Fable - Ask Road to the Dragon Keep

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T

Tamila Foster

Ashieron

Tamila tightened her backpack's strap as another stranger passed. Monster hunters or no, she knew plenty of people would take issue with her if they knew she had a dragon egg hidden in her pack. Up until a few weeks ago, she might've even felt the same. "This isn't exactly the kind of adventure I was expecting, that's for sure." She liked this part of Alliria at least, much more open than the maze of buildings she'd found in the city proper. She stopped outside the entrance to a store, the Horse and Hammer, owned by a Míriel Fëanorna, a villager told her it had everything she needed.

She took a deep breath and opened the door to the shop. Seeing and feeling the heat from the furnace as she walked inside. "Um, hello?" She got distracted by the racks of weapons to her left. "You could barely get horseshoes at the blacksmith back home!" She shook her head, refocusing herself. She approached the front desk. "I'm looking to make a few purchases." She hoped they had what she needed, otherwise she'd be stuck with a half-filled quiver of arrows and her old hunting knives.
 
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"Atreyu!"

Míriel Fëanorna threw the halter on the grass in a moment of uncharacteristic despair as the young colt pranced past her with his tail held high; clearly the stallion was pleased with himself. Usually she was very good with horses - people often said it was like she could talk to them. But clearly her and Atreyu spoke two entirely different languages. Either that, or he was just a little shit. Entirely possible considering his Sire. Thorlion, her pride and joy, stood to the side attempting to give her as innocent look as possible. She had found the pair of them in the tack room trying to ransack her bag of treats. When they had been spotted, they had bolted - except Atreyu had taken the bag with him. She had shot off after him with a halter in an attempt to bring him to justice. Just as she had got close, the brat had ripped the bag - deliberately, she was pretty sure, and strew the contents across the grass for the rest of the herd.

Oooooh that colt was losing something precious soon.

"Manners, Thorlion, manners, or remind him what happened to the last bratty colt," she marched back towards the forge. As she got to the fence line she heard the door go and vaulted it with practised ease.

"Sorry about that, I was just dealing with the horses," Miriel smiled to the young girl and swept her eyes over her quickly, making a quiet assessment of the types of items she would be best suited too from the shop. But, customers were always right so, "What exactly is it you're after?"
 
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Tamila smiled in a friendly manner when the blacksmith appeared. "Oh, no problem." She also glanced down at her equipment when she noticed Miriel look her over. She rubbed the back of her head. "Arrows, daggers, a new horse. I'm after a lot of stuff actually." She laughed awkwardly. "Let's, start with the arrows. Do you have any for sale?"
 
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Miriel nodded and motioned to the wall of weapons, striding over to have a look at what she already had made up that would be suitable for the girl.

"You can choose how many you want and the fletchings from the bucket. They're a copper each or 20 for a silver coin," she pointed to the large wooden tub filled with them. "Daggers; are looking to use them to defend yourself, to throw, to hunt, a bit of everything?" she ran her fingers along the rack where five of them sat, and then a dual pair. Each was very different and had a different purpose.
 
Tamila followed Miriel over to the wall and stared at all the assorted weapons. She didn't even know where to start with all that. She glanced at the wooden tub filled with arrows and nodded. One by one, she took arrows until her quiver had been refilled. She ended up taking twenty-seven total, noting to herself that she'd have to pay one silver and seven bronze coins. She could already tell her poor coin purse was going to be hit hard by this little shopping trip.

She returned her attention to the rack of knives and examined each of them. Her eyes settling on the dual pair. "A little bit of everything." She grabbed her old hunting knives and took them off her belt. Holding them out to show the blacksmith. "If you'd allow it. I'd be willing to trade in my old ones to cover some of the cost."
 
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Miriel took the blades and examined them in the light. They weren't bad metal, not the best, but she could easily melt them down and turn them into something a little nicer. She nodded: trade accepted. Setting them on her desk she picked up one of the blades which was made in an elfish design. It looked like a vicious thing: as long as her forearm with a deadly curve.

"Try this one, it's light too if you're planning on travelling. It cuts skin like butter, and I've been told they whittle pretty well," a light shrug: what her customers did with their blades wasn't her prerogative. "It's also big enough you won't need a sword against an enemy should you need to defend yourself from one, though I wouldn't exactly go around brandishing it and asking for one," a slight frown. "Do you mind if I ask the nature of your quest? It might help me determine what other things may be of help to you."
 
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Tamila held her breath while the blacksmith examined her knives. If she refused the trade, she might not have enough coin left to buy a horse. She exhaled when Miriel nodded. "Thank you." She looked at the elfish dagger when the blacksmith picked it up. A little more deadly looking than she was used to, but she supposed that fit with her situation. She grimaced at the 'cutting skin' comment. "Good to know."

She nodded along as Miriel told her more about the weapon, smiling a little. "I'm not going to go picking any fights. But I think they'll come to me." She bit her lip at the blacksmith's last question. She couldn't tell her the truth, at least, not all of it. She seemed nice enough, but if she told her she was carting around a dragon egg that might change. But, she still needed the best equipment for the trip ahead. After a few more seconds she finally answered. "The Spine, I'm, on a trip to the Spine."

It was a longshot, but some Allirian's spun wild tales, claiming that dragons lived there on the high peaks. If she brought one of them the egg, maybe they'd adopt it. If she could find them that is, or, if they even really lived there at all.
 
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"The Spines isn't a place to be alone," Miriel's eyebrows slowly pulled together as she folded her arms over her chest. Nothing would drive someone to dive into an area on the map even Monster Hunters hesitated before entering. Death was around every corner, and even those who might not kill you wanted you gone. "If you do not know where you are going you're going to end up losing a limb or worse." It was a blunt truth but it was the truth. When she had lived amongst the herd of winged horses, she had learned very quickly why they had survived only because of their wings. Ogres, Goblins, Banshee, Lycons, Giants, Shreikers... the list was endless. Plus, she got the sense the girl was not telling her the whole truth of her journey.

Miriel walked over to her desk and pulled out a map of the Spines and motioned for the girl to join her. There were several markings all over it indicating the different nests of creatures she had had the misfortune of stumbling across during her journeys across it - the only way home for her was through it.

"This is what you're going to be facing, and this is just what I've seen myself. Are you sure you need to go to The Spines?"
 
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Tamila winced at the image Miriel painted. The thought of losing a limb, or dying, making her shiver. She knew the Spines were dangerous, and the woman's warning wasn't very encouraging either. She didn't want to go alone, but she could barely scape up the coin for weapons, no way she could afford a mercenary brave enough to walk the Spines.

She walked over to the desk when Miriel motioned her over and stared at the map. Her eyes widening at all the markings. "You really faced all this? I, wow." The blacksmith was more impressive than she thought. But that was more nests than she expected. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I, yes, I'm sure." She scratched the back of her head. "I know, I must look like a stupid girl on a crazy quest. But, this is something I have to do. You could say I owe it to someone." She set a hand on the strap of her backpack.

She looked up at Miriel as she thought of something. Although judging from how the conversation had unfolded for her so far, she doubted the answer would be encouraging. "When you were there, did you ever encounter, or hear about, any dragons?"
 
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"Trust me, it was not willingly," if the smithy could have avoided those creature she would have done. She had barely escaped with her and Thorlions life several times, and her winged horse was native to those lands. She could sympathise that the young woman owed someone a favour but, it must be a life debt to make someone go into The Spines. "You must have loved this person a lot to risk such a challenge." It still didn't mean she was entirely happy about letting the girl set off on such a task alone.

Surprised coloured her eyes when she was then asked about dragons and she glanced over her map, tapping the symbol of a forked tail. "I've not seen any myself, but I was told one had been spotted in this area a few years back. Dragons tend to not want to be found - if it's not hunters seeking trophies, it's crazy mages looking for their bones for spells. If you cross their territory they're more likely to ask your corpse a question than risk their home being invaded," Miriel looked up at the girl again and quietly wondered what this girl would want with such creatures. "If you're dragon hunting you're going to need more than a dagger."
 
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Ash has entered the stop and overheard the conversation as he looked around for some arrows, not that he himself needed them. It was more for a friend who had run out and was too busy to go get more. He would chuckle at the mention that crazy mages wanted to use their bones and that they would sooner ask a corpse a question.

"Sorry miss' but mages don't use their bones for spells. More like what other parts of their bodies are needed, say the blood and heart. Even then that is for dark magic. Unless you are a witch which there are very few of them around then bones arent really coveted. They are just bones after all." He smiles giving the two women a bow.

The elf smiles, "The dragons of The Spine are for the most part high up in the mountains after all." He'd look at the blacksmith, "If anyone hunts dragons within the Spine they usually will have to deal with me." He'd smile and put a huge bag of coin on the counter, "Anything the miss needs and that should cover it all."
 
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Tamila smiled sadly at the memory of the dragon who'd spared her. "I owe her my life." She looked at the forked tail on the map. She felt relief and apprehension at the same time. There was a chance, which means she'd have to take it. Her head snapped up at the blacksmith's last comment. "I'm not hunting them," she said firmly, before she realized she'd slipped up and cleared her throat. "Ah, thanks for the information. This'll really help me on my quest."

She jumped a little at the sound of a new voice and turned around. A bit embarrassed she didn't hear the other elf walk in. She tilted her head. "Really? Where'd you learn that?" she asked. Factual knowledge of dragons didn't seem easy to come by. Her eyes widened further at the next thing he said. "Wait, deal with you? Are, you from the Spine?"

Somehow she ended up being even more surprised when the stranger set a huge bag of coin on the counter, she gawked at it for a few seconds. "Huh? T-thank you, but I, you don't have to do that, I'm sure I can manage." She finally got ahold herself. "I'm sorry, but, who are you?"
 
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Miriel smiled at the other customer in her shop and rested her palms on the desk so that she could lean her weight on them.

"Thank you for the correction, I wasn't aware of that. Being a rider and protector of the Winged Horses I tend to stay away from dragons myself," the smithy chuckled and once Ash had introduced himself and answered the girls initial question, she rolled up her map and passed it to the girl. "Perhaps, this might be of use to you on your travels, though it seems as though you have yourself a guide. If you're not looking for further weapons - I can show you the horses? And yourself Sir, are you after anything but arrows that I can help with?"
 
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"That would be all miss." Ash smiles with a nod. "As for the horses, do not mind me with one. For I will be able to keep up if need be." He's ear would flick some as he remembered the shock on one dragon hunter's face when he caught up to her. Those were the days.

He'd look at Tanila, "Yes I am from The Spine. But I travel a lot around the known world. But I know my way in the Spine and how to survive there." He'd look out past the door thinking, "To answer you're question as to where I learned all I know is with age." He'd laugh some, "I'm a whole lot older than you miss." He'd offer his hand, "Name is Ashieron. But please call me Ash. I am of many things."
 
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Tamila smiled when the stranger said he knew about the Spine. The gods smiled on her today, for her to run into someone able and (hopefully) willing to help her. She reached out and shook his hand. "Tamila Foster, it's nice to meet you, Ash." She looked back at Miriel when she held the map out to her. She took it and gave the blacksmith a half-bow. "Thank you ma'am, and, yeah, I could still use a horse."

She glanced at Ash hopefully. "How about it, would you be willing to guide me to the Spine? I can pay you, maybe not now, but someday."
 
Miriel had to admit she felt a lot better now the girl was heading off with someone, it wouldn't have sat well with her conscious if she had found out months down the line something had happened to her. She tended to try and keep a distance between herself and what her customers were doing, but sometimes she couldn't help it. Once Ash had answered the question she inclined her head slightly and motioned for the girl to follow her out back.

"Excuse me if you find it a rude question, but it will help me pair you with the right horse - what level of riding do you have?" Ash was obviously free to join them outside in the fields too.
 
Ash would indeed follow the pair, "I would be willing to guide you to The Spine. In fact I have just the place in mind." The elf smiles, "No need to pay me either." He says shaking his head at the notion of being paid for a simple service which he did somewhat often.

As the two women talked about the horses he would make himself comfortable against a tree and look up at the sky. Giving them their privacy about such matters.
 
"Thank you. I'm not sure I could've found my way otherwise." Tamila said to Ash as they followed Miriel outside. She smiled at him briefly as he wandered off to a nearby tree. She turned her attention back to Miriel and answered her. "I've ridden. My neighbor owned a few horses and, sometimes, they'd let me ride them. But I've never ridden one outside a ranch before."
 
"Right, then you want something with more brains," Miriel pondered as she led the girl up the field to where the horses were grazing in a herd. Thorlion raised his head and nickered gently, slowly making his way over to see if there were any treats to be had, despite his earlier antics. She smiled as he reached her and she gave him a scratch behind the ears. "We need a sure footed but swift horse who won't get spooked in The Spines," she spoke casually to the stallion. Almost as she spoke they both looked to Atreyu.

"The best way to tell if you like a horse is to ride a few, are you ok with that?" Miriel glanced to the girl as she began walking towards the three horses she thought would be most suited. The first was a young Sleithry mare with a beautiful chestnut coat and a white blaze down her nose. "This is Marcy, she's built for speed and she's one of the more courageous - loves to jump big so just be prepared for that. This is Zorrento, he's a Destrien - they're quite feisty but are a nice big armchair type," she motioned to the taller dark bay, whom she also slipped a halter over. "And this, this is Atreyu. He is a rising 3 year old Yunish breed - they're slimmer than the Destrien's but it means they have a bit more speed. He's quite strong so you need gentle hands, and he definitely has spirit," she smiled. Atreyu was a buckskin colour with long sooty black socks, a thick black mane and matching tail. He snorted in their general direction. "Which would you like to try first?"
 
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Tamila stared at the winged horse, having never seen a creature like him before. "He's beautiful. Is that your steed?" she asked, remembering what the blacksmith said about being a rider and protector for such creatures. She refocused herself and nodded. "I'm okay with riding a few horses. I'd want to know if they're right for me before I leave after all."

She looked from horse to horse as Mariel described them all. Her gaze eventually stopping on the first one, Marcy. "I could use a courageous horse. I'll try riding her first." She walked up to Marcy and scratched her behind the ears.
 
Miriel smiled before disappearing into a nearby tack room and bringing out a saddle and bridle. Marcy was preening under the attention and didn't batter an eye about being tacked up. As she went about her duties she answered the girls question. "Yes, Thorlion is my one true love," a chuckle. "I tended to his wounds when he was a very young colt, and ever since we have been inseparable." Once she was done she held the reigns to the young girl.

"Have a ride and see what you think," she smiled, and got the other two tacked up and ready for when she wanted to try them too.
 
(Alright.)

Tamila smiled at the story. Her thoughts drifting to the egg hidden in her backpack. "Is that what inspired you to start a ranch?" She took the reigns from the woman and carefully mounted Marcy. She tightened the strap of her backpack to keep it, and more importantly, the egg, as stable as possible. She settled into riding position and guided the horse into a trot.
 
"Sort of, I am a member of the Cavalry of my people," her lips twitched as she watched the pair working in nice little circles. Marcy was a good little horse, she was rather proud of how she had turned out. It seemed the extra attention to ground and lunge work was making her stronger than some of the others of her kind she had left to mature on their own. "It is one of the trials to find your own horse. But, when we got back it just didn't quite feel right, we wanted open roads. I'm over 200 years old," her eyes creased into a smile. "So we've been around the block a few times. I came to Alliria to learn from a master blacksmith, and ended up staying. When he died he left me the forge and this land, and I thought why not expand - it seemed a natural fit.

You two look nice together."
 
Tamila continued riding Marcy in circles around the field. While the horse tried to increase her speed on her own a few times, Tamila managed to keep her steady. "Your people? Where are you from, if not Alliria?" She giggled a bit at the age remark. "You've got 180 years on me, and you seem to have done pretty well with the blacksmith. I heard good things about it from some of the locals."

She eventually guided Marcy to a stop and patted her head. "Thanks. She handles well, you must've done a really good job training her." She decided to see how well she could handle Marcy's speed. She positioned herself at the end of the field and gave her a slight kick to get her into a run. Marcy sprinted forward, faster than Tamila expected her to. She let out a started yelp as Marcy jumped halfway across, but managed to regain control before too long.
 
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