9Tracking The Unseen
The two glided to a gentle landing upon the grassy floor of the meadow. It was, amazingly, large enough to fit both dragons quite nicely with enough room to move around in and not feel cornered. Song glowed slightly white before shrinking and changing into the form of a tall human woman while Jade craned his neck to check for clues.
The long, lush grass was trampled in certain areas of the meadow, the freshly broken blades of grass releasing a thick fragrance in the air, but the air was filled with more than the smell of crushed greenery. There was a tingle of energy that crackled just under the surface of the apparent serenity, the buzz of power left behind by a mage's spell that had not been erased, as most residual magics were by mages who didn't want to be discovered would do.
"It's a transportation spell," Song commented, "whoever used it left enough traces for us to reopen the portal."
"Would it be wise to follow it?" Jade wondered aloud.
"Well," Song replied, starting to gather her own powers, "we won't know unless we try will we?"
She had learned quite a lot in the past few years and part of that knowledge was the use of magical portals. They were often used by mages to get from place to place without walking between the two points of space. These 'doorways' could sometimes be used by another to track the actual caster by being reopened by another wizard with the correct understanding of how the portals worked.
Song closed her luminous green eyes and gathered the scattered strands of magic to her, weaving them carefully back together without disturbing the anchors that determined the opening points of the portal. With a final twist she set the spell loose and an oval of swirling white and blue light whirled into existence before her.
"Are you sure you're going?" Jade asked anxiously, not very eager to see his friend disappear to who-knows-where.
Song winked, "The question is, are you coming?"
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The portal was a vortex of blinding light and energy, sweeping the two travelers through its inter-dimensional funnel like leaves carried by the wind. Leaping through a place where nothing existed, not even time, to arrive breathlessly at the other end.
"I will never get used to that feeling," Song panted, "it's like smacking into a lake after a five hundred yard drop."
Jade chuckled, "I wouldn't know, I've never tried that before."
They were standing in the middle of a dusty dirt road that went straight from east to west for as far as the eye could see, which was quite far in the case of the jade green reptile with his serpentine neck. To either side of the road were endless plains dotted with trees here and there and scruffy plants that were barely clinging to life in under the blazing heat of the sun. Prints left by wagons and the hooves of cattle and horses marked the sandy ground, slowly being obliterated by the gentle breeze.
"These tracks are all heading west," Song declared, straining to see what might lie in that direction.
"Then it'd be a good guess that our quarry went that way, but I can't see anything in that direction but the hint of mountains, and perhaps a forest," Jade looked down at the coppery haired woman standing between his great clawed forefeet, "Should we fly?"
Song considered this. If they flew, they were likely to be seen and cause any amount of trouble. People living near the Lumisarra Mountains had gotten used to the sight of dragons soaring over their towns and villages and knew they wouldn't be harmed after personally talking to a few of the Jeweled Dragons, but it wasn't very likely that people in this unknown place would react the same way. On the other hand, flight was a much faster and more efficient way to travel. It provided speed, ease, and you couldn't ask for a better view of the surrounding areas.
"We'll fly," Song declared, "but I'll have to do an invisibility shield so we won't be seen."
Two spells in less than an hour! she marveled, for even though she had discovered that she had a gift for magic, her skills in the arts were still only average.
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Their wings bore them upon the winds, high above the land to follow the well-worn road to the west. The dry, grassy plains were soon replaced by the neat fields of farmers and a town lying peacefully in the fringes of a forest. Here the dragons spiraled into the trees and Song shifted to her human shape.
"Where are you going?" Jade inquired as Song headed into the trees.
"To ask if any of the villagers have seen anything strange. You had better stay here, I'm not sure how people here would react to dragons. I'll be back as soon as possible."
"Well, if you're not back by nightfall, I'll come looking for you," Jade grumbled.
Song smiled, "Feel free, but I'll be back."
A.N. So, what do you think?