The Traveler
A Traveler By: D. C. Henry ("Ahndeleck") 7/25/2010
Trav opened his eyes, which hurt since the first thing he saw was the sun. He squinted and held a hand up to block out the inhospitable light. The sharp steel spear tip became the second thing Trav noticed in the day, and he realized the day would be a rough one.
A large Whulf pointed the spear down at him. His large lupine face snarled down at him, which further proved it would be a long day. Trav guessed this young wolf-man wouldn't be a challenge to fight. If only he had a few minutes to collect himself and have breakfast there would be no contest. Still though, he didn't want to fight anyone for any reason right now.
"Don't move, or I'll run you through human."
"Alright, will you run me through if I stay here?"
"I might. Now get up slowly, and start towards the village."
"What village?" Trav stood and wished he could stretch.
"On the other side of the field. Who else is with you?"
The first sign of good news, he hadn't caught the little dragon. The pup might be one of the poachers' new recruits, but Trav didn't think so. Still, the little thing was safe for the moment, which was good news. If only he could find a way to save himself now.
"Who else is there human?" The Whulf jostled the spear in his direction.
"No one," Trav leaned back slightly, "and be careful with the stick. It's too early to hurt anyone yet."
"Gauff gets to make that opinion, not you human. Move."
Again the Whulf shook the spear at him, and Trav decided it might be good to start doing what the young man wanted. He walked towards the opposite side of the grassy field, with the young Whulf behind him. The knee high grass made walking a little slower, but it didn't mind him, nor his new captor either it seemed. Near the woods on the other side, he could see smoke rising from several small, grass thatched, huts. During the night, he had mistaken them for small mounds of grass.
"So, what's the name of your village here? I'm from Ezayla, so I don't know the smaller places around here."
"Cradra."
"That sounds pretty good. I've always liked Whulf names, they always sound so tough. What's your name actually? I don't think we've met before and I always like to know the names of my friends."
"Caul, and we're not friends. You're a prisoner of war now human."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Trav. I came from a little place not much bigger than this one. Have you been here your whole life?"
Trav didn't get an answer from Caul, not that he expected much. There wouldn't be much chance to break the ice between them anyway, and Trav's hopes to get on the Whulf's better side iced over quickly. He'd just have to see if he could talk his way to freedom and then find the little dragoness before some other poachers found her.
The village looked larger up close than it did across the field. There were a fair number of he huts and larger buildings inside the woods. Trav guessed there was about a hundred or maybe less there, but he never got those guesses right anyway. There were several Whulves already hard at work around the place as well, and Trav was impressed so many of them could get up early in the morning. Whulves amazed him at how little sleep they needed, and again wondered if they ever had enough sleep. Maybe that explained their behavior to outsiders sometimes, just grumpy from lack of sleep.
"Did you get much sleep last night?" Trav asked.
"What?"
"I was just wondering if you had enough sleep last night. I thought it was a pretty warm night last night, especially without the wind. I've always found summer nights hard to sleep outdoors without any sort of breeze. Then the next day I'm always groggy and slow and-"
He felt the tip of the spear for a moment at his back and decided that Caul definitely didn't have enough sleep last night. A mother dressed in a rough dark brown dress watched with her two small children as he and Caul walked past them. At another larger hut, an elderly man sharpened a spear and watched. Trav smiled and bowed his head.
"Good morning sir."
He didn't expect a reply, and didn't receive one. At least this Whulf wasn't snarling at him. Maybe there was hope for him yet. Maybe they all knew that Caul slept on a rock the night before and woke up with a nasty attitude. They walked past a number of other Whulves, and Trav noticed they were beginning to get a following. Finally their march ended at a larger building that seemed to be made half from wood, and the rest from the grass hut material.
"Gauff," Caul barked out, "I found a human out in the fields."
Trav heard some unintelligible grumbles from inside the building, someone else sounded like they weren't sleeping well either. He was glad he wasn't the only one annoyed by Caul today.
Gauff walked to the threshold of the building as he tied a cloth belt around large frayed pants. Trav noticed he was much larger than he was, and very well built for a Whulf. He hadn't seen many humans as well built as him, and the addition to thick dark gray fur all over his body made him even more bulky. At least his face seemed more tired and annoyed than angry. He and Trav traded stares for a moment, then Gauff turned his stare to Caul.
"Now what Caul." Gauff's voice was flat and toneless, although Trav could imagine it sounding deep and menacing.
"I found him sleeping out under the oak trees at the other end of the field. I thought he could be a spy. For the Eltines."
"I'm from Ezayla, just traveling north to see some country side for a few days."
Gauff turned began staring back at him again, "So why weren't you using the road to the east?"
"I like traveling through the country side. Its cheaper, and usually less dangerous. Besides, you get to see so much more of the land that way. You know ruins, wildlife, sharp pointy spears."
"Caul, you don't have to point that at him anymore. I don't think he's going to do anything rash."
Trav heard what could have been a soft growl, but mentally shrugged the sound off as someone being hungry. Trav smiled, meeting Gauff had certainly stopped the day from turning into a disaster. By mid morning, he and the little dragon, if he could find her again, would be back on their way north.
"I'm glad that's over with. Don't worry about this at all Gauff, I know how a little bit of missed sleep can make things get a little carried-"
"You're not done yet traveler."
Trav heard a single jeering, triumphant chuckle behind him. His hopes sank a little.
"Now," Gauff continued, "For a traveler, why the blade? Where are you traveling? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're also wearing the Ezayla Boarder Guard uniform aren't you?"
"Well, everyone should have something to defend themselves with in the wilderness right? I like the Boarder guard's uniform, its hardy, holds up to weather well, and I like to think of it as stylish. The Boarder Guard put a lot-"
"I don't think so, you look Boarder Guard to me. For a Boarder Guard you seem pretty far away from the ones you're supposed to be at. I've seen your kind before."
Gauff crossed his thick arms and squinted at him, looking him over from head to toe. Trav's hopes smoldered and began dying to ashes. He wasn't sure how Gauff knew he was Boarder Guard, but he marched with them until they found the poachers a week ago. After finding the little dragon, he hadn't bothered going back to report to anyone, so he guessed the Boarder Guard considered him dead by now. Did that make him still a part of the Boarder Guard?
"I think we should keep you around for a little while, stranger. We're at war with the Eltines right now, and the last thing we need is for someone to be helping them, even if only by coincidence."
"Well wouldn't that mean you're trying to start a war with Ezayla?"
"I don't think so, Ezayla knows we're at war with the Eltine. So if you are with the Boarder Guard like I think you are, you would already know that too. So you'd know that we have to take things like this seriously, which I plan to.
"Caul, take his sword, and those prisms. We don't want him blowing up anything. Put him in the west storeroom. There's nothing in there but hay now so he shouldn't be getting out."
"I knew it," Caul said beside him, "A spy, and I caught him! I'll be at the front and I'll-"
"Caul, just do what I told you to. You're not going to war. Go."
Now Trav knew for sure the Whulf behind him was growling. Caul took the knife and three small pouches with his prisms from his belt. With a less than gentle shove, Caul pushed him towards one of the larger thatched huts in the field. It might be a long day.
"So you really think I'm a spy?"
"Not anymore," Caul said mirthfully, "now you're my prisoner of war. When the Alphas come to question you, they'll learn what a great soldier I am and I'll be given an officer's position when I join the war."
"I'm sure you'll make the pack proud won't you? Capturing innocent travelers certainly seems like honorable war actions."
"You're no traveler, Gauff even said so. Now open the door and get in."
They had finished the short walk to the hut. Trav wrenched the door open, which felt a great deal more sturdy than just a simple woven grass door. Caul thrust the butt of his spear at the small of his back to push him in. His captor certainly didn't care that he had already started walking in either.
Trav turned, rubbing the soon to be bruise on his back, expecting more degrading speeches from Caul. He only bared his teeth then closed the door. Trav heard the Whulf doing something to the door, most certainly a lock. Looking around the room, any hopes of escaping seemed lost. The grass hut turned out to be mostly wood on the inside of the building. He might try to dig his way under the wall, but that would have to wait until nightfall.
There wasn't anything useful in the hut either, it was nearly empty other than some dried herbs and other plants hanging from the rafters above him. A pile of old cloths lay opposite from the door, and nearby, a small window. Far too small to climb out of, but at least the Whulves gave him a room with a window.
Trav strode to the window and looked around. He could see the large oak he and the dragon slept under the night before. He wondered what the little dragon would be doing now. She'd finished trying to hunt redoubtably, and might have even finished her playful romping for a while too. He'd guess she was looking for him right now, but probably wouldn't be able to find him for quite a long time. He hoped she wouldn't look for long and simply try on her own to go home. She could make it on her own from here, he was certain.
Without any real hope, Trav checked the door, and found it securely locked from the outside. Without his prisms or his knife, he wouldn't force his way out either. He didn't like the idea of digging with his bear hands, but it seemed his only option now. Which meant a long night, so he walked back to the cloths and laid some out. He stretched out and slept.
****
Trav woke, and thankfully didn't find any spears pointing down at him. He felt much more rested and was glad he took the nap. Laying on the cloths he wondered what he'd do with his time. Then he wondered what time it was. After a series of slow stretches up to standing, Trav walked back to the window. Shadows stretched a small way over the field now, late afternoon.
It seemed like a long time to sleep, but several days of walking with a young dragon through the wilderness, while avoiding poachers, must have made him wearier than he thought. Now he felt hungry as well. Missing breakfast certainly hadn't help his comfort for the day, and he turned back to the door to see about making some noise to get food. Then he found a plate at the door with some bread, his hosts weren't all so grumpy at least.
He picked up the plate and smiled, things had been worse. He had easy food and plenty of sleep. He'd like to even stay in the little village a while if it wasn't for Caul. He walked back to the window and leaned against the side of the hut to watch the scenery while he ate.
The tall grass waved in a gentle breeze, and he could see a couple cattle mulling chest deep in cow heaven. He wondered if being so near a whole village of wolves would bother them, but he guessed a village of humans wasn't much worse. The clouds seemed slightly larger than when he first arrived at his little hut. Maybe a few hours later they might have a nice cool shower, although he couldn't guess the weather very well despite what others would have said. Even though, the clouds looked good billowing over the gently rocking trees.
Then he noticed one of the bushes near where his large oak stood that moved wrong. Finally he would have something interesting to watch, maybe more cattle, or a deer. When the feline shape of an Eltine stepped out of the bushes, his heart leaped. If that was a scout from whatever their nation was called, he couldn't remember, his chances in the city were doomed. Then he noticed the two other human men in the shadows. The three of them started talking and pointing down at where his camp had been. The poachers had been trailing him.
"Shamash eat their souls. Followed."
Trav shook his head and sighed. He'd hoped the poachers were gone, but he might have been too careless with their trail. He didn't think they'd want a prism pet so badly, and that meant the little dragon was still in trouble. There wasn't anything he could do here either, just watch as they follow her trail. He wished he knew how to heal her wings, and pounded the wall in frustration.
The poachers poked and pointed around the camp for a few minutes. The Eltine waved a hand towards the village, and then waved his hand back into the oak trees. The two humans nodded slowly then started to turn. Trav's eyes darted to new movement several yards from the poachers. The bushes were forced apart, then a ripple of grass shot off from the woods. Trav's heart caught, and hoped to the gods that it wasn't the little dragon.
A breathless moment later and her gray head, covered in young fur waiting to be a mane popped upwards from the grasses. Trav felt trapped, defeated, and doomed all at the same time. If only she had just left him, gone north to her home, she knew where it was. Now she's charging blindly and drawing the attention of her slavery to her. The poachers saw her two seconds later. They froze, disbelief or uncertainty, but then the thoughts were gone as they charged forward.
Trav turned and ran at the door, at the last second he leaped up and hit the door with all his force. He fell back to earth, and felt the unyielding force of the door in his shoulder. He heard the poacher's shouting now, but didn't care what they were saying. Then he felt magic, lancing through the ground and welling up at the wall of the building. The next moment the wall he had been standing at shattered outward, wood flying in splinters every direction and dust from the thatching filling the air.
Trav shook his head to clear the dust from him then ran through the dust for freedom. He had one chance to make things right again now and he took it. He grabbed the edge of the blow out wall and swung round to follow the outside edge. Within a few steps he ran to the front of the hut and looked up.
A moment of shocked disbelief had invaded the Whulves' minds. Faces turned to angry snarls, he should have stayed in the hut no matter how dangerous it would have been. He sighed and shook his head, there wasn't time to explain.
"It went that way," one of the poachers yelled, probably human, "hit there and chase it back."
A second eruption thrust itself from the ground, rocks, soil, and grass flew into the air near one of the smaller huts. The Whulves shrank back from the explosion, Trav did too.
"Damn," Trav kicked the door, "They've got a mage."
He ran from the hut and headed straight for Gauff's. He hoped they might realize their situation and let him help them. He fought Poachers, and few of the adults in the village looked ready to fight these men. Especially the mage, whichever one it was.
Caul leaped out from Gauff's hut and threw the spear. Trav leaned backwards, and knew it was a mistake. The spear missed him by several inches, the throw wasn't even a good one. Reactions though demanded motion away from the weapon, and Trav obeyed. His feet were still running, and with Trav leaning backward, could no longer hold his weight and buckled under him. Trav found himself face up on the ground, sliding a painful second to a stop in the dirt path.
Before he was half way standing, Caul already had closed the distance and jabbed the spear downward. Trav let his weight do the work and rolled to his side. The next blow would be harder, but the thought didn't register I his mind, and he simply scrambled to put distance between him and Caul.
"Caul! Stop!"
Caul did, but Trav missed the words and ran backwards on his hands and feet. He only stopped when he realized he Whulf with the spear stood looking back at the hut.
"Caul get back here!" Gauff came to the doorway in the hut and saw Trav, "You, what happened?"
"Poachers," Trav paused for a second, what to say? "Poachers are attacking, looking for something. They have a mage."
Gauff's expression soured, "How many?"
"Three I think, maybe more soon."
Trav heard a screech, and knew it instantly, the little dragon. He felt her claws first, ten punctured his skin at his shoulders, and eight on his lower back. Then he fell forward and just managed to catch himself as fell to the ground again.
"Get off, I know I know." He shouted at the dragon, "Oh gods, sharp claws."
Shouts of Whulfs suddenly seemed all around him The village was running towards their leader, or they had decided to just flee for their lives. Trav struggled to stand, and despite the flapping dragon on his back, got to his feet quickly. He ran for Gauff's hut, and saw several others had too.
He crowded in with more Whulves than he could count. They crowded in the back of a large sleeping room, and sought places to hid, Trav looked about from the center of the room, and didn't see any weapons or anything useful. The smell of dogs suddenly struck his mind, but then was gone as he felt the tiny pinpricks of dragon claws on his back again. He twisted himself around and pulled at the small dragoness on his back. She let go of his back and climbed up his right arm and latched herself to his chest. Her neck snaked up by his head and she screeched again.
"Ah, By Kilian," Trav shouted, "stop the screeching."
The dragon pulled her head back and fixed him with a shocked look.
"Be quiet. Just be quiet. Gods I can't hear anything."
"Traveler," he heard a muffled voice beside him say, "There's four of them outside."
"What did you say?"
Trav turned and saw Gauff run into the room. Caul was right behind him all bravado lost for the moment. Gauff even looked worried and shaken, then Trav did too.
"I said, there's four of them. One of them looks- What's that?"
The dragon twisted her head to look at the Whulf, and dug her claws into his shirt more. Trav felt the uncomfortable pin pricks again.
"She's a Long Mane Dragon, a young one. She's scared out of her mind, and trying to tear my chest open." Trav tried to pull the dragon off his shirt, "She's why the poachers are here."
"What do you mean?"
"I was in the boarder guard and found a group of poachers with her tied up and her wings sliced. She was going to end up as someone's prism pet. We ambushed them, but it didn't go well. She and I were the only ones that walked out of that ambush alive.
"I decided to take her back home myself because Ezayla would have probably kept her several weeks before trying to get her home. I guess they've been following me to get her back."
"Does she talk?"
"Not a word other than some screams, whines, cries and a few other things. I haven't heard her say a word yet."
The dragon twisted her head back to look up at him. She was using the eyes again, maybe not consciously, but those lost, scared, big blue eyes kicked some paternal instinct out of hibernation. Trav felt foolish for even trying to help the lost little dragon, but it felt like the right thing to do. It felt like the only thing he could do, when she looked up at him like that, even despite the sharp claws on his chest.
"You're going to get us out of this traveler." Gauff snarled at him then addressed the Whulves in the room, "Stay here, I'm going to talk with these people. We'll trade this human to them and they'll leave us alone."
Trav knew it was coming, but didn't want to acknowledge the thought. He was going to be exchanged to the poachers, and then they'd have his hide and their pet. They were doomed, he knew it for certain.
"Traveler, Caul, you two come with me." Gauff walked out of the room.
"Alright you," Trav looked down at the dragon clinging on to him for dear life, "You've got to stay in here alright? I'll try and find a way for you to get out of here, and then you run north alright? Run as fast as you can until you find your home."
The dragon's grip lessened, but her gaze at him intensified. Trav swore by the God's she had to be using magic to look so helpless and needy. He managed to pull her off of his now well torn shirt and sat her down in the center of the room.
Trav started after Gauff with Caul close behind him. Gauff stood at the door, waiting for them both. Then Gauff pushed open the door and stepped out of the building. The four poachers in several yards away, looking at another building. There was a new person with them, a larger man, well built and definitely one of the poacher's more intimidating members. The black furred Eltine looked like a panther, and looked like their mage. The other two simply looked like regular men drawn to a life of crime for some unknowable reason. Trav worried mostly about the mage, he always worried about the mages first.
"Why didn't you say one of them was an Eltine traveler?"
"I didn't think it was important at the time. I was more worried about running away from them, and everyone else thinking I escaped."
"Where is the dragon?" The Eltine shouted at them, "We know its still here somewhere and the longer you have it, the worse this is going to end for all of you."
Gauff glared in Trav's direction then started forward. Caul followed close behind his spear ready in both hands. Trav brought up the rear and sighed, this couldn't go well.
"I am Gauff, Alpha of this village. I think we can come to an arrangement that would make all of us happy. The last thing we-"
"I'll make this simple, so you dogs can turn over and obey like you're supposed to. Give us the dragon or I'll tear this place apart."
The two smaller men had only swords. Trav knew they would be dangerous, especially since he and Gauff were defenseless. Caul might be able to fend them off with the spear, but he seemed inexperienced to him. The large man however would be one Caul couldn't fight. He had a steel capped club of some sort, and looked like he ha enough muscle to bring it through masonry with ease. The Eltine would be the biggest threat, especially since Trav didn't know what the Eltine could do. All of them seemed bent on getting their way. Trav predicted that things would end up in a fight, because people looking to get their way out of grumpy Whulves could only end in a dog fight.
Gauff stood there, his only sign of outward frustration was a twitch of his ear. Caul growled and wrung the shaft of his spear, and Trav could hear the wood in the spear give just a few small cracks. Trav realized he was naked on this battlefield, no weapon, and no prisms either. He felt Chendra's chill on his brow then.
"We have the dragon." Gauff said, as Trav's heart leaped, "Let us go get it and bring it out. We don't want any trouble with you."
Gauff turned and mouthed something that Trav couldn't understand. Reading a Whulf's lips was almost as easy as reading an earthquake in a boulder. Caul turned as Gauff passed, and Trav followed soon after. As the three of them reached the doorway, Gauff waved him to a different room in the building.
"Traveler, while bringing them here is your fault, I'm going to turn a deaf ear to that for now. They are not going to make demands of my city, especially that Eltine. Here, I don't know what you do, but I think whatever happens you'll do it better with these."
Gauff rummaged through a small box, then turned and held out his hand. Trav grinned, and took his prisms from Gauff's hands.
"I can do enough with these. Thank you Gauff."
"Don't thank me Traveler, you should still be apologizing. You're to blame for all of this, I'm just giving you a chance to turn things to the right."
"Then I'll do that."
"I and Caul will help, but don't expect any further help from the village."
"I know, the rest are at the war. Unless that Eltine is a lot better than me, we'll be all we need. Now, try to get as close to them as you can before the wisps start flowing."
"And how fast would that be?"
"Very. Now I'll go make the little dragon make some noise, and that should let you get close to them. They'll still think they've won. Go on out there."
Gauff nodded, then left the room at a slow pace. Trav ran into the larger room where he left the little dragon as he tied the three prisms to his belt. She sat in the corner, and yelped when he walked through the door.
"Shhh, now you've got to stay right here alright?"
She nodded.
"But before I can go get those people to go away, I need you to do something for me, please?"
She nodded more, as she stood.
"No, stay here alright? But you've got to make some noises for a little while. That'll confuse them and give me a chance to trick them away."
She looked past him at the door, and he could see the doubt in her face. He could tell she knew that things were very bad. After a moment's hesitation, she swallowed and nodded.
"Good, now go ahead and start."
Trav turned for the door. The little dragon screamed. Trav nearly stuck his fingers in his ears, and marveled at how much noise can come out of such a little creature. The noise a full grown one of them could make, probably brought rafters out of the ceiling.
As the dragon started a new long rasping howl, Trav reached his left hand down to the three prisms. With barely a thought, he imagined the tip of one of his fingers to be made of nothing but water. As he touched the tip of one of the prisms, he felt the tingling sensation of a wisp latching onto his finger. He pulled the small point of pale purple light back up to his face. Trav hated to use a lightning, they were always so expensive, but it would even the fight if he did it right.
He stepped out of the hut. Caul and Gauff stood several steps away, facing the Eltine. The Eltine had his head turned away from them gloating with one of his fellows. The other three were laughing. One of the smaller men noticed him first and threw up a hand pointing at him. Trav threw his hand into the air and hardened his gaze at the man's outstretched finger. He shaped the wisp leeching on his finger into real lightning and the purple glow took a silent second to change color.
The bolt was instant, the sound just as fast, and the force behind the sound nearly as quick. The bolt surged into the man's body from his finger tip, and jumped. Trav had seen it before, but the speed and power with how he jumped still looked wrong. The man's hand seemed to glow as he flew backwards, and then Trav turned his gaze back to the others in the center of the town.
Everyone flinched and stumbled from the shock of the bolt, everyone but the Eltine who now had a similar brown light at the tips of one of his fingers. Now was the time to move while he was committed.
"Now," Trav shouted, "Charge them!"
Caul recovered first, nearly instantly, and charged for the Eltine. Trav caught his breath as the spear came up to pierce the feline mage in the chest. The brown wisp shot from his finger to the spear point and suddenly expanded and turned a dusty grayish in color. The tip of the spear stopped as if it hit solid stone.
The Eltine still jumped back and then clutched at his chest. The other two men then ran forward, weapons drawn and battle cries filling the air. Gauff held up a knife and ran forward to meet them. The smaller man reached Caul first, and swung down at the Whulf's head. Youth was with the young Whulf and he leaned to one side narrowly avoiding losing an ear, or his head.
A light blue point of light behind the scuffling figures snatched his attention. Reflexively Trav reached down and drew out an orangey colored wisp and willed it to burst in front of him. He threw the light to the ground as he watched the Eltine throw his own blue light at him. A ghostly ice surrounded the blue light and nearly instantly turned into a long sliver, sharper than any spear.
For a brief second, Trav felt the sudden weight of doubt. The ice looked heavy and the fire would be nearly immaterial, it couldn't be enough. The orange light below him exploded upward in hungry orange flames, just as the javelin of ice sliced into the same space of air. The flames broke the ice, and that instant only a fine warm mist managed to escape the flames.
He had one second, he could pick an element and how to throw it. With a practiced motion he drew another piece of lightning from his prism and began drawing it to eye level as the flames began to evaporate into nothing. Then he could see through the flames and forgot the wisp completely.
The Eltine held a sword back at his side, and charge through the flames. Trav pushed back with his legs, missing a thrust that would have pierced his heart. He fell backwards through the air and landed on his back. The Eltine was far too fast, already standing above him and drawing the sword up for another blow. Trav felt a calming chill, he would die.
As the Eltine began the strike a blur of hardened wood cut into the space between them. The butt of a spear caught the blade and twisted it's path downward. What would have severed his neck now left a deep gash in his right arm. Trav shouted through the pain, even though in the moment, it didn't hurt nearly as bad as he expected.
He twisted about and covered the gash with his left hand. With only a second or two before the next blow, Trav desperately fought for another few feet. Every inch he managed to push himself away from the Eltine was another inch of life he could take advantage of. A second and he lay on a hand and knees in the dirt. Two seconds and he had his feet under him. The third, he felt dimly aware of feeling lucky to have it, found him half way standing.
When he stood, Caul swung his spear in a wide arc at the dancing Eltine. As long as the Eltine weaved and ducked the Whulf's spear he couldn't easily cast his spells. Trav grinned despite himself at Caul's ferocity.
The thunderous bellow beside him threw his attention to his side. The monster of a man ran towards him. Seeing a wounded mage, the great man saw an opportunity to strike down the most powerful opponent, one unlikely to jump out of the way another time. Trav though also saw his salvation.
The little purple light that he had lost from his finger tip still floated in the air nearby. He reached out and caught it with the tip of a finger as he raised his hand up. The giant's shout died as his oversight became his end. Trav released the thought, the creative force into the wisp and felt it take shape.
The bright light leaped to the man's forehead. The sound coincided with the man's sudden extension of limbs, as if the sound inflated the man to capacity. Then he fell backward and crashed into the dirt, his enemy, club, and life forgotten.
Trav heard a bestial cry beside him and whipped around. He feared Caul had fallen prey to the Eltine's fast grace and deadly skill. The sight of the bloodied tip of a spear protruding through the black fur of the mage gave him pause. Caul grunted in satisfaction as he lunged harder into the trapped body.
Trav straightened up, they had won, by sheer luck and youth. Caul released his grip on the spear, and let the Eltine growl and fall to his side. Trav watched as the mage tried for his last seconds to pull the spear out of him with his draining strength. He didn't manage before the end. Caul grinned as Trav's gaze went to his savior.
"Thank you," Trav nodded to the young Whulf.
Caul nodded back, then pointed somewhere over Trav's shoulder.
When he turned around, their victory became completely certain. Gauff stood within striking distance of the last poacher with his knife drawn and ready. The poacher had stopped and lowered his weapon after seeing his hope of surviving a fight boil down to nothing within instants. He released his weapon and with a muffled metallic clang, it fell to the earth. Gauff stepped over and took the weapon.
"Caul," Gauff heaved, "take this human."
"With pleasure."
Caul stepped beside the body of the Eltine and ripped out his spear. Then hung the bloody instrument in front of the man and pointed. The man turned and walked in the direction Caul had motioned in. Trav knew just what that felt like, and enjoyed the sense of satisfaction that he felt as Caul delivered a small jab at the man's back.
"Traveler, are you alright?"
"Nothing a nap won't take care of."
"Folly, I smell the blood. Let's get something on that and then maybe we can talk."
****
Trav woke the next day, much later and felling much more refreshed than the day before. He slept inside on the side with his uninjured arm, as a guest of Gauff. The little dragon slept tucked at his back. The meal the night before had been simple, but tasted wonderfully of life and victory. There had been moments that day he hadn't dare to think of living to his next meal. Now he woke on another new day, one where he was alive and mostly well.
His arm hurt, but one of the grandmotherly Whulves had bandaged it and declared it would heal perfectly. Trav would have liked it healed a little faster, but natural healing avoided the unsettling feelings of magical healing, which suited him fine. When he flexed his arm, he grimaced as he realized it could have been just numb, but he'd be stuck with dull pain for several days.
The dragon stirred beside him and propped her head on his shoulder.
"Good morning you."
The dragon just stared down at his face.
"So what do you think, breakfast before we start on our way?"
The dragon nodded then turned and hopped off the small cot. Trav turned over and sat up slowly. They both stretched, and Trav finished long before the dragon did. He couldn't imagine having to stretch out so many limbs, she seemed to unfold in twelve different ways each time she did it.
Gauff let them both sleep in his hut during the night. When he walked out of the small room he occupied, he found Gauff and Caul waiting for him in the main room of the hut. Gauff held out a pair of dishes and smiled. Even when Whulves smile, they showed several teeth, no wonder they didn't have many friends.
"Good morning traveler," Gauff handed him a plate and set the other on the ground, "I figured you'd both be off soon so I got you breakfast before you left."
"Well thanks, we could always use some for a long road. We've still got to find here she comes from."
"I know they're pretty common in the northern hills. That's several days from here, and you might have to pass through a bit of the Winter Tundra before you get there. There's some rough country out that way."
Trav nodded as he chewed on the meat Gauff gave him. The dragon lay at her plate and tore off small chunks at a time. Gauff pointed to Caul as he continued.
"I've convinced Caul to go with you-"
"I wanted to come. You're fighting the same war we are and I want to help."
"What I've convinced him to do is escort you through to the northern hills. There's a fair number of other villages and towns on the way you might cross. With him there to add some weight on your story, you might not have to be a prisoner on your travels. Only I might make a suggestion."
Trav paused and nodded, waiting.
"Tell the whole truth next time something like this happens. You might get to skip a few unpleasant things.
Trav and the dragon finished their breakfasts soon after that. The three of them talked for a while about which way the best traveling lie and how long it might take. Caul insisted on bringing supplies for several days and to carry most of them. Trav guessed he was showing off. Of course he might be planning on visiting the war front before returning home as well, but it was hard to tell.
When they parted, Trav left the village on good terms. He thought it might even be a nice place to stop on the way back once he got the little dragon back to her home. It would be several days before he could do that though, and several more before he returned to Ezayla. Then he wondered if he should return, he had abandoned his post. That, at the moment, wasn't the important task. He and Caul set off with the sun still low in the sky, a light breeze at their backs, and a small dragon prancing about their feet.