Winged Dream

Ruins of Oblačnosť

Early the next morning, at an ungodly hour, everyone busy packing for the journey ahead. Waldek and Will were packing the supplies and it was Finn and Freyer's job to pack clothes, blankets, tents, and other things in that general category. They had planned to leave at sunrise and , for once, it seemed things would go as planned. Waldek was still uneasy about Finn and  Freyer coming, but he kept it to himself, voicing his concerns would cause trouble, something he wished to avoid. Freyer however, had realized a certain problem he might encounter. If he were to wake up back in his room he would be nothing more than dead weight. He, much like Waldek, did not speak of his worries. He hoped that since he now, for some unknown reason, had his pocket watch with him (something he had failed to speak of ) he wouldn't wake up. Freyer tried not to think about it to much, if  he did he was sure to dissect his only hope into the misery it was made of.

"Finn, I'm going to get Ziva, you put your contacts in." Waldek shouted to Finn, who was almost done packing.

"You have contacts here?" Freyer asked, quite confused.

"Our father made them, to help disguise us. Our purple eyes are a dead give away that we are dragons." Finn explained "But I've never seen you wear them before."

"Of course you haven't, our father also cast a spell on the village. Anyone who lives there sees our eyes as blue.They can't see past the magic to the truth." he replied. 'actually, you shouldn't be able to see our true eye color either. I wonder why he can...'

Finn went up the stairs to put his contacts in, and Waldek left to fetch Ziva. Will continued packing and Freyer finished up while thinking of the road ahead. When Finn returned, the three  took the packs and out back to wait for Waldek and Ziva.

"Hey Finn," Freyer turned to Finn, "Who's Ziva?"

"Ah! That's right you haven't met her yet! She's are beloved cat!"

"You guys have at cat?"

"Didn't I just say that?" Finn gave Freyer a look.

Loud thumps came from the direction of the forest. It sounded like thunder drawing closer. Something came into view for an instant. Freyer couldn't make out what it was, it moved too fast, but it was big, and blacker than night. As it got closer he could feel the huge foot steps. It ran passed the house creating a huge gust of wind. It dug it's feet into the ground and side stopped just at the edge of the hill top. Freyer jumped behind Finn. A failed attempt to hide, Finn ran over to it as the dust began to clear. The 'thing' was Waldek riding what Finn had called their 'beloved cat'.

It was a huge puma with light green eyes and a sweet expression. Waldek dismounted and Finn scratched behind Ziva's ears. Waldek was headed to get something from the other side of the house when he noticed Freyer. Freyer was shaking and repeating something under his breath.

"P-puma. A giant puma. they..giant puma."

As Waldek passed him he slapped the back side of Freyers head and continued to walk to the other side. Freyer snapped out of it, but he was still spooked by the puma. However seeing Finn give her so much affection made him feel less like a puma snack and more like someone with Ailurophobia (fear of cats) . He decided to go over and pet her.

'I never thought I'd pet a giant cat. But why not? I live with two half dragons in different world.'  

When Ziva noticed Freyer getting closer she  gave him one of those cat glares. Her ears went back, and Freyer was reduced to a snack once more. Ziva was satisfied with him backing up and retuning to mumbling and shaking. Waldek returned with a cart, small, but big enough for everyone and everything to ride in. Once again he slapped Freyer while he went to hook Ziva to the cart.

After they had loaded the supplies, it was time to jump in cart. Will was first followed by Finn.Then it was Fryer's turn. When he got close enough to touch the cart Ziva shot another glare. Waldek, who was going to drive, noticed this and returned fire with his own glare. He managed to be scarier than an enormous puma. Ziva, as usual, did as Waldek told her to and let Freyer get in.

Late the night of the second day they came out of the thick dark forest coated in white. Finn, Freyer, and Waldek were asleep in the cart, huddled together under a blanket. The snow came down gently as Will drove the cart toward the silhouette of the city.The roads were clear of people, and lights were off. The Black Snakes had scared the bustling city silent. Will headed to an Inn called 'Jacks Lantern'.

He woke up the others upon arrival and Waldek took Ziva to the stable, while Will got them a room. Finn and Freyer began bringing their things up the stair and into a little beaten up room labeled '5'. There was only one bed and the decision was made that Finn and Freyer would share it, and Will and Waldek would sleep on the floor. When Freyer woke up Finn, Will and Waldek were sitting on the floor in a triangle eating bread and dried meats.

"Ah, your finally awake."Finn said bluntly

"We should leave for the ruins. Freyer, you can eat on the way." Waldek instructed. Everyone got dressed and packed a couple things for the journey, grabbed their swords and headed out. This time there were many people about the town. Vendors, workers, people running errands, and kids getting into trouble. The group made their way through the crowd and headed out into the forest. Will navigated, and Waldek guarded them.

Freyer was still munching on his breakfast, and Finn...Finn was making a pouty face at him. "W-what?"

"Rrrr. Are you done eating yet?" Finn asked, quite annoyed.

"N....no.Why?" "I'm bored."

'Did he just want someone to talk to?'

"We're he~re!!" Will called to them. They ran up to look through the pines into the clearing, what they saw, was the decrepit ruins of  what was a huge castle. The dark stones were covered in moss and snow. Everything looked dead. They  walked up the crumbling steps to the toppled castle.

"Hmm?"

"What is it Waldek?" Will asked.

"Over there. There's wooden hatch." Waldek pointed toward a place in the snow that had been cleared and indeed there was trapdoor  there. Waldek opened it to reveal a long dark stair way into the depths of the ancient ruins.

"Finn."

"Un." Finn nodded his head and closed his eyes. He held out his hand and gently blew a flame into it. It stayed suspended in his hand  and he took the lead, lighting the way.

At the end of the stairs was a long, even darker corridor, they could just barely make out a couple doors. Finn went over to the first on the left and opened it slowly. It looked like a study of sorts. Papers were scattered all over the room and the desk was covered in melted candles. Finn caught sight of a torch and went over and lit it. It illuminated the room surprisingly well. Freyer followed him in and left Will and Waldek outside standing  guard. He went over to the book shelf and and pulled out a thin black book. It was completely plain black leather. He opened it to the first page. The name and date were missing but from what Freyer read It seemed to be a journal. He paused.

'I-I can read this! Like it's written in English. But that...It's not....'

"FINN! QUICK! CAN YOU READ THIS?!" Freyer shoved the diary into his face open to a random page.

"AAH! WHAT! NO I CAN'T READ IT! IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" Freyer was shocked, confused, and curious. He went over to the desk and picked up a random paper. It had writing on both sides. No date. No name. He began to read it. It kept referring to something called 'The Vrata'. The more he read, the more shocked he became. It kept mentioning passing through 'The Night Chamber' and how they had lost contact with 'The First Across'. It was then that another paper caught his eye. On it was a picture of the pocket watch his mother had given him. He was sure it was the one. Every detail was exactly the same. He even pulled it out for comparison. He quickly read through the passage next to it. Apparently this was 'The Vrata', the gate to another world. It explained in great detail how to use it, how it worked.

"F-Freyer? Is everything...okay?" Finn asked worriedly

"Y-yeah" he said, stuffing the paper into his pouch.