Darkness was descending on the world when Cody and his friends were led out of the war room, as he thought of it, and entered the main tunnels again. The sun had long set over the tops of the mountains and only a thin ray of light came over their peaks. Lamps and torches were being hung at the entrance to the cave and a rare few children could be seen being rushed down different corridors by their mothers or fathers or older siblings.

                Cody felt a freezing breeze pass by their group from the outside, which was almost immediately followed by the sound of air being swept away and another frigid wind. The whole group turned to the entrance of the tunnel as the sound and feeling repeated. As one they set off in that direction and Cody could soon see the silhouettes of several gryphons making their way into the cave. A green one raced by the group, a rider still on its back as the two made their way swiftly down the tunnels. Gryphons continued to enter in a seemingly endless wave.

                To Cody’s immense surprise, he heard a far louder and greater sound akin to the gryphon’s flapping: the intentional loudness of a dragon as it landed roughly on the cave’s ledge. A moment before Cody or the guards could react, Omen and Aval dashed forward with more speed than Cody had ever seen from them. Aval crashed into Destiny’s side and embraced her, glee shining in his eyes. Ashheart slid swiftly from her back and tackled Omen before the man could reach him, covering his face with licks of affection.

                “You’re back!” Omen howled, clearly overjoyed beyond measure, and Aval’s face mirrored his own.

                Before Cody could be disappointed or worried, there was a fantastically loud and freezing burst of air that nearly bowled everyone over. A last dragon, darker than the coming night, landed smoothly on the ledge outside the cave beside Destiny, his glowing blue eyes alight with excitement and energy.

                “Inferno!” Cody yelled before the dragon’s flawless, unmarked wings were even folded. He dove forward and wrapped his arms as far around Inferno’s neck as they would go, which wasn’t much.

                “I missed you too,” Inferno cooed gently in his mind as he lowered his head and rubbed it against Cody’s back, the cold of his scales penetrating the thick clothes Cody wore.

                “Come on,” said one of the guards behind Cody

                Inferno looked at the guard and then back at his rider as they began walking. “Where are they taking us?”

                “Down to the lower levels of their caves. No one trusts us very much to wander around ourselves, it seems.”

                “So we are staying here? I had thought that we were only coming here so I could receive help. I would say I’m as fit as ever, so I had thought that we would leave,” Inferno pointed out.

                Cody looked around at the guards and gryphons that surrounded them before answering, “Where would we go, I wonder? We don’t know this land and we won’t be welcome back with the other dragons, not that I’d want to go back anyways, and I’m sure you feel the same. In any case, I don’t think they would let us leave now.”

                Inferno looked around at their surroundings, seeming to notice their guards for the first time. “While we were travelling, they put muzzles and numerous chains on us to keep us from escaping. I had assumed that, being released from those bonds, we would be free to leave. And why wouldn’t they trust us? It’s not as though any of us have tried to hurt them.”

                “No, of course we haven’t. It’s a long, complicated story, at least as far as I’ve gotten with it.”

                As all of them, dragons, gryphons, wolf, and riders, walked through the tunnels of the Dreamkeepers, Cody explained everything that had happened to the humans since they arrived to Inferno, Destiny, and Ashheart. The march was long, but Cody’s story kept the group entertained, and certainly caught the others up to what had happened to Cody and his companions. He explained what had happened when they arrived at the tunnels, their encounter with the Graceful the dungeon master and the king and queen, and finally explained his strange dream, and how he thought he was probably what the people called “Dreamwalker”.

                There was silence for a few moments until Destiny asked, “So you believe that you are some sort of hero to these people?”

                “And you didn’t say anything to them?” Inferno added.

                “I don’t think I’m a hero,” Cody corrected at once. “I only think that if there is a ‘Dreamwalker’ person, then I am probably him. I don’t know what that even is except by the riddle they said, but right now all I want to do is find a way out. If I tell them I am the Dreamwalker person, I doubt they will let me leave. Whatever it is they think very highly of it.”

                “If only Mournful were here, I bet I could get some sort of answers or help of some kind out of her,” Ashheart commented.

                Inferno snorted with laughter. “You’ll not lay a paw on her. My old worries are returning, and I think that there is still more to her than we realize. I don’t think she is dangerous to us, certainly not directly, but something about how easily the queen changed her mind about her worries me. She went from convicted murderer to dear friend and precious ally to these people.”

                “Perhaps the problem lies with the queen?” Destiny pointed out.

                “Perhaps, but there’s nothing we can do about it, not right now, at least. She will come to visit us soon I’m sure, and you can judge for yourself.”

~

                The group was eventually passed the last occupied level and descended for a few minutes longer, having to light new torches and relight old ones along the way because the paths were so unused to anyone going down so far. When they had gotten to a deep enough point the group stopped and the guards drove three metal stakes into the ground to mark the barrier between the two realms. Four guards stayed behind, three left with the gryphons, and the rest led the group further down.

                They were led down several of the biggest tunnels and shown the most important areas including sleeping quarters for the humans, separate quarters for the wolf and dragons, rooms to find stored food and some growing plants and herbs, and living areas. When the guards had finished lighting the rest of the torches they left the group to their own devices, leaving a word of caution against going more than five levels down, where the tunnels had remained untouched for decades and some even centuries.

                Everyone had been content for three days as they enjoyed each others’ company and learned to be glad that nothing worse had happened to any of them. Inferno was fully healed, the others were perfectly unscathed, and they were all allowed to be almost completely on their own in the tunnels. But after three days of sleeping, eating, and wandering without any real purpose, boredom and worry were tugging at them all. Soon their company could not keep away the growing fear of what would happen next. Would they yet be put to death, or would they be forced to stay in the tunnels for decades, centuries, or even millennia with no companionship apart from their group?

It certainly seemed unlikely that they would just be let go into the open wilderness, and as time went by Cody had another growing concern. What of Mournful? Since his strange dream he had scarcely seen or spoken to her, and he had no contact with her while he was in the lower explored levels of the mountain. He assumed that even if the group was allowed to leave, she would likely stay behind with her kin now that she was welcomed back. He had expected to see either her or the queen relatively quickly, but neither came and the guards were not forthcoming with information.

Finally, on the third day of living in the lower tunnels, there was a loud noise that echoed through the tunnels. Out of curiosity, the group climbed upward and traced the noise to the guards at the entrance to their “prison”, who slammed their swords against the metal rods, apparently in an attempt to alert the group of something. And sure enough the queen, Blissful, stood there with the king, Willful, looking at the small group for a long while.

Little was said regarding the meeting, but a small band of guards led them all back down the tunnels and into a large room, but it was still smallish in dragon terms. There was a table in the center with room for ten to sit, and as Cody and his companions did so, the guards went back out the large open door and stood guard.

Blissful and Willful settled themselves quickly into their seats and the others looked at them for a while, waiting for them to speak. It seemed as though the queen was collecting her thoughts, and the king was determined to stay out of their conversation as much as possible. So as they waited for the queen to start speaking, no one wanting to start conversation first, Cody studied Blissful. He could not tell much by her features, but it seemed as though she had some big news to tell. Finally it looked as though she was ready to speak.

The queen dipped her head to them before she began to speak, “It’s good to see that you are all doing well down here, though I don’t doubt that you are ready to leave just as soon as possible. The past three days, I have discussed much with the elders and people of our race about what should be done with you. There are many options, a large number of which have yet to be uncovered still, but we have narrowed it down to some options for you.”

“Well what are they?” Omen said, surprisingly impolitely.

Luckily Blissful didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t care, as she answered, “Well first, of course, is that you stay here for a while longer while we continue to think of more options that might be better. The second is that you be released from here and driven as far away as we can drive you, but that option would definitely not sit well with many of our race. Do you all know and remember the issue of Dreamwalker?”

When everyone nodded, Cody added, “We do, but we still don’t necessarily know what a Dreamwalker is or what it means for us if one of us is one.”

“You take this lightly, even for someone that does not know much of the foretelling,” the queen said sadly. “Has Mournful why she was banished?” Cody nodded, but when the others shook their heads Blissful gave a brief explanation of how a dragon and rider had killed their father and king. “Dragons and Dreamkeepers have been the closest of allies long before we can recall any of the other facts of our races, but when the dragons allied with humans we grew apart. But what we want most of all, now, is to reunite with the dragons, and it says in the foretelling that a man, one of you three, has come to help us, if only slightly. Whichever one of you it is, I know you can tell who it is, and I promise that this whole process will be made quicker if you tell me which one of you it is. Will you help us reunite our races?”

Before Cody could speak, Destiny jumped in, saying, “And what of the others? Dreamwalker would clearly be considered a great hero among your people, but what of the other two and their companion-in-spirit? Also, if it is any consolation, Inferno and I would gladly befriend your race if we were allowed to see the wonders of your people.”

“Thank you, Destiny,” Blissful said. “If Dreamwalker reveals himself and is willing to help us, we will begin training immediately for he all of his companions, or they may be free to go as they wish. They will all be granted full rights as honored guests or even citizens, if they choose to stay.”

“What sort of training?” Inferno stepped in with sudden confusion and interest. “We had a mentor to teach us the ways of Dragon Warriors. I admit we are not very powerful, not even slightly, so as far as I could see, training was not getting us far.”

The queen answered quickly after a sigh, “Indeed it didn’t. Mournful tells me that you still can’t breathe fire or use magic. I meant that we would teach you of our race and train you as one of our warriors. But, it is also apparent that your mentors, Argos and Heyrone, arrived at Mrana Akano Furista when the Dragon Warriors had all long gone. Even with a vast expanse of books, those two couldn’t have possibly learned any of the deeper secrets, for they were all forbidden to be written down so that no person could learn the secrets unless they were a dragon rider. But the same knowledge has been passed through our race when the dragons became bonded with riders. There is already a small group of people willing to take up your Dragon Warrior training as an actual rider would have, with a vast store of useful magic. So, will one of you come out and tell me that you are Dreamwalker?”

Inferno’s cheek twitched in irritation as his earlier thoughts of revenge were brought to the surface, albeit much more controlled and reasonable. Cody looked carefully at him and said, “I understand your desire for revenge, but make sure you stay reasonable and fair about the matter. I will admit to being the Dreamwalker and if all goes well we can train with these Dreamkeepers and we can return to Micah and Argos’s realm.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep my head. You do what you think is best and I’ll follow, but be cautious…”

“Alright, I am this ‘Dreamwalker’ person, but I still don’t know what you expect from me.”

Blissful seemed delighted that he had announced it, but she remained calm and answered, “Nothing, at least nothing that you’re not willing to do. The foretelling says that you will help us and so you will. While the guards send word to your tutors, I would like to know how far you and your companions are willing to go for us.”

“What do you mean?” Cody asked.

The king, for once, answered instead, “Your companions are now welcome guests in our halls and are free to come and go as they please, but as long as you are training to be one of us, we will treat you as one of your own and the same goes for your friends if they choose to train to be a Dreamkeepers. That means that you will follow our ranking system and follow the rules given to each rank.”

“I have nothing against it as long as we’re here, but be sure to figure out whether we truly are citizens and not just prisoners by a different name,” Destiny told Cody alone, and Inferno soon sent a similar thought.

“So you will stay?” Cody asked in surprise.

Destiny snorted. “Of course we will, as long as you do. The four of us have agreed to accompany you in your banishment from the other realm, and as long as we are able we shall accompany you.”

“Thank you,” Cody said to her. Then he looked up at Willful and asked, “How does your ranking system work, and will we be allowed to quit training if we so choose?”

Blissful answered again, “You may quit whenever you like, but from this point on you will be treated as one of us, which means that if you choose to quit your training you will be treated as if you were the lowest ranking or you may leave, never to return again.”

“Daunting prospects,” Inferno began, “But I would much rather be a part of society, any society, than live alone in this dangerous realm. Besides, I think that these people may be just what we need to actually learn. I feel as though Argos and Heyrone wasted our time, even if we did learn a few things here and there.”

“I agree with you completely,” Cody said. One again switching over to speaking he announced, “We will stay and train. All of us.”

Blissful and Willful both smiled when they heard him speak. Then Willful said, “In that case I apologize for how I treated you on our journey; I had thought of you as enemies. Your mentors will tell you all about our ranking system after you meet them, along with several other important parts of our culture.”

Blissful nodded. “I must apologize as well for the same reason, but my words will not serve well enough. Come, let us meet your mentors, and prepare you for your training.”