Armies of the Dragon (Book 2 after Warriors of the Dragon)

Journey Back to Earth Kingdom

Ugh, longest title ever... I need a cuter name for this chapter...

"Do you think they're okay?" Isolde asked for the millionth time as they gathered in a rocky spot in the foothills of the Tartan Mountain that were on the edge of orc territory. Markus was exhausted since they had come across a hoard of goblins on their way out of Arcadia and he and Turrock had fought one of the flying Nimbi dragons that accompanied them so that Isolde and Luna and Nuka could get away. It had been days since the attack, but with Turrock's size, they had been in a hurry to get out of Lightning Clan territory to not be noticed. Isolde was almost relieved that the dark elves had pushed all their dragons to a faster pace because they were all in better shape because of it. Isolde could see the lines of muscle that had become more prominent on Sabine's back and chest. Even her neck seemed thicker and more muscular. Floki had grown too and carrying two riders had made him stronger still. The griffin had started to fly. Luna had named him Higei and he had been helpful when they were attacked because he was fast and small. They struggled to shoot him and his beak was sharp when Luna had figured out how to tell him to attack. Isolde was glad she had gotten the griffin. She seemed to have come to terms with losing Yuuki and though her brother hadn't seemed to mature much, Luna seemed practically an adult to Isolde. She had almost forgot the girl was only thirteen or fourteen.

"They're better off than us." Markus grumbled. "We have a long journey to get back to Eard and the Nimbi are all over these parts."

"Maybe we should've gone near the coast? We could get to the Eastern mountains quicker than going through the plains." Luna said.

"Our dragons aren't good with mountains. If we had to camp, they'd freeze overnight. Plus, the coasts are crawling with Nimbi and a lot of their biggest cities are on the coast." Markus argued.

"I agree. At least this way, we're close to orc territory if we needed asylum quickly." Isolde said.

"How long will the journey be from here?" Luna asked.

"Probably three weeks to Eard and then it's only like five or six days to the Eastern Mountains. Where are you from?" Markus sighed.

"We're from Aerya. The Capital of the Easter Alpines." Nuka said, picking at the hem of his tattered tunic. He only had one layer of sparse leather armor that tied around his waist and was held in place by a piece of fabric that wrapped tightly around his torso under his sword belt.

"They're going to be mad when we come home without our armor. I look like a mess!" Luna said, looking down to see her bare chest was showing in a V from where her tunic closed and she hadn't been painting her face because she and her brother had lost their paint along with the tents. She had the majority of her armor minus her helmet and face coverings, but had taken it off in the heat of the summer. She was thankful her bow had been packed in Floki's pack for the journey over the sea and hadn't been lost with the tents that got left on the ship.

"Look at me." Isolde laughed, holding her arms out to the side that only wore the shreds of her red summer dress. Her winter dress had been completely destroyed and ripped and she was just glad she hadn't lost the crown jewel from around her neck in the shipwreck. Her red dress had faded from the Journey through the Hessian desert and was more of an awful peach than the once brilliant ruby red. Her slips were all stained and the hems were all shredded. Her boots had held up well and she had even lost her winter coat at sea. Her pale skin had gotten sun-burnt on her face, but it had turned a dark tan. She had ripped part of the bottom of her dress off so it only went down to her knees which were outfitted with some Nimbi pants that she had modified to fit her better. She had even ended up ripping the decorations from the sleeves of her dress when they had gotten caught repeatedly in Sabine's reins. She had removed Sabine's reins and bridle and felt comfortable flying without them. Sabine didn't tend to stray from where Isolde expected her to go and Isolde was beginning to feel like she could sense where Sabine was even when she couldn't see or hear her. She guessed it was the same that Craven had described with Crow being able to find him no matter what.