~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~

Gaberiel's house was at the base of the mountain range. It was well hidden from the air so Royan always had trouble finding it.

When he landed he could hear metal striking metal, which meant Gaberiel was in his workshop.

His workshop was a sturdy building built to keep out the rain. It was surrounded by curtains on all sides. Not too far away was the barn, where he kept his sturdy work horse, Epona. Behind the barn was a stream with a small bridge crossing it. A little further was the cave where Gaberiel lived.

Kita jumped off and went to the workshop. She lifted the curtain and tied it so she and Royan could look inside. Inside there was a large furnace where he heated metal and glass. There were racks of spears, swords, shields, crossbows, and other kinds of weaponry. By the furnace there was a pile of broken weapons and shattered glass. Gaberiel was hammering a blade on the anvil in the center of the workshop. He was a bulky man, with a scruffy beard.

"Hi, Gabe!" Kita called.

"Ah. Kita! Royan!" Gabe said looking up at them, "Big sixteen! You excited?"

"I guess", Kita shrugged.

"So, I was hoping you two would help me with something", Gabe said as he approached.

"With what?" asked Royan.

"I have a large shipment of supplies that I need to deliver to the village, but it's much too heavy for Epona to make one trip, and you know how much I don't want to make multiple trips. But Royan may be able to pull the weight."

"Oh, I don't know if I should go to the village", answered Royan, "What if I scare them?"

"I've told the village about you. I think they're ready for you", said Gabe.

"Are you sure?" Royan asked.

"Positive", Gabe said, "So, are up for it?"

"It would be fun to meet some new people, Royan", said Kita.

Royan thought for a moment.

"I guess we could give it a shot", he said.

"Great!" Gabe said, "I'll have to make harness to fit you to attach to the cart."

"How long?" Kita asked.

"Shouldn't be too long", said Gabe, "if you help."

"Okay, what do we have to do?" Kita asked.

"Start by getting wood from the pile out back", Gabe said, "Make sure it's dry."

"On it!" Kita exclaimed turning away.

"And Royan, when she gets back with the wood I want you to light the fire. Blow your fire down the chimney", said Gabe, "But for now, go to the tack room in the barn and find the collar for Epona. I want to see if it fits you."

Royan nodded in response. He did what Gabe asked.

The barn itself was large enough for Royan to enter without crouching down. The tack room had two sliding doors barely tall enough for him to squeeze through.

He used his claw to separate the doors and slid them away from each other.

He poked his head inside. There were leather straps, bridles, and other kinds of tack hanging up all along the back wall. He spotted the collar and reached in to pull it out.

He struggled to hook his claw on the collar for a few minutes. After a while he knocked it off the the wall and managed to drag it closer to him.

"Got it", he said lifting it up.

He heard Epona nicker from her stall. He looked to see her tossing her head about and neighing.

"Oh you shush", he told her.

Epona was massive for a horse. She was a pretty chocolaty brown with a star on her forehead. She was used to Royan coming close to her so she wasn't bothered by his presence. Frankly, Royan was surprised that she wouldn't be able to pull the weight of this shipment. It must be huge.

Royan walked out with the collar and over to the others. He placed it on the ground beside Gaberiel.

"Now go light the fire", Gabe ordered.

Royan circled the workshop until he was as close to the chimney as he could be. He stood on his hind legs, stuck his snout in the chimney, summoned his fire, and gently blew.

"Alright that's good!" he heard Kita call.

He circled back around to the others.

As he expected, the logs in the furnace were on fire. He saw a grate just above the fire with several chunks of meat. His mouth watered at the sight of it.

"Okay, let's see if it fits you", said Gabe lifting the collar.

Royan bent his down to his level to let Gabe put it over his head. He stuck his snout through it. It covered most of his vision as it went over his eyes. The collar caught on his horns for second, then Gabe pushed it a little and continued to glide down his neck. Soon it sat a little uncomfortably on his shoulders, but it was an almost perfect fit. It was heavier than expected.

"Perfect!" Gabe exclaimed patting Royan on his neck, "Kita, can you get the tack for the cart?"

"Sure", said Kita, turning away and jogging towards the barn.

Gaberiel went to unlatch all of the buckles on Royan's saddle. He set the saddle and saddle pad beside a pile of metal circles just like the two on his saddle.

Kita came back carrying a lot of leather straps and plopped all of them beside Gabe. He took a couple of the metal circles and a leather strap and latched the strap on one circle and then the next. He clamped one circle around Royan's leg, then placed strap on his back. He went around his other side and clamped the other circle. Gabe took another strap and latched the two circles together underneath. He took two shorter straps and attached the circles to the collar.

"That should work", Gabe said as he finished, "We'll leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we can have dinner."

Gabe took all of it off Royan and put it in a separate pile. He then went over to the furnace took the meat off the grate, he put two on plates and tossed the third up in the air for Royan. He turned his head toward it and caught it in jaws in midair.

He layed down and began to savor the meat, tearing off little strips one at a time.

As he ate he thought of what tomorrow would bring. He was a little frightened. In the meantime, he would just enjoy the time with his friends.