“But Erent was not so easily taken. He rolled to his right, coming up and already firing an arrow at the dreigan. It bounced harmlessly off its tough scales. Meanwhile, the other two men hacked at it with their swords, but again, were defeated by its armor.
“According to legend, the dreigan could not spit fire or poison, but their teeth and claws were formidable weapons by themselves. It lashed out with these, first to Raisor, then to Toan. The first brought his shield up and deflected the claws, and the second batted the rock-hard claws away with his sword as he dove to avoid the snapping jaws of the beast.
“Each of the men looked for an opening, a weak spot in the dreigan’s defenses, but it was too fast and too smart to allow them an opportunity. Even its eyes, vital areas, were shielded by a bony brow and scales. Erent could probably get an arrow into one of them, though the creature dipped its head often to provide more protection from its shoulder. The hero could not think of anything else to do, though.
“The two swordsmen danced and dodged, striking blows with their swords and hoping to find a weak spot. While they were thus occupied, Erent Caahs circled around the beast, looking in the dim light of the torches that had been set down as the battle started. It was regrettable, but he was afraid the creature would have to be killed. A few arrows through the eyes and it would not only be blind, but at least one was sure to penetrate the brain.
“As he came up behind the dreigan, he saw something that changed his plans completely. His mind went into action, trying desperately to come up with a better plan than putting arrows in the monster’s eyes.
“For the moment, the dreigan was not paying attention to him, being occupied by the other men working together to try to attack it. Erent took the opportunity to watch it move, paying close attention to every fold and ripple in the scaly armor covering its entire body. Twenty seconds was enough to obtain the information he needed. As he did, the creature’s tail lashed out at him from behind, coming at him with enough force to crush all his bones. The creature was smart. It had not forgotten the archer but waited until he was in the perfect position for the tail to strike.
“Erent Caahs jumped into the air, flipping backward over the tail as it rushed by him. He landed softly in a crouch, right knee lightly touching the ground while his left foot was placed solidly in front of him. He let loose three arrows in the space of a heartbeat.
“The dreigan slashed out at Raisor and as it did so, an arrow penetrated a small place where its scales overlapped just under its right foreleg. The shaft slid cleanly in between the scales and the flesh beneath. The other foreleg was moving toward Toan and as it did so, the other two arrows entered similar spaces between the plating, both shafts angling inward.
“The creature immediately dropped to its belly, pain in its intelligent eyes. Both of the humans with swords dashed in to drive their blades home into its eyes.
“‘Stop!’ Erent Caahs said. Raisor, having traveled with the man for so long, halted immediately. Toan, battle rage in his eyes, did not seem to hear him. An arrow striking his moving sword, right in front of the man’s face, got his attention.
“‘Stop, I said,’ Erent repeated. Toan looked toward the hero, looked at the dreigan lying motionless in front of him, nothing moving but its eyes and a flicking tail, and then stopped his forward movement, lowering his sword slightly.
“Raisor was looking at Erent, patiently waiting for an explanation. ‘What are you stopping me for?’ Toan said. ‘The beast is wounded. It is time to finish it off.’
“‘No,’ Erent Caahs said. ‘Give me a moment, Toan Broos. We must think before we act, lest we make a mistake that we cannot correct.’
“Erent stepped up to the dreigan, unafraid though the monster dwarfed him with its size. ‘I have heard that your kind is intelligent,’ he said conversationally to the beast, as if it would sit quietly and listen to him. ‘Even more so than your cousins, the dragons, if in fact they too exist. I hope that it is true.’ The dreigan blinked at him, but there was no other reaction.
“‘You obviously understand the position you are in. My arrows have been inserted deep into your flesh. With the angle they are at, if you put weight on your forelegs or you try to strike out with them, the shafts will be forced deeper and they will penetrate your heart. You will die. Maybe slowly, but you will die.’
“The dreigan didn’t move, but a whining noise came from deep in its throat.
“‘I am going to walk around you, to the rear of the chamber,’ Erent said, picking up one of the torches. ‘I will do no harm, you have my word. I merely want to confirm that I saw what I believed I observed earlier.’ The dreigan gave the hint of a nod.
“The other two humans followed their leader around the creature’s bulky body, to an alcove in the far reaches of the cave. When they saw what Erent found, they made surprised sounds.
“There was a smaller version of the dreigan, white to the parent’s brown, but obviously the offspring of the creature. It lifted its scaly head and mewed at the men before dropping tiredly to dusty the stone floor. Its scales were not fully formed, not as hardened as the larger dreigan. The broken shaft of an arrow protruded from one of its legs, and the shattered length of a spear was visible piercing its hind quarters.
“Erent approached the smaller dreigan cautiously. It was only the size of a small horse, but it still had sharp teeth and claws. The hero removed an apple from the pack he still carried and offered it to the creature. It sniffed and then gently took the apple from his hand, crunching down on the fruit and swallowing it in one bite. It allowed the man to rub his hand along the ridges on top of its head to soothe it while the other hand brought the torch toward the wounds so he could inspect them.
“‘I’m not sure of dreigan anatomy,’ he said to the other two, silently watching him, ‘but I don’t think the wounds themselves are life threatening. This infection, though,’ he brought his face closer to the spear wound, ‘will kill it if not treated.’
“He patted the little dreigan again, offered another apple—which it took without hesitation—and came back around to face the larger creature. It had been trying to crane its neck to see what was going on without causing its injuries to worsen.
“‘It appears to me,’ Erent said to the dreigan, ‘that your little one ran afoul of some villager or adventurers or such. It seems that you have been protecting it and bringing food for it, but that you can’t properly remove the things piercing its hide.’
“He watched the reptile as he said it, the two locking eyes. It gave another slight nod.
“‘It also seems to me that dreigan are cautious beasts, not attacking people and bringing attention to themselves without a reason, thus most people believing you don’t exist.’ Another nod. ‘If I remove the shafts and use herbs to clean the wounds, will you leave and bother the humans here no more?’
“The dreigan nodded, its eyes wide and unblinking. Erent looked to his friends. Raisor nodded immediately, Toan a few seconds after, once he realized what was expected of him.
“‘Very well. I will take my arrows from you. The wounds will heal; they are not life-threatening on their own. When I do so, do I have your word you will not attack us as I give you my word I will do my best to heal your offspring? The legends say that the dreigan are honorable, and so I trust that this is true.’
“The dreigan nodded, more emphatically than it should have because it immediately grunted from the pain the movement caused.
“‘Good. I will trust you and you will trust me.’ Erent went and pulled the shafts from the dreigan, the last being at such an awkward angle he had to put his foot on the creature’s torso and yank with all his might to get it free. The dreigan sighed and slumped to the ground.
“The archer was as good as his word. He spent fifteen minutes foraging for herbs in the nearby bushes and, when he returned, pulled the shrapnel free from the smaller dreigan, cleaned the wounds completely after lancing the infections, and then applied the crushed herbs
to the punctures. He fed the little reptile more food from his pack, and it was soon asleep, exhausted from fighting its sickness. All the while, the larger dreigan lay watching.
“When he was done, Erent turned back to the beast. ‘The wounds should heal in a few days, enough for you to leave this place. As long as you are here, the people will try to hunt you. Can you find a new place to live?’
“The dreigan nodded and jerked its head to another section of the cave. When they brought a torch close to where it indicated, the humans saw that the cavern continued, going deeper into the mountain.
“‘Does that lead out of this place?’ Erent asked.
The dreigan nodded again.
“He rubbed his chin, thinking a moment. ‘I know what we can do, then.’ He explained his plan to the dreigan and his friends. The beast nodded its understanding, and Raisor and Toan voiced their agreement. Within an hour, it was done and the three were headed back to Chisan’s Draw.
“The pubkeeper was speechless, as were the others in the pub, including the mayor. ‘The beast is dead, you say?’ the mayor asked.
“‘It is buried under tons of rock,’ Raisor told him, ‘and will never bother you again. You’ll not be having any more trouble with the likes of that beastie.’
“Cheers went up from the villagers and drinks were brought for the three. Several of the village women swarmed around Toan, and he went off to enjoy their attention in a corner of the common room. So popular was the legend of Erent Caahs, and his dedication to truth and honesty, no one doubted that they had indeed killed the dreigan.
“No one but the lordling when they stopped at his manor house to report they had disposed of the monster.
“‘Where is its head?’ he asked. ‘I told you to bring back proof, not stories.’
“Erent had told the other two this would happen. He didn’t care. He hadn’t accepted the job for the money. He told his companions that they could come back in a month or two to make a case for themselves after the dreigan hadn’t been seen for some time, but as far as he was concerned, the matter was settled. The villagers were safe, the dreigan and its baby would continue to exist, and he had found another companion who was a worthy member of his traveling party. Toan Broos accompanied Erent Caahs after that, but that is the stuff of other stories.”
Aeden finished his tale and Raki sighed. He thought Aeden was going to tell him how Erent Caahs had killed a dreigan, but he preferred the way it had turned out. The thought of killing a legendary creature had bothered him.
The boy looked at Tere Chizzit. The man no longer had the angry look on his face. He was muttering something. What was it?
“Almost forgot about the dreigan…at least some good…” Raki wasn’t sure, but he thought he caught the flicker of a smile as the blind man turned his head and focused on the fire once again.
34
“Things will begin to get more dangerous from here on out,” Tere Chizzit told the others as they ate a cold breakfast and prepared for their day’s traveling.
“What do you mean?” Aeden asked.
“We are leaving the edge of the forest, the civilized part of it. We are entering the heart of the Grundenwald, a part that few have visited and come out again. Now we will be facing some real dangers.”
Raki looked at the blind man for a sign that he was teasing them. His face could have been on an executioner holding his ax. He wasn’t kidding.
“But you know all the dangers, right?” Fahtin asked. “You can keep us out of trouble?”
Tere looked at her, his unblinking white eyes merely pointing at her, not focusing. Still, he gave a sense of staring. “I’ll do my best. Even I don’t go deep into the forest often. Things change quickly here. Some of the hazards that I have faced may no longer be here, and others may have taken their place.”
“That’s reassuring,” Aeden said.
As they gathered up their belongings to start their day, Raki thought back to two days before. Tere Chizzit had come to him to talk to him.
“Raki, you have a natural talent. Two, really, that I can see. One is your ability with thrown weapons, a useful skill to have. The other, though, your knack for moving unseen, could be even more important.”
Raki had been embarrassed. He was amazed at how the blind man could move through the forest without making a sound or leaving a trail. He had seen the man virtually disappear in front of him.
“The problem is that although you can move without being seen,” Tere Chizzit continued, “you still make noise and do other things to give yourself away. Would you like me to give you some tips, help you to become better?”
“Yes!” Raki said. “I would love that.”
“Good. It will be nice to have someone else who can scout ahead. After we get out of the dangerous part of the forest. If you see this thing to the end with Aeden, he will need your abilities.”
So, the old tracker had been working with him for the last two days, giving him pointers and, probably more importantly, showing him what he was doing wrong. Who would have ever thought of making sure you were downwind of any person or beast you were sneaking up on? He had never considered another person detecting him by scent.
They made a game of it. When they rested or set up camp for the day, they would challenge each other to hide and to find the other. Raki could never find or track Tere, but the blind man found him quickly every time.
“Don’t take it too hard,” he told the boy. “I’ve been doing this a long time. You’re doing well. Soon, even I may not be able to find you.” He winked at the boy, an unsettling gesture with those white eyes. It made Raki feel good, though.
After Tere Chizzit’s proclamation that they were entering the dangerous part of the forest, all the party members, including Raki, were told to stay close to him at all times. Deviating even slightly could have serious consequences. Raki took the warning in stride. He was more interested in, and excited about, what he was learning. He continued to practice, slipping in and out of shadows as they traveled. Even Aeden and Fahtin had commented on how he was like a wraith, there one moment and gone the next.
It was barely midday and Raki had blended into the surroundings. He saw Aeden cast a glance at where he had been walking alongside him and blink. The Crow’s eyes darted to try to find the boy, but his gaze skipped right over where he was moving carefully so as not to make any noise. Raki thought that Aeden’s eyes stopped on him for the briefest of moments, but wasn’t sure. They passed and Aeden continued to search for him. Raki smiled.
A dozen feet later, the boy went wide of a thick tree in their path, Aeden and the others on one side, Raki on the other. He was still focused on trying to move without making sound and without causing evidence of his passing. Because of that, he didn’t see the dull green bush in front of him that blended in with the rest of the underbrush.
As Raki passed the shrub, his leg brushed one of the outstretched branches. As soon as there was contact, the twig flicked out, fast as a viper, and struck Raki’s leg. He felt something—or several somethings—pierce his pants and his skin, and then the burning started.
Looking down, Raki saw the branch adhering to his lower leg. It looked like any other bush. Thin, twig-like branches, flexible and strong, held small stretched oval leaves with smooth edges and a waxy surface. At the end of each tiny offshoot were thorns, though, wicked looking things with sharp barbs. Some of them seemed wet.
That was as much as he observed before molten lava started traveling through his leg and up his body. As the heat passed, the body part went numb and deadened. It was less than two seconds before his leg collapsed as if his muscles had turned to water. The fire spread rapidly and in a few more seconds, it had traveled to his other leg. He cried out as he fell, catching himself with his arms. But soon, they too were weak and useless.
He saw the others begin to go near him, but Tere yelled for them to stay where they were. He lay there, helpless, as the burning reached his chest and made breathing almost
impossible. He was sure he was going to die.
Raki’s eyes still worked and they swiveled to the plant that had struck him. Was it…moving? He blinked several times and focused his eyes. It was. Branches shot out and latched onto him. He felt a few tiny tingles and he knew more of the poison was being injected into him.
The heat was reaching his face. His mouth was already deadened, so he could only emit mumbling sounds though he tried to scream. As it traveled up his head, Tere Chizzit cursed. “Step into a damn barb plant. Stupid boy!” and Aeden let loose with one of his Chorain curses.
Then the numbness reached his brain and the world winked out of existence.
Aeden had been watching Raki since the tracker had started teaching him to move more silently, more invisibly. The boy definitely had a talent there. It seemed like magic. It probably was. There was not as much magic in the world as there was a thousand years ago, but it seemed like the magic that there was had been spread out to many people in small ways instead of a relatively few with great powers. He’d have to ask someone when he got to the Academy.
Raki disappeared almost as Aeden was looking at him. He was becoming very good at that. The Croagh could still feel his presence somewhere near where he had last seen the boy, but that was it. He couldn’t spot him. It was almost like nearly remembering something important, but not. It was there, on the edge of his mind, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. That skill might prove useful during their travels.
Aeden looked over at Fahtin and smiled at her. She had noticed Raki disappearing, too. She shrugged. Aeden took a couple of steps closer to her as he went around a thick tree in front of him. Tere Chizzit was less than ten feet ahead of him, looking at the surroundings to pick the best path. It seemed that the blind man wasn’t simply relying on instinct as he had been for the last few days. He was constantly swiveling his head, scanning the forest with whatever sense allowed him to “see.” That, more than his words or anything else, convinced Aeden that they truly were entering more dangerous areas. Tere almost seemed nervous. That made Aeden nervous, too.
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