{"sf1_id":747630,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Five Dragons: TLoP: Chapter 7: Magic for Beginners","author":"Lorddaventry","words":12633,"posted_at":"2014-08-22T16:03:00.000Z","tags":["Clean","Cuddling","Dragoness","Fantasy","Feral","Five Dragons Storyline","Human","Kissing","Love","Magic","Romance","Story Series"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/747630-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-7-magic-for-beginners","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/747630","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=747630\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Five Dragons: TLoP:\nChapter 7: Magic for Beginners   Gloomy clouds pushed in front of the bright\nmoon back and forth, and brought\nan eerie shadow over\na dark fortress. Adoptable\narmors moved behind\nthe battlements and let the menacing look of\ntheir yellow eye-lights glide\nover the terrain. Through long corridors echoed the faint sound\nof fast consecutive\nsteps. The person was wearing a serious\nexpression, holding an open letter\nin his right hand. With a heavy\njolt the door was\npushed open in the\nthrone room and he joined the high halls.\nTwo voices echoed through the room. He quickly walked over to the stone chair, but he\nfound his master not only as expected before.\nA strange figure hovering\nbeside him. This was\nwrapped in a gray robe, which was decorated with some strange emblems. Five of them were known\nto him before, but it was yet\nanother present. One that he had not seen before.\nThe man's face he could not see\nin the shadow of the hood. Kargesh and the stranger talked tense. \"How difficult can that be Kargesh?\" said the appearance energetic.\n\"It takes the right people, those with\na strong soul.\" he replied with a deep faint\ngiggle and kept\ndoing his bony\nhands together, his\neyes on the stranger. \"My\nsoul vessels have huge claims.\" he added in amusement. \"What the\nselection of victims,\nunfortunately, increasingly limits.\"The stranger saw the silver mask in silence. Kargesh held an open\nhand forward. \"Do not worry.\"\nhe began. About\nhis palm a small purple\nshimmering cloud pulled\ntogether and took\nthe form of a gemstone, embedded\nin a metal ring, which had the appearance of a\nself-devouring snake. The head large stone\nshone with two\ncolors. A dark flame\nred, which moved seamlessly into a flowing midnight blue. A shadow\nmoved in the vessel like a beating heart.\"Arkas was so\nfriendly.\" he began slowly with a\nsinister chuckle. \"And\nit also works as advertised?\"\nasked the phenomenon\nseriously. \"Yes. And yet a little more,\nhehehe.\" Kargesh replied with a purple sheen in the eyes. \"In what way?\" persisted the stranger. \"With the help of Arkas\npower I could get free Mustaine, Broderick, Ellefson\nand Drover from their\neternal imprisonment.\" \"The\nundead generals of the Northern\nKingdom?!\" interrupted the stranger surprised in the word.\nKargesh approached curved his interlocutor and looked at him with his\nviolet gaze. \"Not\nTHE generals of\nthe Northern Kingdom. Now MY\ngenerals of the Northern Kingdom.\"\"Their shadow will fall upon the land\nas a putrid\ndisease. Eagerly he will suck the life and\nstrengthen its ranks with it.\" he said, and turned to his\nthrone. \"They will be my\nMegadeath!\" he shouted at the ceiling while he\nheld his arms apart. His diabolical laughter\nechoed through the room. \"And the power of\nKyleth?\" asked the apparition skeptical. \"You can`t rob\nforces from a dead guardian.\" Kargesh raised his arm and opened\nhis hand. About the palm is another spongy\nimage of dark smoke\nbegan to form. An identical jewel was to be seen. But\nwith the difference that the stone had no color. The dark\nlord closed his hand and the image of the\nempty soul vessel vanished\nat the same time. \"The\nritual will work.\" A weak laugh accompanied his last\nwords. \"And what about the preparations for this?\"\nhooked the stranger determining after. Kargesh threw his dark look briefly\ninto the void, before turning to the unknown. \"Are almost\ncomplete.\" he replied\nwith a mischievous glint in his eyes. \"Last only\nmissing the dragon and his companion. I\nhope he will be ready for it?\" he added darkly. \"Because if Roland not survived the process our agreement is\nlapsed!\" \"Why is that Roland so important to you?\" asked the\ncurious phenomenon. Kargesh approached him and\nraised his eyes, which was accompanied\nby a very quick flashes out of\nhis silver mask. \"That's\nnot part of our deal.\"\ncame as a serious\nanswer. \"So, I hope he is ready for it?\" he repeated\nhis words again. The stranger lifted his head. \"Oh he will,\nand after the ritual you can have him\nas promised, the dragon and everything else I'll...\" He broke off his\nsentence and turned frantically\nto the messenger\nto come to.\nA quick hand movement,\nand the stranger had disappeared shortly thereafter in a\nring of flames. Kargesh looked at the messenger with a curved posture. \"What?!\"\nhe threw him\nslightly angry at\nthe feet. The man winced scared and stopped for\na brief moment are intimidated. After he swallowed\nonce empty he\nmade the final steps toward\nhis master. \"A message from Sorlacom,\nsir.\" he said, slightly shakily holding out the letter. Greedy, the man under the silver mask grabbed\nthe document and read it hastily. The menacing glint in his eyes\ngrew brighter, accompanied by a sinister chuckle. He\nturned his gaze to the messenger.\n\"More vessels will be needed.\" The messenger nodded to his master once and walked away silently out of the hall. The diabolical\nlaughter of his lord accompanied him. ......  In a conference room in Drakensang there was\na tense atmosphere. Harkin\nleaned thoughtfully over a map spread out\non the round table. More men held up in space.\nAll uniformed and\nwith a very serious look on the face. The ornaments\non the chests after they were\ncaptains and generals.\nMardon was also\namong them. \"The reports are at best vague.\" said one\nof the men. \"However, let\nnot out of consideration.\" He continued. Harkin grabbed\nhis chin thoughtfully. The white dragon claw\naround his neck tightly clasped. \"At best, vague?\" he muttered to himself\nskeptical. Wearily, he fell into his chair and\ntook a deep breath. \"Such reports are not appeared\nfor ages. This was long before the Hunter War.\nThe Sorati had\neradicated the disease at that time. \"Thoughtfully, he let his gaze wander over the map area of Kaladros. \"Is there news of the Dragoner from\nTura'an?\" asked the king tired. \"None. My Lord.\" replied a captain. \"I did not expect\nanything else.\" Harkin said\nworried, glancing at the map area was\nlabeled with Tura'an.\n\"The most powerful army in Daracoss, and\nthey sit quietly\nin their strongholds.\" \"They kept always covered.\" began another\ngeneral. His armor bore the standard of\nParem. \"During my time, this army only\nonce have appeared. Since when the troops of the hunters\nwere uprising at their gates.\" he pointed to the map on the location of the Tura'an\ncity. \"The soldiers of the insurgents not held the\ndefenders stood a day. And after the massacre, again lay resting\non the fortress. Just as they were waiting\nfor something.\" he threw a serious look in\nthe round. \"And when that dark shadow does not\nmove them to action, I wonder what\nthey will wait.\"\"I only know that we can not wait any longer.\" Mardon walked to the edge\napproach, pointing to a point on the map,\nwhich was in the north of Stormwind. The capital\nof Sullfar. \"A small village, approximately\nin this region is also fallen victim to this\nshadow.\" he began hesitantly.\n\"The dragon riders of the storm cliffs\nconfirm this report.\" \"Also!?\" interrupted one of the men in the word.\n\"How long are we going to do nothing?\" he threw\nplaintively in the\nround. \"If this threat is\nachieved to Parem it will be too\nlate to prevent a nationwide\npanic. The rumors bubbling already at the\nstop. A flood of refugees from this scale we\ncan not get at without\nfurther notice.\" With a loud bang,\none of the generals placed his fist on the table. The coat\nof arms on his shoulder belonged\nto the guard from Sullfar. \"If the enemy reaches Parem!?\" He waved his angry gaze between the other men back\nand forth. \"Sullfar is\nalready on the front now! How are we\nsupposed to defend ourselves against\nan enemy that has not even been shown?!\" he asked aloud. \"What do you mean by an enemy who has not\nyet been found?\" Mardon asked\nskeptically. \"You were not there.\nI have seen the ruined settlement myself.\" began the sullfarish general with resistance. His face tell, that it was a very disturbing image. \"There were no warnings. Only a\nblack shadow fell over the\nterritories. We only saw that we were too late.\" His hand circled over a small area, south of\nthe split mountain. \"Stonefall\nwas the first village.\" \"This overwhelming\naura was almost\nunbearable. Even the air you breathed seemed\nto freeze the lungs. The purest battlefield, bloody weapons and\nsevered limbs, but\nno bodies. Neither of any attackers nor\nthe defenders. The doors of all the houses were entered and their content\nwas also demolished.\nDepth grinding marks coined the slush on the\nroads. All of\nthe dwellings led\nto the church. \"\"At the site of the chapel floated a dark\nveil. A low\nmist of death dash\nover the numerous open graves. All buried\ncoffins were desecrated. The traces after\nwas not dug\nwith a shovel. The stone steps to the entrance of the church towering also\nshowed grinding marks. The brown color of\nslush gave way to the deep red tone of\nblood, which drew\nup before the\ndesecrated socket in the hall. The stone\npedestal was drenched\nwith the coagulated juice of life\nof the victims. The blade responsible for\nthis massacre put in impaled skull\nof the priest. The metallic snake sticking out of the\nforehead of the man whose hazy eyes looked\nlifeless from the ceiling. Still burning cages\ntestified as last\nof the grisly\ndeed, which had\ntaken place here. Around the base were dried symbols written.\nThese characters resembled none that I know rites\nor incantations. Something\nI've never seen before. Just like Wyverex had even turned himself\naway from this place.\" Shaking his head, he finished his report. \"In the north of Sullfar\nonly exist lifeless\nruins now.\" \"What we intend\nto do in this regard?\" asked another General.\nHis banner showed the colors of Moredhel.\n\"Now.\" Harkin began quietly. He rose\nfrom his chair and threw a challenging look\naround. \"It is time\nfor...\". ......  A warm sun climbed resistant up\nthe horizon. Only occasionally\ncrossed some clouds their bright sheen. Roland just had a nice, though not necessarily restful night, and wanted\nto spend the following morning cozy\nwith his female dragon. Someone, however, had planned a different\nsequence for him.\nThis one knocked right now at his door impatiently. With some resistance, he turned the key and unlocked\nthe door. In a\nfrantic movement he pulled\non it and looked in a slightly skeptical looking\nface. Timmy stood before the\ndoorway and looked\nat Roland with obliquely down the head.\nHe looked at his disheveled\nhair and glanced into\nthe room. Kyndle was dozing peacefully on\nthe bed. His quizzical expression slowly turned into a tired grin. \"Have\nI been wondering what that yesterday could have\nbeen like.\" He muttered\nsoftly to himself. \"What?!\" hooked Roland\nby surprise. \"Long\nnight? Huh?\" Timmy asked,\namused. Roland let his gaze wander to the\nside and slightly embarrassed\nscratched his head. \"Something like that.\" he argued\ntired. Tim looked at him\nfor a brief moment motionless. Then he\njerked his head quickly.\n\"Um, yes.\" he began. \"Breakfast\nis ready. And this since uh, a long time.\" he added awkwardly. Roland drew skeptical\nhis eyebrows together. \"Ok.\"\nhe answered slowly. \"I'll make me ready.\" he added and pushed the\ndoor shut again. Taken a step backwards into the room, he turned his back to the entrance. Roland exhaled facilitates and let sink his forehead forward.\n\"Oh, man!\" he thought out loud to himself. Timmy stood in front of the closed entrance and\nstared in surprise at the ceiling\nwhile he exhaled. \"Oh, man!\" came softly over his lips. Five silent minutes\nlater Roland came\nattracted out of his room. He quietly closed the door and looked after skeptical\nto the still waiting Timmy. This stared\nawkwardly into the void. Roland stood beside him\nand looked like he, in the upper corner of the corridor.\n\"What's there?\" he asked\nTim whispered. This\ntwitched a bit shocked with his head between\nhis shoulders. Once\nshaken the face he\nbegan to walk ahead. \"Um, nothing.\" was still fast his\nresponse. Skeptical after looking, Roland\nfollowed him. ......  In a clearing in\nthe widow forest, two men were\nsitting in the grass. One held his arms clasped together\nand looked at his colleague.  \"You think he finds the way to this place here?\" Torben asked wearily. Aaros smiled\nin his meditation easily. \"Without a doubt.\" he replied softly. \"He\nmight be here sooner, if you had not advised me to give the letter to Timmy.\"\nhe added amusement. \"Yeah, now it's my\nfault again. What?\" bleated Torben. Aaros\nsmiled quietly to himself and returned to his meditation.\nHis colleague looked at him tense. He walked closer to him and looked into his\ncollar. Aaros grumpy twisted\nhis face. \"What's wrong?\"\nhe asked. Torben\nexpanded astonished eyes. \"What happened\nto your tattoo?\" he asked curiously. \"What about it?\" hooked his\ncomrade skeptically. \"Well.\nIt is gone.\"\nhe answered, pointing with his finger on it. A broad smile was\nreflected in Aaros face. \"Just like yours.\"\nhe said calmly. \"Why that?\" Torben asked again with a slightly overmatched face. \"It's\nsimple.\" began his colleague.\n\"When we made our decision to stand on\nthe side of the companion,\nwe let our past behind. All oaths and signs of it\nare now history.\" \"Hmm.\"\ncame from Torben thoughtful, as if he not knew what to\ndo with these words. \"On the\npower of the companions is more to it than\nyou like to admit. And it's a miracle that\nyou have noticed it at all.\"\nadded Aaros with\na grin. Torben closed weakly smiling his eyes,\nshaking his head. ......  Tim opened the\ndoor in the\ndining room with a lot of\nmomentum, which immediately earned\nhim the attention of all in the\nroom. Daniel looked at him\nseriously and shook\nhis head. Timmy stopped for a quick moment in the doorway and looked\ncasual in the\nmany faces. Then he cocked his head to the side and stalked into the room, but he threw Daniel a * I must tell you something\nimportant * look. Roland also stepped\ninto the room and nodded to the audience once\ntired. He looked briefly\nskeptical about Tim before he sat down at\nthe table. This tugged Daniel a little\nnervous in the kitchen. \"Can that not wait?\" Daniel snapped\na bit annoyed. Tim looked at him with big eyes and took a deep breath as\nhe lifted a finger. \"Um, no.\" he added silently. \"You know, that I heard this noises yesterday\nnight.\" Daniel looked at him\nseriously. \"Of course!\"\nhe began, annoyed. \"And because of your interference to these\nlittle imagination I have half the night not\nsleep a wink!\" he added sullenly.\nTim looked at him with big eyes. \"No imagination.\"\nhe argued excited. \"You will not believe me, but .....\" ......  A large man leaned over the bar counter and looked thoughtfully down in a half-full\nglass. Sullen he\nlooked at the gentle sloshing\ncontent. In a quiet\nclearing of the throat, briefly shone a purple spark\nin his red eyes on. Slowly exhaling, he reached\nfor the glass and raised it slowly to his\nmouth. \"Well if that is\nnot my big tempered\nfriend.\" sounded a seductive voice in\nhis back. A long-haired woman moved into\nher blood red dress\nelegant past him. Her also red glove slipped gently\nover the shoulders of the man.\"I'm here Liz.\nWhat did you have for me?\" he asked the lady seriously and looked at her skeptically. Lizbeth leaned\nto his right at\nthe bar counter and\nmade it her backless dress ostentatiously, which earned her some excited\nlooks from the other guests. \"Not so rough my\nbig guy.\" she said softly. The\nwoman put the man a hand on his shoulder and leaned close to him. With\nher other hand she stroked his bald head. The man shrugged\nagain with the\nshoulder in order to get rid of her touch. He ignored the deep insight\ninto Lizbeths neckline and\ngave her a challenging look. \"To the point, girl!\" he said aloud. She\nlooked at him slightly disappointed.\n\"Ohh, we are in a hurry today my\nbeauty.\" she whispered into\nhis ear as she ran her finger across the cheek. \"So hurriedly I\nhave you not in remember.\"\nshe said with a dubious\nsmile. He grabbed her hand and pulled her\nabruptly downwards, while he looked at her determining.\n\"Again. To the point, girl!\" He spoke with a purple glint in his eyes. The\nfine lady sat slightly\ndisappointed on the stool and threw her big\nguest a weak\nsmile. \"Ohh Larzarus,\nno time for small Lizbeth.\" she said slowly. \"But if you absolutely will so.\" she added slightly plaintively.\nHer just so playful\nglance turned now abruptly into a business\nserious face. \"The hiding of your refugee is Ironwing.\"\nshe said determinative and looked at the man sober.\n\"It most certainly.\" he\nsaid seriously. Lizbeth got up and walked over behind\nhim. Halfway, she stopped and\nlooked at him questioningly. \"What have you got to do with him?\" he looked straight ahead and drained\nhis glass. After he got up he gave her a\nquick look. \"You do not need\nto know.\" he said with a faint violet glint\nin his eyes and walked outside. Liz stood\nat the counter, arms crossed, looking skeptical\nand suspicious to the door. Behind her, a\nstrong woman was folding her arms as well. \"How\ndid you find him?\" she asked Lizbeth. She gave\nher a quick look. \"Oh\nPatricia, you'd be surprised which\nthings men discuss.\" A\nfurtive smile appeared\non her lips. \"When they are in company with\na beautiful woman.\"\"And now go.\" she added with a serious\ntone. \"I think it is still\na bad idea.\" Patricia said sullenly with a\nfaint shake of the head. \"But\nI owe it to him.\" she added before she\nfollowed Larzarus out of the\ntavern. ......  Timmy was bustling little\nclumsy in the kitchen back and forth, waving slightly nervous\nwith the poor. \"Is that\npossible at all? I mean, uhm, dragon and that?\" he\nthrew Daniel a\nharried look. His\ncolleague breathed once with\nclosed eyes and\nlooked aghast up\ntowards the ceiling. \"He can not really be serious?\" he thought to himself as\nhe rubbed his hand on the forehead. He raised both hands\nand looked at\nTim seriously. \"Now\nbreathe deeply and sit down for a while. You make me just nervous with your hectic\nfuss.\" Daniel pulled a chair from under the table and placed it in front of Timmy. This looked at\nhim a bit puzzled. \"I\nmean only. Um, I\ncan not really imagine how...\" \"You do not.\" interrupted Daniel in the word. \"That alone is Roland's thing.\" He\nraised determining the index finger in his\ndirection. \"And you would do well to leave\nit at that.\" Tim raised both\narms up and put a\nslightly bewildered look on. \"But\nI can not....\" \"Yes, you can!\"\ndrove him Daniel\nagain in the word. \"And you will.\" he added determinative. His nervous\ncolleague looked at him with big eyes. He stood upright,\nclosed his eyes and breathed out calmly. \"Good.\nI will.\" he said with a raised\nindex finger. He reached\ninto his pocket and pulled out a\nfolded piece of paper and held it\nagainst Daniel. \"But\nyou give Roland\nthen this note.\" argued Tim and handed him the letter before\nhe left the kitchen. \"I need something to\ncalm now.\" he muttered softly to himself. Daniel also went\nout of the kitchen, the letter in his hand. Roland sat somewhat thoughtfully\nin his chair. His thoughts were buzzing at the moment just to Kyndle. But this\nlittle daydream broke off as Daniel placed his hand on Roland's\nshoulder. He also\nheld out the letter. \"I do not know how\nlong he should give you that, but here.\" he\nsaid with a small smile. \"Who, Tim?\" Roland asked wearily. \"Right.\"\nDaniel replied as\nhe sat down on the chair next\ndoor. Roland looked at him slightly curious. \"What\nhe had to say\nto you so urgently?\" he asked. With closed\neyes Daniel lowered his forehead slightly forward.\n\"You could possibly help me with\nthat.\" he began. \"I know that Kyndle spent every night in your room.\" He looked\na little embarrassed at Roland. \"Yes that's\nright.\" he argued slowly.\n\"Now.\" continued Daniel,\nbut he waved his hands around something. It\ncaused him to find the right words slight difficulties.\n\"He now seems\nto be convinced that she has now spent a night with you.\"\nhe looked at the young man briefly seriously. \"And\nsince I`m not equal all what Tim think take\nfor real coin,\nI would like to\nhear your version of it.\" He looked at\nhim for another silent moment.\n\"Assuming you even want to talk about it.\" Roland retired jumpy back in his thoughts. \"Oh man!\" he thought out loud to himself. Exactly such a conversation\nhe wanted to go out of their way\npurposefully. He was\ntorn. What should\nhe do now? \"Lies, it was all\nthe same, until the next embarrassing moment? Or make a clean sweep and\ntake the many shocked\nlooks in buying?\nWill they respond really shocked? What\nall will probably think of it. That the\ncompanion was with the dragon, to\nwhich he is imprinted in bed?\nThe laughing stock of Ironwing? Degraded\nto a geek?\" Ideally, he\nwould have screamed loudly, but in the mental confusion he\nheard a distinctive \"Meep\"\nout. Roland came back from the\ninner battlefield of his head and looked into the skeptical-looking face of\nDaniel. This looked surprised\nto the entrance of the dining room,\nwhere just an\norange-red female dragon had pushed\nopen the door and walked to her companion. She pushed her head under Roland's arm through\nand looked at him with her\ndeep blue eyes. Their\nturquoise glitter was not to be overlooked. He returned the warm eye\ncontact and placed his hand on her forehead, which the females elicited\na soft cooing. In his mind he could\nfeel it clearly, as she would offered him a\nhand and help him to get on his\nfeet. In reality, now stood an orange-red\ndragon lady at his\nside. \"Had she noticed\nmy slight panic?\"\nhe wondered. Kyndle`s little nudge with her\nnose quickly confirmed his suspicions. In Roland's\nface appeared a faint\nsmile. He reached both hands to\nher head and pulled\nhim gently towards him. Kyndle closed cooing her\neyes as she felt his forehead on\nhers. \"Shall I tell him?\" he whispered to her. The\ndragoness let out a small \"Churr\" of herself, leaning something more towards\nhim and then began to purr softly. He\nloosened his touch and stroked her slowly with\none hand on the cheek. The bright turquoise shimmer\nof her eyes shone\nliterally. Deep inside\nhe could feel it. Roland raised his eyes to Daniel, who looked\nat him confidently. After a long\nbreath, he looked at him seriously.\n\"Well. It`s.\" he began hesitantly.\n\"Yes, I've now a partner.\" he\nsaid and left, at the last words his view\nfall in two beautiful blue dragon eyes.\nKyndle cooed softly,\nput her front legs on his legs and lifted her head to his high.\nRoland put a hand to her cheek. Cheerfully she closed her eyes and purred softly. The face\nslightly to one side, met the lips of a young man and\nan orange red\ndragoness. Daniel widened astonished the eyes, but he had to smile slightly embarrassed. After the loving lip contact,\nhe stood up and nodded to the two. \"Nice for you both.\" he said and walked past them out\nof the room. The two looked fell\ndeep into her eyes, nose to nose. The quiet\npurr of the dragoness\nwas in the air. The other people in the\nroom, which turned\ntheir somewhat curious and at the same time astonished\nlooks on the\ncouple, seemed not disturbing both in any way. ......  In a tantalizing place\ncalled War Sister, a grumpy-looking but\nwell-armored dwarf sat at the counter and pushed his glass again and again from one hand to the other. \"What causes such a superb item like\nyou to such a beautiful place?\" asked\na lady from behind. She sat down next to the\nelegant guest and\nput her free sexy legs crossed. She\nwore a tight green dress with a large nick\nin the matching skirt.\nThe top part seemed the magnificent bust of\nlady hardly withstand.\n\"I'm Sandra.\" she whispered playfully\nand leaned far\nforward. What turned her cleavage a beautifully showcase. \"Good for you.\" grunted the\ndwarf. \"And now piss off!\" he added sullenly and took\nanother sip from his glass. The\nlady waved once condescending to the\nunfriendly guest and\nstalked to the next opportunity.\"Kumash Gor. Good.\" came a monotone\nvoice in his back. With a skeptical expression, he turned to the source.\nSurprised, he looked in two thick round\nglasses of another dwarf. \"Is that a\njoke!?\" he accused him of\nthe feet and swung\nhis gaze around the room. \"I said just the first,\nnot interested.\" he added with\nan angry look. \"Let's go. Leaving!\" he said with his head to the side pointing.\nThe second dwarf raised\nhis hands in the negative.\n\"You misunderstand. Message. From me. Name.\nBarnabas.\" he said dryly. Kumash lifted surprised\nhis eyebrows and\nscratched his beard under the chin. \"The\ngreat dragon expert, huh?\" he said and\nlooked down the\nshape of his bar\nstool. \"Well, I would not\ncall it great after all.\" he added in amusement and\nreached for his glass. Abutting he picked it\nup. \"What do you want from\nme?\" he asked\ncuriously with a raised eyebrow.\n\"As I recall you wanted to visit me\nalready on the\nSplit Mountain.\" he added\nwith a grin. Barnabas pushed his\nglasses and stood up straight.\n\"Wanted. Yes. Unfortunately missed meeting.\" \"So, what is so important now that justifies\nmy long way here?\" Kumash Gor asked\nagain, but this time with a\nserious facial expression. The\ndragon expert made\na step toward Kumash. \"No time. Statement too long. Fact. You\na companion.\" Barnabas said soberly. Kumash`s eyes widened\nin surprise. Slightly nervous he\nlooked the dwarf by\nthe thick glasses. \"What do you mean with that?\"\nhe threw him\ntense at the feet. \"Sings. Clearly.\"\nBarnabas began monotonically. \"Weapon.\nGuard of the\ntemple. Split Mountain.\nEmblem on the neck. Arkas. No doubt about that.\" easily shocked by the details of\nthe dragon expert he had his head thoughtfully\nsink and put a\nhand on the mark\non his neck. \"Sit. Now!\"\ndemanded Kumash on the other dwarf.\nBarnabas did as\nhe was told and placed himself\non the stool next to him. With a sour look he\nwatched the spectacle wearers. \"I have no idea why\nyou're so interested\nin it.\" Seriously he stared at him. \"From\nthis so-called prophecy I want to hear nothing.\" determinative he raised\na finger. \"I only want to\nfind the asshole that\nkilled my father. And Arkas offered me a\nchance.\" Barnabas looked confused. \"So.\" Kumash began again. \"Since\nyou're here now.\" Prompting he\nlooked at the dwarf. \"The dragon told me that a so called\nRoland can help me to find this scumbag. Do\nyou know someone like that?\"\nhe asked with a slightly crazy look. Barnabas took\na breath heavily. The disturbing stories that\nare circulating around this\nKumash Gor presence him not really fair. \"Well.\nActually........... \"......  In the widow forest, two souls\nroamed through the thicket. A young man who thoughtfully\ncarries a letter before\nhim. Behind him stalked an orange-red female dragon around. \"That's...Hmm.\"\nSkeptical Roland turned\nthe paper in front of him around. Lowered the\nletter he looked between the trunks and bushes\nback and forth. However, he put the note fall unexpectedly\nas he was pushed by something in\nthe back. An amused \"Chirp\"\nfilled the air as he laboriously bent down to\npick up the document again. \"You find that funny?\" He asked his\npartner with a broad grin on his\nface. The amused cooing of the dragoness was the answer. A\nturquoise spark alternated\nbetween their eyes. Behind her he saw the form of a larger stone.\nChecking he raised the directions in his\nfield of vision. \"There!\" he spoke aloud and pointed to the trail next to the stone.\nKyndle gave a\ncheerful \"Chirp\" of\nherself and made a few steps\nahead. She stopped and gave him a\nplayful look as\nhe passed her. Smiling, he\nlooked her in the beautiful blue eyes, where he discovered her turquoise sparks.\n\"We..\" PENG!\"With a dull crash, his sentence trailed off. Startled the orange-red\nfemale took an aggressive posture and growled\nat the joined man. Roland came quickly to\nhimself. As a reflex, he laid his hand on his sword and held the\nblade tip against the stranger. The man\nwas thrown by his\ncrash to the ground and remained\nin his sitting\nposition. Submissive he raised his hands. \"Roland not!\"\nhe cried anxiously. Kyndle immediately took back\na peaceful attitude, as she recognized the\nvoice. \"Conrad?\" asked Roland\nsurprised. The man pulled back the hood of his cloak and came Conrad's\nface to the fore. \"What by the Five are you doing out here?\" asked\nthe companion as he pocketed his weapon and\nhanded him a hand to help up. Conrad grabbed\nthe offered help and stood up again. \"I break a promise.\" he said\nsoberly as he patted the dust\nout of his pants. \"What promise?\" asked Roland. \"One that I\ngave to my mother.\" Conrad began, pointing a finger at him. \"I had promised her, after a long discussion not to want to attend with\nyour magic training.\"\nRoland noted in\nhis tone that he felt very uncomfortable,\nto act again the\nwords of Catherine. But the\nlure of the magic was stronger at the moment. His eyes betrayed that\nundeniable. Conrad laid his hand on Roland`s shoulder.\n\"Allow you me, to attend your\ntraining?\" he asked hopefully. \"I will not disturb you, honest.\" he added eagerly. Roland\nsaw it in his eyes. He wanted, no demanded\nto be really\nthere. \"I'm not so sure.\" he cast\nskeptical. \"What about your mother?\" he asked.\n\"She must not\nknow it, right?\" argued Conrad quickly.\nThoughtful Roland threw a glance at Kyndle,\nwhich immediately nodded at him approvingly and with a gentle cooing.\n\"Fine.\" he began confidently and\nheld up a finger in front of Conrad's face. \"But you explain everything if she gets wind of it.\"\n\"What she always\ndo!\" he thought to himself. Conrad`s\nrelief brought a big\ngrin in his face. \"Good.\" Roland said, and stroked his female\ndragon on the head. What drew her a gentle purr.\nWith obliquely down\nthe face he looked at the directions again. Conrad\nstood beside him and held his head also tilted\nto one side as he looked at\nthe paper. Kyndle sat on the ground and\nlooked at the two as they stared at a piece of paper in their comical\nattitude. The eyes half closed escaped\nher body an amused cooing. Conrad quickly pulled\nthe directions out of Roland`s\nhand, turned it 90 degrees and\nput it again between the fingers. \"So it should be better.\" He said\ndryly. Then he gestured with one hand in\nthe direction on\nwhich Roland had came from.\n\"This way, by the edge.\" he\nadded with a grin. \"Fine.\"\nhe murmured softly,\nsqueezing Conrad the paper in his hand and waved\nto Kyndle to\ngo ahead. On the move, Conrad began to speak at length about his fascination for magic.\nHe knew many spells\nand could even\nrecite incantations full heart. With\ndisappointing facial expression he also talked about his\nnon-existent access to it. Roland listened carefully to his words. It was a\nnew experience to see him so talkative,\nbecause he never progress\nbeyond his everyday hawking.\nHe thought about, what a magician could accomplish\nwith his knowledge. But fate seemed to have intended for him another way. It took another hour\nto the small\ngroup reached the destination. Roland stepped around\nthe tree trunk to a clearing.\nIn the middle, Aaros\nsat meditating on\nthe floor. Next off, Torben leaned against a\nrock and raised his eyes against the new\narrivals. \"Took long enough.\" said Aaros\nas he stood up and walked towards Roland. He\nraised his eyebrows in surprise when\nhe saw his companion. \"Ah,\nConrad. Then your\nmother had turned her decision?\" he asked with his gloomy view. \"Yes she\nhas.\" he replied\neasily shaky. \"Certainly\nnot.\" added Aaros, shaking his head and with a smile on his\nlips. \"But good.\nShe don`t have to know that, right?\" With a sigh of relief Conrad heard\nhis words. Aaros sat back down on the ground in the\nmiddle of the clearing. With a little\ndistance from him, Roland took place.\nKyndle lay down beside\nher companion, looking tense\nto the magician. Between\nthem lay something on the ground, which was covered by a cloth blanket.\n\"Let's start with the foundation.\" Began\nAaros confident. \"Magic\nworks substantially much easier than\nyou may might imagine.\" \"The stories about the old magic\nwords which release enormous powers are all\nwrong. The only known magic\nwith words is the incantation, but this\nrequires immediate knowledge of the necessary languages and formulas.\nIt ranges usually, if you get the effect of what you want to\nachieve imagine.\"\nAaros raised a hand to his face,\nwith the palm up. He exhaled and shrugged\nlightly with his fingers. With a soft crackling a\nsmall flame was born on his hand,\nand burned floating\nlike a torch. \"If you hold yourself to\nthat thought does your access do the\nrest.\" Chuckling he swung the small fire\naround. \"Some magicians\nsay it but\nsoftly out to\nconcentrate better reference.\"\nAgain he exhaled quietly.\nHe quietly began to\nmutter some unintelligible words.\nThe small flame grew\nin intensity and began to run like a liquid over his fingers. Be\ncovered his whole hand, as if he had pulled over a fire glove. Gazing at the flames he\nblew weak against\nit. With the Wind the flame was gone and the light went\nout. \"Whether it's really\nsimple is up to the caster.\" He paused for a moment, in which his happy\nface come serious.\n\"Let yourself but do not be fooled by such\nshenanigans. Each application saps the willpower\nof the caster. And\nthis is limited at\neach.\" Demanding he looked at Roland. \"You\nknow that you have am access to magic.\" the\nteacher began quietly. \"When did you last use it?\" he demanded of his pupils. Roland did not have to think long. \"Five years\nago. As....\" he began\nhesitantly and glanced\nto his dragoness.\n\"Kyndle was snatched by such bandits. I used\nit at the time but not done consciously.\nI was afraid.\"\nAgain he crossed his eyes with his partner. \"Fear?\" hooked his teacher after\nthoughtful. \"Afraid for\nher.\" argued Roland. \"I was just angry at these men. The rest happened\nby itself.\" \"Anger. Aha.\" said\nAaros softly and\npulled the blanket from the object\ndown. Before him lay on the floor\na long rod with\na crystal tip.\nIn Roland's thoughts\nformed a spongy memory\nimage. Kyndle glanced\nto her partner and closed softly cooing her eyes.This rod he\ndid not see for the first time. One of his followers from\nthat night got one such case. With his back to the cliff he\nwas standing on the edge. He\nsaw the menacing glow\nof violet crystal clear on. Before\nhe was stopped by his leader. Coming back from memory, he\nlooked at his teacher stumped. \"That was you in that night? Or?\" he threw\nat him plaintively. \"These flashes were your work!\" Aaros exhaled\nwith closed eyes and looked at his disciple with\nhis dull eyes. \"I\nwill not lie to you.\" he\nbegan seriously. \"Yes,\nit was my spell. And\nyes, I was that in that night with you at this cliff. Torben\nwas the second man under his coat.\" Without taking\nhis eyes from Roland avert he continued. \"We\ntogether with Larzarus\nhad the order to bring you back.\"\"Larzarus!\" he repeated the name several times in his thoughts. Finally\nhis mother's murderer had a name. His anger against\nthis man now\nburned strong. He\nfelt a powerful force in himself. It went\nthrough every fiber of his body. His clenched hands were\nshaking slightly. \"Bring back? Why?\" hooked Roland easily\nangry. Kyndle felt\nfrightened his memories\nof that night, but she were overshadowed by his anger, which not allow her access to him. Much more grabbed his anger over\non her. With raised\nlip she showed with\na quiet growl her sharp teeth. The pupils\ncontracted to slits, her deep blue eyes also\ndirected to Aaros. The magician sat without\na reaction since\nit left and\ncontinued. \"We did not know.\nAnd we did not have to know. It was a simple delivery\njob that we had\nprocured by Larzarus. We knew the\nname of the target person and the place of\ndelivery.\" \"Just a\nsimple delivery job!?\" Roland\nrepeated the words. The air around him began\nto pulsate, and a\nstrong gust of wind shooed the\ntrees around the clearing on. Torben looked up to\nheaven and sat up, he loosened his folded\narms and grabbed Conrad`s collar. Without\na word he pulled him behind the rocks. Conrad`s nervous around waving\ncould not change the fact. \"Claire's death was not intended.\" said Aaros further\nleft, his dull\ngaze always directed\nto Roland. \"Do not\nmention her name!\" he said with\nanger. In his voice echoed something dark, as\nwere talking something bad by. \"If\nthat was not provided, why she then died in\nthat night?!\" hooked Roland after dark.\nA strong gust of wind pulled from the\ntreetops down and circled around the tense conversation. Kyndle stood\non all fours and snarled menacingly at the\nmage. A faint glow in her throat warned of the lurking flame\nshock. Roland saw\nthe picture of his injured mother in front of him. He felt the fleeting warmth\nof her hand on his cheek. Her desperate tears in\nher eyes as she continued sending\nher child in the dark. Aaros took a short\nbreath. \"Larzarus asked her for your whereabouts.\"\nhe began again.\nTo hear that name again fueled his anger\nfurther. The force\nof the wind gusts also increased. Was just\nlike the fiery lights in the throat of the dragoness\nbrighter. Her menacing\ngrowl joined the\ndull hum in the\nair. \"And when Claire gave no answer to him, he\ntook her life.\" \"STOP IT!!!\" With a contorted position he unleashed the pent-up\nforce. Kyndle demonstrated\nat the same time, her scorching breath of fire. In a fleeting moment Roland\nthought, to see the figure of a man in front of him. But the shaded outlines\nturned away from him and finally disappeared\ninto the void. A huge, burning shock wave swept across the clearing. The trees in the\nimmediate vicinity held not\nstand the heat.\nThe fire shrank the\nthick trunks to\nblack coal pillars,\nwhich coincided with\nthe subsequent pressure in itself. The thick cloud of dust hung over the smoldering\nclearing, which sank\nslowly to the ground. Conrad pulled his head between his shoulders\nstartled, as the\nhot blast swept over his guard. After a brief moment of silence, he ventured a curious\nglance into the clearing. He\nburned his hand on the hot stone\nas he walked around it. Frightened and amazed\nat the same time he looked at the picture, which was created under the dusty curtain. Aaros pushed\nthe shimmering purple rod right into the\nground. Of the crystal in the direction of the magician, a wedge-shaped area, which was spared by the\nflames as the only path stretched. Leaning\non his hands and knees Roland\ncoughed heavily, gasping cramped for breath. Kyndle gave a worried \"Meep\"\nby and put one of\nher wings protectively over her\ncompanion. Her head nestled against\nhis she cooed softly.\nThe teacher fell exhausted to the rear and let go of his staff, which has put away the purple sheen.\nBreathing heavily, he looked astonished around.\"My face!\" echoed Torben's voice\nloudly through the air, as he also stood out behind the protective\nstone. \"In contrast, a volcanic eruption is indeed\nthe purest children's\nbirthday party!\" he added with\ndilated view. \"That was close.\" said Aaros\nexhausted. \"Too close for my comfort!\" added Torben.......  In the garden of\nIronwing a man\nlying comfortably in a deck\nchair and read his\ndreamy views over the countryside\nglide. A faint crackle\ncame from the flashing\nglow and moved on\nthrough the dry tobacco. Relish the\ndense smoke exhaling a gust of wind recorded his shoulder-length hair\nand ripped the smoke in the direction of the forest. Relaxes the watched the\nwind play and noticed how the\ntreetops inside tended\ngreatly. Eyes closed, he took another deep train of his sedative.\nAt the same moment a strong gust of wind blew from\nthe forest. The legs of the chair\na folded and the\nman fell backwards. Roughly lying on the\nground, he opened his eyes in\nastonishment. A high pitch-black\ncloud shot in the woods in the sky. Held up\nhis hand: but his gaze searchingly between the rolled tobacco in his fingers and the dark shadow\nback and forth. With a dilated look he blew strong.\nA slow \"Ok.\" felt out of his mouth. ......  Roland put his hand on the cheek of his draconic partner and\nsqueezed her gently in. Breathing heavily, he\nlistened to her quiet purr. Kyndle leaned\nclose to her companion.\nIn her mind she tried\nto fathom how it could happen that she was be ousted by his anger.\nShe got with everything,\nbut had no more\ncontrol. A fact, which prepared\nher an enormous fear.\nFor a fleeting moment she was afraid to have\nlost the contact to him. With tears between her\nclosed eyelids she clung more closer to Roland.Aaros straightened cumbersome and looked\ntense around. The\nsmokers remains looking\nmore his gaze to\nhis pupil. This lifted his head wearily\nand looked at his\nteacher confused. \"You\nhad a powerful magic inside of you.\" he said soberly,\nand went up to him. \"Now we know how to open your\naccess.\" he added with a\nfaint smile and handed him\na helping hand. ...... \"It will probably slow a habit that he amaze me.\" she said as she looked at the man\nslightly smiling. However, this view was\nreversed in a skeptical expression. \"But a\ndragon?\" Daniel gave her a\nsympathetic look. \"Do you fear for the reputation of your name?\" he\nventured cautiously to ask.\n\"Hector's reputation was severely injured when\nhis partnership with Katara came to light.\" Away the face of her interlocutors\nshe sighed tense. \"I do not know.\" In one fleeting moment,\nDaniel saw a\nglimmer of fear in her eyes. However,\nhe was gone as quickly as it had appeared. \"It's probably nothing.\" he added calmly. \"Is\neverything all right mistress?\" hooked\nDaniel by seriously. With closed eyes she waved\nwith a smile on her face negative back and forth. Catherine threw her thoughtful\nlook out the window and walked slowly approached the glass. \"It is just this feeling, that something is observed us in distance. Something evil.\"......  Roland saw on him silent. \"All\nthat just to activate my access?!\"\nhe thought out loud to himself. \"These aching memories to\nrelive one more time served\nonly an experiment?\" he ignored the offered help\nand was directed supportively\nat his dragoness\non. With a mixed look\nof anger and confusion he looked at Aaros.\nKyndle still leaned\nagainst Roland, but did the same and saw\nthe teacher also with mixed emotions. He\nraised his hands apologetically. \"I'm sorry that it\nhad to be this way.\" he\nbegan quietly. He turned and strode to\nthe spared patch\nof earth. Lifted the rod, he sat down on the ground and put it before him on the grass. \"The way to the magic is difficult.\" he explained, addressed the murky views of Roland.\n\"And for some painful.\"\nhe added determinative. The student listened\nattentively to his words. But for that there was no appropriate excuse at the moment. Reluctantly he sat down\nbeside him. His dragoness lay on his side,\nconstantly keeping up the body contact. With\na warm smile for her, he put his arm around her shoulders, what her drew a soft\npurr. Conrad still could not believe what Roland's\ntantrum had produced. Questions flooded his\nmind, but he was not actually\nable to even\none of these places. Torben slapped him\nlightly on the back of the head.\n\"Close your mouth.\" he spoke softly and stood with\narms crossed back to the now cooled stone.\nA confused head shaking\nlater, Conrad joined\nquietly to him. Aaros took with closed\neyes a deep breath. \"To\nhave an access does\nnot necessarily mean being able to use it without further\nnotice.\" he began seriously. \"Every magician\nhas his own way to\nawaken this. Mine is between composure and concentration.\nIn meditation I gather the strength to be able to use it usable. For\nothers is pain the trigger,\nor as in your case, anger.\"\nStill the explanations listening expanded Roland\nsurprises his eyes. \"Pain and anger are\npowerful ways, but also the most difficult\nto be controlled.\" continued Aaros\nand gestured with\none hand on the scorched earth.\n\"With increasing intensity also drops the debilitating aspect stronger.\" In Roland's thoughts\nat once shaped the image of the street\nfive years ago. He\nthrew the attacker with a shock wave to the wall and\nthen fell to the\nground unconscious. \"Any application, even if only to make\nfire, eating away at your strength. Will you take up, as just now,\nyou will suffer a fatal attack of weakness, which leaves you defenseless.\" \"How do I know the line?\" interrupted\nRoland the words of\nhis teacher. \"That's the tricky\npart of the whole thing. This\nlimit can be seen only by itself. Yet, in a fit\nof rage as the previous one\ndisappear any thought.\"\nHe gave his student a more serious look. \"This type of\nmagic is able to kill his caster.\" Roland threw a startled\nlook at Kyndle, which lowered the face\nand gave a frightened whimper. The thought of Roland's death she did\nnot like at all. With the curved finger under\nher chin, he lifted her head up and looked into her moist blue eyes. The\notherwise bright turquoise ring\naround their iris withdrew. He felt her feelings\nas clearly as if it were his own. With\ntears in his eyes, he pressed his forehead to hers. \"I will never leave you.\" came softly from his lips. Roland stepped back a light piece and\nput his hand on her\ncheek. With one finger, he brushed the tears\nfrom her face. Kyndle laid her head slightly to the side and approached him slowly.\nHe gently pulled his\npartner to him and placed his\nlips on hers. With\neyes closed, they kept their\nbodies together. Aaros let them\nthis moment, and said not a word. Conrad looked a little stunned at\nthe two. Until Torben's hand again hit the back of his head. \"I\nsaid close your mouth.\" he grunted softly.After the deep kiss he gently stroked\nKyndle`s forehead. In her strong look briefly\nshone on a\nfamiliar twinkle, followed by the\nbright turquoise hue in her blue eyes. \"I love\nyou.\" he whispered to her.\nWith a happy murmur she pressed her head against his chest and purred\nsoftly. \"But there is one way to counteract this effect.\"\nbegan Aaros again.\nWith the dragoness in his arms Roland\nturned his gaze to his teacher. \"What?\" he asked\ncuriously. Aaros eyes fell\npointing to the bar in front of him. \"Have you ever wondered why all\nmages go with such a thing trough the\nworld?\" he replied\nwith a negating shake of the head. \"This is undoubtedly no walker.\" said the magician. \"It's called a medium!\"\nConrad was surprisingly the word. \"This\nmust not act mandatory\naround a rod itself. For the older generation, the rod having a practical enforced\nas a walking aid.\" he said with a slight grimace. Aaros\nlooked at him in surprise. Roland was also surprised that he knew\nthis. \"And now. Do\nI have to buy such a walker?\"\nRoland threw at\nskeptical. Conrad shook his head. \"No, no. A medium can be\nanything. A weapon, shield,\nring, necklace, even a piece of clothing.\" The fingers of one hand count down he listed the possibilities.\n\"The tricky thing is to customize one.\" Throwing a controlling view to Torben\nhe pulled his head between his shoulders. But this just looked at him skeptically and shrugged\nwith crossed arms his shoulders. \"And how do I do that?\"\nRoland hooked after\nencouragingly. \"Aaros began to smile. \"This\nwill be your next task.\"\nhe said determining. \"But more about that later.\" Thoughtful he looked up\nto heaven. \"We should leave\nthis place now.\" ......  Two dwarfs below,\nare entertaining on\nthe sidewalk. Together they went to the big market square. One wore a heavy plate armor. A mighty war hammer was tied\nhim on the back together with an old sword. The\nhilt of the sword was worn and covered with\ncrusted blood. His\ninterlocutor was walking with hands held behind the back upright\nbeside him. A pair of glasses with thick round glasses\nlay on his nose. \"Five companions. One for each guardian dragon.\"\nsaid Kumash Gor. \"Hmph!\" he grunted,\nand then scratched the emblem on his neck. \"What nonsense!\" he added aloud. Barnabas shook\nhis head indignantly about the lack of\nthe companion. \"This Roland thus also\nbelongs to this club? And where live these guy again?\" he asked seriously. His colleague raised an open hand. \"Disguise.\nToo important. Will not reveal. Moment wrong. Too early.\" he replied monotonously.\nDisgruntled over the\ndenied information he frowned. \"For such\nan acclaimed expert you have a shitty way\nof expressing yourself.\" bleated\nKumash on. Barnabas\nbeard lifted slightly\nwith his slight\nsmile. He then moved\neven his glasses. Continue talking appeared\nthe two dwarves in\nthe bustling crowd of the city. ......  Two men stood in\nfront of a large mirror. In the\nfloating surface was clearly recognized, a group of buildings. In addition to the greatest of the houses stretched\na magnificent garden. One of the two was curved\nfront of the image. A menacing twinkle stood\nout the empty eyes of his silver mask. \"Well done, Larzarus.\" he gasped softly.\n\"I hope you're satisfied?\"\nventured the servant careful to ask. Thereupon\nKargesh turned around quickly. \"Satisfied?\" said he\ninclined his face to the side. A slight anger\nwas in his words. \"When Roland and\nhis dragon are in custody. Then I'll think about whether I'll be satisfied.\" He clenched his right\nfist and raised it in Larzarus direction. The\nman sank cramped to his knees.\nA purple lights stood\nout from his eyes. Kargesh moved his hand to him. To his servant,\na black cloud built on, which drew him to his master. The\nfingers slightly apart and\nLarzarus was lifted on. The dark lord raised his subordinates\nbefore his face. The\nlights threatening his violet eyes grew\nbrighter lights. \"It is time\nfor the next step.\" Kargesh spoke\ndemanding. He lowered his hand and let his\nservant from the sinister grip free. Coughing, he fell\nto his knees. Cramped gasping for\nair, he straightened up and looked at his master angrily. The purple gleam\nin his usual red eyes faded slowly.\nBreathing heavily, he stood up and turned to his Master. \"Does that mean...?\" \"No, not yet!\" Kargesh dropped him\naccording into the word. \"You will observe\nhim further.\" he added\nseriously, turning his bony hand on him. Larzarus once breathed\nout heavily. In\nhis eyes briefly flashed on a violet tinge.\n\"For how long?\" he asked skeptically. His\nmaster looked at him with a\nmenacing light in his eyes.\n\"It depends on his progress.\"\nhe turned the bent\nmirror. \"He must be ready for it.\" he said sound. Stretched out his arm to the side, he pointed his servant to remove itself. \"Go\nnow!\" he ordered determinative.\nLarzarus nodded silently to his master and then\nwalked out of the room. \"Also Ironwing? How delightful!\" echoed the sinister voice through the room followed\nby a devilish laugh. ......  On the training ground\nnext to the barracks in Ironwing arrived a\nsmall group with\nan orange red dragon. \"And\nwhat is now going on with my medium?\"\nRoland asked curiously. Aaros looked at him calmly.\n\"There are in Parem only two people\nwho are in a position to make such a thing.\" He made an unexpected break\nwhen he saw a girl who approached them. \"Rebecca?\" was surprised by Conrad\nand ran to meet\nher. Rebecca stopped and looked at him soberly. \"Mother\nwants to talk to you.\" she said encouragingly. Her brother left\nhis downcast head\nfall forward. \"How did she\nbelong?\" he thought to himself. With a scowl\nhe invaded a faint \"Hmph.\"\nOut of his throat before he made his way to the house. Roland looked behind\nthe taciturn man.\nBut his eyes remained stuck at Rebecca, who\nlooked at him skeptically. \"Anything else?\" he asked suspiciously. The girl put her hands on her hips and tilted her head\nslightly to the side. \"Is it\ntrue what Timmy tells?\" she asked\ncuriously. Roland extended his surprised\neyes. \"I uh,\nso.\" he stammered awkwardly in front of him and looked frantically\nto Kyndle. \"By the Five!\" he thought out loud to himself. How could he explain it\nRebecca, without she understood it wrong. She\nis not yet of an age to think about such things, let alone talk about it. Roland scratched his head\nand thought hard about the\nright choice of words after. \"Did you make this huge cloud over the forest?\"\nasked him Rebecca. He held open his mouth for a moment. This question he would\nnot expected now. Totally speechless he\nstammered to himself. \"I thought, I did,\nohh.\" \"Yes it was him.\" replied Aaros left and broke the awkward silence. \"There was a big reaction\nwhen he woke his access.\"\n\"Can you show me that again?\" the girl asked curiously. \"I will\nnot tell it mom.\"\nshe argued hopeful with held hands on the back. Aaros slowly\nshook his head. \"That\nwould not be a good idea.\" he said and smiled\nwhile Roland on. Roland bent down to the disappointed girl.\n\"I can show you something,\nwhen I have it better under control.\" Rebecca frowned sullenly her\nface and held it from its head\ntilted to the side. \"Promise?\"\nshe said gravely and held out her hand. Roland\ngrabbed it and smiled\nat her. \"I promise.\" he\nreplied. From the serious face of the girl suddenly stabbed a\nhappy smile. She even went to the conclusion Kyndle,\nstroking the female\nover the edge\nand went back on\nthe road to the house. Roland looked after\nthe girl until she disappeared behind the hedge. \"Which two men you spoke?\"\nhe asked Aaros and\nturned back to his teacher. \"In this regard, I come back to it later.\" he began. \"First, you\nneed two things, which are indispensable\nfor the preparation of a medium.\" He saw his students to determine.\n\"A gem that\nserves as a catalyst, and a gargoyle.\" \"What for a gargoyle?\" he prompted skeptical. Chuckling Aaros\nraised a hand. \"You\ndon`t need a gargoyle directly, just a\nbit of the ashes from such a\nguy.\" \"How should I approach the ashes of a\ngargoyle? These creatures are\ntransformed always in stone when they are\nkilled.\" Torben surprised\nlifted his eyebrows.\n\"There was a\nwell-read book on this subject?\" he interjected into the\nconversation. Roland nodded\nand smiled a\nlittle embarrassed. \"You're right.\" agreed Aaros with him. \"But it's enough if you catch one turned to stone gargoyles.\"\n\"And the gem? Are there differences which\nvariety or size do\nI choose?\" hooked Roland by.\n\"Not really.\" replied Aaros. \"Variety and\nsize are up to\nyou. Your medium must look like you want it.\nRight?\"\"And where can I find a gargoyle?\" asked the student. Torben placed on\nnext to Aaros and\ncrossed his arms as he looked at Roland demanding.\n\"Stood nothing about that in your book?\" Roland took a quick glance to\nthe side and embarrassed scratched\nhis head. \"I did not read it to the end.\" he replied. \"Ok.\" cleared\nTorben his throat. \"These beasts\nare also called as Tormentors of Travelers.\" he began\nto explain. \"Mainly because\nof their fondness for stupid sayings to rail\nagainst travelers. These are usually more\nannoying than amusing,\nwhat they failed comedian\nbut is not supporting.\nTheir name they have received because they like\na spitting. In\nmost cases, if you had discovered\nthem, or did not\nrespond to their stupid comments.\" \"But that does not tell me\nwhere I can find one.\" Roland threw in\nthe narrative. Torben\nexhaled a little grumpy\nand lifted him against\nan outstretched finger.\n\"For this I wanted to come right away.\" He threw\nhim determinative to the head. \"So. These\ncritters keep usually\non in rocky\nenvironments. In Ordenary they were found sometimes in larger forests. But here\nin Parem I\nwould try my luck in the vicinity of the\nGrey Pass, on the border to\nDark Winter.\"Aaros looked to\nthe sun. \"There is still time. If you had luck, you find\nget one before nightfall.\" Roland pointed a thumb over his shoulder. \"Should I\ntell it to Catherine?\" \"I will\ntell her everything she needs to know about it.\"\ninterrupted his teacher. \"Come\non, grab your bow and hunt you a gargoyle.\" he\nsaid with a confident nod.\nRoland saw with a\nsmile to his dragoness. \"Well, how about?\" he asked her with a warm look. The\nfemale gave an affirmative\n\"Churr\" of herself as she looked at her partner with big eyes. A bright sparkle stepped\nout of the turquoise hint of her pupils and reflected\nin Roland`s eyes. ......  Koris and Catherine\nremained in the study room. The woman stood before the closed window and threw\na tense look outside. \"How long has this been going on?\"\nshe asked the man. Koris looked at her with a thoughtful look. \"On\nthe indication of the guards,\nfor several days now.\" \"And we know who these\nstrangers are?\" she asked anxiously.\nJames was briefly his gaze to the side soft.\n\"No.\" he replied. \"It made every\ntime the impression that they\nwould explore the area. And whenever they were discovered they disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared.\" Catherine remained thoughtful her hand under her chin and\nturned to the uniformed\nman. \"The guard\nat the gate will be doubled and\nled patrols around\nthe estate.\" Koris looked\nstrained at her with a serious expression. But he did not say a word. With the lifted hand he\nsaluted to his mistress and strode out of the room.\n\n......  After a few hours, Roland reached the\nlimit of the Dark-Winter forest. He stood\nwith his horse at the junction road over the pass horror.\nKyndle landed elegant next to him and gave a\nwelcoming treatment \"Chirp\"\nof herself. A strange aura was above the canopy.\nHe had heard some\nstories about the Dark-Winter. And now,\nso to be alone in\nthis enchanted wood,\njust called them back awake. He shook his head.\n\"Who could become dangerous\nto a companion and his dragon already?\" he\nthought sarcastically to himself.\nBut his weak confidence\ncould not hide to be observed about this\noverwhelming feeling in him. Roland dismounted from his horse and tied\nit to the sign on the roadside. He grabbed\nhis bow and threw\nthe quiver over\nhis shoulder. Turned to the thicket\nhe laid his hand\non the shoulder of his dragoness.\nCooing she looked Kyndle at him with her blue dragon\neyes. The bright\nturquoise spark in them took him out the uneasy\nfeeling in the stomach.\nHe put his hand under\nher jaw and pulled\nher head softly to himself.\nWith eyes closed,\nhe gave her a long kiss. Kyndle purred softly\nin the loving lip\ncontact. \"Thank you.\" said Roland then to her.\nHe looked at his partner with a wink. \"Let's get us a gargoyle.\" The\ndragoness gave a\nbright \"Meep\" by and\nwalked a few steps ahead. Before\nthe trees she stopped and gave her partner a\nchallenging look. Roland closed his eyes and\ntook a deep breath. He focused on\nKyndle. Her body,\nher perceptions, her soul. The quiet sounds\nof the forest grew in volume. The shadow\nin the thicket of trees seemed easier to focus. With the help of her heightened senses, he moved through the\nundergrowth. And so the hours passed. But any\nmovement in the forest, the source\nwas unfortunately never hoped by a gargoyle.\nA deer fled terrified\nin the bushes as\nRoland came out from\nbehind the tree. \"Oh man!\" he thought wearily to himself. He sat down on a stump\nand broke away from\nhis connection to Kyndle. The female nudged him with\nhis nose in the chest and cooed at him softly. With a\nquestioning look she squatted down in front of him. \"Do\nnot worry.\" Roland reassured\nher and smiled warmly at the dragoness.\n\"Is just a little tiring to maintain it for\nso long.\" The female nodded\nonce cooing and\nadded a faint \"Chirp\" to. After a short pause Roland stood up again. He wanted to pull his foot forward,\nbut could not get at a root of the stump. Since there\nwas nothing to keep himself firmly in his\npresence, he was somewhat unceremoniously in a\nmoist mud puddle. His dragoness turned\nin surprise to him.\nThe eyes half closed she cooed to herself\namused. Roland sat\nup and wiped the dirt from his face. \"You'll find that funny, huh?\" he threw\nthe female slightly\nplaintive contrary. Kyndle nodded at him with\na playful \"Churr\". Roland\nmet with his foot once with full force\nin the puddle and\nachieved some big brown splashes on Kyndle, which\nnow looked at him soberly. He held his\nhead slightly inclined as he\nmet her gaze. \"Not as funny as you thought, huh?\" he said. The female approached him\nwith slow steps and\ngave him a playful look. Roland quickly\nraised a hand. \"Shhh!\"\nhe hissed. \"Do you hear\nthat?\" he asked her and closed his eyes, the\nhead turned slightly to the side.\nKyndle saw him briefly\nin surprise, but did\nlike him and listened out into the forest. Indeed. A low\nchuckle was not far to hear.\nRoland drew an\narrow from his quiver and laid it on the bowstring. With cautious\nsteps he approached bent the faint echo. Against\na tall tree he stopped and took a searching look between\nthe branches. A small\nshadow moved with a rapid speed\nunder the leaves. \"Mud in your face and mud\nin the brain, hehehe!\" With\na child's laughter, the voice from above came down.\nThe creature let himself hanging down from a low branch and was briefly\nin the light of the setting sun.\nIt was a gargoyle without doubt. \"What has six\nlegs and looks really\nstupid from the laundry?\" asked the creature and\npulled himself up on his tail to the branch. It sat\ndown and gestured with his little claws on Roland\nand Kyndle. \"That\nare you two! Hahahaha!\" Roland took a sober\nlook to Kyndle. \"Torben was right as\nfar as their sense of humor.\" he thought to himself. Tense\nthe bow he took\naim at the gargoyle. The shoot left\nthe tendon and stopped in the wood of the\ngreat tribe. He did not hit the target. The creature pranced over the branches\nand kept waving\nhis hands to his ears while stretching the\ntongue out of the mouth. \"Not\nhit! Mud-Head! Nana nana nana!\" It\nquipped amused from\nabove. The gargoyle let himself down again on\nhis tail from a tree branch and\nsyringe Roland a targeted\nwater jet in the face. \"That`s a hit, you bonehead! Hihi!\" It went\nas quickly as it came\nup again to the top. Roland wiped furiously\ndry the face. \"This\nlittle wretch is going to tramp on\nmy nerves.\" he\nmuttered angrily to\nhimself. Another arrow excited\nhe aimed again at\nthe leaping shadows.\nThe arrow soared to\nmeet by the\ntree crown without\nhitting his target. \"If you\nshoot too many air holes you have no\nmore to breathe. Hahaha!\" Kyndle gave a low growl and took a deep\nbreath. The slit eyes directed on the gargoyle she unleashed\na flame shock from her throat. The\nheat burned brightly\nthrough the leaves wall and bared the little\ntroublemaker. \"Oh you're probably quite\nhot to catch me,\nwhat?\" he said amused and took flight\nfrom the burnt hide.Roland and his\ndragoness took immediately\nto the persecution. Kyndle brought herself with\na strong jump in\nthe air and\ncarried herself with a few wing beats over\nthe treetops. Roland\nfollowed the quick shadow on the ground, which\nhastily moved from\ntree to tree. The numerous\nbranches did not give him a clear shot and also\nKyndle up the air had some difficulties\nto keep out so the\nsmall refugee in\nmind. The female gave a fire burst forward in\nthe canopy, which the refugee to forced\noff to the side. Roland watched the creature as\nit stood still for\na moment in panic and stared into the flames before\nit jumped further. \"This is it!\" echoed through his head. \"With the right timing, it should work.\" The\ngargoyle lagging, he focused on his\npartner in the air. Kyndle felt the\npresence of Roland, as if he would speak directly to her.\nShe recognized his intention in her mind and knew\nwhat she had to do. Kyndle approached the canopy and dropped her\nwings a bit to speed. She overtook the\nrefugee and pulled the airline circular outward.\nThe female saw Roland\nbetween the trees. This raised his arm and\nshe could clearly hear his voice in her head. \"Now!\"\nIt echoed through her mind. Inhaled deeply, a threatening lighting came out of her open mouth. Shortly thereafter, she ignited a searing blast\nof fire, which she joined in her circular flight\naround the fleeing gargoyle.\nTrapped by the flames, the creatures stood still, turned and looked around frantically.That gave Roland enough\ntime to aim his\ntarget. Hissing, the arrow left the bowstring.\nThe gargoyle more\nwith his eyes frantically\nback and forth. But he noticed the zoom rocketing\narrow too late. The\npointed metal penetrated\nthe chest of the creature,\nwhich hardened immediately.\nGrimaced painfully it turned into stone, and remained with the arrow in the chest\non the tree branch. \"OH JEAH!\" cried Roland facilitated in\nthe air. Kyndle\nswept with rapid wing\nbeats over the flames and brought them to\nsilence, before she landed\nelegantly beside her\npartner. With a cheery \"Chirp\"\nshe fell around Roland's\nneck, which threw him swinging on the back.\nLanded in soft\nmud he held his\ndragoness who looked\nat him with her beautiful\nblue eyes. The turquoise\nshimmer in them shone\nbrightly at him. A\nbrief spark wandered between their amorous glances\nback and forth, before they closed their eyes and their\nlips met in a loving kiss. He held her head with\nboth hands and smiled upon the beautiful warm contact. \"You understood everything?\" he asked softly. Kyndle\ngave a gentle \"Churr\"\nof herself while she\nlay purring on him. One moment they lay snuggled\ntogether. A deep\nsense of satisfaction spread\nthrough him. It seemed to be easier with\nevery additional time, to make\ncontact with her. Although he knew that they are\nalways connected to a certain\nlevel, it was a\nnice experience to use this also\nspecifically for him\nnow. ...... In Ironwing an angry\nfierce debate between Catherine\nand her son Conrad\nwas occurring, because he broke their arrangement and without her consent\nattended to Roland's magic introduction. Her\nanger intensified even further when she heard\nof the incident in the clearing. \"What did you think you were doing?\nBy the Five?!\" she threw him plaintively\nat the feet. Conrad stood without saying a\nword there, the view turned sullenly\nto the side. \"I had you expressly forbidden\nto participate in this action!\"\nShe looked at him with a worried look.\n\"You would thereby be violated!\" In\nthat moment, his expression cleared as he looked\ninto his mother's face. He saw it in her\neyes. She made their way to him, because he had quite\nunconsciously gone with blind\nenthusiasm in danger. What would happen if\nTorben had not been brought him into coverage, if he were a little earlier come forth from behind the rock? Dejected, he let his\nforehead fall forward. \"I'm sorry mother.\" With tears in his eyes he\nlooked at her. Catherine walked up to him and took\nhim lovingly in her arms. \"All I want is just, that nothing\nterrible is happen to you.\" With eyes closed, she held\nher son. Somewhat reluctantly, he returned her gesture. She looked at him then encouragingly. \"You may indeed be there. Promise\nme at least, that you think you get off when such experiments are pending.\" With tears in his eyes he\nlooked at her smiling and nodding her once quietly. ......  Roland stood up and stared up to\nthe branch on which lay the fossilized\ngargoyle. His boots sank down to the calf in\nthe damp earth. \"Alright.\"\nhe thought aloud. \"How do we get this down there?\"\nHe asked Kyndle. In\nhis words sound she could hear clearly\nthat he just had no desire to climb the tree. The female snorted strongly\nin his direction\nand jumped powerful to the trunk. The black\nclaws beaten in the\nwood she climbed up to the gargoyle.\nShe got onto the branch, which already strongly bowed\nunder the additional weight to give a little\nnudge to the small statue. With the nose\ndown, she joined at the spouts. Roland stood\nready with uplifted\narms and caught the hunting trophy. He\nlooked at the stoned face of the gargoyle and\nsmiled at it. \"That's\na hit, you bonehead.\" he said amused at\nthe small statue.He heard a loud\ncrack, followed by a surprised\n\"Meep\" about him. But he did not look up,\nhis gaze straight ahead. Surprised, he turned\naround as nothing followed.\nBut just at that moment landed a wider branch\nwith an orange red dragon on the top in the wet mud.\nA brown mud wave engulfed him and the female dragon. In a quiet\nbreak, both looked at each other in silence. Kyndle shook her\nhead and Roland was wiping the\ndirt from his face. Both looked for another moment\nstill. In Roland's\nface a big smile grew\nas Kyndle could not suppress her\nplayful glance. He\nwalked up to her and stroked her\ngently on the\nhead. \"Come. Time to go home.\" he\nsaid amused and looked\nagain at the gargoyle. The female turned back\non all fours and walked satisfied cooing behind\nher partner. The moon already brought\nits white rays across\nthe night sky as Roland with Kyndle arrived at\nthe gates of Ironwing.\nHe looked at the\nguards a little surprised, because\nnot as usual two\nwere staying at the gate. This time they were\nfour. But he thought nothing of it because he\nwanted to get out quickly from the dirty clothes\nand into bed. Returned the horse in the stables he\nwalked toward the entrance of the main house with hasty\nsteps. Overcome the lower level he reached\nfor the door. As of alone opened the entrance. Behind\nan upright man came with a tired look on his face revealed. Sasha looked\nRoland's appearance exactly, as\nwell Kyndle. The dirty\nyoung man grinned\nat him a bit embarrassed. Sasha\nmade a gesture saluting\nstooped and invited\nhim with an outstretched arm to enter. \"The water is already\nrunning.\" he said calmly\nwhile Roland and\nhis dragoness passed\nhim. Roland held the butler against\nthe petrified gargoyle. \"Can you please bring\nthis to my room?\" he asked with a faint smile\non his face. The Butler held off the statue like\na dirty rag from\nhim. \"As you wish.\" he\nreplied. \"Thank you, Sasha.\" Roland said, and went on his way to the bathroom,\nfollowed by a brown orange red female dragon. The butler nodded silently\nbefore he went\noff with the gargoyle. ...... \nThe sun cast its\nfirst rays over the horizon, announcing the beginning of a new\nday. The long shadow of five towers pulled\nover the houses of the city Sorlacom. The bright sound\nof silver bells echoed\ndown from the peaks of the Cathedral. Inside, a person\nkneeled in a gray\nrobe before five\nstone pedestals. The eyes closed in prayer he\nmuttered softly to himself. Four emblems floated with\ntheir bright blue light in front of the\nstone images of Sorathis, Arkas, Galvatros, and\nbefore the crumbling\nremains of the statue of Kyleth. Only the\ncompanion of Wyverex\ndid not seem to want to show himself,\nwhat made the priests increasingly\nanxious. Especially since they\nalso heard about the strange occurrences in\nKaladros. Another man came into the room. \"Master Atlas!\" echoed his voice through the open space.\nThe kneeling man lifted\nhis head and gave his colleague a tired look.\n\"What is it, brother?\" he asked calmly. \"The\ngenerals of the northern kingdom walk\nagain among the living! A dark power had freed them from their dungeons!\"\nThe panic in the words of the priest was unmistakable. \"Master. Could this be the dark shadow from\nthe prophecy?\" He looked at Atlas with a skeptical expression. \"How will it come\nto truth? The companions are not complete.\"Atlas got up and\nwalked over to his brother. \"Do not lose your faith my friend. The guardians will stand at our side.\"\nHe turned, to look at the five bases. \"If\nwe lose faith, as\nwell as any hope for\nDaracoss is lost.\" ****** \"Wait a minute, slow down!\" fell\na listener into the story. \"I think I've lost the thread.\" Roland looked at the man skeptically. \"In what way?\" he asked. \"If I have\nunderstood you correctly now, you\ncome with 14 years to Parem?\" The\nnarrator nodded once in agreement. \"And then you were now\nin the current state 19?\" Roland waved with a slightly\ntwisted face, a hand on the tabletop. \"Around\n20.\" he replied.\n\"The time has not stood still\nduring my training.\" \"Aha!\"\nwas facilitated by\nthe listener. \"I just wanted\nto be sure that I took in the timing right.\" Roland put both hands\non the table and looked at the\nman with a raised eyebrow skeptically. \"Then I can now go on?\" he\nasked. This nodded\nconfidently. \"Good.\" Roland began again. \"So,\nI got myself a gargoyle, but I\ncould not imagine what to do with it the\nnext day. First, I needed\na nice warm bath.\" \"I opened the door........\"******","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/745152-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-6-hard-training.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/811085-five-dragons-tlop-chapter-8-a-long-list.json"}