Tales of Fire and Ruin - Chapter 34: Chapter 34

On horseback, if traveling at a normal speed, I estimated the ride from Wildewall to the Serpentine Mountains would take about two weeks. If you made haste, buying a new, well-rested horse in every town on the way and forgoing most of your sleep, perhaps a week.
Flying and not having to take the roads into account was obviously the faster choice. Oleander and I would keep our time advantage, but I was not happy at all with the prospect of being up in the sky for several days. Eager to find an excuse to travel by horseback and stay on the ground, I glanced at the scratches and bruises on Oleander's face.
"Are you able to fly that long with your wounds?" I asked. "Would traveling by horse not be better?"
Oleander touched a cut on his jaw. "I've had worse," he said. "If we fly, we're faster."
"True," I conceded. "But do I need to be in the mountains when the elves turn back, or could I just touch the gem here? In the forest. On the ground."
Oleander raised a brow. "You can touch it here, but how would you know when I arrive at the mountains? If the elves awaken without guidance or someone to explain to them what happened like I did, this will not end well."
"...Yes, that would be most unfortunate."
I grimaced, and Oleander finally seemed to pick up my reasons to be reluctant.
"I can carry you with both claws," he offered. "You will be more comfortable during flight than you were in one claw."
I pulled a face. "The words comfortable and flight do not belong in the same sentence. Being in the literal sky as a ground-bound human is insane."
Oleander chuckled. "If you wish to know me as I truly am, a bit insane is part of the deal, my lord." He eyed the open field. "Once I shift again, I can't change back until we arrive at the mountains. The change takes a lot of energy. I'm injured, and this would already be my third shift today."
"So, we're really doing this." I sighed. "By the thunder god's beard. Do we need ground, err, sky rules when you're a dragon? Growl once for yes and twice for no? Spit fire when there's danger?"
"We don't need rules. I can't speak, but I will understand what you say." Oleander smiled briefly at me before his expression darkened. He looked at the queen's staff, hesitated, and finally jutted it in my direction. "Under no condition touch the gem and stay where you are."
I accepted the staff from Oleander's hands. It was light, but still felt heavy to hold. The Changeling and its dark origins weighted me down. I was holding the souls of hundreds who were sacrificed in the name of this gem. "No need to warn me not to touch the evil artefact or get trampled by a dragon," I muttered to Oleander's retreating back.
Oleander walked far away from the flowers. I stayed seated on the log, and watched in awe as Oleander tossed my cloak on the ground and did the same as he'd done in the city. His arms and legs extended first. Then his spine bulged out of his back and formed bumps that would soon become wings. Scales erupted from Oleander's skin and he rapidly grew larger, expanding until he was a full-sized dragon.
I had more time to calmly look at Oleander here than I'd had in the city. Not that there was anything about a gigantic dragon standing right in front of me that made me calm. One bite, and I'd be cleaved into two Laurences. One sweep of a claw, and I'd be crushed into a pulp like grapes for wine. I hadn't even mentioned the fire-breathing yet.
My heart pounded in my throat. Oleander seemed to realise he would send me running if he made any sudden movements or even breathed out too loudly. Slowly, he lowered his face between his front claws and pressed his body to the ground so I could look directly into his emerald eyes. He stared at me unblinkingly while I gathered the courage to approach the giant beast. The beast I'd once been sworn to fight to the death.
I scooted closer one step at a time until I was standing in front of Oleander. He still didn't move, but I felt hot air blowing across my face each time he breathed out. With a nervous chuckle, I reached for his face and placed my palm on his scaled nose. It was pleasantly warm. Everything about Oleander was warm if not a little rough to the touch, and I could see the flares in his iridescent eyes even better when he was a dragon. Oleander in this form was fearsome, with sharp claws and talons, but majestic and beautiful in equal parts.
"I understand what Endris means," I muttered. "How could anyone want to kill you just for a tooth and a title?"
Oleander snorted, blowing another rush of hot wind across my face. He allowed me to satisfy my curiosity about him for a few moments longer and made a low, rumbling sound which somehow reminded me of a cat purring as I stroked his cheek. Then he stretched his legs, stood, and opened a claw.
I groaned. "Time to go, isn't it? Fine. I get the hint."
Oleander titled his head to the side as if amused. After I retrieved the queen's staff, Oleander allowed me to step into his open claws before carefully closing them around me. I held the staff firmly gripped in my hands as Oleander spread his wings and we took off. Back to the Serpentine Mountains.
Back to where it all began.
While I was fully aware we had to make haste, I couldn't stand flight for longer than a few hours at a time. Oleander stayed high in the clouds where the air was thin when we had to pass inhabited areas. If someone saw a dragon outside of the mountains, we'd likely risk panic and we'd possibly start a witch hunt on the dragons. At least, I assumed that was Oleander's reason for flying so high since we couldn't speak with each other.
It seemed dragons were fit to withstand thin air, but I wasn't. I grew faint whenever Oleander rose high, and I was grateful he seemed to notice and landed when he could to give me a literal breather. Knowing what was at stake, and knowing we had to stay ahead of the queen's soldiers, I tried to keep my breaks short. While I rested, Oleander hunted for food and made fires with his breath to roast the wildlife he'd caught. At night, Oleander kept me warmly tucked beneath a wing as I slept. Despite knowing it was Oleander, I would've likely had difficulty falling asleep next to a dragon under any other conditions. But flying all day left me so exhausted I slept like a baby.
After a few days of travel, I started recognising more of the landscape. We were in the south now. When we passed Brittleton, the shepherding village wedged between the hills, Oleander bended westward for the Serpentine Mountains. The weather was rainy with thick clouds to hide in, which boded well for us. Oleander could fly relatively close to the Serpentine Mountains without risking the people living at The Last Stop seeing us. Still, Oleander landed a safe distance away from the foot of the mountains and the town.
I was grateful to have my feet on solid ground, but without Oleander's body heat to keep me warm, I shivered in the icy wind. The clothing I wore was made for Wildewall's climate, particularly its indoor palace climate, and not for the snowy mountains looming in the distance. There would be no Endris to guide or save me this time should things go awry.
Oleander didn't shift back to his elven form yet, rather choosing to walk on the ground as a dragon. We walked until we neared the road leading to The Last Stop. I longingly stared at the smoke rising from the town, eager to sit by an inn's fireplace.
"So, they shouldn't have heard yet what happened in the capital here in the outskirts," I told Oleander. "And I'm guessing, since you're a dragon and all, I will travel ahead and buy us some warm clothes at The Last Stop's market. We're going to need them." I frowned. "Ah, blast, but I didn't bring any coin with me."
Oleander growled lowly. He lowered his head and nudged my chest. The gesture was gentle, but still made me step back to keep my balance.
"You want me to use my mark to convince them to give me stuff for free?" I guessed. "Yeah, no. That may work in the capital, but here in the south, people only listen to coin and I'm not going to intimidate an innocent merchant into giving it for free."
Oleander growled again, sounding annoyed.
"What?" I asked. I looked down at my chest. I was met with the sight of dirty but expensive clothing meant for a formal outing in Wildewall's. The merchants of The Last Stop likely wouldn't buy the clothes in their current state... but they would certainly trade for the expensive gemstones woven into the fabric. "Oh," I exclaimed, stretching the word. "I get it. The gemstones. Thankfully, the merchants on the outskirts won't ask too many questions about where I got my wares." I started tugging on the strings holding the gemstones in place to wiggle a few loose. "So, I go in, get us warm clothes. Then we head to the mountains?"
With a deep sigh—something I didn't even know dragons could even do—Oleander drooped to the ground. He shook his head, then closed his eyes as if going to sleep.
"Right. You're right," I said, already yawning as well at the sight of Oleander laying down. "You must be tired after all that flying. And you're injured."
It was hard to tell how severe the arrow wounds were while Oleander was a dragon and with dried blood caking the wounds. I gave the largest wound on his shoulder a lingering look and nodded. "Of course. We can rest one night at the inn. I will make sure I'll get a hat too for your ears. A braid isn't going to cover it anymore. Get it? Cover?"
Oleander cracked one eye open and shot me an unamused, tired glance. I raised one hand in defence, showing him the gemstones I had just freed from my clothes. "No jokes. Fine. Right. I'm going. Oh, without this of course."
I lowered the queen's staff onto  the ground in front of Oleander and then stepped onto the road leading to the Last Stop.
The quaint, colourful village I remembered from over two months ago hadn't changed much. The people living at The Last Stop were used to weary travellers from all wind directions, so most didn't spare me a second glance as I walked through the streets on my way to the market. While I passed one of the inns, however, I felt eyes prickling on my back. When I looked over my shoulder, I found three men hanging out in front of the building staring at me. They were dressed like mercenaries, probably on their way to Wildewall to find fortunate and fame. Mostly fortune. I was keenly aware of the expensive clothing I was currently wearing. If these gentlemen made the mistake of trying to steal from me, I'd be forced to blow my cover and reveal myself as a storm-touched.
Quickening my pace, I was grateful to see none of the men came after me. They did stare until I turned the corner, but didn't follow. I reached a garment market stall and bought two sets of warmth clothes (including one hat) and boots from a jolly woman who accepted the gemstones as payment after a thorough inspection. I gratefully slipped on my pair of fur-lined wear and left with haste.
On the way out of town, I purposely took a different route so I would not have to pass the inn again. I made sure nobody had follow me before I made my way back to Oleander's hiding spot.
Oleander watched me return to him with a reared head. The moment I reached his side, he began shifting back to his elven form. Claws became hands, and scales soft, pale skin. I was quick to offer Oleander his set of warmth clothing because the icy wind was so sharp it felt like it cut straight through any exposed patch of skin.
Shivering violently, Oleander quickly pulled the clothes on, wincing whenever the fabric brushed against a wound. He used the hat to carefully cover his ears, and my cloak to hide the gem. Making knots in the fabric as he fastened it to the staff, he ensured the Changeling would stay hidden.
While Oleander worked, I couldn't help but smile. "Hey, welcome back."
Oleander looked up, and only now I realised how gaunt his cheeks were and how dark and bruised the skin below his eyes was. My smile faded instantly. "Are you alright?" I asked, taking a step closer.
"I could very much use a meal and sleep," Oleander replied, his voice hoarse and tired.
"So you could," I muttered with a frown. "Can you even walk? Here, just let me..." I reached out to help Oleander walk, but stopped mid-gesture, leaving my hand grasping air.
I wasn't sure if I was supposed to touch him this intimately. With Oleander as a dragon, it was easier. But with Oleander as a person, there were still many things left unsaid.
Oleander smirked at my hesitance. "Are you going to insist you must carry me to the inn now? I can walk on my own, Laurence."
"I mean, you've been carrying me the past few days. It's only fair if I carry you for a bit," I said.
I was serious, but Oleander snorted and turned away from me. He headed towards the road with a slight limp, and I'd known him and his stubbornness long enough now to know he wouldn't accept being carried. Thankfully, Oleander didn't topple over somewhere on the way and we reached The Last Stop safely together.
Remembering the sinister men lurking near the entrance of the inn I'd passed earlier, I led Oleander down a different road to another, smaller establishment I knew of. It was likely a better place to stay for us regardless, considering we were fugitives. The law hadn't caught up with us yet, but the fewer people who saw us here, the better.
The Stuffed Goose was a small, red-bricked inn with a plume of smoke from the fireplace inside rising above it. I pulled open the front door which led to cosy room with a low ceiling, and dusty oil lamps warmly illuminating a wooden desk with an old man seated behind it. His eyes lit up when he saw us, or rather, when his gaze darted down to my expensive clothing.
"Ah, guests," he called out, rubbing his hands together. "Welcome to the Stuffed Goose. My name is Sully. How may I help you fine gentleman on this beautiful day?"
The man smiled at us, making his eyes nearly disappear between his bushy eyebrows and wrinkles.
"We will need a meal and a bed for the night, Sully," I said. "And some cloth and water to clean out my, uh, my companion's wounds."
Sully hummed. He made an eye-sweep of Oleander, but all his wounds were hidden beneath his clothes now. Sully didn't question me. He simply nodded. "Naturally, that can be arranged. Now would that be... two rooms, or one room, sir?"
Heat rushed to my face as I instinctively turned to Oleander for guidance.
"One room will do," Oleander replied.
Oleander and the innkeeper exchanged a look. Whatever Sully saw in Oleander's gaze seemed to lead him to a certain conclusion. He smirked at me knowingly. "Ah, of course. One room with a large bed, I understand."
"But," I sputtered.
Sully held up his hand and winked. "We have no problems and no questions as long as you pay up. You're out in the wilderness, and we do what we need to do, right? Everything that happens at the Stuffed Goose stays here."
"But," I sputtered in protest again with burning cheeks. After one glance at Oleander's amused face, however, I gave up just so this exchange with Sully would end. "Fine," I said, pulling a few of the gemstones I'd removed from my clothes out of my pocket. "We'll take the one room with the big bed."