United Dragons

by Calista Lambrechts

  He was caught up in a daze, keeping his eyes on the shattered bottle and its spilt contents. I was starting to worry about him and somehow fearing him, but before I could ask, he said, “Never mind. I’m coming with you.” I stared at him with pitiful eyes.

  “I’m not forcing you-”

  “I’m coming with you.” He said it all so sudden before he could change his mind. I was rather glad to be honest.

  “Great! I think…” There were many things I doubted. About what I had said, how I might have come in too strong. I don’t know... It was just so strange seeing Terrowin again…

  As we exited through the door and into the raging storm, I called, “Come on! We have to meet up with the others.” Terrowin frowned as he stepped outside.

  “Others?” I returned a delightful smirk. “Oh! Don’t you worry, Terrowin. They’re a pleasant bunch. You’ll see.”

  CHAPTER 12

  WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?

  CARLAYLIN

  WE SOON MET UP WITH NEMTRIS and the rest. They were sheltering underneath the canopy of a bakery, but it seemed the storm had died down a bit. Nemtris was leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

  “Oi, Nemtris!” I called as I waved my hand. She dropped her hands and straightened herself, but I could see both Terrowin and Nemtris’ faces growing red as we approached. Somehow I was expecting this…

  “YOU!” they both yelled in unison.

  “If I knew she was part of your little group, I never would’ve agreed to join you,” said Terrowin, folding his arms as he stared at her with utter disgust.

  “Oh, you would have. If I had a mug…” I threatened him with a raised eyebrow, absentmindedly leaning in closer.

  “My mistake,” Nemtris started, keeping herself cool and giving a step towards Terrowin, “I think I might have given you the diet poison.”

  “If I was still conscious back then I swear-”

  By now the two were so close to each other that I could already imagine them kissing. Now all I had to do was wash my mind with soap…

  Anyways, if I didn’t do anything soon, we might have had ourselves a catfight. I came in between them and pushed them away from one another, learning from the city guard I encountered earlier.

  “Hey! Hey! Break it up, you two! There is plenty of time to poison each other later, but now we’re a bit pressed for time, don’t you think?”

  I swear that the two were growling at each other. I sighed. Typical.

  “Point is, for the time being, you’ll just have to shake hands and make up.”

  The two were extremely reluctant and hesitated to agree, but Nemtris stepped up with a miserable sigh, finally accepting my terms. To her, Murray was more important than anything else in this world. She would even make a truce with Terrowin for that… Man, I was really going to get it hard when she finds out about his death… It was a gnawing feeling shredding my insides to pieces, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I really needed her to come along…

  I really do hope I’m not that terrible of a person.

  “Very well,” Nemtris said hesitantly, but Terrowin didn’t seem to play along. He kept his distance and that cold stare of his.

  “Terrowin…” I said, awaiting him to fulfil his end of the deal. Soon enough he sighed and shook Nemtris’ hand with a formal agreement. I was the first to give a blissful smile, eager to get things underway.

  “Great! Now, with that hatred settled for now, I would like to introduce you to…”

  I searched the small group, wondering whom I should introduce first. Normal ones first, nut jobs later, I kept reminding myself and pulled Justin to my side. My arm rested on his shoulders.

  “He is my little me,” I had once told myself. My pride, my joy, my prodigy.

  “Justin, this is Terrowin. Terrowin, this is Justin.”

  Justin remembered his manners and excitedly shook Terrowin’s hand, saying, “It’s an honour to finally meet you, sir.” It was as though he had just met his long-time hero. Terrowin seemed fond of Justin already, shooting me an approving glance.

  I looked for the next to introduce. I looked at the bard.

  “And here we have-” Of course he pushed right past me, almost sending me falling to the ground. He was important enough to make his own introductions it seems.

  “Master Yoldrig, at your service!” Yoldrig said with a grand tone, kneeling down before Terrowin and kissing his hand as though he were a damsel.

  “Uuuh…”

  Though Terrowin felt awkward, I choked back a laugh.

  “Last, and hopefully least, I present to you-” I was at a loss for words as I scanned my surroundings, unable to find my tiger, “Where’s Ramses?!”

  I was starting to panic. Without my guidance, he would eat the whole Hayley for sure! It wasn’t until Nemtris started counting down that I began to fear for the worst.

  “Three… two… one…”

  At the count of one, a massive tiger came bursting out the bakery shop doors, sprinkled in bits of flour dust. He hid behind me, though I doubt my legs could hide a tiger that big. Almost instantly an angry chef came rushing out the shop, waving a gigantic cleaver about. He made me think of Donald for some reason. Donald was a good friend of mine. We used to work together at the Sleeping Dragon’s inn. He was a chef. Just like Donald, this chef was rather plump and had a shaved head. Only difference was that this one had some kind of a French accent and an untameable temper.

  “Get out of mah kitchen, you filthy cat!”

  Of course I blamed Nemtris for this mishap. I gave her the honour of being the first to receive an enraged stare. I couldn’t even begin to explain my anger.

  “NEMTRIS!” All she could do was shrug carelessly, reasoning, “What? I told you that you would regret it!” I was this close in strangling her.

  “Why you little-”

  “You!” the chef suddenly shouted. It caught us all by surprise. Even Ramses! The chef seemed to be referring to Terrowin who seemed even more puzzled than the rest of us.

  “Me?” The chef approached him, waving his cleaver at poor Terrowin.

  “I still remember you! You stole mah sweetrolls!”

  “What?! I was five for goodness sake!”

  “I told you…” the chef said as he gave Terrowin an ominous eye, “I never forget a face!”

  Terrowin seemed to be reuniting with his inner fury.

  “By the dragon lords, I-” Before he could make matters worse, I pushed him back, careful not to make any sudden moves. “Save the fancy talk. Just shut up and…” I shot one last look at the chef, “RUN!”

  Without another word we were gone, dashing away with the speed of lightning. That cleaver was just too threatening, even for me, and I’m a wizard!

  “Hey! Come back here! I’m not done with you yet!” The chef bellowed, running on after us for the first few blocks before giving up.

  His little plump legs gave in before he could reach us. At least we did him a favour. That must’ve been the most exercise he had gotten in weeks!

  We were out of Hayley in just the nick of time, retreating back into the forests before the chef could catch up and or any guard catches wind of Terrowin’s escape. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a whole army of guards.

  ***

  After a quick run we found ourselves in the middle of the forest, still rather close to Hayley.

  “Okay, Terrowin…” I started, “You go with Justin, Ramses and Nemtris back to Elimor.”

  Terrowin was quick to decline, already up and on the verge of reasoning,

  “But-”

  Yet, I cut in before this could turn into something bad, “I don’t want to hear it!”

  My expression softened. I was in no mood to argue. I mean, we just got together again for Pete’s sake.

  “You go with them. And Yoldrig…” I turned to face the bard who was busy fiddling with the strings of his lute. He might have been tuning it, but with him, anything’s possible.

  “You c
ome with me. I do believe we have important business to tend to.”

  Yoldrig smiled proudly, almost as though he was a hero on the verge of going into battle, “Ah, it is my time then.”

  I shot the bard a friendly wink and threw him a finger, “You betcha!”

  “But where are you going?” Terrowin asked. To him it was rather clear that I wasn’t going to give him much information, but he wanted the basics at least.

  “To see Imperion,” I stated boldly. It seemed to get Terrowin up in arms though, yelling, “Are you mad?! You’ll get yourself killed!”

  I tried to calm my panicked friend with a brave, and somewhat bragging, smile.

  “Not me. A Drachem can’t die by dragon fire.”

  The word ‘Drachem’ almost completely overthrew him. He was just as surprised as me the day I first found out about it.

  I passed by towards Justin who respectably held his fist to his chest and bowed, not daring to look me in the eye. I know I was his master, but even I wasn’t this respectable to my own master. Justin seemed quite the catch the more we spent time together.

  I patted Justin on the back as I shot a worrying eye to Terrowin, saying, “Keep, uh, Justin safe, okay?”

  Terrowin nodded. If anyone, I knew he was the one I could trust, mostly… uh… Okay, between Nemtris and Ramses, he was the best person I could place my trust in.

  With matters handled I turned and took my leave, gesturing Yoldrig to follow from behind.

  “Come, Yoldrig.”

  Yoldrig was completely in his element, looking as though he might be quite excited for this little venture that lay ahead. He was so excited that he started to sing.

  Off we go to the east beyond

  Journey to mountains of frost

  Caverns old and glaziers of gold

  We journey on to the lands long lost

  “YOLDRIG!” I shouted in hope that he might cease his tomfoolery and follow. It was going to be a long journey and I best save up on sanity. The less music from him for now, the better I say.

  Yoldrig shot me a questioning look as he started to follow, asking, “What? Want me to sing in D-major?” I couldn’t help but sigh.

  This might take longer than expected.

  CHAPTER 13

  THE WINDS OF CHANGE

  CARLAYLIN

  EVEN FROM DOWN HERE I could feel the cold winds of the mountains. We were following the rocky path that lead up to the summit and hoped to reach it without too many difficulties.

  “Mountains, oh, Blue Mountains. Your cold touch pierced my heart. Your winds were rough from the start. No man spared, trapped in your icy grasp as I hereby sing my song I cannot sto-”

  “Yoldrig!” I called, knowing my impatience had grown thin. The air was freezing and the wind was icy and piercing. I was up to straightjacketing myself for more warms.

  He had been singing from the very beginning and never stopped ever since. If I didn’t stop him no one would and my poor ears would never make it. Look, I’d be fine if he just played the lute, but whenever he plucks a string, he can’t help but sing… and that’s the problem.

  Luckily the bard obeyed with a snort. Better him than me…

  We ventured onwards until approaching a rather large passageway that led up into the mountain ranges. There was more snow up ahead.

  I gave a smile of excitement and hurriedly made my way to the passage, but was stopped by a loud yell, “WARTEN!”

  It echoed over the loud raging winds and the towering pass.

  I was startled, alertly searching the area. Almost from nowhere, a strange man approached. I can’t lie. It was a funny little man. I couldn’t help but study him from head to toe: A woollen snow cap, fur gloves, a thick brown beard with grey streaks and a thick furry cloak.

  Somehow I imagined polka and yodelling mountaineering music…

  This plump fellow was armed with a rather large flail, so I knew I’d have to speak carefully.

  After a moment of being lost in thought, the little man cleared his throat. I fell back into reality.

  “Oh, sorry! And who are you … exactly?”

  The man straightened himself and proudly pushed out his chest.

  “I am Johansen Karlheinz, guardian of ze gate to ze Blue Mountains. No one passes vithout my vill!”

  I pursed my lips and nonchalantly replied, “So a dwarf then?”

  Johansen kept staring at me with menacing eyes. Clearly he was not amused.

  All was left in an unsettling silence until Yoldrig decided to bump into the conversation.

  “A dwarf? Up here? I thought you trolls lived underground.”

  I hit him with my elbow and heard him wince. I kept my gaze on the dwarf and forced my best fake smile. Johansen didn’t say a word, but he clearly wasn’t happy.

  “If you’ll excuse us, we have to get going.”

  All of a sudden Johansen’s expression sparked to life, almost as though a needle had poked him on the backside. “NEIN!”

  Both Yoldrig and I were caught up in shock.

  “What?” I asked.

  Johansen calmed down and said, “You are not properly attired!”

  I gave him a fake nervous smile, trying to hide my chattering teeth and goose bumps.

  “Pfff! Whaaat? Of course I am!”

  Yoldrig shot a glance at me.

  “You’re shivering.” With fury in my eyes I swung around and faced him, angrily poking him on the chest. “One more word out of you and I swear I’ll-”

  “Vhatever ze case, you cannot pass until rules und regulations have been carried out properly.”

  Johansen seemed like a loyal man and not one to bend the rules.

  “Who’s going to stop me anyways? I can just walk past you and-”

  As I tried to prove my point and walk towards the mountain pass, two columns of rock shot out of the sides and cut off the pass with utmost force, sending me falling to the ground – ending with a beep-beep.

  That was some security check!

  With my bum still buried in the shallow layer of snow, Johansen freely added, “It is minus a hundred degrees up zer.”

  I knitted my eyebrows, still startled from the sudden bolder collision.

  “I vould advise you to go to Ze Loggin Housen und see ze shopkeeper. He vill have vot you need.”

  I got to my feet, turned around and shot one last frightened look at Johansen. As I tipped my chin towards the way we had come from, I noticed a little log cabin built in the snow. It looked welcoming enough. I gestured Yoldrig to follow and together we made it to the porch of the cabin. There hung a sign on the side that read, ‘Ze Loggin Housen’. We entered.

  A little bell rang as I opened the door. The freezing wind was blocked the soon as Yoldrig closed it behind him. Walls, floors, the counter, tables, bookcases, and you name it was made of wood. There was a window on the side of the counter that allowed a stroke of cold dim light to enter. There were no fires or any signs of light but for the window. The window was clearly covered in webs of ice and dust, its windowsill outside layered with snow. The cabin was somewhat less warming than I had expected it to be at first.

  I approached the counter. My eyes met a small bell. I couldn’t fight the urge to ring it and sent a single cling to echo throughout the cabin. All of a sudden a little dwarf popped out from behind the counter and greeted, “Guttentag! I am Johansen Karlheinz, ze shopkeeper, und vith vot can I help you today?”

  I was frozen on the spot and my mouth literally hung open.

  “But – you – there – here – how – Johansen! What are you doing here?!”

  Johansen scanned the area with a frown. “I am ze shopkeeper, vot else do you sink I am doing here?”

  I gave a sigh and decided to forget about this and move on. No doubt Johansen wouldn’t give me a clear answer to his mysterious ways…

  “Show me what you’ve got.”

  Almost instantly the dwarf ducked down and hopped around, searching his cupboards and drawers, collec
ting all the necessities. As he did, I noticed Yoldrig to be exploring the shop as well, searching a bookcase filled with random knickknacks. The items seemed mostly foreign.

  “Tell me, why do you help us travellers? I mean, I’d guess you being a dwarf you don’t care much about the safety of others but for your own kin.”

  Johansen paused and focused his nonchalant gaze on me.

  “I don’t, but as guardian of ze gate it is my sworn duty. If someone dies up zer vithout making a stop at my shop, I get sued by HIM.”

  Slowly Johansen’s alerted expression turned to face the window.

  The soon as I turned to look off into the same direction, he grabbed my cheeks with both his furry gloved hands and redirected me to meet him eye to eye.

  (I can’t lie if I say he made me look like a bloated blowfish.)

  He had pulled me so close to his face that our noses almost touched.

  “Ja! Now…” He swiftly let go of my cheeks and lifted a pile of items onto the desk.

  “All you need to survive ze mountains’ cold vinds.”

  I studied the items spread out across the counter. It was amazing. This was exactly everything I needed: From warm boots to a winter jacket, from a blue kilt to a long white scarf and gloves. Nice!

  “I share your point! How much?”

  Johansen took his time, mentally working out the price total. I started fearing the outcome.

  “Zat would be about Å357.” If I were drinking coffee, I would’ve spat it out.

  “357 artums?! Are you kidding me?”

  Johansen nodded confidently. “Nein. Vhy vould I kid? If you vish to go up on ze mountains, you must be villing to pay ze ransom.”

  I heaved a heavy sigh and dug into my pockets, throwing a pouch of coins onto the counter. Johansen was quick to grab it. I snorted and took the clothes, putting them on over my current wear. There was even a nice fur coat for Yoldrig to wear.

  “Und…” Johansen started as he ducked down, throwing some equipment onto the table, “You vill need zese too.” I gave another loud sigh.