Dragon Country, Chapter 2 : Dragon Country
Notes: You can look up any unfamiliar Dragons I mention on www(dot)pokeorder(dot)com.
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"Seto."
Jounouchi's voice was tense, and he never called his dorm-mate by his first name unless things were truly important. Seto glanced down (Jounouchi had remained on his knees when Seto rose in awe).
"Where are we?" Jounouchi asked, his face pale.
Seto snorted, starting to feel slightly better. He could handle this situation better than Jounouchi. "Some magical world, I suppose," he answered, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Weren't you the one who believed in mermaids?"
"That was you," Jounouchi corrected, biting his lip. "And that is not a mermaid. Mermaids, I could handle. Maybe. That thing has teeth."
Seto glanced at the Dragon, in mid-yawn. Dozens of gleaming canines shone out at him. The Dragon could probably bite him in half in one go. He swallowed nervously. "She's tame. I think."
Anzu was still stroking the Dragon, circling it and apparently checking her body for injuries.
" 'She'?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully. "Since when is it a she? And since when is it tame?"
"Weren't you listening?" Seto fairly snapped. "Those kids were saying 'she's back', or something. And that other girl is practically petting it."
"That makes me feel better. A little better." Jounouchi gulped loudly.
"Whatever." Seto inhaled deeply, trying to compose himself. "We have to do something."
"Like… what?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully, finally climbing to his feet and standing next to Seto.
"I don't-" he was interrupted by a low rattling, coming from behind them. Both boys froze. Then, gathering their nerves, they turned around.
Jounouchi reflexively jumped. Another Dragon was standing there, quizzically sniffing the pack they'd left behind. This one was, thankfully, a lot smaller than the other one. It barely rose to Seto's knee, and was an almost comical shade of orange. It was shaped differently than the other, as well; it had a rounded, pale stomach, small, high wings; and a wide baby face. And it, thankfully, had less teeth that were less sharp. But it was still a Dragon. And it was standing about twenty feet away from them.
Jounouchi swore, quite colorfully, under his breath. Seto, on the other hand, tried to calm his mind and analyze the situation. "What's that noise it's making?" he asked Jounouchi in an undertone.
"What?" Jounouchi turned to face him, looking frazzled. "The noise? Who gives a-"
"Listen," Seto hissed, and Jounouchi obediently fell silent. There was that rattling again, and the Dragon's chest heaved out and collapsed inward. "It's breathing."
"Huh?"
"It's having trouble breathing." Seto watched as the Dragon's nose twitched, and it took another shaky breath. "It has asthma or something."
"You're kidding me," Jounouchi said incredulously. The Dragon poked its nose at the bag, and tried to nip at one of the straps. The nostrils twitched again. "…I think you might be right," Jounouchi said after a moment. "It has asthma. Or maybe allergies. You see the way its nose is twitching like that?"
The Dragon sneezed, three times in quick succession. A small sprout of flame flew out on the third sneeze, catching hold on a corner of the cloth backpack. Seto's face paled. He turned to see Jounouchi looking just as shocked.
"How many fireworks were in that bag?" Seto managed.
"All of them."
Seto swallowed. "How many is… all of them?"
"A lot."
Slowly, the boys turned to face each other. "Run," Jounouchi suggested, then promptly took his own advice. He dashed out into the sunlit meadow, towards the five children, including Anzu, and the other Dragon.
Seto started to follow him, then hesitated. He turned back to look at the backpack. The Dragon, seemingly unperturbed by the fire, was sticking its head underneath it.
Clenching his teeth, Seto dashed back. "Kaiba!" Jounouchi hollered, turning around, but Seto ignored him. He grabbed the Dragon around the middle, earning a surprised squeak. Clutching the Dragon tightly, but taking care to avoid the claws, Seto ran at full throttle to Jounouchi. Once the blonde was sure Seto was coming, he too began to run, putting maximum distance between them and the flaming backpack, now starting to emit sparks.
When the explosion came, it was deafening. Seto saw red and blue fireworks go zinging into the sky out of the corner of his eye, and felt a gust of warm wind rush past his ear. The squirming Dragon in his arms abruptly fell silent, and he and Jounouchi gradually slowed. Turning around, he saw the charred remains of the backpack, and a small patchwork of fire taking hold in the tall grass, but he and Jounouchi and the Dragon were unharmed.
Seto heaved a sigh and shifted the Dragon, holding it so it would be more comfortable in his arms. In a surprising show of affection, it licked his ear, leaving a faint burning sensation.
"Anzu, what was that?" one of the children asked. Suddenly jolted back to reality, Seto and Jounouchi jerked around to meet with the incredulous stares of the four children. The fifth girl, Anzu, was carefully striding forward to meet them.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice determined. Her eyes flickered to the Dragon in Seto's arms. "Will you hurt Baby?"
Seto's brow quirked. " 'Baby'?" he repeated.
"Baby Dragon," Anzu said again, firmly. "If you're not going to hurt him, put him down."
Seto and Jounouchi exchanged glances. He considered clinging to the Dragon longer, in case they could use him as a bargaining chip. But in the end, Seto reasoned that it'd be best to get on the girl's good side. After all, she looked to be unarmed… Aside from the thirty-foot Dragon hovering over her shoulder, glaring at them like they were lunch.
Carefully, he set the Dragon on the ground. He sneezed once more, but luckily didn't send out a flame this time. Then he bounded awkwardly toward the children, and the red-haired girl bent down to scoop him up and nuzzle his forehead.
Anzu visibly relaxed. "I suppose you're not from the Clan, then?"
Seto and Jounouchi once more shrugged at each other. "Never heard of it," Jounouchi said cheerfully.
"Then where are you from?" the small blonde girl challenged.
"Did you fall through the portal?" Anzu asked, her voice signaling sudden understanding.
"No," Seto started to say, but Jounouchi cut in. "Yeah! I bet we did!" When Seto glared at him, he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Kaiba- we fell off a rock cliff that melted under our hands and into a black void with gold and silver lights! That sounds like a portal to me." Addressing Anzu, he asked, "Is that what you meant?"
She nodded. "That's what all the others described. What was the name of the place?... 'Dark Mountain'?"
"Mount Dark Magic," Jounouchi said cheerfully. "In Black Magic Peaks!"
"That's it," Anzu said in relief. "That explains it, then. Well!" She clapped her hands, and looked over their shoulders at the small brush fires. "Red-Eyes, if you wouldn't mind…?"
The giant black Dragon opened her wings suddenly, sending out a small gust that bent the grass over backwards and ruffled everyone's hair. Taking off into the air, she came down heavily on the fire, grinding one giant clawed foot over the flames and smothering them completely.
"Wow," Jounouchi marveled. "The fire doesn't bother it?"
"Her," Anzu corrected. "And no, of course not." She seemed amused by the question. "You should see the red fireballs that Dragon can throw. Fire doesn't bother her."
"Where are we?" Jounouchi asked, eyeing the Baby Dragon in the redhead's arms.
Anzu laughed at that, opening her arms wide. "Welcome, boys. To Dragon Country."
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Red-Eyes flew on ahead. "She knows what a greeting she's going to get at the village," Anzu said, sounding amused. "That Dragon is spoiled."
"She's one of our best, though," the black-haired boy chimed in, addressing Jounouchi and Seto. "Hey, what're your names? I'm Mokuba."
"Kaiba Seto," he responded reluctantly.
"Jounouchi Katsuya," Jounouchi said, shifting the second backpack, the one that contained food and water, along with their coats. "Pleased to meet you."
"My name is Shizuka," the girl holding the Baby Dragon spoke up softly.
"Hi. I'm Yuugi," the boy with the tri-colored hair said, smiling shyly.
"And I'm Rebecca," the blonde girl spoke up, tugging absently on one of her pigtails. "So are you guys staying or what?"
Anzu smiled softly. "Let's give them more than ten minutes to make up their minds, Rebecca," she teased gently.
"Staying?" Jounouchi asked in alarm.
"Don't worry. There's a way you can get home," Anzu reassured them quickly. "Another portal, in a mountain-chain to the east. Except… we've had thirteen people fall here in the last year alone. I think it's been over fifty people as far as our records go back. Only six or seven, all told, have decided to go home."
"You must have some darn good cheeseburgers here," Jounouchi said hopefully.
Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "What're cheeseburgers?"
Sensing that Jounouchi was on the verge of howling 'Noooooo,' Seto intervened. "Why is that?" he asked sharply.
Anzu turned to look at him, slightly off-put by his tone. "It's not everyone who can pass through here, you know," she said, her voice sounding slightly defensive. "Dragon Country has a way of calling people here who want to be. Or need to be. Many people who have fallen through the portal have fallen in love with this land. Especially with the Dragons. A lot of the time, they decide not to leave again."
"I suppose that means the Dragons don't eat people?" Jounouchi asked hopefully.
Shizuka shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. "Do you want to hold Baby?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.
Jounouchi blinked. "I suppose that means the Dragons definitely don't eat people?"
She smiled, and handed him the small orange Dragon. He sniffled a little, then burrowed into Jounouchi's shirt. Seto willed himself not to reach out and touch it like a little kid. A real Dragon. It was awakening all the buried childhood emotions in him. Glee, awe, wonderment, a fantastic sense of beauty… He felt giddy and surreal; his thoughts were floating above his head.
"Look!" Rebecca said suddenly, bouncing up and down, her eyes bright. "There's a herd! Look, Kaiba and Jounouchi! You can see them!"
Seto quickly looked over, his eyes widening in anticipation. Way across the field, a herd of Dragons lounged about in the sun. Some of them were nearly twice as long as he was tall, but others were only about the size of the first Dragon's head. The big Dragons were incredibly scaly and skinny, with green scales and brown skin showing underneath. Their claws were at least three inches long. The smaller Dragons were more playful, scampering underneath the big Dragons' bellies and leaping into the air to flutter a little ways before landing again. They were a slightly lighter green, with oversized wings.
"The big ones are Lesser Dragons," Anzu said in his ear, and he gave a jump. He'd forgotten she was there. In fact, he'd forgotten that another world even existed besides the beasts roaming just a few hundred yards away. "Don't be fooled by their name. They can really pack a punch. They're called Lesser Dragons because they can't breathe any fire, but fire is actually the least of what makes a Dragon great. See those claws? And that spiked tail? That's what a fighting Dragon is all about."
Jounouchi gulped audibly. "Thanks," he murmured, accidentally squeezing the Baby Dragon tightly. He let out an indignant squeak.
"Then the smaller ones are Troop Dragons," Anzu continued, her eyes sparkling. "They're never alone, though they're not always with Lesser Dragons. They migrate from one pack to another. Last week I spotted them at the cave entrance, probably hanging with the Dragons Dwelling in the Caves and the Cave Dragons."
Jounouchi blinked. "Those are two different Dragons?"
She laughed again. "I know, I know. Our names sometimes aren't very creative."
"Aren't there two Luster Dragons?" Mokuba piped up.
"Yeah, but we call one of them the Emerald Dragon," Yuugi spoke up, grinning hopefully at Seto and Jounouchi.
Seto's head was spinning as he tried to drink this all in. A shadow passed over their small group, and Baby Dragon broke into an excited squeal, squirming about in Jounouchi's arms. Startled, Jounouchi deposited the Dragon on the ground.
Holding his breath, Seto craned his neck far backwards. Circling above them was another Dragon, hard to see silhouetted against the brilliant sun. Giving a low, resounding grumble, the Dragon suddenly folded its wings and bent down into a dive. Seto and Jounouchi instinctively cringed, but Anzu and the other children cheered and held out their hands. The Dragon pulled back from its air-whistling dive at the last minute, flared its wings, and landed gracefully on the ground.
Baby Dragon sneezed twice more, causing a clump of grass to start smoldering. As it bounded towards the bigger Dragon, which Seto dazedly noted looked like a larger, more ferocious, darker version of the Baby, Anzu absently stamped on the smoldering grass, putting out any possible fire. "Thousand Dragon," she remarked. "Baby's mother. The two of them live in a penned-up field near Shizuka's family's home, except when Baby breaks out and goes wandering." She turned to a still gaping Seto with a brilliant smile. "I suppose I should be thanking you for finding Baby, earlier."
Thousand Dragon eyed the two newcomers with apparent curiosity. Jounouchi weakly lifted an arm and waved. Baby Dragon, climbing across his mother's claws, affectionately nipped at her and squeaked again. Thousand Dragon appeared slightly reassured, and she hooked Baby with her other claw and heaved the small Dragon onto her back. Then, dipping her head to the group, she took off into the air, her giant wings blowing a heavy wind onto the others, and flew off in the same direction from which she'd come.
"I bet Red-Eyes told her that Baby was with us," Yuugi remarked cheerfully.
"Baby's always running away," Rebecca chimed in. "But Anzu or one of the others finds him."
"Was that why you were out in the field today?" Jounouchi asked absently, rubbing his arms. Baby's scales had left slight scrapes. The group began to walk again.
"Naah, we were waiting for Red-Eyes to return," Mokuba said, grabbing Shizuka's hand and forcing her to spin around. She giggled, and he grinned playfully.
"It's mating season," Anzu said, chewing on her lip. "Most of the Red-Eyes Blacks live in the forest, but this Red-Eyes decided to live with us several years ago. She stays in the stables most of the time; Mai and I are her primary caretakers, but she leaves us every season to meet up with a Black in the wild."
Jounouchi was blushing furiously. "So was she, ah, pregnant just now?" he asked, trying to be casual.
Anzu shrugged. "Maybe. Who can tell? She's only had one clutch since she arrived, but this could always be the year."
"I hope so," Mokuba said excitedly, letting go of Shizuka and moving on to force Yuugi to dance with him. "I was too young when the first babies were born. There were three of them, and all but one has moved back into the forest. The other is still too young to have babies. I want to see a hatchling!"
Seto eyed the children. They were much, much too hyper for his liking, but then again… he could already feel the urge to dance. There was just something about this place.
"Are we going to take them to my cousin?" Yuugi asked, gently prying himself away from Mokuba's grasp.
"Of course," Anzu answered, giving Seto and Jounouchi a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It's just procedure. We have to introduce all newcomers to the Pharaoh, and he'll let you know where you can stay. We also have to figure out how you can spend your time between now and when you decide to go home, if you do leave."
"Pharaoh?" Seto asked distastefully, wrinkling his nose slightly.
"Yes, Pharaoh," Anzu said defensively. "He's elected every year. We've had the same Pharaoh for nearly five years running, now, ever since he was fifteen."
Jounouchi whistled. "That's some young king."
"The Dragons prefer the young ones," Anzu said, her face starting to turn pink. "They're the ones who elect him, after all."
Seto's brow rose. "Really?"
"Naturally," she said, turning away. "The Dragon kings of the forest get together and decide who should be Pharaoh. They send Slifer to him as a symbol of true rule, and he takes the throne with Slifer at his side."
"Dragon kings?" Jounouchi asked curiously.
"Nobody ever sees them, except one or two of the firemen at election time," Rebecca said in a hushed voice. "And of course, the Tamer. The Blue-Eyes White Dragons are the strongest out there."
"Anyway, our Pharaoh now is Atemu, Yuugi's cousin," Rebecca butted in. She dashed up to Anzu and poked the horn at her side. "See that?"
Seto glanced over. On a rope belt around Anzu's waist hung an exquisite bronze horn. One end was extremely narrow, and the other was sculpted to look like a Dragon's head. In the center of its forehead was painted a golden eye.
"That's the sign of the Pharaoh's house. We call it the Millennium Eye," Yuugi said quietly, touching a trinket around his neck. It was an oversized and upside-down pyramid, also branded with the eye. "This is my Puzzle. I wear it because I'm related to the royalty."
"Why do you have the sign, then?" Jounouchi cheerfully asked Anzu.
She lifted her chin. "The Dragons have chosen me as the Tamer. That's another ritual, one in which a Blue-Eyes comes to me in my sleep and delivers this horn to me. It's the Flute of Summoning Dragons. With it, I have power over most of Dragon Country. It's an important duty. And I'm not too young." She directed this last comment at Jounouchi, her sapphire eyes burning. Seto almost laughed, but caught himself in time. Anzu had obviously taken offense at his comment about young kings.
Jounouchi had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you…"
"We're home!" Mokuba and Rebecca screeched in unison, grabbing hands and running forward. Seto looked up, startled. He hadn't even noticed them approaching, but now they climbed over a hill and came into view of a giant palace. It was made of a gleaming white stone, furnished with gold. It boasted statues of a myriad of Dragons in the sprawling courtyard, and Seto dazedly tried to count all the different species. There were too many, however, all of different shapes and sizes. But one Dragon, prominently placed in the center, caught his attention. It was a pure white, even more dazzling than whatever the palace was built of, except for its eyes, which glittered with a deep blue gem. Seto swore he saw a spark of intelligence in this penetrating gaze. The Dragon's features were smooth and contoured; the face was round and the mouth was slightly open, revealing a long row of sharp teeth. Instinctively, Seto knew that this was what they referred to as the king of Dragons: the mighty Blue-Eyes.
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Even if he hadn't already been informed that Yuugi was Atemu's cousin, there was no missing the resemblance between the two. Although Yuugi was smaller, and paler, and looked younger and more innocent, the boys shared the same drastic, spiky tri-colored hair. Atemu had bronzed skin and an apparent penchant for gold jewelry, and he was idly polishing a Puzzle identical to Yuugi's when they walked in.
"Ah, Anzu," he said in apparent relief, rising from the crimson-lined throne and hurrying to meet her. Seto and Jounouchi trailed behind her uncertainly, and Yuugi walked at their side, but the other three children had gone their separate ways. "Red-Eyes returned safely?"
"Yes, thank goodness," Anzu said warmly, accepting his embrace. "Baby Dragon wandered off too, but Thousand Dragon brought him home recently."
"And all else is well in the kingdom," Atemu said, relief apparent in his voice. "The Clan has been silent for the past four months. I can almost hope that they won't attack before the winter sets in." He peered over her shoulder with sharp crimson eyes, boring holes into Seto and Jounouchi. "And who are these? Newcomers from the Other World?"
"Yes," Anzu replied, stepping back and walking with him over to the boys. Yuugi grinned shyly at his cousin and waved. Atemu reached out and clapped the boy affectionately on the shoulder.
"Welcome to Dragon Country," he said, studying the newcomers. "And how do you like this kingdom?"
"Amazing," Jounouchi blurted. Seto remained silent, but gave a dip of his head to signal his appreciation as well.
"Good," Atemu said, appearing satisfied. "Will you be staying?"
Seto hesitated, exchanging looks with Jounouchi. "Anzu said a lot of people ended up staying."
Atemu nodded. "Many prefer to wait here before beginning their journey east, to the portal that will return them to their own world. Most fall in love with this realm. Only six, I believe, have ever left."
Jounouchi's eyebrows lifted. "They leave their families and everything?"
Atemu and Anzu exchanged looks. "I told you, Black Magic Peaks have a way of calling those who belong here," Anzu said simply.
"I don't think we'll be staying," Seto said firmly.
"Of course," Atemu replied smoothly, almost as if he'd been expecting that. "We'll do anything we can to help you on your way."
"No catches?" Seto asked doubtfully, causing a spark of amusement to rise in Anzu's eyes.
"Of course not," Atemu reassured once again. "When will you wish to leave?"
"Immediately," Seto said firmly, overruling Jounouchi, who had also opened his mouth.
Finally, he'd startled them. Atemu's eyes flickered downwards, and Anzu looked troubled, as did Yuugi. "Really?" the short boy asked sadly, and Seto's spine stiffened.
"Immediately," he said again.
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"Honestly, I don't see the harm in staying just a week or so," Jounouchi whined at Seto as they headed through the long winding palace. Atemu had disappeared after instructing Anzu to lead them to the stables. Yuugi had opted to tag along, and he trotted at Anzu's side. She was moving quickly, several paces ahead of them. Her shoulders were set, and Seto had a feeling she disapproved of his decision to leave so quickly.
"We don't belong here, Katsuya," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "This is not our world. It's in our best interest to leave again, as soon as possible. We can't just drop all our responsibilities. We need to return and pick up our normal life."
"But everyone else liked it," Jounouchi pointed out, nearly slipping on the smooth polished tile.
"We're not everyone else. We're not lazy and irresponsible, and we're not going to continue living in a fantasy world."
Jounouchi sighed mournfully. "You're right, Kaiba… but I still think it'd be fun to visit. But yeah, I could never live here. I'd miss cheeseburgers too much…"
Seto snorted, but otherwise ignored his companion. Anzu pushed open a door up ahead and let in the brilliant sunlight; she exited the building quickly, but Yuugi hung back.
"This path leads to the stables," he said shyly when Seto and Jounouchi caught up, pointing at the white cobblestone path. "All the Dragons we domesticate live down there." He pointed, and Jounouchi gave a low whistle.
The stables were a huge, sprawling compound, covering more land than even the palace. Enclosed and protected areas gave way to open expanses of lawn, and Seto spotted several Dragons sunbathing. A manmade river wound its way through the stables, passing through each Dragon's private pens and ending up at a lake, where handlers worked to clean the water and send it off on another spiral. The stables were bustling with life; handlers were constantly exiting and entering the stables, whether carting out dung or bringing in food. At one end, several handlers were grooming a large Dragon that sparkled as though made of diamonds. "That's Hyozanryu," Yuugi said proudly. "See that long horn?" Hyozanryu had an enormous spike protruding from his nose, as well as two horns flattened along the back of his head. "No other Dragon has anything like it. Hyozanryu are really rare, but we've got four living here. That one's the biggest, it's a male, and he also has a mate and two of their offspring."
"I'm impressed," Jounouchi said, in true awe. "Man. This is unbelievable." He glanced at his companion. "Aw, come on, lighten up, Kaiba. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You'll never see anything like this again. Try and enjoy it!"
Seto ignored his former dorm-mate, staring at the Dragons. His stiff face might not betray it, but he was feeling wonderment as never before. The Dragons were more fantastic than he'd ever dared to dream. Hyozanryu yawned widely and preened, and his handler laughed and tossed the Dragon a treat. Hyozanryu leaned over to nip what looked like the oversized apple out of thin air, and swallowed it whole. "What do they eat?" Seto asked curiously, before he remembered that it was best to remain distant from these people.
Yuugi glanced over. "Oh. They usually eat pomphurs. It's a kind of fruit that grows here. It's a mixture of bitter and spicy; I think it's absolutely vile." He laughed. "But it's the Dragons' favorite food."
"Do they eat meat?" Jounouchi wanted to know, still eyeing the Dragons with a hint of wariness.
Yuugi looked disgusted. "Eat meat? Are you serious?"
Seto stabbed Jounouchi with a finger. "They're probably all vegetarians here," he said in an undertone. "I haven't seen any animals other than birds and insects; have you?"
"Oh. No," Jounouchi mumbled back.
"Hurry up!" Seto looked up to find Anzu waving impatiently at them. She'd already reached the end of the path, and was talking with a white-haired man. The black-haired boy they'd met earlier, Mokuba, was back; he was standing next to a taller boy with aqua hair.
"Hi guys!" Mokuba said cheerfully as they approached. "This is my brother, Noa! Noa, these are the newcomers I told you about. You know… from the Other World."
Noa gave a short and oddly formal bow. "Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," Seto responded curtly, turning back to Anzu. He noticed with distaste that she was resting her arm on that of the white-haired man's.
"This is Ryou," she introduced. "He's a fireman."
"Fireman?" Jounouchi asked doubtfully.
Ryou nodded, all smiles. "Anzu tells me you had some experiences with fire yourself. Most of the Dragons are careful, but when they have allergies- like Baby- or sometimes when they work themselves into a fearsome temper, part of the forest or meadow will catch fire. We firemen are out patrolling the area surrounding the palace daily, to make sure nothing goes up in flames."
"They work with a special kind of Dragon," Anzu informed them. "It's called Levia Dragon, or Daedalus. Unlike all the other Dragons, its element is water. Daedalus help put out fires throughout the kingdom."
"It's interesting work," Ryou said cheerfully, putting his hands together. "So! Anzu tells me you're leaving already." Anzu's smile abruptly melted away, and she turned her head slightly.
"Yes," Seto said, trying to sound faintly apologetic. "We really should be returning home."
"Well, come with me, and I'll help outfit you for the journey," Ryou said, turning and heading into the stables. Seto was about to follow him, but Jounouchi poked him in the side.
"Kaiba?" he asked, flashing his best puppy-eyes. "Can I go explore?"
Seto heaved a sigh. Jounouchi was like a little kid much of the time. "Fine, I'll work out the logistics with Ryou," he answered sharply. "Give me the backpack." Jounouchi obediently shed the pack and handed it to Seto, grinning. "And don't get lost," Seto added as Jounouchi turned away. He and Anzu and Yuugi talked a moment, then went their separate ways. Anzu and Yuugi walked back up to the palace; Jounouchi headed into the stables to the right. Seto followed Ryou into the stables directly ahead, passing several large pens hosting Dragons. Seto pushed away the urge to stop and poke his head into each one, walking after Ryou in a steady pace.
"Would you like a new bag?" Ryou asked finally, entering what looked like his office. A huge map covered one wall, and scrolls littered his desk. On each one was painted a Dragon clawprint. Dragon teeth were showcased in class containers on one shelf.
"This one should be fine," Seto said doubtfully, testing it. "But I think we might be able to use a second one. How far away are the mountains?"
"Here, look at this map," Ryou responded, turning to the one on the wall. "It'll help. Here's our palace." He pointed to the center. "The mountain chain you want lies to the east. We don't have a name for it, but we usually call it the Barrier."
"Why?" Seto interrupted, his curiosity piqued.
Ryou heaved a rather sad sigh. "See, past the mountain chain lie the lands of Krawdante," he said, tracing the area with a slender finger. "The Krawdiites and our people have never gotten along. The Krawdiites are uncivilized Dragon-fighters. They enslave the wild Dragons where they live and use them in tournaments to make money, or as tools in war. They tried to invade us a thousand years ago, but the legendary Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon arose and beat them away. Legend says that this was where the Blue-Eyes first came into being. After the battle, the three-headed Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon split into three separate beings. They've thrived in the forest ever since, breeding and living off the land. They're still quite mysterious. They've only been spotted rarely. And, of course, the Tamer will see them during the Choosing." He shook his head. "Anyway. Ever since the Ultimate Dragon beat the Krawdiites soundly a thousand years back, they've been quiet. They stay wholly on their side of the mountain chain- the Barrier, between their world and ours. You shouldn't be anywhere near them. The portal is here." Ryou fingered a spot on the map. "We'll give you more specific instructions when you get closer. A chariot will bring you to the base of the mountain, and the rest of the climb is simple."
Seto nodded.
"And we'll make sure you have plenty of food and water," Ryou said cheerfully. "It only takes a day to reach the base of the mountains. You can camp there for the night, and set off in the morning. You'll be home before you know it!"
"Thank you," he said sincerely, clasping Ryou's hand.
"Of course," Ryou said, smiling in return. "When will you wish to leave?"
"Tomorrow."
Ryou seemed slightly taken aback, but nodded. "All right. I'll arrange a chariot."