The Captive

by Paul Lauritsen

  “A dark and empty cave?” Koah asked, stepping up beside Garnuk. “Very impressive. Has someone made off with your secret weapon, Ramshuk?”

  Now, Garnuk thought quietly.

  Zanove dropped to the floor in front of the door with a crash, sending shards of stone flying, his claws screeching on the hard surface. Koah and Tarq yelled at the noise and stumbled in shock, reaching for their weapons. Tarq fell back, shielding Garnuk with his body, but Koah charged Zanove, his spear outstretched before him.

  Don’t hurt him, Garnuk said quickly. Just stop him.

  Zanove roared again, then reared back and opened his mouth. Red-gold flames sprang from between his teeth, splashing across the stone floor and staining it with soot in a long, black arc. The silver dragon spread his wings menacingly, still roaring, buffeting Koah with a sulfurous wind.

  The Sentinel stumbled back, giving up his attack and shaking his head in stunned disbelief. Garnuk carefully stepped around Tarq, shrugging off the captain’s restraining hand, and moved to Zanove’s side.

  Well done, he said to Zanove approvingly.

  Zanove shuffled and snorted. That was unexpected. It seemed like the right thing to do though.

  “As I was saying,” Garnuk murmured, smiling to himself, “Unexpected strength. Dragons are a new addition to this world. Their return has upset the balance of power, and the relationship between Keepers and Sthan is bound to be shaky at best. If a rogue dragon were to begin burning Sthan villages and cities – ”

  “The Sthan would instantly blame the Keepers,” Tarq guessed. “They’d be so busy fighting each other, they would never recognize their real opponent.”

  “It is not so different from our last mission,” Garnuk pointed out. “Manipulation. Deceit. We succeeded last time, preserved our kind, and drove men back from our borders. This time, we can accomplish even more.” He turned to Koah. “With the support of the Banuk – and their warriors – we would be unstoppable.”

  The Sentinel glared from one to the other. “I see now what I should have months ago. I thought you different from the others, outsiders who had seen the wisdom of the Banuk way of life. But you are just like the others before you, war-loving fools who are always looking beyond their borders for the next conquest. It will bring you to ruin.”

  “No,” Garnuk countered. “It will bring us to a golden age for the vertaga, and to revenge for all the pain and suffering the Sthan and the Keepers have wrought.”

  “You’re insane!” Koah snapped, thrusting his horned head forward belligerently.

  Garnuk frowned at the irate Banuk. “No, Koah. You of all vertaga should know I am not insane.” He turned to Tarq, jerking a head towards the door. “Escort our Banuk friend from Dun Carryl. See that he is on his way home at once.”

  Tarq nodded jerkily, then stepped up beside Koah. The Sentinel blinked in surprise. “You’re letting me go?”

  Garnuk cast a bemused smile his direction. “Of course. How else will Carh learn of my plans and the dragon? Not from an outsider, I am sure. Tell him what you have seen, and what you have heard.”

  Koah scowled, then turned abruptly and marched towards the door, passing Zanove as he did. The silver dragon gave a warning hiss, but let the Sentinel pass.

  “Remember, Koah,” Garnuk called as the warrior reached the door. “With the strength of Banta Kodu, we would be unstoppable.” He smiled up at the silver dragon. “And all our foes would burn.”

  Chapter 5:

  The North

  From Ardia, Khollo and Kanin flew north over the Midwood, making for the Northern Wastes. It was not a place either wanted to visit at this time of year, but they were both at a loss for other places to search. There was plenty of the Sthan kingdom remaining, but no other location jumped out at Khollo immediately.

  So the pair glided north, past Etares, over snowy lands which would not feel the warm touch of spring for months yet. The further they went, the more the temperature dropped. At nights, Khollo curled up against Kanin for warmth, and wrapped himself in thick blankets. Even still, the chill was uncomfortable and both Keepers had new appreciation for the tropical climate of Ethgalin.

  A week after leaving Ardia, the Najni Range came into sight as distant, purpled peaks. The horizon was blurred with snow flurries, heralding even more uncomfortable days ahead. To the east and west, the mountains ran in an unbroken line, all the way around the top of the world. Directly ahead though was a wide valley leading up to the frozen wastes themselves.

  As they approached this gateway to the north, Khollo studied the mountains curiously. They were taller than the Southern Fells, and they had not slopes but steep, angled sides that would be nearly impossible to climb without spikes and ropes. Cliffs and crags dominated, forming an impenetrable barrier.

  No wonder so much of the north is unexplored, Khollo observed to Kanin. Imagine trying to hike through those mountains!

  Flying is better, Kanin agreed. This is a good home for dragons. High walls, big mountains.

  What about the cold?

  We are not so affected as humans, Kanin said indifferently. But I do prefer the warmth of Ethgalin.

  Me too, Khollo agreed. If the stronghold of the Keepers had been here, I think we would be building a new one somewhere else.

  Too much work, Kanin countered. I could just make endless fires for humans.

  Even fire will not take away this chill, Khollo muttered, shivering. He was losing feeling in his face, even though he had wrapped a thick scarf around his head and the hood of his fur cloak was pulled forward.

  Other humans live here, Kanin pointed out. There are woodcutter villages, yes?

  That’s why we’re here, Khollo replied. We’re hoping some of them will be suitable candidates.

  And if they are not?

  We look elsewhere. Somewhere warmer.

  Kanin rumbled deep in his chest in a dragon approximation of laughter. Did the library tell you where in the mountains the dragons used to live?

  They were scattered, Khollo replied vaguely. Individual dragons kept to themselves and had large territories. There wasn’t really a dragon community or gathering place.

  Mmm. Then there is nothing left to see? Kanin asked, disappointed.

  Just the mountains, Khollo said, looking around.

  Kanin flew on in silence, straight into the bitter north wind. They passed over the wide valley, and into a narrower chasm between the mountains. Below, the ground rose quickly in a series of sharp rises. Then the chasm abruptly ended, opening into a vast pine forest which stretched in every direction.

  So many trees, Kanin observed. Not a good place for dragons. Makes taking off and landing difficult.

  The villages will be in clearings, Khollo assured him. I’m sure there will be plenty of space. He reached into a pouch on the side of the saddle and produced his maps, fumbling with them through his thick gloves. To the east a bit, Kanin. The first village is not far away now.

  Kanin obediently turned, flapping once or twice to gain altitude then leveling out. Khollo stowed the maps back in their pouch before they could be blown away, and shivered again. The sooner they found a candidate in these northern lands, the better.

  The village came into sight a few hours later. From above, it looked half buried, every one of the pitched roofs layered in snow. But as Kanin swooped in to land, Khollo noticed a number of people in furs moving between the structures, and between the village and the nearby fringe of the forest. They appeared bulky and squat from a distance, bundled up as they were against the cold.

  They are armed, Kanin warned. Many axes.

  They’re woodcutters, Khollo replied, completely unconcerned. Of course they have axes. They aren’t a threat to us though. Land in the village square, by the well.

  Kanin obliged, swooping low over the town and flaring his wings. Shouts of warning and cries of alarm flew up all around them as the villagers reacted to the dragon’s presence. Khollo quickly slid down from Kanin’s back, hands held u
p in a gesture of peace. Behind him, a half-frozen youth who had been stirring the water in the well with a long pole to keep it from freezing stumbled back in shock.

  Kanin swung his head back and forth, nostrils flared. There is danger on the air, he announced. I do not like this.

  Khollo was about to reply when he noticed a shift in the voices around him. He spun in time to see a phalanx of rugged timber workers charging between the nearest buildings. They all held long-handled axes, and clearly knew how to use them.

  “Kill the beast!” the one in the lead shouted, a blond-bearded man wearing a fur vest over a long-sleeved shirt. “For our ancestors!”

  A full-throated roar went up from his followers. Khollo shouted for the men to stop, placing himself between them and Kanin, but the timber workers did not slow. Kanin roared angrily from behind Khollo.

  Get down! he ordered Khollo sharply.

  The Keeper dropped flat, just in time to avoid the dragon’s heavily muscled tail. The front rank of attackers jumped back, out of the way, giving Kanin just enough room to snatch Khollo up in his claws and take flight. The villagers howled and hurled insults at them, but as Kanin gained height they dwindled to tiny specks. The dragon turned south, towards the mountains for a short ways before landing in a small clearing. He dropped Khollo a few feet above the ground, and the Keeper rolled to his feet easily, accustomed to such maneuvers by now.

  I thought you said there was no danger?” Kanin said innocently, tilting his head at Khollo.

  I didn’t think there was, Khollo replied, shaken. I may have misjudged our odds of success here.

  Yes, Kanin agreed. We should have anticipated this. The dragons of old savaged many generations of northerners. Their depredations were apparently enough to instill an eternal animosity towards dragon kind.

  Khollo shuddered. We’ll have to be more careful.

  We can look after ourselves, Kanin said, unconcerned. What bothers me more is we are now out of ideas for places to look.

  Khollo sighed, frustrated. This aspect of the disastrous visit had not sunk in yet. We’ll think of something, he assured Kanin, though he had no ideas yet himself. Besides, there’s –

  A bush at the far end of the clearing rustled, scattering clumps of snow in a wide arc. Khollo and Kanin spun to face it immediately, Kanin’s jaws partly open, flame flickering between his teeth.

  Do you see anything? Khollo asked.

  No, Kanin replied uncertainly. But there is a foreign scent on the air.

  Khollo frowned and strung his bow, nocking an arrow and aiming at the bush. “Come out!” he called sharply. “We see you.”

  We do?

  It’s called a bluff, Kanin.

  Oh. Will it work?

  Maybe.

  They stood in silence for a moment, fixed on the bush.

  Or maybe not, Kanin decided. Let’s be away from this place. I am hungry and must hunt tomorrow or the next day. I would like to go somewhere where proper game can be had, not half-frozen, stringy northern beasts.

  Khollo turned away from the bush warily, then swung immediately back, hoping to catch whatever had been there off guard. But nothing stirred. The young Keeper snorted in disgust and turned away, lowering his bow. As he did, a flicker of movement behind Kanin and to the left caught his eye.

  He started to raise his bow again, but a massive figure burst into the clearing. It was so covered in furs that Khollo mistook it for a bear at first, then he saw the axe it held in its right hand, the well-oiled blade gleaming dangerously.

  Kanin reacted first, warned by their mental link. He turned and swept with his tail, then spewed fire right in front of the charging warrior. The fur-covered figure ducked under Kanin’s tail and rolled through the fire, smothering it with his cloak. When he came to his knees though, he found himself staring down Khollo’s arrowhead, just a few feet away.

  The Keeper frowned down at the heavyset figure. “Sling the axe away,” he ordered. “Now.” He drew back a little further on the bowstring for emphasis.

  The intruder scowled, then set the axe to one side, still within easy reach. Khollo glared at him, but the fur-clad man made no move to put the axe further out of reach.

  “I said sling it away,” Khollo growled. Behind him, Kanin rumbled in agreement.

  The man’s eyes flicked to Kanin and back to Khollo, but there was no fear in them. He held Khollo’s gaze for a few more seconds, head tilted up defiantly, then grabbed the axe by the very end of the handle and tossed it a little further away.

  “That’s better,” Khollo said, releasing some of the tension on his bowstring. “Who are you?”

  “I am Sven,” the stranger replied in a surprisingly young voice.

  “You’re from the village?”

  Sven’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been there? You attacked them?” He turned north, looking up at the sky. “I don’t see any smoke. Must not have been much of an attack.”

  “No,” Khollo said, snorting derisively. “They attacked us. We only just got away. No one was hurt,” he added.

  “Why not?” Sven demanded bitterly. “That’s a dragon there, isn’t it? That’s what they do, burn things and hurt people. All of the elders’ stories tell of their deeds.”

  The wild dragons were like that, Kanin remarked to Khollo. But the Keepers were not.

  “Kanin is not a wild dragon like the ones your elders speak of,” Khollo said after a long moment.

  “He is tamed?” Sven asked curiously.

  Kanin growled a warning in response to the question, earning a nervous glance from Sven.

  “Not trained. He’s a Keeper,” Khollo said. Can you speak to him? He asked Kanin.

  Barely, the dragon replied. There is something I like about this one. Not many people would single-handedly charge a dragon and rider.

  You like that he tried to kill us?

  It was a brave and skilled attempt.

  “What’s a Keeper?” Sven asked, brow furrowed. “And how is a dragon one of them? All they do is kill.”

  Khollo turned back to face the captive warrior. “The Keepers are an Order of dragons and men sworn to protect the innocent and destroy the evil,” he explained. “They maintained peace across the world for hundreds of years before they fell.”

  “If they fell, then what are you doing here? And where did your dragon come from?”

  “He’s not my dragon,” Khollo said quickly. “I don’t own him. He’s a friend. As to where he came from, that’s complicated. We are the first in a new line of Keepers. And we are looking for suitable candidates to join our ranks.”

  Sven’s eyes gleamed. “A real adventure,” he murmured, glancing from one to the other. “Is your base in the mountains, where the wild dragons lived?”

  “No, it is far away to the south.”

  “Good. The mountains are cold and harsh.” Sven stood slowly. “I’ll join you, if you’ll have me. And if I can have my axe back.”

  Khollo glanced at Kanin. “Not so fast,” the young Keeper said finally. “I’ve still got some questions for you. Starting with what were you doing out here and why did you attack us?”

  Sven’s face hardened. “I was hunting,” he said. “I spend all my time hunting and exploring, away from the village.”

  “And cutting wood?” Khollo guessed.

  “No!” Sven said vehemently. “Who would want to bang away at a log all day? Not me.”

  “Isn’t that how you survive up here?” Khollo asked, confused.

  “That’s how most people survive,” Sven agreed. “Some of us just don’t care for that sort of work. I wasn’t made for endless manual labor in a frozen wasteland.”

  “What were you made for then?”

  “Adventure,” Sven replied promptly. “Glory. That’s why I attacked your dragon. Among my people, the highest honor and greatest achievement for generations is the killing of a dragon. Nobody has managed it in a thousand years though. I would have been the first.”

  “Being a Kee
per is not about glory,” Khollo countered. “We serve, and protect. We do not seek battles, but we do not shrink from a fight. We wield power and influence, but only when necessary. We are not kings, and we don’t live in palaces and have great wealth all around us. But it will be an adventure, that I can promise you.”

  “I can work with that. Just take me,” Sven pleaded. “Look, I’m sorry I attacked you, but if I had killed a wild dragon – ”

  Which I am not, Kanin interrupted, annoyed.

  “ – it would have solved everything. Joining you as a . . . a Keeper, out of the north . . . if it doesn’t work out, send me back, but at least give me a chance!”

  Khollo glanced at Kanin. What do you think?

  Kanin lowered his head until it was almost touching the ground, then extended his neck until his jaws were inches from the northman’s face. Sven stayed absolutely still, breathing evenly, staring right back at the emerald dragon calmly.

  This one is strong, Kanin announced. And I can sense his mind, if only vaguely. The connection is there. He has the potential to become a Keeper, but he has much to learn.

  They all will, Khollo replied. The important question is, can we trust him not to kill us?

  I believe so, Kanin said after a long moment, backing away from Sven and setting his great bulk down on the forest floor.

  Khollo took a deep breath, then turned back to face Sven. “All right,” he said. “You have your chance.”

  “Yes!” Sven said eagerly, jumping to his feet. “I will not fail you.”

  Khollo nodded curtly in reply. “You can retrieve your axe now, as long as I have your word you will not use it against Kanin, me, or any other dragon or Keeper.”

  “You have it,” Sven replied instantly, squaring his shoulders and standing taller.

  “Very well. We’ll sneak back to the village so you can grab your things, then – ”

  “No need.”

  Khollo cocked his head curiously. “Why not? You don’t want to at least say farewell to your family?”

  “No,” Sven said flatly. “They’ll be happier if I just disappear. They see me as a disgrace to them anyway, since I’ve avoided woodcutting my whole life. Spending my time hunting and adventuring, instead of supporting them and the village all these years . . . well it hasn’t exactly helped us get along.”