My 8 E-books written over the years by Alina Udrea - HTML preview

Chapter 4: Towards Shale Mountain

Our friends Mongo, Ulo, Harry, Adi and Alyss were discussing the

information about the fire dragon, the Fire Necklace and joking about who would be taming the ancient beast, becoming its master. They started preparing for the long journey ahead, taking their best armors and sharpening their weapons. They took food and water supplies and of course the best horses from the king's stables. Then when everything was ready, they started their journey towards the unknown, towards Shale Mountain and towards the mysterious cave which contained the ancient artefact, the Fire Necklace.

When night came, they decided to hurry and take shelter in a small

cave they saw on the map given to them by Mean before leaving. They found it easily with the help of the map which Alyss held. She had been entrusted with keeping the map and reading it. They all hurried inside

58

as it was already dark.

-I bet the dragon will choose me as his master, said Ulo. I can disarm any traps that might be protecting the fire necklace and so the dragon will be my pet!

-If I understood things right, said Alyss who always paid attention to details, it is not just about disarming the traps. The necklace feels if the person meant to be the dragon's master touched it or someone else so you may be able to disarm the traps to get to the necklace, but if you are not the right person, then the moment you touch the necklace it will summon fire imps not to worship you but to kill you!-Imps hah! Said Harry. We are the best in the kingdom, we can deal with the vile creatures. We will all try in turns and meanwhile we will just have to kill all the imps until finally the right person takes the necklace. So just keep your armors shiny and your weapons sharpened my friends! We have a long road ahead of us until we reach Shale Mountain. And I bet on all the hairs of my beard that it won’t be a joy ride!

Adi took out his new sword from the scabbard and examined it. He

was so glad he could accompany the others on such an important mission. He would fight valiantly with his sword which he cherished dearly as it had been given to him by the king, by Scar himself as a token of his appreciation for having been a part of the group who had brought back his bride. He was so proud of himself. He had become a warrior, he who had been a cook and had only dreamt of becoming a warrior. Now with this adventure he was sure he would have plenty of opportunities to put the blade of his sword to work. He started imagining how he would strike down imp after imp when Mongo brought him back to reality.

-Adi, maybe you could cook for us? I think I am not wrong when I say we are all starving!

Mongo's words brought Adi back to the present in second. He wasn’t embarrassed, he knew he could cook for his friends and still be the warrior he dreamt after they all had their bellies filled. So he put his

59

sword aside for the moment and started doing what he knew best: cook.

- We will start early tomorrow morning, said Harry. So let's eat and have some sleep. As this cave is a small one and we've searched every corner for possible perils and have found none I guess we can all rest without having to stand guard.

- Especially as the cave is so well hidden behind these berry bushes and surely nobody knows about its existence. If we didn’t have Mean's old and dusty map we would have passed right next to it without having noticed it, added Alyss calmly.- Yep, said Ulo with his mouth full, chewing a roasted rabbit leg. Are you going to eat that Alyss? And he pointed to a piece of bread which Alyss had left as she was full.

- No, you can have it Ulo. And she gave him the bread which he took bowing his head. Alright, good night and sleep tight! Saying that Alyss was first to lie down on an improvised bed made of dead leaves. Soon everybody else followed her and they were all fast asleep.

When the first warm rays of the morning sun touched the

entrance to the cave the camp fire had already died out long ago and they were all shivering with cold. The blankets they had, had kept them warm enough as long as the fire had been burning but when it died out the blankets weren’t enough to keep them warm anymore. So everybody was glad that the sun was finally up, warming the inside of the small cave that had served them as shelter during the night.

After having breakfast, they gathered their things and prepared for the road again.

- It looks like we will have to go through the Murky Forest, said Alyss. I heard that it is almost always foggy and filled with swamps and quick sands. The swamps are said to be crawling with swamp sharks, some slimy creatures that look like some overgrown snakes with razor teeth and sharp scales. They are as deadly as my

60

arrows! And there are also swarms of blood flies as big as pigeons which attack only at dusk when the sun is about to set. They have long tails with venom in the tip of them with which they sting their victims, paralyzing them. And as if these weren’t enough the Murky Forest is also full of quick sands as I have just told you. I heard a story of an old man who drowned in one of these quick sands together with his horse and cart. We will have to be very careful until we reach the end of the Murky Forest because it is a place which reeks of death from every corner. Saying that, Alyss put her magic quiver on her back and her bow in its place and stretched her aching bones as she hadn’t slept well.