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Lukas had never been so excited in his young life. He and his father were each being gently, but firmly, gripped in a massive dragon claw. Every downward beat of Samara’s wings propelled them higher into the sky, ever closer to the white puffy clouds Lukas had always admired whenever he had the chance to see them. That was hardly ever, as his father had adopted every other dwarf’s trademark dislike of being Topside.
He was flying through the air! Well, Samara was flying through the air, but nevertheless, he wanted to see and experience everything! No one was going to believe he had ever flown with a dragon. Not only that, it was with a whole group of them!
Lukas looked to his left and saw Rhamalli flying a little lower than they were. Even though he couldn’t see them, Lukas knew the red dragon held his uncle and the scholar. If he watched long enough, he could see several papers fly out from beneath the dragon and flutter away on the wind, destined to fall forgotten to some desolate section of the forest floor far below. As always, whenever that happened, Lukas could imagine hearing a squawk of outrage from Tristofer, as he no doubt pleaded with the dragon to decrease their speed and altitude.
To his right he could see the large black dragon holding Breslin. He had forgotten the name of that dragon as it had too many syllables to remember, let alone pronounce. Ahead of them, barely visible as specks in the sky, flew seven other dragons of various colors. Two were green. One was yellow. Another two were red. There was a white dragon with dark stripes, and way out ahead, leading the way, was a brilliant cobalt blue dragon. Lukas had overheard Rhamalli mention two of the dragons were female, but as to which ones they were, he had no way of telling, nor was he going to ask. That sort of question typically ended with the adults laughing at him.
Lukas fidgeted in the claw as he jostled about to find the prime vantage point for watching the passing countryside far below. Not having much luck leaning out over the dragon’s claw, as he was too short, Lukas ducked down to peer through the gaps between the talons. There, far below them, were the tree tops of Anakash forest. His father had said that it was going to take three days just to reach Zylan River. At this rate, if the dragons would just fly them straight there, they could be there in only a matter of a few more hours. As it was, the dragons were flying predominantly east, not south. It was a blessing that they were altering course long enough to drop them off in Donlari.
Just then a swirl of mist obscured his vision. Tiny droplets of water coalesced on his face, chilling him instantly and taking his breath away. What had happened? Lukas ran a hand over his face and inhaled, testing the air. The unmistakable scent of water was everywhere. The clouds! The dragons were flying through the clouds!
“This is amazing!” Lukas shouted to his father.
When no response was forthcoming, Lukas glanced over at the Samara’s other claw, which held his father. Venk had both eyes screwed shut and was gripping the dragon’s talons so tightly his knuckles were turning as pale as the scales.
“Father! Open your eyes! We are flying through the clouds! You don’t want to miss it!”
His father didn’t respond. Lukas tried again, but realized that no matter how loud he shouted, his words were lost to the rushing wind. The swirling mists cleared and Lukas gasped with surprise. Gone was the ground. The trees could no longer be seen. There were no visible mountains and no discernible landmarks anywhere. For all he knew they were no longer flying east but had instead doubled back and were headed home. There was simply no way to tell. Lukas’ jaw started to ache as he was smiling so much. They were flying so high that the clouds he had seen from the ground were now those that he could see far below.
Huge billowy masses of white fluffy clouds were everywhere; directly to their right, to their left, and as far as the eye could see straight ahead. Up here, it was peaceful and serene. If he was a dragon he wouldn’t ever touch back down on the ground. He would spend all his time up here.
“I wish I was a dragon,” Lukas whispered, more to himself than to anyone. “I wish this journey would never end.”
“All good things must come to an end, young Lukas.”
Samara’s voice was strong, powerful, and easily heard. Had the dragon really heard him whispering to himself?
“Can you really hear me?” Lukas asked again, in the softest whisper he could manage, unable to even hear himself.
“Of course.”
“Wow.”
“Dragons have far superior visual and aural abilities, surpassing every other creature that we’re aware of.”
“Amazing.”
“You like flying?”
“I wish I could fly all the time,” Lukas sighed wistfully.
“I was unaware dwarves cared this much for heights. Your father appears to wish he were back on the ground.”
“I know you won’t drop me,” Lukas told the dragon. “Nothing bothers a dragon in the air. It’s perfectly safe.”
Samara grunted. “Up until last year I would have agreed. Now we know otherwise.”
“What happened last year?” Lukas asked, curious.
“We encountered a foe that attacked us from the air,” Samara explained, banking slightly right as he followed Rhamalli around a huge pillar of clouds. “Luckily we were also shown how to defeat the foe. Too many of us believed we were invincible in the air. It was a brutal reality check.”
“Did any dragons die?” Lukas whispered in shock, hoping against hope that none did.
“No, although several were close to perishing.”
Lukas breathed a sigh of relief.
Samara suddenly turned his massive head to the right and inhaled.
“We are approaching the human settlement.”
Lukas stood up on his tip toes to peer over the dragon’s claw. All he could see far below were the approaching tops of the clouds.
“How can you tell?”
“Two ways. First, I can see the village.”
“Really?”
“Aye. But most of all, I can smell them.”
Lukas laughed. “Humans smell bad?”
Samara nodded. “Aye. They are very easy to track. Humans have always wondered why they do not make great hunters. That’s why.”
“Will there be dragons around the lake we’re going to?” Lukas asked hopefully.
“I cannot say,” Samara’s gentle voice answered. “Dragons live wherever they choose. What I will say is that a dragon will not choose to live in an area that has little game. There must be a plentiful supply of food or else the dragon would starve.”
Lukas nodded. It made sense.
“If you do encounter one around these parts, be cautious. A dragon is highly territorial. If it feels threatened, it will eliminate the threat.”
“How will I know if a dragon lives nearby?”
“Look for blackened trees, or dark scorches in the earth. Those are indicators a dragon is near.”
Just when Lukas had thought his clothes had completely dried out from his first encounter with the cloud bank, Samara dipped his wings and banked sharply to their right, angling them towards the heart of another enormous cloud. Lukas realized with a start that he was about to be soaked again. The underling craned his head and held his breath. Great pillows of feathery mist towered thousands of feet above his head. Were they about to go through that? Lukas glanced up at the ivory dragon’s enormous body and saw that Samara’s wings had leveled off but were now partially folded against its back, causing them to tip downward and increase their speed. They were going to miss the large cloud after all. Barely. It was a shame dragon riding was forbidden as the views from the dragon’s back would be much better than from beneath its belly.
Catching sight of the ground layer of clouds rushing up at them, Lukas’ eyes widened. The downy white clouds were now racing towards them so fast that there was no time to brace for impact. Lukas gasped with shock as they blasted through the thick
layer of clouds as though they had been shot out a cannon. There, many hundreds of feet below them, Lukas finally caught sight of the ground once more.
The forest was gone. The trees, visible as a rapidly fading green line far behind them, had been replaced by open prairie, dotted with scraggly bushes and gentle rolling hills. A large, flat river bisected the land and stretched away to the east.
Samara’s wings picked up the pace and began to beat faster as the dragon slowed their descent. Up ahead, or rather farther down, Lukas could see Rhamalli glide in and touch down next to the river. The black dragon followed suit moments later.
Puzzled, Lukas looked around the surrounding area. Where was the human village? Weren’t the dragons supposed to be dropping them off there?
“Something the matter?” Samara inquired as he spiraled lower and lower. The ground was only a few hundred feet away now.
“Where’s Donlari?”
“About a league to the east.”
“Why didn’t you land there?”
“What do you think would have happened if the humans would have spotted ten dragons circling about overhead and then see three land in their village?”
Lukas smiled. “That would be bad.”
“Precisely.”
As Samara came in for a landing he beat his wings furiously in order to make the transition to the ground as smooth as possible. As a result, all the grass in the area was flattened by the blast of wind, appearing as though a giant had stepped on it and squished it flat.
The claw finally opened and the talons, which had held him in position for so long, finally separated. Lukas hopped down to the ground and then turned to face the dragon with a smile on his face.
“I would like to say thanks for the ride. I will never forget it.”
Samara nodded his head. “Would you do me a favor, young dwarf?”
Lukas enthusiastically nodded his head. “Anything!”
“Would you kindly inform your father that the ground is once more beneath our feet?”
Lukas glanced over at his father. Venk was still clutching one of the talons and had a look of grim determination on his face as though he was being subjugated to the most heinous of tortures.
“Father, what are you doing? Let go!”
“Absolutely not! The fiend wants me to let go so that I...”
Realizing it was not necessary to shout in order to be heard, Venk cracked an eye open. Samara had extended his foreleg out and was holding his open claw over a patch of grass. Venk was dangling two feet off the ground, still clutching the talon.
“How about that. We’ve landed.”
Samara snickered. “Your powers of observation astound me, master dwarf.”
Venk dropped to the ground and glared at the dragon. “Ha ha. I am as ill in the air as any of your ilk would be under the ground.”
“Not true,” Samara disagreed. “Land dragons live in subterranean caverns.”
“Perfect. I didn’t need to know that.”
They thanked the dragons and said their farewells. Moments later they watched as the graceful creatures rose into the air and disappeared into the clouds.
Breslin approached.
“I did not think I could ever find a more unpleasant method of travel than Lady Sarah’s teleportations.”
“When Lady Sarah teleported us from one place to the next, it was instantaneous,” Athos argued. “However, I could never get over the sensation that my insides had been left behind.”
“You prefer the dragon??”
Venk was silent as he considered which was the lesser of two evils. Close to a minute passed before Athos finally cleared his throat.
“While my brother figures out what he wants to say, I think it best if we head out.”
Breslin nodded. “I agree. What do you think, lads? Do we make for Donlari or should we find this lake that everyone is making a fuss about?”
Unaccustomed to long bouts of travel, Tristofer meekly raised a hand and suggested they try to find lodging in the village.
Breslin turned east and saw the outskirts of the village at least a league away. He suddenly squatted down and motioned for Lukas to approach.
“What do you think, Master Lukas? Seek shelter in the human village or should we make for the lake?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“You bear the Questor’s Mark. I will let you decide.”
Lukas anxiously looked at his father, who shrugged and jammed his hands into his pockets.
“Let’s find the lake.”
“You heard him. We will find the lake and camp there.”
Tristofer groaned in exasperation and began to grumble.
Several hours later Breslin and the rest of the group were crouching down low next to several squat shrubs. The area was thick with pine trees that were at least a hundred feet tall. So many trees were dotting the landscape that the sun’s welcoming rays were denied access to the forest floor. It was only because most of the lowest branches on the trees were above their heads that the dwarves were able to navigate their way through the forest.
Breslin carefully pulled a low lying branch out of their line of sight and peered anxiously at the tiny lake before them.
“What do you think, lads? Is that it?”
Venk and Athos both shrugged, each mimicking the other perfectly.
“I thought it’d be bigger,” Tristofer commented. Frowning, he started searching his robes for the map Shardwyn had given him. “I do not see how a lake this size could have sustained an entire population of nixies. It’s just not possible.”
“Maybe these nixies are tiny beings no bigger than a bug,” Venk suggested.
Breslin pointed to the map Tristofer was perusing. “What does the map say?”
The scholar didn’t say anything as he held the map one way then completely reversed it and held it upside down. Venk and Athos shared a worried look with Breslin.
“It might be the next lake over.”
Breslin held out a hand. “Give me the map.”
“It’s my map! Shardwyn gave it to me!”
“You can keep the map if you can tell me which direction north is.”
Tristofer twisted to his right and peered through the trees. He then turned left and then finally leaned back to look up at the distant treetops.
“Umm... that way?”
Breslin and the two brothers turned to look right. All three shook their head. Venk sighed.
“Lukas, would you kindly point out which direction is north?”
Lukas turned a little to his right and silently hooked a thumb behind him.
“Excellent, son.”
Tristofer reluctantly surrendered the map.
“Wizards be damned, Tristofer. The lake Shardwyn circled is two leagues to the east. I thought you knew what you were doing.”
“I don’t get outside much, alright?”
“Evidently. This way, follow me. We will have to hurry if we intend to make it before sunset.”
A few hours later, as the sky began to darken, they finally broke free of the trees and approached the second lake. This one was much larger, as it would take at least several hours to walk around the entire perimeter. Lukas suddenly gasped with surprise.
“What is it?” Venk asked as he rushed to his son’s side. “Is something the matter?”
“It’s my back! My back is tingling!”
Chapter 4 – Dwarves Hate Water!