“We don’t want any trouble here,” said the old man.
Leethor lowered his hands. “That’s good, because we don’t want any either. I’ve been here before. It was a long time ago. An old woman was in charge then. Her name was Melody.”
The old man’s eyes widened. “Are you talking about Grandma Melody? She died years ago.” He looked closer at Leethor before his eyes widened even farther. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? One of the ones who brought the injured elf with them. That was indeed a long time ago. I was a lot younger then, but I remember it clear as if it were yesterday.”
Leethor seemed to peer closer at the old man’s face. “Caleb, isn’t it? I am good at names, but I cannot be sure. Humans change a lot in fifty years.”
The old man laughed. “That’s humans for you. We age and elves don’t.” He looked at the other humans around him. “It’s all right. They’re friends.” He looked at the two men next to him. “Take the crossbows back in the house. They won’t be needed.”
As the two men headed back to the house, the little girl who’d been feeding the chickens took two steps forward. “Are these the one’s you tell us about in your stories, Grandpa? Are these the elves?”
Caleb laughed.
Telsa had a feeling he was one of those men who liked to laugh a lot. She could relate. She liked to laugh too.
“Well, this one is, Blossom,” said the old man pointing at Leethor. “I’d introduce you, but I’m afraid my memory’s not quite as good with names after fifty years as his seems to be.”
Telsa thought she noticed Leethor’s face grow a little red in the morning night. She switched her visor to clear. Yep, she thought. Definitely red.
“My apologies,” said Leethor. “I am Commander Leethor. This is Master Jathar, and the gnome is Master Rembis.” He pointed at Telsa. “This fierce-looking warrior is Wizard Scout Telsa.”
Telsa removed her battle helmet and attached it to her hip before bowing at the waist. “The pleasure’s all mine.”
The girl who’d been feeding the chickens set down her bucket before taking two steps forward and peering at Telsa. “Are you a gnome also? I’m almost as tall as you.”
Leethor and Rembis laughed. Even the normally grim Master Jathar smiled.
Telsa shook her head. “Nope. I’m as human as you. I’m just a little on the short side. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not me,” said Blossom. “I get tired of having to look up at everyone just because they’re an adult.”
Telsa whispered back, “To tell the truth, I get a little tired of looking up at everybody myself.”
Blossom laughed.
The old man cleared his throat. “Not to rush things, but I’m betting this isn’t a social call. Is there something we can do for you? I’d say we don’t get many elf visitors, but truth be told, we haven’t had any since the last time you were here.”
Leethor glanced back at Rembis and Jathar. When neither of them spoke up, he looked back at the human. “You are right, Honorable Caleb. This is not a social call. Once again I find myself in need of traveling to Drepdenor Mountain. Your people helped me get there once. I was hoping you would help my companions and I do so again. Naturally we will pay.”
“Pay?” laughed Caleb. “What kind of host would my family and I be if we accepted mere coins for aiding elves? Indeed, the story of your visit will be pay enough. I suspect little Blossom here will be telling the tale long after I’ve been buried and forgotten. Of course we’ll help you. But first, come inside and eat. We were just about to have breakfast.”
Leethor shook his head. “Our thanks, but we are hard pressed for time. Perhaps another day. As it is, if you could loan us a boat, we would be most appreciative.”
Caleb smiled. “The river is treacherous, Commander Leethor. Unless you possess extensive knowledge of the river, which I doubt you do, I have a feeling your boat would be broken on a rock and sunk at the first set of rapids.” He gestured toward the two men who’d returned from putting their crossbows in the house. “Thomas, Doughty, get one of our boats ready. You’ll be taking our guests to the bend of the river nearest New Drepdenor.” Looking back at Leethor, he said, “Will you need my two grandsons to wait for you, to bring you back?”
Before Leethor could reply, Rembis spoke up. “That will not be necessary. We will teleport out once our business with the guardian is finished.”
“The guardian?” said Caleb. “Brave your companions and you must be. I would warn you that many go to the mountain and never return, but…” He shrugged his shoulders. “But then Commander Leethor has been there once before and yet here he is again. So who am I to warn you? Tell me, Commander, did the injured elf live? I have always been curious.”
Leethor nodded. “Yes, she lives still. Our mission was a success.”
“Good,” smiled Caleb. “I’m glad. My family and I will pray your current mission, whatever it may be, will be just as successful.”
* * *
The boat ride to the bend of the river near the mountain was rough and took the better part of the day. According to their guides, Thomas and Doughty, recent rains had made the ride more hazardous than usual. On at least two occasions the wooden boat smacked into rocks hard enough to crack timbers. Thankfully, their destination was now in sight. Telsa was more relieved than she cared to admit. Having nearly drowned during her youth, she hated traveling on boats of any kind. Early in the ride, she’d sealed her battle suit just in case their little ship floundered.
“That was a wise decision,” said Raj in their shared space. “Your battle suit is completely waterproof. You’d have been safe enough if the boat sank. I can’t say as much for the others.”
Telsa suspected the two mages would have done all right in the case of a spill, but she doubted Leethor and their two guides would have fared as well. She was thankful the skills of Caleb’s grandsons had been up to the task.
“So how will you get back?” Telsa asked as the two cousins maneuvered the boat toward a sandbar in the bend of the river. “Surely you can’t row the boat back upstream.”
Both Thomas and Doughty laughed.
“You are right, err, Wizard Scout,” replied Thomas as he threw his weight against the tiller to force the boat to cut across the swift current. “There’s a small harbor another hour downstream. We’ll anchor the boat there and camp for the night. In the morning, we’ll start walking back home. The river will calm down in a few weeks. Some of us will come back and fetch the boat then.” He laughed. “There are already three of our boats anchored in the harbor. You’re not the first group we’ve taken to the mountain this winter. Groups of adventurers are always making the trek in search of treasure.” Thomas lost his smile, and his voice took on a serious tone. “None of the three groups returned. Only a few ever return, and they’ve always been worse for the wear and without treasure. I wish you better luck, Wizard Scout.”
Telsa removed her helmet as the two guides beached the boat on the sandbar. Once Master Jathar, Rembis, Leethor, and her got off the boat, she turned and looked Thomas in the eye. “Just so you know, we’re not in this for any treasure. We’re after something far more precious than mere trinkets of gold or silver. Please tell Caleb that we appreciate your family’s help in our endeavor. I hope we’ll meet again sometime.”
“As do I,” said Thomas as he helped his cousin push the boat back out into the river. With a final wave, the two men steered the boat into the center of the river, bouncing on the rough waves as they went. In less than a minute, the boat and its occupants disappeared around the river bend.
Leethor tightened the straps on his pack and looked at the steep trail leading up to the red-rock mountain that was New Drepdenor. “Well, the mountain is not going to come to us, so we better get started. It is a good four-hour hike to where we need to go.”
Falling in behind the elf, Telsa kept the brisk pace easily enough. The assistors in her battle suit made even the steep climb relatively easy. Before
long, the sides of the mountain closed in. Telsa found herself becoming a little claustrophobic in the tight space. At one point, the side of the trail fell away to reveal a gap in the rock wall. She paused long enough to glimpse the top of the mountain. Leethor must have sensed her halt because he stopped as well.
“Looks like a dragon’s head, does it not?” asked Leethor.
Looking closer, Telsa had to admit the broken rock at the tip of the mountain did resemble the head of a dragon with its mouth open, ready to devour unwanted intruders.
“You know the guardian?” Telsa asked as she took up walking again.
Leethor turned and proceeded up the path ahead of her, but he continued to talk between pants. “Yes, I know them. I served them for twenty-five years. So did Meshoan. You may remember I mentioned a cost for saving the high priestess. Dragons rarely give anything away for free, not even information. The price for saving Jeehana was a hundred years of service. The members of my four-elf team all pledged twenty-five years each. One of my team members, Kreptor, serves them even now. I will introduce you if we get the chance. He is a good friend.”
Telsa nodded her head even though Leethor’s back was turned. “A hundred years is a steep price. Was it worth it?”
Stopping, Leethor turned and looked at her. “What do you think? If you had a chance to save Rick’s life, would you do it, even if it cost you a hundred years?”
Telsa didn’t hesitate answering. “I’d give my life to save his if the need arose. He’s my friend.”
Leethor nodded. “As he is mine. In the case of Jeehana, she was our high priestess. A member of my team died saving her. Twenty-five years of service each was a small price for the rest of us to pay.” The elf turned around and began walking again. Telsa noticed him wipe something away from his eye.
Before long, a rusted piece of metal partially wedged under a rock caught Telsa’s attention. Looking closer, she made out the battered form of a helmet. Something white inside the helmet made her look hastily away. Leethor must have seen her looking because he stopped and pointed up the trail at other pieces of armor and weapons strewn among the rocks. The pieces of metal were intermixed with white bones. A few of the bones still had pieces of meat attached.
“The guardian is very protective of the dwarves’ treasure,” said Leethor. “It’s a rare year when at least one group of treasure seekers does not come to New Drepdenor with thoughts of easy wealth on their minds.”
Telsa looked up the trail, picking out the ever-increasing amount of remains from other visitors. As a wizard scout, she was used to seeing and even causing death, but the sheer amount of carnage within the canyon was hard to take in without feeling some emotion. “Thousands must have died here.”
Nodding, Leethor continued to look up the trail. “Tens of thousands. Probably more. The guardian has defended New Drepdenor for a hundred thousand years. The greed of humans keeps sending them here year after year no matter how many the guardian kills.”
A small helmet lying atop an equally small breastplate drew Telsa’s attention. She pointed. “Looks like not just humans have a taste for treasure.”
Rembis and Jathar came up to join her and Leethor.
“You’re right about that,” said Rembis. He kicked the helmet. It was empty. Looks like a Halfling met his or her end here.”
Master Jathar nodded toward a larger set of battered armor farther up the trail. “Mountain elf. I recognize the engravings. I suppose no race is immune when it comes to greed, not even elves.” He looked at Telsa. “You know, Wizard Scout, I have never been fond of humans. Maybe I never will be. Still, the elf friend was right when he told us we all needed to work together. Every race has their faults, even elves.”
The elf’s admission surprised Telsa. She hadn’t been around elves long, but she knew they were a proud race. She looked at the elf mage in a new light.
“Rick’s right about a lot of things,” Telsa said. “He’s right about more than he realizes.” She glanced at the fading light above the rim of the canyon wall. “I reckon we’d best get moving. Rick’s depending on us to get another yellow gem.”
“What yellow gem would that be?” boomed a male voice that echoed throughout the canyon. The echo made it difficult to tell where the sound originated. “From your talk, I would think you were thieves coming to steal our treasure if it was not for the presence of one in your group we know.”
A large meter-wide dragon head covered in red scales rose above the side of the canyon wall and peered down. Telsa reached for the handle of her assault rifle before catching herself, then pulled her hand away.
“Wise decision,” said a second male voice as another dragon head rose above the canyon wall. This dragon head was covered in yellow scales and equally as large as the first.
The tone of the yellow dragon’s voice reminded Telsa of one of her professors at the university.
“We recognize your scent, Wizard Scout,” said the yellow dragon. “You have traces of dragon within you.”
“He must sense the essence of dragon mixed in with your DNA,” said Raj in their shared space. “Every wizard scout has it, although only a few are aware of it. I calculate even Crosioian scouts have dragon DNA mixed in with theirs.”
Telsa stared into the golden eyes of the yellow dragon. “My friends and I went on a raid to destroy a Dragar temple long ago. The Dragars were sacrificing unborn dragons to create DNA gas. Some of that gas was used in the process to create wizard scouts. It was used in the process to create my DNA baseline. You sense that dragon DNA inside me. I swear if I’d known what was being put inside me to make me a wizard scout, I would never have allowed it to be done.”
A third dragon head rose above the canyon’s rim between the red and yellow dragon heads. This dragon head was covered in blue scales. The third dragon spoke in a feminine voice.
“You need not explain yourself, Wizard Scout,” said the blue dragon head. “My brothers and I remember how Dragon Friend Richard saved our dragon species from the Dragars. We recognize your scent. We know you were also there helping.”
Telsa was shocked. “That was a hundred thousand years ago. How old are you?”
The blue dragon laughed. It was more growl than anything, but Telsa recognized it as a laugh nonetheless.
“My brothers and I were only hatched six thousand years ago. Unlike humans, we have species memory. Our ancestor, the first guardian, was brought here by Dragon Friend Richard and tasked to guard the gate. We have done so ever since.”
Leethor stepped forward. “Honorable Tharantos, my companions and I have come here on behalf of Elf Friend Richard. He has tasked us to find a yellow—”
“A yellow gem,” finished the blue dragon. “My brothers and I assumed as much, else you would have been charred corpses before you got halfway up the mountain. But where are your manners, Commander Leethor. Have you been out of our service so long that you’ve forgotten how to make proper introductions?”
With those words, all three dragon heads rose higher in the air on long necks. Their necks were followed by a single golden body of a massive dragon. Its wings stretched over thirty meters from tip to tip. A long golden tail slammed the ground, causing head-sized boulders to tumble down the canyon wall. Telsa dodged to the side to avoid being hit by one of the bouncing stones.
“My pardon,” said Leethor. “Honorable Tharantos, may I present my companions, Master Rembis, Master Jathar, and Wizard Scout Telsa.” He looked at Telsa. “May I present the mighty guardian of the gate, Tharantos.” He pointed at the red dragon head. “This is Tharantos-Chancartos.” Pointing at the yellow dragon head, he said, “This is Tharantos-Lindeshatr.” With a final wave of his hand at the blue dragon head, Leethor said, “And this most beautiful of dragons is Tharantos-Ratira.”
“It’s a three-headed dragon,” Telsa said in her shared space. “They’re just like the triplets.”
“Not hardly,” replied Raj. “These dragon heads are composed of primary colors. They
form a lock for a dimensional gate. The triplets are composed of secondary colors. They create gates and time-bubbles. I calculate that’s a big difference.”
Telsa bowed to the dragon, concentrating on the female dragon head in the center. Somehow she sensed the blue dragon head was the leader of the three. “I am honored, mighty Tharantos. As Leethor mentioned, we are here on a mission for Rick, err, I mean Dragon Friend Richard. We are seeking a yellow gem to—”
“To close the gate in Silverton,” said Tharantos-Ratira. “Yes, my brothers and I know. The Oracle sent word you would probably be coming. Alas, even in the vast treasures of the dwarves located in the mountain beneath our feet, no such yellow gem exists.”
Disappointment flooded through Telsa. “But—”
“No amount of buts can change what is,” said the yellow dragon head, Lindeshatr, in his professor sounding voice. “The yellow gem of Power that you seek was destroyed while in the keeping of the Ecarian giants over fourteen thousand years ago. That was the only gem of its kind in the magic dimension.” The yellow dragon head lowered until he was only an arm’s reach from Telsa. He sniffed. “Hmm. It was one of your kind that destroyed the yellow gem. Did you know that?”
Telsa stared into the golden eyes not a meter away. She was drawn in. A vision appeared in her mind of a wizard scout in a black battle suit destroying a yellow gem. She saw the wizard scout kill many giants in the process.”
“A wizard scout,” Telsa said. “That’s not possible. Rick would never do that. Never!”
“Did my brother say it was the dragon friend?” said Ratira. “He only said it was one of your kind, a wizard scout. There have been many time-commandos over the years.” She smiled. “Even you were a time-commando at one point, were you not?”
Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8) Page 14