The Dragon Stone

Chapter 8

                             The party had to leave town quickly due to the word of the "flame dagger" spreading. They reached the Wolfthorn Forrest by midday, they decided to set up camp and start checking the forest for the Oracle the next day. Orist had told them all that the Oracle was said to be in the forest but no one actually knew where the Oracle lived. They had to formulate a plan to find her but they really did not know where to start. They spent the rest of the day foraging and hunting for a feast. They were able to kill four deer's and two hogs along with several bushels of berries. They made a fire and sat around it eating and discussing their plans for the next day.

Pyria said "We should set quadrants to search each day. This forest is huge but should not take more than a month or so to find her that way."

"A month seems like a long time." Replied Elmer.

"Well, I cannot think of any faster way to search this large of a forest with so few people." Pyria said.

"Well then, if no one has any other ideas, we should probably start at first light each day." Kaston said.

"Well said," Kalin stated as she rose to her feet. "With that, sleep well everyone."

They searched the forest for weeks with no signs of any of the Oracle. They had found several cabins with families living there but they had never seen a sign of the Oracle either. Some of them believed in her but others said it was just a myth, and those laughed at the group for their pursuit of a myth.

They were slowly losing faith that they would ever find the Oracle. The one good part of being in this forest was that there was an abundance of food. They ate well each night; deer, rabbits, hogs, and wild herbs.

They were eating around a fire as they had every night for the past few weeks. "Maybe we should give up" Elmer said to the entire group.

They all looked at him in silence. They were shocked by his suggestion.

"And do what? Where would we go from here." Asked Prince Dorian.

"There are a few library's we could visit to possibly find an answer regarding that special stone and Kalin." Elmer replied.

"Well we can talk about it later lets go to sleep." Pyria said to the group. They all returned to their tents to get some sleep. Then they went to sleep with heavy hearts.

Kalin woke in the middle of the night, not sure what awoke her. Outside her tent she heard noises unlike she had ever heard before. She got up and pulled on her tunic and left her tent. The forest was shrouded in a heavy mist. She heard the noise again coming from the north side of the camp. She walked that way, a nagging in the back of her mind.

She walked toward the noise and it became louder as she neared the North side of the forest. She could make out the tree line but little else, the mist was getting thicker by the minute. She slowed as she got closer to the sound then the sound stop suddenly. She looked around for what could have made the strange noise but saw nothing.

Then by the tree line she noticed the mist was even heaver. She watched it as it moved together taking a shape right before her eyes. The shape became more defined and she could tell it was a person. And a person she knew well. Kaston standing their holding a bow with a drawn arrow pointed at the ground.

"Ah Kaston, what are you doing out here?" Kalin said uncertain not sure if this form of Kaston could even talk.

Kaston looked at her and asked, "What do you seek above all else?"

"What do I seek?" she asked him back. "From you?"

"What do you seek above all else", he asked her again.