The soldier beat out the fire and stared out at the strangers, his initial surprise and wonder replaced with fear and anger. “Open this gate,” Tobas demanded, keeping up the role he had established, “or it’ll be your beard next time!”
The guard glared out for another second or so, then turned to obey. With much cursing and creaking, the portcullis was raised, and half a dozen soldiers appeared to usher the party into the courtyard. Two started to pick up the tapestry, but Peren and Tobas stopped them, preferring to carry the precious hanging themselves.
Once inside, they lowered the tapestry and stood silently, trying to seem calm and aloof, while Karanissa looked around at the sorry state of the castle in evident dismay. At the behest of the commander of the little detachment of guards, a civilian messenger ran to report their arrival.
Naturally, they were not immediately taken in to see the king; instead, various people, presumably officials, none of whom spoke a word of Ethsharitic, came and studied them where they stood. Karanissa did not bother to strain her witchcraft sufficiently to follow what was said; instead, one or another of the three foreigners simply demanded, “Speak Ethsharitic!” each time a new person appeared and addressed them in Dwomoritic.
After an hour of such delays, the gatekeeper they had first spoken to, whose sleeve Tobas had set afire, reappeared and instructed them in barely intelligible Ethsharitic to follow him into the castle. They obeyed. A moment later they finally found themselves seated at a table across from the Lord Chamberlain.
“So you claim to have slain the dragon,” the chamberlain said without preamble.
“We have slain the dragon,” Tobas replied.
The chamberlain shook his head. “You are by no means the first to make that claim. We have sent out seventy-four self-proclaimed dragon hunters; we have good evidence that over half simply deserted. After accepting our hospitality, they simply left the country without ever trying to kill the beast. A few others, who made the attempt in good faith, were evidently killed. Another few made unsuccessful attempts and escaped alive, I believe that your former comrades were among those; in fact, they told us, if I remember correctly, that the two of you had fled eastward over the mountains rather than return to admit failure. Still others, besides all those I have mentioned, have returned claiming to have killed the monster, but none could prove their claims. One went so far as to bring back the head of a dragon, but only a very small one and not at all fresh, obviously not the right one. Now you march in here with no evidence to support your story, no details of how you slew the creature, but only with this mysterious great roll of cloth you will let no one touch, and expect us to accept you as heroes immediately. I regret that we cannot do that. First, you must prove your claim.”
“We will be glad to do just that,” Tobas replied, “if you will provide us with the necessary men, beasts, and wagons to haul the dragon’s remains back here. We weren’t strong enough to lift the head after we decapitated the monster, let alone its body. Its blood you see all over us.” He held out the encrusted front of his tunic.
The chamberlain looked startled. “Oh? Then you really did kill something? And you left the carcass untended?” “That’s right,” Tobas agreed. “We didn’t have much choice. It’s about a day and a half from here. Any of us can show you.”
The Dwomorite sat back, contemplating the three, then asked sharply, “How big was this dragon? And what color?”
“It was blue-green, and, oh... what would you say, Peren? Sixty feet long?”
“About that,” Peren agreed.
“How did you kill it?” the chamberlain demanded.
“Magic,” Tobas answered.
Seeing that their questioner was not satisfied, Peren added, “Fire-magic. My companion here, the mighty wizard Tobas of Telven, blew its neck to pieces with a single spell.”
“Forgive me if I still have reservations,” the chamberlain said, polite once again and apparently at least partly convinced. “But how is it that you took so long to accomplish the task? You departed well over three months ago.”
Tobas shrugged. “We found other matters to occupy us for a time.” He gestured toward Karanissa and the tapestry that lay against one wall.
“Look,” Peren said in his most reasonable tone. “We don’t expect you to pay us here and now; get some wagons, and I’ll show your men where it is. Tobas and Karanissa will stay here in Dwomor as hostage for my good behavior; I’ll leave the tapestry and everything else with them.”
“I don’t know,” the chamberlain said. “You could intend to lead my men into a trap.”
“Arm them, then! And if I were planning any treachery, would my companions allow themselves to remain as hostages?”
The Dwomorite considered for another moment, then nodded. “I suppose not, not if they knew about it,” he said. “All right, then; we shall see if you have done what you say. Remember, though, if this is some sort of trick, that you did not see all of this castle during your previous stay here; there are dungeons enough for the three of you.”
“Your dungeons don’t concern us; we want nothing but what we have earned,” Peren said as he rose.
CHAPTER 31
The three of them were given the use of a suite of rooms on the second floor of the castle, around a corner from the princesses’ wing, consisting of a small, cozy sitting room, a small bedchamber Peren appropriated that had probably originally been intended for a valet, and a large and elegant chamber equipped with a magnificent canopied bed. Although Dwomor Keep was still well populated, the departure of dozens of dragon hunters had left the place with considerably more free space than when Tobas and Peren had last seen it; and as guests who might have actually won the right to marry princesses, they rated significantly better accommodations. As best anyone could recall, a prince had shared this suite with a lesser noble during those closing days of Summersend.
Peren stayed to rest for only one night before departing again, leading a caravan of wagons, soldiers, assorted workmen, and curiosity seekers into the hills, intent on bringing back proof of the dragon’s demise. Tobas and Karanissa watched him go from the battlements and then adjourned to their splendid bedchamber to make the best of his absence. Their rooms in Dwomor were far more suitable for a honeymoon than the open country or ruined cottage had been.
Despite their rather peculiar and uncertain status whenever they left their suite to roam the castle, the newlyweds thoroughly enjoyed their relative privacy for the first two or three nights after Peren left. By the time the fourth night came with no sign of his return, however, they began to worry somewhat. Their uneasiness grew steadily throughout the next day, as Peren still did not appear; quite aside from their own concern about their friend, the inhabitants of the castle, from King Derneth himself right down to the chambermaids, seemed to be treating them with mounting suspicion. They were officially still guests, but it was obvious that they were also now prisoners; guards eyed them closely any time either of them stepped out into the courtyard, and it was made plain, silently but unquestionably that they would not be permitted to leave the castle. No one spoke to them unnecessarily; on one occasion Tobas glimpsed the Princess Alorria being herded quickly away by the Lord Chamberlain, lest she might have spoken to the foreign wizard.
Alorria, judging by the expression Tobas thought he saw, was not at all happy to see him, though he was unsure whether that was because she believed him to be a fraud, because she was frightened by him, perhaps embarrassed somehow, or possibly, because she resented the fact that he had married someone else.
Tobas and Karanissa retired early that night, too worried to enjoy each other’s company properly. Simply being together in the great canopied bed was soothing, however; as an hour or two wore slowly by, though neither of them slept, they both calmed down considerably. Nonetheless, midevening of this fifth night after Peren’s party had gone to fetch the dragon’s head found them both still lying awake.
Shortly after their arrival they had hung
the tapestry on one wall of their bedchamber, being extremely careful not to touch its surface. By unspoken mutual consent, both had wanted it hung, but neither of them intended to use it immediately. Once the hanging was securely in place, they had hidden it with the simple drapery that had covered that wall before their arrival, this concealment being necessary to prevent unwanted questions from servants or visitors and, far more importantly, to prevent anyone from accidentally touching it and winding up at the gates of their castle. Now, reaching out from the bed, Tobas had pulled the drapery back, and both of them were staring at the tapestry.
“I think I miss the place,” Karanissa admitted after a few moments of silent contemplation.
“I know I miss it,” Tobas replied. “It was all ours, with no chamberlains or kings to worry about, no princesses and peasants staring at me every time I go out. And the servants did what we told them without trying to beg for favors, constantly apologizing for everything, or acting as if obeying me were beneath their dignity. If I knew my way around here better and were welcome into the kitchens, I think I’d rather not bother the servants at all.”
“It’s not just the servants; everybody here is suspicious. They seem to think we’re here under false pretenses, as if there’s anything here we would bother defrauding them of!”
“I know. The castle in the tapestry, strange as it is, is finer than Dwomor could ever have been.”
“It was so lonely, though, before you arrived,” Karanissa said, snuggling closer to him under the quilts.
“It was never lonely for me,” Tobas answered, his arm encircling her shoulders. “You were always there.”
“Do you think we should go back?”
“I don’t know. We can get back out now, if we want to. Both tapestries are working.”
“But we can only get out way up there in the mountains, and it’s almost winter. The snows could come any day now.”
“We’ll need to go back some time, at least for a while; the only position they could possibly give me here is court wizard, and for that I’ll need the Book of Spells and some of the supplies and ingredients from Derithon’s study. I don’t think I’m going to find hair from unborn children or mummified bat wings here in Dwomor Keep.”
“Maybe I’m just being cowardly, wanting to slink back to my refuge instead of facing the World,” Karanissa said bitterly.
“No, that’s not it!” Tobas was shocked at her words. “You survived there alone for four hundred years; you’re no coward!”
Impulsively she hugged him, then nuzzled him silently for a moment. He returned her embrace. She smiled up at him, then said contemplatively, “You know, if I did go back, I’m sure that within a month or two, at most, I’d want to get out again, to see the sun and the moons and the stars and other people and green fields and trees and mountains and streams and all the rest of it.”
“Of course; so would I. There’s nothing wrong with that. Nobody wants to stay cooped up at home all the time.”
“It is really our home, isn’t it?” Karanissa’s tone was wistful.
“Yes, of course, you lived there for so long, how could it not be home?”
“But you didn’t live there very long!”
Tobas shrugged. “I haven’t got any other home; I got kicked out of the one I grew up in and burned down the next. And the castle had you in it, wherever you are would be home.”
She punched him lightly. “Oh, stop flattering! I’m trying to be serious.”
“I’m being serious!”
“Really, Tobas, should we just get up right now and walk through the tapestry?”
“You’re asking me for advice? You’re the one who’s centuries old; I’m just eighteen,” Tobas said. Before she could make any retort, he quickly went on. “But no, we shouldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair to Peren when he gets back. Besides, the Dwomorites might not like it, and this is the place I know how to get to from the wrecked castle; when we came back out, they might take offense. And we can use that money. The wine cellar is empty, among other things. No ale, no oushka, no figs or pomegranates. Some of Derithon’s supplies are about used up, and others have gone bad with age. If you’re not picky, I suppose the castle does have all the food we’ll ever need, really, but we’ll want either money or magic to add some variety, and for any number of things. And if we have children, we don’t want them growing up all alone in there.”
“I hadn’t thought about children.”
“Don’t you want any?”
“I hadn’t thought about it, really.”
“Well, you probably should,” he said, smiling. “If we keep on as we have, they’re likely to happen.”
“Let them happen, then!” She giggled. He hugged her to him for a moment.
“Then we shouldn’t cut ourselves off in the tapestry,” he said. “Not if we’re going to lead a decent life and have children.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “Besides, I want to see the World.” She paused, considering, then asked anxiously, “It isn’t all like Dwomor, is it?”
“Aha! So that’s what’s really bothering you! No, it isn’t all like Dwomor. This is one of the least pleasant places I’ve seen, as a matter of fact. I think you’d be impressed by Ethshar of the Spices; it’s not as primitive as this place. Or even the beaches near Telven...” His voice trailed off.
“What is it?”
“I just realized; I can’t stay in the tapestry! I owe someone an apology and a new boat. And besides, I promised Peren I’d put curses on the people who robbed him if he wanted me to.”
“Well, it’s settled, then. We’ll just have to learn to deal with the World. We’ll get the money, and you’ll take the position here, and we’ll travel and see Ethshar and Telven and buy those people their new boat, and whenever we want to get away from it all, we can just step into the tapestry.”
“We’ll need to make a proper road down from the wreck if we do that, either that, or I’ll need to learn to fly.” He hesitated, then added thoughtfully, “I could do that, I suppose. Derithon had some flying spells that didn’t look too difficult.”
“I think that would be fun, flying down from the mountains.”
“Oh, I almost forgot, though; we’d still have to do some hiking at first, each time. Wizardry doesn’t work right around the castle.” “Is there anything you can do about that?”
“I don’t really know. I don’t know anything about it. It seems as if there ought to be some use for such a place, though.” He thought for a moment, then suggested, “Maybe we could set up a village there for people who have been cursed. The curses wouldn’t work. Of course, they’d have to stay up there indefinitely, and we could charge a good price for showing them where it is. Then we’d have a village right there and wouldn’t need to come all the way back to Dwomor for everything.”
Karanissa shook her head. “It won’t work,” she said. “At least, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Sooner or later someone would go exploring in the flying castle and mess up the hidden room, and we wouldn’t be able to get out that way.”
“You’re right,” Tobas agreed immediately. “It needs more thought. I can’t even put any protective spells in place, because they, won’t work there.” He sighed. “Oh, well, it was an idea. Maybe eventually I’ll manage to make another tapestry showing somewhere more convenient, and then we can set up our colony for the victims of curses.”
“You’ll make another tapestry,” Karanissa said confidently. “It can’t be that hard. If Derry could do it, you can do it.”
“It may take years,” Tobas reminded her.
“Well, I’ve got forever, and they say a witch’s love can keep a man young. You’ve got a recipe for an eternal youth spell in that book of Derry’s; you can work your way up to that, and then we’ll both have forever.” She leaned over and kissed him.
Someone knocked at the door.
Startled that anyone would be about so late, Tobas called, “What is it?”
“Your com
panion has returned, my lord wizard,” announced the voice of one of the few servants who spoke Ethsharitic.
“Well, it’s about time!” Karanissa said, rolling quickly out of the bed onto her feet. Tobas followed suit, and both grabbed for the nearest decent clothing.
A moment later the witch and the wizard descended the staircase together and marched out to the torchlit courtyard, where a curious crowd, much of it still in night-clothes, was staring at the various fragments of the dragon that now occupied a long line of wagons.
“My lord Tobas,” someone said behind him. Tobas turned and found the Lord Chamberlain, his ceremonial robes wrinkled, obviously himself just roused from sleep. “My apologies, sir, for doubting you. You are indeed entitled to the reward; and despite the hour, his Majesty the King is waiting in the audience chamber at this moment, eager to have the matter settled. We do not wish there to be any further delay and hope you will come now and make your choice. If you would be so kind as to follow me?”
Grinning broadly, with Karanissa on his arm, Tobas followed.
Peren was waiting at the door of the audience chamber. “I’m sorry I took so long,” he said, speaking quickly. “But it was hard keeping that bunch together, and it took a long time to chop the thing up. They insisted on bringing it all back. They wanted practically every scale and drop of blood. And then on the way back they kept stopping to rest, too! Half of them wanted to stop and make camp at sundown this evening, but we were so close, I insisted we should press on, and here we are. I’m sorry it’s so late.”
“That’s all right,” Tobas said. “We thought that the delays were probably something like that. We weren’t really worried, after all, we knew we’d killed the dragon. Besides, we could always go through the tapestry if we had to escape quickly.”
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