Chapter 5 – Cantankerous Companion

 

 

For miles the two dragons, both large and small, soared high above the ground, passing over leagues of forests, mountains, and prairies. Barely flapping her wings, as she was using several of the prolific air currents found only at altitudes a dragon could fly, the much larger green dragon led the way, with the smaller dark green dragon trailing behind. Winged wyverians were capable of speeds much greater than that which they were flying at the moment. However, any non-wyverian observer would be able to easily tell that the much smaller dragon was, at times, having difficulty keeping up.

Noting that Pravara had started to fall behind her once more, Pryllan decreased her speed and turned her head to look behind her. There was her offspring, flapping her wings much harder than she should have had to in order to stay aloft.

“The currents up here are much stronger than what you are used to down below,” Pryllan told her. “Don’t fight them. Use them to your advantage. Raise your head and angle your wings so that instead of the wind pushing your wings down, allow the air to support them.”

“Support them how?” Pravara’s small body was buffeted by the merciless winds and was almost tipped over in the process. Righting herself, she flapped harder to return to her mother’s side. “The winds push from above, not below.”

“The wind is already blowing to the north,” Pryllan explained, decreasing her speed even more so that she was flying side-by-side with the young dragonlet. “Our velocity already provides added lift provided your body is not angled down. Elevate your head. Don’t look down all the time. And most importantly, keep those wing tips up. If you lean forward, or if your wings droop too low, then the rushing wind will drive you to the ground.”

Pravara’s small, sleek form struggled with the buffeting winds for a few more minutes before she finally was able to lift her head and angle the tips of her wings up so that the rushing wind was pushing her up and not down.

“Better?” Pryllan inquired.

Pravara nodded her head.

“How are you faring?”

“I am fine, mother.”

“We have been flying for three hours now,” Pryllan reminded her offspring. “You have done remarkably well. I can see that you are exhausted. We will find a place to rest.”

Pravara is tiring. Pryllan thought to the two humans nestled in her talons. We are descending so I can find a suitable place to rest.

That’s fine by us; Sarah’s thought came back to her. Mister Narcolepsy here fell asleep an hour or two ago.

Narcolepsy?

It’s a word used to describe a condition where uncontrollable periods of deep sleep can happen to someone under any circumstances. That about sums up my husband. Steve can fall asleep anywhere and anytime. I don’t know how he does it. Just do me a favor.

Yes?

When you land, don’t try to land all soft and gentle. Feel free to shake things up a bit.

Sensing the mischievous nature of her intent, Pryllan nodded. A heavier than normal landing could be arranged.

Selecting a tiny lake – for a dragon – nestled in the thick of the forest, Pryllan guided Pravara down to the eastern shore. Once the young dragon had touched down on the ground, Pryllan landed unceremoniously next to her. So great was Pryllan’s landing that a few dead trees that were nearby crashed noisily to the ground.

Steve practically leapt out of Pryllan’s open claw and adopted a combative stance. Both hands were ignited. “What the hell!”

“Good morning, sunshine!” Sarah cheerfully told him as she merrily hopped to the ground.

“What… where… what’s going on?”

“You were snoring.”

“I was not.”

Pryllan turned her head to look down at the two humans. She focused on Steve.

“How Sarah manages to sleep through that ruckus eludes me.”

Steve gave the dragon a neutral stare.

“Aren’t you a barrel of laughs? What was with that landing? You could’ve woken the dead.”

Sarah cleared her throat. “Well, seeing how it woke you up, I would say that’s an accurate –”

Steve held up both hands in an “I surrender” gesture.

“Fine, you two win. Why’d we stop?”

“Pravara is tired.”

“Oh. Poor thing. Anything we can do to help?”

Pryllan gently walked over to her now sleeping offspring and curled her body around Pravara’s.

“I thank you for your concern, but no. She just needs to rest.”

Pryllan took the tip of her tail in her teeth and then extended a wing to drape it over Pravara’s still form.

Sarah nudged her husband’s shoulder and pointed back towards the small lake.

“Come on; let’s give them some peace and quiet.”

Together husband and wife approached the lake’s edge and turned right to follow the perimeter of the small lake. Looking back at the sleeping dragons, Steve was surprised to see a large grassy knoll where Pryllan had been curled up. Impressed, he whistled softly. The ability of a dragon to camouflage itself with the surrounding environment was still something that took his breath away regardless of how many times he witnessed it. One would never know that the grassy hill contained a sleeping mother dragon and her baby.

“I love how she does that,” Sarah whispered. She stepped next to her husband and slipped her hand into his.

“That’s just so cool!” Steve echoed, giving his wife’s hand a kiss. “So what are we supposed to do now? How long are we going to be here?”

“I’d say until they wake up.”

“Thank you. That was incredibly helpful.”

“Come on,” Sarah urged as she pulled her husband away from the camouflaged dragons. “We can go for a walk around the lake. It isn’t that big.”

As the two of them walked hand in hand around the circumference of the tiny lake, Sarah pulled them to a stop on the western shore directly across from where they could still see Pryllan’s sleeping form. Well, at least they could see the phony hill that was hiding her.

“What’s the matter?” Steve asked as he looked around.

Sarah let go of his hand and walked over to the closest tree. The pine tree, as with the others in the vicinity, didn’t have any branches on its eastern side, whether at the base of the trunk or extending all the way up to the tree top. From a distance they all looked like half-trees, as though someone had forgot to put branches on the eastern half of the tree.

Steve stared silently at the tree. He slowly looked around the small glade and noticed the deformed trees were only on the western shore of the lake. Everywhere else green, healthy trees could be seen. A closer inspection of the tree nearest him revealed a number of old scars scattered all around the trunk. Each scar, Steve noted, suggested a small branch had been there at some point in time, but whatever trauma the tree had experienced had effectively removed all the tree’s lower limbs. The closest branch was at least twenty feet off the ground.

The two of them wordlessly inspected the next tree, and then the next. After studying half a dozen trees they both looked at each other.

“Is this the lake we found after we escaped from the mugger’s house?” Steve asked, looking south as though he expected to see a decrepit, run-down cottage in dire need of repairs.

“I think it is,” Sarah agreed as she nodded her head. “The blast you generated years ago happened near the water’s edge, behind all these trees. You were facing west, so it would make sense that the western halves of these trees were undamaged.”

Sarah turned to her left and looked off to the south.

“If this is the same lake then the dilapidated cottage we were held prisoner in should be over there.”

Steve followed her gaze south and remained silent. Sarah gave him a gentle nudge in his ribs.

“That was a joke. Don’t even think about trying to find him again.”

“I would love to say hello.”

“Yeah, right. I’m sure that’s the only thing you’d say. Come on, let’s keep going. It’s not worth it.”

They completed their trek around the lake in just under an hour. Steve kept looking repeatedly to the south as if he expected their one-time mugger would put in an appearance and yet again try to provoke a confrontation. He remained on high alert as the lake curved east and then finally north again, returning them to their point of origin. What they saw when they arrived back drew them up short.

Half a dozen griffins were milling about on the ground. Not only were they sniffing around the base of the grassy knoll that concealed both dragons, but one large adult griffin had even alighted on the top of the small hill. Curved beaks were continually lifting high into the air as clearly the griffins could detect something in the vicinity but were unable to fathom what it was.

Six avian heads jerked up. Half a dozen sets of griffin eyes landed squarely on the two of them as both Steve and Sarah arrived in their midst. Several adult griffins squawked out warnings, as though they were daring the two of them to come any closer.

Steve pointed at the large lump the griffin was perched on.

“You might want to come down off of there,” he began. He could only hope Pryllan was asleep and didn’t know a griffin was perched on her head. “It would perhaps be best if you guys went about your business.”

One griffin, with more red in his wings than his companions – indicating its young age – let out a series of squawks and chirps that required no translation; it wanted the two humans to move off.

Steve pointed at the hill.

“Trust me on this. You’re going to want to move away from that little hill. I say this not because I want the hill for myself but rather for your safety.”

All six griffins puffed out their chests and tried to look intimidating, which wasn’t saying much as each of the griffins, now that Steve looked, had a fair amount of red coloring in their wings. Steve shook his head. Apparently teenagers in any species would always think they knew what was best.

The griffin perched on Pryllan’s head dug in its claws and issued out a challenging squawk, as if it was daring him, or the other griffins for that matter, into making him move. As it squawked out its challenge, the young griffin pawed the grass-covered hill, daring anyone to dethrone him as king of the hill. Unfortunately for the griffin, the large mound really wasn’t a hill.

Two narrow slits appeared in the grass and blasted out a tremendous blast of smoke. The griffins beat a hasty retreat. Their squawks of surprise and fear were heard up until they disappeared into the sky.

Pryllan stirred. The grassy knoll disappeared and once more Steve and Sarah found themselves standing before the dragon’s massive form. The emerald dragon twisted her neck so that she could peer up into the sky.

“What happened?”

Steve stared at the befuddled dragon.

“You mean you don’t know? Did you doze off?”

Pryllan turned to look at Sarah with a confused expression on her face.

“He’s asking if you fell asleep,” Sarah translated.

Pryllan nodded. “Apparently I was more tired than I thought.”

“How’s Pravara?” Sarah inquired.

Pryllan rose to her feet and folded her wing against her back. Pravara’s dark green form was stirring. The young dragonlet stretched her back, then her wings, and then finally opened her eyes and looked around.

“Where are we?”

“En route to the Selekai Mountains,” Pryllan told her.

Pravara moved into a beam of sunlight. Her dark green scales sparkled with radiance. Thanks to her unique coloring, she gave off the appearance of a dark green dragon with a soft golden glow. Pravara extended her wings for a few more stretches before finally joining her mother in the air.

Several hours later they were flying over a vast open plain. To their right, and off in the distance, were the snow-capped mountains of the Selekais. On the left they could see the edge of the forest, visible as a thick green blanket covering much of the land in the north.

Steve was sitting back against the curve of Pryllan’s huge palm. Sarah was nestled against him. Both had their eyes closed; only Steve could still see everything happening around him. While Pryllan shared her senses with him he could see everything she saw, smell everything she smelled, and could hear everything she could.

It still doesn’t make any sense.

Would you like me to explain it again?

Please do.

The word is ‘vegetarian’.

Many animals only eat plants. That’s not the part I’m confused about.

I figured. What’s the confusing part? Why someone would choose to forgo meat?

Correct. Why plants? They do not taste good.

I couldn’t agree more. I don’t know. I guess it’s their choice.

They are not coerced to consuming sustenance in this fashion?

Right.

I did not realize humans could get the sustenance they need from simply eating plants. The grass from your world must be truly nourishing.

Ummm, they don’t just eat grass. I mean, no one eats grass. Well, there are some vegetables that resemble grass when cooked. That’s not the point. Look, the human body can get the protein it needs from other sources besides plants.

Why go to the trouble to find other sources of nourishment when succulent meat is so readily available?

They’d rather not eat animals.

But the animals are there to be consumed, correct?

Er, yes.

And there is an abundance of animals?

We call them grocery stores, but yes.

And if they are there to be consumed, why would they choose to not eat them?

Some people just don’t like to eat anything that comes from an animal, that’s all.

Have you ever eaten in this fashion?

Hell no. I like meat too much.

Would you ever consider eating in this fashion?

Absolutely not.

Is Sarah a vegetentarian?

You were close that time. It’s ‘vegetarian’. And no, she isn’t. She likes steaks more than I do. Her parents are vegetarians, but I’m convinced they cheat every once in a while.

Your world is a confusing place.

I couldn’t agree more.

Sarah stirred against his side.

“Did I fall asleep?”

Steve nodded. “Yep.”

“I suppose you’re going to tell me that I was snoring?”

“No, but you did drool a little bit on my shirt.”

Sarah playfully slapped her husband’s shoulder.

“I most certainly did not.”

Sarah leaned to her left to look through two of Pryllan’s claws.

“Pravara, how are you holding up back there?”

The dragonlet flew close.

“I am fine.”

“We’ve got to be getting close, right?”

Pravara shook her head. “I do not know.”

“We’re close,” Pryllan agreed. “I’ve been searching for traces of the Zweigelan’s activities but haven’t found any thus far.”

“What if it is hiding from us?” Steve asked. “What if this two-headed dragon hates all other dragons? How can we be so certain we’ll find him?”

“Kahvel told me the nest is extensive. Moving it and all its contents would be no easy feat, nor would they be able to mask the scents emanating from their collection. For those two reasons alone I know they are still in the area. Besides, I have just picked up its scent.”

Steve nodded. “That’s right. I forgot that you dragons are just as good as bloodhounds are.”

“I’m not familiar with that term.”

“A bloodhound is a creature from our world that has the uncanny ability to track a scent just about anywhere,” Sarah answered.

A distant commotion drew her attention down to the ground and further south. Zeroing in on the disturbance she could see a band of humans accosting some type of creature that was backed up against a rock outcropping. It was long and skinny, almost serpentine in appearance. It was snapping at the encroaching humans and to its credit, wasn’t trying to flee. Pryllan realized, with a start, that she was staring at a dragon much smaller than she had ever encountered before. Two long heads were swaying back and forth as it futilely snapped at the humans who were clever enough to keep dodging out of the way. It was the Zweigelan!

Pryllan watched as one of the humans aimed a crossbow at the dragon and fired. Thankfully the bolt bounced harmlessly off the dragon’s scales, but it was enough of a distraction to get both heads angrily swinging around to find the aggressors. As soon as the Zweigelan moved its attention from the group of humans flanking it from the front several more darted in and jabbed it with their swords. Sparks flew off the scales as the blows were successfully deflected before the strikes could do any damage. Why were the humans crowding so close to the outcast? Weren’t they afraid of dragon fire?

Pryllan’s eyes widened. That’s what was missing from this picture. The Zweigelan should have been spitting fire. It wasn’t! Had it been stricken by the curse, too? She should inform the others.

We see it, Steve confirmed. It doesn’t make sense, though. Why would they curse themselves?

Unknown. More than anything it would appear as though it is confused by the absence of its flames. Perhaps it just progressed to stage two?

Sarah suddenly sat up in alarm. “Pryllan, where’s Pravara?”

Pryllan’s long green neck whipped around to her right. She then twisted her neck to look on the other side of her body. Her offspring was gone!

Pryllan tucked her wings and dropped to an altitude of about five hundred feet. Frantically she cast her powerful gaze about. What had happened to her? A moment ago she had been by her side. She had heard Sarah ask Pravara if she was alright and her offspring had indicated she was fine. What had happened?

Pryllan detected movement in her peripheral vision. She glanced downward and to her left. What she saw alarmed her so much that she folded her wings and went into a steep nosedive straight towards the earth.

 

****

 

“We will rid the countryside of you and your accursed exploits once and for all!”

Several men shouted in agreement and renewed their efforts to subdue the freak dragon. While smaller than any other dragon they had ever encountered they still had to be cautious. One snap from either set of jaws would end a life right then and there.

Someone from their group managed to throw a loop of rope around the infernal creature’s tail. The tail was quickly secured to a nearby tree. Another coil of rope snagged a foreleg. Then one landed around its left head. A few minutes later the men had managed to completely immobilize the dragon. The only part of it that was still moving was its jaws, which thankfully lacked the leverage to bend down and bite through the ropes holding it in place.

The leader of the group approached the trussed up dragon and slowly drew his sword. In anticipation of this very moment he had had his sword sharpened, its nicks removed. He hefted the sword in his muscular arm and grinned lecherously. This was going to be fun!

Something small and dark green thumped down into the ground in front of their prisoner. It had landed so roughly that it ended up stumbling to the ground. Quickly regaining its feet it turned to the advancing marauders and growled. What came out was a soft snarl which lacked any ferocity whatsoever. Was this a baby dragon?

“What’s the matter with the dragons in these parts?” the leader complained as he looked back at his friends. “I mean, look at this. We have captured the freak and then we get this wimpy excuse of a wyverian trying to defend it. There must be something in the water around here.”

Several of his companions laughed hysterically. All were now brandishing their swords and various implements and were advancing on the growling baby and the trussed up freak dragon. The tiny green dragonlet was pacing nervously in front of its captive brethren and was trying as valiantly as it could to scare them away. It was unsuccessful.

Something else suddenly fell from the sky. It was large, green, and impacted the ground so hard that all the surrounding trees were thrown backwards by the impact. The self-appointed leader of the group felt all the blood drain from his face as he was now staring face-to-face with what had to be the largest, angriest dragon he had ever encountered.

Pryllan roared her challenge to the group of humans. Putting the bulk of her body between Pravara and the marauders, she snarled and crouched low, as if daring any of them to take a step towards her. Turning fearfully and getting ready to make a run for it, the motley group of attackers was startled to see a man and woman sitting casually on a fallen log, as if they were enjoying watching the scene unfold.

The man slowly got to his feet. He held out a hand and a large fireball appeared in it. It was then spun about on his middle finger. That was the final straw. Every person there knew full well who the Nohrin were and they were pretty sure that was who they were facing. Behind them, advancing slowly, was the huge mother dragon. It was time to cut their losses.

Fed up with the slow-to-act humans, Pryllan issued a second challenge and finished her roar by spitting a huge mass of flames up into the air. When the fires had finally dissipated into the sky the glade they were in was as empty of humans, save Steve and Sarah, as the last wyverian gathering Rinbok Intherer had called for. Glaring angrily around the surrounding trees to verify that no other humans were lurking about, Pryllan turned around to face her offspring.

Cowed, Pravara hung her head. Pryllan thumped the ground with her tail several times to get her attention.

“Do not hang your head, young one. You performed admirably. You leapt to the defense of another. In the future, either wait to attain your adult size or else be certain I am nearby, is that understood?”

Thankful she wasn’t in trouble, Pravara eagerly nodded her head.

Steve walked around Pryllan and gave Pravara a friendly pat on her head as he passed by. He looked at the strange dragon with two heads.

“You must be this Zweigelan we’ve been searching for.”

Neither of the captive dragon’s heads said anything.

“You obviously make a lot of friends wherever you go,” Steve continued as he sat down on a rock just outside of the Zweigelan’s reach. “So are you ready to play nice and listen to what we have to say?”

The Zweigelan warily eyed him but refrained from saying anything.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Hold still.”

Steve took his time as he walked around the still form of the two-headed dragon. Twenty seconds later he was sitting back on the rock.

“We are still immobilized,” one of the heads hissed out at him.

“Yes, we are,” the other head agreed.

Steve gave the dragon a forced smile. He turned back to look at his wife, who nodded. He turned to look at Pryllan, who was still shielding Pravara from view.

You ready in case things go bad?

Pryllan’s green eyes found his.

Yes.

Here we go.

Focusing his jhorun on the points of the rope he had selected as he had walked around the Zweigelan’s body, he ordered the ropes to burn. Seconds later the ropes dropped harmlessly to the ground. It had begun struggling to get to its feet just as soon as it had felt the ropes slacken. Standing upright once more the Zweigelan studied the four of them.

“Why did you help us?” the right head asked.

“Aye, we would like to know why,” the left head added.

Steve briefly turned to Pryllan to mentally ask if he should be the one to address it. Pryllan gave a slight nod of her head.

“You are a dragon.”

“We are Zweigelan,” the right head haughtily informed him.

“Zweigelan, dragon, does it really matter? You’re a dragon and you’re part of the Collective, are you not?”

Both heads hissed with annoyance. Apparently it was still a sore memory.

“Don’t hiss at me,” Steve scolded. “You asked why we came to your aid. I’m answering. You’re a dragon. We are friends to all dragons, regardless of whether or not the feelings are reciprocated.”

Sarah stood and shoved her husband out of the way. “Shame on you, you pathetic excuse of a dragon. Pravara came to your aid first. If she hadn’t been able to stall your attackers then they probably would have killed you. Do you understand that? You owe Pravara and her mother, Pryllan, your life!”

Both heads turned to study the much larger green dragon who was returning the frank stare. Surprisingly, the twin heads dropped their gaze to the ground.

Sarah looked at the young dragonlet and gestured towards the Zweigelan.

“Pravara, why did you jump in front of those humans?”

Pravara’s glittering golden eyes turned to study the shamed outcast.

“He’s a dragon.”

“Because you’re a dragon,” Sarah repeated as she turned to face the Zweigelan. “You were just… look at me when I’m talking to you.”

When neither head bothered to face her Sarah used her jhorun to pick up a small rock and toss it at the Zweigelan’s right flank. Of course, it bounced harmlessly off the protective scales, but it was enough to get the dragon’s attention.

“As I was saying,” Sarah continued, “you were just defended by a baby dragon.”

“I’m not a baby,” Pravara grumped, lifting her nose into the air.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Sarah told the dragonlet, giving her an affectionate pat on the head. “It’s just a figure of speech.” She returned her attention to the Zweigelan, who was now staring curiously at the dragonlet.

“Why come to the aid of someone who is not a dragon?” the right head asked.

Pravara rapidly blinked her eyes as she stared at the Zweigelan, confusion evident on her young face. She turned to her mother.

“Speak your mind, Pravara,” Pryllan told her offspring. “Tell him why you did what you did.”

“You’re a dragon,” Pravara simply said as she turned back around. “Dragons watch out for each other.”

“We are not –”

“Oh, cut the ‘we are not dragon’ crap,” Steve exclaimed, growing angry. “So you’re not the same species of dragon as they are, but you’re still a dragon. You’re just a dragon with two heads. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Why didn’t you flee?” Sarah asked, before the Zweigelan could interrupt with another objection.

“Flee?” the left head said, incredulous. “We never flee. We have never fled before and we have no intention of starting now.”

“How’s that working for you?” Steve quipped. He looked down at the burnt ropes that had been restraining the Zweigelan. “You were about to become a matching set of luggage, dude.”

“We need to know what we can call you,” Sarah said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I don’t like addressing you or referencing you in the third person. You must have a name. Some way to set yourself apart from any other Zweigelans?”

The Zweigelan was silent for a few more minutes before it finally responded. It answered so softly that they barely caught what was said.

“I am Syrreth,” the left head quietly informed them.

After a few moments the right head also spoke.

“And I am Ferreth.”

Sarah smiled. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Syrreth and Ferreth said nothing.

Steve faced the left head and ignited his hands. “Syrreth, do me a favor and show me your flames.”

Syrreth shook his head no. Steve looked at Syrreth’s twin. “Ferreth, what about you? Care to show me what you’ve got?”

Ferreth also shook his head no.

“You’ve become affected by this curse, haven’t you?” Sarah informed them. “Stage two, right? But you knew this already, didn’t you?”

“You created this curse,” Steve added. He sat down on the closest rock again and extinguished his hands with a flick of his wrists. “You created it and have now managed to screw yourselves. Nice going.”

“I didn’t do this,” Syrreth informed him, directing his gaze at the sitting human.

“Nor did I,” Ferreth added with a growl.

Steve scowled at the two heads. “But one of you Zweigelans did, didn’t you?”

Syrreth and Ferreth fell silent once more.

“And for what? Revenge against the dragons?”

“The dragons deserve everything that’s coming to them,” Ferreth whispered quietly.

“Aye, they do,” Syrreth agreed.

“I hate to point this out to you,” Sarah interjected, “but you’re a dragon, too. Looks like whoever created this curse included you along with all the other dragons.”

Silence.

“If you think I’m wrong then prove it. Spit fire. Either of you. Since I know you can’t then it means you’ve been cursed.”

Neither Syrreth nor Ferreth elected to say anything.

“Two dragons you don’t know just saved your life,” Sarah added, growing angry herself. “Still think all dragons should be cursed? What has Pryllan or Pravara done to you besides saving you from being hacked into a million little pieces?”

“So what have you lost?” Steve wanted to know, looking up at Syrreth. “Because the first part of this curse renders you defenseless. You lose the ability to spit fire. The second isolates you from your fellow dragons. That’s the loss of the Collective, I’m afraid. And finally, if you become stricken with the third part of this curse, you will become grounded. You lose your ability to fly. Is that what you want? We need to break this curse. You need to break this curse. Help us find whoever did this. If this wasn’t you then one of the other two must be responsible.”

“Why should we help you?” Syrreth grumped. “We never wished to join the filthy Collective. We wish to be left alone.”

Sarah shook her head with bewilderment. “Do you suffer from short term memory loss? Had you been alone five minutes ago then you would have been killed. Do you not understand that? You ask why you should help? It’s because you owe Pryllan and Pravara your life. That’s why. Repay your debt. Regain your honor as a dragon.”

“Ooo, good one, babe,” Steve whispered.

“Very well,” Ferreth grumped. “A debt for a debt. We will help you find the one who is responsible for bringing the curse about.”