{"sf1_id":729904,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Five Dragons: TLoP: Chapter 1: First decision","author":"Lorddaventry","words":11156,"posted_at":"2014-07-13T08:44:00.000Z","tags":["Clean","Death","Dragoness","Fantasy","Feral","Five Dragons Storyline","Friendship","Human","Magic","Story Series"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/729904-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-1-first-decision","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/729904","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=729904\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Chapter 1: First decision\n \n \n \nIt was a cold night. Dark and bleakly. The moonlight was not able to\nshine through the haze. Silence has ruled the night. Only one lonesome carriage\nwas driving fast on the rural road. The coachman drives the horses hard, to keep the speed on and he always\nlooks with a hectique gaze back on the road he has passed. The beggarly light\nof the moon makes it even more difficult to see the road. Sweat was running\ndown from the mans forehead, his eyes wide open. What was it, who let this man\nacting like this?  Was it his duty, or only the haste.  No. Fear has grab the coachman in her claws, and seems to following the\ncoach. He takes another look back. Feeling a cold shiver that runs over his\nback, like something was looking at him out of the darkness. It makes the man\nwince, and he looked back on the road in front. „Heyyaahh!\" he shouted to the horses and crack the whip.„They can`t hold this speed for long, my lady!\" the man shouted through\nthe open window in the front of the coach. A homely dressed woman sat on the bank inside. Her coat pulled down to\nthe face. She turns her head to the window and spoke with a warm voice. „All\nright, Gustav. Take them to hold down a bit. We also had a long way to go. And\nI am not in the mode to get it on my own feet.\" „Yes my lady.\" answered the coachman with a long nod of his head. The\ncoach got noticeable slower. The woman inside was looking again out of the window\non her side, her gaze was wandering over the passed road. „I think they don`t follow us anymore.\" she muttered and looked back at\nthe other end of the cabin. A boy was sitting on the bank and clutch himself to\nit. He looked earnest to the wall, like he can look through the wooden planks. He turns his head to the woman. „Mother?\" The woman pulled her coat back\nand watched the boy with a little smile. „Yes, Roland?\" she asked soft. „How\nlong is this going to take? We drive like this for hours now!\" complained the\nboy. \"We will be there in a short time, my dear.\" she turned her focus again\non the road outside. \"This men on the road? Did you know them?\" Roland looked\nto his mother with an inquiring gaze. „And why did they try to stop us?\" \"No, I don`t know.\" she began hesitantly. Important is now, that we get\nas soon as possible to Stronos. My sister will be waiting for us.\" She clutched\nher boy and looked again out of the window. \"I hope my message has reached in\ntime.\" The coachman opened the front window again. \"My lady, we have just\nreached the right road!\" The woman takes a look out of the side window. \"Good\nGustav, now it is not far until we limit the pass. She looked back to the street, on which they had come. And spotted the\nshadow of a rider who appeared among the trees of the forest edge. He just\nstood there, his hooded deep drawn into his face. Waiting and watching. Scared\nshe extended her eyes. \"GUSTAV, NOW, HURRY!\" she hissed. Gustav raised the whip. The horses moved again and the coach took to\nride. The driver saw the rider too, and was also keen to pass the right road\nas soon as possible. The Stranger noticed that the coach was faster. He raised his arm and\ntwo other riders met with from the shadow. They immediately took up the chase.\nOne of the two held a long rod with a rotating movement forward, who was\ncrowned with a purple crystal. The rider muttered a vague incantation to himself, and pushed the top of\nthe rod forward. The crystal flashed once on. On the right road ahead were formed black cloud fields, which were\ngathering and piling. \"Brace yourself somewhere, it will be a bumpy ride!\" called Gustav in\nthe cabin, before he closed the window. The right road was peppered with numerous small impact holes and the\nseverally trees at the street edge stretched their roots into the off. What the\npassengers noticed too well. The woman sat down again to her boy, and held him tightly. He knew that\nsomething was wrong. \"What....\" It suddenly became dark and the young fell\nsilent. A bright sheen, followed by a loud thunderous rumble let the inmates\nwince at the same time. She risked a quick anxious look outside. Black clouds were in the sky,\nwhich absorbed the moonlight almost. Lightning ran through the piled formation\nand light up the night with the short shimmer. \"This is not a normal storm.\" the woman thought. There was no rain and\nno strong wind, not even the cold of a storm was present. Only the thunderous\nrumble was there. This was the factory of a magician. Lightning struck close to the coach in the ground and the trees a. The\nwood immediately caught fire and startling the horses on. \"My lady!\" permeated from outside to inside. The vote was taken by a\ndull impact silenced. The young winced. The woman stood up, opened the front\nwindow and found the driver seat empty. She looked back on the way and saw\nGustav lay on the street. What should she do now? Her thoughts raced in this moment. Should she\nstop to look for Gustav, or continue? She could not just stop. Not with the persecutors in the neck. But she\ncould not read him just lying on the street. The horses pull again to continue.\nUncontrolled they drove on the stony road. Another lightning struck and brought her out of the thoughtless. She\nlooked at her son with a serious look. \"Hold you as best you can!\" Roland looked at her anxiously. \"Mamma, what...\" \"Roland not now!\" she said with a determining word sound. \"You sit there\nand hold you tight as best you can.\" Roland swallowed hard and said no word, he\njust looked quietly at his mother as he sat down again. She looked back at him\nonly briefly, then she climbed out of the front window and grabbed the bridle. She tried hard to keep the horses on the road. The roots and numerous\nstones on the roadway made the journey even more difficult. Two more flashes put the trees ahead on fire. One of the trunks broke\nthrough with a noisy crack and dumped on the street. A fire wall blocking her\nescape route now. The woman pulled the reins in panic to the right, so the cart made a\nsharp turn with the coach. However, this strain did not keep the belt was and\nthe horses tore themselves away. She saw the animals flee and threw a shocked look backwards. The three\nriders had caught up and were not far behind them. The coach rolled without the\ncart further. A deep pothole captured one of the wheels and the cabin tipped\nride in full to the side. The charioteer was dropped and slid next to the coach\ndown the hillside. The vehicle overturned several times and came to stop between two trees.\nThe woman landed not far from it on the ground. Her leg was twisted. Unable to get up, she crawled in the direction of\nthe wreck. She lifted her arm to the broken coach and hold the air with her\nfist. \"Roland, NO!\" she moaned in pain. Her eyes began to blur. But she recognized a small shadow. A little\nperson came out of the remains.  Roland walked slowly toward her. He moved his right leg limping along\nbehind him. A large wooden splinter had drilled through his right calf. The\nyoung knelt down in front of his mother. She lifted her head and held out her\nhand to his cheek. \"I thought I had lost you.\" she whispered weakly. Roland felt the warm\nhand of his mother and held it with his own. Unable at the moment to say\nsomething to her ran only tears over his face. The three riders stopped in front of the burning barricade and descended\nfrom their riding animals. The leader placed himself at the flames and began to\nbreathe heavier. He clenched both hands into fists. Vigorously he walked up to\nthe man with the rod and grabbed him by the neck. He lifted the man from his feet and brought his face to eye level. \"Is\nthere really nothing you can do right?!\" Two red eyes shone out of the shadow\nof his hood. He threw the wizard a piece back and went with wide steps to the burning\ntrunk. The man seemed to get larger. The shoulders went apart and his steps\nwere heavy. \"He can produce lightning.\" he bleated with a sarcastic wording and put\na foot on the flickering wood. \"And not even hit a DAMN COACH!\" he yelled and\npushed with full balancing against it. The tree trunk broke apart with a loud\nbang. Several sparks were briefly light up the whole street. The stem halves came a few meters away to a standstill and gave the way\nfree again. Some parts were rolling down the hillside and set the bushes on\nfire. The man was breathing heavily in front of him and tried to curb his anger.\nHe saw the burning scrub the hillside lit up and spied a wooden wreck below. He lowered his arms and stood up straight again. Strongly exhaling he\nbowed his head to the side until a crack was fortuitous. \"Why not so from the beginning?!\" he muttered under his breath. He\npointed down the hillside with a poor. \"Down there!\" he shouted aggressively to\nhis two attendants, who immediately set out on their way. \"You need to immediately disappear! Roland!\" She looked scared up at the\napproaching men and then back to her son. \"But... But where shall I go for?\"\nRoland asked anxiously. \"Run in the forest, hide you in the shadows! The main\nthing is they do not get you.\" She gestured with her trembling hand to the\ntrees. Roland let his tears run free and shook his head. \"But I will not go!\"\nhe bent down to her and hugged her tightly. \"I will stay here with you!\" Her\narm clutching the young. She gave him a loving kiss on the cheek and looked at\nhim with a warm look directly into the eyes. \"I love you, and that will always\nbe so.\" With her last strength and tears under, she pushed her son away from\nher. \"And now run! Go!\" she gasped behind. Roland lay there scared, looked up at the approaching men and then again\nto his mother lying. Laboriously, he straightened up and hobbled the first\nsteps away from her. The boy standing under the first tree and threw back a sad\nlook. He closed both eyes and pressed out a lonely tear that fell to the\nground. Then he turned and dragged into the shadows. His mother watched him\nuntil he disappeared into the darkness and then burst in exhaustion. The three man had meanwhile reached the wreck. \"You two searched the remains!\"\nThis deep and menacing voice let awaken the woman. \"And I take care of our\nguest here!\" The man standing before her. She looked up hesitantly. He grabbed\nher by the neck and lifted her from the ground. \nHe held her to his face. Her legs were hanging loose in the air. \"Look at this! Whom we have there?\" The man tilted his head slightly to\nthe side. \"This time seems to be our find there is to my favour to develop.\"\nHis hand around her neck was close and she began to pant after air. \"If I\nremember correctly you still owes us something?\" One of the riders interrupted\nhim. \"The boy is not here, the wreck is empty!\" The leader`s voice grew louder\nas he shook the woman. \"Speech! Where is he?\" He loosened his grip around her\nenough to let air, so that she could answer. \"Drive to hell.\" she gasped from\nher mouth. \"Hell? Is that so?\" He raised an eyebrow and put on a devilish smile on.\n\"I have already seen the hell!\" He looked her in the eyes greedily while he\nsqueezed her neck again. She clung with both hands to his arm firmly and fought\ndesperately for air. \"I send you advance, so that you can make yourself silence\nin a picture of it.\" He saw it in her eyes, as the spark of life began to go out. And he\nenjoyed every moment of it. The man smiled. With a hard jerk was a slight crack\nto hear and her movements slackened. Then he threw the lifeless body in the\nremains of the coach. After that he turned to his comrades. One of them knelt in the shade of a tree. \"Here are footsteps and blood.\nThey lead in this direction!\" He pointed with his hand to the cliff. \"Far he is\ncertainly not come with the injury\" The leader briefly waved his arm. \"Go, get\nthis bastard!\" Roland dragged through the darkness, not knowing where he was going.\nEach further step ached like a thousand needles prints. His pursuers close\nbehind him. He reached a steep cliff edge. Before him lay a huge forest. He breathed\nheavily as he let slip his overview of the endless sea of trees. \"Could that be\nthe Darkwinterforest, of which his mother had once told?\" he asked himself. His\nthoughts reverted to the last instant, where he saw her the last time. He held\nhis hand to the cheek soaked by tears, as if he could still feel the one of his\nmother.  \"All right! There he is! Roland!\" A deep voice pulled him from his\nremembrance. The boy turned around, startled, with his back to the cliff now.\nThree men stood in a semicircle around him, the hooded pulled deep into their\nfaces. One of them held out a rod. The tip began to glow in a purple sheen. The\ngreat one in the middle make a step forward and pointed his finger to the\nwizard \"No, not YOU!\" he shouted to the man. This lowered on slow his rod and\nbegan to dim the light.  The leader looked again to the boy. \"And now? That was it!?\" he turned and\nheld both arms apart. \"Can we now stop this damn charade?\" His voice grew\nlouder, as he looked again to the young. \"You know not what it has given to me\nfor trouble to find you!\" He showed vigorously with his finger on the area next\nto him. \"So now be a brave lad, and come here!\" The young returned the rigid view of the leader, but said not a word. He\nmade only a small step backwards to the cliff. The foreign infuriated one step\nforward and pulled back the hood. What emerged was a bald-headed face. Dark red\neyes stood out from it, and a tattoo graced the right side. A dragon wing, who\nwas impaled by a straight sword was the picture. Left a broad scar from neck\npulled her up on the cheek up to his left ear. The ear was split. \"Do you want this really, boy?\" He stretched out his hand close to the\nfront and pointed his forefinger at him. \"You can not even walk properly with\nthat leg. Or are you going to fly?\" His words sounded more aggressive. \"I`m not\ngoing to say it again! COME HERE!\" He stamped his foot once on the ground, the\nhand clenched into a fist. The other two men stood there as a silent witness and watched the whole\nthing.  Roland felt a slight breeze, which rose from the rear upwards. He took a\nstep farther back, as another wave of pain seized him. The young lost his\nbalance and fell backwards down the cliff. He closed the eyes and let himself\ndrop. The two men next to the big bald guy took a startled step forward when\nthey saw the boy fall into the darkness. The leader himself, however, responded\nnot at all.  \"Hmph.\" Could be heard from his mouth. He pulled the hood back\nup and hid his face in front of his comrades. \"Get him, or what's left of\nhim back up!\" He waved his arm at the cliff. \"I have to report to the\nauthorities.\" Furious, he gave the order. \"Do not return empty-handed!\" The two men stood upright\nbefore him. They pulled the right fist up to the left shoulder and bowed\nthe head forward. They spoke at the same time. \"The immortality for\nus!\" Their leader made the\nsame gesture. \"Death\nto the others!\" he added.\nThe commander turned and made his way back, while\nthe other two climbed down the\ncliffs. Roland fell further\nand further down. His eyes\nclosed. It was\nquiet. ......  It took a few hours and\nthe sun was already on the\nhorizon. \"Mamma!\" cried Roland shocked when he woke up. The arm far outstretched,\nas if to grab her. He saw his mother, gradually\ndisappeared and he\nlooked into a bright light that\nshone down from the ceiling the shade. He heard only his own echo,\nit halls from the tunnels back\nwhen he felt a sharp pain from his lower leg, which\nleft him wince. He\nsat upright in a narrow vault, holding his injured leg. His gaze upon the walls. Was it a cave or a\ntunnel? He did not know. A weak beam of light shone\non him. The light\ncame through a crack in the\nceiling. He tried to identify\nits origin, but it blinded him too much. One\nhand he held between the light and his face. He then crawled out of the\nglare. As his eyes adjusted to\nthe darkness, he recognized some outlines.\nThe room looked like a place to sleep, but not for a man. On one wall\nwas a large empty trough, beside a\nshallow heap of desiccated\nhay. On the other side were bony remains.\nHe could not determine from which animal do this\nthough. \"Who has lived\nhere?\" the boy wondered when he again felt a\nwave of pain. He looked down at his wound. The splitter towered steeply from\nhis lower leg. What the movement of the leg heavily restricted. Knowing that he will not come with this piece of wood in there far,\nhe decided to pull it out. Roland grabbed with one\nhand then. The mere touch of the wood was\npainful and let him wince.\nHe was focused on getting rid of the splitter and took a heavy. The boy knelt\ndown and placed the foot of his injured leg on\nthe floor, then he grabbed with both hands on the wood\nsplitter. Roland took a deep breath and pushed with all his body weight on his\nwounded leg while he moved\njerkily on the spit.\nThe wood moved out\ngradually. He breathed deeply again and\nsettled again with all our\nefforts. \"Hiieejjaaah!\" echoed in the corridors of the vault again, while the piece of wood fell to the ground. Roland left paralyzed falling\non his back in pain. The boy remained some\nmoments coughing lying\non the ground and let the pain\nsubside. He tore a\nsleeve on his jacket and tied it around the heavily\nbleeding wound on the lower leg. Although the pain was still\nthere, but he could move the leg\nbetter. Roland looked again\naround the room. Some entrances were collapsed or blocked by bars.\nHe looked in a\nnot yet collapsed transition. It was felt\na faint breeze that came out of the tunnel to\nmeet him. He pulled himself up on the wall and was the\nfirst heavy steps to the hall. The light\ninside was weak and handed\nout just to\nsee the walls. He\nsaw that there was a place\nlighter at the rear end and\nat once made himself on the long journey into the dark tube. Continuous one foot front of the other. He leaned on the wall along as it\nprogressed slowly. Always the light in front. Cobwebs and roots hanging from the ceiling. His thoughts began to wander.\n\"Is it an output at\nthe end of the path? Will he\nmake it out of\nhere alive?\"He never thought to\nbe found in such a situation. Never on his own, it\nwas an intense experience for\nhim. But somehow he found pleasure in it. His memory of his mother let him sink into sadness.\nRoland swore at\nthat moment revenge for his mother.\nOne day he will again\nsee this bald\nhead, and then, he will pay for this. He beat furiously with\nhis fist against the wall. A rock\nbroke off and fell\non his right foot, this brought him back from his memory. The end of the tunnel, meantime, was achieved, but there was\nno output. Roland had found a\ndome-like chamber. The room was\nstructured as a prayer\nhall. Of the walls hung ragged banners. The\npattern was too badly weathered\nto realize something. Musty wooden benches were\narranged in a semicircle around\nthe middle. He wiped his hand\nthe cobwebs aside and stepped into the room. In the center was a pedestal. Stone ornaments were incorporated,\nand is similar in form and appearance\nof a dragon. A beam\nof light came through a round\nopening of the\nceiling and hit before the\nsocket on the bottom. The symbol on the floor was illuminated by the light.\nThe shape of a dragon was unmistakable. Roland strode across the mosaic pattern on the base.\nOn the stone base\nto a larger oval\nobject was, surrounded by numerous fragments. The boy stepped\ncloser and grabbed curious\nafterwards. It got\nthe ball rolling and came toward him. He pushed with all his might, however, before it threatened to fall from\nthe pedestal. \"Uff!\" Roland\nheld the large stone-like\nobject in his arms, but could not keep up\nwith the aching leg long and let it slowly sink to the bottom. The boy sat tired down next to it and laid a\nhand on it. It felt\nwarm and pulsing like a heartbeat. \"Strange?\"\nhe said to himself. For a stone of this size, it was too easy. \"Hmm.\"\nHe sighed and looked at his found object in the\nlight sheen. The oval stone had a dark orange-red\ncolor, in addition, it glistened in the dim light shine.\"Now this is something very\nspecial.\" Astonished, he leaned\nover his find with\nhis back to the stone pedestal\nand put an arm around the oval object. He felt like the heat\nwas transferred to him. The pulsing that had ran\nout of this gave a calming effect\non the boy. The stone in the arm,\nthe warmth that filled him and a gentle pulse. He\nwas too exhausted to think forth from the stiff\nway here more\nabout it. The fatigue\ntook the upper hand and he felt as obeyed his\neyes. It was quiet\naround him. Only a warm heart beat could\nbe felt. \nRoland fell asleep.   The evening\nbefore ...\nCatherine was sitting in the living room and poring\nover a book. The door opened\nquickly and a heavy-breathing\nman entered. She lifted her eyes from the book and\nlooked at the man questioningly. \"What's going on Daniel? Is something wrong?\"  \"Forgive me for disturbing, my lady!\"\nHe held up a small piece of paper\nin his hand, which he stretched to meet her. \"A message from your sister has just reached us,\nhere.\"\"What?\" She took the\ndocument counter hectic. With a thoughtful look she\nread the letter. She pulled\nstartled eyebrows upwards.\"Daniel, immediately go saddle up the horses\nand spun the car in front!\" She looked at him with determination. \"Of course.\" He admitted with a nod\nin response. \"May I know the reason?\" he asked hesitantly. \"No time\nto explain now, we have to leave immediately!\"\nShe threw the book into the chair\nand walked to the door. Daniel looked at her and asked. \"Is there anything\nelse?\"\"Yes. Tell the\nguards about it. They will\naccompany me.\" She walked out the\ndoor into the front entrance\nof the property. Daniel followed her to the stairs. \"All of them, my lady?\" he said\nemphatically. She stopped short on the stairs. Turned\nher head to the side and spoke.\n\"Yes, all of them. You have an hour, Daniel. \"Then\nshe continued on her way to the top\non. Daniel nodded slowly and\nwent outside to the adjoining building, where he informed the soldiers. He then went\non to the stables. A girl came\nto meet him. \"Hey Daniel!\" she exclaimed with a broad\nsmile. \"Why are you in such\na hurry?\" The child stand on front of him, propped her arms on her\nhips and held her head slightly\ninclined. Daniel hurried\naround the girl. \"No\ntime for explanations, little Rebecca. Have you seen\nTim somewhere?\" The child made a mad face. \"I'm not little!\" she groused. \"And Tim is in the\nbarn.\" Without another word losing, Daniel\nwent on to the\nbarn. He tore at the door, and called loudly. \"Timmy! Where are you?\" Most of the horses were startled then. Tim appeared from\nbehind the door and taunted\nDaniel with his finger in the side. \"Can you do that a little quieter? You\nshy grows on the\nanimals.\"He stepped in front of him and shook his disheveled shoulder-length hair and held out her arms. \"In addition, you woke me.\"\nhe yawned. \"So.\" He sat on one of the hay bales, lying next\nto the gate and steepled his\nlegs. \"What's up?\" \"No time for this!\" bleated Daniel. \"Shake\nyour ass up and\nhelp me to saddle the horses\nand bias the car!\"\nHe waved both arms and looked sternly at Tim.\n\"Come on come on, do not dawdle. We have\nnot much time. Movement, move, move!\"Tim laid Daniel a hand on his shoulder and held him a\nfinger in the face. \"You urgently need some reassurance.\"\nHe winked at him. \"I've got something\nsuitable for you afterwards. Then you will again loosen\nup a bit.\"Daniel rolled his eyes. \"What would loosen me\nat the moment the most, would be\na biased car and saddled horses!\" He held his hand to his forehead. \"So how\nabout if we do this\nas soon as possible here and continue this\nconversation later? OK?\" \"Sure, man!\" said Tim\nwith a big grin. \"Everything\neasy.\" \"Good, then you can go easy now the\nget the car out of the shed?\" He looked at Tim with a serious\nexpression. Timmy stood there\nmotionless shortly. Then raised a hand and pointed\nhis finger at Daniel's face.\n\"You can take a really long stare without\nblinking. How do you do ... \"  Then Daniel\nloosed his control. Rebecca stand in front of\nthe stables. Loud curses lay in the air\nand a rumble and clatter came out of the\nbarn. The gate opened and Tim\nflew out in a\nhigh arc. He landed softly\nin the dirt. \"CART, SHED, NOW!\" Could be heard before the door closed again.\nRebecca raised an eyebrow as she looked at Tim. \"He's a\nlittle tense today, right?\" Timmy\nshrugged and tilted\nhis head to the side. \"My\nspeech.\" He stood up and brushed\nthe pants off. Tim leaned down\nto her and looked at her with a wink. \"Do you like\nto help me bias the car?\" Rebecca sat\na cheerful smile. \"Yes, I will! Where\nare we going?\" she asked.\n\"Oho hoo. You and\nI are not going anywhere.\" He\nturned to her and pointed a finger at her. \"Your mother is going anywhere.\" He looked\nback to the estate, where eight uniformed\nmen lined up. Tim pulled his eyes and nodded\nto the guards. \"And it looks like she does not go alone. Come on, we better\nhurry.\" The car was ready in no time\nand also the horses. Catherine stepped out of the house. \"Is everybody ready?\" she asked. The\nmen saluted and the captain\nspoke. \"Ready to leave, Lady Catherine.\" She walked toward the carriage.\"Where are you going?\" asked a little girl the\nwoman. She knelt down to the\nchild and closed it short in the arm. \"I'll explain when I get back Rebecca.\"\nShe stood up again and climbed into the carriage. \"Let's go.\" she said to the\nmen. \"On the eastern mountain pass. Let us see that we arrive until\nthe next morning there.\" The group began to move. Rebecca waved the coach\nand ran her a\nlittle way on the road afterwards.\nDaniel and Tim watched\nthe troops until they disappeared around the next bend. \"So.\" Tim sighed. He put his\nhands on his hips and grabbed Daniel's shoulder. \"And now we do something about your stress.\" Daniel shook\nhis head and slapped his hand\nagainst his forehead. \"Oh man!\"\nhe muttered.  The Night was\nfalling. The moon stood\nhigh, but he can\nbarely shine through the fog. The coach\ncame quickly forward.\nAccompanied by six uniformed horsemen. \n\"Lady Catherine!\" said\nthe wagoner. \"There is the pass road!\" \"We better hurry.\" She looked strained out\nthe window. \"Hopefully we can\nreach them in time.\" she sighed. \"WHAT THE!\" cried the coachman and pulled the\nreins to the left. The carriage swerved sharply\nwith the coach to\nthe left and almost threatened\nto overturn. But then came to a halt. Catherine got\nout and looked scared on the road. A single man stood there, now surrounded by\ntheir escort. She\nwent vigorously to the man.\n\"What does that mean?\"\nShe raised her eyebrows in astonishment as she recognized the person. \"Gustav? What are you doing here?\" She looked at\nhim in surprise and saw the\nbleeding wound on his head.\n\"You are hurt!\" She put a hand on his shoulder and walked with him back to\nthe coach. Inside the cabin he get a bandage and told her\neverything. From the beginning of\ntheir journey, until his overthrow of the coach. \"And where my sister is now?\"\nshe asked him with moist eyes. \"I do not know, my lady.\" Gustav held a hand\nto his forehead. \"I have come\nto me until some\ntime ago. And if they have\nnot crossed your path?\" he continued. \"So something must have happened to them.\" She got out and waved the six riders\nto herself.  \"Addiction from the pass road. Also off the\nbeaten path.\" she gave each\nof the companions a hopeful\nlook. \"You must find them.\" The riders went at\nonce on the way, and the coach remained with\nher, two guardsmen and Gustav on the roadside. Impatiently she waited for the return of a good message. A rider after another returned\nunsuccessful. But the sixth came\nback at a gallop. Gustav sat on the roadside and\nscratched at the bandage when he saw him approach\nhurry. The guard got\noff his horse and rushed to\nCatherine, who was already facing\nthe coach. He did not hear the man's words. It was enough for him, to see\nthe woman's reaction to understand, what he had found. Catherine burst into tears and fell to her knees. She\nwinced several times and was breathing heavily. The guard helped her stand up. \"Show me the place, NOW!\" Her\ngrief turned to anger. \"I want to see her!\" The man nodded to her once briefly,\nsat again on his horse and waited for the rest of the group. The morning had dawned and the first rays of\nsun appeared on the horizon.Catherine stand in\nfront of the shattered wreck.\nHer sister was lying lifeless in the rubble. She walked hesitantly toward\nher. Breathing hard, she knelt beside the prone body. The tears flowed like small\nrivers down her face. She put both hands to her\nforehead to the upper body of her\nsister and shouted uproariously. She sat up slowly, trying to\nget her emotions under control. \"What about her son?\" she sobbed. \"Is Roland\nhere?\" She threw a desperate glance at her\ncompanions. \"There is no\ntrace of him.\" said the\ncaptain. \"Look, my lady.\" Gustav\npointed to the neck of Catherine's sister.\"\nThe marks on the neck. She died\nnot by the accident.\" He put\na serious thoughtful look on\nand said nothing more. \"Here are footprints!\"\nshouted another guard. \"They\ngo away from the scene of the accident!\"\nCatherine stood up\nand quickly turned to her companions. She gave two guards the command to\nbring her sister into the\ncarriage, and then joined the tracker.\n\"Go on.\" She let precede the guard.\nIt was not long until they came to a cliff. The\nguards stood at the edge of the slope and looked\ndown at the huge forest.\"I had forgotten how big the Darkwinter\nreally is.\" sighed one. \"Here ends the track, my\nlady.\" The tracker came on a small ledge to\nstandstill. He looked over the edge down. \"Down there is a lake, maybe he is ....\" He\nwas interrupted by Catherine. \"How\nlong does it take to overcome the\ncliffs?\" she said firmly. \"It will take a few hours if you're up to climb,\nmy lady.\" he argued. He made a\ngesture with his arm to the side of the mountain. \"We could also drive around though.\nThat would be faster to get down.\" \"Well, go ahead.\" She turned and walked quickly back\nto the car. Her companions\nfollowed her.   Returned in the cave came\nRoland back to himself ....\nRoland slowly opened\nhis eyes and ran with his hand\nthrough the hair. He looked up\nto the opening in the ceiling. The beam of light was now standing above the stone base and\nthe boy.He heard a soft cooing\nfrom below. Roland looked hesitantly down\non his lap. A creature stood on his legs and\nslept peacefully.\"Woohh!\" he cried scared. The\nboy pushed down the thing by himself\nand crawled frantically backwards away from the socket. Until he arrived on the\nwall. He braced himself against\nthe wall, breathing heavily. \"What the? How in the world?\" Roland looked at the small creature who woke\nup immediately. He could not see it exactly. It was in the shade of\nthe base. Two large blue eyes looked\nout of the darkness to the boy. He swallowed hard again.\nThe creature came slowly toward him and stepped into\nthe light. Roland let fall open\nthe mouth and could not believe his\neyes. He pinched\nonce in the arm to\nmake sure also that he was not\ndreaming. \"That can not be!\" he muttered to himself, and put his hand to his forehead.A little dragon, about the size of\na dog, made a cautious step after\nanother toward him. The color of\nthe scales shone in the light and really lit up the whole room. It\nwas a dark orange red with a faint\nsparkle as littered\nwith metal shrapnel. The paws of the animal\nwere a little darker, with black claws. Long\nleathery wings, with\ndark gray membranes were folded on his back placed.\nOn the head two black horns, each with a\nsmaller underneath. The ears superscript awakened, like small wings.Roland thought of the strange stone, which he held in his arms\nbefore he was passed out. \"Could this really be the egg of a dragon?\" he\nwondered. \"How it came here. And why was\nit there exactly?\"His thoughts overwhelmed him with questions. But his thoughts voice trailed\noff as he felt a sharp pain.\nThe orange-red lizard had reached the boy and\npushed with the nose at his injured leg. Roland groaned out loud. The\ndragon shook his head, ears\nset high, looked\nat him with curious look and\nturned his head slightly to the side.\nThe boy was sitting just there, not knowing what is to come.\nHe stared paralyzed in the blue eyes, which\nreturned his gaze. The lizard took a deep breath. Roland closed frightened\nthe eyes, turned his face on the side and held\nin front of a hand. \"Meeep!\" could be heard loud from\nthe dragon. The boy opened his eyes in relief. He raised\nan eyebrow and brushed the sweat\nfrom his forehead. Not what he had expected. The\nlizard sniffed a few times\nto him, lay down\nbeside him on the floor and placed a foreleg and\nthe head to his left thigh. The\nboy could not stop being amazed.\n\"A dragon. A real living dragon lying\nnext to me.\"Reluctantly, he put\nhis hand on the animal's back. He\nheard a contented cooing of the lizard. Roland felt his hand\ntowards the head of the dragon. Between the wings through\nthe neck up to the\nhorns high. The scales feel soft and velvet.\nOther than he had suspected. When his hand reached the head, the dragon\nlooked at him from below. The animal closed his eyes halfway and was a long contented\n\"Churrr\" by itself. Roland saw his\nreflection in the big dark blue\neyes of the dragon. They shone\nlike jewels. With a fine trace of turquoise around\nthe iris. That look said more\nthan a thousand words. Roland felt a connection\nbetween him and the dragon.\nHe did not know where this feeling came from, but it\nwas there. There was no doubt about that. This dragon belonged to him. This thought he liked very much. He started stroking the animal on the side, what the lizard\nliked all too well. She turned to the side, on the back and stretched the legs high. A\ncontented \"Churrr\" was\nthe answer. The scales on the belly and the bottom were dark gray, with\nsome lighter areas in the neck\nand between the hind legs. \"You like that, huh?\" Roland stroked with both hands on the belly of the dragon.\nThe beast closed his eyes and began to coo\ncontentedly. It enjoyed\nthe cuddles. His eyes fell on\nthe area between the hind legs. \"So.\" He raised an eyebrow and looked astonished in the dragon's face. \"You're a girl\ndragon.\" he said, putting a weak smile. Roland's eyes wandered around the room again. \"So,\nenough played.\"\nHe interrupted his cuddles.\n\"With stroking alone we can not get out\nof here.\" The dragon stood up,\ngave a satisfied \"Meep\"\nby and licked Roland once over his face.\"Thank you.\" Roland said\nsarcastically, wiping once on the cheek. He\nstraightened up and looked down at\nher. \"You do not know the way outside,\nright?\" The Dragoness tilted her head slightly inclined and snorted once\nstrong. \"Would have been nice.\" he supplements with a downcast undertone.\nNot sure whether the animal could ever understand\nhim. He looked further around the room. \"The tunnel from where I came from\nis a dead end.\" Roland began thinking of his\noptions to list. \"The room looks like a prayer\nhall. And if that was really\none, the people still need to be somehow came\nhere.\" He reached up with both hands to his head. And looking\nat the ceiling. The female dragon watched the boy excitedly. She cooed quiet to herself, almost as\nif she would giggle. \"Are they hardly all entered through the\nroof?\" This consideration let\nhim even smile.\n\"Oh, so I do\nnot come on!\" he sighed and threw his\nhands as he sat down on the base. Roland looked\nat his companion and shrugged\nhis shoulders briefly. \"Did you maybe have\nanother idea?\" He asked with\na raised eyebrow and a faint smile on his face. The female took a deep breath. Paused for a moment and pushed out a cloud of black ash.\nRoland held panicked\na hand over his mouth and waved with the other soot mist from his\nface. \"What the!\" he\ncoughed. The boy dodged\nto the side and looked angrily at the little dragon.\nThis gave a little leap of joy and looked happy\nto the cloud. The\nashes floated in the light cone\nand let darken the room. But not for long. The\nsoot particles were pulled away. Roland saw\nthat the cloud was carried to\none of the ragged tapestries. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. \"Clever girl.\" He said to\nhimself and walked over to the\ntapestry. As a matter of fact. A stream of air\nwas felt. Roland pulled\nthe yellowed cloth until the bracket gave way. What emerged was a deranged\nwooden door. Individual sites were broken,\nas though something or someone wanted\nto break in from the outside. He looked back at the\nfemale dragon, which was right behind him. \"Did\nyou know that?\" He asked\nthe lizard, pointing with his thumb\nback to the door. She looked at him with half-open eyes and gave a quiet \"Churr\" by itself. He looked forward\nagain and shook his head. \"Whatever.\" He pressed against the door. \"Hrmpf!\" He took a deep breath.\n\"Come on, come on!\" he groaned\nagain and pushed against\nthe gate. The door did not move. Neither the front nor\nto the rear. \"Great, and\nnow?\" Roland grabbed with both hands on the back\nof the head. Behind him he\nheard a soft cooing. He looked to the female, which maintains sat behind\nhim on the ground, held his head slightly inclined and highly placed ears.\"You still find this funny, huh?\" He looked\ninto her eyes and raised an\neyebrow. The lizard made a\nnodding movement of the head and closed both eyes halfway.\nA cheerful \"Meep\" came\nfrom her throat. \"Oh great, enclosed in a chamber without open\nexit!\" He began to vigorously\nback and forth to pace \"With a female\ndragon, which also finds that funny!\" he added sarcastically\nand waved his hand to the female. The lizard stood on all fours and bent her\nhead down, ears laid back. A faint growl\nwas heard from her. Roland stood motionless,\nholding his arms apart and looked nervously back\nat her. \"What is it? Did I\nsay something wrong?\"Once snorted strong\nand pointed with her snout\nto the demolished\ndoor. Roland raised\nhis eyebrows and shrugged.\n\"What is it then?\" He did not\nunderstand exactly what she was\ntrying to tell him. A bright shining out\nof his back let him wince.\nHe turned his head startled backwards. A shimmering\nblue rune had appeared on the door. \"Oh, that was it!\" the boy said, astonished. The female lifted her head back and rolled her eyes slightly. \"Excuse me.\" he added with a faint smile\nand patted the female\nlightly on the head. A faint \"Churr\" was then yet to hear. Roland stood in front of the rune. A soft\ncrackling was heard. He kept his\nhand in the vicinity. The rune began to glow more intensely. He pulled his hand scared back and the lights dimmed down\nagain. \"That`s strange?\" He felt a familiar aura\nthat emanated from the symbol. Almost as if he had seen\nit once already. \"Let's see\nif I?\" He hesitantly placed his right hand on the rune. Roland turned\nhis head sideways and closed\nanxious his eyes. With the expectation that equal something strange will happen. He held his breath. And nothing happened. He opened his eyes reluctantly.\n\"Phuhh!\" he exhaled in relief.\nThe lights began\nto dim, until it finally\nwent out altogether. The boy took his hand from\nthe door and looked a little\nperplexed about the female.\n\"That was weird.\" He looked at his hand and had to smile. \"Felt like ....\" The Dragoness first\nmade a step toward Roland,\nbut then shrank\nback. She took an\naggressive stance and hissed\nagain. Roland froze in shock. The rune had now appeared\non his right hand back and\na bright glow surrounded the boy. The lizard kept a\nwing in front of her face to protect herself from the blinding glow and\nhissed again. \"What the!\" cried the boy.\nThen it was dark and he was alone. Roland sat on the\nfloor. Around him there was only\ndarkness. \"Hello!\" he shouted. But there was\nno answer. Only his own echo\nfelt back several\ntimes. It was quiet. Not the slightest\nsound could be heard. But then he heard a deep and slow breathing, which seemed to come closer. He stood up and tried the\ndirection from which it comes to be determined. The breathing became louder. Roland swallowed\nonce heavy. He looked nervously back and forth, not knowing what may lie ahead for\nhim. \"Your destiny, your decision!\"\nA deep voice, like a roll of thunder came from the darkness. \"Now that the next companion has\nrevealed.\" The pressure waves of the voice were Roland fall on his\nknees. \"It is now time to\ndecide!\"  The boy asked.\n\"What? Who are you? Companion? \"He turned his head frantically. \"And what a decision?\" In the emptiness, a ring of flames,\nfrom which a figure stepped in a orange-red frock\nwas born. The symbol of the door lit up\nhis clothes. \"Who\nI am is irrelevant. But who you are, or\nwill be is\na more important question.\" said\nthe man and stood before the boy.\nRoland could not\nsee the face under the hood. \"And who is supposed to be this companion?\" the boy asked energetic. \"That depends on you. You have shown the potential. But there is still deciding whether you want to use it or not.\" \"Me?\" said the boy,\nlooking back of his hand on which\nthe same symbol could be seen, as well as on the cowl of\nthe phenomenon. \"Yes, you!\" The man raised an arm and waved to the left. A crack developed\nin the void. It was a house to be seen. Before that there was a woman with a face he knew well. \"You've lost a lot.\" said the man, waving his arm to the other side. Another crack opened up. He\ncould see a dark chamber with a solitary cone of light shone down on a small orange\nred dragon. The man spoke again. \"But also\nnew to win.\"Roland stood up and\nlooked at both cracks. \"I do not quite understand? Why all this? Why me?\nWhy now? \"He looked the man in the cassock confused.\"Fate rarely calls us to a time of our choosing. We can only decide what\nwe do with the opportunities that\nare given to us.\" The man walked\nover to Roland. \"This is now\nsuch a crossroads.\" He pointed to the crack with the dragon. \"You can now proceed further.\nAccept your destiny.\" The man waved his\narm to the other plan.\" Or hold and\nreturn to the past.\" The boy stood between the cracks.\nLooked restlessly back and forth. \"But which one is the\nright choice?\" Roland saw\nthe figure confused in the\nhabit of. \"There is no right or wrong.\" said the man. \"Here there is only one decision.\" The figure pointed to\nthe boy. \"Your decision.\"\nHe stood between the two cracks. \"Now, choose.\"Roland went up to the crack, in which his\nmother was to be seen. His\neyes began to fill with tears as he saw her.\nHe put his hand on the crack, like a\nwindow pane. \"Will she live again?\" asked the boy hesitantly. \"She\nwill live and return to you.\"\nsaid the figure. \"And the recent events disappear into the void.\" \"Wait!\" Roland stepped hastily before\nthe second crack\nand looked in inquiringly.\n\"Does that mean that I will never meet this\ndragon?\" This thought made\nhim sad too. His\nacquaintance with the animal was\nnew, and he did not want to give\nit up right now. \"Yes.\" said the figure with sparse\nundertone. \"That's not fair!\" cried Roland,\nclenching his hands into fists. He stood before\nthe first crack and looked in, the woman\ninside waved him over her. \"Mother.\"\nhe sighed sadly. The\nwoman knelt down and opened\nher arms, waiting for that her boy back to her. She\nbegan to smile, and shouted with a\nwarm voice his name. Roland closed his eyes, lowered his head and turned away from her. \"I'm sorry.\" he sobbed as his\ntears run down the cheeks. He walked with faltering steps to the second crack.\nHe saw the dragon in it, and felt that his choice was made. \"I'm going to progress!\" he said firmly, as he\nwiped the tears from his face. \"So it will be!\" said the man\nin the cowl. He waved his hand and the\nfirst crack started to close\nup. Roland looked\none last time into his mother's face until it disappeared into the void. \"Your destiny, your decision.\"\nboomed the voice and\nthe man in the cassock disappeared in the fire ring, from which he came. There was a strong suction\nthat pulled the boy into the\nremaining crack. Roland tried to keep desperately determined. But without success. He was sucked\nin before closing the crack. \n\"Whoa!\" Roland woke up in shock. He\nlay on the floor in the chamber\nwith the light cone. An orange\nred female dragon lay with\nher front legs on his chest. She pulled a small piece back when she realized that\nhe had come back to him and\nmade a little leap\nof joy. She nudged with her snout to his\nhead and licked him on the nose. A cheerful\n\"Meep\" she also gave of herself. He stroked her down over the\nhead and the neck and gave her a\nlittle kiss on the nose. \"Thank you for waking me up.\"\nhe said with a wink. \"I had a strange dream.\" he murmured then. The dragoness cooed\nsatisfied, stood up and took a few steps\naway from him, but then stopped and turned her head to see if\nRoland took the hint. He looked at the female and noticed that the door was now open behind\nher. Roland smiled. \"You're right.\" he told her. \"Time to go.\" He stood up slowly and walked carefully to\nthe door. Behind it he saw a transition to\nbe discarded, with bright light at the other end. The lizard looked at him, closed her eyes halfway and gave a\nquick \"Churr\" by herself. Then she walked through\nthe door. Roland took a deep\nbreath and followed the dragon\nthen. Together, they walked side by side in the direction of an expected output.   In the meantime....                \n\"How long before Captain Koris?\" asked Catherine out of the carriage. \"We will arrive shortly at the lower\npart of the cliffs, my lady,\" he shouted,\nand rode beside the carriage. The group reached the spot, which could be seen from\nabove the cliffs. The vehicle came to a halt.\nCatherine got out and held a hand in\nfront of her eyes to hide them\nfrom the sun. Her gaze was\nclear and she saw the remains of a tower, which stretched into the sky at the foot of the cliffs. A stream sprang from a\nlittle way up the slope and\nfilled a lake next\nto the ruins. \"This was once a ceremonial hall of the old cult.\" said Gustav as he stood on the\nshore of the lake and looked at\nthe ruins. He pointed\na finger at the tower remains. \"The tower is the only thing, the hunters let left.\"\nGustav let his\ngaze wander over the ruins thoughtfully. \"I know the stories, Gustav.\" said Catherine and began to walk up and down along the shore. The guards have started to systematically search the area. Captain Koris went\nwith two of his guards around the lake when he spotted two men in the\nupper parts of the cliffs in\nbrown cloaks among the rocks.\"HEY, YOU OVER THERE!\" he cried. \"GIVE TO RECOGNIZE!\"\nThe unknowns were startled and moved quickly backwards behind the stones. The captain waved his arm to the left.\n\"You two go left\naround the top. And\nI go up behind.\" he\nordered his companions. They both nodded\nto him quietly and drew their swords as they\nwent on their way. The guards circled the\nrock, which gave the unknown men\ncover. They jumped around the rock. A black cloud enveloped\nthe area. The smoke cleared and the two unknowns were\ngone. Only a few footprints\nwere left. \"What the hell?\" grumbled\nKoris angry. \"They\ncan not vanish\ninto air.\" He looked curiously up the cliffs. \"Oh, what the heck. Come on, we go back to\nthe lake. \"He made a\ngesture in the direction from\nwhich they had come. \"We\nstill have to find a boy!\" Catherine walked up to the three guards. \"What\nwas going on at the top?\"\nshe asked in surprise. \"Two\nmen in brown robes. They've got\nthemself a little further delayed\nup between the rocks.\" He gestured with his hand on the area above the lake. \"They have immediately fled when they saw us.\" \"Who were these men?\"\nasked Catherine emphatically.\n\"I do not know, my lady. I could not see their faces.\" he argued. The captain turned around, looked at the rock high and lifted an eyebrow upward.\n\"But they seemed\nto search something or are looking for someone.\" \"Then he must be here somewhere.\" she said hopefully. \"Keep looking, we need to find him.\"  Meanwhile in the cave....\nRoland and his companion took one step after\nanother toward the light. He made\nevery few feet a little breather,\nand held his still bleeding leg. The sound of running water could be heard, and became constantly\nlouder. The closer they got the bright glow. \"Do you hear that?\" he asked\nthe dragoness. \"There\nmust be somewhere a stream or something.\" She paused and listened to\nthe sounds. The female walked a\nlittle way ahead. Turned around,\nbowed her head slightly to the side and gave a\nsharp \"Meep\" by herself.Roland leaned against\nthe wall and waved to the females once. \"Calm\ndown. I'm coming.\" he\ncomplained, breathing heavily. \"You do not\nneed to limp.\" he pointed to his wounded leg. \"Your legs are not\nhurt.\" She looked at him briefly, closed her eyes halfway and gave a long \"Churr\" by herself. Then she went\nback to him and stood beside him.\nThe female looked at him with a warm look and sniffed a few times on the wound.  She went a little apart and began his limp\nwith one of her hind legs to imitate. Roland saw\nthe female dragon in amazement\nand then had to smile.\nHe knelt down beside\nher and grabbed her head. He gently pulled\nher toward him until he had\neye contact with the deep blue eyes.\n\"So I did not mean it.\"\nhe stroked her with his hand over his face. She closed her eyes\nand purred contentedly.\n\"But, thank you for your compassion.\"The boy smiled. The animal seemed to actually understand everything he said. Roland stood up again and continued on his way, with the female at his side. He stepped into the incident ray of light and held a\nhand over his face. A cool\nblast of air could be felt. And fresh air filled\nhis nose. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he looked at a large lake.\nHe stood next to a small waterfall, which hid the tunnel entrance. Before him, led a dilapidated stairs.\nAt the end of the narrow staircase a ruined\nbuilding was to be seen, with a\nlonely tower. He looked over the edge down to the lake.\nHe could see several\npeople, were moving around the\nwater. Roland took another step\nforward as broke a\nrock and fell down into the water. The\nstone splashed on with a large fountain in\nthe lake and caught the attention of the people. Gustav was still standing in front of the ruins and\nsaw the water fountain first.\n\"What was that?\" he shouted to the men and\nwent to approach the water. \"There's something fell into the water!\" said one of the\nguards. \"A rock which had\nmost likely been resolved.\" \"Hmph.\" Gustav thought,\nscratching his chin. He looked thoughtfully up and followed the trajectory of the stone back. He\nlooked at the waterfall and\nnoticed how short a face behind it came out, but again disappeared. His\ngaze settled on the floor and he crossed his arms. \"There\nyou are hiding.\" he thought,\nand began to smile. Gustav waved two\nguards close to him and went with\nthem to the ruins. He said to the first he should bring Lady Catherine to\nhim. And the second guard he told\nto hide in the building\nremains and to wait for his signal. \"What did you find Gustav?\"\nCatherine asked curiously as she came to him with\nthe guard. \"The boy is here,\nmy lady.\" he whispered to her.\n\"He's hiding a little further up, behind the waterfall.\"\nHe gestures with his hand to the waterfall. \"But\nby himself he will not come down. Not with\nall the guards here\naround.\"\"And how do you achieve that the boy comes down by himself?\" she asked skeptically.\n\"It looks like there is a way\nout of the ruins to\nleads up the waterfall.\" He looked\nat the ruins and pointed with his hand to the waterfall. \"Therefore, I will call him from there to\nme.\" \"How do you know that this will work?\" She raised an eyebrow. \"He knows me. But not you,\nhowever one of your followers.\" He looked at her questioningly.  \"May I be well with you, to ask your guards to return\nto the coach?\" \"Yes, Gustav. You may.\" She smiled at him briefly. \"But I want to be aside.\" she said demanding. He nodded her\nonce. She took a piece\nof the ruins away,\ngave the men a collection\ncommand to go to the coach and\nthen returned back\nto him. Gustav stood with Catherine alone in\nthe ruins, looking at the way\nto the narrow staircase that led to the waterfall. \"ROLAND!\" he cried out loud\nupwardly. \"Are you up there?\" Roland recognized the voice. He looked at the dragoness.\n\"You stay here. Okay?\" he said to her, holding his hand on her nose. She\nlooked at him questioningly and\nsnorted once strong.\nThen she gave a\nfaint \"Churr\" of her\nand sat down on the ground. \"I'll\nbe right back.\" promised Roland and\npatted her on the head several times. Then he stood up and turned to the\nstairs. He limped frantically, as well allowed it\nhis injured leg, the steep stairs. The boy saw the\nman known to him between\nthe charred walls stand and took a few\nsteps toward him, but remained standing\nstartled when he saw the woman beside him. The boy looked confused to Gustav\nand the woman. She took a step toward\nthe boy. \"Roland is that you?\" The boy sat on a step back. He\ndid not know the woman and was skeptical. Roland\nlooked at her nervously. But she seemed somehow familiar to him. \"Now!\" cried Gustav. A guard came out from behind the crumbling wall\nand grabbed the boy. Roland began to squirm\nand scream. \"Calm down, I'll just wants to help you!\" said the man to him. A loud roar was\nheard and let everyone wince. The guard let\nthe boy go out\nscared. Roland crawled\nfrantically away a\nfew feet from him. With a few wing beats landed an orange red\ndragon between the boy and\nthe guard. Her head down and her ears pulled\nback. The wings obliquely applied to the back. Mouth\nopen, enough to see the pointed teeth, accompanied by a deep\nmenacing growl. The\nguard stood there motionless,\nlooking fearfully into the blue eyes staring him,\nthe pupils contracted as pointed daggers. Gustav and Catherine were paralyzed and looked\nshocked at the\ndragoness. Roland recovered breathing heavily from the shock and saw the female in\nher aggressive attitude. He was surprised and scared at the same time of her response to the events. Koris came with\nthe remaining guards to the place.\nThey drew their swords and stood up in a line\nbetween the dragoness and their lady. Two turned\ntheir crossbow at the animal\nand waited for a fire\ncommand. Roland shook his head\nand looked at the shooter.\n\"NO!\" cried the boy. He held his arms apart\nand stood before them in the line of fire of\nthe guards. The female hissed\nand flexed the wings apart. \"Go beside boy!\" cried\nthe captain, waving his arm to the boy. Roland saw the\nguards with a serious expression. He did not made any movement. \"Do\nnot do this!\" he cried loud. \"She\nwanted me only protected!\" \"Hold on!\" ordered frightened Catherine. \"To\nthe Five! Down with\nthe weapons!\" The men lowered their weapons hesitantly.The situation seemed to relax. Roland lowered his arms and turned to his\ncompanion. She growled still\nand let her eyes frantically\nby a guard walking to the next. He went to\nhis knees and holding her head with both hands. The boy looked deeply into her eyes. \"All\nright.\" he said quietly to her. \"They will not hurt us. No reason to\nget angry even more.\" She found eye contact with him.\nHer pupils widened again and took on a\nround shape. Her breathing calmed down. The female\ndragon snorted once condescending to the men and sat down on the ground. Skeptical she watched\nthe people in front of her. Roland put his arm on the back of the\nfemale and looked glanced back at Catherine and Gustav. \"You see. She is not dangerous.\" he said quietly. The guardsmen did not understand why\nthe dragon heard on the boys command.\nThey looked at a loss and sought an explanation for this. Gustav took a step forward. \"She wanted\nto protect you?\" He pointed his finger at him and pulled surprised his eyebrows. \"But how is that possible? Where is this thing coming from?\" He looked confused to Catherine. She closed her eyes and once shook her head. \"That's not important now.\" she said quietly. \"We've finally found him.\" She walked toward Roland, kneeling down\nto him and smiled at him. \"That is enough for me for now.\" Then she looked at the dragoness. The female looked back skeptical\nand snorted again. Catherine stood up and waved her main man to herself. \"It's\nalright Koris. This dragon is not a threat to us.\"\"Very well, lady Catherine.\"\nhe nodded at her and then turned to his entourage to. \"Men!\nDismissed. Let's get together and make our\nway back to Ironwing.\" The men saluted and\nspoke at the same time. \"Yes Captain.\" They put their weapons and marched back to the carriage and the horses. Catherine turned to the boy. She smiled and held out an open hand. \"Come\non Roland, let's get you home.\" The female growled\nout softly. \"You're\nof course with.\" said Catherine, smiling at the dragoness. The growl\ntrailed off and she\ncooed satisfied. The boy was lost briefly\nin thought. \"Home.\" he thought, and it seemed a foggy picture of his\nmother's mind. Then he shook his\nhead and looked at Catherine.He stood up and grabbed the hand which she held out to\nhim. Halfway he felt faint. The boy lost his\nbalance and fell to the ground. In\nhis view all began to blur. He took some\nmovements around him true and\nthen lost consciousness. \nMeanwhile....... at a far location. \"And there you are\nquite sure?\" asked a figure in a red robe and\na long golden staff in his hand. He was sitting in a stony\nthrone and wore a\nsilver mask. The one side of the face made a cheerful impression, the other a sad. \"Yes, your lordship.\"\nsaid the big man in front of him. \"And the boy?\" asked the figure impatiently.\n\"He is, well.\" he said hesitantly. He\nreached a hand to the back of his head and looked sheepishly to the side. \"He's fallen down a\ncliff. As we tried to get him....\" He held a hand to his forehead.\"You let me down again, Larzarus!\" The\nfigure held out the pointed of the rod. The\ntip was looking like dragon head,\nspewing out fire. \"No,\nyour lordship. I would never do that!\" The man dropped to his knees looked submissive to his master. \"I sent two of my best\nto look after him.\" The figure stood up\nfrom his throne and turned his bony hand on\nthe man. \"I'll show you what it means to disappoint\nme!\" He lifted his wand\nand held it in front of him and began to mumble unintelligible\nwords. With both hands he began\nto swing it in a circular motion. Around Larzarus, a pitch black cloud that moved like a\nsnake around him arose. \"Master, what does that mean?\"\nThe man looked at him desperately. The cloud stood over him and took the shape of\na man. The shadow stared Larzarus\ndeep into his eyes. A violet glow burned on his face.\nThe man in the red robe once met with the staff\non the ground. Larzarus was grabbed by the neck and lifted from the appearance. \"Do not kill me, Lord! Please!\" he begged, gasping for air.\nThe man with the rod lifted his head up at him and walked around him. \"Kill\nyou?\" he said followed by a cold laugh. \"No,\nI have in mind something more suitable for you.\" He met again with the bar\non the floor and the shadows began to unravel. Larzarus fell to the ground. He lay on all fours and coughed heavily, the dark veil floated above him.\nThe figure in the robe stood beside him, stretched\nhis arm straight. \"You will receive a gift.\" He\nbegan, lowering his arm. The veil\nwent down on the coughing\nman. Larzarus went to\nhis knees, the upper body tense\nup, stretched his\narms back and face upward.\nHis scream echoed from the high dome of\nthe roof. The shadow came through\nthe mouth, nose and eyes into his body and\nthrew him to the ground again. The man lay on his stomach cramped and trembled. He\nwas breathing heavily and glared\nat his master. His eyes shone with a violet sheen\nthat is slowly extinguished\nand the red color of the pupil was visible again. \"You become a fellow. A fellow who\nmakes you never fail again!\" The masked man walked up a few\nsteps and sat down again on\nthe stone throne. He leaned against the bar on the side of the chair and held his fingertips\ntogether in front of face. \"Returning now to Parem and join the search. No one escapes a\ndeal.\" He held his arms apart\nand turned his gaze to top.\n\"Sealed with blood.\nPaid for with blood!\" he voice and his echo\nresounded from the ceiling. \"The immortality for us.\" said the figure.\nLarzarus stood upright,\nbent his head forward and pulled his right arm to\nthe left shoulder. \"Death to\nthe others.\" said he,\nand walked hurriedly out the door. Larzarus stood under\nthe archway when he paused\ncoughing. He held a hand over his mouth and a purple shimmer flashed\nbriefly in his eyes. Then he shook his head and\nwalked outside. \"Yes. Death to all others.\" muttered the\nfigure on the throne in front of\nhim as two dark violet eyes gleamed from the mask. ","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/736531-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-2-welcome-in-stronos.json"}