Dragons and Wizards, a modern day tale

~A closed thread for a preset cast~ The link for the OOC thread can be found HERE , please post your comments there if you wish to...and enjoy the read...


The trip had begun with an ill omen and from that point on only become worse…

Jack Riley looked at the call letters on the side of the plane, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he took the front seat beside the shave tail pilot to leave the rear seats to the next man and woman arriving…

“What’s the forecast saying?”

He questioned quietly and felt the small hairs of his neck bristle as the pilot admitted he had no knowledge.

“Barometer reading maybe?”

Jack sighed and closed his eyes, wincing as the pilot replied in the same way.

”What can happen in three hours? We’ll be to the island and back, the sky is clear and promises great pictures, so sit back and relax, OK?”


Looking back Jack Riley should have known better, his years as apprentice to one of the greater and still living wizards had developed his inner senses…But the chance to actually take an aerial tour over the very island he had searched so hard to find…and finally had, was just too great a temptation…

The storm that came up was too sudden, the gale forces winds too much for the tiny twin engine plane…and the inexperience of the young man who piloted the craft became all too evident as they were forced out of the air and into the hillside of the island….

“Are you two all right?”

He asked quietly of the man and woman from the back seats, his eyes going over them as they crawled from the wreckage to survey their surroundings…

“Can I help either of you two?”

He continued, his own eyes going to the dead pilot and closing slowly to say a prayer for the spirit he felt lingering over it…

“OK, I’m going to give this man a decent burial, then when I return maybe we can take stock of the situation we’re in and the alternatives we have to choose from?”

He suggested again and smiled as the two nodded.

“By the way…my names Jack…Jack Riley”

The old one was telling the story to the new hatchlings, however over two centuries one could hardly call them hatchlings.

They named her from the ancients tome, calling her dragon child. She would prove to save the dragon's from the deadly hand of mortals. In return she ages differently from mortals for every thirteen years they see will be as one to her.. thus she lives longer in order to keep her covenant with us and in return we protect her from nature's harm.

The ohhh's and ahhh's come from the new group and echos in the small gorge as she appears on the rim gazing down at her friends and family. Playing haunting notes on her newest creation and bringing ease to the group below before disappearing into the lush jungle of green.

Hello Thrakena ! The old one called too late with a coughing chuckle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The merry laughter gave chase thru the thickest part of the vines. Drake a small dragon of dark green flew in zig zag patterns hoping to catch the female that was eluding him and his mate, Fryda.

If Karoz catches her without the scales she might be eaten! Fryda whimpered to her mate as she twisted down towards the berry fields having no luck finding the girl once more.

We'll find her, stop worrying.

Still the laughter twisted about amid the trees as Drake flew faster with the gown in his talons. it was difficult keeping his hatch mate from being mistaken for something else. Drake took his task quite seriously as Thrakena's mortal attributes were becoming more noticeable -- Woman .. and all dragon's loved the succulent flavor of the woman IF she was a virgin even more.

The song of the pan stopped followed by the splash- she went to the drinking pool. Drake swerved back around and then landed on the beach beside Fryda who was watching Thrakena's strange movements in the water.

Are you done yet? Drake lamented as he held up the gauzy material.

Thrakena stepped from the water then blew a kiss at the illusive face under the rippling water, then donned her gown and started walking towards the upper rim to overlook the valley. You worry too much little brother

That remark gained her a snort of disdain as he flew up and perched on her shoulder next to Fryda. They liked being on the girl's shoulder as it gave them a view they would miss flying after their hatch mate.

Thrakena looked up towards the sun as she arrived on the rim. There was an odd looking thing buzzing in the skies that made her tilt her head as she watched it bounce in the skies. It didn't seem to be doing too well at flying as she noticed it plunging sharply.

That was interesting.... so what are we going to do next?

Thrakena didn't answer as she began to run back into the thicket, weaving in the direction the strange bird was dropping. Wondering what type of dragon it was and why she hadn't seen one like it before?

Christina coughed and struggled to her feet, reaching up to touch her head. She had bumped it against her chair and still felt a little dizzy. The light seemed to bright and she blinked several times, trying to orient herself.

Her knees still felt a bit weak and she rested her hand on one of the plane's tattered walls, leaning against it. "Wha..?" she said fuzzily as one of the other passengers offered assistance.

She blinked again, then limped towards the plane's exit. She felt battered and bruised, but she didn't think anything was broken. "Christina Miller," she replied to her rescuer's introduction.

"What happened to the pilot? What do we do next?" she asked, staring about the ruined shell of the plane.

"The pilot is dead"

Roger replied softly and moved to offer a bottled water to Christina, then poured part of a second on his kercheif and lifted it to a tiny cut on her forehead.

"Jack's burying him now, our job is to go through what's left of the plane and sort it out"

Cleaning the spot Roger saw it was a small cut and smiled reassuringly, then brushed her back over to cover it.

"Roger Cooper"

He offered and set the recapped bottle to the side, then turned to the wreckage and shook his head.

"How about I do the searching of the plane and bring it to you to do the sorting?"

"Buried, marked and prayers said over him"

Jack assured them as he came up on the now moving pair of survivors.

"The soil is rich and soft, the water coming from that hillside pure and fresh, we won't run out of water or food to eat, but we'll need better shelter, the beach shows how high the tides run and some of those palm trees have been broken over recently"

Dropping the makeshift shovel Jack looked to the growing pile of articles and the neater stacks where someone had been sorting them, his eyes going to the man and woman then to the crash site.

"I'm thinking when we're through here we head to the outh hillside, there's several caves there and it would be a start for shelter, unless the two of you have better ideas?"

Drake and Fryda had to flew fast to keep up with the pair of legs that ran faster thru the thicket.

However she was not the only one that noticed the strange craft plunging to the trees. Thoda, the wingless one had seen it falling and slithered from her rocks to check out this unusual sight. The strange rocks the cracked away left an ugly feeling on her scales but it didn't halter her movement. She moved into the wreakage and sniffed at the strange scents that arose from the buzzing console. She stared at the strange circles and noticed one was moving back and forth plus it sparkled like gold. Thoda sat up on her haunches to see how to get the golden circle from the console.

Thrakena busted through the trees and stopped when she heard a strange noise. Like moving noises and thumping, she stopped and peered from her spot at another strange two-legged creature, humped over.

What is that thing doing? Drake asked curiously.

I don't know.. it looks like it is digging in the dirt for something. Thrakena moved closer to see what it was digging for.

*CRACK* went a branch under her foot. Thankfully it moved away but that didn't stop Thrakena as she crept forward to see what that thing was even better.

Christina gladly took the offered water, wetting her lips with it. Once she had something to drink, she felt much better.

She nodded to the other two survivors. "Alright, I can do the sorting," she agreed.

She couldn't really fathom how they'd come to be stranded here, or how'd they go about returning to land. Still, talk of food and shelter seemed a bit alarming. Then it occured to her. "Do you know if the radio is still working? We might be able to call for help," Christina asked to Jack.

Then she helped Roger gather materials, carrying them outside of the crashed shell of a plane to sort and examine.

"Useless, I'm afraid"

Roger answered as he returned with the last bits salvaged from the plane.

"The microphone is gone, missing, I can't find it anywhere and the face of the radio smashed if I could find it to try and plug it in."

Standing he inspected the tiny wound on Christina and nodded with satisfaction that it would heal quickly.

"What the hell did we hit Jack, I saw something flash right before we crashed, and it wasn't a tree. Did either of you see it from your seat?"

Looking at the meager pile of usable supplies Roger slipped it all into three crude packs, then motioned to the hillside and the caves Jack mentioned earlier.

"I don't know when the sun sets, but I agree, we'd better find shelter and hopefully fresh water or we'll all die of thirst and exposure."

Christina was duely intimidated by the men casually throwing around worst case "death and exposure" scenarios. She still hoped that there'd be a rescue for the three of them.

After all, planes didn't just disappear without people investigating... did they?

After a moment, Christina picked up her rough pack, struggling a bit with the strap. "Okay, so which way do we go?" she asked.

"Here, let me"

Jack stepped forward and slid his hands under the strap, then shortened it before lowering it to Christina's shoulder again, his hands gentle and trying not to brush her shoulder or breast too much as he adjusted it for her.

"Take your hand and place it like so"

He showed the woman and lifted her hand, sliding it over the top of the bag and through the loop to better balance the weight of it.

"Better?"

Allowing a small smile he met her eyes and looked deep into them, then quickly away to focus on the questions both Roger and Christina had just asked.

"I saw it too Roger, it looked like an enormous bird, though it lacked feathers, I don't think we hit it though."

"As for where we go Christina, I found an old trail, it hasn't been used for ages, but it seems to lead directly to the largest cave and takes the shortest route...in a couple of hours we should be there and we can discuss what happens next"

Scooping up his own bag he turned and faced the hills, then looked back to the two survivors.

"I'll lead, Christina in the middle and Jack, you follow...We'll take a break every twenty minutes or so, the terrain is steeper than you think...If there's any trouble, let me handle it, okay? Good, lets go"

Christina nodded in gratitude as Jack helped her adjust the rough sack to make it easier to carry.

"Alright," Christina said a bit nervously as Jack explained he'd uncovered a path that would lead them to a large cave. Still, she supposed it would give them some cover from the elements.

Soon, they started out on the path, with Christina in between the two men as they travelled down the path towards the cave. As they walked, an idea turned over and over in Christina's head, till finally it occurred to her...

"Ummm... Guys, what made the plane go down?" she wondered aloud. "It's not like it's raining or anything?"

A quick run to another outcropping rock allowed Drake to see the three moving towards the caves. A sly grin covered his face as he knew that the old one would most likely give them a good scare before attempting to gobble one down just to have a jolly treat.

Thrakena was behind Drake by a few minutes. Her eyes narrowed as she watched them move along the dirt path. How strange that they traveled that way considering that it had several sinking pits? She also noticed that those strange ones were light colored.. not like the ones with bones in their faces that made her think they were dyed by the night.

Fryda landed on Thrakena's shoulder. What are they?

I am not sure, sister.. but we shall find out when they step in Coooka's sand pit Thrakena ran faster along another green path moving ahead of the trio and grinned with impish mischief as she tossed several stones at the edge of one of the pits. She wondered if the ones coming closer would notice the stones or walk past them.

Drake watched his batchmates antics and then frowned What are you doing that for?

I want to see what those things will do. besides if it steps into the sand it will sink and burn and Coooka will eat it.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Thoda had managed to get the gold circle from the console and started off for the caves to show the old one what she had found. She was finding it heavy but not too unmanageable as she scurried faster thru the trees.

It was when she crossed a dead limb, it cracked and she dropped in the sand path. Slightly stunned she laid quietly staring at the skies and clouds laughing at her silliness. Thoda's ears wiggled as noises moved closer, she held very still for she might resemble a strange enlongated lizard but she was more apt to scare off scavengers with her weak breathe attack .

~~~~~~~~~~~
Drake looked back and then muttered I don't see why we are watching those things. Why not get some of the bigger ones to catch them and we'll have a huge feast.. or at least some nice chuncks.

shhhhhh, they'll hear us.

Roger enjoyed the hike, more so because of the sweet swaying backside of the woman in front of him then the fact they were moving closer for the hoped for shelter, his eyes feasting on her rolling buttocks as they moved up the slope. He was so absorbed in the erotic sight he missed the obvious depressions in the path as the others had, and rather then step around moved directly into it.

To his charin and surprise he found himself quickly sinking, and then as he called for help saw something that baffled him even further.

"I must be drunk, or dead, or are you alive?"

He spoke to the figure laying on the road and regarding him with bright intelligent eyes.

"Jack? Christina?"

He yelled out half heartedly and turned his attention back to the creature who suddenly looked more hungry than curious.

"Is it suddenly getting hot?"

He spoke aloud and struggled to get out, his motions only making him sink faster. With wild eyes he looked to the path for help and found none, and felt a shiver of fear move up and down his spine.

"I don't suppose you can talk...or would help?"

He asked of the unblinking and strangely shaped lizard.

Thrakena began to worry as the creature ended up getting caught in the sand pit. Drake on the other hand was making talon bets on how long before Coooka snapped it up

Thoda merely flipped over and stared at the creature speaking to her. It sounded strange and yet it moved it's mouth like the dragon child does. So without any second thought she moved closer dragging the golden circle with her and stared at the strange coloring of the face of this one.

Are you a dragon child?

Drake who was watching intently nearly screamed in frustration What is she doing.. she should snag a bite before Coooka gets it...

Fryda shrugged Maybe it has ahold of her tail

Drake growled and flew off Thrakena's shoulder to investigate.. the girls followed suit as Thrakena grabbed a dark tubal vine to use as a loop to snag the creature before it catches on fire and alerts all the other dragons nearby.

Thoda jumped spotting Drake who in the past had taunted him, she grabbed at her golden circle and hissed It's mine and so is the thing in the sands

Drake raised a scaly eyebrow then smirked at her stupidity. The ground shook as the head rose under the sinking body, the heat was getting worse as the smaller dragons began to perspire. Thrakena whirled her loop and shot it over the head of the great beast and began shouting words that would be incoherint to the one that was burning with fever and blistering.

Coooka .. release it.. it is MINE! She growled at the larger beast that now resembled something of a rhino's head on an elongated neck of a snake.

Cooka never having being challenged for a meal before snarled angrily. His heated tongue rolling over the tender flesh of the leg, causing it to blister on contact.

Fryda ciringed as the creature made strange noises from the effect of Coooka baking heat.

Christina followed along after Jack, shifting the strap of her pack a couple of times to accomodate it's weight. She was in relatively good shape, which was to say she swam and worked out, but hiking across a rough countryside was something all together different. She soon felt beads of sweat on her brow and the stinging of salt in her eyes.

She could hear Roger grunting along behind her as they marched. Jack, ahead of her, seemed fairly sure footed, leading them confidently. It seemed like he was the least banged up in the plane crash. Christina wondered how long it would take for people to realize they were missing and therefore mount a rescue.

Lost in her own thoughts, it suddenly dawned on her that she couldn't hear Roger behind her anymore. Christina looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, Roger wasn't immediately in sight.

"Roger?" Christina called out, wondering if he had simply fallen behind.

There was no reply.

"Jack?" Christina said with some alarm, reaching forward to grab Jack's elbow, halting him. "Where's Roger? I think we lost him."

Christina hoped Roger hadn't fallen and injured himself on the hike.