Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools

by M. R. Mathias

“Ha,” Ra’Gren half laughed. “If you would have asked for all able bodied men I might have thought you were consorting with the Wolf King. Don’t think I’m a fool, Lord Northall. You don’t want women and children for the reasons you stated here.”

  Northall cringed inwardly. Were his true motives to free the slaves so obvious? He began to worry. He couldn’t believe he was so transparent.

  “Don’t look so chagrinned, man,” Ra’Gren laughed. “It is wise to think about the future.”

  The future, Northall thought. What in all the hells?

  “There’s no sense hiding it,” Ra’Gren scolded. “You want breeders. Some men to do labor now, some youth to grow into the work, and women to breed, so that a dozen years from now you’ll not need to come to us for more.” Ra’Gren nodded as if he respected the plan.

  With a continuous effort, Northall tried to keep from commenting out of character. “Since you do not disapprove of our intention, I think we can double our first order.”

  “Approve, disapprove, it doesn’t matter,” Ra’Gren laughed. “By the time your breeders’ offspring have matured enough to perform, you’ll have fattened my coffers aplenty. As it is, I will have owners bidding away to fill your order, with so many extra mouths to feed, the sellers are competing by upping the throne’s take. I’d bet my crown that one of the slavers offers me half the profit just for the honor of filling such a healthy order.” Ra’Gren’s gaze ventured past Lord Northall to the slavers still sitting in the back of the hall. They seemed to be conferring amongst themselves. A few of them had pallid expressions on their faces. Finally one of them stood and gave a nod to the King, indicating that he would split the profit of Lord Northall’s purchase evenly with the crown.

  “Mortram Grail will see that your needs are met.”

  “Thank you, Majesty,” Lord Northall said with a broad-faced smile. He bowed and made his way over to Mortram Grail. Once the great oak doors of the throne room closed behind them, the slaver sighed and turned to Lord Northall.

  “It will take a few hours to ready the herd for your inspection,” he said in a way that showed his disappointment at having to pay his kingdom half the profit from this sale. “I assume you’ll want to pick from the lot?”

  “Yes, yes,” Northall answered. The relief at being out of the King of Dakahn’s presence was visible on both of them. “I’ll be taking a meal at the Sea Master’s Inn. Do you know it?”

  “Of course, excellent choice. The pen we keep the herd in is not far from there,” the slaver said, nodding his approval at Northall’s choice of eateries. “I’ll send a man to the inn to fetch you when we’re ready.”

  “Very good,” Northall said. His group of private guards, posing as his associates, had gathered behind him.

  “Come,” Northall ordered his men and started out of Ra’Gren’s lavish palace. As soon as they were away from the place and its many ears, Northall ordered one of his men to ride to Salazar’s embassy house. He told the man to immediately send birds to Wildermont and Dreen to warn King Jarrek and General Spyra of Ra’Gren’s intention. Northall wasn’t sure a warning from a Salazarkian lord would prevent what was to come, but at least he would know that he tried to tell King Jarrek of Ra’Gren’s intent to bottle up the approaching Seawardsmen. He could only hope that Jarrek had the men to stop the attack. If the Red Wolf couldn’t hold there, Ra’Gren would be able to take Wildermont with ease.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Having just heard from Lady Trella about the death of Father Petri, High King Mikahl was in low spirits when he walked into the Lost Lion Inn and saw his good friend Hyden. The look on Hyden’s face filled Mikahl with dread. A quick scan of the room explained the expression. Neither Phen, nor Brady Culvert was among them, and the reason was obvious.

  “It gets worse,” Hyden said, seeing the look of grim understanding come over his friend.

  Talon fluttered down from a roof beam and landed on Mikahl’s shoulder. The big hawkling softly cooed a greeting.

  “Hey, Talon,” Mikahl said softly to the bird. He took a deep breath then sat at an empty table. Talon leapt to the tabletop and began preening himself, content to just be near his old companion.

  It was after dawn and the Lost Lion’s common room was empty. The one other guest that had stayed the night left with the Highwander soldier and Master Biggs before sun-up. There was no need to worry about interruptions or prying eyes, which was just as well, because Lord Gregory and Prince Raspaar were laboring like commoners, trying to get Lady Trella’s travelling trunk through the door.

  As soon as the luggage was properly put away there would be breakfast and a meeting of minds. Until then, Mikahl reflected inwardly while Hyden tried to figure out how he was going to explain all that had happened.

  “I feel like I’m in a story,” Lady Trella said, trying to lighten the mood of the men around her. “Here I have a lord, and a prince carrying my things, and a king brooding in my common room. And there at the bar sits a renowned wizard and his pet dwarf. ”

  Despite his ill mood, Hyden couldn’t help but smile at the jibe. Oarly growled in mock anger, which made him seem even more like a pet sitting at his master’s side. The noise Lord Gregory and Prince Raspaar were making with the trunk made it pointless to speak further, but the two men finally got the heavy box up the stairs.

  “How is Jarrek?” Hyden asked, after Lady Trella had gone up to supervise the placement of her things.

  “Not well,” Mikahl answered. “He harassed the King of Dakahn, killed a dozen of his overlords, and freed over a thousand of his people, but Ra’Gren is ruthless. He stopped Jarrek’s little war cold by executing hundreds of Wildermont innocents in the street. They say it went off like a stage show, that Ra’Gren relished the act. They said that he let the last little girl, who had watched all the others die before her, beg for mercy. He teased her with freedom, Hyden. Then he whacked off her head without a thought.” Mikahl pinched the bridge of his nose and continued. “From what word we’ve gotten, Jarrek’s war is no longer a little one. King Ra’Gren is buying up sell-swords to try and take a firm control of Wildermont.”

  “Willa will help Jarrek,” Hyden said.

  “Aye,” Mikahl agreed. “And so will I just as soon as I can get Princess Rosa back from that dragonless, dragon-riding bitch, Shaella.”

  “Princess Rosa?” Hyden asked. What could have happened to her? His heart was sinking lower than it already was. The gods had made Rosa just for Mikahl, Hyden was sure of it.

  Mikahl got up and strode around the bar. He made himself a mug of ale as he explained. “Rosa was taken from Seaward some weeks ago.” Mikahl gestured at Oarly and Hyden, asking if they wanted some ale too.

  “Who am I to turn down the chance to get served by the High King,” Oarly said with a forced grin.

  “Shaella’s not dragonless anymore,” Hyden said, almost too quiet for anyone to hear.

  “What?” Mikahl nearly shouted. He’d heard all too clearly. The sound of his voice startled Talon. The hawkling flapped back up to his rafter perch, leaving a pair of feathers to flutter down from above.

  “I... We... Uh...”

  “Pael’s fargin ghost snatched our boy,” Oarly said over Hyden’s stammering. “We found the Silver Skull, and enough treasure to buy all of Ra’Gren’s slaves to a man. We even collared the young black wyrm that killed Brady, but Shaella’s wizard snatched the skull, and the controlling collar, then he sailed away.”

  “Don’t forget Phenilous,” Hyden put his face in his hands. “They snatched him too.”

  Oarly hadn’t told Hyden of his discovery yet. He’d wanted to research the journal further to be certain before stirring up any hopes. He went with his instinct, though, and decided that now was as good of time as any to explain. “Phen wasn’t snatched away,” Oarly said matter-of-factly.

  “What?” Hyden’s head whipped around to meet the dwarf’s eyes. “Tell me what you know.”

  Oarly was a known trickster and Phen�
�s fate was nothing to jest about. The dwarf had no trouble meeting Hyden’s gaze, and the look in his eyes strengthened the conviction of his words.

  “It’s in the journal,” Oarly started. He took a long pull from the goblet of ale Mikahl handed him and then licked the foam from his mustache. “Loak was an assassin sent to kill King Chago. The gift was his ruse for gaining an audience. The ring was for him to use to escape, once he had done the deed. It was ensorcelled to make the wearer invisible. Loak could kill Chago, slip on the ring, and make his escape back to the Evermore unseen.”

  “What are you telling me?” asked Hyden.

  Mikahl was looking at the both of them as if they had gone mad. He had no idea who Loak was, but he’d heard of the infamous tyrant King Chago. His brain told him that none of it mattered. Something far more dire than the news of Shaella gaining another dragon had piqued his mind, but as Oarly spoke of Phen the thought eluded him.

  “Phenilous put on the ring and somehow caused the wizard to blast the breed giant,” Oarly explained. “Our boy went aboard that zard ship trying to be an invisible hero.”

  “What in all the hells are you two talking about?” Mikahl finally burst out. “Zard ships, breed giants, Pael’s ghost, and who in all the hells is Loak?”

  “An elf,” Hyden answered, but was saved from having to explain further.

  “I think it would be best if we all break our fast and listen to the story from the beginning, Mik,” Lord Gregory said as he and Prince Raspaar came down the stairs. “Trella and Zasha are coming to fix us a morning feast. We can all tell our tales at the table. Then we can begin to sort it all out and make a plan.”

  The Lion Lord stopped and pointed at the young man coming down the stairs behind them. The man’s hair looked like a nest and he was wiping sleep from his eyes. “Sir Hyden Hawk, Master Oarly, this is Wyndall. He is the one who saved Zasha and Trella from the skeeks at Lake Bottom.”

  Wyndall forced a smile and raised his hand dismissively before banging out a side door to have his morning piss with the door half open.

  The Lion Lord indicated the man who had been helping him get the chest up the stairs. “And this is Prince Raspaar of Salaya. He is a friend.”

  While the ladies prepared their meal, Wyndall pulled two tables together then stood back as the others chose a place. He wanted desperately to join them, to be a part of the great planning that he knew was about to take place, but looks from both Zasha and the strange dwarf kept him from it. Instead, he trudged through the kitchen and began loading in wood from the chop pile out back.

  Lord Gregory started by telling them all of his recovery in the Skyler Clan village, and his long slow battle to walk again. He spoke of what he thought when he first saw the rubble of Castlemont, and of his meeting with Dreg. He told of his journey into Westland with Grommen, who had recently partnered with Maxrell Tyne and taken over the Shark’s Tooth after Captain Konrath mysteriously disappeared. He led his tale all the way up to finding Mikahl, and their arrival at the Lost Lion Inn.

  The food arrived and, while they ate, Mikahl told his story as well. He told of the long slow march from Xwarda with General Spyra, and of the fight in the lower Evermore with the demon-boar. He touched briefly on King Broderick’s betrayal and the battle with Dreg and the mercenaries. He told everything he could think of to tell, then sat back and listened with rapt attention as Hyden and Oarly took turns recounting their fascinating journey.

  An elbow from Oarly stopped Hyden from saying too much about the Serpent’s Eye on the Isle of Kahna. They had made a pact to keep that place a secret, but otherwise they left out few details. Oarly even described the grisly way that Brady and the seamen had fallen to the black dragon. Their tale, as all of the others, ended up with them arriving at the Lost Lion Inn.

  All eyes fell to Prince Raspaar then, who after hearing the fantastic adventures of the others, could only open and close his mouth as if he were a beached fish.

  Mikahl explained Raspaar’s involvement with the group. After hearing how the Prince of Salaya had craftily used his equine importing scheme to place spies in Southport, Portsmouth, even in Castleview, the city built along Lakeside Castle’s northwest wall, Hyden and Oarly both begrudged him some respect.

  “It seems we have two people who need to be spirited out of Westland now,” Lord Gregory observed as the food was cleared away. “And another dragon to contend with. I’m glad I missed the first one.”

  “As much as I hate it, my duty to the people of the realm has to come first,” Mikahl’s voice was soft and sad. “The Silver Skull of Zorellin must be destroyed or recovered. The damage Shaella can cause with it far outweighs the lives of Princess Rosa and Phenilous.”

  Hyden rose and shoved himself away from the table. His chair went tumbling over behind him with a force that startled the others. “No,” he yelled. “The skull is my responsibility, and I swear I’ll get it back from her.” He heaved a heavy breath. Putting his closed fists on the table, he leaned over and looked Mikahl directly in the eyes. “You use the power of that sword to get Phen and Rosa out of harm’s way. I will fix the follies of my family like I should’ve done long ago.”

  Hyden’s sense of guilt was palpable as of late. His brother had helped Shaella collar the great red dragon Claret that had been forced to help take Westland. Now the ring Gerard had taken into the Nethers had caused him to seek out the Silver Skull’s hiding place and deliver it to the Dragon Queen on a platter. He should have killed Shaella when he had the chance. He hoped to gain the opportunity. If it arose again he would not hesitate.

  “If you expect to have even half a chance to succeed at any of this then you will have to work together,” Lord Gregory said.

  “I agree,” Oarly said with a harsh tug on Hyden’s sleeve.

  “The Princess is being held somewhere in Lakeside Castle,” Raspaar said, trying to get things moving in the right direction. “We have a ship scheduled to deliver horses to Portsmouth in a few days. We can get you there, or maybe let you off in a sturdy rower near Lake Bottom.” He glanced at Lord Gregory for support.

  “I’ll not enjoy being in a rowboat again,” said Oarly.

  “You’re not going with us,” Hyden told him. “You’ll stick out like a broken toe in Westlad.”

  “She is in Pael’s tower,” Mikahl said directly to Hyden, ignoring the others. “With the sword, and the bright horse, I think I can easily get Rosa free and away. It’s finding Phen and the skull that will be the issue.”

  “If you find the skull, you’ll find Phenilous,” Oarly said. He wanted to go after the boy with Hyden, but he knew the wizard was right.

  “How do you know she is in Pael’s tower?” Lord Gregory asked Mikahl.

  “My father tells me every night in my dreams,” Mikahl answered before thinking of how crazy the explanation sounded.

  “You can’t rely on a dream,” Lord Gregory said coolly.

  “If there’s anything in this life that I trust, it is Mikahl’s instincts,” said Hyden Hawk. “If we can get there, then Talon can help me find Phen and the skull. Without a doubt he can confirm Princess Rosa’s presence in the tower. We might even be able to get a message to her.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Lord Gregory nodded to everyone. “There are arrow slits in Pael’s roost.”

  “If Phen wasn’t so foolishly brave,” Oarly added, “we would have the ring to help find the skull, and only one hostage to worry about.”

  “Phen is capable,” Hyden defended, more to reassure himself than for any other reason. “He probably already has the skull, and the collar, and is flying with Rosa toward Xwarda on the dragon’s back.”

  “I wish it were true,” Oarly said.

  “Aye,” Hyden and Mikahl said in unison, causing Oarly and Prince Raspaar to give them a strange look.

  “So where will you want to leave the ship?” the Prince finally asked.

  “There is a way into the dungeon through the wall that faces Lion Lake,�
� Lord Gregory told them. “And also there’s a way through the temple in the northeastern...”

  “That will only get us inside the wall,” Mikahl cut off the Lion Lord. “We need inside the castle itself. Do you know how to get from the dungeons up to the main halls?”

  “King Balton showed me the way once. His dungeon was a barren place. I can try to make a map for you, but I have literally died and come back to life since then. It’s been years.” Lord Gregory stopped speaking and studied a point somewhere in space. The others were waiting on him to continue. Eventually he sighed away the memory and did so. “Maybe I should go with you. I spent twice as many years as Mikahl in that castle, and people I know and trust might still be around to help us gather information.”

  “No,” Mikahl said flatly. “I’d rather be chewed up and swallowed by a dragon than face Lady Trella if something happened to you again.”

  “He’s right,” Hyden agreed. “If Mikahl and I need to get out of Westland in a hurry, we can manage it.” He found his hand was fondling the dragon’s tear medallion under his shirt as he spoke. “I’ll not risk the happiness of your lady on it.”

  “You can’t expect the rest of us to sit around and do nothing while you two risk your lives and the future of the realm,” Gregory said, indicating the sword at Mikahl’s hip. “It’s a blatant waste of experience.”

  “I do not expect either you or Master Oarly to sit around and do nothing,” Mikahl told Lord Gregory, putting a hint of kingly authority in his voice. “There’s plenty to be done in Wildermont. There are ships sitting idle at the dock here. If you can find a water mage to propel you up the Leif Greyn River through the marsh channels, you can get there in a week unnoticed. Lady Trella will be safe enough there, as will you. King Jarrek could use your wisdom. Eventually, General Spyra will need to be relieved of his reign over Dreen. I can think of no one more suited to the task then you, Lord Gregory.”

  “What about me?” asked Oarly.

  “What better place for a dwarf than the ore-rich mountains of Wildermont?” Mikahl said. “You can help King Jarrek with the slaves he has freed, and the others that Lord Northall is purchasing. It will take leadership to get the mines and forges running again.”