Duesr

Ailen, Enot, Kenny and Rathamon set out on foot for the rest of their trip. They could see the skyline of Angeles in the distance and knew that they would soon arrive. Enot kept a moderate pace, partially not to outrun his compatriots and partly because his wounds had yet to fully heal. Kenny had gathered most of his bones and placed them neatly back into his pouch.

“Why do I need to brace myself for what is to come Rathamon? The last that I heard from my mother Angeles had become quite the urban destination. She had said that through her efforts and the other leaders of the community that crime was at an all time low and poverty was very low. I would expect a near Utopia.”

“Your mother was a good woman, but in recent years the Circle of Justice has become frankly less just. A few of the territories were able to remain untouched by the corruption, but a large part has not.”

“How is it that the King has allowed this?”

“The king understands that his monarchy is limited. The true power lies in the Circles. His forefathers created the circles to ensure that Panganor would never become enslaved to a fascist leader. King Mahalan has done all that he can, but he is limited by his own laws. Mahalan is not unwise though, it was he that supported your mother in her efforts to sign the treaty with the Balthairans. However when your mother died it seemed as if though their was already a plan in place to subvert all of her work. I am not as familiar with this world as I am with Balthair. It is very different here. I attempted to cast some of my magic to see if I could glean some more information, but I was blocked somehow when I got near to Angeles. I am not certain what did this, but I can say this, Dark Magic is present.”

The group came up to the city gates of Angeles and there they saw a beautiful gateway. The top of the gateway said. “Welcome to Angeles! The city of Angels.” Ailen smiled and stopped for a moment. He closed his eyes and began to take deep inward breaths. He could smell the ripe fruit and succulent pork. He opened his eyes and started to walk into his hometown. As he walked he saw the Market just getting ready to close. He stopped and purchased several sticks covered in chicken, he dipped the chicken into a jar that was sitting there, the sauce dripped off as Ailen chewed on it. The chicken had a sweet taste to it and the smell was wonderful. Ailen had not had the Angeles Market chicken in some time. The taste was amazing. He walked the path through the market picking out various treats that he and the others enjoyed. It was a real treat to be had. As they walked throughout the market Ailen noticed that the people’s faces were not at all pleasant. He stopped at one vendor.

“Why do the people of Angeles seem to be sad. Is it the death of the lady Dial?”

“That is part of it, my friend. The other is that we are now being taxed for selling here at the market. The Lady never taxed us prior to this, it helped that we were able to better feed our families. Taxes were taken from the rich Casino owners down the road, but now they have eased their burdens and placed it upon us.”

“Who has done this? It was to my understanding that after the death of a Circle-member that no new laws shall be made.”

“That is very true my lord, however this is no new law, just one that was rediscovered by the intermediaries that were sent by the circle members. It seems that they felt that we were not giving our due diligience by living tax free.” as the two men talked a large group of guards came down the road. The man who was talking to Ailen looked down and began to clean up his spot.

“You there! I hear that you have been speaking ill of our laws.”he said to the man who was speaking to Ailen.

“Not at all sir, just selling some food to these gentlemen here. Wasn’t I?” he looked into Ailens eyes, pleading for him to sustain the lie.

“He was in fact selling food to us, however I do not see why he would be hounded like this if he had been speaking ill of the laws. It is his right as a citizen.” The guards behind the man fanned out behind him surrounding the Ailen.

“He does have that right, however there are new laws and one of them is that you may speak freely of our country, but you must always do so in a courteous manner. This man is accused of speaking poorly of our beloved country and spreading lies. We will have to search your cart.”

“That is also illegal. You cannot simply search a man’s cart because you believe him to be capable of possibly being traitorous. You must have proof of first the man breaking the law.”

“But if the man has nothing to hide then he will not mind if we look at his cart, its for the safety of the people.”

“Safety? I do not see any brigands around here and moreover you ignore what I just said. Your suggestion indicates that all people should be willing to submit themselves to being searched for the safety of others, which means that you do not trust the people that you serve.”

“Serve? Do I look like I am a waiter or a concubine. I am a lieutenant in the guard of Angeles. I am here to protect these people, even from themselves.”

“Ah, I get it now. You have bought into the noble lie then. You believe that you are better than these people and you must guard them, otherwise they will do harm to one another.”

“Well yes, people when left to their own wits will inevitably cause one another harm. Enough of this debate I will need to search your cart now.” the lieutenant pulled his sword as did his men. They went to grab the cart when Ailen grabbed the lieutenant’s shoulder.

“I am afraid that I am going to have to stop you.”

“ I’d like to see you try.” the lieutenant swung his body around to hit Ailen with the sword as he did, Ailen simply pushed him in the back sending him tumbling forward. The lieutenant tripped and fell into the street in front of him. Ailen laughed at the sight of the man and walked away.

“STOP! Or I will have you arrested. Duel me now.” the lieutenant stood up and two of his men dusted him off.

“Lieutenant I will not fight you. I am certain that we can settle this in a more dignified manner.”

“I have been insulted and you shall fight me now or my man will kill you and your friends.”

“I will not.”

“Fight me coward.”

“I will fight you.” came the voice of Rathamon. “I’ll be your man.” he winked at the lieutenant.

Rathamon came out to the middle of the street, he had the wide brimmed hat resting on his head. He looked up at the man before him, his eyes squinted.

“What is your weapon?” the man growled.

“This.” replied Rathamon. He held up a small Tungsten stick that was placed in his right hand.

“Fine.” said the lieutenant. “Just say when.”

Rathamon looked up from under his hat and smiled. “When.” The lieutenant pulled his sword up above his head and began to bring it down upon Rathamon, but as he did a manna bolt screeched out from his hand striking directly into the lieutenant’s chest. The man was thrown backwards, his armor was now smoking from the blow.

“Seize them!” he yelled. As the other guards moved towards him they quickly fell to the ground and the noise of snoring could be heard. Rathamon looked over at the Canine and smiled. He had seen and cast a sleep spell of his own in the past.

“A second group of guards rounded the corner and began to run towards them. Enot quickly picked up a barrel and shouted. “Bowling Time!” the barrel crashed into the second group and they quickly saw them sprawling around trying to regain their footing. Ailen laughed and grabbed the apple from the young boy walking around selling them. He tossed the lad a silver and leaned against the building. He watched as unit after unit attempted to arrest his friends and each failed against the might of Kenny, Enot, and Rathamon. Each laughing at what seemed to be nothing more than fun. Finally a man on a white horse came riding into the area. Ailen recognized him as the Captain of the Guard. Several other men rode in on horses lances at the ready. The man climbed down from his horse and stood looking at the thirty guards now all laying on the ground. The man removed his helm and walked up to Ailen.

“I am Captain Fairmore. I see that you and your friends have had a lot of fun. I will have to arrest you by the laws of our lands.”

“I must apologize Captain, but I must refuse your offer.”

“It was not an offer and you shall find that I am not as easily handled as some of my men.” he gripped his sword. Ailen knew that it would take more than a shove to deal with this man. He was taller than him, as unusual as that was for a Panganorean and very broad-chested.

“I am afraid that it was your men who attacked me. I was simply voicing my own opinion, unless that freedom has also been outlawed.” replied Ailen

“He was prodding us for a fight sir.” said the recently revived lieutenant. “I was simply down here listening for men speaking ill of our sovereignity.”

“Your soveriegnity is granted to you by your people.” Ailen responded.

“You will have to come with me, where this can all be sorted out later.”

“Once again I must refuse your offer Captain.” the Captain flipped his hand and his men surrounded Kenny, Rathamon, and Enot. The three of the did not budge.

“This is your last chance, your giant and your mages will not be able to overcome all of us now.”

“They will not need to Captain.” came a voice from down the road. A large creature with a Bull’s head came walking down the road. He was finely dressed in a purple robe that was outlined in yellow. A set of glasses sat on his snout. “This man you have accused, is Ailen Dyal. Son of the Lady Dyal and rightful heir to his mother’s seat in the Circle.”

The Captain looked stunned at the man before him. The lieutenant became slack-jawwed at the news. Each man dropped to one knee. The lieutenant looked up and said. “Why did you not tell us My Lord.”

“You would not have believed me if I had told you. I also wanted to see how my people were treated by its protectors. I am disappointed. Very disappointed. Please all of you stand. I am very displeased by what I have seen here. The people of Panganor should not be treated this way. I need each of you to remove your sidearms.” Ailen watched as the men removed the swords and various other weapons. They pile them into the middle of the street. “Thank you, now you are all relieved of duty. Go back to where you came from and leave Angeles alone.”

The men sat in shock at the news. Slowly one by one they left until only Ailen and his friends were left.

“It is good to see you once again Tandoc. Thank you for your assistance.”

“Your mother would never had forgiven me if her only son would have been arrested. I have only one question now that you have diminished our Guard , who will protect the city.”

“Tandoc, I would like you to meet Enot Faed. The new Captain of the Guard.”

“Captain? He is the Guard.”

Captain Gale sat silently in his cabin aboard the Century. He had not know failure in his life. The death of the Duchess was weighing upon him. He had been given a simple task, take the Duchess to Panganor and then make sure that she signed the treaty. A treaty that would bring lasting peace between the Kingdom of Balthair and the Republic of Panganor. The Duchess however was now dead. All hope was lost. The King, Waylan by rights, would be disappointed. He would not be callous or uncaring towards me, just disappointed. He had never wanted to disappoint the King. He was after all the one who had taken him from his father’s farm outside of Sharde and placed him in the Royal Navy. He thought back all those years ago and how his father had been so proud of him. The Farmer’s son who was now a Captain of a ship. This was to be his last voyage. A simple trip that he was to take before he was to retired back to the farm life. He could still smell the sweet harvest of the fall. His father grew wheat and vegetables in abundance. His father would take him out as a boy and show him how to plant.

“Take the seeds in your hand and gently let them fall out. Not too much, not too little. Not all of the seeds will grow, but we want to give each of them the chance.”

He had heeded these words and used this throughout his career. He would teach each of his sailors that it was not what he could for them, but rather what they could do for themselves. Each sailor took this trust in them as a personal responsibility and each of them responded with their best work. Captain Gale never had to micromanage his crews. He always knew that each man would give their best. That, of course, did not only apply to the men, but also to Sebastian. His first mate was an odd choice. He was not a native Balthairan, but a Canine. The choice turned out to be very wise.

The choice that he now faced through was different. The news that had been brought by Ioan was not an easy pill to swallow. The Duchess was now dead and Ailen, one of his other passengers, life was in danger. King Waylan would need to speak with him and perhaps send another to sign this deal. The choice that now sat in front of Captain Gale was hard. He needed to make one soon.

“Sebastian.” yelled Captain Gale.

“Bring me Ioan and Cassandra. I also need you to appear so that I may have your council.”

“Yes Captain.”

Sebastian summoned the two most recent members of the crew saying only that it was most urgent that they come. The three of them entered the room.

“My friends it is most troubling to me that we have now received news about the death of the Duchess. I am not certain exactly how you know this Ioan, but I trust you.”

“Thank you, My Lord. I speak only truth.”

“And you Milady, you have always been blunt. We are now faced with failure in our mission and this new gentleman says that Ailen is in grave danger. What should I do? Should I return the ship or should I go attempt to rescue the man?”

“I think that you should do both. The men can return the ship and we can go save Ailen. I am certain that you, Sebastian, and myself would be far more inconspicous then a crew of sailors even if they are pretty good privateer look-alikes.”

“ I could not agree more with you Cassandra. The crew will be able to sustain this ship and Second Mate Downey can take over the ships duties. Of course, that is assuming that Sebastian will be joining me.”

“I am your retainer.”replied Sebastian.

“I am also accompanying you. This world is unsafe for the likes of you and there will be blood spilled along the way. I would suggest that we sail to another port as Ferry has become very unfriendly at the moment.” said Ioan

“Where would you suggest that we dock?”

“My thoughts are that we should dock at Wavepoint. It is further south of here and no-one will be expecting us to arrive there. There is one catch however, the trip would take us a half day and then we would at best be able to get to where Ailen is located within two days. This would give us approximately twelve hours to find him and prevent the plot against him.”

“What is this plot that you speak of exactly and how do you know so much about it?” asked Cassandra

“I was sent here by an old friend of Ailens to assist you. An augury had been performed by a man named Rathamon who is an old friend. Some years ago Ailen, Myself, Rathamon, and a few others were members of an adventuring group. As is the usual with those groups we grew bored and eventually went our seperate ways. I have spent the last five years wandering the world. I promised myself that I would never allow myself to become so embroiled in a group again, but Ailen is different. He always understood me and for that I owe him a debt of gratitude. Rathamon came to me and said that he needed help with this, I gladly volunteered.”

“How then did you catch up with us?” asked Cassandra. Ioan stopped for a moment and removed his shirt. The others looked at him in astonishement. He had gills on his neck and and his torso was colored blue.

“Are you one of the Darbon?” asked the Captain.

“I am the last of the Darbon. There are none out there like myself. I have searched these many long years to find more of me and there is none. The island of my ancestors sank after the Red Dragons killed my people. They slaughtered them, leaving only me behind. I am the last.”

“We would be glad then to have you join us. Sebastian tell the men to set sail for Wavepoint.” said Captain Gale

“Where did you learn all of that wonderful magic that you used on the ship.” asked Cassandra

“I did not learn it, The Darbon each have unique gifts that when they die are passed to their heirs. When my people were all killed, I began to vomit uncontrollably. I felt sick to my stomach for months, until one day I woke up and felt this uncontrollable thirst. I wanted so much to drink, but no matter how much I drank I felt that I was always parched. It was then, after drinking all of the mugs of fresh water that I could find that I began to feel drawn to the water around me. I came to spot in the woods and there I began to manipulate the water. I would tell it to rush and it would, I would tell it to calm and it would. I had absorbed the knowledge of my people, including the magical knowledge. I am now able to control even the smallest drop of water by a mere thought.”

“Whoa, well then. That’s a long story.”

The journey to the town of Wavepoint took the exact amount of time that Ioan had told the Captain. As they sailed Captain Gale explained to his men the situation and how dire it had become. He wanted them to know that he was not abandoning them, but rather he had need to complete this quest that they were all now on. The men wanted to go with him, but as he explained the King would now need them more than ever. The Captain knew that there would be much evil in the world and that that evil would need to be defeated by every able bodied man. The group arrived at Wavepoint as the sun was setting and disembarked. The Captain had traded in his uniform for an odd looking hat and some dirty old rags. Sebastian had messed up his fur to appear unkempt. The group would need to be discreet. They got off the Century with almost no fan fare. The boat quickly disappeared from harbor and you could see the tears running down the face of the old Captain. Sebastian seemed to whimper a little. The group turned around and walked into town. Wavepoint was nothing like Ferry or Wayside. The locals were a little more gruff to say the least. The town had at one time been a fishing community, but then the Fordins happened to the place. A local merchant, Ferris Fordin, had started to buy up a lot of the local fisheries. After a short time he started to close them down, which to the rest of the fishermen was fine seeing as this allowed them to catch more fish and make more money. Fordin was not interested in fishing. He was, however, interested in fighting. Not just any kind of fighting, Canine fighting. It was illegal throughout the country but that did not stop the local underground fights from happening, especially after Fordin bought himself a seat in the Circle of Justice. He was able to choose the local sheriff at that point and he choose his dimwitted brother Franklin. Ferris made sure that Frankling was paid well enough to look the other way. The two men hired thugs to walk the streets and make sure that no one was causing problems. The Captain knew that they would need to get in and out of town quickly , otherwise they might get into some trouble. The group made quickly for a local barn that the Captain knew had rides in and out of town on a daily basis. Panganor had quite the reputation for its mass transportation. Large Carriages were pulled by several oxen back and forth throughout the land to major provinces. The Ox-cart were particular popular in more rural areas. Captain Gale walked up to the barn and asked when the next cart would be leaving.

“Tomorrow morning.” said the unpleasant woman at the counter.

“Great, now we are going to need to get rooms for the night.” sighed Cassandra.

“Where are we going to get rooms at this point?” asked Ioan

“We can get hotels near the taverns by the sea.”

“ We can sleep in the woods, I have several tents.” replied the Captain knowing that the taverns were the place where most of the illegal fights took place. He had noticed that Sebastian had been tense since they left the boat.

“I can take it, if you can.” replied Sebastian.

“Well then, I guess it is the tavern after all.”

The group walked back to the taverns where they saw something that maded everyone’s teeth grit. In cages alongside each of the taverns were cages filled with Canines. Each of them had what appeared to be crude gladiatorial weapons in their hands. Each of them looked with longing eyes at them as the passed by.

“Why do they fight if they know that they will only be killing their kinsmen?” asked Cassandra.

“ It is a cruel thing indeed, look around their necks. What you see there is called an obedience collar. When they enter the ring a magic user says a simple incantation and it reduces the to their base savagery. They become killing machines, bred for the entertainment of men. They call is sport, but I see no sport in any of it.”

“Hey there! Yelled a man at the top of his lungs. Captain Gale turned to see a fat man surrounded by a large group of men, all heavily armed. He reeked of alcohol and could barely stand. “Is that your dog?”

Sebastian tensed his fists ready to strike.

“ He is a free Canine.”

“Oh really, I did not know that they were free. Usually I have to pay a grand sum for them. I am Franklin Fordin. Pleased to meet all of you, especially you.” he said as he stumbled into Cassandra. Franklin spilled his drink all over her. Angrily she punched him in the nose breaking it. Franklin fell backwards onto the ground. The Men surrounding him pulled their spears and pressed them directly into the face of Cassandra. Captain Gale pulled his sword and Ioan pulled his hand back into a strike.

“Now, now gentlemen please everyone let us stop this before there is any bloodshed.” said a cool voice from the darkness. A slender man poked his head out of one of the finer taverns. He wore a tunic that was outlined in gold. The man was especially tall and bald. His nose, which was large, was pointed clearly into the air. “Can’t we all get along here?” he smirked.

“I am certain that my brother meant nothing by the accident. Did you Franklin?”

“None at all.” Franklin answered with a burp.

“My name is Ferris Fordin, Welcome to Wavepoint. You are standing outside of one of my Inns. The Flying Tiger. Isn’t that a glorious name for an Inn?” he smiled at the group.

“Now we can let this little incident be forgotten, can we not?”

“I think so.” Captain Gale replied.

“Excellent! Now we just need to have a collar for that beast.” he said pointing to Sebastian.

“He will do no such thing.” Captain Gale retorted.

“Oh, but he will my dear friend. You see in Wavepoint if you are a Canine who has been involved in assault you are to be collared at once and moved to the local prison. Clearly I am able to under my power forgive all of you, however I can do nothing for him. Lets not make a scene.”

“I will not stand for this.” Screamed Captain Gale. He unsheathed his sword. Sebastian removed the two sticks from his back and got into a crouched position. Ioan stepped in between the men.

“There must be an agreement that we can come to so that we do not have to send him to prison.” Ioan said. Ferris rubbed his chin at this and then grinned, all of his teeth bared. “He can fight!”

Ailen, Enot, and Kenny set out for Angeles right after the assasination attempt. Ailen knew that the situation had escalated and that they needed to make haste to get to his home city. The three men took a farm carriage that they were able to acquire from the Inn. Ailen rode in the front with Kenny, while Enot sat in the back somewhat comfortably. He had taken out his lute and was strumming a light song, mainly in Major keys to keep the mood light. Ailen knew that the gentle Half-giant was trying to keep everyone happy as they travelled, but with the new knowledge that his mother was definitely murdered, Ailen found it difficult to be happy.

The town of Ferry soon disappeared from the horizon and the group found themselves traveling out of the woods and into the open rice fields of Panganor. Ailen smiled as he saw the giant Volcano in front of him. There it was, Oranthor. So called by the early tribesman in the area that had seen it erupt. Oranthor was known for its sharp rocks that jutted out and the fact that like clockwork it erupted once every one-hundred years. This would frighten most people, but not that Panganoreans. They had learned to build their towns and farmlands above the flows. They would migrate south during these times as a whole, closing up shop and waiting for the event to take place. After a month of being away they would return, clean up the soot and begin the process of planting the fields. How the fields would plant was extraordinary. The soil would be cleansed by the hot lava and then the rice would taste that much better. So much better in fact that the Panganoreans would celebrated each year with a festival. It was called the festival of the Orange Wyrm. Panganoreans believed that the lava flows were caused by an old Dragon who had been trapped there many years ago by a hero named Robert the Blue. Robert and The Dragon fought a battle that lasted for one year. Robert was quick and cunning and led the dragon to a mountain, where he enticed the Dragon to breath fire upon him. The Great Orange dragon did not realize that Robert was tricking him into melting a hole into the . When Robert saw that the hole was large enough and deep enough he cut off its wings with two mighty cleaves of his Sword, Aarman. The Dragon tumbled into the Mountain where it was unable to escape. The Dragon was furious and began to try to dig its way out. However he was unable to do so. Seeing that he was to be trapped here forever he began to eat the dirt around him and when he was full he vomited it out causing the first lava flow. Robert, his steed and the sword,Aarman, were lost forever. This is the reason why the people of Panganor still celebrate the festival of Orange Wyrm. Ailen explained the story to Enot who listened intently to the story. A volcano was amazing to him.

“When was the last time that it went off, Ailen?”

“Thirty-two years ago, my friend. I love this part of the country. The serene travel between Ferry and Angeles has always been one of my favorites. Even as a child I can remember traveling there and back again. My mother would tell me the story of the great Wyrm every time.”

“The death of your mother still stings you, especially with the most recent news.”

“It does, my mother was a good woman. She was always the type to give to everyone, especially children. It takes someone special to attend to children. I can only imagine the handful that my sisters and I were to her.”

“I did not know that you had any sisters Ailen. I thought that you were an only child.” replied Enot.

“No, I had two younger sisters. The first was born not long after I was. Her name is Maleah. She has two daughter, whom I have yet to meet. The first is named, Daliya and the second Daisy. My second sister came to us many years after and her name is Ella. She is an artist.”

“Wow. I never knew that about you.”

“There are many things that you do not know about me Enot Faed. Enot if you look ahead of us no you will see that outline of Angeles. Enot turned slightly in the cart and looked north. There he saw a great number of buildings, some he knew that were taller than him. As he looked around more paying less attention to his playing he began to see many more things. On his left he saw a farmer in what appeared to be flooded land thrusting plants into the ground. The farmer was wearing a circular hat that seemed to be three times the size of his head. He saw that the man had a large beast with him.

“What are those?” he asked Ailen.

“They are called Carabao. They are like the Balthairan oxen, though not as large.”

“Oh I see, why are they planting with all of that standing water?”

“Makes the rice grow stronger.”

“Hmm…sounds good. I enjoyed the rice in ferry. I bet it tastes even better here.”

“ We shall see. We have only an hour before we reach there. I think…..” THUNK!

An arrow struck the side of the carriage that the men were riding in. Ailen looked at it. It was a thick black shaft and had red feathers attached to it. Ailen knocked his short bow and whistled for the horses to stop. Enot got out and began to look around. Kenny retrieved his pouch and removed the contents spilling the bones out onto the road. He picked up several of them and began to chant. As he did the veil of invisibility began to rise. Ailen was surprised to see a dozen well armed, large Orcs. Each had a longbow and had already knocked an arrow.

“DUCK!” yelled Ailen. He loosened the horses and just as he did Enot flipped the carriage over. The men dove behind as several arrows tore into it, on many occasions it splintered the wood, the red arrow heads poking through. Ailen removed one arrow and shot back through the hole into the leg of one of their attackers. Kenny who was standing there suddenly disappeared. Enot and Ailen took a second to look at one another and then realized that they were being shot at again.

“Man those arrows can afflict a lot of pain. Takes a while to draw though.” Said Ailen.

“Yeah well I got something for them myself. Cover me Ailen.” as he said this the half-giant came out from the side of the wagon and yelled, “ Pusilanimous!”

Three of the Orcs were no longer able to pull their bows. Enot charged and began to swing Harmony singing the entire time. The Orcs who remained fired their next shot, this time they aimed for the giant. Two of them connected into his torso while the others went astray. Once they did this four of them fell to the ground asleep. Kenny popped into existence once again. Ailen seized the opportunity and flipping over the carriage he came down onto the head of one of the orcs with his short sword. The blow struck the Orc with such ferocity that it cleaved his forehead in two. The fight had now gone into Melee and the orcs pulled their crude blades from their sheaths. Enot and Harmony rained death down upon the Orcs surrounding them. Ailen quickly took down the Orcs surrounding him and much to the surprise of both Enot and Ailen they watched as Kenny ripped out the throats of those he had put to sleep with his mouth. The anger flashed in the young Canines eyes.

“They are called the Krr’Gal. They are a race of Orcs that long ago abandoned their hatred towards one another and created a system of laws for themselves. Do you see this sheild? It bears two red slashes. This means that these creatures belong to one of the lower families. The Orc Emperor has four slashes down it and a two more that criss-cross them. They enslaved my people for over three-hundred years. How they are this far north I do not know.”

“I think that I may be able to answer that question gentlemen.” said the farmer coming out of the rice fields. As he walked towards them the group noticed that he was actually taller than most Panganoreans.

“And you are?” Ailen asked.

“An old friend.” said the man. He pulled away the hat and cloak revealing a young man with dark hair and a goatee.

“Rathamon. What are you doing here?!” yelled Enot.

“Arriving right when I need to, it seems.” he replied.

“Your a little late for the fight.” Ailen said

“Oh, just a few Orcs. Besides you appear to have handled it quite well.”

“That’s true.”said Enot. “EXCEPT FOR THE ARROWS STICKING OUT OF ME!” he pulled them out screaming at the top of his lungs. Rathamon walked up and removed a vial that he had in one of his pockets. He spread paste that was in the vial onto Enot and said a few words. As he did the pain Enot felt subsided.

“We must make all haste to Angeles, gentleman. The time draws near for your mother’s funeral Ailen and I am afraid that there are some changes in town since her death that may make you quite angry.”

“What kind of changes?”

“I am afraid.” said Rathamon. “You will have to see it, to believe it.”

Captain Gale stood at the bow of the ship looking out over the open Ocean. Time it seemed had passed him by faster than he would have liked, but still he was leading a good life. He was, after all, the Captain of the Century, the fastest ship in the Balthairan Navy. He remembered that not long ago, at least to him, he was only the Cabin boy. Now Captain Gale was the leader of a crew of fifty men. A crew that was now bound to find and return the Duchess Melanie du Haizel of Celani.

Captain Gale pounded his fist hard against the ship as he thought how stupid he was to have lost the Duchess. He was so busy thinking about defending the Century that he had forgotten to send men to secure the Duchess. He just never thought that the Dragon was a distraction for he and his men. Something strange was happening, but what it was, still remained unclear. He knew that he simply needed to follow the king’s commands. The Mages had given him hope as to where to look. Now it was up to him to find her and bring her back.

“Put your backs into it boys! We must go faster than we ever have! We must catch that ship.” barked Sebastian at the men. The men minded the ship as a well oiled machine, you could see it in them. They were quite the sailors each an every one of them. Trained by the best to be the best. The only person on this boat that seemed to be out of place at this point was Cassandra. She was quite skillful mind you, just not with seamanship. He had noticed that when she left Ailen that there was look of sadness and frustration on her face. For his part Sebastian would have went with Ailen if he was in her place, but there was something about why she needed to go here that he could simply not explain. He would leave it alone just because he knew that sometimes we have reasons that we can’t explain. This didn’t mean that he did not want to know what was going on, simply that she would tell him in good time. As he stood there watching the crew working he realized that it was time for his daily prayers. Sebastian took out his two sticks and placed them in an upward V shape directly in front of him, kneeling to the ground he place himself into the middle of the two sticks and began his prayers to The Creator.

From the side of man do we come,

From the first do we hear the demand

To the friendship of Malachi

To fulfill our oath to the command.

Sebastian sat repeating the words over and over again. His prayer was powerful and could be felt by those around him. Cassandra stepped towards the Canine when she was grabbed gently on the shoulder.

“ I would interrupt him at this point.” said Captain Gale. “He likes to be alone during this process.”

“ I have never seen anything like this in Balthair. Some of the Benite priests seem to very zealous, however there is something almost serene about what he is doing.”

“Of course there is, he is speaking with the creator.”

“ You do not really think that he speaking with the creator of the universe do you?”

“ Why not, Sebastian is a fine gentleman. If I were the creator I would want to speak with him.”

“ Yeah, I just do not know. I need proof to believe that there is some all knowing being that just started creating everything.”

“ Yes and so do I, but he does not.”

Cassandra and the Captain watched as Sebastian arose and sheathed the two sticks. The Canine stood and began to stretch himself out. He was now hungry and needed something to eat. He looked at the Captain who walked into his own quarters with the Canine following him. Cassandra walked in and sat on one of the chairs.

“Excuse me Miss, but the Captain prefers to eat his lunch in private, if you would not mind.”

“I apologize. I will be leaving now.” Sandy replied

“ Not at all my dear, you did not know, besides having your company will assist in livening up the discussion.” said Capain Gale.

“Very well Captain. We do, however need to discuss our current course. I believe that we can shorten our trip at this point.”

“Why do you pray to the Creator and not the first dog, what was his name?”

“Bernard and I can explain that quite clearly. There are those who do in fact worship Bernard, however I worship the creator because it is he who gave life to Malachi and so in turn gave us life. I believe in….”

BOOM! The noise from outside of the cabin was deafening and made the ears of Sebastian ring like they never had before. He fell backwards as he heard another. The Captain and Cassandra got up and ran outside. Sebastian got up and removed his sticks running outside to see what was happening. As he got there he noticed that there was a large four masted ship coming up beside them. He noticed that the ship was full of Goblins and they were attempting to tie to The Century. The men were pulling the ropes and hooks away, however a gentleman on the other ship had a book open and was pointing his fingers outward in an odd shape. He was the one creating the booms and by the looks of the fire and the injured men grabbing their faces he could tell that he had been casting fireballs. This was not going to be an easy fight. As he was standing there he saw that the Goblins had been successful and were now boarding the ships. He ran towards the first Goblin that he saw, the goblin pulled the knife from his mouth and showed the yellowed teeth as he swung at Sebastian. Sebastian sidestepped the slash and brough one of the sticks up into his stomach. This knocked the wind out of the Goblin. As he stepped through the strike he brought the butt of the back into knee lifting the creature into an arc that brought him back hard onto his head. The second swipe from his off hand cane down onto the skull of the creature killing it. Sebastian noticed that there were a lot more of these goblins then there were of the men. Many more, each man fought valiantly as the endless supply of Orcs kept coming. Sebastian knew that if the day was to be won than the mage on the other boat would need to be taken down. He searched for a way to get over onto the other boat, however he was always blocked by more men. The mage had now started to throw manna bolts four at a time at the ship taking out sailors to his left and right. Sebastian was determined to find a way, but there was nothing he could do to get across. He watched as men fell, then it happened.

The Goblins that were on the lines were suddenly swept away by a large wave. The ropes remained in tact. The goblins on the other boat hesitated. The mage yelled ferociously for them to continue, but each time that they tried the Ocean water came over their boat. They stood back not understanding what was going on. Sebastian, ceasing the opportunity began to climb over to the other boat. The ropes for him were easy to cross. Captain Gale and Cassandra soon followed and as they got over there realized that there were still many goblins left. The other sailors joined them and Sebastian looked around attempting to see what the odds were. He had thirty-five men left and they were outnumbered four to one. The Mage threw a Necromantic spell at Sebastian however it faded as it got closer to him. The mage, who they now recognized as an Orc, was looking through a crude book for the another spell. The Goblins began to attack and the fight continued. The Mage seeing that Sebastian had his back turned attempted to blindside him. This time it hit him. Captain Gale, realizing what was happening to his men finally through up his hands and attempted to surrender. One of the goblins stabbed him in the side and he fell. The rest of the pirates grabbed the remaining sailors, Sebastian and Cassandra. The Orc Mage closed his book and began to slowly walk towards the Captain who was now bleeding profusely.

“Captain,” He said in almost a snakelike hiss. “Welcome to the Destroyer. I would assume that we have your full surrender.”

“If it spares my men, then yes.”

“ Of coursse. Your sword please.” The Captain handed him his sword. “This is a beautiful piece, elven in design. You must have a high place with your King to be able to brandish something like this. I wonder if it cuts well.” The mage attempted to stab the Captain, but was parried by Sebastian. “Fools why have you not taken their weapons!” He blasted the Canine with a manna bolt square in his chest. Sebastian fell to the ground.

“Kill them all.” As he said that the waves became a little more rough and suddenly from over the starboard side of the boat there leaped a hooded figure. He landed directly in the middle of the fray. He was covered in all blue robes that came up into a blue hood. He had a mask that covered his face. The goblins and the mage stood stunned at the figure. The Mage threw a manna bolt at the man. As it traveled towards him he extended his palm and absorbed it, then with his other arm he shot a bolt out and into a Goblin near to him. He put his hands out into a fighting posture and cracked his entire body. He extended his hand and waived the tips of his fingers palm up as if to say bring it. The mage commanded one of the goblins to attack, as he did the hooded figure stepped to the side and brought a knife into the kidney of the goblin spinning around he grabbed the creature by scant hair that it had on its head. The blood gushed from the knife slicing the neck. The figure made the same posture and repeated the finger waving. The mage took out a pouch and he began to conjure something. Sebastian began to revive and yelled “Sulfur!” It was too late though and the mage had the Fireball released. It began to expand, but the figure spread his hands and two large waves of water reached from over the sides of the boat extinguishing the flames. All that was left was smoke.

“Kill them already.” yelled the mage. As he did Captain Gale and his men rose. The fight started over again. The Mage yelled and screamed. He was throwing everything that he could at the figure in front of him, but to no avail. Everything that he tried the man would deflect or simply avoid. The mage was finally backed into a corner, exhausted he was unable to cast any more magic.

“Who are you and how did you do that?”

“My name to you is unimportant and to the second question, be like water.” The hooded figure bent over and killed the man. When this happened a large explosion could be heard in the gulley of the ship. The Goblins, frightened, jumped into their rowboats and began to lower them to the water. The Captain , Cassandra, Sebastian, and the rest of the crew jumped back onto their ship. The hooded figure joined them and they quickly sailed away to avoid the undertow of the pirate ship sinking. Captain Gale sat down and Sebastian quickly came over to him and removed some herbs that he chewed into a paste. He placed it onto the side of the Captain, said a few words and suddenly the wound was healed. Captain Gale looked around and saw that he now only had 22 men left. He could pilot the ship with this many, however he was now more interested in the figure that stood before him.

“ Who are you and why are you here?”

The man stood there and calmly removed his mask.

“ My name is Ioan Merrin and I have most urgent news. Ailen is in danger. The Duchess is dead. We need to turn around and find him in four days or he will be dead.”

Ailen rose the next morning and walked out to the balcony of his suite. He looked at the rising sun and smelled the fresh morning dew. The morning was already warm and Ailen could feel the humidity already beginning to rise. Panganor was famous for its warm weather, something that Ailen did not miss on his adventures. He loved Panganor, just not the sweating. He walked back into the room and wandered into the bathing room. A hot bath had already been drawn for him. Ailen looked forward to the bath as he had been at sea for some time. He lowered himself slowly into the water to allow his body to get used to it. The water felt good and he began to feel the nastiness of not having a bath in some time to wash away.

Ailen sat in the bath his head rested against the bathtub quietly listening to absolutely nothing. It had been some time since he heard that sound. The sound of nothing. While he laid there with his eyes shut he began to see the face of Cassandra. He looked back at that night that they had spent together and smiled thinking of holding her in his arms. How he had wished that the two of them could still be together, but he could not deny her the need to go looking for the duchess. She was bound to find the woman at almost any costs. He understood this, it was just difficult for him. Their seperation was difficult for him.

Ailen laid there silently when he began to smell the sweet scent of lilies. He had always liked the smell of flowers but wondered where the scent had suddenly come from. He opened his eyes to see a beautiful Panganorean woman disrobing and joining him in the bathtub. Ailen scooted back and looked at the woman very astonished at what was transpiring.

“Who are you?” Ailen

“I am Michelle.” she replied “The manager sent me here to make certain that your stay was enjoyable.” she smiled at Ailen.

“I specifically asked the manager not to be disturbed for any reason.”

“Oh my apologies, he thought that perhaps I could relax a lot of the, hmm, stress that he saw on your face.”

“Stress? Do I look stressed now?”

“Now, not so much, but I would attribute that to the bath and my presence right now.” The woman started to slowly make her way towards Ailen. Ailen leapt out of the tub and made his way for the towel sitting on the closest chair to him. Michelle giggled at this.

“You must really love this Cassandra, Ailen to be able to resist me.” as Michell rose from the bathtub this time, he noticed that she was adorned with two tattoos on her hips. The tattos were of lilies that twisted around to her back. As she turned Ailen noticed that the tattoos became ivy and twisted in another shape that rose up her back into the shape of a red Dragon. Wings spread with its head looking up at a Red Sun. As he looked at this he realized that he had not mentioned to anyone in Panganor about Cassandra.

“How do you know about Cassandra?” Ailen asked.

“We know a great deal about you Ailen. More than you can imagine.” She started to pull on her dress. Ailen noticed that she was wearing a black Kimono. She sat down on the chair opposite of him and pulled on long black stilleto heels that came up to her knee. She smiled at Ailen who had not yet begun to dress himself.

“Are you capable of dressing yourself or do I need to call the Dogboy in to assist you?”

“I am quite capable of dressing myself.”

“Excuse me, I was not being rude simply wondering why a man of your stature was travelling with two men and not with his beloved. I noticed that when I entered the bath that you were not quite, up to the task shall we say?”

“I have but one love in my life and she is not in this room.”

“I understand, but you are still a man, are you not?”

“I am. I’m just not attracted to vipers.”

“So the hero does have a working set then. I was hoping that killing you would be fun.”

“How exactly do you plan on killing me, I see no weapons on you.”

“I plan on killing you with this.” She held up a kriss blade dagger and showed it to him.

“A simple dagger will not do me in my lady.”

“That is what the sleep spell is for silly.”

“I do not see or hear you casting anything and if you know so much about me then you would know that I am quite capable of countering such things with the simplest of rhymes. I think that you have outwitted yourself.”

“On the contrary, as is typical with most men, what you cannot see or hear you do not believe, however there are more than just two senses and you have been under my spell longer than you know. Smell is often ignored when it comes to magics. I have simply been stalling the acts of my magic with this conversation. Normally I have more fun with my victims before I kill them, taking them all the way to the, shall we say denoument?”

“So you have been slowly marching towards my demise since I first smelled the lilies I am guessing.”

“Now you have caught up. My how I love this part, just before I kill the silly man he realizes what has happened. I will now tell you how the spell works since you will soon be dead anyways. First I take a simple lily and I remove the petals. Grind them into fine pieces and mix with valerian root. This is the easiest part of the process. Then very carefully you melt down wax and form it into a candle. It cannot be just any wax mind you. It must be a wax that is green in nature, not for any reason other than an aesthetic choice. I like green you know. After that you must learn to carry it in a sterling silver container. Why? The theatrics of it all really. You should be very sleepy at about this point.” Ailen was sleepy now and barely able to keep his eyes open. He fell to the ground as he saw Michelle stand and walk towards him. Her strides were long and slow. Her hips moved from side to side and she sang as she approached him. When she reached Ailen she pushed him over with her boot and straddled him. She leaned over and planted a kiss to his lips. She planted her butt squarely into his solar plexus and smiled.

“ We are but moments from the big end Ailen and I am so excited. You came all this way to find out if your mother was killed or not. You wanted to take up her causes and yet here you are barely a day into your travels and about to be killed. The truth is that she was killed, but she was only a small part of a much bigger picture.” She smiled and grabbed Ailen by the back of his head, she moved the blade towards his neck.

“All I needed to hear. Boys!” The door to the bathroom burst open, Kenny and Enot were standing there. Michelle looked up as they charged which gave Ailen enough time to act. He grabbed the wrists of the woman’s knife hand and pointed it towards her. Bringing his left leg up he placed it around her right leg. Ailen thrusted his right hip up and rolled Michelle onto her back. As he did this he twisted the arm up and broke the elbow. Michelled screeched in pain and had an astonished look on her face.

“Why are you not asleep? Why didn’t you fall asleep? This is impossible!”

Ailen put on his pants and doused the candle.

“My Dear sweet Michelle, if that is your name. I have one of the finest noses at my disposal.” He looked over at Kenny. “He knew of your arrival late yesterday evening. All magic has a counter and I simply made a paste of green tea leaves and guarana, which I lined my nostrils with.”

“You knew the whole time! This was just an elaborate rouse then, why?”

“I need to know what is going here and see if my mother had made any enemies with her progressive ideas. It seems that I was correct. Now, get up! Go tell your masters that I now know the truth of my mother’s demise. Tell them I am coming for them, tell them that there will be a Reckoning!”

Michelle stood up her arm contorted into an unnatural position. She ran from the room. Enot stood in the doorway looking at Ailen. Never before had he seen the happy go lucky storyteller this way.

The Century pulled into port in the small city of Ferry. Ailen and Enot stood near the plank ready to disembark into the city. The journey to Angeles would not be that long. Ailen looked at Cassandra who had a look of disappointment on her face. She was not happy that Ailen had decided to continue into Panganor instead of pursuing the Pirates into the Barrier Isles. They had a moral duty she said to him to pursue those who attacked them. Ailen wanted to do it, but he still had a new duty, one that had beckoned him back to his homeland.

The death of Ailen’s mother was no simple thing. Many people would be there and while Ailen knew that the funeral had already been planned by the state, his presence was still required. He had spent his adult life pursuing whatever fancied him. He traveled far and wide seeing beautiful women and drinking every kind of ale and wine there was. He had made many good friends, but now it was time for him to take responsibility for his mother’s work. The ship came to rest in the harbor. He and Enot disembarked, but not before a long kiss with Cassandra. She had decided to stay on with Captain Gale and crew. Cassandra felt that the only way that she could truly be happy was to resolve the disappearance of the Duchess. So they said their goodbyes.

Ailen, however, would not travel alone. Enot would travel along with him as well as Kenny. The young pup decided that he had had enough with sailing and considering that he was never a member of the Navy he was free to do as he wish. Ailen watched as Enot and Kenny got onto shore and into the town.

“Wow! What is that wonderful smell?” said Enot

“It is called passion melon Enot and it is now in season.” said Kenny he walked over to a vendor handed him a coin and presented it to Enot. “Try it.”

Enot took a piece and put it into his mouth. The texture was very moist and the taste was like a combination of many of the fruits found in Wayside. As he chewed Enot tasted what appeared to be Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Kiwi. He found the taste intriguing.

“Excellent! May I have some more.”Kenny handed him an even bigger piece.

“Please be careful not to each too much as it will harm your digestive tract.” Kenny warned.

“Welcome to Panganor, Enot!” said Ailen “ The home of my ancestors. What do you think of the place?”

“I like the fruit.”

Ailen smiled and grabbed a piece of Passion melon for himself. He began to walk the streets of Ferry with Enot trailing behind and Kenny keeping pace. Enot was normally not this slow, but he was amazed by what he saw, just as the locals were amazed by him, being seven feet tall in Wayside was pretty tall, being this height in Panganor made him gigantic. The average height of a Panganorean male was five feet four inches. Enot noticed that his height while usually an advantage would serve as the opposite here. The doorways were not made to be more than six feet in height and their width about twenty-four inches. Perhaps Ailen had forgotten about this Enot thought.

Enot stared at the market here. It was full of fish like Wayside, however the fish looked very different. They seemed to be smaller and flatter in a lot of ways. Many were colored yellow and blue uncooked and their eyes seemed to penetrate you. Enot loved the smells as well. The spices were rich and made his mouth salivate.

“Ailen! Can we stop and get something to eat!”

“ Certainly Enot. I know just the place.” Enot hurried his pace to catch up Ailen and Kenny. They entered a small resto at the center of town. Enot had to squeeze through and everyone stopped to looked at him when he entered. Enot quickly became embarrased by all of the attention.

“Sit here.” said the owner. “We have specialty today for all of you.”

“ Well alright I guess, do you happen to have any ham?”

“Um…no we will bring house special for you.”

“Okay, can’t be all that bad. I am from a fishing town myself.” He sat down and noticed that his knees were above the table. The servers came out and placed a smaller table on top of the first, then bowed gracefully as they left.

“What do you think Enot.” said Kenny

“ To be honest I find this fascinating. Although I do not know how I am going to use a fork this size, looks more like a toothpick to me.” The staff came out from the kitchen and placed a serving fork in front of the half-giant. They setup the table and then three lovely young ladies came out and began to give shoulder rubs to them.

“Wow, talk about good service. This is so relaxing after a long trip on a boat. The ladies finished up and then the food started to come out. First was the appetizer.

“Ow wow! Boiled eggs. I love these.” he grabbed one and peeled the shell and threw it into his mouth. His eyes got large as he began to chew. Suddenly Enot stopped and signaled for a bucket. They gladly brought him one and he spit it out.

“What was is in that?” Enot said as the resto was laughing.

“It’s called balot. They boil the eggs with the baby chick or duck inside having been matured eighteen days.”Ailen said with a laugh. “Its considered an aphrodisiac here.”

“To who? Masochists? I hope that the rest of the food here is not like that.”

“No, my friend. Panganoreans just like to serve that as a joke to newcomers. I gave them the signal when we came in. Here is the real food.” The kitchen staff brought out a large round black object that seemed to sizzling. In it Enot saw what appeared to be small bits of bacon, some egg, small red peppers and a tiny green lime. Then each of them were presented with a plate that had rice on it. The rice was in a small ball that sat perfectly on his plate. Enot watched as Kenny mixed the center dish together and then took only a small portion from it and laid it on his plate. He placed a fork in his left hand and a spoon in his right, then he took some of the rice onto his spoon mixed it with meat from the sizzling plate in the middle and put it into his mouth. The way that they eat here almost makes them ambidextreous here though Enot. He smiled at Ailen and did the same.

“It is called Sisig, Enot. It is very good.”

The men ate until the plate was gone. The staff grabbed the empty plates and took them to the back.

“ That was a great meal. I must compliment the chef and the staff. Very well done everybody.” The staff bowed graciously to Enot.

“ That was a fantastic meal. I agree Enot, pay the man Kenny and we will be on our way.” Enot looked very strangely at Ailen. The way that he spoke sounded more like a command then a request. Ailen winked at him.

“Tell me where is the finest bed in town?” Ailen asked.

“ The Green Inn sir.”replied the owner

“ The Green Inn it is then.” Ailen replied

The trio left and made their way to the The Green Inn. As they approached the building a man named Ben opened the door for them.

“Welcome to the Green Inn gentlemen.” He smiled as they entered.

The staff once again were amazed when they saw Enot. One of the young ladies pointed and giggled.

“We will need four beds. One room.”Ailen said

“ Of course sir, please follow us this way.” said the clerk at the Inn Desk. They went upstairs and found an immaculate room. It was not posh, but it was very clean.

“That will be all.” The young clerk exited the room.

“ Okay, one question. What the heck are you doing?”

“ Playing the part. I need to do this to get in with those who would harm the Canines. Kenny and I spoke last night about it. We need to keep this illusion up Enot. I have a favor to ask of you as well.”

“Okay what can I do for you?”

“ I need you to appear to be my bodyguard while we are in public. There are people here who would expect it of a noble. Can you do that for me?”

“ Not a problem Ailen, I trust you.”

“ Excellent we leave in the morning for Angeles. I will discuss with you the rest of our plans then.”

We have a major problem here ladies and gentleman.”said Captain Gale. “The Duchess was supposed to have signed the treaty and without her signature there will be issues. Not to mention that King Waylan will not be too pleased by the fact that a member of court has been slain.”

“We are assuming that she has been slain.” Ailen replied “I saw no body.”

“Frankly, I am prepared to accept the worst at this point. Kenny, Sebastian and myself were the only people who knew of her being on the ship. A powerful Illusion spell was cast and maintained at all times while we were on the ship.”

“ Who was this master illusionist?” Cassandra asked

“ I was.” replied Kenny his head hung. His only task was to make sure that at all times the illusion stayed in place. He was to appear as a common servant during this time and nothing more.

“ Why did you break the illusion?” Ailen asked

“ To save our lives!” growled Sebastian

“ Tempers will get us nowhere gentlemen. I have sent news of her disappearance and it has been two days since last we saw her. I fear that if we stay here any longer that those who would her harm may come again.”

“Has the King responded yet?”

“He sent word that we were to continue to Panganor and drop off the passengers, so we shall. You have quite the responsibility now Master Ailen. I hear rumor that you will be assuming a role in your own government.”

“I am to take my mothers place in the Circle of Justice.”

“Then we must make haste, Raise the sails and anchor Gentlemen. It is time that we head for Panganor.”

“I am uneasy at this thought Captain. Cassandra and I thouroughly searched the Duchesses cabin, but still the only thing that we can find is small traces of Magic. Even Kenny with his keen senses was unable to find anything.”

“It is very unsettling indeed. I wish that we had one of the King’s mages here to help us to discern this.”

“ The interesting thing about wishes is that no one ever quite knows what they will do.” said a voice from behind the group. They all turned to see two men standing there. One was wearing a red cloak that fit him quite nicely and another was wearing no shirt at all, yet he was covered in runes from head to toe.

“ Desmond! Salinas!” yelled Enot. “What is going on guys, wait when did you get here?”

“ Just now friend Enot. I am sorry, I wish that we could catch up on old times, however Desmond and I have been sent on a most urgent matter. I presume by the outrageous hat that you would be Captain Roland Thomas Gale.”

“ I am he and who might you be?”

“ I am Salinas one of the co-founders of the Dragon and Salamander school of Magic, this is Desmond the other half. We have been sent by the king to assist you in the disappearance of the Duchess. Please lead the way to the room.”

“ This way please. May I ask, how you got here so quickly?” asked the Captain.

“ You may, however I will not be able to answer as some of the Kings strategies must be kept. Is this the room?”

“It is, I shall get the door for yo…”

“ Touch Nothing! The scene has already been contaminated. I must have no further contamination.”

Ailen, Cassandra, Enot, Sebastian and the Captain watched as Salinas grabbed out of a pouch at this side many marvelous item. He and Desmond slowly and methodically assembled a desk, then several vials and beakers were setup. The amount of items that they pulled from the pouch was amazing. The group was astounded by the sheer amount of items.

“I have several questions to ask each of you, first of all it is obvious to me that someone here has picked the lock.” said Salinas after examining the door. That someone was female, right handed, and had blonde hair. That fits your description perfectly, my dear.” Everyone looked at Cassandra and the back at Salinas. “ No need to worry my dear, you have not robbed anyone on this ship and therefore have not broken any laws. My first question to you however is how long were you and Ailen in the room?”

“Five to ten minutes.”

“Which is it close to, do you remember?”

“Ten, interesting. Were you involved in any sort of struggle?”

“No, I just opened the door and there was nothing in here.”

“Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser. And you Ailen did you touch anything?”

“ I walked in and that was it.”

“ How far did you walk in?”

“ I think that I may have walked in about ten feet.”

“ Excellent. Mr Desmond, I think that we are now in need of your special talents.” The room looked at Desmond as he walked towards the room. His eyes and several of the runes on his body began to glow. Just before he entered the room he began to levitate off of the floor. The group watched as he walked on air into the room. As they watched the runes began to glow sporadically, one would light and fade, then another and another. Finally he stopped and lowered himself to the ground.” His eyes became normal and he walked out of the room. The two mages walked to the table where they began to work on a concoction. A pinch of sand, a vial of silver liquid and two cloves were place into a vial. They began to swirl it around and poured the contents into a bowl. Desmond bent over and began to wash himself in the bowl. A moment later Salinas began to speak.

“As you all well know the young dragon was a distraction. A simple one at that. He was intended to cause you all to focus on him, especially the young mage. The duchess was kidnapped.”

“ We could have told you that.” said Ailen.

“ Yes you could have, however what you could not have known was how. She was kidnapped by group of Goblin Pirates.”

“ We would have seen the Ship if that would have happened.”

“ Not if they were cloaked.”

The Dragon himself flew off the ship. They removed her through magical means, however it is unlikely that goblins would have the sophisticated magic required in this scenario. There must be something else.”

“ Before he died the Red Dragon mentioned something about a scion of the Red Son.”

“ Intriguing, the scion of Red Son. I have never heard of it. I will have to read about it and see if there is some sort of solution that I can find. I can also tell you that there were headed due southeast towards the Barrier Isles. The King informs me that once you have dropped off your passengers that you are to head there in an attempt to find her Captain. However if the situation becomes too dire, simply come back home. We must be going now.” Salinas finished gathering his things into the bag and then touched something on his wrist and he and Desmond were gone.

“Dragon!” was the word that woke Ailen from his slumber. He looked at the beauty tucked neatly into his arms and looked around. “Dragon.” he heard one more time coming from beyond the door. He got up and ran outside. When Ailen ran through the door saw the crew running around the deck. They were setting up balista in an attempt to fend off what was just overhead. A small red dragon. Ailen could see the fire rings that it was blowing out feel the heat bellowing from its mouth. The dragon was slowly descending towards the boat. Ailen ran in and grabbed his short bow and songbook. He woke up Cassandra with a shake.

“Cassandra there is a dragon near here, please wake up.” Cassandra woke with a startle at the sound of the word dragon. Ailen ran out of the room and onto the deck. There he saw Enot with his quartestaff and lute playing a song. The song seemed to be a taunt at the young dragon who had landed on the main-mast of the ship. Clearly the dragon was there to amuse himself with what it considered a nice meal. Ailen watched as the dragon ripped a man from the eagle’s nest and devoured him. He did not do so nicely as it ripped the limbs from the man one by one. The man was screaming in terror until an arrow shot him in the head killing him instantly. Ailen looked around and saw Cassandra holding a just loosed bow in her hand. The Dragon was obviously angry and threw the man several hundred yards away from the boat. A mighty roar rang out and the dragon breathed fire onto the fore-masts sail. The sail began to burn quickly. The ash in the air became quickly thick making the task of fleeing or fighting the dragon all the more difficult. Ailen took out his songbook and looked for something that would help in just such an occasion. As he did the dragon took flight and began to make circles around the boat diving spewing fire on each side. The fire began to rage as the sailors worked to put it out.

“Get those buckets moving or it will be the death of all of us!” yelled Captain Gale. Sebastian was steadfastly at his side with his rattan sticks drawn. Ailen also noticed that Kenny was now outside and was kneeling on the ground. Ailen watched as the young pup intricately arranged different items out onto the deck of the ship. Ailen knew of magic and spells, he used magic all the time but he had never seen magic used in this way. The pup had used bones to make a design on the deck and had begun to chant in a way that sounded more like growling. Ailen had never in all his years seen this done, but he knew that the ship was going to need all the help it could get.

“Ailen, what are you waiting for, shoot that thing.” said Cassandra as she let loose another shot.

“ Yes my love.” Ailen pulled from his quiver two small arrows that he knocked and shot at the same time. Taking his time he aimed and the let loose them both. The arrows sailed through the air and both of them buried into the right eye of the dragon. The youngling did not like this new development as it screamed in pain. He landed on the ship where he let out a great growl.

“Ropes my boyos, ropes!” yelled Captain Gale. The sailors around the boat began to throw ropes over the top of the dragon and held on for dear life.

“Are you done firing that thing after just two arrows or are you going to use it some more.” Cassandra smiled at Ailen, daring him to take another shot. He did so and sank two more into the left eye. The dragon screamed again and attempted to lift itself off the deck of the ship. The sailors held tight, which only made the dragon angrier. It lifted its head up and began to spew fire all around the ship. Ailen and Cassandra barely lept out of the way as a huge fireball came sailing there way and blasted into the wall behind them. Ailen saw that the dragon was nearly free and that most of the men were now severely burned. One of the ropes snapped and the dragon was able to free its front limbs.

“Ailen we need more rope.” yelled Captain Gale as he ran by. Ailen followed quickly after him. They grabbed the rope and started towards the front limbs once again. The dragon turned towards them as they came running it had somehow managed to remove the arrows and was now saying something in what could only be described as lizardlike. Ailen realized that dragon was spellcasting. He braced for impact when he heard a large thwack of wood. Standing there in between he and the dragon was Enot. He had the quarterstaff, Harmony, in his hand and had just knocked the dragon for a loop. Enot was still singing, but had now joined the melee. Ailen saw that Enot’s skill with the staff had grown over the years and saw as the half-giant swung around now striking the dragon multiple times. As he twirled harmony in circles Ailen noticed that the ends now glowed and created music that followed to the song that Enot was now singing. The music appeared to counteract the magic that the young dragon was attempting to use. It swang its huge tail and broke the another rope.

“ Ailen get to the other side and I shall throw you the rope, we need to tie this creature down.”

“ I am no simple creature, Captain.” The dragon snarled as it used its mass to break all of the ropes. “I am the scion of the Red Son. The killer of men and I am now done playing with you. I will break kill you now. I will….No! NO! NOO! Get it away from me. How did you know? How did you call a blue Dragon to the ship? I will defeat you.” Ailen looked at Captain Gale with shock. There was only one dragon aboard this ship now. The dragon appeared to be looking at the blank air as if something were there.

“Do not give it a chance. Attack now!” yelled Cassandra. The crew in unison attacked the youngling as if their life depended on it. The whole time the dragon swiped at the air and breathed fire at the air. Finally Enot gave a mighty swing and crushed the skull of the Red Dragon. It fell on the deck and began wheezing, its life slowly leaving it.

“Get those fires out boyos.” yelled the captain “We still need to sail. Ailen can ye do me a favor. We need to know if all of our guests be present and accounted fer. My boyos are a wee bit busy at this point. Sebastian can you give him a copy of the ship’s passengers and what rooms they be in”

“ Here you are sir.” replied Sebastian.

“ Can ye handle this chore?”

“ I can.”

“ Enot my boy I need your help with getting the masts repaired, ye seem like a strong young lad and pretty handy with that stick of yours.”

“ Funny story actually, would you like to hear it.”

“ Do I have much choice?”

“ Would you like help with mast?’

“ Yes.”

“ Then, no. Just messing with you man.”

Captain Gale gave strict instructions to each of the sailors to clean up the mess that was made. Each scurried around franticly. Ailen walked towards the cabins. The doors themselves were all locked and Ailen had to knock on each informing the passengers that things were now safe. As he went he marked off each passenger one by one until he reached the last door in the hallway. The door was locked and there was no sound or light from beyond the door. He knocked a little louder and a little louder. Still nothing. Ailen yelled the name that he saw on the list.

“ Melanie! MELANIE! MELANIE!!.” Still nothing. He began to press himself against the door. The doors were very thick, made out of Oak it seemed. The whole ship was made from a heavier wood, which is probably part of the reason why it did not quickly fall apart during the attack. Ailen pressed harder against the door and it did not budge. He began to thud himself into the door. After the fourth time he realized that he was not going to do much more than hurt his shoulder.

“ Maybe I can help.” Ailen turned to see Cassandra smiling at him. She casually walked by and stooped to one knee. Two seconds later and the door was open. She stood and winked at him.

“Sometimes a little finesse is all that you need. After you?”

“ Ladies first.” Ailen replied.

The two of them entered into the room where they found a mess. The placed looked like there had been a scuffle. The bed itself was tossed and there was hole in the sidewall. Ailen and Cassandra raced towards the hole. What they saw was nothing. The waters were clear and there was nothing within sight of the boat. Nothing was heard to have gone wrong, however the dragon had caused quite a stir.

“ I think that someone may have kidnapped the person in this room.” said Ailen

“ We need to report it to Captain Gale.” replied Cassandra

The two sprinted for the Captain.

“ Captain Gale, one of the guests is missing.” said Ailen

“ Which one.” said Sebastian looking quite frantic about it.

“ Melanie….hmmm…du Haizel? Does that sound right.”

“ It does, unfortunately.” said Sebastian

“ What is unfortunate about it?” replied Cassandras

Captain Gale looked at Sebastian who shook his head in an approving way.

“ Melanie was actually Duchess Melanie du Haizel of Celani. She was on a peacekeeping mission to Panganor. Her efforts there were to sign a peace treaty with the Panganoreans. This was to be the first treaty between the two cultures and since it was of a delicate nature we felt it best to travel disguised as a merchant vessel.”

Ailen stood there shocked. He was now onboard one of his majesty’s ships, with the royal navy.

“What of the story of your adventures?”

“They are all still true, just slightly changed to help with our lie.”

“ Who here then is a civilian and who is not?” asked Cassandra

“ All of the guests are civilians save the Duchess.”

“ So you put all of these people in Danger? Why the lie? I would think that most in Panganor would receive the treaty with open arms.”

“ There are always dissenters my boy.” replied the Captain “These seem to be of the violent variety. A month ago we sent a convoy by land that was led by Duke Braelin du Locke of Gallantry. The Duke and his entourage were struck down. The sent back only one man on horseback with a message. They had bound his hands and removed his eyes. The message stated that as long as the scion of theRed Son lived there would be no peace between Panganor and Balthair.”

“Who is this scion?”asked Ailen

“ We are unsure. The King wanted to make certain that the treaty was signed. I am afraid that we will have to send a message back to the king now informing him of our ill news.”

“How are you going to relay this message?”

“ Kenny will send the music through magic.”

“ Kenny is a magic user?” Enot said interrupting the conversation.

“ Quite an adept one at that.” replied Sebastian. “He created an Illusion which caused the dragon to fear that a Blue Dragon was attacking him. Probably saved all of our lives.”

“ Well it seems that we must make haste then to Panganor, Captain Gale. By the way where did the accent go?” asked Ailen.

“ You don’t expectin’ a member of His Majesties Royal Navy to be a salty sea-dog do ye boyo?”

Ailen smiled and just shook his head.

Ailen sat in deep thought on the deck of the Century. He looked up at the starlight and remembered how bright and beautiful they were in the open ocean air. The lights of the larger cities and even the rural bonfires often dimmed the starlight up above. The boat itself operated on a skeleton crew that maintained the course and heading for the trip. People who themselves were never sailors did not understand the complexities of keeping a good heading. Unlike the dirt and stone roads of land, the sea was raw and untamed.

Ailen had always liked the sea, even though he was born inland and spent much of his time climbing trees, Ailen was always intrigued by the stories that his father had told him about the sea. Ailen missed his father now more than ever. His mothers passing while not unexpected was still hard on him. He realized then that he would spend the rest of his life without her. Only his memories of her remained.

“Hello there.” said Captain Gale

“Good evening Captain.” replied Ailen. “I am surprised to see you up this late.”

“No surprise my friend, I be barely able to sleep when I am on these voyages. I get enough sleep mind ye, but not nearly enough. How about ye’self, I woul’ve thought that way you and the lass had embraced earlier in the evening that ye might be spending the night in her cabin.” Ailen stood and chuckled a little bit at the thought.

“ I, sir, am a gentleman. No sleeping partners for me this evening.”

“ Aye, ye be a good man Ailen. I noticed that ye be looking at the stars this evening. They be a thing of beauty on this cold evening.”

“ They are. I have never seen the constellations so clearly. It is a good night for stargazing.”

“ Aye, the Creator has seen fit to provide us with smooth sailing this evening. Sebastian, where do ye be?” Sebastian the Canine walked up from behind the captain. He was of average height for a Canine a little over four feet tall and was covered in a pure white coat. He appeared to be older than Kenny and a bit wiser. Sebastian had a belt slung around his shoulders that came down across his front in an x-shape. The x served only as a practical way for him to carry two long sticks made of rattan. Sebastian it seemed was not only a salty sea-dog he was also a master of the art of buksan ang paa, the Open Paw.

“It is good to see you again Mr. Sebastian, I do not remember you carrying the rattan when we made the arrangements for my friend and I to travel.”

“ My apologies Lord Ailen. I should have been more forthcoming.”

“ Not at all. I appreciate everything that you have done for us and the hospitality that you have shown to both myself and Enot.”

“Ah yes, Mr Enot. I did not realize just how large he was, nor how unaccustomed to the sea that he is, he is sleeping soundly now. The other guests have informed me that he is very melodic even in his sleep.”

“ That has to be the kindest thing anyone has ever said of Enot’s snoring that I have ever heard.” Ailen chuckled at the thought of Enot keeping ¾ time in his slumber. “ Sebastian my friend, thank you for your diligience.” Sebastian bowed deeply and then he made his way to the captains cabin. Ailen waited for the Canine to enter the cabin and then asked. “Has Sebastian entered the vow with you Captain?”

“ Aye he has. Truth be told he entered the vow four years ago after I found him floating at sea. He was laying atop a piece of wood that was barely able to hold him. He was traveling north with this family to visit Balthair when his shipped was destroyed in a violent firefight with a group of Goblin pirates. He was the only one to survive. His wife and six pups all drowned. Ever since that day he promised that he would make sure that all folks traveling on this boat would be safe. We’ve not lost a single sailor or passenger since that day.”

“ That’s a comforting thought.” Ailen looked over the shoulder of the Captain as he caught the eye of Sandy standing there. She was no longer dressed in her leather armor looking like the fighter that she was intending for people to see her as. Instead she wore a simple nightgown and had let her hair down. The blonde locks fell around her face, framing it for her beautiful brown eyes. She walked up to the starboard side of the ship with a blanket wrapped around her. The starlight made her seem that much more beautiful that evening.

“If you’ll excuse me Captain.” Ailen whispered. Captain Gale looked over his shoulder and gave a knowing grin to Ailen.

“I see that I am no longer the most interesting person on deck. I will see you later Mr. Ailen. Even I need a couple of hours.” Captain Gale walked off looking over his shoulder, he took a long swig of rum that was in his wineskin and began to sing and old pirate tune. His voice became muttered as he entered into his cabin. Ailen watched as the lights went off and Sebastian came out the door. He slouched himself onto the door and rested his chin onto his chest. Ailen walked up to Cassandra. She smiled as he walked towards her. Their eyes met and she put her head down. Ailen smiled and stopped about a foot away from her resting his elbow on the rail.

“ It seems that we have become the talk of the ship today.” Ailen remarked.

“ Well randomly kissing a stranger can make that happen. I am sorry if I was too forward with you.” Sandy replied.

“ Not at all. I enjoyed it and quite frankly you are an amazing kisser. I can’t think of a time that I was kissed like that. Never apologize for kissing me like that. I liked it a lot.”

“ I’ve never done anything like that. I do not know what made me kiss me.”

“ I would like to think that it’s my dashing good looks.” Ailen smiled at her. He had slowly been moving towards her and at this point they were nearly touching. Ailen grabbed her by the back of the head and moved into a kiss. They embraced one another and he felt the world slowing around him as time itself knew to make this kiss last. Then just as it had began the kiss stopped and they stood face to face, his arms around her waist and her arms coming to rest on his shoulders. Ailen and Cassandra looked into one another’s eyes until finally she broke from it and grabbed his hand leading him towards her cabin.

“ Milady, I will not be able to perform the task that I feel that you want me to.”

“ You do not want me to sleep in your arms this evening, Ailen?” She asked.

“ Yes, yes I do.”

“ Then you shall join me in my cabin where we shall sleep and nothing more.”

“ Thank you Cassandra.”

Ailen followed Cassandra into her cabin where they fell asleep in one anothers arms.