Dragon Shifter

The Little Black Box

Eclipse nudged my arm then pointed to Firefly with his head. "Oh yes, Firefly was hit with an arrow" Runa said. "She's still unconscious" Autumn told me. "I know, it was dragon root, it will take a few days to wear off, unless we have a cure" I said. "But we don't! And we can't wait for it to wear off" Runa said in fear. I sighed. "I can't lose her!" Runa told me. "Just pour some water down her throat and made sure she stays warm and comfortable" I said. Eclipse wondered over to the tree and sniffed at the black box I had brought with me. I turned away from Runa and headed to the tree. "Where are you going?" Runa asked. "Looking at this, I found it inside Gunnar's cabin" I said as I picked up the little black box.

I sat down next to Autumn. "What's inside?" She asked. "I don't know..." I said. I examined the box, it was a perfect square and was completely black, apart from the top which had the green writing G.R. on it. "G.R?" Autumn questioned. "Gunnar Rockblossom" I said. I tried to open the box, but it was locked. "Where is the key?" Autumn asked. "I only found one key. It opened the trapdoor" I replied. I felt inside my pocket and pulled out the little bronze key. I glanced at the lock, the key looked small enough for it. I tried the lock and it fitted. "Good thing I kept this!" I grinned. The lock opened and I lifted the lid of the box. Inside were a bunch of paper scrolls. I picked them up and started looking through them. I read the titles; Weapons, Dragon Trades, Training The Singetails, Dragon Migration Routes, Learning To Fly Singetails, Hunters, Money, Dragon Classes, Dragon Weaknesses, Dragon Root.

That last scroll caught my attention. "Hey, check this out!" I called. Runa came over and looked at the paper with me. "What does it say?" Autumn asked. I started reading out loud. "Dragon Root. This special plant can be used to take down any dragon, no matter what size, except Gronckles and Tidal Class dragons which are immune. Dragon root is best used as a weapon when coated on the tip of arrows. Dragon root works on both humans and dragons. Making dragon root arrows. Harvest the large central taproot of the dragon root tree and chop it into smaller pieces using an axe. Boil the chunks of root in a large cauldron with water. Boil it down until it becomes a thick green liquid. Hand-dip the pre-made arrows into the dragon root and leave them to air dry. Take care to lay them out individually. The best way to store arrows with dried dragon root is in crates." I paused to take a breath. "How does this help?" Runa asked impatiently. "That didn't, but this will!" I said then continued reading. "Dragon root cure. Gather the ingredients Bitterweed, Fire Fern, fresh water and Purple Oleander. When cooked together these make the antidote to Dragon Root tipped arrows."

"We need those ingredients!" Runa nearly screamed. "You stay with Firefly, keep her warm, keep feeding her water and keep an eye out for danger" I told Runa who nodded. "Eclipse, you can find a stream and fill this with freshwater" I said as I took the scrolls into my hand and held out the waterproof black box. Eclipse took the box and flew away. Then I turned to Autumn. "How do you feel about riding a Night Fury?" I asked. "Yes please!" Autumn said and her face lit up with delight. I handed Autumn the scroll with ingredients. "Read out the first ingredient when we are flying, I can sniff it out. And don't be afraid, it's me remember, I have complete control" I told her. Autumn nodded and smiled. "Ready?" I asked. "Ready!" She replied with excitement.

I shifted into a pure black Night Fury. I looked up at Autumn and I could sense she was shy. I nodded my head at my back. Autumn nodded and climbed onto it. I opened out my wings then took off into the pale blue sky. We flew over the forest covered island. "Okay, first thing we need is Bitterweed" Autumn told me. I nodded and used my keen sense of smell to locate the plant. I landed in the forest and shifted into a human. I walked over to a small, light green plant. "It looks like this, but darker" I said. Autumn nodded and walked over a purple plant. "Is this it?" She asked. "Yes! Let's continue" I said as I picked it up. This time, once we were in the air, I started locating Fire Fern. I landed amongst the trees and shifted into my human self. "It's a long red plant which grows underneath elm trees" I said. "Just make sure you don't-" I was cut off by Autumn screaming. "...Touch it with your bear hands" I finished as I scooped the red grass onto a sword. I took her over a nearby stream and pushed her hand into the water. "Better?" I asked. "Much!" Autumn grinned.

I shifted into a Night Fury again and smelt the last ingredient, Purple Oleander, was very near by. I shifted back and started walking. We came to a large rock and on top of it grew a purple flower. "Are you sure about this?" Autumn asked. "It says Purple Oleander" I replied. "But Blue Oleander can kill a dragon, how is purple any different?" Autumn asked. "Nature is a mystery. Let's just hope for the best" I said with a shrug. "Anyway, it smelt different" I tried to reassure her. I climbed up the rock and picked the purple flower. "That's the last thing" Autumn said. "Let's get back" I told her before shifting into a Fury. Autumn climbed onto my back and we flew towards our little camp.

We landed by Runa and I shifted into my human self. "Did you find everything?" Runa asked. "Yep" I replied. I made a small pile of sticks and lit a fire. Autumn handed me a pot from her backpack and I placed it over the fire. Eclipse grunted. I took the box from his mouth and poured the fresh water into the pot. Then I threw in the three plants and mixed it with a stick. I waited until I heard the pot sizzling. I looked inside and saw a purple liquid. "It's ready" I said. Runa took the pot over to Firefly. "Here you go, open up, good girl" Runa said softly as she poured the mixture into her mouth. Firefly opened her eyes and sat up. Then she snarled. "Firefly! Are you okay?" Runa asked. She shook her head about and reared up on her back legs whilst roaring then she fell to the ground with a thud.