Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:22:16 +1300
From: arthur carkeek <artcart65@gmail.com>
Subject: The adventures of howudino and kashin chapter 4

			     THE ADVENTURES OF
			    HOWUDINO AND KASHIN

				 CHAPTER 4

				 BY ARTHUR


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Baragil's steps led him Eastward, during the day he ran at a steady pace
through the forrest at ground level, after stopping only for a meal and one
or two hours rest, he took to the trees, night time was the most dangerous
in the forrests of Siava and so he stayed well above the ground during the
dark times, his path lit by the stars and the rising moon.

Like most wood Elves, Baragil had excellent vision although for him it
seemed that he had just a little more than those of his peers, during day
time games, Baragil had a hard time keeping up with the others but, at
night time he came into his own, he seemed to be able to not only see
better, but know as if by instinct, where to place his feet during the
complicated runs through the branches at night, this was how he now
travelled, he barely even looked at his feet as he let his instincts guide
him in the dark.

Baragil had no Idea how far he had travelled over the days since leaving
his village, his steady ground loping pace during the day and his
instinctual tree running during the night had left him with little
knowledge of his location, all he knew for sure was that he was heading
Eastward as though being pulled along by a rope from some magical force.

During tests with his peers back at the village, Baragil had been quick to
take note that he was better suited for the trees, he knew that all Elves
were part of the forrest but his smaller size meant he could walk on
branches and go to the tree tops higher than any of the others, it was a
distinct advantage when trouble arose and, with his fine senses during the
night, he was a very hard Elf to catch by those who would do him harm.

Baragil had noticed that the trees were beginning to thin out, also that
the first hint of the grey dawn light was making its appearance, Baragil
began to look for somewhere to rest for a few hours, the pull of wanting to
go East was now stronger than his desire to eat, something unworldly was
forcing him to hurry, he tried to shake it off as he dropped earthward,
almost dancing from one branch to the other without missing a step.

In seconds, Baragil was on the soft leaf covered ground, he had dropped
over thirty metres with hardly a glance at where he was stepping, from the
back of his mind, something warned Baragil of a newness around him, as he
peered from the thinning trees at the edge of the forrest, he slipped his
strong black bow off his shoulder and notched an arrow in preparation of
defending himself, he was a long way from home and had only himself and his
Elvin abilities to keep him safe now.

He stood in the deep shadow of a huge Oak tree, his black bow blending
perfectly, his Elvin clothing made him almost invisible, his staff was
leaning against the lee of the tree as his eyes scanned back and forth for
the new feeling, he was not sure if it was danger or just something new
that made him pause, ahead of him in the dawning light were the wide open
plains leading to the Eastern coastal waters, to his left and right the
trees of the forrest ranged as far as his sharp eyes could see.

Brushing back a few stray locks of hair, he cleared his pointed ears to
listen better, among the early morning bird calls and soft scuffles of
ground animals waking up, Baragil thought he could just pick up another
foreign sound, it was almost like a soft purr, could there be one of the
large and dangerous cats that roamed the forrest in both the early and late
hours of the day looking for the unwary, Baragil could not take the chance.

Staying as still as the old Oak itself, Baragil let his senses work for
him, the broken purring sound seemed to be coming from high in another Oak
about ten metres away from where he stood, using his very sharp eyes,
Baragil began to look the nearby trees over from top to bottom, taking in
every branch and twig that the growing light and his sharp eyes could see.

Just as he was about to doubt his own senses, Baragil saw the faintest of
movements half way up an Oak tree not more than ten metres away from where
he stood, turning his eyes away from the tree for a second, he then quickly
took in the trunk of the tree once more, it was this that showed him the
anomaly, high in the old Oak was a strange bundle, it was sitting in the
fork of two large branches, as his eyes became accustomed to watching the
place, he saw what appeared to be human clothing, he had never of course
seen human clothing but he knew what Elvin clothing was like and this was
not it so there was only one other explanation.

For the life of him, Baragil could not think why humans would be this far
from the coast, by his knowledge he was still a good ten days from the
coast, it was common knowledge that the humans never moved more than a few
days from their small villages, if the bundle up in the tree was a human
then there had to be a good reason, Baragil stayed as still as the very
shadows, he had nothing but time on his side, he would wait and see what
rose from the bundle of clothes in the old Oak.

It took a little time before Baragil saw movement in the fork of the old
Oak, at first he thought he was imagining things when he saw four arms
stretch heavenward, it then dawned on him that there were in fact two
bodies in the fork of the tree, for the size of them they had to be young
boys, a grown man would have made a larger bundle.

Baragil watched as the two boys began to climb down the tree, it was then
he noticed that the two boys had a sword each tied with a leather thong
hanging over their shoulders, beside him he suddenly heard the rattle of
his staff as it vibrated against the trunk of the old Oak, inside his
stomach he also felt a turmoil as the two boys touched the ground.

Too Baragil's eyes one boy looked to be not much more than perhaps ten
years old, although he had little idea of humans sizes or ages but the
smaller looked to be very young, the second human boy was perhaps 5'7" but
built solidly, Baragil assumed he was not much younger than himself,
perhaps these two were brothers although they did not look alike, Baragil
continued to watch from his shadows.

The real astonishment came for Baragil when the older of the two boys took
hold of the sword over his shoulder, suddenly the ground around the two
boys took on a soft blue glow, the larger boy knelt with the point of the
sword touching the ground, he closed his eyes and, not more than seconds
later, there was a brighter shimmer and a large quantity of food appeared
where the boy was kneeling, something deep inside Baragil's head rang a
bell .

Next to him his own staff was now vibrating and rattling, Baragil could
hardly take a breath as he watched the two boys sit and begin to eat, the
smaller boy now had his large sword across his knees, Baragil saw that the
blade was red, it all started to make sense, here was his pilgrimage, he
was looking at the swords of magic.

As though it had a mind of its own, Baragil's staff suddenly lifted off the
tree and began to fly all by itself towards the two seated boys, Baragil
was stunned and could only stand and watch as his staff flew at a terrific
speed towards the tableau, when it reached the seated humans, it stopped
and hung in the air, the boys looked up with startled expressions on their
young faces as the staff hovered above them.

Both suddenly jumped to their feet, their swords gripped tightly in their
small hands, Baragil had to move, he could not let the humans take his
staff, drawing his bow to the fullest and aiming at the older of the boys,
he stepped from his hiding place and into the open, as his movement caught
the eye of the youngest one, Baragil called out in his best authoritive
voice, he was lucky, it only cracked once as he made his demands.

"Why are you humans on my lands?"

"Your lands?" asked the older one, even with an arrow pointed right at his
heart, he showed bravery. "These are free lands, they belong to everyone."

"Not so human, these are the lands of the wood Elves, humans belong on the
coast, you are entering forbidden lands."

"We are not; we just slept in the tree for safety, now if you will put down
your bow we will eat and leave."

Baragil did notice fear in the boys eyes but he also saw bravery, not for
himself but for the younger one, Baragil eased the tension on his bow
string just a little.

"Are you Wizards that you could steal my staff?"

"Your staff? It just flew at us, we don't know anything about it, so now,
you can either come eat with us and be friends or take your staff and go
back to your trees."

"And where do you plan to go after your breaking fast?"

"What's it got to do with you, where we go and what we do is our business
but, I will tell you that we are going to the Western Islands in search of
the Dragons, these swords belong to them so we are taking them back."

"The Dragon Islands, do you think you can go so far, you will be old men by
the time you get too them, that's if you can find a boat to take you to
such a place."

The younger boy smiled and then spoke up.

"You know the Dragon Islands?"

"Of course, every Elf knows of them."

"Elf, you're really an Elf?"

Smiling, Baragil pushed back the loose hair around his face to show his
pointed ears.

"Do humans have ears such as these?"

The younger boy jumped up and down as he smiled widely, he then began to
chatter to the older boy, the dangerous bow and arrow totally forgotten in
his excitement.

"See Davin, you see now, I was telling the truth, there are Dragons and
Elves, I just knew my Pa would not lie to me, see, he has pointed ears just
like the stories."

Davin had lowered his sword; against a bow it would not have been much good
anyhow, deciding to try to make peace with the young Elf, he sat back down
to the waiting feast.

"Come Elf, join us, none of us need to fight before a good meal, perhaps
afterwards you can kill us but a full stomach is better than an empty one
when you die."

For the first time, Baragil smiled, not only at the older boys' comment but
the continuing antics of the younger one, lowering his bow and replacing
his arrow in its quiver, Baragil said.

"My name is Baragil of the Woodland Elves."

"I am Davin of Ferringol and this is Sprat, also of Ferringol."

"Ferringol? I do not know this place, is it far?"

"Well, we don't really know, you see these swords are magical, somehow
Sprat's sword brought us here, is this Siava?"

"Yes, this is the land of Siava, wait while I get my staff, we will then
eat and tell our tales, it is too nice of a day to kill humans, besides
that food does look tasty."

The two human boys smiled as they watched Baragil reach for his suspended
staff, as his hands wrapped around the staff, there came a loud peel of
thunder from the clear sky.

The boys awoke just as the sun was sinking into the horizon, Davin and
Sprat looked at each other as though to say `Not again' but the surprised
look on the slowly awakening Baragil made them keep their thoughts to
themselves.

"What happened?" asked the confused Elf.

"I think you set off the magic of the staff, it did the same thing too us
when we took hold of the swords." Replied Davin.

"But the staff is not magical, if it were one of our Elders would have felt
it, there must be another reason."

"Well we have thought of other things but none of them explain what
happened to us." Said Sprat.

Baragil looked down at the food still on the ground in front of them, it
still looked fresh and hot, there was definitely magic at work, as he bent
forward to take a sample of the food, something inside his head seemed to
explode like a lightning bolt, he straightened up and stared at the two
boys.

"I know, I know what these are, it just came to me."

"What, the swords and staff?"

"Yes, we three were meant to meet, this is the `Staff of Life" your sword
Davin, is the `Sword of Plenty' Sprat's sword is the `Sword of Realms',
there is one more, it is called the `Sword of Vengeance' we have to go and
find the last sword and its owner, there is a bad time coming and we have
to meet it together or all of us will perish as will every living thing on
this world."

"How... How do you know this Baragil?' asked Davin.

"I don't know, it just came to me now, it was as though the staff was
talking to me but inside my head."

"So where do we go to find the fourth sword?"

"To the West, the Islands of the Dragons."

"Well, I for one am not going anywhere until I've eaten." Said Sprat as he
sat down and began to fill his mouth.

The others could do no less and sat with him, there was plenty of food for
all of them and even enough to put into their packs to carry with them,
both human boys still did not know if the magic would run out of their
swords if they used them too much.

As they ate the plentiful meal, the boys relaxed more and more with each
other, each retold their story and listened to the others, it was certainly
destined to be the three of them together, it was a motley crew, a six foot
Elf, a shorter but well built human and a boy who looked four years younger
than he was as well as being smaller than the others, only their large
shimmering swords told a different tale as did the bright reddish staff of
the Elf which now shone with a new life.

After finishing their leisurely meal, the three boys sat and let the food
settle until Davin asked what they should do next, Baragil answered him
with.

"I suppose we should start to make our way Westward, it's a long, long way
just to get through the forrest, and then there is another twenty days walk
to the Western coast, after that we have to find a ship that is prepared to
go to the Dragon islands and I have no coins for passage on a ship."

"Neither do we."  Answered Davin.

"Well can you get us through the Forrest Baragil?" asked Sprat.

"Yes but it is a long way, it will take us more than a thousand days to
cross it, we will be old men before we see the coast."

"Not if I use the power of my sword." Replied Sprat.

"That's all fine." Said Davin, but we don't want to end up inside a tree or
mountain if you guess wrong."

"Yes there is that I suppose, wait, what if we just do short jumps, if I
can see something, like I did with this tree, then we can go that far and
look for the next place, Baragil, do you know things like land marks or
very big trees or mountains we can use to jump to?"

"Yes I do, there are many very large trees in the Forrest we can use."

"Right, let's try that then." Said Davin,

All three boys got close together and joined hands while Sprat looked for a
big tree to the West of them, once he had seen one he could get into his
head, he clasped the sword tightly and thought of the huge tree, not more
than a gasp of breath later and they were deep into the Forrest and
standing under a massive Kalabilum Tree, its branches spread out even
further than the oldest Oak.

All Sprat had to do now was see the next target unfortunately for them all,
they were at ground level and could see nothing but the trees around them,
Baragil came to the rescue.

"I can go to the top of the tree then drop a long vine down for you; if you
two can climb up after me then Sprat will be able to see the next place to
go."

Davin, who had little head for heights, hesitated, the only problem was
that if he was not holding Sprats hand when he thought of a place, Davin
would be left behind and never be able to find them again, he had little
alternative, he had to overcome his fear and climb the huge tree, a small
shudder went through his body as he looked up through the thick branches,
it was a long way up and appeared to touch the very sky itself.

Baragil had already made up his mind and was disappearing into the thick
foliage of the tree as the two on the ground watched in awe of his climbing
skill, within seconds he had disappeared into the tree leaves, his Elvin
clothes also helped to conceal his whereabouts.

It seemed like no time at all before a thick green vine came tumbling out
of the tree and hung just above their heads; from above they heard the
light sound of Baragil's voice calling down to them.

"I can see a mountain in the distance; if we can make it there we can rest
for a while, take hold of the vine one at a time, I can pull you up if you
can help by using your feet on the tree trunk, Sprat, you come first, you
are the lightest and should be easier to pull up, then you can have some
time to see the mountain while I help Davin."

Sprat smiled at Davin and jumped up to grasp the loose hanging vine, with
little effort at all he seemed to suddenly disappear into the tree as
Baragil had little trouble hauling him up as he was so small and weighed
very little, it seemed no more than seconds for Davin and the vine was
dangling in front of his face once more, it was now or never.

Davin took a deep breath to try to calm his pumping heart, taking the vine
in his hands he felt the pull of Baragil, it surprised him the Elf was so
strong, he seemed pretty slim on the ground, to help Baragil, Davin used
his feet on the trunk of the tree to more or less walk up as Baragil pulled
from above, Davin dared not look down, he knew he would be unable to hold
onto the vine if he saw how high he was, he kept his eyes firmly above him
as Baragil's legs came into sight near the very top of the Kalabilum Tree,
Sprat was happily perched on a thin branch with a wide smile on his face.

Once Davin was secure, or as securely as he could feel so high off the
ground, Sprat came closer to the other two, holding out the hand that was
not grasped around the sword, he waited for the others to also hold hands
then closed his eyes to get the picture of the mountain in his head, as it
finally fully formed in the shape he had seen so far away, he felt the same
familiar shimmer and the three boys were standing on top of the mountain,
the afternoon wind blowing their long hair around their shoulders except
for Baragil's which was till plaited from when he left his village.

The three boys looked around them, in the far distance they could see
another large Kalabilum tree standing out from the rest of the Forrest,
that would be their next target but before they went on they decided to
stay and eat, the top of the mountain was a little windy and as the
afternoon moved on it began to get chilly so they decided to go further
down before they ate.

Finding a nice small cave they went in and Davin called up more food, this
time he had more control and only called for a simple meal, however he
could not resist the temptation to also ask for wine, that was all the
travelling they did for that day as not one of them had a real head for
wine and it was not long before they were giggling like small girls.

After a second bottle of wine, the boys were past being able to continue,
they cleared a place in the small cave and settled down to sleep off their
mistake, the morning hours would bring the penalty for too much wine, it
was a lesson they never forgot.

Baragil's sleep was filled with strange dreams of misty figures, there were
also songs and poems that seemed to fill his head from the darkness of
sleep, at first it seemed like a night mare for Baragil, you see, Elves
don't dream, it took a little time until Baragil settled down again as he
understood it could only be the magic of his staff, once he gathered that
this was what was happening, he let the `Dream" continue in its own way.

Baragil was not the only one who's head was filled with dreams, Davin was
also having a weird but at the same time, wonderful dream, he felt himself
on the back of a mighty Golden Dragon, flying high in the sky with hundreds
of other Dragons around him, to his right was an even larger Gold Dragon,
its Rider was dressed in bright shining gold armour and behind him sat
another young teen.

In his dream state, Davin looked to his left, there on another Gold Dragon
of the same size as his own was Sprat and behind him sat Baragil, it them
came to Davin's notice that he was the only one with no passenger, ahead of
him was a massive range of high mountains from which dark black smoke was
rising, it whirled and twisted as though it was alive, Davin and the other
Dragons were heading straight for it.

As he lived in the dream, Davin saw a mighty bolt of lightning flash out of
the black cloud and strike the passenger on the large Gold Dragon, the
young boy slumped over in his saddle and turned a very pale colour, the
Rider in front screamed with both fear and rage as, out of the black cloud
came the most horrible and terrifying sight Davin could ever imagine.

From the blackness came thousands of demons, their blazing red eyes and
pointed teeth were a horror to see, just as the horrors began to close on
the large army of Dragons, Davin felt Sprat shaking his shoulder and
calling for him to wake up.

"Wha, what is it Sprat?"

"You were having a bad dream, you were yelling something about demons and
storms, I thought I had better wake you before you got too scared."

"Thanks Sprat, it was a bit of a horror dream."

"Want to tell me about it?"

"No, it was just a dream, made no sense to me, something about Dragons and
demons fighting."

"Demons? I thought they were just a story, mind you I suppose if the
magical swords and Dragons are real then there could be demons as well."

It was not long until dawn so the two boys just snuggled back down under
the thin covering of Baragil's marvellous cloak and watched the Elf as he
slept, he seemed to be talking in his sleep although most of it sounded
like songs or poems in a strange language neither of them could understand,
they just lay and watched the Elf until the first rays of morning light
began to break through the darkness just before dawn.

Davin called up a simple breakfast for the three of them, once finished
they all went back to the top of the mountain so Sprat could check on his
directions to the large Kalabilum tree in the early morning mist, again it
was only moments before they stood below it spreading branches, Baragil and
Sprat almost broke out in laughter as they saw the look on Davin's face at
the prospect of another climb high up into the top of the large tree.

Twenty minutes of climbing and they were looking out for the second jump of
the day, Sprat picked a craggy outcrop of rock at the far edge of his
vision and they were there, Davin was more relieved than the others to be
once again on solid ground, the outcrop was far larger than they had
thought, it towered over the forrest like a giant finger pointing up into
the morning sky, the one saving grace was a small pond of crystal clear
water at the base of the high crag, the green fresh smell of the forrest
around them made them take more notice of their own bodies, all three had
not bathed in days and, while the pond was not overly large, it would be
enough for the three to have a good bath in.

As Davin and Sprat were about to disrobe, Baragil told them to stop until
he returned, so saying he disappeared into the band of trees not far from
where they had landed, ten minutes later he returned with two large tubers,
he had brushed off most of the soil and as he came up to the boys he
stopped to wash the tubers in the pond, once clean he looked around for a
flat rock.

The two boys watched intently as Baragil took his dagger out and began to
carefully peel off the thick skin of the tubers, inside it was a dense
thick white closely matted fibre, laying the first one on the flat rock he
took another stone and began to gently pound it until all the fibres were
broken up, dividing the fibres in to two handfuls, he passed one to each of
other boys.

"This is a Dangar root, you can use it like soap, don't throw it away when
you have washed, you can use the last bits to wash your clothes."

The two boys took the root fibres and were soon naked, their clothes in an
untidy pile at the side of the pond, with loud yells of joy they both
jumped in the water while Baragil got the other tuber ready for his own
use.

Davin had thought nothing of being naked in the water with the much smaller
Sprat until the other boy accidently rubbed up against him as he was
lathering up his thin body with the root, Davin's reaction was not only a
surprise but embarrassing, his boyhood shot to attention in a split second,
he had never reacted to another boy like this before but, then again he had
not been naked with another boy either, trying to keep his problem hidden
underwater, Davin turned his back and began to also scrub as hard as he
could in the hope his body would relax before he got out of the pond.

Sprat was jumping and yelling as he also scrubbed although he was doing
more jumping than scrubbing, it was not long before Baragil joined them,
Davin could not stop himself from taking a quick glance at Baragil's wares,
a flush lit his face, Baragil's wares were a lot bigger than he thought
they would be, Davin quickly turned his eyes in another direction before he
was caught looking.

Baragil hid his smile as he lowered himself into the pond, he had seen the
quick glance at his groin by Davin, most Elves were well endowed although
Baragil would be considered on the smaller size by his peers but from what
he had seen of the two human boys, he was well over their endowments, he
began to think perhaps he should make a suggestion when they stopped for
their next nights rest, he would not be against a little play with the two
humans, especially the smaller Sprat, the smaller boy had the smallest
waist and hips Baragil could ever dream of being on a person.

Had Elves been in the habit, or have the capability of blushing, Baragil
would have at that moment as the cute picture of Sprat in all his miniature
glory had the same reaction to his manly bits as Davin had had, Baragil
wondered if Davin would accept joining him and Sprat if that time came, it
was a tempting possibility.

When the boys finished washing themselves, they all three sat on the side
of the pond and began work on their filthy clothes, for Baragil it was a
simple matter, he had only the inside of his tanned deer skin clothes to
lightly rinse and rub with the scented Dangar root, for Davin the job was a
lot harder as the thick work clothes of a farmer took great effort to
clean, Sprat was in some ways lucky, while his clothes were not much more
than rags, there were less of them, pants, a shirt and his small cap with
flaps that came down over his ears when it got cold, his boots were of good
quality which surprised Davin but he had no socks or underclothes, Davin
also noticed that Baragil did not wear underclothes either, again he tried
to take his mind off his now very rigid problem.

Had there been onlookers, they would have been chuckling at the three boys
although not so much at Baragil as he seemed to not know what shame was but
Sprat and Davin tried as best they could under the circumstances, to hide
their boy bits which was an impossibility under these conditions, Davin had
been surprised to note that while Sprat was the smallest of all of them in
height and build, he almost matched Davin in the lower regions.

Finally the clothes were as clean as they were going to be, still trying to
hide their problem muscle, they laid out their wet clothes to dry in the
strengthening sun, Baragil had undone his braid to wash his hair and it now
hung down in a shimmering black curtain to the middle of his back, Sprat,
now clean showed that his scruffy hair was in fact a light brown which was
almost a dark blonde, as it dried it sprang up all over his head in an
unruly mop, for Davin it was not so bad, his was straight and hung down
over his ears and at the front over his eyes.

As they all sat down to finish drying off in the sun, Baragil took out his
dagger and began to sharpen it on a large piece of sandstone he had found
by the edge of the pond, Davin and Sprat watched intently as Baragil worked
away to get a very sharp edge on the blade.

"Why are you sharpening your dagger Baragil?" asked Sprat, the ever
inquisitive boy.

"I'm going to cut your hair, you need to keep it away from your face or you
might miss a step up in the trees, that's why Elves keep theirs in a braid,
it could be very dangerous otherwise."

"You're not going to cut all of it off are you?"

"No, of course not, just the front and sides, the back I will tie for you
so others know you are a boy, the same goes for Davin."

"What about your hair, can you plait it again by yourself?"

"No, I don't think so, I will have to tie it with a few pieces of leather
thong I have in my pack."

"I could try to plait it for you if you want me too, I've never done it but
I can try." Said Sprat.

"Would you? I would like that."

"Ok, after you cut our hair I will try to plait yours, you can tell me how
to do it right."

Baragil smiled at Sprats enthusiasm, it would also give him a chance to be
closer to the smaller boy, there was something about him that drew Baragil
to him, he was not sure if it was a protective feeling or something more
but he did want to be near the young teen.

Once he thought his dagger was as sharp as he could make it, Baragil asked
Sprat to sit in front of him, once Sprat was seated between the long strong
legs of Baragil, the Elf began to carefully cut his hair from the sides and
front of the boys head, at the back it was long enough to lay just below
his collar, he would tie that with a thong, when Sprat was finished he had
Davin sit in the same place and started on his hair, when both boys were
finished they went to the pond and washed their hair once again to get rid
of any stray bits.

After using their hands to get rid of the excess water, Sprat went to sit
behind Baragil while Davin sat to the side watching them, with infinite
patience, Baragil instructed Sprat on the fine points of a neat braid, it
took the best part of half an hour but at the end Baragil's thick black
braid was again gently laying down his back, as Sprat tied the last leather
thong in place, Baragil turned around and hugged Sprat for his good work,
Davin noticed that Sprat did not pull away from the hug of the large Elf.

A stop for a small meal while the wet clothes dried, gave cause for
tensions in the nether regions to ease, as the three sat and chewed on
fresh smelling bread and tangy cheese, Davin suddenly realized what had
been different about Baragil's body, apart from his eyebrows and head,
Baragil did not have a single hair anywhere else on his body, even Sprat
had a small dark brown tuft just above his boyhood, Davin wondered if he
should ask about it but then thought it would be too embarrassing for both
of them.

Once the meal was finished, the three companions sat for a short while in
the hot sun, when they thought their clothes were good and dry, the
redressed and collected all their belongings, such as they were, Sprat
suggested they jump to the top of the large spire so he could see where to
go next, no sooner said than they were right up on top of the tall finger
of rock.

Sprat and Davin could see a long way but Baragil with his Elvin sight could
make out a large range of mountains in the far distance, unfortunately for
the two human boys it looked to be not more than a faint smudge on the
horizon, Sprat selected a large tree far off at the very edge of his
vision, once settled in his head, he clasped hands with the other two and
they jumped to the base of the tree.

On arriving at the tree, Sprat let go of Baragil's hand and began to climb
up alone, this time he would set the next stop in his head then climb down
for the others before making the jump, Baragil warned him to be careful
while high up in the tree.

As Baragil and Davin waited for Sprat at the base of the tree, Baragil
suddenly stiffened up and began to look around sharply, his bow was
immediately in his hands and an arrow notched ready as he scanned the
nearby trees and bushes, being aware that Baragil could hear and see things
he could not, Davin took his sword from his shoulder and stepped up beside
Baragil.

The tension in the air was heavy as both boys searched the trees, suddenly,
from out of seemingly nowhere to Davin's eyes, stepped four very tall
Elves, they did not look like adults but were certainly a little older than
Baragil, in the hands of the four were the familiar black bows, all were
notched with black arrows and pointed directly at the pair under the tree.

One of the Elves looked the pair over before asking.

"Why are you here, these are our lands?"

"We are just passing through." Said Baragil, "We are going to the Islands
of the Dragons on a Pilgrimage."

"Why are you, a Wood Elf, travelling with a human, you know we do not mix
with their kind."

"They are my companions, we go under the protection of the Four Magic's."

"What Four Magic's, they are a myth, I think you are trying to invade our
lands Elf."

"That would seem a little crazy for us to do, three youths against your
whole tribe, it would not be much of an invasion, or are your tribe so
scared of three harmless youths that you would make war on them?"

"What do you mean `Three' I see only two?"

From behind the four Elves came a young voice, Sprat had jumped down behind
the Elves without a sound.

"Uhm that would be me."

The four elves turned quickly to look where the voice had come from, close
behind them they saw the third young figure only this one held his sword in
such a way it was glowing red, with a quick glance back at the other two,
the Elves now saw that both the other sword was glowing blue and the staff
was sending out thin shafts of silver light from each end, a sudden paling
of the four Elves faces made the three boys smile in the most innocent way
they could.

"As I stated, we are on a Pilgrimage to the Dragon Islands, we mean no harm
and will move on." Said Baragil.

With that Sprat walked up to his two friends and they all joined hands,
suddenly the four Elves were standing alone in the Forrest, the three
intruders had disappeared in a shimmer of light, if there was one thing
that Elves feared and respected, it was Magic and the Magic the three boys
had shown them was far beyond their understanding, they would have to hurry
back to their hidden village and seek one of the Elders for advice.

The three boys found themselves in a small tree clad knoll, it gave Sprat
enough space to see the now closer mountain range, with the meeting of the
strange Elves, the boys decided they would not stay in the Forrest this
night but make a last jump to the high mountains and find a cave to rest
in, it would be safer than staying where they were not wanted, Sprat took
great care in deciding on which mountain they would go too.

As the late afternoon sun sank closer to being hidden by the high
mountains, the boys shimmered into being half way up the side of the
towering range of mountains, they could see now that there were few trees
this high up so they would have to spend what day light they had left to
find a cave, as if in a daze, Davin said they should go to their left,
there was a cave not far away, how he knew this he had no idea but he was
sure there would be one there, with nothing else to do the three turned
left and began to scramble over the loose shale and rocks that were
scattered over the ridge they were on.

As predicted they soon came to a small cave, at the front was a narrow
ledge that dropped off in a sheer fall to the Forrest far below, Davin did
not go right o the edge, Baragil's description was enough for him,
venturing into the cave they found a soft sandy floor, around the edge were
odd rocks and a small drip of water could be heard from the back wall
against which was another large oval rock, none of the boys went to look at
it, one rock was like another and in the dim light all they wanted to do
was eat and rest, it had been a long day for them all.

When the meal was finished, the boys cleared an area half way back inside
the cave, there were no signs of any animals using the cave so they felt
fairly safe for the night, the three snuggled up close to each other and
Baragil covered them all with his fine cloak, he had somehow managed to get
next to the small frame of Sprat and, as he settled down, he reached out
and pulled Sprat closer to him, the smaller boy did not object but just
wriggled around until he was comfortable, his thin back pressed tightly
into the Elf's stomach, Davin was lying in front of Sprat but facing him,
the boys eyes began to close as the long day caught up with them.

Unheard by the other boys, Davin began to mumble in his sleep, he was
having another dream about Dragons but this time it different, there were
no other Dragons or people around him, he was flying high in the air on the
back of a Golden Dragon once again, the Dragon kept asking him for a name,
Davin mumbled in his sleep, `Aktus' the answer he got surprised him.

"A fine name for a fine Dragon, come Rider join with me so we can soar
through the skies together."

Davin mumbled on, his soft mutterings woke Sprat but in his sleep sodden
state, the smaller boy grunted and resettled back to the warm body holding
him tightly from behind.

As Sprat drifted back to sleep, Davin thought he rose and walked to the
back of the cave, in his dream state he looked down at the oval rock, it
was glowing with a soft blue colour and had darker striations running
through it, in his dream, Davin laid a hand on each end of the oval and
then heard a cracking sound, before his dreaming eyes a small Gold Dragon
appeared, it looked at Davin and said.

"I am here my Rider, you must sleep some more while I grow then we can fly
together, soon we will return to our Weir at Mastik my Prince."

Davin looked at the small Dragon and smiled as he began to leave the dream
and drift back into sleep, he settled down again and had no more Dragon
dreams instead his breathing became soft and slow as the very stones
underneath him seemed to soften and get warm, it was a good cave they had
found, beside him his two friends slept on.

Baragil awoke with a feeling as though he had been sleeping for days, his
mouth was dry and his stomach seemed more empty than it should have been
after the feast of last night, as he began to take in his surroundings,
something caught his attention, quickly he reached for the staff lying
beside him and lifted his head, with a speed which even surprised him, he
jumped to his feet with a loud shout to the others.

At the back of the cave, curled into itself was a very large Golden Dragon,
its violet eyes were watching Baragil and its mouth was slightly open
showing rows of razor sharp teeth, it did not move but only continued to
stare at Baragil, as the other two boys tried to get up too see what had
startled Baragil, Davin suddenly shook his head and turned to the back of
the cave.

"By all the gods." Davin shouted he then shook his head again as the Dragon
poked out a long forked tongue in his direction.

Inside his head Davin heard.

"Hello my Prince, did you sleep well, your friends seem a bit upset, tell
them not to worry, I'm really quite friendly unless hungry."

Davin stuttered for a bit before realising his dream had been real, here
before him was Aktus his Royal Golden Dragon just as he had dreamed him,
Davin stammered out what his Dragon had told him to ease the worry of the
other two, it was Sprat that seemed the least affected by the sudden
appearance of the huge animal, with the curiosity of a small boy, Sprat
boldly walked up to the huge Dragon.

"You're real, I knew there were Dragons, I just knew they were real."

Davin heard Aktus in his head.

"Tell the little one that his Dragon awaits him on the other side of the
mountains, I will fly there and wait for you, we have to have the Messadine
prepare your saddle before you can ride me, the little one can use the
Sword of Realms to get you all there, I will wait for you outside the cave
of the other Dragon."

Aktus rose to his full height and carefully picked his way to the mouth of
the cave as Davin told the others what they had to do, they heard the loud
swish of giant wings as the Dragon took to the air, there was no delay,
they had to follow as quickly as they could as Sprat was almost jumping out
of his skin at the revelation that he too had a Dragon waiting, he hoped
with all his heart it was a fine Gold one like Davin had, but if not at
least he would be a Dragon Rider like his new friend.

After gathering all their possessions, the boys held hands and Sprat jumped
them to the top of the far mountain tops, once there they saw way below
them the gold scales of Davin's Dragon shimmering in the early morning
sunlight, he was made smaller by the distance between them but still looked
impressive to the three boys high up on the far ridge.

Another jump and the boys were standing on the ground only a short distance
from Davin's Dragon Aktus, before them was a large cave mouth, the darkness
extending far back into the mountains where the boys eyes could not
penetrate, Aktus spoke inside Davin's head once again.

"My Prince, tell the small one and his Consort to go far back into the
cave, there he will find his egg waiting for him, while they are away you
and I will go off to another cave as we cannot be here when the small ones
Dragon hatches, our magic will fight each other at a time like this."

Davin related what he had been told, Sprat looked at him a little
uncertainly but then decided a Dragon was more important than his fear of
dark caves, taking hold of Baragil's hand for security, he led them both
into the dark cave mouth, it was the last Davin was too see of them for the
next three days, although he did not know this at the time.

Aktus then led Davin to another cave some little distance away, this one
was even larger and deeper, going inside they eventually found a large
cavern well into the mountain, Aktus then asked Davin to take hold of his
two central horns and close his eyes, something strange ran through Davin's
body as he held the large horns in his hands, he then felt a tiredness
overcome him and, after releasing his hold and stepping back down onto the
floor of the cavern, Davin curled up and went to sleep.

When he awoke, Davin had no idea of how long he had slept but he found
himself curled up close to the large front talons of Aktus, he also now
felt the magic of his Dragon flowing through him, as this realisation came
to him he saw the solid stone walls of the cavern shimmer and a number of
small childlike figures emerged and bowed to him, Aktus's thoughts came to
him.

"These are the Messadine, they have your armour and saddle ready, follow
them and we will get you dressed, your small friend and his Consort will
join us shortly along with his Dragon."

Davin got to his feet and did as he had been told, the Messadine led him
back through the new opening and deeper into the mountain, once inside he
saw another larger cavern, there were many more of the small Messadine
working away at various tasks, it was then that Davin realised he was now
naked and yet not one Messadine stared at his revealed boy bits, Davin
tried to cover himself with his hands as some of the Messadine approached
him with bundles in their hands.

Not long after, Davin was dressed in soft but sturdy clothes, next came his
glittering gold armour, Aktus told him it was made from his own scales and
would protect him in battle, his sword was encased in a very fancy gem
encrusted scabbard, it had a long thick belt for him to slip over his
shoulders as his height was not enough to carry the sword at his waist,
lastly was the saddling of Aktus, Davin saw it was a single saddle but much
larger than he thought it would be, it had a high back where he would be
able to rest against when flying, the thrill of his first flight was now
foremost in his mind.

As the saddle was magically attached to Aktus by the Messadine artisans,
there came a rumble from the other end of the cavern, Davin's smiled widely
as he saw his two friends along with a new Gold Dragon walking towards him,
the answering smile from the others was just as wide, Sprat's more so than
Baragil's, the three friends hugged as though they had not seen each other
for years instead of days, Davin felt a little touch of sadness too see his
two friends holding hands in such a way that he instinctually knew they had
something for each other.

When Sprat's Dragon, whom he had named Baraset, had his saddle mounted and
both boys had been dressed in their armour, Gold for Sprat and Bronze for
Baragil, Davin saw that the saddle was a double, again his heart jumped in
an unfamiliar way, it was certain now that he was too be alone, Aktus's
thoughts came to him.

"Do not despair my Prince, you will have many boys to attend you, it is the
fact you carry the Sword of Plenty that makes it impossible for you to have
a Consort, it's power is such that it would corrupt even the most honest of
Consorts, it has selected you as you have a pure heart that cannot be
corrupted, you will have many friends in your long life but some you must
be wary of, they are or will be only after the power your sword carries
but, never fear, I will be by your side at all times."

"Thank you Aktus, so what do we do now?"

"When we are all ready, it will be time for your first flight, your friends
will now come with us and, once you feel secure on my back we will go
towards our Weirs on the Islands of Dragons, there are many waiting for us
there, I would suggest you lay out a feast for yourselves and the
Messadine, it will be a long flight from here."

Davin did as Aktus suggested and used the sword to lay out a huge feast,
finally, when the feasting stopped and the small group of friends ventured
outside the cavern, they were surprised to see it was early morning, they
were then told by their respective Dragons that it had been four days since
they had entered the caves, now it was time to venture towards their
waiting Weirs.

Once the boys had practised jumping up to mount their Dragons, they finally
took a last look at the place they had all come together, Sprat sat proudly
in his saddle with the much taller Baragil behind him, with a nod to each
other, Davin led the way up into the bright blue morning sky, turning
Westward, they began their flight to their new home and the wonders that
awaited them.

At the same time they took flight, in the Tallas Weir, the four Messadine
elders asked for an audience with Kashin, on being admitted to the throne
room, they bowed and then said.

"My Prince, it is time to fly Eastward, the new Princes are aloft and
beginning their search for the awaiting Weirs, you will need to bring them
here to swear fealty to Tallas Weir, once done you will all control enough
Weirs to fight the next battle which is coming this way."

Kashin thanked the Elders and turned to Seb as Howudino rose to his
majestic height in readiness of the coming flight.

"Are you ready for a long flight and to meet some new friends my love?"
Kashin asked Seb.

"What about the safety of the Weir?"

"There are no enemies close by so for now we can enjoy some time together
in the air, it's been a while since you have come with me."

"Ok, let's go flying, who are they do you know?"

"No, but Howudino tells me they are named, Aktus and Baraset, they will
rule over the Weirs we are watching for them, I hope they are fun guys."

"So do I, I don't want to have to go through another battle like the last
one, even though I did nothing but I was so afraid for you the whole time."

"Everything will be alright now; we will have two allies if it comes to
another battle." Kashin told Seb.

They mounted Howudino and, along with most of the fighting Dragons of
Tallas Weir, took to the air to greet the new Princes, the mass of Browns
filling the air around the Weir as they formed up into long and wide ranks,
the huge Golden figure of Howudino in the lead.


TBC.


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