a collection of tales [[ chronocompass writing ]]

The Walker had always prided himself of being careful, being quiet, and staying out of trouble. He and his dragons were fairly solitary fellows, and they had wandered the Chronoscape together for years on end. Somehow, recently, the compasses of his dragons had pointed them all to this colorful, simple forest. Walker, upon seeing the interesting place, had decided to set up camp for a while. The group had built a treehouse high up in between several trees and camouflaged it well. Even now, when the snow fell, the little building in the sky was well hidden. In between the snow and the ice, their little home in a tree was warm, wonderful, and most of all, very hard to spot. The Walker had already seen several dragons wander past in the previous few weeks he had been living here. It had been very amusing to see them all walk on by, with no clue of how much they weren’t aware of.

On this particular morning, the sun was just starting to peek through the trees and shine some light on the snowy landscape. The Walker awoke to the light and got up quite quicky. He had plans for the day, things to get done! There wasn’t any use in just waiting around. Walker stepped outside onto the treehouse’s deck and took a seat on the edge. Far below, he could see the river winding its way downstream. The quiet peace of the moment was something to be appreciated - though not for very long. Agate scurried out the front door and flew on over to greet the mechanical rider. The Walker prepared himself. Agate’s usual thing to do was to ask him a great many questions about anything and everything. It was frustrating, sometimes, but he did his best to be kind about it all.

Agate, predictably, weaved a few times around Walker as a friendly hello, and then said “So what are we doing today?”

The Walker thought about it for a minute, thought about all the different options. *There’s a hot spring near here. A natural beauty. I thought we could check it out,* he eventually thought back in return.

More dragons were coming out of the treehouse to hear the conversation - the Walker gave them all a mental greeting. Duck was the first out the door, and beamed upon hearing the idea. She looked up to the rubber duck on her head and said, “I would quite like that. So would my best friend.”

Spiffy and Refractor exited together, the slightly larger Spiffy hiding behind Reef. Walker still felt kind of bad that their home was so high up. Poor Spiff was terrified up here. Though when inside, she did a lot better. Out here, however, Spiff was trembling. Refractor offered her a slimy hand as assistance and reassurance, and she gladly held on for dear life.

“Can we go now?” Agate asked. The little dragon hopped up into the air and floated there, eager to get going right away. The Walker simply nodded, and Agate sped away towards the direction Walker had in mind.

Reef smiled towards Spiff. “Well, shall we be off?” Spiffy nodded, eager but also nervous, and the two took flight together. They followed after Agate, Refractor the epitome of style in the air, and Spiff a slightly jumbled mess. The Walker watched them go and then got to his own feet. He jumped out to where a rope was waiting and slid down it until he reached the bottom. His feet crunched into the snow.

Duck joined him there shortly afterwards, now holding her rubber duck so it wouldn’t get lost out there in the expanse of snow. The Walker squinted, then after a moment started jogging after the three dragons that had gone ahead. He wanted to catch up with them, after all, and hardly ever got tired. A run would be good for him. Duck hopped up on his shoulders, duck in hand, and the two were on their way. 

The river was in their way, of course, and Walker didn’t feel like getting his mechanical joints wet, especially in this cold. He hopped carefully across several rocks to reach the other side, and thankfully didn’t slip even once. From there, it was a simple matter of weaving through the trees of the forest until they broke apart to reveal a large field, filled with knee high grass. The snow was bending many of the stalks of grass downwards, but it was still an impressive height. As he looked ahead, he saw his three dragons scurrying towards the location of the apparent hot spring. Apparently they were quite excited to get warm. 

“I am too,” said Duck in response to Walker’s thoughts. She often listened in on what her rider was thinking, and the Walker never much minded. Out of all his dragons, she and him were the closest. Two quiet friends, ready to enjoy life together in between all the travel.

The Walker listened in on the conversation of the three dragons ahead. They seemed to be discussing how water could get so hot when it was snowing out. Walker, quite honestly, wasn’t sure himself, but he was sure that it would be quite the nice experience. Enjoy some new things, stay away from that odd town he’d seen nearby - that was the plan.

When he finally caught up with his dragons, Duck in tow, he saw that they were all looking downwards. Befuddled, he cast his gaze downwards as well. The grassy plains sloped down a bit here, and at the bottom of the semi - steep drop, he saw what they had all been looking for. The hot spring! It hadn’t even been all that long of a walk.

Agate got right at it with the questions. “That’s steam, right? Not poison? Is it safe? We can jump in and it’ll all be fine, yeah?”

Refractor adjusted his hat and nodded regally. “I’m sure it will be,” she said. “Otherwise Walker wouldn’t have brought us here, right? Besides, this can’t be any worse then that time we came across those very grumpy bears.”

Spiff shuddered at the memory. “The bears were alright… I suppose.”

“Exactly!” cried Reef, so glad that his point was being understood. The frog dragon leapt downwards towards the hot spring, each step a cheerful jump. Agate shrugged and flew as fast as he could, determined to get in before Reef could. Duck grabbed her duck and hurried after them. Spiff hesitated for a moment, but after the Walker gave her a friendly mental push, she took to the air and glided down towards the warmth of the intriguing spring. Walker slid down the slope last, and came right up to the edge of the water. It was certainly warm - he could feel the heat from here. The spring was quite wide, and surrounded by stones, smoothed down with the wear and tear of time. The Walker glanced back behind him out of habit, to ensure they hadn’t been followed, and to his relief, the snow and grass combined with the incline blocked the view of anyone who would be coming across the field. Unless they stood right at the edge, the group was perfectly hidden. Walker nodded to himself, content, and dove in.

. . . .

The Walker admired the warm spring below him. It was such a nice feeling compared to the chill of the snow all around. Glad that he had taken his dragons here, he dove into the water, sending water every which way. Poor Agate was swamped by a small tidal wave of warm water crashing over him. Duck’s duck sank beneath the waves, and the thunder dragon hurriedly dove beneath to retrieve her friend.

It was warm indeed, and as the Walker surfaced, he found a spot near the edge of the hot spring to sit down. He ended up with just his legs in the water, which was no less wonderful. Sometimes it was very good to appreciate the small things, like being warm when the rest of the world was freezing from an unexpected snowfall.

Out of all his dragons, Refractor was most at home here. The frog was floating, front side up, in the water, her hat spinning lazily above her. While all the other dragons were made up of so many mechanical pieces, Reef was still mostly her frog like self - very buoyant and suited for adventures such as this one.

There was a light steam coming off the top of the spring, and Spiffy watched it float ever upwards in awe. She was the youngest of the Walker’s dragons, still so entranced by the wonders of life, and Walker always loved seeing things through her eyes. She made every old experience feel brand new and exciting. In this moment, Spiff was able to leave her fears behind and just enjoy life.

Agate surfaced from beneath the water and grinned. “It’s so cool down there! Well, not cool. Very warm. But super neat! There’s bubbles and stuff!” The dragon’s tail was moving every which way - he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings at all in his excitement. His tail ended up hitting Duck in the face, and her and her duck went under the water once again. But Duck figured she might as well use the moment to see what Agate was talking about. Once she’d grabbed on to her rubber duck friend, she kicked her legs and dove even deeper. The hot spring was surprisingly deep, and she kept swimming downwards for a time before she reached the bottom, at perhaps 20 feet deep.

True to Agate’s word, there were quite a few bubbles down here. The lower Duck got the warmer she felt, until at the bottom the heat was almost uncomfortable. She swam over to an odd spot where the water was bubbling up from some intriguing hole in the ground. As she got closer, she felt herself being pushed upwards. As she was running out of air anyway, she went with the current and swam back up to the surface, careful that her rubber duck didn’t slip out of her arms.

At the surface, Duck glanced around her. The snow was beginning to fall again, but that was okay with her. She felt warm and safe right where she was. She swam on over to where Walker was resting at the edge of the spring and found a shallow spot of water to relax in next to him.

The Walker had his eyes closed, and he was lost in thought. As his dragon played and enjoyed the break from the cold, he was pondering what to do next. The little group of rider and dragons had been in this odd forest for a few weeks already - was it time to move on? Time to find another planet to explore? He had expected his dragons’ chronocompasses to be pointing somewhere new. Instead, they all seemed quite content with where they were at. Were they meant to be here, at this time and place? That’s what the Walker thought it had to be, if not some odd mistake. Had he messed up something with his dragons when giving them new arms and legs, wings and tails? The Walker began running through all the repairs he’d made in his head, calculations spinning away. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Spiffy approached and gave him a mental tap on the shoulder.

“I think that maybe this is where we’re meant to be,” she said, echoing his earlier thoughts. There’s so much to see here, isn’t there? I heard Duck’s been spying on that town south from here. They’ve got so much going on!”

Reef paddled over to join the conversation, hat still spinning above her. “I’m inclined to disagree, sadly. No ill will, of course, but we’ve always been adventurers, explorers! Tamers of new lands. One doesn’t become an adventurer by staying in one place.”

Duck, rubber duck now back in its usual place atop her head, spoke from her spot in the water. “We have a lot to see here, though, don’t we? This planet is large, and there’s so many people living on it. I’ve heard much about places that could be incredible to see. And the people here - they all seem so nice! Or, at least the ones nearby.” She paused to shrug. “They speak a lot about some very scary humans next planet over, though.”

The Walker nodded slowly as he listened to everyone’s opinions. *I don’t like run ins with others,* he stated mentally. *We’ve been in trouble too many times because of that.*

“Yes,” agreed Agate, who had splashed over to the others after seeing that the time for fun had seemingly come to a close for the time being. “But there’s more of us now, aren’t there? We’ll fight anyone off who dares come close! Boom! Crash! Lightning everywhere!” The little dragon demonstrated by splashing water in every direction. It crashed into the various dragons and rider present, though since it was so warm, no one really minded - except for Duck, of course, who had to go diving for her precious friend once again.

Reef let out a hearty, but elegant chuckle as Agate fought with the water around him. “As much as I would love to think we would duel any evildoers and succeed, I far prefer preventative measures. If we don’t get into trouble, there’s no risk, eh?”

Spiff stretched her metal wings. The heat of the water was getting to be a bit much for her. She climbed out and sat next to the Walker. “Maybe Reef is right, but - I just love all the stories Duck’s been telling me about the places near here! I know it’s a risk, but maybe we could take it slow? One step at a time. Duck could talk with some of them and see if they’re good people or not. Or, or maybe I could.” The Walker was impressed by the sudden courage in her voice, and if he had a mouth he would have smiled. 

*Well, I’m not sure. But as long as none of you have chronocompasses pointing us somewhere new, we’re staying. So perhaps it would be a good idea to get to know our neighbors a bit more.* He watched the snow fall down around him and melt into the water of the spring with a pensive gaze. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but at least, in this moment, things were peaceful.

. . . .

It was almost as if the Walker admitting that they could perhaps get to know their neighbors was a summoning spell. Only a few moments after the thought had passed through his mind, he heard a crunching sound at the top of the hill. Someone was coming this way.

*Stay low, stay quiet!* the Walker commanded to his dragons. *Duck, see if you can get around behind them. Everyone else, with me.* He crouched down low in the water of the hot spring, so that only his head could be seen, and was ready to dive beneath the surface or bolt as needed. Spiffy ducked behind Walker in sudden fear. She tucked her wings in tight and was very determined to not be seen. Maybe the steam coming off of the water would help hide them? A bit far out there in terms of thinking, but perhaps it would help. Just a bit.

Agate slithered out of the water - thankfully he’d stopped his splashing around - and dove into a pile of snow to attempt (poorly) to hide his brightly colored scales. Refractor simply took a deep breath and dove beneath the water. The frog could hold her breath for so long, the Walker sometimes worried for the dragon.

Finally, Duck grabbed her duck and burrowed into the snow like Agate - except instead of staying there, she began to tunnel through it to hopefully get around behind the mysterious visitor while staying somewhat well hidden.

As the crunching got closer, someone appeared at the top of the slope. Walker ducked further down beneath the water - he didn’t need to breathe. Spiffy, however did, and was nervously trying to duck behind the Walker more and more, slowly submerging herself further in the water.

A five headed dragon appeared at the top of the slope. Of all the things the Walker had been expecting, that was fairly far down on his list. The five heads were looking every which way, and when several of the heads glanced down towards the spring, Walker held his non - existant breath. Unfortunately, they didn’t stay hidden for very long. The center head seemed to notice them almost instantly, and before long the large dragon was sliding down the slope towards them. The Walker panicked and dove beneath the water completely, dragging Spiff with him.

When the five headed dragon reached the edge of the water, a trail of footprints in the snow behind them, one of the heads called down into the water. “Come back! We didn’t mean to be scary!”

“That’s exactly what you intended, Storm, don’t pretend otherwise,” another head shot back.

“Well maybe you should quiet down a bit! I’m trying to save the situation here, Dark,” the head apparently named Storm replied. Agate watched the heads speak and saw his chance. They’d just been talking about fighting off any dangers, right? Well here was a big danger! Agate was going to fight off the big scary dragon and save the day!

The small thunder dragon jumped out of the snowy hideout he’d made for himself and leapt at the five headed creature with a battle cry of victory. He built up all his power and sent a bolt of lightning right at them. A direct hit! Agate watched as the five heads jolted back in surprise, and then - to his own surprise, two of the heads - the ones called Dark and Storm - started laughing, while two more smiled in his direction and the last blinked in apparent confusion. Had his big and brave attack not hurt them at all?

“We’re not hear to cause trouble, dear,” one of the heads, with a finned crest and a concerned gaze, said. “We just were on our way out to the spring when we heard you all talking! Where are your friends? Are they all okay?”

Agate didn’t respond. He had to fight the monster! He let loose another bolt of lightning, but this time it crashed into one that the odd dragon had sent out. How was this dragon so powerful?

The Walker’s voice came into Agate’s head. *Alright, that’s enough. I don’t think they mean to hurt us. Might as well see what they have to say.*

Duck, who was now quite close behind the five headed dragon, gave up trying to be sneaky at that, and trotted up and around to stand beside Agate, her rubber duck held carefully between her front claws. “We’re all fine,” she said, not really knowing which head to look at while speaking. “It’s just that we’re not used to visitors.”

“Oh, it’s you! I’ve seen you around, for sure,” another head added. “Have you been visiting our town?”

“Introductions first, Wind,” the middle head said. Agate and Storm started sending friendly sparks at each other, so that the air was filled with not just snow, but also static electricity. The Walker climbed out of the hot water, Spiffy clinging to his back, and Refractor was the last to leave the water of the spring with a sigh. She hopped on up to join the rest of the group.

“I’m Metal,” said the center head. “It’s very nice to meet you all. My fellows here are Ocean, Storm, Dark, and Wind. We call ourselves the Company.”

The Walker went to respond with his thoughts before he realized that he couldn’t really do that. He only ever had a mental connection with his own dragons. The troubles of not having a mouth, he supposed. Refractor spoke in his stead.

“Well, I’m Reef. Walker’s my rider, and my friends are called Spiff, Agate, and Duck.” The Walker gave a friendly wave to the five headed dragon, though it was a bit stilted. This really was not what he’d been hoping would happen when he’d brought his dragons out here today. Storm and Agate were still going at it with the sparks, and Walker flinched as a stray bolt hit him. Noticing Walker’s distress, Agate stopped sending out thunderbolts with a sigh.

“If none of you are called thunder, how come you know thunder magic?” Agate questioned, curious that his new friend - or perhaps new rival - had such impressive skills.

The head named Wind spoke. “Well, we’re a bit of a rarity when it comes to dragons.”

Ocean nodded. “We’ve got some intriguing elements, I suppose. Night and thunder. Odd that we didn’t get another one of us for that element.”

Spiffy stared up at the dragon in awe. “You’re a night dragon? I thought those were just a myth!”

“Are we a myth, Metal?” Dark said with a laugh. That head in particular had pointed ears and an orb above her head. The Walker felt he could stare at this dragon for ages and still not understand everything that was going on with them.

“I don’t think so,” Metal said with a smile. “Either way, we haven’t seen many of you around, apart from Duck. Did you just arrive here? We get visitors all the time, so you’re very welcome to stay if you would like.”

The Walker was going to object, but he decided against it. Surprisingly, all was going okay. Perhaps they really were meant to be here. As his dragons conversed with the stranger, he decided that he would give them all a chance.