Dragon Prince: Warrior (Re-Write)

Chapter Fifteen: Cursed Caldera

As they followed Ellis and Ava into the forest, Sierra kept herself slightly ahead of the leading duo as she stayed on lookout.
"So, hi there." Sierra could tell that Rayla is trying her best to be friendly towards the young girl and waved at her. "And, who are you, exactly?"
"Me? I'm Ellis." The young girl spoke in her chipper voice. "And this is Ava. She's a wolf." Ellis patted Ava and smiled at Rayla.
"Wolf? You don't say," Rayla said sarcastically. "I thought she might be a bird."
Ava wasn't sure if the elf was serious, so she gave her a huge sloppy kiss on the side of her face. That out to prove she was a wolf.
Rayla cringed, while Sierra chuckled at the sight. A few yards ahead of them, Callum turned around. "Oh, I should have introduced you guys." He had avoided introduction thus far because he wasn't sure if Ellis's unbridled enthusiasm would mix well with Rayla's dry sarcasm, and it seemed he was right. But he'd put it off long enough. "Ellis, this is Rayla. We originally met, because, well..." Callum scratched his head. There was no delicate way to phrase the exceptionally beginnings of their relationship with Rayla. So he spoke quickly, with as much cheerfulness as he could. "She broke into our castle on a mission to kill Ezran." Rayla looked at Ellis with sheepish smile and shrugged.
Sierra let out a weary sigh and remembered the elven assassins, wondering if they survived the assassination. She knew that humans and elves don't get along, but can miracles can happen at times by the circumstances.
"But it doesn't matter." Ezran waved his hand as if to brush off this old news. "We're past all that now."
"People meet in so many interesting ways," Ellis squeaked.
"You can say that again," muttered Sierra. But she glanced at the kid curiously. "I'm Sierra by the way, the boys' sister."
"Great to meet you!" squealed Ellis, while Ava licked Sierra's cheek and Sierra smiled as she ruffled the wolf's neck.
Rayla was skeptical of Ellis, but she seemed appreciated a human who didn't seem to mind elves. "Well, now that we're completed the introductions, how do we find the healer?"
"Truth is, I never found her — she found us," Ellis said. "We were hiding in a big, twisty, hollow tree, up near the rim." Ellis pointed to the peak.
Sierra followed Ellis's finger and her eyes flashed determinedly. "Looks like we have to go there then."
"We need to get to that tree," Callum said. "Even if it takes all night."
"Wait a second." Rayla held up her hands. "That's all we have to go on? A weird tree where this miracle worker showed up two years ago?"
"It's our only chance," Callum said. "Got a better idea?"
"As a matter of fact—" Rayla began. But she had nothing. "No."
Ava pranced by Callum and Rayla, as Ellis spoke. "Now that we've settled that. I'll get us to that tree, the healer will find us there, and she'll save the egg."
"And maybe she can help your hand," Ezran said to Rayla.
"Don't worry about my hand." Rayla started cradling her useless limb. "The egg is all that matters now."
So, one foot in front of another, as the afternoon wore on, they climbed the Cursed Caldera. They jumped over ledges, climbed rickety fallen trees, and walked single file along narrow ridges. The hours passed quickly as they navigated the many obstacles, and by the time they reached a clearing halfway up the mountain, the day was ending. Ellis and Ava rode out onto a jutting edge. The sun was low, and the sky was on fire with a blazing sunset and into a calming twilight.
"It's so beautiful," said Ellis with a sigh. "It's like the sky is painted with honey."
"Wow." Ezran looked up to take in the magenta and amber twilight sky.
"Too bad it also means the nightmares are about to begin," Ellis said.
"What do you mean, 'the nightmares'?" Rayla asked.
"She's talking about the monsters who live here," explained Sierra with a hand on the hilt of her sword. "That's why the villagers never come up here."
"You know," Ellis continued in a cheery voice. "Enormous monsters and indescribable terrors, stuff like that."
"Stuff like that," echoed Callum.
"Yeah!" Ellis assured them. "And the higher we go, the worse it will get."
"All right—well, let's go!" Rayla said, pumping a fist with most enthusiasm.
"No, no wait," said Callum. "We're going to need a plan."
"He's not wrong." Sierra stepped next to him, her expression grim and determined. "It's dangerous going into uncharted territory without having any knowledge about it."
Callum's eyes brightened with an idea and a surprising air of leadership surrounded him. "Everyone!" His friends looked at him. "I got an idea." Everyone stepped in a circle around Callum and listened to his plan.