Chapter 122 - A Shade Of Cimmerian

"Stop!" Dawn called, but Nusgroth had jumped inside the pit. The ground rearranged itself as all the debris, rocks and dust fitted back in their place as if nothing happened. It was as if the time rewound. Dawn ran after him. But he was gone. There was no trace that he even appeared. She placed her fingers on her parted lips. Did she just hallucinate or was it true?

When she began her journey back from Ulfric, on the inside she knew that she wouldn't be seeing Daryn anytime soon considering the way things were going. That nagging fear that he was in some kind of a peril worsened her state of mind. 'I love you,' he had said before parting—those words made her crave to go back. The way the pixies circled around them, the glow on his skin and his deep intense gaze—she could almost feel it all on her. And now—after what Nusgroth said, she was desperate to go back. 

'Use everything, every power you have in your possession in Ulfric.'

"Daryn!" she cried. A wail left her as her heart went out for Daryn. She crouched on the ground and placed a hand on her heart. "What have I done? Why did I leave him? Has something happened to him? Why did a Yardrak warn me?" She murmured through her sobs. A few moments later, she scrambled on her limbs and then got up slowly. "I need to go back. I have to go back now!" she wiped her tears. "Where is Quetz?" His safety was her growing concern. 

"Quetz! Queeetz! QUETZ!" she shouted with all her power hoping that her voice would cross the thick stones of the cavern, the large distance between them and reached him. She wanted him to be near her. 

Izar nudged her again—her only companion in this unknown, unexplored world. "We have to go back Izar," she said as she patted his muzzle. She spurred him and galloped down the cavern back to Ulfric. She must have ridden for an hour when suddenly she heard a steady whoosh of wings just above her. Dawn,' a voice entered through the passage of her mind. "Quetz!" Dawn shouted as her skin tickled in happiness. She stopped Izar. "Quetz," she shouted again. "Are you there?" 

'Yes', came a prompt reply. 'I am flying above the cavern.' His gigantic wings were battering the silence of the night, the stillness of the air with their powerful strokes. 

A new wave of positivity surged through Dawn's heart. He was there, flying just above her. She pressed her leg on Izar's right side and took off. 

'I will stay right above you Dawn. Do not try to hurry up. Come out safely.'

"Yes Quetz," she said. "Horrah!" she pulled back Izar's leash to goad him to ride faster. She just couldn't help it, she had to meet Quetz. 

As she rode in the cavern, she heard his sharp claws clacking over the cavern's roof. 'This tunnel is surrounded by a thick growth of trees. There are canopies all around. I will have to fly above the growth.' 

'Okay. But who cares if your claws damage the roof of the cavern. I want you to stay close to me.' 

'No Dawn, this is one thing I don't want to take my chance with,' he hissed and ascended up in the air. 

'In that case, go to the tunnel's mouth and wait for me. Don't hold yourself for me. I will be there in the next three hours.' Izar couldn't match Quetz speed even if he was the fastest horse on the Earth. She had to let Quetz go ahead of her. 

Quetz hummed a throaty yes. 

Ever since Dawn had left Bainsburgh, he had followed her from the Ensmoire Forest. Since she had not told him that she was going to the Ulfric, he didn't pester her to reveal. There was a lot going on in her life. Not that he knew, but her presence around her was sufficient for his satisfaction that she was safe. On the day when she was leaving, there was a tendril of a thought in her mind - if she could mention about Daryn to him, and that she was leaving for Ulfric with him. After that he just had to follow her. It wasn't difficult to connect the dots of the direction she went towards. It was a simple instinct for him. He had hidden himself outside Ulfric. And so although Dawn didn't know, Quetz was always there. He was sleeping in one of the Whispering Eobens that had grown in the area he was staying, when he heard her shout his name. 

Meanwhile, Dawn wondered if Nusgroth or any other Yardrak would show up again. She had hundreds of questions in her mind. She kept looking for signs of broken earth or grazed mushrooms or crevices that looked unnatural, but there was nothing. 

Izar galloped at a marvelous speed and they reached the tunnel's mouth in three hours. As soon as she was out in the open, she saw the gigantic presence of her dragon. Quetz was crouching with his wings tucked neatly, looking at her with his deep blue eyes. Izar pranced nervously when he saw Quetz and Quetz turned his head to see him with disgust. 

Dawn dismounted and even though her body was sore with pain, she ran to her pet. She hopped on his claw and hugged his neck, almost dangling there. Closing her eyes she said, "Quetz, I missed you crazily!" She grasped his strong, corded neck tightly. Happiness and warmth flowed through her heart. It seeped in her and warmed her skin like the first rays of dawn in summer. Her nervousness floated into obscurity and confidence sprang up. Everything would fall in place now. She had Quetz. They were a team and she had no reason to fear. 

The wind ruffled her hair. He brought his wing and covered her warmly to shield her from the storm that was brewing. 

'I missed you too Dawn,' he replied tenderly. 'But what exactly occurred here? You have a lot of telling to do.'

After a while when she had calmed down, she said, 'I will tell you all, but let's continue our journey.' 

'Sure. You must ride my back instead of that puny animal.' 

Izar neighed from distance in protest.

'I wish Arawn was here. He was larger and a better ride,' Quetz smirked. He brought another wing forward and covered her completely as if telling Izar that he was her rider and that she belonged to him and that he was just a useless ride that she was using out of necessity. 

'I am responsible for Izar too. There is another dragon present, so you have to soar the night sky with a lot of caution,' Dawn said. 'Also Izar knows the way back.' 

Once again Quetz looked at the horse with dislike and said, 'This forest is too thick and I can't glide through it. I won't bother hiding and will fly above you. Ask that horse of yours to not deviate from the path.' 

Dawn shook her head. 'Why would he?' She released his neck and hopped back on the ground. 'We should start as soon as possible. I am afraid we don't have much time to lose.' 

Quetz opened his wings and she walked out of them. He turned, pushed his weight on his hind legs and lunged in the air. 

Dawn mounted Izar and kicked her leg on his to give him the clue that he had to gallop at top speed. She held his leash tightly. The horse galloped. He was now racing with the dragon. 

Dawn didn't find a single pixie on her way back. The night was so dark that if it hadn't been for Izar's instincts, she would have lost her way easily in the forest. All that could hear were the pounding hooves of Izar on the ground, and a few loud strokes of Quetz's wings. As they moved forward, she narrated every incident from the last they met to her dragon. 

In the end, he said, 'It is complicated. We can find answers once we are there, and honestly this looks very sinister to me.'

Izar came to a halt. It was too dark for him to find the way. Dawn dismounted him and led him on foot using her primal instincts. This was the time she wished to shift and run. It would have been easier but she knew that Daryn might need his horse back and she didn't have the heart to leave him. Quetz circled the air above only to watch if there was any imminent danger. She was extremely tired, hot and irritable by now. Suddenly, a biting wind scoured through the forest, swaying every leaf with it. She had to shield her eyes with her hand to stop the leaves from getting in her eyes. Izar nudged her to goad her to sit on him. She mounted and he started trotting. 

In an hour they reached the grassy knolls, where the festivities took place. It was barren, deathly still, ghostly and eerie. Not a movement. Not a light. No pixies. It was a shade of cimmerian.