The road south unfurled into golden plains and rolling hills, filled with flowers of all varieties, now in full bloom. The air smelled of fresh flowers and pollen, along with the fresh ocean breeze from the south.
Cael breathed in the fresh air and dashed ahead before rolling down one of the hills, getting covered in flower petals and pollen. Briar quickly followed suit, tumbling into the vast field of flowers.
"Hey! Wait up!" Ash shouted, though neither Briar nor Cael could hear her, "Ugh." She tapped her foot against the ground before giving up and joining the other two in rolling down the hill. Her expression softened a bit as she let out a sigh.
Cael flopped onto his back and looked into the sky. It shone a brilliant blue that grew brighter along the edges, and scattered clouds filled the serene landscape. Briar quickly joined him, with Ash following shortly after.
"Doesn't that cloud kind of look like Evander?" Cael asked, pointing at a large cloud above them.
"What are you talking about, Cael? That one definitely looks more like Evander," Ash pointed toward another cloud, slightly smaller but more defined than Cael's.
Briar began to chuckle at the silly argument Ash and Cael now found themselves in. The party lay there for a while, their laughter mingling with the rustle of the flowers and the distant hum of bees.
The sun warmed their faces, and for a moment, the weight of their journey seemed to lift. Briar closed their eyes, letting the scent of the flowers and the soft breeze wash over them.
"Y'know," Briar said after a while, "Evander would love this." Briar paused for a second, "He always said the plains were the most peaceful place in the kingdom."
Cael propped himself up on his elbows, staring at the clouds. "Yeah, but he'd also be yelling at us for lying around when we've got a dragon to find."
Ash scoffed. "He'd be yelling at you, Cael. You're the one who keeps getting us into trouble."
"Me? Trouble?" Cael placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "I'm the voice of reason in this group!"
Briar and Ash looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Cael grinned, clearly pleased with himself, and flopped back down onto the flowers.
Briar breathed in a deep breath and noticed something off, a slight tinge of burnt wood, mixed with a fruity, raspberry-like scent. They stood up immediately and let out a wide smile, "Skyflame swans!!!" Briar yelled before running as fast as they could in the direction of the smell.
Ash and Cael immediately turned in Briar's direction to see them sprinting away.
"Briar!" Both Ash and Cael yelled in unison.
"Briar, wait up!" Cael yelled, though to no avail. Briar kept running towards a small forest in the distance. Ash and Cael were confused but decided to follow Briar anyway.
The flower fields faded back into golden plains, then into a small forest of tall, skinny cypress trees. Ash and Cael ran through the forest, but they lost Briar along the way.
"Do you smell that?" Cael asked.
"What do you mean?" Ash wondered, unable to smell anything out of the ordinary.
"It's like…" Cael sniffed the air, "Charred wood of some kind with…" He paused and thought hard, "... Raspberries?"
"Cael, what are you talking about? I can't smell anythi-" She noticed a scent, picked up by the breeze, "Wait, I smell it too! It's coming from that way," she pointed east, towards a thicker part of the forest.
They both ran towards the thicket, the scent getting stronger as they approached. The terrain became harder and harder to manage. Sticks, bushes, and small trees started growing taller as they approached the thicket. Eventually, the bushes and trees gave way to a small outcrop with Briar sitting in the center of it.
"Briar! We foun-!" Cael yelled out before being shushed by Ash. Before them was a large lake surrounded by towering cypress trees. Dozens of huge swans with flame-like iridescent feathers circled the lake, their fallen feathers glistening like a blazing inferno on the lake's surface. The air was perfectly still, as if the world itself had paused to admire the swans' beauty. The burnt raspberry scent was stronger here, combining with the earthy aroma of the forest. The only sound was the gentle splash of water as the swans dipped their long necks to drink or took flight in graceful arcs, their wings sending faint waves rippling across the lake.
"Whoa…" Cael's jaw dropped. Never before had he seen such a pristine view.
Even Ash dropped her usual stern look, replacing it instead with shock and awe. Briar was sitting, cross-legged in the center of the outcrop, furiously sketching the scene that played out in front of them.
Briar cataloged the swans and all of their intricate behaviors. They focused on every minute detail; The fish the swans caught, the soft, delicate songs they sang to each other. Every detail was captured by the strokes of Briar's quill, furiously dashing across the pages of their journal.
"These swans are called Skyflame Swans," Briar explained calmly, being careful not to be loud enough to garner the swan's attention, "They were thought to be extinct… until now," Briar paused and sighed before closing their journal, "They've been hunted for their feathers. They make fantastic hats for the nobles…" Briar's expression softened sadly.
"We can't let the Calcium Council find out about this," Ash said sternly but quietly.
"Ash… There's nothing we can do to help these swans…" Briar fidgeted with the quill in their hand before picking up a stray swan feather from beside them.
"There has to be something we can do, right?" Ash said, her voice quavering.
"We have to destroy the Council… That's our only option", Cael responded, "If we beat them, and there aren't any nobles, no one will kill the swans!" He gestured out to the lake that stood in front of the party before spreading his arms out and falling back onto the grassy outcrop, "We can do this, together."
He stood up and held out his hand between Ash and Briar. Briar put their hand on top of Cael's, followed by Ash's hand. "We've got this." Cael pushed his hand up through theirs in a gesture of promise to defeat the Calcium Council.