Irony of Thieves and Kings

Chapter 12

He was heading back. His mind was screaming at him to not do this, but he couldn't listen. Against all of his rationality, he was going back to the same shore where he had seen the dragon, which, ironically, was the same place that one of the pieces on the map was set up. Or, at least, it was fairly close to it.

On his way out, he had heard, as well as seen the guards starting to gather for a quest. His brother was nowhere to be found amongst the crowd, but Werner knew better than to think that would stay true.

From the supplies needed, the speed of an army that size, as well as how often they would need to stop and rest, he knew he could take his time. Wide awake and always moving, he had made the trip in just over three days, but this time, he would take his time. He stopped for food a few times, and even managed to slip in a few naps.

The trip would take him around five days, which was fine, because he guessed that even if he slept all night and took an hour or two to start moving, he would still be ahead by at least half a day.

Probably closer to two, his mind corrected, since they were walking, and there were so many people to move, as well as supplies.

Which meant he didn't feel badly at all for stopping in a small village on the way. Miawen was a small, lakeside town, with a few people. They were always up for a chat, especially with someone that had passed by a few times, like he had.

"Havard! Harvard! Where are you headed?" Helice, a baker for the small village asked.

"Helice! Good to see you. You are looking as beautiful as ever." It was true. Her hair was a golden blonde that fell over her shoulders in soft waves, her light blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Yes, she was a beautiful woman, with a sweet personality. Except...

She giggled behind her delicate hand, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You are too kind, Havard." She got closer to him, and he resisted the urge to back away. She always got way to close to him, and he was never sure exactly why she did it.

"Get off of the poor man Helice." A soft voice filled with exasperation told her. He glanced behind her, and sure enough, there was Aldora.

Somehow, Helice and Aldora were best friends, almost like sisters. Each was beautiful in their own right, but they were so different. Aldora had dark raven hair, and soft brown eyes. She was slightly shorter, but far more respectful of people's personal space. She was also the quieter of the two, but somehow, that made it so that when she spoke, everyone wanted to listen.

"How are you, Aldora?" He asked, his voice was warmer towards the quieter of the two.

She gave him a quirky smile. "I've been well. Still running around after miners?"

"Of course." He replied. They thought he traveled with people often so that he could sneak away with little bits of metal they were never going to use. And yet both girls still liked him, as did most of the other villagers. "I'm actually here for a reason. Have either of you heard about any sort of disturbances lately?"

Helice's eyes lit up. "Oh! You're talking about the weird storms this year. I've heard that the mountains are burning up this year, due to some weird heat wave. And there seem to be a lot of wind storms near Lirac."

"I was actually thinking more along the lines of something closer to the oceans." He suggested, hoping to steer the conversation towards whatever the first thing he that Darius was going after.

"You aren't going to believe this." Aldora interrupted, "But there were a couple of men that, well, they said there was some sort of giant sea serpent with three heads and poison so strong it can kill a large animal just by breathing on it."