Kakiedoo

Chapter One

Ivy walked down the frenzied street, her sword hanging limply at her side as she gazed in horror into the beast's eyes.

It was a good two heads taller than her, with black eyes and a wide, gaping mouth full of blade-like teeth.

In one hand, Ivy held an old sword already stained from previous enemies. The other hand held her bleeding shoulder. She found her feet unable to be stopped from approaching the terrible beast. She was helpless to fight in the battle going on around her. Helpless to do anything but walk toward death.

A sudden flurry of motion to her left caught her eye...

Raven watched the girl walking down the street. A slight smile came to her tanned face. This is what she lived for, killing enemies.
She tossed her silver hair under-layed with purple away from her face. Her sharp crimson eyes started to glow with a red light as she walked up to the girl, huge sword balanced on her shoulder lightly. A small knife whirled in the air next to her.
“Need any help?”

"Need any help?" a voice asked. Ivy quickly turned toward it, observing a girl with alert, red eyes, and multi-colored hair approaching her with a large weapon on her shoulder.

"I can't stop," Ivy explained in a strained tone, her legs never ceasing to pull her toward the monster that was now rushing towards her uttering an animal-like howl.

Screams and cried of terror reached her ears from all over the city, as other men and women were devoured by the raiding monsters.

"Hmm... not being able to stop moving... now that IS a problem." Raven said thoughtfully, her crimson eyes amused. "There's a pretty good way to deal with that, though." she added, shifting the weight of her sword from one shoulder to the other.
"You simply ask the monster nicely to stop, say please, and if that doesn't get any results, THEN you can attack."
Raven considered the rather gruesome scene. "Looks like that monsters enjoying himself. I can't stand it when bad guys enjoy themselves, can you?"
She seemed to notice the girl's strained face. "Oh, sorry. I'll go get the monster. Just don't stub you toe as you're walking down the street. Stubbed toes hurt like nothing else."
With that she walked down the street as calm as you please.
"Try not gazing into the boogie guys eyes," she called over her shoulder, though it was hard to hear in the screams and chaos.

~

Ivy listened to the girl, or tried to. The girl's words turned into a rushing sound that blurred and merged together waves of the ocean. She noted that the girl left her, hopefully to fight the monster, as she dropped her sword and uttered a sharp gasp.

She clutched her shoulder, pain racing through her arm and causing her to close her eyes. As soon as her eyes were closed, she ceased moving. Ivy fell to her knees, the feeling of needles poking her from the inside out spreading throughout her bloodstream.

Poison. It had to be poison. Stupid enchanted swords... Ivy opened her eyes as the wave of pain passed and crawled to the doorway of a nearby house. She could see the girl with cool hair approaching the beast from the shadow of the doorframe.

Raven approached the monster, who was watching her with mad eyes. She stopped in front of it and said coolly, "Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

The monster blinked.

"Yeah, I mean you, bigmouth. You're getting annoying, killing people. Do you know how annoying that is?"

The monster charged before she had finished, swiped at her with its massive clawed paws. But as it pulled back, the girl was gone.

Raven watched it from behind with critical eyes. "That was a bit clumsy." she said reproachfully. "How do you expect to get in a TV show acting like that?"

The monster whirled and charged, aiming for the girl.

Ivy stared at the girl, her keen ears picking up the words she said. The manner in which she spoke was foreign. Was she an elf? Or maybe some kind of tall, slender troll...that would explain the hair...Strange. And the way that sh--

Ivy blinked. Had the girl disappeared? The monster was as confused as she was when the new girl re-appeared behind it.

A sorcerer. She had to be some kind of magician. Another wave of pain swept over Ivy, making her clench a fist and press her back against the doorframe. When it had passed, she resumed observing the odd girl.

"How do you expect to get in a TV show acting like that?" the words came distantly to Ivy's ears. TV? Was that a kind of house? Or a palace? How could one get in it?

It was probably a magician's term...

Raven watched the monster, commenting lightly, "Now, if we had Phedari as bad as you, everyone would be dead. But," she glanced around, "You're doing a pretty good job of that right now. " she was forced to leap out the way as the monster came charging like a freight train.

Raven again zipped away, and again the monster turned back again.

"Darn it, let me finish my sentences before you go acting like a Murdov rat!"

Raven twirled her blade. "Now, I'll give you a far chance. Get out the village on the count of three, or I will make your head look like spaghetti after I've fed it to my Dragon."

The monster hesitated, then with a loud roar charged.

~

Ivy's attention wavered and she found herself looking around the house she had stepped into. But it wasn't a house.

"An armory?" she breathed out. Weapons and various forms of armor glittered on the walls. A smile lit up Ivy's face and she silently walked over to a wall upon which rows of swords had been hung.

Her fingers brushed over various hilts and handles, and she eyed her reflection in the blade of a dagger. A green eye stared back at her, almost masked by a layer of brown hair that had fallen across her face.

Struck with a thought, she walked to the opposing wall upon which rows of quivers and crossbows hung.

Ivy grabbed the nearest bow and heaved it down. Her shoulder gave way beneath the object and she dropped it with a clang. She gripped her aching arm and bared her teeth.

When the pain died down, she blinked and picked up the bow from where it had fallen.

"Oops," she muttered, noting the arrow it had fired that was now lodged in a shield across the room. She heaved the bow onto her shoulder and approached the door, peeking out into the street.

She could see the monster charging the strange girl, his roar echoing off the street's pavement. Ivy's shoulder throbbed, but she worked through the aching pain to carefully aim the shaft. She took a deep breath and let the arrow fly through the air.

Raven had been watching the girl from the corner of her eye. She could have killed the thing a long time ago, but from her practice of making good fighters she knew that some people needed to fight h their own battles. As the monster raced toward her she leaned on her sword and watched as an arrow came flying out of an armory, from a longbow judging by the speed. It embedded itself into the monsters head.

It staggered around, roaring out curses in some foreign language, but slowly it started to collapse. Then it lay still, dead.

Raven sheathed her huge sword in it sheath hanging on her back and sighed. It was always happy endings around here.

She walked across the street to the armory and walked in. Her eyes went across the swords and bows, shields and the arrows. She shook her head sadly. She had left her own at the Phedari camp.

Her crimson gaze snagged on the girl in the corner. She smiled and leaned lazily on a wall lined with shields.

“Good shot.” She remarked. She looked around. “Good shop. I think.” She turned her eyes back to the girl. “Let me introduce myself.” She bowed gracefully. “Raven Hawkeyes of the Telanian Dragon Rangers. Group Phedari at your service.”

"And I am Adrienne Blathe...daughter of Alex Blathe...owner of this armory." Said a girl with dark, wavy, shoulder-length hair who had just stepped from the shadows of the shop. Her violet eyes sparkled. "Those were some nice moves you had goin' out there...uh..Raven. Dragon Ranger you say? Ahh...what I would give to be through with this drab old shop...I've always dreamed of being something exciting like a Dragon Ranger...but father has always needed me here at the shop..."

Ivy smiled at the girl who called herself Raven. She blinked at Adrienne for a moment, surprised that she hadn't seen the girl earlier.

Getting a grip on herself, she said in as cheery a voice as she could muster, "I'm Ivy." She clutched her shoulder limply in one arm, the shot having taken more out of her than she had expected.

"Sorry if I seem a bit...unresponsive. Scalthing poison..." Her eyes shifted around the room, admiring the carefully crafted weapons staring down at her from the walls. "Fine weapons," she complimented Adrienne.

"You're a dragon ranger?" she asked Raven. "What brings you to this part of the kingdom?"

Ivy began to move about the room, carefully trying to select a weapon to replace her old sword.

Raven raised an eyebrow at Adrienne. “You want to be a Dragon Ranger? Well…that’s a first timer.” She tucked her knife she had been fiddling with into her boot and straitened. “I’m searching for someone quite important. Her name is Anyit Dragon, but I’m starting to think she goes by the name of Tiyna Nogard*. She is one of our… what would you call them? Commanders in your language. But we’ve been searching for her for a very long time.”

Raven started to wander through the shop, eyes on nothing in particular. “But from the difficulty of finding her, I think she doesn’t remember she’s a Ranger.” Raven’s strange eyes fixed on the two other girls. “I’m currently in this part of your land because of this.” She scratched her head. “No offence, but your maps make no sense to me at all, even though I make maps as bad as those. Do you know of a guide who could go with me?”

Raven lifted a dagger off the shelf. “Hmm… very nice.” She said, feeling the balance of the blade. “I think I’ll buy this. You never know what you’ll be facing near the borders.”

Ivy heard Raven wandering about the shop and listened to what the girl had to say, all the while carefully selecting her own weapon.
They were all good swords, and well made. Nothing stood out particularly.

"I might be able to help you there, mate. I've done quite a bit of traveling. Where did you say your final destination was?" They would have to stop in the fields of Melanil first, Ivy thought to herself, to get the antidote to the poison inside her shoulder.

Ivy's eyes narrowed as she saw something glitter behind two shields. Moving them aside, she sucked in a quiet breath in awe of the weapon she saw sparkling there.

Eagerly she reached out to grasp the hilt, which was wrapped in hardened green leather and engraved with vines. She could almost hear the smooth, shiny metal whispering to her as she ran a shaky hand over the cold blade.

Ivy's eyes flickered over to Adrienne. While waiting for Raven to reply, she asked of the swordmaker, "How much for this sword?"

Raven's eyes flickered as she spotted the blade Ivy was holding. "Good pick."

She continued surveying the shelves. "I think she may be traveling with some companions. They are heading toward Elthindra, where the enchantresses live, though i don't know why. But from the reports we're getting i think she's traveling with a Wizaerd and a courtiers daughter. A strange group, to be sure."

Adrienne, who had been in a bit of a daze...suddenly came out of "lala land".

"Oh! Umm...well, yes...I have always yearned for adventure, and being the owner of an armory isn't exactly what I would call adventure. Oh, Ivy is it? You can keep the sword...same for you Raven...I was planning on leaving today anyways; to find adventure. Since father passed away a few months ago, I have been thinking of what to do. So, I have decided to just leave...just go somewhere...perhaps I could come with yall?" she said. "This journey does sound very adventurous; just what I want. Oh excuse me for my bad manners...won't you come back and have a bite to eat before you set off?"

Adrienne hoped so much that they would allow her to come with them. She just couldn't stand another day in this dreary old shop. She was lonely...and she yearned for excitement.

Raven smiled down at the eager girl. "Well, I could go on about how dangerous it is and how it might not agree with you and why you could get eaten by ogres, but if you really want to come I'm no one to stop you. Just bring your own food and weapons or we could start this ... adventure, by knifing each other." she flipped the dagger in her hands.
"Thanks for the offer, but i always pay for my blades, no offense." she reached into a leather pouch and pulled out a couple gold coins. "Here."

She tucked the dagger into her belt and yawned. "I need to go to my camp and pack up. So, we can start tomorrow. Meet me in the village square tomorrow around eight. Let's get an early start." She winked and wandered outside, her slim frame disappearing into the crowd thronged around the street.

~

Ivy took the weapon and its sheath and fastened it about her waist, pleased at how comfortable its weight felt against her leg.

"Thanks," she said, never one to turn down a gift...as usual, she was broke anyway.

She ran a hand through her short, brown hair before tying it up and out of her face. "Elthindra...I know the place. Bit busy. Lots of people. It'll be a long journey."

Ivy watched Raven disappear through the doors of the shop, becoming a tiny dot down the street, now vacant of any activity as the invading creatures had left.

"I'd love to take you up on that offer for food, but I have to see if I can make a temporary antidote for my wound." Ivy slowly pulled her sleeve over her shoulder revealing dark, infected skin like a blot of black ink.

"Scalthings are giant spiders...their venom is deadly. I wasn't bitten directly; only a drop from a fang did this to me. If I was bitten, I'd be dead." She rambled on, not aware if her listener was paying attention or not.

As if realizing she wasn't in a room by herself, but in fact in the presence of another person, Ivy blinked suddenly and said, "Sorry; didn't mean to ramble. See you tomorrow for an early start, I suppose, then, Adrienne..."

Ivy adjusted her sleeve to cover her infected shoulder and turned toward the armory door. Eight in the morning tomorrow. That left no time for sleeping in. She sighed.

~

Raven reached her temporary campsite and started to pack what little she brought with her; a couple knifes, daggers, a short sword and a long, two handed blade. A leather pouch with long straps she pulled over her head and let it rest on her hip, checking it she made sure all her potions and antidotes were there, in their colored vials.

After all that was done she pulled out a small, flute looking thing, made from deep blue marble. She put it to her lips and blew a strange, chilling melody on it. Before she was finished a huge shadow was blocking the sunlight out overhead. Raven’s crimson eyes went up and, as the shadow hovered above her, she leaped and went surprisingly far into the air.

Her strong arm caught a thick neck with glittering red scales and she flipped into the air and landed softly on her dragon’s back. “We need to be back around eight tomorrow, Firaga.” She said. The dragon gave a mighty heave of his scarlet wings and soared off into the air.

~

Adrienne watched as Ivy walked out, then turned and walked into her room at the back of the shop. "Well, I suppose I should do a little packing if we are leaving tomorrow morning!" she thought.

She looked around the small room. There wasn't much in it, just a bed, an old dresser, and a small trunk under the tiny, square window on the back wall. Adrienne went to the bed and pulled a small bag out. In it she put a small dagger that her father had given her and taught her to use, a rope(You never know when one might need one), a couple jars of herbs, and a blanket. She then walked to the small, lean-to kitchen and grabbed a loaf of bread and stuffed it into the bag.

Then she remembered something, something that her father had told her when he was dying. "In your trunk, I hid a sword....the finest sword I ever made.*cough* Take care of---this sword, for it...will help you when you..." He never finished his sentence, because he had drawn his last breath.

Remembering what her father had told her, she ran to her trunk and opened the lid. She carefully lifted out the linens and things that she had kept there. She looked at the bottom of the trunk...nothing. "It must be here somewhere!" she thought. Adrienne searched the trunk for some secret compartment. She tapped and knocked on it everywhere. Suddenly a drawer popped out at the bottom of the trunk. There lay the most beautiful sword Adrienne had ever seen. She lifted it carefully and looked it over. It was silver with a violet gem inlaid in the hilt, with violets wrapping around the hilt. "Its....gorgeous!" she gasped.

Finally, she took out the sheath and put the sword in it and laid it next to her bag. Then she climbed in bed, for she would need to get up early.

~

Ivy lazily opened her eyes. Light blinded her momentarily and she fell out of her straw-covered bed. Pain gripped her shoulder like a clawed fist and made her bite her other arm, trying not to scream. Blinking, she found herself staring up into a horse's mouth.

The stables. She had slept in the stables of an inn. Her shoulder stung. The poison. The attack...the girls. Groggily standing and swaying for a moment, she rose to her feet and squinted out a dirty window.

A new, golden sun was already rising high into the sky. Mumbling something under her breath, Ivy checked that her new sword was safely stowed inside her sheath and hastily left the stinking stable.

Wandering down the street, she momentarily considered straying into a healer's shop to check for Melanine pollen. That was the only known cure to the poison eating her flesh. She had to get some before it spread throughout her blood stream and killed her. Since it was so rare, Ivy figured that they wouldn't have any.

The armory came into view, standing out in the street that was now beginning to fill with people. Ivy hoped the girls hadn't left without her...she was, after all, late.

~

Raven's crimson eyes noticed the moon. "The stars! We’re going to be late again!" she exclaimed. The dragon Firaga whirled and flew with all the speed it could, which was considerable. Hanging on with all her might Raven yelled over the wind, “By very moon, Firaga, slow down!”

The fiery dragon snorted impatiently. “Can’t you make up your mind?” Raven sighed. “Just drop me off near the edge of town and leave me. We’ve scared enough people as it is.”

Three hours later Raven shouldered her stuff and marched down the lane leading to the town square. As she passed people, the familiar wavering feeling she had when passing someone injured swept over her. She glanced up.

A young boy was sitting on a dirty rag near the edge of the street, begging. One look at his legs said he couldn’t walk. Looking around cautiously she squatted down near her and poured something out of a peach-colored vile and handed it to the boy. “Count to three when I leave and drink it.” She said softly. The boy looked back at her with big eyes and nodded. Raven stood and took off on a run down to the village square.

Raven stumbled on a rough patch of cobblestone and fell with a sharp gasp.

"Jarnt!" she swore, a ugly welt appearing on her knee. With a sigh she pulled out another viol. "At this rate I'll run out before we really need it." she muttered, watching the blood disappear.

~

Adrienne woke up with a start. Something besides her normal routine was happening today. What was it?

"Oh yes!" she thought to herself, "I'm finally leaving! With Raven and Ivy! I must get up and get ready!"

She got out of bed, grabbed her bags and headed towards the kitchen. She grabbed a couple of rolls for breakfast, and took a last look around the home where she had lived almost all her life.

Then she headed outside. She dropped her bags on the porch and headed to the small barn next to the armory. She whistled and she heard her horse neigh in response. She opened the barn door and the morning light flooded the inside of the barn.

"Good morning, Capriccio! We're going on an adventure today!" She called out to her majestic Fresian stallion. Adrienne quickly saddled him and led him out of the barn to the porch. There she and Capriccio waited for Raven and Ivy.

~

Ivy saw Adrienne waiting outside the old building. She hurried toward her new friend, bumping past many people in the streets buying or selling their wares.

She waved in greeting and mumbled to the sword-maker, "Sorry I'm late..." She couldn't think of an excuse at the moment that excused her lateness, but then again she was still recovering from a bit of grogginess.

Raven jogged through the crowd, eyes peeled for the town square. Her silver-purple hair flew in front of her face again, and she stopped and pulled it back in a loose, messy pony-tail. It showed her crimson eyes up well against her dark tanned face, and a few people stopped to stare. She sighed and started to run again, her leather boots thumbing dully against the pavement.

Ivy and Adrienne were standing next to an old building by a fountain. She pulled up sharply. "I'm here, sorry about the delay."

~

"O good gravy, Froggire!" Shyell grumbled at the plump, light hazel frog squatting in front of her. "Did you not just see an adventure waiting to happen? If you want to do something exiting for once, than get off your rump and let’s go meet those warriors!"

Shyell was the "runt" of her family. Being only 6 inches tall, she constantly had to watch who was around her. Her creamy, wavy golden hair flowed down to her lower back and a jeweled, woven vine-band was perched atop the crown of her head. The top of her ears were the most interesting feature on Shyell. They were pointed very sharply and behind each ear was a symbol she had never laid her eyes on before. She had this writing ever since she was born. Her mom said it was a bunch of nonsense, just simply a birthmark. Yet her father said it was from her great ancestor, back when they had the old ancient writing of Kraugh.

"A hundred years ago, your great grandmother had been taught by the almighty Raven herself. Before long, she had become the best Elvin warrior our community had ever seen. She has the same exact marking as you so i suspect that your mother is trying to hide the fact that you are a great fighter just like your ancestors," father would always comment every time i looked at the marking.

Standing between the towering blades of grass, Shyell pulled out her small saddle for her frog, and hoisted up on top of him. She made a clicking noise and Froggire leaped high into the air.
Green blur was all around her as a firefly landed on her shoulder. The little fellow was buzzing with joy so she just let it stay there.

Before long, she had reached the dusty cobblestone path where so many moccasins and scuffed along to their busy lives. Froggire leaped as hastily as possible, dodging the wagons full of treasures. They had finally made it to the old building where the "adventure-junkies" awaited for the others. Her golden wheat hair whipped in the wind and her leather arm warmers gripped tightly to the sides of Froggire's smooth amphibious skin. They were about 2 stories below the fearless girls. Shyell cleared her throat and screamed as loud as her tiny lungs could carry, "EXUSE ME *AHEM* DOWN HERE!!!!!!"

~

"No problem Raven! I'm just glad you are here! So...do we go? So I'm assuming you are our "guide" Ivy? I hope so because in all my life I've never been outside of this small town!" Adrienne said. All of a sudden, Adrienne thought she heard something. It sounded like a tiny voice. But what on earth could make a tiny voice like that? Anything small enough would be an animal and animals can't talk. Hmmm...she decided to ask her friends about it. "Did yall hear something? I could've sworn I'd just heard a tiny voice."

~

Ivy yawned as she saw Raven approach. She explained to Adrienne, "The journey from here to Elthindra is a hard one, and the land where the enchantresses live in one full of danger and peril." Ivy's eyes roamed over the two girls' features.

Raven looked experienced enough. She could probably handle the traveling and had the endurance to keep a good pace. Her attentions turned to the swordmaker. A new, clean, fresh mind. Naive, perhaps, but willing to learn. Eager for adventure. Ivy smiled to herself.

Quickly sobering, she continued, "It may take a month, depending on how fast we move. Everyone rea--" Ivy was interrupted by what sounded like a squeak.

"I could've sworn I'd just heard a tiny voice," she heard Adrienne say. Ivy glanced down to peer at what looked like...a frog? Wait, there was a tiny person on the frog...Ivy bent over and peered at the new arrival, eyes wide in fascination.

Following Ivy's gaze to the ground, Adrienne too, noticed a frog, with what seemed to be a tiny little person on its back. "Hello down there!" She called to the little being, as she kneeled down to get a better look at it. "And who might you be?" She asked.

Raven glanced down. "Oh, hi." she said, eying the small figure. "Uh... do i know you? You seem familiar..."

~

Raven turned away. "Well, I'm supposing you want to join our group." she said. She sounded thoughtful. "Hmm... we could always use someone else..."

She turned back and smiled. "'Ok, if you want to come with us, you may. Just as long as you hunt up some food for yourself, since we don't have any to spare."

She shouldered her pack and looked at Ivy. "Do you have a map?"

"Do you have a map?" The question made Ivy smile.

"No, mate, I don't use maps. The only map I've ever used is the one in my head." Ivy's eyes swept over the chilly streets one last time, satisfied that no one unwanted was listening or lurking about. How quickly they had turned cold, with the oncoming winter.

"Now then..." Ivy knelt down on the ground and extended a finger, drawing a a few lines and pointing to each of them.

"We're here, in the city of Relya. We want to get over here, Elthindra, where the enchantresses live." Ivy pointed to a row of squiggles she had sketched in the muddy earth.

Grabbing a few pebbles, she placed them in between the two places she had referenced. "We have two choices; take the long way over land, passing over mountains and pressing through the forest...or the short way," Ivy gestured to a clump of mud. "Across the ocean. Problem is, it's iced over so the crossing would be dangerous and most likely impossible."

Ivy stood up, looking for a bit of cloth to wipe off her muddy fingers on. Seeing none other than the clothes of her companions, she wiped them on her faded brown trousers. "We're going over land."

Decisively and without looking back to see if her companions followed, she began to march west through the village streets.

Raven sighed and walked swiftly up till she was walking alongside Ivy.

"You know," she said in an undertone, "If we're going across the mountains, we will need something to carry our supplies. We might not meet another village till we're in the forests."

She yawned. "Well, I have a proposal. Let me fly ahead and go buy one of those..." she stopped and frowned. "I keep forgetting their names. It's those goat-horse thing-a-ma-jiggies the dwarfs use on long treks." her face cleared. "Oh, yes! Tagnerts, they call them. At least..." she shrugged and grinned. "Do you think you could watch the others long enough? I should be back the day after tomorrow."

Adrienne who had been walking along with them while leading her horse Capriccio, finally spoke up. "Do you two think that Capriccio will be able to make it through the mountains? I'd hate to leave him behind with no one to care for him. I've had him for so long." She crossed her fingers hoping that they wouldn't tell her that she couldn't bring him. But then again, they weren't in charge of her. She could bring her beloved horse no matter what they said...and she was sure they wouldn't make her leave him behind. Surely they would understand.

Raven looked steadily at her. "That's for you to decide." she said gravely. "She could get killed on our way up the mountain, though."

Ivy's eyes never left the path she was traveling down. As they passed through the city's gates, she answered Raven, "I suppose you can ride ahead with your dragon to get a Tagnert. In two days' time, we should be at the mouth of the mountain range."

Ivy didn't cast a glance behind her at the city they were gradually leaving behind them. She pulled her worn leather jacket tighter around herself. A pain resembling that of knife blades being scraped on her flesh issued from her poisoned shoulder, causing her to stop for a moment with her eyes closed. When she resumed talking, she said, "While you're in the city, please check to see if any healers are selling Melanil Pollen."

Ivy noted Adrienne's beautiful horse, and the hopeful look on the girl's face. "If she is a trusty steed, perhaps you should ride her. A horse may prove useful on our journey." Ivy's mind was quick to calculate the advantages of a new adventurer on a speedy horse.

This would indeed turn out to be an adventure... Ivy smiled to herself.

Adrienne thought for a moment, then replied, "HE will come with us. Capriccio is strong and fast, and that way you won't have to get one of those...goats...for me!" She then swung up onto Capriccio's back and continued along with them. "Oh I do hope I've done the right thing bringing you with me." Adrienne whispered to her strong, sleek horse. "If anything happens to you I will never forgive myself."

Ivy's hand rested upon her new sword as she walked, her fingers absently roaming over the crevices and carvings in the sheath.

"Have you always made swords your whole life?" Ivy asked Adrienne, curious about the people she would now be spending a great deal of time with. The path twisted and ran off into the horizon where Ivy knew a great, vast plain extended for many miles.

“Almost, but not quite.” Replied Adrienne. “I started when I was about 10. My father had always wanted a son to carry on the family business but when he figured out that he wasn’t going to get one, he just decided to teach me.”

Raven whirled. "Melanil Pollen?! Why would you need..." her voice trailed off as her eyes fixed on Ivy's shoulder. "Oh," she said softly, "I didn't know."

She reached into her pouch and pulled out a small, flaming-green bottle. She handed in to Ivy. "I regret i don't have Melanil Pollen. We are supposed to carry all these antidotes, but unfortunately, it's so rare only the captains carry those."

She jerked her head toward the bottle. "Drink it and rub a small amount on it. It'll burn, but it will delay the poison from spreading."

She turned to Adrienne. "I'm calling my dragon now," she cautioned, "so unless your horse doesn't spook, you may want to back away."

Raven turned and pulled out a small, flute looking-thing, made from deep blue marble. She put it to her lips and blew a strange, chilling melody on it. Before she was finished a huge shadow was blocking the sunlight out overhead. And after a moment the shadow landed, in the shape of a huge, fiery red dragon.

His gold-flecked red eyes went from Adrienne to Ivy, no emotion in their hard, cold depths. His voice, heavy with power, echoed in their minds as he spoke.
~So, these are your companions, Raven.~ A frosty twinkle lit up the eyes. ~They look better than the last ones we traveled with.~

Raven smiled grimly. “They do indeed,” she said, giving them a sidelong glance. Turning, she made her way other to the dragon and started to climb up his back, scales glittering in the sun. Sitting in the leather saddle inscribed with runes she turned to Ivy.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she grunted, securing her legs to the saddle with the leather belts. Sitting up strait she inspected them. “Try not to get into any scraps while I’m gone, okay?” she said softly, fiddling with her pouch.

Ivy rubbed the small, green bottle Raven handed to her. Uncapping it, she waved it below her nose and sniffed cautiously.

A wave of putrid oder met her full-blast and she coughed, re-capping the vial quickly and lowering it away from her face. Eldrid Oil. She recognized the smell. "Thanks," she choked out, between disgusted facial expressions.

The rider summoned her dragon, and awe washed over Ivy at the sight of the magnificent creature. Its wings sparkled like rubies, its eyes like liquid gold.

"We'll meet you in a few days' time outside the mountain ranges," Ivy agreed, watching the rider mount her steed.

Raven smiled. "I'll see you there." She said. Her dragon gave a mighty heave of his ruby-blinding wings and soared into the air, higher, higher, until they were a mere red speck in the sky, flying with the speed of the wind into the fresh blue of the sky…

~

Adrienne stepped back in awe at the giant dragon. As it swooped away with Raven on his back, all she could do was stare. Never in all 17 years of her life had she seen such a powerful creature. Suddenly she caught a whiff of a foul smelling oder. She snapped out of her daze and looked around to see Ivy sniffing a bottle of some sort of medicine. "Ick! That smells awful!" Adrienne remarked. "What sort of stuff is in there?" Capriccio snorted and she turned to around to face him. Adrienne smiled at him, and started laughing out of pure joy. "Oh how wonderful it feels to be out of that drab town and into the beautiful world!" She ran around and twirled, laughing the whole time, and finally sat down. "Well," she said to Ivy, "Do we go now?"