The councilman’s anger was still apparent, but Will’s last statement hit home. No matter how miserly or greedy a Corisian he might be, he was, first and foremost, a loyal citizen of Corice and was raised to honor those who Corice chose to honor. Now that his slight of a Corisian hero was brought to his attention, there was a great deal of shame mixed in with his anger. He hung his head and said nothing for several moments.
Finally he looked at Delno and said, “I have wronged you. I have allowed my position of keeping track of the kingdom’s money to cloud my good sense. Your brother is right, of course, and all I can offer is my apology. I am deeply sorry and deeply shamed by my words and actions.”
No one spoke for a moment after the formal apology. Then Delno said, “I accept your apology and feel that we can put this matter to rest. Let us be friends.” Then to complete the formal acceptance of the apology, he extended his hand to shake.
“Well, then, that’s settled,” Nassari said, stepping forward. Nassari didn’t have Will’s magical talent for not being seen, but spending so much time in public life had taught him the ability of being inconspicuous in a crowd when he wanted to be: he had heard the whole exchange.
“You are very lucky that Delno is a forgiving man, Walter,” Nassari said to the councilman. “He is one of the best swordsmen there is. He didn’t win the Battle of Stone Bridge on luck alone. Also, there are a lot of people, myself included, who might invite you onto the field for giving insult to him. I’m glad we can put this all behind us and work cooperatively.”
There were, of course, several other council members present, and they began to speak out all at once. Nassari silenced them with a wave of his hand.
“Before we go on and I have to start challenging the whole council to duels, let me say something. You all know that I worked in the hospital during the last war. Many wounded men came into that hospital from the field with one name on their lips. They all talked of how Delno Okonan had saved their lives. If Delno Okonan hadn’t risked his own life to save theirs, they would never have survived. Over a score of men had personal stories of how Delno had saved them and their comrades from being slaughtered. He was decorated with the Corisian Medal of Valor and given a small pension for his services. If he had received medals for all of his feats of bravery and a pension for each, he could most likely cover a wall with the awards and his monthly stipend would bankrupt the country.”
Delno was amazed to watch the change come over the politicians as Nassari spoke. His friend really did have a magical talent for speaking. Even Brock, Rita and Craig seemed thoroughly enthralled as Nassari warmed to his subject.
“After saving this kingdom, he didn’t try to use his fame and notoriety for his own personal gain, he found and helped a distressed dragon and bonded with her offspring. Then he left and stopped a war in Palamore that would have eventually spilled over into the north. After that, he didn’t sit back and rest. He headed north and once again took it upon himself to save his beloved homeland by this time bringing Elven healing techniques to cure the pestilence and Dragons to fight our war.”
The council members began to shift and twist like young children who were being scolded for teasing a playmate.
“And now, when he is preparing to take this war to its source in the mountains around Horne, he finds that those he is trying to protect are treating him as an unwanted guest in his own home. I am ashamed to say that I used to think of you all as friends. Spare him your miserly condemnations and loosen your purse strings so that the Riders can be about the business of keeping you safe and happily ignorant of the dangers you still face.”
“Again,” Walter said to Nassari, “I offer my apologies. I will support whatever the Riders need. I understand that there is much happening that still endangers us that we don’t have knowledge of.” He then turned to Delno and added, “If you have any further trouble getting supplies, see me directly. If the funds aren’t available from the Corisian coffers, I will call on all of the merchants personally and see that you get what you need, including enough meat for your dragons.” Then he turned to the other council members and said, “Since our only business here today concerned the dragons and Riders, and that is now settled, we should go and let the Riders confer with the king. We are obviously still at war, and since I am reluctant to vote for our surrender at this point, we have no further business here until the war is concluded.”
He turned to leave, and when the other council members seemed reluctant to follow, he simply snapped his fingers to get their attention and bade them to come along. They were confused but followed in his wake.
Once the council members had gone Delno said, “Uncle, let me introduce you to two more Riders.” He turned to Brock and Craig and said, “May I present my uncle, the King Dorian Corice of the Kingdom of Corice. Uncle, this is Brock Ard, once my teacher and now my most trusted lieutenant; and this is Craig Carver, Senior Dragon Rider, who usually lives with the elves.”
“Delno, you make me sound so formal,” Craig said, “I am pleased to meet you, Your Majesty.” Craig bowed slightly to Dorian.
“I, too, am pleased to meet you, sir,” Brock said, nodding his head in place of bowing.
By now Dorian had definitely gotten used to Dragon Riders being his equals, so he took no offense.
“I have seen your name in one of my books, Rider. That particular book came from the south and is over five hundred years old,” Dorian said to Craig.
“That is entirely possible, sir; I am more than fourteen hundred years old.”
Dorian smiled and turned to Brock. “I have heard so much about you from my nephew. I feel as if I almost know you already.”
“I am glad to be of service in this cause,” Brock responded.
“Now then, gentlemen,” Dorian said, “I am sure that you didn’t just come along to rescue me from those politicians you sent packing. What can I do for the Dragon Riders?”
“Well, Uncle, Nassari is handling the new Riders quite adequately, so the only thing we will need that he isn’t taking care of is food for the dragons and a place for Craig to hold classes for his new students.” His uncle looked puzzled at his last words, so he added, “Craig has left his home among the elves to help train the new Riders: those who have bonded with the mature dragons as well as those who will bond with Saadia’s hatchlings.”
“As for food for the dragons, Nassari can see the same sergeant I have been sending you to see. Tell me, can a dragon carry off a whole cow?”
“As long as the distance they have to fly with it isn’t far and the cow isn’t too big. A dragon will fatigue carrying the weight of a Rider and passenger if she has to fly for long distances. But for a very short trip, a dragon can carry eighty or ninety stone. Of course, with that much weight, they won’t be able to do much more than a short flight of about half a mile, and they won’t be able to get much altitude,” Craig said while Brock nodded in agreement.
“That is probably enough. We can have some cows brought out to the plain and the dragons can come one at a time and take their pick and then carry them off to eat in privacy. That way we get them fed quickly without having the delay of tying each animal out separately.” Dorian then turned to Nassari and said, “Since you seem to be in charge of such things among the Riders, I will leave you to see to it.”
Nassari simply nodded his agreement and turned to Craig and said, “Since you will be staying in Larimar to train the Riders, I can get you settled while I am making the other arrangements, if you like.”
“Oh, yes, I would like that very much,” Craig said. “I am not used to long trips, and I would like to get a hot bath and a full meal as soon as possible.”
As Nassari led Craig out of the main hall Dorian said, “So, tell me, Delno, how long do you anticipate staying in Larimar this time? Not that I am trying to get rid of you—I especially don’t like the idea of you going off to fight—but I would like to know what to expect.”
“Well, I am glad you are not in a
hurry to send my sons off to war, Uncle,” Laura Okonan, who had just joined them, said sternly. Then she turned on Delno and asked, with even more emotion, “What is this I hear about Will going with you?”
“Ah, so you’ve found out about that. I am sorry, Mother, I knew you wouldn’t like it and had planned on breaking the news to you gently.”
“Gently?” She nearly shouted, “How can you break such news to a mother gently? It’s bad enough that one of my sons is going off to fight this insane war, and now I find out that I could lose both of you to the same bastard who killed my father!”
Both the brothers were shocked to hear their mother use such language, and in such anger. Delno looked to his brother, and Will only smiled sheepishly and looked at his feet like a child caught at something he shouldn’t be doing. Apparently, Will had already endured his mother’s wrath, so he wasn’t even going to offer Delno much in the way of moral support.
“Mother . . .” Delno began.
“Don’t you ‘Mother’ me,” she said cutting him off. “I am furious with you about your decision to take your brother along. I nearly died when you went off to war against the Bournese the first time. Each act of heroism that was reported of you was like a cold knife in my heart. I worried continually that the next time you risked your life to save the lives of other men, it would be the last thing you ever did. May all the gods forgive, or even if they don’t, I wished you would just let those other men die and keep your own head down and be safe.”
“Mother!” he said, shocked at her oath, “I don’t believe you said that.”
Laura Okonan looked at her son and then slapped him across the face with all of the force she could muster. Then, with tears in her eyes, she said, “If you must go, then leave your brother here.” Then she said in a hoarse whisper, “I can’t risk losing both of you.”
She began to weep uncontrollably. Delno, stunned at being slapped, not by the pain but by the fact that his mother, who had never raised a hand to either of her children and didn’t believe in such, was moved to such an uncontrolled act of emotion, put his arms around her. She nearly fell against him, and he held her. Will put his arms around her also, and she was nearly lost between the two men. She huddled there in the protection of her sons’ arms and cried for nearly a quarter of an hour.
Finally she stopped sobbing and pushed the two young men apart enough to look up at Delno first, and then turn and look at Will. “I am so afraid of losing you both that I wish we could just run off and hide from this trouble. I don’t care about the rest of Corice in this matter. Even if the war is lost, it will still be several years before the average Corisian sees a change in his life. But if we lose, then I lose both of my sons to the same madman who had my father killed. I lose my life to his insane plan to rule the world. Why is it my sons who have to go off and risk death in a faraway land to save this kingdom?”
“Mother,” Delno said gently, “it is we who have to do this because we are who and what we are. None of us asked for this. When I left the army, I had hoped to put wars and fighting behind me. I left my home in part to get away from all of this, but it followed my every move. Fate has delivered a cruel lot to this family, and we have to fight this war because there is no one else. The Riders look to me as their leader, and Will has the skill I need to observe the enemy while remaining unobserved himself. All I can offer you as consolation is that we will both be careful. However, neither of us will forfeit his duty to the people we have sworn to protect, and we will also avenge the murder of our grandfather.”
Laura dried her eyes on a handkerchief and looked her eldest son in the eyes for a long time. Then she straightened herself and nodded once. “Your father and I raised you to do the right thing when called upon to do so, and to recognize the call when it comes. I cannot, then, rightfully ask either of you to stay. I will not have what could end up as the last words I speak to you be the harsh words of a bitter woman, but rather the loving encouragement of a concerned mother. Keep safe and don’t take unnecessary risks with either of your lives. Come home safely to me when you have won this war.”
Laura suddenly noticed a small trace of blood on the side of Delno’s face where the family ring she wore on her right hand had cut him slightly just under his left eye. She suddenly began crying and trying to wipe away the blood with her handkerchief. She kept repeating “I’m so sorry.”
Delno reached up and stayed her hand and said, “Mother, it’s nothing. I’ve cut myself worse shaving. If I wanted it healed, I could do so in a second. I prefer it to be left as a reminder to me that emotions are running high, and I need to take other people’s feelings into consideration.”
She stopped trying to dab at the cut and looked at him. She then laid her hand on his cheek and, with tears still flowing, said, “You have grown into such a good man.” She reached out with her other hand to Will and pulled him to her also. “You both have grown into such good men. I tend to forget that you are both fully grown and not my little boys anymore.”
“Well,” Delno replied, “perhaps this afternoon we can both be your little boys again, at least for a while.”
Laura brightened and even laughed some.
Brock said, “Since we are regressing to our childhoods, I could use some cookies and a hug.”
All three of them turned to the older Rider and laughed.
Brock said, “Hello, Laura, you’ve grown a bit since the last time I saw you.”
Even Delno was shocked at this revelation. Brock had never mentioned that he knew Laura Okonan.
“The last time I saw you was when I was visiting your caravan while I was traveling with your father,” Brock said. “I believe you were about five or six.”
“I vaguely remember a dark man who came with my father a couple of times when I was young.” Then she brightened and said, “Your Bond-mate is blue with an orange star on her face, isn’t she?”
“You always liked Leera’s orange marking,” Brock responded.
“I remember that I liked those exotic candies you always brought with you, too.” Laura’s smile broadened, and she extended her hand to Brock.
Brock kissed her hand in the way of a gentleman and she laughed and said, “I also remember that you had a way of charming all of the older girls. I believe the candy was to bribe us younger children to go away and leave you alone with them.”
Brock’s eyes went wide and he affected a look of total innocence and said, “Would a Dragon Rider do such a thing?”
“In the wink of an eye,” Rita replied as she joined the group.
Everyone else laughed as Brock feigned an indignant protest.
The high tension and worried mood had completely lifted. Dorian suggested they all move to the private dining hall and have lunch.
“So Brock, what have you been doing since the last time I saw you?” Laura asked once the meal had settled down to light nibbling and conversation.
“Oh, I traveled more with your father off and on. Unfortunately, I was dealing with other business farther south when he was killed in Horne. I owed him my life several times over and wish I could have been there to help him that day,” he said sadly. “So, when I met his grandson, I figured I could best repay some of that debt by helping Delno learn how to take care of himself as a Rider.”
“You cannot be faulted for not being there for Corolan,” Laura replied. “He was a strong man, despite his small stature, and he traveled where and when he pleased, as he pleased. If he had not wanted to be traveling alone, he wouldn’t have been, and since he wanted to travel alone, the choice was his, not yours.” She paused for a moment and then added, “As for helping my son, you have my thanks. It makes me feel better knowing that he has brave, competent friends who stand by him.”
Brock smiled and nodded and the whole group settled into a comfortable silence for several minutes.
Rita broke the silence, saying, “The children are with your father, Delno. The twins are beginning to grieve, in their way, for their par
ents. They are coming to understand that they won’t see their mother and father again, so they will not allow themselves to be left with anyone they don’t know. I would have brought them to lunch with us, but Marcus had just fallen asleep and the girls were tired, so we put them down for a nap. They should awaken soon.”
Brock looked completely confused, and Delno realized that with everything else that had gone on, they had not told him about the children. He quickly filled Brock in on the whole situation here in Corice.
Brock was about to comment when Will straightened and said, “Saadia!” before jumping up so fast that he knocked his chair over. He further surprised all of them by running for the door without even stopping to right the chair before he left. The entire group quickly followed.
Since Laura and Dorian couldn’t keep up with the magically enhanced musculature of the Riders, even Rita, whose short stature usually put her last in such contests, outpaced them slightly. Eventually they all caught up with Will at the stock yard where he was standing next to Saadia looking a bit distressed.
He looked at Brock and said, “She is ready to lay her eggs, but she is in so much pain! What is wrong?”
Brock examined Saadia and then spoke mentally with Leera and then turned to Will. “All is normal, lad. She is just in labor. The egg is moving through the passage normally and should be out soon. Then there are the second and third to be laid. It will all be over shortly.”
“Should it hurt this much?” Will asked. He was obviously in direct contact and sharing Saadia’s pain.
“Hmm,” Brock snorted, “son, if you were passing a small melon that was nearly the size of your head through one of your orifices, would it hurt?”
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