RITCH

   "Loryn, thank you. Really." Alie said after having finally woken up. She was curled up on her side using Geacob's thigh as a pillow, still too tired to move, but awake nonetheless and with our food spoiled most of what was in our bags ruined to us, we had to get going now more than ever but the heat that surrounded us still was stealing too much of our energy so we were delaying as best we could.
   "Aye, Loryn." Venny said and made a grin at Hark. "It'll make a fine spot in the story."
   Loryn grimaced. "It isn't very much of royal behaviour."
   "A'course it is!" Hark said cheerily. "You're juss like Mon'ka, Queen of the pirates."
   I snorted. "There's no queen of the pirates."
   "Oh, but there is, aye. She had t'die ta be named it, mind, but she was." He took a drink then leaned forward and instantly, we all knew it was story time again. His voice changed; went deeper and huskier as if telling a secret, one we leaned in to hear.
   "Started off as a slave she did. Mon'ka from across the seas. Was trav'lin' on a trade ship, chained b'low deck with a hundred others that were to be sold. It was on this ship that her life both ended and began and so this is where we'll start her tale.
   "The chains dug into her wrists and ankles until they bled and scarred and bled again, but she felt no pain she didna. Since she was a babe, no pain did she feel. They said the gods gifted her, but she would say it'was a curse, for men broke her bones for bets and cut her nipples f'r jests. Not an inch of her wouldna scared or deformed 'cept her face. None dared touch her face, they said, cuz her face was so beautiful, it had to have been sculpted by one of the Gods themselves.
   "The traders ship she was hidd'n on was crossin' the Bitter Sea when the pirates spotted her. A great chase they lead, one that makes a story itself, but I be leavin' that for another day. F'r now, all yous need ta know is the traders was caught and each one of um was tossed inta the sea as a gift ta then gods.
   "Cap'n Harpon was the name of the pirate. Cap'n Harpy, they called him, cause he lured in the greatest of treasures. His booty was rich and full and for this reason, he needed none of the slaves and so one-by-one they was brought up and tossed inta the sea despite their worth on the market.
   "Mon'ka was the last, she was. The crew grimaced and gagged at her deformed body covered in scars as she walked along the deck. Her head was down and her stringy hair hid her face like a tangled mass of oiled weeds.
   "But the cap'n, oi, no, he was fascinated by the pain this one endured, an' he was quick ta intercede her steps.
   "'What be the name, lass?' He asked of her.
   "At that, she looked up and he was struck by the perfection of her face. Fierce and angry she was, but no fear, nay; for who would fear death when they feels not the pain of dyin'?
   "'I be Mon'ka' she said. Her voice was clear and so perfect that it had men fallin' ta their knees, it did. 'And if ye tosses me off board, I be sure ta tell the Gods it was ye who did so and they'd favor ya for it, for I have suffered long enough.' She told him, and aye, she meant every word.
   "But the cap'n, harpy that he was, saw each scar as a badge of bravery and her face as one gods wished ta be seen, an' he thought his prayers be answered. So he lured her in with sweet words and promised treasure until she agreed ta stay aboard an---"
   Hark abruptly began coughing violently, hacking up blood and doubling over until he vomited up a river of it. Alie leaped to her feet and Venny knelt by his side, but Hark pushed him away and crawled to the water, splashing his face until he stopped coughing, then drank from it while the rest of us were frozen in anxious worry.
   This is it. I thought with terror. This is it. He's dead now.
   But I was wrong. It was a long time before he gained the strength to stand on his own. When he turned to us, his face was drawn in pain but his eyes were determined. "Best finish the story later." He said. "I'll be damned if I dies b'fore seein' a dragon."
   "Perhaps..." Venny had to swallow before he could speak. "Maybe ye should rest---"
   "I'll rest when I'm dead, Venny my friend, though likely not b'fore it." He waved us up. "Let's get to it then."
   So we did.

VENNY

   This passage weaved about but never seemed to grow cooler. There were no more traps, but there were cracks that looked man made along the hall in several places that went deep down into the darkness. Small mirrors reflected cracks from somewhere up above leaving the tunnel dim but light enough to see by which was all and well because my eyes never strayed from my dying friend. He was dying quickly and we all knew it, I knew he knew it as well because Hark never left a story unfinished. Especially not that one, the one that told the story his true mother. I kept my eye on him as if he were about to drop at any second.
   Which, I knew, he very well might.
   Twice he'd stopped to throw up blood again, the last time, Alie had forced him to chew on some of the leaves she always brewed together into a tea to help with his pain. She watched him carefully as he chewed then told him to spit it out. Too much would kill him faster as it was technically a poison. It left a rash on his lips and swelled his tongue a bit, but he walked easier after that.
   Still, my eyes never strayed until Geacob held up his hand for us all to stop. The fact that he didn't speak the word kept us all silent as well.
   He pointed ahead and there it was, an open doorway with a chamber inside.
   We'd reached the sleeping chambers.
   We walked extra carefully up to it and peaked inside.
   This room still had bits of light, but it all seemed mostly settling on the very center of the room, leaving the edges shadowed and difficult to pick out at first. All I got was a vague impression of what was more than likely boulders.
   But there was a sound in the room. It was breathing, and it was not human. It was a low, rhythmic sound with a faint rattle that reminded me of snorting or perhaps, more closely, the breathing of someone sick with a cold.
   Geac looked at Hark. "East?" He breathed.
   Hark pointed to our right and he peaked out again, dipping his head inside the room to look. Then, very carefully, he stepped into the chamber. Alie went after him. Loryn backed up a bit but Ritch grabbed her by the shoulders until she looked at him then, silently, he motioned with his hand. She took a deep breath, grimaced, and went out with reluctant, shaky steps. Ritch followed close behind.
   I motioned Hark forward --- no way was I keeping him behind me in case he went weak again; he was staying ahead where I could see him at all times. As if reading my mind, he rolled his eyes and stepped out. I went last.
   The sounds of the chamber seemed to come from either no direction or all of them. On one breath, I was sure I knew the dragon was in one spot, in the next, I was sure it was to my right --- in impossibility seeing as my right hand skimmed the wall to help keep me steady.
   There was a sort of ladder that came out of the wall upward toward the ledge Uncle Jack spoke of. One-by-one we climbed it, noticing the rubble and the occasional missing step with wariness.
   Then we were on a very narrow ledge against a curved wall in the deepest shadow. I felt the loose stones under my feet and heard the gentle crunches that seemed much, much too loud when the sound is repeated by six people shuffling their feet. Even our breathing sounded loud.
   Then someone kicked a pebble loose and the sound scattered and clinked as we all turned into six solid statues, frozen in fear.
   The sound of the dragon sleeping skittered. Then it resumed its normal rhythm.
   The relief was almost touchable. Hark and I shared a look and he grinned slightly in the darkness, then move forward again as the whole line moved.
   It was only because I was looking forward that I saw it happen. I saw Loryn's foot slip out from under her as one of the stones slipped in its place. I saw Ritch reach out and grab her arm as she let out a small squeal of surprise.
   The rocks tumbled to the ground, causing a mini landslide from the ledge, all the way down to the floor so they smashed and banged and clattered loudly, each noise echoing repeatedly around us multiple times before fading.
   Before the echo fully faded though, one of the shadows moved. Slowly at first, then faster as it seemed to grow and stretch its massive wings.
   Then it opened its mouth, raised its head to the sky it could not see, and roared a roar of territorial anger, drowning out all other noise and making every sound I've ever heard dim in comparison.
   It turned its head toward us, and when its great eyes focused on us, yellow-green with a pupil too narrow to be compared to any other creature I'd ever seen or heard of, I knew we were dead. Every one of us. There was no way we could even run on this narrow ledge as we could barely shuffle sideways. Even if we could, we still weren't fast enough.
   I felt a calm come over me here in the face of death. I wasn't being brave, I don't think, but instead, it was simply an understanding. An acceptance. I would not join the Watergods, but perhaps I would join the place my parents went and my brothers, for they too had been killed by a dragon. I did not want to die, but it was now happening and that was that.
   I looked away from the dragon as it lifted its clawed hand to swipe us all from the wall to our deaths. I looked toward Hark to say a final farewell to my closest friend and saw that he was looking at me as well.
   But... he was... grinning?
   While I looked in confusion at this face that should not be grinning at a time like this, he spoke.
   "A much better death, I thinks." He said quietly. "An a good end to me story. Ye tell my da I died a hero, ya hear?" And with that, before the words could even register, he let out a shout, still grinning as he did, and leaped from the wall toward the dragon.
   "No!" I shouted among the other calls of "Hark!"
   He landed roughly on the neck, then falling and hitting the arm of the dragon who scratched at him in annoyance as he slid down, rolling onto the floor. She went to step on him but he rolled and leaped to his feet. "Run, ye jellies!" He shouted to us. Then, "Come and get me ye red-scaled, oversized bird!" He kicked her massive, clawed foot and then leaped out of the way again as it went to swipe him.
   An arm grabbed mine, wrenching my eyes from Hark to Alie. The ledge was empty behind her. Why was she there?
   "Do not allow him die in vain." She said calmly.
   "But---"
   "Do not dare spit on his sacrifice." She was just as calm and just as quiet, but those words I heard clearly.
   I could hear the dragon screeching and huffing at Harks taunts, more lively than he'd been in weeks as he danced with the dragon that would be his death.
   Not letting go of Alie's hand, we shuffled along the ledge until we slipped into a crack where the others were waiting. I quickly spun around and Alie wrapped her arm around me and I did the same in return. Together, we watched Hark dodge claws and slip under her tail and throw rocks at her as she flustered in animal-rage, furious at this little creature that was small enough to escape her grasp. Finally, before Hark could dodge between the cracks of two stones, she swiped at him and he flew back against a stone wall and fell to the floor, not moving. The dragon let out a triumphant shout and went to him.
   "Do not look." Alie said to me. "Close your eyes, Venny."
   I did as I was told, but I heard the crackle of bone between the dragons powerful jaws. I knew that it was a sound I would never forget.

GEACOB

   The heat never went away until we could see the shimmering light of stars through the open side of the third chamber. It was as massive as the first and covered in hills of scattered bones both old and new, burnt black or pale white, human and animal. The floor slanted down on an unnerving angle toward the open sky.
   There was no sign of the male dragon.
   We'd lost our wools back in the first chamber, except Alie who had hers in her bag, and it was still sopping wet. We went back into the passage, only far enough to avoid the wind, but still able to see the chamber, and sat on the warm floor.
   We were out of water, out of food, and out of joy after loosing Hark. I sat next to Ritch who sat next to Loryn. Alie was across from me but her hands were entwined with Venny's who leaned on her. I missed Hark already, but knew it was much harder on the two of them who had known him longer. Hardest of all on Venny who'd known him longest.
   "He died a hero." I said quietly, knowing we were all thinking of him. "A better death than the one that waited for him."
   Venny nodded. "It's exactly the death he wanted. One that would make a good story, make his father proud." He was quiet a moment. "I don't know what to say for him. He will not be joinng the sea gods, but I know no other words or what god to say it to. Should it be said to the dragon gods?"
   "There are no words to the dragons. The dead is simply left for them to show thanks and beg for protection of those still living." I remembered.
   Loryn spoke quietly. "We can pray to all of them." She said with a shrug that was also a grimace. "Even Florn has words of goodbye, though we follow no God. Maybe they'll all hear them, even the Watergods, though we're so far away."
   "That sounds wonderful." Alie whispered, giving a sad smile to Venny. "I could begin, if you'd like."
   He cleared his throat. "Alright."
   She let go of his hands to grasp her necklace. Her face instantly calmed, giving her strength. "Mother hear me." She began. "Another has passed from his human body into your arms. I beg you to first embrace this spirit and rid him of all pain and hurts this life has given him before you pass him gently into the seed of an innocent. This way, he may serve you well in strengthening those who still stand on legs of two. Mother hear me." She ended.
   Venny gave a small smile of thanks to her as Ritch spoke.
   "One called Hark has joined you, Father. Like the five rays of the sun, I give you him five new names so that you may spread his names evenly across the lands and soak them into the skin of those that follow you. I give him the name of Storyteller. I give him the name of Hero. I give him the name of Brave. I give him the name of Selfless. I give him the name of Friend. Finally, I ask you to take the love he had for his father and friends and gift it to your sister Luna so that it not be wasted now that he can no longer share it himself."
   I was a man. I was a Ranger. I would not cry.
   "Thank you, Ritch." Venny said, wiping at his face. "Those names suit him perfectly. Loryn?"
   "In Florn, we don't speak to any gods, we speak to the dead in case they can hear us." She said and swallowed, looking nervous. "Hark, uh, you have gifted us all memories only you could have given. For you, I gift your memory a promise as will each of us." She said and her eyes went down. "I vow to you I will learn to become kinder, as you were." She looked to Ritch next to her and prompted him with a nod.
   "I vow to become more selfless." He said.
   It took me a moment to find a promise that I knew I would keep. "I vow to become more than just my cloak." I could do that. I could become more than a Ranger. More than a thief. I'd never loose the cloak I wore, but I could become more than it.
   Alie smiled at me then went serious. "I vow," she began slowly, then nodded to herself firmly and spoke, "I vow to become more honest to those I care about."
   "And I vow," said Venny, "that I will become the man you say you've seen in me. The one that frightens me, the one I don't want to be, but that gave you hope." He cleared his throat and wiped sweat from his face. "And to the sea gods... Hark may be far from the sea but... may he join you. May you turn his hair to seaweed, his bones to sand, his blood to water, his tears to salt, and may you turn his flesh to foam so that it touches the distant shores." He reached over and took Ritch's knife then cut his finger with it, letting the blood drip onto the stone. Alie used her own blade to cut hers and I pulled my own sword out of its sheath enough to do the same. Ritch used his axe and tilted it to Loryn who grimaced at it, then sighed and cut her finger too.
   "Geac?" Venny said. "I know Dargolyn says nothing, but perhaps the Rangers do?"
   "It's just a single line we say, that's all." I said, but when Venny only looked at me, I said it. "At last, for you, life's suffering ends."
   Loryn snorted. "Charming."
   "But perfect, I think." Alie said, her voice wistful. "At last, for Hark, his suffering ends." She took Venny's hand again and gave him a smile. "It was a good end. One he chose and one much better than the one which awaited him. We will all miss him, we will always miss him, but at least we have a hundred stories he told to remember, including the one he created himself by saving our lives."
   There was a noise then, and we all frowned as it was unfamiliar, then we realized it wes the noise of giant wings.
   Even as we looked toward the chamber, a claw the length of my forearm, hooked around the frame of the passage and ripped away the stone wall I leaned against as if it were naught but parchment. As the stone fell around us, I heard the sound of a ferocious, unfamiliar snarl.