"Have you learned anything?" he asked, always hopeful.
She shook her head. "There is nothing new. Kalestraan kept his secrets well."
Alessa stood deliberately close to him at the parapet. Thelvyn had almost forgotten about her attentions toward him in the last few desperate days. With the reawakening of his distrust of Fire Wizards, she had chosen a bad time to make a play for him. Ignoring his lack of response, she moved still closer to him.
"I don't know how we can avoid this battle," she said.
"I plan to do everything I can to prevent it," Thelvyn assured her.
"You can't mean it when you say you'll surrender yourself to them if you have to," Alessa insisted, looking up at him.
"It wouldn't really be surrender," he explained. "At least, not under the terms that I intend to propose. I would keep the armor, and I would live among the dragons, but not as their prisoner. As Sir George said, under such circumstances, we would setde our differences very quickly."
"Or else kill each other," she said bitterly. "I don't want you to leave. Why should you? You're the Dragonlord and the King of the Highlands. If these dragons want a fight, then give them one and be done with it. Don't worry so much about hurting them; they've asked for trouble. Stay here with me."
"I don't have that choice," Thelvyn insisted. "And I have no desire to remain king."
"And you do not want to stay with me. I know," Alessa said sadly. "I admit you don't have much reason to trust me, considering who I am. In your eyes, I've inherited the reputation of those who have always been your enemies. I know you find it easier to believe that I care far more about becoming a queen than about you. And I don't know how to prove to you otherwise, since I won't have the time to show you. Everyone seems to believe that soon you'll be going away, one way or another."
Thelvyn frowned, uncertain for a moment just what he should say. When he didn't answer at once, Alessa looked up at him. "There's only one thing I can say to prove myself. When the time comes for you to go, wherever you have to go, I'll go with you."
"It's not just that," he told her. "You talk about time. I haven't had time to get to know you well enough yet."
"They say that you know Sellianda from years ago," she said. "Is it that you feel closer to her?"
Thelvyn could only shake his head hopelessly. "I don't know what to say."
"Dragonlord!" It was the voice of Taeryn, running along the wall to join them.
Alessa moved discreetly away. Thelvyn hardly knew whether to chastise the young valet or shake his hand.
"Sir George sent me to find you," Taeryn explained, out of breath from running. "He says a dwarf has come to speak to you—an emissary from Rockhome."
Taeryn led the way to Thelvyn's private chamber, while Alessa Vyledaar followed in brooding silence. Sir George had already poured drinks to celebrate the occasion. Next to Solveig and Sellianda, in the middle of the room, stood a young dwarf dressed in dark, well-worn leather and cloth, his pack and weapons deposited just inside the door.
Thelvyn stared for a moment before he realized who the visitor was.
"Korinn Bear Slayer!" Thelvyn exclaimed. "I'm delighted to see you, but I have to admit that it seems like a bad time."
"I never expected there were so many dragons in all the world," the young dwarf remarked. "I had to wait until it was dark to find a way to slip inside the city. But the dragons are why I'm here, as you may have guessed. I have two thousand of the best warriors in Rockhome with me."
Korinn paused a moment, staring in dismay at the glass of cherry liqueur Sir George handed him.
"Anyway, while we were waiting for night to fall, danged if about four thousand elves from Alfheim didn't show up," he continued, taking a seat near the corner. "If you can use the help, we need to start moving them into the city at once to get everyone inside by morning."
"Yes, of course," Thelvyn insisted, still very much at a loss. "I just never expected this. The defense of Braejr hardly seems important to the dwarves, much less the elves."
"I can't speak for the elves," Korinn said. "I heard their captain say something about defending their kinsmen in the Highlands. I suspect he just doesn't want to admit that even the elves are alarmed at the thought of an army of dragons attacking anyone, even the Flaem. But that's exactly what brought me, I don't mind saying. The dwarves are convinced the dragons will be after our mines and treasures next, so King Daroban thought it best to get involved right now rather than wait for them to come to us."
Korinn didn't add that, as his father's likely heir, he had been given command of the dwarvish forces as much for the experience as for the fact that he had been a friend and companion to the Dragonlord.
"Then the dragons don't know you are here?" Solveig asked.
Korinn shook his head. "They wouldn't have let me in if they had, would they?"
"We're still trying to avoid an actual battle," Sir George said. "The addition of your forces and the elves will make our position just that much stronger."
"More so than you might be aware," Korinn added. "The elves told me they saw at least half the army of Darokin only five days south of here. The dragons have to be aware of it by now."
"That's the best news I could have hoped for," Thelvyn said. "I think Marthaen will be a little more reasonable the next time he wants to talk."
"We'll make certain they don't have everything their way," the dwarf declared. He rose and set aside his still-full glass. "If you'll excuse me, I need to begin bringing my people inside the city. Two thousand dwarves and four ihousand elves surrounded by a thousand dragons seems like the perfect combination for trouble."
Korinn bowed and departed without another word, pausing only a moment for Solveig and Sir George to join him. Thelvyn smiled to himself. The young dwarf had matured a great deal in the last five years. He had become more like other dwarves, confident and occasionally boisterous, but also commanding. Thelvyn was glad to have so many of his old companions gathered together at such a time; he wouldn't even have been surprised if Perrantin arrived with the forces from Darokin. Only Kharendaen was absent, and greatly missed.
"If I cannot be of additional service, then I should return to the Academy," Alessa sounding frustrated.
Thelvyn nodded to her but remained silent as she departed. He was still uncertain whether he regretted or was relieved that her attempt to seduce him had been so opportunely interrupted, although he suspected that he would have refused her flat if it had come down to that. He still couldn't escape the feeling that she had secret motives m wanting to be intimate with him, something that would work to her advantage if not actually to his disadvantage.
"Is something wrong?" Sellianda asked, rising from her chair in the corner to approach him.
"Just Alessa," he explained. "She was trying to tempt me into staying here and remaining king. She says she wants me to stay with her—even offered to come with me if I have to go away. I'm inclined to think that she was just trying to convince me of her sincerity. I wish I had more experience at this sort of thing."
"Alessa is a sorceress with strong ambitions," Sellianda answered. "Her ambitions are not necessarily evil or even selfish ones, but ambition is the passion that shapes her life. She may be trying to use you, or it may be that she simply sees a person of your power and abilities as the perfect match for her. I cannot say. Does she tempt you?"
"No, not really," he insisted, then laughed at himself. "I suppose I'm just wondering if I should be flattered or offended. I'm used to being treated as a stranger in this land, an undesirable."
"They've taught you to question everyone's motives because they always have hidden reasons for their actions," she said. "And yet what can I say? I encouraged your affections five years ago, and I still want you to think fondly of me. But I also feel that you belong with your own people, and that you should not make any lasting decisions until you are given the chance to discover who you really are."
"Yes, but when will that be?" he a
sked.
"Very soon now, I believe."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A griffon rider arrived in the middle of the day, coming in so quickly from the east that he was already upon the city before he was even aware of the siege. That was probably just as well, since he might not have dared attempt to pass the dragons otherwise, and the dragons might not have allowed him to pass if they hadn't been taken by surprise. The messenger flew his beast low over the city, then made a hurried landing in the main courtyard of the king's palace. Several dragons were following him by that time, although they seemed merely curious and made no attempt to attack him.
The message he had carried all the way from Thyatis was delivered promptly to Darius Glantri, who had gone out to meet him. The messenger found himself pressed into service with the other griffon riders, since his only alternative was to try to depart through the ranks of the dragons. Darius brought the written message to Thelvyn's private chamber immediately. Thelvyn was in the middle of a discussion with Sir George and Captain Gairstaan.
"It's a report from Emperor Cornelius himself," Darius explained, placing the pages of the message on the desk. "My impression is that it's good news. It seems the Alphatians found out that the dragons had been gathering for the invasion of the Highlands. Since the dragons seemed to be otherwise occupied in distant lands, they decided to launch a massive fleet to invade Wendar. Their apparent intent was to occupy the holdings that the dragons had driven them from earlier this year. But an army of dragons met their fleet at sea and destroyed it."
"A second army of dragons?" Sir George asked, his interest suddenly piqued. "When did all of this take place?"
"Three days ago, according to the report," Darius explained. "We've had griffon riders watching the lands of Wendar discreetly since we first learned of the Alphatian trouble. That's how word of it was able to reach us so quickly."
"A second army of dragons indeed," Sir George mused. "The dragons are apparently so up in arms that they can have one army here and a second in Wendar at the same time. I'm not so sure I would call that good news. It means we could be up to our necks in twice as many dragons if it weren't for the stupidity of the Alphatians."
"Yes, I see what you mean," Thelvyn said. "I assumed they had sent every dragon they had here to deal with me. If they kept a second army in reserve back in their own lands, they must be very confident of themselves indeed."
"Unless they never meant to fight in the first place," Sir George reminded him. "In that case, they have all the dragons they need right here."
Gairstaan could only shake his head. "I'm not sure about this. The fact that we could be facing twice as many dragons is actually the good news. The bad news is that the dragons don't feel they need the extra numbers."
"At least I understand the situation a little better now," Thelvyn said. "My guess is that Marthaen had to send away half of his army to deal with the Alphatians. That's why he had to give us time to complete our defenses, and that's why he has seemed to be moving so slowly and cautiously. I thought he was playing games with us, and I
assumed the worst. The truth is that he needs to buy time."
"Will this affect the way he plans to negotiate with us?" Darius asked.
Thelvyn shook his head helplessly. "I just don't know. Eventually we will reach an end to negotiations, and Marthaen has to tell me what he really wants. I suspect it has to happen soon, or he's going to have an army from Darokin to deal with as well."
"I'm not so certain he has to worry about that," Darius said. "An army that isn't where it needs to be is worthless. The dragons should find it easy to prevent the Darokin forces from crossing the river."
When all was said and done, Thelvyn felt the message explained to him the meaning only of events that had already occurred. At the most, it allowed him to feel a bit more certain that the dragons hadn't come to fight. He wondered if Marthaen had in fact already laid all his cards on the table, and what he really wanted was the surrender of the Dragonlord. That helped to explain the siege; it was all just an act of intimidation. The problem was that Thelvyn was still only guessing.
As the final day of the truce came to a close, Thelvyn knew that he couldn't give the dragons what they wanted. He was never going to find the Collar of the Dragons soon enough to avert the coming battle, and he had to admit that they were reasonable in their desire to have it returned. His alternatives were becoming increasingly limited. Soon he would either have to fight the dragons or surrender to them. He was no longer hopeful that the dragons would accept his counterproposal to surrender himself to them but keep his armor. While Thelvyn believed that Marthaen personally would agree to such terms, he realized that the First Speaker was subject to the will of all dragons and they wanted to see the Dragonlord defeated.
At least the arrival of a large force of dwarves and elves, something the dragons did not know about, might make them a bit more reasonable about coming to terms—especially now that the companies from Darokin were only two days away. A thousand dragons was a tremendous force, but even they could not easily fight both the Dragonlord and a combined army of well over thirty thousand men. Still, as Darius Glantri had pointed out, the army from Darokin was useless as long as they were on the wrong side of the river.
With the first light of dawn, plans were already under way to prepare for the very real possibility of battle. Thelvyn was certain that he would have a final chance to speak with Marthaen, and he hoped to be able to give the gold dragon something to think about. He suspected there would be no battle again that day, just another exchange of offers and promises and threats in a final effort to avoid war. Still, he had to be prepared for the chance that the dragons were beginning to feel pressed to resolve the matter in combat. He wanted to keep their attention there at Braejr rather than have them attack the approaching forces from Darokin.
The city of Braejr seemed as prepared for battle as it could be. The Fire Wizards had continued to manipulate the summer storms; either the dragons could not or chose not to interfere with the powers of the Radiance. Although the approach from the south had been kept dry, anticipating the arrival of the companies from Darokin, there had been rain over the city itself the last two nights and everything was fairly wet. Ample supplies of water for fighting fires were at the ready throughout the city. All the Highlands forces were prepared, and there was a crew at duty with every catapult.
Alessa Vyledaar was ready to relay orders to the wizards at the Academy to do whatever they could in defense of the city. The dwarves and elves remained in hiding behind the city wall, waiting to present themselves at a time calculated to surprise the dragons. Darius Glantri had the griffon riders standing by at the north barracks, ready to lead the fierce beasts against the dragons.
The dragons had also been busy during the night. As Thelvyn stood at the parapet above the gate, he could see that they had gathered hundreds of bundles of branches and straw, tied together like stacks of hay, on top of several hills in the distance. There was hardly a dragon to be seen in the sky, but entire rows of the vast creatures waited silently in the fields beyond the city wall. The sight of them waiting patiently on the ground was almost more unsettling than seeing them crowding the air.
"What are they doing?" Thelvyn asked.
"Dragons are not in the habit of mounting attacks against cities," Sir George explained. "I think they're improvising their tactics. The bundles of sticks and straw can be set alight and dropped from considerable height, out of range of our catapults. That allows the dragons to attack us without exposing themselves to danger."
"They won't be out of range of my weapons," Thelvyn said.
"Or from bolts of force projected by the Radiance," Alessa added. "We believe we can weave a net of lightning over the city, but only for several minutes at a time. I believe we can time the use of the magical lightning for when we need it most."
"If the dragons won't talk, then our best hope is to hold out until the army from Darokin can get here," The
lvyn said.
Perhaps Marthaen had seen them gathered on the walkway above the gate. At any rate, at that moment he leaped into the morning sky, gliding slowly along the road leading to the gate. The gold dragon landed about a hundred yards away and folded his wings, then stepped closer to the gate. Once more he sat back on his haunches and lifted his neck so that he could look down upon those who faced him.
"Dragonlord, have you considered our terms for peace?" he asked.
"We have," Thelvyn answered. "As I told you before, I have always intended to surrender the title of king as soon as a suitable replacement can be found. That term will be met. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to locate the Collar of the Dragons. We do not believe that it has been here for some time now. I remind you that renegade dragons were involved in this affair. They most likely were the ones who stole the collar, just as they were the ones who betrayed its existence to the Fire Wizards. Only they know where to find it."
"You are the Dragonlord," Marthaen said. "Our first treaty gave you the authority to deal with renegades however you see fit."
"And you could have asked for the return of the collar long ago," Thelvyn reminded him. "The same treaty would have obliged me to help you find it. I will help you to search even yet."
"That is no longer the issue," Marthaen said. "I gave you alternate terms for peace. Have you considered those?"
"I have. My response is that I will surrender myself to the dragons, to accompany you to your stronghold and remain in your company, but I will keep the armor and weapons of the Dragonlord. Only in that way can I maintain my duty to the Immortals. The dragons will always have the assurance that I am not somewhere out in the world plotting against them."
Marthaen drew back his head in surprise, lifting his ears. "Your proposal does possess a certain remarkable merit. But I do not believe that the dragons will agree to such terms at this time."
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