Section 5

  Part III An uncomfortable encounter.

  Draxson pov

  Archery is not easy; no matter how simple it may seem, it's never an easy feat to master. I am not a master of the bow yet, but I hope to one day be better than I am now.

  Isn’t fighting with a bow and arrow as simple as placing your arrows on a string(knocking), pulling back, and releasing the arrow? A casual person might ask. Any master and devotee to the art of Archery will tell you all about the hardships of the art, but would also likely talk your ears to bleeding, as did my master. His words still echo in my head.

  ‘’Now, Draxson, you must remain serene; you must be focused if you want to hit your target. No target, moving or not, will be able to escape your arrow if you are focused like a tailor when they weave cloth. Thread your needle, complete the weave.’ The Remembrance isn't unwelcome. It's pretty relaxing, actually, as I knocked another arrow and pulled back, I thought of the advice Sopheia’s dad gave me; you need to feel the arrow and know how it flies in the wind to correct your shot, become the arrow and make the wind bend to the path you desire. If you can come to control it as well as your fire, none shall easily escape your arrows. I inhaled deeply, focusing on my target, Swoosh. I let loose my arrow, cutting through the air until it hit my target, a shield Fennib fetched from Swarf. My arrow didn’t pierce through but embedded itself slightly off-center of the shield.

  Fwoosh. Fwoosh Fwoosh. Fwoosh Fwoosh Fwoosh Fwoosh. Was the sound I heard as seven arrows rapidly whizzed past me and struck the shield, seven metallic rings resounding in response before the shield shattered into dozens of pieces like glass.

  I turned around to look at the source of the arrows, and Fennib Flynn was showing off. I was glad to have defeated her swiftly, or I'd be struck like that shield and bound to the floor. Don't mess with Fennib. I noted to myself. I walked over to her, hand stretched out to shake hers in congratulations. She took my hand and shook it after taking her hand off her bow. "Well, this is a bit embarrassing for me, but I won't be prideful, so I want to tell you a good job. You're very good with the bow, and I respect that. I bet you could teach me a thing or two." I said, concluding my congratulations as I let go of her hand. “How did you do that, by the way, I mean, launch all of those arrows so quickly that they looked to all move together?” I asked Fennib

  Fennib replied, “ I just applied the soul-binding, already enchanting the arrow, and tangled the enchantment so they would all fly at the same rate. After I would lose one, it would catch up to the other arrows so that they all struck at about the same time. Being able to pull the string back and fire multiple arrows at the same time with little consequence helps a lot. Does that answer your question, Draxson?” “I guess. That didn’t make sense to me how you were able to “bind them all together so they would strike one after the other, but at least I know you a lot better than me. I’m still sorry for not giving you a real fight earlier, but I'm glad I did because you would have won the match and maybe made it through the whole thing. Thank you for the fun competition and for being an amazing teammate in the qualifiers. It's been fun talking with you; I'm glad I got to meet a fellow archer to put out my ego. I hope you stay well on your journeys,” I said, extending my hand for one last shake. “You too, Draxson. It's been fun meeting you, and I hope you keep up with practice so you can maybe stand a chance the next time we meet.” Fennib replied, giving my hand a quick shake before letting go. “Farewell, Draxson, Sopheia. I hope you have a fantastic journey, and you to Phaz. Bye,” Fennib said as she vigorously waved and ran back to Swarf and the caravan. Speaking of which, I remembered at this point that we could probably be rid of the spare pieces of armor we had carried around since last week. So we went to Swarfs Caravan to sell off the plate armor and other armor pieces in good condition, all according to plan. Ok, fine, I lied. I completely forgot about the armor since I wasn’t carrying it at the moment. Sopheia and Phaz demanded that I add this information: “Hey, Draxson, shouldn’t we go too?” Phaz suddenly asked. “Huh? Go where? We still have things to do here before we leave.” I said, confused at what Phaz was implying. “Yes, Draxson, that's what I mean. Did you forget your own plans?” Phaz asked my tilting her head, contorting her canine face like she was looking at the most confusing thing ever. “Draxson, she's talking about the armor we planned to sell. Come on, we don't have time for you to waste apologizing, let's just get it done." Sopheia said, dragging me away… for a few feet, I walked the rest of the way once she was worn out from dragging me.

  I’m going to take a pause from the story for a moment. I realize these interruptions from the story I’m telling might be distracting, so I will put a short pause on providing too much context for my life story.

  So, anyway, I'll skip the interaction we had with Swarf, or at least summarize it. Sopheia, Phaz, and I all went to Swarf's traveling blacksmith shop. We sold the plate armour, just two sets, though, since we couldn't carry all of the spare armor the skeletons had, it slowed us down when fleeing and fighting. We got 9 gold prices for both sets, a pair of gauntlets that were too big for Sophiea, and instead got her a pair of leather gloves to go over her cloth ones, then special ordered 5 of the belt knives at 3 gold for those items. It cost about 4 golds to restock on the supplies I needed to cook for another week and an excess to serve to the chef for that recipe. Then another 2 gold for 12 arrows. Then, I traded in a few frost boar tusks and teeth for a few metal 2-inch spikes and 8 feet of rope for an extra gold coin. I had plans for those things later, just wait to see. Then that was it; we bought the supplies from one of the other Battle Forge Dwarves in Swarf’s company since she was fervently smithing a couple of super shiny spearheads. I asked the merchant what she was making, and he said that the Victor TreeLif showed Swarf a new type of metal that's been giving her some trouble; “you've probably heard all of the loud banging earlier since it took her bringing out her greatsword to stress test it.

  If you want to talk with her, you'll probably have to wait a few more hours while she finishes.” Siddud said as Sopheia and I gathered our stuff, I turned back to tell Siddud to have a good day and tossed him a couple of silver coins. We left the weapon smith/ and supply merchant caravan, seeking out somewhere that we could rest from the day's excitement. Phaz went to collect her brothers, who were sleeping in the room we rented. They were drained by keeping up the appearance of Wolf-beast kin, so Phaz sent them to rest for a while. Sopheia chose a group of trees that were close together for us to sit under. I sat at the base of one nearest the east side of the stage for the wonderful morning and afternoon battles. Meanwhile, Sopheia climbed a tree to my right and was sitting on a branch about 10 feet in the air; her legs dangled over the tree branch as she held on with her hands and scanned the crowds of people for Rwarg. While I waited for Phantom to return, I read up on the recipes I’ve learned from my parents and the ones I’ve won from the locals in Fornull. A few towards the front of the book were the more difficult recipes I was gifted for my early 18th birthday by my aunts and uncles; The art of roasting an animal mid-flight was a delicate thing, absurd as it might seem, it somehow made a difference. All the garbled explanation by my uncles about flight path, fire angle, and temperature was confusing, and thankfully, it was very helpfully translated by my aunts into a more understandable form, sort of. I couldn't yet win any recipes from my relatives on my mom’s side of the family. I didn't have the skill or the control to use their recipes, so they say.

  I flipped to the back of my ready-to-be-filled recipe book. The last recipes in the book are by far my most cherished recipes: A recipe for dragon's wrath dragon fruit jam, and honey bread. The only recipe my father gave me was the first thing he made for my mom, which, coincidentally, became her favorite dessert. It was one of the many dishes at my parents' wedding. I was given the recipe after my sister and I failed to replicate our father's dessert for Mom on one of her birthdays. Oh, sorry, I was doing it again. I’ll tell you what's on the next page. Flipped the page, on the left page was the recipe Sopheia made for my 17th birthday, on the right was the one I made for her 18th birthday, and the next page contained the special recipe I made for Sopheia’s upcoming 19th birthday. And like that I was at the end, the last recipe I can hardly look at it without without shedding a tear; the last recipe(s) Sopheia’s mom Sigala Ne-ko made before she passed, Sopheia’s Favorite dish; IceBerg Monster lobster with a side of sweet and spicy rice with veggies, and a side of meat buns with Mango flavored-wine jam filled cake for a dessert.

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  The recipe(s) was a bit absurd. Imagining Sopheia trying to eat one of those behemoths brought a smile to my face, and A deep gratitude that I was entrusted with it. I was given it years ago, about 3 months before her passing. I didn’t know the meaning behind the gesture; I was just happy to have a recipe to make Sopheia happy, and I was glad to be cooking with Sigala and bringing what joy I could to the somber household. I didn’t know the full extent of anyone's feelings as Sopheia’s mom was nearing her last months, but I could see it on their faces, even through their smiles, that they were sad. I didn’t know why until a few months later, while I stood in attendance at Sigala’s funeral.

  I’m glad and grateful for every moment I spent cooking with her.

  “Goodbye Sigala, and thank you. Rest well, I love and miss you.” I whispered, my hand on the protected page. I closed the book and put it away before any tears could ruin it.

  I slouched down and leaned against the tree at my back, looking towards the sky; Something about it called out to me, but I looked over to where Sopheia sat perched at the middle of a branch, looking down at me. {Visual: Sopheia sat both legs hanging over the left side of the branch, looking down at Draxson with her hands on the branch under her(hands close to her legs.}

  “Hey Draxson, what ye doing? Enjoying the sunlight like a Lizar…”

  Sopheia was saying before I responded, “No, don’t say it, I’m not a lizard, I am a Dragon, and yes, I’m relaxing while I wait for Swarf to be done forging so I can speak with her before we leave. Anyway, how about you? Have you found Rwarg yet?” I asked, looking up at Sopheia. “Yes, I have, dear friend, I’m going now,” Sopheia said before hopping off the branch, landing deftly on her feet like always. “Show off,” I muttered as Sopheia waved to me, turning around and running off.

  I rested under the tree for a few minutes or so before Phaz came out of the Inn, walking towards me, her two sluggish and exhausted brothers in tow. “Draxson, I'm going to take my brother out in the forest to release some energy, and so I don't collapse from energy deficiency in this form,” Phaz said, waving down her body to enunciate her meaning. “Alright, I guess. It must be pretty exhausting to keep up that form. I hadn't thought about it that much. Would you mind if I joined you and your brothers?” I asked, sitting up straight against the tree at my back.

  Phaz did an approximation of a low growl, turning her head back to her brothers, who in return gave her soft barks in the affirmative, I think. “Alright, that would be fine, they say you can join us, so let's get going. We only got a few hours before we need to get some stuff done, before we sleep. I'll help you up.” Phaz extended her furry hand to me, I grabbed onto her hand, and *Squeak* stood up while she pulled me to my feet. Strangely, her hand squeaked as I squeezed it while she hoisted me up. I distractedly squeezed Phaz’s hand, and it squeaked again, confirming that I wasn't crazy. “Hey, please don't do that, it tickles, and it's a bit inappropriate. You already have a relationship with Sopheia. You understand what I'm trying to say, right?” Phaz asked as I absent-mindedly squeezed her paw again*Squeak*.” (really, she just didn't like the noise)

  “Oh yeah, sorry, I didn't realize. I'm sorry about that.” I let go of Phaz's hand and walked off with them to the woods, where we ran around for a couple of hours.

  A couple of hours later…

  After a good couple of hours, everyone was ready to rejoin the event and wrap up our activities for the day. We rejoined with Sopheia, and I held back on telling her about Phantom's squishy paws for the moment so that we wouldn't be held up from getting with Swarf. Since it was getting pretty late in the afternoon, Everyone who wasn't participating in the battle tomorrow left, and Everyone who was leaving was in their rooms by now or camping outside.

  We met up with Swarf as she was finishing her project, and it was right about then that the person they were made for showed up. TreeLif Lefatt, that elf who won the championship, I felt pretty sour about it, but Sopheia asked that I stay chill about it. So I tried to, then he talked to us.

  “Draxson, Sopheia, Phantom, and… wolf beast kin, I would like to talk to you all for a moment. If that's ok with you?” I opened my mouth to shout at him, Get away, you monstrous elf. That was what I was prepared to say.

  “Hey, before you say anything, I want to apologize first to the two other beat kin traveling with you. I, TreeLif LeFatt, apologize for my swift and graceless elimination of both of you.” I already wanted to punch him in the face. I cracked my knuckles, dragon cells forming over my fists. Phaz placed a hand on my shoulder, her eyes comically bulging as her gaze bore into me, and I suppressed a chuckle. His voice wasn't particularly annoying; it was actually pretty soft, serious, and firm at the same time, and even apologetic. But hey, can you really blame me for being upset with him after what he did to Sopheia and how he humiliated her? No, of course you can't, you just hold this book in your hands right now, upset with me about my anger and wondering when it's going to shift. Well, it won't happen today.

  Anyway, I wanted to tell you why I was upset with his voice. It was just what I thought a standard Elf would sound like. It's quite upsetting, though I thought he would have sounded older and wiser. I'd learn that only some speak like that much later. But in the current situation, I didn't like this guy.

  “Sopheia, that's your name, right?” She gave a nod of the head, waiting for his statement. “Sopheia I, I am very sorry about how I humiliated you in our battle. I do hope that you find it in your heart to forgive me. I wish I had given you a better battle. But I apologize because I needed to do it. I needed to win for my mission, but I won't bother you with the details."TreeLif paused, "Sorry about that, I tend to talk too much.” He, TreeLif, audibly inhaled as he prepared to speak with me, “Draxson, that was one of the greatest fights I've ever had. I only think Sopheia’s would have been better had she been allowed to fight me properly; again, many apologies. But thank you, Draxson, could you forgive me for how I treated our battle?” He said, extending my hand to me. I acted and responded calmly. “ I could possibly forgive you, Treelif,” I grabbed his hand and firmly shook it. “But do please tell, why did you have to end our battle so soon? I was about to have fun, I was looking forward to a real battle today.”

  Somewhere else, multiple people sneezed at those words, even the Dwarf next to us.

  I let go of his hand as he spoke again. “ I am sorry that I ended it so soon. I will explain why I did it. I didn't want you to have the chance to get close and burn me and win. So I ended you quickly by getting you to launch close blasts of fire to knock yourself out. I needed to secure this win for my mission. I have People I need to protect, and I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me in my mission.”

  I balled my hand into a fist, but decided hearing him out first might be good. “What is this mission you keep speaking of, TreeLif? I want to know why it's important to you.” I asked firmly. Sigh, "My mission is to protect my forest and the surrounding nature of my homeland, southeast of here. And I need the money to hire a team of skilled people to help me with my task. That's why I came here to hopefully recruit some talented fighters. That's why I humbly ask you to let me join your party. You are on a journey, right?” Treelif asked, bowing his head before us. “I would be willing to support and pay you for letting me accompany you in exchange for assistance with my quest,” TreeLif added a few seconds later.

  I, despite all opposition, replied in anger. “ Now listen here, TreLiff, I don't really understand what your quest, mission, or whatever it is, really implies and why you would want us to help you. This wouldn't be such a strange request if you had handled yourself better on and off the tournament Stage. You've only shown yourself as distant and uncaring about anything going on around you. But now all of a sudden you're friendly with us and making requests of people you don't know, and weren't particularly friendly with. I can understand being serious during a fight, but you went a bit far in yanking Sopheia out of the tournament with those constricting tree roots. You didn't even look me in the eyes before our match started or acknowledge me in any way; you instead stood there looking bored, and that made me really angry. Furthermore, now I wish I had put a bit more force in my attacks to damage your pretty face.” “Draxson, I think you're going too far with your anger. Please don't start a fight here, because…” Draxson snapped his neck around to look at Sopheia, a great green flame in his Dragon eyes, tendrils of smoke rising from his transformed nostrils at the top of his scaled lower face.

  The reaction Sopheia had to seeing this was an anxious look of fear; only what held her back from being utterly terrified was that she knew Draxson was saying these things for her and the group. Luckily, that look was enough to soften his facial features, and he briefly shook his head, then turned back to face TreeLif.

  I looked back at TreeLif, making sure to lower the hostility in my voice and face. I spoke again as calmly as I could. “Sopheia, I just have another thing I need to say, but I'll check my tone.” I took a breath, then swallowed the flames welling in my throat.

  “TreeLif, I don't personally like you at this moment, but I can consider forgiving you for your rather strange display of sportsmanship. I'll even humble you and let you convince me to join in your effort tonight over dinner. But for now, you should probably collect your gear. I'll meet up with you soon after talking with Swarf.” I said, reigning in my annoyance the best I could.

  I watched the relief fill TreeLif’s face light up with excitement and relief. Treelif rose from the ground, dust falling off his pants. He thanked us for listening to him before he left to retrieve his equipment from Swarf, leaving for somewhere else a moment later.