The Hedge Wizard

There wasn’t much space on Igni’s back. Between Hump, Celaine, Tessa, and of course, Nishari, they were crammed along the wolf dragon’s spine about as tightly as they could fit. As amazing as it was to fly on dragonback, the excitement started to fade after the first hour. Then the boredom set in. Turns out, there wasn’t a huge amount to do while soaring through the air. With the wind buffeting their faces, it was hard to even hold a conversation.

Still, that didn’t stop Tessa from trying.

The keeper pointed into the distance and shouted. “…there… top.”

“Any idea what she said?” Hump yelled into Celaine’s ear.

“We’re landing there for the night.”

“Got it.”

Tessa was seated at the front, closest to Igni’s head, Celaine just behind her. Between Hump and Celaine was Nisha, who hadn’t stopped wagging her tail since they took off. There wasn’t the slightest bit of fear from the little dragon. If anything, she was a little too excited. Hump had to keep her urges at bay out of fear she might jump off and try to keep up by flying.

They’d left Drakalyn that morning. After many heartfelt goodbyes, they were finally on the road—well, in the sky. While the place hadn’t exactly been the most welcoming of places to Hump, that was not true for everyone. Celaine’s family had welcomed him into their home with open arms, Vamir had let him live with him for months, and Ado had taught him an invaluable lesson. Perhaps one day, he’d seen them again. As for Prancer—leaving him behind hurt most. The horse had been his longest companion, other than the old man. With some luck, they’d one day be reunited in Sheercliff, if the trade between Drakalyn and the Daston’s went ahead successfully.

For now, he was going home. Returning to Sheercliff City was exciting. For the first time, he had a place to go back to—a manor, no less, gifted to him by Countess Daston. Vivi should still be there, watching the house for him and working on her research. The others had said they’d keep her informed of their location by letter, so with any luck, Hump and Celaine wouldn’t have too much trouble tracking down the rest of their party.

He wondered how they were doing. If they’d seen action, he wouldn’t be surprised at all if Dylan had already reached the fourth circle too—he’d been the closest of all of them. Bud wouldn’t be far behind. Emilia was more difficult for him to judge—she was a practitioner like him, but martial techniques were different to wizards, and in general practitioners rarely reached Rank 4.

He would know eventually. First, they needed to get back to Sheercliff.

Flying certainly had its benefits. They travelled most of the Charred Heights in a single day, coming to the marshy area where Hump and Celaine had first encountered the land-lizard monstrosity and fallen into the river. It was thanks to that they’d found Walt. Another day’s travel, and they’d be back in Alveronian territory.

What had taken them two weeks on foot was going to take them two days. Tessa had told them Igni could do it faster, but she didn’t want to risk him being weakened from the flight in case a fight broke out. It was a sentiment Hump could understand well. They would soon be entering their homelands—a place whose dragon hunters had slain many of Drakalyn’s dragons in that past, and whose Chosen still viewed their people as heretics. While it wasn’t so bad in the larger cities like Sheercliff and Elenvine, Hump had already had a taste of the hatred in the outer regions. He’d encountered it firsthand.

When the land came up beneath them, Hump wasn’t sure he’d ever been so pleased to see grass. It was cold, windy, and the sun was quickly setting, but he felt like himself again. He slid from Igni’s back, landing heavily on the hard earth. The instant he touched the ground, the whole world felt like it was shaking.

He stumbled, grabbing onto his staff for balance but still falling to his knees. Everything was wobbling, and his thighs ached like dragon fire.

Celaine and Tessa each landed deftly beside him, the two women laughing with each other.

“Is it common for dragon keepers to be this clumsy?” Celaine asked.

“Common… no.” Tessa said, grinning.

“Brilliant,” Hump said glumly as he struggled back to his feet, still trying to find his balance.

They were on a large, flat rise, surrounded by mountain tops and rolling hills. To the south, the marshland was just about visible. It would have been around here when they were attacked by Winston the shapeshifter and his gang of mercenaries.

“But, it’s not the first time I’ve seen someone go weak in the knees. Don’t be too disheartened, Wizard.”

Suddenly, Igni stamped his front foot and huffed in Nishari’s direction. He tilted his head, watching her expectantly. Hump felt his bond with Nisha flare, but he didn’t know why. There was no fear in the little dragon, only excitement and curiosity.

“What’s happening?” Hump asked.

“Igni has invited Nisha to join him on today’s hunt,” Tessa said. “While it is your decision, I suggest you let her go. This will be good training for her, and training from her own kind is something she will lack in the years to come.”

“Where will they go?” Hump asked.

“First, a drink. Igni will need it if we’re to continue at this pace. There’s a river nearby. After that, I suspect he will find a forest to hunt in. The little one must learn to hunt now while feeding her with stored food is still manageable. It’s not too bad now, especially with a storage artifact like Celaine’s belt, but a full-grown wolf dragon like Igni is another matter entirely.”

Hump looked at Nisha and frowned, feeling worried. “Is it safe?”

“The Fallen Lands are never safe, but Igni would die before he let anything happen to her. You can trust him.”

He glanced at Celaine, who shrugged. “I’d trust Tessa’s advice far more than my own.”

Hump let out a sigh, but seeing Nisha’s inquisitive look, he could hardly say no. More than that, Tessa was one of the captains of the dragon keepers. There were few with more expertise in the matter of wolf dragons, so who was he to argue.

“Very well,” Hump said. He faced the great dragon, meeting his eyes. “I entrust her to you, Igni.”

The dragon seemed to understand and gave a slow bow of his head, blinking slowly.

Hump turned to Nisha. Go ahead. Good hunting, little one.

Igni walked toward the edge of the hill, beating his wings hard and leaping off. His wings strained for a few more beats against his weight, and then he was in the air, flying upward. Nisha followed fearlessly, racing for the edge of the cliff and jumping. She spread her wings, taking off with far more ease and soaring into the air. Igni flew at a relaxed pace, allowing her to keep up as she swopped and spun through the open air.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she,” Celaine said. “It’s hard to believe that only a month ago and she was just starting to fly. Now look at her!”

“Yeah,” Hump said. Seeing her in the open sky like this, Hump couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.

“Right. We had best do our part too,” Tessa said. “We wouldn’t want our dragons feeling like we’re slacking. Cela, do you want to see if you can find us some firewood. Doesn’t matter if it’s wet. Igni will manage it.”

“No problem.”

“I’ll start setting up a veil over the campsite,” Hump said. “Keep any monsters spotting our fire.”

Tessa looked at him with a hint of surprise. “It really is useful travelling with a wizard.”

Hump smiled. “I’m glad to finally have a companion that thinks so!”

“She’ll learn,” Celaine called from down the slope. “It’s not even been a day yet. Give it time.”

Hump laughed, then noticed Tessa smiling.

“You two get along well,” she said.

“We do.”

“It’s good to see. Reminds me of my own youth. Treasure it. The years will pass before you know it.”

Though Tessa had told him there was no need, Hump started the fire himself, trying to keep busy instead of worrying about Nisha. He could sense her in the distance, blazing excitement burning through their bond. Occasionally he’d catch a glimpse from her mind of the forest or mountains from the air. As amazing as it was, it made him worry more. Gods knew what monsters were out there.

When he sensed Nisha approaching, he looked up at the skies with relief. A few minutes later, he spotted a dark shape far above, growing quickly larger as it circled toward them. Igni sank lower and lower, spiralling through the air, and at his side was Nisha. At this distance she was tiny. If one didn’t know better, she could easily be mistaken for a large bird. But she swooped down eagerly, gliding through the air with the ease and grace of a creature perfectly fit for the skies.

As they closed the distance, hump spotted something large and limp gripped in Igni’s talons. Just as he neared the ground, he released the carcass of a large, sheep-like creature, letting it thud to the ground in a cloud of dust.

At his side, Nisha landed in an excited rush, practically falling out of the sky. She landed on all fours, running with her wings still flapping as she attempted to slow down, then stumbled to a stop. It was only when she turned to face them that Hump noticed the white rabbit in her mouth, her jaws clamped greedily around it. Blood stained the white fire.

“Good landing!” Celaine called after her, beaming.

Hungry. Mine. She glared around with wide, ravenous eyes. The purple gleam shone brilliantly.

Watching her dragon instincts on full display, Hump smiled, trying to calm her through their bond. “Good job, Nisha. Well done!”

Her eyes met his and slowly returned to normal. This time, he sensed hesitation in her mind. Mine?

“It’s yours, little one,” Hump said. “You earned it. Go ahead and eat.”

Celaine laughed. “She’s a mad little creature.”

“Their instincts take over when they’re young,” Tessa said. “This time it’s fine, but in the future you should insist she share at least a little of the kill. It will help her to understand that you’re a team.”

“I can do that,” Hump said.

“She’s made fast progress though. Igni is particularly impressed.”

“Of course she has!” Celaine said. “That’s our Nisha. She’ll be a fine wolf dragon when she’s older.”

It was a quiet night beneath the stars. They made a stew from part of Igni’s kill, and then Hump spent some time studying his magic. Distant Whisper was his first priority. While the wolf dragon telepathy of his manifested soul was useful, as of yet it was unreliable. He seemed to only be able to use it with people he knew very well, and it required manifesting his soul to do so. After working on the cantrip, he moved onto his shaping exercises, followed by his River and Waves and Spirit Well practice. Each day, Hump gave a little of his leftover essence to Walt, still housed within the Lich’s phylactery, chipping away at the required essence to unlock the rest of her library.

At the end of his routine, he closed the Book of Infinite Pages and tried to speak with Glyndaril within. Now that he knew the name of the silver owl, he felt closer than ever to getting answers from it, yet it didn’t respond. The last he’d heard from it, back when he’d first encountered the true dragon, Skyfire, during his dragon blooding ceremony, Glyndaril had told him ‘Not Yet’. Since then—nothing.

Looking up, he noticed Celaine leant up against a nearby tree, staring out into the night. Nisha rested her head on Celaine’s lap, fast asleep. Hump smiled at the sight, taking it in for a moment before he stood and walked over, taking a seat beside them. Nisha rolled over to show her belly, her eyes still closed.

Hump stroked it gently and said quietly to Celaine, “Feeling homesick?”

“A little,” she said. “You know how it is.”

“There’s always that sinking feeling when you leave a place, isn’t there?”

She nodded. “I’ll be back though. One day.”

It was a chilly night, so each of them slept close to the campfire, wrapped in their bedrolls. Hump’s Hidden Fire succeeded in hiding their campsite from any beasts that might disturb them, so they woke undisturbed the next morning.

When Hump rose, he felt like he’d been beaten. Every part of his body ached and all he’d done was sit for the day. Still, it was a far sight better than travelling by horseback. At least his thighs hadn’t been rubbed raw.

They flew fast through the second day, passing over the small marsh they’d passed through last time. To the east, over a mountain ridge, Hump caught a glimpse of the Dead Marshes. Even shrouded in thick mist, the region encompassed almost everything in sight, a product of many dungeons formed over centuries. What they’d experienced last time was nothing compared to it. There were few places more dangerous.

In a matter of hours, they passed the small marsh and forested hills that had previously taken the days to navigate. By late afternoon, Vonhold Pass was finally in view—the last settlement of Alveron on its northwestern border, and one of the main entry points into the Fallen Lands. While small compared to the fortresses further east, it was a powerful stronghold no less, and one it was in their best interest to avoid the attention of.

Beyond the fortress, Hump spotted campfires. They would belong to adventurers and soldiers, no doubt hunting the monsters that came too close. When they’d left Alveron all those months ago, the Fallen Lands was becoming more of a threat than ever. Monster attacks were becoming more frequent and more damaging. The number of adventurers was increasing, and no doubt the danger too.

Tessa directed Igni to land on the rear side of a hill, out of view of the fortress.

“We are near the borders of Alveron now,” Tessa said. “We’ll rest here for the night before continuing. I’d prefer to keep Igni away from prying eyes, but if we are to fight, I want him at full strength.”

“That won’t happen as long as we keep our distance,” Hump said. “How high can Igni fly?”

“With all of us on his back, not high enough to go unseen. The air becomes thin the higher we go, and he won’t be able to support so much weight.”

“Then we’ll just need to avoid the major roads and settlements along the way. A few rumours of a dragon in the air won’t be a problem so long as we head straight for Sheercliff.”

“Even a dragon must rest. It will be four days of hard flying through hostile territory. While Alveron lacks methods to attack us in the air, we will be vulnerable at night.”

“Any that come seeking us will soon regret it,” Celaine said. “Do not forget, I am a fourth circle Chosen now, and Hump is stronger than me. We will have your back, Tessa.”

Tessa smiled, chuckling. “While I appreciate that, I’d prefer it if we could avoid battle with our would-be allies. Though it may be unavoidable.”

It was a hard truth to listen to. While Hump had little loyalty to his own people, he still liked to think they had some sense. In truth, the outer regions were a place stuck in the past. The Pantheon had become more lax in recent years, but many would be faithful to the old ways, and the days when outsiders were heretics, no matter who they were.