When Calder opened his eyes, the world around him was spinning. He stumbled when he tried to move, forcing him to remain still. Thankfully, the half-elf was confident that he was still alive, even after the crossbows were fired at them. He was unscathed as of now, his headache being the result of whatever Fivin casted. Although the ranger was glad that his life was intact, he hoped to never go through such an experience ever again.

Slowly, Calder started to recover with the spinning around him coming to an end and his vision became clearer. He gasped softly, finding himself in a clear and snowless field. The ground beneath him was a bright green with blades extending upward and the air was warmer than the north. Hesitantly, the ranger knelt down on the ground, running his hand through the patch of blades. There was a slight breeze blowing, the unfamiliar plantlife dancing in it. The half-elf had never been to a place so full of life before and was truly amazed by what he saw. His tribe never dared to leave the frozen north but already he could tell it was much better than the harsh living conditions.

Suddenly, Calder heard a groan come from behind. It was feminine and immediately he could tell that it was not Fivin. The ranger quickly stood up and pivoted around, pulling out his bow and nocking an arrow on it in one swift motion. Before him was a human woman, her face youthful yet dirtied. She wore ragged and stained brown robes that went down to the ground, covering her legs and feets completely. She had dark, crimson hair that was unkempt and her gray eyes shot out in worry upon seeing the danger she was in.

"Don't shoot!" the woman begged, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm not an enemy, I swear!"

"I remember your voice," Calder commented, the memory coming to mind. "You were the one that spoke out to the captain and escaped punishment."

"Yes, my name is Skylar," the stranger introduced, hands shaking in fear. "I looked after your father while we were on board the ship. I swear, you can ask him!"

Calder always had a gift for seeing past spoken words to find the meaning behind them. Yet, with Skylar, he could not tell if her words were truth or lie. While he had only just met her, an outsider, he knew that there were many ways to tell someone if they were lying. The change of their breathing, the stiffening of their body position, or the shuffling of feet. The mysterious woman remained completely still yet she was controlling her breathing, remarkable given that he had an arrow aimed at her skull. Slowly, he lowered his bow, deciding it would be best to ask Fivin if she spoke the truth.

However, much to his surprise, Calder could not see Fivin anywhere in the open field. He had expected for the elderly elf to be sprawled out on the ground, exhausted after casting a spell that took them away from the north. Instead, he was gone, nowhere in sight. The ranger did not think his father would leave him so soon unless he did not have a choice. It was his idea to travel south to stop the Cult of the Dragon, and there was still much to be explained regarding their secrets. In the end, there was only one confusion he came to.

"He's gone," Calder muttered. "The spell must have been too much for him to handle."

"Maybe he landed elsewhere," Skylar suggested, slowly bringing her hands down. "This wasn't supposed to be our destination."

"And how do you know our destination?" Calder asked suspiciously. "I thought you were only a captured member of that crew."

"Well, yes, but I spoke with your father during the voyage," Skylar explained to him. "He told me that once he found you that he would make his way to a town called Greenest."

"And why did he trust you?" Calder continued his questioning. "What made you different than the rest of the pirates on that ship."

Well, I think talking to him when no one else could helped.

Upon hearing the whispers in his head, Calder's first instinct was to take aim at the stranger. Yet, when he raised his bow, he noticed that her finger had been pointed at him while blue flames blinked around her head. Like Fivin, she was a spellcaster. Although, if she had been captured by a group of pirates, it meant that she was not as powerful as his father. However, at that moment, he decided that it may be a good idea to trust her. She seemed innocent enough and her powers could be useful in confronting the Cult of the Dragon. He returned the arrow to its quiver and holstered his bow across his back, calmly approaching the woman..

"So, you're a wizard like my father then?" Calder asked her.

"Well, not quite," Skylar looked down at the ground. "Wizards train to cast their spells. My powers just come naturally to me. I'm still trying to work them out but it's hard practicing magic in secret when there's a crew of savage pirates watching your every move."

"How strange," Calder commented. "Did my father tell you why we needed to go to Greenest?"

"No, he wanted to wait until you were around before he talked about his task," Skylar explained, looking back at his eyes "He didn't tell me much but did say I would be able to help when the time came?"

"Well, I don't think any of us know where we are, so it's going to be tough finding Greenest," Calder sighed, looking around his surroundings once more. "This land is unfamiliar to me, and Father did not tell us where Greenest is."

"Well, it's a town to the south, so if we walk south, we're bound to find it," Skylar brought up with a hint of hope.

"And what if his spell brought us down south enough that we already passed Greenest?" Calder brought up.

"Well, we keep walking south then," Skylar suggested, giggling lightly. "Technically, if we keep moving south, we'll end up north of where Greenest is once more."

"That's, well, that's true from a certain point of view," Calder acknowledged. "But we're assuming that we are directly south of Greenest when we could be east or west as well."

"And it would be an easier time walking north as well," Skylar added. "So, what do you think we should do?"

Truth be told, Calder was not sure on which way they were going to go from here. They were in a region he was completely unfamiliar with no clue to get to their desired destination. Having lived in isolation in the far north, the ranger was an expert when it came to tracking down prey for food and finding his way back home. There was no finding his way if he had no bearing of the land in the south. They would be wandering around for hours, lost, while the Cult of the Dragon fulfilled whatever vile plans they had in mind for the world.

His first thoughts were to turn north and find his way back to the tribe. However, now that Skylar was with him, he knew that he had a job to take care of, even if it was one forced onto him. If Greenest was so important to the Cult of the Dragon's plans, then they would have to find their way there. Although the ranger was unfamiliar with the ways of other cultures outside his tribe, he had hoped that his new companion could make up for that lack of knowledge.

"Would there be any other towns in this region?" Calder asked her.

"I think so," Skylar hesitantly answered. "I've never been this far to the south as well, but there are towns all across the world."

"Then we find a path and follow it," Calder told her, looking around once more. "If it leads to Greenest, then we will need to find out why we are needed there. If the path takes us to a different town, we get directions to Greenest and move out from there."

"You know, that's a really good plan," Skylar complemented. "We'll arrive at Greenest in no time now!"

"We'll see about that," Calder shrugged, walking off. "I'm not sure where the road is, but I suppose that if we keep moving, we're bound to find one. Regardless, we have several hours until night falls, so let's get moving."

"Shouldn't we wait?" Skylar asked, remaining in place. "Your father did just sacrifice himself to see us here. I feel like that we should have a moment of silence. Shouldn't you be more torn about his death?"

"I'd be more torn if I had known him longer than a few minutes," Calder replied, turning his head over his shoulder. "I'm sad, yes, but not as sad if I had lost my brother or mother. For a long time, I accepted that Father would not be coming back. Until I got his letter, I thought he was dead. Although he is gone now, I cannot mourn for him when we have a job to do."

"Shouldn't we make a memorial for him at the least?" Skylar sighed out, somewhat sadden. "I feel like we owe him that much. He did save our lives, you know.""

"We can, but if we are, we should do it when we are resting," Calder acknowledged, nodding in agreement. "Can you wait until then?"

"I can," Skylar answered quickly. "Let's be off then. We have a cult to stop!"

Calder could not help but smile at Skylar's optimism, which was a change of pace compared to the dull nature of his tribe. Even though it was the two of them against a cult that could be as large as an army, she believed that they could succeed and put a stop to their plans. Maybe Fivin had told her more about what would happen than the ranger suspected. They talked enough to the point that she was closer to the elderly wizard than he was, wanting to put effort into remembering who he was. Still, the half-elf decided that what else she knew did not matter. Right now, their priority was to get to Greenest, a goal that now seemed reasonable.

Skylar caught up with Calder, the two companions now walking side by side. Calder was still hesitant that two people would be enough to stop the Cult of the Dragon, even with his archery and her magic. If they were going to overcome the challenge, they would need more help. The only people the ranger thought of that could help was his tribe, and he knew that they would not bother leaving the frozen wasteland they call home. There was no one he knew this far south that he could count on to aid them in the coming battle. It was up to him to save the world from whatever his foe had planned, and that thought did not sit well with him.

A/N: With this story, I decided to go with a different approach to the beginning. In Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the players just happen to be traveling together. Instead, I decided to bring the band of heroes together before the action starts to pick up. For those of you who are waiting for the action, I assure you that these introductory chapters will not take too long.

Finally, I'd just like to thank Isada for writing the first review of this story.

Until next time.