FRIEND OR FOE






I sat there after Miraldis flew off and wondered just what I would do if Jeff came back. I was fairly certain that he would. Now that I had a few minutes to go over the past hours there were all kinds of questions that I wanted answers to and I had a feeling I would not get them from him. At least not the true ones. I wondered why he had seemed to sneak up on my camp. Why not call out to see if anyone was awake before stepping into the camp. Certainly, he seemed pleasant enough but when I said that I came out alone to be alone why did he come along with me. I wondered if I had given anyone back at the hotel any reason to wonder what I was about. While the thought of having him around bothered me, it did not frighten me, since I could easily get away in bird form if there was any danger from him, and there was also Miraldis' magic to fall back on. Finding the eggs, though, was paramount in my thoughts and I could not go off on some supposed sketching trip just to satisfy his curiosity. The best I could do was to sit tight until Miraldis returned and plan from there.

Meanwhile there was no sense in wasting a perfectly lovely scene, so I worked away at my sketching and kept my ears open for the return of one or the other. The mist thrown up from the water tumbling down the rocks curled about in tendrils and waves, with little rainbows flashing now and then when the sun hit just right. It was truly lovely and I did my best with my pastels to make it look as nice on paper. I thought the mist curling like it did reminded me of a bride's veil and with a start realized that I might have another clue to the riddle. Could the dragons have possibly hidden the eggs behind a waterfall???? It would certainly be a safe place and I have heard of all kinds of caves and tunnels being carved out of the rock from water falling over the centuries.





I was deep in thoughts of caves and dragon's eggs, when Miraldis arrived in a flurry of wings.

"The Man Hass Not Gone To Any Ssort Of Cabin. He Iss Jusst A Sshort Way Up The Trail And Sseems To Be Waiting. I Didsst Fly Farther And About And There Iss No Ssign Of Any Buildingss. Alsso There Iss A Group Of Hikerss Coming Thiss Way And The Man Hass Hidden Himsself From Them."

Well......that was a very interesting thing. Now I was sure that Jeff was up to no good, and I was even beginning to be sure that he was not, in fact, a ranger at all. That meant that he was following me for some reason. It occurred to me that my questions in town about the possibility of gems might have been overheard, and that he thought I might know where there were some. If that was the case, then it would bear watching my back. I remembered what the Blue dragon had told me as well. 'Never assume that friends remain friends'. I certainly did not consider Jeff any kind of friend, but the caution might just as easily apply to aquaintances too.

"Miraldis, would you be good enough to go and stay near Jeff, and fly back if he starts back this way. I think I can probably manage to head off the hikers, but I need to know what he is doing" and with a quick nod and a flutter, the little guy was off again.

I settled myself as best I could and since I could hear the chatter of the people in the hiking group coming toward me, I thought of what I would say to them. Certainly I wanted to know if they had seen Jeff and where they had come from. With thoughts of eggs and waterfalls,as well as what Jeff wanted rattling about in my head I was glad of having the warning from Miraldis.





It suddenly occurred to me that I might just use the arrival of the hikers to my advantage. With that in mind, I set about filling the kettle and getting out the tea. Instead of getting them on their way as soon as I could, maybe they could be a cover of sorts. I would be able to ask questions of the route ahead without raising any questions from them and perhaps get some information that would help in my search without having it look as though I was doing anything more than asking for directions.

I knew that I was right when they came trooping into the little clearing, and stopped in surprise at seeing me. I got up from the stool and invited them to sit and rest with a cup of tea, which was gladly accepted. Over the next hour or so, we chatted about the things that they had seen, where they were from and most importantly, though I didn't mention that, whether or not they had met up with other hikers. They had seen nobody since they had broken their camp early in the morning, which didn't surprise me since Miraldis had said that Jeff seemed to be hiding from them. They were on their way to the glacier to meet up with another group and had decided to come across the face of the mountain instead of going directly to the glacier via the shuttle.

They were very interested in why I was travelling alone but being young and adventurous themselves understood my "need" for space and peace. They were good enough to admire the drawings I had made and informed me that they had passed a really big waterfall earlier in the morning,higher up the mountain. That was just the news I had been looking for and they gave a rather jumbled account of how to get there. For some reason, the trail was not clear, and there were differing opinions of how easy it would be to find the waterfall. They said that they had heard it long before they found it and it had taken them some time back tracking a few trails, before they did find it.

It was beginnig to sound just the place I was looking for, and also as though the wards that were preventing Miraldis from going directly to the cave, were still in place. The kids made ready to be on their way, and I took the kettle down to the river to rinse it out. One of the girls followed me, and after rinsing the mugs from her group, said very hesitantly that I should be careful going to the big waterfall. There was, she said, something strange there and while she couldn't tell me just what it was that had her nervous, she said that she was glad when they had come on down the trail. It was good news to me, for now I was sure that I was on the right trail.

Going back to my little camp, I bid them care on their way and asked if they would mind alerting the people at the hotel where I was staying that I would be another few days out. After they disappeared down the trail,I settled back down again to finish the sketch I had begun. There was no point in going on this day. It would be dark soon under the trees and I wanted a good night's sleep before facing the next part of the hunt. I was also aware that Jeff would probably come back to the camp, or at least be watching from near-by and I didn't want him to get the idea that I was in any hurry to be any place in particular.





Shortly after the kids left, Miraldis did appear and informed me that Jeff had gone farther up the mountain, and that he was now coming back this way. I quickly told Miraldis what the kids had said and he agreed that we must certainly be careful, but that it did indeed sound like the place we were looking for. He also agreed that we should stay here the night and be fresh for the next day, when we would probably need all our presence of mind to head Jeff off.

An hour later, Jeff, himself returned with the news that the way cabin had been farther off than he had thought.

"You needn't have come all this way back, then." I said. "I am quite fine here on my own. I had some visitors while you were gone and have done a few sketches."

"Oh ...it's no problem." he replied. "Did they tell you that the trail ahead is rather dangerous?"

"Yes, but they also said there is a huge waterfall along the way, and since that is what I have come to sketch, I think I'll give it a go tomorrow. I'll be fine here if you want to be on your way." I did not want him around for another night, especially now that I was certain that he had other motives. On the other hand though, perhaps it was better to have him where I could keep an eye on him than to have him hiding someplace ahead. I was fairly sure that he wouldn't harm me since he was obviously wanting to see where I went.

"If it's no trouble, perhaps I should travel along with you in the morning." he said, and proceeded to make himself at home in my camp.

"Well, I hope you brought some food with you then."I said. "I didn't expect any company, and didn't bring enough for two to eat." I didn't want to appear hostile, but this was a little much.

"Oh, I won't get in your way." he replied, and I thought to myself "Yah....right!"





The rest of the day passed in relative silence. We made a bit of small talk, had dinner and settled for the night. I cannot say that Jeff was a bad person to have around.......the problem was that I could not trust him. While he certainly did his share about the camp as far as getting fire wood and cleaning up, he was in the way as far as the hunt for the eggs was concerned. I had gone to the stream several times to refill the canteen as well as to rinse out my brushes, and with Miraldis seizing the opportunity to lite near-by, we had carried on whispered conversations. We decided that I should try to get rid of Jeff in the morning after breaking camp. Miraldis would follow him and make sure he had gone before we seriously started the hunt for the eggs. I wondered how much time we actually had left. We had been longer than expected on the trail and it looked as though we would be held up the next day as well.

It was much later when something woke me and without moving I listened for whatever it was that had woken me. Perhaps a log had fallen in the fire or a night bird had flown by. Without fully opening my eyes I peered about the camp. Jeff was by the fire and at first I thought he was putting another bit of wood on, but then he turned slightly and I could see that he was pulling things out of a pack. I carefully reached out and could not feel my pack, though I had placed it right next to my head and covered by my ground sheet when I turned in.

I watched as he took all my things out and resisted the urge to call out to him. I wanted to see what it was he was looking for and while I did not have anything of value in there, the things that were there were mine and I did not appreciate them being pawed through. If he meant any mischief, he could easily remove the things that I needed to survive on the mountain, leaving me in a very precarious position. Apparently finding nothing of interest, he returned everything to the pack and then took up the small carrier that I kept my sketching equipment in. From time to time, he glanced my way and I hoped that my eyes were not open enough to reflect the fire's light. He was very careful with the equipment,probably realizing that I kept them in certain little pouches in a roll, and I was grateful for that at least. He took out the small sketch pad and flipping through the pages, stopped for a long time on one where I had roughly drawn a map of the area we were planning to search. I had marked on it several possibilities for hiding places and I could see that he was noticing that as he followed along the trail. Then he tore a sheet from the back of the pad and copied the map.

So......you are planning to follow me in the morning then." I thought. I watched as he put all the things back in their places and closing my eyes willed my breathing to slow as he came towards me and put the pack carefully back under the ground sheet. He stood there for a few minutes and finally when I thought I was going to have to move, he turned and walked back to his bed roll. I waited for some time before finally closing my eyes again. All kinds of thoughts were going round and round and I was thinking hard of what I could say in the morning to make him leave me on my own. Just before falling back to sleep, I thought I saw a shadow under the trees move and realized that Miraldis was on guard and that he had probably been there the whole time. It was such a comfort to know that I was not actually alone in this.





In the morning, Jeff was already up and drinking coffee when I woke. I had slept well after the incident with him and the pack and thought it was probably because I knew Miraldis would let no harm come to me. He surprised me over breakfast by saying that he would be on his way if I didn't think I needed him to stick around. That was fine with me but since I knew that he had a map of our intended route, I doubted if that was the last I would see of him. I thanked him and told him that indeed I would be fine and added that I had asked the kids to alert the hotel management that I would be another couple of days out. It didn't hurt for him to know that others knew my plans and would be on the lookout for me.

We packed up, and I couldn't help wondering if he was watching to see if I noticed that my things had been moved. He had done a good job of putting everything back in its place,but I couldn't help getting all the sketching things out and checking them over.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"I'm not looking for anything." I answered, trying not to smile. "I just like to make sure that everything is in its place in case I come on something that I want to make a quick sketch of. That way I don't have to waste time hunting for the things I want. Sometimes, if it's a bird or animal, I haven't much time to get it down on paper."

"Why not bring a camera then?"

"Well, since the light isn't always very good or if something is a little distance, I would have to pack in a lot of heavy attachments. This way, I can make a quick sketch and fill it in from memory later."

We parted company soon after, and I went up the mountain, while Jeff went down. I couldn't help wondering how far he would go before turning to follow, but didn't dwell on it. I knew that Miraldis could find him fast enough later if he did turn to follow, as I was positive he would do. Why else would he bother to make a copy of the map. I was more intent on finding that big waterfall than what Jeff would be doing. Time had to be running out and though I was rather enjoying the camping and hiking, I would be glad to get back again.





I followed the trail upwards, and found the footing getting steeper as I travelled. Shortly after mid-morning, I stopped for a rest and a cup of tea that I had packed in the small thermos. The day was pleasantly warm but I did like a tea for refreshment,and the thermos meant that I did not have to stop and build a fire. Miraldis appeared and said that there was no sign of Jeff following and that was good news. It meant that we could have a decent conversation without having to worry that someone would overhear or see Miraldis. In dragonfly form, he could pretty much go anywhere without anyone seeing him, but I could hardly be seen chatting with an insect. We had agreed that he would not assume dragon form unless there was real need. I knew that he had been in dragon form last night, or I should not have seen his shadow move. We discussed the events of the night and came to the conclusion that we need not look for Jeff until we came closer to the places we had marked.

The afternoon hike was uneventful, though I stopped a few times for a breather and to make quick sketches of interesting things along the way. I always found it interesting to see how things evolved under the trees and sometimes there were beautiful growths of fungus or tiny openings where a big tree had fallen and smaller plants had sprung up. The hike was by no means boring and I was enjoying myself and the solitude.

About the time I was thinking of stopping for dinner and looking for a camp, I became aware that I had been hearing the roar of a waterfall for some time without being fully aware of it. The sound never seemed to come from one particular direction, which reminded me that the kids had mentioned that it had been hard to find. I decided that if I was close enough to hear it, maybe I should find it and camp there for the night. I called Miraldis in and asked if he could had found it in his flight, but he said that for some reason he had not been able to zero in on the exact location, though it could hardly have been out of his flight capabilities. Obviously, the wards were stronger the closer we got.

We went on and after following several trails, and wondering if I would have to wait for the next day, I scrambled over a lip of rock and almost fell over the edge of a deep crevass.I frantically grabbed for the branches of a small shrub growing from a crack in the rock,and regaining my footing,stepped back to a safer place. There in front of me was a huge fall of water tumbling many feet to the bottom, where a pool had been carved into the rock and the water eddied about in a whirlpool before going over the edge and into another fall that tumbled over the rocks in a froth of white.

The water roared down into the basin and then again down onto the rocks, but I could understand why the sound had carried in so many directions. The rocks and trees would have served to muffle and send echoes from the two falls, that would have crossed and seemed to come from different directions. It was an incredible sight and while I stood there trying to regain my composure from the near accident, I could only think of how powerfull water was, to be able to carve out such a crevass and pool, and wondered how many centuries it had taken. Miraldis flew about in the mist and his wings glinted in the sun and looked as though they were encrusted with tiny diamonds.

We stood there for some time just taking in the sight and then I thought about camp, and retreating a short way into the trees, we found a snug little place to make a fire and settle in for the night. I had few worries of Jeff being able to find us, given the trouble we had had ourselves, but just to be on the safe side I cautioned Miraldis and he flew off to check things out. He found nothing and by the time he returned I was cozy by a small fire with dinner boiling away in the pot.

Tomorrow would be a huge day. We were both positive that we had found the place where the eggs were hidden. Now we must make plans to find a way to get to the falls themselves without falling to our deaths in the basin below. Could and should we use the magic to change to bird form? The wards were strong here and they were here for a reason. I could not believe that we would be able to just walk up and discover them without some hardship involved. I thought back to the ending of the riddle that Miraldis had recited so long ago. We had solved most of it I was sure, but the last part was a worry of a different sort since it involved magic.