down the way that he
had come.
He followed
the other two into the woods where they crept away from the direction of the
army. Cries unlike any Ramaeka had ever heard caught his attention. Looking
up he saw large birdlike shapes, looking closely he noticed that some of them
were human and bird hybrids, while others resembled, very distantly to his
mind, dragons. He shivered and hurried after the others into denser bush where
hopefully the flying creatures would not be able to spot them.
They travelled
away from the army all day until the flying creatures were small dots on the
horizon. It was not until they were undercover of a small dry cave that Stripe
allowed them to speak. It was strange Ramaeka mused, Shady was usually in
charge but whenever things got really dangerous it was Stripe who led them. He
winced as he flopped down, all the running they had been doing lately was
making his feet hurt. Though, really that might be because he was still unused
to wearing the horrible boots. Ramaeka preferred to go barefoot so that he
could feel the earth beneath him.
Stripe dropped
down beside him and passed him a flask of water. Shady huddled at the front of
the cave, nervously scanning the skies and trees every now and again.
“What was that?”
he asked quietly looking at the two older boys.
Stripe frowned
seriously. “That was Gasha’s army if I’m not mistaken. It’s even bigger than
I imagined though.”
Shady nodded
in agreement.
“I’ve never
even seen some of those beasts before,” he replied genuinely anxious.
“Me either, it
even looked like he had dragons with him,” Stripe absently tapped his fingers
against the flask in his hands.
“They weren’t
dragons,” Ramaeka interrupted firmly. “I don’t know what they were, but they
weren’t dragons.”
“How do you
know?” Shady asked raising an eyebrow though he didn’t sound as challenging as
he usually did.
“Because I’ve
seen a dragon up close before, and that’s not what they look like,” he replied
as calmly as he could. He looked up to see Stripe watching him closely and
smiled weakly. Please don’t guess he thought desperately to himself.
Stripe turned
away and said to Shady, “It looks like they were headed west of Porkae, but
they could swing east.”
“Let’s hope
not,” Shady replied. “We’ll head west as well then swing east across the
Dragon Mountains and down into Porkae. That way we should miss them, no
sensible leader would take a full army across the Dragon range.” He didn’t
look a hundred percent sure as he said this, Ramaeka noticed.
“No sensible
person would want to cross that range,” Stripe retorted. He sighed and leant
back. “It will have to do though.”
As he sat on
first watch that night and stared into the dark forest ahead of them, Ramaeka
desperately hoped that there were not actual dragons on the mountain range.
Explaining to his friends why giant flying monsters recognised him was a
dilemma he didn’t particularly want to face. Telling them he was a monster,
according to their beliefs, was something he especially did not want to do he
thought morosely. Enough he told himself firmly, all he could do was enjoy his
journey while it lasted.
He spent the
rest of his watch determinedly not thinking about anything.
Chapter Five
They travelled
fast over the next week, following game trails away from the main path.
Several times Ramaeka found himself mentally thanking his former teacher Tannis
for forcing his students to build up their endurance. There had been no
sightings of any creatures or men from the army, though they continued to keep
an eye out. Everyday Ramaeka watched the mountains change from purple
splotches on the distant horizon, to forbidding dark peaks. Stripe worried
him; occasionally he would look up and see the blond watching him. However
when he did catch him looking, Stripe just smiled and looked
had come.
He followed
the other two into the woods where they crept away from the direction of the
army. Cries unlike any Ramaeka had ever heard caught his attention. Looking
up he saw large birdlike shapes, looking closely he noticed that some of them
were human and bird hybrids, while others resembled, very distantly to his
mind, dragons. He shivered and hurried after the others into denser bush where
hopefully the flying creatures would not be able to spot them.
They travelled
away from the army all day until the flying creatures were small dots on the
horizon. It was not until they were undercover of a small dry cave that Stripe
allowed them to speak. It was strange Ramaeka mused, Shady was usually in
charge but whenever things got really dangerous it was Stripe who led them. He
winced as he flopped down, all the running they had been doing lately was
making his feet hurt. Though, really that might be because he was still unused
to wearing the horrible boots. Ramaeka preferred to go barefoot so that he
could feel the earth beneath him.
Stripe dropped
down beside him and passed him a flask of water. Shady huddled at the front of
the cave, nervously scanning the skies and trees every now and again.
“What was that?”
he asked quietly looking at the two older boys.
Stripe frowned
seriously. “That was Gasha’s army if I’m not mistaken. It’s even bigger than
I imagined though.”
Shady nodded
in agreement.
“I’ve never
even seen some of those beasts before,” he replied genuinely anxious.
“Me either, it
even looked like he had dragons with him,” Stripe absently tapped his fingers
against the flask in his hands.
“They weren’t
dragons,” Ramaeka interrupted firmly. “I don’t know what they were, but they
weren’t dragons.”
“How do you
know?” Shady asked raising an eyebrow though he didn’t sound as challenging as
he usually did.
“Because I’ve
seen a dragon up close before, and that’s not what they look like,” he replied
as calmly as he could. He looked up to see Stripe watching him closely and
smiled weakly. Please don’t guess he thought desperately to himself.
Stripe turned
away and said to Shady, “It looks like they were headed west of Porkae, but
they could swing east.”
“Let’s hope
not,” Shady replied. “We’ll head west as well then swing east across the
Dragon Mountains and down into Porkae. That way we should miss them, no
sensible leader would take a full army across the Dragon range.” He didn’t
look a hundred percent sure as he said this, Ramaeka noticed.
“No sensible
person would want to cross that range,” Stripe retorted. He sighed and leant
back. “It will have to do though.”
As he sat on
first watch that night and stared into the dark forest ahead of them, Ramaeka
desperately hoped that there were not actual dragons on the mountain range.
Explaining to his friends why giant flying monsters recognised him was a
dilemma he didn’t particularly want to face. Telling them he was a monster,
according to their beliefs, was something he especially did not want to do he
thought morosely. Enough he told himself firmly, all he could do was enjoy his
journey while it lasted.
He spent the
rest of his watch determinedly not thinking about anything.
Chapter Five
They travelled
fast over the next week, following game trails away from the main path.
Several times Ramaeka found himself mentally thanking his former teacher Tannis
for forcing his students to build up their endurance. There had been no
sightings of any creatures or men from the army, though they continued to keep
an eye out. Everyday Ramaeka watched the mountains change from purple
splotches on the distant horizon, to forbidding dark peaks. Stripe worried
him; occasionally he would look up and see the blond watching him. However
when he did catch him looking, Stripe just smiled and looked
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