The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 4

The brightening sky signaled the end of yet another restless night, an even worse one than when she had been in the cells. She only had a few short hours of sleep hidden inside an inlet, and the effects of lacking it were beginning to make themselves apparent. She rubbed her eyes and reached for the pack, taking a small sip of water. Frequent small drinks would be important in the sweltering arid region below, and her map confirmed there were no water sources until she reached the far off forest. It would take a couple of days to make the journey but fortunately she had enough to drink until then, at least if she was careful. She unrolled the map and studied Ava's notes. There were a few marauding tribes in the region but they were too far from her path to be worth worrying about. She threw the equipment on to her back and strapped it on, ready for the next leg of her journey.

Since leaving the city she had occasionally indulged in fantasies of returning to a cheering crowd back in Serpensbane with a cart of dragonstones in tow, dragonstones so powerful they made the Dragonbreath Amulet's magic look meager. Those who had scorned her would kiss her boots, bards would sing of her legendary deeds and they all, even Gareth, would beg her forgiveness. She would grant it of course, showing everyone that she was the better person and that they had been wrong to doubt her. Well, either that or incinerate them on the spot and declare herself High Lady. She hadn't quite decided yet. Of course, she thought with a deep sigh, the reality would be very different. If she ever found any dragonstones, which she doubted, there wouldn't be many of them and they would surely be low quality. She would be lucky to light a torch with them. Her unexpected return would attract little but disappointment and maybe even have her strung up on some other charge to get rid of her once and for all. Maybe she wouldn't mind if Capital Tower destroyed the mountainside city after all, she thought sourly.

Several hours further into her journey Alex felt a little silly for being so scared. The stories of terror at every turn were clearly exaggerated. There hadn't been a sign of so much as a lizard all day. The sun beating on her back was another matter entirely though. The scorching heat was taking its toll and the thick leather wasn't helping. She considered taking it off and wearing the thinner clothing underneath on its own, but knew better to give into the heat no matter how irritating it was. There was plenty of water so heat wasn't a major concern and she didn't want to risk being without protection. Ava's notes warned her of small venomous lizards and other animals, warnings she took far more seriously than the rest of the scaremongering she had heard about the northern expanse whilst living in Serpensbane. Hopefully they wouldn't get through her armour easily. She was begrudgingly grateful and a little optimistic that she had been given ample water to last through the desert region. If the council wanted rid of her permanently it would have been all too easy to send her out with too little and let her dry up when she realised how hot it was down on the ground.

She occasionally looked around for signs of danger, but there was neither animal nor human in sight. It seemed that her path was safe. Boring and monotonous, but safe. She had to remind herself to be wary though, tribal folk and barbarians would travel regularly and erratically so the paths Ava drew out may not stay true for long. They were the last things she wanted to run into.

It wasn't too long before she came across one of small reptiles she'd been warned of. It was a small yellow creature, with green dots running along its sides beneath a red strip on its back. She cautiously reached for her knife, hoping to simply evade the lizard's attention. As she maneuvered around the dune it was walking across, she noticed it turn its head towards her and stare at her briefly.

"Just go, please." She thought, knowing she would be more than capable of defending herself but not wanting the bother or the risk. She didn't need this stress. As if it had heard her, it quickly turned and scurried away. Perhaps it was even scared of her. A small smile crept across her lips at the thought, along with having not had to kill the poor thing. It wasn't the lizard's fault that it was dangerous, after all. She couldn't help but be amused by the irony. The Order of Dragonfire, a majestic organisation dedicated to the slaying of monolithic dragons and harnessing their power, had fallen so far over the centuries that now one of its last remaining members was wandering the desert worrying about a far smaller and less threatening scaled beast. She supposed dragons probably didn't have much control over their dangerous nature either; were they intelligent or just savage monsters? The answer was long lost to history and the last dragons had vanished along with Anselm, besides those that existed purely in the tales of the occasional drunken traveler.

The terrain leveled out as she left the dunes, the sand giving way for vast areas of cracked rocky ground. The unforgiving sun, however, still beat down on her all the same. Alex shifted uncomfortably in her armour, trying to lessen the irritation of the unfamiliar sensation of sweat on her back. As she crossed the new plains it was all too clear she could be seen for miles around, but fortunately the same applied to other people and there was no sign of anything to worry about. To her surprise the loneliness was starting to wear her down. She had never craved the company of others, but the knowledge that she wouldn't see anyone until she returned - and, if she did, that it would almost certainly be an unpleasant experience - was a depressing notion. At least the landscape was starting to get a bit more interesting; she had reached an area of rocky outcrops and small cliffs, a welcome change from the homogenous sandy dunes and the plain desert with a few shrubs dotted about.

Several hours later Alex's path lead her to the base of a large cliff. The shade hit her face like a welcome splash of water, a welcome change from the unrelenting sun. Although she wasn't sure it was safe there was little option other than to travel beneath it. The landscape had funnelled her down a narrow walkway, into some sort of valley. The area to her right wasn't a sheer cliff face like her left, but was still too steep to easily scale. Ahead of her the path opened up again into a seemingly wider area, so it was surely safe enough. She couldn't give in to every bout of anxiety. The Northern Expanse was a dangerous place, but without having seen any dangers she was just imagining the worst at every turn. Of course it was safe. At least, that was what she thought until the sound of tumbling stones caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder to see a few small pebbles bouncing down one of the ridges. She silently stood and surveyed the area. Was there anyone there? Probably not, she hadn't seen any sign of human life. The air was too still for it to be the wind though. It was probably nothing, but she stood still and listened intently to every faint sound. Nothing. All she could hear was her strained breath and rapidly beating heart. She shook her head and regathered her thoughts.

"Snap out of it. How can you lose your mind already?" Alex chastised herself for the paranoia,  There was no hope for her if she were to abandon her grip on reality so early in the quest. She had known it would be maddening, but so far it had been nothing worse than a tough couple of days. Scouting trips had gone further than this, at least occasionally, and merchants traveled these routes all the time. A sorceress of her ability had no business worrying about patterns in shadows.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and kept on. It soon became apparent that she might not have been so delusional after all. She didn't even have time to react to the blur appearing from an opening in the cliff face before she found herself falling to the floor. She instinctively maneuvered herself to stay on her feet, but the burning in her shoulder wasn't helping that. It was soon matched by another in her thigh, and before she could even fight back against her unseen assailant a further two bolts pierced her abdomen. Unable to move any further, she struggled to stay on her feet but soon stumbled and slumped to her knees. The rough ground beneath her torn palms was turning red beneath her, and as the seconds ticked by like hours the pain that tore through her almost seemed to disappear. She barely felt the kick that knocked her to the ground at last.