Danny took off following another breakfast of fish. His pace picked up from the lackadaisical meandering it had been the day before, now that he had somewhere to go. He backtracked along the river and, once he was free of the mountain pass, turned northeast.
A huge plain greeted him, full of long grasses and shrubbery. He flew at top speed over it, stopping only to get some water from a spring he noticed. He spent the entire day flying.
The egg was a lot more talkative than the previous day. It seemed to enjoy the wind rustling through the bag but was confused by how cold Danny's back was.
The sun was just disappearing behind the horizon when Danny noticed a group of lights on the ground. Curious – perhaps they were this realm's version of ghosts – he landed a ways away and watched.
They appeared to be mischievous balls of light, flashing all colors of the rainbow and bouncing on the ground. They varied in size and were surrounded by an electric corona. They approached Danny and circled him cheerfully, humming loudly. They exuded feelings of curiosity and happiness; Danny could tell they weren't enemies.
One approached him and nudged him. Danny felt a burst of bliss, tingling all over his body. He shook it off, knowing it was induced by the being in front of him. It returned to the circle, acting like it was pouting.
The beings flashed as one, and Danny was almost overwhelmed by the feelings he was picking up. They meant him no harm and were merely curious about his presence like he was of theirs, as they could feel that he was not from this realm. They'd never met one like him before.
The halo around each ball expanded so Danny was in the center of a lightning storm. He stiffened as he felt his mind being caressed by an alien being. He felt like he was being examined closely, his every physical and mental move seen and recorded.
Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? they whispered into his mind. Little phantom, who are you? Danny wasn't hearing words so much as he was gleaning impressions from the beings. Had he not been in ghost form, his ectoplasm resonating with whatever frequency the spirits gave off, he doubted he could have understood them.
Danny had a feeling they weren't asking for his name. I'm a guardian, he responded mentally, thinking of how he protected Amity Park and, for the time being, the egg. Who are you?
We are spirits of Alagaësia, of this land, they chanted. Where are you going?
North, northeast. What's up there? Danny asked.
The forest of Du Weldenvarden, of course! the spirits giggled. You'll find the elves there, too.
Elves, huh? Danny said. He felt like he'd fallen straight into a fantasy novel. Elves? What next, dwarves?
Those live in the Beor Mountains in the south, the spirits sang. Danny felt like facepalming.
After some minutes of silence, the spirits' essence brushing up against Danny's core, leaving tingling impressions in their wake, Danny realized the spirits were waiting for him to ask another question. They would entertain one more before departing. He was just glad the spirits seemed to like him instead of deeming him their enemy. Who's the guy this egg belonged to? Danny asked, revealing the egg.
Galbatorix, they hissed. They flitted some distance away before returning. The mad king. Beware, little phantom, for he already pursues you…
Danny hastily catalogued the information he'd been provided with. He had fallen into a land called Alagaësia. He was heading up to the elves, who lived in the forest of Du Weldenvarden. Dwarves also existed, and they lived down south, in the Beor Mountains. He had become the enemy of someone powerful – the mad king Galbatorix, if the spirits were to be believed. He tightened his grip on the egg, torn between being glad he'd saved the egg from the king's castle and horrified that he'd made an enemy so quickly.
The spirits sparked their auras, sending a tingle down Danny's spine and earning them his attention again. What is it?
The elves will be pleased with your dragon's egg, they sighed. They sent one last impression – that they were glad to talk, as most mortal beings in this realm could not understand them beyond the bliss they'd granted Danny before the conversation had begun – then swirled around him in an ever-widening circle before dispersing like leaves in the wind.
"Dragon's egg?" Danny said aloud, incredulous. He had fallen into a fantasy novel. Magic, dragons, elves, dwarves… It was strange, being subjected to the fantasy kind of crazy instead of the ghost kind of crazy. Then again, the spirits were pretty ghostly…
Danny shook his head to get rid of the stray thought. He needed to focus on finding shelter for the night. But before he left the area, he noticed something shiny on the ground where nothing of interest had been before the spirits left. He stooped and picked up a rock, about the size of his palm, that shimmered gold. The spirits, whimsical beings that they were, had left behind a gold nugget. Thinking that it might be useful to barter with, Danny scooped it up and pocketed it. He inwardly thanked the generosity of the spirits and hoped that whatever information they'd gleaned from him during their exchange was payment enough.
He eventually found a large bush with hanging limbs that he could crawl under. He didn't know what it was called. The grasses tickled his nose as he ducked beneath the bush and curled up by its woody stem.
He fell asleep between one breath and the next.
Danny woke up to a growling stomach, reminding him that he'd hardly eaten the previous day, since he didn't know how to hunt. Scowling, Danny crawled out from under the bush. He just had a little bit farther to go before he'd reach that lake he'd seen, and then he could fish all he wanted, there. He transformed, feeling weak and shaky, and took off. Hating how wobbly he felt, he stuck closer to the ground, in case his powers failed on him.
He only had to fly a short distance before he stumbled across a road. Unpaved, yes, but it was wide enough to fit at least two carriages, so there was no mistaking what it was. Danny could see a smudge on the horizon around where there was a city.
Not wanting to be seen as Phantom, and not feeling strong enough to maintain flight and invisibility through the city, Danny transformed back to Fenton and shouldered the pack with the egg in it, resolving to walk to the city to find someone willing to trade some food for the gold nugget. (Probably an uneven trade, but Danny really didn't care. All he wanted was enough food to last him for the journey, whether it was caught or bought.) The egg radiated curiosity at the switch.
Around midday, when the smudge had sharpened into a hazy outline of buildings, Danny started passing by other travelers. Some were dressed like him, simple folk who lived simple lives, but he also saw many soldiers, men with armor, chainmail, and weaponry. Multiple soldiers eyed him suspiciously.
Maybe I should have risked flying invisibly over the city, Danny thought, disconcerted by the attention he was getting. He quickly glanced down and confirmed that his modern tennis shoes were covered by the hems of the overly-long, old-timey pants.
Thankfully, the guards at the gate paid him no extra special mind as Danny entered the city with a group of other people, then split from them when he found a sign board. He hadn't picked up how to read the local language from the beggar in Dras-Leona, but for some reason, the people here used the same letters as back home, so by sounding out the words, Danny could understand what was written.
"Welcome to Gil'ead," the sign read. Underneath were several wanted posters, with rewards posted in crowns, the local currency. So the city was called Gil'ead, then? And the gold coins were called crowns. Good to know.
Danny looked around. He wasn't the only one at the message board, and being crowded by so many people while he was a fugitive made him uneasy. He slipped away and began to wander the streets, looking for a market. He eventually had to stop someone and ask for directions.
Gil'ead's market was much like Dras-Leona's. Danny looked around at the variety of goods offered. His stomach growled when he laid eyes on the food stalls; Danny winced and forced himself to keep walking. He had to exchange his gold nugget first, and for that, he needed a jeweler. Danny finally found one at the end of a row, showcasing finely crafted metal baubles and elegant jewelry.
"Welcome, welcome!" the merchant running the stall said warmly. "Something catch your fancy? Perhaps something for a lady friend, hmm?"
"I'm actually here to trade," Danny replied.
"Oh? Let's see what you've got, then." As Danny dug around in his pocket for the nugget, the merchant observed, "Interesting accent you've got there. Where're you from, friend?"
Danny sweated. "Uh, really far away." It was technically true. "Now, how much is this worth?" He put the small nugget on the table between them, distracting the merchant.
"Hmm, for something of this size… I'd say around fifty crowns," the man estimated.
Danny scowled. He had no idea how much a crown was worth, or how much he could buy with fifty crowns. He had no way to know if the price the man had given him was fair. "Are you sure it's not worth more?"
"Sixty or find someone else," the man grumped.
"Okay," Danny hastily agreed. "That seems reasonable?" The merchant gave him an odd look. Was it because the price really wasn't fair? Had Danny made a faulty assumption?
While Danny stewed, the merchant took the gold nugget to a lockable trunk and opened it. After depositing the nugget, he grabbed a small sack and filled it with coins. Danny was too nervous to count them. After receiving the bag of coins, Danny stuttered a thank you and bolted.
Once he was away from the merchant, Danny breathed a sigh of relief. He'd gotten through the encounter okay. Now he just needed to buy some supplies. And food. He tied his new bag of coins to his belt and headed off at a more sedate pace.
Danny returned to the row of stalls that had food and bought four skewers of meat, two fresh fruits, and a roll. He sat on a curb behind the stalls and ate his acquisitions, feeling much better for having eaten. He stood and returned to the stalls, looking for food that would last for a while. He finally found a stand that specialized in travel food.
Danny made a face as he doled out enough money to buy a week's worth of jerky and fruit. His taste buds would not thank him later.
An idea hit him as he wandered through the stalls afterward with a bulging pack. He should probably buy something to hold water in. Sturdy plastic bottles were a thing of the far-flung future; the temporally appropriate equivalent was probably a waterskin or something. Danny made another face. He was really starting to miss technology.
After purchasing a waterskin, leaving Danny with a little less than half the crowns he'd bartered for, he started making his way back toward the gate, winding his way through the streets. Many of the people he passed were soldiers; Danny wondered why. The reason came to him as he passed a sprawling complex and heard the sounds of metal crashing against metal within.
Those are soldiers sparring, Danny realized. He took a closer look at the building before he turned completely around and strode away, face white. I'm running away from a king, and I've just happened to stumble across the barracks for his army?! Shit, Danny swore mentally.
Then things got worse. "There he is!" Danny heard a familiar voice call. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the merchant whom he'd bartered the gold nugget with pointing in his direction, accompanied by a pair of scowling soldiers.
Danny ran, pack bouncing on his back. The egg made its displeasure for the situation known with a disjointed tangled of emotion. Danny was almost free of the city; a confrontation with the soldiers now would only bring disaster. He heard shouts and pounding feet behind him. Once he'd left the city, he could crouch in the tall grasses, transform, and fly invisibly to safety.
An alarm was sounded. Danny doubled his pace and soon rounded the final corner to the gate.
The gate was closed. He would have to go intangible to flee the city. He didn't know any other way out, so he would have to reveal his powers. He winced but continued running straight for the gate.
Then a metal-plated leg came out of nowhere, barking his shins and sending him stumbling into the dirt. He tried to scramble to his feet, but something hard impacted with his skull. He reeled, stars shooting into his vision.
"Tough little thing, isn't he?" Danny heard before he was hit on the head again, and he knew no more.
A bit shorter than the previous chapters, but here was such a good place to end it, don't you think? Hehehe…
Hopefully, the next chapter won't take terribly long to get out. See you soon! And thank you to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and followed!
-HM