Chapter 11 - The Map, The horse's, The Departure

The next day they got up and did the morning dance, then Orion went to the town hall to see if he could find a modern map of the world. They explained that since the world was taken over by the shadows that there is little to no communication between towns or villages. And even less between kingdoms. That every now and again mercenaries like my apprentice will show up and do jobs. That's not very often. Orion ask what's the last good map do you have? The Dwarf rifles around and finds a map its old and dusty. He hands it to Orion and says it's on the house. Orion thanks him and heads to the stables there he finds that they have no horses but he already expected that. They did have a couple of ponies though. Orion checked the ponies out and saw they could hold him and Sherly. But they were a bit on the older side. Orion went back to town and asked if there are any wild horses near by one dwarf said he saw some to the north by the far side of the mine, Orion goes back to the cottage and tells Sherly about the horses to the north and she ask what they are going to do hunt them and Orion says to her that they are going to sing to them. Sherly says "sing to them"? Orion says "Yes, you see we go and sing if a wild horse likes your song, then it will follow you home and from then on all you have to do is sing that song and they will come to you. As my master used to say music calms the wild beast Its also in the magic book you must not have reached that chapter yet. Sherly brightens up really, we can sing and get them to come with us with a song I can't believe this I can get a horse for a song and a fresh wild one at that. If I ever meet my old friends, they would never believe any of this". Orion shakes his head and says "I guess things are a lot different now? We will head out tomorrow morning and since this is your first time singing for a horse then this could take some time. So, after breakfast we will head out. Sherly nods and gets back to her studies. As planned the next morning they set out for the place where the horses are at as well as packing up the cottage. As they started to leave a couple of dwarves came and asked if they are leaving and Orion tells them they are just getting some horses. That they would be back soon to restock their supplies before they left for the next town. And with that they made their way to the place of the horses. Several hours later they come up a hill and, in the distance, they can see a herd of horses. Orion sets up the cottage and then says we shall go down there and do so slowly while singing a song of calm and it goes like this. And he teaches her the song and they sing as they approach the herd, they stopped several feet away from the horses and finish the song and talked. Orion told her "The next part is to sing of your past both good and bad and your plans for the future. The horse won't understand the words but will understand your feelings so put your feelings into it. I will go first and sing my song". Then he sings of lands in the distant past of love with a mighty dragon how he was trapped and betrayed and how a thousand ears later he is here fighting for the world once again against the mighty Shadows that plague the land and how he needs a horse to carry him that's as fast as the wind and that he will protect such a horse he ends his song and waits an hour passes and he sings again. This happens 2 more times and finally a white and black stallion approaches him. He feeds him an apple and sings a song of bonding and walks him to the cottage and he gives him a pile of apples then he returns as Sherly starts to sing her song. Orion hands her an apple and then listens to her song. Sherly sings of growing up and being bullied because she was different how she was beaten to become a mercenary and how things changed when she found her teacher how she has learned how to use a sword and song, how this is her promise if one comes she will care for him and feed him and protect him she waits an hour and during time Orion teaches Sherly the song for bonding and tells her that there is a basket of apples she can give her horse once she gets to the cottage. Then he heads back to the cottage and makes sure he brushes his horse and then names him Yin-Yang. He smiles because the horse responded to the name in an affectionate manner. Then he sings and 2 stable stalls appear as a part of the Cottage he leads Yin-yang, in to the first stall, then he went to bed. Two hours latter Sherly walked back with a gray horse singing the song of bonding she finds the basket of apples and feeds the grey and she sees the brush and starts to brush the horse after it eats then she leads it to the 2nd stable stall and heads in and bathes and goes to bed. The next morning Orion teaches her how to tame the horse with song and apples and a blanket on its back and short rides it takes a day to tame the horses and then they head back to the town. Once in town the Dwarves watch them ride in and are amazed with the beautiful horses. They head to the leather workers guild and have saddles made they are told it will take 3 days so they set up the cottage again and this time it automatically had stables over the next 3 days they bought the things they needed for the next leg of the journey to the next town but were unsure if it was there a place named Delimath on the 3rd day the woke up to have the leather workers give them the saddles. The towns people all come to see them off as they put the saddles on the horses and return the cottage to a stone they say their fare wells and leave