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Chapter 8: Escaping Sorrows

Veledar closely followed the human Arcturus down the wet path of earth. His wings still covered the human to at least keep him dry from the rain that pattered upon his tan colored membrane. He breathed in deep into the smell of fresh rain, then opened his maw to catch a few droplets of water onto his tongue. The liquid certainly tasted like normal rain. There was nothing odd about it. The dragon stared at the dark clouds that filled the sky, where he would see the occasional flash of lighting spear through the heavy curtain. However, every time that happened, there was no bang. Veledar was sure he never heard the thunderous roar of thunder ever since he entered Trixie's realm.

The two of them kept on walking, paws and boots splashing through the mud. His joints would occasionally ache during the drip, a dull pain that he could manage but he let out a loud groan to startle the human. This amused the dragon as Arcturus would then apologize for capturing the dragon and throwing him in the bowels of the Lumarian airship.

They had come to a gnarled tree in the middle of their path, easily dwarfing Veledar in size. He stared up at the trunk that had two large knots at a split that looked suspiciously like eyes.

"Well, nothing wrong with a bit of creepiness as long as I can sit on it." The human found a dry bit of earth and sat against the tree, letting out a sigh of relaxation.

"Aren't you feeling watched?"

Arcturus waved dismissively at the eyes, comparing them to a weird type of fairy flower.

"Grrr, fine." Veledar sat beside him. He started poking and licking at his wing joints to ease the tension while he flexed his limbs slowly to keep the blood from pouring through his weary muscles. They sat there in silence. Veledar noted that the rain had not exactly stopped, but simply did not fall beneath this tree or its branches. He tilted his neck in curiosity, as the tree had no leaves at all to protect them from the water droplets.

"How long do you think we have been walking?" Arcturus rested his back against one of the roots.

"Can't tell in this place where there's no sun or moon to speak of..." Veledar replied as he dashed his tongue over a hind paw. He could already feel the ache in his joints starting to go away in spite of the human's silly comments about the taste of dirt and what not. He called this practice barbaric. As if he knew anything about being a dragon.

"Fine. Lick them all away. I don't know why we're arguing about grooming habits when you yawn like a cat, stretch like a cat, eat like a cat and probably even mate like one."

Veledar had a few answers prepared, but he was enjoying his grooming too much. Besides, he didn't want to give the human the satisfaction of another silly debate.

When Veledar finished with his paws, he continued with his tail. Arcturus mumbled something about continuing the journey. Veledar however loved his tail too much to leave it cold and damp.

"I am more interested in why the rain does not fall beneath this tree, adding that to the list of other things we have seen." He answered to one of the human's many concerns.

"Maybe you're right. Perhaps we shouldn't look a dragon in the mouth."

"Horse. It's horse. I heard this saying before."

"I've seen plenty of horses in my life, and at the risk of inflating your immense ego, I do have to admit you look much better than a horse."

Veledar stopped mid-lick. "Thank you." He quickly continued to distract himself from the hot blood rushing into his cheeks. It wasn't the first time he heard a compliment from this human's mouth. Why was his heart beating so quick? The dragon nibbled onto his scales, figuring it must've been some weird fairy magic that made him feel awkward.

"Stretch your wing over. I can use a bit of warmth over here."

Veledar did. He stifled a weird growl when the human started caressing along his sensitive membrane.

"Strange, how soft your wings are when your entire body is made for battle." Arcturus traced his finger along a thick blood vessel. "When we get to a village, I'll speak with one of the blacksmiths to fashion you something for the wings. It only takes a single claw to rob you off the ability to fly."

"I won't get hit." Veledar said. He tried to pull his wing back, only to find himself unable as the human held onto two of his phalanges.

"It's mine now. You offered it, remember?"

The dragon mumbled something about rudeness, then continued with his grooming.

Thankfully Arcturus was too tired to poke fun at him. The human put his hands beneath his head and reclined onto the ground. "Figure it would a good time to rest for a while." the human opened one eye to look at the dragon. "Unless you have something else to lick, Crimson Sky."

Veledar groaned. Even with all the licking his muscles still felt fatigued. He snorted before he coiled around himself, resting his head on top of a hind paw. He hated how bare, cold and hard the ground felt. If only he had materials to build himself a proper nest...

"I only disagree because this place lacks any soft beds for us to sleep on. Since SOMEONE decided to take mine." he looked to Arcturus to see a wave of regret wash over the human's face before he apologized yet again. Veledar smiled and closed his eyes.

"How old are you anyway? I figure you're in hundreds. Somewhere close to that figure anyway."

"That's an odd, sudden question. Do you really want to know?"

The human said yes.

Veledar remained silent for a moment. Age was something he never really thought about when he simply existed without any worries about the changing seasons or the passing of time.

"Alright. If I had to say, I would guess five hundred and twenty seasons?" Veledar cocked his head, seemingly unsure of himself. "Wait. That's not right. Or is it? Human years are so odd!" Veledar frowned slightly knowing he wasn't as old as other dragons, but he hoped Arcturus would not notice that.

"Five hundred and twenty seasons?" Arcturus said sitting up and opening his eyes. It took him a moment before he replied. "Oh that means a hundred thirty something. Still rather young for an adult dragon. You've got so many more years to go, my scaly friend. Good health to you."

Veledar sighed. He felt rather embarrassed by the human's deductive skills. Of course he would know that. He had studied dragon's after all.

"So dragons measure their ages in seasons. That's something books never mention, probably because how redundant that is. Much easier to count years than seasons."

"Well honestly it is only a rough guess, I honestly don't care about my age too much."

Arcturus looked to him as if he might have something to say before shutting his mouth quickly. Well since the human had asked him Veledar figured he might as well return the favor.

"What about you, paladin?"

"Twenty five. That's a hundred seasons in dragon age."

"Is that old for humans?"

Arcturus chuckled.

Veledar had to admit to himself he was not too sure about the life span of humans. He had heard they were not long as long lived as the elves or even their trusty gryphons. He sighed in pity for their race, almost a drop of water in the bucket that was Veledar's life span.

"Humans can live for eighty or up to one hundred with the right spells. Past that...I'm not even sure it's worth living."

"Only one hundred? Then the tales I have heard are true!" Veledar replied, "You have such a short time in this world. How can you manage to achieve anything of worth?"

"Simple. We strive to do the most with the time we are given." Arcturus beamed, "Live for the day. Absorb as much knowledge as we can from our surroundings. We are kind of forced to do it faster than the other races. Trust me you're not the only one to ask me this question. You should hear some of the stories of elves in our city. Sometimes they can be cold heartless bastards." Arcturus then paused for a moment as Veledar just looked at him during the silence.

"How about your stories, dragon? Is this the first time you have a meaningful interaction with a human?"

"I met two scavengers when I encountered Trixie, then made acquaintance with hundreds when I blundered into that man's house. Before that I had only heard of you in stories from the wood elves."

"You knew wood elves?"

"But of course," The dragon said. "Hard not to when you live next to their great forest."

"That must have been hard, you know, being a fire breathing dragon in a forest of flammable elves." the human smirked.

Veledar just chuckled "Yes that would be a very big problem for an irresponsible hatchling, but mother kept us away from them for the most part. They gave her plenty of leeway in raising us."

"Did you have any other siblings besides the one you mentioned before?"

Veledar frowned. He usually enjoyed his talks about the past. However, that was a topic he never enjoyed. "Yes, I had a brother who was older than I," he said slowly and more quietly than he usually talked.

"Well did you ever stay in contact? I have heard dragons live very much in solitude."

"That is not a hard rule. We generally like to live alone, but we enjoy companionship as much as any other living being."

He thought to the day that he and Adalina had decided to leave the nest away from his mother. She had been relieved they were heading out, but he had always remembered how she looked a little sad.

"Although we are separated we do keep tabs on where the other ones keep their lairs." He thought to his sister's lair that resided now over the sea in another country.

"Well how long ago did you separate from your family?"

"Twenty-five years ago in human time." he let out a mighty sigh. Sometimes it felt as though it were just yesterday that they were all big one happy clutch. He frowned again as he thought back to his brother, imagining how he would have looked now, all grown and strong. He turned his head as they both heard the snapping of a twig behind them. What he saw made his blood run cold, and a shiver of dread tingle up his spine and found himself completely helpless.

Standing about one hundred feet from the tree was a silver hatchling on the verge of adulthood. He stood as half as tall as Veledar on all four limbs with armored scales bearing the color of silver. He had two white horns, with one of them severed around the middle. The hatchling had frills along his back all the way from head to his tail, and even under his chin. His gray wings were drooped, dragging against the earth as he moved around.

Veledar shot up when he noticed a sickly red streak slashed around the hatchling's hind leg. When the hatchling turned, more gashes came into view; sickly things that dripped with crimson goo.

"No. No, not again, rrraaaaaaahhhh!" Veledar found himself bounding over to the wrymling as the form of his dying brother collapsed onto the ground. He heard Arcturus shout something to him, but he ignored the human as he desperately reached his brother. He collapsed as he caressed the dragon's snout. There was no air coming out of his nostrils, no warmth in his cold body. Veledar placed his head on the dead dragon's back, already feeling the tears that plagued him in moments of depression that followed his brother's death many years ago.

"How can this be?" he cried out. "You were dead for so many ages! Why must you return to torment me so?" he asked as he softly ran his claws over the cuts in his brother's scales. "If I had......" he trailed off as the tears began to fall down his cheeks now, falling onto the ground below. "If only I had been stronger to...to protect you..."

"Dragon. Dragon..." a faint voice called to him. "Crimson Sky!"

Confused, Veledar turned his head around as something warm touched his shoulder.

"Your brother?" the human asked, his voice but a whisper.

"Yes." Veledar's breath shuddered. The dragon closed his teary eyes. He thought back to when his brother began to fall from the sky, spiraling down towards the ground. He shook his snout to clear the memory from his mind.

"How did he perish?"

"That." Veledar sniffed, "That will be a tale for another time." He then wiped his eyes, then opened them to find that his brother's corpse had vanished. He felt his anger grow at the realization this was all an illusion brought on about by this accursed place.

"Graaaaarrr! I hate you!" Veledar smashed his tail into the ground. "This mud that sticks to my feet, the cold air, the oppressive clouds that never stop weeping. I hate everything!" Veledar roared out at the blurred forest, using all his four feet to rake gashes into the ground while his tail left gape after gape until he found his rampage blocked by the human's defiant form.

"Get out of my way."

"No!" Arcturus stretched a hand towards his snout. "This place...it pulses with our memories, unveiling deepest secrets. The more we linger here, the harder it will be to leave. We should get some rest, then get out as quick as we can, especially after..that." Arcturus said.

Veledar threw his snout into the human's arms. He didn't care how ungainly it was, but right now he needed something warm to banish the cold dread pulsing within his veins. After he got a healthy dose of scratches and a tight sympathy hug from the human, Veledar was ready to leave. He thanked Arcturus for his support, then returned back to the tree, where he acted as a makeshift bed for the tired human.

It must've been a while since they dozed off. Veledar had been having a such wonderful dream. He remembered dragons, and Arcturus too, although anything beyond that out of his grasp. He looked around while his jaws parted in a healthy yawn to find Arcturus missing from his resting place.

"Arcturus?" the dragon lifted each wing at a time to make sure he wasn't missing anything.

There was a trail of boot prints leading towards the blurry forest.

"Arcturus!" he shouted, practically jumping to all fours. Damn that human Veledar cursed to himself. He should have tied him to his tail to stop this from happening, or maybe sleep on top of him. Nevertheless, there was nothing to be done now. Veledar quickly followed the tracks to the trail's edge. He inspected the boot prints, still fresh. That was at least some good news, if the human had not left long ago he could not have possibly gotten that far. Veledar hesitated before placing a paw into the woods off of the path. He remembered Trixie's words, but leaving Arcturus alone in this world of lost memories was just not the right thing to do. Veledar thought back on his own experience when he tore the ground in grief over his brother's demise. It was Arcturus that calmed his rage. Arcturus that offered him comfort when the coldness of the skies closed down on him.

After a moment of mental preparation Veledar bounded into the forest. Creepy trees surrounded him from all sides, their gnarled branches almost reaching out to him. Veledar kept away from any roots, avoiding every form of vegetation until he found Arcturus not that far from the path. Arcturus was crouched over what appeared to be two burned corpses. One was the size of an adult, and the other was the size of a small child. The human was holding one in each arm, sobbing quietly into their seared flesh.

Veledar had an idea about who those humans could be. He approached the human, poking him hard in the back.

"Leave me, you vile beast!" Arcturus shouted with animalistic fury, almost catching Veledar on the snout with his sword. "Can't you see that they need me?!" He pointed the sharp tip at Veledar's eyes. "I need to tend to their wounds, and you are not getting in my way!"

"They're not real, Arcturus. What you are seeing now is a lie."

"Wh-what?" The human shook his head. "No. No, they're here. Can't you see them?"

"Only the roots of the trees. You're staring at roots, Arcturus."

The human dropped on his knees to grab onto the other two figures. "No, they're here. I can smell their seared flesh. Touch their...their."

Veledar grabbed onto Arcturus. "It's all in your mind, human. The forest is feeding on you. Let go. Let go now!"

He could almost feel the forest's grip tighten around their forms. Urging them to remain here, give themselves to the phantasms of the past.

"I know you're in pain. I know they need you. But so do I," Veledar snarled as he began to drag Arcturus away from the two corpses.

"Nooooo! Don't do this! Please don't take them away from me again!"

Veledar ignored Arcturus as the human punched and kicked like a wild, caged beast.

"Let go. Le'go!" the human wailed, grabbing onto a branch and holding firm. "Noooooo!"

With a final tug, the human's grip slipped and Veledar pulled him all the way back to the tree. He plopped Arcturus down, who now seemed to be calm with no fight left in him. The human just slouched, hugged his knees, and continued sobbing silently to himself. "I lied."

Arcturus looked at him, so much pain welling in his eyes it almost hurt Veledar to see him so...broken.

"I saw the burned corpses...what remained of your family. But I couldn't leave you there alone, because I need you here, with me."

"Why did you do that, dragon?" Arcturus whispered, drool coming out of his mouth to join the streams of tears that fell down the sides of his pained face. "They needed me...without me by their side, they'll be lost again." Arcturus said softly. "I can't do this...I cannot abandon them again."

"That was not your family. Only an illusion meant to lure you off the path. Just...just like my brother." Veledar stated calmly, although he felt a pang of pity for him. He sat quietly as Arcturus continued to sob silently to himself.

"What were their names?" Veledar asked as he slowly eased the human against his scaly chest.

Arcturus sniffed and wiped a hand across his face to clear his tears. "My wife's name was Selina, and my son was named Geoffery. Two years ago, a red dragon going by the name Dread Flame decided killed them in revenge after I bloodied his scales. I plunged my sword into his eye and felt his hot blood wash over my knuckles. Dread Flame...if there ever was a beast more deserving of my blade. My only regret is that I haven't killed him slower." Arcturus hissed. "He should've suffered just as much as my family did!"

Having vented out his inner demons, Arcturus slowly regained his calmer state.

"I held my son in my arms when he gave his final breath. I screamed for a cleric until my voice gave out but...it was too late. I failed them. I failed my squad, my king...I failed everyone." Arcturus looked up at the dragon, "You're the only left, Crimson. The only one I managed to save."

"I know" Veledar placed his head in the human's lap, ignoring the fact Arcturus had referred to him simply as "Crimson" twice now. "We cannot think about the past now. Let us get some rest before our bodies collapse."

He grabbed the human and pulled him tightly against his scaled chest. He was surprised he was so soft, it reminded him of his stuffed animal from back in his lair.

"I will be holding you close to me so you don't wander off again...if that's alright with you."

Arcturus nodded and replied with a simple "Good."

"Rest now. When we both rise, we shall see this path to completion." Veledar yawned curling his head and draping his wings over them both. He closed his eyes as he felt the human fall asleep, hoping tomorrow he would greet the real world once more.

Veledar awoke the next morning when he felt Arcturus' trying to wiggle free from his grasp. He opened his eyes and yawned a healthy ten seconds tongue-curling yawn before smirking at the human's futile struggles.

"Did you sleep well?" he said coyly.

"How could I not when your big scaly bum kept me warm as a baby?"

"Bum? Do you really want to see how it feels to sleep at my other end?"

"No! Gods no! Fair, mighty, crimson dragon, I beseech you!"

"Grawr, fine." Veledar relaxed his front limbs. Though he wanted to have a bit more fun with the human, he couldn't antagonize him when he spoke such honest, beautiful words.

Veledar slowly stood up. He sprawled his wings on either side, his joints trembling as they stretched to their limits. The dragon flapped them lightly a few times to wear off the stiffness, then continued with the usual stretching motions of his other pairs of limbs.

"Do you have to moan like that when you stretch?"

Veledar was well aware of the rumbles coming out of his throat. Of course an inferior creature like the human could not possibly understand how good it felt to stretch after a long night of resting.

"I don't know. Can you stop scratching your face-fur?"

"It's called a beard," Arcturus felt around the brown bush that started to cover his whole jaw. "And if your scales itch for an answer, know that I plan to get rid of it as soon as we return to civilization."

"Why's that?" Veledar lifted a forepaw to poke at his obviously sharp claws. "I have everything I need right here."

Arcturus unsheathed his sword. "This is a lot sharper."

"Then use it."

"Yeah," he pointed towards the dragon's tail. "Kind of like you use your claws to scratch your ass, eh?"

The little mink was getting the hang of this game of teasing, a revelation for which Veledar hadn't planned ahead. For a dragon, losing at anything felt like a dull throbbing headache that persisted for days.

"That was a joke, in case you couldn't tell," the dragon waved a paw around, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm not as cruel as to sit on your tiny, crumbly body when we rest. Besides, you barely even stirred."

"Indeed. I just love being held like a babe as I sleep. Why I should've married a dragon instead of a woman!" Arcturus rolled his eyes. "You are good at many things, dragon, but even you have your limits."

"So what you are saying is that you would rather sleep out in the cold?"

Arcturus nodded. "Why did you even do that? I would have been fine without getting the special treatment. Knights are trained to endure much worse than a bit of cold, and I am a-"

"Paladin," it was the dragon's time to growl. "Heard that enough times already."

He was a bit annoyed that Arcturus did not realize he had done him a great service. "Excuse me for trying too hard. All I did was make sure you did not wander off in the middle of the night again. I found you holding the forms of your dead wife and child in case that memory eludes you."

Arcturus froze in place and looked to Veledar as if the dragon suddenly sprouted additional heads. "I did what?" He asked in disbelief.

Veledar tilted his head. Was it possibly the human did not remember the night before? Just in case, he explained everything that had happened the night before, especially enjoying the part when he told Arcturus about how he had bravely rescued the paladin from wandering the forest for all eternity. He ended with the tale with how Arcturus crawled into his embrace all by himself after a heart-touching moment shared prior to that.

"Whoa. Well...I almost feel like a different person did all that, but I'm here, you're there, it happened, so thanks." Arcturus shook his head. "Are you absolutely sure it wasn't a dream?"

"You are now both testing my patience and insulting my acuity, dear human." Veledar smiled, "I am a dragon. Doubt is like the wind that comes out of my other end when-"

"Alright I heard enough. Thanks again for warming me like a campfire. You're a lot warmer and comfortable than I initially believed, alright? Is your scaly ego satisfied now?"

Veledar beamed at the human's words, then looked quickly around and noticed something was off. They were not in the same place they had fallen asleep in. Instead, they were in the middle of a field of bright green grass. There was a tree where the previous one had been, but instead of a creepy leafless monster, leaves of all different colors sprouted from this one's branches. The trunk too looked to be vibrant and full of life.

"Uh, do you suppose we wandered off some more?" Arcturus asked, scratching his head in confusion.

If they had, Veledar did not know, but he spied the path again parting the grass and leading off deeper into the forest.

"Crimson Sky!" Arcturus shouted.

Veledar turned to Arcturus who was busy scooping what looked like berries out of his pack and belt pouches to form small piles of them on the ground.

"Looks like someone filled my pouches and pack with berries while we slept. I don't know whether to be terrified something snuck in on us or thank them."

"Who cares?" Veledar shrugged and speared one of the purple berries with his claw. He inspected its soft surface and juice slowly dripping down, then quickly popped it into his maw much to Arcturus disapproval.

"Wait! We don't even know where those came from."

"Mrawrm, who cares??" Veledar cried as he took another. He felt his hunger that had been growing over their journey fade away almost instantly. He remembered the druids sharing some of these berries when he was a hatchling, so he was well aware of what happened.

"Are they safe?" Arcturus asked, placing one next to his eye.

"Not for humans." Veledar lied. "Quickly, give me yours." he laughed.

Arcturus quickly snatched up three or four of the berries eyeing them with suspicion. "You greedy bastard. They're perfectly safe aren't they?"

Veledar rolled his eyes in amusement. 'Yes, Arcturus. Trixie's friends won't suddenly poison us just to see what kind of faces we make before we die. Actually, I'm pretty sure everyone heard of my heroic exploits, which explains these berries, obviously a tribute to my greatness."

"Oh shut it." Arcturus laughed. Both of them ate about half of the berries. Arcturus put the rest back into his pouch and patted his belly.

"Well, that really hit the spot. What are these things again? Dragon berries, dragon balls, dragon-"

"I'll show you balls." Veledar bared his teeth, then suddenly burped loudly. "Night's essence or something of that sort. One of them can sustain a human for an entire day."

He expected some sort of praise from the human for knowing such a fact, but Arcturus kept staring at him. "Do I have some juice on my snout or something?"

"You burped!" Arcturus said again in disbelief.

"So?" Veledar shrugged.

"I didn't think dragons are capable of that!" Arcturus started to laugh.

"Of course we burp!" Veledar cried, "What did you think we did, blow flames out of our nostrils?"

"Ah it's just something that never occurred to me." Arcturus mumbled as his face turned red. "Wonder what else you dragons can do."

Veledar stood up and started walking towards the path. "I can show you how I blow gas from my other end, but we should go before you annoy me to the point where I'll really do that."

He didn't have to look back to hear Arcturus swiftly trying to catch up to him.

"What's with the rush Crimson Sky? This path just seems to keep going and going."

Veledar could feel a sensation running through his bones, a hunch some might call it, or a premonition.

"I feel as though this path nears its end, and we shall soon find ourselves returning to our world. " He said, slowing his pace slightly so that Arcturus caught up next to him.

"Good. Fairy world has its fair share of surprises, but honestly I think we've both seen enough." Arcturus replied.

"Is it the place, or the company?" Veledar asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The place, you silly dragon. The company hasn't been too unpleasant. Although there is this really annoying dragon who keeps making fart jokes." Arcturus laughed.

"Annoying?" Veledar asked," that's the best you could come up with? Not dreadful, honorable, handsome, or wise?"

"Nope, just annoying."

Veledar playfully smacked Arcturus with a paw. "Be careful human, I am much bigger than you."

"Well that just means you have a bigger ego to bruise when you are swiftly outsmarted."

Usually Veledar would get annoyed with the playful insults but he instead found himself arguing with the human playfully as they walked until they had made their way out of the forest, out towards another green field. It seemed to stretch as far as Veledar could see in all directions. He and Arcturus were currently talking about magic and who was better at casting it. They stopped only when they looked to what seemed to be a clearing in the middle of the field.

Within the clearing of grass was a symbol in the shape of a tree made out of small worn gray stones. The symbol was ten feet in size with many branches, kind of like a portal to another world.

"Well it looks like we are finally at the end of this journey." Veledar smiled, "We can talk about how dragons are better at magic in every way than humans later."

"And I'll pretend to listen. Now, wise dragon, maybe you can divine us a method of using this portal." Arcturus said while kneeling beside one of the stones, running his hand along it. Veleder decided to do the same with another stone and found them very smooth. He felt a small aura oozing out of the stone, something that happened with every magic-imbued object."

"Well the stones are magical," Veledar said aloud, "but I have no idea on how to activate them."

"Great! We're stuck."

"Not yet." Veledar scratched at the stone surface slowly, careful not to leave any lasting marks. It was shame they had to leave this place. Dark things it did have but the other things were rather fascinating Veledar decided he would have to question Trixie all about this place when this was all said and done, after he was done yelling at her that is.

They spent the next hour prodding scratching, and Veledar tried some can-trip spells. Despite this nothing happened, not even a rock moved out of place. Veledar roared loudly in frustration, smashing his tail into the rock strong enough to recoil it in pain.

"Raaarrhhhh, This stone taunts me!" Veledar hissed. He turned towards Arcturus who was busy drawing the symbol on a pad of parchment. He walked over slowly, trying to take a peek at the drawing.

"Why are you drawing that?" Veledar snarled, placing his snout inches from the parchment. From the look of it Arcturus had done a fairly decent job of duplicating the symbol on the ground.

"Figured it would help me think of a different way to solve this thing, instead of thrashing my tail, baring my teeth and snarling like a beast." Arcturus replied with a smirk.

"You don't have any- hey that's part of a dragon's thinking process!" Veledar put his snout up high, "If something doesn't require a baring of teeth and a good tail smack than it clearly wasn't worth our time." He opened one eye to peer down at the human, who was looking at him with an amused grin.

"Why are you making that face? You're not supposed to be amused! Besides it's better than that smudge you barfed on-"

Something suddenly moved in the corner of Veledar's eye, causing him to stop talking mid-sentence. He spun around to see something mightily peculiar. Eight figures seemed to have sprouted out of the earth like trees. They stood at roughly eight feet tall and seemed to be made completely of shadows. Where humans would have had hands they instead seemed to have large claws, and instead of a face all they had was a blank face with no features. Veledar flared his wings as his tail flicked back and forth behind him. He heard the metallic hiss of Arcturus' sword, and a quick glance revealed four more had appeared around Arcturus. The figures in front of Veledar started to move, seemingly gliding along the ground.

Veledar fought the urge to take flight and let his fire breath burn the lot of them. He lashed out with his claws instead as the silhouettes moved in to strike at his scales. He bit at one with his teeth only to have it dissipate as his jaws clamped down on empty air. He felt some claws dig into his flesh, his blood smearing against his scales. He lashed out at the shadows as he cursed his inability to leave the human behind. As a dragon, Veledar was not used to protecting someone during a fight. To Veledar's shock each time his claws sliced through one of the shadows it would burst into two instead.

Despite his success at ripping and biting them asunder, the dragon soon found himself surrounded on all sides. However his scales could not protect him forever as he roared out in pain when a beast struck his hind leg.

Veledar swiped the human close to him with his tail, took a deep breath, then unleashed a jet of fire that washed over the shadows before him like the river pouring through rocks. The shadows melted like wax within his fire.

"That does it." The dragon stood proud, breathing heavy and aching as he looked over where his foes once were.

The sounds of grunts and shouts reminded him of the human, who had a sizable amount of shadows around him as well. He dove over the human and crashed the bulk of his body into the shadows before him. However, as he turned his snout to look he found the ones he had melted with his fire reforming before his eyes. He pushed the shadows back and started to draw a circle on the ground around himself and Arcturus. "Protection!' he yelled out.

The circle shone bright white before forming a wall of light between them and the shadows. Veledar winced from the pain in his side. It was a minor wound by dragon standards, but it still hurt. He stared at the shadows as they raked the shimmering wall with their claws like a pack of rabid wolves. He knew the shield would not last for very long if they kept striking it.

"We need to find a way out of here!" The dragon hissed.

"Did you notice the symbol on their backs?" Arcturus asked, his breath just as labored.

"No, I was too busy destroying them." Veledar hissed. "Why do you even care what is on their backs?"

"It is the same symbol as the stones on the ground. They must be a puzzle on how to escape. It must be one last test of endurance for you to leave."

"How do you mean?" Veledar cocked his head to the side.

"Trixie said to focus, and that's why she sent both of us. I think we need to ignore the shadows and focus on leaving."

"Are you sure?" Veledar growled when a dark claw started to pierce through the wall.

"No course not but what in god's name are we supposed to do?"

"Well aren't you just a great fountain of inspiration, my dear paladin?"

"Crimson Sky, just do it!"

"Pffft." Veledar turned towards Arcturus, "Fine. But if we die here, I will haunt you throughout the entirety of afterlife with the worse jokes I can think of."

"Deal! Now do it!"

Veledar closed his eyes and tried to picture his escape from this place. He imagined himself once again in the sky, flying alongside other dragons. He smiled, thinking about the morning dew between his toes and finding a decent meal. He felt the barrier collapse but he pushed it from his mind. He imagined a large ornate door made of mahogany engraved with grand dragon carvings. He turned to his right to see Arcturus smiling back at him.

"This is incredible, Veledar." he said and the dragon didn't even notice he used his name. They both turned to a faint roar from the other side of the door. "Ready, my friend?" the human said, drawing his sword. Veledar nodded as he felt something shake him.

"Wake up, you lazy son of a lizard!"

Veledar's eyes opened, followed by a deep yawn. Had he been sleeping? He thought he had closed his eyes to avoid the shadows. He looked around at the clearing they were in. It looked like the one they had been in where Trixie performed the ritual. Although when Veledar looked around there was no mountain. The sun was high above in the sky, hinting at noon. He stretched out on the grass, letting his claws dig into the earth softly. He peered down at Arcturus who had stood back up and was checking his pockets.

"I am not familiar with your lands; do you know where we ended up?" Veledar asked.

"Don't know yet." Arcturus replied. "We first need to see what's out of this clearing." The human crossed his arms when he seemed satisfied his gear was in order. "Ready for another journey?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Veledar grinned as mischief sprung to his mind.

"So which direction should we inspect first? I think north makes the most seeeeeenssss. Gods, not agaaaaaaaaaain!" Arcturus cried as Veledar snatched him up into the skies again.

The dragon shot into the air like an arrow loosed from a bow. Veledar felt the sun, the rushing air, the wind against his wings. Everything was so perfect.

"Oh cheer up already. You know I won't drop you." He looked down at the less than thrilled human as he began to beat his wings so they stayed the same spot in the air.

"You bastard!!" Arcturus shouted as he pounded once again at the dragon's scales.

"Sorry, I forgot how much you enjoy flying," he replied, stifling down a laugh. "Besides I need to look around, figure out where we are."

He heard Arcturus gulp as he gazed out to the rolling hills that were covered in patches of green, yellow, and brown. Every so often there seemed to be buildings that had sprouted from the ground, dotting the hills with the obvious sign of human habitation.

"She sent us far south!" Arcturus shouted in disbelief. "We are close to Drenadar! I recognize these hills from the time when I was still a wee boy!"

"So where do we go next?" Veledar asked. He had never been this far before into these lands. He heard both of their bellies suddenly give a loud growl. "I think we may want to find something to eat of course." Veledar chuckled.

"There is a village not far from here." Arcturus pointed,

"Would they mind a dragon suddenly showing up?"

"I am sure they have seen stranger things in that village. Put me down first, there is no way I am being carried like a package to the village."

"Well I don't think you have a choice in the matter." laughed Veledar as he decided to dive, then changing direction suddenly.

"What is the name of this village that treats dragons with the respect they deserve?" he asked to a pale faced Arcturus.

"T-T-T-T-T--rost" Arcturus stammered, "Please do not do that again."

"As you say, captain of knights, paladin of whatever," Veledar grinned, letting the currents carry them eastward.