Chapter 33

Cody’s dreams were insignificant throughout the night, and basically nothing about them was worth mentioning when he awoke the next morning. All that was left from his deep sleeping were a few blurry images that all ran together like one, though he hardly considered it noteworthy. He remained in the same position for around a half-hour longer, before he slowly opened his eyes.

He nearly yelped with surprise when he opened his eyes, but it quickly turned into silent laughter in his own head. All around him were the slumbering forms of his companions, all happily pursuing their own dreams in their deepest thoughts without a care in the world. Cody hadn’t actually expected them to join him in the shelter of Inferno’s wings, but somehow he must have had their trust and respect, something he never really sought or expected to gain from them.

“I wonder why they trust us so easily,” Inferno growled sleepily.

Cody started, and quickly asked, “Have you been awake this whole time? Do you think they have someone watching us or something to make sure we don’t harm them, and their just bringing us to some sort of trap?”

Inferno chuckled before answering, “I have been sort of half-awake for an hour or so, and when you woke up I began simply resting and enjoying the peace and quiet. As for your other question, I hardly think it likely. I don’t know why they are accepting us so easily, but for whatever reason it is genuine, I’m sure of it. We can undoubtedly trust that their plan is their best, and that they have no intention of…’betraying’ us.”

Cody nodded in agreement, knowing that the dragon was probably right no matter how he had come to the conclusion, before he said, “I’m sure you’re right,” Since Inferno wouldn’t be able to see the movement of his head.

The rider slowly pulled himself upright and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He opened his mouth wide in a yawn, and when it was closed again he felt a little bit more wide awake. He observed what little he had for surroundings for the time being.

Nearly everything was dark, and he probably would have guessed that it was still the dead of night if he hadn’t been in the shelter of Inferno’s wings before. It was actually considerably lighter than usual. The thick membrane of the wing seemed like an unusual leather shelter that could almost be seen through, but what shapes could be seen were very vague and blurry. The entire wing seemed to be covered in a lazy orange light that was almost unnoticeable in the dark skin, but the light was there.

“What time would you say it is?” Cody asked as he crossed his legs and leaned leisurely against the dragon’s hide.

Inferno wearily replied, “I would say it’s near the time that the rest wake up. Pippi was asleep last, but I still would have expected her to awaken sooner.”

“Life as a prisoner for bandits might be rough, or at least I would assume, being bandits and all. I’m not at all surprised, since this is probably the first time she’s had a half-decent sleep in weeks. I slept pretty long as well, remember.”

“But you’re not an elf. I just would have thought that even with her imprisonment she might wake up sooner. I’m sure she will be awake soon with the others, at any rate,” Inferno said.

“And if they don’t wake up soon?” Cody asked curiously.

“Then you wake them up! The sooner we get going with our plans, the better,” Inferno said with a half-hearted growl.

Cody chuckled slightly to himself before saying, “Well it’s not very roomy in here, I’m surprised I didn’t end up sandwiched between you and Lars!”

It was Inferno’s time to laugh and he responded by saying, “You are welcome to come out and join…my head.”

Cody smiled and looked down at Larson, who appeared to still be very deep into sleep. It was sort of funny seeing the two warriors, Pippi and Lars, so defenseless in their own little realms of thought. It was also nice seeing Mora so peaceful, as if Mordon was still perfectly fine and right next to them. Cody hoped that she was having happy dreams, and that she would feel better when she woke up.

Without need of much more convincing, Cody slowly crept over Lars and Pippi as they continued to dream without care. He took his time to make sure that they wouldn’t wake up to his boot ramming into their stomachs or the noise of dirt being kicked about. And, soon enough, he had managed to get to one side of Inferno’s massive wing. He lifted it up just enough for him to slide out, and shielded his eyes from the sharp change in light as he left.

It took a few long and terrible moments before he felt that he could open his eyes again, but when he did he was happily greeted by the sight of Inferno’s thick, scaly head and two stormy blue eyes. The dragon had a single little tooth sticking out of his mouth for some reason, and it might have even scared Cody if he hadn’t known the dragon personally. His teeth looked many times sharper than average knives, and they probably were, but to Cody, Inferno seemed no more harmful than a little puppy dog.

“Puppy dog, huh?” Inferno said in a mockingly annoyed tone of voice. “Say, would you mind loosening the straps of the saddle again? Last time you fixed the straps was a few nights ago, if you recall.”

Cody silently nodded and did as he was asked, though Inferno had to raise his neck and body a tiny bit so he could reach. It proved to be a difficult job when they were trying to avoid waking the others, but they eventually succeeded. The rider quietly remembered the last time he had fixed the straps, sometime during their camping before the bandits ambushed them. But then, his mind was focused on the bandits, and that got him thinking about Larson.

“How do you know Lars is trustworthy? I mean, he tried to kill me when the bandits attacked, and we have no way of knowing if his story is true or not.” Cody asked as he settled against the dragon’s neck.

Inferno thought deeply for a reply before answering, “I can’t honestly tell for certain. I felt that there was some sort of similarity between you and him, and it was as though a sort of familiarity passed between us. Sort of like the bond we have together, you and I, but much weaker. I sort of felt the same thing with Autumn, Aval, Omen-”

“Then do you think we’re related? I mean, if they seemed familiar to you like only my friends seem, maybe he’s my long lost cousin or something,” Cody suggested, thinking over the possibility.

“I highly doubt it,” Inferno replied, shattering his dreams. “If you had let me finish, you would have let me remind you that I felt the same way with Mora-”

“Well then maybe I’m related to her too!” Cody countered.

Inferno quickly growled, “Would you let me finish! I was about to say that I felt the same way with Mora, but not Mordon. In fact, Mordon and I despised each other.”

“But then you were so…transfixed on one another when we left him in the clearing, maybe you had a delayed…bonding.”

Inferno snorted, “That was completely different, even you know it. I can honestly tell you that I have no clue what’s going on, but every human that I’ve met has had the same sort of connection with me, except him.”

“Maybe he’s some sort of different race, and he’s supposed to spy on our movements?”

There was a long pause.

“Of course not!” Inferno growled, showing how actually annoyed he was getting. “Plus, I guess there was something peculiar about Fril when we met her when she took Autumn for us, and Pippi seemed a little unusual as well. I had felt something, but it was so significantly smaller than the other feelings I’ve been getting that I just shrugged it off. Something strange is going on here….”

Before they could discuss it further, a yawn interrupted their thoughts. Oddly enough, the yawn seemed to cause a sort of chain reaction throughout the wing fort and two other yawns followed soon after. After the yawning was over, Pippi dragged herself out of the cover of the wing and stretched in the open air, soon followed by Larson, then Mora.

“Glad you decided to wake up!” Cody announced happily as they all settled around him. “Today’s the big day. Too bad your breakfast will have to be a result of the big day, and not a cause.”

“I suppose by that you mean we ate everything that was left of your food supply, which is quite correct. But, Morgran isn’t far off and we should be able to get food and drink the moment we enter, if Mora is as respected as she claims,” Pippi said.

“Then we had better get going,” Larson said.

Inferno opened his monstrous muzzle in his very own yawn before pulling his now empty wing to his side. Everyone hesitated, wondering if they should be riding so early in the morning, but each one seemed to reason that there was no reason to stay, and every reason to go. Without further reluctance, everyone climbed into the saddle except the rider, who clambered onto Inferno’s bare neck in front of the saddle.

“Off we go!” Cody called cheerfully behind him, which made Inferno begin walking until he was onto the trail.

From there he picked up his pace gradually, like he had done the day before. Cody easily kept a firm hold on Inferno’s neck as he ran and leaned forward until his chest was pressed against the smooth scales. His right arm wrapped around the pristine white spike in front of him as he partially dangled over the side, making the ride more thrilling than it already was. But, soon enough, Inferno slowed to a halt.

“We’re almost there,” Inferno announced eagerly.

The other passengers, that couldn’t hear the dragon, didn’t need an explanation for why they stopped. Just through the trees they could faintly see the castle’s outline and the flag rising above the forest entirely. The trees were so thickly packed together that even their bare branches seemed to be too thickly laced into the sky that the guards would be incapable of seeing Inferno and Cody, as long as they remained still in the shadows of the woods.

Without hesitation, Mora pried herself from the saddle and slid down Inferno’s leg to the ground. Luckily the dragon wasn’t too much taller than the average person, so the fall wasn’t very far with or without his leg for support. Nevertheless, the two others followed the exact same route, realizing that it was a good precaution.

The three on the ground took a moment to make sure they were ready before Mora said, “Remember, wait at least an hour before coming after us. Also, I think it would be best if you began flying from further away, so that you don’t just suddenly jump out at the guards. Just fly in s low, leisurely pace and you are less likely to be named an enemy.”

“That’s a marvelous idea,” Inferno said encouragingly, even though she couldn’t hear it.

“We will,” Cody assured her. “If all goes well I will try to meet you at this spot in a few days or so, or perhaps we may meet a little further along the road, where we camped last.”

Everyone nodded in agreement before Lars said, “I guess we’ll see you in a few days then.”

Cody silently agreed with a brief nod of his head. Not long after, everyone left the area. Inferno began to slowly stroll through the woods in the opposite direction of Morgran while Cody skillfully swung himself around one of the spikes until he was in the saddle again. It would probably be more normal for him to be in the saddle, whether the patch of leather was difficult to see or not.

They continued to walk for a little while until Inferno stopped in a small gap in the trees. The tall statues of wood rose up above them, but the ones nearest to them were somewhat shorter than many of the other trees in the vast forest. It wasn’t the ideal place to takeoff from because of its somewhat limited size, but it was the best they had for the time being.

“I guess we have another half-hour or so before we need to take off. We might have had a bit more time, but it would probably be best to do as Mora said and fly slowly and cautiously into the town,” Inferno said, flopping onto the ground below and almost making Cody fall out of the saddle, if it weren’t for the leg straps.

“Then perhaps we should take the time to rest,” Cody said. “Not sleeping, just in case, but resting.”

Inferno just snorted comfortably in agreement. His tail very slowly swished along the barren ground in contentment, but kept colliding with the nearby trees every so often.

“Inferno, why does there seem to be nothing but forest in Semiones?” Cody asked, out of both boredom and curiosity.

Inferno lifted his head, which had been resting on the ground, so he could think of what to say, but then he answered, “I know even less of the world than you do, but I do know that the world is a big place and we really haven’t travelled far compared to most people, I mean if you really think about it. I think that the most common land in the world is forest, but I’m sure that there are plenty of deserts, prairies, mountains, jungles, or whatever else you can think of. We’re probably just so deep into the forest territory that we haven’t come across anything else yet. But I’m sure it’s out there.”

“What do you think the other environments would be like?” Cody asked as his mind drifted off in wonder.

Inferno grinned and replied happily, “I do know that dragons favor very cold and harsh habitats, but I also heard that we sometimes enjoy hot, dry climates because the most skilled dragons can control their body temperature on command. But still, even though I haven’t really seen much of a mountain before in my life, it seems like the most appealing place. I guess that’s why Argos, Heyrick, and the elves live in the Hidden Mountain Pass.”

“But why do they call it a mountain pass? From what I know, a mountain pass is no more significant than a road, except that it’s through mountains. Why can’t it be the mountain range, or mountain realm?” Cody asked.

“I don’t know Cody. I’m sure we’ll find out eventually, but I’m just as clueless as you are.”

Cody quickly found another thing to ask, “Argos delivered your egg to me, right?”

Inferno nodded.

“And he and Heyrick didn’t seem to know for sure that I was meant to be your rider until it happened, right?”

The dragon nodded again.

“Then how come Argos delivered a single egg to me, your egg, which just happened to contain the single being in existence, out of the billions of other choices, that was meant to be the other half of my soul, as it were?” Cody asked, suddenly very curious.

At this question Inferno stayed silent for a very long time, obviously just as confused as he was. When Cody had found Inferno’s egg, it was buried in the dirt almost directly in front of him, and it was the only one he had seen. But it was pretty obvious that there were other eggs in Heyrick and Argos’s possession. So why had Argos brought Inferno’s egg, out of all the others?

“That is a mystery,” Inferno suddenly said, but continued to think about it. “Maybe there were others around that you just didn’t notice, but you were drawn to mine alone?”

“No, I’m sure that you were the only one.”

“Well Argos and Heyrick couldn’t have known that we were meant for each other from the beginning, or they would have sought for us to be together far sooner, since time seems like such an issue to them,” Inferno said. “I guess that’s another thing we’ll just have to learn.”

Cody sighed, but agreed nevertheless. There was so much information to take in and instantly understand, but still there were a few questions that he actually wanted answered, but remained lost. And the answers would only be revealed when he found Mrana Akano Furista, which was still far beyond his reach at the moment.

“I’d say it’s about time we left for Morgran,” Inferno said.

Cody growled in irritation that Inferno had pulled him out of his thoughts. But then, he remembered where they were and what they were supposed to do. Most of all, he remembered the potential risks and dangers, and the possible rewards.

“Let’s go!” Cody shouted eagerly through their mind link.

Inferno smiled and instantly obliged by spreading his wings, as far as they could in the cramped little space anyway. Then, with a fantastic leap, he burst into the air and stretched out his wings to their fullest extension. Then he slowly turned around, and began to carefully make his way towards the town.

“You may not be able to see it now, but I can see Morgran from here, and it should be about a half-hour flight, just a bit longer than Mora asked and there was no maximum on how long we were to stay away,” Inferno informed him.

“Alright, perfect,” Cody said.

They rode on in silence for what felt like a long time to Cody. Going so slow was so strange and uncomfortable; it felt as though he were just slowly riding a horse along the road below. It was quickly beginning to annoy him. He still loved the view and the sensation of flying, but it just wasn’t right. Then again, he was also terribly worried about what could happen, which could have contributed to his discomfort.

A while later he began to see the town slowly forming in front of them. The tall flag was very bright and contrasted greatly with the dark coloring around them. There were colorful autumn leaves all around the forest floor, but that hardly proved useful at all since the ground was completely hidden by the thick trees. Once again, Cody found himself wondering about what it would be like to go in the desert or some other environment, since he had only seen terrible drawings of them in books, which was hardly useful at all.

“What should I do?” Inferno suddenly asked, pulling Cody out of his thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Cody inquired.

Inferno quickly answered, “Mora said that we should be nice but strong to the townspeople, so I was wondering exactly how I should act. I figured I should figure it out now, before they see us coming.”

“I never really thought about it before,” Cody replied honestly. “I always assumed that your behavior wouldn’t matter, but that would need clarification, wouldn’t it?”

“Exactly! Should I be menacing, ferocious, calm, distant, or what?” Inferno said as he thought deeply.

Cody quickly came up with a pretty obvious answer, “I suppose you should just behave like you do around our friends and companions. If you are offended, growl and act hostile. If you are complimented, act generously and politely. Mirror my emotions. Or, if there is nothing that you really need to show, just be the honorable being you are.”

“How should I enter?” Inferno asked another question, seeming more inquisitive and unsure than he ever was.

“You will enter majestically, and try to land in a very wide open area and do your best to look like you wouldn’t dare to harm them unless need be, but make it obvious that you can easily harm them if there is need.”

Inferno nodded and sort of altered his flight. His movements became even more fluid and graceful than before, if it was possible, and the steady flap of his wings began to collect a certain air of majesty themselves. But before they could make it much further, bells and horns sounded from all over the city and its walls. Both dragon and rider hoped that they were just being cautious of dangerous-looking visitors, and not preparing for battle. Just in case, Cody drew his sword.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Inferno warned.

“And why not?”

Inferno snorted as if he thought the answer was obvious before replying, “If they are just being cautious, they won’t take kindly to you behaving so mistrustfully. If there’s anything would should have learned about these people, it’s that trust is important, and it is probably one of the most important things that will make up their minds about whether we are friend or foe. They can’t see us clearly enough yet, so you still have time to sheathe it before it’s too late.”

Not needing any further persuasion, Cody returned his black sword to its sheath by his side and grasped the reigns in front of him with both hands. When Cody and Inferno continued to slowly fly towards the town for about ten minutes, people began to flood up the stairs and before long the top of the city’s walls were just filled with men heavily clad in armor. Many of them aimed arrows and lances straight at them, but Cody forced himself to remain calm.

The warriors were like waves of silver with various grey-steeled weapons and types of armor, some unlike anything Cody had ever seen. Luckily, Inferno seemed perfectly calm which helped his rider relax slightly as well. It was still very difficult for Cody to see all of the armed warriors before them, more than a reasonable force. There was no doubt in his mind that he and Inferno could easily be chased off or even killed by such an army. It also made him wonder why Mordon hadn’t asked all of them to join him in destroying the bandits.

“Mordon may have been captain of the guard, but he probably didn’t have the authority to take an entire army into unknown dangers. Plus, the whole point of facing the bandits was to get Pippi, and Mora said that Morgran townspeople didn’t like her,” Inferno suggested.

“Forget it,” Cody said, realizing that Inferno was so deeply into his thoughts at the moment. “We have bigger things to think about right now.”

Inferno didn’t respond, but it was clear that he understood. But Cody found himself wandering into thoughts again, and by the time he was pulled out of it, Inferno was carefully diving towards the town. In about 30 seconds they would be over the walls.

The men almost directly below them began to shout in anger, probably because the two were entering the very city without permission, but it couldn’t be helped. The road outside was too narrow for Inferno to land comfortably in, and then they wouldn’t have much room to escape if they needed to. But soon it didn’t even matter, because they were over the walls and soaring over a few shops and homes.

Cody looked ahead and caught sight of what Inferno had pinpointed as their landing spot; a very wide-open field probably used for farming. The city would need some sort of sustenance and it probably wasn’t safe to farm outside the walls, so they must have placed it deep into the city. It still wasn’t too far into the city compared to how much further the town stretched, but it was still a pretty lengthy trip to it. They were also luckily empty, thanks to the harvest being over in the fall.

Inferno’s head majestically turned from side to side as he also surveyed their surroundings and looked for anything that might prove noteworthy. He was clearly doing his best to appear as emotionless as possible, and seemed to be doing a very good job at it. Cody also looked around them to see everything he could.

The farmland was closely surrounded by barns and older-looking homes, and outside of those were somewhat newer buildings. There were some horses grazing in a sort of field not far off, but they seemed a little worried about Inferno’s appearance. But Cody was so focused on how spacious the city actually was. It was so monstrous now that he was in such an open space, enabling him to see so much of it.

So distant was he, in fact, that he didn’t instantly notice anything unusual. But before long he heard the approaching clatter of metal plate armor and chain mail, and he turned to face the nearest group of soldiers. They came from all sides, however, pouring onto the fields from every barn and house around. When all of them were about 30 feet away, every single one aimed their bows at Cody and Inferno. At this point, escape would be impossible.