The coated grasses and ashen trees thinned out as we continued our journey through the ogres lands. Pebbles started to crunch under our feet. Boulders could be seen emerging from the ground. The two day prediction had quickly turned into four as we had to catch Elena up on all that had happened after the town of scribes.

It was particularly hot today for a mid fall day. The air seemed to shimmer over the boulders that grew ever larger. Snell motioned for us to all to follow him.

“I have been doing some scouting. I found something interesting.” Snell lead us to a small opening with three of the largest boulders so far.

“Those aren’t boulders are they Snell?” I heard Zoran gasping.

“No Zoran they are not. They are the eggs of the kings dragon. A proud race. They grow the largest and to see these eggs means dragons are returning to the lands.” Snell gained a wistful look in his eyes.

“That’s also a danger Snell. You remember when dragons roamed our lands and skies over a hundred years ago? They ravished those that they could not agree with.” Lucy’s face shown the fear of the news.

“It’s a good thing Lucy. Dragons made pacts with humans. These eggs are still young though. The time they take to incubate is hundreds almost thousands of years.” Snell sat down onto his feet. He started examining the eggs with expert eyes.

“Well the dragon tamer hasn’t shown yet. So there’s no need to worry about dragons Lucy. The tamer is said to only show at the hatching of the oldest egg.” Zoran was right with Snell in the examination.

“Well the last tamer, according to the scrolls at the library said the last tamer was favored by the stone dragons. He was a wise but foolish man. He hated power and gave all dragons more freedom with his deals. He was wicked.” Elena had her eyes closed with remembrance all over her face.

“Yes Elena. But at the same time nobody knew who he was. All anyone actually knew was the dragons saying that he was wronged by his fellow man.” Zoran came over to Elena. “Who knows what could have happened if he had actually been treated fairly.”

“Aren’t there dragons that are still said to roam to this day?” I looked around at everyone.

“Yes Zen. They are called the minor dragons. Versions of them are beasts like core worms. In fact the draco volan is a descendent of them. They don’t have the magic, but they are of dragon bloodline.” Snell reached under his beard to stroke Baby.

“I have a question?” I looked up at Snell as he stood. “What exactly is a dragon born?”

“Ah that hasn’t happened for a long time Zen. They are part human and part dragon. They are said to rise from hiding when dragons hatch. A special kind of being just like a true daemon or the forgotten we met. Some people worship them like the priest worship the forgotten.” Elena sat down. “Dragon kin are rare to see. Every time one rises from the dark they disappear all over again. They change dates whenever they rise.”

“We have to get going. We don't know how long you will sleep inside the tomb of the enchantress Zen.” Lucy started hustling us all away from the eggs. “Plus we don’t want to be around if they were to hatch.”

We walked away from the small clearing. I wonder what kings dragons look like? Maybe one day I will get to see all their majesty. Who knows maybe I will get to even meet a dragon born.

As our trip continued Elena started teaching me all she could from her time at the library. My studies became almost overwhelming. My morning started with a morning run. By this time everyone had Tibby and I. Then it was sparring after breakfast with Elena and Lucy. Then Zoran would teach me for a few hours while we rested and ate lunch. In the afternoons Snell would teach us all in tracking. Some days Zoran would even help instead of hunting dinner.

So it continued for a few weeks. The landscape ever changing. I noticed the smell on the cold breeze as the winter winds started to blow. It wasn’t quite the smell of mountain water but it seemed to smell almost as fresh.

“Snell I think I smell a river or stream ahead.” Today it was just him and I practicing at my tracking. Lucy had taken Elena to learn in shooting two arrows at once.

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“It’s the whispering stream Zen. Soon we will need our earplugs. I will pass them all out tonight. Tomorrow we will rest all day and leave at dawn so we can get to that never ending nightmare.” The worry hung so thick in the air I felt like I could cut it.

“Why is the stream so dangerous Snell?”

“It has a power Zen. It speaks to you. Tells you what’s most enticing to either kill someone or even worse yet to hop in and die yourself. Once in the waters it’s nearly impossible to escape.” I noticed a new wrinkle forming in Snell’s forehead as he talked about the stream.

“Can’t we just go around the stream Snell?” I felt like there had to be another way.

“No Zen. The forest lies just in the other side. And to try and go around the river would take you to the dark mountains to the north. Or the ivory woods to the south. Both dangerous no matter which direction the river is the safest choice.” Snell let out his bear like sigh.

“Let’s go get camp ready Snell. We should save all our worry until tomorrow when we have time to think. By the way the owl we were tracking has to be one tree over this way.” I walked the three places to the next three and gave an owls call. It flew down from a tree two paces to my right. So few trees but I was still one away.

“Your getting better Zen. We will keep practicing.” We headed back to the others in silence.

I helped set up the campfire. As I started cooking I began mixing herbs that Zoran had pointed out to me on our trip. I had become better at it. Sadly I had yet to gain the skills Heather had with cooking. At the same time I knew that I was the best we had. I found it fun and free to try all the different possibilities.

“Tomorrow night we will leave for the whispering stream.” Snell’s voice hushed the air around us.

“Are we that close already?” Zoran stared into the fire. “It seems like yesterday we departed for this.”

“Yes Zoran.” Snell started passing out ear plugs. “We need to wear these all the way across. I will prepare the skiff we will use tomorrow. Remember no matter what you hear keep your feet tied to the rings. We aren’t prisoners but the magic of the skiff is to keep us safe.”

“I was hoping we would wind up in a safer part of the river Snell. You know how dangerous that part will be.” Lucy had a wrinkle that mirrored Snell’s own. “We should have went north for a little. Walked across the shallows.”

“To risky Lucy. The darkness in those parts is free. We need a light walker for that and Albert isn’t with us. Not many like him anyways.” Snell punched the ground beside him. “We have done this before Lucy. We can do this again I hope.”

“We were kids and Drakon about died on that trip Snell. He was the only one I've actually seen escape those rapids.” Lucy poked the fire a bit. “How many have died because of that stretch of river?”

“Countless. We have a chance though. We have a blood moon artifact holder. That will be the rivers main target. We will tie up Zen if it gets bad enough.” Zoran glance at me. “No offense Zen but you are at the most risk.”

“Why though?” I felt my unease dripping out. “I’m the same as everyone else.”

“No Zen. That river tries to claim the life of the blood moon artifact holders. I believe it’s a test to see how worthy you are.” Snell glanced down.

We all sat in silence. I noticed everyone drift in and out of sleep. I looked up at the moon. What a beautiful moon tonight. The crescent seemed to emit an air of calm. Something told me everyone would be alright.

I started to practice my shadow walking. Is this how my shadow always felt? There by my side but never quite knowing what to do. I found myself wondering what it would be like if my shadow could talk. How would it tell our adventures?

As I returned to the campsite I saw Tibby stretching for our morning run. I walked up to the little fellow.

“Hey Tibby. Where do we want to run to today?” I looked at him. “We can’t run the direction we had.”

“I will run that way Zen.” Tibby pointed down heading south. “We need to keep a good run going.”

We ran until well after dawn had broke. Our longest run yet. I noticed that I could keep up with Tibby better than I could all those weeks ago when he had raced Sir Thomas. I knew I had gotten faster but thinking back it was more than that. I had gained a freedom from my runs. It cleared my head. My muscles had developed better by them and the constant training with Lucy. We finally returned to camp.

“Eat something Zen then get some sleep we have a long night.” Zoran handed me some food.

“Where is everyone else Zoran?” I took a bite from the bowl she had handed me. A delicious berry stew. How had she come up with this?

“Snell is working on the skiff. Lucy and Elena are training with her knife today.” Zoran used and imaginary knife to slice at imaginary enemies. I felt myself chuckle a little.

“I have a feeling we will be okay Zoran. I bet you could even slay that stream with your knife.” I winked at her.

“Did you just blink at me Zen?” We all burst into laughter. Tibby even pointed at Zoran’s eye patch before he laughed.

“Zoran’s funny Zen.” Tibby had really improved with his speech since we started teaching him. For the millionth time since Tibby had joined us I couldn’t help but think how amazing goblins can be.

“I will talk to Tibby and teach him some new words Zen. Now get some rest.” Zoran passed me my blanket as I cleaned my bowl.

As I lay down I finally felt a calm come over me. My worry had disappeared as did the moon at night. Sure it might come back but wasn’t that how our worries worked? Like the rising and setting of the moon. Sun for our minds to stay positive and the moon for our unsaid thoughts.