Medieval Mars: The Anthology (Terraformed Interplanetary Book 1)

by Travis Perry

  Lord Emerson said to the defender, “Do you wish to call any witnesses?”

  “Yes, your honor. I call Sir Peregrino to the stand.”

  Sir Peregrino was sworn in. The defender asked, “What is your position?”

  “I am the rider charged with keeping our Lord Emerson’s raptors and hunting birds.”

  Sam’s ears perked up.

  The defender nodded. “Please explain what you do with these... er... raptors.”

  Sir Peregrino answered, “Raptors are predatory birds. Some raptors, like falcons, I train to be of service in hunting, but the majority of the birds I keep are unable to be released in the wild. In the spirit of the King’s law for the protection and study of wild animals, I keep them in cages and serve them a diet suitable for their kind.”

  “And can the public view these birds of prey?”

  “Yes. I have my own assigned building on the castle grounds with visiting hours and I charge admission. I also sell trained hunting raptors when my lord so permits.”

  The defender asked, “What do you know about dragons?”

  Sam leaned forward, straining to hear every word.

  Sir Peregrino smiled. “Dragons are a particular interest of mine. I have strived to learn as much about them as possible and I take multiple trips in the direction of the Amazonian plains to observe these beasts in the wild. Unfortunately, none of the lowland sort I’ve seen before could survive here in Tharsis, so I’ve never had the opportunity to keep a dragon.”

  The defender pointed to the dragon. “Have you ever seen a dragon like this one before?”

  “I have not,” Sir Peregrino said.

  “So this could be a previously unknown kind of dragon?”

  “Yes, sir, I believe it could.”

  “Is it customary for dragons to eat meat?”

  “Yes, sir. They’re eaters of meat. Dragons prey on smaller animals in the same manner as raptors.”

  “And in your opinion, would a goat taste good to a dragon?”

  “Naturally.”

  The defender addressed the judge. “Lord Emerson, what we have here is possibly a new type of dragon, but behaving in a way typical of dragons. By the traditions of Mars and the laws of the King of Tharsis, we should not destroy this rare and unusual form of life. We don’t know what value this type of creature may offer in the future.”

  Lord Emerson nodded. “This dragon may indeed be a new kind of animal. And he may only be acting according to the nature of a dragon. Nevertheless, he eats farm animals. Do you propose I just let him go?”

  The defender shook his head. “No, your honor. I propose that the dragon be allowed to live with Sir Peregrino where he can be studied, in accordance with the customs of the distant past as taught by Madam Susan and agreed upon by my lord.”

  Sam moved his mouth silently. “Please, please, please!”

  Lord Emerson shook his head. “The dragon spits acid. We have no materials with which we can contain him if he is not muzzled, and to leave him muzzled for a lifetime would be cruel treatment. I’m sorry, but I see no way to keep him in captivity.”

  Sam buried his head in his hands.

  The defender looked at the dragon. “I request a recess.”

  Lord Emerson banged his hammer. “Trial is adjourned until the tenth bell tomorrow morning.”

  The courtroom buzzed with voices as everyone filed out. “They have to kill him now,” a farmer said. “They can’t hold him and they can’t let him go.”

  Another added, “Good riddance, I say.”

  Sam and Ahni made their way through the crowd until they reached the defender’s table. Sam shot a desperate look at the dragon. “They can’t kill him! They just can’t!”

  The defender put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m afraid they can, son. I’m sorry. I did the best I could. He’s a dragon. It’s just too dangerous to release him.”

  Sam swallowed hard.

  “Maybe there’s still a way,” Madam Susan said behind him.

  Sam turned around. “What do you mean? They’re right. If they let him go, he’ll just eat more goats.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” Madam Susan said. “There may be something we can add to his food to neutralize the acid.”

  Sam blinked. “Neutralize?”

  “Make ineffective. Powerless,” Madam Susan answered.

  Ahni’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

  “Perhaps,” Madam Susan said. “We won’t know until we try. Come.”

  Sam and Ahni accompanied Madam Susan to her quarters where she picked up a jar of white powder.

  “What’s that?” Ahni asked.

  “Bicarbonate of soda,” Madam Susan answered. “I use it to brush my teeth. Let’s go see the dragon.”

  Sam exchanged puzzled glances with Ahni as they followed Madam Susan out the door.

  The dragon was restless after his ordeal in the courtroom. Madam Susan took the jar and sprinkled some of its contents into the water dish. “Stir it well,” she said.

  Sam mixed until the powder dissolved.

  “Now slide the water dish through the door and we’ll see if he drinks it,” Madam Susan instructed.

  The dragon sniffed the water and then he lapped it all up.

  “When will we know if it worked?” Ahni asked.

  “In the morning,” Madam Susan said. “You two had better go home now. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow when the castle bells ring nine. I have work I need to do.”

  Sam left with Ahni. “I don’t see how this is going to help,” he said.

  Ahni looked at Sam. “You’re really stuck on this dragon, aren’t you?”

  Sam nodded. “Even if Madam Susan is right, they’re still going to want to kill him. Did you see how that prosecutor glares at him?”

  Ahni gave Sam a sad smile. “Yeah, I saw. I’m sorry, Sam.”

  Sam lost himself in thought. “I could leave his cage unlocked. He’d be gone before anyone noticed.”

  Ahni jerked her head. “Sam!”

  Sam jumped. He didn’t realize he’d spoken out loud. “I’m kidding, OK?”

  “Promise me you won’t let him go! If the dragon gets out he might eat Galla!”

  Sam nodded sadly. “You’re right, Ahni. I’m sorry. I just don’t want them to kill him!”

  Ahni was insistent. “Promise me you won’t let him out.”

  Sam gave her a quick hug. “I promise.”

  Ahni relaxed. “OK.”

  Sam and the Dragon: Chapter 10

  The next morning Sam and Ahni met Madam Susan at the dragon’s cage. Instead of his usual low growl, the dragon thumped his tail on the ground several times.

  Sam said, “Hi, buddy! You look happy this morning. Good thing you don’t know what’s coming.”

  Madam Susan opened a pouch and carefully unwrapped something blue and very delicate.

  “What’s that?” Ahni asked.

  Madam Susan said, “It’s called a litmus test. This is aspen bark with a special variety of lichen. We have to get the dragon to breathe on it. If the bark turns just a little purple, then our experiment worked. If it turns pink, he’s still spitting acid.”

  Madam Susan put the bark in the dry food dish and pushed the dish through the slot. “Make him mad,” she instructed Sam.

  Sam poked a stick at the dragon. “Sorry about this, buddy.” The dragon turned his big eyes to look at Sam. “That’s funny. He usually hisses when people do that.”

  Sam pushed the dry food dish toward the dragon. The dragon looked at the dish with hungry eyes. A drop of drool dripped out of his mouth and landed on the bark. Sam held his breath as he watched the bark turn just a little bit purple. “Is that good?” he asked Madam Susan.

  “It worked.” Madam Susan sounded pleased with herself. “Give him some food and then let’s go. We have a dragon to save.”

  When everyone had assembled in the courtroom, the handlers brought the dragon in the side door and down to the front of the room. As the dra
gon passed Sam and Ahni, Sam almost thought he wagged his tail. Sam stretched out his hand to touch him, but the dragon was just out of reach.

  Lord Emerson asked the defender, “Do you have anything to add to your case?”

  “I do, my lord, I’d like to call Madam Susan to the stand.”

  Madam Susan came forward and took the oath.

  The defender said, “Please tell the trial about your experiment.”

  Madam Susan described how she had neutralized the acid in the dragon’s breath.

  The crowd murmured.

  The prosecutor addressed Lord Emerson. “My lord, this makes a nice story, but we all know that dragons are highly dangerous. Can you guarantee that this dragon will not attack and eat our children?”

  Sam clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palms.

  Lord Emerson said, “That is an excellent question. What have you to say about this, Defender?”

  The defender said, “Your Honor, I believe we can solve the acid problem simply by adding bicarbonate of soda to the dragon’s food every day. The dragon can then safely live with Sir Peregrino and Sir Peregrino will study him, in accordance with the customs of Mars. Sir Peregrino builds strong cages and he has never had an escape.”

  The room buzzed with conversation.

  Sam held his breath.

  Lord Emerson banged his hammer. “Quiet!”

  When the crowd settled down he said, “If Madam Susan will teach us how to make this bicarbonate of soda, we can add to the knowledge of Mars and receive favor with the King of Tharsis by allowing this dragon to live.”

  Madam Susan said, “Bicarbonate of soda comes from natron, which is a natural deposit. I will teach Sir Peregrino what to do.”

  “Good,” Lord Emerson said. “I declare the dragon guilty as charged. I sentence him to live out the rest of his life under Sir Peregrino’s care. Sir Peregrino will set the price for public viewing of the dragon and all proceeds will go to Alfonso of the Western Plain until he is paid back double for the loss of his goats. After this time, funds from viewing the dragon will be used to sustain the dragon and Sir Peregrino’s studies.” He banged his wooden hammer again. “Case closed.”

  As the crowd burst into turmoil, Sam lifted Ahni off the ground in a hug. Walking through the crowd, the prosecutor assured people, “Don’t worry—one wrong move and we’ll have that dragon back on trial.” After a short while, the crowd dispersed.

  When the crowds left, Sam and Ahni found Madam Susan and Uncle Al talking with the defender.

  “You’re amazing,” the defender said to Madam Susan. “I never thought I could win this one.”

  “You did a good job,” Madam Susan answered.

  After the defender left, Sam said, “How can we ever thank you? For everything!”

  Madam Susan nodded. “It looks like I’m going to be needed here for a little while longer and actually, there is one thing you almost-adults can do for me.”

  “What is it?” Ahni asked. “We’ll do anything!”

  Madam Susan had a twinkle in her eye. “You can come to see me every day and learn how to read.”

  Sam pumped his fist in the air. “Yes!”

  Ahni beamed. “Really?”

  Madam Susan smiled. “Really.”

  Ahni said, “I want to read so I can learn how you did all that stuff! How you healed me of The Sickness and you knew what to feed the dragon and how to use that bark!”

  Madam Susan put a hand on Ahni’s shoulder. “You can learn all that and more, but I’m not going to be here quite that long. I’ll get you started and then you can study at school.”

  Ahni gave a start and then her eyes filled with tears. “How can I go to school? We have no money and the magic box is broken.”

  Madam Susan and Uncle Al exchanged glances and then Uncle Al smiled. “You remember those coins you found in the cave?”

  Ahni nodded.

  “Turns out they’re not nickels,” Uncle Al said.

  “What do you mean?” Ahni asked.

  “They’re pure silver and they’ll fetch ’nough money that I can buy the farm from Lord Em’rson and send you to school!”

  Ahni wrapped her arms around her father. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

  Uncle Al turned to Sam. “What about you? What would you like to do?”

  Sam hesitated. “I thought I’d need to stay and help you with the farm.”

  Uncle Al smiled. “I’ll save so much in rent I can ’fford to hire a hand. What do you really want to do?”

  Sam glanced at the deposit the dragon had left on the floor of the courtroom then he blurted out, “I want to learn about dragons!”

  Madam Susan chuckled.

  Uncle Al patted Sam on the back. “I’ll talk to Sir Per’grino ’bout setting up a ’prenticeship for you.”

  Speechless, Sam gave his uncle a hug.

  Madam Susan nodded. “You know, Sam, there are many things to learn about a dragon. I suggest you start with the digestive system.”

  “Huh?” Sam said.

  “How the stomach works,” Madam Susan explained. “You noticed the dragon’s change of mood this morning?”

  “That was really weird,” Sam said. “He looked happy! I’ve never seen him look happy before, ever!”

  Madam Susan nodded. “Good. Why do you think that was?”

  Sam thought hard. “Sometime I burp and it feels really hot in my mouth. Is that acid?”

  Madam Susan smiled. “Yes.”

  “And sometimes my whole stomach feels hot. Is that acid?”

  Madam Susan nodded.

  Sam’s eyes lit up. “And when my stomach feels hot, I don’t feel good! That’s what happened to the dragon! And when we gave him something to make the acid go away, he felt better and he got happy!”

  Madam Susan turned to Uncle Al. “I think you have a budding dragon biologist in your family.”

  Uncle Al stood tall and puffed his chest. “Indeed! The children will learn to read and they will b’come scholars like you, Madam!”

  Sam grinned and let out a “Woo hoo!” He jumped in the air and tapped his heels together. As he ran from the room, he called out, “Bye! I’m off to see my dragon!”

  The End

  Author Donna Gielow McFarland developed an early love for literature and writing. She also dreamed of becoming an astronaut and her first “chapter book,” written when she was in fifth grade, was a story about a family who moved to Mars. Donna later contributed to her high school and college newspapers while working in book stores and libraries. After earning a degree in piano performance from Wheaton College and a master’s degree in piano pedagogy from the University of Oregon, she taught at New Hope Christian College and currently teaches music theory at Northwest Christian University.

  Her books include Follow the Star: Christmas Songs for Piano, The Purple Elephant chapter books, Duck and Friends early readers, Sam and the Dragon: A Medieval Mars Story and several college music textbooks. Donna and her husband live in Oregon and are the proud parents of a talented ten year old son who inspires them daily.

  Visit Donna at www.duckandfriends.com for the latest news and updates.