Discovery

by Spacebabie

Three young rookery brothers discover hidden wonders in the Avalon caves when seeking a lost gargoyle beast.

All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of Spacebabie

by: Spacebabie

Discovery

---

Previously on Gargoyles

"Should I use my ring?"Rinaldo (She who Walks through Time)

"I don't understand how the four prisons connect with a giant piece of ice, a firefly in a brass cage and a frog riding the back of a coyote." Fox Xanatos (Rejection)

---

Avalon 1529 A.D.

The overlapping petals of the roses were part of the beauty that lured her in. The silky smooth surface of each individual blood red petal was also part of the charm as well as it's rich, intoxicating scent. The overwhelming beauty of the blossom captured everyone's eyes on the island but Marigold was also interested in the thorns, both the tiny needle like thorns and the thicker ones amongst the bark covered branch, each the size of her claws.

The young golden female knew how to pick a rose from the branches with out injuring the soft parts of her talons. Princess Katharine had taught her how to deftly extract the rose by picking it at the vulernable part. Her golden yellow talons carefully cradled the bottom of the flower, holding it in place by the weak spot and cut it loose by slicing through the green stalk with a single swipe of a talon on the other hand.

"Beautiful," she gasped as she brought the rose to her nose, having it touch the top part of her long and narrow beak. She inhaled the fragrance before she held it in front of her. Her dark eyes fixed on the minuscule thorns. "I want to be like a rose when I grow up. Beautiful and able to cause my enemies pain."

"Roses don't have any enemies," Lilac said in a matter of fact tone. The pale purple hatchling was kneeling on the bank of the nearby creek. Her smooth knees pushing into the mud. "Unless you consider the animals that want to eat them as possible enemies." She straightened her back, causing her silky white hair to tumble back behind her shoulders and in between her wings. Four small prongs along the length of her forehead kept her hair from falling into her eyes.

"That is what I mean," Marigold brushed her finger tips through her dark brown hair. "They are flowers with claws. I would love to make a weapon with their thorns. I could make a mace covered with them, or a long whip with thorns placed at certain parts." She raised her tail- ending with six spikes-and let it crack against the wind like a whip.

"Flowers should not be used as a weapon," Jasmine said from her chosen spot amongst the blossoms. Her dark blue wings were folded across her shoulders while she sat with her legs folded. An empty scroll was un-rolled across her lap. The once clean parchment was covered with sketchy streaks from the piece of thin charcoal she held.

"And why not?" Marigold narrowed her eyes.

"Because beauty should not be used as a weapon." Her greenish yellow sister replied.

"Beauty should not be a weapon?" Marigold frowned. "How could you say that. There are some pretty swords with jewels in the handle and they are weapons. The Princess is beautiful and she can fight with a dagger."

"Flowers shouldn't be a weapon because they are beautiful and delicate." Jasmine set the charcoal down amongst the pile of others she had brought with her and wiped her hands on her loincloth.

"Roses are not delicate." Marigold stretched her amber wings, topped with an extra flap of flesh, across her chest proudly while she placed the rose in her brown hair, right behind the row of hard bumps of skin covered cartilage.

"Do you think it could be possible?" Lilac asked as she leaned forward and grabbed onto one of the water lilies and pulled it closer to her. Her own pink wings were still unfolded, the diaphanous feather like fringes at the bottoms reflected the moonlight, making them shimmer.

"I won't know until I try."

"Thorns are sharp and strong," she raised the flower out of the water by half an inch, the green stalk it was attached to held fast.

"They are stronger than most flowers. They are almost strong as rocks and stones."

"Why would you compare rocks to flowers?" Jasmine stared at her strangely. "They are no where near as pretty."

"That's not true," Marigold said. "Rocks are very pretty. Lilac has discovered several pretty stones on the beach and on along the creek beds."

"It's true," Lilac said softly. "Water is very soft and you can strike it with your fist and cut through it, but its still powerful. It can wash away the rough edges of rocks until the are smooth and the sea is even more powerful. Nearly all the rocks I find washed up are round and smooth and some are even shiny as glass."

Marigold pointed at her while scowling at Jasmine. "You see? There are pretty rocks and remember what the Princess said about how something's are ugly on the surface, but are pretty underneath? That applies to rocks too. Like last week when Gawain broke that one rock and there were purple crystals on the inside."

"I still like flowers better," Jasmine picked up her drawing. "We all once were loyal to the flowers."

"Loyal to the flowers?" Lilac repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

Jasmine shrugged. "We used to like flowers and just flowers."

"I still like some of the them," Marigold said. "I like roses and other flowers with thorns and the flower that bares my name, but I find stones even more pretty. They are strong and beautiful."

"I like the sea," Lilac said. "And not just because it's strong and beautiful to watch but because it's many things. It's an artist that sculpts the stones Marigold loves. It is the home to the fish we eat and other creatures within it's depths, and it has mysteries that no one this island has yet to undercover. There are worlds within worlds and they are in the sea."

"An artist," Jasmine breathed while staring at her charcoal sticks. "Like what I want to be."

"You are an artist, Jasmine." Marigold told her. She heard the snap of a fallen twig and glanced at the nearest tree. Tristram, Daphne and Rinaldo were climbing the branches, but they did not make the sound. She stared past the tree and at the approaching human. The Magus was nearing his fifties, but despite his age he still managed to run as fast as he did when he was young. Marigold smiled politely as he neared them.

"I'm still trying to get better with my drawing," Jasmine glanced at the black feathery sketches of the flowers she had drawn. "I just wish I could capture their pretty colors along with their forms."

"I think that could be arranged," the Magus caught up with the young trio. He neither had to lean against something, nor did he had to fight to catch his breath. He kneeled down next to the yellowish green female. "You know where we find charcoal?"

"In the ground?" Jasmine replied with a questioning tone. She was not quite sure of herself.

"Exactly," Magus said. "And they came from Avalon's ground. Magic flows through the everything here. Including the ground."

"The charcoal is magical?" her eyes widened in surprise.

He pointed at her charcoal sticks. "They have a little magic, just the right amount for me to change. Sticks of black, transform to sticks of color." A burst of energy exited from his hand, touching the charcoal. The sticks slow brightened, each one eventually taking on a different hue as they lightened. The glowing light faded, leaving behind sticks in several different colors.

"Magus," Jasmine gasped. She did not know exactly what to say or do.

"There you go little egg," Magus yawned before he ran his fingers through her dark honey colored hair. "You draw to your heart's desire." He rose to his feet and walked back to the castle. "Remember to be back before dawn."

"Magus, look at me. Look at me!" Daphne had climbed to the highest branch and held fast with her hands and her lower talons, the retractable middle claws stuck deep in the bark.

"You have made it to the top," the human chuckled as he clapped his hands together. "You have done an excellent job." his tone, tainted in high exuberance gave to worry when the beige webwing released her hold of the tree tops. "Do becareful."

"I won't fall," Daphne explained. "I've got wings. I'll just glide to the ground if I slip."

"I just don't want you to slip."

"I won't slip," she leaned forward, stretching her arms even further. The middle talons released their grip of the branches. "I can glide. I'll glide back to the castle faster than you can run."

"You want to race me?"

She did not shout her answer, but rather released her grip entirely from the branches. She caught the first thermal underneath her wings and shifted direction toward the castle.

"That's not quite fair," Magus chuckled as he raised the bottom of his robes and ran after her.

---

From his place in the tree, Rinaldo watched Jasmine with rapt curiosity. The drab, olive green hatchling was not interested in her art but her colored charcoal. Seconds ago he was scaling up the branches, trying to race Tristam and Daphne to the top. He paused when the bottom left of his vision was overwhelmed with a brilliant glow and he watched as Magus had transformed the dark sticks into several different colors.

"You shouldn't have let her win," Tristam called from five branches above him. The dark gray hatchling pierced the branches hanging over his head like a wooden canopy with his talons. "You are even faster than me. Why did you stop?"

"Did you see that?" Rinaldo stood up from his crouch and stared up at his rookery brother. His maroon hair tickled the tops of his shoulders.

"See Daphne climb to the top first?" Tristrm asked she pulled himself up. His tail ending in a arrow tip more pointed than Rinaldos curved spade end hung freely.

"No. What the Magus did." He pointed at the stack of charcoal as Jasmine selected a red one with the three finger like growths at the end of her tail. "He really can do magic. I heard the stories, but that was the first time he did it."

The gray hatchling glanced at the colorful sticks and shrugged. "He can change the colors of things, that isn't much."

His rookery brother turned to him , holding onto the branch he was perched on with one hand. "That is still more than you can do." His voice dripped with the bitterness that matched the mixed look of disbelief and disgust on his face.

"I don't think magic is all that amazing." He leaped up towards the top branches.

Rinaldo glanced at the Jasmines charcoal before staring up at the castle. He was sure the Magus was almost there. If the way Daphne circling overhead was any indication. He didn't bother telling Tristram where he was going. He spread his wings topped with three claws while he inched closer to the edges of the branches. He felt the wind underneath the leather of his wings before his talons released their hold of the branches.

---

A flood of questions ran through the olive-green hatchling's mind as he raced on all fours towards the Magus's study. He wasn't sure if he had already returned or if he was somewhere else in the castle. It couldn't hurt to try to see if he was inside.

His hands had barely touched the door knob when a pair of dusky orange talons grabbed onto his wrist.

"Where are you going?" Solomon asked him.

Rinaldo withdrew his hand from Solomon's grasp. "I was going in there."

The orange hatchling stood in front of the door and folded his dark brown triangular shaped wings across his chest. "You are not allowed in the Magus's study," With his wings cloaked and his circumference of fleshy spikes crowning the top of his head he looked like a young prince.

"Why am I not allowed?" Rinaldo asked while reaching up to scratch and itch that developed on the tip of his fin shaped crest on the top of his head, poking through his near shoulder length maroon hair. "Is the Magus back?"

"It does not matter if he is back or not. What matters is you are not allowed inside."

"Why? Is he studying something?"

"Why does it matter if he's studying or not," Solomon raised his brow ridges. "Why do you want to see him?"

"I want to ask him a few questions about the spell he just did."

"Magus doesn't use spells." Solomon spoke in a haughty and straight forward tone as if there were no other possible answers. "He is man of wisom and facts. Just because he may have used magic in the past does not mean he would use them now."

"Yes he did," Rinaldo nodded positively while raising a talon. "I just saw him do it. It was a small spell, but it was still a spell. I want to know how he did it and if he could teach me."

Solomon chuckled in his throat, letting it come out through his nose in quick and short snorts. "Even if the Magus did use magic he's not taking in any private students and if he was it wouldn't be you."

"Why not?" Rinaldo crossed his arms.

"Because you don't understand that knowledge is power. Maybe if you were a better student you would understand that."

Rinaldo glared at the orange hatchling before turning around and folding his wings. "I am a good student." He muttered under-breath. If he ever was going to get any word with the Magus he was going to need reinforcements to keep the teacher's pet at bay. He would have to wait until the next night. Dawn was only a few hours away and he would use that time to devise a plan.

---

The dog like gargoyle beasts were barely out of their shell when they started to cause trouble. The three humans had to carry the food high above their heads to keep it out of range of the leaping creatures. The hatchlings took their places around the table, ready to devour their food as soon as it was set down. They snarled at the dog like beasts, thrashing their talons while Tom ordered them away and to eat their own food. When the hatchlings began their meal the beasts were obedient for the most part.

Aurora did not lay down along with the other two beasts when the food was nearly eaten. She sat up, eyeing the remaining pieces of meat on the table with the hope either one of the others would give her a piece, or if she could steal something when no one was looking. Her hope for table scraps were dashed when the extra food was claimed for seconds, or pocketed later for a snack.

The pinkish creature's ears perked up when she saw one hatchling jogging away from the castle, ready to explore the island with a quarter of ribs in his talons. If she was careful and quiet she would be able to steal the food from him.

Aurora kept herself low to the ground as she followed the pudgy hatchling as he continued on his path towards the volcano. He did not seem to be aware she was following him. Her focus jumped back and forth form the ground to the ribs in his hand. She did no twant to loose him or make a sound. She paused when he did, but only for a second. his arms were hanging by his side. The ribs would easily be accessible by her. It was now or never. She raced forward, barely pausing as her jaws clamped onto the meat, pulled it from his hand and continued to to run

"Give it back!" The pudgy azure hatchling cried out as he chased Aurora across the island. He had selected the last set of boar ribs to snack on before the hatchlings lessons with the Magus. He had no idea the rosy pink beast was following him until she snatched the meat from his talons. "Aurora drop those now." Sweat covered his face and even began to bead on the thick horns that curled back over his head. His pale blond hair bounced with each step. He struggled to keep up with the beast dog. Even though they hatched as the same time as he and the others they seemed to have aged twice as fast.

"Aurora heel," the voice crying out from above belonged to Michael. The bronze hatchling dove down from the sky and landed on Aurora, tackling her to the ground. He grabbed her by her short antler like horns and pulled the ribs from her jaws. "You are not much of a warrior, Lionel." He handed the meat to his rookery brother. "If you are going to cry whenever someone steals your treats." He ran his hand through his golden honey colored hair. Unlike Lionel's horns his, six inches long and spiraled like a goat, were pointing straight up.

"I am not crying," Lionel separated the ribs into two halves, sending small sparks of grease flying. "And she took me by surprise while I was on the ground. I couldn't just climb a tree and glide after her." He split the ribs even further into single pieces. "Want one?"

"No ," Michael scrunched up his face in disgust. "I'm full and that's been in her mouth."

Lionel shrugged. "If it is what you truely want." He sniffed the rib before taking a bite out of it.

"That is disgusting," Michael stuck out his tongue. "You don't care where its been. I guess if you did care you wouldn't be fat." He poked the azure hatchling in his ample stomach.

"I'm not fat." Lionel mumbled with his mouthful of meat. His lips were covered with a glistening coat of grease.

"Oh yes you are," Michael spread his black wings, bottom ending had an extra fleshed strut that was the third of the size of the wings themselves.

"I am not."

"You are too," he folded his wings across his chest, linking together by the two claws on each wing.

"And what if I was fat?" Lionel asked. "It doesn't make me any less of a warrior."

"It's your lack of warrior skills that make you less of a warrior," Michael responded smugly before he turned around. "I wonder what's in that volcano."

"Guardian Tom had seen volcanoes before. He said they contains fire in a liquid form."

"He also said there were some that are quiet and empty. Magus said the volcano on Avalon is also quiet and empty. I bet there are some interesting caves near it. We can go and explore, maybe even find Oberon's treasure."

"What makes you think there is a treasure."

"Oberon is the king of the third race and this is his home, and if he was a faerie king then he has a tresure, and I want to see it." He glanced around him, searching for a missing member to their group. "Where is Rinaldo. We were supposed to meet before we go to Magus's lessons."

"He said he was going to wait outside the study so he could get a good seat."

"What? When did he say this?"

"Right after we woke up. He was standing right next to me and he told me he was going to lessons early."

The bronze hatchling gently pat the top of the short orange mane of the gargoyle beast. "He didn't tell me," he pretended to sound hurt. "We'll see what is going through his mind." He climbed onto the back of Aurora and held out his hand for his rookery brother.

---

They were not the last to enter the study but the room was already crowded with hatchlings sitting in front of the large chair used by the Magus during their lessons. Michael and Lionel waded around their brothers and sisters to the shelves on the side to retrieve their blank scrolls and charcoal sticks.

Lionel's round eyes were the ones who found his drab green brother sitting right in front of the crowd.. "I see Rinaldo."

"Where is he?" Michale handed Lionel one of the two scrolls he held before he reached for the charcoal.

"He sitting right at the front." Lionel pointed toward the front row.

"The front?" he turned around to see the pudgy gargoyle was correct. "Come on."

He waded around his brothers and sisters, careful not to trip over their legs or step on the tails. It wouldn't be possible for either him or Lionel to sit next to him but they could at least ask the third member of their trio why he was in the front.

He stood in front of maroon-haired hatchling. "What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for class to start," Rinaldo didn't even bother to look up at him.

"Why are you sitting at the front?"

"Because I'm interested in tonight's lessons." He glanced up and grabbed onto Michael's hand, and pulled him down to whisper into his ear. "Keep Solomon away from me when the lessons end."

Michael blinked at the ridiculous request. "Why?"

The red-haired male turned around and caught Solomon glaring at him. "I'm going to ask Magus if I can help him clean up."

Michael had a follow up question to ask but before he could even part his mouth he heard the doors to the study open once more and the familiar footsteps of their teacher entering the room. "Promise to tell us later." He whispered back before he and Lionel searched for their own places to sit near the back of the room.

The lesson for the evening was about rocks and stones. The announcement barely left the Magus's lips when Marigold squealed out a cheer, earning shushing sounds from her two closest sisters. Rinaldo ignored her outburst and focused entirely on what the Magus had to say. He wrote down the names of each different type of stone he had listed and wrote a few descriptions underneath them.

Twice he felt a talon poking him in his back and chose to ignore it. It was without a doubt Solomon. He was sure of it, but he refused to allow anything to distract him, not when Magus was listing the stones often used for spells.

The educational lesson only lasted for forty minutes, enough time for the hatchlings to actually learn before their minds wandered off.

"Thus concludes tonight's lesson," Magus clapped his hands together. "I am going to quiz everyone tomorrow about what we had just learned." He slowly rose from his chair and officially ended the class.

Rinaldo waited until his rookery had left the room before he approached The Magus. He glanced at the ground, noting how clean it was that night, much cleaner than other nights. Usually there would be a few scrolls and several broken pieces of charcoal on the floor. There were three broken scrolls on the ground that night. The parchment containing the notes written from that night's lesson was torn.

"Magus?" Rinaldo gently grasped onto the bottom of the wizard's robes. "Can I help clean up?"

"Sure you can little egg," Magus smiled at him. The small creases linging his mouth became more notacble. "This is the one thing you don't have to ask."

"I just want to be polite." He didn't look to see if he and Magus were alone. He had already assumed Michael and Rinaldo had dragged Solomon off to someplace. He didn't know the orange gargoyle was in the room with them until he felt a sharp poke in his back. The same type of poke he received during the lesson.

"What are you up too?" Solomon whispered. He had his hands balled into tiny fists and placed on his hips.

"There you are!" Lionel trotted up to the two of them and grabbed Solomon by the wrist. "I want you to see something."

"See what?" The orange hatchling turned around.

"This new trick I just taught Aurora," Michael was leaning against the doorway. "Lionel and I want to show you."

"Why don't you show Rinaldo?" He asked, but allowed himself to be lead anyways.

"He's already seen it," the goat-horned hatchling replied while giving Rinaldo a wink.

'I promise you two it will be worth it,' the green lad thought as he reached for one of the broken scrolls.

"I'll take care of the scrolls," Magus gently took the two pieces from his talons. "They are going to have to be repaired. You can provide enough help with cleaning up the charcoal."

The crested gargoyle nodded before he crawled around the room and removed the dark pieces from the floor, thankful it did not have any soft rug for once. Cleaning the dark ash out of woven cloth would have been hard for him. He placed them back into their desk before he gathered up the books Magus brought with him.

Magus only watched his helper a few times while he cut the uneven part of the parchment off and slid the end into the groove of the scroll it was torn from.

Once the scrolls were repaired he placed them back into the desk. "Bring them here, Rinaldo." He approached the book shelves and rook the tomes held up by the hatchling. "You have been a big help tonight. Is there something you want?"

"How did you know?" Rinaldo blinked in surprise of the Magus guessing he had an ulterior motive.

The human chuckled. "I did not necessarily know. I just guessed.. There were a lot of factors for me to wonder. You expressed more interest in your lesson tonight than you usually do. You offered to clean up and Solomon seemed to be suspicious of you."

Rinaldo held up the last book. "I only have a few questions I wanted to ask you."

"You may ask." Magus smiled warmly as he took the book from his hand and placed it into the shelf.

"How did you change the colors Jasmine's drawing charcoal from all black to different colors.?"

"You know there is magic within every inch of this island."

"It flows through the water, three trees and the rocks," the gargoyle nodded while repeating the lessons he had been taguht in the past

"The charcoal comes from Avalon's ground. It has enough magic to allow me to alter a minor element of it, and in that case I just changed the colors."

"Why didn't you perform any spells before?"

The Magus sighed, drawing air deeply into his lungs before he exhaled. He knew the eggs would eventually ask him about why he hadn't been using magic in their presence. "I have done them when I am mostly alone here. I keep the door locked so as not to be disturbed. The magic I practice here are spells I have already performed before. Spells I have memorized. Shortly after we had set up your rookery for your eggs I wrote them down."

"Can you teach some of them to me?"

"Why do you want to learn how to do magic?" He raised one of his silvery white brows.

"You had said knowledge lives through the students. When the students grow they can become teachers and pass the knowledge they have learned to the next group. If you teach one of us then you would help keep the knowledge of the spells alive."

"That is one of the correct answers," Magus gently rubbed the youth's forehead, careful as to not strike his palm against Rinaldo's crest. "The others is to improve the land for everyone to enjoy and to defend those they care about."

"I want to do that. I want to make things better and make people happy and I want to be a better protector. Gargoyles are protectors. Guardian Tom said we are."

"No one else had asked to learn magic," Magus rubbed his chin as he studied him. Perhaps since Rinaldo was the only one to ask he was meant to be taught. "I'll take you on as my private pupil as long as understand a few things." He held up a thin pale finger. "You must understand I won't be able to teach you a great amount, only the ones I had written down." A second finger joined the first. "You must follow my rules and do whatever I ask of you."

Rinaldo stared into the Magus's eyes and held the intense stare. "I will do as you ask."

"Meet me here at exactly two hours before dawn."

---

Rinaldo did not quite understand the concept of time. He only knew when midnight, dawn and Sunset occurred by the announcement of the first and by waking up and falling asleep. He knew Solomon, Raphael, and Isoude understood time, but he did not want to ask them. He asked the Princess to tell him when the exact time it would be for him and stood near her through out the night. Lionel and Michael both asked him what was going on, but he didn't answer them. He wasn't going to that night and he probably wouldn't the following night.

When he arrived at study at the exact time he saw the Magus standing in the middle of the room holding onto the top of a broom. "Hello?"

"I want you to sit down in front of me," Magus instructed. The child entered and lowered himself to the ground in front of the Magus. "I want you to imagine yourself in the most calming and relaxing places on Avalon.

Rinaldo lowered his lids while running through the short list of blissful and relaxing place he had encountered. He imagined himself on his favorite roosting place while staring at the remaining sliver of the light he and the rest of his rookery could see when they first wake up. He thought of lying on the grass along with Michael and Lionel, just staring at the stars and wondering what kind of warriors they will grow up to be. The third place was by the pond near the small waterfall. The fish swimming over the smooth rocks lining the bottom was still fresh in his mind when he felt the wooden handle of the broom being placed into his hands.

"I want you to sweep the entire floor." Magus instructed.

Rinaldo didn't look up at him, nor did he question the order. He had promised he would do whatever the wizard had asked him. He dragged the bottom of the broom across the floor, gathering up dirt, dust and ash.

The following night The Magus instructed him to perform a few breathing exorcises. He breathed in deeply and held it for the count of five before exhaling. He breathed deeply again four more times before he was instructed to breath quickly and hold it.

"My shelves are in a bit of a mess," Magus said. "We are going to organize them. I want you to keep doing those breathing exorcises as we work."

"Yes sir," Rinaldo said before he inhaled another deep breath.

The rest of the week was similar. The Magus would ask him to either breath deeply or to sit and concentrate before he assigned the hatchling a task. Sometimes he would ask the hatchling to continue with the exorcise while he worked at the chore.

The seventh night was different. There were no brooms or rags to clean with. The Magus had pushed his chair back and placed two large cushions onto the ground. He smiled at his pupil as he placed a candle in between the coushins. "Sit down with me." Like the previous nights Rinaldo obeyed his command and sat on the other side of the candle. "What is one of the places you think of when I ask for your mind to relax?"

"The pond with the small waterfall," Rinaldo replied. "Its near the fig tree so it always smells of sweet ripe figs. It's beautiful to look at with all the fish and the sound of the water gushing down the rippled stones is just relaxing."

"An excellent place. There had been times when I decided to sit there and meditate," he sighed while staring up. A smile of pleasant memory formed on his face briefly. "I want you to close your eyes and think of that place." He watched as Rinaldo closed his eyes and relaxed his arms. "Good lad. Imagine the babbling water as it washes down the side of the falls and lands into the pond. Feel the cold water as you reach out into the pond. The fish are playing and when your talons break through the surface they swim away. Now breath deeply. That fig scented air you are breathing in has trace amount of magic. There is power in the water. Imagine the magical flowing into you as you drink from the water and eat the figs."

"I feel it," Rinaldo gasped while he held out his arms. He wasn't sure what he was feeling. There was a warm tingling in his chest and he felt the same refreshed energized feeling he had whenever he woke up from his stone sleep.

"You may open your eyes," the human whispered and pointed at the candle in between them. The first lesson I am going to teach you was the first lesson I learned. It isn't too hard, but you must remain relaxed."

"I'll try not to get too excited."

He nodded. "I want you to repeat after me. Pyro illuminus." he spoke the phrase in a simple tone, the same voice he used when he was teaching.

"Pyro," Rinaldo's browridges were furrowed as he tried to pronounce the second word. "Illuminus?"

"Correct. Repeat it again. Pyro illuminus."

"Pyro illuminus," he repeated the word without any trouble.

"Good. Now I want you to shout it."

"Pyro illuminus!" Rinaldo shouted the phrase with a great amount of confidence. He swore he saw a few strands of his teacher's hair flyingup. The air in the room felt alive with energy and he wondered if was the cause of any of it.

The Magus pointed at the candle one again while narrowing his eyes. "Pyro illuminus!" Several strands of his hair flew up while the energy Rinaldo felt seemed to gather around him and the candle. A pale yellowish white light surrounded his hands and the wick of the candle momentarily. The light on the wick grew in both size and brilliance while a thin stream of smoked wafted up. The light danced around, becoming a narrow point at the top before curling back and separating into two prongs. The flame continued to dance around the wick, melting the wax into a semi clear liquid that slowly dribbled down the sides.

"Amazing," Rinaldo breathed. The flame was reflected in his eyes as he continued to watch it.

"Thank you," He blew out the candle, leaving only a thin trail of smoke. "Now you are going to try?"

The hatchling's eyes doubled in size as he pointed towards his chest. "Me?"

"This is why you are being taught how to perform magic. Point at the candle and stay relaxed. Breath deeply again if you have to."

Rinaldo stared at the wick and at the Magus. He pictured himself lighting the candle with a single shout of the phrase. He pointed at the wick and breathed deeply. He waited until every other thought was out of his head before he opened his eyes. "Pyro illuminus!" He felt a few strands of his own hair raise while his talons tingled. He saw the same light outline them and the wick, but the light did not manifest into a flame and instead blinked out, leaving only tiny puff of smoke. "I did it wrong"

"No you didn't," Magus shook his head. "The first thing happened to me when I first tried the spell. You are still need to build up more energy within yourself. Try it again, but this time focus on Avalon's magic coursing through your veins and leaving your hand."

Rinaldo didn't close his eyes, but he breathed three of his short quick breaths, pausing to hold onto each one a few seconds before he exhaled. He thought of magic pouring down the waterfall and gathering into the pool he sipped from, glittering amongst the roses he sniffed and glowing around the fruit he plucked from trees and ate. All that magical energy was a part of him. He pointed at the candle again "Pyro illuminus!" He pictured the energy that filled him up rushing out, causing his hand and wick to glow. The brilliance grew while more smoke ascended towards the ceiling. Rinaldo did not remove his eyes from the flame until it flickered back and forth. "I did it?"

"You did it," Magus answered, his voice was rich with pride.

"I did it!" He jumped up from his cushion and danced. "I did it. I can do magic! I did it!"

The middle aged man could not keep from chuckling. "Oh yes you did, my pupil. You have to remember one thing though. Before you leave you must blow out the candle and help me clean up."

The child paused in mid step of his dance. "I will." He jumped into the air and pranced around the room for a few minutes before he blew out the flame.

---

Three small forms glided towards the volcano their wings spread out to steady their bodies against the thermals they rode on. Bellow them, running on the ground was the pinkish rose gargoyle beast. Her ghostly eyes kept the three gargoyle hatchlings with in sight as she followed them.

The bronze hatchling landed first, his knees bending slightly when his feet had touched the ground. He gave his wings a gentle flap before he folded them across his chest. "This is the place."

"The place you two have been talking about?" the olive green hatchling said as he landed. Rinaldo glanced around him. He saw a small hill, only half way covered with grass and a patch of moss, a group of trees forming a perfect ring and circle of large rocks stood near the hill. "This doesn't seem too special."

"It is if you took a break from your private lessons," Lionel told him. He and Michael have been wondering why Rinaldo had not been spending time with them and when they cornered him, asking him why he didn't want to go exploring with them. He told the truth, where he had been and why he asked for their help with Solomon.

"I wanted to ask him in advance." Rinaldo explained while he removed a stray leaf from his vest. Unlike his two rookery brothers he wore something else besides his loin cloth. "Five nights ago I asked for a night off," he held out arms. "This is the night."

"Well now that you are here we can show you what else we found," Michael approached the hill with Aurora sniffing at his heels. He sank his talons into the moss and pulled it down, revealing a hole large enough for even Guardian Tom to crawl into. "We found this cave a few nights ago." He stepped aside to allow Aurora to examine the entrance.

"We are going to explore it?" the green hatchling raised his brow ridges while stepping back from it. "Shouldn't we tell the others first?"

"Why should we?" Michael asked, crossing his arms "We found it."

"I have to agree with Rinaldo," Lionel said. "There is a possibility we can get lost or trapped. If we brought the clan we could explore while some of the others would wait." He noticed the approving nod from Rinaldo and the defeated sigh from Michael. "Of course we will be the ones doing the exploring. The others can stay here and wait for us."

"I guess we can train here for a few hours," Michael approached the nearest bush. "We can tell the others about it tomorrow."

"Not tomorrow," Rinaldo sighed. "Four or five nights from now. I have to ask for another night off."

"Can't disappoint the Magus," Lionel shrugged when he caught Michael's expression. The bronze gargoyle's lower lip protruded out while his nose wrinkled. "We will fully forgive you if you showed us what he taught you."

The olive hued child swallowed. "He hasn't taught me much. We only started to learn how to float feathers a few nights ago. I still haven't been able to get it to levitate."

"Three weeks and that is all you learned?" Michael's sour face brightened at the thought of watching his rookery brother perform magic, but the frown quickly replaced the smile when he realized he won't be able to see anything.

"There is one thing I learned," Rinaldo slowly walked around the area. His focus was on the ground, searching for a stick or a twig. He picked up one that was as long as his arm and thick as his tail.

"We won't complain if you show us that one," Lionel neared him. He knew Rinaldo was going to perform the spell if he was searching around for a specific size of a twig.

"I think you should stand back," he held the stick in front of him and pointed at it with his other hand. "Pyros Illuminus!" Smoke rose from the wood seconds before the glowing light surrounding the end ignited into a flame.

"You can make fire," Michael gasped when he finally was able to get in control of his tongue. Next to him, Lionel was similarly shocked.

"I can make a little flame," Rinaldo explained as he examined the small flame. "Magus told me it will be a little while before I can make a bon fire." He blew on the twig before he scratched at the ground. His talons cut through the grass and stirred up the dirt underneath. He stirred the stick into the dirt, grinding out the flame.

"Rinaldo is going to be one of the greatest wizards," Michael grabbed onto another fallen twig. "I'm going to be the greatest warrior." He raced up to the nearest bush. "I shall defeat this monster." His eyes lit up while he brought the end of the stick on top of it. He jumped back after the wood struck the leaves and stabbed it from the left. He growled and poked it in the side again before spinning around and swinging the stick up underneath it.

"This is why I don't rush into battle," Lionel said. "It gives me time to look for other dangers. Like the monsters poison tail. Look out, Michael!"

Michael looked up at the bush. One limb rose inches above the top near the back. He kept the branch within his sights as he jumped back and held up the stick to block.

"Good call," Rinaldo complimented.

"And so is this," the azure hatchling picked up a large rock from the ground and threw I at the bush. The stone crashed through the branches, dislodging several leaves. "Now that the monster is stunned I can rush forward and help take care of the tail." He found another twig on the ground and raced forward. With a quick jump into the air he brought his imaginary weapon down across the top of the branch sticking up.

"You take care of the tail and I'll take care of the head," Michael instructed as he swung his branch against the bush. "And when the monster is worn out, Rinaldo will defeat it with a spell."

"Actually," Rinaldo came towards them, his burnt stick brandished. "I appear from the side and stab." He leaped into the air and brought his stick down, swiping through the plant.

"All three of us together," Michael said. "The monster is almost dead. we just need to strike it together." The three of them swung their branches back and then forward, piercing the plant into the middle.

Lionel slowly pulled his makeshift sword back. "Is it dead?"

"It's dead," Michael pulled out his branch and wiped it on the grass before he pretended to put it back in it's sheath. "We can tell the others the threat had come to pass."

"That was fun," Lionel sat down. "What else are we going to do?"

"More training games," Michael said. "You and Rinaldo both need to improve, unless Rinaldo wants to use his magic to fight."

"I'm going to save my spells for a last ditch effort," Rinaldo explained while swinging his stick around. "It would be waste of power if I could defeat an enemy with fighting and weapon skills."

"What do you mean I need to improve?" Lionel stood back up. "I wasn't the one who leaped before they looked."

The bronze gargoyle just walked right up to him and grabbed onto his stomach. He squeezed on the extra flesh, but not too hard. "You are out of shape."

"No I'm not," Lionel pulled his hands off him. "I'm still a good fighter."

"What would you do if there was a real monster here?"

"We wouldn't use sticks to fight it," Rinaldo said. " I'd use my fire spell to blind it and we run back to the castle and tell Tom."

"We'd just run?" Michael blinked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the cowardice his rookery brother had just displayed.

"It depends on the monster. You didn't give a specific size. We'd run if it was as tall as one of these trees."

"He's right," Lionel agreed. "If it was the size of the bush we would fight it with rocks and our clawss and strength, and our tails." He raised his tail tipped into two curved spikes like a pick ax and struck the ground, angling the appendage so one of the sharp points would dig through the soil. "And while we are fighting it Aurora can run back home to get help."

"Exactly," Rinaldo only nodded once. There was something about Lionel's plan that struck something in his mind. While they were fighting the bush Aurora didn't help them. Like the other beasts she would have growled at it and playfully bite a few branches. Rinaldo slowly spun around, his eyes seeking out the gargoyle beast. "Where is Aurora?"

"She was right here," Michael glanced around him. "I remembered she was sitting near the cave entrance and watched Rinaldo's trick."

"Sitting near the cave entrance," Lionel whispered while his eyes widened in shock. He turned around towards the hill. The cave opening reminded him of a mouth opening into a yawn. "Oh no."

"Aurora!" Rinaldo dropped to the ground and raced after his brother towards the entrance.

"Do you guys think she is in there?" Michael asked. He ran after them on all fours. The bronze hatchling nudged past his rookery brothers and stared into the entrance. Even with his enhanced vision he could not see far into the cave. "Aurora! Aurora are you in there?" He tilted his head to listen. A few sharp and distant barks echoed down the tunnel.

"She is in there," Rinaldo confirmed. "What should we do?"

"We should tell the princess and the others," Lionel suggested.

Michael shook his head. "That will take too long. We don't know whats in there. Aurora could get lost, or trapped or hurt."

"Then what do you suggest?" He knew he shouldn't have asked the question the second he saw Michael crawl into the opening. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like," he climbed in until his whole body was inside, leaving his tail ending in a flat paddle, sticking out.

The plump lad sighed and shook his head. He turned toward the trees when he heard a snapping sound. Rinaldo was breaking off more branches, thicker than the ones they were playing with. "May I ask what you are doing?"

"I'm getting a few supplies." Rinaldo replied

"Are you agreeing with him?"

"Why else would I be gathering supplies?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Lionel sighed as he crawled toward the entrance. "Rinaldo is getting supplies. Could you move so I can join you?" The bronze hatchling crawled deeper into the hole, giving him plenty of room to crawl in after.

---

The long stone entrance was wide enough for them to crawl comfortably without scraping a wing against the sides, but it wasn't tall enough for them to completly stand up and walk through. They could stand, but the would have to bend their knees and lower the heads. Michael noticed how the entrance seemed to widen to the point two of them can crawl together side by side and how the ceiling seemed to get higher. He paused every few minutes to see how much he had to bend before his head bumped the surface.

"I think we can walk soon," Michael said after a few minutes of crawling. He stood up slowly and paused when the tops of his horns touched the ceiling. He wasn't bending or leaning. "When I stand up only my horns are touching the top. I think Lionel won't feel anything and Rinaldo might want to crawl a little further." He ducked his head and stepped forward a few feet. When he raised his head he didn't feel anything. "Perfect."

It took a little longer till the ceiling was high enough to not touch the top of Rinaldo's crest. They walked forward, continuing to call out to Aurora, telling her not to move and they would be there soon.

"Stop," Rinaldo ordered when the cave and widened enough for all three of them to walk side by side with plenty of wiggle room. He reached out and touched Michael's hand before he reached out to his left and felt nothing. He inched closer until his talons rubbed against stone. "It's wide enough." He removed the bundle he tied to his belt with a long stip of cloth.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked.

"Making torches," Rinaldo explained while ripping the cloth into three strips nad tying them around the blunt ends of the branches he broke off. He handed two of them to his rookery brothers before he pointed at the one he held. "Pyro illuminus!"

Michael brought his torch over the flame before Lionel. The light from his flame lit up the cavern for several feet. He peered ahead hoping to be able to determine the next move, but all he managed to see was more darkness. "This way." He lead the other two before calling out to Aurora again. "She seems to be closer," He smirked. He felt the rescue mission was almost over. His confident attitude was erased when they approached a large opening with smaller caverns on each side on each the side. Both of the smaller openings were wide enough for a full grown gargoyle to walk through and were seperated from the main cave by thick strip of limestone.

"Which one did she take?" Rinaldo asked.

"My guess would be the middle one," Michael suggested.

"Why?" Rinaldo asked. "Because it's the biggest?"

"Going through the central opening. Is the most obvious."

"Obvious for one of us," Lionel pointed at the smaller caves with his torch. "Not obvious for a beast. Don't forget she's been squeezing through small spaces."

"I hope she gets over that phase," Michael mumbled before turning back to the caves. "Aurora which opening did you take?" He waited for the long howl and series of barks the beast would make. He would track her down by sound, but the echoing cave made the barks and howls sound like she went down all three of them. With a defeatist sighed he turned back to the others. "Do you have a plan, Lionel?"

The chubby gargoyle's thin brow-ridges rose an inch at the suggestion that Michael was asking him to make the next move. "I think since there are three entrances and three of us we should split up."

"And we each take a entrance?" Rinaldo finished for him.

"We don't have any other idea right now so we are going to follow Lionel's suggestion," Michael approached the entrance on the left. "I'll take the one on the left. Lionel you take the one in the middle and Rinaldo you get the last one."

"Why do I have to take the middle one?" Lionel pointed at his stomach. "Is it because I'm fat?"

Rinaldo didn't even wait for Michael to sigh. "Now is not the time to argue. We are doing this for Aurora."

"How are we going to know when one of us finds her?"

"We can hear Aurora from the entrance," Michael gave the side of the wall a few taps with his hand. "We can hear each other if we are loud enough. When one of us has found Aurora we roar. The other two will run back from the way they came and the person with Aurora will backtrack also." He held up his torch high above his head and entered the cavern opening on the left.

---

Michael was even worse than Rinaldo when it came to telling time. The bronze hatchling did not know how long they were in the cave and he had no idea how much time they had left till dawn. He didn't want to waste any time and take a chance with him and the others getting caught inside when the sun rose. He quickly raced through the cavern only pausing through every bend and turn to mark the side with his claws. He called out to the dog like beast, trying to assure her either he or one of the others was going to find her. He heard his rookery brothers call out to her. None of them were having any luck.

"This place is a disappointment," Michale muttered as he continued. The pathway seemed to have widened several feet more. "No sense in exploring this place a few nights from now." He held out the flame hoping with each new step he would either find Aurora or something interesting: treasure, a few books, a pile of bones, even natraul stone elements or different colored bands on the walls would have been something."I thought limestone was supposed to sparkle," he studied the rock. There were no tiny sparkles, no different colored sediments. There was only plain brownish gray stone. The same color as their stone skin they leave behind when they wake up. He clawed in another few notches, marking his path.

"Waste of time," he hissed a few minutes later as he stared into the darkness. "There is nothing but more darkness." He closed his eyes and growled in frustration, careful not to roar. He did not want to alert his brothers when he hadn't found Aurora. "Just darkness and more rock." He spun around looking behind him and straight ahead. "It's the most dull rock in the world. I wanted this cave to be full of interesting passages to explore, but all there is rock and...the shine of something," he paused when he realized he did see the glint of metal shining from light of his torch. He brought the flame back to where he saw the flash. The metal reflected the light from the flame again. "Looks like there is something."

The metal reflecting the light was the blade of an ax embeded in the side of the wall. The blade shone like liquid moonlight as it captured the reflection of the surprised hatchling. Michael wondered if it was made of pure silver. He paced around the weapon, studying it. The handle was the length of his arm from his middle talon to his elbow. He had no idea what wood it was crafted from but the leather appeared to be from a deer. He touched the pearl like stones on the handle, two on each side, and they seemed to glitter with different colors. First pink and thne blue. The color changed by the movement of the flame. He checked the blade once more and wondered how it could remain embedded. It wasn't even buried an inch.

"How did an ax get in here?" He carved several notches on top of one of the swollen bumps on the walls, carving it deep enough for him to place his torch in. "Did someone leave it here, or is it Avalon's magic?" He felt like the latter was the most likely answer. It didn't matter on how the blade became stuck in, but more on the line as getting it out. He grabbed onto the end of the ax and pulled, thinking the blade would slide out with a mere tug. It didn't budge. Michael grabbed onto the end even tighter and pulled at the ax with all his strength. It still wasn't enough. He grabbed onto it by the middle and pulled again, throwing his whole back into it. The ax still didn't move, it didn't even wiggle. He propped one foot against the wall and tried again. "Pathetic ax!" He grabbed onto the handle near the blade and pulled, both of his feet clung onto the wall and helped push him.

Michael released his grip when he heard several barks. "Aurora?" She did not sound far away. "Aurora bark again." He two more barks and a yelp followed by whimpering. "Aurora?" He stepped deeper into the tunnel and glared at the ax. "You can stay in there. Aurora needs me." He swiped his torch and raced towards the direction Aurora's voice was coming from, only stopping when he heard the clang of metal striking against stone. He turned around and stared at the spot the ax was. It was no longer there, but on the floor where he was standing minutes before.

---

Lionel's plump azure talons held onto the wooden handle of the torch and held the flame high above his head as he peered into the small entrance on the side. It was even bigger than the rookery they had hatched in and like the other small rooms he had encountered down his tunnel it was empty. There was no sign of Aurora and nothing of interest. Every time he encountered a side entrence he would enter the room, hoping to either find Aurora, or at least some sign of the treasure Michael kept babbling about. To his dismay they were all empty. After the fifth room he had begun to wonder if he should even bother to look into any other rooms.

"I hope the others are having better luck than I am." He mumbled as he continued along his way. He hoped at least they were having a better time exploring the cave too. He could only imagine how Michael would be if he was stuck in a tunnel that was as dull or even duller. "He'd complain." That was what Michael did best when he wasn't training or coming up with fun games for them to play.

Lionel glanced at the path ahead of him and the ground. He was glad he always looked before he leaped. If he didn't he would have dropped into the hole in the floor. He stared at a patch of darkness taking up the entire floor space ahead of him and at the path ahead of him. The flames of his torch reflected off the solid wall.

"Great," he might as well turn around. There was no way Aurora went down his path, unless she fell into the hole. Fell into the hole?

Panic gripped his mind when he made the realization and highlighted the pit with his flame. It was only a few feet down. His wings drooped as he let out a deep sigh. If Aurora did fall down the hole she would have probably landed on her feet and if she didn't she wouldn't be too badly hurt. She might have even jumped down there.

"Aurora?" He called into the hole. "Are you down there girl?" The quick yip from the beast carried through the opening. "Here goes nothing." He held up the torch the highest he could, while spreading his wings to their full span and jumped down.

The fall only lasted for a few seconds and Lionel landed on his feet without any pain. He brought the torch down a few inches examined the room he was in. The cavern was even larger than the dinning hall in the castle. There were dozens of stalactites hanging down, covered in a crystal like gaze. The ground felt smooth, as if it had been sanded down.

"I bet Michael wishes he was here now," he said as he surveyed the cave. It did not take long for him to find the wide entrance near the back near the long wooden table.

He did a double take of the table. It was as long as the table in the castle courtyard and covered with severl metal pieces. "Who put this here?"

Lionel slowly approached, not sure what the glinting pieces of metal were. He was halfway across the room when he realized they were goblets of various sizes. Goblets carved out of gold, silver and copper. Goblets with images of knights, castles and wizards carved in along with the interlocking patterns the Princess explained as Celtic. They were imbedded with clear diamonds, red rubies and garnets, green emeralds, blue sapphires and purple amethysts.

"Beautiful," he breathed. He didn't care on why there was a table in the cave. He was more concerned about why anyone would leave such beautiful goblets in the caverns.

"Take one," the ghostly whisper was so faded Lionel could not tell if it was male or female.

"Take one of these?" He pointed at the treasure while glancing around the room, trying to locate the source of the voice, only to find he was alone. "I guess I could take one, and give the others to the Princess." He didn't want to keep any of the beautiful and fancy ones for himself and searched for the plainest.

The small pewter goblet was only half the size of the others and instead of elaborate patters it had small flowers carved crudely-like if he had done the carving himself, into his sides. "I'll take this one, and the rest are for the Princess." He had barely touched the small goblet when the others paled and lost their luster. They went from valuable metals and jewels into dull stone in a matter seconds before they crumbled into dust.

Lionel stared at the pewter goblet in his hand before he glanced at the table. "I guess this simple one will be the gift to the Princess." He carried the goblet by the cup as he slipped through the large hole-like exit and called out for Aurora.

---

"I stand corrected," Rinaldo stared at the statue in front of him. "This is the best cave." As he journeyed through the tunnels he came across three small sub rooms. The first was only big enough for him, Michael and Lionel to stand in. The second one was large and contained four clay urns, but to his disappointment they were empty. The third cave contained an under ground pond. The clear water glowed with an eerie green light but it was not harmful when he touched it and it had no other scent except for the same refreshing clean aroma the pond with the small waterfall had. He wanted to sit in front of it, staring at its beauty and relax. It would be another relaxing place for his list when he needed to meditate, but he couldn't dwell there longer than a few minutes, not with Aurora still lost.

The tunnel he continued down lead into a large space. There were crystals glowing with a natraul luminance in the ceiling, a floor that appeared to have been made out of different colored stones melted together in a kaledescope of colors, and a statue.

The statue was of a nude human female with long hair that flowed down to the ground and limbs that were almost as slender as the Princess's but contained a bit of muscule tone. It was tall enough to reach the ceiling and had a very thin waist and a large chest. The statue's ears were even more pointed than his were. That couldn't have been of a human, perhaps it's a member of the third race? It was carved of a stone so white it almost hurt Rinaldo to stare at it. One of her hands seemed to be reaching out, pointing towards him while the other hand rested on her hip.

"I wonder if I can climb it," the olive green hatchling grabbed the statue by it's calf and sank his claws into the smooth stone surface. "I hope I'm not damaging it."

"Don't worry," the girlish voice sounded like it had come from one of his sisters but it was thinner and had a more pleasant sound. Despite it's beauty it had the weak tone of someone who was sad. "The statue heals like all us immortals."

"Who are you," Rinaldo clutched onto the statue's knee and refused to budge. "Where are you?"

"I'm nearby, yet far, small yet big and unseen, yet seen." The pretty voice responded

Rinaldo turned his head and placed his head against the stone he was climbing. It felt very cool to his cheek."You don't make any sense."

"I make sense to those who try to listen." Her tone sounded even more oppressed

"I'm here, and I'm listening."

"I cannot show you since he won't let me out of my room, but I know where you are. You are on Aphrodite's knee and you want to climb up to the top."

"Aphrodite?" He glanced up at the statue. The Princess had told him and his brothers and sisters stories about Aphrodite. sSe was the goddess of love and beauty. "I'm climbing the goddess of love?" His voice drained with disgust.

"And what is wrong with love?"

"Love is for girls."

"So young and spits lies like the caterpillar spits silk, but maybe he does not understand."

"I'm called Rinaldo." He did not want to be refered to as just a He.

"Rinaldo? It stars with a rin and ends in a do and there is a lovely al in between. Rinaldo. It rolls on the tongue like pomegranate seeds, so fresh and juicy, but there won't be any seeds for me, not any more."

The hatchling rolled his eyes as he crawled up higher on the statue's thigh. "You are strange."

"They all thought I was strange. That is why he sent me to my room without any supper and threw away the key. He may not believe in love either not the way it should be used. He used it as a toy to snatch his prey and once he broke them he threw them away. Nobody knows but me and a few others who understood my cause."

"Who is this other he you keep talking about?"

The voice sighed. "He who hurt the hearts and dreams of many mortals. He who left his home many years ago. He broke a promise not just to me, but to many others. You do not like love yet you climb love."

"I didn't know it was of Aphrodite," Rinaldo explained. "I just want to climb to the top."

"Why?"

The question seemed simple. "I want to se if I can and it looks like I will be able too. I want to be a faster climber. I want to beat Daphne when we climb trees."

"You want to be better than her?"

He shrugged. "Well at climbing trees at least."

"If you climb to the top you will get the prize."

The hatchling paused. "What prize?"

"Take what is in love's ear and you can do anything you want."

"Love's ear?" He stared up at the the statue's face. A thin chain was threaded through the right ear lobe, a string of copper appearing more like a hair than a piece of jewelry. Hanging on the bottom of the chain was copper ring. As he squinted Rinaldo could make out a tiny red stone embedded in the middle of the ring. "What is it?"

"The ring," the voice grew thinner. "It is the ring that will grant you power, more power than you could ever dream."

"What does it do?"

"Take it and you can learn. Hear me and I will teach you."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why should I listen to you?" She didn't answer. The only sound he heard was the exited bark of Aurora. "Aurora?" The baking sounded like it was coming from the next room, along with the roar of one of his rookery brothers. "I guess she won't answer me."

Rinaldo glanced up at the ring and wondered if he should take it. If it did contain a vast amount of power he could give it to The Magus. He wasn't too sure if he should take it. It smelled like the scent of someone trying to deceive him. Why did the owner of the mysterious voice want him to take the ring? Rinaldo shook his head, clearing his mind of the strang girl as he removed his torch form the bronze holder. He'll try to remember the strange voice after he found Aurora.

---

The ceiling of the next room had the same glowing crystals and thick stalagmites that reached up towards the ceiling like pillars. There were more statues carved out of the same kind of stone as Aphrodite, but they were much smaller and were carved into the shapes of animals. He identified wolves, bears, birds and horses. There were a few of human children his size but with the same pointed ears of Aphrodite.

Aurora took him by surprise. Rinaldo only heard her panting before he was tackled . The dog like beast kept him pinned to the ground with her front paw while she washed his face with long wet licks.

"Get off me!" He flapped his arms trying to grab onto her while he wiggled.

"That's enough Aurora!" Michael shouted. "Get off him." The pinkish beast climbed off Rinaldo and raced back to the goat-horned hatchling. She kneeled down, allowing him to scratch her orange mane.

"You found her?" Rinaldo asked as he reached for his torch. The flame had gone out.

"She was in this room." Michael explained. "She would have come for us but her head was stuck in the vase."

"That's wonderful," the red head mumbled, thinking more about his torch than the fact the gargoyle beast had been found.

"You can have some of my flame," he extracted his torch from one of the holders, attached to one of the thick column like stalagmites, and brought it to Rinaldo's. "I put mine in a holder when I found her."

"This room is the best one I have seen," Rinaldo took notice of some of the other treasures in the cave. There were several candles, all placed in holders of silver and gold. There were weapons strewn about along with pots full of what appeared to be gold coins and jewels. "There is a treasure here." He stared at the small brass cage hanging from the beak of a stone griffin. He was certain it moved.

"This is why we need to bring the others." Michael said smugly. He knew there was a treasure inside the cave.

"I like that Ax," Rinaldo pointed at the silver weapon hanging from Michael's belt. "Where did you find it?"

"In the wall," he waited for Rinaldo to press him further with another question.

"Here you are" The fourth member of their group arrived in an entrance on the opposite side of the cave. Aurora immediately rose to her feet and bounded off towards the chubby child.

"Looks like Lionel finally arrived." Rinaldo said as soon as the beast had pounced on him.

"Better go see if he needs his torch relit," Michael sighed as he approached them. "Aurora, that's enough." The dog like creature gave Lionel one last lick before she raced back to him.

"Was she here the whole time?" Lionel asked as he crawled to his feet. He grabbed on to both the burnt out torch and pewter goblet he was carrying.

"She had her head stuck in a vase," Michael explained the second time that night while he relit Lionel's torch. The goblet caught his attention. "Where did you get that?"

"In the room back there." The azure hatchling pointed into the direction he came from. "Not behind that entrance there is a long tunnel between here and that room." He noticed the ax on Michael's belt. The silver blade and opals in the handle shone under the light of the flames. "Where did you get that ax?"

"He said he got it in a wall," Rinaldo said while he stroked the back of Aurora's neck.

"It was sticking in the wall," Michael protested. "The passageways you took lead to rooms. All I recieved was a long boring tunnel. This was sticking in the wall and I tried to pull it, and pull it and then I heard Aurora yelping." He gently stroked Aurora's muzzle. "When I ran to help the ax just fell."

"There was magic involved," Rinaldo nodded.

"There was magic in the room I was in," Lionel held up the goblet. "I followed Aurora's barking until I approach this pit. The otherside was just solid wall, so I had to jump down the pit."

"You were able to jump into a pit?" Michael's voice as tinged with disappointment. "I should have gone down the middle path."

"It wasn't much of a fall. I fell a few feet and I was in a room with a table," Lionel held out his goblet in front of him. "There were several goblets on the table. Some of them were made of gold, some of silver and some of copper and they all had jewels and pretty carvings except for this one. This was the one I wanted to keep. I was going to give the others to Princess Katharine. The second I picked this up the other goblets turned to stone and crumbled into nothing."

"Amazing," Rinaldo gasped. He knew it was his turn to tell of his adventure. "The path started out long and dull and then I came across this small room. The three of us could fit in there, but not much else. The second room had a few urns like these," He placed his hand against one of the large urn like stone jars in the room. "They didn't have anything in them. The third room had an underground pond."

"A pond?" Michael raised his brow ridges. "There is water under ground?"

"No, it was honey," the olive green child rolled his eyes. "Of course there was water."

"Were there any fish?" Lionel asked.

Rinaldo shook his head. "No fish, but the water glowed."

"Did you drink any of it?"

"I didn't drink, but I did touch it, and I didn't swim in it. The third room had a giant bare statue of a woman."

"a human woman?" Michael asked. "And she was nude?"

"I could see her bumps," Rinaldo brushed his talons across his chest. "I wanted to see if I could climb it and as I started there was this voice of a girl."

"Was it the statue's?"

"I don't think so. The statue was an adult and this voice belonged to a girl. She was talking strangely and she started to scare me. She told me if I climbed to the top of Aphrodite I could have the ring in her ear."

"The goddess of love?" Michael groaned while Lionel stuck out his tongue.

"Do all young male gargoyles not like love?" Rinaldo stiffened at the sound of the voice. It was the same one from the next room. "It can be a painful thing if you wield it like weapon, but if you are nice to it, it can be nice to you."

"That is the voice," Rinaldo whispered as Aurora slowly approached the cage. Her head was lowered and she was growling.

Michael followed after the beast. "I think she is trying to tell us something."

"The cage," Rinaldo whispered as it swung back and forth. "I knew I saw it move."

"What is it?" Lionel followed after the green hatchling.

Rinaldo shrugged. "I wish I knew what she was, but all I recognize from her is her voice."

Michael held up his torch, signaling his brothers to stay back. "What are you?" He spoke slowly and calmly while he unsheathed his new found treasure. The curved metal cage slowed down in it's swinging, appearing less threatening to Michael as he approached it. He peered through the bars trying to see what could be inside. All he could see was an empty cage and a tiny glowing light. On closer inspection he could make out glowing wings. "Are you a firefly?"

"Once all glory is now an insect," the tiny light sighed. "They used to work for me you know. The insects served the littlest queen."

The little being landed on the bottom of the cage, diminishing most of her light. The four gargoyles could make out a tiny human like female. She did not resemble a child, but an adult human at only a couple of inches in height. Her diaphanous wings were shaped like those of a butterfly.

"Are you a part of the third race," Rinaldo asked. He had to squint his eyes to get a good view of her. "Are you one of Oberon's children?"

The tiny faerie laughed sadly. "Yes I am and no I'm not."

"We are doing this again?" Rinaldo grumbled as he leaned forward to the point where his nose nearly came in contact with hte metal bars.

"I was one time his precious. He gave me everything, castle the size of a tree stump, grasshoppers to pull my chariot, a seashell lined with moss was my bed. The moss was soft, like silk against my skin". Her far away voice grew serious once the memory stopped. "Now he is gone and took my playmates, no one is allowed to play with Mab. Has to be locked away and forgotten. He forgot me. Went on holiday and forgot me."

"You were able to see me when I was in the other room," Rinaldo stood in front of the cage. He tried to see in the tiny gold being's eyes, but her white aura made her impossible. "How could you see me when you were in here?"

"I see all in caves. I saw the puppy when she came to play, but you three were more interesting. Such good boys. He might give you a reward."

"Why did you only talk to me when I was climbing Aphrodite's statue?"

"One complained too much. He could not hear if he was not willing to listen. I did talk to the other one. I told him, he could take one of the pretty cups."

"That was your voice?" Lionel blinked as stared at the pewter goblet in his hand.

"You are such a good boy. You selected the right one."

"Why are you in a cage?" Michael asked. The ax he had brandished before was replaced into his belt.

"Mab has been a naughty, naughty girl."

"What did you do?" Michael repeated. Any sympathy that was brewing within him had begun to ebb out. She may have been tiny but if she was placed in a cage then she was put there for a reason and even if she was tiny she could be extremely powerful and dangerous.

"I told them," Mab fluttered again. "I told them what I wasn't supposed to tell."

"What were you not supposed to tell?"

"The truth."

"What is the truth?" Lionel asked fro a few feet away. Unlike his brothers he did not step close to the cage at first, he had waited a few minutes, making sure it was safe to approach her.

Rinaldo rolled his eyes at his fatter brother and pulled him closer. "I'm pretty sure she has an interesting story to tell."

"I told the truth and he broke the rules. He broke them like a spoiled child breaks his toys. He broke them because they were his."

"He broke his rules," Michael repeated. "That was the truth?"

"I didn't tell the others. I told others like those he broke."

"The rules?" Rinaldo asked.

"Those like you. Those who don't live long. He used to watch them play. They would sing and make merry and eat fruit and nuts they picked from trees. They used to eat cake too, but he had forgotten. He used sweets and pretty things to ensnare him his web and after he played with them he would toss them away. They were too fragile for him an he broke them. They would cry instead of sing and no longer able to eat cake. He told me to sweep away the bad dreams and give them dreams of happiness and love. He told me not to tell and gave me gifty's to not talk."

"You did talk though," Michael said. "You said that is why you are in there."

"I was weary from giving false dreams and decided to rest. True dreams came to one and she lost her merriment once again. She tried to drink the wine to make the pain go away but the pain didn't go away. She took a leap into the water and both she and the pain went away. If I told she wouldn't have been part of the sea, but I didn't."

"That was why you told?" Rinaldo asked. The pieces of the puzzle were finaly beggining to click into place.

"I didn't tell the others, but a few did listen when I told those like her. I told them the truth and they were angry. They took all their sharp pointy things and came here. I came with them. I was angry. People shouldn't be broken. Dreams shouldn't be used as tools and weapons."

"You attacked your own island?" Michael caught on. "You brought humans to fight against Oberon?"

She hissed at the mention of the faerie king's name. "I was his tool not his precious. He used me to hurt innocents. He broke his rule and I was going to spank him and send him to bed."

Lionel snorted in amusement. "You mean someone like you could actually defeat Oberon."

"I could defeat him if I tried," her voice shifted into an entirely opposite tone. It aged from a saddened child to an proud adult woman. "Three who are one blocked the land but I tossed them aside like they were rag dolls. I defeated several more before He and his army surrounded me. They made me my tiny size and froze me. I cannot grow again. Mab has been naughty and she gets no tea. My soldiers were destroyed with a thought and I was placed in this pretty bell."

Michael turned to his rookery brothers. "I know why they put her in a cage. If she could attack several members of Oberon's court she's too powerful."

"That isn't he only reason," Rinaldo, along with Lionel, did not remove his eyes from the cage.

"She tried to bring war to her homeland. She betrayed her leader and tried to usurp the throne."

"Little lies flutter from your mouth," Mab pouted. "Or mayhap you didn't hear right. I did not want his throne, back then."

"But you want it now?"

"Never then and never now."

"Then what were you going to do if we let you out?"

"Leave. I want to see what everyone else gets to see. Did I ask to let me out? I'm sure I know what I asked."

"That's the other thing," Rinaldo grabbed onto his bronze brother's wrist. "She's insane."

"How would you feel if you were locked in here?" Lionel asked. "Locked in a cage and placed in a room with no one to talk to."

"It's her own fault she's locked in here" Michael said.

"Locked me because I told," Mab settled to the bottom of the cage. "locked me because I brought mortals to our home, locked me because I fought, and locked me because I spoke with mortals. He should be punished too."

"I think talking to mortals is not nearly as bad as waging a war against your own people."

"You do not understand. Mayhap if you understand love then you know why Mab did it. The blue one understands love."

Lionel raised a brow ridge as he stared at Mab. "I understand love?"

"You understand Mab."

"He didn't just talk to him," Lionel spoke calmly. "He hurt them."

"He hurt them on the inside," Mab wept. "He hurt their most tender parts."

"What are those?" Michael asked.

Lionel shrugged. "I think she is talking about their hearts."

"He does understand," Mab was pleased. "Such a precious child."

"How did he hurt their hearts?" The azure hatchling asked.

The faerie twinkled. "I cannot tell you, even if you do understand. You must wait until your voice goes deep before you can be told."

"I don't believe it," Rinaldo tried to keep from laughing. "Even she is telling us we have to wait till we are older."

"A child's innocence is just a fragile as a heart of a lover. All it takes is one poke and it's shattered and there is a great mess on the floor for everyone to clean."

Michael had enough of her babbling. He could understand why Rinaldo was uncomfortable around her. "We are not leaving and we are free to leave. Why are we not leaving?."

"The cage only holds me. If you can flutter freely them fly, fly amongst the sugar sweet air and dance in the clouds."

"That is a good idea," the bronze hatchling gave her a fake smile as he grabbed Rinaldo by his shoulder. "I think we should leave right now."

"She just wanted someone to listen to her story," Lionel gave the imprisoned fae one last look before he followed his brothers.

"You can visit again. Mab has plenty of stories," Mab called out before she fluttered around the perimeter of her cage.

The had chosen Michael's path out of the cave and ran as quickly out as the did in, only pausing whenever Michael noticed one of his marks, and where he found the ax. Both Lionel and Rinaldo agreed he had the most dullest path of the three of them.

They paused one more when the exited the tunnel into the large cavern with the three entrances. Rinaldo had held his arm up, waving his torch around. "This is the end for our torches." He rubbed the flaming end onto the ground, grinding out the sparks. Micheal quickly followed suit.

Lionel held onto his for a few minutes longer. He was watching Aurora as she sniffed the gound, her long whippy tail ending in a couple of thick branch like barbs wagged back and forth. "What did you find?" He approached the beast with his eyes on the ground. When Aurora lifted her head he could clearly see a metal band with an interlocking pattern. A bright red gemstone, cut in a traingular shape was embedded in the center The metal appeared to have been helmed out of copper and shone with the flames reflected off it's surface. "Aurora found a ring."

"There wasn't a ring here before," Michael stated as he and Rinaldo bent down to inspect the jewelry.

Rinaldo immeditaly reconized the ring. "I think that's the one from Aphrodite's ear. Mab wanted me to take it."

"Why?" Micheal asked him.

"She said it was the source of a great power." He bent down to pick it up, only to have Lionel grab onto his wirst.

"Why do you get to keep it?" the azure hatchling asked.

"Because it was offered to me," Rinaldo said. "And I'm not going to keep it. I'm going to give it to Magus."

"I think you were meant to keep it," Michael said while fingering the handle to his battle ax. "I was meant to find the ax and Lionel was meant to find the goblet."

"I think we were all tested," Rinaldo's claws never let go of the copper band. The metal felt cool against the soft pads of his talons, and ther was something else. A cool tingle surging through his wrist.

"And we are going to give them to our human parents," Lionel released his brother, waiting until the red head had taken the ring before he snuffed the flame of his torch out.

---

Tom stared out over the castle wall as several of the hatchlings climbed onto the battlements, ready to sleep for the day. Dawn was only minutes away and four of his eggs had yet to return. He glanced over at the Princess and Magus. His lover was still staring at the sky, twisting her fingers in worry, while the Magus frowned at the four bare battlments along the castle wall.

"They need to be taught how to tell time better," the middle age man mumbled. "Before I teach him any more spells I'm going to teach him time."

"If they do not make it back in time I'll go out and find them," Tom said while he slid his helmet off.

"Ye didna have to," Katherine pointed at the sky. "Here they are." Both men turned to see three winged forms gliding towards the castle. The other hatchlings smiled and cheered as the three of them shifted their wings to land. Rinaldo landed on top of one of the bare battlment while Lionel and Micheal landed in front of Katherine.

Tom had several questions for the stragglers. "Where you been and why did it take you this long to return home?"

"Now Tom," Katherine held up her hand. "We can ask those later." She kneeled before the two late comers standing in front of her. "Where is Aurora?"

"She's climbing the wall," Michael pointed behind him. The barks of the rosy pink beast where heard before her front paws grabbed onto the top of the stone battlement. The dog like creature scrambled over the side and quickly raced over to where Azrael and Boudicca had chosen to rest for the day, taking her place next to them.

"Where were you?" Tom repeated the question.

"We were in this new place we discovered," Rinaldo explained. "There was a cave, but we weren't going to go in it, but Aurora went inside and we were afraid she would get lost or hurt."

"Ye went into the cave?" Katherine asked. "Ye could have been the ones who have gottin hurt."

"We were more worried about Aurora," Lionel said while holding up the pewter goblet. "This is for you."

"For me?" Katharine accepted the gift. It wasn't the prettiest of chalices but it was a gift and the size of it, pulls the jagged flowers made it appear adorable to her eyes. "Thank ye."

"There were some nicer ones, but they turned to dust the second I grabbed onto that one."

"I have a gift for Guardian Tom," Michael removed the ax from his belt.

"It's a wee bit small fer me," Tom grabbed onto the handle and studied the weapon. "But I'll hold onto it till ye are old enough."

"My gift is for the Magus," Rinaldo handed the wizard the ring he found. "I think you should deserve the gift of great power."

"I am pretty sure there are stories to these gifts," Magus said as he took the ring The metal band was big enough to fit around his fingers. He studied the the arow head- shaped jewel. He was not sure if it was a garnet or a ruby. It could have been bixbyte. "But I am going to have to wait until tomorrow to hear it." He turned back to the hatchlings as he heard the dry scratchy sound of flesh turning to stone. "They will tell us abour their discoverys when they wake up tonight."

"After they have eaten and recieve a stern lecture," Katharine added as she studied the goblet in her hand. It was smaller than what she was used to drinking of, but it was a gift and that made it more precious than the goblets of gold and silver Lionel had described.

The End