Reunion...

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​"Wow!"  That was amazing thought the little Wysp as he saw the stranger pass through the portal.  The Wysp then thought to follow him and SPLAT!  "What the tinker's toes!" moaned the Wysp as he rubbed his nose.  He then began banging his fists on the invisible barrier, wondering how the stranger managed to get through. 

​Aralt, already forgetting about the Wysp, continued down the tunnel leaving the barrier and the Wysp behind.  Far up ahead he could see a familiar glow… it was the glow of a Dragon breathing fire!  “I’m finally in the right place,” he told himself as he continued towards the light.

​Another had also seen where Aralt, the Herald, had entered the barrier and disappeared.  It was Nemmer who had been tracking Aralt after he had left Dree’s cave.  The Wysp might not have figured out what had happened, but Nemmer was familiar enough with portals. After all, he had seen Granny Flare using the openings with her portal stone enough times to know that something or someone was either coming into the Realm or leaving it.  

​“Aralt walked through, so either he was invited or he has his own stone,” thought Nemmer.  “Either way, it can’t be good.”  The archer watched the blue Wysp for a little while making sure that it could not get through.  When he was sure the Wysp was not going to get in, Nemmer decided his next stop would be the Baron’s Mansion.  He needed to tell the Dowager Griselda what was happening.  “She will be able to tell the others faster than I can.  I hate running but for this I think speed is needed right now,” he mumbled to himself as he took off in a hunter’s run.

​As Aralt turned the corner, the first thing he saw was a Dragon’s head.  It was ‘Her’… how could he have been so lucky to find her first?  Her eyes were closed and it looked like ‘She’ was sound asleep, but Aralt knew better.  She was a tricky Dragon… that is how she had managed to be the ‘unofficial’ leader of the Dragons for many, many, many years.  Without even thinking about it, Aralt touched first the golden corolla on his brow and then the locket holding the emerald Dragon heart stone making sure they were both still there.  That is when the Dragon smiled.  A very large toothy smile… a smile with a lot of very large and sharp teeth.  Opening her eyes, she just looked at the Herald and waited for him to speak first.  Aralt knew what ‘She’ wanted.  It was the recognition of an underling.  “She is waiting for me to address her first as her inferior,” he remembered.  Rankled at the thought that he was subservient to her but realizing that she would not speak until he started, Aralt spoke.  “Greetings your Most Worthy.  It has been a long time.”

​This did not make her happy that the Herald addressed her with such a short title. But knowing it had been a long time since she had seen him, her curiosity was peaked.  “Hello Herald.  Where have you been and what brings you to my presence?”  Now it was Aralt’s turn to feel insulted.

“How dare she mind-speak to me!” he thought as he realized she was still smiling her toothy smile but her lips were not moving.  “I am not one of your underlings” he wanted to reply, but he knew that would not get him what he wanted.  In the long run it only would start another of those many arguments they had before he and the Dragons had parted ways.  One thing Aralt had learned over the many years of being with Dragons though was the technique of manipulation.  Smiling, the Herald replied, “Oh, I am sorry.  You must be weak from your travels as you are only able to mind speak.  You are old after all and not in your prime anymore.  I will depart and return when you are feeling better,” and he turned as if to leave the cave.

​“Where do you think you are going?” demanded the Dragon.  This time she did not mind-speak but spoke it aloud causing the stalactites in the cave to sway slightly and a few of the loose stones on the floor to tremble.  With his back to the Dragon, Aralt took a second to remove his smile, and then turned around to face the mighty Dragon.

​“Ah, I was mistaken.  Now you sound like your old self.  My pardon.  How are things in your domain and will you still need the services of a herald?” he asked.

​“Perhaps.  Tell me what you have been doing this many years my Herald,” she told Aralt.  For she also knew that his vanity would keep him speaking until she interrupted him as he did like to talk about his small victories.  This would also give her more time to reconsider her options as she had not thought that he would ever return.

Aralt did not disappoint her.  Soon he was telling her of his many journeys after the Dragons had left this Realm.  As she listened, she also started to consider ways to include him in her plans, or maybe not... that was for her to ponder.