Storm went to sleep that night with a full stomach. When they returned to camp she saw everyone besides Canyon and herself asleep. Storm had given her polar bear fur blanket to Caracal and Oryx to use for the night so, without a bed, she chose a clearing of soft sand somewhat distant from the group to curl up. But within a few minutes Oryx and Caracal migrated towards her and eventually flopped on top of her. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable heat they were giving off and the snoring in her ear. However, her difficulties falling asleep that night were internal in their source.
Am I making the right decision by leaving these two? Will they be ok on their own? They're both still so young but…
No! I must leave. My family comes before anything else and I do have to warn the Ice Kingdom...
But if anything were to happen to Oryx and Caracal…
Storm shook her head in frustration. Moving gently, she removed the portrait from the pouch and opened it up. The clear eyes of her family stared back at her. "You know what you have to do." They seemed to say.
Storm's jaw set and she put the portrait back. Yes, I know what I must do.
Carefully she slithered out from underneath the sleeping dragonets. She would leave now. She snuck into the healing tent and gathered her armour. She was dismayed to find that the salt water corrosion had caused further damaged. Her shoulders sagged; it would be cheaper to repair the armour rather than buying a new set, but it would look a lot uglier than it already did.
She found and empty canvas bag nearby and stuffed the armour in, flinching every time the metal clinked together. She peeked outside to see everyone was still asleep. She carefully tied the bag onto her back and made her way out of camp. She almost looked back, but scolded herself and continued on. She had barely walked three meters when she heard a suspicious snapping of dry twigs nearby and someone curse. She quickly glanced back towards the campsite to see none of the sleeping dragons were following her. Gently putting down her bag of armour she approached the sound which had come from within a shallow ditch to her left.
She prowled low and warily glanced in to find a nervous looking SeaWing glancing back at her. His scales were mostly the colour of algae with flecks of conifer green. What was even more surprising was what he wore. Besides the overabundance of jewelry he also wore around his arm a red bandana with the black silhouette of a magpie wearing a crown.
Storm bit back a huff of annoyance. Well I guess I'm not going anywhere now. Not until I make sure this dragon isn't a threat to the others.
"Remain where you are SeaWing!" Storm ordered, barring her teeth and puffing out her chest to look larger. "You are hereby my prisoner and-" Storm's commanding speech was cut short as the SeaWing lunged at her. Storm ducked out of the way just in time but right as Storm was about to employ an attack, a net was launched on top of her from behind. It tangled her wings and legs, forcing her to flail on the ground.
She roared her anger and clawed at the rope bindings. She then heard the voices of her friends from the campsite. They were shouting and cursing as more SeaWings emerges from hiding and pounced on the sleeping dragons.
It's an ambush! She realized with dismay. Well they have another thing coming if they think I will be so easily defeated!
Storm exhaled her deadly frost-breath at some nearby SeaWings. They easily dodged out of the way, but more importantly she had frozen the rope and weakened its structures. It easily snapped when she pulled on it. She continued to do this for the rest of the net when she heard someone yell, "Stop her already!"
She staggered back as she was bludgeoned on the side of her head and everything went black.
The first sense that returned to Storm was her hearing. She could hear the gentle lapping of water and familiar voices. Next a sharp pain exploded from her left temple and quickly spread to cause a pounding headache. The pain was so demanding that it took Storm several moments to realize she was laying on some cold, damp and slimy surface that reeked of rotting seaweed and sea salt.
She groaned and tried to rise to her feet.
"She's awake!" Someone called out.
"Storm, just take it easy. Don't make any sudden movements," Someone else advised and Storm grumbled some unintelligible retort.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!" A voice squeaked and she felt something warm hug her leg.
Her eyes blinked open and she could finally see her friends staring at her with concern. She was also surprised to find they were in a prison cell. It consisted of a small room that was made of rotten wooden planks that were covered in algae and barnacles. At the front were iron bars of equal condition. The smell of decaying seaweed was now overwhelming and Storm could see the ocean directly below them through the planks. It was so close that any small waves that passed by caused their prison to sway along with it as if they were floating. The only light came from the rays of the sun that squeezed through the cracks in the roof. What in Pyrrhia happened? Where are we?
"We were kidnapped," Canyon suddenly said, predicting her questions and helping her to her feet. She could see he had a few new scratches on his face and chest that seemed deep but were no longer bleeding.
"BY PIRATES!" Oryx exclaimed and Storm wasn't sure if he looked terrified or excited.
Storm was glad to see Oryx didn't appear to hurt, and she looked down to her leg to see that Caracal was unharmed as well.
Storm's attention was quickly stolen away as a wave of pain crashed through her skull. She gingerly felt the wound on her head. Sparks flew before her eyes when she touched it and quickly withdrew her talons to see blood on them.
"I requested they give us some medical supplies but they refused," Lotus hissed.
Storm tried to collect her thoughts and make sense of all this. "Wait, did someone say pirates?" She asked.
"Your guess is as good as ours." Canyon shrugged, once again predicting her question. "They netted us all and threw us in here without any explanation."
Just when I had my plan figured out I just HAD to get kidnapped by pirates. Now how am I going to get these documents to Queen Glacier? Storm unconsciously grabbed for her pouch and gasped when it wasn't strapped to her chest. She started searching around their prison cell in desperation, but it wasn't the documents she truly cared for. The portrait! No no no it can't be gone!
She also noticed that her bag of armour was nowhere to be found either.
"Where is all my stuff? Did any of you see them take my armour?" She cried, but the response came from outside the cell.
"You mean that sack o' rusty metal?" A raspy voice appeared which made the prisoners jump. A thin SeaWing with scales the colour of moldy seaweed stepped into the light. Much like the first SeaWing Storm had found in the ditch, he wore plenty of jewelry and the same bandana.
"We threw it in the ocean. Thought it was garbage."
Storm's heart dropped to her stomach.
"How dare you!" She roared and gripped the bars of the cell to look him in the eye. "That armour has been in my family for centuries!"
"Yeah, you could tell," He scoffed.
She put her talons through the bars and tried to claw at him. "YOU SLIMY, DISGRACEFUL EXCUSE FOR A-"
Her insult was interrupted by Canyon as he pushed her aside with his wings. She was caught by Lotus who then tried to calm her down.
"Why did you capture us?" Canyon demanded and the SeaWing mocked him with an innocent shrug.
"It weren't my decision. You'll have ta ask Queen Magpie," He said while taking out four sets of chains and manacles from a bag he had brought with him.
"Uh, excuse me, but what are those for?" Oryx timidly peaked over Canyon's shoulder and the SeaWing gave him a menacing grin that displayed all his rotting teeth.
"The Queen has a very specific dress code for prisoners that wanna speak with her."
"So we have an audience with her?" Canyon perked up at the information.
"So long as you behave yourself and don't give us no trouble, then yeah." Their captor then motioned for two nearby SeaWings to come and help him, and Storm recognized the algae green dragon from earlier.
They opened the prison bars and placed heavy manacles on the dragons as well as chains around their muzzles. Lotus and Canyon remained calm and gracefully allowed themselves to be chained. Oryx shook slightly as he was bound. As for Caracal, she was so tiny they only put one manacle around her torso and the little dragonet held on tightly to Oryx.
When they approached Storm she sat as elegantly and dignified possible, but growled at the raspy voiced dragon as he placed the shackles on her.
"Now you watch it!" He hissed. "Or else you'll have a second blow to the head to match that one." He touched her head wound with his wing thumb and she gritted her teeth to hide the pain.
He then grabbed her face and brought it close to this own, examining her. Storm pulled away defiantly but he held her chin painfully in place.
"Such a lovely thing you are. Like diamonds and amethyst. Too bad about that nasty attitude though." His breath was foul and Storm growled at him as her scales crawled with revulsion. What a disgusting worm! She heard Canyon growling close by as well.
"Sponge! Leave her alone why don't ya?" The algae green dragon Storm had first seen in the ditch came over and pushed the seaweed coloured dragon away.
"Oh come on, Ray. It was just a little fun!" He cackled and Ray turned to Storm with an apologetic shrug.
The group of dragons were then paraded through a small town on water; the walkways and dens were made of wood that floated on the ocean. Dragons, mostly adult SeaWings, laughed and taunted them as they passed but Storm kept her head up and looked ahead. Storm guessed there were enough Seawings here to make an army. This can't be the Kingdom of the Sea. It's too…revolting.
Crabs and lobsters scuttled around like rats, crawling back into the ocean as they walked by. Not a single structure in the 'town' looked well-kept or even all that nice. Everything was soggy and sagged with the weight of algae and rot.
They finally reached the center of the town to be greeted with yet another wooden den. This one, however, was five times larger than the others and had three stories on it. Its size and grandeur would have made it an acceptable house for a lower ranking First Circle IceWing since it was practically a little palace. Storm could see grand windows and balconies on each floor and there was evidence of it having once been painted a nice blue. However, it now slouched in defeat, the salty air having eaten away at its beauty.
They were pushed ahead and entered the giant oak doors of the building and Storm's jaw would have dropped if it had not been chained. The inside was a total contrast. Chests upon chest of treasure filled the room that was easily the length of fifteen dragons. Jewelry of gold and silver, diamonds, crowns, and gems of every kind and size poured out of the overstuffed boxes and trunks so that the floor was carpeted with gold coins and tiny gems that got embedded in Storm's feet. The high ceiling held a crystal chandelier that illuminated the treasure.
"Alright, enough lookin'! Keep walking!" Sponge ordered and they went up a majestic and massive set of carpeted stairs that was in the center of the room. The second floor was just the same, full of priceless artifacts. The third and final floor did not follow the same pattern. There were several trunks of treasure, but they were pushed along the sides of the room next to racks of scrolls. At the end of the room, before the grand window that led to the balcony, an aquamarine female SeaWing sat at a desk looking at scrolls. She wore a crown of silver embellished with white, pink and blue pearls. Her talons were decorated with rings and she wore a medallion around her neck. As they approached the desk Storm saw that the medallion was the silhouette of a magpie wearing a crown. That must be their Queen…but I don't think this is Queen Coral. She choked on a gasp when she noticed that the scrolls being examined by the Queen were the one's Storm had taken.
She stole my stuff! What did she do with my portrait? Storm was still muted so she couldn't voice her outrage.
They were lined up in front of the desk while their escorts stood at either end. Finally the female looked up and did a double take on Canyon.
"Well, I didn't know I would be having such handsome company," She purred, eyeing Canyon intimately and winked at him.
Canyon shifted uncomfortably and Lotus actually growled at the Seawing. Lotus is really protective of Canyon. Storm noticed, also remembering how the Mudwing had urged Storm to be nicer to Canyon when they first met.
The crowned dragon threw her head back and howled with laughter at the discomfort she had caused.
"Alright!" She suddenly barked and her laughter was instantly replaced with a hostile glare as if the previous comedic moment had never happened.
"Sponge, un-chain their mouths. But if they look like they're about to shoot some fire or ice then slit their throats," She ordered and the row of chained dragons glanced at each other with fear. Any wrong move could cost them their lives. Storm gently pulled Caracal under her wing for protection.
"So let's get to the point," The Queen directed, holding up the blue print of the light house. "I want to know everything about your plans and what you intent to do with all those animus objects you have stolen."
The chained dragons glanced at each other in confusion. The Queen tapped her claws on the desk with impatience. "Don't feint stupidity!" She snarled. "We've been watching your island for months now and we saw you two," she pointed to Canyon and Storm, "leaving yesterday. So, either you talk or I remove your toes."
Storm's pulse began to quicken and she felt Caracal tremble under her wings.
"Your majesty," Canyon bravely addressed the demented Queen. "We were spying on them, not joining them. We have no idea what any of their plans are," He professed and was awarded with a knife to the throat. Its blade was serrated, the large curved teeth designed for ripping scales from flesh and then slicing said flesh.
"We want none of your lies, SkyWing," Sponge warned while Canyon stood his ground, gazing at the Queen. Storm was impressed at his bravery while she herself could feel her heart pounding in her stomach.
"Put the knife away, Sponge. He's telling the truth," The Queen ordered, but she seemed to be disappointed that she didn't have a reason to kill anyone. Sponge removed the knife and she could see the SkyWing exhale in relief.
"Wha-? But how do ya know?" Sponge balked and the Queen threw a paper weight at his face.
"I told you before! As long as I wear this medallion everyone I question must answer truthfully." Her eyes glowed as she dangled the medallion before her. It's an animus object! Storm realized. I wonder if they have any more. Are those treasure chests below full of them as well? Storm shuddered with dread.
"Well if you're not with the Order than who are you?" The Queen demanded. Canyon proceeded to tell her about his captured troops and his goal to get them back. Storm was also forced to describe the failed mission to the desert and why she had been on the island. The Queen listened intently, asking them to elaborate on certain details when necessary. After they completed their narrative the Queen held a troubled expression on her face and the room remained silent.
"So you know about the Order of the Black Talon?" Canyon carefully probed, breaking the silence. He had obviously noticed that the Queen had correctly referred to them as 'the Order'.
The Queen suddenly roared and slammed her fist on the desk. "Oh I know them. Those miserable, vile parasites!" The Queen kicked over a nearby shelf of scroll. This time it was the guards that glanced at each other nervously.
"They took my island, my ships, MY ANIMUS TREASURE! Those insufferable, despicable eels!" She growled. "Oh, uh, no offence, Eel," She added quickly and their third unnamed escort shrugged in indifference.
"I would give anything to tear them down," She continued in a hiss.
"As would I," Canyon agreed and all dragons in the room looked at him in surprise.
"I have been on the island; I know their resources and the layout of their camp. We could work together to bring them down from the inside, He offered. Storm gaped at him.
Is he this desperate that he would work with these monstrous dragons? Is this the group of dragons he imagined he would ally himself with?
The Queen clasped her talons together and rested her chin on them. "Smart and handsome. That's a dangerous combination." She smirked and eyed him over again. This time he didn't squirm under her gaze and seemed to give no indication that he even noticed.
The female SeaWing remained silent for a few moments. "Alright," She finally consented, but there was a menacing glare in her eyes. "But my aid comes at a price." She grinned.
She picked up one of Storm's scrolls, the one that had the list of animus objects, and pointed to one of them. "I want Jerboa's map. I have been looking for it for years without any luck, but if you find it and bring it back to me then I guarantee my full support."
Jerboa's map? Storm concentrated, trying to remember her lessons on animus dragons and their creations. Oh right! It's enchanted to tell you the location of whatever you desire. She must be after something bigger.
Canyon seemed to hesitate, but it was useless. They were cornered. If he refused then they would likely be killed or imprisoned. At the same time it was an almost impossible task. Finding ancient animus artifacts was like finding a grain-sized diamond in the ocean.
"Very well, I accept," Canyon relented and the Queen clasped her talons together with joy.
"Oh, excellent! This is wonderful…however." She eyed Storm, Lotus and Oryx as if they were bugs on her food. "What of your friends? I won't have any loose ends. Will they be a part of this agreement too?"
Lotus and Oryx quickly nodded their agreement and Storm rolled her eyes at their spinelessness.
"Well I intend to return to the Ice Kingdom!" Storm announced and gazed defiantly at the Queen. Even if the Queen hadn't been wearing her 'truth medallion' Storm would have admitted it anyway. Her tribe was still in danger, and perhaps even more so than she originally thought with this group of pirates around. The Seawing observed her for several moments before pulling out a scroll from underneath a pile. Storm recognized it as her portrait.
"That is my portrait! I demand you return it to me!" She went to grab it but found the manacles were doing a fine job in immobilizing her. Nearby Canyon was giving her a warning glance.
"Such a lovely family. You must love them very much to carry around their portrait," She teased.
"They're dead," Storm retorted.
"OH FOR MOONS' SAKE!" She growled and threw the portrait to the ground. Storm tugged against her restraints, desperately wanting to go and grab it. "Now what am I supposed to threaten you with?"
At that instant Caracal peaked past Storm's wings but quickly retreated at the sight of the Queen. Unfortunately, she had not been quick enough.
"Ooooh, what do we have here?" The Seawing matriarch cooed and signaled the guards to seize the little dragonet. Storm tried to grab onto the Sandwing as she was pulled away screaming but she was held back by Sponge.
The golden dragonet stood trembling in Ray's grasp. Ray himself looked immensely uncomfortable and gazed apologetically at the crying dragonet.
"Listen, IceWing. I can't have you alerting your Kingdom about my plans, so how about a deal? You get me that map, or I kill the dragonet."
"NO, YOU CAN'T!" Storm begged and she heard Oryx release a choked sob beside her.
"Is it a deal or not?"
"FINE, YES. Just let her go!" Storm wailed.
"Hmm, no, The Queen taunted. "She'll stay with me while you're away." She smiled maliciously. Storm growled in her throat, ignoring the warning hiss from the surrounding SeaWings.
"There is NO way I am letting you keep that dragonet." Strom shook off Sponge's grasp only to have him pull a sword to her throat. Storm sucked in sharp breath as she felt the metal teeth dig under her scales.
Queen Magpie scoffed and flicked Storm on the snout with her tail tip. "Well by the looks of it you don't have much of a choice. Now, you have one week to get me the map, otherwise both deals are off," She said to Canyon and Storm. "Now get out of my sight."
Some of their things were returned to them, mostly Lotus' herbs and medical supplies as well as their tents and water canteens. Storm got her harness back along with a slightly salty polar bear blanket.
They flew in the direction that they had been told would lead them back to the mainland. Storm was comforting a weeping Oryx while trying to hide her own despair and shame.
Nice going Storm, you really showed them how much of a loyal IceWing you are. Oh, except the part where you wouldn't SHUT UP and now Caracal will be killed AND my tribe will be attacked. And I am helpless to do anything.
Storm was also trying to understand how she had gotten herself into such a situation in less than two days. First it had started off with just wanted to get to the First Circle, and then it had been warning her tribe about the Order of the Black Talon. And NOW she had to get this animus map to gain the allegiance of the pirates which would help them take out the Order so that she could save her tribe. Getting into the First Circle now seemed more like an afterthought compared to this new threat. Not to mention how complicated this all was. If any part of this plan went wrong then it would all fail. Her stomach was nothing but anxious knots.
It would be simpler to just leave and go to the Ice Kingdom right now while she was free…but she wouldn't leave until she knew Caracal was safe.
Everyone was fairly quiet as they flew. Canyon seemed to be lost in thought while Lotus kept glancing at him with concern.
By the time they reached land the sun was setting. They were still in the wastelands, but closer now to the Sand Kingdom. Storm estimated they were a half a day's flight away.
They were so exhausted they didn't bother starting a fire or hunting. They all collapsed in a circle in a clearing surrounded by bushes. Oryx was asleep before his head hit the ground, completely spent from crying so much. Lotus also quickly loss consciousness, her snores filling the silence.
Storm laid on her back and watched as the stars began to emerge. She was too overwhelmed to even pretend she would get any sleep that night.
Now what?
With an immense sigh she stood up, shaking the dust from her body. She walked towards the shoreline and stopped just before the soft dirt transitioned into gravely beach. She listened to the waves crash and roll away. The tide was coming in, and with every wave the water stretch itself closer to Storm's feet before it was pulled back.
"May I join you?"
She turned when she heard Canyon's voice behind her. Indeed, he had followed her here and approached to sit next to her. Despite her sorrow Storm felt happy to see him.
"We'll get the map, Storm. We'll figure this out. I'm not about to let anyone else get hurt," He promised and Storm scoffed.
"So you think it's up to you to fix this problem?" She asked.
"Not at all, if anything we will all have to work together, all four of us," He instructed and Storm gave out an exasperated sigh.
"If you came to lecture me on teamwork then just leave. I'm not in the mood," She challenged, but refused to look him in the eye.
Canyon regarded her for a moment. "It wasn't your fault," He finally said and Storm gawked at him with shock. How did he always manage to get to the root of her problems?
"Sheesh, do SkyWings have mindreading powers too?" She complained. This earned a chuckle from Canyon.
"No, you're just easy to read," He retorted and Strom scowled back at him.
"But as I was saying, she used an animus object on us; there was no hiding our plans. And honestly I am pretty sure they were going to take one of us hostage anyway," He soothed. Storm did feel a little better but it didn't change the fact that everything in her world was either dead or in great danger of being dead or attacked. And she still felt responsible for Caracal's situation.
Neither of them said anything for a few heartbeats until Canyon started again.
"I thought you were very brave today. And I admired your loyalty to your tribe…and also your dedication to protecting Caracal."
Storm turned her head away from Canyon to hide her blush.
"You were very brave as well," She commented. "And clever. I still can't believe you were able to make a deal with the Queen."
Canyon laughed lightly. "I knew it was our only hope of getting out. Unfortunately she complicated things with the map."
"Can we trust them?" Storm worried, referring to the pirates. They were hardly the honorable type.
"We don't have a choice. Not if we want to save Caracal, or our tribemates."
"Very well," Storm sighed. "So what's the plan?"
"Well, I think that the best starting point is the Kingdom of Sand. It's full of information…if you know where to look and what questions to ask. Not to mention that the map was created by a SandWing so it's location it most likely to be there."
Storm wrinkled her nose with displeasure. As a dragon of ice, she knew it would be an unpleasant experience being surrounded by heat and sand.
But I don't have much of a choice do I?
She wished she had known what her sister would have done, or any member of her family besides herself.
Storm unconsciously grabbed for the pouch containing her portrait and sighed when she didn't feel it. That was another thing she would get back if they succeeded in this mission.
"Then to the Kingdom of Sand it is," She murmured under her breath.
Author's note:
So APPARENTLY when I first uploaded all these chapters removed all my paragraph line-breakers, so I went back and replaced them all. I hope it didn't cause too much confusion!