Looking at the fallen tree trunk he knew he only had one chance to pull this off. Holding his breath, he backed up before putting his sword away. Holding his arms out, it was a delicate balancing act of putting one foot before the other while testing which patches were slippery. Don't look at the water, focus on the tree trunk. After the longest five minutes of his life, he was on the other side of the trunk and carefully crouched before stepping off. He had made it in one piece. "I believe it is safe to say, that most people don't come through here. Otherwise we would've found a bridge." While he pulled his hood back around his face, he spied two eyes glaring at them from the underbrush. Quietly, without moving he whispered loudly to Vinsue.

"…I think something's watching us. It's behind you… Be careful not to make any sudden movements." He hoped it wasn't a jungle cat. In the dense tangle of vines the animal would have the advantage. Slowly, he reached towards his sword ready to draw it should whatever in the shadows decide to attack them.

She watched as he crossed the tree. he was a good bit slower than her but she would rather him not fall. She smiled as he jumped off the tree and landed beside her. "Yea, no kidding." she said as she watched his skin go pale. Had he been bitten by something? Stung? Cut? no he whispered that they where being watched. 

She slowly turned around to see what it was. She knew the game of cat and mouse and during her life she has been both. she smiled as she realized it was only a curious monkey. "It safe it will not hurt you if you do not hurt it." she said and walked on. the monkey fallowed them but stayed its distance. seeing the end of the trees and the beginning of the grass she walked a bit faster and stopped at the last tree.

"your not going to like this but that mountain in the middle is where we are heading. so want to take a break in the shade or head on?" she asked. she could keep going but she could see he was covered in a lot more sweat then her and looked tired. She looked over the aria. what animals she could see where headed for the jungle and away from the black mountain. she was curious why tell she saw a small stream of smoke rising into the sky. The call got stronger and told her that she had to get in and out before it erupted. 

He was relieved it was only a monkey, not some fanged jungle cat ready to fight for its territory. Unfortunately he was not fond of monkeys, as they were a bother at best and a pest at worst. They were smart, and that was why they could be so annoying. Ever since they arrived on the island they experienced a surprising stroke of luck; maybe it was due to Vinsue. Dragons were apex predators after all, and most creatures were clever enough to avoid becoming another's meal. He certainly hoped they would find that she was looking for soon, before said luck ran out.

Cymbel was less than enthusiastic when she stated their objective was on the mountain–where the hydras were. The halfling captain's warnings came to mind and he absolutely did not want to fight one. He didn't have enough firepower to torch them all should they choose to hunt as a group, and having to deal with multiple moving targets with only him and Vinsue would only end horribly. "…Do we really have to climb the mountain? The captain said there were hydras. And if what I know about hydras are true, they have a very nasty regeneration factor. Normally I like to keep a positive outlook, but fighting in the jungle puts us at a severe disadvantage. Unless we have a bucket of tar and flint, they'll just grow back. If you try to transform here you won't have enough room to move."

He frowned behind the folds of his hooded cloak. "I mean unless we leg it and run like a pack of wolves are tailing us, it's unlikely we'll break through."

She almost laughed. but a humored smile appeared on her face. he was standing beside a flame spitter and he was worried about the seaman's myth. and the aria contaning the mountain was a grassland not a jungle or forest and had plenty of room for her to switch if she needed to. "Yea they have a thing for regrowing more heads in the place of each that is cut off. but that is why you do not try the usual methods of slayers. you use fire and since you have not noticed I am a dragon who, despite everyone and thing trying to hunt me, does not carry a sword or weapon besides a small dagger for a reason. i may not be red but i still know how to use flame." she said a bit saddened that he had lost his trust in her and let fear win his actions. 

her face lost expression as she looked and new he was not kidding. She had survived years of trials and fights. She even survived a curse and a blessing. she had no need to fully transform in any case that they will not need to fly in. she opened her hand palm up. and a flame appeared. she than clapped her other hand on top of it. it wint out and she turned out of the trees onto the open fields of knee high grass. she spread her hands out and than clapped them this time she did it fast and a plain of fire shot in front of her. she than lowered her hands and turned back to him. 

"I half to go. you can stay if you like, but the stupid call will only get more demanding for me and i do not back down or give up for possible dangers." she sounded agitated partly because of the calls demanding and partly the thought of her companion wanting to back out. 

Cymbel listened to her words but still shook his head. He still did not like the idea, even if she boasted many years of experience. Unless Vinsue had said she had fought and succeeded against a hydra, then perhaps his concerns would be assuaged. What would they do if they faced a group surrounding them? Should they be followed into the plains, that would draw the attention of other predators. And if any of them were airborne… He admired her bravery to go about without much more than a dagger as a weapon, but in the words of the storybooks he had read as a child had said, there was always a bigger fish. Beings such as they did not live as long as they had without learning to avoid dangers.

"I will stay here. If I go out into the plains of the Ignius section I will only be a burden to you. Should you need me, I will be waiting by the shore where we first landed. I fare thee well." With his sword at his side he gave a polite nod of before turning back to leave the jungle. He had said he would be waiting, but felt that should occasion arise if she truly needed him, he wouldn't be able to make it. In spite of the dragon's confidence, he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.

It was dangerous to go alone. When he was out of sight and out of her range of hearing he murmured to himself, "Indeed…it is." When he had left, there was the sound of a low, deep rumbling in the distance. 

She only turned and started walking after he made his decision. once to the plan she turned to her true form and took to the sky. she followed the call. Vinsue landed on the mountain near a cave and climbed into it. she stopped only when the ground rumbled but was good at keeping her balance. once the mountain calmed down she walked on with her mouth flame lit so she could see. a bit of her flame fell from her mouth and landed on some oil that lit the hall and a large cavern around the outer edge. she stopped and put her mouth flame out han realised it was she that started it. relieved she continued into the room and walked around the head of a long dead dragon.

it was as tall as herself and had a golden glow coming between the teeth and eyes. she turned to her human form and then climbed in through the nose holes. on the inside was what had called her. she did not know what it was but she knew it was made of gold and that it stopped the call. she slipped the bag off of her soldiers and placed the egg shaped thing of gold into it than shouldered it and climbed back out. she froze as she hit the floor and dropped her bag as a low gurgle hiss sound came from somewhere behind her. 

She turned to see three heads of what her friend was so wearied about. she formed a ball of electricity on her hands and clapped them sending a plane of energy out. she then turned to her true form. the electricity cut the heads right off and it hit to the ground. she turned and pounced as its heads started regrowing and bit down hard on its back. the heads turned and tried to bite back but she had let electricity coat her. the beast screamed. she than gathered all the charg around her and shot it through her mouth and into the beast's flesh towards its heart. the beast dissolved into a small purple orb and vinsue carefully placed it into the pack and then started walking with it out of the cave. once out she leaped and spread her wings. She flew back to the edge of the jungle then turned back to her trew form. ash spewed from the volcano but she did not seem to notice or care as she started walking back threw the brush of the jungle. 

As Cymbel waited back in the Terra section, he wandered around to look at the flora and fauna. While browsing through the field of wildflowers, he found a small pile of beans. There seemed to be no sign of the plants that bore such fruit; how odd. Scooping all of them up, he pitied them and decided to plant them in the earth so they could flower like their neighbors. Poking a hole deep enough to bury one of the legumes, he dropped one in and covered it back up with the surrounding soil. Uncapping his canteen, he dripped a little water onto the spot and was going to continue with the rest when suddenly a massive vine burst forth from beneath him. Within the span of seconds he was being rocketed up into the sky as he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Ohhhh GOOOODSSS!!!" 

As Vinsue was coming back she would see a vine made for giants rise up into the sky, and then lean over with the top ending somewhere in the Venti section of the island. A fading panicked scream was heard in the distance. Once she was back at the place where they had seen the field of flowers, there was the base of that very vine–spanning more then twenty feet in diameter. Her companion was nowhere to be seen.

as she heard a faint scream she started running. What had he gotten himself into. She thought. the trees slapped at her and left a few welts and red places. but she kept going until she reached the stalk of the vine. she looked around but he was not in that aria. she knew she did not have the energy to try and turn again so she paced. 

she looked up and noticed it was leaning a certain direction and started running in that direction. soon she came to a brook and looked for a way to cross it. seeing the bridge she ran to it than to the other side looking up every now and then to make sure she was heading in the right direction. she tripped over a pumpkin wich broke it and upset a pixy. "Sarry." she said than pointed to the sky. "My friend is up there and he is in trouble." the pixy flue off and vin again started running. she again tripped but this time she blacked out.

The pixy had gone to get help for her friend and would soon be there to help. others gathered and brought the unconscious woman in to one of their tree homes.

The rapidly-growing vine burst forth, nearly rocketing Cymbel into the stratosphere as he hung on for dear life. Now when most people thought of fey, they imagined miniature humanoids with wings. Unfortunately he was not that type of fey, and very rarely had ever been more than five feet off the ground. A quick glance downward started to make his head spin when he saw how high up he was, and he decided then and there to not look down. When the vine had stopped moving, he slowly proceeded down the bend of the stalk. Finally reaching the tip, he let go and reunited with solid ground. Never before had he been so happy to lie down in the dirt. Looking at the rest of the beans he had, he swore to never plant them while standing over them ever again. The shock had derailed whatever train of thought he had while waiting for Vinsue, and now he only sought to return to the Terra section again.

The air was cooler and the tree were shady, so it was safe to assume this was the Venti section of Horae Island. He was very thankful he had not been dropped in the Ignius or Glaciem areas, as he wouldn't have fared well there. As he walked, he had the uncanny feeling that he was being watched. However every time he looked over his shoulder he saw nothing. Stopping beneath a tree to think, he felt something tickle the back of his neck. Thinking it to be an insect, he swatted it away. But when he pulled out his map to take a better look at the island, there was the distinct feeling of something touching his head. Attempting to brush it away he soon found himself surrounded by moving trees, and almost had another panic attack until he saw what they were. In the process of being nearly sent flying, his glamour spell had failed and he was no longer in his half-elf disguise. And right now, he was being swarmed by a coppice of overly affectionate dryads.

After an indeterminate amount of time, he had broken free from their clutches and managed to run into a pixie carrying a pumpkin. He stopped it in the middle of its work and asked for directions to the Terra section, and it gave him some instructions in spite of being in a somewhat bad mood. When asked about why it was unhappy, it mentioned something about a pale blunderbuss trampling the growing pumpkins. The description sounded very familiar, so he went ahead to confirm if it was who he thought it was. Had she seen him being flung into the sky, following the vine until she reached the end? He wasn't sure, but hoped so. There was only one way to find out.

Vinsue awoke in a small room on a bed. She was quick to get up and looked around. first she checked her bag wich she found lying beside the bed. nothing in it had been touched. she was glad about it than remembered that she was looking for her friend. she left the room and house then started to find her way down to the forest floor. she was stopped and told she needed to rest but she only shook her head and said she had to get to her friend befor someone else did.