Chapter Four

May I Call You Gretz?

Shanae awoke to the sounds of terrible, high-pitched shrieking. Jolting awake, she frantically searched the surrounding woods for signs of the creature responsible. After a brief moment of confusion, she was surprised to see the culprit within the circle of dim firelight, screaming and thrashing in an attempt to throw off Arvan’s hand, which was clamped around its bony ankle.

It was a hideous creature. As black as a moonless night with loose skin that looked rotting and ready to fall off its bones. It was vaguely humanoid in shape, with a hunched posture and spikes running down its spine. Tufts of oily hair stuck out atop his head and on his knees and elbows, and a few other strange places. It had long claws, two short stubs that were the beginning of horns and huge triangular ears. When it hissed and spat at Arvan, Shanae could make out the rows of viciously sharp teeth and foul black tongue.

“Tura! What is that thing?!” She shouted over the noise the beast was making.

Arvan grunted and grabbed the creature’s other flailing leg and held it up at arms length so it’s thrashing arms couldn’t reach him. It was a small beast, probably no higher than Shanae’s waist when stretched to his full height. And judging from the genitalia hanging down, it was a male. Shanae shuddered and looked away.

“Gremlin,” Arvan told her as he looked around for something to tie it up with. “Funny that we should run into one in these woods, or at all. They’re very reclusive. But I found it standing over me. He’s probably up to no good.”

The gremlin wailed terribly, making Shanae wince. “What do we do with it?”

“I am going to tie him up.” Arvan answered, “and maybe I can get him to tell me what he was up to.”

“There is no need!” The gremlin suddenly cried. Shanae jumped and looked shocked when it spoke in the common tongue, every word clearly audible despite it’s gravelly voice. Arvan, however, was not surprised. Although he’d never encountered a gremlin before, he knew a bit about them. They were fairly intelligent creatures, although not considered one of the dominant races because they were not so civilized. Rumor had it that they were also not considered equal because they were simply very ugly. “Please!” He wailed, “I was not into mischief! Put me down!” It wriggled in Arvan’s hands but the human kept a firm grip.

“Shanae, go into my bags and find my rope.” He told the Lashrinian, and for once she didn’t argue and did as she was asked. It took only moments for them to bind the gremlin’s arms and legs together and sit him by the fire so they could interrogate him.

“So,” Arvan asked him,. Standing so that he towered over the small creature. “Who are you and what kind of foul deeds were you up to?”

The gremlin growled and seem to be rather annoyed with the questioning, but he answered. “I am Grechtzthul, son of Farithkul, son of Gamfunul, son of...”

“Okay, okay!” Arvan cut him off, “I don’t need to know your whole lineage. What were you doing?”

The gremlin clucked his tongue twice and studied Arvan a moment before he answered. “It is rare to find those of the four races traveling with each other. The Lashrinians least of all. They are a bit...snobbish.”

Arvan chuckled while Shanae huffed, “I am not,” She muttered, but Arvan and the gremlin with the unpronounceable name ignored her.

“Yes...” Grechtzthul continued, “Very strange to find a Lashrinian on the ground and away from her cliffs. But you, sir, are even stranger.”

“Me?” Arvan blinked. “How am I strange? I’m just a simple human traveler.”

“Do not lie to me, non-human.” The gremlin clucked, “I can smell it on you. You are not human. What are you?”

“Huh? You’d better get your nosed fixed, I’m perfectly human.”

The gremlin studied him for a moment, as if trying to determine if he was lying or not. “You are not.” He said matter-of-factly. “Though you may believe you are. Now untie me!”

Arvan frowned at the creature, but finally agreed to untie the ropes binding him. When it was free, the gremlin rubbed his wrists sourly but remained where he was. Sensing that the gremlin wasn’t about to go anywhere, Arvan resumed his questioning. “Alright Greco...Greck...Grechtz...may I call you Gretz?”

“Since it seems to be easier on your tongue, I suppose that will have to do.” Gretz frowned.

“Good. So, Gretz, if I am not human, then what am I? And what were you doing in this forest in the first place? Are there any more of you around here? And if you are familiar with the area, could you tell us where the nearest town is?”

Gretz blinked at the non-human, then looked to his Lashrinian companion. “Your friend seems a bit scatterbrained.” He said to her.

“Hey!” Arvan protested, but Gretz continued on without even a glance at him.

“There are no others in this forest like me.” He explained. “None that I know of, at least. I am here on a quest. Every young gremlin must complete a quest in order to be considered an adult.”

“You mean you’re still a child?” Shanae gaped. She could never imagine a young anything being so ugly.

“Yes,” Gretz seemed to groan and he rolled his yellow eyes in annoyance. “I am two hundred and twelve years old. I have been on my quest for twelve years now, and I don’t think the Elders expect me to come back anymore.” He sat back in the dirt and growled lowly.

“Well, what’s your quest?” Arvan asked. “Maybe we can help.”

“No!” Gretz cried with such force that both Arvan and Shanae jumped and stared at him awkwardly. “Forgive me,” Gretz continued, “But the nature of the quest is secret and cannot be revealed to anyone. Still, after spending so long wandering about and not getting anywhere I may invite myself along with you.”

“With us?” Arvan blinked. “Why?”

“You, non-human, have sparked my curiosity. I have no direction in mind, if I follow you I may complete my goal and learn a few things about you as well.”

Arvan frowned at the gremlin, still not fully believing this talk about him not being human. Perhaps the gremlin was just a little bit crazy, but he didn’t seem vicious. “Alright,” Arvan agreed finally, “You can follow us around if you want, although we don’t have any real direction in mind either. My name is Arvan, and the bossy bird over there is Shanae.”

Shanae ruffled her feathers and Gretz grinned, showing off his sharp, yellowing teeth. “A pleasure. And in return I shall lead you to the nearest town, as you asked.”

Soon the now larger group of travelers were settling back down to sleep, trying to rest a bit for the few hours left before dawn. “I wonder what Faeron will say about this?” Arvan sighed and he stretched out on his blanket.

Gretz’s sharp ears picked up his words. “Faeron?” He questioned, “Who is Faeron?”

“Faeron,” Shanae answered, “Is the dragon.”

“Oh...” Gretz frowned and might have even gulped, but he scrambled under a low bush to sleep before Shanae could ask him if he was afraid.

---

When first light finally broke over the blanket of trees to the east Shanae was already half awake. Although she had a blanket, it was only thin and her wings could only do so much to keep her warm. She sat up and shivered, still only in the short breeches and sleeveless top she usually only wore under her clothes and to bed. She didn’t even have shoes to wear! That problem would have to be corrected as soon as possible, and she planned to make Arvan pay for it. It was, after all, his fault that she was in this mess in the first place.

Stretching out her sore and knotted muscles, she slowly rose from her blanket. She picked it up off the ground and shook the dirt from it, pretending not to notice that most of it shook off into Arvan’s face. The human scrunched up his face sourly and turned over, ignoring the annoyance. Shanae scowled at him. She wasn’t entirely sure why she disliked him so much. After all, if he hadn’t shown up she’d still be living in her tiny cabin all alone. Perhaps she could look at her situation as an adventure?

Shanae sighed heavily. She had never wanted adventure. She wanted a normal life, just like everybody else. She wanted to live with her people, but they would never accept her, not when she couldn’t fly. To them she was no better than a deformed human. An outcast. Not hated, but never really loved either. Still frowning, she folded up the blanket and placed it next to Arvan’s things.

Hands on her hips, she studied their camp closely, wondering if there was anything else she could do before the others awoke. She could always fix breakfast, since Arvan and Gretz insisted on being lazy. And where was Faeron? She hadn’t seen to dragon since late afternoon the day before, and she was beginning to wonder if maybe he’d gone off to set fire to peoples’ fields or scare some innocent travelers.

Just as she was thinking of him, the beast appeared. Shanae heard him before she could see him, pounding his huge wings and causing the birds to take off from the trees. In the quiet of early morning, she could even hear his heavy breaths as he flew closer. He swooped over their campsite, then circled around again and finally landed in a nearby clearing. Shanae could hardly see him through the trees, but his grunts were clearly audible, as was the sound of his wings and tail smacking the trees as he settled himself on the ground.

The commotion must have woken Arvan as well. Either that or Faeron had said something to him. Shanae still didn’t fully believe he could speak to the creature, but it was clear enough that he’d tamed it somehow. Arvan sat up and frowned sleepily through half-lidded eyes at Faeron and waited for him to reach their camp.

The dragon stomped forward, snaking his body around the trees with agility that one would not expect from a creature so large. Tura! The thing was almost as tall as a two story building at the head, and it’s back stood at least five hands taller than the largest horse! Glittering red scales darkened to near black in the shade of the forest, but Shanae knew that they flashed like fire when they caught the sun.

Faeron was approaching fast, heavy footsteps sending birds flying and small animals scattering with each footfall. Shanae felt a twist of fear as the dragon came closer, but forced herself to remain calm. The dragon had yet to attack anyone.

As he neared, Shanae thought she saw something hanging from his jaws, and she focused her sharp eyes on the swinging package to see what it was.

“What’s that you’ve got, Faeron?” Arvan called just as the dragon was poking his head through the trees to the camp. From his jaws hung a light canvas bag like those usually carried by travelers. For the Lady. Faeron explained to Arvan, who merely looked confused.

Faeron rolled his eyes and offered the bag to Shanae who took it suspiciously. Faeron bowed to the Lashrinian, lowering his head nearly to the ground, and Shanae grinned before returning it solemnly. She kept her back straight, bowing forward and spreading her wings wide, pressing her fist to her heart in a typical Lashrinian bow. “Thank you, Faeron,” She said, before eagerly looking into the bag.

“Did I miss something?” Arvan wondered out loud, “When did we end up in a Queen’s court?”

Faeron sneered at him and Shanae ignored him as she dug through the bag’s contents and removed some women’s garments that looked like they would fit her. “Why Faeron, where did you find this?” She wondered.

Arvan shot the dragon a suspicious look that suggested he was wondering the same thing.

Faeron grinned at Arvan, I came across some merchants. One a lady who looked to be Shanae’s size. I couldn’t let the poor woman wander about in her underclothes, now could I?

“Why Faeron,” Arvan sneered, “I never knew you were such a gentleman. How kind of you to go terrorizing helpless merchants to steal their clothing.”

Faeron shrugged, The woman had clothes to spare, and a good amount of jewelry too. I doubt she’ll be hard off without her travel bag and purse.

“You took her purse as well!” Arvan groaned. “I thought I told you to stop doing that!”

You’re not my master.

“We’re not thieves, Faeron!”

“Oh leave him alone, Arvan.” Shanae snapped. “I don’t care where he got these things, it’s a lot better than sleeping outside in my under things.”

Faeron grinned at Arvan triumphantly. Arvan turned to scold the woman for encouraging the dragon’s deviant behavior but forgot what he was going to say when he saw Shanae. “Are you sure you got those things from a merchant and not a whore?” He sputtered. Shanae’s skirts were layered, the bottom skirts longest and cut on and angle, then gathered together at the short side to show a good amount of leg. Her loose top was cut short and showered her midriff. She had the decency to cover herself with a brightly coloured, beaded shawl but it hardly helped.

Shanae scowled at him and stomped her foot, now safely encased in a soft leather boots.

You know how merchants can be these days, Faeron shrugged, unconcerned. The dragon didn’t really understand the concept of modesty.

A scuffling sound announced that Gretz was awakening, although Faeron and Arvan both were too caught up in glaring at each other to notice until the creature jumped in surprise at seeing the monstrous form of a dragon hovering over him. Faeron blinked once and looked down at the black-grey creature by his feet. Compared to him, Gretz looked no bigger than a mouse, about as tall as one of Faeron’s feet, the way he hunched over like that. What is that? Faeron wondered, cocking his head in curiosity.

“That is Gretz.” Arvan explained to the dragon. “He’s somehow attached himself to our ever growing traveling party.”

A gremlin? Faeron blinked again, lowering his head to get a closer look at the creature. At the very least, Gretz should have squirmed under that unblinking gaze, but he stared back defiantly at the dragon, unafraid. Faeron suddenly reared back and guffawed loudly, his body heaving in such a way that made Shanae jerk back and stare at him in wide-eyed terror. It took her several moments to discover that he was actually laughing.

A courageous creature indeed, Faeron cackled, You attract the strangest of companions, Arvan.

“I’ll say,” Arvan agreed, “And it all started with you.”

Gretz was looking at the pair of them strangely, his brain obviously turning over what part of the conversation he could hear. “Interesting,” He clucked. “You have many mysteries, non-human. I should think that traveling with you will be worth it. I have never heard of anyone who can speak to a dragon, other than other dragons. If such a talent has ever existed, it has long since been forgotten.” The tiny creature seemed to laugh then, “I cannot wait to discover your secrets.”

Arvan scowled at the gremlin and muttered something under his breath. Shanae was not close enough to be sure what he’d said exactly, but it sounded something like ‘we’ll see about that’. After Shane heard that, Gretz wasn’t the only one that was curious about Arvan’s secrets.