Chapter 9: Zipz

I helped the old men finish loading up their boat. It was a small fishing ship, nothing worth mentioning. As we loaded I learned more about them. The two men were called Phil and George. They were fishermen by trade, though back when they were younger they were adventurers. Which brought them to the first reason why they were looking for Captain Foreange. About twenty years before they were treasure hunting in Vlandstar Proper. At one point they blew up a hill and ended up freeing the Captain from an Angry mob of Gnomes. The Captain promised to rewarded them, but they hadn't found her since. But thanks to that adventure they gained their nickname, the Hillbusters. I was about to inquire about the Girl, when we finished packing up the Ship and Phil said, "Time to eat." We went to a nice inn, where we ate and played cards. It wasn't until we left late that night that I realized she hadn't been with us that night. And by then it was too late to ask about her. We returned to the boat, where we drew lots for who was sleeping where. I got the poop deck, where I quickly fell asleep.

Something sat on me and I woke up. The sun was just rising over the horizon and already I was being sat on by a pig. It was a little black and white pig, like a Dalmatian. George came over to me.

"So Jimbo here sat on you, 'aye. Well get up 'cause we leave in five minutes," he said. I stood up, much to the annoyance of the pig, and went over to the cabin situated the center of the deck. There I learned the plan.

"So how good are you with the crossbow?" Phil asked me.

"Umm, okay," I replied, puzzled. "Why do you need to know?"

Phil just laughed. Goerge replied, "You didn't really think that we were going to sail, did you?"

"Well actually I did," was my answer.

By then Phil had recovered. "Don't be silly. Were gonna shoot this grappling hook into one of the ships and have it pull us," he said.

"Oh," I replied, wondering how I ended up on a ship with a bunch of cheaters. They cheated at cards too. Then the massive ships of the Marenas set sail. I quickly shot a grappling hook into the boat and off we went.

The first few days were boring. There was nothing but water and waves. But it started to get interesting once we reached our first island...

Chapter 8: Illeelo

Illeelo led The Order of the Golden Eyed through the inner labyrinth of the castle of Jangar. As he led them he came to think of how he got in this mess.

It happened long ago, on a diplomatic mission with the Ajarhad. He was going with his brother, Kertith. The mission was mainly on aardvark trade, but the relations between the dragon and the Ajarhad were weakening, and there were rumors of another war between the elveniods and the dragons. They landed ashore in southern Murton after an accident with some human fishermen with anti dragon weapons.
"How were we supposed to know they had balistas? We have better tell Rubiellin that they are prepared for another war." he whispered to Kertith.
They wore vests to show that they were messengers, so they had no problems from the Ajarhad and other inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ice, though there was harsh stare, and some readied their bows. They soon arrived at the Palace of Ice. King Thorrad came out to meet them with his guards and translator. After their first negations they learned it was environmentalist who were hurting the aardvark trade. They spent the night there and Ileelo met the princess, Echo. She was about 12 years old then. That night Kertith snuck out the room. Illeelo heard him and began to follow. Eventually he found himself in the council chamber, with the council dead. He then rushed to the kings chamber but was to late to save him. He now knew what was going on.
"Cyrus, I summon you!" he shouted. A wisp of smoke floated in and it materialized into the demon himself..
"What do you want, Ileelo?" the demon whispered.
" If you prevent him from hurting the princess and any others I will be your."
"So be it."

Later war broke out, and Kertith was exiled, now knlon only as Scourge.

Illeelo turned into a room. It was filled with a cold liquid.
"Its mango juice!" exclaimed Talmera.

Dragon blood has many properties, one is that in certian dragon it explodes when mixed with mango juice.

Illeelo slit his own throat.

Chapter 7: G'bork

I stepped of the Magus and onto the ground. I was outside the main gate into G'Bork. The gate was the only way through the massive wall into the city. Now all I had to do was get through those gates and find the captain. Then maybe I would be able to go home.

I walked up to the gate with a sign over it that said 13-18 year olds. On each side of it was a short man carrying an axe with a gun strapped to there back. I walked up to them and asked them to open the gate. "What will you give us?" the one on the right asked.

"The joy of helping an adventurer," I replied.

"Nope. Not good enough. Try again," the one on the left replied.

" A stale crust of rye bread," I replied.

"Getting better, but no," the right one said.

"How about I beat you guys up, take the key, and open the gate myself," I said angrily.

"Oo. a challenge. In say we should accept. What about you Fred." said the one on the left.

"I say yes Jim. Lets do it!" Fred replied. Suddenly two dwarves (for that was what I learned they were) charged toward me axes in hand. I grabbed my sword and prepared to fight them. Then when they were only a few feet away from me I realized I had really pulled out my staff. Not having time to do any thing better, I hit one of them with my staff. He flew more than twenty feet and had sparks flying out of him. The other dwarf looked at me and ran away, unlocking the gate while he was at it. I walked through the gate and entered G'bork.

There were buildings all around. Between the buildings were narrow alleys and streets. People were everywhere, doing many things like shopping, and talking and stealing, and fighting. It was much different from the quiet fishing village I am from, or the small towns I passed through to get here. No this was a full blown port city, complete with drunk sailors, thieves and vendors all around. I followed the signs that said market place -> and soon enough I was at the market place. It was a square surrounded by buildings with a single entrance on each side. Throughout the square there were stalls, carts, vendor, guards and people buying stuff. I went up to an entrance and tried to walk through. The guard standing next to the entrance suddenly took his spear and blocked the entrance. "Marketplace Pass, Please," he said.
"Huh? What is a marketplace pass?" I asked.
"The only way we can let you enter the market place." the guard said in a monotonous voice.
"Well how do I get one?" I replied.
"Go to the Machnu Headquarters and apply for one. Then six to eight weeks later you will receive notice about whether or not you were accepted. If you were accepted then you can go back to the HQ and pick up your pass," he said without expression.
"What! I don't have that sort of time. Just LET ME IN!!!!" I yelled.
He only replied, "I may not do that."
Then I had an idea. So I asked him, "Do the other gates ask for a Marketplace pass?"
He replied," I do not know. They are not controlled by the Machnu." with that I left to find my way to another gate. Soon I found another gate. There was no guard at it so I just walked right through it and into the market place.

I was hungry from my adventures so I walked up to a fruit vendor. He only had one apple left so I took the apple, seeing that nobody would buy only one apple and therefor I would be doing him a service, and walked away. All he did to thank me was call for the guards. Suddenly I had four guards chasing after me. I ran for the nearest exit and saw that some guards were putting up a barricade. So I did the only idea that popped into my head. I ran toward it, jumped right as I was about to hit it, put my hands behind me and pushed off the barricade, sending me flying. The guards were stunned at watching me do that , giving me a head start. But soon they started chasing me again. Suddenly an arm grabbed me and pulled me into an alley. All the guards passed me and then I turned around to face my savior. It was a girl. She looked no older than fourteen and seemed as if she had many hardships throughout her life. "Why did you save me?" I asked.
"Because you were in trouble," she replied as if she thought that would be everybody's answer.
"Well then, can you tell me where I can find Captain Minni Foreange?"
"In a way. Follow me" she replied. So I followed her to the harbor, where she led me to two old men loading up a small boat. Then she told the men that I was looking for the captain. One of them said in response to the girl, "Well then your in luck Mr Kid, 'cause we are gonna follow the ships of the Marena's in hope of finding her. Now help me load up this boat." As he was talking I saw the ships he said we were going to follow. The were big.

Chapter 6: "Captain's" log (Emirella)

I got bored and made a mental "captain's" log.

April 24, Year of blood: After resting for five hours we set for to western sea heading at a speed of 16.8 zots (14/lph) southwest for a little over an hour and than we reached the sea of Walla-Weepu. We stopped for a snack of catoblepas and headed over the sea at a full 17 zots. After two hours we spotted a island and landed. After lighting the fire and eating, a knight named Sigurd told of his epic battle with the voyager of seven planes, his healing by a damsel named Valerina, and Valerina's disappearance.Midway through I got bored and fell asleep.

April 25, Year of blood: I dreamed of a knight in black armor. On his chest was a blinking red eye. His garments were made of midnight. He was floating in the air over a black vortex. A phantom handed him something. Then the dream ended.
After I awake everyone reprimanded me for oversleeping.There was also no breakfast remaining.We than set off at an exhausting pace of 18 zots (15/lph). After three exhausting hours we saw the Kracken. The sea demon had quarter league long tentacles and spit acid. We could not pass it and it could move impossibly fast. It was coming in for a feast. It spew acid and some of it hit me. Oh how it burned. Geraldeier than attacked the beast. It shrieked, shot acid at Geraldeier and wrapped a tentacle around Woort. Geraldeier attacked the tentacle and it let go. More joined the fight and we managed the get it to retreat. We were than forced to land on the next island we saw due to are wounds.It was about a league from the Kracken. . Sigurd was about to continue his tale when Anora interrupted and made up a horrible tale about her nonexistent fight with with the voyager and her getting healed by a nonexistent knight who than disappeared. Sigurd turn red, or at least his eyes did because its hard to tell if red dragons turn red. We than slept

May 1, Year of blood: We had to stay for several days waiting tell we were in flying condition. The flight to the island did not leave us well. All the while we had to listen to boring stories.
After awhile we took flight.Geraldeier made us go at a impossible speed of 21 zots to make up for lost time.After flying for an eternity we stopped to rest then went back to flying. After a second eternity we stopped on a island and stayed there.

May 2, Year of blood, I dreamed of the black knight again.This time he was engaged in battle with a man in gold armor with a sword covered in runes. The black knight yelled "How can you care for savage beasts, Freek-o-Da-lama?" then he let out a laugh the sounded like a cross between a hyena, a cicada, and a banshee."There only purpose is there blood,"he continued. Then Freeko spoke "Voyager, prepare to bleed and die, for this will end in your blood." The voyager of seven planes spoke again "Than prepare to be slaughtered like I slay them!"With one of his blades he held back Da -llamas sword and impaled him with the other. I woke up and screamed. So did everyone else. When they realized there was no danger they began to question the kings decision to let his youngest daughter go to Grendaw.

The rest of the log is to boring or embarrassing to reveal the public. We arrived on May 15.

Chapter 5: The Journey to G'bork

I left my village at 5:45 on the 26 of April (note: Earth Equvilent). I did not know when I would see it again. I just knew that it is 127 leagues (381 miles) to G'bork, or about a 12 day journey. I walked through out the day. I stopped at noon to eat the lunch I had packed the night before and then I continued my journey. I arrived at the hamlet of Yupytz around 16:07. At their only inn rented a room, bought some food for the next day, and plotted my course to the next hamlet of reasonable distance, Fliggity-flooper. It was about ten leagues away so it would be about the same as today. Then I had a dinner of pork and beans and went to bed, remembering to tell the innkeeper to wake me up at 5:30.

A skeleton in a cloak was sitting on a throne of bones. In front of him was a tall man dressed in a white cloak holding a sword.
"Alin, I want you to send messengers to each Sylvanic Country telling them to send their five best assassins to the temple of Sylvanir by noon, on the First of June. Tell them that these assassins must be prepared to capture, but not kill, a dangerous enemy," the skeleton told Alin.
"What if they refuse?" asked Alin.
"Simply tell them that if they refuse their kingdom will be destroyed by this man's army."
"Well then I must go now." Alin turned around and prepared to leave the throne room.
"Wait I forgot. Remind them that they may not bring food inside the temple, since Sylvanir, being the god of Life, will not approve of it," said the skeleton.
"Yes Lord Xi-Xi," Alin replied. He then left the room.

I woke up with the innkeepers teenage daughter shaking me. Where had she come from I thought. Then I realized she must be my wake up alarm. I got up and went down stairs to eat breakfast. By 6:00 I had left Yupytz. I wondered what that dream was about. I guessed that my quest must be to warn this dangerous enemy that h or she was going to be assassinated. I reached Fliggity-flopper by 14:30. My days were all like this until I got to the major village of Kaben at 15:48 on May 1. There i saw an ad explaining the Magus X-11. It said that there was a day and a half from Kaben to G'bork leaving at 7:00 on May 2. That was the next day. So I bought a ticket and at 7:00 I was flying over to G'bork. I rode 50 leagues the first day stopping at 17:00 (5/lph) and 17 leagues the next day arriving in G'bork at 10:24 of May 3. It was good finishing my journey so quickly. Sure the Magus was crowded and I had never been to a city larger than Kaben, which was larger the Walla-Weep, but now all I had to do was find Captain Minni Foreange.

Chapter 4 : Cyrus

"Can we just sack the place now?"

Mulfag was such an arrogant, ignorant, and even rebellious dragon.The only reason Cyrus didn't fry and eat him was that he had fearsome looks and attitude and enough brute strength to rival Rubiellin himself. With red scales, a massive size, empty black eyes , and built in adamant plating he was a frightening sight.


"We have to wait for Illeelo to tell us when the castle is about empty, or else the plan will fail and you might be killed," said Valerina.She was a bit too gentle for Cyrus's liking but she was beautiful and could settle any disputes among them.Few dragon have golden scales and far fewer have golden scales and lavender eyes.

"I'm starving" complained Scourge. Cyrus had no idea why he left he scrawny flea bag alive.He was a waste of food and did nothing but complain.A yellow hat might be a good improvement.Oh, he was their thief and assassin, so that was why he's still alive.

"Shut up, you lump of ork carrion. We came here to rule Jangar, not to get a meal," snapped Talmera. Cyrus liked her more than the others. With lavender scales and sky blue eyes she was also beautiful,but not as much as Valerina.

A gray figure appeared in the distance. It came near and landed. Then it spoke.

"Dark Lord, we are ready."

Cyrus turned his scales black from their natural turquoise.However he could not change his eye color. They would remain the golden color that chilled blood and danced in young drakelings nightmares. He was the only dragon with golden eyes.

The group leaped from were they were perched and Illeelo lead the way.They took a right turn , gathered speed and took off. After a few hours the fortress of the dragon king came into sight.They flew right past it for they were going to enter a secret passage.



Cyrus spotted a pair of guards. He sent Mulfag and Talmera to dispatch them. Mulfag swooped down and ate one of them in one bite. The other one was about to let out a scream but Talmera descended behind him and tore out his throat.She than collected the spilled blood.

Cyrus sent Scourge to scout the area.When he returned he told them the coast was clear.They then continued to the passages entrance.

The entrance was a hidden by a boulder that Mulfag easily removed.The party (minus Mulfag because of his size) then entered the hole that was reveled. Inside they found themselves in a long tunnel. After following it for about a thousand meters they came to two branches off the main tunnel and Illeelo lead them done the right tunnel.

After a few such crossings Cyrus told them to stop.He than sent Scourge to check what lay around the bend.They then heard a thump and a thud and Scourge returned, saying the coast was clear. They went around the corner and saw the body of a fallen guard.

They continued on without too much guard slaying, five more guards to be exact. Two more were unwarily clubbed by Scourge, two had their throats slit by Talmera, and one had to be gored by Cyrus himself.

Eventually they made it to a door.Scourge opened it a crack,poked his head through, and screamed. Then there was a thud and a thump, this time it was Scourges body that made the thump.The door opened and in the doorway was a great knight. He charged at Valerina and stuck the the side of her head, knocking her unconscious. He than prepared to due the same to Cyrus but stopped when he saw the golden eyes.He than let out a roar and charged at full tilt.Before he could make it Cyrus let out a jet of wicked green flames and torched him. When Scorge and Valerina recovered the group wet through the door.

chapter 3: shadows

Serving under the god Bol, supreme ruler of shadows was not easy. from the moment you were born you were snached and placed into a training camp, and stayed there for years. you were not admitted to the outside world until you passed the final test. in the final test you had to be victorious in a battle with another student in the dead of night. if the losing student lived to see dawn, he had to repeat his entire career at the training camp. Glade was the most brilliant student to ever graduate the training camp. most people didnt graduate until they were at least 24, but Glade made it at 16. The final test was one of the most amazing the elders had ever seen. Glade had silently tracked his best friend, and defeated him before midnight. The elders didnt realize Glade had done it until dawn when they saw the unconcious body of his friend, Victor. Victor hadnt even had a chance to scream, when glade silently came up behind him and slammed his palms on both sides of his head. the elders immediately graduated Glade, and he prepared for his duties. Glade was selected for the top tier of bols operations, E & A, espionage and assassination. his first duty was to kill Loranze, one of the supreme elders of Ki.
All the supreme elders of Ki were housed in Fronir, a hidden castle in one of the deserts of Ki.

Glade knew how he would kill Loranze, a great threat to Bol. He was the only one of the supreme elders who opposed the invasion of Bol. Loranze hoped that opposing this move would grant him safe entry into Bol. the elders decided he would be killed for his insolence.

After only a day of tracking Glade located Fronir, the Supreme castle. Glade knew the only way in was an almost impossible feat. He would only have 2 hours to scale the wall to the top of the castle. The 700 meter climb would take all of his strength. He began to climb. He grabbed on to the lowest window and swung his body on to the ledge. Glade was very thin and an excellant gymnast, the result of both being an able contortionist and the required gymnastics courses in Bol. He was very tall, over 2 meters tall. he balanced delicately on the thin ledge. One false move would cause him to fall. The sand below him would not be merciful. He reached and grabbed the next ledge. Now the most dangerous part yet. He pushed off with his ankles, and propelled his body to the next window. He had already wasted a whole minute. He knew he would have to be faster. He slowly stood up on the second ledge and he began to sweat. Unknown to everyone but himself Glade was deathly afraid of heights. but he knew that his salvation lay at the top of this treacherous climb. He grabbed the next ledge and began to swing.

Halfway up his muscles were all screaming in pain. he could not last much longer. He had to reach the top. He had to.

He was two ledges away and knew he could make it. He flipped up to the next ledge and new that as soon as he flipped up again he could walk right onto the roof. On the roof was the bunkers that held most of the soldiers. The roof had easiest access as there were ladders that could lead down to any floor. Oh how Glade wished he could have used these ladders. However he knew that guards were there and they would have spotted him.

He prepared to flip up for the final time.he grabbed the ledge. He felt something strange. As soon an he pushed off with his ankles he knew that something was wrong. The Wax! The wax that coated the building to stop people from climbing the castle. The sun would melt the wax on the very top of the castle. The melted wax must have smothered this wooden ledge. As he was perfectly horizontal, in the middle of the swing, his hands began to slip. in the nanoseconds before his plunge to death he thought. How? After all this work he couldnt be thwarted be some melted wax!

And suddenly he knew what to do.

Chapter 2: The Teen and his Oracle ( Franco Diangle)

Franco had a good life. He was the son of the mayor of the fishing village Walla-Weep. Not only was his father the mayor, but he also owned the plaza and the marketplace, making him the richest and most powerful person in the village. But the other people did not hate the family. In fact they were the most loved family in the whole town. Now back to Franco. He was intelligent, strong, generous, kind, etc. But his life was uneventful, until he turned 15 years and 216 days old.

It was a dark and stormy night when a loud knock was sounded on the door. I, being in the entry-hallway at the time, rushed over and opened the door. Standing in front of my was an old man wearing nothing but a loincloth and a ragged cape. He was bent over and carried a large staff with a wonderstone on the top of it. I let him inside, and since supper had just ended, invited him to eat something. He said that he didn't have time and that he must find someone named Franco Diangle. I asked him why and he replied, "I am the Great Oracle of Serah. I am to die in 3 hours and must deliver my final message to Franco Diangle."

I replied, " I am Franco Diangle. What do you need to tell me."
"The message I must give to you is, To Fulfill Your Destiny You Must Find Captain Minni Foreange. To aid you on your journey here is a sword, a dagger, a buckler, a hunting knife, and the handbook of the Former Empire of Vlandstar. "
"What must I do to find this Captain Minni Foreange?" I asked.
"I do not know. All I know is that she has been missing for 5 years and was last seen in the port of G'Bork. Ask about her there. Also I have one final request. Let me die outside."
"Thy will shalt be done," I replied. I then took him outside.
"Wait. I forgot. Take my staff with you. It can shrink to the size of a pencil, can't be lost, and is really powerful once you learn who to use it." Those were his final words. he closed his eyes and died a few hours later. His body was never found.

The next day I left my home with 1483 pezicoes, the clothes on my back, a package full of food, and the items the oracle gave me. Headed south to G'Bork, my adventure beginning.

Chapter 1: The Hunt for the Thousand Tears (Emirella)

My name is Emirella. I one of the daughters of the dragon king Rubiellin. My scales are white and my eyes are green, hence the name.The following tale tells of the hunt for the thousand tears,the befriending of the human Freek-o-Da-Llama, my slaying of the dragon-fiend Cyrus, and much more.


Illeelo the messenger came to my room. Even though he was a pitiful dragon I miss him. He had gray scales and blue eyes.His head was large and his body small.He was a coward but he stood up in the time of greatest need. He told me the my father called for me and I must go to the great hall.

On my way there I noticed several of the knights and my brother Geraldeier were also going to the hall. Geraldeier is a green dragon with gray eyes. He is as brave as two lions, five orks, ten bulls, fifty mice and one hundred Illeelos. The also received a message from Rubiellin.

When we arrived at the great hall we saw that all the children of the king and a great number of knights. Then the king entered. Rubiellin is a massive black dragon with red eyes. His magnificence is to great for words.

" The Thousand Tears has been stolen. I have called all you to form a series of search parties to find it. If any of you feel unworthy to take upon this task then he or she must leave now. It will be a dangerous task .Assemble yourselves into three groups."

The Thousand tears is a multi-colored gem of great power. It got its name from its bloody history that I'd be happy to tell you later. It was in the possession of the dragons but telling who's possession it is in now will spoil the surprise.

Those of us who were not cowards assembled into three groups. In my group was Geesha, Edwin,Geraldeier,Saphiren,Anora,Philburt, Woort, and several Knights who I did not know the names.

"The group on the left goes to Murton, the group in the middle stays is Alswen, and the final group goes to Grendaw."


He than gave us his blessing and we set off for Grendaw.

Prologue

Vlandstar was a great nation spanning over much of the Northern Part of Grendaw. It was an industrial and trading country, liked by much of the inhabitants of Grendaw. But some did not like Vlandstar and they wished to destroy it. And people outside of Grendaw, hated Vlandstar for the most part. Over time Vlandstar was weakened by those who disliked it and it was in need of a hero. Many years passed after the beginning of these troubled times and eventually Gneesh, the capital of Vlandstar was burned to the ground, marking the end of Vlandstar. But on this dark night in a small fishing village on the Gulf of Freen a boy was born. He was named Franco Diangle (Frank-O Dee-Ahn-Gluh). And he had an uneventful Childhood, until he turned 15 years and 216 days. Then his world changed, forever.