A/n
Here is the next chapter, again the story in general overall has not change, but details have, so enjoy the story!
Chapter 25: The Great Escape
-Neutral pov-
It is in our darkest moments that we can realize what we are truly capable of doing. When all the chips are down when desperation and logic put aside their normal standing differences and unite with ingenuity and potential insanity to do the best to get the job done. And what moment could be darker than when one's life is in real danger of being taken and ended? That is the situation that Saber found himself in around the city that the apes had brought him to. One attempt made in the form of a stab with a knife had failed to do Saber in with him doing a mess bit of healing for himself. Yet, his troubles still loom over him as things stood…
-Saber's pov-
Jerking awake to the usual darkness of the 'cell' that I had become familiar with for however long I've been here. The nagging and constant aches and pain that I had been acquainted with since I got here didn't leave me alone long if much at all. But now, I got to add the burning throb from my side where the stab wound that I had stitched up was and is in the process of healing. The need of me getting out of this place soon was more evident now than before, the sooner the better and definitely before being here ends up killing me!
The last fight or in reality, an attempt on killing me had gotten dangerously close to doing me in for good or at least it had come far too close for any modicum of comfort to come to me! The problem is I very much bet it won't be the last attempt on my life from the apes and I don't know how well it would go for me if I get another bad injury like the stab wound or worse. My guess on my odds in such would be slim to none, closer to none. So, with such facts serving as motivation, I redoubled my efforts on my plan to get out of here.
The apes had left me alone for a longer period than normal after the last incident. They still brought 'food', but the door apparently had a slot or something like that which they slid the stuff through. I'm of two minds about this result, since their leader wants me alive for some reason, I was being given time to heal. The other possibility, the apes were in trouble for what they tried to do to me and are being punished. Either way, I used this time to the best I could think of to prepare myself for the opportunity of leaving here. In the time I would estimate was around a day to a day and a half I had come up with a basic plan of escape. Granted, it was crazy, but that's all I got to work with and I take that if it helps me stay alive and kicking.
With my discovery of the incredible healing factor I apparently have, my injuries were less serious than they were. My left leg was good to go now and my deep stab wound was on the way to mending and wasn't life-threatening any longer. Also, I had a functional whip that I was proud of as well as a makeshift yet functional shirt. I have been managing to get past my gag reflex to get the food that was brought to me down without great difficulty now. So focused was I, my drive to make the best effort to make this escape the most successful it could be was doing wonders for me. I firmly believe I'll only get one chance, so I can't afford to fail if I want to live for a great deal longer. It was a while after the fight I had gotten stabbed that I heard a group of apes coming towards my cell and I knew my chance was here. It all or nothing, now was the time for my attempt to leave this horrible excuse for a roach motel, it's show time everyone!
My plan was in two parts, and now it's time to commence 'Phase One'! I took a few steps up the wall and grabbed one of the rafters and pulled myself up into the small space between the rafters and the roof. I quieted my breathing so they wouldn't have any chance to find me until I wanted them to. This is what phase one is about getting the apes to open the door and trick them into thinking I was not in the cell. The locking system on the door can only be undone from the outside, so I needed to use the idiots to get the door to open to leave. I heard the bar scrape as it was removed and the door swung open. I watched as three apes came in and looked around for me. I heard the breathing of the two other apes that were outside. I held my position right where I was and waited, "Where he go, he not here," said one.
"He escape," questioned another.
The other two apes entered the cell just as I was hoping for, a smile formed on my face. Now for part two of phase one, disabling the dummies! No need to worry about dulling their intelligence, they aren't much, to begin with, they were really too dull. I focused and brought the element of electricity to my right hand so that we will see how they deal with electrocution! Let loose a bolt of electricity which arced between the five and within seconds they dropped to the floor, I then dropped to the floor from the rafter. I glanced over the apes and smiled a bit wider at seeing they were out cold and would be for a while. The line that comes to mind for these specimens would be, 'some folks are so dumb, there is no method that can hope to help them'.
Well now that phase one is complete and without a hitch, if I do say so myself, then I have some time to work with for the rest of the plan. However, I have no idea just how much I would have before the apes would start to look for me. This means I need to use this time to the best of my abilities. I exited the cell and breathed in the first breath of fresh air I had been denied for however long I have been here and it was fantastic! It was night at this time so that meant I would have the darkness to help hide me.
Now from my studies of the map, Phase Two is to escape this hell that the apes run. Phase Three would be for me to get back to Warfang, but that was something that would take a lot more work and further detailed planning from me. So, I would get to that when phase two was done as that isn't a guarantee at the moment. I had found out there was the main entrance to the valley, yet there is also a second and secret way out of this valley. That was one I would guess was the one that the apes didn't use much if at all. For me, it was a way out without passing the army, which was a big plus in my chances of escaping.
I began to move through the city of the apes stealthily and I was a little thankful that the ground wasn't rocky or very rough as I was barefoot. I had been tied to the freaking log or pole when I was transported here and after that, I found my boots were gone and I liked those boots too! Shae's argument points are becoming more attractive I hate to admit! On my way, I caught sight of two things that made me stop for a moment. The first was the sight of familiar leather boots with metal plating on the fronts on the shelf that I had just been thinking about in what I would guess was a shop. The boots, after all, were mine, to begin with and it was a very lucky find for me as I was saddened at the thoughts of having lost them.
The other sight that had me smiling was a sword not too far from my boots and I was in need of a tool to use. This sword was a bit different from the norm of the apes as it was a katana, however, unlike normal katana, this one the blade did a small circular quarter arc downward before the blade was as a normal katana. I strode forward and took my boots off the shelf and put them back on my feet… It's not stealing since the boots are mine, I'm taking them back. Then I grabbed the blade and took some leather cloth and tied a loop with the leather and then inserted the blade so that it settled down at the top of the back of my hips. I told myself this wasn't stealing I was making better use of a sword that would do far more good in my hands than in the apes or monkeys, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
I felt a good deal better now that my feet were covered and I had a blade at my disposal once again. After everything was settled, I continued on my way to the path that leads out of the valley. I met no living being as I went along… that's until I was almost to the valley wall that the path went up. I came around a turn and found myself face to face with two apes who were staring at me confusion on their faces. This was likely due to the fact that to them, I was supposed to be in a cell that's locked. This was proven by one of them pointed at me and speaking stupidly, "You should be in cell, how you here," he questioned.
Oh this was just great, I was so close to the path out of here and now this happens, and I didn't plan for this. All I need to make this situation a perfect disaster would be my bad luck coming doing its thing. I took a step back and then heard a snap, the kind you would hear with a rope under stress breaking.
I groaned mentally, for I just had to open my big mouth and dare my luck to strike me, didn't I? Yet, what actually happened was the wooden walkway they were standing on collapsed under them and they slipped along with the pieces of the walkway. I heard the quiet screams as the apes fell to the ground below. In a state of shock, I took a few steps to the edge of the walkway and looked down and saw it was a very long drop from here. So, I doubt those two apes will be getting up soon if at all.
I was left looking incredulously back to where the walkway had been and stared for a couple of seconds. My brain was having difficulty processing what had just happened as this was completely out of the blue. This had been the opposite of my expectations, and my expectations come from YEARS of experienced results of my luck! Nevertheless, my bad luck had… just helped me instead of screwed me? This was a new feeling, my unending bad luck that had always without FAIL made my life a constant form of hell in some shape or form. Now, it had for the first time in my memory helped me by striking someone else. I never, in my life thought I would ever consider saying this out of sheer fear and great wisdom of what would happen to me, were I to do so… but well, why in the hell not, "Bad Luck, do not fail me now," I muttered.
I hopped over the gap that the collapsed section of walkway and continued on the pathway with a bit more of a spring in my step as I went. And why shouldn't I? My luck was on my side as an ally so my enemies better beware! My luck isn't aiming at me and it looks like it's out to not maim, but kill or do serious damage at the bare minimum to everyone else! As if to prove my view, the next thing that happened on my way came in the form of me crossing paths with a group of three apes. As I passed them I heard snaps of ropes and the walkway the apes were on started to collapse underneath them.
I couldn't help the snickering at this crazy chain of events. Was this what it was like to be the spectator of my bad luck instead of the target? Whatever happened to achieve this; whether it was flipping a switch or turning something to change my bad luck being aimed at me to being aimed at everyone else, I wanted to shake their hand and thank them. This made a portion of what I had gone through recently worth it as this was completely unheard of. All I could think was, I'm loving THIS!
When I finally approached the wall of the valley, I noticed the wood pathway climbed up the wall of the valley just as the map had said. I got to the first set of stairs that started the path climbing the valley wall and I began racing up the stairs. Part one of phase two is done, I have gotten to the wall that had the path I was going to use. I hadn't been discovered yet, at least no one had been able to report my escaping. That's thanks to my bad luck striking the apes with a vengeance, which I am SEVERELY HUMBLED by! All that was left was to take the path and leave this stinking place and I will go on from there.
The apes really have little if any chance at stopping me right now, I am confident in that. Oh, they may have magic and numbers, YET neither they nor anyone in the Dragon Realm has ever seen the unstoppable force that's my unending bad luck at work! It can be lethal if you aren't prepared for it! I haven't seen any element or magic, black or dark that the apes have or anyone else that can compare to the evil my luck is infamous for! The apes don't have a prayer against something as malevolent as the luck that follows me MUWA HA HA HA! It could be considered a Weapon of Mass Destruction in its own rite for it just can't be beaten. I would know better than most, since I've been trying for years to beat that said bad luck and haven't managed to do so, only escaping from it killing me!
Anyways, I got up a good distance up the wall and had to come to a sliding stop just before a break in the path. I strain my eyes across the break in the path and could see the other side. It was to my observations somewhere between fifteen to twenty feet, impossible to jump that distance even for me. However, I wasn't going to give up after coming this far and come this close to getting my freedom back. I looked around to try to find a way to cross the gap to the other side and I finally found the remains of a pole that had probably been part of what had held the pathway.
The only problem other than being nothing to walking on, with the position of the pole, it was around seven feet from me. That puts the distance that had to be covered was eight or more feet to the other end and my whip was six and a half feet in length. So, the length of my whip wasn't enough unless I jump out and use my whip. It was a long way to fall should I miss wrapping my whip around the pole. This was a risky venture to say the least, life-threatening even still, there was no other way to get across the gap so I get one chance to do this. I have to do this right the first attempt for there wouldn't be a second try!
I backed up a couple of paces to give myself a running start for this leap and I took out my whip so that I would be ready to use it. I took a deep breath and leveled my gaze forward and focused on the goal of the other side. I broke out into a sprint going forward at the edge of the gap in the pathway. When I reached the gap I launched myself out over the gap and cracked my whip up at the pole so that my whip wrapped around the pole. I used my whip to direct my momentum towards the other side of the gap. I got to the upper part of the arc and I knew right then I would have to let go of my whip to escape. So I let go and kept going forward towards the other side.
As I kept moving through the air I saw I was going to fall short of the pathway I had aimed for by a small margin. No, I was too close to escaping to give up that easily, I will not accept that! Without thinking, I twisted one hundred-eighty-degrees in the air and put my hands in front of me, then summoned the wind element and shot a blast of wind to give myself an extra boost for distance. Feeling myself hitting the hardwood of the pathway with my back, I smiled broadly for phase two is complete! I got up to my feet and looked ahead to see a passage through the rock in front of me, my way to freedom! I entered the passageway in the rocks without hesitation and continued forward.
With me in the passageway, I was one major step closer to freedom however, now came the hardest part of the escape. I would need to go through the mountain and then descend down the other side to make my way from the apes. Then all that was left was phase three, the trek to Warfang, once I figured out which direction it was in. The distance I would have to cover was immense and would have its own set of dangers that I deal with lately on a regular basis. That isn't counting the fact that when the apes find out I'm gone, they are going to chase after me. That's the complications of phase three in a nutshell but that's what I have to work with and I'll take it.
I'm not worried if the apes catch up with me, what's worrying me is if the silent killers caught up with me. If they get to me then most, if not all bets are off on me having a happy ending to this horrible chapter of my life. The factor in this that would make the difference would be the distance I gained before they began chasing me, the more the better! So I kept up my pace that I was moving along the path I was going on that went upward towards what appeared before me, a pass between two of the mountains.
Once I came to the end of the passage at where two mountains met, I saw dusty plains below me. In the distance and what looked to be the other side of the said plains was what looked like rocky hills, half the height the mountains I was on were. None of what I saw before me was anything I'd seen of the Dragon Realm before now, but honestly, I'm in no position to complain about what's behind me. Whatever I may find ahead of me, my intuition tells me that it will still be a while before I see those I'd gotten to know here in this world. Yet another journey that I never asked for that will be lots of things, none of which will be easy, I can tell!
I sighed to myself knowing that it was going to be a sizable period of time before I would get a break or be safe to take one really. One glance below me showed me that the descent would be steep and an amount of work but standing around won't gain me any distance that I needed. I began down the path that went down the side of the wall of the valley. Nonetheless, looking up at the moon brought me relief as finally, I could measure the passage of time again.
There's a comfort in knowing how much time has passed in my opinion, because thankfully, no hell can last forever, it can be a very comforting feeling let me tell you. And before anyone judges me, with all the different views of Hell I've experienced and gone through, I know what I'm talking about! If the change in the position in the moon, that is if the moon here in the dragon realm is the same as the one on Earth, I used it to estimate time. I can't say for sure if the same rules apply here that work on Earth for the same laws of physics back in the human world tend to be a hit or miss here on if they apply or not. If it was the same as on Earth then, it took me hours to make the descent down the mountainside.
I barely paused at the edge of the dusty plains, just started jogging over it towards the rocky hills, hoping there was something or a group that I could work with that weren't apes. Was I getting any closer to Warfang as I would like? I would doubt it, the apes as much as I could tell had taken me south from Hyrule and I'm guessing easterly. Should that be true, then I'm getting farther away from Warfang, but at the moment, there is a freaking crapload of apes between me and Warfang right now and far closer to me than I like. So, priorities first and get away from those that got close to killing me I say, then I can work on figuring out how to get to Warfang.
It was getting close to dawn, in fact, the sun was starting to light up the horizon by the time I was getting within respectable distance of the rocky hills. I also believe that the moon's movement might work the same as Earth's moon, but it had taken longer, so long night here I guess, but I could be wrong. I picked up the pace a bit as I would prefer to be over the hills before sun up so that there was the least sight of me for the apes to catch. The sun was peeking over the horizon when I reached the hills and was over them before the sun was giving a reasonable amount of light to be called the start of the day.
On the other side of the hills was a sea of trees, but that was what I get so I entered the forest and kept going forward. After more than an hour, I came across a spring and I decided to break for a bit to catch my breath, drink water and see if I can get some food. There has to be something in this forest that would be better than what garbage I've been forced to stomach for my stay with the apes. The spring water was the best water I've ever drunk that I can recall and I was grateful for even this small thing. I then found some fruits that Spyro had shown me were okay to eat and I gobbled those down.
After my break, I continued forward through the forest hoping that I would end out somewhere sometime in the near future. Yet as the day dragged on, I lost track of time in general that I had been trekking through this forest. But it's been long enough to know I would really like and prefer a change in SCENERY! I'm getting déjà vu for I had been in much the same situation as I was now when I got to the Dragon Realm. The real difference is I wasn't be treated to the torture that is IC rambling about whatever, mercy to me.
I was questioning if these trees, whatever kind they are were some kind of weeds or something. Were that the case, then I have got the perfect way to exterminate them, what I like to call me using 'Fahrenheit 451'. That just means I would use the fire element to create the largest forest fire anyone has ever seen to bring this forest down to ash! And if some kind of brown bear named Smokey comes along saying something about forest fires, then I'll just say 'welcome to my barbeque!' and he can do what he wants from there.
The longer that I was in this forest, the more irritated of the scenery I became. It could be because I had been stuck in a dark cell for who knows how long that repetitive scenery is irking me so. But I was keeping my irritation in check as there were no apes attempting to kill me right now and I would take that. The good thing thus far is at least by what I can tell, my disappearing act still hasn't been noticed as of yet. That's one of the few reasons I hadn't kicked off the barbeque I mentioned and in a way that would be seen for miles!
Continuing my trek in silence for a while and with day upon me, my escape was bound to be noticed soon. I was about to start to run on borrowed time and I hate running on that for it was stressful I can tell you. I kept up the brisk jog I was doing trying to get as much distance as possible between me and the apes. That hasn't been easy as I'm still in the recovery process from my forced stay with the apes, yet I was doing my best right now and that's what counted. As I really hoped that meant that I would be getting out of this forest sometime soon as I was coming into a larger clearing in these trees.
I would have jogged through and keep going, but I felt a tingle go down my spine that I knew all too well. I instantly slid to a stop kicking up dust before beginning a scan around the clearing, that tingle had told me one plain fact, I wasn't alone! If there is one thing I have learned in my life, especially in recent weeks, was not to ignore such tingles. If I did, then there tended to be dire consequences that followed and those are never nice. I studied the clearing carefully, could tell I was being watched by something or someone. My left hand began to move slowly towards my newly acquired sword.
Could I have been unknowingly followed by apes or worse monkeys? That's unfortunately possible even if I don't want to admit it though unlikely as even the silent killers can't escape my senses completely. They may be able to hide exactly where they are, but not their presence and that was still enough to give me a warning. It was as I was looking around, I heard a snap of a twig breaking in front of me and to the left and I drew my sword for the first time in response. This sword as I had seen before had a curious small circular quarter arc downward before the blade was as a normal katana. The blade itself was about thirty-eight inches in length and seemed to be made of some kind of steel that I had not seen before. The hilt was blue and about ten inches in length. The blade was extremely well balanced, so much so that I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone could balance it perfectly on a needle if the position it right.
I kept scanning around trying to find the ones watching me for I could tell there was more than one, most likely three, maybe even four but I couldn't be sure. The silence was only deepening as I attempted to locate whoever was hiding. I decided to break the silence in hopes of getting a response that would help me find out who was there. I literally didn't have the time to waste on this, I was in a hurry with the predicament I am currently in. The apes were going to be chasing me soon enough, and I don't want to give them a handicap! "Okay, I know your there," I stated clearly. "I have not got the time to stop and chat right now so, I will be quick. Who are you and what do you want?"
My answer was silence at first, so I just waited though I hadn't the time to waste on waiting long. Still, common sense and caution in mind as I like to have them, I settled into a defensive position. "Who and what are you," said a voice ahead of me.
Okay just from that voice I could tell a couple of things. First, the speaker was a female, the second was by the manner of speech, specifically, the clarity and enunciation said that they're definitely not an ape and unlikely a monkey. Third, by the direction the voice came from which was directly ahead of me, the owner wasn't the one who had made the twig snap as that had come from somewhere to my right. It went to confirm my previous suspicion of the being multiple beings watching me be correct. "It may be normal around here to demand someone's name and get it, but for where I come from it is common courtesy to give one's own name before expecting another's in return," I replied. "So, perhaps we can dispense with the superstitions of one another and come out and introduce ourselves in a timely manner."
This was a risk for me to spend time on whomever these beings that were watching me, time is of the essence for me right now! It's time I could be using to get away from the apes and silent killers who could and are probably tracking me down. However, something in me told me perhaps this group could help me not be dragged back by apes and I would very much like not to be forced to go back to them. I decided that I would give them a chance and see what would happen, I can always sprint in a different direction and lose them in this sea of trees if need be.
For the next few minutes as I was listening as I heard whispering between those I assume the ones watching me. As they whispered, the impression that the party didn't know I could hear everything they were saying to one another. So clearly, in fact, they might as well have said it to my face directly. That's what I get for having very keen hearing that's amazing for eavesdropping and not just for sensing my opponents. I was also unintentionally eavesdropping on them, "What do you think? Should we listen and do what it," there was a pause by the voice from before, "whatever it… he… says?"
I would hazard a guess the speaker would be the leader of this bunch however many there are. I'm not sure I like to be referred to as it, but as humans are unheard of in the Dragon Realm, I can understand. And again, the voice was feminine, and her voice had a uh, musical quality to it, that was the best way I could describe it. She had a nice voice for whoever, or whatever she is, I'll admit that I can't say the way I feel that way. Plus, there was also something else I couldn't place… much the same feeling you have with déjà vu. There was something about that voice that was… somehow familiar, but for the life of me, I can't say why. And with a voice like this female has, I relatively sure I would remember where and when I've heard such a voice yet, I may be hearing things. With what I'd gone through lately that was entirely plausible even likely, torture can do that. I don't know what all the effects those apes and their actions had on me yet, I'll take stock when I get the time later when I'm safe and sound!
"It could be tricking us," said a different voice that was male. "I say we attack him first then we get the answers to our questions."
Oh great, the attack first and ask questions later type! That doesn't help me, my dilemma or improving my standing. Nope, I don't get along well with those kinds of people often, however, if they do attack me, then I wonder how they intend to get answers if they injure me as I'll probably be unable to answer, the fallacy of that track of logic. The creature in question that had made the suggestion was a male by the tone and pitch of the voice and if I was guessing correctly was still not an adult quite yet. His voice broke at random intervals denoting that he's going through the voice change of puberty if whatever he has such an event in their lifetime.
"C-come on, why n-not listen to what i-it… he has to s-say," said a jittery feminine voice.
Yet another female in this unknown group of whatever creatures I'm in the company of. A slightly higher tone and pitch of voice than the first one, quieter too as it happens. She stutters up a storm… I wonder why?
So, as it stands for me, I've one vote to listen and one vote to attack me. Well, at least that is better than what I would get with the apes, they would be unanimous in attacking me, no real question there as they had already done so… more than once. But I have earned that reputation with them now so, it's to be expected I suppose. The decision, however, was made for us all by one happenstance which I doubt any of us expected. That would be the event that happened as follows, there was a loud snap of wood, followed by a loud cry, ending in a crash accompanied by a cloud of dust. As the dust and dirt that had been kicked up, cleared I saw a silhouette of… a dragon?
Upon closer and longer inspection, I found myself looking at a black dragoness by the overall figure, who I would guess was a bit younger than me though not by all that much, less than a year maybe. Around my age in other words, from what I have learned from being around dragons, you can tell their age by height and length, teenagers tend to be below nine feet with the height and less than ten feet in the length department. She was to my best estimate around six feet and eleven inches in height with a full length of seven feet ten inches. Now, I've seen numbers of dragons and dragonesses during my short time here in the Dragon Realm and this one was not like any of the dragonesses I've seen for she's for lack of a better and nicer terms 'different'. The female had black scales the shade of obsidian with a midnight blue underbelly and wing membranes. Those are the standard differentiating colors that dragons have in common, the scales, underbelly and wing membranes.
The odd thing was by the look of it, where her horns should and would normally be, namely on her cranium was what looked like off white stumps where horns might have been. By the somewhat jagged patterns on the top of the stumps, her horns had likely been removed by force. Oh dear, I kept studying her by leaning to my right and glanced behind her as I had learned to do with dragons at her tail and found there was no blade there at all, in fact instead there were horrible scars at the end instead. It's becoming apparent that her tail blade had been removed by forceful means and painfully like her horns I would guess. This is getting real awkward, real fast, I felt pity for the dragoness, with the scars and things missing. I mean, she really did look a little younger than me, which still makes her a teenager for goodness sakes! Yet, she had suffered such harsh things already in her life. Of all people, I CAN sympathize with such things as my life is a kind of testament of similar ideas. For some, unfair as it feels, life can be hell in ways words just can't say!
My mind was snapped back to the present by the dragoness as she groaned raising her head and our eyes locked with one another. I noticed her eyes were the color of sapphires, which were quite pretty. Silence hung in the air, I smiled hoping that it would comfort her and show I wasn't anyone to be afraid of. But alas, the reaction I received was the opposite of what I was going for. Her eyes suddenly went wide, and her pupils shrank to slightly smaller than my thumb. She screamed quietly in terror while she crawled backward away from me. My expression shifted from a smile to one of worry and slight surprise for I hadn't expected her to freak out or be scared of me!
Is there something wrong with my face?! With however long I was imprisoned by the apes, it was a possibility that my appearance is horrendous right now. Still, I'm not one to give up at the first signs of trouble or difficulty, I thought that perhaps speaking to her might help reassure her. But then again, it's just as likely to make things worse than they are now and blow up in my face. Well, it never hurts to try, here I go, "Um, hi there, are you okay? That was a bit of a nasty fall," I asked as kindly as I could.
The dragoness's back made contact against a tree that had been near her when she had fallen and she just froze and stared at me with terror in her eyes. With the expression that she had, clearly what I was doing to attempt to comfort her wasn't working as I had expected. I was about to try something else to try to calm the dragoness, but something occurred before I could do so. That being a commotion in the trees and two other dragons came out and place themselves between me and the black dragoness. On reflex, my response was to bring my newly acquired sword to the ready. I'm normally on good terms with most dragons, but for those few, I haven't get along with it's better to be ready. Terrador had proved that to me without any shred of doubt and I was not in the mood to go through something like that again.
I thought I was ready, yet that was before I got a good look at the other two dragons. The male dragon which I assumed had been for attacking me as his figure was bulkier and then he had his haunches raised readying for an attack. He stood at seven feet and had a length of seven feet nine inches. His dark grey scales reminded me of the color of heavy storm clouds during a thunderstorm and then his underbelly and wing membranes were crimson and his eyes were the color of harvest gold. I had to say he had the most interesting mix of coloration I've seen in a dragon thus far. The dragon also seemed younger by a year or two than my age in comparison to other dragons I know. But he wasn't what made me halt in my actions, that would be the other one.
The other to be between the black dragoness and me was a second dragoness according to her overall figure. My gaze focused on the dragoness and I froze on the spot and at first, I seriously thought I was seeing Spyro for a couple of seconds. I was for a moment happy as the last time I had seen Spyro the two of us were recovering. That was until I noticed the difference in figure, build and other small things. She was thinner than dragons, yet she wasn't petit, her hips and shoulders had the same width but her midsection was thinner than her hips and shoulders. So, with the streamlined body and had a kind of 'hourglass' figure somewhat I guess you could call it.
She probably had the most amazing figure over all of any other dragoness I have seen yet! What the… where did that come from?! Um, anyway moving on, the dragoness had a height of seven foot two and her length was eight foot five inches. She had purple scales that were only a slightly lighter shade than Spyro's, but you had to look really hard to see the difference in shade. Her underbelly and wing membranes were the same gold color as Spyro's though. Her head had slightly different proportions than Spyro had as well. Her head was longer from back to front than my purple friend, but also thinner, more streamlined, like Cynder's head to an extent… like the rest of her body. There was a bit more curve in her cheeks. And then, her horns went straight back where Spyro's go more to the side and his curve down a little and then up and hers just curve downward slightly.
She appeared to be the same age as myself surprisingly, yet it was her eyes that held me spellbound for they were as azure blue as the sea. I'll openly admit to myself, I thought her eyes were the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen! For some reason beyond my understanding, her eyes were drawing me in, and I really didn't seem to care that they were. I couldn't take my gaze off her, she was absolutely gorgeous even if she's a dragoness and I'm a human. I've every right to say another of a separate species is good looking and maybe to an extent… attractive.
The other 'thing' about this dragoness and for reasons beyond my comprehension, like the feeling I had with her voice, I was experiencing the same emotion just looking at her. It doesn't make any sense at all, I've never seen her before DANG IT! What's this unknown and unfamiliar feeling that is coming from my heart?! It feels like… what comes after really weird dreams that make no sense either, like I should know something. That has never has changed no matter how many times those dreams come to me.
As I was… well, not openly gawking, but given some more time, I would likely be doing so, the logical part of my brain decided that I needed a swift kick to the rear and delivered just that. That got me to focus back on the situation at hand now that my discipline had reasserted itself. I needed to get them off the defensive if I was to talk to them in a productive manner. Meaning, I couldn't give into stray and unneeded thoughts at this time! Sighing before taking a deep breath hoping and praying that this wouldn't blow up in my face, I put my sword back in its sheath and brought my hands to my sides, "My name is Saber," I said. "I am a human. Who might you all be?"
The dark grey dragon didn't lower his hindquarters at all, still suspects me of being a danger it would seem. Oh, this reminds me so much of the relationship of Terrador and me… and that hadn't done much good for me, just wonderful! That's unfortunately, popular opinion among those I've met at first, probably due to the fact that I loosely resemble the apes. Once again, I curse having the same genetic family origins I have with apes! The purple dragoness looked at me curiously while the black dragoness perked up at my statement, yet not in fear, but in recognition of some kind. "A Human? T-the Elder h-has mentioned that word i-in the stories h-he tells," she said.
"Tarra quiet," the dark grey dragon snapped.I, on the other hand, was taking in what the black dragoness 'Tarra' had said. Humans as a race or species are actually known to dragon kind? It might be just in stories or legends, but some fact of truth from those stories had to come from somewhere, perhaps humans have been here before or dragons have been to the human world. It was an interesting thought and conundrum, I had to admit, but the dark grey dragon spoke up again interrupting my musing, "How do we know if it is telling the truth?"
Ah, suspicions of deceit and dishonesty, still such a common view of me that others have. Well-aware that I shouldn't take this as a personal insult as this dragon has never met me and I would likely do the same in his position but doesn't mean it hurts any less to be seen this way. After saying that the grey dragon opened his maw and pointed it at me, and I saw red energy appearing in said space. Uh oh! TIME TO DE-A** THE AREA WITH THE QUICKNESS!
On pure reflex which I had developed from past experience, I rolled out of the way of the shot of the element of fear and I came out of the rollback to my feet, yet still in a crouch. The dodge was good, but my ears hadn't much appreciated the loud blast of sound, yet I would manage. The dragon and dragonesses were just staring at me in surprise and I was wondering what they were so surprised about. The dragon had shot his element at me, who in their right mind would just stand and take that knowing dangerous things are coming at you when you didn't have to? I'm certainly not about to be stupid and take that kind of punishment without extremely good and viable reason! I've had enough punishment that I'm still recovering from to last me for a while thank you! Still curious as to their surprise, I asked them about it, "What is with the looks on your faces," I posed.
It was the dragoness that had been called Tarra that spoke up, "H-h-how did y-you do t-that," she asked.
The question that came to my mind was, 'What the hell is she talking about, damn it?' However, my brain automatically filtered and cleaned it up to not have cursing or profanity, an acquired habit that. "What are you talking about," I returned.
"Y-you moved f-faster than a-any ape I-I have seen a-and y-you moved l-like you knew w-what was c-c-coming," Tarra answered and it was that which helped me realize what Tarra was getting at now even with her stuttering.
"Oh well uh, do you really expect me to just stand and take an elemental shot? I would rather not take that kind of painful hit at the moment thanks." I took a moment to think, "Although, I guess I have improved my dodging reflex during my time around dragons, especially during my time in Warfang."
All three dragons stared with further surprise, which still didn't make sense to me. The purple dragoness spoke next who I still didn't know her name for but, for some reason, the letter L comes to mind. The thoughts that were coming to mind were getting really weird to the point that it's creepy, "You have been to the legendary dragon city," the purple dragoness queered.
I nodded in response, "Yes indeedily, why," I posed.
The dragons looked to one another before the purple dragoness answered my question, "Well, we have all heard of the dragon city Warfang, but none of us have been there. Some even question if it actually exists and is not just a story," said the dragoness.
They didn't think that Warfang actually exists, just how far am I from the place? I'm becoming worried about my current position, "Oh it does exist, rest assured as I have been there personally," I replied.
There was a silence that followed as the dragons seem to consider me and what I had said. The purple dragoness nodded slightly appearing to have come to a decision. And so, comes the veridic on me from the judge and jury, "Okay, I trust you, for now, my name is Lara," she said.
I felt a slight twinge of pain in my head at hearing her name but attributed it to delayed pain from my time with the apes. Those primates give me such a headache and that's much more believable with that they do. The dark grey dragon seemed to take umbrage to 'Lara' trusting me, "Lara, we know nothing about it," he snapped.
-Lara's pov-
This creature was different than any I had encountered before, certainly not like your average ape. He was shorter than me by a paw width or two which was below what apes tend to be with height. He had no fur other than the patch on the top of his head and that was an unusual color for apes being a dark yellow color. When I looked at his eyes they were the same blue as the sky, yet they held no violence like apes nor were they lacking in intelligence. From the scent that was coming from him, I could not decide what it was for it was different and yet, there was something about it I could not place.
He had even evaded Fredrick's attack though he shouldn't have done what he did, yet this Saber had dodged. Then there were the things he said, that he had been to the dragon city Warfang was… I do not know what to think. I considered whether it would be wise for us to give Saber a chance for he did not seem to have any bad intentions and he had put his weapon away. So, I believe it should be all right, "Okay, I trust you, for now, my name is Lara," I said.
Fredrick took umbrage to my decision of trusting Saber, "Lara, we know nothing about it," he snapped.
Fredrick has a point that we know little about Saber, but it was obvious that Saber is not like any of the apes we had seen. I turned to Fredrick and shook my head, "He," I emphasized, "is different than an ape that much is clear." Then I exhaled, "If it makes you feel better we will let the Elder make the final decision, does that satisfy you Fredrick?"
Fredrick nodded in agreement before I turned back to Saber and spoke, "Well then, come with us, that is unless you have something else pressing," I posed.
Saber snorted, "As long as I am a large distance away from apes for a while, I am good with whatever. So lead the way Lara," he returned. The four of us headed off towards Carona where Arkanis could decide what would be done about Saber.
A/n
And that's where chapter 25 will leave off, hope you're liking the rewrite please some of you take the time to write reviews, thank you for reading this.