The Wyvern's Gift

Chapter One

They kept the bag over Wren's head as he was brought into the main hall. The opening was half closed around his neck so he couldn't see more than his chest when he tried to look down. His breath came in short pants of anticipation. These could be some of his final moments and he couldn't even see his surroundings.

Why would he want to see them? This room of marble and oak was not the forest he'd always called home. It was a cold place that not even a dragon's fire could warm. His arm brushed against something warm that pulled away quickly. He assumed it was another criminal. Did they often sentence people in groups? City people were so strange.

The bag was ripped off his head and he grunted in protest. "Hey, do you think burlap is meant to be rubbed against skin like that?" Wren snapped. He rubbed his chin where it had been scraped by the rough fabric. His hands were still bound and the rope ended up scratching his face as well.

From his left came a series of similar protests, and now he could see that there was in fact a line up of what appeared to be fellow criminals. Immediately to his right were two men who looked as haggard as he felt. The closest man winked at him and laughed when Wren shuffled a step away from him. The second man stared ahead blanky, his hands fully encased in iron cuffs that went halfway up his forearms.

On that man's left was a woman, her hands free at her sides. She looked anxious as she looked around the room. That was when Wren noticed the armed guards lining every wall. Her shoulders hunched in as she fidgeted her hands. Wren dismissed her almost immediately. She was probably a scapegoat for someone else.

The doors behind them opened and the guards noticeably straightened, puffing their chests out. King Thal swept in with two women close behind. They took the seats on either side of his padded seat. His warm brown eyes swept over them, sending a visible shiver down the woman's back.

"This is them? You must be joking," the King drawled.

"These are the prisoners you requested my lord," a guard answered.

"Which of them is the ranger?"King Thal asked.

Someone shoved a finger into Wren's back and propelled him forward. "Now being a ranger is suddenly a good thing?" Wren scoffed and tugged his hands apart as much as the rope allowed him to. "A day ago you were threatening to have my head for hunting in the forest. The forest which should be free for everyone, by the way."

"You were in the king's forest," the guard grumbled, punctuating each word with a poke of his finger.

"He does not own the forest," Wren argued. He raised his hands to poke the man. A soft hiss of a sword being half drawn stopped him. "Besides, it was only a partridge."

"Did you get to eat it?" The man directly to Wren's left asked.

"Did I eat.... Are you seriously asking that?" Wren sputtered.

"That's enough," King Thal bellowed. "You have all committed despicable crimes against this kingdom that should keep you in chains, but I have decided to be generous and extend to you an opportunity for your freedom."

Everyone's attention shifted and they leaned forward attentively.

"My son and only heir, has been cursed by an evil sorceress. I have been told by one of our highest mages that a cure exists. I have tasked you six with acquiring it for him"

"Six?" Wren glanced down the line again and finally spotted the young girl standing in the woman's shadow. She was only waist high, but her hair was whiter than snow. It stood out like a beacon against her dark skin. "You're joking. A child?"

"I am forty-seven young man, show some respect," she instructed him.

King Thal rubbed his temples and gestured to the girl. "Our court mage, Evanora," he introduced the girl. "She will be accompanying you along with one of my best guards. The antidote is a two day journey from here in the forest. It should be a simple task for you to lead them there, ranger."