mojodragon

For those of you that are wasting your time reading this thread, here is the first part of Chapter 2. I'm pretty happy with it so far, so I doubt I'll be making many changes to this part. Ch 2 isn't done yet, though. I'll post Ch2 part2 as soon as I get it done. Also, the more observant readers will note that I'm now calling Azindrd by a totally new name! I know it's going to be tough to get used to, but he's now Ozindrd. Sorry for the confusion, but I like the name better that way.

Trelon ran at full speed for as long as he could, his mind replaying the incident in the church window over and over again. It couldn’t have been. How could such a thing be possible? The stranger in black had stepped out of his dream and into the church. Was anywhere safe? He had looked into the man’s eyes, and was trapped. He was a sparrow, entranced by the cobra’s stare. Surely, the sun must have set and risen again in the time Trelon had been held hostage by the stranger’s stare. The eyes had been two flaming orbs, pulsing in the blackness which surrounded the stranger.

Even though he had been out in the courtyard, he could see the reflections in the stranger’s eyes. The entire town was burning in the flames, in the reflection. Misery and death had been this man’s traveling companions.

His legs were just starting to cramp up, which brought him out of his dark memories, and back to reality. Looking around to gain a sense of his location and destination, Trelon realized that he was almost to his house. Just like a horse, he thought, running to the burning stable to escape the fire. Home wasn’t safe, any more than the church was. Well, he was almost there, and nothing had lept out of the shadows to attack him. He couldn’t stay there, though. Just a quick stop to pack and leave a note, and then he’d have to leave. It was a good thing his mom and dad weren’t going to be home until tomorrow. He didn’t think he could bring himself to telling them face to face, why he was leaving.

Mom, Dad, I have to leave town. I saw somebody from a dream, and they scared me. Nah, best to just leave a note saying he was joining the traveling circus, or something like that. They’d accept that explanation, long before they’d accept the truth. It wasn’t unheard of for young men to leave town, searching for a larger purpose. He would just be one of those people. Did you hear about the Bracias boy? Left last fall and joined the king’s army. I always knew he would make something of his life. That sounded much better than running from a dream.

Trelon finally got to his house, and ran inside to pack for the trip. He didn’t know how long he was going to be on the road, and really had no idea what kind of supplies he should take with him. It occurred to him that he would need food and money, and maybe some extra clothes.

He went into his parent’s room, and pulled out his father’s old chest. He had gone through this chest a couple times, looking at all of his father’s war trophies. He had even tried on his father’s armor, back when he was six or seven. Looking at it now, he wondered how his father had survived the wars. It didn’t look trusty at all. Dents, scratches, and is that a blood stain? No, just rust, but I can’t see anyone wearing this into battle. He threw the armor aside, and started looking for the good stuff. If trouble found him, that armor wouldn’t do him any good anyway. In his pack, it wouldn’t stop many blades or arrows. And forget wearing it. If trouble found him, his best bet would be to drop everything and run his heart out. It would be very difficult to drop armor that he was wearing. No, leave the armor.

Trelon pulled out a dagger, which had been resting under the armor. Now this, I can use, he thought. He pulled the blade out of the sheath, and tried to twirl it in his fingers, like he’d seen his father do a thousand times. Well, I can learn to use it, he thought, as he bent to pick it up. It had fallen to the floor, and buried itself half an inch into the wood, right beside his foot. He wouldn’t try that trick for a while, he thought, as he put the blade back into his sheath. He tied the leather thongs to his leg, attaching the blade just above his ankle. That shouldn’t slow him down too much.

Next, he pulled out his father’s traveling bag. It was old, and one of the straps was torn, but it would just have to do. He opened it up and placed it at his feet.

First to go into the bag was a small piece of flint. Then, he put an old tin cup and flask. He’d have to fill the flask from the well before he left. He put the armor back into the chest, and pushed it back under the bed. Picking up his bag, he went out into the family room to get the rest of the things he’d need.

*****

Ozindrd wasn’t too worried about losing Trelon. He was faster than Oz, but wasn’t able to run at those speeds for long. Plus, he was heading to his house. Oz ran along at an even pace, and arrived at Trelon’s house unwinded. The front door was open, so he just went inside. “Trelon? Are you in here?”

As he said this, Trelon came out of one of the rooms in the back. He was holding a brown bag, which he promptly dropped when he realized he wasn’t alone in the house.

“Oh, Oz. You scared me.” He said, picking the bag up again.

“I’m sorry. Where are you going?” Oz said, looking from the bag, to the dagger on Trelon’s leg, and back to Trelon’s face.

“I have to leave town. I have to get away from here.” Trelon didn’t want to actually talk to anyone before he left, because of the question that Oz was going to ask…why?

“Ok, let me get my stuff and I’m coming with you.” Oz said, turning to leave.

Trelon was confused that Oz hadn’t asked him, so he did it himself. “That’s it? You’re not going to ask me why?”

“Would you tell me if I did? I know that you’re running from something, and I figure it must be pretty bad, given the color of your face right now. But, I also know that you’ll tell me when you feel like it, and it won’t help for me to try to drag it out of you.” Oz turned to leave again.

“Oz, you can’t go…”

“Trelon, there is no way you’re going to see Cretvi without me! I’m coming with you, and that’s final.”

He thought about leaving before Oz could get back, but something told him that was a bad idea. “Fine, go get your stuff. But try not to let anyone know why.”

“That’ll be easy enough. I don’t know why, remember? I’ll make something up. I think Father Rey’s been expecting me to leave any day now, anyway. I’ll just tell him that I’m going to search for my parents. He won’t believe me, but he won’t try to stop me from leaving.” In fact, you could tell your parents that you’re going to help me. With that, Oz ran back out the door, and headed back to the church.

“Meet me at the split tree. I’m leaving as soon as the sun sets.” Oz raised his hand to show that he had heard. Trelon shook his head, and went back to his packing.

*****

Oz made it back to the church, and went to his room. His room was a small office, which had been converted into a living space by the addition of a small cot. He could probably carry all of his possessions on his back, he thought.

He couldn’t really complain. At least he had somewhere to stay. Father Rey had meant well, but was not really cut out to be a parent. Oz had been the bastard son of a merchant’s guard and the merchant’s daughter. It was a sad story, really. The merchant’s daughter had come along with her father, wanting him to be there for the birth. She had told him that the child’s father was a soldier, and was at war. They had stopped in town, and she delivered the child.

The rest of the story had never been explained to Oz’s satisfaction, but he had wound up being left at the church. Father Rey had taken him in, and raised him as his own son. One day, he wanted to find out the rest of the story, but he still thought of Rey as his father. It was going to be very hard to lie to him.

As he was packing the last of the things he would need, he heard a knock at the door. “You’re leaving?” Father Rey asked, looking at the empty room.

“I…need to find out what happened to my parents,” Oz said, his eyes on his feet. “Trelon is going to help me track them down.”

Father Rey caught the lie, but decided to just let it pass. “You’ll need a good, warm cloak, then. Why don’t you let me pack you some things? I have a few items that may help you find your parents.” Rey took the bag, and went to his office. He came back a few minutes later, the pack full and tied shut. “I put some dried meat, some warm clothes, and a little money. It’s not a lot, but you’ll need it out there on the road. Now, you’d better get going. It’s going to get dark soon, and you’ll want to put some road behind you before nightfall.”

Oz took the bag without looking inside, and gave Father Rey a hug. “Thank you, dad,” he said, putting his arms through the straps. “I’ll write if I find out anything.”

He left Father Rey at the steps of the church, and turned to the south. Judging the sun in the sky, he figured that he had plenty of time. No need to run, he thought. He didn’t know where they were going from there, but he really didn’t care. And I will find my parents, he thought.