Quentin stood up from his chair and then went down on his knees before his King. “I am ever your servant, Sire. I will obey.”
Eskevar placed a hand upon Quentin’s head and said, “I am contented. Now my heart can rest.” He touched Quentin on the arm. “Rise, sir! One king does not kneel to another. From this day on you are considered the heir to the throne of Mensandor.”
Just then there came a knock upon the chamber door and Oswald’s voice could be heard calling, “The others have arrived, Your Majesty,” as the door swung open.
In walked Toli and Durwin. Toli hesitated at the sight of the King, but Durwin did not flinch at all. He hurried to the table and, with a quick bow, began talking of his travels, all the while keeping a close eye on the ailing monarch as if weighing him for some remedy.
“Good, good. Be seated both of you. We have a matter to discuss.”
The King looked at his comrades closely and drew a deep, weary breath before he began.
“For some time I have been of an uneasy mind. Restless, hungry and uneasy. At first I attributed this to the illness which consumes me, but it is more than that, I fear. It is for Mensandor that my unease persists. There is some distress in the realm.”
The Dragon King spoke softly and distinctly, and Quentin realized that Eskevar had so long been the head of his land that he had developed a special feeling for it and knew instinctively when something was wrong. It was as if a part of him were hurt and he felt the wound. He had discerned trouble before anyone else had suspected even the slightest eddy in the current of peace and prosperity that flowed throughout the kingdom.
It struck him-absurdly at first, but with growing conviction-that perhaps what ailed the land was the cause of the King’s distress as well.
“To prove my intuition I summoned the faithful Theido and Ronsard to me and sent them with a small force to discover, if they could, whence the trouble came.
“The time for their return is now past. I have received no word or sign from them, and I am anxious for what may have befallen them. That is why I have summoned you”-he nodded to Quentin and Toli. “It becomes ever more urgent that we discover the source of our harm before it is too late. There is evil afoot; I feel it. Each day it grows the stronger. If we do not find it soon and crush it out…”
“My Lord,” said Toli, “we have seen portents which would indicate the prudence of your fears.”
“And I as well,” agreed Durwin.
Toli and Durwin shared with the King the signs they had observed, foreshadows of an impending evil they could not identify. Quentin noted that as his two comrades spoke, and especially when they mentioned the Wolf Star, Eskevar appeared to fall even further beneath the weight of his kingdom’s peril.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the King spoke solemnly. “Quentin and Toli, my brave friends, we must discover wherein our danger truly lies. My people require your courage.”
“We will go at once and seek out this evil. And it may be we will find good Theido and Ronsard, as well,” Toli offered boldly.
Quentin said nothing but stared from one to another of the faces around the table.
“Very well,” sighed the King. “You know I would not send you out thus if I thought it were but a small thing, or if another could serve as well.”
He turned and looked at Durwin thoughtfully. “You, sir, I did not summon, but as usual one who knows me better than I know myself has doubtless interceded.” He smiled again, and Quentin saw a flicker of the former man. The King continued, “I will detain you, good hermit, that you may remain with me. I may soon have need of your ministrations, and perchance your arts will be better employed here than on the back of a horse.”
“So it is,” replied Durwin. “I will abide.”
The King rose with some difficulty and dismissed them, asking his two warriors, “How soon will you ride?”
“We will leave at once, Sire,” said Toli.
“It is well; but stay and share at my table tonight at least. I want to see my friends all together before…” He did not finish the thought.
The three arose, bowed and went quietly out. At the door Quentin turned and was about to speak. He looked at Eskevar, and his eyes filled with tears; no words would come. He bowed quickly and then went out, too overwhelmed to say what he felt in his heart.
EIGHT
“THE VILLAGE has been subdued, Most Excellent One.” The rider bowed low in his saddle. Behind him black smoke ascended in a thick, dark column to be scattered by the wind blowing in from the sea. His sorrel pony jerked its reins and tossed its head, its hide besmeared with soot and dried blood. “There was no resistance.”
Savage eyes watched the messenger from beneath the rim of an iron helm ornamented with black plumes which fluttered like wings in the wind. The warlord said nothing but turned his horse and started slowly away. The messenger spurred his mount forward and drew up beside his departing commander. “Is there something that has displeased you, my Master?” The voice trembled anxiously.
“No, it is well. Our task is complete. I will return to the ships; you will accompany me. I may have need of a messenger.” He lifted himself in his saddle and called to several riders who waited a little distance apart. The riders held their helmets under one arm and stared impassively ahead at the smoke curling upward.
“You four”-the commander gestured with his gauntleted hand-“stay with the men and occupy this place. You others will come with me. We ride at once. Follow.”
“But what is to be done with the prisoners, Most Excellent One?” called the messenger after the dark retreating form. The warlord did not turn nor look around, but the messenger heard the words drifting back to him.
“Kill them,” his commander said.
The room hung heavy with the pungent fragrance of burning incense, and clouds of the aromatic vapor drifted about the great figure seated on a throne of silk cushions. Tiny colored birds fluttered and chirped in cages nearby, their songs accompanied by the soothing notes of a flute.
Presently, the tinkling ring of a chime sounded in the passageway beyond, followed by the rustle of clothing. The gigantic form seated on the throne appeared to be asleep, for he did not move or acknowledge the intrusion in any way. The huge head remained resting on the great barrel of a chest. The meaty hands clasping one another in the wide lap remained motionless, thumbs pressed together.
“Immortal One, I have news,” said the minister who had just entered so quietly. He waited on his knees with his forehead pressed to the floor, hands thrust before him, palms upward.
“You may speak, Uzla.” The voice seemed to fill the small room, even though the words had been spoken quietly.
“Your warlords have returned. And they bring tidings of victory. The cities of the coast are subdued.”
“Has a suitable residence been found for me?”
“Alas, no, Immortal One, these were but small villages and none possessed a dwelling worthy of your being. For this affrontery the villages have been burned and the ashes scattered, lest the sight of them displease you.”
Nin the Destroyer looked darkly upon his most trusted minister. “This land will feel my wrath!” he shouted. The birds trembled in their cages, and the music stopped. Uzla, the prone minister, cowered below him on the floor.
“The wretches of this accursed land speak of many castles in the north, and one in particular which may serve your needs while you sojourn here to subject this land to your will.”
“What is the name of this palace?”
“It is called Askelon. It is the city of the high king of this land-one known as the Dragon King.”
“Ah,” said Nin softly. “The sound of these words pleases me. Say them again.”
“Askelon is the home of the Dragon King.”
“It will be my home, and I will be the Dragon King. This pleases me. I have never killed a dragon before-have I, Uzla?”
“No, my Deity. Not to my knowledge.” He hastened to
add, “That is, unless in a previous life, of course.
“Then I will look forward to that event with anticipation, and I will savor the moment of its accomplishment.” He stood slowly. “Now, where are my warlords?” Nin asked, his deep voice booming.
“They await you on the beach,” replied Uzla. “I will summon them.”
“No, I will go to them. They have achieved my desires and will be rewarded by the sight of their god drawing near to them.”
“As you command, Great One.”
Uzla bowed again and raised himself from the floor. He turned and withdrew to the hall and clapped his hands and shouted, “The Deity walks! Kneel before him everyone!” He went before his sovereign, clapping his hands and shouting the warning. Nin followed slowly, balancing his immense bulk upon ponderous legs.
As they reached a short flight of stairs which led upward to the deck of the palace ship, Uzla clapped his hands again and eight attendants brought a throne on poles. They placed the throne before their king, and he lowered himself into it. Then, straining every muscle, the chair-bearers climbed the steps, careful to keep the throne level, lest they incur the wrath of their temperamental god. Soon they moved out upon the deck.
Two more attendants waited on deck with large shades made of brilliant feathers. As soon as Nin’s chair emerged out upon the deck, the huge, burly head was shaded from the bright sunlight of a beautiful summer day. The attendants swayed under the weight of their burden, but proceeded down a long ramp which had been erected out over the shallow water from the palace ship to the shore. The ramp terminated in a platform on the beach, forming a dais from which Nin the Destroyer could command his subjects.
At the sight of this procession moving slowly down the ramp, the four warlords dismounted and drew near to the dais, prostrating themselves in the sand. The chair-bearers reached the platform and placed the mobile throne squarely in the center of the dais, beneath a broad canopy of rich blue silk. Then they withdrew to await their king’s command; they knelt with their faces touching their knees.
The blue silk ruffled in the soft sea breeze. Above the dais gulls wheeled in the air and shrieked at the spectacle below. Nin raised his hands and said, “Arise, my warlords. You may look upon your Deity.”
The warlords, clad in their heavy armor, rose stiffly to their feet and stood shoulder to shoulder before their patron.
“I have seen your victory from afar,” Nin continued. “With my own eyes I witnessed the flames of destruction. I am well-pleased. Now tell me, my commanders, what is the strength of this land? Is there an army to stand before the Destroyer’s blade?” He looked at the four fighting men and nodded to one of them, who stepped forward slowly. “Gurd?”
The warrior struck his heart with his closed hand; the mailed fist clanked dully upon the bronze breastplate. His long straight black hair was pulled tightly back and bound at the back of his head in a thick braid.
Quick black eyes set in a smooth, angular red face watched Nin closely. “I have seen no soldiers in the south, Immortal One. The peasant villages were unprotected.”
“Amut.”
The warrior, a member of the yellow race, advanced. His gleaming head was shaved completely bald, except for a short bob of hair which he wore tied in a tight knot. On his cheeks and forehead were strange blue tattoos, and a ragged scar streaked from the corner of one almond-shaped eye to the base of a thick, muscular neck. “In the north we encountered no soldiers, Great One. The cowardly populace fled before our arrows like leaves before the storm.”
“Luhak,” called Nin and the third warlord stepped forward.
Luhak touched his bearded chin with a brown hand. His head was covered in a helm of white horsehide which sprouted a short plume made from a horse’s tail at its crest. He was tall and lean, and when he opened his wide mouth to speak, a row of pointed white teeth flashed.
“I encountered but one village in the mountainous interior of this land, named Gaalinpor,” the warrior said. “No army could cross those mountains in surprise. We may turn our eyes elsewhere.”
“Boghaz.”
The last warlord, a towering black man whose features were hidden beneath the black veil which covered the lower part of his face, revealing only the large, dark eyes, took his place beside the others. His head was encased in a horn-covered, leather helmet, and he wore a breastplate made of flat disks of horn which had been linked together with iron rings. A long red cape fell from his shoulders to the heels of his black boots. At his side he carried, as they all did, a curious curved sword with a thin, tapering blade honed dagger-sharp on both edges.
“And I, too, have seen no soldiers. The villages offered no resistance, the blood of the stubborn ran red upon the ground, and their ashes ascended to heaven in your honor, Immortal Nin.” With that the black warrior touched his forehead and bowed low.
“What land is this which builds no walls around its cities and leaves the small villages unprotected? Here is wealth for the taking, my warlords. We will push north to Askelon and there I will establish my palace, so that I may be comfortable while bringing this land under my rule.
“Go now and bring me word when the castle is mine, that I may come at once and take possession of what I desire. But do not make sacrifice of the King. I will have that pleasure for my own; his blood will flow for me alone. Hear and obey.”
The four commanders saluted Nin and backed away a few paces. Then they turned, mounted their horses and galloped off together. Nin clapped his hands, and the attendants sprang forward to begin the laborious process of carrying their god back up the ramp and into the magnificent palace ship.
NINE
HEAVY DEW still clung to the leaves as the first rays of golden morning broke upon the countryside. Near the sea such dew was common, but it never ceased to delight Quentin when the sun struck each tiny droplet of moisture and turned it into a glimmering gem. Each hillock and bush seemed to acquire inestimable value.
Toli’s high-spirited horses, now well-rested, pranced and jogged in the cool morning air. Quentin himself lifted his voice in a hymn to the new day. Toli, too, joined in and their voices rang in the dells.
“Ah, it is good to be alive!” shouted Quentin, more for the joy of shouting than for the sake of conversation.
“This morning the saddle seems a friend to you,” called Toli, bouncing along behind. “That is not the impression you gave me last night.”
“In the morning the world is re-created. All things are made new-including saddles.”
“It is good to see my master in such high humor. For the last three days one would have mistaken you for a growling bear-not that I noticed.”
Quentin seemed to ignore the remark and they continued on as before, the trappings of the horses jingling brightly as they cantered along. “I am sorry if I have been out of sorts,” said Quentin after some time. “I have had much on my mind these past days. It is like a shadow has been hovering over me. But now I can see clearly again.”
“That is well for both of us,” replied Toli in his usual elliptic style.
The two riders approached and mounted the crest of a long, sloping hill. Here they paused for a short while and contemplated the road before them and the valley beyond, in the center of which lay the village of Persch.
“See how quiet it is,” remarked Quentin as he gazed at the scene below. “So peaceful. This is how it has been for a thousand years…” His voice trailed off.
“We will pray that it may remain so for another thousand,” answered Toli. He flicked the reins and started down the road, a thin dirt trail barely scratched in the long, thick green grass of the hills.
As they drew nearer to the seaside village, Toli grew tense with concentration. Quentin noticed the change in his companion’s attitude and asked, “What is it? What do those eagle eyes of yours see?”
“Nothing, master. And that is what worries me. I see no one-no activity in the village at all.”
“Perhaps the people of Persch
are late abed and late to rise,” Quentin said carelessly, attempting to maintain the mood of tranquillity which had just been shattered by Toli’s observation.
“Or maybe they have a reason for remaining behind doors on such a day as this, though that reason is certain to be born of fear.”
Quentin sighed. “It will not be the first time we have encountered such this trip.” He placed his free hand on the hilt of his sword and shifted it slightly to bring it into readiness. His eyes scanned the breadth of the town drawing slowly closer with each step. He saw not a sign of life, either human or animal, in the streets or on the road before them. Certainly that was strange. Ordinarily, the first rays of morning light would find the narrow little streets busy with citizens going about their daily chores. The merchants would be opening their stalls in the marketplace and the craftsmen their awnings. Farmers would be offering cheese and melons and eggs in exchange for cloth and various metal utensils. Wives would be carrying water from the well in the town square, and children would be scampering around corners and darting to and fro in noisy play while the village dogs barked and dodged their bare, sun-browned legs.
But this morning there was no such bustle and fuss. The empty streets seemed haunted by the echoes of childish laughter and the eerie absence of the villagers.
The riders entered the main street of the town, and Quentin heard the soft crush of the horses’ hooves upon the tiny fragments of shells with which the people of Persch paved their streets. Quentin always thought that this gave all seaside towns a fresh, clean appearance. This day, however, the whitened streets looked desolate, sepulchral.
No face appeared even fleetingly in a doorway or darkened window. No sound could be heard, except the soft sea breeze blowing among the eaves; it whispered a note of utter loneliness.
“Everyone is gone,” observed Toli. His voice seemed to die in the empty air.
“I do not believe it. Everyone cannot have left. Someone must have remained behind. A whole village does not disappear-not without good cause.”
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