Thelvyn found that he was not the only one who had been left in a difficult position. The demands of both politics and prejudice required Korinn Bear Slayer to break all ties with Thelvyn, betraying their long friendship, something a dwarf was especially loath to do. Korinn was trapped by his own duty. He couldn't afford a blemish on his reputation, since it might threaten his claim to the throne of Rockhome. His brother Dorinn had been gravely wounded in battle in the Broken Lands, and he seemed unlikely to recover enough to be considered fit to be king, so it was becoming increasingly likely that Korinn would be his father's heir. Because dwarves considered dragons their special enemies, his association with the Dragonlord had abruptly changed from being an asset to being a potential liability.
Thelvyn could understand Korinn's need to distance himself from the Dragonlord, and he didn't blame the dwarf in the least. But he was not completely without friends. Solveig hardly cared what anyone thought about her, yet curiously the Flaem thought rather highly of her. Thelvyn's other chief supporter was Captain Gairstaan, who remained loyal and devoted both publicly and privately. He knew better than anyone how hard Thelvyn had worked to spare the Highlands from devastation, and he felt that there was a debt to be paid.
At least Thelvyn did not yet have any open adversaries, although he expected the Fire Wizards would turn against him in the hope of salvaging something of their own damaged reputation at his expense. He also wondered if one or more of the dukes would turn against him in a bid to claim the throne, although he considered that unlikely. The problem wasn't so much in deciding upon a successor as in finding someone both willing and capable of being the next king. Any one of the dukes could have probably been king by the end of the week simply by coming to Braejr and asking for the job.
When Solveig and Gairstaan came to the palace at noon, at least they had something encouraging to report. With an army of dragons only a few miles to the north, they had been required to maintain the city in a fairly high state of readiness for battle. The threat of war was greatly reduced, but the siege itself was not yet lifted.
"Our scouts have noticed something odd," Gairstaan explained as they conferred over a hasty lunch. "It seems that there aren't nearly as many dragons in this area as there were. Perhaps as many as half of them have gone."
"That was to be expected," Thelvyn said. "They might have won a battle, but the dragons are still at war with the Alphatians. I'm sure Marthaen felt the need to get an army back east as quickly as possible. We knew that many dragons couldn't remain in this area for long. Dragons are fairly active and they eat a lot. Obviously game is becoming scarce."
"I wonder why they don't just leave altogether," Solveig remarked.
"They might just as well, frankly," Thelvyn said. "But they won't leave until they see what happens next, whether or not our alliance is going to fall apart. Of course, no one else is going to leave while the dragons are still there."
"I suspect the dwarves are seriously tempted to go home under any circumstances," Gairstaan commented. "I think the elves from Alfheim want to go home as well, since they don't see much possibility of a fight."
"If we want to get rid of the dragons, we need to encourage the others to leave," Thelvyn said.
Part of the problem with having so many armies at hand was that they were even more inclined than the people of Braejr to grumble, and no one was louder at grumbling than the dwarves. Open resentment and suspicion directed toward the Dragonlord was becoming commonplace by that night, and it appeared to have started with disgruntled dwarvish fighters who had beerj trying to find entertainment in a city full of people nearly as reserved and suspicious of strangers as themselves. Although the Darokin forces remained firmly encamped on the far side of the Areste, soldiers from their army were also coming into Braejr in small bands, and they were quick to express their own opinions.
The people of Braejr hardly knew what to think at first. They had given their trust to the Dragonlord, and he had never betrayed them in any actual deed. But the betrayal by their own wizards and the violent death of their first king had left them suspicious and angry, and their trust was fragile. Their fear of dragons was second only to their ancient hatred of the Alphatians, so when others began to condemn the Dragonlord openly, their words did not fall on deaf ears.
For these reasons, Thelvyn was surprised when Korinn came to speak with him that night. The dwarf seemed especially uncomfortable, knowing that he must seem faithless to his old friend. It undoubtedly made it easier for him that Thelvyn was alone in his private chamber with Sellianda. Neither Sir George nor Solveig were there.
"You probably shouldn't have come," Thelvyn said as he welcomed the young dwarf. "Do any of your people know you are here?"
"Only those few I trust best," Korinn said. "You seem to know what the problem is."
"Of course I do," Thelvyn insisted, passing him a cup of ale. "I know better than to think that you would ever turn against me."
"It was a difficult choice," Korinn said sourly, taking an empty chair and staring at his ale. "Either I betray my friends or I fail my family and clan. If keeping my reputation weren't so critical to the future of Rockhome, I would never be acting this way. I've learned that my own warriors are spreading false rumors, and I'm in no position to stop them."
"They haven't done any real harm," Thelvyn assured him. "The wizards are going to be spreading rumors and turning the Highlands against me soon enough, if they haven't already. It's not as if I'm fighting to keep the throne. I'm just trying to hold on long enough to get things settled and find a suitable successor. But the dragons won't leave until they see what happens, and no one else will go home until the dragons do. I had rather hoped the dwarves felt put out by the whole affair and were ready to leave."
"They are," Korinn said. "But it's a matter of pride. No dwarf wants to be the first to walk away, especially while the dragons are still out there. That would seem faithless and cowardly. Of course, it never occurred to me that you actually needed us to go."
"I do," Thelvyn said, "but not if it would harm your reputation in any way. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if the Ethengar head for home in the morning. They were never as ready to fight dragons as they thought."
"Well, I should be going," Korinn said, rising. "I'm sorry it's had to come to this. I hope things settle down in a couple of years so that you can return to visit me in Dengar. But you have to promise to keep your dragon's claws off my treasure."
Thelvyn laughed. "I promise. But don't expect me to call until after the matter of the succession of the next king is settled. That might be some time yet. I don't want to risk upsetting things."
Korinn bowed and left quietly. Taeryn had been waiting outside the door to show him out. Thelvyn had to wonder if he would ever see the young dwarf again. He had taken Kharendaen on errands to Dengar in the past, but he knew it would be a long time before he would be welcome in Rockhome again. Once Korinn was gone, he noticed that Sellianda seemed to be quietly amused about something.
"You already possess the hoard of the greatest of the renegade kings," she said. "Any dwarf would pull out his beard with envy over such a treasure."
"I'd forgotten about that," he admitted. "I suppose Marthaen was deliberately doing me a favor when he insisted that the treasure belonged to me."
"He is trying his best to support you even yet," she said sincerely.
"I was also wondering if the assumption that I really am a dragon might be a bit premature, regardless of the fact that my mother was a gold dragon. It might be easy to assume that my father was also a dragon, but we don't know that for a fact. Or do we?"
Sellianda shook her head. "No one but your mother, your father, and the Great One himself knows who your father is."
"I don't have the faintest idea how to assume the form of
a dragon," Thelvyn said.
"Of course not. You are under a powerful enchantment that prevents you from taking your true form. The circumstances of your birth requi
red it. Your mother could not have given birth to you if the enchantment holding both of you in this form had not been very secure. You will not be able to become a dragon until the enchantment is removed. Perhaps only the Great One can do that. But there is much to suggest that you are a dragon nevertheless, not the least being that the command of magic has always come easy to you in spite of the fact that you are also a cleric."
"You told me once that I'm not a true cleric," he reminded her. "You said my status is almost that of a lesser Immortal."
"The status of any powerful dragon cleric is almost that of a lesser Immortal," she explained. "Marthaen told you the other clues to your nature."
"That's true," he conceded. "But there's one thing I wonder about. In my present form, I'm twenty-one years old, and I know that dragons mature very slowly. When I take the form of a dragon, will I be a mature dragon of perhaps a hundred or so, or will I be a twenty-one year old dragon child?"
Sellianda looked rather starded. "I had never thought of that. I really do not know. Frankly, your situation is unprecedented, for no dragon has ever been born in enchanted form. I expect that you would remain mature. It's sad, in a way, that a duty you never asked for has required you to miss a hundred years of childhood."
As Thelvyn had expected, the Ethengar warriors decamped early the next morning, filing across the Aalban Bridge just north of Braejr. That led them into the wild lands east of the river, lands held by the elves of the southern Highlands but sparsely inhabited. Soon they would pass through the hills between the Colossus Mounts on the north and the Broken Lands on the south, both rugged and dangerous lands. But their numbers were too great to worry much about being attacked by ores or other evil folk, and the Ethengar probably would have welcomed a fight in any event. Since the war with the dragons had turned out to be rather disappointing, they needed a good battle to restore their pride.
The dwarves intended to start for home as soon as they could. To observe formalities, Korinn and his captains approached Thelvyn that morning to ask if their presence was still required. The general in command of the forces of Darokin made his intentions known later the same day, pointing out the urgency of returning to the south before the summer rains made the wilderness roads unpassable. Only the elves of Alfheim seemed in no hurry to leave; the truth of the Dragonlord's heritage had never concerned them in the least.
Thelvyn's reputation took a rather serious turn for the worse that day, if that were possible. The new rumor was that he had always known he was secretly a dragon, and he would have continued to deceive his allies and the people he was sworn to protect if the dragons hadn't revealed the truth. Most of the people of Braejr didn't believe that, but they were beginning to feel that the Dragonlord must have betrayed them in some way. If nothing else, he was an orphan of unknown origin, suspicious in itself.
The Fire Wizards complicated the picture even more by deciding that it was time to denounce the Dragonlord publicly. They now knew his secrets, and that gave them the ammunition to attack his reputation as effectively as the dragons ever could. They reminded the people of Braejr that he was secretly a cleric, a highly suspicious calling as far as the Flaem were concerned, and most likely a cleric of the Great One, at that. They pointed out that he was a traitor to his own kind, that even the dragons hated and distrusted him. And they were quick to insist that they had always been aware of his hidden evil and had opposed him for that reason.
By late in the day, the wizards were calling upon Thelvyn to surrender the crown at once, suggesting that, by right of Flaemish law, they should rule the Highlands until a new king could be found. This was one matter that Thelvyn would not tamely accept. He didn't care so much about the attack upon himself, but he was still the King of the Highlands, and he took his duty very seriously. The last act he could perform for the good of his realm was to defend the people from themselves. He was determined that the callous, self-serving wizards would never again get close enough to the throne to even dream that they could seize it for themselves. Since there still didn't seem to be any clear leader among the Fire Wizards, Thelvyn called Alessa Vyledaar to his private chamber that evening.
Alessa came willingly, but she was cold and dignified. She was dressed in the stately robes of a sorceress of great power, accented by the stiffened collar worn by the Flaemish aristocracy. Thelvyn didn't rise to greet her, and she remained standing near the door.
"So are you still interested in climbing into my bed?" he asked.
Alessa looked only mildly surprised, recognizing his sarcasm. "Frankly, I think I would find that a delightful experience, but it would hardly be expedient to either of us. Things have changed a good deal in these last few days. Now you are the lord of the dragons, and I know better than to cross you. Perhaps we've been a bit too bold already."
"If you had been patient and waited for me to depart quietly, you could have had your way with the Highlands once I was gone," he told her. "I was going to leave anyway, and you aren't getting rid of me any sooner by spreading malicious lies. In honesty, I think that you would have to admit that I've served the Flaem well. Your wizards certainly can't say that much. So I'm going to pull your fangs before I go. Just as the dragons knew how to deal with me, I know how to deal with you."
Alessa frowned. "You wouldn't be telling me this if there were anything we could do to stop you. I don't suppose you would mind telling me just what you have in mind."
"I really wouldn't want to ruin the surprise," he said. "You should really thank me, although I daresay you won't.
Without the distraction of playing at politics so much, your wizards might actually accomplish something. Would you object to a little advice? Do sit down."
"Why should I object?" she asked as she took a chair across from him. "The wisdom and cunning of dragons is legendary."
"Then try more wisdom and less cunning," he told her. "Your people have been in this world for well over a hundred years now, and quite frankly, you wizards have yet to accomplish anything. You have one of the greatest libraries in the world, and you've learned nothing from it. You possess the power of the Radiance, but you don't know how to command it beyond a few simple parlor tricks. You spend great quantities of time worrying about the reputation you have with your own people, and now you have none. If you spent half as much time being useful, you would never have to be concerned about your reputation."
"You're a foreigner," she said defensively. "You don't understand us. We're the guardians of Flaemish law."
"Don't try that logic on me," Thelvyn told her. "I've lived here all my life. I understand the Flaem perhaps better than they understand themselves, because I've had to make a concerted effort not to be like you. As far as that goes, you need to sit down and rewrite large portions of your book of Flaemish law. Everything you profess to believe in just keeps getting you into trouble. You've destroyed one world, and I hesitate to guess how many more you were chased out of."
"Is the lecture finished yet?" Alessa asked.
"I don't believe in spending too much time wasting my breath," he explained. "And saving the Flaem from themselves isn't my concern. Actually, that's what I'm supposed to do for the dragons."
"Yes, you've handled that well," she said mockingly.
Thelvyn shrugged. "The dragons didn't fight, which would have been to no one's advantage. It might seem that I lost, but I'm inclined to think that everything turned out for the best."
Alessa made a gesture of indifference. "That's just the point, isn't it? I'm rather pleased with the way things turned out. The dragons have been handled without destroying half of Braejr in the process, we'll soon have a new king who will be less suspicious of his wizards, and I've personally profited from it all."
"Indeed? What was your involvement in all of this? Or would you rather not list your schemes?"
"Not in the least," she said, rather pleased with herself. "As you so obviously suspected from the first, Byen Kalestraan himself selected me specifically to keep an eye o
n you and to influence you in any way I could. And I do mean that literally. Of course, I knew already that Kalestraan and his chosen few were up to something, some bid for power meant to get rid of you and possibly even Jherridan in the process.
"That left me in a rather enviable position. If Kalestraan had succeeded and I had proven my loyalty, I would have moved higher in his favor. But I had realistically considered the chances of even a senior Fire Wizard taking on the most powerful enchantments of ancient Blackmoor, and I realized that you were most likely to win. I did warn you, and I might have told you more, but I expected Kalestraan to try to deal with you before he went after Jherridan, and so I never thought that anyone was in any real danger."
"At least you have some loyalty to your own people," Thelvyn commented.
"Of course, I never expected that you would become the next king," she continued. "Once again I found myself in a position in which I stood only to gain. If you fought the dragons and won, I thought I could convince you to remain king. I would not have minded being your queen, and at the least I expected to use my association with you to help me gain authority in my order now that all of the senior wizards were gone. Of course, once the dragons embarrassed you, I had to cut my ties with you to retain my standing. In fact, I've gained even more power at your expense."
"Very clever," Thelvyn commented. "Have the wizards been able to determine who will become their next leader, or are the politics still too thick to judge?"
"Actually, I'll probably be able to hold on to that position," she told him. "The next few days should tell. There are some wizards with greater experience, but I'm young enough to take best advantage of the current situation in the Highlands. So even if you do have some way to leave us at a permanent disadvantage, I already have nearly everything I could ever hope to have within my own order."
D& D - Mystara 02 Dragonking of Mystara Page 38