by Nick McNeil
“Let me check.” Roderick flipped through the stacked pile, plucked a handful of pages from it, and dragged his finger along the bottom sentence of the last page. “It’s seems we have just arrived at Stonebank, sir.” Roderick looked up with a grin.
“What?” Bertly lashed out. “You have nothing about the peppers?” He leaned forward and nearly touched noses with Roderick. “Or the sabretooth, or the gross cave, or the mountain bats, oh, for the love of Cordelia—” Bertly threw his head back and pointed to the furry bed that consumed more than half the room. “My spirit animal.” He took a deep breath. “You didn’t even jot down my soul-bonding with the bear?” Bertly’s furry companion gave a deep grumble that vibrated through the room and made the flames on the candles flicker. “Now even she is upset.”
Roderick looked Bertly in the eye and gulped. He waited several breaths, during which he stared at his master with a straight face, and then lost his composure, crumpling into a fit of laughter. “Sir, I am only kidding.” Roderick wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “The last thing I have is you passing out.” The young elf yawned. “Speaking of which—we’ve been at this all night, and I am starting to wear out, sir.”
Bertly glanced outside and saw the sun peeking over the Noskar Mountains. “It is almost morning. We will hear her dragon’s wings flap at any moment.” Bertly strolled to the corner of the room and flopped back onto his bed. “We are nearing the end, my young apprentice. We will be done writing soon, and then you can sleep the entire flight.”
Roderick gasped. “You expect me to sleep while riding on the back of a dragon?”
“I don’t see why not,” Bertly replied, a smile spanning his face. “It can’t be much different than a gryphon.”
Roderick’s jaw dropped to his chest, where he’d also brought his hands to hover over his heart. “I am not sure if you recall, sir, but I didn’t do so well riding the gryphon.” The young apprentice’s hands started to shake as they clenched at his chest.
“Never mind that.” Bertly crossed his arms. “We do not have time to ponder your unreasonable fear of flying, Roderick.” Bertly pointed to the papers on the table before Roderick. “Back to your job, scribe.”
***
It felt nothing like waking up. The blackness in Bertly’s eyes slowly faded, and the images of his world became clearer. His hearing was dull, as if something were covering his ears, except nothing was there. Bertly’s body was numb, and there was a pressure on his back from lying on the ground; however, he couldn’t feel the wind across his face. He knew it was there because he heard it in the trees, though his skin felt untouched by it, as if he were sitting indoors. He could still feel and move his limbs, but they were uncoordinated. His hearing started to come back before his vision fully recovered. He heard the campfire crackling, and his stomach growled. He took a deep breath to smell the smoke, but nothing was cooking.
“You’re awake.”
Bertly turned his head. Resting next to him, wrapped in a blanket, was his young apprentice.
“You’ve been out for quite some time, sir.”
“How long is ‘quite some time’?” Bertly asked.
Roderick exhaled into his hands and rubbed them together. “Nearly an entire night and a day, sir. We have traveled quite far.”
Bertly’s posture stiffened.
“We are no more than a few hours from Stonebank. The only reason we stopped and set up camp was because the sun went down.”
Bertly looked around. The sun was rising over the hilltops, and the drizzle birds were starting to sing. “What happened? Why did I pass out?” Bertly surveyed the campsite. “Where is everyone?”
“They are out collecting breakfast, sir.” Roderick poked a log in the campfire with a stick, sending fluttering embers into the air. “Do you really not remember anything?”
Bertly closed his eyes and tried desperately to uncover the last thing he could recall. Bertly sat up—a sheet of snow rested across his body. His motor skills returned, but the feeling in his skin was still dull. He could hear Roderick’s teeth chattering, yet he couldn’t feel the cold from the ice lying across him. Suddenly, an influx of memories rushed through Bertly’s head. “Where is that bear?” he shouted.
Roderick perked up. “She’s out with the others, helping them gather breakfast, sir.”
“What?” Bertly sprang to his feet while a touch of vertigo overcame him, but he managed to fight it.
Roderick stood and met his master’s eyes. “What’s the matter, sir?”
“Explain to me what is going on, Roderick.” Bertly grabbed his apprentice by the collar and yanked him. “Now.”
“I d-don’t know, sir,” Roderick stuttered, as he had a hard time pushing a sentence out of his mouth. “You turned invisible and then the bear growled really loud and then you reappeared, but you were asleep on the ground.”
Bertly let go of Roderick. “And then what happened?”
“And then the bear walked over to Polly and me and started rolling around in the pile of bones,” Roderick replied. “I think she thought I was trying to play with her.”
Bertly lowered his chin. “She was…trying to…play?”
“Yes, sir.” Roderick nodded. “Not only that, she has escorted us the entire way back.” Roderick’s eyes glowed. “She even fought off an entire pride of lions.”
“It worked.” Bertly’s knees buckled and he fell back into the snow, his behind cushioning his fall.
“What worked, sir?” Roderick asked.
“The soul-bonding.” Bertly’s face relaxed, as did the rest of his body. “It actually worked.” He looked at Roderick. “I did it. I soul-bonded with the largest land animal Pangea has ever seen.” Bertly sprang to his feet and leaped onto Roderick. “I will be even more famous, my apprentice! People will sing songs of the Winter Wizard and his dragon-sized bear.”
Roderick’s face was squished into the snow. “About that, sir.”
Bertly continued to sit atop his apprentice. “But why would she be with the others right now?”
“About that, sir,” Roderick insisted.
“Shouldn’t my bear be with me right now?” Bertly looked at Roderick. “Why would they only leave you to look out for me?”
“Sir, I need to tell you something,” Roderick yelled.
“Well, why didn’t you speak up, then?” Bertly hopped off Roderick and helped his apprentice to his feet. “Yes, my dashing apprentice?” Bertly brushed the extra snow from his apprentice’s shoulders.
Roderick avoided eye contact. “There is something I should probably tell you.”
“I believe you just said that. Lay it on me.” Bertly felt as though his smile was permanently imbedded in his face.
Roderick lightly kicked at the slushed snow near his feet. “Something sort of happened after you passed out, sir.”
Bertly’s face lost all expression. “Go on.”
“Well, you see.” The young apprentice paused to pick the dirt from under his fingernail. “After you passed out, sir. You see, Polly. Well…”
Bertly grabbed Roderick by the shoulders and shook him. “For the love of Cordelia, spit it out, Roderick.”
Roderick cleared his throat. “After you passed out, sir, Polly also soul-bonded with an animal.”
Bertly let go of the young elf and took a step back. “What kind of animal?” He sighed and looked down.
“Well, it turns out the bear was guarding something.” Roderick twisted his neck about to look his master in the eyes. “On top of the waterfall, there was a nest.”
“And what lived inside the nest?” Bertly asked, unable to suppress a slight eye roll, the urge of which had been pressuring his orbits for a few moments.
“There was a dragon, sir.” Roderick took a few steps back. “Polly soul-bonded with…uh…with that dragon.”
Bertly grabbed his hair and screamed as he pulled it. “Polly soul-bonded with the King of all Dragons?�
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“Well, sir.” Roderick lifted his chin. “It actually wasn’t.”
Bertly let go of his hair and dropped his arms. “It wasn’t?”
“No, sir.” Roderick shook his head. “It was actually a baby dragon.”
“A baby dragon?” Bertly cocked his head. “How big was it?”
Roderick spread his arms. “No bigger than a dog, sir.”
“Ha. Doesn’t sound like much of a dragon.” Bertly’s frown curled into a smile. “So it’s like a big lizard, then?”
“Well, I assume it’ll grow, sir. Fairly large, at that.” Roderick peeked at Bertly and coughed, cutting off his own sentence. “But for now, yes. It’s very much as you’ve said, like a really big lizard.”
Bertly placed his hands on his hips. “I bond with a bear bigger than a carriage, and Polly bonds with something meant for a reptile tank. Almost pitiful.” Bertly forced a cheerful laugh that even he wasn’t convinced by. “How is Polly holding up?”
“Pardon, sir?” Roderick’s voice cracked.
“Is she taking it well?” Bertly puffed out his chest and placed his hands behind his head. “You know…the fact that she chose her one and only bond to be a mere lizard. How’s that sitting with her?”
Roderick’s face went blank. “You know, sir, she was upset earlier, but she has started to feel better. I suggest you don’t make mention of it though; I think she’s still sensitive about it.”
“I’m not surprised. She probably knows I’ll be the talk of the school when I arrive, riding on the back of my bear.” Bertly whipped his head from Roderick and peered into the trees of the forest nearby. “What’s that?”
“What is what, sir?” Roderick replied.
Bertly gripped his chest. “I sense something.” He focused on the trees, and emerging from the shadows of the forest were Edfrid and Devdan. Bertly glanced behind them at the trees, which shook as though an earthquake were imminent. The snapping of branches echoed through the quiet morning wind. Stepping out of the woods was Bertly’s mammoth-sized bear. The furry creature didn’t look as ferocious as he remembered. In fact, it almost seemed gentle in the way it moved. The giant bear made eye contact with Bertly and trotted over. It stopped just in front of Bertly and flopped onto its rear end.
Polly peeked out from behind the trees. “Well, aren’t you going to greet your new companion?” Buzzing around her head like an annoying housefly was a sleek and beautiful red baby dragon. Its tail was slender, and its scales shined as though they had been polished.
Bertly reached out and patted the bear twice on the head. “Hello,” he said to it. The fuzzy beast responded with a small satisfied growl.
“What are you going to name her, Bertly?” Roderick asked.
“I am not giving it a name.” Bertly shooed Roderick. “And why does everyone keep saying ‘her’?”
Polly crossed her arms and grunted. “You’re not going to give her a name?” she blurted.
Bertly shot a disgusted look at his friend. “No, Polly. I am not giving her a name.”
“But why not, sir?” Roderick probed.
Bertly threw his hands in the air. “Because, Roderick, she is a bear. If bears wanted names, then they would give themselves names.”
“Um. Well.” Roderick scratched his head. “I suppose you have a point there.”
“She is a bear, so that is what I will call her.” Bertly crossed his arms and flared his nostrils.
“Bear?” Roderick asked.
Bertly nodded. “Yes, her name is Bear.”
“Bear.” Polly clapped. “What a cute name.”
“No, Polly.” Bertly stomped his foot. “She does not have—” Bear rolled onto her back and started to wiggle around.
Roderick ran over to Bear and rubbed her belly. “I think she likes her name, sir.”
Bertly sighed. “I can see that.” Bear was sprawled out with her stomach exposed and her limbs dangling to the side. Her belly was large enough for multiple people to use as a mattress. Bertly snapped his fingers. “That is enough shenanigans.” Bear rolled over onto all fours. “It is time to get going.”
“Quite the rush from the boy who has been carried the whole way back,” Edfrid interjected.
“I want to impress Master Thel,” Bertly explained. “We have a chance to return two days early…from Noskar.”
“Wow, Bertly.” Polly placed her fingertips together. “I am so proud of you. Since when did you become so mature?”
Bertly’s cheeks grew hot and he turned his head so that he wasn’t looking directly at Polly.
“Maybe it was the Eternal Cave,” Roderick suggested.
The Winter Wizard snapped his fingers, which sent a cold gust of wind zipping past his apprentice, blowing him onto his back. “I do not need your sarcasm, Roderick.”
“Sir, if you do not mind,” Devdan said, “I have a question for you.”
Bertly looked toward the tall elf. “Yes, Devdan?”
“Please call me Dev.” Polly’s apprentice placed his hand on his chest. “But I was wondering, what will Master Thel say when you two return to Stonebank?”
Bertly looked to Polly for clarification; however, by the look on her face she was just as confused. “What do you mean?” Bertly asked.
“Well, your mission was to return with the scales of the King of Dragons.” Devdan shrugged. “We never obtained the scales from the King of Dragons.”
Bertly pointed to Polly’s spirit animal. “We have more than enough scales right there.” The small red dragon was wrapped around Polly’s shoulders. “There have been a few students before who have returned with dragon scales, but none have returned with them still attached to the dragon.” Bertly pumped his fist in the air.
“That’s good enough for me, sir,” Devdan replied.
“Yes, yes.” Bertly gave a dismissive wave. “We must be off now; we have wasted enough time.” At that moment, Bear walked next to Bertly and crouched over, offering him a ride.
“Astonishing, sir!” Roderick yelled. “You didn’t even have to signal her.”
Bertly was amazed. Bear knew exactly what he wanted, as though she’d read his mind. “Obviously, Roderick, that is the entire point of soul-bonding. Everyone knows that.”
***
Bear stomped through the snow with Bertly upon her back. The wizard had his chest puffed out and his head level. Polly’s dragon lay curled into a ball on Bear’s head. Riding just behind Bertly was his father, along with Polly and her apprentice.
“Sir?” Roderick asked.
“Yes, my apprentice?” Bertly had a smug look on his face as he surveyed the white landscape.
“Why do I have to walk while everyone else gets to ride Bear?” Roderick panted as he schlepped his feet across the ground. “I’ve never sweat so much in the snow before.”
“Because, Roderick, it builds character,” Bertly snapped.
“Well, sir.” Roderick glared at Bertly and snarled his upper lip. “I sure hope I can walk from here to Stonebank in two days.”
“Stop talking madness,” Bertly groaned.
“How do you plan on getting Bear back to the Academy, sir?” Roderick shouted. “Does she know where it is? Or did you plan on her riding on Clia’s back, too?”
Bear came to a halt. Bertly stared deep into his apprentice’s eyes and extended his hand. “Get on.”
Roderick locked arms with his master and climbed aboard Bear.
“Do not ever raise your voice like that to me, little elf.” Bertly glanced back. “Are we clear on that?”
“Understood,” Roderick replied.
“Nonetheless, you have made a good point, my apprentice.” Bertly focused his attention back on the road. In the distance, on the side of the mountain, the wooden elevator that led to Stonebank could just be seen. “I have not fully thought out my plans just yet. This could become quite the predicament.”
“Don’t worry, son,” Edfri
d said. “I can have a few of my guards show her the way to the Academy. You’ll just have to wait a few weeks for her to arrive. Maybe less if she gives the soldiers a ride there. Just from riding her back home, our trip has been nearly cut in half.”
“Is that okay with you, Bear?” Bertly patted her on the side of the head.
The fuzzy beast let out a gentle growl and plowed through the high snow. She didn’t mind.
“Wonderful. That settles it, then. Roderick, Polly, Devdan and I will leave for campus today, and in roughly two weeks’ time, Bear will arrive at the Academy.”
A small chill came over Bertly as the temperature dropped. He was gaining feeling back in his body; however, he still couldn’t feel the breeze across his skin. The group trekked through the long shadow cast over Noskar from the high Stonebank hills until they arrived at the wooden lift.
“I suppose this is where we shall part ways,” Edfrid said. “No point in straining myself lugging you all up to Stonebank when you will be leaving right when you get to the top.” The warden of Stonebank slid off the massive bear and walked toward her head, near Bertly.
“Fair enough.” Bertly hopped off Bear and landed next to his father.
“When will I see you again?” Edfrid asked.
“I suppose a lot more often,” Bertly replied. “Now that I am a master, I am allowed to come and go as I please. Not even the Elders can tell me where I can and cannot go anymore. And I have reliable transportation,” he said as he patted Bear’s haunches. “Well, the Elders can, but it is pretty tough to take away a master’s ranking, for it is mostly a sign of knowledge, not just entitlement.
“Aye.” Edfrid’s cheeks turned rosy and a smile covered his face. “You can come home for Drizzle Day, then,” he insisted.
“What’s Drizzle Day?” Roderick inquired.
Bertly, Edfrid, and Polly gasped. “It’s only the greatest holiday in the world!” Polly shouted.
“I want to come back for Drizzle Day,” Bertly’s apprentice begged.
“Aye, and you will,” Edfrid told Roderick.
Bertly looked at his father and gave him the tightest hug he could muster. “We will see each other sooner rather than later.” Bertly stepped back and reached into his shirt, pulling out Clia’s whistle. He blew the whistle and waited a moment.