The Dragon Knight and the Light

by D. C. Clemens

  “I enjoy it still,” said Eu-Sook. “Reminds me of Grandfather.”

  “Where does your family live?”

  “Munghirano Chon. A big name for a little village. It is south of Riko, near the Iunt.”

  “So that puts it on the other side of the kingdom. I suppose that’s good.”

  To the rider, I said, “If you like them, you should send them a message.”

  “What message, sir?”

  “If they can, tell them to escape to Wregor if we fail to stop the Advent. If we can’t stop them here, then I fear they won’t face real resistance again until we finally sort out who’s our ally and who’s not.”

  “You really think that’s a possibility?” asked Clarissa. “It should be easy to gather the support we need to stop giants that want to suck the life out of everything. They do it for vampires.”

  “Maybe. Or maybe the full support of this city’s army won’t be enough. You saw what it took to stop a weak giant the Advent left behind. In fact, go, Eu-Sook. I insist you deliver a message to your family. Tell them to always keep an ear out for the latest news. Tell them to run if Uratama falls. Here. I’ll even pay for the missive.” I pulled out a gold standard and handed it to her. “This shouldn’t be something you end up regretting. Meet us back at the academy when you’re done.”

  She nodded and left me with Clarissa. Watching the rider glide under the multitude of human shadows, I said, “Incidentally, I need to ask you a favor.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “If this place is doomed, I’ll need your help in getting Odet to retreat. Unless you need convincing as well.”

  “Me? No, no convincing. If we can’t win, then I don’t want to sacrifice myself for nothing, especially if I have to face down another giant. Gods, I really don’t want to get my blood that cold again… Odet won’t like it, but I’ll help drag her out of the city if that’s what it takes. Anyway, do me a favor and stop thinking so many gloomy thoughts. I realize not being able to summon Aranath is a big blow, but you’re still a great warrior. You can still rally allies to this cause. A blind slave should be able to rally allies against this enemy of Orda.”

  “Does he have to be blind?”

  “I don’t know. Sure, blind. Deaf too.”

  “Can’t be a very good slave if he’s blind and deaf.”

  “He’s very good at foot rubs. That’s why they keep him around… And sex! The lady of the manor sleeps with him behind the lord’s back… And she gets pregnant with the slave’s child, but he doesn’t know it because he’s blind and deaf! He just thinks she’s getting fat.” She glanced into my hood to check how well her attempt to cheer me up was going. I blew a breath of smoke onto her inquisitive face, compelling her to straighten back up with an exhaling chuckle.

  “By the way, there’s something else I picked up at the Chance Inn. It’s a training technique that might be better suited for you than me.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Your heart can handle mistakes better than a human’s, though you still have to be careful. It’s not a technique you should use when you can’t sense your heartbeats. If all goes well, your attacks should have the strength of a vampire who preys on humans. We can start practicing as soon as we get to a quiet spot overlooking the academy.”

  Chapter Four

  For two hours Clarissa did her best to sense her heartbeats. At the same time, she also used her superior night vision to keep an eye on the western and southern entrances of the academy. Eu-Sook returned within that time. She informed us that one of her scouts and two of Captain Shao’s men were watching the northern entrance. They reported seeing only one older woman enter the academy during their watch, but none had come out. It thus piqued my interest when the vampire said she spotted someone coming out of the western entrance.

  With my sight only seeing a misshapen splotch in the weak moonlight, I asked, “Can you see how they look like?”

  Squinting, she answered, “Uh, it’s a he. Big guy, but seems pretty young looking. Early or middle twenties. Long hair.”

  The splotch moved down the stairs and kept a western direction. “Is he wearing armor?”

  “I don’t think so. Or maybe? He’s wearing a red caster’s robe, but his chest and forearms are covered by something black. Might be leather.”

  “We follow?” asked Eu-Sook.

  “No one appears to be with him,” I said. “If this turns into a fight, then I suppose three against one are good odds. Let’s see where he goes, but only Clarissa should get close enough to see him clearly. We don’t want to spook him.”

  Using Clarissa’s vampiric gift, the three of us trailed our target with a wider berth than most humans could get away with, at least not without a spell aiding them. Our mark’s brisk pace stayed consistent for the most part, and as he never turned his head or looked back, he didn’t appear to be concerned with the possibility that someone might be following him. It helped that there must have been a law against too many lit torches, for only a few provided an aura of light for us to get caught in. Regardless, we kept our distance, since he would surely hear the echo of our steps on streets no longer traversed by that many people.

  We ended up walking through half the town before the human blotch slowed his walk. He next turned into an alley and stooped halfway down the passage to examine something on the ground.

  Going into our own alley on the other side of the street, I asked, “What’s he doing?”

  “He’s looking into a… a small cage or animal trap… Nothing’s inside. He’s going farther down the alley. Let’s go!”

  We hurried to the alleyway when the vampire lost sight of the target when he turned a corner. His form once again came in Clarissa’s view when we came out the other side. This time he headed northward. Within five minutes he checked a snare tucked away in a large public garden and another under a cluster of trees nearby. Nothing but flies on the strips of raw bait.

  “No animal in any trap, huh?” I said, my tone easily low enough for our perambulating mark not to overhear us.

  “And that sounds odd, right?” asked Clarissa.

  “Aye. Think about it, how many raccoons, birds, or stray dogs have you seen since we got here?”

  “Not many. So you’re thinking that has something to do with the nismerdon?”

  “Perhaps they sense something is wrong,” said Eu-Sook.

  “Or they’re being captured to feed the giants,” I said.

  “Then you believe he’s trying to gather life energy for the giants?” asked Clarissa.

  “Eh, I doubt it. I imagine three small cages wouldn’t be an efficient way to gather animals. Still, it’s a possibility. I think it’s time we find out where his allegiance lies. We’ll catch up to him when he stops by another cage or if we can find a place to cut him off. Whichever comes first.”

  The latter arrived a couple of minutes later. Our northbound target avoided four guardsmen managing a group of unruly drunks by regressing a few steps and turning around to head for an alley he could use to bypass the commotion. I told Clarissa to stick with the target while Eu-Sook and I sprinted through a parallel alley to get ahead of him. Then we slowed down and turned the corner to his narrow byway.

  The young man’s darkened outline stopped twenty feet away from us when he noticed Eu-Sook and I heading toward him. Doing what I ordered, Eu-Sook used her country’s tongue to ask him whether he spoke or understood the shared tongue. He responded after some reluctance by saying a foreign word.

  “He said he does.”

  I stopped my forward progression when I came within ten feet of the presumed academy student. From here I could see he stood as tall as I, but with a hardier girth in his limbs and torso that seemed to come from equal parts fat and muscle. Except for shaggy eyebrows, his fresh-faced head remained lean. Dark eyes set well within their sockets frantically and timidly studied the pair of living hindrances. No observable weapon hung by his hips.

  I asked him, “You’re
from the academy, are you not? What’s your name?”

  A shy voice answered, “H-Hanying Okazaki. Can I… Who are you?”

  “That depends. Why have you set up traps around the city?”

  “What?”

  “I’ve seen you check three animal traps so far, and since you’re not yet heading back for the academy, I can guess there are more set up nearby. I’m wondering why.”

  “You been, you’ve been following me?” He had a hard time keeping eye contact for long.

  “Aye, since you’ve stepped down the steps of the academy.”

  “Why?”

  “Answering that question depends on how you answer my own.”

  Hanying finally had the presence of mind to check his rear. He saw Clarissa standing five yards behind him. She lifted her free hand, waved it twice, and greeted him with her nicest “Hello.” Her amiability did not change the fact that she was blocking an easy escape in a dark alley.

  Turning back to me, a wary Hanying asked, “What is this?”

  “A conversation, Master Okazaki. Now then, the traps.”

  Cocking his head, he said, “The traps are for a study.”

  “What kind of study?”

  Hanying glanced at Eu-Sook, who nodded in response. “Well, I’ve seen fewer and fewer animals in the city. I want to know the reason.”

  “Have others in the academy noticed?”

  “I’ve told them what I noticed. Few are troubled.”

  My mind expected to hear a stutter at almost every syllable he spoke, but he didn’t quite get there. “And are you troubled that they are not more so?” He nodded. “Or perhaps it’s only one of your many troubles. Have you noticed odd occurrences in the academy?”

  “Odd occurrences? Why does an outsider care? Who are you?”

  Trusting that his evasive eyes came from lack of social graces rather than from dishonest intentions, I decided to satiate his curiosity. “My name is Mercer Eberwolf. My companions and I are seeking a cult who have spent a long time infiltrating any society useful to them. I believe your academy to have been subverted by these cultists.”

  “Wait. You speak of the Advent, correct? Those who attacked Alslana with corrupted valkrean?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you think they are… Do you believe I belong to them?”

  “I don’t know what to believe yet. All I know about Hanying Okazaki is that you came out of a place that has Advent magic emanating from it. My guess is that some animals here can sense this foul magic and are fleeing its power. It’s also possible the Advent are taking animals for their own purposes. Have you noticed anything unusual in the academy these past few months?”

  Hanying lowered his head and shoulders. He said something under his breath.

  “What is it?”

  “Outsiders.” He rose his head back up, but kept his shoulders slouched. “I’ve seen outsiders in the academy. They were invited by the headmistress to help the master scholars with their work.”

  “What kind of work?”

  “They’ve become secretive as of late. Most of us think it has to be about Wregor. Some spell or weapon to help us fight them.”

  “How many outsiders have you seen? What do they look like?”

  “I’ve only seen a little of them. Mostly they stay in the under chambers. The only one I’ve seen for certain is a fair-skinned woman with golden hair of short length. Her blue, unkind eyes smiled at me. I turned away. She talked with someone a little taller and with longer yellow hair, but I did not see their face.”

  Tired of keeping quiet, Clarissa came closer and asked, “How deep do your chambers go? Are the rooms big enough to fit creatures as big as mountain trolls?”

  Hanying turned his body so that his right shoulder pointed at Clarissa. “Trolls? Our lowest room can fit large creatures, yes. In fact, it’s rare when we don’t have a large specimen or two down below. Oh, and, uh, there are three under levels.”

  “Let me guess, those rooms are now forbidden.” The pensive academy student took two steps backward so his back found support against the rippled wall of a wooden house. “Is there a way to sneak in and out of the academy?”

  “Not that I know of.” Looking at the ground, he asked, “Are they here to attack Uratama?”

  “They already attacked a small town to the north,” I answered. “We kept it from getting worse, but if they do attack Uratama, we’ll need more than a couple of griffin squads to stop them. Word of what happened will soon spread here, if it’s not spreading already. Once it takes a foothold, we’ll make our move.”

  “But why here? What do they want?”

  “To steal your soul, one way or another.” I could tell he did not know how literally to take my answer. “How many are working with the outsiders?”

  “How many? Most of the master scholars, so twelve or thirteen of them. Their apprentices and some sage warriors also help them.”

  “We’ll have to include the headmistress as well.”

  “Gods, Lady Nomura. I can’t imagine she and the others know who they’re really assisting. They are good people. I-I’ve known many of them for years. They are kind. They welcomed me. They helped me b-be less bothered around people.”

  “Maybe not all of them realize who they’re abetting, but it’s too dangerous for you to bring up what you’ve learned to anyone involved with the secret venture. In fact, if you truly believe us, I recommend you leave the city as soon as possible.”

  “What? I c-can’t do that. I need to tell others of the danger. Every friend and mentor I have is inside those walls.”

  I glared into his fidgety face for a flicker of time, concluding him to be no Advent adherent. Not that I planned on lowering my guard, of course. “Well, if you can convince them to leave the city, then I won’t stop you from taking the risk. As long as you understand that you can’t tell your friends why they’re leaving. Telling them will only have them telling their own friends, which the cult will ultimately overhear. Then all you’ve done is put them in danger. How many people can you trust to listen to you without question?”

  “Without question? I don’t… My nervousness comes out easy. They will know something is wrong when they hear me speak. They will want to know what is wrong.”

  “Then lie,” said Clarissa. “Oh! Tell them you need help with your animal traps.”

  “That is… That might not explain my nervousness.”

  “Then calm yourself,” I said. “I have a pipe you can borrow if you want it.”

  “Um, no, thank you. Smoke of any type makes me nauseous.”

  “I’m not surprised to hear that. We have to get back to watching the academy. Do you wish to follow us?”

  “I still have two traps to check. If there are any beasts trapped within them, then I want to free them.”

  “Will you head back to the academy afterward?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we’ll follow you. In the meantime, I’d like to learn as much as possible about your peers and the academy’s layout.” I moved aside to give him an opening.

  Taking a diffident step toward the opening, Hanying said, “Very well.”

  I stayed a foot behind Hanying’s left shoulder as we walked through the forsaken streets. Clarissa acquired a mirrored spot on the right. Eu-Sook roamed around us depending on whether she favored watching our flanks or taking point to draw a patrol’s attention away from the foreigners.

  Sensing my social lethargy, Clarissa took it upon herself to ask the academy pupil many of the questions I wanted answered. From this arrangement we learned that Hanying admired Mio Nomura for her spry elegance and solicitous wisdom. The stern yet compassionate woman had been in her leadership position for the last eight years, guiding scholars and warrior sages alike. She was a warrior sage herself, but as she did not train in front of others, Hanying did not know what spells the chary woman could best cast.

  According to our informer, warrior sages such as himself and the headmistress did n
ot learn to fight with daft blades and spears. They instead focused on the multifarious art of spell casting, which the academy considered a divine endeavor compared to brandishing sharpened sticks of steel. Hanying claimed to be more scholar than caster, but claimed he could pour his prana into his muscles to accent the natural strength behind his bulk. His fascination and love for animals channeled his mental efforts toward learning as much as he could about them.

  Those who studied and trained in the academy came from all walks of life. Hanying’s path led back to a minor noble family in Watawara. Most students also hailed from well-to-do families, but a handful had been accepted from humbler abodes. As long as someone showed talent, dedication, and contributed to knowledge, they could live and work at the academy for as long as they wished, or until the Jegeru kingdom offered standouts positions in the military or as advisors to a noble family. The academy was where Hanying refined his understanding of the shared tongue.

  We soon came upon the fourth trap huddled within a crack of the inner city wall. This contained a hissing brown cat that bolted into the darkness as soon as the bars lifted. The last trap had been set outside the city wall, so I let him go on his own in order to avoid the guards at the gate. A few minutes later and Hanying returned with a gait similar to that of a pleased Ghevont, if more reserved. He told us he freed a creature called a lesser red panda, an animal not usually seen this close to civilization.

  “Sounds delectable,” said a teasing Clarissa.

  Hanying’s step lost its recently gained prance. “I wound not know.”

  “I’m sorry. It was only a jest.”

  “More or less,” I said.

  Still to Hanying, Clarissa said, “I’m getting the impression you don’t eat many animals.”

  “None since I left home. My family finds my attachment to simpleminded beasts baffling. I humored them by eating a bit of pork or fish, but the guilt overwhelms me as soon as I see a mortal creature doing their hardest to survive. Many in the academy respect my view on the matter. I even inspired…” The warrior sage’s head sagged in contemplation.