Chapter 82
"I want to go again!" Riley exclaimed, making loops around Tobias, who wavered uneasily within her orbit.
Every muscle was sore from being held taut; for five hours, she had been unable to move beyond pitching from side to side as the dragon banked and flew.
"Ughhh," Tobias groaned.
Riley stopped, centered in front of him, her ears erect, as the adrenaline burned like a fire within her, pushing every muscle to vibrate.
Bouncing up and down, her words projected as a shout, "Are you ok? You feel terrified and a little green. I think you do! In some ways it made the trip cooler and more roller coaster like!"
Unable to contain her energy, she fell into a looping spin.
"Ugh..." Tobias moaned again, rubbing at his forehead, before finding a tree to slide down, thudding on the cool ground.
Riley, like a fur bearing missile, smacked up against his chest, "Thank you for that! Thank you for everything."
"I didn't do anything, Riley," he groaned.
"Oh, you did a lot! A lot, a lot! Where are we? This place seems familiar," Becoming more aware of her world by degrees, she scanned around.
There, just over a hill, was the grand castle of the Ashenrealm, with the Valenheim Academy set just beside.
"We came in on the other side of the wall. We're on the far side, opposite the city," Tobias yawned and shook his head.
"Are you ok?" Riley snuggled in close.
Tobias absently pet down her back, "It's been a trying day. I don't think I like dragon riding as much as you do."
"Couldn't you feel what I was feeling from it? Did it help?" Riley puzzled as he continued to pet absently, finding his calm.
"It mixed too well with my fear, kind of the inverse. We're like two sides of the same copper," he mused.
"We are now!" She could feel her heart beating out like a techno song in her ears.
"Come on," Tobias said with another groan as he began to rise, "Let's get to the Prancing Cockatrice; that's our check in."
"Why does that keep sounding familiar?" Riley puzzled.
"It's the same place Justinian took us before the trials," Tobias reminded as he began to move, trudging up the hill.
"Oh yeah, I remember seeing three rangers there, now that you mention it," she remembered, hopping through the grass as her stomach rumbled.
"Food and lodging are included, right?"
"They are, I guess the inn is a front. The Generals didn't explain too much," Tobias mused.
"They hardly explained anything. Report to Ashenvale. You'll be lodging at the Prancing Cockatrice. Use this phrase to check in and wait for your field officer. They had to drag us halfway across central for that?" She complained, pulling at the memory.
"Riley, I was there too," Tobias mentioned.
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Riley stopped, her ears going crooked as Tobias moved past, "Oh yeah..."
Tobias chuckled, a wry smile spread across his face, "You're even more distractable when you're excited."
"Uh, guilty? " Riley's head snapped to the right as she caught the roar of the dragon launching itself into the sky.
All else was quiet. The dark of the night mixed with a cool yet humid air, prompting memories and reflections.
"Nine bells and all is well," Echoed distantly over the deserted grounds, rising up from the city in ghostly acapella.
"We're home, but it feels more like years than months," Riley could feel the nostalgia percolating through their connection as he spoke.
"It feels like another lifetime," Riley mused as they crossed the grounds, finally coming towards the gate.
"For you, that's really saying something," Tobias chuckled.
"Eh, I'm really not all that special. I'm willing to bet this isn't the first life for most people. I just happen to remember the transition," Riley mentally shrugged before yawning.
It truly had been a long day. As the adrenaline ebbed, fatigue itched at the edges of her eyes, which mixed with the hunger she felt, having been hours past noon when they had last eaten.
"I wonder if I did something to end up where I am? And old souls go round until they go forward; life's circle forever unbroken," Tobias hummed as they crossed out of the castle grounds.
"Good morrow, Ranger," the guardsmen greeted sleepily.
"Good morrow fellows," Tobias replied.
"Who says you did anything? I didn't do anything to be sent here. A golden line appeared around my paw, and suddenly, I was dangling by my leg and utterly boggled. I'd have been terrified if I wasn't so zonked; hell, I was terrified anyway," Riley recalled, pulling at the scrambled memory.
"I'm glad you're here, whatever the reason," Tobias replied.
"Me too, I like it here," Riley agreed as they moved and made their way through the city like ghosts haunting its streets.
It truly was familiar, echoes of a past that seemed further away than it was, as if they had aged a lifetime in four months.
The warmth of the late summer hung ephemeral upon the streets. As they moved, the cool breeze from the mountains surrounding sang in counterpoint, reminding them that no season was eternal.
Finally, after an hour of quiet walking past higher end shops and quaint well tended homes, the familiar sign of the Prancing Cockatrice came into view.
Tobias, slipping down his hood, entered as a wave of noise and light hit them both with near physical force.
"Good Morrow Ranger, what can I do for you?" The barkeep asked as Tobias approached. He was busy polishing the surface of his bar in a lazy circular pattern as he grinned.
"I'm up from Avondale, and my Cockatrice went lame. Aventus said this was a good place, and I should ask for Sabina," Tobias recited as Riley watched curiously.
The barkeep nodded and turned, leaving without saying a word.
An older woman, in her late fifties by Riley's guess, came from the kitchen a moment later.
"This way, loves, I'll see you to your room," she said. With a quick glance toward Riley, Tobias followed as she led them up the stairs and down the hall, stopping at the last door on the left.
"You'll be staying here. We'll talk inside," she prompted, unlocking the door and revealing a medium sized room far larger than their quarters at Ranger Central.
A simple twin bed was set in the corner, with one side against the wall, set out of view of the window, which was both shuttered and barred. A small desk and chair were opposite it, with a wardrobe just to its side. A few feet from the door, in the center of the room, was a dining table with three chairs around it.
Setting the key on a small entrance table that had a washing bowl and a clean folded towel beside it, the older woman pulled out a chair from the table and sat down.
"You say Aventus sent you?" She asked.
"Yes, he was quite the stocky gentleman and said I'd find a good meal here," Tobias replied in code.
"He'd be sad to hear that. He thinks he's losing weight. That said, he's not wrong," the woman paused before nodding, "So you are who you say you are. I'm Ranger Sabine, now, let me get a better look at you, I suppose that's your partner, Riley?"
"Yes Ma'am, it's nice to meet you," She replied congenially.
"Polite, and you let Tobias do the talking. Smart, better than the reports indicated. You'll both do fine," she grinned.
"Reports? What reports?" Riley asked, confused.
"Nothing you need to worry about," she grinned wryly.
"You've both passed training and shown you have what it takes; that's the first half of the journey. I'll see you through the second. You need to learn our methods and our ways. Work hard, don't be idiots, and don't get killed, and we'll get along fine. Shine me on, and you'll wish Cid had killed you," she leaned forward and grinned with menace.
"Yes Ma'am," Tobias snapped to attention.
She chuckled.
"By the dead gods, you're green, but I suppose they all start somewhere. Your orders came in on the morning, dragon, but there will be time for that yet. Let's get you a meal, let you settle, and we'll begin in the morning," She offered.
Tobias relaxed, "It sounds good to me. Food and rest would be welcome after the day we've had."
"It's possible. I'll have the girl send something up," she said, rising, pausing to pat Riley between the ears before leaving.