Ancestral Dragon

Chapter 27

Jak had one more thing to take care of before he would let himself collapse and fall asleep. The day had been long and Jak looked forward to the stiff cot in his cabin. Judging by the few campfires left, it was late but Jak still hoped to find Zachario. Leaving first thing tomorrow meant he might not see his friend at the morning meal.

After checking the faces of a few groups, Jak finally found Zachario and pulled him away from the firelight.

"What's up, Jak?" Zachario asked.

"I'm leaving the village tomorrow morning," Jak said.

"What do you mean?"

"Viktor can't figure out a way to get me back to my world, so, Rory's leading me to a man on the mainland that can."

"You're kidding," Zachario said with a laugh. "You can't go into the kingdom with just two people. Come with me to this fire. They're not as riled up and it's a good time."

"Rio," Jak said.

"You're serious?" Zachario's eyes widened and mouth hung open.

"Yea. I have to find a way back to Earth. If I don't, then... Well, I don't know what will happen but I know I don't want to be the cause of anything worse than what the king is doing."

"What could be worse?" Zachario's tone was deadly serious.

Jak shrugged his shoulders. They stood in silence for a few minutes as Jak anxiously waited for the moment when Zachario accepted what was happening and Jak could leave on good terms.

"I'm coming," Zachario said.

"What?"

"I'm not going to let you traverse the kingdom with only Rory to back you up. You'll need all the help you can get. So, I'm coming to ensure you make it to this mystery man."

"No, I can't ask you to do that."

"It's done." Zachario shook his head and then met Jak's gaze. There was no convincing Zachario otherwise. He was coming.

***

Rory found the young men in the communal kitchen the next morning as they finished their meals.

"Enjoy this, it will be the last full meal for quite a while," she said coldly, not trying to hide her animosity towards this mission. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Zachario stood up knocking the table, earning him foul looks from the other trainees nearby.

Rory squeezed her eyes shut then gave Jak an incredulous stare.

"I don't see the harm in adding another member to our team," Jak said quietly.

"We don't need that," Rory gestured to Zachario, "kind of noise as we sneak through the kingdom."

"I'm going," Zachario responded with a stern look.

Rory shook her head and stared at the ceiling. As she seemed to come to a conclusion, she walked away as Jak and Zachario hurried to follow, Zachario knocking the table again as he picked up his pack. Jak could feel the gazes of the trainees on the back of his neck. It was probably not the best idea to carry their bags into the kitchen and then have Rory meet them inside. They were off to a bad start in trying to go unnoticed.

From the communal kitchen, Rory led them south. They walked further away from the center of the village and closer to fields of crops. Villagers were hard at work with various tasks. Most noticeably were people harvesting the corn, carrots, beets, onions, and potatoes. A small group of workers were planting as well. Rory explained that they rotated the fields so the soil was never used up of nutrients. The crops were also surrounded by small shrubs that reduced the impact of wind and rain on the soils.