Fireball

The Castle

Fireball flew high and fast with water barely visible through the haze and clouds. Occasionally he caught a glimpse of a small mass of land off to one side or the other. At one point Fireball saw a few creatures break the surface of the ocean, but he was too high up to make out what they were. He imagined that they were his sea dragon friends and that they would find the ocean caves just off the island he was heading to as their new homes.

After an hour Fireball flew into bank of clouds. It was unusual at this altitude, but for the most part the clouds were below him which turned out to be a good thing as they were mostly rain clouds and they suddenly unleashed a torrential rain. Fireball could barely see the stormy ocean below through the cloud cover. He continued his rapid flight above the storm.

Then the sky cleared and land appeared below him. The dragon counted, "1,2,3,4 & 5. That's the five islands." He said out loud.

A moment later a chime went off. Still looking down he saw another island. "That must be the place." He said. Then he laughed. How did Ashneel know he would be right here after a 3-hour flight, he wondered?

Fireball swooped down quickly to the land mass and as soon as he touched down, he pulled off the backpack and opened it up. A steady stream of smoke billowed out of the pack and quickly reverted back to a tired, old wizard.

"Wha ush ah ong." Ashneel spoke.

"Pardon me?" Fireball said extremely puzzled.

Ashneel stared at Fireball. Then as if a light went off in his head, he smiled and waved his wand.

"Sorry, my friend." He said to Fireball. "I forgot to restore my spell so you can understand me. Nice flying. We are indeed at the right place. Now we just need to find the prince."

They walked toward a very large stone structure far off in the distance, with the wizard taking the lead. Fireball flew up and grabbed a coconut from a nearby palm tree, then landed beside Ashneel. He used his claws to break it, handing a piece to the wizard and digging out some fruit from the remaining piece. The dragon then tipped the coconut so he could take a long refreshing drink. The coconut milk was warm, but it quenched his thirst.

They walked through a heavily wooded area until they reached a large clearing. Now Fireball could see all of the stone structure that had been hidden behind the forest. It was a large castle. The grounds bustled with dragons, gargoyles and various other creatures walking around, but there were no wizards to be found.

Ashneel stopped, motioning for Fireball also to stop. As they did, the front doors to the castle swung open.