In Which Kendria and Jack Encounter a Wizard and Find a Lot of Trouble

They walked all the rest of the day without any incident, which worried them when they stopped to make camp for the night. Jack chose what Kendria felt was the most uncomfortable spot in the entire forest, a very uneven rocky outcrop that was at the top of a hill. He said they needed to have the high ground.

The princess was about to ask what they were going to sleep on when Jack pulled out a sleeping roll from his bag.

"Just one?" asked Kendria.

"We're not going to be sleeping at the same time, one of us has to keep watch," said Jack.

"And the other gets no sleep!?"

"No, we take two shifts. I'll first and wake you up when it's your turn," said Jack, in a way that told Kendria she was asking very naïve questions.

"I don't have a nightgown!" she said. She didn't care if she was acting foolish, now she just wanted to irritate Jack.

"Too bad," he said, "I'd get to sleep princess, your shift is in four hours whether you sleep or not,"

Before she got into the sleeping roll she had Jack re-cast the stealth enchantment. Re-casting was always easier, it took less material and just a few lines of poem, plus it didn't take any concentration.

Feeling as safe as she was going to get, Kendria let herself fall asleep.

Being on watch was boring, but Jack had something to pass the time with. Reaching into his bag he clearly pictured what he wanted and felt it land in his hand. He held up the object to view it in the small amount of moonlight that shone through the trees. If he was correct in his thinking, it was a Gyges Ring. He had half-lied in the dragon's nest, he had managed to steal what he had been sent to.

Or at least he thought. He hadn't gotten the chance to confirm it; it could just be a normal gold ring. If that was the case, Jack hoped the dragon egg would make up for it.

The guild head had been so excited to learn the whereabouts of the Gyges Ring, and Jack had thought he had been dreaming when he was offered the mission to retrieve it. His failure would cost him the trust of the guild. He wouldn't get blacklisted, but he would never get a contract again.

He put the ring back in the bag, it was risky to have it out too long. The guild head had warned him that it reeked magic, though most people couldn't sense it, but anyone that could was not someone you wanted aware of your location.

Jack didn't know how he was going to explain having a princess with him. Thieves weren't supposed to steal princesses from giants, that was a job for princes! Maybe they could ransom her?

Kendria was woken by someone kicking her side. It scared her so bad she scrambled out and was about to run when she realized it was Jack. The thief was so tired he didn't make any response to the princess shouting at him for how he had woken her.

He also forgot to take his bag with him, leaving it out in the open. Kendria noticed it halfway through her watch, and decided that it couldn't hurt to see what else Jack had with him.

It was magic, no doubt, it was to small to hold a dragon's egg and everything else she had seen him pull out of it. She opened the bag, it looked empty, but it was very dark out. Kendria reached a hand in.

She screamed as her arm was pulled all the way into the bag. She tried to pull it out, letting go of the bag as she did so. As it fell to the ground the rest of her was pulled in too.

There was no up, no down, no direction at all, and no light or sound, except for her own breathing and heartbeat. It barely felt like there was air at all, though she breathed, she didn't' feel any air resistance when she moved her arms and legs. This was bad. Kendria was completely powerless to do anything. She would have started crying, but there was no point, it wouldn't have helped.

She just lay suspended, too scared to even move.

Suddenly a hand grasped hers; she was pulled forward, and out of the bag. Sound and light returned to her so violently it shocked her for a few moments.

It was still dark out, and Jack hadn't started a fire, but it was so bright compared to where she had come from, she could see Jack very clearly. She could even the details of his face, and he was very angry.

"I'm sorry!" Kendria started to say.

"You were going through my things!"

"So, most of that stuff isn't rightfully yours!" spat Kendria.

"Actually, it is! I don't hold onto everything I've stolen, but it does hold everything I own!"

"I-I was just curious!"

"So you stuck your hand in a magical item that you don't know how to use!? Don't princess get taught anything useful?"

No, thought Kendria, He's lucky I know the little magic I do.

Now she cried, not loud and pathetic, but deep and quite.

"Now what?" asked Jack.

"You're better off just ditching me," said Kendria through her sobs.

"What?"

"I'm useless, a liability, and you're was skilled and knowledgeable. I don't know why you're keeping me around."

"Well I can't leave you to die!" said Jack, sounding truly astonished.

"Why not!"

"Cause I stole you! It would look bad on my reputation as a thief if something I stole was damaged while in my possession!"

Kendria laughed, unable to tell if he was being completely serious.

"Come on, neither of us is going to get any more sleep, we might as well keep traveling," said Jack, helping her up.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of here?" asked Kendria.

"Don't worry! With my brains and your good looks, we are sure to succeed!" said Jack, definitely joking around now.

It was slow going in the dark; they could only have a small light source to not attract attention. But eventually the sun began to rise, sending its warmth and colors to the two weary travelers.

It didn't seem like they were any closer to making it out, but they weren't getting discouraged. Like before, the forest felt much less foreboding in daylight.

However, even in the middle of the day the roar of a dragon would make the bravest warrior soil his armor, to say nothing of a princess and a thief. They had been found!

"But how did it find us!?" wondered Kendria aloud as they ran in the opposite direction of the terrible sound. It was still far away, but it would see them soon.

"Damn it!" hissed Jack, "We forgot to re-cast the spell!"

Jack plunged his hand into his bag, taking out the bottle of powder. He threw some in the air, repeating the couplet hurriedly. They both coughed and sneezed as it flew in their faces.

"We need to find some cover!" said Jack.

"What kind of cover!?"

"Any kind!"

"Got it!" exclaimed the princess and she pulled Jack off their path and under thick bramble.

They were able to lay low enough o avoid the thorns, but Jack had gotten a face full already.

"Why'd you do that!" he said, tears streaming down his face from the pain, "You could have warned me! We had plenty of time!"

"Sorry."

"Next time think it through!"

"I'm glad you think there's going to be a next time."

"Oh for you definitely, dragons are more likely to make slaves of princesses than eat them, unfortunately the same thing cannot be said about thieves."

They went silent when another roar reached their ears. At one point they heard the beating of powerful wings overhead, but they faded away. It still roared every so often so they didn't leave the safety of the bramble.

Footsteps came from nearby, making Kendria and Jack tense up. Soon they saw the feet that accompanied by them, they landed right in front of the bramble and were covered in very fine shoes. The end of a wooden staff touched the grass next to them.

"I know you're in there, so you'd better come out," said a man's voice.

They both scrambled out to find a wizard smiling at them curiously. He wore long robes of brown and blue and a brown hat. His long beard was brown too, but was starting to grey, hinting at his age.

"What have we hear? A lost princess and her prince perhaps?"

"We're just travelers," said Jack.

"Or maybe you're the thieves everyone's been talking about?"

Jack kept a straight face but the wizard took one look at Kendria and knew he was right. The surprise on her was face was easy to read.

"So you stole a dragon egg? Bit stupid of you don't you think? Now all the dragons are looking for you two, and they will find you," said the wizard.

"Not if we make it out of this forest!" said Jack.

"Ah, but the forest isn't going to let you go, not as long as you have that egg."

"How do you know?" asked Kendria.

"I have dealt with dragons before, many times in fact, I doubt you can make the same claim. "

He smiled at them again, his teeth were unnaturally straight and white. Then he started pacing. Every time he lifted his staff off the ground, it left a black patch, perfectly round like the end of the staff.

"You're both as good as dead, you're no match for a dragon I assure you," he continued, "So I'm going to make you an offer, give me the egg and I'll point you the way out of here."

"but then you'll be trapped here, because you'll have the egg!" said Kendria.

"I said 'you're trapped' not 'I'm', I'm a wizard and you are not!"

"He's right Kendria, I'm going to give him the egg."

The thief reached into his bag with both hands and drew out the egg, it was still warm to the touch. Carefully he handed it to the wizard, who took it with one hand, not letting go of his staff.

"Now, which way is out?" demanded Jack.

The wizard pointed with his staff to his left.

"If you walk that way for a while you'll come across a brook, follow it, going upstream and that should lead you out," he said, then he lifted his staff and became engulfed in bright smoke. There was a loud popping noise and more bright light. When the smoke cleared he was gone.

Jack started walking in the direction the wizard had indicated. Kendria followed.

"Jack, why'd you do that? Now you don't have anything to show the guild!"

Jack said nothing for a second, deciding whether to tell her or not.

"Better to be alive, we were being hunted by dragons, the guild elders will understand."

They walked for at least an hour, but never came across a stream. They realized that the wizard must have lied to them.

"I'm an idiot! How could I think to trust a wizard! I gave away a dragon egg for NOTHING!" Jack shouted.

"We were scared and desperate, under the circumstances you can't be blamed," encouraged Kendria.

Jack just sighed and sat on a rotting tree stump.

"We can't lose hope now! Come on! We've got to keep moving!"

"I think you'd better stay where you are!" came a booming voice from above.

Looking up they saw a griffin. It landed nearby and the man riding it stepped off. He looked young, maybe twenty, and he had the blackest hair either of them had ever seen. Resting on his hair was a golden crown. The griffin sat on its haunches and waited. Jack had never heard of anyone who could tame a griffin, let alone ride one.

"Who are you?" asked Jack.

The man drew out his sword, holding it at Jack's throat.

"Hey!? What do you think you're doing!?" cried Kendria.

"My name is Prince Daystar, of the Enchanted Forest, and you are coming with me, I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you. Come peacefully and you wont have any trouble."

Oh dear, though Jack, I really messed up. He looked at Kendria and knew she was thinking the exact same thing.