AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks to all the readers of this tale and to the favers (including 2 new friends in April!) and to the followers (including 3 new friends in April)! I appreciate your support very much!

And shoutouts to FirstFandomFangirl, Kai Lover911, StoryMaker7, AveXCninja11, lovesgod12, and taylorjensen517 for commenting on the previous chapter. You warm my heart and give me incentive!

My poll on where Kai and Sam should go on their honeymoon is still active and will be for a while. Check it out if you haven't yet had a chance!

The search for Kai begins…

Chapter 7 - The Search Is On

"What's the name of the place that Chief Vincent said Kai was working at? Three Rocks? Three Stones?" Jay asked as the four ninja brothers, their teacher, and the two young women hiked up a trail of Oracle Mountain. They all were clad in the fire hats and jackets lent to them by the commander. The extra gear made them sweat even more in the oppressive heat of the day, but they knew it was necessary.

Cole rolled his eyes at his teammate. "Three Boulders is the name of the place," he answered. He adjusted the stretcher poles he was carrying on his back in a sling.

"I would have gotten it eventually," Jay declared.

A short while ago, the group had dismounted the dragons a little farther down the mountainside, in an open area where grass had grown instead of trees. The trail that they were now traversing up the mountainside led them through what once was a lush woodsy area but had been converted by the wildfires into an eerie forest of charred black poles.

The path they were following took a sharp turn to the left. As they rounded the bend, it appeared that the path ended at an eight-feet-high wall of rocks just up ahead.

"Oh, man, did we hit a dead end?" Lloyd lamented as they approached the wall.

Sensei Wu checked the map provided by Chief Vincent. "This map indicates that the path continues beyond this point."

Cole examined the area to one side of the wall. "There's a really narrow dirt path here. I'll check it out and be back in a minute," he announced. He followed it for a short distance, disappearing into a thicket of charred trees. He reappeared shortly.

"The dirt path can lead us up to a continuation of our trail. It's a steep climb, but it's short and it'll get us there," he informed his friends.

Cole led the way, followed by Nya, Jay, Sam, Lloyd, Sensei, and Zane. Sam figured that Lloyd had strategically positioned himself in the single-file line. Though his elderly uncle was spry enough to manage the steep climb, Lloyd would be close enough to help Zane assist their teacher, just in case.

And Sam figured that Lloyd wanted to walk behind her because he was feeling protective toward her. Last summer, when she and Kai hit that big bump in their relationship, she and Lloyd had started to make a go of a relationship themselves. But it became evident that Sam was actually meant to be with Kai, so Lloyd nobly stepped aside and facilitated the patching up of feelings between the fire ninja and the blue-eyed beauty, even though he himself still harbored feelings for her. He then resumed the role of a friend and managed to thwart any awkwardness among the three of them that might have otherwise occurred. Lloyd even occasionally sought Sam's advice on how he could get favorable attention from a girl who he had met at Hayward's Department Store, a fancy retailer in downtown Ninjago City.

Cole wasn't kidding. The path was steep. Sam occasionally had to hang on trees along the side in order to advance upward to the main trail.

Eventually they all reached the trail and surveyed the scorched area they had come upon. Looking to the right, in the direction they had come from, they could see where the trail sharply dropped off back at the rock wall. Moving to their left and following the trail forward, it only took them a few short minutes to reach the place called Three Boulders. These boulders, each about four feet high, were located in an open area away from trees, and they were arranged adjacent to each other in triangle fashion.

"I'm afraid I do not know exactly what a calling card from Fiora would look like," Sensei admitted, "but I have a feeling it would be quite evident. I suggest we split up and look around."

"Sounds like a good idea," Cole agreed. "Sensei, would you like to cover the area between the boulders and the rock wall back there? Jay and Nya, why don't you keep heading south on the trail and see if you can find anything. Zane and I will search the mountainside where it angles up steeply here to the west. Lloyd and Sam, maybe you could cover that scorched grassy area which overlooks the valley."

The others agreed with his suggestions and spread out.

Sam and Lloyd set out through the scorched grassy area, keeping their eyes glued to the ground. They took turns to occasionally call out Kai's name, and then they kept still, listening for a possible response from the fire ninja. They could hear the others in their group doing the same, dozens of yards away.

"It's so quiet around here," Lloyd commented.

Sam nodded. "I guess that since the homes of the birds and the animals were destroyed, they've gone in search of new places to live."

"I've heard it can take 25 whole years for a forest to regenerate itself after a wildfire. That's a pretty significant amount of time - long enough for another generation of humans to grow up," the green ninja mused.

Lloyd removed his knapsack from his back, and from it he extracted his water bottle. As he took a large gulp, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jay and Nya, instead of heading up the trail, were retracing their steps back down the trail, toward Sensei Wu.

"Sensei! We forgot to get the map from you!" Jay called out, waving his arms to get the attention of their teacher.

At the sound of Jay's voice, Sam turned and also saw the couple.

Lloyd finished swallowing his gulp of the refreshing liquid. "You know, I think I'm gonna ask Jay for another water bottle, since it seems extra hot today," Lloyd decided. "Want another one, too, Sam?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks."

"OK, I'll be right back," Lloyd stated as he stuffed his partially empty water bottle back in the knapsack. "Jay, hold up!" he called out as he jogged over to the blue ninja, who was in charge of carrying extra food and water supplies. Jay stopped to wait for Lloyd to reach him while Nya continued to head toward Sensei to retrieve the map.

While waiting for Lloyd to return, Sam took a break from looking at the ground and instead looked out at the valley below. Part of the scenery was obscured by an outcropping of rock fifty yards away, but Sam could still see that the valley was not at its prettiest now, displaying black scorch marks and a gray haze. However, she could envision the majestic view that human eyes could have beheld before the wildfires started.

Lloyd had said that another generation of humans could grow up in the time it could take the valley to regenerate itself. Will Kai and I have the opportunity to parent a new generation of fire masters? she wondered.

Sam unzipped the pocket containing her necklace and placed her hand inside, fingering the wedding rings. She desperately wished to have her man stand by her side once again.