Master Of None

The outside of the carved cave had been changed. The dragonkin were nowhere to be found. They had done their duty and now were required to make themselves scarce as not to be in the way of the royal leaving. It was the normal measure taken when a royal left a village. Mostly due to the large wingspan, a dragon would have when taking off. 

The carved wooden basket was now painted with brilliant blues and some gold highlights. The entire thing was much more than what the party had expected. They would have a lot of room to even lay down during the flight back. The dragonkin carpenters had used many of their finest skills. 

Walker found the large crate that had been left for them. Remey almost went to work opening it without thinning since she knew there were herbs inside that she could use and study. However, Walker had been faster and stored it away before she even touched it. There was a slight glare from Remey but she understood that they would need to wait until she was at the alchemy lab for them to really get in to exploring what herbs and seeds she was given. However, she had a sneaking suspicion that they were the ones she had been looking at and studying. 

"I shall uphold my deal with you, Lord. Please prepare yourselves for the journey back to your home. IO will show you the start of the trail to the main village. It is only able to be seen from above due to the other trails around it."Illia was sure that she could fly to the human kingdom in less time than any other means of transportation. But if she rushed and did not do what Adair had told her, she would be in a poor position when it came to the guidance she would receive. She also had gained some respect for humans for the first time in her life, although, she was a little annoyed about the fact that they had touched her centennial ice. She now made sure there were markings all around the area to show it was hers. 

"Alright, Midnight, make sure you pay attention to how Illia flies. You can learn a lot from this." Midnight had already been paying very close attention to every movement from Illia's wings since she met her. But after Walker told her to do so she came to the realization that she would be able to learn a much deeper detail of flying from directly underneath Illia. The response was a sharp growl of energy. "And Onyx, it will get cold up higher so you might want to slip in to your tattoo form to stay warm." Onyx had thought of this too and followed Walker's advice. 

Zephyr had left the bow slung on Gil's back and already rushed in to the air. There was nothing that he could do. Su's partner the earth spirit had also returned to the shield to rest after exploring the carved cave with vigor. The only spirit that had remained around the entire time was the alchemy fire spirit that didn't seem keen on leaving Remey or a fire nearby. Their bond seemed to be much closed since Remey needed its help consistently while making potions. The two were more like the same being than two separate spirit and human. 

Illia took off from the ground in a gust of wind while the group boarded the large wooden carved basket. It was easy to say that it was similar to a boat in some ways and would have been able to hold twenty more people with ease. Seeing that Illia was flying toward them in a speedy glide Walker shouted for everyone to hold on. The jerk that came next was expected of Illia since she was lifting the additional weight in the air. Yet, it seemed like this was nothing to her. The entire party knew she could easily lift up ten times the weight that they were at her higher level and age. 

The rush of wind was too much for them as they rose higher and higher toward the clouds, It was not as high as they thought but it was much higher than they had flown on the way to the mountains. Walker was the only one that forced himself to stand and look over the edge. "That path marked with ice on one side is the trail I have marked for you. Memorize the turns and small stone statues we placed there of those who built the village."

Walker could barely make out the statues. They were definitely larger than a normal statue but nowhere near the grand size of an adult dragon. The key thing was that these statues were always at intersections and the tails that he could see pointed toward the proper direction to travel. 

From the height they climbed to, it was clear that the branch water dragon village was far from any other village and considered the outskirts of the mountains. The taller mountains in the range were nearly impossible to consider traveling to if someone did not follow the trail marked completely. There was also the fact that the entire trail was not shown, just the part that passed by the branch village. Walker would have to learn from what he saw now how to get to the main village the rest of the way. 

When Illia glided over the ending of the trail at the base of the mountain range, Walker made out a small and still green forest. He knew it must be magic keeping it that way and wondered how he had never heard of it until he remembered the extremely complicated draconic runes that had been mentioned. With so many years, it was clear that the dragons could make amazing things. 

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