Quest for the Magic Plow, page 10
part #1 of The Guardian's Daughter Series
Martin immediately said, “You’re sharing with me, Jer. I’m used to sleeping with a blanket, although I don’t feel cold.”
Jerreth shrugged, and spread the blanket over them both, although the blanket didn’t entirely cover Martin. Jerreth also found it was quite warm sleeping close to a griffin.
She then said goodnight to everyone in general and laid her head back down on her pillow. She groaned, and said, “Sleep at last!”
Jerreth chuckled, and said, “And I was the one doing all the work of carrying you!”
Martin snapped his beak and laughingly said, “I carried her most of the day, what are you talking about?”
Then she heard a low whine.
“It’s a wolf!” Jerreth said. She could hear him and Martin moving out of the shelter, and towards her tent. She immediately remembered what the compass had said.
“Candle, light!” Jerreth said.
Martin gave voice to a very menacing growl. Gabriella was suddenly glad no griffin had ever been angry with her.
She heard the wolf whine again and suddenly smelled a strong pine tree scent.
At that, she threw open the tent door, and stepped out.
“Jade, stay where you are,” she said firmly.
Jade didn’t even respond, he just stood like a statue in his cage, frozen with fear.
“It smells like werewolf magic,” she commented.
The only answer was another whine, and a stronger scent of pine, and she could feel a damp mist.
“Jerreth, Martin, I need someone’s eyes, please.”
Jerreth’s hand took hers, and she said, “Thank you,” with a quick look of gratitude, and then turned to look at the wolf sitting in front of them, trying to look as unthreatening as possible.
“Well, werewolf, I can smell your magic, but for some reason, you’re not changing into a person so you can talk to us. Why is that? And where in the world is your pack?”
The werewolf just whined again, but no made no further attempt to change into a person.
Gabriella looked at him for a long moment, and said, “We’ve been told that there is a wolf that can guide us to a magical plow that was stolen from Martin and Jerreth’s family. Do you think you might know where it is?”
The werewolf lifted its head in interest and swished its tail back and forth with emotion, and then dipped its head in what seemed to be agreement.
“Will you agree to show us where it is tomorrow?” Gabriella asked.
Again, the werewolf dipped it’s head and swished its tail.
She hesitated. How could she trust a werewolf she’d only just met? She then asked, “Jerreth, Martin, are you ok with following this wolf to where it thinks the plow is? I haven’t seen any other wolves about that might help and the compass did say we needed to follow a wolf.”
Jerreth and Martin both agreed a little hesitantly.
So Gabriella said to the werewolf, “Very well, werewolf, you may stay with us tonight, and we’ll follow you tomorrow.”
She added sternly. “You may not come into my tent. You may sleep close by if you wish. Have you eaten?”
It was difficult to tell under all of that fur, but he appeared a bit on the thin side.
It shook its head emphatically.
She let go of Jerreth’s hand, and felt her way into the tent to find the food bag.
“One meal for a werewolf, please, food bag, and make it a good-sized meal!”
A smaller meal just like the one Martin had eaten for dinner with roasted venison came out on a dish, and she crawled out of the tent again.
“I’m here, Gabriella,” Jerreth said, and she reached her hand out so that he could take her hand again. She found the warmth of his hand comforting.
She placed the food in front of the wolf, stood up, and said, “Please eat quickly, we are exceptionally tired, and have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
The wolf grabbed his food and took it a short distance away to eat. He was done in short order. Gabriella took the plate so that she could wash it in the morning and said, “I should tell you that I cannot see except through another creature’s eyes. I have a small bird with me named Jade that serves as my eyes, and you are not to touch him.”
Then she squeezed Jerreth’s hand and let go to crawl back into her tent yet again and hoped there would be no more interruptions.
Jerreth asked before she got too settled, “What did you mean when you said you smelled his magic?”
She didn’t bother opening her eyes, or opening the tent door. She mumbled tiredly, “Pine. Werewolf magic smells like pine trees.”
Jerreth asked Martin, “Can you smell werewolf magic, Martin?”
Martin said, “No. Now be quiet and let me sleep!”
She found the ground to be hard and uncomfortable, and she had to move around a bit to find a spot that didn’t have too many lumps and bumps, but once she finally stopped moving she fell into a deep slumber and remembered nothing more.
The werewolf curled up a short distance from them and composed himself for sleep quickly with his big bushy tail covering his nose.
Once Martin heard Gabriella’s breathing become even and he was certain she was asleep, he asked Jerreth as quietly as he could, “So you like her, Jer?”
Jerreth responded, “She’s not like any girl I’ve ever met. I do like her, but she’s the daughter of a Guardian. If her father doesn’t like me, he could squash me like a bug or eat me. That does make me nervous.”
“Hmmm, that would give you some good motivation to be very respectful when you disagree,” Martin chuckled.
Jerreth smiled in the dark and then said pensively, “She is worried about me being able to love her despite my oath. I find myself worrying more that she won’t be able to love me once she really gets to know me.”
Martin said, “I think she’s an amazing young lady. She’s very well-educated despite her disability, and she cares about your feelings. That’s a good start. Just be prepared for some opposition from Mom and Dad. I’m not sure how they’ll feel about a blind girl if she doesn’t figure out her own quest before Mom and Dad meet her.”
Jerreth said, “Once they get to know her, they’ll like her. Besides, Dad’s the one who made me swear the oath in the first place. He can hardly complain about who I marry just because she’s blind. Especially if the Oracle says she can find a way to see.”
“If you say so,” said Martin, who then fell silent and went to sleep.
Jerreth, tired as he was had a harder time going to sleep. He had a hard time getting comfortable in this body that was only half human, but he was finally able to drift off to sleep. He thought he heard a woman’s voice that sounded familiar speaking very softly as he drifted off, but couldn’t hold off sleep any longer.
The werewolf cocked his ears towards the tent. He heard a soft voice coming from the tent, nothing more than a whisper, say, “Greatpaw, I am the Oracle. I have sent Gabriella and her companions to help your friends who are held captive. Guide them well. You will not succeed without them. Oh, and if you need to hide, this tent will hide you.”
Then the voice fell silent and the werewolf went to sleep.
Chapter 8
A Dangerous Wizard
“Gabriella?” a familiar male voice asked, waking her from a sound sleep.
She sat up quickly, and momentarily wondered where she was. Then she remembered, and knew Jerreth had spoken her name. She asked groggily, “What’s wrong?” She felt for Jade’s cage next to her bed, and didn’t feel it. She started to feel a bit of panic.
Jerreth responded from outside her tent, “It’s the werewolf, he’s been pacing in front of your tent door for the last minute or so.”
“Give me a moment,” she said quickly.
She finally remembered that she had hung the cage from the top of the tent, and so she reached up and opened the cage door. Jade hopped on her finger, and from there to her shoulder.
She sighed in relief once she could see.
She patted her hair to make sure her braid from the night before was still in place, and then emerged from her tent.
She nearly tripped over the werewolf, who was sitting with his nose touching her tent door.
Jade tried his best to hide behind her neck.
The werewolf backed up with his head held low and his tail between his legs.
“What is wrong with you?” Gabriella wondered out loud. “Why don’t you just change into a person and tell me what’s going on?”
He came back, and put his nose to the tent door, and then turned his head, begging to be allowed to get in.
She remembered that she had the food bag in the tent, and so she ducked into the tent, retrieved the bag, then she said, “All right werewolf, you can go into the tent now, but do not mess with any of my things. And we are leaving in a half an hour. Don’t get too comfortable.”
The werewolf jumped into her tent, and crawled underneath her blanket.
Gabriella shook her head, and after a few moments of watching him hide under her blanket, she let go of the tent flap and watched it close. On a hunch, she carefully laced the door closed, and then stood back.
Martin caught her attention by saying, “Quest Guide, over there.” She turned so see what he was looking at.
There was a man on the far side of the clearing, walking toward them. He wore bright blue robes, with a tall pointy hat that matched his robes.
“He seems to want to flaunt his profession,” she said in a low voice. “Could it be the same wizard who stole the plow?”
No one answered.
Jerreth came to stand next to her and Martin came to stand on her other side, and the three of them stood in front of the tent door, facing the wizard.
Gabriella warned them in a low voice, “Don’t mention details about the quest but be polite.”
Then the wizard called to them. “Helloooo!”
Gabriella said in a loud voice, “Hello, Sir Wizard.”
Once he stopped a few meters from them, she said, “My name is Gabriella. The centaur, the griffin and I bid you good morning.”
The wizard nodded, and said, “Good lady, it is unusual to see such a group as you three. I am Wizard Oswin. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”
Gabriella allowed herself to relax a bit. His name wasn’t Dexter. Or he was lying. She fixed a pleasant look on her face.
She blessed her mother for forcing her to sit through tediously long history lessons while letting her know when she started looking bored or horrified or sad. Gabriella had become extremely good at keeping a pleasant look on her face throughout these history lessons until her mother told her she could relax. Her mother always told her, “Diplomacy is the lifeblood of peace, and diplomacy starts with your facial expressions and tone of voice.”
Gabriella noticed that Oswin’s gaze lingered on Martin.
For some reason, the way he looked at Martin gave Gabriella an uneasy feeling.
“May I ask what brings such an unusual group through these lands?” he asked.
Gabriella responded, “We are on a quest of a rather sensitive nature, and so, of course, we aren’t really to speak of it, at least until we have accomplished our goal. However, I can tell you that we intend to be moving on quite quickly, as we have a long way to go.”
The wizard looked at her face in curiosity for a long moment before asking, “May I know where your quest will take you?”
Gabriella shook her head gently, keeping her eyes firmly on his face, and hoping that Jerreth and Martin both had the sense to do the same, although Dragon Mountain rose up just behind his left shoulder. She said, “I must apologize, sir.”
“Well, I suppose it is your quest, and not really my business,” he said slowly. His eyes strayed over to Martin again.
Gabriella just smiled at him gently, and asked, “Was there something that brought you to this area?”
His eyes focused back on her face, and he said, “I am in search of something that belongs to a friend of mine, a young wolf.”
Gabriella’s eyebrow twitched up in spite of herself and her thoughts went to the young werewolf in her tent, hiding under her blankets. “An unusual pet, Sir Wizard. Is it a cub?”
“No, and it isn’t a pet,” he said. “It is a young wolf that wandered onto my friend’s lands, and so he captured it. It is young but full grown.”
“Oh,” Gabriella said. “But if it left his lands, why would you want to bring it back? Wouldn’t it be a problem if it attacked his flocks?”
“The few animals Dexter keeps are quite well guarded by magic,” he said, impatiently. “He merely wants to study the wolf. He does research, you know.”
“I see,” said Gabriella, forcing herself to relax and not react to the name Dexter.
Then she responded to his unasked question, “I haven’t seen any wolves in this area, I apologize. Most wolves avoid humans, and they avoid griffins with even greater dedication.” She wasn’t lying, since the wolf in her tent was really a werewolf and not a mere wolf.
The wizard looked at Martin, and said, “Perhaps you would allow me to accompany you for a while? I’ve never had the opportunity to really study a griffin.”
Martin gave out his most menacing growl, which made the wizard step back.
Jerreth spoke up for the first time, and said firmly and a bit coldly, “That would be out of the question, Sir Wizard. We must bid you good day, as we have no time to waste.”
The wizard looked at him for a very long moment, noticing the lack of a sword or any weapons of any kind, and didn’t seem impressed. However, when he looked over at Martin, his expression became a bit greedy. His expression seemed to change a bit, as though he had made a decision, and Gabriella suddenly knew that if she didn’t speak, the wizard would try to take Martin.
Martin’s claws were fully extended, and his eyes seemed to flash. He was standing at attention, and his tail lashed slowly to and fro. He sensed the danger, too.
Gabriella quickly said, “The Oracle is expecting us to finish our errand for her quite soon, Wizard Oswin. I hope that you will excuse our haste. We will be missed if we don’t all return at the appointed time.”
The anger that suddenly flashed in the wizard’s eyes was quickly replaced with a mask of indifference.
“Indeed,” said the wizard finally, “I should be on my way also. If you do happen to find the wolf, would you be so kind as to notify me by way of this small rock? All you would need to do is tap it and say my name.” He fingered a small white rock in his hand.
Jerreth again spoke before Gabriella could say anything.
“We won’t have time for any of that, sir. We are in a great hurry.”
The wizard then nodded, and said, “In that case, good day to you, and I wish you a good journey, and luck on your quest.”
His eyes lingered on Martin, but gave him quite a wide berth as he walked past the group, dropping the little white rock into the grass with a negligent toss. Martin and Jerreth both walked to the side of the tent to watch him and make sure he really left, and Gabriella got busy rolling up the tarp that had covered Martin and Jerreth for the night.
She had the tarp rolled up tightly and packed into Jerreth’s pack and had breakfast spread out for everyone, but before she opened the tent door, she walked over to the grass where Oswin had dropped the little white stone.
When she picked it up she felt a buzz of magic, but nothing happened to her. She picked a few long lengths of grass and tied the rock up into a bundle with a grass loop for a handle.
She motioned for Martin to come over, and said in a low voice, “I don’t suppose you’d like to stretch your wings a bit this morning?” she asked. “This lonely little rock seems to need a home. Somewhere else.”
Martin dipped his head without saying a word, took the grass loop gingerly in his beak, got a good running start, and took off with a jump, flapping his wings to put his feet just above the tops of the trees. Once he found a particularly dense group of trees, he dropped the little white rock, and then turned around and came back.
When he got back, Jerreth and Gabriella both looked at him expectantly.
He said with a growl, “It wasn’t as bad this time. It was almost fun. Almost!”
Gabriella grinned at him, and then went to open the tent. She found that her hands were shaking slightly now that the danger seemed to be gone.
The werewolf came out, and sat next to her.
Jerreth came over and ate on his feet while Martin kept a watchful eye out for the wizard. The werewolf ate quickly, and then began circling the camp watchfully, looking out towards the circle of trees around them, his nose twitching as he smelled the air currents around him, his ears swiveling to listen to every sound. Jerreth then went to stand watch for Martin while Martin ate his breakfast.
While Martin was eating, Gabriella quickly took down her tent, carefully taking out her blankets first, and then packed everything into her own pack tightly. The backpack didn’t seem to expand, but magically made room for everything she stuffed into it.
Once she was done, she asked the werewolf, “Are you the one that wizard is trying to find?”
The wolf dipped its head in a single nod.
Martin wondered out loud, “I don’t suppose that wizard has stolen a magic plow recently?”
The werewolf dipped his head, and scratched in the dirt with his claws, “D-E-X-T-E-R S-T-E-A-L-S M-A-N-Y T-H-I-N-G-S.” Martin read it out to her.
Gabriella looked at Martin and Jerreth, and nodded. “The Oracle told me that the name of the wizard who stole the plow was Dexter.”
Martin growled deeply in his throat.
Then she said, “All right, then. It does sound like you are the wolf who is supposed to guide us to the plow. Since you’re going to travel with us, do you have a name we may call you?”
The werewolf used his paw to draw letters in the dirt again. “G-R-E-A-T-P-A-W.”
“You can write with human letters,” she noted with interest. Most werewolves wrote with a system of pictures, and she had never really become very good at it, although her mother had taught her some basics.
