6 The Dragon Knight

The trio continued to wind through the streets, following the gold trail on the map. As they walked, the line got shorter, indicating they were going the right way. Finally they stopped in front of a tavern. The sign had the symbol of a lunging dragon with a knight on its back, with the text on the edges of the sign reading Guild of the Dragon Riders.

"I think we took a wrong turn," Adrion said, "Something's not right."

"I think we took a wrong turn," River said, "You sure you're reading that map right?"

"Pretty sure, but that sign doesn't read Kai'sair."

"Maybe Kai'sair is the building on the other side of this one."

"Kai'sair?" said a voice. The three looked to the side of a building where a green forest dragon the size of a horse lay. Apparently, it had overheard their conversation and recognized the name.

"How do you know that name?" the dragon asked.

Rhogar stepped forward: "We are on a quest from the White King."

"Wait," the dragon interrupted, "Forgive my interruption, but you said you're on a quest from THE White King?!"

"Indeed," Rhogar said, "We have a scroll here that is telling us where to go."

"And it now says we have to find something called Kai'sair," Adrion finished showing the dragon the map, "Do you know what it might be talking about?"

The dragon nodded: "What you're looking for isn't a 'what', it's a 'who'. Kai'sair is one of the knights in this guild and my human companion. He should be right inside; just ask the bartender and tell them that Paletar allowed you in."

Adrion nodded: "Thank you," and the three walked in. inside was what one would expect from a knight's guild: there were knights being rowdy at their tables while eating, drinking, or talking about past adventures. Some of their dragons sat beside them, joining in their conversations. The trio walked up to the bartender.

"Excuse me," Adrion said, getting the bartender's attention, "We're looking for Kai'sair. Paletar said we could come in here."

"The young one, eh?" the bartender said, "He's over there in the corner by himself." Here he points to a booth in the corner where a lone knight, about Adrion's age, sat. His helmet sat on the table, exposing his head; he had a light complexion and chocolate brown hair the was probably spiked to the side, but it was flattened from him wearing his helmet for so long. A sword and shield were propped next to him on the bench. As the three looked closer, they could see his expression was slightly that of loneliness or boredom; they couldn't quite tell.

"Poor guy," the bartender continued, "He's the youngest accepted into the guild and yet no one bothers giving him a second look, they just move on."

"Aww, that sucks," River said, "but I think that that is about to change."

The three walked over to his spot. As they approached, Kai'sair noticed them and looked up.

"Mind if we join you, Kai'sair?" Adrion asked.

Kai'sair gestured with his hand: "There's more than enough space. By all means."

As Adrion and River sat, Adrion continued: "My name is Adrion. This is River, and my dragon companion, Rhogar," He said gesturing to the two. Kai'sair nodded to each of them as they were introduced, then said, "Alright, now that we've been properly introduced, how do you know about me?"

"We're here on a quest from the White King," River explained.

Kai'sair raised his eyebrows: "Is that right?"

River nodded: "The scroll that Adrion has has been telling us where to go, and lately it told us to find you. We came to this building and then were let in by your friend, Paletar, out front."

Kai'sair seemed to loosen up at the mention of his dragon companion: "Paletar is my most loyal friend; if he didn't see you as a threat, then neither will I. So, what exactly is your quest?"

Adrion replied: "We're searching for the pieces to the Light of Lunare. Once we have them, we need to bring them to the Shadow Canyons, where we will unite them and light up the canyon enough to expose a horde of Skull Beasts for Imperial Knights to destroy."

Kai'sair nodded in understanding: "That's some serious stuff. I'm guessing you're after the piece that's hidden out here somewhere in the sea?"

"You know where it is?" River asked.

"Oh yeah, our sea knights discovered it a while back. The only problem is that we can't even get close to it; not with that sea serpent lurking around out there."

"How long exactly has that sea serpent been a problem?" River asked.

"It first appeared a little over a month ago," Kai'sair replied, "Since then. It's been attacking our ships and escorts. Hardly anything has been able to get in or out of the bay, and as you can see, it starting to hurt this town in more ways than one."

"It has to be guarding the piece," Rhogar said, "If we are to get it, the serpent must fall."

"As much as I hate to say it," Adrion said, "I agree. We don't have much of a choice."

"You don't seriously plan on taking that thing on alone?" Kai'sair asked.

"We will if that's what it comes to." Adrion replied, "Besides, I might stand a good chance," here he holds up his staff and briefly lights up the jewel at the end of it.

"Well, in that case, I'm coming with you," Kai'sair said, "I know of a weak spot that another one of our knights found that you might be able to hit. Even then, the serpent is huge. We're gonna need more help."

"I can handle that," River said.

"Really? How?" Adrion asked.

"It's said that the water dragons have a secret cave somewhere off the coast of here; only other water dragons can find it. Being a water Half-Dragon myself, I might be able to find it and enlist in their help."

"Assuming you can make it past the serpent." Kai'sair said.

"I don't think that will be a problem." Rhogar said.

"And why is that?" Kai'sair asked.

"I've heard of this hidden cave, and it's not just another lair. It's the sanctuary of Hydraxus the Wise himself."

"Wait, the king of the water dragons?"

"Indeed. That sea serpent would have to be a complete idiot to go anywhere near that place."

"Exactly my point," River said, "If I can get there and ask Hydraxus for help, then we'll have a better fighting chance against the serpent."

Kai'sair looked at Adrion: "You're obviously the leader of this quest, wizard. What's your say?"

"It's a risky move," Adrion replied, "But we don't have too much of a choice. If she's willing to take this risk, then so am I. You are more than welcome to join us"

Kai'sair thought for a bit, then nodded: "Alright, I'm in. Now, the serpent only comes out during the evenings and nights, and only in the open waters. Meet me and Paletar at the docks at sunset; hopefully, I'll have a boat ready by then."

"I'll swim out ahead of you to find the cave of Hydraxus," River said, "Hopefully, I'll have a head start on the serpent if I leave while you guys sail out and keep it busy."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Adrion said, "All in favor?"

"Aye," Rhogar said.

River nodded her head, and Kai'sair replied: "Yes."

"Alright then, docks at sunset it is. It's still late afternoon right now, so we have some time to prepare." Adrion said.

"I'll get Paletar and tell him what's going on. We'll start working on getting a boat ready." Kai'sair said as he stood up, donned his helmet, grabbed his sword and shield, and turned to walk out of the tavern.

…

Later that evening, the trio went to find Kai'sair and Paletar at the docks. They had spent the majority of their time in the town's library; Adrion and Rhogar looking up what they could about sea serpents, while River looked over different sea maps to see if she could find any clues to the whereabouts of Hydraxus' lair. When they got to the docks, they spotted the knight and dragon standing near a ship at the far end of the harbor, the ship's captain with them.

"Ah, right on time I see," the knight said as the trio walked up, "Then again, I hear wizards are very good at being on time."

"Only because are dragons get in our faces if we don't." Adrion said, looking at Rhogar.

Rhogar just stared back and said: "What?" This caused River to giggle a bit. Kai'sair chuckled a bit as well, then turned to River: "Alright, dragon girl, light's fading fast, so if you're gonna swim out, it's gotta be now."

River nodded, morphed her outfit into what resembled a scaly wetsuit, and turned to leave.

"Don't get killed, okay?" Adrion said to her, "I don't want to lose anyone."

River looked back and winked: "Relax, fly boy. I'll be just fine. You've seen me in action; what could possibly go wrong?" With that, she ran to the edge of the dock and dove into the water, immediately using her tail to propel herself forward. As she did, Adrion and the others watched her departure. Then Rhogar turned to Adrion: "I know you said that to her for a different reason than the one you said."

Adrion blushed and glared at the dragon: "Not now, Rhogar."

"What's he talking about?" Kai'sair asked.

"Nothing. It's not your business." Adrion said, "Let's just get on the ship and get this over with." With that, he quickly moved up the gangplank and onto the ship. Kai'sair just looked at him and chuckled to himself, he knew someone with a crush when he saw one, and he could see Adrion had a pretty extreme one on the dragon girl. However, he declined to say anything at the moment and walked up the gangplank as well while the two dragons flew on board.

"Everyone on board?" he asked. The others nodded their assent behind him.

"Alright then. Take us out, captain." Kai'sair said, and in a few moments, they were sailing out to sea. Adrion walked up next to the knight: "You nervous?", he asked.

"Honestly, yes.", Kai'sair responded, "This is my first actual monster fight. You?"

"Same, and yes I am too. But we've got nothing to worry about. We've got two dragons, your skill as a knight, my magic skill as a wizard, and the power of the White King backing us up. I think we'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Kai'sair said. Then, drawing his sword, he said, "Now, let's go kill us a sea serpent."