“Can’t this wait until the morning? I’m trying to get some sleep! First that barmy old wizard and now…” With his eyes still closed, Ballorn realised that he recognised the voice. Great, he thought, now I’m dreaming about dragons!
“Dream or not, Ballorn, you still need to open your eyes.”
Frustrated that he was not to be left in peace, Ballorn sat up quickly and opened his eyes. He scowled at Keldenar, who was a few yards away, “How did you get here, dragon? I’ve heard that your lot don’t like water, so what’s so important that it would bring you into a swamp?”
Keldenar tilted his head, “But we’re not in a swamp, Ballorn.”
Ballorn glanced around. The dragon was right. An inky blackness surrounded them both, so much so that Ballorn could not even see the dragon’s body, only his head. “What is this place? Oh, hang on a minute, I am dreaming!”
“This is no dream, fool!” came an angry voice from behind him.
Ballorn turned and was immediately alarmed by what he saw. He jumped back, his eyes darting from place to place as he sought his silver hammer.
“It’s not here,” growled the second dragon. “But even if it were, it would do you no good in this place.”
“It doesn’t matter!” roared Ballorn. “I don’t need it to defeat you!” He ran at the crystal dragon, swinging a punch strong enough to fell a tree, a pointless act, as he would soon realise. His fist connected with nothing and passed straight through the face of his nemesis.
“Ballorn, would you please calm down and listen?” pleaded Keldenar. “This is not a dream, but neither is it true reality. I have brought you here so that you may fully understand what it is that you must do.”
“I know what I have to do!” growled Ballorn, taking another futile swing at his foe.
The look on the crystal dragon’s face changed. He seemed confused, full of anguish and in pain. “You must destroy me, Nibrilsiem. Take my life and bring the suffering of innocents to an end.”
“What?” exclaimed Ballorn, “You want me to kill you!”
The crystal dragon shook its head violently, as if to cast off an annoying insect. “I will crush your puny body, before tearing you into a dozen pieces, mortal. You have no hope of defeating me,” it sneered.
“But you just said…”
“Now you see the true predicament that we face, Ballorn,” sighed Keldenar. “You look into the eyes of one, but behind them two souls are trapped in an endless struggle for control. One is pure and peaceful, the dragon itself. The other, a parasite that tarnishes it. The ceaseless battle rages within, sometimes good prevails, but as time goes on it is becoming weaker and the evil will of the parasite will eventually win the war if we do not find a way to tip the balance.”
“That’s why you told me not to kill it! You know that if I slay the body, both souls will be lost.”
The crystal dragon glared and snarled at them both.
“He has been my closest friend for nigh on a thousand years, Ballorn. I would happily give my own life to save his. Alas, that is not an option. Study the crystal in his brow, that is the source of the evil that controls him. When it grows near to any of our kind it affects them also, we have no resistance against its power.”
Ballorn looked from one dragon to the other, “So, you could become as bad as he is then?”
Keldenar shook his head, “Not quite… and not permanently,” he replied. “We are only affected when the crystal is near to us. When it moves away, we become ourselves once more.”
“So, if I can get close enough to knock that thing out of him, your friend will be alright. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Keldenar replied solemnly. “He has been possessed far too long to be able to survive. Even if the crystal is successfully removed, his body will surely die.”
“Then there must be some other way!” exclaimed Ballorn. “We cannot allow your friend to die after all the suffering he has endured!”
“I said that his body will die, Ballorn. He, however, will not be lost entirely. I have friends who have already crafted something that will allow his essence to survive.”
Ballorn looked hard at the crystal dragon, then turned to face Keldenar, “Don’t suppose they could do the same for me, could they?”
“You should not doubt yourself, Nibrilsiem,” Keldenar replied confidently. “I have bestowed upon you the strength of ten of our kind. As apprehensive as you are, you must trust me, you will not fail.”
CHAPTER 20
Ballorn opened his eyes, the lids feeling heavier than they had ever felt before. Had it all been a dream? Had the conversation with Keldenar actually taken place? He had no time to ponder his own questions as his blurred vision cleared and he saw Stitch. The tailor had pulled a log over to where he was sleeping and now sat silently staring at him.
“Something I can do for you, Stitch?” he asked, yawning.
“You can stop putting me in danger for a start,” Stitch immediately replied.
“Oh,” said Ballorn. “That wasn’t actually my fault. If you hadn’t jumped down from that pony…”
“I’m not talking about that!” Stitch whispered. “I’m talking about you leaving me alone with those two,” he said, pointing at the wizards. “We know one’s a liar and the other one’s a stranger, yet you don’t seem bothered by it. You were in such a deep sleep they could have murdered me and killed you where you lay, and you wouldn’t even have known it had happened!”
Ballorn pushed himself up on his elbows, “You weren’t alone, Stitch, Hunter was here the whole time. Besides, do you honestly think that the wizard who saved you from being eaten alive, now wants to murder you? Do you realise how stupid that sounds?”
“I don’t care how stupid it sounds I don’t trust either of them!”
Ballorn, now fully awake, ran his fingers through his hair, “I can understand your reservations about Barden,” he began, “but I’m certain you can trust Porflax. We saw Barden sneaking off into the forest alone last night and Porflax went after him. He said he’d tell me what happened this morning, so give me a while and I’ll find out what he got up to. If there is anything to be concerned about, I’ll talk to you about it later, okay?”
Stitch glared at him, “You’d better not keep any secrets from me, Ballorn, or I swear I’ll… I’ll… well I’m not sure what I’ll do, but you won’t like it!”
Ballorn smiled, “No secrets, Stitch, I promise.” He rose and looked around.
“Up here,” called Hunter from the trees above. “Just keeping an eye on things, not that there’s anything to see.”
“Sounds good to me,” groaned Ballorn as he stretched himself. “Nothing better than a report with nothing in it. What about the wizards, what have they been keeping themselves busy with?”
“Oh, they’re an absolute joy to be with,” Hunter sighed. “If Barden’s head were any lower it would be dragging on the ground. Mind you, I’m not surprised, Porflax hasn’t given him a minute’s peace all morning.”
“Is it that late already?” asked Ballorn, concerned that he had slept far longer than he had intended.
“No, no, it’s still early,” replied Hunter, “but those two were up before dawn.”
Ballorn called over to Porflax, “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” replied the wizard, pleasantly. “I trust you slept well?”
Ballorn nodded as he approached, “Anything you need to tell me?”
Porflax looked a little embarrassed, “Ah, no,” he said, lowering his head. “Things didn’t go exactly as I would have hoped. I lost him I’m afraid. It was so dark, I could barely see my hand in front of me and if I’d have lit a torch, it would have alerted him of my presence. I’m terribly sorry, Ballorn.”
Ballorn held up his hand, “No need for apologies,” he assured the wizard. “However, was he gone for long?”
“I… fell asleep,” Porflax sighed. “This old age thing is so infuriating! There was a time
when I could go without sleep for days and still feel…”
“Never mind,” smiled Ballorn. “At least he didn’t murder us all in our sleep.”
“Well he’d have struggled with that one,” Hunter said quietly. “Not all of us were asleep.”
“Well you never sleep, at least, I’ve never seen you,” laughed Ballorn.
Hunter sucked in his bottom lip for a moment, then looked across the camp at Stitch. “True,” he replied. “But I wasn’t referring to me.” Ballorn and Porflax glanced over at the tailor, who was unaware that he was now the topic of their conversation. “He followed you both, but he came back after just a few minutes. He probably lost his nerve in the dark and scampered back to camp as quickly as he could.”
Porflax suddenly seemed slightly angry, “The little sneak,” he growled.
“Problem?” asked Hunter staring hard at him.
“Yes!” exclaimed Porflax. “He could have waited for me. Ten minutes trying to find Barden, but a blasted hour to find my way back. He could have shown me the way and saved me from getting wet feet,” he laughed.
Despite his mood, Stitch had started to prepare breakfast. Ballorn soon took over. Within the hour, they were all fed, packed up and on the move. Stitch’s mood did not change and he glared at the wizards who were now leading them through the swamp.
Porflax bombarded Barden with questions with each step they took and would suddenly bellow at him if he didn’t get the answers he was looking for, “Are you some kind of retard, boy?” he roared. “You’d kill everyone in the room if you did that! Have you learned nothing during your time in Reiggan?”
Barden sighed. For him, this was going to be a very long day.
For many hours the water stayed at a constant depth and the cold began to tell on the travellers. Other than Hunter who was still clambering through the trees, they were oblivious as to how much their pace had slowed. Needless to say, it came as a great relief when the swamp became shallower and they were eventually able to walk on dry land.
“We should set a camp here,” suggested Hunter.
“But it’s only mid-afternoon,” protested Ballorn. “There’s hours of daylight left.”
“And there’ll be hours of blisters and chafing which will slow us even more if you don’t dry your boots,” said Hunter. “We don’t have dragon-given powers like you, Ballorn. We need to dry our things and rest. You’ll find that we’ll make far better progress tomorrow if we recuperate for a few hours extra today.”
Ballorn sighed, “Well, seems like a shame to me, but I suppose you’re right. I keep forgetting that I’ve got more energy than I used to have.”
“Hmph,” snorted Stitch. “Is that why you sleep like the dead every night? I put my finger under your nose three times last night to make sure you were still breathing!”
“Ah, how sweet,” laughed Ballorn. “You do care after all.”
“It won’t stop me running away when that dragon bites your head off!” snapped Stitch, sticking his tongue out.
“I, erm… I’m going to scout ahead a little,” Barden called, “see if I can get an idea what we’ll be facing tomorrow.”
“You’re going nowhere!” growled Porflax. “You’ll stay right here with the rest of us!” He gave Barden an insipid smile, “Where we know you’re safe and sound.”
Barden went into a rage, “I’ve had enough of you, old man. You don’t own me, and I don’t take orders from you. I’ll do what I damn well please and there’s nothing that any of you can say or do to stop me! You need my help more than you realise!”
“Is that a fact?” asked Ballorn, quietly. “Why are you so sure that we need you, Barden, is there something you’re not telling us?”
“I’ve withheld nothing from you, but you’d rather take the side of this unruly, undisciplined risk-taker than trust me! You have no idea who he is, what he has done in the past or what he is capable of. He’s one step from being banished from Reiggan for good. I’ll bet he hasn’t mentioned that to you has he?”
Porflax began to glow as he pointed a shaking finger at Barden, “You’ll hold your tongue, youngster, if you know what’s good for you! Wizards like you are all that is wrong with Reiggan! It was founded by fools with self-righteous morals and ideals. The power of magic makes us superior beings, but there are consequences that come with its use, boy, and only the strongest amongst us are able to live with them!”
“You know what?” Ballorn asked, loudly, “I’m starting to think that it’d be better if neither of you were to stay with us! I mean, look at you, you can’t even trust each other. So why should we trust either of you?”
Porflax lowered his hand, “You’re right, of course,” he said, not taking his eyes off Barden. “Forgive me, Ballorn, it seems that my patience is not what it once was. These young wizards are impetuous and impatient. I was just like them once, but at least I knew right from wrong.”
“And without an ounce of proof of any wrong-doing, you accuse me yet again, Porflax,” said Barden through gritted teeth.
“Now why would I do that?” Porflax asked, folding his arms. “The fact that your behaviour is so suspicious perhaps? I mean, from what I could see, you didn’t seem to be trying very hard to save poor Stitch from being eaten. Or is it that we all watched you sneak from camp in the dead of night without telling anyone? Would that be deemed normal, or would it seem that that person had something to hide?”
“You could have just asked!” shouted Barden. “I don’t know anything about the creatures that attacked Stitch, so I didn’t know how to fend them off! As for last night, I was out looking for your precious friend! I couldn’t sleep! Seriously, have you heard him snore?” he raged, pointing at Ballorn. “Powers of a dragon? The roar of a dragon more like! So, I went out looking for Zendran!”
“Why would you do that?” Porflax asked, suspiciously. “You don’t even know what he looks like?”
“How many people do you think there are wandering around a swamp at night? If I found anyone, chances are it would be him! Look, believe what you like or don’t, I don’t care anymore. But I will not be treated like a prisoner, so if you want to take this further, let’s get it over with!”
Porflax looked at Ballorn and shrugged his shoulders, “Sounds like a challenge to me,” he sniggered, turning his back on Barden.
Stitch folded his arms and looked totally disappointed, “So you’re not going to kill each other then?”
Porflax grinned at him, “No, Stitch, we’re not going to kill each other.” He looked back at Barden, “Well, not today anyway.”
CHAPTER 21
The vikkery were horrified. Learning that Asdor had actually chosen to become a dragon in order to help them find others, did not sit well with them. Gelbran and Fellis avoided the multitude of questions that erupted from the crowd, before finally facing them. “We’ve decided that it would be best if you were to all come and see him,” Fellis announced, a suggestion that brought even more questions and some concerns.
“What if he turns nasty?” called one of them.
“We didn’t really see eye-to-eye,” called another. “What if he decides to eat me?”
“For goodness sake!” yelled Gelbran. “Do you think I’d suggest you visit him if I thought you’d be in the slightest danger? And somehow, I don’t reckon he’ll want to eat you however much he dislikes you, Lappet. When was the last time you took a bath?”
“Hang about, if we go up there and it’s a different dragon, we’ll all be killed!”
“Yeah, they all look the same, don’t they?”
“No, they do not!” shrieked Fellis. “They’re different colours for a start!”
There were mutterings amongst the crowd. “Well I’m up for it,” called one of them, “I always liked old Asdor, it’ll be fun to have a chat with him now he looks like a real dragon.”
“He is a real dragon!” exclaimed Gelbran. “What part of this can’t you get into your thick heads?”
Lappet
stepped forward, “Alright, Gelbran,” he said confidently, “you’ve taken care of us all until now and I trust what you say. Lead on, we’ll follow.”
The muttering began again.
“I said, WE’LL FOLLOW!” bellowed Lappet. “I’m the one he doesn’t like, remember? If he comes after me, at least you lot will be able to scram before he’s finished.”
With a brief smile Gelbran turned away, and the rest of the vikkery followed him.
Some time later, they approached the cave. A few of the vikkery recoiled and there were many curled lips at the sight of the dragon they had slain earlier that day. The sight of it was not, however, why they were so disgusted. It was the smell!
“Oh, my days!” exclaimed one of them before retching, “It stinks worse than your feet, Lappet.”
Lappet blushed, “No need for that!” he chuntered.
Suddenly, flames erupted from the cave mouth. The dragon crashed against the side of the entrance as it appeared from the gloom, its jaws snapping and spouting more fire. It immediately saw the vikkery and its eyes flashed red as it glared at them. The vikkery froze in their tracks, it would have been pointless to run from the dragon who was now charging toward them. As it reached them, it raised its huge claws into the air.
“WILL YOU PACK IT IN, ASDOR?” bellowed Gelbran. “You’re not funny you know!”
Asdor lowered his claws, “Oh, come on, it was a bit funny,” he laughed.
“I’ve brought everyone here to show them there’s nothing to be afraid of, and you pull a stunt like that!”
“Calm down, Gelbran,” laughed Asdor. “It was just a joke, that’s all.”
“You’re lucky they didn’t all take you for a real dragon and attack you!”
“I thought you said he was a real dragon,” said Lappet looking slightly confused.
“He is a real dragon,” Gelbran replied. “But he’s not a dangerous dragon.”
“He looked flippin’ dangerous enough to me, what with all the fire and teeth and claws!” snorted Lappet.
Mark of The Nibrilsiem: Set before The Ascension of Karrak (The Karrak Trilogy Book 4) Page 19