Moose.

[Glaw]

CHAPTER ONE: KING OF THE UNDERBRIDGE

Illion was a tiny kingdom, squished between Springshine Lake and the Dead Echo Mountains, where the barkeeps charged two legs for an ale and the horses rattled like bones. Alongside the daylit roads, beggars competed hotly for grossest deformity (A woman with a second shriveled head currently holds the title); after dusk, travelers were fined handsomely for not carrying a lantern. The stone-paved road was cracked by weeds and made a fine river whenever it rained. The trees howled at night, though that's only the manticores devouring another luckless traveler. Then there were the bark flies.

Jalin slapped the back of her neck and came away with a handful of green stinking goop that shimmered in the lanternlight. Not once in the last ten miles had there been any sign of intelligent life -- save that eerie drumming deep in the woods an hour back, which hadn't exactly been a hospitable sound.

The light of her lantern cast upon a pile of bones beside the road. The skull, jaw stretched wide, had been smashed in with a rock. She stared at it, and resigned herself to a night spent on a blanket in the middle of the road. She only hoped the merchant carts and smugglers were paying attention to obstacles in their path.

[Closetmonster]

The stones, being half covered in leaf waste and earth, did not announce the sound of horse shoes until the road rose enough to have created something of a clear spot. A moon was high, but it hid itself behind thick clouds and so the road itself ran dark as a mother's revenge. The horse, when it hit the stones, sent out a spark or two while crossing the bare spot, then the hoofbeats became muted once more as the stones sunk flush with the road for a short length. The night had a waiting sense to it at the suddenness of sparks, for steel was a man's addition to a horse but there was no lantern there to indicate a human rider.

Human rider there was, however, for as the horse came into the spilled gloom of the lantern in the middle of the road, there loomed over the speckled grey mist of the horse, a darkened form.

Just at the edge of the light, the horse was pulled up. It tossed its great head, froth spilling from its lips. Its eyes were white rimmed, lack of light by its rider was a call to any local hungry maw and the horse's survival instincts obviously had set the animal into a literal dither.

As the horse pawed at the ground in nervousness, its rider leapt from its back, held to the high pommel of the saddle and leaned heavily there.

"Even'," the voice that came from the hooded figure was dusky, androgynous and with a crackle like that of age. "May we share your light?"

So hard not to put a moose into this! *L*

[Glaw]

Jalin was on her feet in an instant, with a dagger behind her straightened back; she knew she must look quite a sight, almost childish with her five-foot frame and puggish nose, but she made up for it with the silent promise of quite a lot of pain should either the shadowy figure or its half-dead horse make any sudden moves. The lantern flickered, casting a haunting shadow into the still woods, but its light still couldn't reach the visior. For all she knew it was a vampire, in need of invitation before it can enter the light and swallow her whole. She wasn't sure whether vampires were real at all, but it was best to assume that anyone who had ever met one had quickly met their demise.

"What you want with light fer?" she shot in the figure's direction, angling her stance. A squirrel had taught her that little trick, and not too long ago: angle the stance so you're harder to hit. She didn't quite see how she was any harder to hit than before, but she supposed it made her look as if she was a skilled fighter. "I don't see your point, what do you mean share my light?" She peered at the visitor as if she might be able to perceive not only its face but its intentions if she concentrated hard enough.

[Closetmonster]

The figure braced itself against the pommel and straightened. The horse fiddled with its bit and the metallic clank seemed to soothe it mildly, though it still bobbed its head and reached out to nip at its rider as the figure worked its way past the horse and more fully in the lantern light. Hands rose, fitted in fingerless gloves of sheepskin. The figure was in common traveling clothes, a pair of pants belted with leather, a pale button up blouse, and a dark cloak over all. At the figure's side the handle of a blunderbuss shone, though the figure did nothing to touch it. Around the figure's breast a leather holder for powder and shot hung.

With care, the figure reached up and grasped the edges of the deep cowl. "Only to share it for a period of rest. My horse is blown," the voice came once more, attempting to be soothing, even as it rasped. As the hood was drawn back, it revealed a smooth face, cat like in shape, with wide grey eyes reflecting the distant silver light of the lantern. Full lips sat under a slim nose. The figure's brow was wide and the hair was drawn back from it, pinned tightly to the scalp, so that the slightly canted ears were visible to an eye which might have needed to take note of such things. There was a sign of age on the figure, no young chick this.

"We mean no harm. I am Harmony Fell. I left a homestead south of here by only three hours ago. I had hoped to make it to the gates of Kallor but we ran afoul of a larger Carrion Beast. It unfortunately took umbrage at our interrupting its meal and we were forced to turn around and attempt to return for aid. We are without a lantern for I did not think we would need it." The figure remained, hands still, and waited on the girl's permission.

[Glaw]

So it was a lady -- an odd looking lady, to say the least, what with her eyes and her ears and the suspicious way she'd styled her hair. Jalin wrinkled her nose and was silent a moment while she worked out the meaning of such words as "afoul" and "umbrage"; she considered that this traveler was trying to confuse her on purpose, and actually meant to steal her lantern and every last provision and leave her in the ditch with a rock lodged in her skull. But this Harmony Fell person was going about it in an awfully polite way. In fact, Jalin had yet to meet a polite person in the whole of the kingdom, and thought this was a rare meeting indeed.

"All right." The girl sniffed and took a step back, to allow Miss Fell room to sit down within the rings of firelight. Once it was clear there would be no funny business, she sat down again at the far side of the blanket. She watched the newcomer closely, still working out the story in her head.

"So you're on your way back to where you came from? For aid -- for help?" She felt as if she had to translate for Miss Fell's professor-speech. "You don't look much in a hurry for somebody needs help."

[Closetmonster]

The woman laughed, the laugh low and full. Her lips parted in a smile and she leaned forward on her knee, having sat down on the cold ground with her cloak edge folded once underneath her. "Forgive me, no. I am merely on my way back to the inn in which I slept last night. You see, I am a traveling physic. I and Golter, my friend here," she turned her head and looked up at the grey horse who, upon being allowed to enter closer to the light had settled considerably and was currently nibbling at some grass which had grown up through the cobbles, "go where we are needed. I stopped at the inn south of here and asked for where we might be able to provide aid. We were directed to a few homesteads. I was given a map." She reached within her cloak and drew out a rolled up bit of paper upon which was scribbled a good deal of fancy script. She unrolled it on the backside, however, and the script was of little more consequence in the showing than the color of ink (in this case, blue black) as she held out a crudely drawn map with the road upon which they were on. Along it, some small dots appeared with numbers and notation in a tiny, particular hand alongside each.

"You see, I went just as far as here," she explained as she pointed to one of the dots and then leaned into the light to look at it herself, "and then we were headed back when we upset the beast's meal. It chased us some ways before it tired of us and we were too far out by then to make it before dark fell. We saw your light and had hopes you weren't a highway man or one of the bone men. I felt it likely we would find help where the light was and Golter was in agreement so," she leaned back and spread her arms out with a smile. "Here we are. Sharing your fire, as it were. But I feel I should offer something as well. If you'd like, I have both food and drink I'm willing to give in exchange for your help tonight and the safety of your light?"

Golter, no longer misted grey, but more of a reflected silver, clumped to the edge of the light in his continued search for food. He snorted comfortably and pawed at some stones before reaching back down and with his mobile lips, attempted to get some last little bit of food he'd smelled.

[Glaw]

During the gentle explanation of circumstances, Jalin had scuttled slowly forward, crouched on the balls of her feet, arms on her knees and nose wrinkled while she leaned over the curious map that showed through with curiouser writing on its back. At the mention of food, her stomach complained loudly; it hadn't had anything save a roll of crackers and half a stolen cream pie since morning. Jalin scowled, offended at its betrayal.

"Well," she said at last, "maybe a little. It's only fair, since you're using my light and my blanket."

While Miss Fell busied herself with whatever food she'd brought, Jalin continued to study the sketched map and squinted at the tiny handwriting by each dot. "So each of these marks here is someone who's got a broken leg or a sickness?" And here she'd thought everyone in this awful kingdom was a good-for-nothing drunk. Maybe the drunks called Miss Fell whenever they hit their heads on their coffee tables.

She licked her dry lips; the map blurred in her vision, and breath caught in her lungs. "Say, then," she began hesitantly, without looking up. "Do you know anything about Dragon Fever?"

[Closetmonster]

Fell left the map in the shy hands of her newest companion, then rummaged about in her bag. The girl looked pinch-cheeked and no doubt could use a good meal, which, in this case, Fell could provide. She withdrew from her satchel, a half loaf of thick, seeded bread in a linen wrap and a quarter round of white cheese, both of which she put on her knee. She rummaged a short time more then with a triumphant sound, drew out a small bag and put this on the ground.

As she put the bread to the ground and undid the wrapping, then settled cheese alongside the bread, she considered the question. It was a rather heavy question, to be sure.

"I have heard of it," she admitted, slowly as she undid the ties on the bag and withdrew some dried fruit, better than gold in many cases, and laid three pieces out alongside the bread. She turned then to look at the casual grass eater at her side. "Would you like any?" When the horse gave no indication that she'd spoken at all, she merely shrugged her shoulders and went back to the meal. "Suit yourself."

The conversation apparently over, she glanced back at Jalin. "Now then, Dragon Fever. I've heard of it and discussed it with a good many other physics, many of whom have thought they had a cure for it. Some have even stated they, themselves were saved by their own cure. I do not know that I ascribe to any of them, as I've yet to see a case myself." She narrowed her eyes at the girl, tilted her head in consideration. "Why do you ask?"

[Glaw]

Bread. Cheese. And morsels of fruit that Jalin only faintly remembered being described as life-changing. Her dark eyes were wide and unblinking as a deer's; even the question had been momentarily forgotten amid the triumphant glee of her stomach. Surely, she had known all along that it was a grand idea to let the shadowy traveler come sit by her fire.

Still, she wasn't greedy, oh no. The girl delicately broke off a chunk of bread and then a smaller chunk of cheese, as if she hadn't been near-starving for the past two days, and just as carefully she took a bite -- and desperately kept her chewing as slow and un-noisy as could be.

"Well," she said with her mouth half-full, "my daughter has it. Dragon Fever, that is." Jalin was quiet a short moment while she chewed. She didn't appear to be more than twenty (and a little thing, besides) -- but then there was that telltale tapering of her ears and an unnaturalness to her eyes, which couldn't quite decide what color they were. "I've met a few of those physics who claim a cure, but I happen to know they're quacks and shams."

While she took another bite, Jalin rummaged in her bag and pulled out a small rounded piece of bone that may have once been the skull of a cat, but it had been sanded down and polished to a violet, shimmering glow. It was attached to a gold chain as if it were meant to be worn as a necklace -- but it was an ugly tacky thing, to say the most. "A piece of my daughter's illness was sealed in this amulet. Curing the disease in the amulet will make it lose that purpley glimmer -- but no one has come close to curing it yet." She laid the amulet in Miss Fell's hands, if she wished it. "That's why I'm hunting the blood of the dragon that got her sick. It's the only surefire cure."

[Closetmonster]

Golter snorted and it almost sounded as if he laughed. Fell frowned and did not notice, or did not choose to notice. She reached for the bone, fingered it onto her palm with a concerned mien.

"Well, getting blood from a dragon, I've heard is rather difficult business. They have that habit of, well, not wanting their blood given out." She kept her focus on the bone, but her eyes flicked up to stare at the young woman across from her. After a moment's contemplation, she held the bone back out to the woman. "Seems a surefire way of making your daughter an orphan.

"Now then," she stated in far more business like tones as she sat up and reached for her pack once more, "tell me. How long has your daughter been ill? Has she shown sign of scaling yet, or color changes in the whites of her eyes? I've only heard of it, you understand, but I do happen to know of one man whom I believe on a regular basis. Not that he is quick to help at all. Nor would he play about with a bone. He'd only say yes if the story intrigued him," she rolled her eyes mockingly. "He's Fair Folk, you know. Regular Brownie type only larger - and more annoying."

Golter stumped up to the women and blew hard into Fell's hair, his liquid brown eyes watching the proceedings with interest.

"Perhaps if you told him how your daughter happened to be stricken with the Fever?" Fell said uncertainly. "What she did to garner the attention of a dragon old enough to have the power of the fever in his blood." She paused and then smiled. "Or her blood. I find stories are often wrong and I'd hazard a guess that children getting the fever are more apt to be afflicted by a female dragon."

At her side, the grey horse had found her braid and was calmly drawing it out from her cloak, lipping at it. Fell's hair, at the nape of her neck down, became almost grey, though it was not the pretty silver of most of the people in the region, but a haphazard dark grey which filtered itself through her dark hair and sucked the life out of the natural color. When the tip of the long rope came free, the horse grabbed this and tugged on it, began to pull it into his mouth as if he were eating it. The physic, for her part, ignored his antics, though a look of annoyance began to surface even as she attempted to listen to Jalin.