Vaeludar’s was spotting the Banshee’s cloak smoking the cloud.
“An illusion,” shouted Vaeludar. Again as he did to the real Shadow King’s spirit, Vaeludar hailed a wrath of green fire from his mouth. The fire burst and flared in water-like waves. Heated winds flushed the boat downstream.
Now, the boat was floating down fast again.
With everyone awake, they gripped on anything they could hang on to. Vaeludar sheathed the sword and held onto Naìra near the mast. The boat flung around and about. Waves of waters carried the boat at a fast paste if a great hurricane had struck. The boat thundered over slashing rains of water and thundering sounds of dragon roars. There were trenches very narrow and catastrophic, pointy rocks.
With no room to maneuver, the boat crashed into the rocks.
Vaeludar had grabbed Naìra in his arms and flew into the sky before the boat had crashed into the rocks. The entire crew went flying into the air. Marina jumped and dived into the waters.
Flarefur went flying with Vaeludar. They saw the wingless people going high. Vaeludar went after Flavius and huddled him on his wings while the Griffin caught the two flying, girl-screaming knights on his back. Vaeludar caught Galvin, who was still sleeping, on his tail and wrapped around the big knight’s chest.
Vaeludar and Flarefur went flying high, carrying the wingless people to a safety point. On a high point on the river with trenched rocks, the two flyers carefully landed. Vaeludar laid Galvin on the ground first before the hybrid landed.
Flavius released his grip from Vaeludar’s wing and embraced his younger sister. Wonomi and Monico dismounted from the Griffin.
“Hey, Galvin, wake up,” roared Vaeludar.
“WHOA!” Galvin woke up by Vaeludar’s dragon roar. His eyes blinked in a flash and were confused about what had happened to them while he was asleep.
Vaeludar smiled at his work and walked away from the sleeping knight.
He looked at the landscapes of mushy lands and foul skunk-scented air. There was grey, rainy clouds circling in the sky. Black, burnt mountains were dozens of miles away. A handful of fireplaces small as fireflies were dimly lit miles ahead of them.
Vaeludar gazed at the distant mountains; they looked the same as the image his sword showed him a few days earlier.
We must be close, hoped Vaeludar. That must be the place must be where the princess, the Ice Serpent, and the armor artifact was. The sooner we get that armor artifact, the sooner we can go home and take a three-day rest. I hope we can make it there without having to come across another sort of danger, but the chances of that are very, very slim.
“Where are we?” asked Wonomi.
“I don’t know,” said Flavius. “It looks like more dangerous lands to travel across. At this point, we may end up running into a secret army that could be stashed away up here.”
“Don’t give up hope yet, people,” said Vaeludar. “We’re still alive and breathing. Just get some rest people; I want to be moving before dawn.”
“Why so early?” asked Naìra.
“Because we are in unknown lands, and we won’t get far if we are attacked again by mythical creatures of evil. We would have better find cover if we walk at twilight before the dawn.”
So they fell to sleep on the hard ground without any covers. The bags they had they have lost in the crashing boat. Their food, their blankets, their firewood. Everything. All were gone. Not to mention Marina who didn’t emerge from the water.
Vaeludar blew a fire on the ground without any wood to keep everyone warm. He knew his dragon fire would burn without any wood; dragon fire could burn any sustenance than just wood.
Flavius had Naìra close to him, placing his arm around her head, hoping she would be comfortable. Wonomi and Monico laid close the fire. Galvin was already sleeping. And Marina wasn’t back yet.
Vaeludar could only stay awake and wait for her return.
MOVING OUT AGAIN
V
aeludar stayed up all night again to keep an eye out for any danger. Fortunately, no monsters, witches, or any piper or any Shadow King had appeared through the night. His high hopes had paid off and no danger came to them. The biggest thing was they were alive and death had not struck them yet.
A gleaming dawn was approaching but due to the rain clouds blocking the light, there was a small gleam of light appearing from the east. It was another dull dawn just like in the mountains.
“I’m starting to hate these parts of the northern parts of the island,” said a girl’s voice.
Vaeludar sighed: Marina had arrived. When she came crawling from the water, she was carrying a few bags. She came walking back with the bags that gotten dumped in the river they were sailing from.
“I managed to save some bags,” she said, cheerfully. “The blankets, the fruits, and a bag of fish are what I saved. The bag of meat is long gone. Aren’t you guys lucky? I found some fish as a protein substitute for the meat we lost in this river.”
“It’s better than just plain fruit,” stated Vaeludar. “From what I see, we have enough one day worth of food. We will have to spare some throughout two days at the most if we can. I know I can last months without food.”
‘I’m not sure if they can,” said Marina, walking to Galvin. Marina purposely dropped the bag of fish on his face.
“Whoa!” shouted Galvin. He got up if he woke from a nightmare. “Can’t you wake me up without dumping something on me?” he demanded, standing up.
The others were awoken by the alarming sound of Galvin’s scream.
“To wake others so
