Thelvyn fervently wished the king would forego such foolishness as this celebration. He knew just how desperate the confrontation with the dragons might become, and he wasn't in the mood for this. Indeed, he had come to the palace that morning expecting to have a long, hard talk with the king and his wizards.
As soon as it seemed that everyone was present, glasses of fruited wine were passed about, and Thelvyn was toasted as the hero of the day. He was given a medal and granted new honorary titles, essentially meaningless but nevertheless impressive, and assurances of everlasting honor, trust, and support. Such proclamations had been bestowed upon him before, and he knew the words would be remembered only as long as he was doing what the Flaem wanted him to do.
Once things had settled down a bit, Kalestraan came over to join him. "I was informed about your difficulty with the cape. This will teach us not to underestimate dragons. Do you happen to know the spell he used?"
"No. He was too far away for me to hear or see anything," Thelvyn replied. "Dragons aren't very demonstrative about their use of magic. Whenever they do something, it just happens."
"I'm not certain it really matters," the wizard admitted. "I'm sure we can devise some kind of ward against the dragons' magic. My only concern is that the protection will begin to diminish as soon as you pass beyond the area of our influence. Unfortunately, that includes the northern frontier. I'll send someone around to get the cape so that we can get to work on the problem."
"I would appreciate that," Thelvyn said.
The wizard wandered away, leaving Thelvyn wondering how much good a cape of flight that only worked in the Highlands would do him. Long association with
Kalestraan led him to wonder if the wizard had contrived matters this way to keep the Dragonlord on a tight leash.
He saw Jherridan making his way toward Thelvyn, pausing for a brief word with various guests along the way.
"Could I speak with you alone for a moment?" Jherridan asked, indicating a secluded area on the far side of the garden.
Thelvyn seated himself on a stone bench that had been set back among the trees. Jherridan seemed excited and preferred to stand. "All of this ceremony aside, I need to have you speak plainly to me on this matter. I need to have this situation with the dragons resolved as quickly as possible, no matter how you do it. You needn't remind me that you've insisted from the first that we would have no luck fighting them. I think I understand what really happened in your confrontation with the dragons, no matter how it has been perceived by others. It was all that you and half the Highlands army could do to hold your own with a dozen dragons."
"Putting an end to the conflict might not be quite so simple," Thelvyn replied, his curiosity piqued by the king's sudden intense interest in peace. Or perhaps it was a sudden lack of faith in the Dragonlord's abilities. "After you've forced me to provoke the dragons into fighting, now you can't wait for me to make peace with them."
"I suppose that I should get to the point," the king said. "I've received some important messages from Emperor Cornelius while you were away. The Thyatians have been able to determine that the supposed alliance between the Alphatians and the dragons was in fact a treaty of peace. It was more a surrender on the part of the Alphatians, just as you said. Dragons were fairly crawling over Alphatia for several days. I daresay that they were looking for their lost treasure."
"I doubt that they found it. I think you know where they'll come looking next."
"I don't consider it a coincidence that Kalestraan is pushing me harder than ever to go to war with the dragons," Jherridan said. "I don't want to seem as if I have people spying on you, but I am aware that Kharendaen is still coming and going from your house. I suspect that you have her searching for the lost treasure of the dragons."
"That's not Kharendaen. It's a young male cleric named Seldaek. He was sent to help us find the . . . the thing the dragons have lost," Thelvyn said, electing to be as discreet as possible lest anyone was listening. "He's been out with Sir George trying to determine if any of the renegade dragons were involved. Because of the size of the thing that was stolen and the place it was taken from, we can be fairly certain that either the renegades took it for themselves or else they stole it for someone like Kalestraan."
"Then you think the return of the object would be enough to end the war?" the king asked, coming at last to his point.
"Frankly, I don't know," he admitted. "The dragons feel that the Flaem have insulted them and threatened them in their own lands. Also, you insisted that I take your side, and they aren't at all pleased about that. I don't know if they'd be willing to let go of their complaints so easily, but I can try. As soon as we have the chance to, I'll have Sir George negotiate for us. If anyone can talk a dragon out of anything, he can."
"The point is this," Jherridan began. "The discovery that there is no alliance between the dragons and the Alphatians has placed our own alliance in question. Thyatis is still interested in a treaty against Alphatia, but the general belief is that the dragons are now a greater threat. Our problem is that we must settle our disagreement with the dragons before there can be any alliance against Alphatia, and we must move quickly while the Alphatians are still reeling from their own conflict with the dragons."
"I'm not certain I can promise you anything," Thelvyn had to admit. "If you want to begin discussing peace with the dragons as soon as possible, we'll have make some gesture of reconciliation. I would suggest giving them something they want. Pull back the Highlands
army from the northern frontier."
Jherridan considered that briefly, then nodded reluctantly. "It would seem there's nothing else to do, wouldn't it? We'll begin drawing up new plans for you to institute when you return to the north in a couple of days."
*****
A messenger from the Fire Wizards arrived at Thelvyn's house that morning to get the cape. Although Thelvyn was still at the palace, he had anticipated such a visit and had the cape ready for him. When he returned home that night, Thelvyn found a letter from Byen Kalestraan. It seemed that the wizards were frustrated; whatever the dragons had done to the cape, it had permanently removed the enchantment of flight from the cape. They would have to start all over again with a new cape before they could attempt to find the proper wards to prevent future interference. That would take at least three or four days.
Thelvyn was concerned about the delay. He had assumed that he would be returning to the frontier and his duties with the army right away. He was fearful of what the dragons might do in his absence, and also of what might happen if they made another attempt on his life while he was in Braejr. He wondered if Kalestraan was using the problem with the cape as a means to keep him in the south a day or two more, even though it seemed a couple of days was unlikely to make any difference. When Thelvyn returned to the frontier, he would be drawing back the army in the hope of establishing a new truce, and Kalestraan was apparently very much interested in prolonging the war.
Thelvyn would have liked very much to know what Mage Kalestraan was planning. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the Fire Wizards had been involved in the theft of the Collar of the Dragons, since that alone would explain their present policies. If they had a burning desire for battle, it should have been with their
ancient, hated enemies, the Alphatians.
For the time, Kalestraan seemed content to be quietly helpful but leave all matters of policy and planning to the king and the Dragonlord. Since the wizards now had a way to communicate magically among themselves, Thelvyn requested to have a wizard skilled in this technique made available to him at all times, so that he would know immediately if the dragons attacked while he was absent from the north. He expected excuses about why that wasn't possible, but instead Kalestraan promised him that a wizard would be made available to him by the next day.
By chance, Sir George returned from his most recent journey that same night. Seldaek settled into the yard shortly after nightfall and moved quickly to the cover of Khare
ndaen's lair. Even though the king knew a dragon was still coming and going in the service of the Dragonlord, discretion still seemed wise. Seldaek himself seemed quite concerned about the arrangement, obviously feeling that he was hiding behind enemy lines.
Sir George had been especially anxious about returning to Braejr as quickly as he could. He had been away at the time of the attack in which Solveig had been badly wounded and learned about it only after his return from his rescue from Darmouk. Shortly afterward, the urgency of locating the Collar of the Dragons had taken him away once again. He was relieved to see that Solveig was improving steadily.
Although the hour was late, they retired to the den to talk, but only after Sir George had raided the kitchen. Having been cruelly deprived for some time now, he had Thelvyn open a bottle of his favorite cherry liqueur. Once he was settled comfortably, he listened carefully to a detailed account of all that had happened in his absence.
"What interests me is that Kalestraan seems to have had a falling-out with Jherridan," Sir George commented. "As you say, his determination to fight the dragons when war with Alphatia seems such a promising venture only makes sense if he was involved in the theft of the collar. He's in a difficult position, unless the Dragonlord somehow defeats the dragons so decisively that they are in no position to ask for anything. He must know that if he doesn't mend his fences with the king, Jherridan might be willing to give him to the dragons to do with as they please if that would restore the truce."
"That sounds like a very good idea," Solveig commented sourly.
"How were the dragons able to determine that the Alphatians don't have the collar?" Thelvyn asked. "Assuming, of course, that they have indeed answered that question to their satisfaction."
"I really don't know," Sir George had to admit. "Alphatia is too big a place for them to have turned over every stone so quickly, as the saying goes. If the dragons had some magical means to trace the collar, you would think they would have used it by now."
"Unless the range of detection is very limited," Thelvyn offered.
"That could be. It might be good to know such things. Then we could offer to let them explore the Highlands for themselves, with the promise that they get to keep all the conspirators they catch. The problem is, I really don't think the collar is here."
"Is the collar really all that important to us?" Thelvyn asked. "If we had it to give back to the dragons, would they be satisfied and abide by the truce? Frankly, I'm beginning to get the impression that their greatest interest in this war is that they see it as a chance to get rid of ___me.
Sir George looked thoughtful as he considered that. "I'm sure Marthaen doesn't agree with that policy. Unfortunately, he happens to be a scrupulously honest and conscientious dragon. He may consider himself obliged to do whatever the dragons demand of him, even if he knows it's a bad idea. Did you have a chance to talk to him about it at Darmouk?"
Thelvyn shook his head. "Not really. But I'm sure he considers war something to be avoided at almost any cost, since he knows what the consequences would be.
I've always thought that was one point very much in our
favor."
"Personally, I suspect you haven't yet matched wits with Marthaen," the old knight said. "That battle with the dragons was too ill-planned. They obviously didn't know you had the power of flight, but Marthaen knew from having seen you in Darmouk. The ambush, on the other hand, might well have been his doing, since the dragons involved left you alone the moment you tele-ported into your armor. That was a very simple and direct test, with very little risk."
"Meaning that Marthaen is going to be much better prepared to deal with me when the time comes?" Thelvyn asked.
Sir George thought about that a moment, staring at his glass. At last he sighed loudly and set it aside. "The trouble is that when a dragon is clever, he tends to be very clever indeed. Marthaen knows he can't fight you directly. Either he ignores you and makes war on the rest of the world, which doesn't really suit his purposes, or else he finds another way to defeat you. When he has explored all his options, he might be content to agree to restoring the truce."
That was actually very much what Thelvyn had already figured out for himself. It meant that he now needed to consider Marthaen his enemy. That was a daunting prospect indeed. Marthaen was very much like his sister—wise, calm, and patient. In addition, he could be cold and cunning in battle. He was young, but he was also a fighting dragon and a sorcerer of extraordinary ability. Yet Marthaen had made mistakes in the attack on Kardyer's lair.
Sir George told the others about the latest developments in his search for the Collar of the Dragons. He seemed to have flown the wings off Seldaek in the last couple of weeks. He was still seeking clues among the renegades, convinced that a band of renegades must have been involved in the theft. More specifically, he had been trying to find the band that had attacked Thelvyn and Solveig in Braejr, assuming that those same dragons may also have been involved in the theft. But in the end, he still had no idea where the collar was. All he had learned for certain was a few places where it was not.
Thelvyn wished he could be more directly involved in the search, but his other duties simply didn't allow him the time to be away. He had to admit that Sir George was better suited to conduct the search, having spent decades tracking down antiquities and other rare items. If it became necessary, at least Thelvyn could deal with the renegade dragons.
*****
Thelvyn arrived at the palace early the next morning to begin conferring with the king about withdrawing the army from the northern border of the frontier. When he presented himself at Jherridan's private chamber, he was annoyed to see that Kalestraan had already arrived before him. The wizard was seated in a chair in front of Jherridan's desk. The king sat at the desk with his chin in his hands, looking rather put out. Kalestraan had obviously been pushing the necessity of the war again, although his efforts appeared to be doing him little good. The moment Thelvyn arrived, the wizard rose to leave.
"A brief word if you please, Dragonlord," Kalestraan said before starting for the door.
"Certainly," Thelvyn replied guardedly. The tone Kalestraan had used reminded the Dragonlord rather uncomfortably of a stern adult who was about to lecture an errant child.
"The wizards I sent to serve the Highlands Army have sent me reports of your battle with the dragons," he said. "From what I have seen in those reports, I have determined a mistake you have been making that is causing this situation to be much more difficult than it should be."
"Indeed?" Thelvyn glanced at Jherridan. The king looked mildly curious; he must not have known of this matter, although he seemed not to have much trust that the wizard actually knew what he was talking about.
"In your battles with dragons, you obviously make every effort to insure that you do not slay or seriously wound them," Kalestraan explained with great self-satis-faction. "You have complained that you do not possess the powers of the first Dragonlord, but I wonder now if the difference is simply that he did not concern himself with the welfare of his enemy as much as you do."
"I'm certain that he did not," Thelvyn agreed. "But I hardly consider my concern to be needless. If I start killing dragons with impunity, I'll force them to feel that they have to defend themselves at any cost. That would only start a war that would not end until every dragon in the world has been destroyed, and it would all be happening right here in the Highlands. I hardly think that's something you want, since there wouldn't be many of your own people left when it was all over."
"I'm perfectly satisfied that the Dragonlord is acting properly," Jherridan spoke up. "And I'm sure you must see the wisdom in what he says as well."
Kalestraan bowed his head. "Perhaps you are right. The object of battle is to destroy one's enemies, but I tend to forget that the common rules do not always apply where dragons are concerned."
"I'm still determined to defend the Highlands," Thelvyn said. "I can do that best if you can manage to fix that cap
e of flight for me."
Kalestraan bowed his head once more, never taking his eyes from Thelvyn as he did so. "I have not forgotten your needs. The cape will be ready soon."
The wizard took his leave quietly, closing the door behind him. Thelvyn thought that Kalestraan had put up surprisingly little argument on what he obviously considered a very important matter, and that left the Dragonlord suspicious. Of course, Kalestraan was actually quite correct; Thelvyn was making his task far more difficult by trying to avoid harming dragons any more than he could help it, but his response had been equally correct. Under no circumstances could he afford to begin killing dragons until he knew that war had become unavoidable.
Thelvyn spent most of the day in private consultation with Jherridan on the matter of drawing back their line of defense from the northern border of the frontier. Of course, the solution was hardly as simple as that. Some thought still had to be given to the northern lands to insure that the people there, especially the dukes, didn't feel they were being abandoned to the dragons. Thelvyn's answer was that the line of defense should be drawn not in the northern wilderness but farther south, in the towns and villages where most of the population was concentrated.
Thelvyn retired to his own chamber later that afternoon to finish making plans alone after the king had been called away to other duties. Since the garrison at the north gate was remote, Thelvyn elected to work in his private chamber at the palace, which was just down the hall from the king's chamber.
In the past, when he hadn't been occupied with duties of court, this had been where he entertained himself by reading or studying his oft-neglected spellbook. Hardly anyone other than the king ever had business with the Dragonlord, but now that he was in direct command of the Highlands army, he had more than enough to keep himself busy.
He was surprised that afternoon when a young lady came to his door. He guessed from her appearance that she was slightly older than he and obviously a daughter of the Flaemish nobility. She was copper-skinned, with long, full hair of the deepest red. She possessed the lean, aristocratic features that were especially striking on Flaemish women. Her attire was simple yet quietly elegant. She leaned forward to peer through the door, which had been standing partly open.
D& D - Mystara 02 Dragonking of Mystara Page 22