Kingdom of Dragons

by Anna St George

  “I can fight too.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous! Just do as I said!” And that was all he said for there was no time to say anything else as the riders moved in close and circled them.”

  “Lord Elidir Wylde, said the first rider. “That is you, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” said Wylde. “That depends on who wants to know,” he replied.

  The rider chuckled and grinned and removed his hood. Locks of chestnut hair flowed out and Gwen and Pryderi and Trystan sighed with relief. “Jamie de Winter! What are you doing here?” asked Pryderi.

  “Thank goodness it’s you,” said Gwen. “We thought you were Luther Wyvern’s men?”

  “Really?” said Sir Jamie.

  “Are his men in the area?” asked Jamie’s brother Sir Alfred.

  “Why yes,” said Wylde. “They paid us an unwelcome visit at Dinefwr. That’s why you find us here.”

  “We haven’t seen anyone. We came down through the Gwydyr Forest and over the mountains. Just us I’m afraid.”

  “What can we do for you?” asked Lord Wylde.

  “We’ve been searching high and low for you for a few weeks now. I’m Sir Jamie de Winter, my brother Sir Alfred,” Alfred nodded and smiled and Jamie continued introducing the group of men. “Sir William Wentworth and Sir Robert Alton. They greeted each other warmly. “Lord Eustace Godwyn of Berwyck Castle in Northumbria requests your presence sir. It’s of an urgent nature.”

  “Could you send him my apologies please. I’m rather tied up with business at the moment.”

  “But Sir,” said Jamie. “It’s urgent. A matter of life and death. Possibly millions of lives at stake.”

  “Really?” he said gravely. “What is this urgent situation? If it’s anything about Luther Wyvern taking over I’ve already been informed.”

  “No sir. It’s something else but Lord Godwyn already knows of that.”

  “Luther Wyvern has taken over,” said Gwen in surprise.

  “Yes and we must act quickly. Please Lord Wylde. I beg of you to please reconsider and return with me to Berwyck. The future of the kingdom depends on it.”

  Lord Wylde sighed deeply. How could he say no but even more so, how could he say yes. He couldn’t go and take Aeronwy with him but how could he leave her behind? He was in turmoil as his thoughts wrestled with what to do. “Could you give me a moment alone please?”

  “Certainly sir,” said Sir Jamie.

  Wylde glanced at Pryderi and Gwen. “Come.”

  They both followed him to the cave and they went inside and the others waited patiently for them to return.

  “Well, what are you going to do?” asked Pryderi once they were well inside the cave and far from earshot range.

  Wylde sighed deeply. “Well, what can I do? I can’t exactly say no in such a situation. You heard him, millions of lives in the kingdom are at stake. It’s not every day Lord Godwyn requests my presence. I haven’t seen him for years.”

  “What about Aeronwy?” asked Gwen sadly.

  “I’m afraid I will have to leave Aeronwy here in the caves to fend for herself.”

  “What if Wyvern’s men find her?” asked Pryderi with concern.

  “They won’t find her,” said Wylde. “I’ll send her deep into the caves.”

  “Will she go?” asked Gwen.

  “She will,” said Wylde confidently “It’s something I’ve often thought of doing but there is the risk that we may never see her again but we are fighting a war and sacrifices have to be made sometimes. You probably well know yourself the caves are intricate and complicated and if you explored them yourself you could get lost forever if you didn’t know what you were doing. When we spoke earlier of a third dragon at Dinefwr released into the caves, the duty fell upon my father during an invasion to protect the two remaining dragons. The dragon was released into the caves and never seen again. I can vaguely remember the event, but I was very young and now the task has fallen upon me to do the same.”

  “Are you certain? What about the dragon that Wyvern has?”

  “Not the same,” said Wylde. “I can assure you of that.”

  “You may never see her again.”

  “I know,” he replied as a soft tear ran down his cheek.” Then Pryderi watched as Wylde moved towards the dragon and he placed his hand against her neck and spoke softly to her in Welsh. The dragon made some snuffling noise and Lord Wylde spoke again and patted her firmly on the neck. The dragon slowly got up and turned around and headed down a path leading deeper into the caverns. It was as if she completely understood him and Pryderi watched in amazement until she disappeared from sight.

  Sir Jamie and the others waited and waited for Wylde to appear from the cave with Pryderi. Sir Jamie was getting worried that he might not return. “Where did they go?” asked Jamie.

  “Don’t worry,” said Trystan. “They’ll be back. I assure you.”

  “What’s taking them so long?” asked Alfred. “What on earth did he have to do in that cave?”

  “We need to get moving,” said Jamie. “Especially if Wyvern’s men are close by. The sooner we head back towards those hills, the better.”

  “There they are,” said Trystan sighing with relief and everyone looked towards the cave to see their cloaks blowing in the soft breeze. They left the cave without Aeronwy and Trystan pondered what had happened to her. “Where is Aeronwy?” he whispered to Pryderi.

  “Deeper in the cave, she’s safe,” he whispered back and Trystan sighed with relief.

  “Take me to your master,” said Wylde non-chalantly.

  It wasn’t long before they were all on horses and heading North. Gwen was excited. She was heading back to Berwyck.

  Later that morning Ulric and his men made their way up the winding climb to Dinefwr and they were shocked to say the least to find the Lord Wylde had vanished.

  “What do you mean, he’s gone?” said Ulric to Pagett.

  “He’s completely gone. There’s not a trace of him anywhere.”

  “He’s got to be somewhere,” said Ulric dismounting his horse. “I want this entire property searched!” he yelled to his men. “From top to bottom and inside out! There is no way he could have escaped. We had the hills surrounded.”

  “Yes sir,” said Pagett. The men dismounted their horses and began a lengthy search of Dinefwr which brought no findings with it. It seemed that Elidir Wylde had vanished.

  “Bloody hell! I don’t believe it,” said Ulric in bewilderment. “How does someone just vanish?”

  “Perhaps he was magic like all the rumours said,” said Pagett as he folded his arms in annoyance. This hunt was proving to be fruitless and exhausting. He had heard the rumours that Lord Wylde was a difficult and tricky man, known for unusual behaviour and tricks.

  “I doubt that,” said Ulric. “There must be a hidden passageway in that castle somewhere.”

  “But where?” said Pagett.

  “I don’t know. Let’s check it thoroughly again and if we don’t find anything, we go to plan B.”

  “There is no plan B you fool,” said Pagett and he walked past him briskly out the front door.

  Ulric followed after him with confidence. “Then we use a little magic of our own and we draw him out of hiding.”

  “And how do we do that?” asked Pagett sceptically.

  “We get him where it hurts,” he grinned. They all hopped back on their horses and headed out of Dinefwr.

  Sir Wolf Ulric and Sir Simon Pagett rode hard out of Dinefwr and headed towards the low road North. They were an army of fifty as they rode along on fierce mounts with a set mission to find the dragon and they were certain that Elidir Wylde held the key to this mystery. They rode along at a thunderous speed devastating everything in their path. They didn’t move out of the way for anyone, they paid no respect and they showed no mercy.

  They rode into a small village that afternoon and stopped their horses and there were a few people about; a blacksmith, a weaver, and a shepherd and Ulric c
alled out to the blacksmith. “You there blacksmith, have you seen anyone come through here this day? Come here and tell me what you know.”

  “I ain’t seen no one,” he replied and stepping out into the light and Ulric instantly noticed the lion emblem he wore on his tunic. “A lion supporter? This is dragon territory. Take that thing off at once and declare your allegiance to the dragon king!”

  “I will do no such thing!,” said the man boldly. “Who the hell are you?”

  “I’m Sir Wolf Ulric. And you will soon wish you didn’t say that.” Then he motioned to one of his men and they grabbed the blacksmith by the arms and dragged him away from his work area while his friends watched in horror.

  The guard pulled out a whip and lashed it over him several times and then Ulric called out to him again. “Declare your allegiance to the Dragon King!”

  “No!” said the man weakly.

  “Kill him,” said Ulric. “And burn the village.” Then he turned his horse and headed out of the village while some of his men stayed behind to fulfill his orders and as Ulric rode away he could hear screams and the sound of a fire being lit.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  The Gwydyr Forest

  It was good to be on the road again heading towards Berwyck and Gwen longed to be home in the comfort of familiar surroundings, and it had been nearly two months now since she had left Berwyck and she wondered what it would be like. Would anything have changed? Would Merry still be there? Was Daniel back from his journey? As they rode their horses out of Carreg Cennen she pondered these things in her mind.

  And Gwen felt the burdens in her heart relieved as they galloped along a road that led inland and the wind through her dark hair was exhilarating. She could breathe again and it felt wonderful to be out of the confines of the tunnel between the two castles. They rode for the next few days over beautiful undisturbed countryside and Gwen was certain the path was fresh and unobscured as if no one had ever set foot there since the beginning of time. They rode on this path for several hours when they came to a quiet brook near the forest and they stopped for a bite to eat.

  Gwen sat on a log by the stream and Pryderi pulled some cheese and bread out of his knapsack that was prepared before they left. “This is not the route I travelled on from Berwyck,” said Gwen looking around.

  “No, but once we get to the main road north you’ll recognize the area,” Sir Jamie assured her.

  “I can’t wait to get to Berwyck. Where are we?” she asked.

  “A long way from Berwyck,” said Trystan.

  “We are near the small town of Dolwyddelan,” said Lord Wylde.

  “Yes,” Sir Jamie agreed. “It’s along the border of the Gwydyr Forest.”

  “The Gwydyr Forest?” said Gwen with some hesitation in her voice. “My brother Daniel used to talk of the Gwydyr Forest. He said it’s an enchanted place and all those who travel there never come back.”

  Pryderi laughed. “Your brother is a good tale teller. He says that about every forest!”

  “I have heard some tales myself,” said Trystan.

  “ Well, I’ve been there several times,” said Pryderi. “Am I not standing in front of you now?” he asked his two skeptical travel companions. “You see I am quite well.”

  “You’re one of the lucky ones,” said Trystan and the others chuckled with amusement. “I’ve heard there is a family of elves there somewhere. They tie you up and steal your shoes.”

  “Bloody hell! Why would they want your smelly old shoes?” said Pryderi and as he lifted a goblet of water to his lips he caught sight of something in the distance. There was a horse moving across the meadow in full tack with no rider and it was casually grazing on the grass. “What on earth? A horse.”

  They looked in all directions but there was no one in sight and they headed towards the horse and as they approached it they could see the rider lying on the ground with an arrow wound in the chest.

  “Is he dead?” asked Gwen anxiously and Sir Jamie knelt over to examine him when he opened his eyes.

  “You see, it’s the elves,” said Trystan.

  “For goodness sake,” said Pryderi. “There are no such thing as elves!”

  “What happened?” asked Sir Jamie and the young man looked up with weak eyes.

  “I’ll get him some water,” said Gwen and she quickly took a small mug to the stream to retrieve some water.

  “I was on my way to Dolwyddelan, when I was attacked by the dragon army. They came into our village this morning. Killed everyone. I managed to get away but they chased me over the border and shot an arrow in my back. Their army is moving north,” he said with a raspy breath. “They’re going from village to village and demanding allegiance to Luther Wyvern and killing all who refuse him. Don’t go the main road. Go through the Gwydyr Forest. It’s the only way. It’s the only way.” And he collapsed backwards and closed his eyes and Gwen dropped the mug of water and gasped. Pryderi and Trystan cleaned up camp and got back on their horses.

  “Which way?” asked Trystan.

  Pryderi surmised one direction and then the other and as he spoke the answer he said the words that Gwen dreaded. “I suggest we go through the Gwydyr Forest.”

  “I agree,” said Sir Alfred.

  “The Gwydyr Forest it is,” said Sir Jamie confirming the way.

  They headed off in silence over the quiet brook and through a field towards the wall of great dark trees and Gwen studied the line of trees across the horizon and the trees were so thick she couldn’t see beyond them for what seemed miles and miles. Gwen was full of apprehensions as they moved closer and her mind was riddled with Daniel’s wild tales of wizards and strange happenings and she was now very anxious as they entered the Gwydyr forest riddled with dark secrets. Before long they were under the thick canopy of dark coloured trees and bush. There were strange plants and trees that Gwen had never seen before. There were long stalky plants with thick leaves and giant vines with enormous roots that coiled around like serpents and Gwen half expected the giant spiders Daniel told her about to come crawling out from somewhere. She moved cautiously behind Pryderi and every now and again peering around to make sure everyone in their riding party was still there. There were eerie forest sounds that gave Gwen goose-bumps but at least the trees sheltered them from the soft cold breeze. They rode up and down hills and through a low valley and Gwen calculated that with all of its strangeness the forest had a certain charm about it. It was a place of strange beauty of over shadowing vines and woodland creatures. Gwen had come to the conclusion that the forest route would go smoothly after all. She sighed with relief knowing they would be on the road north within a day’s time.

  It was some time that afternoon they happened upon an old abandoned cottage nestled in the forest by a quaint little stream. “We’ll stop here for the night,” said Jamie.

  Gwen was relieved as she slid off the horse and dreaming of a nice hot bath when they arrived at Berwyck. And that night they sang songs by an open fire and ate trout they caught from a nearby stream. Gwen was so relaxed she went to sleep that night with barely a care in the world. They all nestled by the large open fire in the cottage under woolen blankets as it was a very cold evening and before long, Gwen was fast asleep.

  It was some time in the night that Gwen awoke to a crunching sound. She lay there momentarily listening. She heard the sound again and then a creaking noise and she nudged Pryderi firmly. “Pryderi,” she whispered.

  “Hmmm,” he mumbled. He was still asleep. It was then Gwen heard the footstep sounds outside. Daniel’s tales passed through her mind charging her worries and fears. “Pryderi!” she whispered and slapping his arm.

  He jumped startled and looked up. “Gwen, are you alright?” he asked.

  “Sssh, there is someone outside.”

  Pryderi listened and he too heard something outside. “Can’t you two sleep?” asked Trystan and the others woke up as well. Sir Jamie sat up rubbing his eyes.

  “Is it morning already?
” asked Sir Alfred.

  “There is someone outside,” said Pryderi as he got up and grabbed his weapon. The others quickly followed and he moved to the door slowly and peered outside. In the moon’s light he could see two strange figures searching their knapsacks which were piled up near a tree at the front of the cottage. He flung the door back and stepped outside with the others following. “Drop it!” said Pryderi to the young man. He swung around quickly to face him and suddenly there were swords clashing in the night and Gwen watched from the front of the cottage praying with all her might. She watched as two young intruders fought with her companions. They must be crazy she thought. These were the most experienced knights in the kingdom. She watched anxiously as polished steel shined in the moonlight swinging one way and the other. Within moments the two men were completely surrounded. Surely they would surrender Gwen thought. Surely they wouldn’t fight to the death. They were totally surrounded. To her astonishment they continued to swing their swords and she watched in amazement as Pryderi had to jump and duck and one young man threw his sword to the ground and fell to his knees to beg for mercy. The other man grinned and kept swinging. It was him against the others. He didn’t have a chance but he kept thrashing the sword and then he turned to face Lord Wylde and Gwen was very impressed. He was an expert with the sword and she had never seen such outstanding swordsmanship before. It was then Lord Wylde’s sword grazed his arm and he dropped the sword and fell to the ground clutching his arm in agony.

  “Tie them up,” said Sir Jamie.

  “Let me have a look at that wound,” said Gwen. She went directly to her bag and cleaned and bandaged the wound while the others gave them the third degree.

  Within seconds they were secured and they all stood around their two prisoners while Gwen tended the wound on the second man’s arm. They were very young Gwen thought. The first one had short dark hair, a slim build and brown eyes and the wounded one was lanky as well with straggly shoulder length brown hair and high cheek bones. He was very good looking and Gwen noticed he had unusual blue eyes, like Lord Wylde. And both of them wore a surcote with a dragon emblem.