Chapter Fourteen: The Swamp of Peril

Meanwhile, Rynn was beginning to make her way into the evil smelling swamp.

Songs of the crickets and bellows of frogs were heard when Rynn entered the swamps. The water she stepped in was fine and clean as it came from the outside. Coming to the end of the small river a little waterfall fell into the swampy lake where the water turned from clear crystal to a scummy emerald. The odour of the swamps started to reek in as Rynn waved her hand in front of her nose. There was a small path beside Rynn where she took to and rinsed her feet, though it seemed pointless to. Near the pass was a wooden sign and some wooden stakes. Rynn came up to the stakes that were dimly lit with a torch that could barely laminate itself in the darkness of the Shadowmire. Upon closer inspection the steaks had human heads stuck on them and a sign reading “Warning. Leave now!” which was painted with human blood it seemed. This site gave Rynn a slight chill up her spine, but she pressed on.

So far there had been no signs of anyone besides the friendly frogs and insects. From behind a somewhat loud voice shouted, “Sermina! Sermina where are you! Oh no, Trogs! Ahh!” Rynn jumped in shock making her heart race, but a life needed to be saved. Rynn placed her hand on the handle of her Short Steel Sword ready for combat. Peering towards the direction where the sound came from, three Trogs surrounded a civilian dressed in brown on the floor begging for his life. Rynn decided to be stealthy and ambush the Trogs, but then the Trogs made their move. One of the Trogs picked up the worried man and placed him over his shoulder. “W-w-w-where are you taking me!? Put me down!” the poor man begged. “Silence human,” a Trog replied in a deep reptilian rumbling voice. “You trespass our swamps, now we’ll have you as food and your head to add to our collection. Hearing this Rynn knew she had to act fast. Walking forward Rynn placed her foot on a rock which happened to be covered by slippery moss causing in to trip and fall into the murky foul stagnant water.

“What was that!?” the leader of the group of Trogs asked sharply. Rynn took herself out the water for a gasp of air. “Another human. You two kill it!” the Trog commanded with haste. The two Trogs took out their clubs ready to fight and Rynn did the same with her sword. While they exchanged their battle faces the other Trog started to run with the weeping man. “Oh no…” The Trogs charged with their rusty clubs. Rynn blocked the Trog to her left thrusting her sword to the other as the Trog intersected the attack. As Rynn was focused on the right Trog the other spun ready for a back swing. Rynn eyed the other and cut off the head of the Trog immediately in front of her. The Trog lost his balance and Rynn took a stab at the other one through the chest. Regaining himself at the sight of his dead companion, the cowardly Trog ran off with the last remaining Trog of his group. Rynn took her sword out of the dead Trogs and ran after the fleeing reptilian creature.

The fleeing Trog gave out a warning cry and continued to run. Rynn recklessly disregarded the cry thinking if was begging in its own tongue. Within awhile of the cry a magical bolt came flying through the air nearly missing Rynn and crashing into the rocky wall. Rynn stopped in her tracks trying to find where the bolt came from. Turning from place to place Rynn couldn’t find the source, it was too dark to see anywhere that far with the dim torches. Just then another bolt came hurling at Rynn with a direct hit. Rynn was blown back a into the water.

“Ow!” Arokh said in shock and tossed the servant scrubbing his back off. The boy went flying and landed on the water. Gasping for air at the sudden shock he got up and saw that the dragon seemed a bit hurt. “Everything alright sir?” the boy asked trying to sound as polite as possible. Arokh focused the pain off and said, “Never mind you. Get back to scrubbing my wings boy.” “Yes sir,” the boy replied with a bit of intimidation. Not far off Myschala was watching Arokh off her castle window.

“Pardon me m’ Lady but wouldn’t you say the dragon is taking advantage of our services?” A man’s voice asked.

Myschala turned her golden gaze around and spotted Zola Dane, her royal seer in his fine blue armour. “A simple bath is all it is,” Lady Myschala assured Zola. “He seems to be turning my servants into jesters by the looks of things. “Not to worry Zola, once Rynn returns they will help us unlock the Gates.”

Zola Dane turned himself around giving one last word, “I hope it can be done as soon as possible m’ Lady. I’ll resume my duties as of now.” And with those words Zola left.

Rynn raced up the river seeing two Trogs in front of her and prepared this time. One Trog cast his bolt magic and the other fired an arrow. Rynn leapt to the side of the bolt and fending off the arrow with her shield. Perfect timing she thought. Rynn sliced the archer Trog and span around to knock the wizard Trog with her shield then slashed him with her sword. “Help me! Someone help!” the crying man called. Rynn looked to where the cry came from; in a little alcove lit by a single fire in the centre. She ran through the doors seeing several Trogs surrounding a black pot ready to cook.

“Get her!” a Trog yelled. Each of the Trogs drew out their long deadly nails and posed for a fight. All four of them leapt into the air going for a strike. Rynn rolled past them all and swiftly turned her sword behind her hoping for a hit and luckily striking a Trog in the back, which gave her satisfaction of her quick reactions. One Trog jumped to Rynn’s face, as Rynn rolled to the side and unveiled her sword to the Trog’s side. The third Trog standing in front of Rynn was ready to strike. Stranding on her toes she pushed over the pot knocking it off balance hitting the small Trog on the side of his head and kicked his skinny body to the wall pinning him. Before the last Trog could call for help she kicked the black pot at the scared Trog hitting it and breaking its brittle and fragile ribs. “There now that wasn’t too tough,” she told herself as she sheathed her sword back and turned to the paralysed man.

“Are you alright?” Rynn asked with concern.

The frightened man pulled his arms away from his shocked face to see Rynn in front of him and the Trogs dead. The man sighed breathing deep and then turned to his rescuer. “My daughter. Have you seen my daughter?”

“Now hold on a minute,” Rynn spoke with patience. “Its dangerous out here. What happened to your daughter?”

The man picked him self up dusting what dirt was on him and as he did said, “The Trogs, they kidnapped her and I’ve been looking for her. Oh dear I pray she’s alive.”

Rynn saw the hint of please help me in his voice and reassured the man, “I’ll go look for your daughter. Why don’t you wait at the entrance of the swamps where it’s safe.”

The worried man agreed and went to the entrance as ordered. Rynn turned around and saw the mess lying around. She took a moment to look at one of the Trogs. Their eyes big and red; helping them to see through the dark mist, and their skin a fine green to match with the dirty emerald water. Rynn knew she would need to be more cautious about this situation as the Trogs could hide anywhere.

Coming out of the small alcove, Rynn continued down the scummy water for the Cipher Rune. As the warrior came up there were trees that had wooden platforms about them. Rynn thought it would be wiser to be among the trees where the Trogs could not hide so easily. Jumping as high as she could Rynn caught the edge of the platform and pulled herself up on top. More platforms were about for climbing, Rynn didn’t seem to mind at all. Jumping from platform to platform Rynn got herself to the top. There was a small wooden bridge that was at Rynn’s opposite side. Rynn squinted a bit and noticed a small box at the other side. Slowly walking to on the bridge there was something that caught the warrior’s eyes.

Whilst Rynn casually walked around the unpopulated platforms, she spotted a few Trogs hiding in the water below as if they were waiting for her to come down. This gave Rynn an idea. Reaching the other side Rynn picked up the box, which felt a little light. She brought it over to the side where the Trogs waited for her as if she didn’t know they were there. The box flung open, and there was a Heath Elixir inside. As Rynn placed the Elixir away in her bag, she carefully took out her bow and arrows. Rynn placed her foot on the box and shoved it off the platform hitting one of the Trogs’ head. Swiftly an arrow was fired killing off another Trog, two more remained and ducked themselves fully under the water, and this gave Rynn some difficulty. Jumping down to the lower platforms Rynn had hoped to get a better view but nothing came. Just then a slight ripple came from the water where Rynn took quick aim and shot. The Trog burst out of the water holding its head and collapsed back into the water dead. The last Trog came from behind and attempted to jump at Rynn. Rynn turned and quickly grabbed the handle of her sword and spun hoping for a hit, which came true.

Just then an arrow flew by Rynn’s head nearly missing. Turning around Rynn saw there were turrets with wooden masks on them. Sheathing her sword again Rynn jumped off the platforms and ran to a tree for cover. With her back to the turrets a few more arrows passed by. One thing Rynn noticed that the turrets were slow to their movement, which gave her some edge. They slowly retracted into the water whilst they reloaded and rose up again for another shot. Rynn took off from her cover and started to move around quickly as possible. The arrows of the masked turrets ran through the forest nailing trees all around. With good aim Rynn fired on one of the turrets with a few shots causing it to explode. She continued to do this to the other remaining turrets carefully and slowly choosing the best moment for attack.

As Rynn continued to run she ran right into a Trog catching it by surprise. The Trog turned around attempting to slash Rynn catching Rynn’s leather armour. Rynn dodged the attacks of the Trog throwing her bow down and thrusting up with her sword. She got of a hold of the Trog placing her sword to the throat and slitting it. Rynn took the dead body in her arms using it as a shield running towards the turrets. Passing by Rynn swung at the turrets hard with her sword disabling them one by one. Stopping in her tracks she looked behind her and saw that the turrets were all done, throwing the body back to the ground and continuing on her way with the man’s daughter in her thoughts.

Shrill female human screams crying in desperation sounded ahead indicating that the man's daughter was not far. Rynn hurried in the direction the sound was coming from not thinking of the possibility she may be ambushed; it sounded like the voice needed help... fast.
Rynn came rushing through muddy water as fast as she could. There, in front of her, were several Trogs getting ready to roast a young girl at the stake. So much was their determination to silence and kill her; they did not notice Rynn coming up behind them giving her the element of surprise.

The first three Trogs were easily dealt with but the fourth was harder. Rynn noticed he had brown skin rather than green and was larger than the others. No matter, Rynn dived at the creature taking a hit herself from its deadly claws; it was difficult to move quickly in the thick mud that lay under the surface of the water. Grimacing in pain she attacked again as the Trog fired another bolt of lightning at the woman. This was the opportunity for Rynn to finish the creature off whilst it was defenceless and it fell over into the muddy water with a satisfying splash, its arms failing about briefly as it drew its last breath.

Rynn strolled over to the woman and untied her.
"Oh, thankyou! I thought I was going to be killed for sure" the woman thanked then looking around for more Trogs that may have crept up.
"Never mind that, what were you doing here on your own?" Rynn asked, surprised that the woman was stupid enough to do such a thing.
"I was, looking for adventure,” the woman said confidently.
It became apparent to Rynn that she seemed a bit dim witted. "Okay, well, your father is waiting by the entrance. Ill take you back if you like" Rynn suggested.
The woman refused however. "No, I can make it back on my own."
"No you can't" Rynn pointed out in exasperation.
"I can manage. I'm a good fighter,” the woman said again.
"Very well then if I can't persuade you, take this" Rynn said handing her a rusty sword she found in the swamp.
"Oh thankyou!" The woman exclaimed again and ran away.

Rynn shook her head in amusement and climbed the nearby ladder, the only way to go onwards. She killed the two Trogs waiting at the top and entered the nearby cave taking some more gold from some chests - gold that the Trogs had taken from their unfortunate victims.
As Rynn was about to leave, she noticed a ladder going down through the cave floor. Inquisitive, Rynn started to descend but the rotten rungs gave way and she toppled into the lower part of the cave below. Surprised by her quicker than normal decent to the bottom, she picked herself up and continued on through the partially flooded cave. Suddenly a pattering noise sounded nearby.

"Spiders!" Rynn said out aloud, breaking into a cold sweat; she could not stand the things, she remembered her encounter in the mines just after she had met Arokh a few days ago.

Rynn saw no other way around it, she had to break through the enlarged spiders. The only difficult part was trying to rid the spiders since they were small and somewhat hard to fit. Rynn quickly dispatched a few spiders hoping it was just a few. Rynn continued to the musty cave and something caught the corner of her eye. Turning around she saw a larger spider, seemingly two or three times as big as the others. Rynn dreaded the thought but decided to make it quick. Carefully creeping from behind Rynn took her sword and made the spider two halves before it knew what hit it. Wiping the sweat off her forehead Rynn heard what seemed to be some crackling noise. She turned cautiously and saw spiders crawling down from their webs seeing Rynn as good food.

Rynn quickly made some distance between her and the spiders. While Rynn was backing up from the spiders she jolted up as she bumped into a barrel behind her. The spiders disconnected themselves from their web and made their way towards Rynn. Rynn placed the barrel down and pushed it running over the chasing spiders, which squashed them against the dust covered rocky floor. Patting the dust off her hands from the old barrels, Rynn moved forward up a small natural ramp and into another ‘room’ of the cave.

As Rynn continued she gazed around looking about her. There were large cocoons of spider-sown silk. Rynn shivered at the thought of what large spiders would be in there. In her path there was a small spider staring at Rynn. It brought a temporary smile to Rynn knowing this one would be easy. She came up to the small spider ready to strike, when surprise took her and one of the larger spiders jumped to her. As fast as she could Rynn blocked the attack with her shield, which slipped into the spiders mouth. The large spider gnawed on the shield as an appetiser and looking at Rynn for the main course. Rynn flung her sword at the spider dispatching it and did the same to the small one. After killing the two Rynn saw a small wooden elevator leading her out making her happy, just one problem stood in front of her, more spiders.

Rynn didn’t bother to waste time and ran as fast as she could killing whatever spiders may tried to attack and activated the elevator to her safety. The cave started to glow again with the help of a few torches around shedding their cosy orange light against the rocks casting flickering shadows. There Rynn saw an exit to the cave and something else; the largest tree she had ever seen in the centre of an open clearing where lush green grass grew. Straightaway she knew it was special as a small, now broken wooden fence surrounded it and there was a strong magical presence in the air. It was the Tree of Mourning.

“That’s it. That must be the tree of Mourning Arokh told me about.”  She said out aloud bringing relief thinking that her journey through the swamps was finally done. Rynn ran through the fine green grass for a closer look at the aged tree. There was a small hole at the bottom of the tree and Rynn took herself for a look. There she looked down and saw jewels about and with them the Cipher Rune. “Seems a bit too far down for me to jump. I better find another way around.”

Walking away from the tree Rynn saw another tunnel entrance to take as the clearing was surrounded by hills and tall rock faces, which she could not climb. Upon entering the tunnel, it started to darken, Rynn only hoped for no more spiders. Her wish came as the tunnel lead back to the swamps with a few Trogs to greet her. Making no hassle of the battle Rynn cut down the Trogs and went on top of a fallen tree acting as a bridge. There a Trog taunted her for a fight and Rynn gave the Trog its up coming death. Following down a narrow path Rynn saw yet another platform for her climbing. Rynn placed her sword away ready to jump when a dash of magic barely missed. Rynn fell to her back side to avoid any attacks. Cowardly Trogs cast magic at the bottom of the swamps, and Rynn was in quite a predicament with nowhere to hide. She saw no other way but to range herself for the fight, and any pain she took from the bolts she knew Arokh would have to endure. Taking out her bow and arrow she aimed for the wizard like Trog and fired. The green mist ruined her aim making Rynn having to use a few more arrows than needed. Along while the Trog continued to cast magic in Rynn’s direction. Rynn dodged the magic as best as possible absorbing whatever blows came. Finally the magic bolts stopped as the final arrow hit its target ending the Trog’s life.

With the end of that fight Rynn jumped on the platform hoping for no more surprises.

Rynn jumped from the platform and entered a nearby cave. She was angry with Arokh, as there was plenty of room around the tree of mourning for him to land. The tree itself was in a clearing away from the swamp area and Rynn felt that she had to endure the unpleasantness of the swamps longer than needed; why Arokh didn't drop her off there she didn't know. The dragon could be awkward sometimes.

The cave was partially flooded with water and small droplets dripped from the ceiling, the sound echoing through the cave as they splashed into the water. Rynn could see two stone archways at one end leading to some steep stone steps leading downwards, out of place in the muggy swamplands. Seeing that there was no other way, she descended the stairs emerging in a giant ancient abandoned meeting hall, decorated with finely carved stones and statues. The room was empty bar one Trog, which Rynn quickly despatched with her bow and arrows before it could come close.

Looking around, a doorway at the other side led into two other small rooms which were not of much interest to the warrior; they only contained a few wooden benches and barrels containing small amounts of gold. Another doorway lay between the two staircases leading to the cave above from which a faint human voice could be heard; it sounded like singing!
Rynn hurried over and walked down another short set of stairs bringing her out into a makeshift prison. In one of the cells, a man sat on a barrel singing like a drunk.
"Are you alright?" Rynn asked.
The man stood up and looked at the young woman with surprise. "How did you manage to get in here?" He asked coming closer to the steel bars.

"I am looking for something,” Rynn said coldly as she pulled the lever to let the man out. He looked to be in a reasonably healthy condition; only imprisoned a short time ago.
"I am Nichols, the bold. I came here to search for an ancient weapon. Something special but alas, I never found it." The man introduced himself.
Rynn suddenly became much more interested. Her weapons were becoming worn and the weapon Nichols spoke of sounded very interesting.
"What weapon?" she asked.
"It’s called the Earthblade. Here, take this. It’s a book needed to obtain the blade. If you manage to come across it, speak the phrase from the book whilst stood on the magic runes and the blade will be revealed. I have given up looking for it now, I'm going home" Nichols explained.

Puzzled, Rynn continued to ask for more information. "What are these runes?"
Nichols combed his hair back and continued. "I don't know. They are embedded in the floor somewhere; keep your eyes open. The Earthblade once belonged to a warrior of the Order. Indeed, this place you are standing in was once one of the Order's strongholds. Humans occupied it since the fall of the Order up until around 50 years ago which was when the Trogs moved in."
Rynn stepped back; accepting the book Nichols gave her. "Well, thanks, Ill keep my eyes open. I have to be going now, you should be able to get back safely, I don't think I left anything alive back there" Rynn laughed.
"Okay. See you around" Nichols continued and let Rynn go on her way.

Rynn wandered through the remains of the hideout and came across a large library in a room off the meeting hall. She reached up and lit a couple of wall torches that were extinguished and examined one of the rows of bookcases in the room. The books were all in reasonable condition and Rynn picked one up and began to read from it but unfortunately, it was written in a language so old she could not understand a single word. Flicking through the pages noting the pictures of dragons, she could see it was something to do with the Order.
She looked up and saw a magnificent painting of Navaros being slain by Heron and Arokh hanging over the fireplace, Arokh looked different as shown in the painting - the artist clearly had not seen a dragon. Rynn assumed the picture was painted long after the Order's demise.

Leaving the library, Rynn felt a little sad; all this history and lore was rotting away in a ghastly swamp, like a period in time that was forgotten. She made a mental note of mentioning it to Lady Myschala so some of it could be rescued - after all it would be much easier now.
The warrior continued on through a few empty rooms eventually coming to a massive kitchen and dining halls. The huge stoves were still intact and even pots and pans hung from hooks in the walls. Knives, forks and plates were found in little alcoves carved into the rock. There was even a sink full of dirty crockery ready to be washed but now fungus and moss were growing on the plates rather than food remains. In the dining area, the massive tables surrounded by chairs were exactly as they were left like the place was abandoned in the middle of a feast. Rynn could almost picture the knights clad in armour around the table, getting ready for battle.

Rynn however, had no time to gawp around - she knew where the cipher rune was but needed to find a way to reach the cave under the Tree of Mourning. She looted the kitchens and dining area and walked through a large hole in the wall coming back into the swamps, the crickets and frogs bringing back the familiar surroundings.

Ripples of the water escaped from Rynn's legs as she got herself in the water once again. She looked around making sure no more Trogs were in sight. Continuing her way, she came across a wooden sign in the middle of her path that read "Keep Out". But this sign was different from the sign at the entrance. The markings seemed to have been carved instead written in blood. Rynn thought there might be another being other than the Trogs that dwelled in these forsaken swaps.

Passing the sign the warrior came up to an interesting wooden house with torch light piercing through the windows. Rynn took a path coming out of the waters and leading it to the wooden shelter. Rynn knocked on the door hoping for an answer, "Hello? Is anyone there?" No reply. Rynn decided not to wait and opened the door shielding her eyes from the bright lights. After her eyes adjusted to the light level, the warrior looked around the small house. Little monsters of different sorts were hanging in cages all around. Most of the little creatures were aquatic becoming from the swamps; she instantly recognised that one of the creatures was a goblin like the ones dwelling in the Eastern lands near Rimril’s tower. However, there was still no person or intelligent creature in sight. Rynn took a look around hoping to find something to help her get the rune.

As she was wandering around, a small man came through the door. "So come for something to steal I see."

Rynn turned to see who it was in the aged voice. It was a small man somewhat bald with white hair. His brown pants were covered in dirt wearing a red shirt and pickaxe in his hand. "I didn't come to steal anything," Rynn explained, "I was hoping someone could help me get to the Tree of Mourning. And you are?”

Putting his pickaxe down the old man said in a grumpy voice, “I’m the hermit of this place, that’s what I’m simply known as. And you must be that girl that dragon was talking about.”

Rynn didn’t know what to say. She had thought that Arokh wasn’t able to get through the swamps earlier, which interested Rynn. “So tell me more about this dragon,” Rynn said eager to know.

“Some red dragon came falling down the trees nearly crushing my house. I told the pest to get lost and that there was nothing here. But he wouldn’t leave; he was after a rune of some kind. I told him I had no rune, but recalling that the Trogs kept their treasures in the Tree of Mourning. Then the dragon climbed back up top and left.”

Rynn was more puzzled about Arokh now, but decided to question Arokh later. “So then tell me how can I get to the Tree of Mourning.”  She asked.

The old man got tired of telling stories to strangers and sat down for a minute. He knew he wouldn’t get rid of Rynn unless she got what she wanted. “ There’s a tunnel near here that can take yeah there. But them Trogs gone and sealed up the place. Ya can get through with an explosive, and I can get yeah one. Problem is the Trogs have taken a hold of the powder mines I work at. If ye can get there and grab me four bags of powder I’ll make an one and be rid of yeah.”

Rynn wondered when she would stop running small errands, but she had to do what she had to do. As she was about to leave, the old man interrupted, “And take that key right next to ya. You’ll need it to open the mines.” Rynn took the keys and headed out for the mines.

“Oh how I hate these swamps” muttered Rynn as she splashed her way to the mines. “I don’t see how anyone can live here, even weird old men.”

Her body ached despite the health potions, and the smell of the swamp was making her head spin.
Every footstep was cold and unpleasant. And though she couldn’t see the sky at all, she was sure it was night or the weather was changing as the air had become colder. “Surely I haven’t been in here all day?” she asked herself finally deciding that the weather must have changed. She checked her weapons as she ran; “And I see the dreary air is getting to my weapons as well” she mumbled. Rynn made a mental note to buy weapons more wisely, as even the easily killed Trogs wear down a good sword when they come by the score.
Rynn knew her sword would not last forever, and didn’t think she was going to do too much looking around for one here.
She wanted to see as little of the swamp as possible and was hoping that she was moving to a dry cave for a while. No Trogs seemed to be around but Rynn took a health potion for good measure as she entered the mines.
Rynn had been in many a dark cave and knew the horrors that could be waiting for her.
“Just please, no more spiders” she prayed. Rynn smiled as she walked around the mines. These halls were once well cared for, definitely not just an old scavenger cave. It was dry, and the lamps on the wall were still lit. “Which probably means The Trogs are close by” she thought. However compared to the swamps it was warm and cosy.
Making sure no one was around one last time she took the time to rest a bit and dry off.
“Surely that Arokh won’t mind if I don’t work myself to death” she said as she sat down next to a wooden table. It didn’t take long for her to dose off, what with the long journeys and maybe the potion had something to do with it.
That Alchemist did say something about them having side effects. She could almost feel the warmth of her home fireplace as she dreamed.
Home, I just wish I were home, back with Atimar and Delon…
After dozing for an hour or so, she suddenly she heard a crash. Rynn woke with a curse, realising her mistake. She could have been killed easily as she dreamt of home.
“Funny how I only have nightmares while I’m awake”. Rynn got to her feet noting that the sounds came from behind the wall on which she had slept. Sword in hand she listened to what was apparently two Trogs having some sort of a quarrel.

“Hah, Toadfist eat your brains for sure! “ Came from the first Trog.
“Don’t care, Better than dragon food. You stay, get boiled, Toadfist stupid, Toadfist don’t know what he fight. I find better swamp, make it mine, move now or I make you move.”
“AAARRRGGGGGGHHH! Toadfist kill me if you go, So I kill you now!”
Rynn ran around and found the room they were in. Apparently one of the Trogs was smart enough to be afraid of her. Or maybe the rumours of her and Arokh’s passage had spread farther than she thought. In any case there were always quarrels within the dark creatures' ranks.
Rynn saw the first and apparently larger Trog stooping over the dissenter ready to kill him and figure this would be a could time to kill him instead.
“YOU DIE NOW” said the larger Trog, to his rebellious counterpart.
He was facing away from Rynn as she ran up behind him.
Then the smaller one yelled “ It’s her, The dragon beast woman!!,”
“No Funny, Hahh Hahhh, you die NOWWW!” He killed the deserting Trog,
“Stupid Toad” Yelled Rynn, preferring to see her victim’s fear before she killed him.
“What, No, you …” Rynn's sword slid easily through the Trogs skull. “Well I never mind two for the price of one” said Rynn jokingly. “Oh, and you have just what I’m looking for” She smiled as she pulled a bag of powder from the smaller Trogs' crude satchel.
Excited and refreshed from her short nap, Rynn left the room to continue her pursuit of the ingredients for the explosives the old man would make to breach the blockade the Trogs had built.

Rynn carried on in the mines for about another hour before she found the last bag of powder.
"Right time to get back to that old hermit." Rynn thought as she turned back the way she came.
"I wonder what Arokh is doing?, probably laying around the castle being treated like a king. Well the next time he wants someone to go wading around in some smelly swamps he can do it himself. I wouldn't get this smell off me for weeks." Grumbling to herself, Rynn came back to the Hermits home.
"So you got it lass, good. It will take time to make some more explosive so I'll just give ye me last one." said the hermit throwing Rynn the Explosive. She caught it and asked. "So what do I do with this?"
"Are ye simple girl?, light the end put it were you want the wall to blow and stand well back" replied the hermit impatiently turning back to his work.
Rynn stuck her tongue out and left. Walking across the bridge she turned right into another cave, she travelled a few meters in when an archway came into view. The arch had been hastily blocked with odd blocks and looked ready to collapse. Walking up to it Rynn lit the fuse and placed it next to the wall, she then turned and ran behind a block a few feet away......
BOOM!!!!
The bomb exploded and the wall caved in leaving her way clear, also Rynn was happy to note she had taken out two Trogs with the wall.
 
Rynn travelled on through the cave killing any Trogs she met, she got lost several times due to the Trogs shutting doors so she had to go round and find away to open them and boy did the Trog pay who shut the door on her. Finally she came to a fork in the cave. To the left was a path leading round a big crevasse and the other sloped down and she thought she could hear birds.
"Hmm, which way should I go?" Rynn stood there pondering her next move.

After a short moment, Rynn took the right hand path and followed the path down. She killed a couple of Trogs that were lingering in the tunnel and looted a couple of chests, finding some gold. Looking up, Rynn noticed that the roof of the tunnel was covered in tree roots and some had grown right into the tunnel itself. Pushing aside the straggly roots, Rynn saw that there was a dead end ahead, ending in what looked like a cave entrance, smaller than the width of the tunnel. Seeing that no enemies were around, she ran up to it feeling that her goal was near.

When Rynn got close, she could see that what looked like rocks from a distance were actually thick roots of a very old tree. In between the roots were lots of different coloured crystals, shining in the light that shone down the hollow tree trunk. Above was the hole Rynn had come to in the clearing but there was no way she could climb up to it and take the short route back to Surdana. "The tree of Mourning!" She exclaimed running inside.

"Now, which one is it? Arokh never mentioned what it looked like" Rynn mumbled to herself as she picked over the crystals and goblets. One of them was definitely different to all the others, and deciding that it must be the Cipher Rune, Rynn picked it up with trembling hands and put it into her pocket.
"Now to find Toadfist and that sword the man was talking about" she muttered and left the base of the tree to take the other path at the fork she came to earlier.

Back in Surdana, Arokh was just finishing his bath and massage. He stretched and felt the gentle warm sensation in his leg and wing base muscles where they had been carefully rubbed and growled with content walking briefly into the water to rinse. He stepped from the cold water and shook himself, droplets of water flying off and hitting the cobbled street. He looked down at the servant and then quickly examined himself, noticing his scales gleaming with the oil rubbed on them and smiled.
"I feel great. You did a good job, boy. I'd recommend you as a dragon groom and masseur if my mission is a success" he grated, his voice sounding loud in the relatively quiet street.
The spotty young man looked up at the dragon, and muttered his thanks and was about to leave when Arokh stopped him.
"You never learn do you? You didn't address me as Sir and you haven't apologised to me yet. You won't get far with manners like that" he snapped, clearly irritated. The dragon's jaws curved into a cruel sneer as he thought of what he was about to ask. "On your knees boy" he growled.

The young man started to tremble with fear slightly and obeyed, dropping to one knee before the majestic beast. "Kiss it!" Arokh snarled thrusting his left foot closer to the frightened human. He slowly bent down and gave the dragon's foot a quick kiss as shouts of laughter suddenly came from the street behind him. Turning his head around, he saw several townsfolk stood in a small crowd looking at him. "Again, this time say you are sorry!" Arokh said again. The servant scowled at the small crowd and kissed Arokh's foot again and mumbled "I'm sorry. Sir" with the emphasis on the ‘Sir’.
"Go on, get up" Arokh growled, he wasn't that angry rather enjoying his authority. No-one would challenge the might of a Elder Breed dragon, at least not someone like him.

Lady Myschala and General Dherimon were watching from the bridge to the palace above. "That dragon clearly likes his authority. Are you sure he will be a good leader of the Order?" Dherimon asked turning to face the golden robed woman.
"I'm sure of it. He told me the Dragon Mother cannot bond as she is a spirit dragon watching over dragonkind. He would make a good leader, yes but his bonded needs a lot of training; she is still just a village guard after all. Hardly a noble." Myschala informed, expressing her feelings for the future.
"Would you bond then, M' Lady?" Dherimon asked.
Lady Myschala sighed. "Probably, I don't know yet, but I'd expect you to and all of your knights. The dragons can teach them the art of dragonback combat."

Arokh flew up to greet them, landing on the bridge.
"Yes, I would bond" Dherimon said finishing the conversation.
"Discussing the future I see?" Arokh asked folding his wings to his side.
Myschala turned to face the dragon and smiled. "Yes, we already have a number of knights that would bond" she said, showing no fear now that they had got to know each other.
Arokh grunted and sat down. "It would be wise to bond a small number of knights first, then more as needed. I would recommend bringing back the experienced dragons of the Order first, i.e. the ones that went into eternal sleep due to the deaths of their riders. They will be able to show your people the art of dragon riding." He paused and continued. "Like I said, we will bond the rest of the dragons as they are needed, they will need training in combat. Most of the dragons that went into eternal sleep were not bonded, some were neutral to us, civilian dragons as I'd like to call them."

Lady Myschala frowned. "You are correct Arokh. We do not want too many dragons around at once; we don't want fighting between them. Not to mention the problem of finding food for them all. We almost certainly do not want the dragons who served the Dark Union back that's for sure."
Arokh grinned exposing his razor sharp teeth. "The Dragon Mother did not put the dragons swearing allegiance to the Dark Union into eternal sleep. Most have died of old age by now but I would imagine there will be the odd few left, sleeping in stone or not. Only the good will come back."

"Good to hear that, but there is one question; how do we bond?" Dherimon asked, wanting to know how the soul of a human and dragon is bound.

Arokh coughed and there was a short silence as if he did not want to be bothered to talk to the general. Eventually, he began to explain. "There is an artefact known as the dragonstone. Myschala tells me you have recovered it from the ruins of the dragon temple. The traditional method was to use the dragonstone to transfer a dragon's soul into a crystal, which could only be done at the temple. The dragon would then return to its lair with its soul crystal and rider where they would bond using a specially created altar in the dragon's lair."
Dherimon nodded and beckoned to the dragon to continue when he saw he simply paused to take a breath.
"Of course, things are different now. The Dragon Mother can bond a human and a dragon but a soul crystal will be still required. Once a new temple or whatever has been built, we can bond via the traditional method. I guess you have some empty soul crystals so to speak?"

Myschala interrupted "Yes, we do, but only a couple. We found them in the temple. Jade the sorceress can make more though as needed so we have everything we need." She smiled back at the dragon who looked somewhat pleased.
"Talking of which, I need to pay her a visit. I need to know more about these Desert Lord things." With a rush of wind, the dragon was airborne shortly landing outside Jade's tower.

Dherimon watched as the dragon landed at the tower about half a mile away. He was not sure who exactly would be the leaders of this 'New Order'. Certainly it would be Rynn, Arokh, Lady Myschala and her possible bonded but he wasn't sure where he would fit in. He thought of Rynn and Arokh; two different characters - Arokh, a noble beast; polite and full of wisdom, fitting in well with the rich and wealthy. His previous bonded, Heron had progressed through the ranks from a warrior to one of the most honoured members of the Order. Rynn on the other hand, was still just a warrior and needed a lot more experience of the world, which would simply come with time.

Perhaps once bonded he and his dragon would be a worthy addition to the council; after all, the entire original Order was ruled by the 'council of five' which consisted of four bonded and one Magi. Perhaps this proposed New Order would follow in the footsteps of their heroes of long ago?

Arokh glanced at the door to the tower realising it was way too small for him to enter and pondered for a moment how to get the sorceress’s attention; there was nothing apart from a few windows at intervals up its sides. “Jade!” he shouted into the tower after pushing the door open with his nose.

“There’s no need to shout my dear” came a voice from behind. “I knew you were here.”

Arokh turned around to face the sorceress and smiled weakly.

“Ah, a useful ability for a magician, the presence spell.”

Jade nodded to acknowledge him got straight to the point.

“I know you are busy Arokh so Ill try and be as brief as possible about the Desert Lords. That is what you are here for I imagine?”

The dragon nodded. “I have a vague idea from what others have told me but any useful information would be an advantage.”

“Very well.” Jade answered briefly looking around to make sure they were alone. “They came to this world from the Planet Sessool about 50 to 100 years after the Dark Wars ended. The particular group, well a whole army actually were banished from their homeworld due to dishonour and betrayal of their people. They are an evil and cunning race and they have no regard for human life. As you know, the human race is in danger of becoming extinct.”

Arokh nodded for her to continue.

“Anyway, to cut a long story short, they gradually spread throughout Drakan over the centuries. I don’t come from this part of the world; I come from the south of this continent. You see, when we tried to resist their rule, they sent a beast to destroy us; the pain golem, a mountainous abomination made from pain and misery itself. Everyone was killed but I managed to escape and come here. Unfortunately, they followed.”  

“Well, I know they are allied with the Wartocks and Grull and many more of Drakan’s races that want humans eradicated so I can see why they have become so powerful.” Arokh noted.

“Well, powerful they are. What they lack in physical strength they make up for in magic. They have boiled many seas away to desert.”

“That’s nothing new” Arokh muttered sarcastically. “I have seen spells of unimaginable destruction rip apart this world six centuries ago. Do you not know what happened in the Dark Wars?”

Jade frowned at the dragon’s negative attitude and took it as a sign that he wanted to be off. “I must warn you Arokh. You can easily kill them but do watch out for their magic. They are not to be underestimated.”

Arokh smiled and nodded. “I will. I dealt with Navaros twice and the Desert Lords should be no different. I guess we will see what time brings. If you excuse me, I have to be going.”
Jade bowed and walked towards the tower door. “If you have any more questions, you know where to find me.”

“Thankyou for your time Jade. We will almost certainly be back later.” Arokh answered and flew back towards Surdana.  

Back in the swamp, Rynn was becoming irritable. She was sick of the stench of the swamps and now was trying to find a way back out; a map was found in one of the Trog's caves but it made little sense. She carried on down the right hand path of the fork she came to earlier passing through some more ruins gaining the Earthblade until she came to an area that was full of human heads thrust on spikes.
Rynn shuddered as she walked past them; some were badly decomposed and were a hideous sight. Rynn had seen some disturbing things in her life but the sight almost made her physically sick.

Suddenly, she stopped when she heard voices down below. Carefully, she ventured over to the edge of the path and saw that she was overlooking a deep cave decorated with wooden figurines and a large totem pole stood in the centre.
"That must be Toadfist's throne room" she whispered to herself, edging away hoping not to be seen. She checked her weapons to see their condition; they were worn but should last a little while longer; somehow she felt that Toadfist would be a tough enemy. If she got his helm, those 2000 gold pieces would definitely come in handy.

A lift presented itself ahead and Rynn tiptoed across to it hiding in the shadows to avoid a group of Trogs, she did not want to attract attention to herself now. Stepping on the lift automatically made it begin its decent and the Trogs turned round startled by the noise. The lift moved quickly however and she was out of sight before they noticed the intruder.

"Why isn't the human girl dead?" Toadfist bellowed at a frightened Trog who was stood before him at his throne.
"Human move like the wind... kill many Trog... cannot kill" the creature muttered.
"What, how many does it take to kill a puny human?" The enraged Toadfist continued waving his staff in the air. He stepped off his throne and walked up to the trembling Trog. "Get out there and bring me her head" he shouted.

"Talking about me?" Rynn said as she walked into the throne room unnoticed.
"Argh!" Toadfist snarled and hit the Trog as hard as he could knocking it to one side. It lay there breathing heavily clutching its gut in pain.
"You are dead!" The Trog chieftain shouted at Rynn waving for his troops to come but they did not hear; Rynn had already killed them.
"Really? Say, that's a nice helmet you are wearing. May I have it?" Rynn asked sarcastically placing her hands on her hips.
"Come and get it then" Toadfist yelled and lunged at Rynn.

Taking her sword in hand Rynn lunged for a quick slash. Toadfist easily blocked the assault and stepped back. “I not so easy to kill like others,” Toadfist said as he realised Rynn had pulled out the wrong weapon to fight. Her sword was damaged quite a bit but she turned it to her advantage. Toadfist gathered himself as he cast two orbs of lighting at Rynn. The warrior threw her damaged weapon away and dashed away from the orbs pulling out another sword. This made Toadfist wonder and prepared for whatever move Rynn had in store. He stood on the damaged sword so Rynn could not pick it up again but she jumped in between the two orbs and threw her other sword at him hoping for an easy hit. Toadfist saw the attack and jumped to one side while Rynn took small damage of the bolts in the air and landed near an altar, but her attack didn’t go without fail. The bolts were attracted to the broken sword and headed for Toadfist. Toadfist was focused on Rynn when the impact of the bolts blew him to the ground.

The both of them regained themselves for more. Toadfist started to dash at Rynn with speed. Rynn came to jumping up and doing a neat back flip causing Toadfist to gash his claws into the stone altar. Rynn looked about and took the skulls from the altar and threw them at Toadfist. One made a direct hit while the other allowed Toadfist to bring out his claws as the stone cracked away. Rynn threw more skulls at Toadfist with aim, but Toadfist deflected the skulls with great agility. Rynn dodged the deflected skulls and landed before the altar. Rynn saw no way around the fight but to get close in hand to hand. Rynn dashed at Toadfist as Toadfist did the same. Sharply Rynn took her weapon out and the two had their weapons locked hand in hand. Toadfist looked at Rynn’s new weapon in surprise, “The Earthblade!” It had been the one weapon used by a legendary knight of the Order, now in the hands of Rynn a new arisen Order knight.

As the Earthblade gave its glow Rynn pushed Toadfist off keeping him off balance. Rynn grabbed the handle of the broken sword and threw it at Toadfist gashing into his lower chest. Then Rynn got to Toadfist with a quick strike through the chest finishing the Trog ruler. “Well then, glad that’s over,” Rynn told herself. She carefully took off Toadfist’s helm and wore it herself. She figured she didn’t have any other room to carry it so it was the only option if she wanted the prize. If only she could see herself she thought. Before leaving the chamber Rynn saw some treasures about, gold Toadfist had stashed. Coming to the chest Rynn collected the spoils and packed it away heading for the exit.

As Rynn came through a tunnel it lead back out to the swamps and their familiar smells which rarely bothered Rynn being in the swamps for so long. Torches lit her path guiding Rynn to where she hoped was the exit. Soon enough her surroundings became familiar, and there was a wooden carved statue that she had seen from the very start. Giving off a sign of relief Rynn continued her way to the exit. There she saw a man and a girl standing near the river. Rynn recognized the two faces and approached them. “Dear me who are you?!” The old man asked in beat up clothing. Rynn took off her helm to reveal herself to the lives that she had saved that day. “Its you! The one who saved my child! Oh here take this as thanks. We are indeed grateful.” The father handed Rynn a sack, which seemed to be filled with gold. “Come, we should leave these swamps together,” Rynn told the two. All in agreement they went along with Rynn. Rynn was glad to see the nice crystal blue waters again. This reminded her of the time when Arokh said she would need a bath, and it was probably so, but being in the swamps so long no one in the group could tell.

The group came to the door that lead to the outside and opened it. The bright light of the sun was strong to their eyes. As soon as their eyes adjusted, the three bid farewell as the father and daughter were escorted to Surdana by a guard standing by. The feeling of the clean water made it tempting to take a bath at this hour, but Rynn figured she would return the Rune to her impatient bonded. Rynn felt silly wearing the helm so she carried in her hand and headed up the hill to Surdana.

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