“Much obliged,” the traveler said, draining the last of his ale and setting the mug down. “Until tomorrow, old one.”
He sauntered off to his room, pack jangling and clanking rhythmically as he walked. Cailluf scowled after him, then turned and began cleaning a row of dirty mugs and tankards.
* * *
In room three, Khollo shut and locked the door, sighing heavily. His disguise had worked well enough, and he’d gotten a lead out of the ordeal. He shook his head to clear it.
“Callowfiel,” he murmured to himself. “Well, no sense in hanging around here.”
He tossed the key on the bed, then went to the solitary window in the back of the room. He undid the latch and pushed the window out quietly, slipping over the sill and out of the inn. The moment he was outside, he pushed the window shut again. Then he took off running for the tall grasses, where Kanin was waiting for him.
He found the dragon easily enough, crouched low so his massive body would not stand out too far above the grains. His opalescent eyes glittered as Khollo approached.
We have a new target? He asked hopefully
Khollo nodded, scratching Kanin’s jawline. Callowfiel.
Hmm. No likely candidates in this area?
Not that the innkeeper knew of.
Kanin shifted uneasily. I can’t sense people’s potential from so far away. If I stayed closer in the next town –
Too dangerous, Khollo said quickly. You’re not exactly stealthy, Kanin, and there’s less cover closer to the towns. Besides, think of all the dragon-sized footprints you’d be leaving behind.
Kanin snorted with amusement. That would give them something to talk about in their taverns for many years.
Khollo chuckled and climbed into the saddle. So it would. Let’s see if we can find this Callowfiel. I’d like to visit them early tomorrow morning.
Chapter 10:
The Defender
“You’re sure there’s no one who might be interested?” Khollo asked, feigning disbelief. “I thought all young people craved adventure and far off places.”
The tavern keeper shrugged. “Maybe in the rest of the world, but not here. Everyone around here farms for a living.”
“You’re telling me boys would rather stay stuck behind a plow than see some excitement?”
The other man nodded, giving Khollo a sympathetic look. “Sorry, friend. But there just isn’t anyone around here looking to go gallivanting off into the wide world.”
Khollo ducked his head in annoyance, drumming his hands on the counter top agitatedly. This was the fifth town since Callowfiel, and still no results. “They don’t have to be impulsive,” he told the tavern keeper. “They just need to be open to something new. Steady, patient, good heart and all of that. There’s nobody who fits that description?”
The older man hesitated. “Well, maybe one or two,” he allowed.
“Do you know where to find them?”
The tavern keeper set down the glass he was cleaning and leaned forward. “I do, but I’m not entirely sure it would be in those lad’s best interests if I told you.”
Khollo let out a growl of frustration, losing patience rapidly. “Maybe you could be enticed to cooperate?” he asked, reaching into his purse.
The other man shook his head doggedly. “I won’t take any bribes,” he said. “You’ll have to convince me to help you the old-fashioned way. Start talking.”
The young Keeper scowled. “Did you hear about that business down south a few months back?” he asked, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“The war? What of it?”
Khollo grinned. “Did you hear the stories, did you hear how the war was won?”
“Look, kid, all I know is we won. What does any of that nastiness have to do with you?”
Khollo leaned forward. “Because I’m the one who won the war,” he replied. “Me and my dragon, Kanin. We laid low the vertaga armies, we drove them with steel and fire, brought their mountain down on their heads. And now, we’re looking for more Keepers, men to bond with dragons and build an Order that will protect this fragile peace for a millennium.”
The barkeep gave Khollo a look like he was delusional. “A dragon, huh?” he asked. “And . . . you destroyed all of the vertaga down south and you’re going to be peacekeepers now?”
“That’s right,” Khollo growled. “Please, I just need to find some likely recruits. If one of these boys you’re thinking of is the one I am seeking, you must tell me.”
“I must, huh?” the older man turned away, shaking his head in disgust. “Get their names from somebody else. I’ll not be the one to bring this fate on them.”
Khollo lunged forward and grabbed the man by the wrist, hauling him back to the counter. “Something is coming,” he hissed. “Danger, death, maybe another war. The dragons must rise to defend the world of men once more. Otherwise, this world and everything in it will burn.”
“I’m thinking it’s more likely that you’ll end up burning the whole world,” the tavern keeper replied coldly. “Let go of my wrist, boy, or I’ll break your hand.”
Khollo released the other man and wheeled away from the bar. He stalked out of the tavern angrily, not caring that every eye in the room was following him curiously. He slammed through the outer door and into the cool evening. The shock of the chilly air in his lungs brought him up short and he sighed.
No luck, he reported to Kanin. And I lost my temper. We may need a new strategy.
I heard parts of it, Kanin replied heavily. Despite Khollo’s warnings, the dragon had been hiding closer and closer to town. Perhaps it is time to search another region. This area has been rather uncooperative.
The barkeep seemed to think there were a couple who could suit our purposes, Khollo reminded him. We have to find a way to follow up on that, Kanin. Maybe afterwards we can try the Sabashrin, or Mizzran regions.
Or anywhere, Kanin agreed. We only have a week or so before we are supposed to meet the others in Narne.
Khollo nodded distractedly and leaned against the side of the tavern. He hoped Aralye and Sven had found passage the rest of the way to Narne without trouble. He’d taken a risk there, sending them off into the unknown with nothing but some vague guidance and reassurances. But time was critical.
Somewhere nearby, a door opened and closed. Khollo heard a brief babble of conversation, then all was quiet again. A heavyset figure darted out of a nearby alley, and scurried off into the town furtively. Khollo frowned as he recognized the barkeep.
Instinctively, Khollo began to follow the other man, pursuing him through the maze of streets and houses that made up the town of Lupassam. Unlike some of the other isolated farming communities he had visited, Lupassam was laid out in a haphazard, tangled manner with no order to the way buildings were placed. It was also a larger town, almost a city, and a good portion of the region’s goods passed through here at one point or another.
Fortunately, the barkeep was not terribly fast, nor was he especially stealthy. Khollo kept up with him easily, staying a little ways back so he would not be discovered.
What are you doing? Kanin asked, making Khollo jump. I can sense you moving away. The dragon’s voice was barely audible now due to the distance between them.
Following the barkeep, Khollo replied. Move around the edge of the town so that you’re closer, I may need you.
He sensed a dim acknowledgement from Kanin, then nothing. The young Keeper continued trailing his quarry, until he finally stopped at a modest house. It was one story, and probably belonged to a craftsman or tradesman. The barkeep rapped urgently on the door, and was admitted to the house.
Khollo sighed with frustration, then stealthily moved right up to the walls of the house, crouching beneath one of the windows. He could faintly make out voices from within, but only a few words here and there.
“Stranger . . . . been asking questions, too many. Thought . . . warn you and some of the others . . . looking for young men to . . . a
dventure. Headed to . . . Their L’tel . . . might be dangerous.”
Khollo frowned, trying to make sense of the disjointed words. Apparently, the barkeep had taken it upon himself to warn certain individuals about Khollo’s activities. The people he had thought would be good candidates?
The young Keeper’s pulse quickened and he thought harder, reviewing the conversation in his mind. There had been a name, L’tel. Maybe he could find him before the barkeep warned the family and set them against Khollo.
He darted out from under the window, moving deeper into town. After he was well away from the barkeep and the first house, he stopped a passing stranger.
“Do you know where I could find a boy called L’tel?” he asked quietly. “I have a message for him.”
The man he had stopped pursed his lips, then rocked back and forth on his heels. “What sort of message?”
“You don’t need to know,” Khollo growled. “It’s between L’tel and the person who sent me.”
“What, you got somethin’ important going on?” the man asked, spitting on the ground.
“What’s it to you?”
“Well, see, you might be willing to pay for information if you’re on official business.”
Khollo sighed and held up a five-royal piece. “How about it? Tell me where I can find the boy.”
“Northern edge of town,” the man said briskly. There’s a brown farm house, one story with two sheds to the west and a barn beyond them. They have large herds of cows and pigs penned up near the barn. Should be easy enough to find.
“Thanks,” Khollo said, flipping the man the coin.
“Any time,” the other man replied, biting the coin before tucking it into a pocket.
Khollo turned north and strode off quickly. Kanin, did you get all of that?
Yes, I can see the house, the dragon replied. It is a little by itself.
No cover?
None.
Khollo sighed. We’ll just have to move quickly.
The young Keeper hurried to the edge of town, relying on his mental bond with Kanin to point him in the right direction. It was only a minute or two before he found the place. The house was isolated, but not so badly as Khollo feared. As he sized up the situation, he saw a slight movement and noticed Kanin’s dim outline beyond the farmhouse.
Get back, they’ll see! He warned.
The dragon froze instead, moving not a single muscle. I want to be close, he replied, just in case.
Khollo sighed and prepared to cross the remaining distance. As he did, a tall figure stepped out of the shadows to his left.
“That’s enough,” the figure said quietly, in a slow, deep voice. “Stay where you are.”
Khollo squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the newcomer. His outline was strangely rectangular and blocky. The man stepped forward and the young Keeper realized he had been looking at a shield of the sort the Gobel-Tek military favored, easily as tall as a man and wide enough to cover the entire body. The shield bearer shifted slightly, and Khollo saw his face for the first time. Young, with skin darker than the rich soil of the plains. He was big, big enough to carry the oversized shield easily on one arm. A long spear with a massive head was balanced in his right hand, the point never wavering from Khollo’s chest.
“Let me explain,” the Keeper said quietly.
“No need. You came from the tavern, didn’t you? I ran into Orbin just a moment ago, you match the description he gave me perfectly. Now, you’re going to come quietly with me and I’ll turn you over to the guard. They’ll handle things from there.”
Khollo gave a low laugh. “You picked the wrong person to try and arrest, L’tel.”
The youth stiffened. “How do you – ?” He stopped. “Where did you hear that name?” he said instead.
“It is L’tel, isn’t it?” Khollo said, “I followed Orbin, of course. Heard him warning some other people about me, not that he needed to. I don’t mean anyone in this town any harm.”
“What about the next town? What about the brown farmhouse over there?”
Khollo shook his head. “Look, I’m no robber or mercenary. I’m here on a recruiting mission.”
L’tel frowned. “Like for the army?”
“Not exactly,” Khollo muttered. “Let me ask you this: what do you know about dragons?”
“That they don’t exist anymore.”
Khollo shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Look behind you.”
L’tel turned and saw what Khollo had been observing quietly throughout their conversation. Kanin had snuck within a few dozen feet of them, standing between the pair and the farmhouse now. The emerald dragon glittered in the dark, flames flickering in his nostrils and mouth as he regarded L’tel steadily.
He has the heart of a Keeper, Kanin announced. I can sense him, but he will not yet hear me.
Khollo nodded. He had expected as much. He looked back at L’tel, who had dropped to a defensive crouch, shield raised in front of him, spear ready to jab at the first opening. “There’s no need for that,” Khollo told him. “He won’t hurt you.”
“Right. I trust Orbin more than I trust you, stranger. And I know the old stories of dragons.”
Those stories have not been very helpful, Kanin observed, growling to himself with amusement.
Quiet, Khollo replied shortly. Let me handle this.
“Orbin’s heart is in the right place,” Khollo said, talking to L’tel’s back since the youth would not turn away from the dragon. “But he is mistaken in this case. I’m here to offer you an opportunity, L’tel.”
“I won’t go to the army.”
Khollo frowned. “I’m not here for the army. You’re not a soldier are you?”
L’tel sighed heavily. “Only when I have to be.”
“Then where’d you get the weapons?”
“They’re easy enough to find if you know where to look,” L’tel told him. “The world is full of weapons. One shield and one spear will not make much of a difference.”
“Interesting. Anyway, I’m not with the army. I’m not here to recruit you as a warrior. I’m here for something much bigger. I’m recruiting Keepers.”
“Never heard of them,” L’tel said shortly, still fixed on Kanin.
Khollo rolled his eyes. “Of course you haven’t. They’ve been all but extinct for a millennium.” He paused, still facing the other boy’s back. “Look, L’tel, if we wanted to harm you, I could have killed you a dozen times by now, the way you’re ignoring me. And shield or no, Kanin could have killed you a half-dozen ways every second since you met him. So why don’t you just put the shield down and focus on what I’m saying instead of wasting time?”
L’tel hesitated, then lowered the shield, standing tall and facing Khollo. “Fine,” he said, his voice low and controlled, “Make it quick. I’ve got places to be.”
“We’re looking for Keepers,” Khollo said again, “People to bond with dragons and work with them to preserve and protect the peace.”
“Preserve it how?”
Khollo hesitated. That question hadn’t come up before. “Well, for instance, we fought with the Sthan against the vertaga invasion a few months ago.”
“So you are mercenaries. Just very exotic ones.”
“Not . . . not exactly,” Khollo faltered. “We fought to protect the innocent, to protect the people of the Sthan Kingdom from further conflict.”
“And now that the vertaga are gone what do you do?” L’tel asked. “Seems like you’re out of wars to fight.”
“There will always be conflict,” Khollo said heavily. “It is the way of this world. Even now, the dragons sense some new danger approaching. The Keepers need to be ready.”
“Then you’d best spend your time preparing rather than wasting it on me,” L’tel said. “I’m no warrior.”
“You don’t have to be a warrior!” Khollo exploded. “Look at me, do I look like a warrior?�
�
“You’re armed like one,” L’tel said, shrugging. “Although I’ve never seen weapons like yours before.”
“You’re also armed like a warrior,” Khollo pointed out. “The point is, I didn’t come here to find a fighter. I came here to find someone with the patience and wisdom to help raise dragons, bond with them, and use that partnership to guard the peace of this world. Will it involve fighting sometimes? Yes, it will. But only when absolutely necessary. The Keepers are not warriors. We are not an army to be commanded. We are an order, dedicated to serving this world.”
“And the dragons just go along with this?”
“They are not the savage, wild beasts you believe them to be,” Khollo snapped. “Kanin here is wiser than most humans I know.”
L’tel looked back at the dragon, studying it critically. “It’s well-trained,” he allowed finally.
I am NOT trained! Kanin roared.
Khollo winced at the noise and L’tel stumbled back. “He doesn’t like it when people call him trained or tamed,” he explained to the other youth apologetically. “As I said, the relationship between man and dragon is a partnership. I do not own Kanin, nor does he own me. We are free creatures in our own right, working together to make this a safer world.” He glanced over his shoulder, back towards the bulk of the town. “If you’re coming, we need a decision sooner rather than later. I think we’re about to outstay our welcome.”
L’tel glanced at Kanin, then back at Khollo. He shook his head. “Sorry. But I can’t leave.”
“And if next time the war comes further north, what will you do then?” Khollo demanded. “If tragedy touches your own family? You will know you had an opportunity to prevent it. Could you live with such a burden?”
L’tel took a few steps towards the farm house, then stopped, torn. Khollo could see his body shaking with frustration and indecision. “You are asking me to leave everything on a promise,” he spat, looking back at Khollo. “On some vague warning that danger is coming. I have a life here, a good one, as long as the army recruiters aren’t around.”
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