The Articulum Part 3 By: Lance Holloway The small group traveled a long distance since they left a week ago. Peten wished the quest was over with. He liked the idea of going on an adventure, but getting there was long and boring. Nothing has happened yet. Except the fact that Jamk was now a horse and Arna was now a woman. A very beautiful woman at that. It's hard to believe that she used to be a horse in his stable back home. But, it was equally hard to believe that the black horse she was riding used to be his human friend. Jamk seemed to have adjusted well to his new form in the past two days. The other two horses, Metty and Dabb, had befriended him. Although Dabb was a little jealous now that he wasn't the only male horse in the group. This made Turlon's ride difficult. Turlon had not spoken about his horse. He must be afraid to get changed into one like Jamk. He would get changed into half animal at the end of their journey. Peten knew that Turlon was not looking forward to that. Who would for that matter? Jamk, maybe. He would probably do anything to get his fingers back. "We are about to enter the Forest of Trees," Arna said bringing Jamk to a halt. Peten could see the forest in the distance. They had been in rolling hills for the past three days. "It would be a nice change of scenery," he said. "No," Arna shouted. "The Forest of Trees is dangerous. Many predatory creatures live there." "Then why don't we go around?" asked Turlon. "Because, it would take days to go around the forest." "thlo. i phuld rabher noght geth eathen," Jamk tried to say. He had a hard time talking as a horse. The bit in his mouth didn't make it easier. "We won't get eaten," Arna said. "I'm an experience adventurer, remember?" The other three rolled their eyes. "We are going through the Forest of Trees and you are going to like it," Arna ordered. "Now, let's get going." She kicked Jamk on the sides and he reluctantly headed toward the forest. Turlon and Peten shrugged at each other and followed. --------------------------- The sun had set. The forest was dark. Jamk knew that the rest of the group couldn't see as well as he. That's why they stopped and made camp. Jamk was relieved when they stopped. He was getting tired. Although he hadn't walked to fast, the forest terrain tired him out. During the past two days, he had grown accustomed to his new body, but he wanted to be a human again. As the three humans slept, Jamk stood with the other two horses. Dabb and Metty were good horses. One thing that Jamk didn't know, and he swore not to tell anyone, was that horses had their own language. Metty and Dabb had told him many pointers to getting around. That's why he picked up on walking on four legs rather quickly. Jamk was sure Arna knew about the language, since Peten's uncle had her as long as he could remember. She was keeping their secret, so he could too. She didn't even let on that Jamk could talk to the other horses. Even if she hadn't given him the ability to speak so the humans could understand, Jamk though he would be just as happy talking to the two horses. Now, he has all the other five to talk to. That's more than anyone else can say. He heard a rustle. His ears perked up by themselves. [What was that?] he asked Metty who's ears had perked up also. Dabb had just snapped out of his sleep. [I'm not sure. I think it is Gorrooks,] Metty replied. [Gorrooks?] Jamk didn't like the sound of that. He hadn't heard of Gorrooks before. [Oh, don't let any Gorrooks bother you, Jamk. Why, I can handle any Gorrooks that come this way,] Dabb boasted. [Gorrooks are dangerous. They surround their prey and make awful noises to confuse their prey. Then they attack,] Metty said. [Then we should warn the humans,] Jamk said trotting over to where his friends slept. He stopped over Peten. "Peten! Wake up." Peten's eyes shot open. "What? What is it, Jamk?" "Gorrooks!" Jamk shouted. "Gorrooks!" Arna yelled as she hopped to her feet. She was very nimble. "Get the other horses, we must keep each other awake and not pay any attention to the Gorrooks." Peten ran to the other horses and brought them to where the others were. Turlon was awake now. He had grabbed for his portable light from his bag. "No! No light!" Arna yelled. "That will make them more viscous. If we don't fall under their confusion, then we will be fine." "What do you mean their confusion?" Peten asked. Just then the most obnoxious noise drifted from all around them. It sounded like chattering, but like sandpaper and metal. It was bad for the humans, but for the horses it was worse. Their sensitive ears picked up every detail of the awful sound. Peten and Turlon cupped their hands over their ears. Jamk wished he was human again with human hearing. Or at least be able to put his hand over his ears. The noise seemed to pick at his brain. It made him want to run. He had to flee this place. [No! Don't run,] Metty shouted over the horrible racket. [That is what they want you to do.] [I'm trying not to,] Jamk yelled back. He concentrated on other sounds. He imagined the sound of a running stream. The sound of the breeze blowing through trees. The sounds of his favorite video game. Any sound he could think of. But the Gorrooks' chattering always found a place to sneak in. "How long are they going to keep this up?" Peten asked. "Until we surrender, or morning comes," Arna replied. Morning! That's a long way away. How could they hold out for that long? Jamk hated this. He hated that his friends could cover their ears. He couldn't. He hated that his hearing was more sensitive. He hated that he was a horse. He was determined not to die as a horse. He was going to fight these Gorrooks. They were not going to eat him or his friends. Arna they could have. No. She was his ticket to being human again. If only he hadn't complained about her. He would have hands to cover his less sensitive ears. The Gorrooks' noise got louder when they realized their prey was not giving in easily. Jamk wanted to run. He had to run. It was his only hope. He couldn't stand the racket any longer. He was swift now. His equine body could easily out run the Gorrooks. Or could he. He didn't know what a Gorrook was, except that they made the worst noise. But, maybe, just maybe, he can make it. It would be better than standing here and listening to their chatter. Just as Jamk was about to gallop away, the noise changed. Or, at least part of it did. Some of the chattering turned to screams. Screams of pain and fright. It came from the north. The Gorrooks continued their noise, but Jamk could tell that the north was silent. No Gorrooks were making noises from there. "I don't like the sound of that," Arna said. "That is not supposed to happen." "What?" Turlon and Peten asked in unison. "Gorrooks usually don't stop. Either they all stop or they all continue. Something happened to the ones in the north." Jamk could hear something else now. Something coming toward them from the north. Something huge. Whatever it was it must be the thing that scared, or killed, the Gorrooks in that direction. The sound of crashing branches drew closer. "What is that!?" Jamk yelled over the remaining Gorrooks. He looked to Arna for her reaction. "I don't know," Arna shouted back. Jamk turned back to the approaching sound. Suddenly the head of a dragon appeared followed by the rest of the dragon. The green scales rubbing against the trees as it ran through the forest. Branches and even some trees were broken by the huge creature. It was in a big hurry. The dragon looked at the group with fear in its eyes. Jamk had never seen a real dragon before, but he knew noticeable fear was rare. "He's got the sword!" the dragon yelled at the humans. The closer he came Jamk noticed that his wings were badly wounded. The dragon approached them and collapsed a few yards from Jamk. "Help!" was the last word to come out of the dragon's mouth. His eyes closed. Everyone stood around looking at each other and back to the dragon confused. Then the dragon suddenly vanished into a cloud of smoke. The smoke rose above the ground a few feet and then quickly rushed into the forest in the same direction the dragon came from. "What was that about?" Turlon asked no one in particular. The Gorrooks had stopped their chattering. The whole dragon incident must have frightened them off. Jamk could hear another sound coming from the direction the dragon came from. It sounded like a horse. He looked in that direction waiting to see what was going to happen next. Through the trees galloped a white horse. A knight in armor was on her back. He was carrying a portable light to search the surrounding woods. The knight rode up to Arna and brought the horse to a halt. "Miss, have you seen a dragon come this way?" the knight said. "Yes, I have," Arna replied. "It disappeared a few moments ago." "Disappeared? You must be seeing things," the knight said. "I know what I saw," Arna said glancing down to the hilt around the knights waist. "What is that sword? Is it the Dragon Sword?" "It is," the knight said proudly. "I was given it by King Ralph." "How many dragons have you slain with it?" "One if you count this one. But, I'm not counting it until I see the body." Arna shook her head. "You won't see the body. It vanished." The knight looked to Peten. "It did vanish," Peten said. "You expect me, Rarguf the Dragon Slayer, to believe that the dragon just vanished in a puff of smoke?" "That's right," Arna cut in. She was still eyeing the sword. "Do you know of the legend of the Dragon Sword?" "Only that it kills dragons," Rarguf replied. "If I were you, Rarguf, I would remove my armor," Arna stated taking her eyes away from the sword to look at the man's face. "Surly you must be joking." "I'm not joking. And, the name's Arna, not Shirly." "Why should I take....." the knight started. He stopped as he doubled over in pain. "Help me take the armor off!" Arna helped the man remove an arm piece. Jamk didn't know if it was the lighting, or his new horse vision, but the man's arm looked covered in green scales. Arna motioned for Peten and Turlon to help. Rarguf seemed to be getting too big for his armor. The exposed arms seemed to bulge painfully where they protruded from the body piece. That was the next part removed. As the body piece was removed, the weight of the man seemed to explode. Rarguf removed his helmet to reveal a non-human face. His body continued to expand as Arna and Turlon helped remove the leg pieces. Two wings unfolded from the man's back. His fingers and feet became clawed. His neck elongated. Jamk just stood and watched as the knight that just killed a dragon was changing into a dragon. After about 20 minutes, Rarguf seemed to be complete. He looked like the same dragon that tore through the woods. He looked himself over. "What's happened to me?" he bellowed. "You used the Dragon Sword to kill a dragon," Arna explained. "The Dragon Sword was not made to kill dragons." "But, I just made a little cut." The new dragon sounded to be on the verge of crying. "Exactly, when a dragon is cut with the dragon sword, it dies. But, the human wielding the sword becomes a dragon," Arna explained. "This is all a dream! This can't be happening!" Rarguf screamed. "I'm a DRAGON! A filthy stinky DRAGON!" "Oh, dragons aren't that bad," Arna tried to comfort him. "I don't want to be a dragon!" "HEY!" Jamk yelled. He was getting tired of this guy complaining. "You think you have it rough. Look at me. I'm a HORSE! At least you still have hands/claws." Rarguf sat back on his hind legs and looked at Jamk. "A talking horse. I had never heard of a talking horse." The dragon let out a snort laugh. Smoke streamed from his nostrils. "I'm not a talking horse. I'm a human that was turned into a horse. I'm learning to live with it. You can too." The dragon laughed. Jamk was furiated. This guy would not believe that he was a human. Rarguf tried to stop laughing. "I'm not laughing at you, horse. I'm laughing at me. I mean. Look at me. I'm complaining that I am now fifty feet long, able to fly, and breath fire. I guess I got a pretty good deal." Jamk snorted. "So, what are you doing out here in the Forest of Trees?" Rarguf asked the humans when he got his laughing under control. "We are searching for the Articulum," Turlon replied. Arna shot him a glance. "The Articulum? Don't tell me the horse is the Norrom," the dragon laughed again. "No, he is," Arna said pointing to Turlon. Rarguf stood up and bowed as best as he could. "Norrom, I ask your permission to join you on your quest." "Granted," Turlon replied. He sure was getting into this Norrom role. "I am honored," Rarguf said settling down onto all fours. "But, I suggest that we first get some sleep." "I agree," Arna stated. "We have a long trip a head of us." The three humans lay down on their blankets. The dragon tried to find a comfortable position to sleep. Jamk know how hard it is the first time in a new body. The new horse, Vulla, joined the other horses at their area at the side of the camp. As he drifted off to sleep Jamk's thoughts drifted to the most attractive creature he had seen, Vulla. To Be Continued....