Tales of Vyscher Book 2

Chapter 11

Fehrys tossed and turned in the unfamiliar bed. For someone who was used to the comfortable bed and sheets in his palace bedroom, the guest room in the dragon cave wasn't exactly the height of luxury. But it was a guest room in a dragon cave after all, so it had that going for it. He swung his legs out of the bed and pulled on his trousers and threw a tunic over his head before sliding on his boots. He left his swords leaning in a corner, as he couldn't see what help they would be here.

Standing in the middle of the room, he did a brief stretching routine that Alia had taught him, get his blood flowing and his body ready for the day. The smell of cooking bacon made his concentration falter, and he sighed deeply. Gritting his teeth, he finished the routine while his stomach grumbled, hoping for the bacon.

As he walked out of his room, he almost bumped into Alia, who was coming out of her own room looking a little groggy and a with a head of messy hair. She looked at him, raising her eyebrow at his grin. She closed her eyes for a moment and then shook herself like a puppy coming in from the rain, and her hair was instantly elegantly styled and combed. It was even a new style, shaved on the left and long on the right.

"Much better," she said with a wink and a smile as she blew a stray hair off her forehead.

The simple display of magic definitely got him in the mood to learn! But, after bacon.

When Fehrys and Alia reached the dining room, Hrushmia and Czanther were sitting waiting for them. the table was set plainly with four crockery plates and mugs of tea. Nothing fancy in a dragon's den evidently. The breakfast was simple as well, just scrambled eggs with cheese, biscuits and honey, and a mound of bacon. But there looked to be more than enough of everything to fill their bellies.

"Did you sleep well?" Hrushmia asked kindly.

"I did, thank you," Fehrys answered. In fact, he had been so tired that he barely moved all night.

"Your beds are as comfortable as ever," Alia said sweetly, but with a fake smile.

"Well, eat a lot, you're both going to be training hard today."

"We are?" Alia said, surprised.

"Yes," Czanther said with a grin. "Today I'm training you some more, or perhaps you'll train me with some of what you have been learning. Hrushmia will try to unlock Fehrys and start on the basics. Then we'll see where things stand tonight and determine a plan for tomorrow. I have another task for you in a few days."

Alia's face was alight with happiness. "Thank you! I wasn't expecting that!" she stood and went over to give Czanther a peck on his cheek, and then gave a hug.

"How do you unlock me?" asked Fehrys, trying not to show his nervousness.

"Well, we have to open your head to get it working right. Usually, we don't have to take anything out when we do that," Czanther said around a mouthful of biscuit.

"What?!" Fehrys said in alarm.

"Oh, stop it!" Alia said, giggling and slapping Czanther on the shoulder. "It is nothing like that Fehrys, it is actually very relaxing."

"I will be gentle, be assured of that," Hrushmia said in a soft voice.

Fehrys smiled, a little reassured, and took another bite of the cheesy eggs. Either way he was going to need strength for this.

Serev stood with her eyes closed and her sword arm straight out to her side. Moving slowly but surely, she did her warmup routine, squeezing her eyes shut to make sure she didn't cheat. Ever since Jondure had asked her to be the captain of the flying ship, she had taken to visiting it for hours a day and was now practicing her fighting technique on the deck. If she was ever in a fight aboard the ship, she wanted to be intimately familiar with every inch of it. It may have been a converted merchant ship, but there was no doubt it could sail into harm's way based on it's past.