by Nick McNeil
“Roderick, sadly you don’t have a choice.” Bertly gave him a playful bump, despite the emptiness he felt at losing another friend. He was lucky to still have his friends and his father with him. Together, they would ensure that Clia’s death would not be in vain. “You’re still my apprentice. You have to follow me.”
Roderick bowed his head and didn’t bother arguing.
“It sounds like a plan. Your Eskosian bear should have no trouble getting you to Stonebank in a few days’ time.” Cordelia tightened her bootstraps and the lapels on her armor. Bertly was impressed by the fact that she didn’t wear any gloves. Her hands must have been tougher than leather. “Once I reunite with my spirit animal, I will pick you all up from Stonebank, and we will head for the Zoo to retrieve your friends. Hopefully by rescuing a couple of dwarves from the Decomposite, we can gain our entry.”
“What about Bear?” Bertly questioned. “I certainly do not want to leave her behind.”
“Are you serious?” Cordelia paused for a moment. “You’re serious…okay. Let’s just say my dragon has lifted much bigger things.”
“Well, sweet Cordelia!” Bertly shouted. “I can’t wait to set my eyes on this beauty.”
“Pardon?” Cordelia glared out of confusion.
“Sorry, it’s a…it’s a common phrase.” Bertly pursed his lips, embarrassed at his awkward outburst.
“Right.” Cordelia clapped her hands and started walking away. “I will see you all very soon. Safe travels.”
“And just like that, she’s gone.” Bertly was in awe. A small part of him felt as though Cordelia filled a void he didn’t know was there. Bear walked up to Bertly and bent down for him to climb aboard. “I suggest we don’t waste any more time. I would like to get some rest before we go on another adventure.” Bertly pondered a moment while his father, Roderick, and Polly hopped on. “Maybe I will start documenting all of this; it is starting to become too much to keep track of. Not to mention, I don’t want things being lost in history again.”
“That sounds like a lot of work, sir,” Roderick commented.
“You’re right, my apprentice,” Bertly replied. “That is why you are going to help me with it.”
“Wonderful. I have a few small apartments we can stay in while we wait,” Edfrid pointed out. “Just at the top ridge of Stonebank, on the outskirts of town. No one will notice us up there. We can spend our last few days resting, in peace, and I suppose, writing your version of history.”
“Are we really going to leave the queen and the Elders in the dark?” For the first time since their meeting, Ayce seemed agitated. He had been nothing but respectful and much too timid to speak out until this point. “You’re just going to leave everyone to die?”
“Listen, Ayce,” Bertly said firmly. “The elves did nothing today. If it weren’t for Cordelia, Bishop would have overrun the entire city. Not only that, his plan was to convert your dead ones into more Rotters.” The wizard tightened his grip and held onto Bear. “We’re going to be on the winning side of history. Cordelia ended the Blight once, and she is going to do it again. Pangea as a whole isn’t ready for something like this, so we have to follow those who are.” Bertly peered ahead, and Bear dashed for Stonebank.
“Wait,” a faint voice cried out.
Bertly looked back, Ayce had his bow on his back and was sprinting at full force. “Wait for me,” the elf pleaded.
Bear came to a stop.
“Please, you’re right.” Ayce was bent over, panting. “I don’t want to wait around to see what happens. Please, let me come with you.”
Bertly smiled and reached out his arm. He locked hands with Ayce and pulled him on top of Bear. “Hold on tight.”
***
“Is that her?” Roderick stood up and leaned out over the ledge.
“I believe it is, and just in time, too.” Bertly gathered the pieces of parchment and tied a string around them. He opened his travel sack. A quiet hum slipped through the bag as Bertly put the bundled pieces of paper away—it was the golden pepper. “I have big plans for you, little one,” Bertly whispered to the sleeping pepper.
“Should I go grab the others?” Roderick asked.
“Roderick, why don’t you make yourself useful and grab Polly and my father?” Bertly said, pretending not to have heard his apprentice. “Hurry along. In the meantime, I will open the sliders for Bear.”
“Of course, sir. I will be right back and make myself useful.” Roderick rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I haven’t slept since we started writing your book or anything.”
Bertly stood alone on the balcony, overlooking Stonebank one last time. The silhouette of Cordelia’s dragon progressed quickly—it nearly doubled in size within moments. The young wizard turned and faced the entrance of the wooden cabin he and Roderick had been staying in. He walked over to the far left side and unbuckled a hinge connecting the back-patio wall to the rest of the house. He then grabbed the unfastened hinge and slid the wall open. The wooden panels glided completely over, as though the whole wall were removed.
The entire inside of the cabin was exposed to the outside. A gust of wind blew past Bertly, filling the small wooden room and blowing out the fire next to Bear. Across from Bear, on the other side of the room, was a door leading to the outside. Roderick had left it cracked open from when he’d exited to retrieve the others. The door led to flat ground, where the cabin could be entered without having to scale the entire cliffside of Stonebank.
The fire going out awakened Bertly’s fuzzy friend. Bear stretched out her front paws and unleashed a big yawn. The furry beast shook her head and strolled over to her human companion. Bertly scratched behind her ear as she sat next to him and watched Cordelia’s dragon approach.
“So just how big is this giant lizard?” Edfrid mocked as he walked through the door.
“See for yourself,” Bertly replied.
“Well, I’ll be.” Edfrid paused in the middle of the room with Polly, Roderick, and Ayce standing just behind him. “Polly, is Dreki going to get that big?” the warden cracked.
“I hope.” Polly gave a depressed smile. Her normally bubbly attitude had all but faded. Bertly could only assume it was from the news of her real family. He didn’t think much of it because he knew her to be the kindest woman he knew; however, she didn’t even seem like her mind was even in the same room as him. The Winter Wizard was stressed for his friend’s well-being. For him nothing had changed, but for her, everything was different. Polly’s small red dragon zoomed around her head and fluttered about like a feather caught in the wind. It had already grown tremendously in size, starting out the size of a koko and already reaching the mass of a large dog.
Cordelia’s blue dragon hovered outside, only an arm’s reach from the balcony. It had ferocious red eyes that rested inside an angular, rigid skull. Several horns sat atop its narrow head like a crown. A golden hook was chained between its rounded nostrils. The ornate nose ring was lined with diamonds, almost distracting from the large fangs that poked out of its mouth. The gust from its wings flapping in place was enough to almost blow Bertly over.
The dragon grabbed the balcony with its claw and extended its flattened wing out so that it could act like a bridge. “Well, come on then. There is no time to waste,” Cordelia urged.
The group of unlikely accomplices climbed aboard Cordelia’s ancient dragon, and together, they flew over the endless horizon.
About the Author
Nick McNeil is the author of The Dubious Tale of the Winter Wizard, the first novel of a fantasy series that he finished writing while still in college. Nick is now a physical education teacher. In the meantime, he is a financial advisor and youth sports coach. Mr. McNeil currently resides in San Francisco with his cat. You can reach out to him online at: facebook.com/nick.mcneil.author
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