Dragon Hero

by C. L. Woodward

  The city was even livelier during the day than it had been the night before. It was a little bit of a challenge to travel through the busy streets without bumping into someone or getting run over by a wagon. “Do you have any clue where to go?” I asked while avoiding two men that were pushing a small wagon full of produce.

  Jerak shrugged, “I was hoping you knew where he would be.”

  I lowered my head and thought for a moment, “He might be at a magic school.”

  Jerak patted me on the back, “There we go!”

  It was surprisingly easy to spot the magic school. We followed the people in colorful robes. I didn’t know what the different colors meant but I guessed they indicated rank or something. The school looked like a university with several buildings all somewhat connected through halls. There was a large stone wall surrounding the place with metal spikes that were mostly decoration. We had no trouble walking though the main gate.

  Then came the tricky part. The magic school was packed with mages. Many were wandering and several were just sitting and talking. I almost forgot what Bolam looked like other than tall with fake glasses. We got a few strange glances from some of the teachers and students but we didn’t care as long no one bothered us. I decided it might be a good idea to ask someone where we would find Bolam.

  “Wow, I didn’t know there were this many magic users in the land” Jerak exclaimed in amazment.

  I shrugged, “It might be a bit tricky to find Bolam.”

  Jerak smiled, “Ah, I have an idea!” He walked inside the main building, “Hey, Bolam!” He waited and then leaned toward the end of the hall to wait for an answer. There was no answer and Jerak turned back to me with a shrug. I put the palm of my hand over my face.

  “How about we meet here and split up to look for him” I requested. Jerak nodded, “Good idea!” I doubted his method would be of any use other than getting someone upset with us and asking us to leave the place. I wandered down the halls and avoided passing students and other mages. I was by no means a body builder but compared to some of these people, I looked like one. Some of these guys were pretty pale and scrawny and some made me wonder if they were ghouls.

  I saw an older looking man with a few folders in his hand passing by. I smiled at him, “Excuse me, um do you know a man named Bolam?” He smiled but then stared at me in shock and just kept walking, “Er… uh…no, I don’t… sorry!” That was odd… oh … I must have been smiling a bit too much there. I made sure my mouth was closed and went to find another person to ask.

  Everyone I asked either didn’t know him or didn’t know where he was. I really hoped he was within this area and not traveling elsewhere. A man in a simple red robe came walking up to me. He wore a black beard with a bit of grey in it and appeared to be very irritated. He tapped me on the shoulder, “Are you friends with that other fellow?”

  I turned toward him, “Jerak?”

  The man sighed, “Your friend is disrupting my class. I wish you and your friend to leave the area quietly.”

  I closed my eyes and lowered my head, “I am sorry…” I turned around and walked toward the exit.

  “What are you doing here, Blake?” a familiar voice spoke. It was Falstrid.

  I smiled, “Falstrid!” Behind Falstrid was Jerak. “Your friend is making some of the students nervous,” Falstrid laughed. I looked at Jerak. He just shrugged.

  “Master Falstrid… you know these people?” the angry teacher asked.

  Falstrid nodded, “Yes, Blake is a friend of mine.”

  “So, why are you two mingling in my school?” Falstrid asked.

  Jerak answered before I could open my mouth, “We are looking for Bolam.”

  Falstrid scratched his eyebrow, “Bolam… sorry, I don’t know him…” He turned toward the other teacher.

  “I know him. He is in my class right now…” the teacher spoke.

  Falstrid smiled at the teacher, “Please fetch him for us.”

  The teacher bowed his head, “Yes, Master Falstrid.” I thought how nice it was to have friends in high places.

  A large man in a blue robe walked toward us. “Master Falstrid?” he asked.

  Falstrid smiled, “You must be Bolam. I believe you have some friends here.” Bolam looks over and spotted us, “Blake?” I nodded, “Nice to see you again Bolam.”

  Bolam smiled, “What are you guys doing here?”

  Jerak stepped in, “We want you to help us locate the rest of the Dragon Armor!” Bolam leaned his head back in surprise, “What? You guys are actually going to find the rest of it?”

  Falstrid chuckled, “I only know of the location of the boots and the gauntlets.”

  Bolam adjusted his fake glasses, “Really?”

  Falstrid nodded, “The elves have the boots and the gauntlets… I remember hearing that they are sealed away in Icreyn Canyon.”

  Jerak perked his head up, “Oh! We should go get the gauntlets after we get the boots!” Bolam sighed, “It sounds dangerous to locate all the pieces…”

  Jerak pointed at me, “Blake has too get them because the Dragon Spirit told him to.”

  Bolam’s jaw dropped, “Wait… you’ve actually seen the Dragon Spirit?!”

  Jerak nodded, “Yeah, he did! He even grew some crazy teeth.” I sighed and opened my mouth wide. Both Falstrid and Bolam leaned over to see and both appeared amazed. “It is quite amazing that the creator of Dragons had chosen you,” Falstrid said.

  Bolam just nodded, “Wow… I don’t know what to say…”

  Jerak slapped Bolam on the back, “Just say you will come with us!”

  Bolam sighed, “I wish I could… I really do, but I have things to do here.”

  Jerak and I both frowned. We came all this way. Falstrid cleared his throat, “You know Bolam, and I think embarking on this quest would give you very valuable experience.” Bolam turned his head and stared at Falstrid. Falstrid looked at me and smiled, “If you want, I can assign you to go with them.”

  Bolam smiled and appeared to be overjoyed, “Really sir?”

  Falstrid chuckled, “It is not every day I have the opportunity to send my students out to help a Dragon deity!”

  Bolam bowed his head and thanked Falstrid several times before running off to get his things. Falstrid turned toward me, “There are still other pieces, what are you going to do about that?”

  I shrugged, “Well I sort of think he might help me locate the rest after get the other pieces.”

  Falstrid shook his head and chuckled, “It is still amazing…” I nodded, “I hardly believe it myself.”

  Falstrid stood there for another minute looking a bit weary, “I guess there is no harm in updating you regarding Xum’gol.” I leaned forward to hear more and couldn’t help but get goose bumps. Falstrid sighed, “Clagmir has men wandering the countryside for any sign of his followers. There is little to no sign of Xum’gol’s whereabouts but I bet he is plotting something foul.”

  Jerak scratched his head, “I heard scary things about him.”

  Falstrid nodded gravely but then smiled, “I recall Xum’gol had trouble fighting you, Blake.”

  I raised a brow, “What?”

  Falstrid laughed, “Perhaps this all part of your destiny.” Falstrid took a deep breath, “Well I wish you great luck in your quest. I have much work to do.” Falstrid gave us a casual wave and walked deeper into the halls.

  Jerak and I went outside the school and waited for Bolam. Finally, he came running toward us with his pack fully loaded with goods. “Sorry, I needed to speak to my teacher about some things,” he said a little short of breath.

  Jerak smiled, “No worries! Now we can get started on our quest!” Jerak paused for a moment and looked at me, “Oh yeah, we should get those passes!”

  The three of us marched toward the counsel hall which was actually quite close to the magic school. “So what are you doing over here?” Bolam asked.

  I answered, “We are going to get passes to the elf city.”

&n
bsp; Bolam nodded his head, “Oh, alright. You actually think the elves will just give us the boots?”

  Jerak replied in a confidant tone, “Of course! We have to get them!”

  Bolam shrugged, “I don’t know…”

  We wandered inside the building and saw a lot of people moving about. “Now to find that guy and Teltar…” I muttered.

  Bolam glanced around, “Who is Teltar?”

  Jerak answered, “He is a friend of ours; a dwarf but a bit odd. Nice guy, though.” A large door opened and several people came walking out. Most of them appeared to be still arguing. Behind them another door opened up and several dwarves just appeared really ticked off. The only dwarf that appeared calm was Teltar.

  We ran over to Teltar. He gave us a glance, “Oh, hey.”

  I glanced at the angry dwarves, “I take it that things went badly.”

  Teltar nodded, “Yeah…”

  Teltar looked at Bolam. I looked at the two of them, “Oh, this is Bolam and this is Teltar.” They both shook hands and gave each other a friendly nod.

  “Oh, there you are” a voice spoke. I turned around and saw it was Deshra.

  “It looks like you brought your friends. Well, I am a man of my word,” Deshra spoke in a surprisingly friendly tone. He stood next to me and pulled out a scroll, “Here is your pass.”

  I was surprised that he was acting so civilly and gave him a smile, “Thank you.” He smirked, “I hope you enjoy your travel to my homeland.” After that, he walked off.

  Teltar muttered quietly, “I don’t like that guy.”

  “So, should we get ready?” I asked. The other guys looked at each other.

  Jerak nodded, “Sure! The sooner, the better!”

  Teltar looked at us, “Oh, you guys are going to Celvanis?”

  I stared at Teltar, “You are coming with us, right?”

  Teltar rubbed his beard, “You never asked.”

  Jerak and I exchanged glances and I took a deep breath, “Do you want to come with us?”

  Teltar thought for a moment and answered, “Sure.”

  Everything was great! We had two fighters, a mage, and myself. Bolam and Jerak went out to get last minute supplies while Teltar and I relaxed at the inn. I borrowed a map from the innkeeper that showed the road toward Celvanis and tried to plan our journey. Teltar pointed at a road on the map, “See how the road curves that way?” I stared at the map and saw what he was talking about. The road moved toward a town called Efun which was quite a detour if we took the main road. Teltar pointed between the south road and the road that goes through the forest where Celvanis laid, “There might be some back road here which would shorten our journey by two days.” I stared at the spot and he was right. It looked like we were taking a shortcut.

  Night fell and we all celebrated with a good warm meal then crashed in our room. “It will take four days with the route that Teltar pointed out to reach Celvanis,” I explained. Bolam stared at the map, “We brought enough food for several days.” Jerak glanced at the map and became excited, “This is great! In four days we will get the boots!” Jerak looked a bit too excited. I was still worried about convincing the elves to give us the boots.

  We departed from Vunash early in the morning. For once, I felt excited. I was really interested to see what the elvin lands looked like, maybe see a few hot girls there as well. I should be at fair rank with them since I was no longer aging but it might be hard to meet someone like me. I hoped my chances of finding an elf chick with a taste for humans would be pretty fair. I really didn’t know.

  We walked all day. Jerak and I talked about our adventure at the lumber mill. I explained what the Dragon Spirit had told me and what I could remember when I went crazy on the choguls. Jerak’s version of that fight was more exciting (he did stretch the truth a bit). At night Jerak and I sparred for quite a while but I still lost against him. He could insist that I was getting better all he wanted, but I still lost.

  I slept fairly well. I was so tired after traveling and fighting Jerak that it was easy to sleep. The novelty of visiting the elf lands wore off when morning rose and I was still quite tired. Bolam talked about magical items and his theory about why and how the Dragon Spirit was trapped in the armor but my brain was too sleepy to comprehend even half of what he said.

  At lunch time, I took out my helmet to show to Bolam. Inside my pack, I saw a small envelope. “What the heck?” I said quietly.

  Jerak leaned over, “What is that?”

  I grabbed the envelope and shrugged, “I don’t know where this came from. Last night I took my blanket out but it was too dark to see it…” I opened it up and found a small key with a note inside.

  I handed Bolam the note which he read, “I have heard you are going to get the Dragon Boots. They are sealed away in the dark archives and are protected with magic. Here is the key to the vault; I trust you can figure out the rest.”

  Jerak chuckled, “Wow! How lucky! We got a key to go get them.”

  I scratched my head, “Who would give us a key?”

  Bolam turned to the other side of the letter and at the envelope, “It doesn’t say anything else. It is weird that someone snuck this in my pack without any of us knowing. Who could it be?

  We detoured onto the off trail which led directly south for the rest of the day. The sky was getting pretty cloudy but showed no sign of imminent rain. I stared at the note and slowly read it to myself over and over again. It really puzzled me. Who would be helping us get the boots?. The note implied that the elves would not easily give us the boots so we were given a key to get inside. Bolam appeared to be contemplating about the same thing as well.

  At camp, after Jerak and I sparred for a bit, Bolam and I discussed the note. “Do you have any thoughts about it?” I asked him.

  Bolam adjusted his fake glasses, “I was a bit concerned about getting the boots, and then I saw the note. It appears someone wants to help us get them but doesn’t want to risk their involvement being known.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair, “I can only think of two people in Vunash who know about our quest.”

  Jerak chimed in, “You mean the old man and that elf?”

  I shook my head, “Yeah… though Deshra didn’t even like the idea that we were coming this way. He only gave us the pass to humor us. So that means…”

  Bolam finished my thought, “Falstrid gave us this key but wants to protect his identity.” I smiled and stared toward the north. Thank you, Falstrid.

  The next morning, we hiked for a few hours and reached the main road. Toward the west was a vast sea of trees that towered higher than any building I had ever seen in this world. Toward the road, we saw a fancy looking inn and a large wooden archway standing over the road. Outside the archway stood several elves in white and green hooded robes with pikes in their hands. They appeared to be guarding the archway though there was no fence or wall around the forest.

  It seemed a bit silly to guard an archway when anyone could just walk in through the woods from any other area. At least, that was what I thought until I saw wooden platforms high up in the trees where elves in green hoods with bows stood guard. So they had sentries all over in the trees. I couldn’t help but feel a bit scared knowing that there were armed elves up in the trees all over the woods. One of the guards walked up to us, “Do you people have a pass?” I reached for that scroll and handed it to the elf. He took his time reading through it. He gave us a friendly smile, “Welcome to the great woods. Please, enjoy your journey!”

  The guards moved aside as we passed through the archway. The very air within the forest felt different, much cooler and at the same time soothing. We all stopped after a few steps and just stared at all the trees. The trees were thick with large ferns covering the base of their trunks. Everything was so lush and green and massive that it made us feel really small. I took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air, “Ah, the great woods…”

  We felt relaxed as we traveled on this road, but at the same time w
e could see eyes looking down at us from above. The forest itself felt really tranquil as we got deeper inside. Still, all the elves up there watching the roads made me feel a bit paranoid. None of us spoke as we knew someone would hear us. We saw a few side roads but decided it was best to stay on the main so we wouldn’t get lost.

  We traveled through the woods until we reached a cluster of stone and wooden buildings. There were several sentries outside along with several other elves. One of the two larger buildings looked like some fancy inn with a stone brick foundation and lavish wooden walls and beams. The other building stood a bit further behind it and looked more like a place for the elven sentry to rest and get their information.

  The daylight was diminishing fast and if it weren’t for a few glowing orbs that stood along the road every so often, we would be wandering in darkness. We had no choice but to visit the inn for the night. I was surprised that their rates were quite low even though it was the only inn available. The lobby had several elves relaxing and playing music. It held a much more appealing atmosphere than that one tavern. I could almost feel my arm throb in pain remembering that.

  “So Blake, see any cuties?” Jerak asked in an eager tone when we got our room.

  I smiled, “Yeah, elf girls are definitely hot, but I don’t know how they would feel about me.”

  Bolam chuckled, “I think most of the women around this area are either the wives or girlfriends of the sentries.”

  I lowered my head, “Yeah, figures… well it might be bad to tick any of them off while we are in their lands.” Teltar mumbled to himself and went to bed. He didn’t seem to be a big fan of the elves, but I was afraid to ask him about it.

  I had woken up to the smell of something really good. Each of us got a complimentary sweet roll which tasted so good. I almost forgot what pastries tasted like. We also had some honey mint tea that was actually pretty good but required some extra honey to make it really good.

  After our good little breakfast, we tackled the road once more. The day felt long since we all felt paranoid about discussing our plans. I really hoped we could just get the boots without any problems because I would hate to have to make some wild escape and really tick off the sentries. The thought of arrows raining down upon us gave me goose bumps.