Five Dragons: TLoP: Chapter 2:Welcome in Stronos
Five Dragons: TLoP: Chapter 2: Welcome in Stronos It was already
afternoon. The sun was moving toward the horizon
yet. Roland woke up slowly.
The first thing he saw was the blurred outline
of a head and he looked into a familiar
face. Two deep blue eyes
sparkled at him and he heard
a cheerful "Meep". The female moved excitedly
back and forth on the sheets and made little jumps
for joy on the mattress. She
brought her head with his equals and licked him
with one train all over his face.
The dragoness cooed
happily and looked
at him with moist eyes. She was visibly relieved that he was awake again. The
female lay down beside
him and looked for eye contact.Roland wiped his
face dry with the arm and stroked his female
dragon on the back as he met her gaze. "Nice to see you too." he said to her with a big smile. She responded with a cheery "Chirp" and made with
closed eyes a nodding
head movement. He lifted the sheet to get up, but paused
as he looked at his lower leg. His leg was
stiff. The right lower leg was bandaged and splinted with two long pieces
of wood. He exhaled slowly,
sat upright on the
bed edge and put both
feet on the ground. The female
took space on his left. She sniffed a few times on the bandage and looked
at him excitedly before she nudged his arm
with her nose.The boy put his left arm behind
her back and let his gaze wander around the room. He sat on a large bed
with white paint. The sunlight came through the wide windows and flooded
the room with a warm golden glow. The floor was covered with a large red carpet, which was decorated with
a peculiar pattern. The tapestries had the same ornament. He opened his eyes in a shock, kept frantically his
right hand before the face and looked
at the burned sign on the back. "The same symbol." he muttered, glancing nervously
at his companion. She closed her eyes and purred softly as
she laid her head on his thigh. Roland ran with his hand
between the black horns through. Lost in thoughts, he walked through the
recent events. The egg of a dragon on a stone pedestal
in a weathered chamber. A shimmering blue rune
on the wooden door. The strange conversation with the person in the
orange red robe. A chase on the pass road.Roland heard
the wind rustling and the creaking of wooden
wheels on a rocky road. He sat again in
the carriage, in front of his mother. He remembered her voice
with her warm and
loving sound. Her determined
words "You sit there now and
hold on tight as best you can!" echoed
in his head again, then he looked
at her as she climbed out the window
and disappeared into the dark. The cabin was torn.
A bright flash, followed by a deep
rumble of thunder let him wince. He heard a
scream and with a strong jolt the
vehicle overturned. Roland was thrown inside the carriage back
and forth. The wood creaked under
the enormous burden and began to break. The
vehicle rolled over on itself until it was
smashed between two trees.
The rear seat was hurled at the boy. He
kept an arm protectively in front of his face and
with a dull thud, it was dark. The boy woke up. He
lay under the open night sky.
The wooden bench on
which he had clung first lay on his chest.
Roland pushed the
bank of coughing
himself down and
tried to get up. Shooting pains left him sink to the ground again. A skewer sticking out sharply
from his right lower leg. Shocked, he looked at
his bleeding wound. A familiar voice caught
his attention. "Roland, NO!" he heard from outside the debris.Breathing heavily, he straightened up and took a
slow step after
another from the wreck out onward
to the voice. The boy looked at his mother, who was not far from the accident site on the ground. With a deep sobs he
made his way to her. He moved his right leg painfully
behind him. He knelt down before
her. The woman lifted her head
and put her hand to his cheek. "I thought I had lost you." she whispered weakly. Roland felt
the warm hand of his mother and held it
with his own. Unable at the moment to say something to her ran only
tears over his face.This was the last time he saw her. A loud rumble ripped
him from the thought. Roland
was come scared to
himself and looked nervously at
the shutter, which was beaten by the wind against the exterior facade. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes out with a hand while he let fade away the
sad memories. The boy looked
with a sad gaze out the window and
began to breathe heavier.
He kept doing a hand
to his cheek, as if
he could still feel his mother. Tears shimmered in his eyes. The female on his left placed carefully a foreleg on
his arm and drew his attention. She lifted her
head and looked him directly
in the eyes with a wet look. The deep blue
color seemed to glow and a gentle turquoise shimmer
flashed out of them. She closed her eyes briefly
and snorted softly.
Then she cooed quietly
and held the comforting look upright.Roland felt
her warm breath on his face. He put a hand on her
nose and looked into the blue
gems. At this moment it made "click" in his head. She had also seen
his memory. He found no explanation for it, but he could see
it deep in her captivating
look. The female came closer to him and put both
front legs on his thighs. She leaned forward and
brought her head closer to
his. Roland returned
the gesture, placed his left arm around the orange red dragoness,
and the right hand on her chest.
She closed her eyes in half, began to purr and
snorted excitedly. The dragoness sat up and put both front legs on
his shoulders. She gently pushed
him back until he was lying
on his back on the bed, with the female dragon on
his chest. She rested her forehead
on his and the boy looked deep with a friendly smile in her blue eyes. Her
pupils dilated like little black
holes. The turquoise
shimmer around the iris shone literally in the
glow. Roland felt the vibration of her purring on his
chest, he closed his eyes and
took thankfully her comforting gesture.
Single tears crept from the closed
glance. "Understanding of a dragon, not of
another human. From a four legged,
scaly, red orange dragon, equipped with wings and horns." he initially thought to himself. He felt
it clearly. He did not care, who or what she was. Roland was just glad to that the female was here with him. He got a strange but
happy feeling that drove him through the
body.Her tactic seemed to work. Roland threw
the harrowing thought from his mind and focused only on her. The female covered him with one of her dark wings,
resting her head on his chest and
purred softly on.
Roland felt the vibration of her purring and
kept his eyes closed. Without saying a word, he placed his arms around her and held her tight with light
pressure. She gave a satisfied
"Churr" from as she took the gentle touch. Both
enjoyed the comforting moment to the fullest. The time seemed to stand still. Roland wanted that
this moment stopped forever. He felt safe and secure. Dragon and man lay
there together. A quiet and
almost magical moment. The silence was unexpectedly broken by
the sudden opening of the door. Both were startled and loosened the tight
hug. Roland looked scared to the opening
door and sat down frantically
back on the bed. The
female looked up hastily and promoted herself down
with a quick jump of the mattress between
the door and bed. She tilted her
head down, held the wings steeply backward and snapped
the incoming man once.Roland stood
up, leaning against the wall, watching the intruder also. A larger, thin man with shoulder length hair came a bit mentally absent in
the room. He stopped abruptly. His skeptical
look attracted by the female
to the boy, then back to the dragoness.He saw the orange red lizard in front of him.
She looked back with
a rigid view and growled softly.
The man paused for a moment and exhaled heavily. He
bowed his head slightly inclined and raised both eyebrows
in astonishment. Then
he held up his
right forefinger. "Uh, one moment." he said left completely. Then he slowly turned around and walked quickly out
of the room, always kept the
forefinger upwards. The female took a more relaxed attitude, gave a short "Chirp" of herself and
looks questioningly at Roland. This stood
beside the bed and looked back
confused. He raised
an eyebrow and shrugged with
his shoulders, shaking his head. "No idea what that was." he said to her with a skeptical smile on his face. The female gave a faint "Churr" by herself, snorted and shook
her head as well. The room door
was open, and voices could be heard from outside. Roland tried to
understand the voices scraps, but there were only small chunks
of course. "Where do you want to go?"
"No one has .... .... Dragon .... Why
.... because ....
"
"Now imagine yourself not so .... Go in there now ....
and .... The dragon .... "Do ....
nothing ..... .... I do
not say it twice! ""But that was not in the job description!" echoed
mournfully from outside, then there was silence. A long, thin arm
appeared. "Do not shoot! I come in peace." said the man who came back into
the room. He held both arms up, as
if you had directed a crossbow on
him and knelt on the
floor. He looked gravely at the two in the room,
while occasional drops of sweat ran down
his forehead. Roland looked
at the fearful trembling man.
"Shooting? With what?" he thought as he shook his head with a smile. There was an awkward pause, in which all looked
themselves silently in the room. Roland took a through
and made a decided step toward the still kneeling
man. "I am Roland."
he began and hold out his right hand,
open. "And who
are you?" The man lowered his arms and looked a
little perplexed at the boy. He
let his gaze drift rapidly to the orange red
female, which stood behind Roland. She snorted at
him once and sat up straight,
like a dog on the side of his master. The dragoness
looked at the man with open eyes, which was mesmerized in
the deep blue color. Almost as if he were drowning
in them. He held his head at a slight angle and let his mouth stand open. The
turquoise gleam in her eyes reflected in the
pupils of the man and let him
breathe hard.Roland stood
silently there, the
open hand still outstretched.
He looked at the man in front of him and waved a few times before his face
back and forth. He was totally spaced out. Tears ran down
the spiritless face.
He let his outstretched arm fall on the man's shoulder
and moved him
once forwards and backwards. "Hey,
is everything Ok?" he asked. The man realized the movement and looked shocked
at Roland as
he would have torn him from a nightmare. He rubbed both eyes with his hands and shook his head in confusion. The man was breathing shallow
and intemperate to himself,
as if he were standing in front of a nervous breakdown while he held directed a
shaky finger at the female."Make it stop!" he gave fearful of
himself with a tearful gaze. He stared
straight at the dragon. His
earlier mindless face
solidified into a
mischievous expression. The
female took a cautious step toward him. Held her
head slightly inclined and gave a
confused "Chirp" of herself.
What had she done wrong? "It's supposed to stop!"
was heard again by
the man. This time louder and
determining. He joined with the index finger forward once to underline his last words. The dragoness winced
frightened, bowed her head dejectedly down and
backed a few steps backwards.
She gave plaintive noises while she lay down.
Her sad gaze
to the side, she exhaled
cumbersome and noisy. Roland heard reluctantly
her sounds, they showed him an unpleasant shiver
go up his back. The
sound was burning in his soul.Roland grabbed
the second shoulder of the man, shaking
him by again and put a serious look
at him. "Hey, calm down!" he cried angrily
in the face. He looked again to the dragoness
behind and gave her a comforting look. She
closed her eyes and gave a sad "Churr" by herself. Roland saw a
single tear from her closed eyelids occur,
and turned again to the trembling
man. "What should
stop?" he asked him with a
furious countenance. The man now seemed to wake up finally and calmed
his breathing. He shook his head,
holding a hand to his forehead and then looked confused at his still outstretched
arm. He let his arm drop and looked into a helpless
and angry face. Both
eyebrows raised, he began to grin sheepishly, as
if someone had caught him tensioners.There was a silent pause. "What was that?" Roland
asked sharply. The man shrugged briefly with the head between his shoulders. He looked at Roland for
a while, held his head with a
slight angle "What was, what?" he gave confused
back in response and
shrugged. He seemed not to remember anything. Roland got up and scratched himself at the back of his head questioning, while his eyes
wandered to the sad female. It strangled
his chest as her whining
invaded again in
his ears. He walked in front of her and knelt down carefully. With both hands he gently lifted her head up and looked at her comfortingly. She cooed softly
at his touch and slowly opened her eyes, before she fixed her eyes on him. Roland looked into the dilated pupils, and felt her downcast emotions. The turquoise shimmer disappeared into the deep blue coloration. "It
is not your fault." he said quietly
to her and stroked her with one hand the tears from her face. The vibrations of
her coo were intense and Roland paused for a moment to catch his breath. He smiled soothingly and calmly
continued. "You have done nothing wrong, so why the sad face?" She
snorted once at him sharply, but let her
sad look again fall to the side."You know?" he began slowly. "I am here really
hurt, to see you like this."
She lifted her head again and watched as Roland
put a hand on his chest. The dragoness sat up and nudged once with her nose against
it. He breathed once tranquil. "Yes,
right there." he said, nodding his head. She understood the gesture. The female half closed
her eyes, purred contentedly
and searched again eye contact. It seemed as
if she tried to smile. The thin
edge of turquoise came to the fore again and
shone brightly around
the iris. Roland stood up, always
retorted the view. He put both hands on his hips and leaned down to her.
"So who is cheerful dragon?" he asked with
a wide grin. She stood like lightning on all fours and made a small leap into the air. Still in the air, she shouted a loud, and happy "Meep"
out of her maw. Roland knelt down to her and
patted her on the head. "That's what I wanted to hear."
She cooed satisfied and briefly licked his
cheek, as if she gave him a kiss. Roland became aware, that still was someone
in the room. He thought again of the reaction
of the man on his companion. "What he must have seen?" The man was now standing
up and the window was open.
He stood at the long window sill and took a
deep breath. With a groan, he
gave off the air facilitating out again
and turned gracefully toward them.He took a
breath to begin a sentence, but someone got him before. "What do you need so long?" asked a
big man, standing in the door.
He wore a white vest
with red sleeves, which colors bit them a little with the brown pants. Two
large black shoes completed the
picture. The thin man held his arms apart and put
a quizzical look on his face.
"I was just ...."
"It's no longer needed."
interrupted the Great. "Lady
Catherine has asked for you." He took
a step back out of the room and
waved a hand in the
hallway. "You can go now. I'll
take it from here."The thin man exhaled angrily and went with holding
down the front of the room.
He looked at Roland in passing short. "I'll
see you later, sometime." he muttered, and beckoned
to him with two fingers too
before he disappeared into the hallway. Roland watched
him skeptically. The man had
a peculiar way of walking and talking. But he
still wondered about his reaction to
his companion, but that had to wait."Good morning, Roland."
said the Great. The man came again into the room and
made a gesture with his head bent forward. "Or
should I rather say, a nice evening?"
Roland looked puzzled
out the open window. It was very late
indeed. He wondered how long he had been asleep and turned back to the man. "You can call me Daniel."
said the big man as
he walked toward the boy. "The other guy was Timmy." he added, pointing with his right thumb over his shoulder.Roland looked
at him with a serious expression. "How long have I been here?" he asked. Daniel held up a
hand to his chin as he collected his thoughts. "With today, makes it five days." he replied, and held out five fingers
extended. Roland ripped shocked his eyes. "Five
days?" echoed in his mind again. He looked questioningly
at the female. She was nodding a "Chirp" of herself, and confirmed Daniel's statement."You were in very bad shape, as
you arrived here." Daniel began. "Your
wound on your leg was infected and you
had high fever." Daniel pointed
with one hand on Roland's right leg. "But the Sorati have done a very
good job." "Huh? Sorati?" Roland frowned. "What
is a Sorati?" he asked Daniel
curiously. Daniel briefly summarized some thought and then spoke.
"The Sorati are
a race of wizards, who have
devoted themselves to the magic of recovery. Moreover, they are related to the dragons." "What,
with dragons?" Roland raised his
eyebrows in surprise, pointing to his
companion. "Like her?"
he asked. Daniel shook his head. "No, not like that. They have quite human
traits, but with more draconic features." Daniel began
to smile. "You will see it,
when we visit them again tomorrow.""Again? Why?"
asked Roland. "They want to look at your leg
again." argued Daniel quiet. "A human dragon?"
murmured Roland to himself and did not know, what to make out of that. But then nudged
him his companion with her nose
in the leg and brought
him back from his thoughts. "Yes." Daniel began again. "She
was also skeptical."
He pointed with his hand to the female. "And not
allowed the priest to you first." He
looked at her, smiling. "But
she recognized his intentions very quickly." Daniel clapped once
with his hands together. "So
enough of that, everything else we can
discuss later." He took a few steps out of the room into the hallway and motioned Roland to himself. "You
must yet be sure hungry after such an adventure."Roland looked at him with big eyes and felt
at that moment a huge hole in his stomach, as he
had mentioned it and
kept one hand on the source of
the growl. "Yes, you could say that loud." he said and followed Daniel
out of the room, followed by the female
dragon. Roland was led by Daniel through the big
house. The hall was decorated with numerous tapestries,
which always had an alternate color. Red
and blue were the most
represented. The walls were hung
with many old paintings. The most
faces were Roland unfamiliar, but the same symbol on his right hand back
emerged again and again."These are the ancestors of the Daventry family." Daniel began
to tell. He
remained with him in front of a
picture, were to be seen two women. "This
is Lady Catherine and her sister
Claire, your mother." The man breathed
silently, and then went silent. Roland remained
curt before the portrait. He looked into the painted face of his mother. His
eyes began to be
damp, but he was nudged
into the leg by a
small female dragon. He looked at
her a little surprised, but then
had to smile as he had with her eye
contact. Once snorted heavily
she gave a faint "Meep"
by herself. "You're
right." he replied, and went with
her to Daniel, which was gone a well piece before of already. At the end of the long corridor they came to a
staircase, which led to the lower level to the entrance area
in a semicircle. Once at the bottom,
they went through the hall to the rear. After passing a massive wooden door they
were in a larger room. In the middle of the room stood a large table, to
the numerous chairs
were lined up. A red table cloth stretched
across the entire length of the
plate and was covered with lots of tasty dishes. "Ahh, finally back among the living, as it seems."
came from the upper end of the table. On the chair sat a man in a uniform.
Roland knew the person
already, it was
the leader of the guards who had
been searching for him. The man stood up
from his chair and
made a gesture with his head bent forward. "Allows
me to introduce myself. Koris, James Koris.
Captain of the Guard of Ironwing.""There will be time later for the formalities
Koris." interrupted Catherine,
who was sitting beside him. "Now let the boy eat something first." "Very
well." Koris said, and sat down again. She
smiled at Roland friendly and
waved him to the empty chair on her left side. Daniel pulled the chair back. "Sit down." he said then, and made a
gesture with his open hand on
the seat. Roland let
himself not to be asked twice
and took the offered
chair. The female sat down right next to
his chair on the floor. He let his gaze wander
over the abundant table. "Griffin calmly." Catherine said with a
smile on her face. "There is
enough of everything." Roland
was a bit skeptical. But his stomach growled again,
so he began to fill his plate. Gradually, more people came into the room and took up the free space chairs.
All stared at the
newcomer and his companion closely.
Roland felt a little uncomfortable in this situation and it struck him a little
on the appetite."That's him?" cried a child's
voice from the door. A girl with long brown hair, which was braided into
a plait entered the room and looked at Roland
with a comical look. The strange thing was that her eyes did not have the same color. The right eye was green and the left
one turquoise. "This
one is really small." came then with a disappointed
undertone of her. Roland raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "Small?"
he thought to himself. "If anyone
here is small, then this girl." He shook his head and
looked down at his companion. This snorted once
and kept questioning her head to one side. The girl hurried around
the table and stood in front of
the dragoness. She
was on a bit shocked and looked skeptically at
the standing child in front of her.
"Now, all have spoken of a dragon." she grumbled
under her breath. She held both arms forward and
pointed at the female. "And
then I come here and he looks so small." The dragoness took
a few steps back and looked once sad to Roland.
"Not again." he thought,
annoyed. With a swing, Roland pushed his chair back and stood up. All people at the table fell silent and
looked at him intently.Roland knelt
beside the female and put an arm around her. He
looked at the girl a little
angry. "What is your problem?" he asked aloud. "I've not a
problem. That one is the one with
the problem." she went on vigorously. "The dragon, he is way too small." she said, pointing
a finger at the female. Roland looked again
to his companion, this returned her gaze with
moist eyes and a
faint "Chirp". Then he
turned back to the girl. "First." he began. "HE is a SHE!"
Roland looked at her seriously. "And second. She hatched a few days ago, so I'm sorry that she does
not meet your expectations
of a dragon." The dragoness snorted condescending
once at the girl. The girl put her hands on her hips and took a breath. But before she could say anything, she was interrupted. "That's enough, Rebecca!" said Catherine with a
determining wording. Rebecca
stomped on with
one foot on the floor, went
vigorously back to
the table and sat down as far away from Roland as she could. She sent some
glares at him, but he did not respond. He
stroked the females once with his hand over
her head and looked at her comfortingly.
She cooed softly
and licked over his hand. Roland put the chair back straight and sat
down again at the table. The dragoness went
next to him and lay down to the right of the chair on
the floor. There was a brief, silent pause before the table talks
reinstated. Roland was not mute after speeches. He
listened instead to the
individual interviews.Koris chatted
with Catherine. Roland heard out some small
details. It was about some
shady people, who
are supposed to search for someone
in the city. That was all he got with.
The other talks were too loud. Roland's attention pulled down as he felt
the foreleg from his
companion on the leg. The female
looked at him a little sad and smacked a few times
with her empty mouth. "Oh right, you're certainly hungry!" went through
his head. He waved Daniel closer.
"May she also
have something off the table?"
he asked him, pointing with one hand
to the female. Daniel
looked at the boy, a little
puzzled, and smiled then. "Wait
a minute." he said quietly
and went with hasty steps out of the room. Roland looked after him until he disappeared into the door. A short time later he returned with a silver bowl. The female watched him closely,
especially the shiny bowl he brought with him. She got on all fours and wagged her tail while
she was curious sniffing in the air.
Daniel knelt down
and put the bowl next to Roland's chair on the
floor. He held with the dragoness eye contact and smiled at her as he
looked into her deep blue eyes. A gentle turquoise shimmer
flashed in them. "Have
a good taste." he said calmly,
and then let his hand of the bowl. He then stood
up again.The female made herself forth across the contents of the
bowl. And threw the meat down greedily.
She licked clean the
rim of the bowl and gave a rich, happy "Chirp"
of herself. The dragoness
ran with her tongue over the lips
and lay down again
next to Roland's chair,
where she purred quietly
and happily to herself. "Have you a name for her?"
Daniel asked him from
the side. Roland was surprised by
his question and looked down at the female. "I have not
thought of that yet." he said, pulling his eyebrows in surprise. He put his brow and
pondered about possible name. But he remembered
nothing. "No." Roland said indignantly. "I have no idea at the moment.""Nominal HER Lizardy, or Shednose!" It sounded annoyed by the
other half of the table. Roland
looked at Rebecca
angry and condescending, but did not respond to her words. Daniel laid Roland a
hand on the shoulder and looked at him with a warm glance.
"How about Kyndle?" he asked. "Kyndle?"
he said. "Why Kyndle?" asked Roland after. "I knew once a girl named Kyndle."
Daniel said, with a bit of a sad sound in his words. "She had the same blue
eyes as your companion here." Roland
looked like Daniel's eyes were moist. It seemed
to be a sad reminder for him.
Daniel exhaled once hard and wiped the
tears from his eyes. "Her
look reminded me just back at her." He saw the dragoness long and then
turned back to Roland.
"You don't have to call her like this, just think
about it." he said then,
holding up the clean licked bowl from the floor. He
then disappeared with it in the
back of the room.Roland got
not much with from the rest of the
dinner. He thought hard about the new name. "Kyndle."
he muttered softly
to himself. He was pulled from his thoughts as something
nudged him in the leg. The female presented both
forelegs on his thigh and looked at him from below with big wet eyes. He looked back at her with a slight smile. "Kyndle?"
he said again. She
began to purr and snorted at him softly
as she heard the name again. He felt it in her
response that she liked the name. He put a hand
to her cheek and gave her a little kiss on the nose. "Then you are now called Kyndle."
he whispered to her. She snorted at him once
and cooed satisfied. Rebecca looked jealous
over to Roland and his dragon. She began vigorously
to poke around in
her plate. "Oh great!"
she muttered to herself mad. The first somewhat tense dinner was
otherwise rather quiet and silent. Daniel had
just cleared the last plate from the table, when Catherine took the word to herself."So, Roland." she began. "Let me glad you now officially welcome here in Ironwing."
She smiled at him with a warm look. Roland sighed
to himself. His mother saw on him always like this. He shook off the moment and looked tense in the many new faces.Catherine started sequentially, to introduce the people. "Captain Koris
you already know." she began,
pointing to the man on her right side. Koris stood
up again and repeated his gesture from before. "Welcome."
he added. "This is Conrad." said Catherine. She had risen and stood behind the chair to the right of Koris, on
which Conrad sat. He held his hands before
his face and gave a faint "Hmph" from himself. "He is my oldest son,
but not exactly the most
talkative." she said with a big grin on her face. Roland looked a little nervous
at Conrad. He has not even
noticed that he previously
sat at the table. Beside him lay a stack of books. "He
is also a bookworm." she added.Catherine went on. "Here we have Daniel, Sasha, Timmy and Loretta." she said as she walked along
behind the fours. "They take care of the property and have the lead over the
servants." Roland's view
stopped at Timmy.
He thought again of his response to Kyndle
some time ago. What did he just see? Everyone nodded saluting to Roland with a smile. Only Tim had a slightly
dreamy look on his face and a big grin on his
lips. "This is my daughter Rebecca." she went on. "She is sometimes a bit difficult when it comes to new acquaintances." Rebecca looked nasty at Roland and
short stuck out her tongue. Roland once
shook his head and looked nasty back."The rest, you will certainly get to know sooner or later."
she said and walked
over to Roland. She stood behind his chair and
held on to the back, while she turned to the others.
"So, this is Roland." she began. "He is the son of my sister, Claire." she
remained curt in thoughts and exhaled once silent.
"He will have his new home
here from now." she went on.
Rebecca clasped cross
her arms at Catherine`s words
and threw a jealous look again to Roland. He got the look not. Roland
looked a bit lost on the table,
while the word "Home"
repeated several times in his head.But before she spoke again, a little dragoness tugged on her dress and pulled
her attention. She looked down and saw at a curious
female dragon, that she looked with big eyes and a slightly aggressive "Meep" uttered. Catherine knelt
down to her and patted
her lightly on the forehead. "You too, of course."
She looked at her with a questioning
look. "What`s her name?" "Kyndle." came from Roland
as fired from a
crossbow. Daniel could not resist
his smile when he
heard the name himself. "Kyndle. Good."
The female cooed contentedly at her and closed her eyes in half. Catherine stood up again and looked at Roland. "So."
she began, smiling at him. "Daniel will
accompany you back to your room,
so you can rest." She waved to Daniel herself.
"You have a long to do list for
tomorrow and should
be fit for it."Roland thought
yet. "I'm not so
tired." But no sooner uttered
in thought, he was
already beginning to yawn. He went with Daniel from the room and looked again back to the new
faces. "Good night." Catherine
said still with a warm wording, as she passed
him, smiling. Roland smiled back. "Good night." he said softly. He struggled greatly to not attach the word mum, because she had at that moment exactly the same facial expression as his mother again. He closed his eyes briefly and then walked through the door to Daniel, who was
waiting at the foot of the stairs
at him. Followed by an orange red female dragon. Roland stood again
in the great room. The sun shone still and
flooded the room with her golden shimmer. He
looked exactly the four walls.
Starting with the big bed in the corner. At the other end of the room was a cabinet with mirrored doors. Opposite the entrance there was a
wall of windows, from which could
some get open. A glass door leading to the narrow balcony outside and invited to
a splendid sight on the magnificent garden of the property a. Roland stepped over the carpet in the middle of the room. He was curt on the icon in the middle and looked at his hand
back. Then he
went on to the balcony door and opened it slowly. A warm blast of
air came to meet him as he pulled the
door. Kyndle hopped
on the narrow terrace and sniffed curiously along
the ground.Roland walked
outside with a smile, while
he watched her. Kyndle leaned with her snout
in one of the flower
boxes, which were placed on the railing and sniffed eagerly at the numerous flowers. She pulled her
head back jumpy and breathing several times a hectic. With a cute
sneezing stung a
little flame from her nostrils and singed
the beautiful red flower petals in front of her. She shook her head and looked frightened at the
smoking pile of ashes in the flower box. Followed
by a sad "Chirp".Roland saw the whole from a safe distance, and could not resist his laughter. Kyndle looked at him slightly annoyed and snorted strongly
in his direction. "I'm sorry."
Roland said with a slight grin on his face and walked
towards her. He knelt down
to her and patted her on the head. "Hard to believe that one big intimidating dragon begins so cute and small." he whispered
to her with a warm look. She looked back at him with half open eyes and purred
softly as she held
her tongue joyfully out of the mouth. Roland sat in front of the railing on the floor and looked at the horizon. The
sun was already going under it and sent
a reddish glow across the sky.
Kyndle snuggled down
next to him and purred softly as she leaned
against his shoulder. He took her in
his arms and laid his head on her approach.
He could feel her heartbeat and heard the gentle vibrations of her purr.
Roland had a sense of security as he held her in his
arms. He felt at home. Together they looked at the peaceful sunset......In a seedy
tavern named "Last Horseman" sat a large
bald man at the counter. "Give me another one!"
he said claiming to
the keeper. "I
believe you've got enough." he gave
of himself and looked at the man seriously. "You can believe in the Church, and now GIVE ME ANOTHER!" shouted
the man, banging his hand in which he held the glass down on the wooden beams. The empty glass broke in
his hand at the massive surcharge. "And another
glass too." he added soberly. The barman breathed out angrily and reluctantly
pushed another full
glass to him. "The bottle you
can leave here as well." he said, looking seriously at the
keeper again. This
put down the bottle, shaking his head and turned away from him. "Who had piss in your drink Larzarus?" asked a seductively dressed woman behind him. She wore a
red midriff baring dress, with a
long gash in the matching
skirt. The high heels
of her shoes clattered in a slow clock on
the ground. The woman sat down on the stool next to the bald head and
crossed suggestively her free
legs.The man looked once into his glass and drained it in one
gulp. "What do you want,
Liz?" he asked angrily and poured himself a
glass again. "Is that
a trick question, my Great?"
she said to him with a furtive wink and put her hand
on his shoulder. "In general, all always want something from me."
she continued in a whisper. "You're not hardly here to smash glasses,
right?" she asked as she slowly
ran her finger across his cheek. With a lightning
quick movement, he grabbed her
arm and pulled him out of his face.
"You can`t hardly expect to touch me." gave the woman surprised by and
looked at him seductively."I did not come here for that!"
returned the man angrily. Lizbeth rejected annoyed
both hands and stood up. "Oh, always the same with you guys from the
Order." "I do not belong to the Order!"
Larzarus closed his eyes briefly to fetch air. "Not
anymore." he said then.
"Oh really?" The woman put her hands on her
hips and pointed at the face of
the big guy. "And this pretty
picture in your face is probably something like a birthmark. Huh?" she asked him angry.The man looked thoughtfully into his empty glass. "There was
once a time, in which it was important
for me." He reached for the surface and poured himself again. "But that's all behind me." Larzarus put the glass on the mouth
and downed it in
one gulp. "So!" he announced loudly by himself as he
placed the empty glass noisily on the counter. "Is Katarina also
in the house?" he wanted to know. "Unfortunately
not, my beauty." she admitted with
a fake sad tone in response. "You're going to have
some fun with me then." she supplemented with a
wink. "Then, we two talk about
the business." he threw to the woman a demanding
look. Lizbeth sat
back down on the stool and
crossed her arms under her
breasts suggestively. "That
sounds even more to
my taste." She leaned forward
a little and looked at him seductively,
which released a deep insight into her open neckline. "So, what now I can do for you, my Great?"
she asked him with another little wink."I heard you were also good in furnishing
information?" asked Larzarus and looked her vigorously
in the eyes. The woman returned the look with a small smile. "You heard right." was her answer, as she stood up and remained
standing behind the man. She put
both hands on his shoulders and brought her mouth closer
to his ear. "But I am only the head of the
system, the glory belongs to my girls."
she whispered to him. Lizbeth sat down on the stool to the right side of the man. "And what information is needed from our big guest here?" she asked him as she gave him another seductive
look. The man shook his head again. "I am looking for a person, young fellow, about 14 years
old, short dark brown hair."
He saw at the lady, raising questioningly an eyebrow. The woman waved a few
times with her hand. "Nice
description, that's true of almost on every third
stripling to strolling
over the streets." She made her fingers to be
a beckoning gesture.
"If I am to help you to find this boy, I need
even more than that."
She gave a bit annoyed by herself."He heard on the name Roland and was last seen in the direction to Stronos. He also has
a conspicuous injury to his right
lower leg." The woman patted the man on the
bald head. "Now we're getting closer." "Get that thy wives in
the series?" he asked her demanding. Lizbeth looked
at him a little angry. "We may be whores, but please do not insult us." she gave determinative
of herself and slapped him lightly with her hand on the neck. Then she stood up and walked a few steps away from the man. But she stopped and turned
back to him. "Oh by
the way. With what you intend to repay this
service?" Entangled with her
hands under her breasts she
gave him a questioning look. Larzarus exhaled once heavily before standing up abruptly. The stool slipped
back strong. In a
quick movement he grabbed the
woman by the neck and hauled
her against the wall. Liz looked shocked in
the deep red eyes
of the man who pushed her. The red color turned
into a purple sheen. "Consider it as cashing a favor, of
a certain Lizbeth owes me yet." he stated forcefully by and
looked her straight in the
fear filled eyes. "Larzarus!?" she gave scared of herself. Liz
breathed heavily in and out. She felt his firm grip around
the neck and could only give
a slight nod from
her.The man looked at her with a purple sparkle in the eyes. Until the red of his pupils came
to the fore again. The angry
expression on his face smoky simultaneously with the light in his eyes and he
loosened his grip. He let her fall to the ground and walked with long
strides toward the door. In
the doorway he stopped and turned his head to the side. "Come to me when you have something useful. You know where to find me." He turned his gaze forward again and went outside. Liz was coughing
on the ground until the bartender helped
her up. She sat down on a stool
at the counter and rubbed a hand on the neck.
"Johan, send messages to the brothels in Parem. There is work for
the girls." She poured herself a drink in the used glass on the counter and pulled the contents
in one go down. "And
see that Patricia shows up here! She just released a new job!" she yelled to the bartender behind.
"And then you're
clean up here!" she added, throwing the glass with the bottle on the wall. ..... The sun quickly displaced the
few clouds in the sky, as she
slowly rose over the horizon.
Roland woke up scary.
He breathed heavily in and out and wiped hectic the sweat from his forehead. A thought hold him tightly. "Mamma." he whispered
softly as he exhaled. Kyndle lay beside him on
the blanket and was also awake. He looked at her with a wet look and sighed
loudly. The female stood up and
took a few steps on to Roland. She rubbed
her head against his and snuggled up to his
side. Kyndle began to purr softly as
she touched him. Roland closed his eyes and took the female dragon in his arms.
"Thank you." he whispered to
her, holding a hand
to her cheek. Kyndle pulled her head slightly back and nudged her nose
against Roland. Then she gave a gentle "Churr"
of herself while she
looked at him with her blue eyes and
a light turquoise glitter.It felt always strange to, again and again, when
she looked at him like that. Not
unpleasant, but still strange. Roland threw back
the covers to get up. He saw the
bandage on his lower leg in a long time. "Today
I'm going to see a Sorati,
a humandragon." he thought loud under his breath. Kyndle once snorted
at him strongly and
made with eyes closed a nodding head movement.Roland was
pulling a trouser leg over the rigid bandage
as the door opened. "Good morning you two."
came from Daniel with a smile on his face as he entered the room. "Morning."
replied Roland somewhat restless. "I came to
pick you for
breakfast." Daniel continued,
handing him a clean shirt. "You have a busy schedule today." he continued and went to the door. "First, we will pay a visit to the Sorati,
later we can still view the city." Daniel
paused for a moment and turned to Roland. "And
after that we will look in to a breeder." "Breeder?" Roland wondered as he
stood straight. "What kind
of breeder?" he asked Daniel.
"A dragon breeder." he
answered shortly. Roland raised his
eyebrows in surprise. "A dragon breeder?" He repeated in thought a few times, until Daniel interrupted him. "Come on." he said. "The others are waiting for us." He waved the
boy to him and pointed to the long hallway outside.Roland nodded
wordlessly and then
looked to Kyndle.
He made a gesture with his lateral head
and closed his eyes this time. The dragoness
hopped down from the bed and followed Roland out
of the room. Daniel was already gone ahead and waited at the stairs. Kyndle step
ahead in a hurry, Roland followed her silently. Without
words he slowly walked through
the curtained hall, designed to prevent the head thoughtfully, marched to
the image with his mother by
without looking at it. Roland was
deep in thought. Kyndle stopped in the middle in a passage and held her head to
the side. She looked at him with
one eye and gave a faint "Meep"
of herself as she stretched her tongue out of her mouth. Roland came to himself and smiled at her.
"All right. I'm coming." he said to her and picked up his pace. As he walked past her he stroked
her once with his hand over the head. She looked after him and cooed
contentedly. The dragoness
made a small leap forward and stalked after him cheerfully.In the lower area, arrived at the door to the dining room Roland looked questioningly at Daniel. "Why do
we have to meet a dragon breeder?" Daniel looked
at him. "Lady Catherine
would like to know more about your dragon." he said, as he opened the door.
"And you surely too? Or not?"
he added as he entered
the room.Roland also
walked into the room, where he was
immediately greeted by Catherine."Hello Roland." she
began as she looked at him with a smile.
"Come on, sit down." she said,
waving him over to the chair on her left side. "Good morning." came from Roland
as he sat down on one of the chairs. He looked questioningly at Catherine. "Will you come with me today?" "No. Unfortunately
not." she said with a slight sad undertone. "Koris escort me today to the town
hall of Stronos, that
means Daniel and Timmy will accompany you.""Timmy" it contradicts brought in Rolands
thoughts. "Perhaps at last the opportunity arises to ask after his response to Kyndle." he thought
to himself.
After the somewhat taciturn breakfast, the small group went outside. Before the front entrance
of the property Daniel waited
with Roland and Kyndle at the beginning of the steps, where Timmy should
drive up with the open horse drawn carriage. Daniel rattled stressed out with one foot on the floor as
he looked toward the tool shed
again and again. "Where is
the guy already so long?" he muttered
to himself. After several minutes of tedious waiting Tim came
finally with the car around the corner.
The two pre stressed horses started with a leisurely pace. Timmy sat on the
driver's seat and leaned casually over the back with
one arm. He held the reins
only in one hand and whistled a tune to
himself, which had no discernible
rhythm.He stopped
in front of Roland, Kyndle
and the visibly annoyed
Daniel and waved the
group with a finger on the
forehead off to. Roland
looked questioningly at Daniel, which was shaking his head and rubbed a hand to his
forehead. Kyndle just wanted to bounce the car
as Loretta came
storming out of the house. "Wait a minute! You have forgotten
something." she cried,
waving with a large cloth in her hand. Roland
pulled both eyebrows when she put the cloth
in his arms. "Why should I wear that and for what would that be good?"
he asked her. The maid knocked him once with
the flat of her hand on the head.
"Not for you! For your dragon." she gave
out and pulled him the cloth from his hands. The maid walked to
Kyndle and wanted to put the green cape on
her, but the dragoness looked
aggressive and growled
softly. Loretta recoiled it. "Um, for the
best. You should do that. I still have
something to do in the kitchen." she
admitted fearful of herself and
threw Roland the
fabric in the face before she
disappeared back into the house with
quick steps.The boy
held the cloth in front of him. "Why
is this so....?" he broke off when
he saw the symbol on the fabric.
"The emblem of the Daventry family." said Daniel and patted him once
on the shoulder. Roland awoke from his thoughts and looked questioningly at him. "Why should Kyndle wearing this?" Daniel took a
short breath. "For the people
in the city, as they ...." In his mind he was trying to find the
right words. "Well, so that the
people see her as a peaceful dragon and not accidentally confused with a wild dragon." The boy looked at the man with a puzzled look. "A wild dragon? In
the city?"Timmy interrupted his unrhythmical pipes and slowly
turned his head to the two. "Sometimes yes, sometimes no." he gave of himself and grinned
broadly at Roland
as he bobbed his
head slightly back and forth.
Daniel breathed out indignantly. "He wants to say that it can happen from
time to time, that a dragon
strayed out of the wilderness to the
city." He gestured to
the fabric. "That's why domesticated dragons are tied on a labeled cloth."
He looked at Kyndle. "The sign on the respective
mantle indicates, to which family the
dragon belongs."Roland strode
toward Kyndle and looked into her eyes. He
held out the cloth and watched her reaction. The dragoness sniffed
a few times curiously at the towel and shook
her head afterwards. "I will
now put this on you. Ok?" the boy said to
her. "So that all will know, that
you belong to me." he continued.
Kyndle looked at him a bit puzzled, but stretched then hesitant her head
upwards. Roland smiled
at her as he put on her the green
cloth. The cloth hung from
her neck down over the chest.
The emblem was clearly visible. Kyndle shook a little
and looked down at herself
on the crest. The
new garment seemed not to please her. What she
confirmed with a rather plaintive
"Chirp". Roland smiled at her. "Kyndle."
he began. She looked at him with slightly mad
eyes. "You look pretty." he told her with a warm look. With
this sentence, her reluctance was
so fizzles out quickly as a drop of water on a hot plate. In her eyes briefly flashed
up a turquoise shimmer before she closed them purring.
The dragoness nudged
her companion with her nose to his and licked his
cheek. A cheerful "Meep"
grounded from the
gesture.Roland took
the female into his arms and held her a few moments
before he was interrupted by Tim. "I disturbing
you so reluctant, but don`t we have to go
somewhere?" Timmy looked at
Roland with a serious expression,
but he began to grin
as he had eye contact with him. Daniel scratched his head. "I say it
only reluctantly, but he's right."
He looked slightly stressed to Roland and his
dragoness. "The Sorati won`t wait for you.
We must not dawdle any more time than we already had." he continued while his angry gaze
wandered to Timmy.Roland and Kyndle went on to the car and waited for it
went off. "All right. Let's
go! "came from Daniel.But nothing
happened. Daniel looked slightly angry to Timmy. He looked up to heaven
and scratched himself extensively on the neck. "I said: All
right! LET'S GO!" he
shouted. After a short wait, Tim looked into Daniel's
face. "And? Shall we start?" he asked. This
one was breathing heavily in and out. Tim raised
an eyebrow. "Um, yes or no? And by the way you have that look again." he uttered as he
sat upright on
the driver seat. "Yes! For the third time!" bleated Daniel. "And
what look do you mean?" he asked, annoyed. Timmy gave him a finger
in the face. "Just this look here." he
added. Roland and Kyndle sat on the back seat and looked at each other questioningly, while the other two discussed further. He shrugged
his shoulders and she shook her head
with a snort. After the short disagreement, the
vehicle finally put
in motion. Roland glanced back to the
estate, but then turned his gaze back to the front to the road leading to Stronos......The wind was blowing strongly over the spiers of the castle Drakensang, and let the flags at the high masts
rattle. In the long hall of
the throne room sounded the loud
clanking of armored shoes of the walls.
The king sat on
the large marble chair and looked excited the
man to step effect on him. The
dressed in blue man stopped in
front of the steps of the throne
and bowed humbly. "My King." he began, before rising
again. "I bring you news of the priests of
the Five." The king's gaze widened
and his yellow green eyes stood out from
under his bushy eyebrows. "And
what kind of news brings you, Mardon?" he asked his subordinate.
The man lifted his head and saw to his lord. "They say: One of the companions have revealed." The wind picked up and a strong air blast ripped
the window behind the throne.
Both looked for a moment in silence. The king grabbed
his hand to his
chin. "One of the companions you say?" Mardon nodded
with conviction. "Yes sir. That companion
from the prophecy.""And how came the priests to
this assumption?" the king asked
as he stood up from the white chair. The man turned
his gaze briefly to the ground,
then back to his king
until the eye contact was established.
"One of the statues in the Temple of the Five has changed." Mardon reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he handed to the king. "This
sign has been found in the front of the
Statue of Kyleth.""And the others?" the king asked emphatically. "No other signs sir."
said Mardon and lowered
his gaze. The ruler opened
the folded paper. He raised his eyebrows in astonishment
at the sight of the drawn symbol. "This is the
emblem of the House Daventry?"
"That's right. Therefore, I will
ride as soon as I can to Ironwing.""Yes, do that" The King
sat back down and held out a hand to Mardon. "But
before that, you go to Stronos." Stronos, sir?" he asked after. "Rumor has it that followers
of the Hunters Order should
stay there." The man grabbed
his sword and saw his lord slightly confused.
"Dragon Hunters? What do they want in Parem?" "That you shall find out." The king waved Mardon away
with one hand by himself.
"Now, go." he said and held his hand over his mouth in thought. The fighter bowed again before his lord
and then walked hurriedly to the gate. The
man with the crown held the piece of paper in front of himself. "A
fellow from the house Daventry so." he muttered
to himself. "Then the time
has therefore come." In the meantime ... "There it is!" Daniel called back." Stronos, the capital of Parem.
Roland stood up and held with both hands on the back of the front seats firmly, looking over Daniel's shoulders to the big city before them. White city walls rimmed
the many rooftops. The blue bricks left
the city in the distance look
like a lake. The silver gutters shimmered in
the sunlight, causing the
illusion even further embellished."Watch out, to swallow no fly." Daniel called out to Roland,
who let open his mouth in amazement. "Is probably the first time that you
get this city to face?" Roland did
not answer. He nodded once and
looked further on
the white city. "There are dragons!" came loudly from the
boy. Kyndle stood up at the remark and looked also curious to heaven.Lonely flew dragons
over the city and sought their
way out, or a
suitable landing site. "Yes
dragons are a part of the city."
Daniel began to tell. Roland listened to him intently.
Kyndle still looked
to the sky and attentively
observed their peers. "The King of Stronos is a great sympathizer of the dragons, just like his father
before him." continued Daniel.
"That's why dragons are in the capital also not
uncommon." He turned to Roland
and looked at Kyndle. "But with your companion,
it is something new." "Kyndle? Why something
new?" The boy asked. "She's also a dragon like the
others." "A dragon already,
but I have never seen one, who had shed this coloration
like her." Daniel turned back to the road in front of him. "This will certainly
provide some excitement." he added.Roland looked
at the female dragon, who was
still under the spell of her flying
conspecifics. She followed every movement in the sky, while her wings twitched
slightly. She would
most like to jump off the wagon and flown with the others.
He smiled at her and sat down beside the female on the back seat. He placed a
hand on her head, which gave him
her attention. She looked at him with open eyes. The turquoise
ring around the pupil shimmered briefly before
she closed her eyes and softly cooed. "I'm curious what expected us
in the city." He saw at the female with a warm smile, while he stroked her slowly over the head. With that she gave a long and contented "Chirp"
for an answer, while she purred quietly. The group arrived
at the great gate of the capital. Big cobblestones
paved the way through the raised portcullis. The
silver breastplate of the guardsmen
flashed in the sunlight, which drew their rounds
on the walls and the
streets. The splendid armor aroused in
Roland an "I
want to have something like this" feeling. The blue cloaks gave
the soldiers an extra elegant bonus. The vehicle continued on his way into the city center. The streets were very busy. Many citizens
went about their activities, children were playing catch
on the curb. However, some stared at the vehicle
more closely and whispering to each other immediately. Roland could not listen
to the whispers, but he
knew that it certainly had something to do with Kyndle. Since some of the onlookers
did not hesitate to show with the
outstretched arm on the orange red female. This type of display very displeased
him. He could not do anything
about it though. Daniel turned towards Roland. "Do not be intimidated by it." he spoke calmly to him. "So
it is every time again, when someone or something new happen in the city."The carriage drove into the center of
the city. Roland looked in amazement at the
large statue in the middle of the
huge market place. A dragon made of marble adorned the white pedestal
on which sat a rider with a drawn sword in the hand and a crown on his head. Clear
water ran out five channels which are arranged symmetrically
around the statue, and filled a basin around the base. The boy could not stop being amazed. The whole place was covered with countless market stalls, hawking all
kind of stuff. The hustle and bustle of the city population amounted
to an ants stock. The vehicle
stopped near the magnificent
fountain. "So here we are." said Daniel and stood up from his seat. He took a few steps around
the carriage and helped Roland on the way down. Timmy got cozy on his driver's seat
and tied the horses, then he walked between
Roland and the fountain. He turned to the
boy and held his arms apart. "Welcome in Stronos!" he uttered as he turned with outstretched arms. Daniel stood, shaking
his head next to it and put his
hand to his forehead. Roland
did not get it, because the hustle
and bustle of the busy market was much more interesting.Kyndle hopped
elegant down from the car and slid with
outstretched wings closer to the fountain, where she immediately took a big gulp of the
clear water. "Kyndle come!" cried Roland. "We have to
go this way." he said,
waving the female to him. The dragoness broke
out her little break,
to drink water and strutted
happily to her companion, whom
she greeted with a cheerful "Chirp". "This way!" Daniel uttered. "The Abbey of the Sorati is equal
over here." This did not remain unseen. Some gloomy
figures held up
behind the stalls and watched the
group closely. "Hey
Karl." said one of the four men and nudged one
of them. "What species do you think this is?" Karl looked
at the dragon more closely.
"Such a coloring I've never seen. Bring sure
some on the black market." The
first looked at the other two. "Ok, we are waiting for an appropriate time, and then we get this thing. In
any case, stay tuned to them."