PART 20

The mountainous region was perfect for such a camp, since there would be plenty of alcoves to duck into. The trouble would be firewood. Although there were plenty of trees up on the snow covered mountain, the wood was sure to be soaked through from the moisture. He was determined to find supplies once a proper camp was established.
He reached a place where the only choice was to scale the mountain side for a short distance, but once on the landing above, he found what he had been looking for; a modest stand of tall Apsens rooted to the ground where the mountain opened up into a cave. He considered the possibility that an animal might be inhabiting the cave, but decided to explore it anyway. With no other light available, he removed Kizjin Kol from its sheath and held it in front of him. The sword lit up just enough to light his path a few paces ahead. The floor of the cave felt dry and powdery, the walls were narrow, coming to a point in the ceiling about two feet above his head. Dresden walked cautiously, in case he encountered anything living within, and made as little noise as possible. Within twenty steps, the cave opened up into a modest room, the size of a small house. Several large, flat topped boulders sat in the center, with the walls and ceiling reaching farther out in all directions. He walked around the edges of the space, but found no bones, or other signs of habitation. The only indication that told him that someone had been there recently, was a bundle resting on one of the stones in the center of the room. Dresden again searched for footprints. Nothing. The powdery floor would have given anyone away, but this mystery continued to boggle him with no proof of any entity leaving him these offerings of food. He quickly moved into the cave, leaving the bundle where it sat. Using Kizjin Kol, he cut some firewood and brought it inside. Once he had a fire blazing, he removed his clothing and set them over the stones to dry. Being naked had never bothered him, and he was warm here so he relaxed by the fire.
He had come across a natural spring earlier in the day and refilled the bladder. Dresden drank extra water while he rested and curiously opened the last bundle. What he saw, surprised him. Instead of food, this time, he stared down at a pile of semi precious stones. There were several. Amethyst, Quartz crystals, Peridot and Citrine. There was a single stone in the pile that raised his hackles, one of the Fallen Soldiers of Sky Stone. Whoever was following him, knew about Dragon workings and understood something of who he was. Dresden placed the bundle back on the flat topped stone and checked his clothing. His undergarments were finally dry enough to put back on, so he did. He walked to the entrance of the cave to check for anyone lingering around. Perhaps whoever was following him would be nearby. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness and the moon was waning down to a slit, which made the sky visible and the ground dark. He sensed nothing threatening as he glanced out into the world. The sky had calmed, leaving stars shining brightly overhead. The air felt so crisp, so clean. He hadn’t ventured up the mountains as a man, but used to enjoy this kind of life when he remained in Dragon form. Humans were not likely to disturb these unwelcoming places so they were perfect for living in when you were larger than most land animals and hard to hide. When he returned to his fire, a silhouetted figure, sitting about a foot tall with pointy ears, was swishing its bushy tail in the powdery earth. It turned it’s furry head on his arrival. Dresden noticed a bundle attached to the creature by a cord around its neck. The animal resembled a simple cat, but he knew this was no ordinary cat since there were no footprints in the sand behind or in front of it. It mewed gently on his approach. He reached down to pet it’s head, and stared into the largest golden eyes he had ever seen on such a small creature. It mewed again as he petted it between the ears and removed the bundle from its neck.
He opened it, while not wanting to let the animal out of his sight. There were extra large chunks of deer meat and a hand scrawled note.
“An ambush awaits you. Purify the meat with the gems and eat it. Your life depends on it.”
Dresden pet the cat creature some more, it curled up near the fire and fell asleep, purring loudly. He examined the note. The flowy script reminded him of elvish, but he hadn't seen anything like it for hundreds of years. Whoever was following him, were of magical origins for sure. He studied the animal as it slept. How had this creature crept up on him so stealthily? Lazarus had told him that the magical creatures were gone from the Earth. Apparently not all of them, Dresden thought as he rubbed the fluffy animal sharing his fireplace. He turned his clothes to dry them evenly, prepared the meat to be purified with the previous bundle of stones and let it rest on one of the unused boulders. This was a very old Dragon remedy for ensuring strength and vitality. He couldn’t imagine anyone besides another Dragon who would know this method of purification.
When he turned back to sit with the animal again, it was gone just as mysteriously as it had appeared. It left no markings in the dust where the tail had been swishing, as though he’d imagined the entire experience. He had already suspected that Baylin was aware of his approach and that Dresden would be coming for him. The note confirmed that theory. He already knew that Galvinor worked closely with Baylin and even a third Dragon who had seen him climbing the base of the first mountain several days before. He’d hoped to have the element of surprise but the Dragon he’d seen in the clouds should have been enough warning to let him know his movements were being watched. Another Dragon, which one? One of the thirteen exiles or someone else from BasNassal, perhaps sent by Sariahfina? He thought of all who’d gone into exile with him, and wondered who remained. Once his clothes were fully dry, he dressed again, restocked the fire and closed his eyes for the night.
In the morning, he received no new bundles from his mysterious benefactor. He checked to see that the meat had been purified and was pleased when he noticed that the gems had vanished from melding with the dried flesh. The meat chunks were twice their original size and had taken on a lighter color, the vitality could be felt and seen. The Alchemy was ancient, and again he thought of very few who would still know how to do such magic. He dutifully ate the meat chunks, all of them at once without leaving any for later. This was the moment he had been preparing for. By midday, he would meet Baylin and whatever else awaited him at the tip of the summit. He took extra care in securing his clothes and his weapons. His boots were also quite dry, which was a relief, since it would not make for a pleasant climb in wet footwear. His fire was extinguished by the time he woke, so he scattered the ashes and cleaned up any traces of his stay, carefully brushing away his prints to leave the cave looking as abandoned as he’d found it. He threw the bundle wrappings over the cliff edge and climbed as the sun rose.
Another cloudless day made the journey endurable.The remaining stretch of cliff face was difficult to scale. He positioned himself carefully, using every foot and hand hold that presented itself. He could not afford to fall this close to his destination. He felt stronger today, sure that the infused, magical meat chunks were somehow giving him strength he would not have otherwise had. The snow and ice clinging to the cliff face made Dresden pay close attention to his positioning. He clung against the rock and held on tight. One step, one hand at a time. The sun made its way slowly across the sky as he climbed, higher and higher. Kizjin Kol felt so good on his back, his arms and legs didn’t strain under the pressure of scaling the cliff. He let his thoughts pass away and meditated on only the foot and hand holds, the whistling of the thin air, the land far below him, and the landing above.
Once at the top, he could see Baylin’s camp. A large fire blazed from trees that had been uprooted and flung into a pile. Baylin was sitting with his back to Dresden. He could see a modest yurt across from the fire. There was no sign of Galvinor or the green, gold Dragon but he just had to assume that they were somewhere nearby since the note he’d received told Dresden clearly to anticipate an ambush. Kizjin Kol hummed gently against Dresden’s back. Baylin straightened, turned his head and grinned at Dresden.
“I always did hate that sword of yours.”
“Hello Baylin. You know why I’m here I believe.” Dresden strutted over to the giant fire, staying quite a ways back from the blaze.
“Of course I do. What took you so long? No wait, I will answer that. You walked like a goddamned human being! You’re a disgrace Dresden and I am going to kill you.” Baylin rose, faced Dresden and placed his hands on his hips. He held no weapons, but slowly took off his vest and tunic. Then removed his boots. He planned on fighting Dresden as a Dragon. Dresden followed his lead and began removing his clothes as well. He laid them in a tidy pile on a rock next to him as the two men prepared to transform into their original forms.