Aquirya

“How are we going to hide him?” Aeyla said pointing to Attar as they landed in the hostile lands of Aquirya.

“Oh, he has a trick. Watch.” Niko said drawing his sword and looking around.

Aeyla watched as the huge beast slowly disappeared right before her eyes. In a couple seconds the huge dragon was gone, nowhere to be seen.

“Now we can have him to help and we won’t be seen.” Niko said as they felt wind underneath them from Atta getting ready for flight. “He’ll watch over us as we walk through the dead hostile forest. It was hostile because every creature and thing that lived here, will attack first and kill you. Even the fluffy looking animals like the squirrels and the cats. So you had to be on your guard.

“Why couldn’t we ride on the back of him?” Aeyla said confused.

“We wouldn’t be invisible. The birds in the hostile lands, would see us. There are other dragons here too. It is actually safer for us to move through the lands, on the ground. We can hide easier.” He motioned for her to start following her quietly.

Aeyla was satisfied with the answer. She didn’t want to put Atta or themselves in any more danger than what they were already in. She was starting to trust in Niko more and more as they traveled.

Hostile land was dark, not as dark as Hollyella forest, which was to the north of Hostile lands, but it was dark. There were patches of light here and there. Thick trees cased in the marshes, swamps, and huge patches of quicksand. It was safest to go around in the actual forest. There were smaller patches of quicksand in the forest so it was easier to deal with. You didn’t sink as quickly in the smaller patches. This was also the actual home of the rat like creatures they met in the tunnels at Tephra and many other just as ruthless creatures. There was also a huge snake pit somewhere within the lands, Niko never found it when him and his knights scouted the area though. It was treacherous land but it had to be trekked in order to come up on Komatiite undetected.

Atta flew over the Hostile Lands, searching for the easiest most not dangerous route to the huge Volcano mountain range he could find. He encountered huge black birds of prey and two other dragons that didn’t exactly notice he was in the sky with them. All they felt was a gush of wind go by as he flew right by them. Atta was almost near the beach of the hostile lands, which went out into the waters of the Camera Sea. Both the Tephra and Komatiite Volcano mountains were in the waters of the Camera Sea. The sea was murky, sludgy, and hot. You couldn’t get across it by swimming, nor in a regular boat. They’d have to come up with a different way to get to Komatiite Island.

Aeyla and Niko were coming up on a huge pond, that looked safe from the outside but if you went in it you’d suddenly realize it was a pond of poison and the “beach” around it wasn’t so beautiful when stepped on. There were also, Teegers in the pond. Teegers are tiny venomous stinging fish, they are ugly looking if you ever see them up close, let’s hope you don’t. They went around the pond, being careful not to disturb the water nor the beach at all.

Suddenly Niko heard Aeyla scream.

“Help!!” She was yelling, clearly in pain. “It’s stinging!!” She was trying to get her leg out of the water but her hands were sinking into the quick sand that surrounded the pond. Every time she lifted her hand the other would sink deeper because of the weight put on it. Niko quickly looked around for something to help them. Soon he felt a gush of wind over top of him and he knew Atta had seen the trouble and was near waiting for instructions.

Seeing the vines on the trees around the forest Niko looked up to where he thought Atta was and Whispered Loudly, “Atta! Get one of those vines and fly over her.” If Niko got close to the pond he’d be in the same situation as Aeyla and that wouldn’t be helping anyone. Atta quickly used his fire breath to break a vine free then He came down as close to Aeyla has he could, using his Dragon feet to put the vine around Aeylas’ body, he yelped when a part of his foot hit the water a couple times. He’d been taught by Aeyla herself how to tie knots, in this situation though, it was difficult and he didn’t want to choke her. Just need enough so that he could pull her out of the pond and quick sand without her slipping further either direction. When he got her out enough to where Niko could grab on to her he grabbed her feet with his cloak around his hands, trying to not touch the remaining water that was dripping off of her. She was groaning still in pain. Shaking off her hands as she glided through the air and then being gently put down on the floor so Niko could wash her off with the water he had found while Atta had pulled her out of the pond. She winced as Niko washed and wiped off the fish that had still been attached to her. After getting everything from the poisonous pond off of her, or so he hoped, he let her rest. Atta went back out on his scouting watch after he knew his precious Aeyla was alright. An hour later they were on the move again, Aeyla was still in pain and limping but she was better and most of the stinging had left her. All signs of being very poisoned weren’t there so she hoped she hadn’t gotten any of the poison in her actual system, it was the stinging that had really hurt.

They walked through more trees, around more ponds, not such dangerous ones, a couple mean squirrels and skunks, and some very hostile flowers. It was darker than usual in the Hostile lands but they could tell that nightfall had come, since it was pitch black. Aeyla called on her magic to light a fire out of nothing and it burned throughout the night around them as they slept. It protected them from any creature that would try to come near them. The fire died out when Aeyla woke up, they had no more time to waste. They could sort of see in the darkness of the hostile land. They could also feel the heat coming from the volcano mountain they were traveling towards. They were running out of food and water and it was becoming more and hotter as they got even closer to the Komatiite volcanos.

“Do you know if there is fresh water anywhere?” Aeyla sounded hoarse and could barely talk.

“At the Sea. When we get to the Beach there is a small pool of fresh water, it’ll be warm but it is fresh, it isn’t touched by anything from the hostile lands nor the volcanos.” Niko was trying to remember which way to go. They were at a part in the Hostile lands called, Sergis’s Puzzle. It was a series of traps made by a legendary Aquiryan pirate. The legend was, his treasures were somewhere around or near the puzzle part of the lands. He had hid in the Hostile Lands after Dragons had destroyed his ship the White Maiden. It had been said that he was still alive, living under the Hostile Lands and the entrance to his gold city and treasure was so hard to get to, many people, explorers, and adventurers had died or disappeared trying to find it. It was also said that the quickest and actually safest way to the volcano range was right through and right under Sergis’s puzzles. Niko had lost someone in these puzzles a long time ago. On a search to find the legendary treasure and pathways underground to make a name for himself. On an adventure to find himself and make a better living for his family. A lowly royal farmer.

Nikos Father.