Chapter 1

A large assembly of people was gathering at a mansion in Norwitch.  The mansion itself is like an old British manor, with manicured gardens and a cobblestone circle with a fountain in the middle.  It had belonged to an eccentric millionaire who had died in a car crash a few weeks ago. 

Many stylish cars are parked around the front circle, and more still arriving.  Many of them are limousines, with a few luxury and sports cars mixed in as well.

A sliver BMW was parked fairly close to the front door.  A man stepped out from its cool interior. He was tall, had blue eyes and brown hair.  The man stepped onto the sidewalk, and proceeded up the marble steps towards the doors of the Manor. 

He walked in, and immediately went to a desk, that said registration under it.

“Jordan Reynard” stated the man.

The registrar looked at his list, glanced at the man, and said “Welcome Mr. Reynard.  I trust you are familiar with our procedure.  Please take a bidding number and have a seat.  We will begin shortly.  The auction is in the main hall.”

Jordan Reynard entered the main hall, and found a seat near the front on a wooden folding chair.  The auctioneer’s table stood immediately in front of a statue of a dragon with outstretched claws.  The light from the window behind that made it almost seem like the dragon was alive. 

Reynard was a lawyer from Massachusetts, who had heard about this estate sale, and was interested in it. He was also on his way to Florida to go cruising in his yacht and it was on his way.  Jordan waited for the bidding to begin as the other bidders filed into the hall.

At last the auctioneer stood up and got to his podium.  He was fairly rotund, and wore a pair of wire rimmed glasses. 

“Bidding will now begin on this fine leather couch.  I’ll start at $500. Got it.  Anyone for $550?” he began.

Jordan had no interest in this item, so he let it pass.  The next few items also did not look appealing to him, so he made no move to bid.

The auction progressed through the furniture, and into the other items that the eccentric had.

One item in particular had held a hold on the lawyer’s interest.   It was lot # 329 that was coming up for sale.  The lot consisted of a single, brilliantly polished silver ring.  Its large gemstone seemed almost hypnotic, and the designs on its sides were also entrancing to Jordan.  He knew he had to have it.

Jordan waited and watched as other various knick-knacks were peddled away and eventually the lot came up. 

“And now we have this lovely little ring.  It’s 50-Carat Sterling Silver, and is in flawless condition.  We’ll start with a bid of $50”

Reynard, who was number 25, immediately bid.  Another bidder upped the price by 10 dollars, and Jordan outbid him as well.  After this point, it was between him and Number 39, a blonde lady with pearl necklace and designer clothes on.  Jordan and the lady kept bidding higher and higher, until the amount reached $500.  At this point the lady gave up because she had bigger things to buy later on in the auction, and Jordan got the ring.

Jordan sat back in his seat in satisfaction, as if he knew he had done something good. 

“Victory.”  He said to no one in particular, and sat back to watch for anything else of interest. 

The auction finally ended about five in the afternoon.  Besides the ring, the lawyer got a Luger pistol and an old officer’s sword, a cutlass from the civil war. 

Jordan walked up to the winner’s table and paid for his winnings with his Credit Card.  He claimed his prizes and walked out of the hall.  As he walked out, he put on the ring.  It almost seemed to glow with unbridled energy, but he put it down to how the light was reflecting off the Blue gemstone. 

Jordan then got into his car, after loading it up with the merchandise, and headed out of the driveway, through the estate, and onto the main road.  He then went onto interstate (insert number here) and went south.

He stayed the night in a hotel in Maryland, got up and back on the interstate bound for Florida.  Jordan slept through the alarm at this hotel, and hurriedly got dressed and out the door just before checkout time. 

Reynard drove down the interstate until he reached the exit for Daytona Beach, where his boat slip was.  He reached the Marina, put his car into storage, and prepared his yacht for his month long vacation.  He loaded it with food, water, and all the accoutrements that he enjoyed, such as his substantial music collection.  It contained a wide variety of music from Bach to Weird Al.  He also brought his winnings from the auction onboard.

He then went into the harbormaster’s office, and went to file a voyage plan.  A secretary sat at a desk in the middle of the room.  She was talking on the phone and did not see him come in.

“Ah excuse me?” Reynard asked.

The secretary looked up and discreetly hung up her phone.

“Where would I file a journey plan?” he asked the secretary.

“Right here” She said. “Here’s the form.”

The form was a collection of questions and information.  The lawyer filled it out, saying that he was heading to Bermuda non-stop, and was planning to return in one month. 

The secretary looked at the form and wired it ahead to Bermuda.  As Reynard walked out the door, the secretary smiled and said, “And be careful of the Bermuda Triangle sir!”

“Bermuda triangle my foot…” he scoffed and shut the door.

Jordan stayed at a local hotel overnight, and boarded his Yacht the next morning and set sail for his destination.  This was the last time he was ever heard from on Earth…

Chapter 2: 

An almost unnatural fog envelops the ship as it cruised.  The fog was unnatural because it did not flow like normal fog.  It was just not normal.

Had Jordan been more attentive, he would have noticed this. Despite this, Jordan did not notice anything.  He was too busy looking at his GPS and listening to his music.  Eventually he closed off the throttle, and settled in for the evening. 

Reynard had always enjoyed these lonely open ocean cruises.  He felt at home on the sea and nothing could change that. 

Jordan had done these kinds of trips several times before, but never had there been this much fog.  He was slightly puzzled by this, but he still had alternate means of navigation.  He got up out of his seat and went below-decks.

As he did this, a strange thing began to happen.  His GPS unit that he had bought especially for this trip suddenly went blank.  If he had checked, it could not show him where he was.  As it was, he locked down the ship for the night and settled in to sleep.  It did not come for a while, but eventually it did.

When Jordan woke, he found two muskets pointed directly at him.  Behind the muskets, there were two maroon uniformed soldiers that did not look too friendly. 

“Get up.” Said the one on the right.

“What? Me?” replied Reynard, who was still not thinking clearly.

“Move.  Now.” Said the other, making a threatening motion with his weapon.

Jordan Reynard immediately got on his feet.  The guards their bayonets into his back, and marched him up the steps out of his cabin onto the yacht’s deck protesting all the way. 

They drag him out on deck and he suddenly realizes he’s not where he is supposed to be.  He felt the air temperature drop all of the sudden, as though it was autumn.  The second indication that a large sailing ship has pulled alongside his, and was attaching tow ropes.  The ship looks like an 18th century sailing vessel.  It is a bit weathered and looks like it has seen better days, as its wood looked a bit gray.

As Jordan took a further look around, he saw something that astonished him.  He was in a bay that was surrounded by rock cliffs and steep hills.

“This looks exactly like that Puget Sound I saw on my last vacation.”  He murmured 

They then moved him up onto the gangplank and onto their ship.  He did not struggle too much, as he saw his situation was hopeless. 

As Jordan approached the center of the deck, a person that assumedly the captain approached.

“Oy, Commander!  Look at what we found here.” Said one of the guards.

“Yes, I can see you found someone but who is he?” replied the authority figure.

“Dunno, I haven’t asked, although from the look of his clothing, he’s obviously not from around here.” Replied the other guard.

“Ah, what does it matter. Throw him in the brig.  We’ll send him to the Tower, and He’ll be out of our hands” said the commander.

The lawyer from Massachusetts was just starting to realize what was happening, and also beginning to panic.  He was listening to the conversation and finally decided to speak up for himself. 

“Excuse me, Commander” he eeked out.

Immediately after this, one of the soldiers whacked him on the back of the head. 

“You will speak only when addressed cur.” He reprimanded.

“No, let him speak.  I suppose we ought to hear his story before we throw him in the brig.” Said the captain.

He quickly deduced that they were acting under some sort of foreign government’s laws, so being a lawyer, he regained his composure and stated, “I am a citizen of the United States of America, and if you dare to throw me in prison, you will have to answer to the State Department about this.”

The captain listened to this, and smiled back.   “Not if they don’t hear about it. Besides, I have never heard of a country called the “United States” Put him in the brig.”

The guards dragged him below and put Reynard in a dimly lit jail cell inside the ship.  Jordan was currently its only occupant.

Meanwhile, up on deck, the first officer came over to the commander, and asked a question.

“Sir, what should we do with the prisoner’s ship?” he queried

“Well, I was thinking our gunners could blow off some steam by sinking it…” replied the commander.

“Sir, personally, I think we should take it to port with us as a prize.”

“Please explain”

“Think about it sir.  I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this boat ever.  I can’t even see how it is propelled.  But if we take it in, I’m sure the governor would give us a very large prize for it.  

“A sound justification, I think we’ll do just that.”  Concluded the captain. 

“Send over boarding party Mr. Landsdown!”  Shouted the first mate. “Secure tow cables and we’re on our way back to port.” 

“Aye Sir” was the response.

The towropes were attached and secured, and the ship got under weigh. It made its way towards a sailing town.

The ship sailed on until it reached a town that was visible in the distance.  Jordan’s boat was towed right behind it.

The boat slid into dock and the crew threw up its docking lines.  The gangplank was lowered, and Jordan was brought out on deck again.   He was bound in irons and chained to two guards.

The city that stood before Jordan reminded him of a colonial town that he had seen in a movie somewhere.  Very few of the buildings were over 2 stories, and the streets were paved with cobblestones.  Far away, there was a black stone tower in the distance.

Down the street, a black carriage was approaching from down the street.  As it passed the other ships, he noticed there was a flag on top that had the same colors as the soldier’s uniforms.  As it got closer, he saw that it had no windows. 

People rushed out of its way as soon as they saw its flag.  It was as though the coach was infected with death itself.  And as it drew closer, the lawyer realized it was meant for him. 

“Oh, great.  A paddy wagon.”  He muttered. 

The coach drew alongside the ship and stopped.  The maroon uniformed guards forced him down the gangplank, and into the coach.

They locked the door behind him. 

Chapter 3:

As the carriage moved, Jordan realized that his ride was turning towards the tower he had spotted on the hill.

It was completely dark in the carriage so he could not see, but he could still feel the motion of the carriage.

Jordan lost track of time as the journey wore on.  Eventually the road began to slope upward, indicating he was nearing his destination.  Eventually he heard the sound of a large gate swinging open, the motion of moving forward, and the sound of the gates shutting again.  His captors were not planning to let him go anytime soon. 

The carriage continued on, and suddenly stopped.  The door opened, and two differently uniformed guards, this time in green overcoats with maroon trim, greeted him.

“Out.” One of them said.

“Move.” Said the other. 

Jordan complied, and the guards led him into an inner core.  He realized at this point that he was already in the tower.  There was a large set of stone stairs that led up to the top of the tower.  As he looked up to the top of the tower, he noticed an eerie green glow come from the top.  Then one of the guards pushed him up the steps.

As he went up, Jordan noted that the first three levels of the tower seemed to house barracks for soldiers, as there were weapons racks filled with muskets, and on the bottom level, were cannons and gattling guns. 

As they went to the fourth level, they had to pass through two gates, with guards on both.  They had obviously entered the prison sector of the tower.

They went up through another set of gates to a fifth level, and turned down a side corridor. 

His guards then opened a door to a cell at the end of the hall.  They shoved him in again and locked the door.

The cell was typical of what one would expect of a medieval jail cell, with bars on the windows, a bed of hay, a chamber pot, and chains on the walls.  He looked around one more time and sat down.

It was at this point that the full enormity of the oddness of his situation hit him.

“Great.  Just great.  Here I am, stuck in a jail cell, for a crime I didn’t know I was even in violation of, and I don’t even know where on Earth I am.”  Said Jordan.

It was at this point, he was in for the shock of his life.  Although being transported to a semi-colonial seaport by some very irate guards would be enough to unsettle anyone, Jordan was in for one more bit of astonishment.  A dragon was lying in the corner asleep.

Jordan, who was raised on Earth, did not know what to make of what lay before him.  He had been taught that dragons did not exist, yet here one was before him.  Suddenly, the thing in the corner began to stir.

“Guard!  Guard come here quick!”  Jordan said as the guard began to come over. “There’s a monster in here!”  The guard stopped, shaking his head laughing and walked back to his post.

“What?”  Shouted Jordan.  “You can’t leave me in here with something like that!”

In the corner, the little dragon held his paws over his ears.  He was trying to sleep.  As Jordan continued to pound against the door, the dragon’s eyes suddenly opened. A puff of smoke left the dragon’s snout in annoyance as Jordan continued to rail against the door.

“Excuse me, but

All he could do was stare at the apparition with his mouth hanging open.

The dragon had a collar with red glowing stones placed equidistantly on it around the base of his neck.. 

“What’s the matter?  Haven’t you ever seen a dragon before?”  Said the dragon.

“No… No…  You can’t exist!”  Jordan stammered. 

“What do you mean?” replied the dragon. “Everyone knows about dragons.  Or at least they think they know."

“You’re a dragon, and they only exist in fairy tales and legends.  I must be dreaming.”

“You have fairies where you come from?  Then surely there were dragons.”

“No, Fairies don’t exist where I come from either.”

The dragon sat back on his haunches and pondered this for a second.  “Where are you from?”

“What do you mean?” asked Jordan.  “I’m from America.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”  Replied the dragon, suspiciously. 

“Ah… How do I explain this…” He looked around for a way out of the conversation. 

“You can start by explaining where in the world this “America” is.”

“How can you not have heard of America?  It’s the strongest nation on the planet?” Jordan thought the dragon was becoming delusional.

“Never mind that.  Where is it?”

“The North American continent.”

“There’s no such continent… Perhaps we are having language difficulties.  Translation magic sometimes has trouble with certain humans.  Try some other place names.”

“How about Massachusetts?  That’s the state I’m from.”

The dragon mulled this over for a second.  “No”

Jordan could understand of the dragon not hearing of Massachusetts so he tried a different tack.  “Atlantic Ocean?”

“Eh…No.” said the dragon in much of the same manner.

“Then where on Earth am I?”

The green scaled being across from him perked up. “Earth?  Are you sure you know what you’re talking about here?”

“Yes! Earth!  The planet we are standing on!  The one I was born on?  You’ve got to have heard of that?!”  Jordan stopped in mid-rant and thought it over.  Perhaps he had been going about this the wrong way. “Maybe I’m not where I think I am.”

“Brilliant deduction.”  The dragon said sarcastically. “Now maybe you can calm down and figure out what’s happened to you, and then I might tell you a little about myself.”

Jordan told the dragon of his trip to the auction and his trip to the Lightfort, and was about to ask the dragon questions of his own when the guards returned.  Neither of them spoke.  They slipped a cloth sack over his head and roughly guided him out of the room.

Chapter 4:

Jordan’s eyes had to acclimate to a blinding light that was aimed directly in them as soon as the sack was lifted from his head.  Across from him, behind a table were two standing guards and what looked to be an interrogator sitting.  The two guards were in the same uniform as the ones that put him into the cell.  The man behind the desk had a neatly trimmed white beard, and a handlebar mustache of the same color. 

“Well, you certainly have caused us a lot of trouble.”  Said his interrogator.

Jordan, remembering his law training kept silent.

“You seem to not be registered in any of our records.  You were out on the ocean which is a privilege restricted to those who have a governor’s permission.” The interrogator continued.

Jordan couldn’t resist asking a question.  “Who’s the Governor here?”

The man paused and looked at him menacingly.  “I am the governor.  I rule this city and this island.  I suggest you answer any of my questions or the consequences could be quite painful.” Said the man as he motioned to the guards.  One of the guards came over and punched him in the stomach.  “Now, tell me what’s your name.”

“Jordan Reynard” he grunted.

“Where do you come from?”

“The United States of America.”

“Liar, there is no such country.  Mr. Grensun…” The Governor motioned to the guard that had just punched him in the stomach, and he did it again.

Much of the interrogation went on like this for what seemed like hours.  After a particularly hard blow to the head, Jordan fell unconscious again. 

When he woke up again, Jordan felt as though he had been through a steam roller had gone over his body.  He gradually got up, and saw Dylandar over in the corner. 

“Oh good.  You’re awake.”  Said the dragon, as he got up to talk to Jordan.

“Right now I wish I weren’t.  How long have I been laying here?” Jordan asked.

“A couple of hours ago.  They brought you in and dragged you over there.  I’m sorry, but I never did ask your name.  I know humans like to give that out a lot.  I’m Dylandar.”

Jordan took his time in sitting up.  The pain, while receding from the last night’s torture session, was still lingering.  “Name’s Jordan Reynard.  I was wondering, is the offer still open for you to tell me a little about yourself?” asked the lawyer, who had calmed down with his situation.

“Of course.  Where would you like me to begin?”

“Is Dylandar your full name?” Asked Reynard.

“No, it’s actually Dylandarillion Scalia.  I just keep it Dylandar to be short.  You’ve goto to have more questions that that.”

“Well, in my world the dragons in legends grow a whole lot bigger than yourself.  I’d estimate you to be about 10 feet from head to tail, but the dragons I’m talking about grew much larger.”

“The legends of your world are correct in that we dragons do get considerably larger.  My parents were average sized dragons, let’s see… about how much is a foot again?”

Jordan showed him.  The dragon did some quick mental math.

“They were about thirty of your feet long.  They were once defenders of this island for the Astoria Council.”

“You mean like the governor?”

“No! Definitely not.  They were taken down by the governor and his cronies when they invaded the island, with enslaved dragons such as myself.  I was very little when that happened, no more than five years old.  The governor himself captured them and killed them with his magic.  He kept me as a sort of pet for a while, but he grew tired of me, and locked me in here.  They let me out once a day for some exercise, but always under tight supervision, then they crate me back up in here.” The

Jordan looked with pity on the dragon.  Almost 20 years of the treatment the dragon was describing would have driven him insane.  “Haven’t you ever tried to escape?”

“Oh, yes.  Oh lord yes.  I think about it incessantly, between that and what I’m going to do if I get out.  But I never will so long as this collar is around my neck.” Mumbled Dylandar.

“What’s so special about the collar?  I mean yes it glows in the dark, but what other than that?”

“This collar that I am wearing is not just an ordinary collar.  It is a Varn Stone Collar.”

Jordan saw that the dragon definitely wanted it off, but at the same time Jordan was still cautious.  “What does it do?”

“The varn stones in the collar are attuned to a dragon’s physiology and certain magical characteristics. It forces me to obey orders and stops me from doing things they don’t want me to do.  I can think all I want but I’m a prisoner in my own body.” The dragon gave another shiver, the dragon’s entire body shuddering

“Are you alright?” Asked Jordan.

Dylandar raised his head with a haunted look in his eyes, and with what looked like a grim smile said,  “One other thing about the collar.  It causes periodic chills whenever you’re not on a task.  Even in summer I feel chilled to the bone.”  Another chill shook the dragon.

Jordan sat and contemplated things for a second.  “Enough is enough.  Let’s get that thing off you.”

The dragon was mildly surprised by this.

“A ring?”  Asked the dragon. “May I see it?  Sorry, but as you may or may not know, dragons have a sense for gems, precious metals and stuff like that.  Took it up as a hobby before my parents were killed.”

”Wait a second… The design on that ring looks familiar.  I know it can’t possibly be, but it does.”

Jordan and Dylandar went on like this for quite a while, and the beginnings of a friendship emerged.  They talked back and forth between each other about their different worlds, although Dylandar tended to lead the conversation more towards Earth. 

Gradually, daylight faded and night arose.  When the sun was over the horison, a green beam of light from the top of the tower made its way north.

“Dylandar, what’s that green thing going out from the top of the tower?” asked Jordan.

“I don’t know.  I’ve never been able to figure it out, although I can sense that it’s very evil magic.” Replied Dylandar.

“Oh…”

The night dragged on and they both decided to get some sleep.  Jordan had just about closed his eyes, when all of the sudden, Dylandar(who had already supposedly gone to sleep) drew up very closely to Jordan’s side and said very quietly “I know where I’ve seen your ring’s symbol before.”

Jordan, who was just about asleep, suddenly sat bolt upright.

“You do?”

“I do.  You see the lock on the door over there?”

“Yes”

“There’s a mark on the lock with the same shape as the facets on your ring’s gemstone.”

“So…”

“Try putting your ring in the markings.  I think it could get us out of here.”

“Well… It’s worth a try.” Jordan said

Jordan got up and walked over to the door.  He got the finger with the ring on it in position and was about to turn it, when he had a thought. 

“What do we do if we get out, and what do we do if this does not work?”

“First, we call for our jailer, and open the door in his face, take his weapon and run.  In regards to the second question, I get the collar again, and you lose your ring, or get executed on the spot.”

Jordan looked out the window and saw their guard for the evening.  He was an officer, with a sword in his belt and also armed with a pistol.  Jordan called over the guard.  To the guard, everything was normal.  He thought the prisoner was just going to ask for something, which he would automatically refuse.  Instead, he was met with a face full of iron.

The guard fell quietly, and Jordan took his sword and pistol.  Dylandar came out of the cell and nodded approvingly.

They then exited the cell block.

Dylandar followed Jordan out, and they were about to start their way down the steps when one of the guards came around a corner from another block.

“Alarm!” Cried the guard right before Jordan shot him. 

The entire barracks on the bottom floors came out to see the commotion, and immediately armed themselves.  This meant the only way out was up.  Many of the guards from the upper levels shot at the two escapees as they made their way to the top of the tower. 

Jordan had to use the sword to take out the guards on the way up.  By the time this happened, the advancing wall of soldiers from below had nearly reached them.  Jordan stopped to fight them.

He hacked and slashed and beat them back, while at the same time beating a retreat.  Dylandar did his part too, with tooth, claw and dragonbreath. 

One guard tackled Jordan, and was subduing him, when a burst of blue flame knocked him away screaming.  Dylandar held the others back until Jordan could manage to scramble to his feet.

“Thanks.” Said Jordan, knocking an advancing sergeant senseless.

“We’re not anywhere near out of this yet.” Said Dylandar.

The running battle eventually reached the door to the final level of the tower that held the green glow. 

There was a door that they could bolt, so both the dragon and human ran for it.  Dylandar reached it before Jordan, and shut it just as the soldiers reached the door.  They both bolted it and secured it. 

“Very fancy sword play… Where did you learn to do that?” Complemented a panting Dylandar.

“I have no clue.  I’ve never picked up a sword in my life, other than to collect them.”

The soldiers were pounding on the door now, and somebody said they were fetching a cannon.  Both of the former prisoners got out of the way. 

The door shattered inward and the guards were coming through the door.  Dylandar hacked and scorched a way through them to the place where the green light crystal was glowing.  Jordan followed and rapidly realized that they were running out of options and space.  They would have to jump if they wanted to escape pretty soon.

The soldiers forced the two escapees towards the green glowing ball.  The guards advanced, and the two escapees retreated towards it.

Finally, one of the guards let out a war cry and swung the butt of his musket at Jordan.  Acted on instinct and used his sword to block once more.  His sword was in his left hand, and his right brushed against the green thing.

The green thing sent a shock like electricity through him.  Jordan immediately pulled his hand back only to see the magic from the orb arc into his ring.  At the end of the arcing, the orb turned blue, and the tower’s stone white. 

It was the soldier’s turn to be astonished.  Nearly all of them had crowded into the bottom of the room by this time, and they all stampeded out the door. 

“What did I just do?” Said Jordan, beginning to feel a twinge of a headache.

“I have no clue.”  Replied the Dragon..

Chapter 5

“We have to get to the armory. I think they took my other weapons there…” said Jordan. 

Jordan’s headache was getting worse by the minute.  They reached the armory door, found it was locked, found the keys, and opened the door. 

Sure enough, his weapons were on a rack.  His pistol and sword were still in good condition.  Right before he touched it though, he collapsed.

Although Jordan’s body lay unconscious on the floor of the armory, his actual consciousness was drawn elsewhere. 

He seemed to float through the air very fast.  He was up over the island before he realized what was happening.  The ocean rushed past him and suddenly came up on another island. 

This island was bathed in the same green glow as what came out of the tower’s crystal.  One he passed through the green veil, everything took on a bluish tinge.  Jordan thought this was very odd.  Then he noticed that nothing but himself was moving.  It seemed as though the island was stuck in time.

He was drawn onward through a mountain that loomed up in the middle of the island.  Inside the mountain, he saw a pitiful sight.

Inside a subterranean chamber, he saw a dragon collapsed on the floor.  Next to the dragon, there was what looked like a projection of the same dragon next to its body.  This new dragon was indeed as large as Dylandar had said his parents were.  Jordan suddenly realized that his hand looked like a projection too.

The projection stirred, and looked at Jordan.

“Welcome human.  I cannot keep you here long for the magic imprisoning me is strong, but for the time being, listen to my plea.  I am Aeskar, Arbiter-General, and leader of the Arbiters.  I make this request for the people of Astoria.  There are four other towers like the one you have just cured.  Take them out.  Capitol, Fortia, Eranyalon, and Trenta.  That is where they are.  Go to Capitol first, but activate your ring before you get there." 

The dragon-projection paused as though he sensed something.

“I must send you back now, else you be trapped with me.  The other towers are compensating in power for the loss of this one. Please do this, for if you do not, there may not be another.”

Jordan suddenly felt himself floating again.  He flew back up and through the mountain.  Over the ocean, the sun began to rise.  He arrived back on Honatat Island, fell back into his body and opened his eyes. 

Dylandar was standing over him.  Beyond Dylandar, there was a forest canopy.  “Jordan, are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, but I think I just had the weirdest experience since meeting you.”

He gradually got up off the ground, and told Dylandar what happened to him.  Dylandar was astonished.

“So that’s why we never received help from the Council.” Dylandar realized.

“How did you get me out of the tower?” asked Jordan.

“Had to drag you out.  The guards were coming back so I had to fight them off.  Eventually I made it to the forest, where I hid you, and led the guards on a merry chase.  I shook them off, and came back to you.  You were beginning to stir, so I waited.  It’s a good thing you’re awake now, so you can carry your own weight.  Lets see if we can find a hiding spot.”

They began to cautiously walk through the forest. The forest was actually similar to the forests of Washington thought Jordan.  It took most of the day before they reached a glen.  It had ferns, spruce trees, and stinging nettle, which Jordan found out about the hard way.  “OW!” he said.

Dylandar, who was a bit ahead, turned to look back while walking, and suddenly was turned upside down.  His foot had been caught in a hidden snare. Jordan immediately rushed to Dylandar’s aid.  He drew his sword, and started hacking at the rope.  The rope eventually snapped, and Dylandar fell.  He was not injured, but was knocked unconscious by the fall. 

Jordan was about to take the rope off Dylandar, when there was a quiet but solid clicking noise behind him.  Jordan slowly turned as he drew his pistol.

Behind him, three green uniformed were all pointing muskets at him.

“Relax men.  He only has one shot with a gun that small, and then we get him.”

Jordan smiled cockily, and his instincts took over again. “Ah, but the question is, who gets the bullet.”

The guards looked at each other for a second, and that was all Jordan took to strike.

He shot all three in quick succession.  All the guards were disabled and unable to fight, but otherwise alive.  As one of them fell, his musket went off. 

Jordan stood with shock and saw what he had done.  He had just shot three professional soldiers before even one could get a shot off at him.  He never knew he could do such things.  Jordan kneeled down in disbelief. 

He could not stay long.  The shots had attracted more guards, and this time they were too numerous to fight.  He had to drag Dylandar by the neck under what looked like a cedar tree.

Surprisingly, there was a pit under the tree.  Both dragon and man fell in, and they landed with a thump on a hard, fairly flat stone floor.  Jordan was uninjured, and Dylandar was still unconicous.

Jordan looked to the left and saw the opening to a cave.  It had a torch bracket, next to an iron door.  He went over to the door, tried to open it, but it was locked.  Jordan knew they

Inside that iron door, there was a guard.  He was not dressed like the guards from the tower.  In fact, his uniform was completely different.  His uniform was quite aged, dusty, and torn.  On the shoulder pad, there were patches denoting rank, unit, and a special patch with the words “Astoria Council” emblasoned in silver lettering on it.  His rank was that of Sergeant.

He opened the door a crack and saw an exhausted man and an unconcious dragon.

The sergeant immediately shut the door.  Behind the door, there was a seiries of caves that served as a base for the Astorian supporters.  The caves stretched from here to under the city.   They were lit with glowing stones. He made his way to the command center, where the commander was.

The commander was a man who looked about 40.  He used to be a soldier in the Astoria Council garrison on Honatat, before the current regieme took over.  After he had been rescued from the gallows, he became the leader of the resistance cell because he was the highest ranking survivor.  He has been so for over 20 years, and had almost given up hope.

When the news that a dragon and a man had been found outside their door reached him, he sat bolt upright.  He got a squad of men together, and then went with them to care for their guests.  Jordan was too tired to resist. 

The commander recognized the dragon immediately.  He told his guards to take very special care not to harm Dylandar by accident. 

Meanwhile, he checks out Jordan. 

Jordan managed to rouse himself to speak.  “You’re not with the Governor?” he managed.

“No” said the commander.

“Who are you then?”

“We’re friends.  That’s all I can tell right now.  You need to rest.”

Jordan went to sleep.  The commander stayed by his side until an aide called him away.  Dylandar had come out of unconciousness.

The commander was eager to meet with Dylandar, as they had met before.

Dylandar was lying against the chamber wall of the chamber they had put him in to recover.  Dylandar was currently checking his scales when the commander knocked.

“Come in.”  Said Dylandar.

The commander did so.

“Quentan!  You made it!”

“Yes, well it was not easy.  They had me at the gallows before I was rescued.  But how did you get out of the tower?  We tried to get you out of there multiple times, but the guards pushed us back each time.”

“It was the man that was with me that got us out.  He has this ring that somehow or another unlocked my cell door.  He then helped me fight off the guards and…”

“Wait a second… You’re telling me that his ring opened the cell door.  Only an Arbiter’s ring can do that!”

“An Arbiter’s ring?  What’s that?”

“Your parents didn’t explain what an Arbiter was?”

“They just told me to trust the one assigned to our island, and that she would protect us from bad magic.  When she died Mom and Dad were extremely worried for the island.”

“They well should have been.  Iralin was one of the best.  Anyway, an arbiter is esentially a wizard’s police man.  They used to regulate magic usage throughout Astoria.  They were given immense autonomy, and were sworn to protect Astoria to the Death.  Iralin probably would have saved us the trouble of the wizard that the governor brought with him.  Curse that assasin.”

“But how?  I just can’t see a man of his stature taking on a wizard.”

Quentan now made a face as though he were about to tell a great secret.

“Well, you know that ring he has?”

“Yes?”

“It’s more than a ring.  It’s an arbiter’s toolkit.  When they fully activate it, they are encased in a suit of armor that is highly resistant to any force, including magic. The rings also give the bearer a battle instinct that only the best warriors can match.”

“That explains a lot. But how does he activate it?  I mean the armor.  He admited to me that before he got the ring, he did not know how to use the sword.”

“Arbiter rings only respond to those destined to wield them.  Other than that, I am not sure.  That they themselves keep a closely guarded secret.”

“Anyways, that battle must have been something.  By the way, what’s his name?”

“His name is Jordan Reynard.  He comes from a place without dragons, or magic.”

“You mean like one of the western settlements on the mainland…”

“No, not unless one of them is called Earth.”

Quentan was shocked by this.

“There have been whisperings of such a place, but I never believed that it existed… and now you’re telling me that a person has come from that world into ours?”

“Yes, and he says he has a boat that the governor and his flunkies captured before they brought him to the tower.” Said Dylandar.

“Our harbor spy told us of a very strange boat going into the impound lot.  She says that the governor ordered that nobody may go aboard it, much less take anything from it.”

Dylandar thought for a second.  “He said the was very fast and much more maneuverable than our sailing ships.”

“If Jantrosta managed to replicate that...  We’ve got to either sink or get that ship out of their hands.”

“The good news is that only Jordan knows how to operate it right now.”

“Yeah, speaking of him, I told him to get some rest.  And so should you.”

“Alright.  See you in the morning.”

Quentan steped outside the chamber.  One of his aides approached him.  He chatted with Quentan, and then walked off.  Quentan went to his quarters, and changed for bed.  Before he laid down for the night, he dug out a photograph.

The photograph looked old, and was in black and white.  It showed a picture of a pretty young lady. 

“Someday.” Said Quentan.

He got into bed and went to sleep.

Chapter 6

Jordan woke at noon the next day.  He felt much better from the previous night before, and found some clothes on a table.  The clothing consisted of a white cotton shirt, a pair of black pants, some socks, and some loose fitting boots.  He was especially glad for the boots, as the guards had not allowed him to fetch his off his boat when he was captured.  The clothes were loose fitting, but otherwise fine to wear. 

As he got dressed, he thought about what had happened in the past two days since his arrival in this land.  He had been beaten, battered, and bruised almost from the moment of his arrival.  He then thought about what the Arbiter-General said.  He was this land’s only hope for some reason, and he only knew how to use part of the ring’s powers. 

“We’ll play this by ear.” he said to himself.

He finished getting dressed, and heard a knock on the door.  Jordan moved to open it, and found the same aide that had talked with Quentan last night at the door.

“The commander would like to have breakfast with you.  If you would please follow me.” Said the aide.

“Sure I kind of wanted to talk to him anyway.”

They walked down the corridors at a fairly brisk clip.  The hallways were lit with skylights of odd shapes about every ten feet.  Had Jordan been on the surface, he would have found only rocks, because these rocks had been spelled to be transparent in one direction, but look normal the other side.  The tunnels also had extremely strong glass floors to let light through from outside. 

Jordan and the aide reached the intersection of two tunnels, and turned.  At the end of the corridor they turned onto, was a set of double doors.  They proceeded to them and the aide opened them.  Jordan saw a particularly large skylight above this room, and several good-sized tables that men and women were eating at. 

The aide led Jordan on to a table where Quentan was waiting. 

Chapter 7:

The plans for the re-taking of Jordan’s boat commensed in the morning.  Quentan had decided to go ahead and help Jordan with the quest to liberate the towers. 

The plan was to seize the impound lot by force, then get the motorboat out of there.  Once free from the harbor guard, they would make a direct line for Capitol island.

Meanwhile,  Quentan was mustering his troops for the attack.  He chose a very few, so that they could be taken along when they got the boat.  He had them dress in civilian clothes so that they could blend in until they hit the dock.

He left one of his aides in charge and brought the troops out of hiding.  Jordan was with them.

“Men, I don’t need to tell you the importance of this mission.  If we fail, we die.  If we win, we have a chance to restore our city.” Said Quentan.

They went out a secret tunnel that lead into the city.  Dylandar went onto the roof to wait for the signal, careful to keep out of sight. 

Jordan was readying himself again.  He did not enjoy fighting, except in a courtroom.  Nevertheless, he knew this was important enough to fight for.

As they made their way to the impound dock, it began to rain. 

The impound dock was surrounded by a great stone wall, with a gate made of oak timbers, and a lattice grid gate behind that. 

They followed a cart in, and began to shoot guards.  

The governor’s guards responded immediately by trading fire with the resistance group.

In the meantime, Jordan felt his combat insticts take over again.  He reflexively drew his pistol, and began firing at the guards.  While he was still in control of his body, it made it so he could not miss a shot. 

Everyone, guards, Jordan and Rebels alike, were hiding behind various crates.

There were many ships in the impound lot, the majority being cargo vessels.  It was because of this that so many cargo crates were arround.

“Is this just the impound lot?” Yelled Jordan.

“Yes! The regular docks are not too buzy right now because of this.” He yelled back as he gestured at the dock.

“Where’s my boat?”

“At the end of the dock!”

Jordan fired another shot, felling another guard.

Two of the resistance members closed the gates so reinforcements could not arrive.

The guards of  the dockyard charged the resistance after their first volley.  Jordan took out quite a few before they reached his position.

He drew his sword, and slashed a guard before he knew what hit him.  Despite this, the other people were being overwhelmed. 

Quentan realized this, and brought out a whistle.  He blew it, but no sound came out, at least that humans could hear.  However, Dylandar, who was on a nearby roof, heard quite clearly.

Just as it appeared that Jordan and Quentan were about to be overrun by about 10 guards, when a blast of blue white fire accompanying a whooshing sound charred the guards where they stood.  He did similar things to the rest of the guards, until they brought out a gattling gun.  Dylandar was then forced to land and take cover with the rest of the resistance. 

They gradually picked off the guards, except the gattling gun crew.  Jordan eventually got them as well.

This was their chance to break for the boat. There were now soldiers on the outside banging against the gate, and many were shouting for ladders.

The remnants of the resistance group, including Dylandar, Jordan, and Quentan ran for the boat.

They boarded and loaded as many supplies as they could from the dock.  They managed to load a few cases of bullets and food onboard.  As an afterthought, they brought the gattling gun as well.  They secured it to the deck.

Only two of Quentan’s soldiers had survived the battle, but they were still very lucky to have made it this far.  Suddenly, from very far away, a bolt of red fire zipped past Jordan’s Boat.

Quentan turned to see the smoldering remains of the gate, with the governor in the lead of the troops behind it.  Two more of his troops went down. 

When Quentan saw this and opened up with the gattling gun, which forced the governor and his company to take cover.  They dived behind crates again and went immediately on the defensive.

The governor himself was hurling magic bolts at the ship.  He was a pretty bad shot, but the bolts he hurled were pretty powerful.  In the meantime, his troops were advancing across the dock.

“Jordan get this tub out of here!” yelled Dylandar as he doged a magic bolt.

“I hear you!  Cut the docking lines!” commaded Jordan.  He then fetched the keys from the spot he had hidden them inside the cabin.  He then ran up the stairs to the bridge.

Dylandar slashed the lines and the yacht began to drift.  The last of Quentan’s soldiers was felled by a bullet at the same instant.

Then Quentan piped in “Jordan, we’ve just lost Garnet!”

By this time, Jordan had reached the captain’s chair.  He pulled out the keys, and inserted them into the ignition.  Jordan immediately turned the key. 

Everyone except Jordan in the dockyard was surprised as the engine started with a roar.  Jordan double checked to make sure that the docking lines were loose, then put the yacht in full reverse. 

Dylandar had just landed behind Reynard on the roof, and was knocked down by the unexpected movement.  Quentan, who was managing the machine gun, kept his balance, but stopped firing for a second all the same.  Bullets from the battle that had just hit his skin and either stuck there,

The governor had aimed a magic bolt right at Jordan’s head when he did this, and it missed by only a few inches. 

As soon as he had turned the yacht around, Jordan steered it out towards the open ocean.  He got it up to half speed, and watched the governor and the dock receded into the distance. 

The sailing ships of the harbor guard attempted to block their exit, but none of them succeeded.  Their cannonballs fell in the water around the ship, and nobody got even close. 

Several naval ships from the harbor guard tried to persue.  They put out all their sails, and were actually catching up.  Their captains assumed an easy capture.

“Jordan!” yelled Dylandar.

“What?” replied Jordan.

“The ships are gaining on us!” 

Dylandar, who by this time was in the cabin, fell down again.  Once again, bullets fell off his hide.

The ships, who by this time were receeding dots in the distance, slowly turned around and headed for port.

Chapter 8:

Quentan was sitting in the captain’s chair.  Jordan had shown him how to operate the controls, and he was navigating the boat towards their destination.  He was having a fairly good time figuring out how to control it.

Dylandar and Jordan were busy picking bullets out of the dragon’s scales. 

Jordan had just picked another minnie ball that was wedged in very tight. “Ouch!” said Dylandar.

“I  thought you said dragon scales were impenetrable by swords and bullets.” Grumbled Jordan.

Jordan gave up on trying to get the bullets out without tools.

Dylandar and Jordan were down in the main cabin.  The dragon was rummaging arround looking at his entirely new setting.

“Jordan?” asked Dylandar.

“Yes?” said Jordan.

“What’s this?”

Jordan looked up and saw that Dylandar held a compact disk in one of his claws.

“Oh.  That’s a CD.  That’s short for compact disk.  My people use it to store music.”

“What do you mean?”

Jordan got up and went over to the hi-fi.

“You place the CD in this thing here, press this button, and…”

The music turned on with a hard rock theme.  It was so loud that Jordan jumped.  He then immdediately turned down the volume.

“What’s going on down there? Is there anything wrong?” asked Quentan from the cockpit.

“No just showing off the Stereo to Dylandar.”  Replied Jordan.

Jordan saw that Dylandar was delighted with this, and showed him his entire collection of CDs. 

Eventually, Quentan wanted to go to sleep, so Jordan showed Dylandar how headphones worked, and took over piloting the ship.

Jordan piloted the ship for a while, then roused Dylandar for watch duty.  Jordan showed him the controls in case of an emergency.  He then went to the cabin and went to sleep.

As dawn came, Quentan woke up, and walked around the ship.  It looked as though he was looking for something.  He went back to the main cabin, and then waked Jordan.

“Jordan?”  Quentan asked.

“Mmm… Wha?”  Jordan said sleepily.

“How do you cook food around here?  I don’t see anything even remotely resembling a fire pit or a coal stove.”

“Cooking?  Oh.  Follow me.”  Jordan was still half-asleep.

Jordan went to the far end of the main cabin, opened the valve on the propane tank under a stove, lit the burners, and took out a skillet.

“Thank you.  What would you like for breakfast?”

Jordan thought for a second, and decided.

“We ought to use up the stuff in the refrigerator first, so I think that I’ll have bacon and eggs.  What would you like?”

“I don’t know.  What’s a refrigerator?” 

Jordan pointed to, what looked like to Quentan, a white box.  “See that?  Open up the door and see what food you like.”

Quentan opened the door, and found something he would not have thought possible.  Inside the refrigerator, he rummaged around until he found something he thought interesting.

“What are these?” 

Jordan glanced over his shoulder and said “Those are maraschino cherries.  Good on ice cream, bad for breakfast.”

“Oh.  Well then, I think I’ll have what you’re having.”

“Okay, now… Could you hand me the big white carton on the top shelf.  It’s got the eggs in it.”

He got it down and handed it to Jordan.

Jordan then remembered Dylandar.  “I’m going to go check on Dylandar.  Could you finish cooking the eggs?”

“Sure.”

Jordan took the stairs up to the bridge.  He saw Dylandar staring attentively at the controls.  He was staring at a radar screen.

“Hello, Jordan.  I accidently pressed this button, and this screen came on. What does it do?” the dragon asked.

“That’s a radar screen.  It detects objects in our way, so we can see them coming.  See how you just see the rotating line right now?  That means we’re clear all around… Anyway, I came up to ask what you wanted for breakfast.”

“Oh, what do you have?”

“Well, actually I was wondering what Dragons eat?”

“Generally, a lot of meat, with a few vegetables to balance out the diet.  Personally I like beef, and maybe a little fish.  The stuff they gave me in the tower hardly qualified as edible materiel,  so I’m looking foreward to see what you’ve got.”

“Well, I put some hot dogs in that you can have.”

“I don’t eat dogs.”  Dylandar said defensively.

“No, no!  It’s not like that.  It’s just processed beef.”

Dylandar looked relieved.  “Oh. Well if that’s what you mean, that’s just fine. I’ll see how they taste.”

“Cooked or uncooked?”

“Uncooked.”

“Breakfast’s ready!” Yelled Quentan from the galley.

“You go down there.  I’ll be there in a second.  I need to stop us for a second.” Said Jordan.

Dylandar and Quentan were already at the table, although Dylandar was on the floor. 

Jordan go the Hotdogs out of the fridge and gave them to Dylandar.  Jordan and Quentan dug into the other food.  They ate for awhile until Jordan asked a question.

“How long until we reach Capitol Island?” he asked.

“About 3 days. From your description, I don’t think we should land on the island itself.  From your description it could be too dangerous.  We’ll land on one of the barrier islands surrounding the main port.  If I remember right, the tower should be fairly close to the entrance.”  Quentan replied.

They then finished breakfast, and went back to their stations.  Quentan went up and started navigating the boat again.  Dylandar was still fascinated with the CD player, so he went back to listening to it.  Jordan listened with him.

“You know, some of this music sounds quite similar to dragon music.” Said Dylandar

“Really?” replied Jordan.

“Yes.  Dragons can play most human musical instruments, except for the ones that humans blow into.  What are they called?”

“What are these?” 

Jordan glanced over his shoulder and said “Those are marachino cherries.  Good on ice cream, bad for breakfast.”

“Oh.  Well then, I think I’ll have what you’re having.”

“Okay, now… Could you hand me the big white carton on the top shelf.  It’s got the eggs in it.”

He got it down and handed it to Jordan.

Jordan then remembered Dylandar.  “I’m going to go check on Dylandar.  Could you finish cooking the eggs?”

“Sure.”

Jordan took the stairs up to the bridge.  He saw Dylandar staring attentively at the controls.  He was staring at a radar screen.

“Hello, Jordan.  I accidently pressed this button, and this screen came on. What does it do?” the dragon asked.

“That’s a radar screen.  It detects objects in our way, so we can see them coming.  See how you just see the rotating line right now?  That means we’re clear all around… Anyway, I came up to ask what you wanted for breakfast.”

“Oh, what do you have?”

“Well, actually I was wondering what Dragons eat?”

“Generally, a lot of meat, with a few vegtables.  Personally I like beef, and maybe a little fish.”

“Well, I put some hot dogs in that you can have.”

“I don’t eat dogs.”  Dylandar said defensively.

“No, no!  Its not like that.  It’s just processed beef.”

Dylandar looked relieved.  “Oh. Well if that’s what you mean, that’s just fine. I’ll see how they taste.”

“Cooked or uncooked?”

“Uncooked.”

“Breakfast’s ready!” Yelled Quentan from the galley.

“You go down there.  I’ll be there in a second.  I need to stop us for a second.” Said Jordan.

Dylandar and Quentan were already at the table, although Dylandar was on the floor. 

Jordan go the Hotdogs out of the fridge and gave them to Dylandar.  Jordan and Quentan dug into the other food.  They ate for awhile until Jordan asked a question.

“How long until we reach Capitol Island?”

“About 3 days. From your description, I don’t think we should land on the island itself.  From your description it could be dangerous, unless you figure out how to use the ring.”

“Okay, so what do we do?”

“There’s an island that is very close to Capitol Island, called Formosa.  It’s tiny, and uninhabited for the fact that it could not support much more than a few people.  It has a rock fortress on the end of it, and it will make an excellent base camp.  No sane person would look for us this close to Capitol Island.”

“Ah.”

Dylandar, in the meantime was munching on the hot dogs.  There was a small spurt of flame as he roasted one in his claws.  He took a bite out of one and commented, “These “Hot dogs” taste a lot like sausages, but a lot greasier.  I really don’t like calling them “dogs” though.  Is there another name for them?”

“Yes, some people in my world like to call them franks.” Replied Jordan.

“Franks?”

“Short for Frankfurter.”

“Oh.”

Quentan came back to talking.  “Once on the island, we’ll be free to figure out how your ring works, and you’ll be able to deactivate the tower. 

They all finished up breakfast, and went back to their posts. 

The day wore on, and nothing really eventful happened.  The three occupants of the boat traded watches all day, while piloting the boat.  Dylandar still could not steer very easily, so they had to watch where he was going.

Other than this, the day passed without event.

Chapter 9:

Night also gradually came, and Dylandar was listening to the stereo again. 

“Incredible…” said Dylandar.

“What?” replied Quentan.

“This music sounds like something I heard once when my parents were still around.  I heard it when a group of dragons preformed it in a park on one of my visits to Capitol Island with my parents.  I remember lying there on Grand Promenade, with my father and mother.  It was a spring day, where it just felt great to do nothing.  My parents were on a break from a conference, so they could join me.  There were many other people listening other than just dragons as well. Although the language and words are different, they still sound similar to the song I heard.”

“Really?  I’ve never thought of what dragon music sounds like.”

“Most of the music humans make contains some form of those strange things humans put their mouths to… what do you call them… Trumpets.”

“Oh, that’s right.  It makes sense that dragons wouldn’t be able to use anything that requires lips like humans have.”

“And dwarves and elves as well.”

“Oh right.  They might as well be here as well.  All the other mythical speices are.”

The boat began slowing down, meaning that it was time to change pilots. 

“Look’s like Quentan’s getting tired.  Talk to you later.” 

Jordan got up and walked to the ladder. Quentan looked up and saw he was there.  He then vacated the seat so Jordan could sit in it.

The ocean was getting choppier, which required more of Jordan’s attention to keep on course when he was on watch.  What started out as 5 foot swells began to grow to 10 feet.  Enough for the 30 foot vessel to worry about. 

He handed off the watch to Quentan, who by this time was pretty proficent with the boat’s steering, and went to sleep in the cabin. 

Jordan woke up a few hours later to the sound of a wave crashing over the bow.  Two seconds later, he heard Dylandar, who had taken the watch. “Jordan?!!”

Jordan got up and moved to the bridge.  “What’s wrong?”

Dylandar showed Jordan the radar screen.  

Chapter 10:

The screen showed a gigantic blob of green coming their way, and there was no land in sight, and some very ugly clouds with lighting flashing in sheets.  This could only mean one thing, and a very bad thing at that.  A hurricane.

“Great… Just great.” Muttered Jordan. 

Quentan was roused by the wave motion and also came up on to the cockpit.  When he saw the thunderclouds on the horizon, he realized that they were in deep trouble.

“Jordan, we have to turn this boat arround now!”  he shouted over the roar of the waves.

“We can’t.”  Jordan stated as he saw a particularly large wave loom ahead.

“Why in the name of Almighty God can’t we do that?”

“We only have one day worth of fuel left.” Jordan said as he jammed the throttle forward and steered the boat into the wave.  “You two get down below and secure anything that isn’t tied down already, including yourselves.  Then hold on tight.  We’ve got a rough day ahead.” Jordan said as he rammed the throttle forward.  Jordan then buclked his seatbelt.

They complied without question.  As they went up the wave, they managed to put most of the stuff in the cabin in a random cabinet.  Then they started to go down the other side of the wave. 

When they started, quentan was near the middle of the cabin still standing on two feet.  As the cabin shifted downwards, he began to loose his balance.  He lost is fully as soon as the deck tilted more.  Quentan fell to the floor and slid forewards. 

As Quentan slid along the floor, he accidentally pulled on the headphones that Dylandar had plugged into the CD player.  The force of his fall was at just the right angle to pull out the headphones.  The music that was playing suddenly blasted out of the speakers. 

A second later, Dylandar was sent off balance by another jolt, and went flying.  He landed on top of Quentan.

Quentan let out a gust of air as the dragon landed on top of him.  Dylandar’s claws just barely missed him.  Instead, he landed on his claws, and punched holes through the wall and the floor. 

“That was close”  Said Quentan

Then they started to go up the next wave.

Meanwhile  on the bridge, Jordan heard the ruckus downstairs, although he was too busy to think about it.  He steered his yacht down the slope of the wave, keeping it on course.  As the ship reached the bottom, a wave went over the railing and washed past the cockpit, temporarily blinding Jordan. 

As his vision cleared, he forced the ship over the next wave, and then the lyrics of the song playing inserted themselves into his brain. 

The song was called “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”  This song was on the cd that Dylandar said sounded like draconic music.

Jordan rolled his eyes and hit the accelerator again.

At this same time, as ship approached  Honatat Island. 

It was a courrier ship from Trenta, the new capital of the regieme that took over the island from the Astoria council. 

Docking lines went off the boat and a very unusual messenger came off.  He was dressed in a very neat black leather suit.  On a shoulder strap he carried a large dagger. 

A very similar black coach to the one that picked up Jordan, but with windows, came down the street.  It stopped and picked him up. 

The coach turned down the street, and went towards a mansion.  The mansion was a two story affair, not so dissimilar to a colonial one on Earth.  It was ringed with a wroght iron fence. The coach turned on to the half-circle driveway, and stopped in front of the main doors. 

The man in black got out and went to the front door.  He opened it forcefully, with a direct purpose. 

As he went inside, the guards immediately recoiled in fear.  They immediately got out of the way.  The man in black headed up the marble stair case.

Upstairs, the governor was at his desk.  He was looking at a paper and about to laugh out loud when the man in black came through the door.

“Governor, this had better be good.  I’ve got other pressing matters to take care of for Jantrosta.”  Said the man in black.

“Oh I assure you it’s worth your time.  Follow me.”  Said the Governor. “if for nothing more than the lunacy of it.”

“Cut the talk and show me.”

The governor pushed a button under his desk.  A book case on the wall swung out silently.  Beyond the former wall there was a small spiral stair case.

“You always did have a flair for the dramatic, Derno.”  Said the man in black.

The spiral staircase opened downward, beyond the skylight that kept it lit, it was dark.  As they decended it, the two men lit small magical fires to light the way. 

They eventually reached the bottom, when they reached a long stone hallway.

There were two green uniformed guards standing watch. 

“Sir!”  As both snapped to attention.

“Take us to our most recent guest.”  Replied the governor. 

“Yes Sir!” said the guards, then they marched off.  The governor and black suited man followed. 

They went down to the end of the hall, and the guards stopped.  One of them took out a key, while the other one guarded for escape attempts.

The governor and other man stepped into the cell.  Inside there was a prisoner chained to the wall.  He was one of the men who attacked the dockyard.  He had been severely wounded, but had survived.

“You brought me to see a prisoner?”  said the man in the black suit.

“Not just any prisoner.  He has a very special story to tell us.”  Replied the governor. 

“Never.” Replied the prisoner.

The man in black stood for a second, smiled viciously, and said “Oh, I don’t know about that…”

“I was rather hoping you’d say that.”  Said the governor.

“I know.”

The man in black took off his glove, and a red glowing light was on his fingertips.  He touched his hand to the helpless prisoner’s forehead.

The man screamed for a second or two, then went limp.  A very glossy look had come over his eyes, and he did not look coherent.

“Yes, now what was that story we were talking about?”

“The Arbiter?” replied the gasping prisoner.

“What Arbiter?  There are no Arbiters.”

“One man.  Found ring.  Works for him.”

The man in black was slightly puzzled, as he had personally helped in the extermination of the arbiters.  This news was potentially dangerous to him, but also was exhilerating.  He was sure Jantrosta would send him after this man. 

“Where did he say he was going?”

“No one supposed to know.  Overheard North.  Capitol.”

“See what a humorous tale?”  said the Governor. “Why would anyone want to go there?”

“I’d stop laughing if I were you.  You’re already in more trouble than you’re worth for losing that ship he escaped with.  Letting an Arbiter loose on the world will be inexcusible to Jantrosta.  I ought to save him the trouble.”  He said as he drew his dagger.  “But then again, you are his cousin, so he may be lenient.  Slightly.”  He resheathed the dagger.

“At any rate you have given me very urgent buissiness to pursue.  Oh, and before I go, is there anything else you want to ask our pathetic little friend here?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact.” Dermo said. “I have grown tired of asking this of every prisoner I capture. So this looks like it will be the last time.”  He smiled and composed himself and asked “Where is the rebel base?” 

Suddenly, the prisoner’s eyes snapped into focus.  He strained against his chains, and was attempting to get to the man in black’s weapon.  He succeeded in catching the man in black by surprize, and grabbing his weapon, but no more than that.

The man in black calmly stepped out of range of the man in chains, and drew a throwing knife from his boot.  He threw it with force, and it stabbed the prisoner in the heart.

The prisoner dropped dead almost instantly, and fell onto the floor. 

“Very strong minded individual.  He should have stayed like that for hours.”

The man in black retrieved his weapons, sheathed them, and exited the cell.  The governor was in shock and stayed behind.

The man in black went up the spiral staircase, and exited the mansion in the coach he arrived in.  Its interior was luxurious red velvet, which the man in black sat down on immediately. 

He ordered the driver back to the dock, and thought to himself.

“An Arbiter…  this will be a challenge, but no more.  This one sounds very inexperienced, almost as though he found his ring after we took them all.”

His coach arrived at his ship, and he got off.  “Captain!”  he yelled

“Yes sir” came the reply

“How long until we are fully supplied?”

“Another Hour at least sir.”

“Very Well.  At the end of that hour, we will set sail again for Trenta.”

“The men won’t like that sir…  You said they could have shore leave as soon as you returned…”

“Tough.  If they thought I wanted to go here for a vacation, I would have hired the cheapest crew possible.”

“Yes sir.”  Said the captain dejectedly.

When afternoon came it was freezing rain in the face of a hurricane westwind.” Sang whoever the CD was by.

“Dylandar!  Turn that accursed thing off!”  Growled Jordan.

“I Can’t.  It’s on some sort of repeating cycle.”  Shouted the dragon as his claws shreaded the carpet on the floor of the main cabin as he slid, as well as the off button on the CD Player.  He slammed into a wall and hung on to a handhold he had found earlier.

Quentan was on the oposite side of the room, holding on for dear life as well.

“When supper time came the old cook came on deck, saying “fellas it’s too rough to feed ya.”” Continued the CD.

Jordan looked back up and saw the biggest wave yet come to assault the ship. It towered over the Surprise, was at its highest point, thirty feet. 

“At seven p.m. the main hatchway caved in he said “fellas it’s been good to know ya.””

This wave broke over top of the yacht and sent water washing over the bow.  The force of this wave also knocked out the door to the cabin, sending water rushing into the cabin. 

Dylandar and Quentan, thoroughly soaked and cold, finally managed to make it back to the bridge. 

“The captain wired in he had water coming in, and the good ship and crew was in peril.”

“It’s not pretty down there Jordan.”  Said Quentan as he skidded into the cockpit, with the song in the background.  “The main hatch on the starboard side is leaking.”

Jordan saw the next wave loom in the distance.

“Quentan, strap Dylandar into the seat over there.  You get the other seat.”

The next wave, which was not nearly as big as the last one, came through.  Water still broke over the bow, but not nearly as much. 

“Does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”  went the CD

Jordan glanced at the radar screen.  Amazing that it was still working, it showed an incredibly wide swath cutting into the storm clouds about ten miles from their position.  He looked out the window and saw it as well. 

“This is just odd.” He said.

“What?”  said Quentan

“A few miles ahead, there’s a clear area, and some land beyond that!”

“That would be our destination.  Valparise island.”

“But why would the storm and wind and waves quit.  There’s nothing to stop them?”

“The capitol’s weather control magic must still be working.  It unleashes storms like this at around this time of the year, to keep the balance of nature, but protects the area around the Capitol.”

“Five more miles to go!” Shouted Jordan as another wave broke over the bow.

The gattling gun, which had miraculously been able to hold on for this long, suddenly broke loose.  It careened over the side, and was then only held on by a single rope.

The waves were gradually getting smaller, and the storm less feirce.  Both wind and waves graduallly declined.  Eventuallly, the sea became almost as smooth as glass.

They brought the gun back on, and resecured it.

Chapter 10

Jordan and company made landfall about nightfall.

“I think it’s safe to assume that nobody followed us” said Jordan.

The island itself had a very wide crushed coral beach. It was slightly overgrown with now dry driftwood, which the travellers promptly turned into firewood.  Dylandar lit it with his flame, and settled next to it to warm up.  Beyond that, it was a dense jungle. 

Quentan and Jordan in the meantime tried to figure out how to activate the ring’s powers.

“I’ve already tried thinking about it, so its obvious that’s not it.”  Said Jordan.

“Maybe one has to have a certain amount of magical ability, in which case, this could take some time…”

“Whatever.  I don’t see anything we can do for tonight, so lets rest.”

“Yes, I do believe that would be a prudent option right now.”  Agreed Quentan.

He got up and walked to the ship, which had been tied to a tree on shore.  Quentan and Jordan ate some food, while Dylandar went fishing.

Dylandar came back with a decent amount of it, and started chewing on it. 

The night went on, and Jordan’s companions fell asleep.  Dylandar slept fairly quietly, while Quentan made occasional snoring noises.

Jordan sat up late that night on the beach, palming his ring.  He had so many questions about it, and none of them seemed to be getting answered.

He wanted to help the people of this land desperately, but the only way he saw did not seem available to him.  From what Quentan had told him about the ring, it seemed that it could be activated simply and quickly, yet he had tried everything he could think of to activate it.  Yet it still would not budge.

Then a sudden thought occurred to him.  Why not just touch the gemstone?  It looked almost like a button anyway.

No… that was too easy…

“Oh, why not.  It couldn’t hurt anything.” He said to himself. 

Please work he thought.

He touched the ring’s gemstone.  The ring suddenly turned warm, but not unpleasantly so.

“What the?”

The warmth spread all along his body, and as it did so, a blue metal seemed to flow along with it.  It came out in plates, yet it rolled all along his body as if it were liquid.

About five seconds after the warmth began, he felt the shifting of the metal stop, and looked down at his feet.  His entire body was encased in the blue armor, from head to toe.

He also felt stronger, somehow fortified, as though not only his body, but his spirit had been strengthened as well. 

He looked over at Dylandar, and Quentan.  They were both still sound asleep.

Jordan then remembered what he had promised the Arbiter-General.  He also realized he had to hurry, if he was to try and talk with the dragon.

He had to get going onward to Capitol Island.

Surprisingly, Dylandar and Quentan slept through Jordan’s startup of the Yacht, both woke at about the same time. 

“Well, Jordan… I hope you got some good sleep.” Said Dylandar.

There was no response. 

“Jordan?”

Still no response.

Dylandar immediately rolled over to get up, and rolled into a bottle that was not there last night.  The next thing he noticed however was that the boat was gone.

“Quentan!”

“What?”  Grumbled quentan.

“There’s no boat.” Replied the dragon

“There’s no boat?”  he asked hazily.

“And no Jordan.”

“Do a flyover and see what you can see.  And let me sleep.  Going through a huricane may be standard routine for a dragon, but humans rarely do it more than once.”  Grumbled Quentan.  “Except for sailors.”  He added quickly.

“Very well, but I doubt we’ll find anything.”

Dylandar did the flyover, and thought he saw the boat about to reach the island.

“He’s about to the island Quentan!”

Back on the ground, Quentan found the bottle.  Thinking it was still full of water, he uncorked it.  Instead, a message left by Jordan came out.

For a moment he just stared at it, then unrolled it.

“I think Jordan left us a note!”  Shouted Quentan as Dylandar descended down to ground level.

“What does it say?  He better have a very good reason.”

Dylandar reached Quentan’s side.  Quentan was looking at the piece of paper, a letterhead from Jordan’s office.  He was turning it every direction imaginable in order to discover its message.

“Well, what does it say?  I can’t read it.”  Said the dragon.

“I can’t read this either.  It must be Jordan’s native language.  Without him arround we have no way of deciphering it.”  Pondered Quentan

If they had been able to read it, it would have said:

Reynard and Associates

1116D Independence Street

Boston Massachusetts

“We fight to the last.”

Dylandar and Quentan:

Sorry I could not leave you more than this note.  Have figured out arbiter ring.  Heading for Capitol.  You can’t help.  Stay on Island.

“I wonder what it says…” asked Dylandar.

Jordan's boat gradually approached the blue field surrounding Capitol Island.  Beyond that, dark shapes loomed behind it.

Jordan had slowed the boat to a crawl, judging his situation.  He made up his mind.  He re-activated his ring, and hit the throttle to enter the field.

The field made a rippling motion as the boat passed through, so much that Jordan almost expected a splashing sound of some sort.

None came.  In fact, once he was always through the field, nothing made any noise.  Not even his engine.   was moving either.

The whole place felt very empty to him.  Everything he saw had a bluish tinge from the light that came throughout the stasis field. 

Jordan tried to urge the boat forward, but it would not budge.

"Alright.  Guess I'll have to swim for the shore."  Jordan said to himself.

Jordan went down to the gunwale, gathering his weapons on the way.  His gun slipped into its holster, and he fastened his sword belt around his waist.  He then proceeded to the edge of the boat.

Jordan expected a soft landing in the water.  Instead, he felt as though he landed on concrete. 

Jordan picked himself up, and slipped on the water, which was frozen in place by the Stasis spell. 

This time he got up carefully, and headed for shore.  It took him a gradual effort to make it to shore, but he eventually made it by sort of skating.

He reached the sand, and felt it give beneath his feet, like normal sand.  Directly ahead was a tall forest. 

It was then Jordan noticed his first the being in front of him.  The person was frozen in time like the rest of the scene before him.  the person also had pointed ears, and looked masculine.

He had a fairly slender sword tucked into his scabbard, with an elaborate hilt.

"This has got to be one of the elves Dylandar was talking about."  said Jordan

Jordan approached the rise of the dune the elf was standing on.  When Jordan stood next to him, he saw that the forest beyond that was more than just a forest.  It was a city.

The city had houses built into the trees, and was full of elves.  

Then he noticed a green pulsating glow coming from his left.  It was the tower he had come to deactivate.  He left the despairing scene, and journeyed towards the light.

It was down the beach, and a very long way off.  It looked a lot shorter just to cut through the forest, so he walked through the Elven city.

Elves were frozen stiff everywhere, although it was not exclusively elves.  As Jordan walked, he examined the occupants of the city and found a mix of humans and elves, with the occasional dragon.

Jordan gradually reached the end of the forest-city.  It opened up out into a large field, with a great large fat-based building in the middle.

This building was circular in configuration and had many large sweeping balconies.  In some of these balconies, dragons were preparing to take flight. 

Jordan saw the light from the tower continue to gleam beyond the structure.  He began to break into a run, to get to the tower.

As he ran, Jordan saw many dragons flying or sunning themselves on the pristine looking grass.  A dragon Jordan passed particularly close to had a very contented look on her face. 

While Jordan looked at this, and nearly tripped over what the dragon was looking at.  He stopped very abruptly, and looked down.  He saw that he nearly tripped over an elf-child.

The human child was headed towards a dragon child, and a human kid who stood next to it.  Jordan suddenly realized that he had been given a snapshot in time to look at.

All of these children had looks of shear joy on their faces.  Jordan reached over and touched the face of one of these children and looked into their eyes.

  Jordan now saw just how evil Jantrosta was.  Instead of merely wiping them all out, he imprisoned them so that they were effectively dead, but without all the mess, and trapping so many innocent souls who were not a threat to him.  This was not the action of a good man, but of a madman.

Jordan drew back his gauntleted hand and clenched his fist.  He would not let this happen. 

Jordan felt a fire light within him.  He would not let this happen to a people such as this, who were united despite their differences.

He stood up and straightened himself, and ran towards the lighthouse.

***

Unbeknownst to Jordan, day had passed into night on the outside world, but he continued on, oblivious.  The grassland seemed to slope on forever.

Gradually, the road became more paved, and refined into the products of human settlement.  As Jordan reached the crest of one final hill, he discovered that a vast human settlement was in a valley between two sets of coastal cliffs.  This city was the cleanest looking one he had ever seen, with no signs of urban blight.  There was a fire watchtower in the middle of the city, like the descriptions of Chicago before the fire, except with mostly stone buildings. 

In fact, most of the buildings were of incredible architecture.  One of them in particular reminded him of the national archives.

The scenes were similar here as they were in the Elven part of the island.  Merchants were setting up their carts for the day.  Birds were flying through the air, and everyone was going about their business as normal. The occasional policeman was walking his beat, one, even in the middle of an arrest of a theif.

Jordan ignored the scenery and made his way to the other coast, where beyond the water, was the tower. 

He went up the road that led to it, and found a large military base at the top of the tower.  It was much larger than the base at Honatat’s tower. 

It was an brick and earthworks fortification, in a star shape, with its ravelin facing out towards the road.  The cliffs surrounded it on 3 sides. 

Jordan progressed to find the gate locked, so he climbed up the side of the fort by a ladder, which had been conveniently left on the side of the wall.  Stairs led down to the base of the tower. 

Jordan found the actual compound inside a bustling nest of activity.  Soldiers were rushing out of the barracks which lined the inner compound.  Some were only half dressed, but most had dark blue and silver laced uniforms on.  Even a couple of dragons were stirring in response to some unknown alarm.  the dragons were wearing arming jackets of the same color as the guards uniforms.

Jordan passed close to a couple of soldiers, who had looks of immense fear on their faces.  One of the dragons also looked concerned. 

Jordan walked through the scene, and found an external set of stairs around the tower.  He climbed up the narrow, rail-less stairway, and reached the top.

Inside the chamber, which was an exact duplicate of the one on Honatat.  Inside, was probably what was causing all the fuss outside.  Two guards who were on duty in the glass chamber were advancing towards something, with their rifles at the ready to club whatever it was. 

Jordan's heart raced for a second, wondering what it was.  To him it might have been a monster that he knew nothing about. 

In actuality, it was just a man in a billowing cloak. He had white hair and was grinning insanely at them.  Some sort of bluish magic was fading from his fingertips.

The guards were throwing him back from the glowing sphere.  Jordan re-focused on the task that had brought him here. 

He brought his ring hand close to the orb, like he accidentally did the first time.  The orb flashed and the magic was once again absorbed into the Arbiters ring in an electricity like arc.

Jordan by this point was exhaused and sat down.  He leaned against one of the lenses that focused the lighthouse beam, and let out a sigh of releif.  One more down, and three to go.  Jordan closed his eyes and began to rest.  This was when he heard a voice behind him.

"Greetings... Arbiter."

Chapter 11:

The air around Jordan rippled, and formed into a string of magically glowing lights.  These coalesced into a trail leading towards the mountain.

“Follow these lights to the Astorian Archives, where I await.”

The voice accompanying these lights was sort of like Dylandar’s but somehow more mature.  He then realized it was the same voice as the dragon who called him to the Island in the first place.

Jordan looked out upon the trail of lights and saw that it led towards the mountain.  He followed it, as he did not have much of a choice. 

The trail followed the main road out into the hills surrounding the city.  It led onward back through the open field and onward into the foot hills of the mountain.

Jordan gradually followed the road, reaching a gigantic cave opening.  The glowing lights led inside.  They led him into a beautifully designed antechamber.  It had murals along its walls and ceiling, and had magnificent arches.  The lights continued past what looked like a registration desk, and continued into a much larger chamber.

Jordan paused for a second, then entered the chamber.  The same dragon image that he had seen earlier when he had been summoned to the island was lying on the floor next to a dragon looking just like the shade of the dragon.  Aeskar was reading aloud from a book.

“Nobody thought that they were dangerous.  Throughout the history of Astoria, the Council has done numerous public works, which included the towers.  They were given magical lights so that no mere storm could stop their light from shining.  As an added feature, the towers were fitted with communication spells so that they could send messages to Capitol Island and Capitol could send them to the other islands."

The dragon turned the page

“For political reasons, the towers were placed on the other main islands in the area.  One for the humans on Fortia, One for the Elves on Eranyalon, one for the other Humans on Honatat, and one for the Dragons on Trenta.  For a good century, these towers worked perfectly, providing communications between the islands and navigational aid to ships at sea."

Aeskar went on to describe how Jantrosta, who was the leader of a signifigant faction of human superiorists, were kicked off the mainland and declaired outlaws by the Astoria Council, after raiding several elven and mixed-crew merchant ships and settlements.

Jantrosta became embittered towards the council and made plans for his revenge against the council.  It was he who discovered the ability to control staisis fields using the towers. 

The Astoria Council was aware of some of his plans, but not the full extent.  they assumed that he would just raid a few settlments and the Navy would track him down for punishment.

Instead, Jantrosta had something radically different in mind.  Jantrosta and his followers invaded Trenta Island.

In a lightning series of raids, they captured all the dragon elders, and their king.  Without the magic of these dragons, most of the dragons were helpless against the invaders.  They were forced into slavery almost overnight, by puting on Varn Collars.

Aeskar, who had managed to escape to the capitol, was put in command of the liberating fleet.  Forces were gathered from all over Astoria, including the mainland.  They expected an easy victory against Jantrosta. 

However, Jantrosta had expected this and put his other plan into effect.  He had agents who knew the charm to convert the towers very close to them.  When the Astorian fleet was fully assembled, the staisis spell was put into effect by wizards who immediately killed themselves afterwards to prevent them from being interrogated.

The last one to be activated was Capitol Island's tower.

By the time Aeskar finished explaining this in detail, Jordan had gotten a fairly good overview of recent astorian history.

Aeskar then noticed Jordan.  Somehow this dragon was more airy and distant,

"Oh.  It's you...  what was your name again?  I did not have time to get it the last time we met."

"Jordan Reynard."

The ghost-dragon pondered this for a while and asked "Reynard...  I'm not familiar with that surname...  where are you from?"

"Some place nobody arround here seems to have heard of.  It's called Earth."

"It does not matter anyway.  You need to get off this island before your ring stops protecting you.  Follow me."

"Aeskar?" asked Jordan

"Yes?" Replied the dragon

"I was wondering, how are you able to communicate with me?  The first time you talked to me I saw your body trapped like all the others."

Aeskar looked at Jordan for a second, then said "Touch me."

"Why?"

"Just do it.  You’ll see."

Jordan did as he was told, and tried to touch the dragon.  His gauntleted hand passed straight through.

"What you see of me is sort of a spirit-projection.  Only my Arbiter's ring enables me to do this.  It is one of the few powers left to me, and I can only project my image within a certain range, while leaving my body immobile.   The only other thing I can do is bring other arbiters with me to communicate with them.  Due to the limited range, I am confined to within the staisis field."

The dragon looked as though it was about to make the most important statement in his life, and Jordan knew it.

“You however, are not.  You may still escape from this place.”  Said Aeskar “Take my ring, and bring it down to the fleet.  In that fleet is a ship called the Pursuit.  Bring the ring aboard and put it on the capstan.  Then activate it.  The ship should be able to move out of the staisis field, and its crew will help you continue the quest.” Said the dragon.

“But wouldn’t that put you completely under the spell’s power.”

“Yes, but I do not matter.  Only you do.  In some ways, being completely trapped will be a blessing. You have about six hours left.  Now take the ring.  Its on my right foreclaw.”

Jordan came closer to the dragon’s body.  He touched the ring, which had a vivid green Emerald gemstone, and began pulling it off.  After a little resistance, it came easily. 

A subtle change came over Aeskar’s body.  Although Jordan could not have known it when he came in, the dragon’s body did not have the bluish tinge that everything else  on the island had.  That bluish coloration took hold as soon as the ring was off the dragon.

Aeskar’s spirit was drawn back into the inert body by the magic.  The translucent dragon had a look of immense anguish, feeling his thoughts going numb and being inexhorably forced back into his already trapped body.  He had just enough time to say one last thing.  “Tell my family, if you see them, I’m alive.”  This with a silent scream of anguish on his face, his form merged back into his staisis trapped body.

Jordan clenched his fist around the dragon’s ring, and went out of the archives.  He felt bad leaving the dragon there, but at the same time, he knew following the instructions the arbiter-general left him was more important. 

The ring was about a foot in diameter, and was heavy even with the added strength that was provided by Jordan’s ring.  Jordan brought it down off the mountain, at some points rolling it along the road, at other times carrying it. 

“Neccesity demands extreme measures”

Jordan carried it back across the field, through the forest, and arround the city, until he reached the dockside.  Jordan left the ring on the dock, taking note of some landmarks, and went back onto the frozen water. 

He then went out to the large group of ships in the the bay.  They consisted of all sorts of sailing ships in different configurations. 

There were ships of the line, with many rows of gunports upon their sides.  Jordan hoped that one of these was the Pursuit.  He checked each one, but none of them had the name plate he was looking for. 

There were some other rather odd looking ships, with dragons on their decks.  These had long flat decks with large openings below what looked like a pilot house, and unlike the rest of the ships, had no sails, yet there was a sizeable wake to it.  He assumed some sort of magical propulsion was at work with it.  He checked the nameplate, and it was also not the Pursuit

He had checked out almost all the ships, including the supply ships.  Jordan had reached the outskirts of the fleet.  He saw one last ship that was ahead of all the others.  It was a frigate that looked smaller than the other ships.  It had the figurehead of a dragon, and had just two rows of cannon. 

Jordan found the name plate and checked it.  This ship was the ship he was looking for. 

Jordan then realized that time was almost up.  Searching the fleet had eaten what time he had left.  He realized he had to hurry and get the ring back to the Pursuit.

He started to feel cold at his extremities by the time he got back to the dock.  Jordan’s ring was running out of energy, and he knew it.

Jordan wrestled the dragon’s ring all the way back down to the Pursuit.  It was getting harder and harder to move.  At first it felt like walking through wind, then as he approached the ship, he felt as though his whole body was trying to walk through water. 

Jordan reached the Pursuit, and then faced the problem of getting up on the ship’s deck.  He threw Aeskar’s ring up onto the deck and began to climb.  It felt as though he had a fifty pound weight on. 

He managed to get over the gunwhale, then had to stand up.  This took a great deal of effort, as the field was trying to assert its effect on his body.

The ring was heavy as Jordan tried to pick it up.  He managed, but time was running out.  He saw the capstan, and heaved the ring up onto it. 

The staisis was now so thick that he could barely move.  He managed in one last lunge, to touch the gemstone. 

The gemstone emited a blinding light, and Jordan collapsed from exhaustion. 

Chapter 12:

The burst of light that caused Jordan to collapse also caused the Astorian Naval Ship Pursuit to come to life.  The color that the staisis spell seemed to take out of the ship returned abruptly.

The crew sprang into action as if nothing had happened.  They did not even notice Jordan lying on the deck for a couple minutes.

Jordan’s armor was gone, and he was dressed in normal clothing once more.  His Hawiian shirt and khaki shorts were back on. 

It was about this time they realized that they were not moving.  There was no wind in their sails.  They then noticed the blue hue that had been cast over everyone and everything but the,  but them.  The water about 10 feet ahead of them was free, but beyond that the staisis spell took effect with a vengance.

The ship’s captain, a woman in her thirties, was on the bridge trying to figure out what was going on. 

“What’s our situation, Tyran.” Said the captain, addressing an elf to her left. 

The elf, who was also a wizard, took a look arround the area.  The elf, who was magically adept even for an elf, was astounded at what he saw.

“Incredible,” Said Tyran. “We’re in some sort of gigantic spell field, yet we are unaffected.  I recommend we get out of here immediately.”

“I’m not arguing.” She said. “What if you try out the…  Who in the world is that?”  She said pointing to Jordan. “Bring him up here.”

Two crewmen dragged Jordan up onto the bridge, where the captain and Tyran examined him. 

“He has such strange clothing…” said one of the crew.

Tyran picked up Jordan’s left hand, and found the Arbiter’s ring. 

“This man is an Arbiter!” Exclaimed Tyran.”Here’s his ring.”

“There’s also a ring arround the capstan… It looks familiar…”  remarked the captain.

“You’re right!” Said Tyran.  “It’s the Arbiter General’s Ring.”

“At any rate, we need to get out of here.  Mr. Sertus, activate the magic drive.  Take this arbiter into my cabin for questioning.

Ten minutes later, the Pursuit was out of the field.  In the captain’s cabin, Jordan also began to awaken.

The captain, who was in a blue and silver trimmed uniform saw him stir, and waited for a while.  She looked at a large victorian-like stone globe with a map of her world on it.  It was half black marble which indicated unexplored reigions, and the rest showed Astoria and the mainland.  Then she called Tyran in.

“Is he coming to?” asked the elf

“yes, that’s why I called you in.  Do you have any idea where he’s from?”

“Nothing, his clothing is completely foreign to anything I’ve seen, and there’s not a smigeion of magic in him except for his ring.  Oh look, he’s waking up.”

Jordan suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.  He was confused,dazed and felt as though a steamroller had just hit him. 

“You’re finally awake Arbiter.” Said the Captain.

Jordan mumbled for a second until something intelligable finally came out.  “Who are you?” he said dazedly.

“I am Captain Callista Proanon, commander of the ANS Pursuit.  The good elf to my left is Commander Tyran Sertus, the first officer.  I assume you have a good reason for showing up unannounced on the deck of my ship, with the ring of the Arbiter-General.”

“I do but first, I need to ask you something.” Said Jordan

“What do you want?” asked Tyran.

“Do you have any asprin?”

After they had given him some pain reliever to ease the stiffness, and it took effect, Jordan told them the story of his coming to where he was.

At the end of the tale, Callista was indignant, while Tyran was contemplative.

“You are expecting me to believe that my entire ship and crew has been stuck in Time for twenty Years?!!” She said incredulusly.

“I have no proof with me, so I can’t show you right now.  But a man who could would be Quentan, or maybe Dylandar.”

“Well, I guess we’ll set course for Valparise Island.  In the meantime, I need to talk with Tyran for a second.  I’ll get one of the ensigns to show you arround the ship.”

When the crewman arrived, the captain relayed her orders to the man and closed the door behind them.  Callista then turned to address Tyran.  “Alright.  Analysis.  Is he telling telling the truth, and how much of his story is accurate.”

“He was telling the complete truth, as he knew it.  As for the veracity, it mostly makes sense.”

“Define “mostly””

“The part about the staisis field trapping us, although unprecidented in scale, is plausible.  What I cannot verify is his story of coming here.”

“In that case, since I think we can trust him as well, let’s go to Valparise Island.”

She walked to the bridge with Tyran, and gave the orders for the course change to the navigator.  Then she went back to her cabin, leaving Tyran behind.

She then sat down in her chair, and thought for quite a while.  Then a thought occurred to her that was not a happy one.

“What if this Jordan is right.  What am I going to tell the crew.”

Jordan was absolutely facinated by his tour of the ship. 

Formerly growing up and living in Massachuetts, one of the attractions for tourists in Boston harbor, was the oldest commissioned warship in the navey, the U.S.S. Constituition.  The Constitution is a sailing vessel from the beginnings of america.  It was the first vessel of a truly organized effort for a real American Navy.

It was made of strong oak, and had fought quite a few sea battles.  While it was not a ship of the line, it  was still a formidable force to be reckoned with.  It technically classified as a Frigate, but was much stronger than the average ones.  It had more guns, and was a very solid sailing platform.

The Pursuit was virtually a replica of the constitution.  The color scheme was even the same.  In fact there were only two differences that Jordan could see.  One was the reinforced gunwhales.  The other was a strange turreted device on t