“So,” Lady Dellar said, “Everyone calls me Lady Dellar, but my first name is Alina; feel free to use it.”

I looked at the girl riding next to me on the horse Lord Balar had procured for us. Lord Balar’s horse was smaller and stockier than ours. Even with the saddle, I found riding this horse remarkably uncomfortable and somewhat unnatural, and my mind moved wistfully to the steed that had born me to Haven.

Compared to me, Lord Balar and Lady Dellar seemed to be entirely at ease with their mounts. Lord Balar was riding at the front, and Lady Dellar had dropped back to chat with me.

“Thanks, Lady Alina,” I tested out, but she shook her short, vibrant hair in disagreement.

“No,” she said, “Just Alina. You’re only a couple of years younger than me, and we go to the same school.”

I wanted to sigh, but I held it in. That was a little uncomfortable, but maybe it was just me. This was about as close as I had come to interactions with people close to my age, excluding my sister in… years. Slowly dying limited your social life.

“Right, Alina, then,” I said.

“Good,” Alina grinned at me, “So, what do you know about where we’re going?”

I hesitated a moment, but when Lord Balar did not speak up, I resigned myself to the inevitable, “The Stone Teeth, Lord Balar said that we would look there.”

“The Stone Teeth?” Alina rubbed her chin thoughtfully, “I hadn’t considered that there could still be dragons there. Not that I doubt Lord Balar. He’s one of the foremost academics in Haven. Though you probably already know that considering you’re his apprentice and all.”

“Yeah,” I nodded my head vaguely, hoping I looked like I knew what I was talking about.

We continued riding for some time, and it was only as the sun began to curve back toward the ground and we had passed into rockier terrain that was starting to climb upward that we stopped for the night.

That was when my next look at magic occurred. It was simple. A fire was constructed, and Alina set it ablaze with a word. The ease of the magic struck me more than anything else. As if it really was easier to set the wood ablaze with magic rather than the process of sparking it alight by hand.

We ate some bland-tasting rations Lord Balar provided, and I found myself staring at the unfamiliar stars above us. How long had I been in this world? It didn’t feel that long, but even now, a part of my mind had forgotten the pain I had lived in for so long. Yet I could not forget my family; they were in my thoughts now.

Small moments and memories piled up in my head. Of my dad teaching me how to fish and subsequently gut and clean them. Of my mom when she had taken me to school on my first day and how scared I had been after my sister had told me horror stories. Of my sister Kaylee who now had no older brother, though I was a sorry excuse for one.

Were they okay without me?

It was a discomforting thought either way. If they had fallen apart without me, I don’t know if I could bear it. If they had felt relief for no longer caring for me… well, I guess I couldn’t blame them. I had been a burden for quite a while.

Not burden.

I blinked, and then despite myself, a small smile emerged. I had Sara. Maybe when I found the other White Mages, I would have them too. It wouldn’t be a replacement family. I didn’t want a replacement. It would be additional family, though, and maybe that was what was driving me. Even if I had failed my first family as a son, I could at least help these people.

With those comforting thoughts, I fell asleep staring into the flames.

_-_

I was drifting in a current of cool water pressed against my skin. It was Home.

Yet it wasn’t. I frowned. Home was not here. How could it be here?

I opened my eyes to see pure white all around me. I should have needed contrast to see anything, but I could see that the white was eddying and shifting about me, contorting around my body.5

Except I didn’t have a body. I realized I was also like my surroundings, a white stream of energy shifting in tune with my brethren.

A part of me wanted to panic. Yet, in this current, I could not panic because there was no reason to fear.

A spec of darkness appeared and collided with white, and suddenly there was a gap of pure nothing. I frowned.

That shouldn’t happen. There was something fundamentally wrong.

But before I could do anything, more specs appeared, colliding with white, annihilating each other in an instant. It was like being in the middle of a rainstorm, and the white around me withered until only a few streams were suddenly left. There was little darkness left as well, but these dots hovered away from the white, seemingly waiting and watching.

It was strange, but one of those dots drew my attention. It provoked a feeling in me—a feeling of home.

_-_

I woke confused, staring at a sky that was just now beginning to lighten. My dream remained with me, but it was just so strange.

I looked around to see my companions had yet to wake, so I got up and began to busy myself with getting camp ready to break. Namely, making sure the fire was entirely put out and grabbing some more rations before thinking better of it and putting them back. I had already proven that I didn’t need to eat, and if the choice was those or not eating, I knew what I would choose.

In short order, my companions began to stir, and we were back on the road with minimal talk.

This continued for a few days as the terrain became rockier and the air colder until we eventually caught sight of our apparent destination—the Stone Teeth.

They were massive cold grey structures of rock that jutted into the heavens, capped with snow at their peaks. At the base of the mountains where the road led was a city smaller than the two previous cities I had encountered. The structures there were squat and grey, positioned right outside a thick forest. As we approached, I saw some farms, but they were few and far between, and I wondered if the environment largely stifled any agriculture that could be had in the area.

We passed into the town easily enough, moving through the few scattered people on our horses before Lord Balar brought us to an Inn where, after a quiet discussion with the old potbellied man who was the apparent owner, we had a place to stay for the night.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

After eating a dinner of roasted bird meat and starchy vegetables that, compared to what we had been eating or not eating in my case, tasted like heaven, we sat down for a discussion of where we would begin our search. Or, more accurately, Lord Balar and Alina discussed where we would search.

“From what I’ve read,” said Lord Balar, “Dragon homes are higher up on the mountains, so we’ll need to traverse upward on foot.”

Alina sighed, “That’s an awful long way to go, not to mention that it could take quite a bit of time each mountain we climb. We need to move with a little more haste than that. I’ve heard some older Dragons have nested at the base of mountains so we could traverse through on horseback, skirting the edges.”

Really, an illuminating discussion that I had no place in. I was distracted as I felt a pull on my shirt, and I turned to see a human girl who couldn’t be older than ten.

“My mother is sick. Can you help us?”

My stomach dropped at her words. An older man stooped with age, walked up behind the girl, and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Jes, it’s impolite to bother strangers.” he looked at me, “I’m sorry, lad. I used to tell her tales of the White Mages and how they could heal anyone with a touch. Ever since her mother took ill, she’s bothered anyone new in town to help.”

“It’s all right,” I forced through numb lips, looking at the man, “I hope she gets better soon.”

The man gave me a pained smile I recognized all too well as a smile my parents had forced onto their lips before he nodded and gently guided the girl away, exiting the tavern,

I sat at the table, trying to focus on the conversation as best I could, but I simply couldn’t.

“I’m going to get some fresh air,” I said.

Lord Balar nodded and waved me off; Alina gave me a look that I almost quantified as concern.

“Are you all right? You don’t look well at all.”

She looked at me, concern prevalent in her gaze, but it reminded me of all the other concerned gazes I had experienced.

“I’m fine,” I gave her a half smile and continued to leave the building. I stepped onto the streets and looked around, attempting to get my bearings. I spotted the man and Jes walking away, and as normally as I could, I followed them at a distance though I tried to make it look like I was just on a stroll.

Thankfully the night was falling, and the streets were only sparsely lit. I followed for some time before the pair entered a house that looked to be combined with a tailor store. I hesitated momentarily before walking around the building, looking around to see if there was a back entrance.

There was a door that led out back of the squat building, and I nodded to myself. I looked at the sky and frowned. There was still a fair amount of light to make any attempts to gain entry a poor proposition.

I walked back to the tavern, memorizing my path, sitting next to my traveling companions, and smiling faintly at Alina’s greeting. The night was whiled away as they planned their course of action, but all I could think of was the house I had seen. We went to the rooms we had been given to sleep, but I couldn’t.

I waited till the night outside was pitch black before I slipped free of my surprisingly soft bed and, after a moment of thought, slid open the window of the small wooden room. It was a small drop, but my legs easily absorbed it. I could tell that the streets were dark, but my surroundings were surprisingly clear to my eyes.

I moved as quietly as possible, like I was back home, going down the stairs to sneak a late-night snack. I drifted through the streets before I found the building again, going around the back and lightly testing the door.

Locked.

I grimaced, testing the door again, feeling a small amount of wiggle room against its frame, most firm against the middle of the door where the door handle was. I heaved upward on the door quietly, hoping the door was merely latched with a simple bar, and was rewarded as the thick door moved upward, and I felt give as the door swung inward.

Thank you for not having serious locks.

I moved through the darkness across the solid wood floor, peaking in through the first doorway I encountered, only to see the old man fast asleep. I moved further through the house, checking another doorway only to see the front of the shop with cloth and clothes piled about. I arrived at the next door to find my target and an unexpected complication.

A thin woman was lying in bed, and snuggled up against her was Jes holding her mother tightly. They seemed to be fast asleep, but I still moved as quietly as possible until I was above the mother. Her eyes were heavily shadowed, and I could see her ribs underneath the blanket. She was unwell, to say the least.

I took a deep breath and gently laid my hand on her forehead.

Heal.

A soft white glow ran over the woman, and I felt something like a thick muck running through her body. Gently I began to burn through it, clearing blocked pathways as quickly as I could.

This was different from the other healing I had done. This wound had been there for a while and, in some way, was substantially more difficult. On the other hand, I could almost feel that the woman’s body had been trying to fight its sickness, so I focused on helping the weakened strength inside the body.

Time became meaningless for a time as I focused intently on healing.

Finally, there was no more to heal, and when I focused down on the woman, I saw that she looked much healthier; her skin was no longer drawn and pale, and she breathed easily as she slept.

I, on the other hand, felt rather tired though not as tired as when I had first healed. If I had to gage, this had roughly taken a third of my total energy though I could feel it beginning to refill even now.

I stepped back and winced as the floor creaked underneath my feet.

The woman didn’t stir, but Jas shifted and groaned.

I held my breath, stepping back as quietly as possible, edging toward the door.

Jas shifted and sat up, looking about in the darkness of the room. Her eyes drifted over me before she turned to look down at her mother.

Hesitantly she pressed a hand to her mother's chest. She sighed in relief as she found that her mother was still alive and then burrowed back into her side.

My throat clenched as I looked at them, and something hot prickled my eyes. I shook myself, refocusing, and slowly made my way out of the home.

I walked through the streets, and I could not shake the feeling of lightness in my chest.

I made my way to the inn window and, with a calculated leap, jumped too high past my window before I caught the ledge on the way down.

I crawled through the frame and closed it before settling into the bed, feeling good despite the small amount of tiredness creeping through me.

I slowly drifted off in a comforting warmth not entirely provided by my bed.

I woke the next morning to a knocking on my door, and I staggered to my feet to greet the perky face of Alina.

"Good, you're awake! You certainly look a sight better than yesterday! I guess some sleep did you some good!"

"Uh, yeah," I responded, nodding vaguely in agreement.

"Well, are you ready for a day of searching treacherous mountain terrain to find the lairs of Dragons?"

"You know, strangely enough, I am." I grinned at her

She looked surprised for a moment before her face lit up, and she smiled a wide smile in return, a faint red on her cheeks.

I followed her down the stairs, where we met with Lord Balar, who had already organized our breakfast of actual food compared to our traveling rations out before us.

"You two look chipper this morning," he remarked as we sat down.

I shrugged, and Alina shook her head as if brushing the dwarf's words off, "Just a good night's rest. Did you decide where each of us would be going?"

"Yes," Lord Balar nodded, pulling out a map and spreading it before us, "We are starting here," he pointed to a collection of blocks which underneath read, 'Underest,' "We are here, and we will be going into the mountains," he pointed at the triangle shapes surrounding the blocks, "I will as Alina, and I have agreed be taking the base of the Stone Teeth and search for the caves there. You and Lady Dellar will be traversing the highest mountain to see if you can find a cave on it or, failing that spot from above, what I may miss from below.

Alina nodded thoughtfully, running a hand through her short red hair, "That makes sense."

I nodded in agreement before Lord Balar's words caught up to me. I would have to climb a mountain with only Alina for company where she could question me to her heart's content.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Alina said.

We filed outside, retrieved our horses from the stable, and prepared to head to the base of the mountains.

We exited the town heading toward the base of the mountain Alina and I would be climbing. It took only a short time as the town we had stayed at was awfully close to the base of the largest one.

We rode for some minutes before stopping at a steep and narrowly carved trail that led up the side of the mountain. The already cool mist was crawling along the sides of the mountain, and I was sure I would have felt the chill if I hadn't been a White Mage. Alin certainly was rubbing her arms and mumbling to herself as she tried to shrug an extra thick cloak over her shoulders.

We dismounted, leaving our horses at the mountain's base before turning to Lord Balar, who nodded seriously, looking for once focused and serious.

"Come back safely. Dragons are not to be trifled with, but if you show them respect, you should have no issues."

"Have you met many dragons?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Only one up close," Lord Balar shrugged nonchalantly.

Alina cocked her head, "How did that go?"

Lord Balar chuckled, a fond glint in his eyes, "Oh, he tried to eat me, of course."

Well, that was comforting.