Angel laid curled up in ball in the corner that she was shoved and chain to. She didn't like being chained up like some kind of vicious beast. She wasn't vicious, was she? No, Angel wasn't the vicious type. She was sweet, happy, and definitely not vicious, but why was she chain up? That she didn't know. When her master, Karma, had left, for reason still unknown to Angel, that's when it all went wrong. The bad man with the hood came and took over. Angel tried her best to defend her home, but the dark evil figures that followed man overtook her. Was that why she was chained up? Because the hooded man that smelled like fish thought she was vicious? Angel didn't like that idea.
But then her master had returned! Angel was so happy to see her, but even her master and her very likeable friends were powerless against the fishy-hooded man. Angel did not like that man. He was mean to her master. And that was unacceptable, by any means. Angel couldn't wait to break free from these chains so that she could protect her master and her master's likeable friends. She hoped she would have the chance to teach the fishy-hooded man a lesson. Angel sighed and curled up tighter, swishing her chained tailed beside her, the puffy end landing on her snout. Just when she was about to drift into a light slumber, the doors to the throne room burst opened startling Angel. She growled when the fishy-hooded man came storming into the room. He didn't pay her heed, and she sensed that something was amiss with the man.
"What do you mean they escaped!" The hooded man said to one of the guards who followed him in.
"They had help, sir." The young guard said. "It would appear the late king Termis helped them in their final escape. They went through a secret passageway that led into Shurli Woods. We went after them along with your...err... creations. It would appear that a dragon had protected them from the attack that your creations had inflected on them." Lester glared at the man. A dragon here? Lester would have hoped that they were pillaging the villages still. So, he thought. It would appear that Karma has gotten to the beast then, mm? Looking at the guard, he said,
"How did they manage to get out of the dungeon, anyhow? Clearly Termis could not have had access to the keys." The guard felt awkward explaining the next part.
"Well, um, when we went down there, the guard on duty was unconscious. When he came, he said a small rodent with large teeth and sharp claws came at him. It attacked, he fell, hit his head and that was all that he remembered." Lester let that sink in. That darn ferret gave them their freedom?! A sudden rage came over him. He drew out his dagger and threw it straight ahead of him. It soar through the air and plunged itself into the head of the throne chair. The guard gulped and took the chance of speaking again, "there is one more thing, sir." Lester turned to the man and the guard quickly took a step back afraid that he would be the next target.
"What is it? Speak!" Lester said getting irritated.
"Well, one of our other guards witnessed one of the Creator's companions getting bit by your, um, creations." Lester's eyes lit up and he calmed down slightly.
"Which one? Did the other guard say who?"
"Y-yes, it was the dwarf, he told me." Lester hummed in thought and a wicked smile spread on his lips. He walked over to the throne and pulled out his dagger. Turning it over in his hands, he said,
"well then, at least one good thing came out of this." The guard cocked his head.
"What do you mean, sir?" Lester mesmerized himself by his spinning dagger in his hands.
"My creations have a small, itsy wisty capability," the hooded man said. "Their bite have a very venomous consequence." His smiled broaden. "Without a proper antidote, that dwarf will be dead by sunrise."
----
Iylac took them as far as Arkum. Unfortunately, six riders were a bit too heavy for the dragon to carry across Arula. From Arkum, Karma and company would have to find a way to get the Clans themselves. Iylac would fly to Dragon Mountain to convince her fellow dragons to help them take back Shurli, Karma's book, the dragon egg and most importantly, the whole world of Arula. Karma and her friends had to at least trek two miles to Arkum, Iylac didn't want to be notice or cause a commotion. They agreed and Iylac took off shortly after dropping them off. Arkum was the very few villages that the dragon hadn't raided yet and thank goodness for that. When they entered the village, Karma turned to her companions.
"Alright," she said to them. "Empty your pockets, let's see what you all got. If we can scrunch up coins or something of value we can trade for, then we can get hopefully get a little bit of food and at least three horses to get us to the Clan territory." They all obeyed, except for Termis who knew he didn't have anything to contribute to the group. Omar pulled out a few coins that were currency mostly to the Clans but if you were lucky, some humans would take them. Mika pulled also pulled out some coin that were currency no matter what Clan you were in. She also took off her green jeweled necklace that her mother given to her. Karma was surprised to see her take it off. "No," Karma said. "I cannot have you give up your necklace, it means so much to you." Mika smiled sweetly at Karma.
"It's ok," Mika said. "It's worth some coins here, we need the supplies more than a silly necklace." Karma felt guilty taking Mika's necklace, but Mika put it in Karma's hand and closed her fingers around the jewelry. "It will be alright." Mika reinsured her. Jason and Dagner finally pulled out some objects that they thought would be worth something to the people in Arkum. Dagner had a couple silver nuggets and his now empty flask. Jason still had his old gold watch that no longer works. He kept it as a remember of his past life but figured he could separate from it. He also took off his sliver crucifix, hoping it would be worth something in this world.
Once more, Karma refused to take it, but Jason insisted. "I don't need a necklace to know my religion," he said. "Trust me, I do without it." Karma nodded, feeling guilty about taking valuables from her friends, and pulled out wherever coins she had left and together they entered the village. They figured they would need to mounts first, and whatever was left they would use to buy supplies.
Karma and the others didn't notice when Termis snuck away into the crowd. They went to the stables and were able to bargain for three horses. The stable man was a hard bargainer. He nearly left them dry. He took all the coins they had and the sliver nuggets, leaving them with the necklace, the crucifix, the flask, and the watch left to sell. Karma sighed hoping they could get some type of supplies with these objects. They weren't exactly too successful with getting food and water.
Most of the merchants were stubborn and only took shillings. Some of the merchants didn't see the value in the objects and shooed them away. After a long while with little no success, they finally found a merchant who was willing to take the objects. They manage to get a couple slices of dried up bread, a small jar of berries and a canteen of water. It wasn't much, but it was something. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to book a room at an inn, they decided to make camp out in the valley by the river. Omar, who was skilled hunter, manage to find a sharp stick and went fishing. After a couple of failed attempts, he managed to stick a fish. Mika made a fire with twig and took a couple of rocks and manage to make a small enough spark to start a fire.
They sat there watching the flames and cooking the fish that would be their dinner. Jason, looking about their whereabouts noticed that Termis was missing. "Um," he said. "Is it just me, or did we lose someone?" The others looked around too and noticed Termis absence. Karma cursed and slammed her fist down into the earth.
"I should have known better!" She said. "That no good, rotten, son of a-"
"Well there's no need for name calling, old friend." Termis said making his way into their camp, a smile playing on his lips. Karma glared at him.
"And where did you go off to?" Termis shrugged.
"Oh, you know, what we came here to do." He said dropped a bag in front of the group. They were surprised. Omar dared to take a peek inside the bag. Inside were supplies. There was food, mostly apples and other fruits, berries, leafy greens, canteens filled with water, and a couple of daggers. Karma gave Termis a look.
"How did you get all of this?" She demanded and suddenly remember the most important thing about Termis. "You stole all of this didn't you?" Again, Termis shrugged.
"Old habits die hard I guess." Before Karma knew Termis, he was thief, and a good one at that. Karma, Omar, and Dagner met him when he tried to steal from Omar, but it was mistake on Termis' part to try and steal from an elf. From there, the rest was history. "I didn't come here so you could steal, we came here to get things the right way." Termis snorted.
"Oh, Creator, in a situation like this, it is necessary. We can't be excepted to do things the right way every time. Sometimes we need to do what is necessary for our own survival, and I dare you tell me that I'm wrong." Karma didn't reply, she just clinched her jaws together tightly. The rest of night was tense for the others, for several reasons. One was the possibility that the people in the village suddenly realized that they have been robbed and are forming a mob, two Karma didn't dare say a word to Termis for she was afraid he will say something to reverse her words, and three was of Lester's shadow demons coming after them. They took take turns in keeping watch every two hours to make sure nothing went amiss. When sunrise came, they saddled up and took off to the Clans. As they rode on, Karma kept glancing over at Dagner who rode behind Termis on a black mare. The dwarf looked paler than usual and she couldn't help but feel that that "little scratch", was something more.