As Jaax descended upon the sprawling field between Phrym’s stable and the Castle Guard Ruin, someone watched from the edge of the woods. The stranger’s eyes sparkled as it surveyed the dragon escorting the girl towards the crumbling walls of the old stone building that stood so precariously close to the edge of the bluff. For many months now the creature had felt the coming of change; the coming of something terrible and something good.
A sudden gust of cold wind caused the curious creature to shiver. It had been raining on and off for a few weeks now, and it looked like these few sunny days would soon be visited again by heavy clouds. The silent spy shook off the thought of more chilling rain and kept its focus on the two figures far across the field. The girl would be coming into the woods soon; the being could sense it. She would be going into the bog seeking advice and help from her, that woman of the swamp. Whether the girl would have her questions answered or not was a different matter.
Finally, after pausing for several minutes, both dragon and girl disappeared into the depths of the withering fortress. The creature put on a sly grin. Oh yes, you have many questions child, Bane of the Tyrant, but I do not know if there will be answers for you in here. The creature slinked back into the dense wood, disappearing far into its depths.
Jaax had sensed someone watching them, but he didn’t know who, or what, it could possibly be. That forest holds too many secrets and too many secret spies, he pondered, searching the woods with his keen eyes. I only hope it isn’t an enemy that I feel watching us now.
After taking Jahrra inside, Jaax had turned around to peer out of the great dragon’s entrance in the north end of the Ruin. His eyes were drawn to the Wreing Florenn and once they had rested upon those dark trees, he immediately felt a presence, an ancient presence. His rough skin prickled with the familiar feeling of his scales changing color as they worked to match the lichen-plastered stone surrounding him. He could smell something familiar in those woods, but it was a very old scent, something from perhaps his childhood. He shook his head and stepped back into the great hallway that led into the last enclosed room in the Ruin. Maybe it’s just my nerves, he hoped, thinking about what Jahrra was carrying in her jacket pocket. I’m only imagining things.
Once inside the Ruin, Jaax noted that Jahrra had placed the book in front of Hroombra. Both girl and Korli dragon were silent, the only detectable sound coming from Hroombra’s deep breathing. Jaax stepped further into the room, filling up some of the large space that remained. Hroombra’s eyes stayed fixed on the old, tattered journal, but Jahrra looked up to meet the Tanaan dragon’s gaze.
Jaax returned her look and said, rather harshly, “You are no longer needed. You had best find something to do with the rest of your day.”
Jahrra stood speechless. How could he be so callous after what she’d just done for him?
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked shakily when she finally found her voice.
“Take a ride to the beach,” Jaax suggested. “Just don’t go near the forest, I sense something strange coming from there.”
Jahrra stood glaring at the emerald dragon, wanting very badly to repeat her act from several years ago and chip off another scale. The forest huh? she thought angrily. Well, that’s exactly where I’m going.
Jahrra pushed past her two guardians forcefully and headed for Phrym’s stable.
Hroombra looked up and frowned. “Now, was that entirely necessary?”
Jaax turned towards the older dragon, sitting peacefully next to the empty fireplace. Sitting too peacefully, Jaax thought impetuously. How is it he isn’t up pacing? Finding this book may very well mean . . . But Jaax forgot about what it meant; they would soon be discussing it, and the last thing he needed to do was waste his mental energy pondering why Hroombra didn’t seem at all concerned.
“Do you think she would have left if I asked nicely?” he questioned accusingly. “I knew if I angered her she would leave for sure. We can’t have her around when we discuss this, even if we discuss it in old Draggish. She may still be able to understand, and we can’t risk her hearing anything we say.”
Hroombra sighed, and spoke very quietly, “It’s almost time we told her.” He paused for a moment, as if he was afraid to go on. “I think we should have told her long ago.”
“We will tell her in due time,” Jaax snapped back immediately, his eyes flashing. “Let’s just look over this book and see what it can tell us. Then we’ll decide what to do about Jahrra.”
Hroombra nodded and breathed a steady stream of ruby flame over the wood piled in the fireplace. As the fire caught and spread, the two dragons began reading the text aloud with fragile tones, in a dialect of Kruelt that hadn’t been uttered in centuries.
Phrym knew exactly where they were going as soon as Jahrra turned him eastward; they were headed into the Wreing Florenn and eventually into the Belloughs. Jahrra was aware that the dragons would be too busy pouring over their precious journal to notice in which direction they had gone, so she didn’t even bother to glance over her shoulder.
“Like they really care anyways,” she said to Phrym bitterly. “At least Denaeh enjoys having us around.”
Jahrra and Phrym tore across the shivering fields, freshly sprinkled with the rain that had fallen a few days before. Although the sky remained dark, the rain had stopped for now and the sun’s rays were bursting through the broken storm clouds like water streaming through a sieve. Looks like another storm is coming. Great, that’s all I need, to be locked up in the Ruin with Master Hroombra and Jaax, Jahrra thought as the cold water droplets clinging to the grass blades soaked through her boots.
In her mind, the trees of the Wreing Florenn looked like frightened peasants fighting against the black clouds. Jahrra smirked, recalling the memory of the day when she first stepped foot into the swamp. Eydeth had said that dragons feared this wood. Well, maybe he was right after all. Jaax had warned her away from the trees, hadn’t he? He hasn’t detected any danger, she convinced herself haughtily. He’s just afraid of the Black Swamp. She snorted smugly and brought Phrym to a stop at the edge of the forest.
Jahrra peered deep into the dripping wood and then glanced back at the distant Castle Guard Ruin. If Jaax thinks I’ll obey him so easily he has another thing coming, Jahrra thought defiantly. She kicked Phrym more aggressively than usual, and as he let out a whinny of annoyance, he careened through the shivering trees and down the path that would take them to the Belloughs.
Phrym’s hooves sank softly into the dark, leaf-plastered earth of the forest floor and as the minutes ticked by, Jahrra wondered once again about the diary she had recovered. She’d looked over the words and symbols copied down in her own journal many times, but had never been able to discern anything from them. The only two symbols she recognized at all were the Baherhb, the Draggish symbol that Hroombra had pointed out to her long ago, and a symbol of what looked like some sort of flower, identical to the one on the compass.
Jahrra recalled the skeleton sitting alone in that cave and she shivered. Could that man really have been a pirate, or worse, one of the Tyrant’s mercenaries? Could the writing really be code for some secret treasure somewhere, or the instructions on how to torture and dispose of those opposed to the Crimson King? Jahrra tossed these thoughts around in her head as a gust of strong wind caught a branch and whipped it like a wet cloak somewhere high above. The best explanation that she could think of was that the book had been a resource guide for coastal raiders, but if that was the case, why on Ethoes would Jaax and Hroombra be so interested in it? Jaax spent his time surveying the land and making maps with elves, or so that is what Hroombra had told her, and Hroombra himself did nothing but look through manuscripts all day. Why would either of them care so much about ancient pirates? Maybe that man is somehow a descendent of the last Tanaan king, she thought with relish. Or maybe he knows what happened to the lost prince. Oh why didn’t I just sneak back into my room after I left the Ruin? I could be getting the answers to all of my questions right now!