Barnabas found in Ling a sound companion; she was exotic hailing from 'China' (wherever that was), she was well read and small. Her size was the best thing about her, it meant she could scout ahead like a ghost - in contrast to his 'scouting' where everything seemed to snap and shake, alerting everything to his presence.
Together, he and Ling had managed to find the other three green dragons with relative ease - as the dragons had taken the time to pillage villages all around Norfolk, stealing cattle and children. No one was sad to see the back of them and every village it seemed had asked the King for help but recieved none.
One evening when they were near the border of Norfolk and Suffolk, Ling asked him a question.
"Why does you King not help his people?" Barnabas had stared at her for sometime trying to accumulate an answer. He did not want to make excuses for the King for his non actions cost killed his father, but he was also his King, apponted by God but before he could speak Ling began to talk again."My Father the Emperor created a small unit within his army to deal with the dragons. He even had some of these man train dragons."
"Train dragons? How do you train dragons?"
"From when they are first hatched." She said dreamily, her almond eyes staring at the sky as if looking for something, "but only certain kinds."
"There are different kinds as well?"
"Well yes. There are white dragons which my people called the Seers. They're blind but can see into the future, they also can't fly because they're so large and because of that reason they're also very rare."
"Have you seen one before then?"
"I've seen a dead one, if taken care of properly they can live for many many years."
"And how old was the one you saw?"
"About five hundred years old. It had advised Emperors and other rulers of China for half a millinea."
"Are there any more?"
"I believe my father sent the last surviving one in China to your Pope as a gift, about a decade ago."
"Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," Ling laid back beside their small campfire and stared at the stars, having gone quiet, Barnabas surveyed her small form for a moment before she spoke again. "I could return one day you know."
"And how would you do that?"
"With a messenger dragon."
"A messenger dragon? Thats a bit of a crummy name for a dragon isn't it."
"Well it sounds better in my language," she snapped at him, making him laugh a little.
"Forgive my intrusion. What do they do? Carry letters around?" He said his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"No they carry people around. China is such a vast country that we used them to travel vast distances."
"And are these dragons trainable too then? What colour are they?"
"They are trained, they're quite uncommon as they live in the sky. They sleep on clouds you know as they're wings are so large. Very hard to see as well because they're sky blue. I imagine my father has been training one to come find me..." Barnabas sat upright, the dragon which had saved him was blue with big wings, it had appeared when he was near the clearing - could that have been Ling's only ride home? Or was the dragon still above them, circling still looking for Ling? Or was it just a wild blue dragon that had just saved his life for no apparent reason at all?
"Do they eat humans?" He asked hiding his sudden movement by pretending to brush something off his leg.
"No, they prefer birds and other flying animals. Why do you want to kill one?"
"No, no I don't I just wondered why I've never seen one before," he lied, propping his head on his arms and staring it the sky.
Suddenly, high in the sky a bolt of orange light illuminated the sky above them. Both he and Ling jumped to their feet. The bolt flew across the sky at an eyewatering speed heading south.
"The red dragon!" Ling shouted jumping up and giving Barnabas a hug. "We found it!"
"No I think you mean it found us."
"Either way, get packed quick we can follow it."
They hurried quickly, grabbing and stuffing items into Rochesters saddle bag who neighed angrily at them for waking him up.
"Sorry Roch, we've got to go," Barnabas said breathlessly helping Ling onto the horse before jumping up himself. "Go go!" He shouted as they raced after the orange bolt in the sky, jumping over stumps and large rocks Rochester could barely keep his pace.
"Rochester needs a rest Barnabas, we've been travelling so long today," Ling shouted over the wind that whipped past their ears.
"Then you go ahead on him Ling, your much lighter then me. Come back when you've found it," he replied yanking at the reigns so Rochester slowed down before jumping off the horse and landing into a bramble bush.
"Bugger." he laughed waving at Ling as she disappeared into the blackness. "Hows she going to find me?" He laughed aloud again but with a note of worry in his voice for there were no notable features around him, he'd just have to hope she'd know which she always did.
Barnabas climbed out of the bramble bush with great difficulty, his clothes were torn and entangled within the horrid bushes branches. When he stood up, finally being free his legs and arms were covered in thin long cuts. Luckily the small vials which he now carried on his belt were not broken, they contained the blood from the last dragon they'd kill.
He dipped a finger in the blood and began to rub it into the cuts; Ling had told of the vast medicianl qualities of dragons blood, it's a detergent for infection, helps the body expell poison and aids the healing of burns or cuts, she'd said many other uses as well but he'd switched off.
The blood seemed to work immediately although it did sting on contact with his cuts, he watched in amazement as the dried blood seemed to evaporate on contact with the black fluid before a tingling sensation ran up his legs and arms. The black fluid had filled the cuts, it felt like hard skin...
"I wouldn't use that too much if I were you," came a voice behind him, he turned to see Ling holding Rochester's reigns.
"Your back early. Where did it land?"
"About a mile or two from here."
"Are there any settlements nearby?"
"Yes, a small one."
"Then we'll head there. But we'll walk. I think Rochester could do with a rest."
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They arrived in the small settlement of Brandon, (they had come across a small sign pointing in that direction), about half an hour later. The settlement was really just a small group of one room houses dotted about a church that dominated the landscape; Barnabas suggested they ask for a room there.
"Good evening father," Barnabas said when the side door to the church opened, revealing a young youth dressed in a well kept habit. "We wondered if you had a room?"
"Who are you?" He asked in a thick welsh accent, barring the door in attempt to stop them seeing behind him but of course Barnabas could without having to tip toe. He was hiding a stark naked boy tied to a chair. "What do you want." He added when he realised Barnabas had seen the boy.
"Whose that?"
"Just a choir bo-" he said turning around, but in that instance he'd been pushed aside by Barnabas and forced to the ground.
"It's dirty men like you that give Catholicism a bad name," Barnabas said pinning him too the floor.
"It's a sin to hurt a priest"
"It's against the law to molest little boys! I wonder how your congregation will feel about this when I tell them."
"They wouldn't believe you," the priest sneered from the floor, "they don't even know who you are."
"My lord," Barnabas corrected, "it's my Lord priest. I'm the Earl of Rochester." He removed a small dagger from the belt holding his ripped trousers up and waved it in the priests face.
"You are out of your jurisdiction then my Lord," the Priest sneered.
"I maybe, but the Duke of Suffolk was a good friend of my late fathers and I feel he might be interested to hear of this," Barnabas snapped at the man. "Ling find that boy some clothes," he said as Ling stepped over the tousled men in search of clothes.
"He's torn them to pieces," squeaked the boy who Ling now started to untie, "he...he."
"Shush child," he heard Ling whisper to the child as he pulled the priest to his feet.
"Take your clothes off priest."
Barnabas escorted the young boy dressed in the priests habit back to his families home - the priest was tied naked to the front gates of the church with 'ungodly' around his neck. The young boy's name was Jack Smith, an eight year old choir boy who claimed he would one day sing for the King. He learned all this before they'd even reached Jack's door.
"Jack! Oh thank God your safe," cried his mother when they entered the small two roomed house, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around him. She looked up and up again when she saw Barnabas bending next to him because the ceiling was so low.
"Thank you so much Sir," she exclaimed disregarding Barnabas tatty clothing, "where did you find him?"
"Tied to a chair naked in the church."
"That priest! I knew extra singing lessons I bet, wait till my Alf gets hold of him,-"
"I've already taken care of the pest," he said helping Jacks mother up, "now I wondered if you could tell me if a dragon is in the area?"
"Well I don't know if this is relevant but some of Samuel's sheep have gone missing," said a voice from the shadows, he moved into the light revealing a broad muscly man with arms like tree trunks smoking a pipe.
"This is my husband Alf sir," Jack's mother said as the two men shook hands, "and this here is? I beg your pardon Sir I haven't even asked your name."
"His name is Barnabas and he's the Earl of Rochester," piped Jack to his father excitedly.
"An Earl in my house!" Jacks mother exclaimed again, "beginning to smooth her hair and dress as though Barnabas was about to walk through the door.
“Well how do you do Sir,” Alf said shaking his hand again as though Barnabas was a completely different person, “you don't look very much like an Earl if you don't mind me saying. Your clothes look a bit tatty and torn-”
“-Thank you Alf, I was wondering if we could go back to the missing sheep?”
“Oh yes of course my Lord.”
“How long has this been going on? The sheep going missing?”
“About two months my Lord.”
“And have you seen any dragons? A red one perhaps?”
“Err no my Lord.”
"I'm sorry my Lord but my husband hasn't a clue about what he's talking back," Jack's mother snapped at her husband suddenly out of the blue.
"Am I missing something?" Barnabas enquired looking from Alf to his now red faced wife.
"No-" began Jacks mother before being interrupted by Alf.
"Yes, these sheep are being taken by the Lord of the manor." Alf retorted despite his wife throwing eye daggers at him.
"And do you know why?"
"No. I think you best ask him that my Lord," said Jacks mother crossing her arms and falling into a nearby straw chair, "my husband should not be talking of things that don't concern-"
"But Samuel's my mate Mary!"
"A drinking chum more like, you know what I think of that man Alfred he's a pox on this house!" Shouted Mary, "be quiet before you wake the other children you great oaf! I think it best you take this matter up with Sir Charles my Lord."
"Of course. Thank you Alfred for the information," Barnabas said returning to the front door, "you don't know where I could find this Sir Charles?"
"I''ll show you!" Piped Jack again, jumping up and down before Mary slapped him round the back of the head.
"No you won't Jack, its time for bed. Your father shall accompany the Earl," she said curtsying to Barnabas before going into the next room with a protesting Jack.
"Of course Mary, this way my Lord,"Alfred said submissively obeying his wife's command.
They went outside where night had now properly fallen with the moon shining high and bright in the sky, creating scary shadows out of ordinary safe objects scattered around the small houses.
"I suggest you change your clothes my Lord," Alfred said as they passed a particularly shabby looking house, "Sir Charles is very particular, very vain and your current garb might cause him offence."
"I see your point," he replied glancing down at his clothes, the moonlight made every rip and tear appear even worse, making him look like a beggar, "we might have to stop by the church then as I have some more befitting clothes there."
They approached the church from the south end, where the small building in which the priest once lived stood. Alfred left him to look at the priest tied to the north gate, so Barnabas pulled his scale armour from the only bag that Rochester was still lumbered with, (Ling had presumably moved the other bags into the priests lodgings whilst he had been at the Smith's house).
He put his green armour on over the tatty clothes as he changed outside, as he expected Alfred to reappear at any moment.
"My lord?" Came Alfred's voice in the distance, as Barnabas pulled on the torso armour, "did you say he was tied to the north gate?"
"Yes Alfred," Barnabas replied feeling rather silly talking to someone who he couldn't actually see, "why is he not there?"
"No," Alfred said reappearing, navigating his path to Barnabas through the moon's limited light, "he's not there perhaps he escaped?"
"I find that very hard to believe," Barnabas laughed, "he was completely naked. Come show me the empty gate for I do not believe you."
Together they went to the north gate and it was in fact empty, no naked priest was tied to it with 'ungodly' around his neck. Nothing visibly remained, nothing apart from a few scraps of rope on the floor with which he'd been tied up with. Barnabas bent down and examined the bars, he ran his hand along one and felt bumps or scrapes, perhaps from eager parishioners or a dragon he didn't know. But when he examined his armoured hand he saw a dark fluid on his hand, blood he thought as his armour burnt the liquid away leaving it sparkling clean again. The dragon he thought immediately.
"We need to see Sir Charles now Alfred."