinding his teeth ferociously, he made his way to his personal tent to set up their little feast. Though he had a probable answer for one of his questions, he had none for the others.

He entered his tent to find a very serious-looking Jakin, holding up two dead, fresh-plucked hens, upside-down by their feet. The poor Puh-hin’s hopeless expression reflected exactly how he felt, but it did ease his nerves.

Jakin shook the two birds in frustration, “You know that I cannot cook Zadok! I am sorry, but at least I got them plucked for you.” Zadok had to stifle a laugh at his friend’s expense; how could he have forgotten? Puh-hins have absolutely no hope when it comes to cooking, for their noses are on the roof of their mouth. And, although they are creatures of art and can masterfully present a meal, the taste tends to be quite revolting for the most part.

They traded out their items and got right to work. Though Zadok wasn’t exactly the finest cook who ever lived, he was a master chef compared to Jakin. Yet Jakin could cut and mold anything he got his hands on, food or otherwise.

When they had everything prepared, Zadok went to find Kay-Tee. Strolling around his business tent, he often had to instruct, or in certain cases re-instruct, a few of his employees. He had stopped to help one of his newest workers when he spied the back-end of the very Halfling he had been searching for.

He gave the worker, who still looked quite confused, a few final instructions and then made his way through the intricate maze of unpacked crates, freshly unloaded after his most recent trip, toward Kay-Tee.

It appeared as though she was on a quest to find the perfect cloak, and had taken a dive into one of the larger crates to complete her mission.

As he reached her, she looked like an animal emerging from its den feet first. With one last shove, she finally got herself out of the crate, with a Halfling-sized brown traveling cloak in her fist as her sign of victory.

Her satisfied smile of triumph was replaced by her eyes first widening in surprise then her lips pouting as she turned to find him standing right behind her. “You don’t have enough cloaks for people my size.”

“What?” She was the only other Halfling he knew for the most part, he had actually brought back that one cloak just in case she ever had need of one.

She smiled as she saw his expression, “Oh never mind. So it’s time to eat, and maybe have a nice little talk?” With that, she laid the cloak over her forearm and started out for his personal tent.

The way it seemed as though she could sometimes read his mind often caused him to feel at a loss for words. Although that wasn’t her only characteristic, which more often than not, caused his mind to go blank as well as make his knees weaken.

Her golden, shoulder-length curls swished in time with her slender hips, as she left with a noticeable spring in her step. She paused to peek over her shoulder at him, her stormy blue-gray eyes twinkling with a joy and innocence that, as far as Zadok was concerned, was simply captivating.

“Hurry up slowpoke; I’m positive that you’re simply dying to hear my plans.” Her cocky grin assured him that she felt she was winning in some contest of charm and wit: he was more than willing to let her win in any contest.

She whirled around, her hair swirling like curly hurricane, and hurriedly continued on her way to his personal tent.

He sighed as he watched her make her rushed departure from his slowly-filling business tent.

Ignoring the strange glances from some customers, he forced his feet to move so as to catch up with Kay-Tee and exit the mini-mob of shoppers that currently threatened to further slow down this meeting.

As he exited through the camel corral, he again began to ponder, with no success, what was going on.

Finally, he reached his personal tent and upon entering was welcomed in by the pleasant aromas and beautiful fruit trays; arranged to perfection, as always, by Jakin.

His gaze rested upon Kay-Tee and Jakin, chatting away like the old friends he knew they were.

Zadok caught their attention and motioned for them to be seated. He pulled out a chair for Kay-Tee as Jakin filled their glasses.

Once they were all seated and had begun to fill their plates, Zadok decided it was time to get to the bottom of Kay-Tee’s little secret.

“So Kay-Tee, if you please, give us a glance at your thoughts. What are your upcoming plans?”

She placed a slice of ham on her plate and lifted a slice of mango to her lips, smiling innocently. “Well now, I thought you would never ask.” She frowned slightly, “I’m not quite sure how to say this.” She bit into her mango, her brow furrowed in such a way that she looked as though she were contemplating one of life’s great mysteries.

Kay-Tee took a moment longer to chew, her eyes staring at seemingly nothing. Zadok and Jakin glanced at each other and then back to her, waiting impatiently; must she always make life more suspenseful?

She swallowed and delicately sighed, “Well then,” she pierced them both simultaneously with her gaze. “To put this bluntly, I’m tired of this dusty old town, and I’m leaving; off to the Scurvy Plains.

Kay-Tee glanced from Jakin to Zadok, trying to read their reactions.

Jakin gave an approving nod and looked to Zadok, who currently had his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes popping out of his head.

Zadok closed his eyes and mouth, shaking his head as though to clear it as well as gain a moment to compose his thoughts. He cleared his throat and opened his eyes, staring at her with a confused expression, “Why?”

She grimaced at his tone of voice; he didn’t need to look like some sort of wounded creature, with his big brown eyes and tousled brown hair giving him the perfect look of abandonment. She shook her golden mane, shaking off any guilt, “Why do you ask? I already told you! I seek adventure, and that’s something I’ll never find here. Besides, you needn’t give me that wounded look; I was going to ask if one of you would like to come with me.” She grinned mischievously, “Not to mention request some supplies.”

Zadok’s frown was swept away, a satisfied smile dancing upon his lips at the notion of another adventure. He glanced at Jakin, “Would you mind my friend? Will you see to the business if I take a slight vacation?” He sounded a bit overly eager to her, though she couldn’t imagine why he’d be.

Jakin would have laughed at Zadok’s excited expression, had he been more like his characteristically merry kin. Instead, his emerald eye twinkled kindly, “Why yes, I believe I will be able to take care of the business in your absence. After all, as you say, what are friends for?”

Zadok’s grin broadened and he turned it back to her, what a nut! “Well, what are we waiting for? I have all the supplies we could need, you would just need to find someone to rent your stand and we could leave tomorrow.”

She had to hold back her laugh, for fear of offending him. “Zadok, my friend, calm down! You seem more excited about this adventure than I am.” He blushed as she shook her head in mock-disapproval, “What a shame it would be to have our excellent meal go to waste, how could we deprive poor Jakin of our company in a rushed exit anyhow?”

She continued eating as though nothing had happened. She nearly exploded in laughter as Zadok stared at her as though she had completely lost her marbles.

Jakin clapped him on the back, “Yes indeed, eat up. I would not have enjoyed the food without you two being here anyway.” He sat down and motioned for Zadok to do the same.

Zadok scowled at both of them. They always did this to him; getting him all excited about something and then pretending it didn’t matter. He sat down again and glared at Kay-Tee, she always had to have the last laugh!

She did indeed have the last laugh, the moment the meal was over Zadok shooed her away, to prepare for the upcoming trip.

All along her walk through the now crowded streets toward her stand, she filled the air with the sound of her joyous laughter.

Three days later

Kay-Tee looked back once last time, to her beloved little stand. Caroline, the baker’s daughter, tugged her arm in the opposite direction.

“Come along Kay-Tee, you mustn’t keep the poor lad waiting! I will take absolute perfect care of your shop while you’re gone, I swear I will.” Her sweet, accented voice gave Kay-Tee a slight reassurance, and they started off towards Zadok’s tent once more.

Three days past, Kay-Tee had asked the Baker to watch over her stand for her for however long she might be gone for. At first they had seemed on the verge of declining, but only until Caroline had gotten wind of what was being discussed; she was perfectly pleased at the thought of using it herself.

Both Caroline’s parents, and Kay-Tee as well, were shocked that Caroline had been so enthusiastic about the thought of working.

“I can use it as a drink stand,” Caroline defended herself rolling her eyes at her parent’s disbelief.

“Your drinks are wonderful, no doubt about that, but your father and I always thought you hated kitchen work of any kind.” Her mother’s delicate brow furrowed with confusion.

Caroline flipped her long brown tresses dramatically, “Oh no mother, I only hate cooking and baking. But when it comes to brewing and mixing up drinks,” her golden eyes lit up at the thought, “I can hardly get myself to stop.”

That had ended well enough for Caroline, and it didn’t bother Kay-Tee a bit to have the girl change the shop a little bit; the town could use a little change.

Kay-Tee broke from her thoughts and, and had to hurry to catch up to the energetic girl. She wove through the maze of people, following the sound of Caroline’s excited chatter. She would n ever have thought it possible that drinks could excite someone so much: much less this girl.

Caroline was again talking about her latest concoction: coffee, she called it. Kay-Tee had tried it once; it was energizing and absolutely delicious in her opinion, though the way Caroline was talking made it sound as though she had had too much of it recently. “Once I perfect it, it shall be the perfect complement to my Mother’s warm, gooey cinnamon rolls.”

Realizing she was talking to the wind, she paused and looked around for Kay-Tee. Glancing behind her, she was relieved to see that the short Halfling wasn’t far behind as she squeezed through a couple rambunctious shoppers.

Once Kay-Tee finally caught up to her Caroline resumed walking at a slightly slower pace to accommodate Kay-Te’s shorter legs. Her mouth however, didn’t slow even slightly.

“Oh how rude of me! Rambling on about coffee and pastries, while you are about to go on an adventure. Tell me, what are your plans? Where are you going?”

Kay-Tee had to pause for a moment to allow the bombardment, and her bewilderment at its end, to completely sink in before she spoke.

She laughed heartily at the expectant look on Caroline’s lovely face. “I’m not completely sure. To be honest, I haven’t actually planned much out.” She shrugged apologetically, “All I know for sure is that I’m headed to the scurvy plains, and Zadok is coming with me.”

This didn’t seem to be a suitable answer for the energetic Caroline. She continued to question Kay-Tee the rest of the walk to Zadok’s tent.

Kay-Tee had never been more relieved to see Zadok’s ridiculous-looking tent than at the moment that the mere sight of it, and two packed ponies at the entrance, put an end to Caroline’s chatting.

Zadok and Jakin came out of the tent, seeming to be deep in conversation. Once they spied the ladies though, Zadok smiled warmly and waved them over.

Zadok clapped Jakin warmly on the shoulder as he finished his parting instructions. He turned to joking before he could say goodbye. With his final admonition that the Puh-hin could adapt his palate in their absence, he set aside his joking; Jakin would be perfectly fine.

Jakin grimly said farewell before entering the tent, for once without his lifelong friend by his side.

Zadok watched Jakin enter the tent stiffly, as though he were plunging into cold, dark water.

He sighed as he turned away from gloomy Jakin. Though the Puh-hin claimed that the rest of his species were as cheerful as could be imagined, one would never have guessed it by knowing Jakin: Zadok could think of no one else who better fit the word solemn.

He shook his head, clearing away his gloomy thoughts, as he would brush away cobwebs. Today was not a day to waste wishing that Jakin could come; someone had to stay to keep things in order.

As he pondered over the journey soon to come, he remembered his small prize packed safely away in his saddlebags.

He moved that way as Kay-Tee and Caroline came up to him.

Kay-Tee’s brown cloak swished around her slight frame, as she strode alongside the girl, seemingly giant in comparison, Caroline.

“Are you ready to leave? I know I am! I could hardly sleep last night. I was just way too excited!” Kay-Tee anxiously flipped her golden tresses back over one shoulder; her smile grew immensely as she saw him closing the saddle bags.

Zadok smiled at her as he came around the back of the pony, his prize clutched in one hand.

“Of course I’m ready to go, do you have so little faith in me and my packing capabilities? Before we leave, I have something that I wanted to give you.” He passed her the small parcel, wrapped carefully in red cloth.

Kay-Tee took it, a confused frown decorating her lips. She held it apprehensively, as though she was afraid that it would bite her.

Her hand reached into the cloth and came out grasping the handle of a masterfully crafted dagger, carefully set in a sheath made with equal skill.

For its size, it would be a dagger for an average human male, but for Kay-Tee, it was roughly the size of a sword in her grasp.

Her hand grazed the ivory, dragon-necked handle in awe, her eyes hypnotized by the fiery-red blade. Glancing at Zadok, her eyes glittered with appreciation at the beautiful gift.

“Where…Where did you get this?” she couldn’t take her eyes off of it again; it seemed to hum with power and deadly intent.

Zadok grinned, pleased that she liked it so much. “I found it in the cave where I found that dead dragon. It was the only thing in there besides the carcass. I thought you should have it, just in case you ever need it.”

“Thank you Zadok, it’s beautiful.” Not as beautiful as you. He stuck to, “You’re welcome.”

She smiled gratefully at him, as she attached the sheath to her belt. She made sure it was safely secured and moved her cloak, so as to hide it from those who would think to steal it.

Turning to Caroline, she said good-bye. The tall girl bent down to give Kay-Tee a huge hug. “You have a great adventure, alright?” She turned to Zadok, shaking a finger accusingly, “And you make sure to take good care of her mister.” Smiling warmly, she began her walk through the busy streets.

Kay-Tee turned toward Zadok and spread out her arms, ready to take flight. “So, are we going to leave or what? I lost a lot of sleep over this trip; I’m definitely ready to leave.”

Zadok smiled and mounted a speckled, dark gray pony. Smiling down to Kay-Tee, “We wait only for you my lady.” He motioned for her to mount the waiting sorrel pony.

She scrunched up her nose at him, bursting into laughter a moment later. She mounted the pony and followed Zadok as he carefully steered his mount through the crowded streets.

Kay-Tee watched the familiar scenery roll by as she and Zadok neared the main road that headed in the direction of the Scurvy Plains.

They left the town and started off through the sandy expanse; looking back for one final glance at the only place she had ever called home.

The few days it took to travel to Ira, a desert city near Kinkar’s border, went by extremely fast for Kay-Tee due to her excitement at everything.

Yet for poor Zadok, who was constantly on the watch for unknown dangers, they seemed to creep along slower than a tired Salamander with a gimpy leg.

Kay-Tees lack of concern was simply amazing to him; especially after he let her know that their water supply was nearly depleted.

“You worry too much, we’re almost there.” She patted her jugs of water reassuringly. They were securely tied to her saddle, and she could hear the slight sloshing of water inside.

Zadok scowled at her, she returned it with a smile that ate away at his doubts. “Well, you don’t worry enough!” She laughed at him, “But, I suppose you might be right.” He turned away quickly, squinting against the sun’s glare, “We should arrive in an hour or two.”

They continued on in a contented silence; both eagerly awaiting the moment they would be able to stretch their legs and see people instead of the endless sand dunes.

Kay-Tee looked over at Zadok, an excited grin lighting her face; so far, so good. Maybe another week or so of traveling, and they would finally reach the Scurvy Plains. Turning forward again, she urged her obedient pony to speed up; she could hardly wait!

They finally reached Ira toward the end of the day. The sun was swiftly fading, casting long shadows, which danced upon the ground in tune with the tiredly trotting ponies.

Kay-Tee could only stare in awe at the magnificent city before her. The setting sun caused it to seem mysterious, with the shadows hiding parts of it seeming to conceal untold secrets.

Ira was one of the largest cities in Kinkar, second only to the capital city, Tola. It protected the border from the fabled horrors of the misty Etheiria.

Zadok seemed less impressed as he led the way to the massive iron gates.

He looked back toward Kay-Tee and laughed at her bewildered expression. “Come along Kay-Tee”, he called cheerily, “And please, close your mouth. Have you never seen a city before?”

His mocking tone pricked her pride, as only he could. Closing her mouth, she lifted her chin in defiance. “Oh please Zadok, don’t try to tell me you’re not impressed at all.” She squinted at him and looked him up and down. “You’re just a good actor is all.”

A burst of laughter escaped him at her conclusion. “A good actor huh? Well maybe I am, or maybe I’ve just done so much traveling that I’m not affected by these puny cities like you.” He smiled wickedly at her, “Don’t worry, you’ll have quite a surprise once we see some cities in Harinavin or some other place.”

He finished his bragging session right as they reached the gate, there the guard stopped them. Kay-Tee was definitely relieved at the distraction.

The human guards peered at them curiously for a moment, and then their eyes seemed to light from within. “Zadok, what are you doing out here?” Both of the guards practically ripped him off his pony to give him a hug.”

Kay-Tee was so sure that they had all forgotten about her, she had dismounted and was studying the majesty of the gates when the guard with wild red hair exploding from his head surprised her by calling her out.

“And who might this be Zadok? What are you trying to do, hiding this beauty from us?” Shifting his recently removed helmet to his left hand he stuck the other out to her, “My name’s Gabe,” Motioning to the other guard, “That there’s my brother, Briam.” Briam waved kindly before continuing his talk with Zadok. Gabe laughed obnoxiously, “He’s a litl’ shy round pretty girls, but don’t let that bother ya, he opens up eventually.”

His embarrassing remark and snorting laughter earned him a glare from Briam, which only caused him to laugh harder.

As Gabe’s face turned as red as his hair from gasping and snorting, Kay-Tee was almost positive that he would fall over, either from lack of oxygen or his brother clobbering him, whichever happened first.

Briam walked over and slapped his brother soundly on his back. “Breathe Gabe, breathe you crazy buffoon.” He rolled his eyes and sighed softly as Gabe gradually composed himself.

After a moment he again stood upright and clapped Briam on the shoulder. Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes he grinned at him, his crooked teeth and ruddy face giving him a crazed look. “Thank ya Briam! What would I do without ya?”

Briam muttered unintelligibly under his breath as Gabe turned around to grin at Kay-Tee. He hardly looked embarrassed at all, “Sorry bout that, I don’t know what came over me.” His grin widened, dimpling his cheeks, “By tha way, I never caught yer name. Though I spose I could call ya goldie or sumthin. You have right nice hair.”

Instead of answering him, she focused on Briam, ignoring Zadok’s smirk, “So are you really related? You don’t look like each other.”

Briam swiped his hair out of his eyes and smiled at her response to Gabe. “I’m his brother-in-law. But I’ve known his family for so long, I felt like we were brothers long before I married his sister.”

She nodded in understanding. Now it made sense, for they really did look almost nothing alike. Gabe with his wild red hair, hazel eyes, crooked teeth, and short stocky build, was about as opposite to Briam’s neat, wavy brown hair, gold-flecked grey eyes, and tall lanky structure, as he could possibly get.

Her gaze switched back and forth from the two for a moment before she turned to Zadok, hoping that he would rescue her from further conversations with Gabe.

Zadok could see the urgency in Kay-Tees eyes could easily guess why: Gabe was a lot to take in.

“So, seeing as the two of us have been traveling for quite a while, where would a nice place be to spend a night? It has been too long since I’ve been here.”

Briam stroked his clean-shaven chin, “Well, I would offer to keep you at my place. But, Gabe is living with me for right now.” He grimaced and leaned toward Zadok so Gabe wouldn’t hear, “He tends to be a bit of a nuisance, as you know. His landlord kicked him out of the place he was living in, so for the time being I’m stuck with him.”

Zadok nodded sympathetically, and then clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about us, I understand completely! Since your home is unavailable, do you know of any cheap, clean place to stay for the night?

Briam adjusted himself to a crouched position, and scratched his head as he pondered. “Hmm…I might know of a place or two. Oh yes,” he snapped his fingers and stood to his full height, “There’s an inn not too far from here, do you remember Mary? She runs it.”

Zadok too snapped his fingers, “Of course, how could I forget about Mary’s inn? Is she still running that old place?

Briam laughed, “She’ll be running that place until she dies!” He replaced his helmet onto his head and called to Gabe and Kay-Tee, who was much relieved to finally be away from Gabe, and motioned for them to follow him and Zadok.

Just before they all reached the open gates, he turned back to Gabe, “Actually, you should stay here until the replacement guards come to take over for us.” Gabe looked as though he was about to protest, but a glower from Briam stopped him short. “Don’t argue; I’m going to help them get a room at Ms. Mary’s place. Just keep on doing your job.” With that statement, he turned and led the two Halflings through the city gates to the crowded streets beyond.”

Not long after they entered the city, the two Halflings were forced to remount their ponies, due to their almost being run over on more than one occasion.

They followed closely to Briam, the whole way Kay-Tee admired the intricate structures and the wide variety in the groups of people; she saw mishas, gnomes, even a few dwarves, and plenty of humans. Through all of this, they slowly made their way deeper into the city to a quieter area, the setting sun gracing their trail.

Zadok took careful note of every shop and building they passed; though at first most of the main buildings were familiar, there were certain areas that had changed since he had last been here some 20 years ago. And getting lost was not something he intended to do.

Briam stopped in front of a cozy building and pointed to the porch railing, “You can tie up your ponies there, once your rooms are taken care of we will see to theirs.”

As Zadok waited for Kay-Tee to dismount the sign caught his eye, something he had remembered enjoying when he had been here so long ago. The large grin on his face caused just a little confusion for Kay-Tee as she turned to him. “What?”

He chuckled and pointed to the sign, “Look.”

She peered at it searching for something to be out of place or some strange animal to be sitting up on the roof, “Zadok, what’s so funny?”

He grinned widely at her confusion, “Read the sign. Why don’t we tumble on in to The Tumbling Inn?”

She rolled her eyes at him and then let out a chortle of laughter, “You’re so ridiculous Zadok!” Their laughter caught Briam’s attention and he turned around at the door, only just realizing that they hadn’t followed him. “What are you two laughing about?”

The two Halflings exchanged grins and immediately returned to their laughter, now laughing at his confused expression.

He looked between them both, his brow furrowed in confusion, “All-righy then, just come along you two. We don’t have all day!”

Kay-Tee managed to swallow her laughter and walk up the stairs, but then Zadok stumbled over the top step and neither of them could stop their giggles. Briam just rolled his eyes and hustled them inside.

With both of them entering quite calmly, Briam hustled forward to speak with the bent, old character, sitting in a rocking chair. Zadok made his way to speak with her also, while Kay-Tee took in the sights of the Inn.

A few plush chairs sat unoccupied on wall to the left of the elderly woman. Her chair sat beside an archway, which held a dark hallway with many doors. Looking again to the left, Kay-Tee saw an entryway showing a large kitchen attached to a dining room, illuminated by the fading sun through a large open window.

Her gaze now turned to the wall on the right. It was blank; save for a medium-sized picture of the ocean, beside it stood a small table with an ornate box placed upon it.

“Come here Goldie; let me have a look at you.” The sweet, motherly-sounding voice called Kay-Tee’s attention back to the rocking chair.

The old woman beckoned her forward, “Come, I’ve known Zadok and Jakin for quite some time, they speak of you often. I was beginning to wonder if you even existed.” She smiled again and lightly brushed a stray, gray curl out of her eyes. “I promise, I don’t bite at all.”

Zadok stared at Kay-Tee as she walked over to Mary, an amused, though undoubtedly puzzled, expression decorated her delicate features.

She looked over at him and he grinned widely in response; let her wonder why they so often spoke of her!

Kay-Tee approached who she assumed to be Mary. The old woman reached out and grasped her hands with a firm grip, looking intently into her eyes for a moment with her piercing blue orbs.

“So, you’re the famous Kay-Tee, I’ve heard quite a bit about you. I’m very glad I finally got the chance to meet you. Zadok has already told me of your journey and that you need a place to sleep.” Her smile grew, seeming to go from ear-to-ear, “As a favor to Zadok, you two can stay for half-price! It will be so nice to have the chance to get to know another of Zadok’s friends. He’s like a son to me!”

Looking into Mary’s piercing, yet kind, eyes she couldn’t help but start grinning herself; she liked this crazy old lady already.

Zadok turned back to Briam, allowing the ladies to get acquainted, “You can head home my friend. We have everything worked out here. Thank you for your help!”

Briam nodded awkwardly, his helmet bobbing, he saluted Zadok and walked out the door.

Zadok removed his cloak and focused on Kay-Tee and Mary. The latter was rising from her chair and beginning to walk slowly down the hallway. She opened up a door on the right and called to Zadok, “This will be your room, make yourself at home.”

Mary walked a couple doors down and again stopped; opening the door, she motioned inside. “This will be your room Kay-Tee. Once you settle in, I’ll give you a tour and show you where your horses will be kept.” With that, she walked back down the hallway, disappearing from Kay-Tee’s sight.

Kay-Tee stared after Mary for a moment before entering the Halfling-sized room. She laid her traveling cloak on a dresser in the corner, a nearby window illuminating the room. She sighed wearily and was glad they wouldn’t need to unpack much: they were only staying one night.

She turned to retrace her steps out of the room and down the hall. Thinking of Mary brought a spring to her tired steps; she looked forward to spending time with her almost as much as she looked forward to sleeping in a real bed again!

After she helped Zadok get all of their things, a stable boy led their ponies away, she searched for Mary. She found her in the kitchen, preparing dinner over a wood-burning stove.

Mary looked toward the petite Halfling and smiled warmly, “I was wondering if you’d gotten lost or forgotten about me.”

The almost scolding tone of Mary’s voice coupled with her warm smile made Kay-Tee laugh. Mary pursed her lips and turned back to the stove, mumbling about disrespectful kids with a twinkle in her eye. She set her large wooden spoon on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. “The stew needs to simmer for a few minutes; now’s a good time for a tour.”

She turned toward the living room, “We’ll start at the beginning.” She proclaimed as she slowly walked that way.

Kay-Tee followed close behind, not quite sure why they didn’t just start in the kitchen but she didn’t really mind.

They went through the living room, with Mary showcasing every item in sight. “This picture is from the Coral Strand. This one came from a tribe of Ichor in Menoria, and this set of chairs came from Tanglewood forest

Kay-Tee kept a respectful silence as Mary chatted on and rattled off her stories about where she had gone to get all of these things. Looking around the room, she was glad for its sparse decoration: this tour could go on forever!

Her gaze rested on the ornate box which she had spied earlier. “What about that box?” She dared to interrupt the chattering older woman, “What’s the story behind that?”

Mary, eyes narrowed, turned toward the item of which Kay-Tee spoke, seeing it, her eyes softened and she slowly walked over to the stand and box, as if lost in a different time. “This box?” She sighed and lovingly placed a hand on its lid, “A gift from my brother: a piece of my past like everything else.”

She wiped her eyes and directed Kay-Tee down the hall, not explaining further. She showed off a few of the empty rooms, each unique in its decoration and theme, and finally came to the room where Mary slept.

The room was dark, for the sun had set. But Mary had lit a candle which revealed a large, multi-colored window, and many more pictures. A large bed with a patchwork quilt sat in the center of the wall to their left.

As they left the room and headed back down the hall, Kay-Tee remained silent, awestruck by how much effort Mary had placed in the details of this place.

They re-entered the kitchen, where Mary lit a few lamps and began pointing out where she kept spices and utensils.

She worked on finishing the stew, all the while assigning cleaning tasks to Kay-Tee. “The broom’s right there could you sweep this area? Could you dust this shelf?” Kay-Tee did every task without complaint, enjoying every minute she spent with Mary, who kept her entertained with stories of her life and the different people she had met since opening her home as an Inn.

Once she finished the stew, Mary had Kay-Tee ring a large bell. As if by magic, three men and a young couple appeared through the doorway, with Zadok right behind them.

The two ladies served them all dinner, waiting until each of them was working on their helping before partaking of the aromatic meal.

Kay-Tee quietly slurped on her steaming stew for a few moments, simply relishing the flavor and warmth, before she realized that Mary was staring at her intently. She peered at the older woman before speaking, “Why are you staring at me? Are my manners bad?”

Mary laughed and finally lifted her own spoon, “No, no your manners are fine. It’s just that, I’ve never dined with a female Halfling before. I enjoy watching the mannerisms of those of different species than I. It is most entertaining for me: watching and learning.” She slipped her spoon between her lips and ended her explanation there.

Chuckling at the explanation, Kay-Tee resumed her eating. Once she and Zadok left in the morning, she was sure she would miss Mary terribly.

As soon as they had both scraped their bowls clean, they began cleaning up. Mary motioned to the pot, “Could you help me with that?”

Kay-Tee hefted it with some difficulty, following Mary as she led her out the front door to the street. Mary had Kay-Tee set down the pot at the end of the path from Mary’s house to the street. Turning around Mary walked back to her house without explaining until they reached the porch again.

“The poor don’t always want to accept help. Every night for years I have been bringing out that pot of leftovers for them to eat. And every morning it is empty.” She looked down at Kay-Tee, a deep sorrow gleaming in her eyes. “It’s not much, but for now it’s all I can do for them.” With that, she walked up the steps and entered the house, leaving the door ajar for Kay-Tee.

She walked into the house slowly, taking in all that happened today. She headed straight for her room and crawled into the soft bed.

Never before had she met anyone she thought to be as kind and enjoyable as Mary.

Zadok arose with the dawn, tapping on Kay-Tee’s door anxious to continue on the road.

She flipped out of bed slowly at the sound of his tapping. She quickly awoke due to the excitement of the day’s adventure. She dressed speedily and gathered her small amount of items quickly.

The two Halflings said their goodbyes and eagerly headed out of the town. Not wasting a minute in getting on with their adventure.

The days it took for them to pass through Etheiria to the Scurvy Plains were passed in contented silence and wild laughter in even portions. Jokes and witty banter were in ample supply and they chatted the days away as they journeyed in and out of the misty Etheiria.

Their crossing over from Etheiria to the Scurvy Plains went unnoticed at first, until Kay-Tee’s pony splashed in a puddle of murky goo.

Zadok laughed as he glanced toward her; a grimace of distaste at the sound coming from beneath her pony’s hooves painted her features. “I’ll lead.” Was his reply to her distress as he urged his stocky steed forward.

Kay-Tee laughed as she urged her pony forward ahead and out of the mire.

To pass the time they made it a sort of game or contest to see who could most successfully navigate through the swamps and contorted trees.

Kay-Tee urged her gray pony forward past a gnarled old tree and, after successfully maneuvering her stubborn beast in a zigzag fashion through the trees, she looked back to check on Zadok’s progress.

To her delight, and Zadok’s utter dismay, she turned at exactly the right moment to catch him taking a dive, head first, over the shoulder of his pony.

Straight-from-the-gut laughter exploded forth, rendering Kay-Tee incapable of helping Zadok from his soggy predicament.

“Having some fun now?” He grunted as he rose and pulled along his pony behind him.

Wiping the tears of laughter from her cheeks, she nodded, “Yes, yes I sure am now! Thanks Zadok, you make my life more exciting. Like an epic story.”

Stopping beside her, he grinned mischievously, “Well, in most epic stories, doesn’t the handsome adventurer usually get a kiss?” To emphasize his point, he puckered his lips and stood there waiting.

After a moment of indecision, Kay-Tee leaned down, placing a hand on his shoulder, she gazed into his eyes for a moment. “You said ‘most stories’, oh handsome adventurer.” His eyes squinted in confusion for just a moment, the moment thereafter she pushed him promptly into the muck.

He stared up at her with his mouth agape in a look of mock horror. But only for a moment, for neither of them could contain their laughter; though Zadok’s contained a trace of disappointment.

Zadok arose, wiping away the mud as best he could, and, once he remounted, away they went, laughing all the while.

Darkness began to become a main part of their scenery, so they began searching for a place to spend the night; one doesn’t travel through the Scurvy Plains after sunset.

Searching until it was nearly impossible to see, they finally sound a rather large cave. Moss was covering the outside and it appeared uninhabited.

Lighting a torch he constructed from cloth and a branch, Zadok led the way to the rear of the dark cave. They found the back to be devoid of life and light, save that of the torch. A slight stream of water trickled from the rocks to a shallow pool, next to which they brought their ponies for a drink.

While Zadok made good use of the pool of water, Kay-Tee started a fire and searched their bags for food.

Once Zadok succeeded in thoroughly cleaning away the grime, which had dried since his encounter with the ground, he joined Kay-Tee and they made a small meal of their limited provisions.

Nibbling on her piece of cheese, Kay-Tee peered about the cave, curious as far as what had or currently did inhabit it.

A portion of the cave wall sloped and curved at such an angle as to create a divider for the cave entrance and the area where she and Zadok were resting. On this rock a few interesting and faint markings caught her attention.

Deciding that it was worth the effort, she rose and walked over to further inspect it. The light from their fire shone all about the wall, flickering with the movement of the flames. Squinting through the darkness, Kay-Tee traced the markings with her finger. To her surprise, they were deep grooves made by some unknown horror.

She recoiled as she heard a scraping on stone and glanced toward the entryway.

What she saw in the entryway caused her jaw to drop, her cheese to fall, and her heart to sink to her knees; she now had a pretty good idea as to what had made the grooves in solid rock.

Zadok looked up from his meager meal, not quite sure what was going on. As he saw Kay-Tee drop first her jaw then her cheese, just the picture of her almost caused him to laugh, almost.

Sensing her fear, he slowly crept over to where she stood as though she were frozen.

He stuck his head around the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of what had caused her such a fright. There in the entryway, Zadok glimpsed the object of fear, one he had hoped never to see. Blocking the only known exit was a monstrous dragon.

As her shock slowly faded, Kay-Tee slowly began to crouch down, while simultaneously glancing back to see Zadok’s reaction to the unmoving beast. He stood there motionless, knees slightly bent, his left hand slowly stretching toward his right hip for his sword.

Looking back Kay-Tee watched as the dragon cocked its head, twitched its tail; she felt as though it was trying to decide which of them to eat first. The suspense of waiting might kill her before it made up its mind.

The dragon rose from its previous sitting position, giving them a better view of it. A little better than they would have liked, as it began to make its way toward their spot.

Zadok whipped out his sword in an instant, “Stop beast!” And it did, “We don’t mean to make a nuisance of ourselves, we thought this cave to be uninhabited. I offer you my deepest apologies; your cave is the finest around….” He began laying on the flattery, complimenting both the dragon and its cave in hopes that they live but a little longer.

Kay-Tee peered at the dragon; she felt certain that it was smiling and wasn’t sure what to make of that. She allowed Zadok to continue talking for a few minutes. Boy could he talk! The dragon didn’t appear vicious, but one can never be too sure with a dragon.

Watching their interaction, she felt quite sure that the dragon was as entertained by Zadok’s speech as she was. So, she decided it was her turn to talk.

“Excuse me fair dragon, Zadok you can stop rambling now.” She cleared her throat before continuing; Zadok gave her a confused and alarmed look, “Ahem, so my fine friend, as you have just been informed by my friend here, we are nothing more than tired travelers and greatly desire a safe place to rest for just one night. Do you think, gracious dragon, that we could remain here for just tonight?”

Both she and Zadok waited in strained silence as the dragon appeared to think it over quietly. Finally, it grinned; a devilish grin that scared them both to pieces, though they tried not to show it.

Watching them with its emerald orbs, the dragon laughed, which sounded like stones rubbing together in its chest. “Of course little ones, how could I deny the request of such as eloquent as yourselves? Though, I am quite curious; you are both much smaller than I ever thought a human could be. Smaller even than a dwarf, though not quite as small as a gnome. What exactly are you?”

Zadok rushed to speak, both relieved and wary at the dragon’s tone, “Halflings, uh sir?” He felt unsure, the dragon sounded male, but neither of them had ever dealt with a dragon so they just hoped that he hadn’t insulted the dragon by guessing incorrectly.

The dragon’s eyes glimmered in the firelight, and it laughed, “Yes, I suppose it would be ‘sir’ in this tongue. I am known as Jake.” He cocked his head and stretched his neck out closer to them; his pointed tongue darted in and out of his mouth. “What do you go by, little Halflings?”

Kay-Tee walked over to stand by Zadok, Jake towered ominously over them. His shoulders were just about twice her height; though the only light now was that of their fire, so she wasn’t too sure.

Staring up at Jake’s dark green face, which came a little too close to hers; she almost couldn’t speak for her fear and nervous excitement, “Kay-Tee” was her meek squeak, as she answered his question. She heard the ponies snorting and excused herself to have a moment to calm both their animals and her own racing heart.

Zadok cleared his throat, hoping he wouldn’t sound like a frightened little girl, “My name is Zadok. Thank you kindly for allowing us to remain here for the night. We will leave as soon as possible tomorrow.”

Jake glanced at the little person he had found in his cave, the other had moved away for a moment. What curious creatures they were, he didn’t care how long they stayed!

He smiled at him, hoping he would feel less threatened, “It is no problem whatsoever, you may stay as long as you like. It will not bother or inconvenience me in the slightest way.” He hoped he used correct pronunciation; it had been a while since he spoke this language. “In fact it would delight me to learn more about you and what business brings you to the Scurvy Plains.”

He could sense the distrust emanating from the tiny Halfling. He waited while the girl came back and they had a muted discussion, trying not to intrude on their privacy with his excellent hearing. He stretched out on the rocky floor and lay in a relaxed position; it had been far too long since he had seen a calm two-legged creature.

Finally, they turned back toward him. The one with golden curls and sweet, gentle face smiled at him, Kay-Tee was her name. The dark-haired one frowned and fingered his little sword. He couldn’t quite remember that one’s name.

Kay-Tee grinned up at the enormous Jake, for a little while she had begun to fear that nothing fantastically important would happen on their journey. This scene proved her fears to be faulty.

She placed herself on the floor and glanced up at Zadok. She knew he would probably never trust Jake, put she had a peculiar feeling that he really was trustworthy. She stared up at those large, emerald eyes and began to recount their journey’s beginnings.

Zadok, seeing Kay-Tee totally at ease and chatting with Jake, felt foolish for just a moment, until he remembered the object of fear. This was a dragon! Not a rock monster, sand lizard, or crazy nomad, and yet he was moving to sit beside his friend: no matter the consequences. After all, he couldn’t just allow her to be eaten!

Jake listened intently as Kay-Tee told him all the things they had done so far, the places they had visited, and people that they had met. It interested him greatly, he too was becoming bored or the habitual life he had developed here.

Maybe they would let him come with them! No, he scolded himself; they would never allow one such as you to join them. The male couldn’t keep his hand off his sword pommel.

He pondered this thought, an adventure…it had been so long since he had been out of the Scurvy Plains. Of course, that was before he had changed his lifestyle entirely.

Listening to Kay-Tee’s sweet, melodious voice, and gazing into her innocent face, he felt that he might have a chance of befriending her. Though, he held no such hope for the other one.

Zadok could feel his eyes closing and jerked them back open. He sat to the side, listening as Kay-Tee and the dragon conversed by the light of the fire, which Zadok had lit for them all, that useless dragon wouldn’t even do that.

He scowled up at the beast, which kept its focus on Kay-Tee. It seemed nice, but too nice for Zadok to believe it. He appreciated a dry place to sleep, but he couldn’t wrap his mind around the thought of a nice dragon.

The thought that the dragon was plotting scared him more than a little bit.

Again he felt his eyelids lowering, as though they were weighted by boulders. He jerked his head up once again, hoping and praying that Kay-Tee would stop talking for once so that he could sleep without worrying about her being eaten.

Zadok’s bobbing head and heavy eyelids caught Jake’s eye.

That poor boy, he must not want to leave the girl alone with a dragon. Jake pondered this for a moment and then turned back to Kay-Tee.

He yawned and stretched out, flexing his back and wings, and succeeded in pausing Kay-Tee’s chatter with his actions.

He looked down at her, the other Halfling looked ready to strike.

“I believe it is a good time to sleep,” his deep voice rumbled, echoing off the cave walls. “Your friend is going fall over. But I have greatly enjoyed your tale, perhaps we can talk more tomorrow.”

With that, he rose and walked to the front of the cave so that they could rest peacefully. A spring was in his step, perhaps if he didn’t frighten them they would actually allow him to come along. Their plans sounded unsure, yet exciting.

Kay-Tee watched as the surprisingly intelligent and kind Jake walked a comfortable distance away and curled up to sleep. She turned to Zadok to see what he thought about Jake.

What she saw was Zadok giving Jake the evil eye as he pulled out their separate blankets.

He passed over her rolled up bundle, “I don’t trust him Kay-Tee. I wish this cave had been uninhabited, as we first thought.”

She thought this over; she found that she didn’t really mind him being there, despite the danger. In fact, she was quite pleased with Jake’s presence.

“What are you so worried about Zadok? He’s given us no reason to mistrust him. If he had wanted to eat us, he could have finished us off already.”

Zadok peered at the dragon; its head stretched out toward the cave entrance, as though it was gazing up at the twinkling stars.

He seemed peaceful enough, but dragons could be quite deceiving. “What if he’s not hungry now?” He voiced his looming concern. “Did you consider that possibility?”

Kay-Tee rolled her eyes at him as she untied her blanket and spread it out on the cave floor. “You’re ridiculous Zadok.” She lay down with her back facing him and said nothing more.

Zadok looked at her and then at the dragon. Maybe she was right, but she could also be dead wrong.

He decided to sleep on it, the choice to stay here had already been made, and there was nothing he could do about it now.

Lying on his blanket, he watched the dying flame of the fire uneasily until his exhaustion again overtook him, and he faded from consciousness, not quite sure what to expect the coming morning.

The sound of something scraping over stone startled Zadok from his uneasy slumber.

He whipped out his sword, which he had slept with, and sat erect. He was pleasantly surprised that he sat safely on the cave floor and not in a dragon’s stomach.

Now, where was the beast? Zadok scanned the area in which he had last spied the monster, but to no avail; the dragon was gone.

Zadok rose slowly, careful not to awaken Kay-Tee. He rolled up his blanket and then quietly crept toward the cave’s entrance.

Upon reaching the opening, he hid to one side of the cave, pressed against the wall. He stood on a boulder, scanning the sky for some clue as to the dragon’s whereabouts. From the direction opposite of his searching gaze, Jake landed with a loud thud amid the wind rushing over his wings.

Zadok jumped back, startled, he slipped from his perch and landed with a squeak of fear and a thud of his own.

He jumped back to his feet quickly, left hand again reaching for his sword, as his other hand reached to rub his backside. He was most thankful that Kay-Tee was still asleep, no need for her to see that scene!

Kay-Tee awoke to a large thud from outside of the cave.

She sat up, her eyes snapping open in a flash. Turning toward the noise, her gaze caught the cave entrance just in time to see Zadok fall from a rock with a slight squeak and land right on his backside.

Her jaw dropped and she stared in silence for the moment it took him to get up. But, the moment she saw that he had only minor damage, she bubbled over with laughter.

Zadok whirled around to see her, a look of embarrassment and horror on his face.

Kay-Tee laughed even harder.

Jake poked his large head around the cave wall as he heard Kay-Tee’s unceasing laughter. “What,” she choked past her laughter, “What exactly just happened?”

Zadok scowled at Jake, “I was just looking for this beast. He left this morning and I wanted to see what he was up to.” A blush crept over his proud features, “And then, he startled me.”

He shuffled his feet a moment and then looked back to Jake, “What exactly were you doing?”

Until now, Kay-Tee hadn’t paid much attention to Jake’s looming green form; now that she did, she noticed that he had a peculiar-looking item in his claws.

Jake presented his items; placing them directly in front of Zadok, who didn’t look at all pleased to have them there. “I have brought you Halflings some food. It is a root that many humans claim to be quite delicious, especially when boiled.” He sat back on his haunches, looking quite pleased with himself.

Kay-Tee got to her feet and walked over to where Zadok stood, to inspect the offering which Jake presented to them. What she saw placed before Zadok’s boots appeared to be a potato, except it was the largest one she had ever seen. It appeared to be as big as her saddle. Beside it was the most enormous mushroom she had ever seen, it was at least half her size.

She looked at Zadok, who glanced back at her with wide eyes.

Kay-Tee remembered something Caroline had told her before they left, “Everything is bigger in the swamps….” No kidding! The creatures, the food, even the trees, she now noticed, were taller and thicker than any she had ever seen before, few as that number may have been.

Turning, she noticed that Jake watched them closely as they gawked at his gift. Without another thought, she walked over to where he sat and hugged one of his legs.

“Kay-Tee!” Zadok gawked at her now; shocked that she would ever do something like that.

A smile curved her lips, and she looked up at Jake, who stared down at her in confusion, though amusement twinkled in his eyes.

“Thank you.” She let go of his leg and stepped back, her hands clasped behind her. “Thank you for allowing us to stay here, thank you for the food. Oh, and thanks for not eating us!” She then walked back over to where Zadok still stood, as though glued to the floor.

Jake couldn’t take his eyes off Kay-Tee as she, using one of their pots which they had packed along, boiled chunks of the root as Zadok cut it for her.

She had hugged him! Perhaps she would be willing to let him come along with them.

He continued to watch both of the little people as they together prepared their breakfast. No need to rush them, he could ask them before they left.

Zadok glanced up apprehensively at the monster of a dragon, as he chopped up pieces of the gigantic mushroom. Now he was really wrestling with what he was supposed to think of the beast.

On one hand, it could still be plotting something devious; on the other hand, he could just be an extraordinarily kind, and friendly dragon.

Whatever the case, he just felt apprehensive all around about trusting a dragon. No matter how kind it seemed.

He went back to chopping the mushroom, catching a glance of Kay-Tee stirring the potato chunks as he did so. She stared up at the dragon, smiling. He had a feeling that she wanted it to come with them.

His hands shook slightly at that thought; he prayed he was very wrong.

Kay-Tee moved her ladle out of the way, allowing Zadok to pour in the chopped mushroom to the almost-finished potatoes. These were the biggest vegetables all right, they still shocked her. And she couldn’t believe that Jake had taken the time to get them for Zadok and her. What a thoughtful dragon!

She smiled to herself; she wanted him to come with them. It would be difficult to convince Zadok to allow it, but if she could….

Breaking out of her thoughts, she checked to see how the food was: done, as far as she could tell. She called Zadok over, and they ate hurriedly; both of them hoping to soon be on their way to greater adventure.

Jake watched as Kay-Tee and the other Halfling tied the last of their things to the tiny ponies they were traveling on.

He lay just outside of the cave, staring up at the beautiful blue sky as it lost its early-morning colors. He glanced back toward the small pair; making their way to the cave entrance, to leave in search of adventure and never return here again.

Right then and there he made up his mind. He wanted to go with them; he could no longer resist the call to adventure.

Jumping up from his resting position, he barred the opening just as the small group reached that very spot.

Kay-Tee was not nearly as excited at the thought of a bouncy ride as she was at the prospect of more adventure. If only Jake could come along! She turned to Zadok, just about to ask where he thought they should head off to, when the cave went very dark.

Glancing upwards, she saw Jake’s massive form blocking off their entrance. Even now she held no fear as far as his intentions; he didn’t appear menacing, more like…pleading.

“I know this will seem to be an odd request, we have only just met, but I was hoping that you would allow me to accompany you for the remainder of your adventure.” He sounded so desperate; Kay-Tee couldn’t stop herself, “Why of course!” She exclaimed, “We would be delighted to have you along!”

Zadok made a hurt gasping noise, like a dry fish, and started sputtering unintelligible nonsense. Kay-Tee turned to give him a reprimanding glare, she quickly whispered to him. “This is my adventure. I am making this decision, whether you like it or not.”

His mouth shut at such an uncharacteristic reply and he faced forward quickly. He made no effort to hide his displeasure from her.

Turning back to Jake, she smiled warmly up to him, “I had been hoping you would come along! After all, what’s an adventure without a gigantic beast coming in somewhere along the way?”

She could see Zadok’s face out of the corner of her eye; he looked fearful and apprehensive, yet not surprised. She wasn’t about to let him stop her though. She turned to face him fully, smiling brightly, “So, where should we go now?”

He attempted a smile, “I thought that this was ‘Your’ adventure. You make the decision!” Now she frowned, he was so ridiculous! “You don’t need to be so rude Zadok! I didn’t mean it to sound so mean.” She sighed and then smiled sweetly, “I have now appointed you as my guide! Lead us to adventure!” She swept her arm out dramatically and finally got him to smile.

“All right,” he finally said, “We’ll head toward the nearest village and decide from there where we wish to go.” He turned to Jake, “All right beast, where is the nearest village?”

Jake cocked his head twice: first at being called ‘beast’, and again at the question.

Kay-Tee was trying to make a guess as far as what he was thinking, and then he spoke. “My name is Jake; not Beast, just Jake. And yes, I do know of a village that is not too far away. Come, I will show you where it is.” With that, he jumped into the air and, once they exited the cave, coasted in the direction of the village. He made sure they could see him through the scattered swamp trees.

The two Halflings took off at once; navigating the swamps for what seemed like an eternity to Zadok. Navigating through the muck was a much slower process for the ponies than for Jake who could fly. He stopped multiple times to circle above them, as he waited patiently for them to get through more difficult areas.

They spent a great while this way. Around midday, they came to the village. Jake landed beside them in a clearing just before they came too close. He turned to Kay-Tee, “I will hide while you get what you need. We can meet back here at when you have finished.”

She nodded in full agreement, wiping sweat and muck from her forehead. “That sounds like a good idea.” She smiled up at him, while we are here, we’ll have to decide where exactly we want to go next. Thank you for guiding us here.”

His devilish grin reappeared, “Not a problem! I am pleased to do whatever I can to help. I shall meet you both back here around mid-afternoon.” He said no more, taking to the sky and sailing out of sight.

Kay-Tee turned back around and, seeing Zadok already moving that way, began riding toward the village. Urging her pony faster, she caught up to Zadok. “Why don’t you like Jake?”

Zadok sighed softly, “It’s not that I don’t like him necessarily, I just don’t trust him at all. And I can’t understand why you do.”

She just smiled again, “I have a good feeling about him. He’s kind, friendly, and hasn’t given us any reason not to trust him other than the fact that he is a dragon.” She peered at Zadok, searching for answers in his face, expecting at least a slight change in his demeanor.

He burst out laughing for a minute, the tall reeds blocked him from her view as they neared the town, but she knew exactly where he was because he laughed so loudly. He quieted down and once she spied him again through the reeds, she saw him wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“You have a ‘feeling’ about him, well that’s nice! That’s a fantastic way to make lifelong friends. ‘I have a good feeling about you, be my friend!’” His poor imitation of her voice was so horribly squeaky that she cracked a smile, but quickly hid it with a frown. He was always making fun of her and her decisions!

She exhaled forcefully, making sure he heard her, “Well now, RUDE! I was just being honest and you go and make fun of me! I really do feel like he just wants some friends; he doesn’t want to hurt us at all.”

Zadok looked thoughtful, “Well, that might be true, but we still need to be extra careful and be smart about how we deal with him.”

After he commented they entered the village, and knew they shouldn’t talk any more about Jake. They both began looking around for places to purchase more food.

The town was drastically different from Tola, which had been their most recent place with people. This town didn’t have a name from what they could figure out. It had very few people and they found themselves talking to quite a few Salamanders; not an uncommon happening in the Scurvy Plains.

Salamanders in the Scurvy Plains are around 7 feet long and spend equal parts of their time crawling on their bellies as they do walking. Needless to say, neither Zadok nor Kay-Tee was too eager to spend too much time here.

They both spent an equal amount of time looking for supplies, but it wasn’t long at all before they realized it was nearing midday and they hadn’t the slightest idea where they should go after this.

Zadok spied a local tavern and suggested they have a seat there and people-watch for a while.

Sitting in a tavern in the middle of the Scurvy Plains isn’t exactly a tourist attraction. They sat mostly alone for a good while, with few characters coming and going for a drink and hot meal, until an old frog walked in leaning heavily on a cane.

Once he sat at the counter and ordered a drink, he turned around on his stool and surveyed the place. His wrinkled greenish-brown skin, dirty clothes, and cane made him appear to be ancient and quite repulsive. But once he laid eyes on the diminutive duo, a smile lit his face and transformed his vile appearance. “Why hello travelers! My name is Quintus; I’m sort of the town mascot and story-teller.”

The old frog hopped off the stool, and limped over to stand in front of Zadok and Kay-Tee. “Would ye like to hear a tale?” His eyes twinkled in delight, and he waited patiently for their response.

Kay-Tee recoiled from Quintus’ foul stench and then laughed at the absurdity of their circumstances; she stank as badly as he did most likely. She nodded for him to proceed with his story.

A smile lit his face and he needed no further coaxing. He bounded upon a table in the center of the room, looking far more agile now than he had a second ago, and called out to the few people in the tavern. It seemed as though the numbers increased tenfold within seconds. “Gather round everyone: old Quintus is going to spin a tale fer ye.”

He proceeded with a tale of his youth, so he said, and bragged about the places he’d been and the things he and a few friends had seen. It appeared to be the crowd’s daily ritual by how many people appeared out of nowhere to hear his tales.

After a short while both the Halflings found themselves leaning forward with the stories; Quintus was quite the story-teller.

After telling of a time when he and a friend had captured a pirate ship and became pirates themselves for a time, he appeared to be about to leave, but the crowd wouldn’t have it.

“Stay Quintus, Just one more.”

“Yeah just one more tale.”

“Tell us about the Dragon.”

“Tell us about the time you traveled to Puh.”

“All right, all right ye story hungry monsters.” He again jumped up to the table, not upset at all that he had to stay. “I’ll tell ye ’bout the dragon!” The crowd seemed excited and quieted down for another tale.

He began to spin a story about when he and his best friend, Martin, traveled out to see the dwarven mines. He was an animated old character and added much to the story with his gestures. “Up in Menoria, it’s cold ye see, so we were both very intrigued by the mysteries we hoped were there.” He continued on, telling about how Martin had gotten them lost and they discovered a cave to spend a night in; soon they were stuck there because of a blizzard.

“And then, as I was searchin’ the cave for some wood or somethin’ to help us build a fire, I fell into a hole. At the back of the cave there had been a tunnel of sorts and with me bein’ out of my wits from the storm I accidentally took a dive. In the bottom of that tunnel though, there was treasure!” He paused and his entire audience didn’t move; not a sound was heard as everyone waited for Quintus to continue.

“Yes my lads, and lassies, there was treasure! Now, normally one would wonder how it had gotten there. And my only conclusion was that there had to be a dragon somewhere. So I wait a minute and look around.” He made dramatic peering gestures as he spoke, “but I saw no dragon. Soon Martin came down to help me and we tried to decide quickly what we should do.” He continued on about how they decided to each grab a bagful of gold and leave quickly. They climbed back up and, seeing that the storm was settling, decided they should leave. They packed up their things and had been about to leave when they heard the terrifying sound of an angry beast!

“So there we were, making a break to leave the cave. But as my friend Martin made it to the cave opening the beast swooped down and snatched him up like a baby. I never saw him or the dragon again. I went to the dwarves and we searched the mountain for weeks, but never found any dragon. Not even the treasure hoard. It’s sort of a dwarf myth now, The Fabled Treasure of Jerom the Terror.” He sighed and turned somber, “But that was a long time ago.”

He picked up his cane and again limped to the front door of the tavern, people moved out of his way, most still in quiet shock from his tales. And then they dispersed.

Kay-Tee turned to Zadok and grinned widely, “I know where I want to go now!” Zadok studied her face for a moment and then grimaced, “I guess I won’t be able to talk you out of this one huh?” She only grinned wider.

Zadok sighed, “Well then, I hope that dragon he talked about is already dead.”

Kay-Tee laughed at this, “That won’t be a problem; we have our own dragon now!” Zadok just groaned and moved to follow her out to meet up with Jake.

Jake again found himself staring down at the Halflings he had come to know. She wanted to go, find the cave of Jerom the Terror, and then steal his treasure; she was out of her mind.

She gave him a pleading look, “Come on Jake, not even dragons can live forever. And besides, it’ll be fun! I already sold the ponies so you can fly us there and we have more money for anything we need on the way there.”

The fact that she had sold their ponies surprised him almost as much as it had surprised Zadok when she decided to do it. His face had held a grimace as she pleaded with Jake but he neither objected nor denied what she said.

Jake had asked them to go, and he hadn’t heard any news of Jerom in so long anyway. “All right.” Kay-Tee squealed, Zadok groaned, Jake allowed himself to grin; what an interesting trip this would be!

Four Days Later

Zadok couldn’t believe he had gotten himself into such a situation. All he had wanted was to keep Kay-Tee safe, until now. Now all he wanted to do was stand on solid ground.

They had packed up their bags and sat between the large spikes on Jake’s back, taking breaks at night to rest and eat. Kay-Tee felt perfectly content in the air; Zadok felt as though he were going to lose his last meal.

He turned around to look at Kay-Tee, trying to avoid looking at anything else, she smiled at him reassuringly. He could have stared at her forever, but he felt as though he was going to fall off so he turned back around and hung on to the spike in front of him with an iron-grip.

Jake growled softly and laughed deep within his chest, “Zadok, if you hang on any tighter, eventually I will not have any feeling along my back. I will not let you fall…too far.” Zadok could hear the teasing in his voice; he didn’t respond at all except to continue holding on for dear life.

Kay-Tee laughed at him; holding on firmly herself, though not as tightly as he was. “It’ll be fine Zadok, Jake hasn’t dropped us for four days, I don’t think he’ll drop us now.”

Zadok grimaced, she made sense…again. But, that didn’t change the circumstances at all. “Whatever you say won’t change my mind; I still don’t trust this beast!” Jake growled softly at the sound of his detested nickname. Zadok knew he hated it, but it gave him a small pleasure to annoy the dragon he didn’t want on the trip in the first place.

They continued to sail through the sky in a contented silence, as contented as they could be anyway. Kay-Tee and Jake both enjoyed the view, while Zadok remained clenched tight as he had been for the past four days.

They finally landed around midday so that everyone could stretch and eat, before they flew until it was time to sleep for the night. Jake had made sure to find a clearing so that no other travelers could sound an alarm at the sight of a dragon.

Once they had removed their things from his back, Jake walked off into the woods they had landed near as he had done each time they stopped. Kay-Tee and Zadok both appreciated that he never ate in front of them, they didn’t want to imagine what sort of sight he made feasting on some poor animal’s hide.

They scavenged around the clearing for something edible to eat; they finally gathered some berries and mushrooms that looked edible.

They sat eating and gazing about the forest in companionable silence, both of them tired from the trip. Kay-Tee studied her surroundings for a time and then she watched Zadok for a moment, as he quietly ate his berries. He thought she was as content with the silence as he, but he again found himself to be wrong.

“Zadok, you should tell me a story or sing a song or something while we wait for Jake. I’m getting bored with birds and butterflies.” She smiled expectantly, and he just stared blankly for a moment as he tried to imagine what he could entertain her with from his mental archives. She continued to wait, eating berries slowly. He laughed, “You’re quite random Kay-Tee; let me think for a moment.” He continued to try and remember some song, rhyme, or story that he might know. And then he remembered one, a ridiculous song that Jakin had taught him a long time ago.

“Ok Kay-Tee, I have one for you.” He proceeded to sing an upbeat tune:

I once saw a Puh-hin

Who was a runnin’

A runnin’, a runnin’ away

He looked at me oh so sadly

And said he had no time to stay

No time to stay

While runnin’ away

No time to stay today

I heard a clatter

And felt the patter

Of many mad feet on the floor

That poor Puh-hin

Again went a runnin’

To be seen by me no more

No time to stay

While runnin’ away

No time to stay today

I turned to see

Oh what could it be

That scared that Puh-hin so

Oh what could it be

I wish to see

What scared that Puh-hin away

He had no time to stay

While runnin’ away

No time to stay today

The trees released

Horrors that would scare the deceased

Into rising and running away

Five angry trolls

Stomping scary-sized holes

Telling me it was time to run away

I had no time to stay

While runnin’ away

No time to stay today

Through the forest I ran

Hoping to increase the span

Of distance between those tolls and me

I caught up to the Puh-hin

Who was still a runnin’

A runnin’ away from those trolls

No time to stay

While runnin’ away

No time to stay today

He looked back at me

Seeming scared to see

What had found him here

He slowed down once he,

Saw it was only me

And suggested we find a hole.

We couldn’t stay

While runnin’ away

No time to stay today

We found a hole

To hide from a troll

Who ran right over that place

We covered our faces

And my disgrace is

I let a sigh escape

We had to stay

While runnin’ away

We had to stay this day

We stayed and stayed

Hoping that we had completely delayed

Our stay in the stomachs of trolls

We had to wait

Hoping the trolls had a date

With another matter of business

We had to stay

While runnin’ away

We had to stay this day

She laughed and laughed for a little while, not quite sure what to think of his little tune. “Well, hopefully we won’t run into any trolls!” She was laughing at this when Jake reappeared from the woods; he was again carrying some food for them.

Kay-Tee gave Jake a huge smile, “Thanks again for bringing us food! I hate mushrooms.” Though, as she looked at what he had brought, she wasn’t super excited: carrots, potatoes, and what she assumed was lettuce wouldn’t have been her first choice for dinner.

“Um Jake…maybe next time you go hunting, could you bring us like a bird or some sort of meat to eat? I’m not exactly a mushroom and carrots type of girl.” She hoped she didn’t sound rude or ungrateful, but he was a dragon! Surely it wouldn’t be hard for him to catch a measly little bird…right? Jake stared at her unblinking, and then lay down slowly. “I suppose I could try to find something. I have never fed a Halfling before so I was unsure what you would eat.” He sounded nervous to her; what a ridiculous thought, this would be everyday stuff for him.

She smiled up at Jake again, and then she went over to help Zadok wash the vegetables; Zadok was getting better every night at making vegetable soup.

Jake watched the two Halflings as they cleaned off their food and Zadok chopped up all the vegetables. He meticulously put each one into their pot and waited for their water to get so hot that it was boiling. He stared; enthralled by their performance as well as consumed with his thoughts about Kay-Tee’s request.

He had hoped that neither of them would ask that he bring them meat. Especially birds, those tiny things are so small, what if they were crushed on accident and he had nothing to show except broken bones and feathers? He groaned inwardly and shut his eyes. No, that wasn’t his problem.

He began searching through his memories, trying to find a time he had hunted birds. Well, not that he hoped to remember anything of the sort. Being a vegetarian for as long as you can remember tends to keep you from storing such memories. He groaned again at his stupidity in agreeing that he’d try; he knew he wouldn’t.

“Jake? Are you okay?”

He opened his eyes into slits and saw Kay-Tee inching over to where his head lay, with worry gleaming in her eyes: worry for him.

He smiled at her, something he now enjoyed doing because she was one of the few beings he had ever met who wasn’t scared of his smile. “Yes, I am fine Kay-Tee. Thank you.” She smiled softly, obviously unconvinced, but she didn’t pry. Sitting back down next to Zadok, she watched Jake as he pretended to sleep.

Kay-Tee watched Jake, she was sure something was bothering him, she just couldn’t figure out what exactly that might be. Oh well, no point in talking to Zadok about it; he would just say that “‘the beast’ doesn’t have feelings” or something just as dumb. She turned her attention back to Zadok as he finished up their soup. “I think I’m getting better at this Kay-Tee”, his face glowed with pride as he ladled her a bowl of the steaming vegetables in golden broth.

She laughed, “Yeah, well you can learn new cooking skills once we have some meat! Mmmm, I can’t wait. I’m getting tired of so many vegetables.” She sniffed her soup and slowly took a slurp; smacking her lips for emphasis. “Hmm, I suppose this is okay.” Zadok tasted his own bowl and rolled his eyes at her without responding: she was always saying stuff like that!

They ate silently and went to bed shortly after the sun went down; they both wanted to be off early the next morning.

Jake arose early the next morning.

He watched as the sun began to rise slowly through the trees, pondering whether or not he should tell Kay-Tee about his vegetarian ways. He didn’t want to lie to her, she was the only one who had ever accepted him for the dragon he was, but neither could he stand a look of disappointment from her.

He heard a rustling and looked back to see who might be up. Zadok crept out of his tent and looked around; to see where ‘the beast’ had gone most likely. Jake growled softly, he really hated that name! Oh well. With Zadok always worrying about his beloved Kay-Tee, it is no wonder that he does not want to know me better than ‘the beast’.

He watched Zadok as he began putting away their things in preparation to take off again. They had been traveling nonstop for days; it wouldn’t be long before they were in Menoria. And once they arrived, who knows what they would find there?

Zadok quietly put away his tent, allowing Kay-Tee to sleep for a few precious minutes. It was barely light, but they both were eager to continue the journey to Menoria, and the adventure that it held. The only skepticism that Zadok still had was the wisdom in going with ‘the beast’. He still wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but for now it would have to do.

Once he completed his packing, he tip-toed over to Kay-Tee’s tent, hoping to wake her gently. He quietly opened the front flap and looked inside; he saw her golden curls spilling out from under her blanket. She looks so beautiful, even when she’s asleep. I hate having to wake her up. Oh well, here it goes. Just as he was about to shake her shoulder Jake let out an ear-splitting roar and she jerked up from her sleep. “Whaa….” Zadok gave her no time to question him and instead leapt out of her tent to confront Jake.

“Beast! What are you doing?” He stormed over to stand in front of the monstrous beast, which began to laugh as softly as was possible for a dragon.

“Zadok, I could see that you did not want to make her mad at you for any reason. So, I removed the burden from your shoulders.” His eyes twinkled mischievously, “No one ever wants the one they love to be upset with them.”

Zadok felt his face heat up hotter than Kinkar in the middle of the year, “Um, thanks…I guess. And beast, please don’t say anything about that to her.” Great, Kay-Tee can’t see that for all of our lives and here this beast notices after a few days in our company! My life is over.

Jake laughed deep in his chest, “Why of course Zadok, on one condition.” Zadok grimaced, “What would that be?” That freaky, devilish grin appeared, “You stop calling me ‘the beast’, and we will get along quite nicely.”

A sigh of relief escaped Zadok, “Sure, no problem beeee…ah…Jake.” That’s not the worst thing he could have asked for. I guess I can live with it! At least I don’t have to clean out his teeth or something.

Jake smiled down to him, “Thank you Zadok! You do not have to be my friend, but using my name is quite appreciated.” Zadok rolled his eyes in reply, “Don’t push it Jake! You can coerce me into using formalities, but friendship is earned.”

Jake stared down at Zadok; what a peculiar fellow he was! He just wasn’t willing to befriend a dragon. It didn’t seem to matter what he said, nor did, Zadok just would never want any part of him. Still, Jake hoped that using his name would cause the diminutive fellow to warm up to him slowly. Maybe if he knew I do not eat meat…No! No, that would only cause him to mock me; I must find some other way to earn his trust. Unfortunately, I am out of ideas….

Turning away from Zadok’s serious stare, he decided to ponder it further until the halflings were ready to leave.

Kay-Tee awoke quite quickly that morning, and they were off into the sky again almost an hour after she had awakened.

At the beginning of the portion of their trip with Jake, they had to get a little creative and tie some ropes around his torso for them to hold onto, as well as keep their stuff with them. So Kay-Tee watched the clouds through the occasional swish of Jake’s leathery wings as he cruised through the beautiful sky, holding tightly to the rope in front of her. I love how peaceful it is up here! Well, except for Zadok, but he’s never peaceful with Jake anyway.

She slowly grew bored with the endless clouds and gentle swishing. Slipping her feet between the ropes, she let her hands slide free to caress the clouds they flew past, hoping Zadok didn’t look back at her and become worried that she would fall: Jake would surely catch her!

Her hands reached for anything to play with in her pouch and she felt the sheath of the dagger, cold as ice beneath her fingertips. She pulled it out to study it once again; the blade always slipped soundlessly from its sheath looking razor sharp and deadly. It had to be one of the finest blades she had ever seen.

As though they had minds of their own, her hands were drawn to it; she turned it over and over, taking care not to touch Zadok with it, as he sat unknowing in front of her. One of her fingers slid over the edge and sliced deeply, she sucked in her breath sharply, not wanting Zadok to know what she was up to. It was a small cut, but it burned like fire and she wrapped it tightly in the corner of her cloak. The throbbing in her finger took a few minutes to die down, once it did she carefully wiped the dagger to make sure there was no blood left on it and put it away.

Far away in an icy Menorian mountain, a monstrous creature stirred.

Jerom felt a presence in the back of his mind, ever so faint he almost ignored it, but then he recognized it. He felt that human, the fanatic blacksmith who had asked him to create a sword with him. Marcus was his name: his voice screamed within the blade. He felt the presence for a few minutes. Strangely, it felt as though it were coming closer. He flexed his talons and growled ominously. That traitor Ain may be coming back here with it. He must have cut himself with it; he always was a clumsy fool. His curiosity grew as the presence faded, and then he couldn’t discern its position any longer. He could still sense it within his mind, but Marcus’ screams were no longer a part of the presence.

Curious, perhaps someone stole the blade from the traitor, but why would they be returning it to me? He decided not to concern himself with such thoughts; he curled his wings and tail back around himself and began to return to his broken nap.

Jake felt quite peaceful sailing through the clouds, he so enjoyed having Kay-Tee and Zadok around.

His sense of peace was instantly tossed to the wind as he sensed another dragon. He could feel a presence, as though it was right on top of him, yet he could neither hear nor smell anything but himself, Kay-Tee, and Zadok. Strange, it should be a simple matter for me to find one of my own race.

He strained his ears for a sound, yet the only noise was the wind. He felt Kay-Tee shifting a bit more, and then the presence faded, as though nothing had ever happened. Interesting, perhaps I am just tired from the days of travel. Perhaps….

He continued on toward Menoria, flying high above the human territory of Harinavin.

Kay-Tee watched as the sun set, leaving behind a trail of pink, orange, and violet hues. Her finger throbbed only slightly now, but it was a continual reminder of her embarrassing blunder and she cared not to reveal it to Jake or Zadok.

Through the day Jake had informed her that they had flown over at least a third of the entire Harinavin territory. At their pace they should make it to Jerom’s fabled lair within a week.

Kay-Tee allowed herself to be rocked to sleep by the rhythmic swish of Jake’s dependable wings. He would stop later for rest, but he needed less sleep than either she or Zadok so they would rest on his back. She slipped away to dreams of piles of gold, gleaming armor, and fearsome dragons.

The following morning Kay-Tee awoke stiffly, they had flown long into the night and she hardly remembered stopping and getting off of Jake’s back to sleep on solid ground.

She groaned as she rose, quite glad that this portion of their trip would be over soon. Then they could get on with the fun stuff, like treasure hunting! Rolling up her blanket, she began to prepare herself for the day’s journey.

Zadok perused through the provisions they had left; with Jake bringing them vegetables day after day they had a minimal need for food, but they would soon need to purchase more rope as the ones currently keeping them attached to Jake were wearing thin.

He also hungered for meat. If that useless dragon could just catch a squirrel or a rabbit, I would be happy! If he is always such an awful hunter, it’s a wonder how he survives at all. He continued to pack away all of their utensils and blankets, he couldn’t wait for all of this flying to be over and done with. The only reason he didn’t decide to walk away and leave the bothersome dragon behind was Kay-Tees presence.

To be continued….

KiahleyDeborah

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Matthew 5:29-30

Friday, December 28, 2012

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

The Dragon Blade Trilogy (Part 2-Unfinished)