Chapter 3

Sheldor assured the villagers that the ogres were all dead and left them a large amount of gold to fix their repairs and left the village without so much as a thank you sent their way. Wolowix chimed in, as they rode off, "You'd probably get more thank yous if you'd stop calling all the villagers idiots… but hey… what do I know… I'm just some guy's wrist watch."

Onar snorted as they headed east, with the west coast's ocean to their backs, this meant more open land and a whole lot more monsters. Sheldor knew that the canyons of LonLary were not too far from the village they just left… and the village where he woke up from was not too far past the LonLary canyons. He swallowed at the thought, Galstire… it was a small farming town, but he couldn't remember anything past that.

He focused, instead, on the LonLary canyons. They were actually quite beautiful if you were to look past the incredibly dangerous creatures that lurked within it. The walls of the canyons were black with red clay stripes within them. The blackened minerals had twinkles of Adamantine lustre all through it making the canyon look like the night sky even in the daytime. The walls were very tall and had small crevices hidden all along the divots and jutting plateaus. There were small holes into the floor of the 6 mile trail of the canyon… these were made by Sandwyrms. A creature not too many people get to tell stories about since the only time anyone sees them… they've already eaten you. He knew better… their group would travel on top of the canyons.

The top of the canyons weren't any safer. They were an oasis of trees, waterfalls, and high grass. It was weird, because in the center of the canyon is just the black walls of stardust, but… on the other side was a cornucopia of jungles and rivers. You could see the bipolar scenery on top of the canyon, which Sheldor loved. LonLary had one creature that Sheldor had never had the privilege of having tried to be killed by… and that was the Nowitzkisaurus. This creature was a red backed spinosaur with a long snout and a highly analytical brain, a reptile that learned and processed as it hunted. Something Sheldor wanted to see BUT avoid at all costs.

Wolowix chimed into his head, "The beautiful blonde is still following us."

Sheldor looked over his shoulder, "What is it with these incessant creatures wanting to follow me."

Onar grunted, "HEY!"

Sheldor patted his friend's head, "There, There…"

Onar grumped and kept moving as Sheldor looked over his shoulder again and yelled out to the woman, "Why don't you go ahead and get your homicidal tendencies over with so we can end this ridiculous charade?"

The blonde, a good 30 yards back from them, just smiled and kept leaping tree to tree. Sheldor beckoned Onar to stop and turn. Penelope stopped and looked down at them and sighed, taking one long jump and landed right in front of them. Onar gave a growl as Sheldor narrowed his eyes. Her glaive had attached to her back in some mysterious fashion and she looked up at Sheldor, "Look… my objective is to keep you alive. When that changes… you'll be the first to know. I promise." She gave an amused smile and Sheldor rolled his eyes. He motioned for Onar to turn and move forward and Onar obliged. Penelope just watched them walk away with a little bit of apprehension… until Sheldor turned his head to talk over his shoulder, "Do try and keep up, Miss Penelope."

She gave a smile that only she could see and she leapt into the trees.

The canyon's top was narrowing as they continued, trees stemmed from the base of the wall. Songs of birds and insects began to fill the air as the sun reached over the horizon. It was beautiful to see the misty fog lower and rise into the craters within the canyon. Onar sent him a telepathic message of needing food and Sheldor complied with a stomach growl.

Sheldor found a clearing within a wooded area and went off to find decent fire wood as Onar raced off to hunt. It was the routine that they all agreed on and it worked, although Sheldor never said it out loud, the nerk was far better at hunting than he was. As Sheldor picked up a few sticks, he got lost in his thought… so much so that he missed the small, poisonous, six-headed Scylla hanging from a branch and rearing up to strike. Wolowix's scream of warning wasn't in time, the Scylla struck, but it never reached to Sheldor (who could only grip the branches in his arms tighter). Penelope dove down and swung her glaive quickly and the snake's heads fell to the ground like sodden grapes. She shouldered her weapon with a smile and Sheldor just stared at her in wonder.

She got a little twitchy underneath his scrutinizing gaze and he finally just stepped around her and headed back to the camp site. She turned her head and smiled after him.

Sheldor placed the armful of branches he had and rearranged them in the shape before starting a fire. He scowled at his weakness, but more so at the fact that he was saved by that… WOMAN. Wolowix's voice cut through to almost slap him in the face, "You are one sore loser. I mean… I understand not wanting to be bested by a woman, but really… look at her... she's absolutely gorgeous… I wouldn't mind losing to her all… night… long."

Sheldor rolled his eyes at the horn dog in his mind as his eyes fell to her form; she was quite aesthetically pleasing to the eye. As she moved to a rock across the fire from him, he watched her curves and every movement she made. When she spun and sat on the rock, she caught him staring and he twisted his head as fast as he could from her form, he was just as pathetic as his wrist watch. He groaned mentally.

Onar came trotting back into the camp a short time after and had a huge, 80 point white stag dead and hanging from his jaws. Sheldor stood and was mesmerized by the beast, he could imagine it being quite a beauty to see, but the blood stained white pelt made him gag and withdraw a little. Penelope's gasp threw both Sheldor and Onar off a bit, for a woman possessed by a witch, the sight of death should've been nothing, but her voice was still very saddened and feminine as she cried, "Oh my God! That's a white stag! They're damn near spirits of the forest! They're sacred in my village! How could YOU!"

Onar found a clean spot to place the corpse and he did so as delicately as possible. He growled and used to telepathy to ring out, "Don't get your knickers in a twist. There are a lot more of him out there. I picked the slowest and oldest of the herd. It's a duty of the predator to cull the weakest of the prey. We ensure that the herd gets stronger and healthier. And… what would a heartless drone care, anyways?"

She looked hurt as she hugged herself at the last part of the nerk's statement and mumbled something. Sheldor looked up at her and took out his blade, "What was that?"

She sighed and looked to the side and blinked hard, "I said… my father used to raise white stags. They're apart of my family... Were... were apart of my family."

That made Onar's ears drop. Being a part of a human family opened him up to knowing how much 'FAMILY' actually meant, he offered an apology telepathically and the woman gave a soft smile towards the nerk. Sheldor shook his head and muttered an incantation over his knife, it would ensure the safety of the cut as well as enhance the sharpness to make it feel as though he were cutting water. He allowed Wolowix to use what little magic he could to hang the corpse up in mid air with its legs apart as Sheldor easily decapitated it. The heavy horned head fell to the ground like an anvil.

Sheldor then began to properly field dress the kill by removing the innards and draining the blood. For the weak stomached witch hunter… this was by far the worst part. He nearly upchucked as the intestines slopped out and dripped to the ground below then having to watch Onar eat them like spaghetti wasn't all that scrumptious either. He finally hollowed out the body to where he could get to the good chunks of meat that he found edible.

He used his magic to scatter the blood and crude off his hands like same poles of a magnet trying to come together. He smiled and picked up a pebble and muttered. He held the pebble in the air like a newly born king, then jerked his hands as if trying to pull the rock apart… the little stone morphed into a long, thin piece of metal and he placed it upon the fire. He turned back to the hanging kill and bowed his head and muttered another incantation and the body caught on fire with a black flame and it went from the headless neck upwards till it got to the feet and the flame was gone… along with all the hair on the body. Sheldor smiled and lifted his hand with the watch and spun his hand and the corpse obeyed. The back was splayed out before him and he took his blade again and started cutting the back muscles flesh closest to the rump. He cut them in strips and threw the thick, skinned meat right onto the metal on the fire. It hissed as it touched the metal and sent mouthwatering aromas into the air. He put as much as seven more on the slab until most of the loin meat was gone.

The venison cooked slowly on the slab, Sheldor had conjured up some tools to help to cook as well as plates and eating utensils. He sliced and diced the meat into edible bites and cooked them as thoroughly as needed to ensure a safely digestible meal. He placed an equal amount on each plate and handed one towards Penelope. She took it with a big smile and a small whisper of gratitude for him, Onar, AND the stag. He looked back at the wasted meat of the stag and Wolowix let it drop as Onar took care of the corpse.

Sheldor looked across the fire and watched her for a moment. It was obvious she had never tasted venison before because her face was unsure as she took the meat up to her mouth. It was twisted in repulsion until she placed the chunk of meat into her mouth and chewed it a few times, her face relaxed until it was in a smile of acceptance. He found a sense of pride that the woman accepted his meal with a smile. She looked up towards him and his eyes went wide and he jolted his head downwards and started to eat. He scowled at Wolowix's voice in his head, "Real smooth."

Sheldor growled for him to be quiet as he continued eating. Penelope stood up and walked towards him and he flinched until he noticed her trying to hand him something. It was a water bag made of some kind of animal skin; it looked to be feline by the fur pattern. He looked up at her and she smiled, "Two headed Nemean Lion… didn't stand a chance, really… it's enchanted wine… the finest the Gods have to offer."

Sheldor shook his head, "I do not partake in intoxicating liquids. I find my mind is far too important to stymie with such provocative means. Thank you, though."

He drank from a cup he conjured and finished his meal as he dared to look past the fire at the blonde enjoying her meal.

With lunch well behind them, they all voided their bladders and what not, and then Sheldor took his mount on the back of the nerk. They continued their travels to the east as Penelope took point, it gave the three men a very nice view of the woman's swaying backside. After a few sickened responses both from the nerk AND the wrist watch… Sheldor decided to place his eyes upon the ever narrowing land. The grass, the trees, and the scenery began to shift into the black sand of the canyon. On the left, there was a crater filled with blossoming tree tops and sounds of wild animals bellowing and on the right was the steep, black walls of the canyon that seemed to get longer and longer the further it went. At the bottom of this was the red clayed path that led all the way through the canyon, but was also were the Sandwyrms hunted. Sheldor swallowed at the skeletons of all types at the bottom and he knew he never wanted to tangle with them if he could avoid it.

Penelope's sudden stop jolted both Onar AND Sheldor from their thoughts and Sheldor was about to yell at the woman for the unsafe way she stopped, but he could see Onar's ears shoot up and his focus highly alerted to something and he looked between the erect ears of the nerk to see an Allosaurus devouring its freshly killed Sleipnir. Onar's telepathy rang out silently to those around him, "Back. Up. Slowly."

Onar moved backwards with his four legs slowly inching back as Penelope did the same with her two little legs. Onar's rough paws caused friction against the black turf of the canyon and caused a loose rock to tumble loudly down the canyon's steep walls. Everyone closed their eyes as if being caught by their parents after trying to sneak upstairs. The Allosaurus raised its gargantuan head towards the sound as gore and bile drooled down the side of its scales mouth. The 28 foot tall mammoth stomped around to square up to them and it bellowed loudly to signal that it spotted them. As its roar filled their ears, Onar filled their heads, "RUN!"

Onar and Penelope spun to run, but an even larger dinosaur lurched out of the clearing. A massive foot that could've crushed all of them slammed down and cut off their escape. Sheldor's eyes went extremely wide as he recognized the beast instantly. Almost 70 foot tall, a long, wide snout, giant spiny sail protruding from the back, and almost a red stain drifting all down the back… it was the Nowitzkisaurus. The smartest, largest, and most diabolical dinosaur ever encountered by man. Sheldor could only curse as the dino's eye hit his, "Drat! Onar… QUICK… down the canyon side! NOW!"

As he screamed, the Allosaurus charged with its mouth wide open. The Nowitzkisaurus snorted and waited until the monster was close enough. Penelope had already leaped down to the next flat layer of the canyon, but Onar was not fast enough. The Nowitzkisaurus swung her tail and it sent the Allosaurus off the side of the cliff and its flailing tail hit Onar and sent them both careening off the cliff. Sheldor was lucky enough to roughly roll onto the flat surface where Penelope was, but Onar rolled off. He dug his paws into the black sand and eventually slowed himself down while the Allosaurus tumbled all the way down to the red clay bottom and hit with a loud grunt.

Penelope helped Sheldor up then ran to the side to see Onar leaping to the next flat land of the canyon. Sheldor stepped beside her and stared at the Allosaurus that just got to his feet. He let out a terrible roar then… a squeal of pain. Sheldor could see the Sandwyrms swarming like piranhas and they tore the Allosaurus apart in mere minutes. Penelope yelped in disgust and turned her head making Sheldor turn to look at her. At that moment, he could see something different in her… something… a roar from above stopped his thoughts short and he and Penelope looked up to see the long, large crocodile-like head peek over the side and Sheldor felt a moment of panic as the beast looked and moved her body to start sliding down the steep hill. Penelope let out, "Oh BALLS!" and they both took off running.

The flat land of the top shelf of the canyon was wide enough for the Nowitzkisaurus to run forward fairly easily. Sheldor took the lead of the couple and could feel anxiety catching up to him. He could hear and feel the Nowitzkisaurus changing gaits to catch them and he knew they needed a plan… that's when he saw it... a small enough crevice to allow them refuge from the creature's long snout within the canyon's wall. He adjusted his direction and Penelope could see it too. He stopped abruptly and slid into the sharpened walls of the not so deep crevice. It was almost the size of double wide outhouse. He moved as far back as he could since the little crevice tended to dip down instead of out. He ended up on his butt with a good 7 foot to the opening. Penelope's squeal filled the small area and she dove in, it was a bad move on her part as the sharpened edges of the opening cut the top of her thigh and she was barely in the hole. Sheldor's eyes open wide as the grayish blue eyes of the Nowitzkisaurus gazed into the hole. The large pupils constricted to a long slit and the dino moved to rearrange herself. He saw the muzzle speed towards the hole and Sheldor swept his left arm quicker than any human could and yanked Penelope back as he propelled them as far back into the crevice as possible.

Sheldor's arm snaked around the woman, landing right in his lap as the tip of the Nowitzkisaurus's muzzle slams into the small hole. Blood drizzled off the snout as it snaps and spins.

Sheldor and Penelope kick their feet away from the ever closing jaws. Penelope's screams only magnify her kicking power and rattle Sheldor's nerves. He watches the small opening of the monstrous jaws and grabs his arbalest with his free hand. It pops itself ready and Sheldor uses his patient and scientific mind to calculate the approximate angle and time to shoot. He saw his moment and took it without a single hesitation; the golden arrow curved in and hits the back of the monster's throat causing it to erupt like a firework. The power of the arrow sent the Nowitzkisaurus stumbling backwards as the stardust rained from the monster's mouth. With a yelp of pain, the Nowitzkisaurus shook her mighty head, climbing the canyon wall to escape having it happen again.

Sheldor was panting with his arbalest still pointing to where the Nowitzkisaurus's snout was and his arm still snaked around Penelope. Penelope leaned back and collapsed against him as she let out a huge sigh of relief then hissed in pain a little as her hand fell to her sliced thigh. Sheldor finally dropped his arbalest and noticed that his hand was flat on the woman's stomach. He began to twitch and shake, she was… she was warm and soft… and she smelled like… apples, but she was far too close for comfort. He slowly removed his arm from around her and she turned to look at him. She… she looked just as embarrassed as he was and she spoke, "I… I'm sorry." She tried to get off of him, but her leg seemed to give out. He caught her and brought her down to the crevice's floor, her body now facing him.

He saw her clutching her thigh and he saw how deep it was… he gagged a little at the layers of muscle showing, he caught his breath, nodding. He pushed her hand away from the wound and slipped his fingers into the black fabric of her pants to place his five fingers into an intricate position around the wound. He felt her tense and assumed it was from the pain and he muttered an incantation. The static from his fingertips made the woman gasp and jerk under his touch, but she didn't flail away. After a few measly moments, Sheldor opened his eyes and the wound was closed perfectly… nothing showing that she had received a horrible wound other than her torn pants, but blood slid down Sheldor's nose and he just wiped it up as if it were nothing. He looked at Penelope's electric eyes and she rubbed her leg and smiled at him, "Thank you."

Sheldor was about to wave off that she needn't thank him when she closed the gap… Sheldor gasped as the woman was a mere breath away from kissing him, but she stopped before her lips could touch his. Her eyes were closed, her lips pursed, biting down hard as if angry with herself or in utter pain than awkwardly crawled backwards to her feet and out the crevice's hole. Sheldor shuddered at how close the woman had gotten and how fast she was. He took in a deep breath as Wolowix chimed in, "Out of all the monsters the witch has sent after you... I think this one might be the one that will kill you. I think you just might let her, too. Who knows… you might actually enjoy it."

Sheldor shook his head and stood up then dusted himself off and muttered, "Oh… shut it you horrid trinket." Wolowix chuckled and Sheldor just scowled deeply.

Outside the canyon, Sheldor was relieved to see Penelope taking point again. He just watched the way she moved, her every movement was almost catlike. He tried to justify staring at her by bringing his attention to the fact that her glaive was missing. It worked in distracting him as he narrowed his eyes. Before her could ask her anything about it, the weapon in question twirled from mid air and flew till it was at the woman's back, then it did one more sharp turn and it rested at her back. It made the witch hunter swallow and he made sure to keep his eye on the weapon from now on.

They traveled in silence for the next few miles until Sheldor found the silence far too unbearable. He cleared his throat and stared up at the black and red clay canyon walls and spoke, "Are you aware that there are nearly 55 major sedimentary rock layers exposed in the LanLary canyons. The layers are black because of all the volcanic and animalistic activity and the fossilized increments over the period of 2 million years. The volcanic soil has allowed the growth of the flora AND fauna on top of and in the basins, as well. There are two types of volcanic soil. Vent-based and Lava-based. Though the volcano itself is now a jungle, the minerals from its once erupting base has placed basalt, andesite, pitchstone, rhyolite, and trachyte all within the layers of the canyon." He took a breath and looked over the edge to see if he could see Onar, but all he saw was canyon side. He looked forward at her and she seemed to just be looking back forward from looking back at him as he cleared his throat and spoke again. "There is a fault within the canyon that is said to be where the source of all magic is held. It is guarded by creatures that man shall never wish to cross. The true guardian of the magic is the Dragon of Life… Ouroboros. Then again… no one has ever found the fault. They are just a story passed down. In order to get to this 'cave'… one must take the red clay path of the Sandwyrms… and no one has ever survived a Sandwyrm attack… EVER."

They walked a few beats before Penelope turned her head then turned it back and spoke, "How is it that you know so much?"

Sheldor kept his pace and looked down for a little before answering, "I am a witch hunter… I have the world at my very finger tips and I make it my mission in life to learn all I can about it. The more I know… the longer I live. It would be crass of me to not seek out the knowledge that could very well save my life."

They walked a few more beats before her voice sung out very low, but he heard it just as clear as day, "Must get lonely out there in that big ol' world."

She had stopped and he paused beside her, their eyes connecting comfortably. He shook his head and spoke, "I'm never alone… I have my friends and my mind. It's almost everything I need."

She didn't show a single itch of emotion as she shook her head, "I wasn't talking about you… I was talking about your heart." He narrowed his eyes, scowling as she licked her lips and averted her gaze as she continued with a gloomy tone, "You spend so much time strengthening your mind… expanding your knowledge and skill set that you completely neglect your own heart. That's something you can never get back… once it's gone… it's gone forever. No amount of reading or learning can save it."

She moved forward again and Sheldor noticed the glaive floating and sticking to her back. He scowled at her words, they were complete nonsense. He jolted ahead to catch up with her and started speaking without any kind of filter, "Good Lord, Woman… the heart is just a hollow muscle vital in pumping blood throughout the body. It is in no way connected to the emotional state of a human being. Therefore, it cannot feel neglected or lonely… it cannot feel love or sadness… it cannot runaway or be taken like some kidnapped child… if it were to be 'Gone Forever' then that person would most certainly be dead."

She stopped and spun on the man and made him jerk back in fear. Her eyes were stricken, but no sign of tears showing. She stepped forward, leaving only a body length between them and she gripped her neckline of her bodysuit. She yanked it down, hard, over her left breast and stared at him. Sheldor almost looked away, but something caught his eyes. He saw a deep, concaved scar with a green pulsing light in the center. The same color as her aura… the same color as her eyes. He slowly moved his eyes back to hers and they were livid and anxious. She released the fabric and swallowed before speaking, "I had a pure heart… so I was told. My family gave me to the witch when I was just 11. The witch, Lordornia, told my family that if they didn't give me to her… she would send the ogres to destroy everything they owned. Well… my family gave me up and Lordornia's daughter burned them all alive… right in front of me. Well, I must have been something special because Lordornia ripped my heart right out of my chest and was going to leave me for dead, but her daughter wanted me to stay with her. I grew up with Amelia… I grew up knowing that this woman could flick her wrists and crush my heart and I'd be dead. I have nothing in this world… nothing but the hope that Amelia will give me my heart back as long as I make sure you live long enough to meet her. So… Don't you DARE tell me that the heart is just some muscle. It is much more than that to me! It's… it's my everything… my… my freedom!"

She moved forward and left Sheldor staring after her. Wolowix's voice spoke to him with a somber voice, "This… this just got a whole lot more complicated, boss man."

Sheldor couldn't help but groan and speak out loud to the trinket, "No… this just got more dangerous."