Hello there! I'm so sorry for the long wait. I was trying to build anticipation a bit but then I got a bit sick then I went on vacation for a week and also I forgot part of the time. Hehe. Whoops. But here it is I think ya'll waited long enough. I hope you like it. And forgive me if I don't publish on a regular basis I'll try to make a schedule sometime for my writing. But hope you enjoy!

-Joyful Wild :)

CHAPTER 7: STORY TIME WITH...PODO!?

Everyone stood in shock as they stared into the woods behind them. At first everything was still until they heard ruffling and movement and grunting. Then out of the shadows came a big old man with a stump leg and a tattoo on his arm with a white beard on his face. And with the other hand he held onto a leg bone. His clothes were dirty and torn and the old man himself was quite dirty with many scrapes and bruises and wet with sweat. Leeli then asked again, "Grandpa?" This time her voice was shaky and the tears in her eyes started to spill. The old man looked at them. First at Leeli then at Oskar then at Artham then at Sara then back to Leeli and smiled. "Aye! Yer ol' Podo's back!" He said with a twinkle in his eye. Leeli ran as fast as she could into his arms while exclaiming "GRANPA!" Podo swooped her up into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"I thought you were gone forever." Leeli said crying into his shoulder.

"To be honest I thought so to. But the Maker spared me." Podo said as he walked closer to everyone else who were still staring at him like he was a ghost. "What's the matter with ye? You all look like you saw a ghost."

Artham was the first one (besides Leeli) to recover. "B...but weren't you... didn't you...?"

"For goodness sake Podo!" Oskar exclaimed, "You were eaten by the dragon! I saw it with my own eyes! I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK!"

" Aye, that had to be the most scariest days of life." Podo said.

"But how did you get here?" Sara asked. She felt like she was intruding when she asked. She had seen Podo many times when they were in Glipwood but didn't know him like how she knew his grandkids. Leeli had told her what happened after the Wingfeathers sailed to the Green Hollows when she arrived in Anniera.

"Well that is another story that I have to tell you." Podo said.

"YES!" said Leeli who was still crying with a smile on her face. "You have to tell us everything!"

"That I will." Podo said smiling back at her.

"Well, that settles it." Artham said.

"Huh?" Sara said.

"We're going to camp right here."

...

Everybody worked together to make a few places in the trees a resting place for the night. Then they carefully lit a small fire and sat around it and ate a little bit of the food that they brought to make it last as long as they could. Then everybody stared at Podo and he stared back at them knowing what they wanted. He cleared his throat and leaned forward which made Leeli smile because she knew what was coming. Podo first looked at Leeli who sat on his left then Sara who sat next to her, then Oskar who sat on his right and had a pencil and journal in hand, then Artham who sat next him. He smiled once more, " I was on the shore of the Hollows begging that the dragons would come and help us defeat the fangs. I strode into the water yelling at the top of my lungs trying to get their attention. Then out of the water came Yurgen and I stared into his eyes that were filled with anger and justice.

I told him that just for the Maker's sake to help us. Then the dragon reared his head back and lurched forward," Podo slapped his leg when he said that which made everyone jump a bit. "I saw nothing but darkness I tossed and turned as I felt myself going down his throat," Podo ran his hand down his neck to his stomach. "And into his stomach. I didn't know where I was for sure but that's where I assumed I was. Everything was slimy and the stench was so awful that I thought once more that I was going to die in there by the smell. I stayed there for while and got used to the feeling of the dragon swimming through the waters. But then," Everybody leaned a bit forward as afraid they were going to miss something important, "The dragon made a sudden turn out of nowhere and I felt the dragon move faster and faster until I heard a rumble that got louder and louder and louder. But THEN!"

Podo froze looking at everybody who sat perfectly still with their jaw dropped and their eyes even wider. They all sat there waiting for what Podo would say next for a couple of minutes which actually felt like a long time. "And?" Sara asked. "Shh" Leeli whispered, "He likes to build anticipation."

"BAM!", Podo said as he slapped his hands together. Everybody jumped so hard that they all giggled but laughed even harder when Oskar jumped but then rolled backwards onto his back. Artham and Podo helped him back up and laughed a little bit more while Oskar laughed and wrote down everyone's reactions to the surprise. Then Podo continued, "I felt water rush right behind me and in front of me I saw Yurgen's mouth open up and I got barfed up by the sea dragon!"

"EEEEWWWW!" Everybody said.

"For a second I was in the air and then thud I landed on the ground. I opened my eyes and for the first time in ages I saw and acknowledged the Maker's beautiful sky and land and sea that he created. I stood on a cliff high above the sea and I kneeled down and thanked the Maker for sparing an old guilty man like myself and I asked where to go from there. And it seems to me that Maker answered that question. Because right behind me I saw a cloven but there was something about this cloven that made me want to trust it. Whether it was the way it looked at me or how it seemed to nod towards the woods to try to get me to follow it I'm not exactly sure. But as I followed it eventually wanted me to ride on it's back and so once I did the cloven took off and flew into the air and it was the fastest creature that I have ever seen.

It soon landed at the base of this mountain and nodded it's head towards the mountain. And I felt silly doing so but I asked if it wanted me to climb up the mountain and it made a simple nod showing that it understood me. But before I began my journey I saw a strange light then the cloven walked into it and then the light and the cloven disappeared. And I knew that the creature was sent from the Maker. Then I climbed up the mountain and after a few days of survival I saw another bright light but it was far in the distance towards the west. Then a few days later I find you all here for some reason. And that is how I got here."

Everybody sat there with there with open mouths and wide eyes once more. Then Leeli spoke, "Grandpa, what did the creature look like?"

"It's kind of hard to explain but it looked like a mix of all animals. It had horns, antlers, wings, claws, paws, hooves, and it had more than one tail. and it was a big creature, bigger than a horse. It could probably carry two full grown men."

"Whoa." Sara said.

"That is the perfect word to describe it. A creature Janner would love to study. Which reminds me where-" Podo stopped midsentence when he saw the sad faces that everybody had. "What is it?" He asked.

"There's something you need to know Podo. You missed a lot." Artham said.

It took a while to get it all out but they recalled the events that had happened since Yurgen swallowed Podo. In the end everybody was in tears again thinking about the loss of Janner and Kalmar and Nia somewhere in the woods. Then sleep came upon them and they all put out the fire and found a place to sleep in the trees. They all said silent prayers that Kalmar and Nia would be safe and that the Maker would bring back Janner just like he did with Podo.