Chapter Thirteen..

Standing there, staring at the dragon for the longest time, in awe.

"What was that?"

"I speak demonic..."

"I wasn't aware of that ability."

"You don't know everything? How shocking."

"Thank you, dragon for saving my existence, but you're horrible."

"Does that surprise you?"

"Not one bit."

The gremlin began to fidget and shake, looking as though he would have a nervous breakdown at any moment.

"Do you think maybe it's not safe here?" Vamier asked.

"I think you're right little fella." The dragon replied.

"I'd agree."

"Both of you hop on my back, I'll be okay for a little longer."

He didn't have to tell them more than once, as both of them did just as the dragon requested. As soon as they were seated and holding on; he bolted upward through the open skies, above a mass of clouds in record time. He kept going on, pushing himself throught the late afternoon onto the break of nightfall. This time, he'd over done it. His wing ached like a pulled hamstring, but he'd never admit it to Ralvania. The moment the two passengers climbed down, he curled into a ball and went right to sleep. As the dragon napped, she pulled the map from inside the magickal bag.

"Where are we, anyway?" The gremlin asked.

"Let me check here... According to the map, Galeverton City... I've never seen it."

Shaking his head, looking at her, he replied "Lead the way."

Nodding and walking swiftly through the forest trails, noticing different rock formations, trees and slightly different plant life. Silver speckled plants with oval shaped leaves, further along the path neon teal bamboo, it was mystifying. Some she'd seen before but there were a few that were new to her. As they went further down the forest trail, looking up in a dark purple dogwood tree, saw a glitter raven making it's home high above them. She smiled at the little bird as they walked on.

She led the gremlin another four and a half miles when they reached the entrance to Galverton City. It seemed a much larger city than she was used to, but it looked like a nice place, tons of people and hybrids going from shop to shop. It reminded her of Goblin's Hollow, not the look but the feel of the place. She looked around as some of the shops looked interesting, all kinds of different shops lined the streets. Not only were there all kinds of creatures in the city, but the shops were owned by different magickal hybrid creatures. Closing her eyes a second, concentrating with her magickal abilities, could sense not a drop of darkness here. Then, once again sensed the nervousness in Vamier, more than likely it was a personality trait more than an emotion. She really enjoyed exploring the main part of the city. Glancing at some of the signs outside of the shops, there had been Gnome's Shoes, A magickal supply store ran by witches, a pub called Warlock's Brews, and finally, three stores later, a small coffee shop.

"I'll wait right out here." Vamier told her.

The creature behind the counter looked like a hybrid dwarf troll. She waited behind a few others but the line seemed to move quickly enough. Once it was her turn, placed her order, then looked around the place. There were several tables and chairs made of oak-willow, and a nice natural background. Painted vines in exquisite detail across the dark beige colored walls. A few minutes later her order was ready.

She politely thanked the short fellow behind the counter and walked the two cups out to find Vamier waiting.

"Oh thank you" He replied as she handed him a cup of the refreshing hot liquid.

The empress nodded, taking a sip, and then another. It had been too long since the last cup.

"There's an empty table behind you, would you like to sit with me?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

"How long would you like to stay here wandering the city?" He asked taking a sip of the still hot drink.

"I'm simply killing time, Soranto needs a longer rest, though he'll never admit it."

"I really like that dragon." The gremlin replied.

"I can tell that you do. He's a great dragon, I love him as my equal."

The two sat there in silence, gulping down the liquid energy. By the time the cups were nearing depletion, he looked at her and spoke.

"What do you want to explore after the coffee?'

"Another cup." She said with a little smirk. After a few minutes she rose from the chair.

"I'm getting another, would you care for one?"

"Oh, no One is enough for me."

"I'll be back in a moment."

Ralvania walked back into the little coffee shop and ordered one more cup. This coffee was just amazing. She ordered an extra large and went back to sit with the little gremlin. The two of them sat there until she finished the second cup, then with a raised eyebrow spoke.

"Shall we walk around the city for a while?"

"Oh, okay why not?"

Ralvania and the gremlin toured the central section of the city for a few hours, window shopping for the most part. She wanted to let the dragon rest a little longer than usual, he needed it. After another half hour of wandering the city, Vamier gave her a look.

"Can we head back to Soranto?"

"Yes, sure."

Retracing their steps, she led them back the exact way they came. The last thing either of them wanted was to get lost out here so far from home.