Chapter 10 ~ Caleb
It had been a week, present day included, since Kari and Duncan had travelled towards Dragon's Nest. The landscape had changed from lush forest vegetation, to deserted arid areas, and now to scarce vegetation. Kari and Duncan were travelling up a hill. It was actually a small mountain worn down from winds and rain. On one side, there was a steep ditch, thus they were carefully following the path cut out in the hill. It was the first day since their trip when they could see the real mountains. The grey giants looked like ice cream cones with their snowy tops. Kari smiled, thinking how much she enjoyed to eat vanilla ice cream when she went to the Phantom Moon. She favoured vanilla, while her brother favoured chocolate. Kari smiled sadly thinking how much fun they had with their mother at the amusement parks, and in all other places she took them. Her mother, Kari never realised before how she took her for granted. Every day of her life, she had woken up to her mother being there. Kari had never stopped to thank her for taking care of her, or for just being there. It was only now that she realised how much her mother meant to her. She had always been there to soothe her and show her the way. Over the past week, Kari had woken up alone. Not even her brother was there to help her. All alone, Kari felt disoriented, and lost, even though she didn't show it. She was grateful for Duncan's company. He had indeed kept to his word and they had not fought, except when they occasionally scraped shields on interpretation of concepts. He was indeed a nice person, although he didn't care to show it much.
"A golden piece for your thoughts." Duncan asked mischievously. They had travelled most of the morning in silence, and that was his way of making conversation.
Kari blushed, thinking that he had caught her thinking of him. "Umm… nothing important." She stammered.
"Oh, so that's why you were smiling." He asked grinning.
Kari blushed even more. "No, I was thinking that it would take us about two more days to recover the pendant." She lied.
"That long? Won't we be late to our deadline?" Duncan asked.
"Not really. Folken and I agreed on a two week and a half journey. That way, we gave each other one week and a half for the unexpected. No matter what, we will be on time." Kari explained.
"Oh I see. Well, in any case. About a day from our last camping spot, there's a village. We can rest there before we begin our journey up the mountain." Duncan informed her.
"Boy, am I glad to hear that! A hot meal, and a soft bed sound very appealing at the moment."
"I know what you mean. My father and I traded a bit with them about six months ago." Duncan told her.
"What did you trade with them?" Kari asked surprised that trade was happening even in this forsaken place.
"Well, mostly we traded technology, but we also bought some energists. They had a few on sale, since a heard of dragons attacked their village about a year back." Duncan explained.
"There's still dragons in those mountains?" Kari asked surprised. Dragons were very rare in Gaea. Almost extinct, they hid deep in the mountains, or in dark caves. They rarely attacked villages any more. That's why the price for energists was so high. Most of the dragon graveyards had been dug up, and some smaller countries were left without any energists. There was a high demand on the market, but very little supply.
"Some, but they don't come out of the mountains unless they're hungry…" Duncan was about to say something else, when a muffled thump shook the earth.
"What was that?" Kari asked alarmed.
"I don't know. It could have been an earthquake. Let's get out of here!" Duncan motioned his horse to gallop.
Kari followed him. "Do you think it might be a dragon?" she asked him as they were galloping.
"For our sakes, let's hope it's not.' Duncan answered.
"I know. How much longer until the village?" Kari asked.
"I can't approximate well without a map. Probably a few hours!"
"Well, let's hurry!" Kari told him. Indeed, the thumping was getting closer. Kari could feel her horse tense up under her. All of a sudden, a thump was heard right behind them. Kari looked around, and what she discovered, horrified her.
"Oh no! Duncan! We're in big trouble!" she told him.
"What are you talking, and why have you stopped! Come on, it might be an earthquake!" Duncan told her, not looking back.
"Umm… Duncan, it's not an earthquake, and I would suggest you stop moving. Turn around!" Kari told him.
Duncan turned around and gasped. A few meters back, stood a dragon. The beast was watching them carefully, with its big yellow eyes. The beast was not big, Duncan guessed it wasn't more than 30 years old. However, it was impressing. Its grey scaly body was shinning in the sunlight, and its bluish wings were majestic. It looked nothing like Duncan imagined. However, it was dangerous, and he was sure that at any sudden move it would kill them.
"Duncan, what do we do?" Kari asked. You could feel the fear in her voice.
"Well, for now it's only appreciating what kind of enemy we are. Maybe if we stay still, it will go away." Duncan suggested.
"Pretty slim chance. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the very rare Blue Flyer Dragons. You know what this means? We stand no fighting chance, since it's very fast on land, and even faster on air!" Kari told him.
"Like we could fly anyway! But you're right. It looks like a Blue Flyer. This guy doesn't give up once it selects it's prey. So don't piss him off." Duncan teased.
"Duncan! This is no time for jokes! You do realise that we need a distraction or something, or else we have no chance of getting out of here!" she told him.
"I have no idea what we could do." He confessed.
"I don't know either! This is very bad! You were ahead of me, did you happen to see beyond that curve in the path?" Kari asked.
"Sort of. I saw some boulders!" Duncan told her.
"I don't know what we can do. I think we stand a better fighting chance on foot. Our horses are very scared. I can feel mine trembling." Kari told him.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. We need a distraction. Do you have anything that could distract it?" Duncan asks.
"Well, I don't know. What distracts a dragon?"
Just then, a rumbling noise came from behind the dragon. The beast turned around for a second, to see the threat behind him.
"Now, run!" Duncan told Kari. They directed their horses on the path, and ran away since the dragon was distracted. The made it past the curve, when a roar of furry came from behind him.
"Damn, that's one angry dragon." Kari observed.
"C'mon! Get off your horse, we can hide them behind the boulders. You were right when you said we're more mobile on foot, so now, we must set a trap for the dragon. It will come after us." Duncan instructed her.
Kari nodded in agreement. They stashed their horses and provisions behind the boulders and unsheathed their swords.
"Up this way. There's a small path here, we can climb up and maybe ambush it." Kari instructed.
They climbed up just in time. The dragon was angrily making his way on the path. Duncan pulled Kari down to the ground. "Maybe it won't see us here." He whispered.
"What about our horses and provisions?" Kari asked.
"Those are expendable. We are not. We can make it on foot to the village, where we could buy the necessary stuff."
"How? All my money's in my pack." Kari told him.
"Not anymore. I suspected something like this might happen, and I took it when you were looking for the dragon." Duncan confessed.
"You little thief! Thank you. What do we do about big blue over there?" Kari asked.
"Maybe it will get full after it eats our horses."
"Fat chance, I think it was after us, not our poor animals."
Indeed, Kari was right. The dragon huffed and puffed, smelling the surroundings. His ears twitched nervously. Soon, he caught the scent of the two fugitives. He breathed some rings of smoke, as he raised his head to spot their hiding place.
"It looks like luck's not on our side today." Duncan whispered.
"You think it's seen us?" Kari asked.
"Either seen, or smelt us. We're going to have to fight. This guy's smarter than he looks." With that, Duncan left the hiding place. "Hey ugly! Over here!" He called out.
The dragon snorted angrily. Kari could see that he was building up his fire inside him. She hoped Duncan knew what he was doing. In any case, she stood by, prepared to help him.
"Hey, you! Over here!" Duncan called.
More steam came out the dragon's nose. He fired a long river of hot flames at Duncan. Kari gasped, thinking how reckless he was, when she saw that the spot where he used to be was empty.
"Ha, you stink! Such poor aim for a dragon!" she head Duncan's voice, but it was coming from behind the beast. She looked better, and saw that he was near the tail. "Oh no, tail whips are the worst! He better watch out!" Kari thought.
"Duncan! Watch out for his tail!" Kari called out. It was too late. With a healthy and powerful stroke of his tail, the dragon threw Duncan into the hillside. He slowly crumpled to the ground.
Kari jumped out of the bushes. She couldn't let the dragon eat Duncan, no matter how rotten he was to her before. She quickly made her way to the beast, and slashed his tail. (the dragon had turned around to take care of Duncan) When the beast saw himself attacked from the back again, he let out a tremendous roar of pain. He spun around, only to see that no one was there. Kari was behind him, and applied another painful blow to his tail. The beast screamed again. Kari took a glance behind her. Duncan was unconscious, and you could see traces of blood around him. She just hoped it was the dragon's blood. Kari reverted her attention to the imminent threat. The dragon faced her now, and the two were staring at each other. Kari could see the beast was getting ready to torch her. All of a sudden, a net came out of nowhere and wrapped around the dragon's neck and head tightly. The beast let out another horrible roar, and tried to rid himself of the net. However, his struggle was for nothing, since the net was wrapped so tightly around him. Kari didn't know where it came from, but she was glad of it. Gathering up her wits, she charged the dragon and sunk her sword deep into his chest. Rivers of blue blood came pouring out. Kari jumped out of the way so she wouldn't get splashed. The beast screamed, and struggled some more, but the blow had been fatal. With a last struggle of the tail, he fell to the ground.
Breathing deeply, Kari made her way to Duncan. She kneeled down beside him. "Duncan, Duncan, are you ok?" she asked.
He didn't move.
"Duncan, please wake up!" Kari said shaking him. She felt for a pulse, and found a faintly beating one. "Please, please don't die on me." She pleaded. Tears were forming in her eyes.
Duncan groaned. The dragon's fierce blown had shook his brains. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw a blurry picture. Someone was kneeling over him, trying to revive him. The picture cleared up, and he saw Kari's dusty face. He could see the tears glimmering in her eyes. "Is she crying for me?" he asked himself. He struggled to open his eyes more.
"Duncan, Duncan, please wake up." He heard Kari say. There was fear in her voice. "Does she care about me?" he wondered.
He groaned. "I'm all right." He managed to say.
"Oh, I was so afraid you'd died!" Kari said and threw herself on him, hugging him tightly. Duncan found himself hugging her. It was quite a nice feeling to hug her. He found himself blushing a little. Kari helped him stand up, and they found a band of curious strangers looking at them.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
"Just two travellers, we're looking for the village of Blue Dragon." Duncan said weakly.
"You were pretty brave to slay that dragon all by yourselves." The man said. "You were also foolish. You should know that the Blue Flyer once enraged does not give up until it destroys its prey."
"We know. Unfortunately, we had no way out. It found us rather tasty. Could you direct us to the village?" Kari asked.
"Sure, we're actually the dragon slayers that protect Blue Dragon Village. We were on this beast's trail, but it appears as though you will get the energist. After all, you did slay it." the man said.
"Not without your help. I do suspect that the net is yours." Kari told them.
"Yes, but you did the hard part. We shall take care of your friend, while you recover the energist and your sword." The man told her.
Kari smiled sympathetically. He didn't look older than 17, and he had nice chestnut hair. The man looked friendly enough, but she knew not to be fooled by appearances. However, an inside feeling told her he was nice and would offer help. She stepped to the carcass, and removed the sword. It was soiled by the dragon's blood. Kari then made an incision in its chest, and took out the energist. To her surprise, it was blue, like the dragon's wings.
"Wow, I thought all of them were pink." She said.
"No, the hearts belonging to Blue Flyers are always blue. By the way, you never told us your name." He said.
"Sorry, how rude of me. I'm Kari, and that's Duncan." She told him.
"I'm Caleb, and those are Raleh, Mar, and Soren." He said indicating the other three members of his team.
"It's nice to meet you all." Kari said.
"So, what are you doing here?" Raleh asked.
"We're on a quest to go to Dragon's Nest." Kari told them.
"What for, it's been abandoned for ages." Caleb said.
Kari hesitated. Should she tell them the truth? She decided against them. "We just want to look around." She told him.
"Whatever, let's head back to the village. We should make it there by dark. The festivity's on at night time." Caleb told her.
Duncan and Kari followed the four strangers. They were a merry bunch, that made them feel at home. Kari put her energist in her pack. It might be useful later.
~~~~
Later that night, Kari and Duncan were invited to join in the festivities. The people of Blue Dragon's Village were a merry bunch. Kari and Duncan had told their story, and they offered them a guide first thing the next morning. They said that the journey to Dragon's Nest was full of perils. It was quite late in the night, and Kari was sitting by the fire sipping her drink. Music was in the air, and she spied Duncan dancing with one of the local girls. Somehow, Kari was annoyed by that. He wouldn't dance with her, but he'd dance with anyone else. She felt hurt in her pride, and she just didn't like it deep inside. Kari pushed those feelings aside. It didn't matter, not like she cared or anything. Kari smiled, as the Caleb came to talk to her.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing here all alone?" he asked smiling warmly.
"Oh, nothing, I was just enjoying the music. This is quite a party you have here!" she told him.
"I know. It's our annual summer party. I'm glad you happened to drop by, would you care to dance?" he asked.
"Sure, this is very beautiful music." Kari told him, and got up.
Caleb took her hand, and guided her on the dance floor. There, he put his hands on her wait, and swung her to the music. Kari could feel herself blushing. This was the intimate way teenagers who were interested in each other danced. Did this mean that Caleb was interested in her?
"I think you're beautiful." He whispered in her ear.
"Thank you." Kari said. She could feel herself blushing like mad. "He is interested in me, and I must say, I rather like him." She thought. Somehow, there was a little voice inside her head telling her not to get swept off her feet. This wasn't right, her soul screamed, but Kari chose to ignore it.
The music was breathtaking, and the singer was wonderful. Kari was lost in the wonderful words. They echoed sweetly in her mind, finding a place where she could keep them forever
Watching I keep waiting
Still anticipating love
Never hesitating
To became the fated ones
Through the hour glass I saw you
In time you slipped away,
When the mirror crashed I called you
And turned to hear you say
If only for today, I am unafraid
Caleb pulled Kari off the dance floor. She followed him hesitantly. "What's going to happen now?" she wondered.
Duncan watched Kari and that Caleb person disappear. He quickly muttered an apology and left the girl whom he was dancing with. She didn't like that Caleb person, and didn't want Kari to get hurt. Her parents would probably kill him if he didn't take care of her. Duncan knew that Kari was capable of defending herself, after all, she had put up quite a fight when he barged on her. He didn't know it, but it was actually curiosity that was eating away at her. He saw the way Caleb look at her, and Duncan didn't like it. Of course it would have taken him a millenium to admit that, but deep down inside he didn't like it. So, he stayed in the shadow, slowly following the two figures.
"Kari, I, I don't know how, I can't explain it, but I feel like I've known you before." Duncan felt Caleb say.
"It's interesting, I feel something like that too." Kari told him.
"Then you know how right this feels." Caleb said and leaned over.
Soon, his lips touched Kari's. Before she could catch herself, her impulses were acting for her. She was actually responding to Caleb's kiss. However, deep inside Kari, there was a voice screaming how wrong that kiss was. She could feel it herself, and all of a sudden found herself disgusted by the boy in front of her. He was nothing but a player. He didn't truly like her, all he wanted was to kiss her. Just because she was a pretty face. Kari could feel his true feelings for her. It was nothing more that just a weak desire. Kari pushed Caleb off of her, thus breaking the kiss.
"As much as I'd love to stay, it's night, and we really must be going tomorrow. Good night." She said calmly, yet a little coldly.
"But Kari, I could show you so much more." Caleb said.
She smiled bitterly, not showing the disgust she had for him. They needed that guide, and she didn't want to blow it. "I really must be going," she told him.
"Ok, well I guess I'll see you in the morning," Caleb said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Kari turned around and left, not glancing back behind her. She was glad to be rid of Caleb, yet she still valued that experience. It just showed her how a kiss could be when there were no other feelings involved but desire. She went to her room, and went to bed, when she realised that she had not seen Duncan between the partying people. She smiled, thinking he probably took that girl into a similar place as Caleb. Somehow, that thought still bothered her, but she closed her eyes and went to bed.
From the shadows, Duncan saw the whole scene between Caleb and Kari. He suddenly developed a distrust and disgust for the boy. He was just a player. Duncan had seen that. He suddenly wondered if Kari knew. She probably didn't. After that kiss, she seemed a little bewildered. She frowned, thinking that Kari must be in love with that boy. What was it about the players that attracted everyone to them. In any case, he felt guilty for spying on her. This was a moment he wished he had not stumbled upon. However, maybe he could warn Kari about Caleb in time. On second thought, what did he care? She was just a foolish girl, who would probably account his good intentions for jealousy. "No, I'm definitely not jealous of Caleb. He could have her. All she's ever been is just trouble." Duncan thought. Somehow, in the darkest corner of his mind, he knew he didn't truly mean that. He made his way out of the gardens, and headed for his room. This adventure would be over soon, and then he could be rid of the chocolate eyed girl that was on his mind so much. He now knew that her concern for him was purely coincidental. She would have been concerned about anyone harmed by a dragon. Duncan didn't know why, but that hurt him. However, he decided to put his feelings aside. "Who gives a damn about her?" he thought and fell asleep.
*Author's Note*
I'm so sorry if this chapter sucked! Especially the dragon battle. I really didn't know how to make it. seriously, I hope it wasn't too corny or something. I hope you've liked this chapter, and see, I kept my promise, that is adventure!!!!!! So there! Please tell me what you thought of it!!! I really want to know! heheh, isn't it sweet what I did with Kari and Duncan? Don't worry, remember, the deeper the pain, the sweeter the make up. Ne how, next chapter is all Folken's. I hope you like it! hehe *grins* ne ways, this is what I had so far, sorry it's so late, but we had a power outage and I had to start this chapter from the beginning, TWICE! (my word crashed once b4 and I forgot to save) ne how, I hope you like it, once again, sorry it's so late, please make a comment, I really think I did a bad job. Especially the dragon scene. Unfortunately, I'm not as good at writing fight scenes as my friend Marilyn. I will get better in time, with criticism. So tell me what I did good or bad, I don't mind. I just hope you liked this chapter!!! Hehe, only 10 more to go and this story's finished! Have fun reading this!!!!!! Comments are GREATLY appreciated! Once again, thanx a million for all the ones I received so far!!!!! You guys helped me a lot!!!! I hope you liked this chapter! Ne ways, bye for now, I promise I'll get the next chapter out sooner! Bbye!!!!
