'Ireth and Scorch's Dare' Ch 3

Yamilink
Ireth shifted her weight to the side and Vespera barrelled and flew right side up once again. "Sparring, that's funny." Ireth said.

The hours passed and what it seemed like to be a maze of rocks definitely told Ireth it was the Multitudes. "We should start exploring, covering the area. Let's keep our eyes peeled for anything, even danger. I do have something that could get us out of a bind if anything bad happens but I haven't tested it yet."


Anzamee
"It's a scavenging hunt then" agreed Scorch. "What say we separate for about three hours, then meet up at the northernmost rock? If either of us finds anything interesting, we have our dragons shoot one flame burst into the air, if it's trouble, then three in rapid succession" he heard Ireth mention a new invention. "Sounds interesting! But for both our sakes I hope we don't have to test it".


Yamilink
"Agreed. Meet up in three hours." Ireth said and shifted her weight to make Vespera turn and barrel downwards into the Maze Multitudes leaving Scorch and Vesta behind.
"Alright girl, let's see if we can find something." Ireth patted her dragon's neck. The Night Fury took this opportunity to really stretch her wings. She dived right into the maze, her mighty wings pumping and curling with each turn. So far Ireth didn't see anything but rocks, a few plants, but nothing strange.


Anzamee
After Vesta and Ireth slid between the Multitudes rocks, Scorch guided Vesta in an adjacent direction. The Nightmare flew at a moderate pace so that she could mauver easily among the towering structures of rock that composed of the landmass as well as give both her and Scorch a good chance to spot anything.
The minutes crept by and yielded nothing out of the ordinary; it seemed improbable that anything worth searching for could exist here, yet the stories of men in red skirts and others of yellow skin proved otherwise. The pair continued patiently, but also remained vigilant.
Vesta and Scorch continued for a stretch of time, and went so far as to explore some of the caves within the towers that consisted of the multitudes; but they found nothing.

As the red-headed Viking's patience was at its limits, he spied a large pile of debris on one of the mini shorelines. As the pair flew in closer, it became clear that the remains were a sailing ship, but one most definitely not a longboat or of any native origin.
Whilst a Viking's ship consisted of a low lying bow, and square sails adjacent to the craft, this one had its sides with high walls and three sails that looked almost that of dragon wings and a tail.

It was enough. Scorch had Vesta touch down on the small coast, "Ok Vesta, give us a nice big flare for Ireth and Vespera to see". Vesta nodded, then planted her feet, wretched with all her might and shot a small, but far reaching and very bright fire spit into the sky.
The pair then waited, as they observed the ruined but mostly intact ship of mysterious construction.


Yamilink
Ireth and Vespera were speeding through the rocky maze, still looking for anything. But Ireth's patience was wearing VERY thin. She saw something from the corner from her eye; it was Scorch and Vesta's flare. "Let's go Vespera!" Ireth said and pulled up on the saddle to make her Night Fury climb higher into the air. The dragon let out a roar as she ascended up. Ireth spotted the two and guided her dragon toward them. She squinted her eyes to get a good look at what Scorch had found. Some sort of ship? Certainly not their clan's design. "Hey Scorch." Ireth greeted as she and Vespera landed. "So...a ship?"


Anzamee
"Apparently" answered Scorch, "I obviously don't have to tell you this isn't one of ours yet alone from a different clan... it is foreign..." he paused as he stared at the curious looking vessel.
"Well it doesn't seem anyone's around, so I reckon it's ripe for a good scrounging!" proclaimed the young Viking and raced up a fallen mast to the remains of the ship's deck.

What he observed was even stranger, there were no shields adorning the side of the vessel, the timber not of the common pine that native ships consisted of, and at the stern of the ship, next to what appeared to be a steering apparatus, was a tiny metal fish that was suspended in water. As Scorch toyed with the object, it always moved to point in the one direction no matter how he left it. Most would proclaim this as witchcraft, Scorch, knowing better, figured it had something to do with how the people who once owned the craft had made it so far away from home, given anything that wasn't the Barbaric Archipelago was pretty much another world away.

"I'm going to take a look below deck!" Scorch called "You want to take a look around yourself?"


Yamilink
"I might as well, but be careful. There might be traps or unstable ground inside. Who knows how long this thing has been here." Ireth said as she fixed her goggles that are over her eyes. "Let's go Vespera, easy steps and caution."
Vespera nodded and leaped onto the deck of the ship. The floor boards creaked the moment the dark coloured Night Fury had landed. "Whoaaaa..." Ireth cringed, "I said easy steps!" After making sure everything was alright, Ireth looked around the deck and saw a door at the far end of the back of the ship. It lead to a large cabin from the looks of it.
"Well...let's see if it's unlocked." Ireth climbed off of her dragon and walked up to the weather beaten door. She turned the knob and pushed, and only to find that the whole door came apart from its hinges.
"...Oops..."


Anzamee
Scorch winced as Ireth jumped aboard the direct ship with Vespera. "I'm no expert but perhaps it would be best if both our dragons waited just by the rocks, if either of them make a wrong step it they could bring down the whole ship, or even worse, injure themselves." he flinched as the cabin door fell away from his colleague's hands. "I'll be down here then if you need me" he sounded as he lifted a trap door and descended a rope netting.

In the dim light the Viking teen could see splendour of mysterious goods and tools. Coloured clothing that was smooth to the touch, plants bearing an array of mysterious scents, even a cache of precious looking material stamped with incomprehensible symbols.
Despite the valuable loot that was presented, nothing seemed of immediate use for the Bonfire Festival. There was also the question of what happened to the entire crew, as there seemed to be no obvious signs of where they could have gone.
Scorch continued to search the galleys, hoping to find something that would resolve both his and Ireth's predicament.


Yamilink
Vespera let out a rather defiant growl at Scorch. She didn't want to be away from her rider, especially on this unknown vessel. "Vespera, just wait right here, I won't go far." Ireth smiled at her dragon and patted her on the nose. The Night fury let out a rather pitiful whine as she watched Ireth enter into the cabin.
The big room was adorned with furniture that looked to made out of expensive wood with silver and gold handles and ornaments. Weather beaten tapestries and portraits hung from the walls, and giant rugs on the floor. But it did not silence the creaking and moaning of the floor boards where Ireth stepped forward to the large desk at the far end of the room.
From the appearance of the room, she was inside the captain's quarters.
Slowly she made her way to the large desk and began rummaging through the drawers. But they were empty. Ireth began to grow frustrated and she slammed her fist onto the desk. Suddenly she heard a little sound inside one of the open drawers. Ireth peaked over and found a beautiful silver necklace. The jewel was the most amazing thing that Ireth had ever laid eyes on. Inside the stone swirled many colours, colours that Ireth had only seen in her dreams. Holding the stone was a perfectly crafted sea serpent with pearl eyes.

"How pretty..." She exclaimed as she picked up the necklace delicately.
"What did you find?" Came a female voice that almost sounded like an echo.
"A beautiful neck-" Ireth paused, and froze where she stood. Slowly she turned her head from side to side to find the source of the voice. She then turned to her dragon, "V-Vespera...did you hear something?"
The Night fury cocked her head to the side and looked at her rider with soulful eyes.
"No...It might have been my imagination...I hope I'm not going mad." Ireth sighed and smiled at Vespera.
"I said something Ireth..." Came the voice again, but it was coming from Ireth's own Dragon.

In moments a curdling scream echoed within the ship.


Anzamee
Scorch tipped up yet another box lid through his now, very messy rummaging to discover something very peculiar. The box contained a large number of arrow shaped objects; except they weren't really arrows at all, the things were just as long, but very thick as they carried a small packaged substance on them. Upon closer inspection the items had a string attached to each one, along with some sort of wooden skewer.

Just as Scorch had reached the conclusion that the things were definitely not arrows, his body turned to ice at the sound of Ireth letting out a most fearful scream.

"Thor almighty!" cried Scorch and bolted to the trap door with all speed (subconsciously tucking the non-arrow into his belt). He vaulted out of the hatch and raced to the cabin area where Ireth was searching. "Ireth are you all right!?! What's happened!?" Scorch skidded to a halt right next to Vespera, to his relief but utter confusion, everything appeared fine, except that Ireth looked like she had seen a ghost or worse still, a Whispering Death.
"Are you both ok?" Scorch repeated, "That scream wouldn't have anything to do with that would it?" He pointed to the beautifully complex jewel necklace that Ireth was clutching with a shaking hand.


Yamilink
Ireth was shaking like terrified mouse, "I....I...heard Vespera! T-talking to me! The moment I picked up this necklace that was h-hidden in the desk." Ireth held the necklace by its chain out for Scorch to see. Vespera slowly went up to her rider, in fear that she would scream again. "Please don't scream...I don't like it." Vespera spoke again only in Ireth's mind.
"Please tell me you heard her just now!" Ireth squeaked. "Oh gods, I don't want to cursed! Bad enough I'm already labelled as Ireth the Odd! I don't want to be labelled crazy!"


Anzamee
Scorch was stunned by the announcement that Ireth just made. "Are you sure it wasn't just dragonese?" he asked carefully, then made a whistle and clicking sound of general inquiry to Vespera, hoping she understood.

The Night Fury, however has its full attention on her panicking rider and moved closer to her and Ireth swore that she spoke again.
Scorch was beginning to feel uneasy; he strained his ears but heard nothing out of the ordinary. "Vesta! Up here girl quick!" he called outside, and the Nightmare promptly landed with a thud on the deck by the door, too large to squeeze in.

He turned to Ireth again with a worried expression, "I didn't hear anything" Scorch admitted, shaking his head as he tried to understand the impossible. "You mean to say that you literally 'heard' your dragon speak?" he asked one more time.


Yamilink
"Yes!!" Ireth practically shouted her answer, feeling scared and frustrated at the same time. "The moment I held this necklace in my hand!"
Vespera snorted, "I'll take that th-." The Night Fury grabbed the necklace in her mouth before the sentence was completed. She then went to Scorch and dropped the necklace in his hands.


Anzamee
Ireth's hysterical behaviour was really setting Scorch on edge, was she telling the truth? Or had the necklace driven her crazy somehow. Without prompting (or a reply from his attempted communication) Vespera snatched the piece of jewellery from her rider, nudged his own hands and dropped it in open palms.
Scorch dropped the object as if it was red hot; it clattered to the floorboards with a light tinkle, completely undamaged. The Night Fury leered at him for his carelessness, then, summoning his courage, Scorch gingerly picked up the necklace and gazed at the Sea Serpent which adorned the finely linked chain.

He then looked at Vespera, waiting for her to say something... she stayed silent, merely observing his actions like a birdwatcher would to a seagull. Just when Scorch was about to say something an unknown, yet somehow at the same time, a strikingly familiar voice filled his head; "What is all of the fuss about Scorch? That little piece of human craft?" The voice was a smooth alto, yet had a rumble to its edge... it came from his own dragon partner... Vesta.
Scorch's face lit up with bewilderment and wonder; pure shock and joy overwhelmed his heart.

He staggered back under the weight of revelation. "O...O... Odin and all the other gods combined" he stuttered breathlessly "Ireth you are not insane... but then I don't know if I'm just insane with you or not".
"Of course she isn't insane" another voice objected, Vespera leered at him and grumbled slightly. Scorch tottered back from the Fury near Ireth and grabbed the desk for support as his head swam.


Yamilink
"So, you hear them too?!" Ireth asked meekly, but she now couldn't hear Vespera speak at all. It in a way calmed her down to think about this necklace. She watched Scorch walk toward the desk and leaned on it, just to steady his mind. Ireth peered over to Scorch's hand here the necklace was held. "I know this is a bit much to take in...I mean...we can now understand our dragons through that necklace!" She said.


Anzamee
"Yes... I can understand them perfectly" Scorch said to Ireth, "This is just beyond anything imaginable" he regained some composure. "I can understand both of you, can you understand me?" he asked both dragons.
"I can understand you!" came Vesta's overjoyed voice as she shuffled about with glee "It is just like you can speak our language now!" she puffed a tiny breath of fire out of excitement.
"Finally no more of that sloppy dragonese" snorted Vespera, "Leave him alone" Vesta growled "He has a thick Viking accent but it is not totally flawed" the two dragons stared at one another.

"Hey calm down both of you!" pleaded Scorch; he turned to Ireth "Err..." he offered the necklace in case she was curious of the somewhat private conversation."Maybe if we both hold it, we will hear our dragons at the same time" he suggested, then furrowed his brow in further thought.
"This is absolutely fantastic but, how is it possible? Does this mean that there are other cultures that have linked with dragons?" He paused a moment, thinking "From the looks of this vessel, and from the odd story I have heard from the adult Vikings, I'm guessing this is a Yellow Skins ship, but did they actually make this necklace?" Scorch's mind settled into a regular routine of whirring thoughts and speculations.


Yamilink
Ireth stood up and walked over to Scorch and gently held the necklace along with him. "I didn't exactly mean he was bad at it! I just think humans are better off not speaking it in general. Saves them from looking stupid." Vespera replied to Vesta with a huff.
"This is why I count on your body and sound language to understand you, Vespera." Ireth smiled.
Vespera spun around and immediately brushed her head against her rider's hand. "I'm glad you can understand me better now!" The Night Fury purred.
Ireth petted Vespera's head, "So you think this ship belonged to the people in the far southeast? I have heard there were dragons over there as well...and...Since we have this necklace, we can understand the dragons there! They may know where we can find another necklace like this!" Ireth said excitedly.
"But Ireth...that area is far away, I don't know if we can make it back in time for the festival." Vespera whined.
"We will have to try, I mean we have two more days until the festival begins." Ireth thought out loud.


Anzamee
"I'll take your advice then Vespera" Scorch yielded with a blush "The last thing I want to do is insult either of you".
"That's all right" nodded Vespera.
"I hope that you won't give up entirely" purred Vesta, "As for the journey to the South-East I seriously doubt that we could make it" she continued with a pained expression and worried tone "I would not be fast enough, and even Vespera's considerable speed as a Night Fury would only get you half way there in all the time we have left".

Scorch gave a hefty sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think a journey to that province would be possible" he shook his head with defeat. "Speed concerns aside, we don't know if the dragons there would let us have treasures such as these, or their riders for that matter; we Vikings don't exactly have all that friendly of a reputa..." Scorch wasn't able to finish his sentence, as a huge crash sounded from the outside "What in the name of!?" he let go of the necklace and raced out of the cabin.

To his horror he could see yet another foreign ship, but it wasn't another like the one they were on. It brandished huge scarlet sails and was filled with rows of men donned with glimmering metal helmets with a strange comb of the same blood red colour of the sails on top of them. War cries sounded at the sight of Vesta and Scorch, these men were here to plunder, and the pair were their competitors.

"I don't believe it" Scorch whispered as he froze and turned stark white, he at least knew what these people were called "Romans!!!" he shouted into the cabin. Vesta let out a roar of challenge, giving Scorch back some confidence, "We have to move!" he blared at Ireth and Vespera.