Here's chapter 3 part "a" from my story Birth to Fire. I felt the chapter got a bit long, so I splitted it up into two parts. I hope you'll all enjoy. This part is a bit slow, but I promise that that will change in the "b" part. :P

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Leaving

From where he was standing, Ike had a perfect view of the city he grew up in, Palisade, or the “wooden city” as it was also nicknamed by people from the east. He stood in one of the few tall buildings in the city, and first looked around at the different building below that surrounded the tower, and then his gaze moved over to the vast forest to the north and northwest.

“You won’t find anyone to rob out there, Ike,” a female voice could be heard whispering behind the man. Ike turned around after recognizing the voice, and found the woman was still hanging from the ladder she had climbed up on to meet him. He stood towering over her as he reached out a hand to help her up. Ike was a man in his late twenties; this day clean shaved and had medium long brown hair that was neatly combed back. He wore a brown colored vest with a pair of brown trousers, and had a dagger right now visibly hanging from his belt inside a sheath.

The young woman took his hand and let Ike pull her up from the ladder, and now they just stood up there on the wooden tower for a while with Ike now going back to looking out at the city and the landscape beyond it, while the female sat down on a chair in the small space they shared.

“I got time. Besides, I already finished one job tonight. You want me to work myself to death, woman?” Ike smirked faintly and moved over to another side of the tower, then turned and leaned his back against the wooden banister, looking directly at the female now. She looked a bit younger than Ike, a dark purple cloak was covering up most of her body, save for her hands and face. The hood of the cloak was still on her head, and her hair was brushed back; it all made her look a bit androgynous.

“Pff, you’re lazy, Ike. You don’t want to know how much I’ve earned tonight. And look at me...” She stood up, and then slowly walked over to Ike who was still watching her. She leaned in close to his face. “…Do I look like I’m working myself to death?” Her attempt to seem seductive did not bother him much. He turned his head away in response, glancing out once more at the city, then at the gates leading west.

“Lilly, we’ve talked about th…” Before the human could finish his sentence, something strange caught his eyes, and he turned his body fully over towards the city gate, even leaning out a bit to get such a good view as possible. “Lilly, there’s something sneaking around outside the gates, out in the darkness! Look.” Lilly did not seem as excited as Ike though, and only slowly walked over to stand next to him, looking out.

“I see nothing,” she added calmly, while Ike stopped looking and now headed for the ladder leading down.

“Then you keep looking, I’m going over there!” And then he was gone, climbing down along the tall ladder as fast as he was able to. The streets were basically completely empty at this time of the night; the clattering sounds of his running steps across the stone roads were the only real noise that could be heard from where he was now.

Kean had been waiting until night before he even tried getting close to the city. The stone towers with their big torches at the tops rising up at different locations among the houses fascinated him more than ever now that he was so close to behold them. He had been told that the humans built these towers to have sources of fire for whenever that would be needed. Since the majority of the homes in the city were made of wood harvested from the nearby forest, accidental fires could be devastating, so they tried to control the use of fire as strictly as possible. Right now he was more worried about how to get inside behind the walls though, and what to do when he was inside. His whole journey had been made with very little planning after all. The sturdy walls rose up to about the double his height, and judging from all the guards he had spotted patrolling the wall, simply climbing over it was out of the question. He had wandered along the wall going north, only to find travelling any further in that direction to be pointless because of the heavy activity of guards in that area. Wandering south along the wall seemed a bit wiser. The southwest part of the wall did not seem as heavily guarded, so it was there where he was currently standing when the mysterious person had approached him seemingly out of nowhere.

A human was suddenly standing right in front of Kean; he looked relaxed, but did have one hand resting on a dagger that was hanging from his side. When he was sure that Kean had spotted him, he finally spoke up.

“What are you doing sneaking around out here, dragon? My advice is that you get away from the wall before you’re spotted, right now.” Kean was not sure what to do or think at first. The man certainly did not look like any of the guards he had seen. He stayed silent for now, but also complied with the man’s advice, and was soon slowly skulking away from Palisade’s wall. The man surprisingly followed him, not seeming afraid at all to follow a big dragon away from the safety of the city and out to the wild fields.

“Good. Now I have to ask you what you are doing here so I’ll know what to do next. You’re much too young to be a spy, there has to be some other reason for why you’re here.” He spoke with such confidence, and really left Kean with the impression that he had no choice but to stay honest now. Perhaps the man could even help him. He walked up close to the man and leaned his head down to face him directly, giving him an opportunity to study the human some at the same time.

“My name is Kean. I have travelled here alone to find an ancient artifact.” It was not like him to sound as serious as he tried to now when he explained himself to the man. It felt unnatural, like he was trying to imitate some of the elder dragons back home rather than just speaking like himself. The human took his words seriously though and nodded softly in response. His hand was constantly resting on the dagger that was still sheathed. It only worried Kean slightly; he could understand though why the man was careful.

“I think I can make a good guess what artifact it is that you’re referring to.” And then he went silent. He looked like he was pondering something for a while. The cold weather seemed to start making him feel a bit uncomfortable though, as he started walking around slowly while thinking.

“Who are you, human?” Kean felt he needed to know, and his question interrupted the man who stopped walking right away and turned his head at Kean.

“Hmm..? You know what, Kean…” He walked towards the dragon. Something about Kean’s question had made the human decide his next move. “… I think I’ll help you inside so you can look for your treasure. I have some conditions though. When you find the treasure, me and my “friends” who are inside the city will have to see your find as well, or we won’t help you. And second, when you are in the city, you will not harm anyone. ”

Kean tilted his head a bit and looked up for a few seconds, thinking about the deal and for what reason the human would want to see the dragon torch. He realized soon though that he really had no choice but to accept.

“It’s not a treasure, it’s an artifact. And when I find it, I’ll let you and your friends take a look at it. It will not belong to you though. And about not hurting anyone, I still want to be able to defend myself.” The human responded swiftly to that last remark.

“And what do you count as self defense?” He seemed to get a bit annoyed. But before Kean could answer, Lilly could suddenly be heard speaking behind them, just as she had done when she greeted Ike earlier up in the tower.

“We’re letting him inside. He will fit easily in the tunnels. Let’s go.” Ike sighed and rolled his eyes. He should have known that Lilly would have followed him and eavesdropped. Without the two males actually sealing their deal, they were now following Lilly to a small nearby forest. It was more like a little collection of trees though compared to the northern forest. Ike was walking behind Kean and was keeping a close eye on him at all times, while Lilly still lead the way. After walking for around twenty minutes in silence, did they arrive by a large, moss-covered rock that Lilly turned around and leaned her back against while looking at the other two.

“My name is Lilly, and that man over there is Ike.” She pointed at Ike when she was presenting him. “While you are in Palisade, you have to do exactly as we tell you or we will make sure that you are exposed to the guards and executed for espionage. Don’t worry too much though, we will give you time to search for your artifact as well, and we will try to aid you with that, as long as you keep your end of the deal.” And then she waited for his response. Ike walked over and stood next to the woman, also looking at Kean now, who was still thinking about this. He did not know the two after all, and he did not wish to be forced into helping them with tasks that could prevent him from finding the torch.

“I think I can accept that.” Kean made a faint smile and swiftly climbed up on the nearby big rock, looking down at the two in a perched position. “Will I be able to walk freely anytime in the city? The question sounded more curious and a bit childish, rather than serious, like he asked it because he would like to simply see the city, rather than thinking of that as necessary to find the torch.” Ike looked over at Lilly and had an uncertain look, while she stared back at him also looking a bit unsure what to answer. Ike decided to answer though with a small shrug.

“We’ll see. Perhaps we could forge one of those badges that some of you dragons occasionally carry.” That seemed to make Kean a bit excited, as he jumped off the rock, over the two humans and landed right in front of them.

“Great! Lead me inside then!” Kean did suddenly not feel as lonely anymore now, like he had felt while travelling to get to Palisade. He actually wanted to get inside now and to get a chance to meet more people, perhaps even some of the dragons that he has heard about that decided to live among humans rather than dragons. Ike seemed to enjoy the sudden change in Kean’s personality into the more joyful creature that he really was. He chuckled a bit for himself and turned to face the rock. Lilly was unfazed though, not seeming to care much what Kean said; she just turned around and pressed her hand against a hidden button in the rock, causing the piece to slide in a bit and triggering a hidden mechanism. A part of the ground nearby slowly started to slide open. Kean curiously walked over there right away and peeked down into the dark tunnel and sniffed around some. He walked down as soon as the tunnel was opened enough for his body to fit. His eyes let him see in the dark much better than any human, and he found himself standing down in the big tunnel and looking at the giant cogs and other copper machinery that powered the secret hatch mechanism. Together, they made a pleasant clanging and clattering sound. The only other opportunity that he had gotten before to behold machinery like this was when he witnessed that sound tower’s power when he stumbled upon the battle out in the fields. He considered that a much less pleasant experience than this, of course.

The sounds of the machinery only stopped when Ike and Lilly were inside, after they had pressed the button on the inside for the hatch to close. Ike had left a torch burning inside the tunnel that he soon grabbed. The walls of the tunnel was mostly just earth, but had some wooden support beams as well; though little or probably no harm at all would come to Palisade if a fire started down there. There was a lot of room for Kean to move around in. He could easily turn around and walk with his legs far outstretched without his back hitting the ceiling.

“So where are we heading first then, Ike?” He decided to ask Ike, since he was closer to Kean, and he seemed to be the nicer out of the two humans anyway.

“You’re going to meet our friends, Kean. You won’t need to talk much, just try to look… just don’t say anything, we’ll handle the talking, really.”

“Oh.” The dragon thought a bit about what he could ask next; after all, he did not know how long they would have to walk like this. “Could you tell me some about this city, Ike? Palisade.” Ike just looked back briefly at Kean and gave him a questioning look, like it was really strange that Kean asked that question.

“What’s there to say? If you want some of the more detailed history, I’ll give you a book later. What to tell you right now though, hmm…” Ahead of them, Lilly was starting to walk faster, not following their pace at all, like she was trying to avoid hearing the two speaking. Ike did not seem bothered by her behavior though. “As you’ve probably seen, it’s mostly made out of wood, the buildings and the walls, you know. You’ve probably seen the even bigger stone walls to the east that this city is built against. Palisade used to only be what it got its name from, a palisade; an outer wall and outpost for the megacity Aliciandra. Other than that about Palisade’s history is that its population grew quickly and it was soon too much for Aliciandra to take care off, so they declared Palisade to be its own city under Aliciandra’s protection; and we still are to this day. They don’t help us much in this war though as they’re tied up in a war as well, and I’ve heard that the big city has had a lot of political problems lately.”

“I see… ” About at this point did Kean start to notice that the tunnels were indeed very mazelike. They turned several times and even Ike and Lilly had to stop at certain forks to think for a while where to go next before proceeding. After walking for quite a long while, it was clear that they were now actually right under the city. A few hundred meters more of walking, and they had seemingly reached their destination. Lilly stopped and faced a part of the wall that seemed to have some wooden planks visible behind the dirt. Ike stopped as well and turned to Kean.

“Okay, we’re here now, Kean. Wait in here for a little bit. I’ll tell you when you can come inside.” Without waiting for Kean to answer, Ike and Lilly slid the partly hidden door up slightly and went through; closing it after them, and then Kean was left completely alone in the dark, quiet tunnel. He waited for longer than he had guessed it would take, but the door did finally open eventually. Only partially at first with Ike peeking out to see if the dragon was still waiting obediently, he let out a tiny sigh of relief when he saw Kean sitting on his haunches and waiting just like when he was left there. “Hey, you can come inside now. Just stay calm and don’t talk too much.”

Don’t talk too much? Kean was not sure if he was supposed to feel offended or not by that request. He just chuckled too himself and got up on his four legs, walking closer to Ike who slid the wooden door fully open, letting Kean in. It led him inside a large wooden room, about the size of the tavern that he had visited before. The roof was high and there were something that looked like training dummies shuffled to the sides of the room, along with some crates and bags. The room had humans in it too. About fifteen of them stood in a group at the other end of the room, staring at him in silence. Among them was Lilly as well; many of the ones around her wore cloaks in different colors with about the same design as her cloak. Ike held out a hand in Kean’s direction, as if presenting the dragon for them.

“Here he is. His name is Kean, friends. He’s harmless so there’s no need to be cautious.” Kean could kind of understand why Ike told them that he was harmless, so it did not bother him. The males and females did not move though, except for one man who could very well be their leader. He looked old, revealed by the wrinkles in his face, and his short beard was white; those were about the only signs that the dragon could make out that made him think the man was much older than the others in the room. He spoke after tilting his head a bit and just staring at Kean for a while.

“It’s a young dragon. His wings are too small to let him fly. His scales are not as deep red as on an adult. And his pose is too ridiculous for him to be a grown up.” He kept a straight face after saying that last bit, looking as serious as probably possible. But just as Kean started shifting his position a bit, clearly nervous and a bit offended by the man’s remark on his pose, the man smiled wide and looked back at his group of companions. Most of them were also smiling now, Ike as well. Kean felt completely clueless what to do next though, so he just nervously chuckled a bit and looked back briefly at the entrance from where he entered the room, and then back at the group of humans. The elderly man continued speaking.

“Oh, I’m sorry, young dragon. I was merely teasing you a bit… ” Before continuing his speech, he started to slowly walk up to Kean, and when close, he started walking around the young male, stepping over his long thick tail when he got behind him.* “… My two loyal agents Ike and Lilly have told me that you are here on a mission. A mission to find that old artifact, what’s it called now again… The dragon fire, or was it the dragon torch? Either way, I think we could help you out, as long as you would be willing to help me out. You see, we have a few things that you will definitely need to find your artifact.”

“Like what?” Kean asked curiously. So far, he was not even sure what kind of people this band of men and women were.

“Well, like our tunnels, for starters. They stretch out to the corners of the whole city, and many of them lead to important buildings. And most importantly, we are able to give you anything you may need from above ground, like books, food and water. ”

“And what will you ask me to do?” It felt like Kean had already heard all this from Ike before though, but wanted to be sure if Ike’s deal was the same as this man’s offer.

“You’re looking for a powerful item, Kean, if it exists… When you learn where the dragon fire is, then we will come with you to see it. Oh, and I forgot to ask, what do you intend to do with the fire when you find it?”

“I will solve the riddle for how to make my species able to breathe fire again, of course. And then the war will end.”

“You mean end with the destruction of us humans?” Kean shook his head right after the question.

“I want us to use it wisely. I think my species is able to do that after all. We will use it to scare your soldiers into giving up the war so all of us can just live in peace.” Kean did not realize how naïve that may have sounded to the humans. They sure noticed it though. The old man finished his little lap of walking around Kean, and stops right in front of him, looking up into his young eyes for a while. Then he looked back at the people in the back of the room.

“Kean will stay. You are all now dismissed. Except you, Ike, you’re staying here.” The people listened, and all went upstairs, leaving Kean, the old man and Ike in the wooden basement. The old man spoke up once more to Kean now.

“You will call me Quill from now on, Kean, and I will be your superior, along with Ike here. You will do as we tell you to as long as you’re borrowing this basement and our tunnels for your needs. You have my word that we will treat you fairly. Now…” He did not even bother to listen if Kean accepted those terms; it did not matter though as Kean was more than prepared to accept so he could finally move on with his mission. “… Now I want you to head out in the tunnels and learn your way around them. You can come back here tomorrow morning and we will give you food and water, and probably some information to help your investigation.” Kean liked this first assignment. He needed to learn where the tunnels led after all. So to avoid making the conversation any longer, he turned around and left through the door where he came from. Ike slowly slid the big door shut behind the dragon, isolating almost all the sound between the two areas. This let Ike and Quill finally speak with each other in complete privacy.