Another dream; but it wasn't the same one. The strange tune now had words; she could hear someone singing it in the background. She saw a cloaked figure with a black dagger with a skull on the end and crossbones underneath it, serving as the cross part of the handle. The figure held the dagger in front if it, and muttered a few strange words. It seemed like a ceremony of some sort. A holographic vision of a black dragon with six wings and long silver claws flashed. The dragon was breathing darkness and it engulfed a ruined land. The figure let go of the dagger and it floated in front of it, and blue-black light surrounded it, and it spun and disappeared. Then her dream ended.
Lee woke with a start and rubbed her head. The dreams were getting more vivid and irritating. She argued about whether or not she should tell the guys about them. She decided not to. They were probably a result of all the stress she had been under lately. And the eerie song was probably just something her mother just sang to her as a baby. She knew everything in her dreams had to have some meaning, they only took the strange forms because of her present situation. That had to be it.
She looked around for the guys; they were all awake already and were feeding the stags the elves had given to them.
"We should arrive at the elfin village today," Heero was saying, and from there we'll ride on to the valley town."
"Hey guys," She approached them, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. "Are we going soon?"
They all nodded, "As soon as we eat we're going to the elfin village." Quatre said. "That way we can get a place to stay there and go to the valley from there."
Lee nodded in understanding and went back over to the fire. She helped Quatre prepare breakfast for the group. It was more roots, berries and nuts that had been salvaged from the forest.
"I wonder what was with that wizard guy?" Lee said as she picked at her food.
"He was a little cranky," Quatre agreed. "He's probably under a lot of stress."
"Yeah, imagine losing a wife, and he's still very young!" Trowa added. Heero remained silent. As soon as he was done eating he went over to the stag and climbed on its back.
"We should get going, there's still a long ride ahead of us." Heero said.
The others quickly agreed and got on their own stags and followed him. They rode the rest of the way in silence.
They got to the elfin village by mid-afternoon and stopped there to talk with the elves.
"Go away humans!" An elf shouted from up top somewhere.
"We'd like to talk to you." Trowa called up at them.
"How did you know we're here?" The elf called back.
"From an elf in another village. Her name is Sally."
"You're a liar!" Cried the elf. He poked his head out of a hut window and threw a fireball at them. They barely avoided being barbecued.
"Please," Lee cried, "Just listen to us!"
"No way!" Dozens more elves appeared and threw fireballs at them as well.
"Come on, be reasonable!" Quatre pleaded. "We'd like some help!"
"NO! GO AWAY!" The elves kept throwing fireballs at them.
Finally, the group was forced to retreat.
"I guess we go on to Terra valley then." Heero sighed, looking back at the elfin village.
"They weren't as friendly as the other elves, were they?" Lee said.
"No," Quatre groaned. "I didn't expect to have fireballs thrown at me. I really don't think violence was necessary."
Trowa only shrugged. "Let's just hope the people in Terra Valley are a bit more friendly."
Sally was right when she said that Terra Valley village was only a few miles from the elfin village. They got there in about an hour, and rode in. The people on the streets gave them suspicious looks as they passed. It was unnerving for Lee to have people glaring at her all the time. It was bad enough with just Heero. They looked for an inn, but they couldn't find one.
"How could a big village like this one not have a place to stay?" Trowa wondered.
"Sally did say they don't like visitors." Heero shrugged. "Maybe it's just their way of discouraging people from staying."
"Maybe..." Lee sighed, "Hey look!" She pointed to a small house, which had a sign on it that said 'rooms available'.
"Finally," Quatre groaned. "Let's get settled and then find something to eat other than nuts and berries."
"Yeah, they were getting kind of boring," Lee agreed. They rode up to the house and tied their animals up outside.
They walked in and were greeted by a kind looking woman with curly red hair and glossy gray eyes.
"Welcome to Terra Valley," She smiled. "Do you need a room?"
"Yes," Quatre answered. "Probably two, if you can manage."
"Of course," The woman smiled, "I have plenty of rooms available." She grabbed some keys and said, "Follow me, Please."
It was the same as when they were staying at Harold's inn. She took them up the stairs and pointed out two rooms.
"They both have two beds and a bath," She said, she opened the first door for them. "I'll let you all sort things out. Please contact me if you have any problems. My name is Catherine." She smiled and disappeared down the stairs again.
"So, who gets what room?" Quatre asked.
"Hn, I think I'll stay with Lee." Said Heero.
"Why?" Asked Lee.
"Because, I think Trowa and Quatre can take care of each other. If something happens, you need someone strong to protect you. No offense to you two, but I have more experience slaying than you do. It's more than likely that the only thing we have to worry about is vampires."
"That's not a bad idea." Said Quatre, after a moment's thought. "You guys can have this room, Trowa and I will take the other one." He and Trowa left and went into the other room, and Lee and Heero dropped their things on the beds and then went to get Quatre and Trowa.
"We should get something to eat and prepare to go up Mt. Terra tomorrow." Said Heero.
"Tomorrow? Already?" Lee cried.
"Yes, we need to deal with the vampires as soon as possible."
Lee grumbled but agreed and they went downstairs to the inn's restaurant. Catherine was there, and she took their orders.
"Do you run this inn all by yourself?" Quatre asked.
"Yeah," Replied the Catherine. "No one else wants to work here. People in this town don't like visitors."
"I noticed that," said Quatre. "Why not?"
"They're afraid they might be slayers that will anger the vampires."
"What?"
"The vampires are supposed to live nearby. They used to attack this village a lot, a long time ago. But then we started sending young girls to them so keep them away. We do it every full moon..." She looked down at her feet sadly. "It's so sad," She sighed, "We've lost so many good people to those damn monsters." She turned on her heel and walked away back to the kitchen to place their orders.
Their food came and they ate slowly. "What are we going to do for the rest of the night?" Quatre wondered. "It's only six."
"I'm going to scope out the village and find a good route up the mountain." Said Heero. "There should be one part of the slope that isn't as steep. We can climb up there."
"I guess that means we'll be needing some climbing equipment." Said Trowa.
Heero nodded. "Just ropes, and weapons."
"We need a few more blankets too," Lee added, "That's a big mountain, we'll have to camp at least once."
"True," Said Quatre. "It looks pretty cold."
"Then it's agreed," Heero said. "After we eat we'll go and get the necessary supplies to climb Mt. Terra."
"Ok," They echoed.
When they left the tiny inn, they split up into two groups. Heero and Trowa went to get weapons and supplies, while Lee and Quatre got food, healing amulets and blankets.
"So what are these healing amulets, exactly?" Lee asked as they walked down the empty streets.
"Magical stones that can heal most open wounds or broken bones. Which reminds me, we'll need some herbs too, for the trip."
"What, like garlic?"
Quatre chuckled. "If the vampires are really after us, the garlic will only attract them."
"But I thought vampires hate garlic."
"They do, it comes with their enhanced sense of smell, but they also know that people who are trying to ward off vampires are the only ones who carry garlic. If they want us badly enough, all they have to do is follow our incredibly strong scent."
Lee laughed, "I guess that makes sense." They stopped at a shop and went inside to find some blankets. After that they left quickly to find the herb shop.
They entered and saw an ugly old woman sitting there.
She noticed the kind of herbs they were picking up and chuckled. "Going to climb Mt. Terra, are you?"
"Y-yes," Quatre said quietly.
"Looking for vampires, are you?"
"Perhaps,"
The old hag cackled, "You won't ever come back. There are enchantments on that mountain. Be warned, do not do anything to anger the vampires while in our village. If you escape their wrath, the people will not be as lenient."
"What are you talking about?" Quatre asked worriedly. "Why would we have to fear the villagers?"
She cackled again and took their money for the herbs. As she handed them back to them, she said, "Tomorrow is the full moon. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"That old woman gave me the creeps," Lee admitted as they left the shop. As they walked down the streets, they began to notice the glares they were getting from some of the villagers walking past them.
"Why are they staring at us?" Lee asked, "What did we do?"
"Sally said they're weary of travelers. They aren't on any maps so a person knowing about them is rare. I guess they suspect why we're here."
"You mean they think we're going to go after the vampires?"
"Yes,"
Lee shuddered as an old man glared at her. She walked quickly behind Quatre and back towards the inn.
They met Heero and Trowa out front and talked a moment before going in.
"Did you notice everyone staring at you?" Trowa asked the other two as they returned. "Yeah, this old hag warned us about the villagers. It was creepy." Lee shuddered again.
"Let's go inside," Heero said. "It's getting late. We need our rest for tomorrow."
The others agreed and followed him inside.
That night, vampires attacked Terra valley.
