“Forgive me, Brock,” Delno responded, “We have been on our own so long that I tend to forget that we are still little more than babes in the wilderness. If Nat has no other bed at his house, you shall have mine.” After saying this he bowed to show his respect.
Brock said, “Good, you understand the role of student and teacher. We’ve made a good start, I think.” He then returned the bow.
Delno gathered up the other Rider’s gear, including the saddle, which was about twice the weight of a saddle for a normal horse, and the two men walked toward the gates. He looked over his shoulder and saw Geneva bow her head submissively to Leera. Apparently, the two dragons had just concluded the same conversation that he and Brock had.
“This is especially hard for them, you know,” Brock observed, “As the keeper of her family’s lineage, Geneva is technically above Leera in status, but they must put that aside, even though their instincts tell them differently, so that Leera can take the role of teacher. It will be a strain on them both, and it’s up to us to help them through it.”
“Head for the garrison,” Brock said abruptly.
Delno was surprised, “Why?”
“Because you need a real saddle, and I’ve noticed over the years that small garrisons like this one, especially when commanded by someone who has some brains, like your friend Captain Eriksson, tend to cut their expenses by choosing their soldiers carefully. If you wanted a fancy saddle for some kind of parade or other such nonsense, I’d tell you to go to the nearest leather worker in town. Since what we want is something that is serviceable and made with some thought toward the comfort of the rider during long use, the garrison will probably have the best man for the job. In the long run, it’s more cost effective for them to find a soldier who has the skill than it is to contract for the work with the locals. If they have no one who can do the work, we can go elsewhere.”
Winston was delighted when they returned and personally took them to the garrison’s leather worker at once. With Brock’s help, the saddle maker was able to draw up a set of plans for a general-purpose saddle that should adjust to Geneva’s present dimensions and still leave room for her to grow.
When Delno said that he would use belt straps like the ones on the other saddle Brock objected, “You can’t know what you will prefer until you’ve tried both, and even I use leg straps when doing aerobatics. Therefore, the design we’ve come up with has provisions for both.” Then in his sternest teacher’s voice, he continued, “Remember what I said about assuming anything? Just because I do things a certain way doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best way for you. You need to examine everything before making such a decision.”
Once the saddle was commissioned and the price settled, the man would take nothing for his labor, and only charged for materials. The leather worker said that he would give the job top priority, but even so, it would probably take a week to finish the work. Brock assured him that there was no reason to rush, and since a failure of equipment at a mile or so off the ground could prove fatal, quality over haste was preferable. The man was wide-eyed at the thought of being so high off the ground and assured them he would take that into consideration.
Then Winston said; “Well, I guess you’ll be too busy to continue sparing with us in the mornings, Delno. . . .”
Before he could say more, Brock spoke up; “He will not be too busy. Being a Dragon Rider is more than parking your arse in a saddle and letting the dragon do the work; physical training is an important part of the regimen. If you’ll have us, Captain, we’ll both be on the pitch bright and early.”
“Excellent,” Winston replied, “I’ll also be honored if you’ll both join me for breakfast before training.” As the two men nodded their acceptance, he said, “Good, I’ll see you at six in the mess hall.” He then saluted and walked back to his office.
They continued on their way. Fortunately, the saddle maker wanted to keep Leera’s saddle as a guide while he worked on Geneva’s, so Delno wouldn’t have to carry it to Nat’s home.
As they walked, Delno asked; “So, why are you doing this for me?” At the look that suddenly came over the other man’s face, he hastily added; “Not that I’m complaining, mind you. I’m very grateful that you are taking time to teach me, but you were obviously on some errand when you arrived here. Why would you abandon that to teach a stranger?”
“Well,” Brock said thoughtfully, “You’re not exactly a stranger. Leera and Geneva are sisters, and that almost makes you family, but that isn’t the reason. I was on an errand. I was looking for a boy of about fourteen who bonded to a hatchling about a year ago. Someone whose methods I don’t exactly approve of was training the lad. The boy finally got tired of being battered and brow beaten and took off. I was hoping to find him and see if he is all right. If I had found him, I would have offered to let him accompany me for a time, try to undo some of the training he’s already had.”
Brock pointed to a well and they angled toward it. After he had gotten a drink, he continued, “Leera told me she sensed a young dragon nearby; she was sure the youngster was bonded but was shut out almost instantly when she made contact. At first we thought we had found our missing lad, but since I knew who I was looking for I realized right away that we hadn’t and decided to find out who was here.”
“That’s why you were looking so intently at the boys in the crowd,” Delno observed as they continued walking.
“Aye,” he said, “It was a bit of a shock when I found you instead. Once you had told me your story, I realized that fate must have played a hand in bringing me here. I decided to train you, if for no other reason than because I owe Corolan and Geneva’s mother so much. Besides training me, they saved my life once.”
“Saved your life? Care to elaborate on that?”
“Got myself in a bit of a nasty situation one time. Remember what I said about not keeping your wits about you when luck is favoring your opponent? Such things can happen when you live for centuries and try to do right in the world. Fortunately for me, Corolan was near enough to come to my rescue.” Then he added, so softly that Delno wasn’t sure he had even meant to speak out loud, “Wish I could have been there for him.”
“Also,” he shifted back to the original subject, “I’m training you because, as a Dragon Rider, it’s my responsibility. Once you’ve been trained and have some experience, you’ll be able to do the same if the need arises. There’s no code that requires it, but it is the right thing to do.”
The rest of the walk passed in silence. When they arrived, Nat was happy to see them and assured them he had room enough for another guest. Missus Gentry showed Delno where to put his teacher’s things, and then Delno showed Brock to the bathing room to wash for dinner.
Chapter 32
Dinner consisted of good food punctuated by interesting conversation. Both Nat and Pearce were brimming over with questions about dragons. To Brock’s pleasure, and near astonishment, they were very much interested in the mundane aspects of the species, such as care, feeding, growth, endurance, and how high they could actually fly. He said he was so used to people wanting him to tell epic tales of heroic, draconic deeds that he found their plain curiosity about the species quite refreshing. After nearly two hours of discussion at the dinner table, they all retired to the sitting room.
“Now, Delno,” Brock said, “you will tell me what you know of magic.”
They spent the next hour and half with Delno telling the older Rider what he had been taught and what he had learned on his own. The telling was, of course, punctuated by questions on specific points. Then Brock decided that a demonstration was in order. Delno first presented a shield wall, which the older man tried unsuccessfully to punch through with a dagger. After that Delno placed a shield around his hand and arm, and held his hand over a burning candle for several minutes with no ill effect.
“We’ve tried it with even hotter fires,” Delno said, “though we haven’t had the opportunity to try with dragon fire. It should w
ork even against that much heat though, if the energy can be maintained.”
“Yes,” Brock said thoughtfully, “I’ve seen such a shield used to stop dragon fire, but maintaining the energy is the key.”
Everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting to see if he would elaborate on his thought. Finally, he said, “All right, I’ve seen a mage fighting against a rider. The mage used such a shield and it worked, until he was distracted and the shield collapsed mid-breath. The man was ashes before he got a chance to correct his mistake.”
“That sounds horrific,” Pearce said.
“That may be,” Brock responded, “but that mage had already killed dozens of innocent people and was trying to take control of a barony that would have placed him in a strategic position to make a move on the kingdom itself. It wasn’t like the Dragon and Rider simply took it in their heads to see if they could cook the nearest magic user for fun.”
He turned to Delno and said; “That’s a lesson to remember from both sides. On the side of the dragon, you work with your partner and try and distract the mage while she does what dragons do. On the other side, don’t let yourself get distracted, and know that you have to maintain the shield until the flame stops.”
“How long can a dragon sustain a flame?” Nat asked.
“Well, that depends on the dragon,” he responded. “Dragons can maintain a flame for seven to twelve seconds, average is about ten seconds.” Then he added, inclining his head to Delno, “For those who haven’t had the benefit of being able to read the books about the three dissections, a dragon produces flame by secreting chemicals. The chemicals are made in two glands. If the dragon were standing like a man the glands would be above the kidneys and behind the lungs. In that raised portion between the shoulders, just behind where the rider sits, is a muscular bladder that the glands squirt their chemicals into. The chemicals mix and create a gas that is then forced through two tubes to muscular valves at openings in the back of the dragon’s mouth. The gas ignites on contact with air, so that when the dragon sprays the chemical what we see come out is fire. Dragons can breathe fire ten to twelve times a day depending on the size of the dragon and her access to good food, water, and mineral licks, or mineral-laden water.”
“So, what chemicals does the dragon produce?” Delno asked.
“To be honest,” Brock replied, “I neither know nor do I particularly care. I suppose that would be a question for our two scholars here.”
They both turned to Nat and Pearce. Both men shrugged their shoulders and looked at each other.
Finally, Nat spoke up. “There are any number of chemicals that, when mixed together, can make different gasses, some flammable, some merely poisonous, some completely inert. But I have no idea which, if any, gas burns on contact with air.”
“It is also possible,” Pearce interjected, “that there is some magical component of which we are completely unaware.”
“That’s always possible when dealing with dragons,” Brock conceded.
Nat sighed, “I wish I could get a sample of those chemicals and do some experiments.”
Delno and Brock laughed. Then Brock mentioned that it was quite late, and that he and his student had to get up early. Everyone agreed that going to bed was a good idea.
The next morning Brock looked through Delno’s things and told him to bring his older pair of work pants and one of his heavier tunics as well as the lighter clothes he was wearing. Then they left the house and quickly hurried to meet the officers at the garrison.
They ate a light breakfast in the mess hall with the officers. Brock was able to give them quite a bit of information from his observation of the surrounding country at altitude, for which they were grateful. While the information didn’t pinpoint any possible bandit hideouts, when added to their already extensive knowledge of the countryside, it did give them some ideas about where to concentrate their next few patrols.
After breakfast, they joined the officers and men in the practice yard. Brock was pleasantly impressed that the officers trained just as hard as their men. They each sparred with the officers, and then Brock sparred with Sergeant Smith, who gave him quite a battle even though the sergeant lost. Delno was then surprised to find out that it had all just been a warm-up. He still had to spar against his teacher.
As the two dragon Riders squared off, all work in the compound ceased. Men started whispering to each other, and Delno was certain that there was a fair amount of betting going on.
He stood with his saber held on guard and his short sword ready to block. Brock opted for a long sword and a small targe. They circled slowly, then suddenly Brock made a lighting fast series of thrusts and lunges that Delno was hard pressed to defend against. His defense was successful though, and they settled back into warily circling each other. Then, as before, the older Rider made another series of attacks, and, again, he defended. Then Delno made series of advancing attacks that caught the smaller man somewhat unawares; however, the attacks didn’t find their mark.
They settled into kind of a pattern, circle, attack,—circle, attack. The morning wore on and neither man showed any sign of fatigue other than the sweat that was soaking their shirts. Suddenly Delno noticed an opening, an almost imperceptible lowering of the shield arm, and he quickly took advantage of it. Just before he connected, he noticed a slight smile appear on Brock’s face, and he knew he had been baited. As Brock blocked the attack with his shield, he swung his sword up hard; it was all Delno could do to block the counter attack with his short sword. Even though he blocked the blow, the blades clashed so hard that his hand was nearly knocked numb from the impact and he almost lost his grip on the short sword. He quickly disengaged his saber from the targe and reversed his grip on it and, spinning around, stabbed back toward his opponent’s ribs. He was sure that the move had worked, as there was a satisfying thud when the blade impacted, and a grunt from behind him, but at the same time, his opponent’s blade caught him just under the right shoulder blade.
The Weapons Master called out, “HALT!” and both men stopped and lowered their weapons.
The match was determined a tie, since no one could decide which blow had hit first, but both blows could easily have been fatal if they hadn’t been using blunted blades. The duel had lasted over an hour. All the men were applauding the performance. No one was unhappy: since the contest was declared a tie, all bets were off, and none of the spectators had lost any money.
“That’s enough sword work for today,” Brock said. “We won’t do archery this morning, either; I want to get you back into the air before noon.”
They saluted each other and bowed. Then they both walked to the trough and removed their shirts. Delno’s Dragon Mark stood out clearly for all to see. Looking at Brock’s dark skin, Delno could just see the tops of the blue wings of the Dragon Mark above the waist of the man’s trousers on his right side.
They then went to the stable, where the leather works was housed, to fetch Leera’s saddle. The saddle was where they had left it, but it had been thoroughly cleaned and looked to have a fresh coat of black polish on it. Brock was quite pleased, and asked the leather worker, Brandon, who had taken such good care of his gear.
“Well, I supervised it, but the two lads who work as orderlies, Jim and Tom, they worked a good while into the night on it,” he said. “They’ll be bragging about polishing a real dragon saddle for years to come, I expect.”
At that moment, the two boys entered the shop somewhat hesitantly, not knowing if the Dragon Rider would be pleased with their work on his equipment.
“Come here, boys,” Brock said in his usual gruff manner.
The two boys entered staring at the ground, afraid to meet the man’s eyes.
“Look at me, both of you.” When the boys looked up, he continued. “You did some fine work on that saddle. I’m pleased to see there was some leather underneath all that dirt. Thank you.” He then handed each boy a small silver coin.
The two boys were so relieved and ple
ased that all they could do was bow and thank the Rider repeatedly.
Finally, Brock said, “Enough, we don’t need any fishing corks here right now, so you two stop bobbing up and down, and go get yourselves some time off, and then spend your money on something fun and completely worthless.”
The three men laughed as the two boys ran off to do as the Dragon Rider had told them.
Delno then gathered up Leera’s saddle and their other gear, and they left the garrison and headed for the city gate. Delno was working a kink out of his shoulder from the hit he had taken. He was pleased to note that Brock was also taking some pains to make sure nothing bumped his ribs where his own blade had found its mark.
“That was some decent sword work you did back there,” Brock said. “Enough practice and you might actually be good, eventually,” he teased.
“Yes, enough practice and I might actually score that hit without you being able to make a counter strike.”
The older man smiled and rubbed his sore ribs. “You did tag me pretty good. That was a nice move, reversing your blade like that. Is that something you learned when you were in the army?”
“Partly,” Delno responded, “It’s not a normally practiced move, but the Weapons Master in my company said I had a bit of a knack for the blade and taught me some extra things. That move has saved my life a couple of times.”
“Well,” Brock retorted, “it wouldn’t have saved you today. I hit you pretty good myself. You’ll want to remember that in the future. You won’t normally find yourself going up against another Rider, but there are swordsmen out there who are a match even for our enhanced abilities.”
“Then what should I have done?” he asked a bit peeved.
“Well, there are a lot of things you should have done, including using magic. What you shouldn’t have done was let me bait you into attacking on my terms.”
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