Days of Dawn

Chapter 9: Redemption

The starlit atmosphere was turbulent and gusty, causing minor trouble for the flight of an ash dragon sailing high southward. On his back rested three mortals: two elves and an orc.

Ezra looked down from atop his shoulder to the ground seemingly leagues below. Cartash was wrapped around a thick spine on Skrou's back for dear life, and Golokk lay at the base of his neck directing him.

"If this isn't a good place for me to lay," she called up to Skrou's head, "I can move closer to your back."

Skrou answered with a fair draconic growl, "Appreciated but unnecessary. My master Salus was far heavier than you and he rode me often when we traveled. I didn't expect you to care about my comfort, Silverblood."

Golokk patted his neck and replied, "I value my comrades, be them orc, elf, or dragon."

"Speaking of your comrades," Ezra turned away from watching the distance below, "You wouldn't happen to know what Malik's planning? The reason we came to your camp in the first place was to get information."

Golokk returned a defiant grin, "I'm one of the few people he let in on that. He wants to become a human using some ancient ritual. Once he turns human, becoming a god would be just a small step."

"Humans aren't real!" Cartash shrieked with his eyes closed, "You're crazy! Malik's crazy! I'm crazy for agreeing to this!"

Ignoring Cartash, Golokk continued, "He only needs something called a mystic fruit to begin his ritual."

Ezra looked up to Skrou and called, "You're a scholar, right? What's a mystic fruit?"

The dragon snorted, "You Adrians really need to learn more of your own mythology. Mystic fruits are obviously the fruits of mystic trees. There were only two of those plants ever known to exist. One was lost to time and the other was isolated on an island paradise called Auraveil somewhere in the Bervise Sea.

"Mystic trees are said to be some of the purest magical sources in existence. They're like geysers for natural magic, but their fruits are deathly poisonous."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and Malik will off himself with one?" Cartash nervously laughed.

Golokk let out a grunt and agreed, "That explains why the destination on his map was miles offshore."

Ezra's eyes widened and she gasped, "I know where they're going! There's a harbor town on the edge of the sea called Magnol. We have to get there before they reach it!"

"Orcs don't stop to rest like elves do, Ezra," explained Golokk, "Not when they're traveling cross country. I wager they packed up and left by noon, meaning they'll be there now."

"So we follow the smoke," Ezra let out an exasperated sigh, "It seems all we've been doing is chasing his trail since we started."

"Not so fun, is it?" Golokk smiled.

With his eyes mostly closed, Cartash timidly encouraged, "I'm sure we'll find a way to kill him, Ezra. He's had it coming for centuries."

"Kill?" Golokk grimly chuckled, "You can't kill him. I chopped him into jerky strips and he still came at me. Apparently not even that Heir of whatever could've taken him down. Malik was just toying with him like a demented cat."

Ezra's face went blank. "So ... Orion would've lost no matter what?"

...

They kept their bearing southeast through the night. When the fire of dawn ignited the horizon, it seemed to spill into the water of the approaching Bervise sea from their high vantage point.