Part 17: Into the Mountains

The next morning, Raina Lynn was up before the sun, making sure all their bags were securely fastened and checking to make sure all the supplies were packed. When she thought Krisr had slept enough, she trotted over to the bed and nuzzled his hair.

*Wake up, sleepy,* she projected at him. Krisr groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore her. Raina Lynn paused only a second before nosing him in the ribs.

"Gah..." Krisr muttered in annoyance, slowly sitting up. Raina Lynn noticed with some concern that he had dark circles under his slightly puffy eyes. He yawned and shook his head, trying to wake up more fully.

*What's wrong?* Raina asked him. He seemed tired and listless.

"Bad dreams, m'lady, nothing more," he told her. She sensed that he didn't want to talk about them. Usually, when Krisr had nightmares, his nightmares were past memories from his rough childhood. He had told Raina some things when he thought she was old enough to understand, but he often told her nothing about his dreams. She was careful not to pry. Raina Lynn stood close by as he stood and started getting ready to go. Outside, the sky was turning a lighter shade of purple, signaling the approaching dawn.

"Where's our Portal friend?" Krisr asked as he dried his face and then tried to wet down his unruly hair. His black locks were growing long and fell down his neck now. After he was satisfied with his hair, he pulled on the deep red tunic he had made from thick, warm material and laced it up in front. He fastened his heavy dagger-laden belt around his waist, then sat down in a chair to work on his boots. They were tough and fur lined, and each one hid a dagger in the back. After all the buckles were fastened, Krisr leaned back and stretched out his arms, trying to work the cricks out of his back. Raina Lynn, who had gotten distracted watching him, suddenly remembered his question.

*He's under the bed,* she said. Raina moved over to the bed and stuck her nose into the space beneath it. *It is nearly sunrise,* she projected to the wyrm. *We must go soon.*

The Portal wyrm flicked open its eyes to peer at her from under his grassy mane. After a few minutes of indecision, he uncoiled and slid out into the room. He shook his back scales and stretched out to full length, yawning openly. This ritual complete, he coiled up and waiting until it was time to depart.

Krisr had just finished putting on his outer vest when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said in a high falsetto. The door swung open, revealing Indyana and Pierre.

*Ready, my young adventurers?* Pierre projected, striding into the cabin while Indyana stood in the doorway.

"Ready and more," Krisr answered. His eyes made one last sweep of the cabin that had been his home for the past few seasons. Assured that nothing was left behind, he gathered his packs and exited, following Pierre and Raina Lynn outside. The Portal wyrm came last, and Krisr waited for him to slide past before shutting the cabin's door.

As the sun peeked over the mountains, a cascade of golden light brushed the tallest trees and buildings in the Center. The morning air was cool and damp, a sure sign of the summer humidity that would come in a month's time. Indyana looked into the dawn, probably trying to judge the day's weather.

*Good luck, daughter,* Pierre said, nuzzling Raina Lynn and making sure she had her cloak securely fastened. She would be heading into the Shrivik Mountains, and the cold up there was legendary. The shadows of the mountains were chilly, even in spring and summer. Seeing that she seemed packed and ready, Pierre stepped back to examine her, beaming. She returned his smile.

*I will miss you, father,* she told him, leaning forward to briefly touch noses with him. Indyana, meanwhile, was giving Krisr some last-minute pointers.

"Don't travel when it is snowing ever. Always find shelter. Also, look out for the Avalines. Once you make it through Berling's Pass, you should be all right." She made sure Krisr was paying attention, then nodded to him. "Now, off with you."

"We'll stay in touch," Krisr promised. Indyana had given him instructions for sending messages by fairy dragonfly and given him an emergency signalling crystal.

"All right, this portal will take you outside the boundaries of the Refuge, into the mountains," Indyana explained. With a wave of her hand, she opened a swirling doorway of light. Krisr took one last look around, then stepped through the portal. The Portal wyrm was next, at Raina Lynn's insistance. She followed him closely. Once they were gone, Indyana sealed the portal.

*I hope they will be all right,* Pierre worried, looking west to the sunkissed mountains.

"They will be just fine, Pierre," Indyana told him, giving his shoulders an affectionate rub. Together, the two turned back to the main cabin. The day had begun, and, as always, there was much work to be done.

* * * * * * *

Once on the other side of the Portal, Krisr got his bearings and the small group began making their way up the mountainside. "Kelev is a few days to the northeast," he told the two dragons. "We can walk until we find good shelter for the night."

*Sounds like a plan to me,* Raina Lynn said, happy to be on the move. Krisr began murmuring one of his songs, cutting in and out of the lyrics and humming in the gaps.

"... hair of gold, sun's true love... time sold. Winter came... -st, time and true love meet at last..." he sung to himself, trying to walk in the patches of sunlight and avoid the cooler shaded areas. The Portal wyrm slithered contentedly along the rocky ground with a light scraping noise, clearly in his element. Krisr turned to look at him, then suddenly asked, "So, do you have a name?"

The wyrm seemed to consider the question for a few moments and did not answer.

"If you don't tell me, I'll just have to start calling you Rocky. Hey, Rocky!" Krisr said in one of his joke voices, waving at the wyrm. The wyrm, for his part, furrowed his brow in an expression Krisr found oddly familiar.

*I do not have a name,* the wyrm said, his voice echoing in Krisr's mind for the first time... although it seemed to Krisr that he had heard it before, somewhere. It was gruff and gravely around the edges yet still young at its core.

"Would you like to suggest something?" he pressed, trying to get the wyrm to continue talking.

*I have nothing to suggest.*

"Rocky it is!" Krisr proclaimed.

*Krisr!* Raina Lynn admonished.

"Umm... the Rock, Graywyrm, Cloudy, Grumpy, Bitey..."

*Krisr...* she growled warningly in his mind.

"Well, I don't know!" Krisr exclaimed, exasperated, throwing up his arms. "It isn't as though he talks to me much. I have no idea what he is like besides silent and ill tempered."

*Let us think a bit harder... names should have meanings.* Raina Lynn suggested.

*Does your name have a meaning?* the wyrm asked her privately.

*Yes, it means 'beautiful queen',* Raina Lynn replied, trying to appear as though she was deep in thought.

*My name should be strong... as are the mountains,* the wyrm mused. He did not know any names not in his native tongue, and he was not about to reveal that to the human, no matter what. G'herd'sol shall be my name no longer, he vowed to himself, hiding that thought even from Raina Lynn.

*Perhaps something solid, like these mountains,* Raina suggested to Krisr.

"I suggested Rocky..." he pointed out.

*NOT Rocky,* the wyrm protested loudly. Krisr relented and began to think of actual names.

"Well... 'stan' can be used to mean 'stone'... " he began, "and... 'draca' can mean 'dragon'... how about Dracstan? Dragon of Stone."

The wyrm was quiet for a few moments, concentrating on the ground in front of him. *That will do,* he said at last.

"Can I call you Stan?"

*No.*

"Very well, Dracstan," Krisr said. Almost immediately he went back to singing quietly.

*Dracstan...* Raina Lynn murmured. She glanced upward at the neverending terrain of rocks.

* * * * * * *

They traveled at a slow pace for most of the day, ambling up the mountain. Finally, they stopped. Krisr was hungry, and Dracstan seemed to be tiring, though he would not admit it. He kept weaving back and forth erratically, sometimes wandering away before snapping back to reality and moving back to the group. They chose a flat ledge of rock that had been soaking up the sun all day. Krisr plopped down gratefully, and Raina Lynn brought out one of their water bags and filled the three small bowls they had brought. After everyone had enjoyed a drink, Krisr unwrapped some of the fruit and bread he had packed. The fruit would last the shortest amount of time and should be among the first things eaten. He pulled out one of his clean knives and was about to cut up one of the soft plums for Dracstan when he was interrupted.

*No,* Dracstan said.

Krisr looked up, a question in his eyes.

*I can do it myself.*

Krisr shrugged and put the plum in front of the wyrm. He didn't bother to wonder how Dracstan had known the plum was for him. Dracstan reached his tail forward and wrapped it around the large plum, then proceeded to take ravenous bites from it. Krisr watched him covertly as he ate the plum bit by bit, getting completely gooey in the process. Raina Lynn finished a plum on her own, then munched on a roll. She offered Dracstan a bit, but he declined, instead curling up on the warm surface and dozing. Krisr ate his plum slowly, looking at the sky.

"It will be night soon," he said. Raina Lynn nodded. Already, sunset was on its way, and once the sun dipped behind the mountains above them, it would get quite cold. "We should find shelter."

*Those ledges up there look promising. Think we can make them by sunset?* Raina asked. Krisr looked at the deep ledges, which were only a short way above them.

"I would say so. Shall we dub them Camp Do-Good for the evening?"

*Let us rest a bit longer, then head up,* Raina Lynn said, wanting to give Dracstan time to regain his strength.

They sat quietly, listening to the sounds of the wind moving through the mountains and the calls of birds from the groves of trees scattered within the canyons, and they waited for Dracstan to awake.