142 She Enters the Jungle

Now that they were in an outside area, Jasmine thought it was a good idea to teach Robin some of the more dangerous basic spells. So, during the time before lunch, Robin diligently studied. She learned Fireball, Thorn spike, Poison Ball, and Thunder Ball.

She also learned the manipulation of light to change colors, like hair, eye, or skin color. Robin teasingly made Skye rainbow colored until he noticed something was off. She and Jasmine laughed heartily while they were being chased by Skye in circles.

Gerard was also using his new mastery of wind in order to scout the area for hidden creatures or dangers, under the direction of Fairy Elise. The winds connected to him would relay back information about the places they breezed through. He could also use it to hear things which were farther away than normal earshot.

While all this was going on, Sir Drago was off to one side, carefully molding the softened gold like clay in his hands. The others didn't see what he was making, but they knew enough not to bother him. When he was finished, he rejoined everyone for lunch.

Lunch was grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. Even though Ponzu made enough for fifty men, it was soon decimated by Robin's company.

"I've decided." Chelsea suddenly spoke up.

"...Decided upon what, exactly?" Robin asked.

"I've decided what Sir Drago's first name should be!" Chelsea replied, with a winning smile. Sir Drago looked up from his food.

"Let's hear it." He said calmly.

"Liam." Chelsea sat back, a proud look on her face. "Your name will be Sir Liam Drago. Liam for short."

"Liam..." Sir Drago pondered it for a while. "What does it mean?" He asked.

"It means 'Strong-willed warrior, or protector.'" Keith explained. "One of the heroes of legend was named Liam, so it is considered a highly respected name."

"Hmm..." Sir Drago didn't say anything, but the sharpness in his eyes softened a bit, and the corner of his mouth curled up in the ghost of a smile.

"So I will be calling you Liam from now on!" Chelsea said, before ladle-ing herself a third bowl of soup.

"Isn't that great, Liam? You finally have a first name!" Sir Daniel laughed, patting him on the back. "I can see it now in future storybooks. Liam, the Great Protector Dragon: children's eyes will glow when they hear your name."

Gerard's eyes lit up as he heard that. What a great idea. It was from this moment that Gerard harbored thoughts of writing stories about their travels.

After lunch, Robin asked Sir Drago-now just 'Liam', "Any luck on shaping out a golden thing of beauty?"

Liam paused, then brought out the now cooled metal. "See for yourself." He responded.

Anyone could tell what Liam made. The curles and tongues of gold above were like a flickering golden flame suspended above brightly colored coals-jewels unaffected by heat. The circlet in Liam's hand did not entirely join in the back, but dwindled down into two golden teardrops. Liam had made a crown, the likes of which had not been formerly seen anywhere.

Everyone was stunned. He truly had made a thing of beauty. The metal obviously didn't move. But under the sunlight, turning it this way and that, the tongues of flame seemed to flicker. Robin recognized it as an optical illusion.

"I left the back open to make it more adjustable." He explained. "After all, it wouldn't do to give him an uncomfortable crown." He looked at the people who were flabbergasted by this sudden unexpected delight.

"This'll do." Robin nodded. "Good job, Liam." She patted his shoulder. "A really good job! If you should ever feel the need to settle down, becoming a metal sculptor might be a truly lucrative occupation for you."

After Robin spoke, the others were snapped out of their stupor, and began complementing Liam.

"Aye, You've got quite the talent here." Keith nodded.

"Is it hot to touch?" Elise asked.

"Really impressive! Entirely unexpected!" Chelsea exclaimed delightedly.

"It looks like real flames! Cool!" Gerard was impressed.

The usually quiet dragon had suddenly become the center of the group as everyone admired the circlet in his hands.

Future historians would write of the goldenflames that flickered from gleaming jewel coals encircling Throm's brow. And thus, the future famous war crown of Dwarf Guardian Throm was created.

-----

One Week Later....

-----

As they approached the next city, the surroundings became very different. The air became warmer, almost to an uncomfortable degree. The trees had changed to those of a more tropical nature. The wildlife became predominantly amphibian. Even the road was starting to get a little rough, due to the overhanging vines snagging on the carriage.

With the gradual increase of overhanging vines, It became evident that they would need to proceed forward on foot. Surprisingly, the road itself was still perfectly smooth, which surprised Robin.

"It's Dwarven-made." Quinn explained. "They always build things that are meant to last an awfully long time. I hear tell of underground cities that have remained indestructible despite being half-submerged in water, or over-run with magma."

"It's too bad the surrounding area isn't also dwarven-made." Christian grumbled. "Why couldn't they make a roof or something?"

"Because killer wasps love nothing more than shaded dry roof areas to build their nest." Quinn pointed out. "You could say that this is for your own good. Besides, we're not that far away from town. I estimate half a day's travel will get us therebefore dinner."

"And speaking of bugs..." Jasmine quickly created a barrier around them to ward off the potentially lethal swarms.The carriage horses were unhitched, and tied to each other in a small caravan. The knight's horses were also dismounted, with the knights leading them down the road.

Robin glanced back at the carriage. "It's too bad we can't bring this along.." She sighed.

"Who says we can't?" Jasmine asked. "This is a magic artifact, after all."

"But, wouldn't the space function on the carriage mess with the spacial function of the bracer?" Robin asked.

"Heheheh. Didn't I tell you? The carriage and bracer are a set, created by the same magic artisan for just these types of situation." Jasmine chuckled as she instructed.

"Wave your bracer in front of the the carriage."

Robin did so. Then she was surprised to see it shrink down into a coin. It jumped and attach itself to the bracer via a coin-shaped depression.

"Sure, it can't go inside the bracer." Jasmine nodded. "But there's nothing preventing it from attaching itself to the bracer. To take it out, just remove the coin and toss it in a sufficiently large enough space. This is a royal treasury secret, so don't take the carriage out where others can see it, please."

"It seems I still have much to learn when it comes to magic." Robin said as she realized.

"Thank goodness for that!" Jasmine chuckled. "If over a millennium of learning could be overcome in the matter of a year, what have we magicians dedicated our entire lives to?"

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"Says the youngest magi in the kingdom." Christian added with a nod.

"Even so, I was learning from the time I learned how to read. Even then, it took me about ten years to get to where I am!" Jasmine retorted, and added.

"What I mean is, you can'tget overconfident just because you know a few spells. Not even I am aware of how many spells there are in existence. And because youhave a high affinity with all the elements, you have just that much more to learn."

"So it would seem." Robin agreed, then had an idea. "So, theoretically, couldn't I use my nature affinity to move all these vines out of the way?"

"Oh? Why not give it a try then?" Jasmine requested.

Robin quickly obliged.The vines began to move, reeling themselves up into the trees. For about one hundred feet, the path was clear, mostly. Mostly, because there was a few vines that still hung down, despite Robin's attempt.

"So? Do you know why, now?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah. It's far too tiring." Robin agreed. "Just once was enough to make me tired, not to mention how many hundreds of feet we have left to go."

"Hey, Robin! Looks like you missed a few vines~!" Christian chuckled, as he tugged on one of them.

"That's because those aren't vines." Robin replied, evenly.

"They're not? Heheh, don't be a sore loser." Christian joked.

"I wasn't joking." Robin replied. "And you might want to take a few steps back."

Christian, with a cheeky grin, leisurely backed up towards the party right before the vine shook. A huge tangled bundle fell down upon the spot where Christian once stood.

Christian looked at the bundle curiously, then jumped backwards before his legs were restrained. The bundle was actually a 30 foot vine python.

"See? Didn't I tell you? Those aren't vines." Robin repeated.