" I still have to go and buy some hiking gear, Miraldis. If you are in such a hurry, why not go and scout out the best path to take from the river? We made a mark on the map last night where we decided to start, and I can meet you there when I am finished shopping."

He immediately changed to insect form and buzzed off, happy to be doing something at last. I made a list of the things I thought I might need for the last of the hunt, and went out to find the them. First on the list was a good pair of hiking boots, waterproof matches, a small pack of the most essential camping things and a good flashlight. Food consisted of some freeze-dried pouches of stuff that the shop keeper assured me tasted a whole lot better than it looked. I didn't expect to be out more than a day or two and there would be water near-by, so I only took a small flask to carry it in. The pack was not so big that it would hamper me in a climb, and I was fairly confident that I could manage with the basics.

After leaving a message with the manager of the hotel that I would be gone at least two days, I joined a small group of folks who were also headed to the glacier for an afternoon of climbing. That way, I thought, I would not stand out as I might if I went alone. I did not want anyone wondering what I was about and asking questions. I couldn't very well tell them I was hunting for Dragon's eggs with a dragon that sometimes looked like a big dragonfly!!!

The shuttle from the hotel dropped us off at the beginning of the trail to the glacier. There were several sign posts along the path that stated that this or that point was where the glacier had been in a particular year. It was rather startling to see how far the glacier had receeded in a hundred years or so. I wondered if that would make any difference to the plans we had made for finding the eggs. Since we didn't really know what we were looking for I didn't suppose it mattered a whole lot. I might just try a different path though. The one that was at the edge of the glacier would hardly have been there a few hundred years ago. I turned back to the first of the markers and saw that the date on it was a guess at three hundred years ago. Well, it was a better place to begin. First though I needed to find Miraldis and let him know that the plan had changed a bit. I caught up to the group again and did listen to the guide who was giving a little talk about what to expect when climbing on the ice surface. I thought it would probably be a good idea to have all the information available. You never knew when I might need it.

When the climb began, I edged away and found the path that Miraldis and I had marked out the night before and a short distance down it came across the dragonfly , who alighted on my shoulder and said that he hadn't found anything that he thought might be useful as far as directions went. I told him about my thoughts on the receeded glacier, and he agreed, so we went back to that first marker and looked for any kind of path that would lead in the general direction we wanted to go.

The day was cool enough that the beginning of the hike, at least, was fairly comfortable. Miraldis buzzed ahead of me and I trudged along mindful of my footing. Not far along the path I stopped to fashion a walking stick from a branch lying by the path. The mountain side was steep enough and I had not thought of needing one while in town. I was glad that it was not the middle of summer now, or the bugs would have been unbearable. The path was faint now that the main hiking paths were closer to the present glacier, but we could just make it out. It was easier with Miraldis going ahead, since he could fly back and let me know if there was any blockage that I would have to go around. It was so quiet and peaceful. I was glad that we were on our own without the chatter from other hikers. There weren't a lot of birds here in the deep forest, but we could hear them calling at a distance. Sunlight filtered through where the branches thinned a bit but only enough for us to be able to see well, and not enough to make the hike uncomfortably hot. I was glad that I had invested in good climbing boots though. The path, such as it was , was fairly steep and overgrown enough to make the footing uncertain. I had to go around two large windfalls, which meant a bit of scrambling , but found the path again and wondered if we were going in the right direction. Miraldis wasn't much help in that aspect, since he said he was being pulled in all directions still. I supposed that that was probably a good thing, since an absence of the pull now would mean that we were off track.

We stopped for a meal near noon and a welcome rest. I cannot say that I was in the best shape for a long hike and wasn't in any hurry to continue on the path. I wanted a nap, but Miraldis was anxious again, so we continued on. I made certain that I cleaned the place we had stopped and left no sign that we had been there. I was mindful of bears and things that would be unfriendly and had no wish to attract their notice. The thought of bears made me quite nervous and it took me some time to stop looking over my shoulder every time I heard a twig snap. Why hadn't I thought of that before!!!! I hadn't brought any sort of protection, since I was supposed to be with a group, and I doubted that the stick I carried would be of much help. I mentioned this to Miraldis and he reminded me that he was quite capable of turning the attentions of any fierce creature to himself in his dragon form. I had forgotten about that, and felt much better from then on. He also reminded me that I was not exactly inefficient in that area myself and could change to bird form an escape easily. For some reason, I had not used my magic at all since we had arrived at the hotel, and I thought about that for awhile. I had had no reason to, really, and since we had started on the hike to find the eggs, I had the feeling that I should be travelling in human form. Flight would have been much faster and easier and I wondered why it didn't seem right to do that. Miraldis didn't know the answer to that either and I let it drop. No point in wasting energy worrying about something that seemed to be out of my hands.

We climbed most of the afternoon with a few stops for a rest. It was hard going and we didn't seem to be getting too far along at all. Certainly there was nothing that looked like any kind of hiding place that a dragon might have used for a nest. I was tired and hungry and getting discouraged. It was a beautiful place to be sure, but just going and going without any sort of real idea if we were going in the right direction was a little discouraging. I wanted to stop for the night and even though Miraldis wanted to go on I put my foot down. Not too hard, mind you since I was sure that there was a blister there!! I found a good place to spend the night where we could get some water and light a small fire safely, and settled in. I thought of changing to bird form and spending the night in the trees, but decided not to unless I felt really scared. Miraldis couldn't figure that out , but it just seemed like the right thing to do. Yes, I did have a blister and the cold water from the stream felt very good. We built a little fire....no shortage of fuel.... and made up one of the packets of dehydrated food. It did actually taste a whole lot better than it looked. I don't think I would have minded if it hadn't though, as I was very hungry. While the light lasted, we went over the map again and decided where we were and what was ahead for tomorrow. It looked even steeper than today's hike had been and I fell asleep wondering what we would find.

I woke very suddenly sometime after midnight with the most uncomfortable feeling that I was no longer alone. The fire had died down to embers, but they gave off just enough glow that I could see a shadow moving about near the trees. I did not move and continued to watch as the figure slowly moved forward, and I saw that it was not a bear as I had originally thought but a man. He stood silently for a few minutes and I wondered if he knew I was awake and watching him. He crouched by the fire and stirred about with a stick, added another small log, and glanced my way.

"My apologies for waking you." he said.

"Who are you and what are you doing up here?" I asked in return.

"I'm Jeff Walters.....park ranger. I smelled the smoke from your fire and thought I'd better check it out."

Well it sounded alright,I guess, but I still felt a little uneasy. "Do you usually wander around in the night?" I asked.

"Not usually" he said "but they didn't tell me at headquarters that someone would be out here, so when I smelled the smoke I thought I'd better have a look. You never can be too careful about fires here. Are you camping by yourself?"

Well not technically, but I couldn't very well tell him about Miraldis. "Yes....I usually do. I like the peace." I didn't want him there, but how to get rid of him without making him suspicious."There is probably some coffee left if you'd like some."

"Thanks." and he dug a cup from the pack on his back and proceeded to fill it from the pot I'd left by the fire.

He settled down across the fire from me and I still didn't want him there. We spent the next few minutes while he drank his coffee chatting about this and that. How long he had been a ranger , why I liked camping alone and general small talk. I wanted to go back to sleep. I was tired and had a big day tomorrow or today, now that it was almost morning. On second thought, I probably wouldn't sleep again anyhow, so I might as well make the best of it and hope that he would go away soon. When he finally finished the coffee, he made no attempt to leave and I finally said that if he had a sleeping bag he could spread it out and stay til morning. He did and I pretended to go back to sleep again, only every once in a while I peeked to see if he was up to anything.

I must have slept because next time I opened my eyes, it was daylight with the sun just poking through and he was still there with a new pot of my coffee and looking quite at home. He gave me a grin and apologized again for the disturbance last night. What could I say. I stuggled out of my sleeping bag......thank goodness I was wearing flannel pj's......and took my pack to the river to wash up and managed to change into clothes behind a friendly shrub.

Over breakfast he asked where I was headed and I made up a tale of looking for a waterfall in order to do some sketching. I said that someone had told me there was a beauty somewhere nearby. That seemed to satisfy him, but he asked if I minded if he came along since there was a way-cabin in the same direction and he wanted to update the ranger log book there. There was nothing I could do but agree and so after cleaning up the site we set off. I wondered where Miraldis was, and a short distance up the trail I saw him darting through the trees. I hoped he would have the sense to not come near while Jeff Walters was there and he did not.

The footing was difficult and several times we had to scramble over fallen trees. Jeff lent a hand at the most awkward places and though I was quite capable of managing on my own, I had no reason to turn down his offer of help. After a time I realized that I had been hearing a soft sort of roaring noise and seeing tendrils of mist wafting through the trees. Perhaps there actually was a waterfall nearby, and I changed directions slightly to follow my ears. We broke out of the forest and came to the edge of a sort of crevass that the river had carved through the rocks, and there, sure enough was a lovely falls with the water tumbling down the rocks,and on down the mountain side.

I found a fallen log and took a few sheets of paper from the pack and a small case that held some sketching pastels. I blessed the whim that had prompted me to include these in the supplies that I had put together. I could do fair job with them and so the lie of coming up here to sketch was not a complete one. Even though Jeff had been pleasant company, he did not seem to be in any hurry to go off to update that ranger book that he had told me about.

"Is that way-cabin near here?" I asked.

"Not too far now."he replied. "If you are going to be here for a bit maybe I'll nip up there now. I can be back before you know it."

"Well, there's really no need for you to come back, you know. I've enjoyed your company but I shall be fine from here on."

"Oh it's no trouble at all." He said and I was not pleased at all. I could see no reason for him to be hanging about especially since I was obviously not in any danger.

He stood behind me and watched while I outlined the scene in front of me, and I blessed the few classes that I had taken the year before. They had come in handy several times on this adventure. First when Miraldis and I had been learning magic and I had had to draw to his instructions and again now. Finally he left with a wave and a promise to return and I pretended that I had not seen or heard him go. I listened as hard as I could but his movements were swallowed up by the forest and I lost track of him too soon.

There was a flash of green and Miraldis in dragon-fly form lited on the log beside me.

"Dosst Thou Trussst That Man?" he asked

"No. There's no reason for him to have hung about so long. Could you fly after him do you suppose and see if he is really going to that way-cabin."

"That Iss No Trouble. Do You Remain In Thiss Place For A Bit And I Sshall Ssee What Ssort Of Thingss He Iss Up To."

Miraldis flew off and I settled down to do some honest to goodness sketching. It was a pleasant place to be and since we had bee climbing most of the morning, I was more than ready for a rest. If Jeff did come back which I hoped would not be the case, then the hunt for the eggs would have to be put aside until he left. I would just have to wait until Miraldis returned and make plans from there.

Please take a moment and step into My Guest Room to leave a message in the book or by e-mail. I shall reply to your comments, and look forward to visiting your site in return.