Daventry's Children, the begining

[Rosedragon]

Daventry’s Children Ch 8


The griffin flew east until he came to a village on a mountaintop made of a single large stone mansion surrounded by several wooden houses and huts. 

Edgar clung to the winged maiden’s waist as she guided her griffin to the ground. “Milady, I am grateful for the rescue. I must ask you, what is your name?”


“I’m Chloe, from the village of Winged Ones who live in the mountains of Serenia.”

“I am Edgar, prince of Etheria.”

They landed at her village and dismounted.  A group of other Winged Ones from the village surrounded them.

“Who is the human you brought back, Chloe?” A winged young man with long strait black hair and hazel eyes asked her.

“I’m not a human I’m actually a fairy from Etheria.” Edgar told him.

“Come my friend, the village elders will want to know your story.” Chloe lead Edgar to the stone mansion. The buildings in the village were built simply, but snuggly to keep out the cold winds. The stone mansion appeared to be made of marble and was fancier than the other buildings. It had large pillars and an eagle design carved above the door.
   Inside there was a crimson carpet covering the stone floor that ran down the length of a marble, columned hall. At the end of a hall were two large bronze doors with bird designs etched on them. Chloe lead Edgar through these doors. The other winged ones followed her.

There was a large room beyond the doors with a great fire burning in the hearth.   An old winged one man sat in a throne like wooden chair with red velvet cushions near the hearth. A series of wooden benches with plush red velvet cushions took up the bottom half of the room. Many winged one men and women, in stately robes of different colors sat on the benches. The old winged man wore a white robe with a gold medallion and leather sandals. His long hair and beard were silver, and a wood staff with an eagle design carved at the top leaned against his chair. Tapestries depicting colorful birds and butterflies in flight hung on the walls of the room. A square table carved of the finest cherry wood stood between the old man and the benches of men and women, it held a silver bowl of fruit and a seven-branched candlestick. The candles were lit and they lighted up the room along with the hearth and a glass skylight above them in the center of the room.

When Chloe entered she went up to the old winged one and spoke to him.

“Lord Emrys, I found this young man trapped on a rocky mountain’s peak with the roc coming after him. Raptor and I were able to save him from the roc, and now I bring him before the council to tell his story.”

“Good job, Chloe. I sense that this man has been beset by evil enemies, which are our enemies as well. Young man, what is your name?” said Lord Emrys, obviously the leader of this group of winged ones.


“My name is Edgar, I come from the fairy kingdom of Etheria, I’m the son of Oberon and Titania.” Edgar explained.

“I was not aware that Oberon and Titania had a son. But then again, it has been many years since we last received news from Eldritch.” Lord Emrys said. “How did you come to be stranded on that mountaintop?”

Edgar took a deep breath. He explained about Rosella and how their wedding was ruined by old enemies. He told the winged leader about Lolotte and Malicia.

“What a strange and adventurous life, you’ve had, to be kidnapped at birth and then again by your wicked aunt and forced into a foreign form.” Said Chloe.

“Yes, I hated being trapped as an ugly green troll, now I am myself, this is how Oberon and Titania said their son should look. I am lucky to be alive today, but I don’t feel like going on much longer without Rosella. Those evil witches murdered her.” Edgar said in despair.

“What if you found out Rosella is still alive? Then what would you do?” Chloe asked.

“I would stop at nothing to rescue her and return her to her rightful self and marry her like we planned.” Said Edgar.

“We shall help you find out whether your lady love is alive or not, and save her if we can.” Said Lord Emrys. The other winged ones murmured in agreement. “This group of elders is my council, the council that decides what is important for the village. Chloe’s mother Althea is on the council.


Althea stood up. She had the same red hair and green eyes Chloe did. “Your lordship, the village wise woman has foreseen tragedy and disaster for this world, caused by a nefarious organization of dark mages dedicated to black magic. This secret society will stop at nothing to have their way and bring ruin upon us all. They seek to conquer the world and will punish those who get in their way. This organization is marked by a black cloak.”

“I recall Lolotte and Malicia wearing black, indeed Malicia had a black cape to go with her outfit.”  said Edgar.

“However, they hide, we shall find them out and fight them for what is good and fair in the land.” Lord Emrys declared. “This is no time to be neutral, this is no time for cowards. We must help those whose good deeds and bravery make them enemies of evil, as are we.”

There was a muttering in the crowd of council members.

“I suggest we send some of the young members of our tribe to accompany Edgar in his quest to find Rosella and stop the black cloak society.” Said Althea.

“A good suggestion, Lady Althea. Perhaps your daughter Chloe will want to be Edgar’s companion on this quest.” Emrys said.

“Yes, I would like that very much.” Said Chloe.

“My son, Byron, will also accompany you on your mission.” Lord Emrys looked at the doorway and a tall young winged man entered the room. He resembled Emrys slightly. His hair was long and black and his eyes dark and he was well tanned and muscled from exercise. Like Chloe he wore a tunic with trousers instead of the long robes of the elders. His pants were and tunic  were made from soft tan leather trimmed in fringe and decorated with beads. His clothes contrasted with Chloe’s yellow blouse, green pants and red leather bodice. He had paint on his face, two red horizontal stripes across the cheeks, a yellow circle on his forehead and dark green mark on the chin.

[Rosedragon]

“It is the custom of ours for the young men to paint the face while going into battle or on a dangerous quest. Think of it as war paint.” Lord Emrys explained. “As you can see we are quite different from those stuck-up winged ones who live in the Land of the Green Isles.”

“Yes, I can tell. You are much friendlier and fair than I have heard those winged ones to be. I have never met the winged ones from the Green Isles, but I hear they don’t like humans.”

“We have no such prejudices.” Said Chloe. “Before we begin our journey, you might want to rest a while in the village. Besides the griffins, we ride winged horses called Pegasi, Pegasus for singular. I think you might find riding a Pegasus to be more comfortable than riding a griffin. We use the steeds when we travel long distances that would otherwise tire out our own wings.”

“I see.” Said Edgar. “I am most eager to find out if Rosella is alive. If she has been murdered as I saw in the vision across the skies, then I will avenge her. Lolotte and Malicia will not get away with this.”

“For the sake of our world, this Black Cloak society must not be allowed to flourish.” Lord Emrys said. “They are evil and they mean to bring evil into the world and stop those who do good.  We must fight to protect the world from villainous monsters such as these.”

Everyone cheered in agreement.  “Edgar, perhaps you should rest first before setting out on your quest. It is late, soon it will be night time.”

“I suppose I need to recouperate before traveling.” Edgar agreed.

“Chloe will show take you back to her house, there you will have guest quarters and a meal made for you.”

“Thank you, my lord.” Edgar bowed before the winged ones’ leader.

Chloe and Byron carried him back to Chloe’s house. Since his fairy powers were taken away from him, Edgar could not fly, and he worried how he would fight the enemy without magic.

Chloe’s house was a bit larger than some of the other huts. It was made from the wood of mountain growing trees and sandstone. Inside he found a large dining space. Chloe brought out bread and grape juice and some fruit. An old woman, who must be Chloe’s grandmother, served him apples, pears and cherries. For dessert they had baked apples. A sort of cake made from  fine flour, raisins, dried cherries, nuts, and honey were eaten at the meal. It looked like the winged ones ate no meat. Crystal clear spring water was served along with dinner.

Edgar just realized how hungry he was when he sat down at the table and saw all the food. He ate well that evening. Chloe rolled out a sleeping mat on the floor of the main living space, in front of the fireplace. Edgar met Chloe’s father Perseus, her little sister Charis and grandmother Cynthia. He talked with the family and told them about Etheria and more about himself. In return he found out more information about them and the winged ones tribe. He fell asleep huddled up in a blanket on the mat they laid out for him.

Edgar and the winged ones woke up early the next morning to get a good start on their journey. Byron gave him some old clothes of his to change into since his wedding garments have been ripped and stained by his ordeal with the Black Cloak Society. The leather and linen clothes of Byron’s fit rather loosely. Byron and Chloe rode griffins for the journey, Edgar rode a Pegasus, which was much easier to control.

“I think we should go to Mordack’s castle first, since this is probably the villains’ headquarters.” Said Chloe.

“Wait a minute,” Byron interjected, “I think we are not prepared to deal with their evil yet. We must gather strength weapons, and allies before we are ready to face the Black Cloak Society in battle.”

“You’re right. Where should we go now?” Chloe asked.

“To Serenia. The gypsies there might be able to help us, and maybe the townspeople too.” Byron said. 

“I only hope the Serenians will welcome us warmly.” Edgar said. “We need all the friends we can get to help us. I wish I knew if Rosella’s family and my parents are well. Sir Connor, the champion of the realm, was fighting the monsters bravely when Rosella and I were abducted.”

“We will do whatever we can to right this wrong.” Chloe promised him. “As for right now we need to cross the snowy mountains to reach Serenia. Take this cloak, it will keep you warm while we pass through the cold mountains.”

Byron, Chloe and Edgar rode their winged mounts through the Serenian mountains and reached the forests of Serenia at the other side. There, they dismounted, and Chloe sent their mounts away, keeping a whistle with her that would summon them when they were needed.

The forest of Serenia appeared to be pleasant and lush with green and flowering plants. Birds could be heard singing in the branches of the trees. The trio found an old gnome sitting on a tree stump smoking a pipe outside his home. His young grandson sat on a stool and played with a marionette puppet.

“Excuse me sir,” Edgar called out to the gnome.

“What do ye want? Why can’t you people leave and old gnome in peace?” the gnome said grumpily.

“Sorry to bother you, but we need some help.”

“What do I look like, the wizard Crispin?” the gnome replied.

“We were just wondering if you might know where the gypsies are camped.” Chloe cut in smoothly.

“They’re to the north and west of here, above the anthill. Now go away and leave me alone!” The grandfather gnome was not the type to enjoy company or indulge in idle conversation. The trio headed toward the gypsies’ camp. They found the anthill, and north of it was a wagon with the words “Fortune teller” written in bold, bright letters. An ox tied next to the wagon munched on grass. Two young women tended a pot of soup cooking over a fire in the clearing. A middle-aged gypsy man sat in a chair and carved a piece of wood. A young man sat on a rock nearby, making a drum out of a wooden frame and stretched animal skins.

When the strangers arrived in the camp, the middle aged gypsy man stood up. “If you vant to zee Madame Mushka, it vill cost you vun gold coin.” He said in a thick accent.

Byron stepped forward and handed the man a gold coin. The party had brought along a bag of gold to cover their expenses.  “We will see Madame Mushka.” Byron said.

The gypsy man opened the wagon door for them. The three entered the wagon’s interior. The inside of the wagon was draped with colorful cloths. A gypsy woman, her hair covered by a lavender shawl, sat a small round table on which a candle burned and a crystal ball stood.

“Come in my dears, and sit down.” She said. Byron, Chloe and Edgar found stools to sit down on. They gathered around the table.

“Ah, three young adventurers on a kvest to save ze vorld. I know who you are. Prince Edgar, do not fear, your princess is still alive. I vill show you her.” Madame Mushka rubbed her hands over the crystal ball. The smoky ball cleared and showed Hagatha, Malicia and Lolotte in Mordack’s castle. A white rat in a cage stood on a table in Mordack’s laboratory.

“Zat rat is your beloved, ze Princess Rosella. Zoes vicked vitches turned her into a rat.” Explained Madame Mushka. “Zey did not feed her to ze cat Manannan, as zey made you zink.”