Dragons Shining

by Michael Sperry

  “Indeed. Sire, Bruce, Justin, Albrite, Rankin, and all of those here, I pray the Maker watch over you in the days and months to come. Please give the Queen my regards. I pray for her as well. And I am eternally grateful for your support, Majesty, over the few years of my life so far.”

  “I am sure that small service will be repaid a thousand fold in the years to come, Lord Owen. Be careful on your journey. Much depends on you. Farewell.”

  Owen left the tent, into the beautiful morning outside.

  “Rolph, before you go.”

  “Yes, Sire.”

  “Guard Owen with your life, my trusted Captain. There is no greater service that you could do against the coming perils. Understand?”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  “It’s not just me asking this, Rolph. It comes from above.”

  “I understand, Sire.” Rolph bowed to his King and joined Owen and his men outside near the picket line.

  “Well, Justin, Bruce, what do you make of him?”

  “He will be the Dragon King, father. There is great warmth within, yet there are also dangerous depths in his mind where I cannot see”, said Justin.

  “I sensed it too, brother. The light shines through him. I see no darkness”, said Bruce.

  “You are correct, boys”, said Albrite. “This is why we wished him to have a human upbringing. If he is not killed first, he will inherit great power. His human upbringing will be the anchor that holds him against the winds of temptation that such power always faces. Hopefully Briana will not be forced to take up his swords. His death would change her, I fear.”

  Chapter Five – A Journey Begins

  It had taken the rest of the day to get the pack mules loaded with provisions and a convincing number of exploratory miner’s tools. Their swords were now in pick saddle scabbards, disguised and accessible. Their clothes were rough homespun, with heavy coats and snow boots packed on the mules. The main body of cavalry and soldiers had left, with the Royal family riding in a pair of well protected coaches. Only a few cavalry guardsmen remained to escort the work parties back to Windhaven after they finished repairing the damage in and near Fable’s Arch.

  “I guess we should camp here tonight and leave at first light”, said Owen.

  “Well let’s try these tents and bedrolls then. The others will keep a good fire going if it gets chill tonight”, said Rolph.

  “Right. This will be the safest camp we have for a month to come”, said Purdy.

  Tamaris and Ender pulled the tents and bedroll from the pack mules, while Owen and Rolph removed the loads and let the mules graze in a roughly fenced paddock with the guard horses.

  “I need to ride over to the farm. I will be back in a few hours”, said Owen.

  “Not by yourself”, said Ender. “I am coming with you.”

  “Glad to have you, Ender.”

  “You guys go on then”, said Rolph. "The three of us will set up the tents."

  Owen and Ender retrieved their swords and trotted directly across the fields into the forest, on a direct route toward the Hodgen farm. They startled several deer on the edge of the forest that had been bedded down waiting to raid the field after dark.

  “I hope we see them this close on the journey”, said Ender. “That was an easy bow shot, and we will relish some fresh venison before too long I expect.”

  “I knew they were there”, said Owen. “Hunting should be easier now.”

  There was other game in this forest so close to man’s wheat, oats, corn and soy fields. Owen practiced viewing the world from the eyes of these creatures, a good way to survey the forest without raising attention, instead of casting his senses all about to only be detected by a watching mage. He saw a local hunter over two hills and in the cut beyond, though a hawks eyes. They rode past without the hunter even knowing.

  They came out into one of the Hodgen wheat fields, and rode around it to the farmhouse. There was a crew of workers, and Tom was working to repair the wall and window that Owen had pushed the vampire through. They passed a smoldering pile of ashes and a stack of black weapons, dismounted and tied the animals to the porch rail.

  “Hello, Tom”, said Owen. “I see you have your strength back.”

  “It helps to have a brother who is a blood mage. Are you here to help?”

  “I need to run, Tom. The King has commanded the army work force to provide materials and labor, and fix the damage here and in town. How are Father and Karl doing?”

  “Go on in and see for yourself. Mom has been wanting to talk to you.”

  “Are you angry with me, Tom?”

  “Yes, a little. You hid things from us Owen. Where is the trust in that? It almost got us killed.”

  “What choice did I have, Tom. What would you have thought if I told you I was a sorcerer and was hunted by the dark armies, too young to defend myself? I never used magic in the games, or around the farm. I would have been content to stay here, in hiding. Thinking about it now, how could I stay and watch Ben and Angie grow old and die. You and Suzy too, and Sophie and all the rest would age and die, and I would remain, also your children and grandchildren and so on. My place is not here. I love you, Tom, and Paw and Mom and Sophie, Suzy too.”

  Owen entered the house and walked to the Kitchen where everyone was gathered. Ben and Karl were pale and sitting, with a steaming porridge in front of them. Angie and Suzy leaned against the counter watching them

  “Owen!” Ben said, trying to stand.

  Owen stepped over to him and gently sat him back down. “Don’t stand, Father. Eat the porridge first. What you both need is some food to give you energy.”

  “I am grateful, Owen”, said Karl weakly. “That was a death blow. I can’t believe I still live.”

  “Serve our Maker in this reprieve, Karl. It was He who gave me this gift.”

  “I will, in the best way I can. I would go with you if I were stronger.”

  “I know. When you regain your strength, return to Windhaven and serve my cousin, Prince Justin. Tell him I sent you. You will be in the Maker’s service if you do that.”

  “Yes, my Lord. Thank you.”

  “You are the Prince’s cousin?” asked Suzy with amazement. “Then you have Royal Blood.”

  “I am Justin’s cousin. Leave it at that”, said Owen.

  “I knew that from the moment I saw you in swaddling, Owen”, said Angie. “Please come, I wish to speak with you in private.”

  She led him back to the master bedroom. “Here, I hid this before the attack. I was afraid some evil thing might find it.”

  She handed him the pouch of fifty golden crowns.

  “You may need this where you are going.”

  “Thank you, Mother. I would refuse but I know you would not allow me to.”

  She hugged him tightly. “You have paid your keep ten times over, Owen. And that is not counting when you healed your brother and father.”

  “I would never take payment for saving a life.”

  “I know. Come back and see us before we die, won’t you son”, she said weeping.

  “Yes, Mother. I will come if I live through this. I promise.”

  She dried her tears and let him go, and they made their way back to the Kitchen.

  Ben had finished his porridge and was looking much better. He made it to his feet and hugged Owen. “May the Maker protect you Owen, in the difficult times you must face. I will treasure my time with you for as long as I live.”

  “If I live, I will return here from time to time Father. I will see you again, I promise.”

  “Just remember we love you, Owen. Always.”

  “Thank you, Father. I love you all, and wish I could stay here.”

  “Goodbye Suzy. You have a healthy boy in there. I will return to see him, I hope.”

  “Well thank you, Owen. At least I know what baby stuff not to get now,” she laughed. “Goodbye. Don’t go off and get killed in some far away place.”

  Outside, Owen extracted twenty five Gold S
overeigns and gave them to Tom.

  “I can’t take this, Owen, I have not earned it.”

  “Well neither have I. Take it and buy that adjacent land we have been talking about. It’s enough to get it going, too and to make sure that new son of yours starts off right. Don’t show it to Mom outright. She wants me to take it all.”

  “A son? I won’t ask how you know. I am sorry for being angry. I love you, and could never stay angry at you.” He gave Owen a strong hug. “I will keep this then, and yes. That land needs buying. The old woman will give us a good price. Thank you, brother!”

  It had gotten dark, and the workers had retired to the barn for the night. Owen stored his pouch away, and he and Ender made their way back to the camp, using the roads this time. The town was battened down tightly. Owen sensed their fear.

  “Fear will turn to anger before long”, he said.

  “Let’s hope they remember who to be angry at”, said Ender.

  “The King was wise to provide men and supplies to repair the damage. They will remember that.”

  “Yes, I hope so Owen. But men in general are not as wise as your family back there. When they are angry, they will even bite the hand that feeds them if there is nothing else to bite.”

  “Philosophy, Ender? I am impressed”, said Owen seriously.

  “My swords have worked better for me than words, Owen. Such was my life on the ships as a lad. Pirates care nothing for words.”

  “Well don’t belittle words, so Baird told me a thousand times. The wrong words could sink a ship, and the right ones save it.”

  “Eye, Captain. Be those words slipped to a whore in a bar telling where we are or are not headed”, Ender said with a laugh.

  “Let’s hope the right words were said or unsaid in the right or wrong places so Belaros knows not our plans”, said Owen.

  Ender laughed again. “Right. Let’s hope he is completely confused.”

  They returned to camp, where the men talked about past adventures, close calls and women.

  Owen and Rolph were up before dawn. They struck their tent as Ender, Purdy and Tamaris stumbled out rubbing their eyes. They had a quick breakfast and coffee, heated over the glowing embers of last night’s fire.

  “Is that your real name, Purdy? How could a big, ugly guy like you get a name like that?” asked Tamaris.

  “Well I was downright pretty before this mean young wizard here turned me into this big ugly, mug so that name don’t make sense anymore. You watch it, or he’ll do you too.”

  Ender and Rolph kept a straight face, and Owen put on a scowl.

  “Really? No, you wouldn’t do that to me would you, Lord Owen?”

  “What, he already did. You haven’t looked in a mirror lately, have you, Tamaris?” said Ender with a deadpan face.

  “Huh. Hey Larry...”, said Tamaris as he jumped up and invaded one of the other tents.

  They could hear “Hey what the hell; gimme that mirror back!”

  ”Now that’s down right mean, Ender”, said Purdy.

  “You started it, you big lug”, said Ender.

  Owen was rolling on the ground, speechless.

  “You know he’s bound to get ya’ll back don’t you?” said Rolph.

  “What’s wrong with you, Tamaris? Get out, darn it!”

  Tamaris stomped back red faced. “Ok you guys. It will be pay back time when I’m on watch and you guys are all sleeping. Not till after you forget all about though. I need some more coffee.”

  Not long after, they were heading north by northeast, beginning the long journey to Dragon Mount.

  After three days travel in alternating forest and farmlands, avoiding all towns and villages, they faced the great open moors and savannah preceding the southern hill country. Owen had removed Gander’s glamour some time back.

  “Gander looks better today, doesn’t he?” asked Rolph.

  “That hunt last night was successful. He bagged a young female sow. I guess he does need meat every now and then, so I will let him hunt as soon as we make camp sometimes.”

  “I wouldn’t want him hunting me”, said Tamaris.

  “Nah. He wouldn’t get enough, so don’t worry about it.”

  “You are right, Purdy. It’s you had better watch out”, Tamaris countered.

  “What about that?” Asked Ender, pointing at the low, rolling grass covered hills as far as the eye could see. “There are Lions and Wolves in the moors, and big ass snakes.”

  “It’s the shortest way”, said Rolph. “And you forgot about the storms, the Buffalo and the other grazers. And the Datary Raiders like to hang out in this area.”

  “The raiders do not obey kingdom laws, and stay here in this band of moors and savannah that stretches across much of the northern portion of the South, away from everyone else”, said Owen. “Baird told me they descended from outlaws that had been released when the ships landed here.

  “Oh joy”, said Purdy. “I hear the storms can get so bad, the wind pulls the tops off the grass and it can flay the skin right off your bones. If that doesn’t kill you then the Raiders might.”

  “That’s why the animals here are so tough and smart. Make sure your leather suits are on top of the packs, and the wind covers for the horses are accessible. Gander is well adjusted to these conditions. His shield, double eye lids and tough hide will suffice nicely. The Raiders are more civilized than people think. They are suspicious and curious, yet will let you pass if you respect them.”

  Baird had been quiet for so long that Owen started.

  “What’s wrong, Owen?” Asked Rolph.

  “Baird just reminded me to pull our wind coveralls, gloves and head gear and keep them in our saddlebags for now. We need to make sure we can get to the horse covers quickly. I think we need to cut some wood and bring it with us on a couple of slings as well. There is no wood out there. He says the raiders may see us, but if we respect them, they will let us past. I think that means don’t brandish weapons at them“.

  They were well equipped with axes, and there was plenty of deadwood and downed trees available here on the forests edge. Before long they had slings behind each of the big pack mules, with some split wood stacked on it. They even had wheels intended for makeshift mining carts.

  Owen cast a spell on the wheels to make them larger and stronger. “That took more energy than I thought it would,” he said to Baird. He was dizzy even.

  “Think about it. There was no blood to transmute, or free life energy to tap, so where did that extra steel come from? It came from the ground and from far away. I should have warned you. Distance makes it harder. I am surprised it worked at all. Ask me next time, ok?”

  “Hold on guys”, said Rolph. “Owen, are you ok?”

  “Throw me an apple, would you. I’m out. I just need some energy. That wheel spell was a bad one.” He had thought several times about just changing, and flying the whole way. But he worried that he could not fly that far between rests, and he would be hunting the whole time as well. ”I am not quite ready for that”, he thought.

  “No, you are not ready yet, Owen. On the horses it will take you four days to cross this, and after that comes the swamp. You will need to rent boats there to follow the deep water channel across.”

  After eating the apple, Owen felt well enough to travel, and they started across the moors.

  Before long they spotted a herd of gazelles that rose and moved away from the disturbance of horses and men. They came over a rise to a flat plain upon which a large heard of Buffalo grazed. Hunting had been good, so they wasted no time on the huge beasts as they rode through an avenue where the Buffalo separated to let them pass.

  “Look there”, said Owen. He knew that a pair of lions was stalking a buffalo calf well over to their left. He could barely see a tawny difference in the color of the grass. “Lets hurry and get past them or we might get caught in a stampede.” So they galloped past the herd just as the two huge female lions sprang. They had the young buffalo on the ground quick
ly and hissed at the mother, daring her to come closer. Instead, the whole herd thundered northeast, shaking the ground. The two lions watched them pass, in no apparent hurry to finish the still struggling young buffalo.

  After seeing how big the lions were, they retrieved their weapons for quick access.

  Owen sensed a different sort of bird overhead and looked up. A flock of dark gray Great Chitabion birds flew majestically overhead, headed north. It was rare to see these birds so far south. They had long, sharp spear like beaks and great, triangular leathery wings that spanned twenty feet or more. They had long legs with long ripping talons protruding from webbed feet.