The Hidden Pheonix

Chapter 4

The group had been traveling for three days and had about a days worth of travel left. Opal would occasionally complain about her back, making her brother puncher in the arm. Eric rode on the wagon the group had, sitting cross legged and reading a book. Mathew and Magda were at the front. Mathew wasn't used to having someone else lead the group, preferring to protect the group by being the first to go into danger. He cherished his group, memorizing each of their scents, voices, and touch. They were his pack and he had to make sure they were all in perfect shape. He couldn't wait to meet up with the two other members of the group. The two stayed behind after a small battle with a dragon that was terrorizing the city of Vandalhime, and stayed at a temple to worship the Phoenix. Mathew personally didn't know anything about the god but he listened to his friend's stories. Each member of his little pack followed a different god or goddess, and he made it his job to learn as much as he could about each. Traveling now on open land Mathew thought about Dotty and her fascination with this deity the Traveler. She always seems so confident in his works, how he's the best and everyone should follow him.

The grasslands ahead of the group were covered with small hills, and the fresh air seemed to calm the group. Since the first night they had all been on edge, Opal choosing to watch after the group than get some much needed sleep, in fact Mathew was surprised she hadn't passed out from pure exhaustion. Put she was tough, and stubborn so there was nothing he could do. Besides, she could easily beat him. She was much stronger and a bit taller than him, and she trained her whole life to become a fighter. "Hey!" A shout drew Mathew out of his thoughts, it was Dotty. A small smile came to his face as he listened to the argument between her and Opal. "Eric help! She took my jerky!" Dotty shrieked, making grabby hands towards her sister. "No." The quiet response from Eric made Mathew chuckle, imagining that he probably didn't even look up from his book. "Dotty shut up there's more in the bag." Opal's blunt response was expected, her never really putting emotion into things she didn't care about. "But that was the perfect piece! And I was gonna eat it!" Dotty's small whine would be difficult for anyone who didn't know her as her accent got thicker. And Mathew could see out of the corner of the eye Magda slightly turning his head to look at the mess that was behind them. And he definitely heard the companion Magda brought with him whisper, "I'm gonna go ahead. Cant stand these dumbasses." Said man rode the horse he was riding ahead. Mathew had to practically force himself to stay put, but he chose to stay closer to his group than go ahead to watch a stranger.

The day had passed, night coming close. Mathew turned towards there beloved Eric, the best wizard on their team. "Can you get your buddy to fly ahead? If the temple is close we can just go there and sleep." Eric stared at Mathew a bit, almost like he didn't understand, but Mathew knew that he understood. With a shake of his head Eric seemed to come back to life, "Huh? oh... yeah of course." And with a snap of his fingers a giant griffin stood in front of him. "Hey, Moose, buddy, can you go fly up ahead? Were looking for Milo's temple, you know that one right?" The griffin nodded his head, an unspoken agreement between the two. Then, the griffin's wings spread, and it was in the air. Opal wondered up next to Eric, his hand going to her shoulder by habit. Magda watched as his irises went from a dark brown to a light blue. Everyone waited in silence, the sound of griffin's wings slowly disappeared, and Magda wondered how much awkward silence he had to sit through before he decided to just tend to the horses. Then Eric spoke, "The temple isn't that far, maybe like... five... no... uh... a bit away, but not crazy far. We could make it." A couple of blinks and Eric's eyes were back to normal. The group continued on their journey. Magda pulled his cousin aside, Opal watching closely to make sure they didn't turn on them. Even though Magda had offered his home to them, Opal still had mixed feelings never really trusting anyone. It even took about a year to trust the group she was with, so traveling with two people, one she practically met today, made her watch them whenever they wandered from the group. Then the two turned towards the group, Magda talking first. "We're going to stay here. We have to travel farther so staying here would probably be better for us." His words seemed rehearsed, like he had been running them through his head all day. Mathew nodded and replied, "Sure, thanks for bringing us this far. Oh and uh... thanks for ya know... letting us stay in your house." "Your welcome. Have a safe travel." And then he turned back to his cousin. The two were forgotten by the group as they continued. Dotty kept her eyes on the trail ahead of them, trying her best to see the temple before anyone else. She was excited to see her friends, and to secretly place some pamphlets she made to the traveler in the cracks of the temples walls.

About an hour later the group made it to the temple. Many wouldn't pay attention to the broken outside walls, the stone showed how old the temple was, and the group knew that the only reason it was still up was because of the Stenge family. Their friend Milo was one of the few in her family that wanted to stay at the temple. No she wasn't a cleric like her older sister, but she was just as invested in their deity. The large wooden doors to the temple opened before the group could even fully get off their horses. A small figure stood in the doorway, fluffy hair and long ears that flopped down were the only distinguished features of the head, and a tail swung back and forth behind the figures legs. "Griffon!!" Dotty shouted, jumping off the wagon and rushing towards the door. "DOTTY!!" The figure responded, meeting the much larger Dotty halfway. The voice was high pitch and a but scratchy, probably annoying to everyone in the world. The two hugged, Dotty lifting the small figure named Griffon. "How it been? Tell me everything about the ceremony!" Dotty questioned Griffon as they walked in, the others following after tying up the horses and hiding their wagon. The inside of the temple was much nicer. Small accents of red and orange decorating the walls. When entering the main hall of the temple the group was hit with the smell of lavender and smoke. The alter was covered with candles, making the room warm. The large, glass window beautifully depicting the Phoenix. His wings outstretched and made with orange, yellow, and red glass that looked like fire. A small figure sat in the middle of the room, kneeling towards the alter. They were mumbling words in an ancient language. One that almost no one but the family that owned this temple knew. They were a friend of the group, a small female dwarf. Her hair was a reddish brown and grew down into a five o'clock shadow. Her face was illuminated by the fire, hands clutching on the necklace around her neck, the metal figure of the phoenix hidden in her hands. This was who the group was looking for. Milo.