Silver Dragon

by Jason Halstead

  Alto stared at the wizard. "You can?"

  Kar nodded.

  Alto turned to Mordrim. "Will it work?"

  Mordrim stroked his beard for a long moment and then admitted, "If it's as baby-beard says and it makes it like new, then yes."

  Kar reached up to touch his short beard. He sneered at the dwarf and received a smug grin in return.

  "I don't know that it matters," Garrick offered his opinion. "I've seen broken blades and armor mended and those had a temper. I suspect Mordrim's just being short with you."

  Kar snickered while Mordrim groaned. Alto stood up and pulled his hauberk over his head. "Use it."

  Mordrim stretched across the table but couldn't reach it. Alto slid it over to him, drawing a fresh chuckle from Garrick. The dwarf picked it up and studied it, and then shook his head. "It's not enough."

  "Your plate should be more than enough," Kar suggested.

  Mordrim stiffened and turned on him. He opened his mouth but Alto spoke first. "Patrina's mail. We'll use that; she doesn't need it anymore."

  The dwarf frowned and then nodded. "That should be enough," he agreed.

  "What else is there to the forging of this sword?" Kar asked.

  "Thork said he'd need to be involved in the forging and that your magic would be involved as well. Finally, at the end, to slake the blade, it would need my help."

  Garrick frowned. "Cooling a blade is the hardest part."

  "It is," Mordrim agreed. "Do it wrong and you've got soft steel and a dull edge. Too much and it's brittle. Not something someone unskilled should do."

  "No, that's not why I'm needed," Alto said.

  "What else is there to it?" Mordrim asked.

  "Blood," Alto explained. "It needs to be cooled with my blood."

  Garrick laughed while Mordrim cursed. "It can't be done!" the dwarf cried. "You're talking about a broadsword! That much blood would leave you dry as a bone twice over! I wouldn't even take enough needed to cool a dagger proper."

  "That's where Karthor comes in," Alto said. "He needs to keep me alive."

  "I can't," Karthor said from where he stood in the doorway. "It took everything I had to keep your hip from tearing apart. Leander's not convinced you're worth saving anymore."

  "Are you?" Alto asked him.

  Karthor hesitated and then nodded. "I trust you," he said. "And I will help you find your way back to your path."

  "My path is broken," Alto muttered. He stood up and looked at the others. "Let's get this started."

  "What about the troll?" Kar asked. "You said he was needed, too. How's he going to help if he's not here?"

  "He'll be here when we need him."

  Kar snorted. "I suppose we've all got to have faith in something."

  Alto ignored the wizard's taunt and walked out of the room. Karthor fell in beside him as he walked. "How's Tristam?"

  Karthor nodded. "He'll live. He may never walk without a limp. He had a sword jammed into his back under his mail just beside his backbone. This might be the one that makes him retire."

  "He's tough, he'll pull through," Alto said.

  "Perhaps," was all the priest would offer.

  They continued walking until they went down some stairs and entered into rooms scented heavily with spices. The reasoning for the scents became apparent when they opened a door and found Patrina's body lying on a table. Alto stopped and stared at her. He couldn't get over how unnatural she looked in death.

  He took a deep breath past the cloying spices and forced himself to reach out and touch her. She was cool and stiff to the touch. He pulled his hand back and looked to Karthor.

  "Rigor has set in. This won't be easy," the priest admitted.

  Between the two of them, they managed to maneuver her body until the chain shirt could be pulled free. They laid her back on the table and tried to compose her. It was a futile effort; she looked worse than before.

  "Come, we've done enough harm," Alto said. His throat was constricted as he tried to talk and the spices were beginning to burn his eyes and make them water.

  "Hold a moment, I want to try something," Kar said.

  "Father, this is no time for a macabre joke," Karthor warned.

  "Be silent," Kar scolded. "The unicorn got me to thinking. I want to see if there was magic involved in her death. A woman like Patrina wouldn't let herself be strangled. Not unless it was done by someone the size of Garrick here."

  "I didn't do it!" the barbarian blurted out.

  "No, you'd be sporting a dozen wounds yourself if you tried," Kar agreed. He turned to the others and said, "Now give me a minute."

  They waited while Kar studied her body and then chanted a spell. He waited a moment, studying her further and seeing things that only he could see. "The horse was right," he said. "There's magic used on her."

  "What's that mean?" Alto asked.

  "I don't know," Kar snapped at him. "Well, not yet anyhow."

  "How long until you do?" Garrick asked. "My nose can't take much more of this. Better the rot of a corpse than these flowers!"

  Kar took a breath, wrinkling his nose as he did so, and tried another spell on her. He frowned and glanced up at them. "This could take some time. I have to figure out what sort of spell or spells were used on her before I can counteract it."

  "There's still magic on her?" Alto asked. "I thought you meant magic was used to kill her."

  "At this point, all I can say is magic is involved. To what extent, I can't be certain. I think there's still a spell active on her, though." Kar frowned and then shrugged. "I'll know nothing if you don't stop pestering me with questions, though!"

  Alto turned back to the others. "Go ahead and get the forge ready. You've got what you need to start."

  "No, we'll need his magic to restore the steel to proper strength," Mordrim said.

  "Fine, I'll be along. Get it heated up and ready at least!" Kar said.

  Mordrim grumbled something and backhanded Garrick in the stomach. The barbarian grunted from the impact as the dwarf said, "Let's go, snowman."

  Karthor followed the arguing barbarian and dwarf up the stairs. Alto heard something from the dwarf about snowballs before the door to the stairs shut and they were left in silence.

  "You're staying?" Kar asked.

  Alto nodded. "I didn't do enough while she was alive. Maybe it won't matter now, but I can try."

  "I think you're a fool, but you already know that," Kar offered. He looked at Alto and gave him a quick smile. "She went on and on after you left about how she was going after you and how she loved you. It nearly upset my breakfast to hear her pining away for you."

  "Kar," Alto warned.

  The wizard waved his protest off. "Life's for the living, son. You need to live it while you have it. Not a one of us has enough time to enjoy all of it properly."

  "Sarya seems to have found a way."

  Kar nodded. "Dragons are a greedy lot. If it's not gold and magic they're trying to collect, it's time. No matter that it's an unlimited resource; we all want more of it. She's just fool enough to think she can get it!"

  "What about you? Were you really adventuring when my father was a child?"

  "Most likely," Kar admitted. "Magic has its good and its bad sides. It has sustained me longer than I would have otherwise, but it has also taken a lot from me."

  "You're still here, that's worth something," Alto said as he gazed at Patrina.

  "It is, isn't it? I wouldn't change a thing, you know. Even the part where I was fool enough to think I could settle down with a woman. That might have been the best part." The wizard smiled at his memories. "Come to think of it, that's a special kind of magic you don't need to be a wizard to experience."

  Alto blinked against the burning in his eyes. Kar glanced at him and nodded. "Then you run into the problem with old age," he said in a rushed voice. "Babbling on and on about things that have nothing to do with the present. Stand over there and be quiet. I've got work to do!"

  Alto wa
tched while the wizard studied Patrina's body and occasionally reached out to touch her. The warrior nearly spoke a few times to stop the wizard but he would move on to study something new before his hands lingered. Kar incanted more spells between curses. Alto found his eyes growing tired as the wizard's droning went on and on.

  "Ah ha!" Kar cried out at last. "Devious!"

  "Devious?" Alto asked, rousing himself from where he'd slouched against the wall. His body protested as he straightened. His joints had grown stiff from lack of use.

  "Yes, most devious. Summon the others, quickly," Kar said. "I hate having to repeat myself."

  Alto snorted. "You love talking about yourself," he said before heading up the stairs and opening the door. He found the hallway empty and remembered that he'd sent them off to start the forge. Alto shook his head, frustrated at how foggy his thoughts seemed. "They've gone to the forge," Alto told him.

  "Oh, that's right," Kar said. He shrugged. "You'll do then."

  "I'll do what?"

  "Watch," Kar said. "It was brilliant I suppose, or at least unexpected."

  "Wizard, this had better be worth your rambling nonsense," Alto threatened.

  "Oh, it is," Kar said. He rubbed his hands together and grinned before he chanted a short spell that made Patrina's body shimmer. When the magic faded, Alto looked down and saw Patrina still lying there.

  "What's the point of that?" Alto asked.

  "A distraction," Kar said. "It muddled the magical fields on her. It was a simple glamour spell. An illusion to make her look different."

  "Different how?"

  "Take a look and see," Kar said as he stepped away from her body.

  Alto moved closer and gasped. It still looked like Patrina, but it was different from the body he'd just seen. She looked worse, by far. Her skin was mottled and blue and her skin was sunken against her face and skull.

  "This body's been dead for more than a few hours," Kar said.

  "But Patrina was taken last night!" Alto said.

  "Yes!" Kar said. "This isn't Patrina!"

  Alto stared at the corpse and then looked at Alto. "But it looks like her."

  Kar shrugged. "That's because there's more magic traces on her. Magic that I can't properly undo."

  "Why not? I thought anything was possible with magic."

  "Damn you, boy, why must you do that? Okay, yes, I could undo it but it would take a long time for me to do the necessary research and find the proper spells. The point is this woman's body was taken and changed."

  "Changed? But she looks like Trina."

  "Reshaped. Shifted. Transformed. Whatever you want to call it, magic was used to change her from who she used to look like to who she looks like now. Then more magic was used to freshen her up and make her look like she only just recently died," Kar explained. "The combination of spells made it difficult to discern which came first and how they worked together."

  "But her armor and sword, those were the same," Alto said.

  "I won't deny that she's been taken. This body is not hers, though. It was dressed up as her but that's where the similarity ends." The wizard grinned and clapped Alto on the shoulder. "This means your lady is still very much alive!"

  Alto shook his head. "No, it means this isn't her body. It doesn't mean that her real body isn't out there somewhere else."

  Kar's grin faded. "I much prefer your old boyish charm to this new grim outlook."

  "Come on, let's go share the news. This changes things."

  Kar grunted and let Alto lead the way out of the cellar and back into the palace. Both breathed easier when they were free of the heavy spices in the air. They found Karthor in Tristam's room with Celos and Namitus. They had a table pulled up beside the bed and were playing cards.

  Namitus glanced up a moment before Karthor and the others jumped to their feet. They started to talk but Alto's glare made them pause.

  "This is important?" he growled.

  "I'm doing fine, thanks," Tristam said from the bed. "Going to be a little lame for a while, though."

  Alto scowled and started to turn away. Namitus spoke and stopped him. "Alto, wait! The baron and his aide, that wizard—they're gone."

  "The gates haven't let anyone out," Alto said. "I checked those myself."

  "I know, I did, too," Namitus continued undeterred. "There's other ways out of the city, including a path that goes all the way to the river. I found a man who claims he saw them escape that way."

  "The river?" Alto frowned. He'd had enough experiences with underground rivers to last him the rest of his life. It was possible they might have used it to escape.

  "Well, we've got good news," Kar interjected.

  "Wait, I'm not done," Namitus said. "I found a couple of other people who claimed they saw five men riding out the north gate early last night."

  "So?"

  "They had six horses," the rogue said. "The sixth had a bundle tossed across it. They said it looked like a rug or a tent."

  "Or a body," Kar mused. "Which makes sense, since that's not Patrina's body."

  "Wait, what?" Celos rose up from his seat. He tossed his cards on the table and gathered his coins up. "We must tell Sir Amos."

  "Go get him then," Alto said.

  Celos's eyes flicked to the cards and then shook his head. "No, we should go to him."

  "He can find me when he's ready," Alto grumbled.

  "How do you know it's not Patrina?" Tristam asked. He tried to sit up higher in bed and grimaced at the pain the movement caused him.

  "That body was killed days ago," Kar explained. "Magic was used to change it to look like Patrina, then more magic was used to make it look fresh."

  "So she's alive!"

  "Or at least not dead here," Namitus agreed.

  Kar scowled at the rogue.

  "We need to go and get {out of} here," Tristam said. He put his hands down and started to swing his legs out. He groaned and stopped halfway there.

  Karthor grabbed his legs and put them back fully in the center of the bed. "No, you can rest and heal."

  Alto nodded. "This is my fight. I brought it on myself and I got her involved. You stay here and get better."

  Tristam shook his head. "Not a chance. I'm not that old yet."

  "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a full share," Alto added.

  Tristam stared at Alto and then he blinked. He nodded and let a smile climb onto his face. "All right then, but rest assured I'll be counting it!"

  Alto returned his smile and backed out of the room. The others filed out. "Now what?" Namitus asked.

  "We find Mordrim and Garrick," Alto said.

  "Come to the throne room," Celos insisted. "I'll have your companions brought as well."

  Alto pressed his lips together and nodded. "Let's go," he said.

  Celos led them through the palace to the throne room where Sir Amos had set up a desk. The senior knight left the baron's throne empty. Celos led them past the handful of merchants and other citizens who were petitioning Sir Amos in the baron's absence, apologizing as he cut them off.

  "Sir Amos, we've discovered several things," Squire Celos said.

  "We've learned a few things." Alto gestured at the Blades and left Celos out of it. "Lady Patrina's body does not lie in the cellar; that's an impostor made to look like her."

  Sir Amos rose up from his desk. His eyes went to the gathered residents of Highpeak. "Please excuse me. We can resume discussing your issues soon."

  Two squires escorted two petitioning residents out and then shut the doors behind them. Sir Amos turned back to Alto and smiled. "Sorry, but we don't know who we can trust here. Please go on."

  "Five men rode out through the north gate early last night with a sixth horse that looked to have carried a bundled-up body on it," Alto said. "And my friend here has reason to believe Mackay and Victor slipped out through a cave to the river."

  Sir Amos frowned. "Why would they want Lady Patrina alive? She's bound to be trouble and I doubt a simpl
e ransom would be sufficient."

  "They still want me," Alto said.

  Sir Amos nodded. "That makes sense. You've shown in the past that you will risk everything to go after her. At worst, they capture and kill you in the mountains. At best, you bring a force of men into the mountains which they've fortified. Clearly you must stay here and wait for them."

  "No," Alto said. "I will go after Patrina."

  "Think beyond yourself!" Sir Amos snapped at him. "You've exposed a traitorous noble, making you even more of an icon to the people once the news is announced. That and your past deeds make you a rallying point. You must help in the defense! This is for the good of not one nation but two. One person's life is not worth risking that."

  Alto felt the fires building back up inside him. "I have my priorities and I'll not be spoken to as a child. I know what's most important. As soon as my sword is finished, I will leave."

  "Your what?"

  "My sword," Alto said. "It's needed for killing Sarya."

  Sir Amos barked out a laugh. "I took you for a wiser young man than that. The mightiest paladin of his time could not defeat this dragon and he had an army at his back! Why are you more of a threat than he?"

  "Maybe you should ask the dragon that. She seems to think so," Alto said. He turned and started to walk out of the throne room, leaving his surprised friends behind.

  The doors burst open in front of him to admit the tall barbarian and the short dwarf. "We miss anything?" asked Garrick.

  "How will you find her?" Sir Amos called out.

  "Find who?" Mordrim asked.

  Alto turned back to the knight. "I don't know, but I've always found Lady Patrina in the past."

  "She's in the cellar," Garrick said. He turned and looked at Mordrim and received a shrug in reply.

  "That's not her," Alto said over his shoulder.

  "Oh!" Garrick responded. "She's not dead?"

  "Winter can find her," Mordrim offered.

  Alto turned and stared at the dwarf. "What?"

  Mordrim nodded. "Heard her talking to him a while back. She asked him if he knew where she was all the time and he seemed to act like he did. Maybe not where exactly, but at least what direction she's in."

  He turned back to Sir Amos. "And where Lady Patrina's been taken, I'll find Sarya."