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Back to the previous chapter: Vapors
First Draft
The following morning greeted the party with a deep blue sky sparsely populated with white clouds. The sun had yet to rise above the steep eastern wall of the Arabel Cinlu valley, but it was already lighting the tops of the western peaks.
The party had assembled in the lobby of the inn to check out. Eric was at the counter, handing his key to the innkeeper.
"Ah," the man said to Eric. "Milord has an additional charge to settle?"
"What do you mean?" Eric asked.
"Milord had room service last night."
Eric looked over his shoulder at Rishala, a scowl crossing his face as the Caledonian opened his own coin purse. Facing the innkeeper again, Eric asked, "How much?"
"Thirty-two silver Crowns, milord," the man answered. Breanna gasped in shock.
Rishala stepped up to the counter. "Thirty-two? The lass said thirty last night."
"Milord also had morning room service delivered, an additional two Crown fee."
Rishala counted out thirty Crowns, and Eric contributed two of his own.
Breanna put on her smoked lenses and walked out of the inn.
"Is she okay?" Kasey asked as he watched her leave.
"Bree is ill," Eric replied. "I think the wine and the altitude and the excitement last night were difficult."
"Okay," Kasey said. "I am going to see if I can find some fish. There was a fresh market up the road a little way. Farran is probably hungry by now." The Church Knight left the inn, heading quickly to the north.
Bilbus put his key on the counter, then looked out the back windows of the inn. The merchant caravan was already assembled, and the outriders were talking to one side as the merchants went along the wagons, checking tie downs one last time. "Hey, the wagons are ready to go. We better hurry up."
"There's no rush," Rishala said.
Bilbus interrupted, "But they're going to leave soon."
"Aye, but I know where they're going. I found some maps that show the route to Twin Saddles. We do not need the caravan."
After everyone had turned in keys, they went around to the side of the inn, where the stables were. Breanna had already saddled her horse, and she waited patiently in Star's saddle. Kasey had just returned from the market, carrying a pale fish.
"Wait, Kasey," Adria said when she saw the fish. Kasey stopped, looking at her. "Is that a cave fish?"
Kasey looked at it. "It is a pale fish, isn't it?" Some thumping echoed out of the stables. Kasey shouted into the open door, "I'll be there in a second, Farran!"
Breanna groaned to herself as Kasey rushed into the stables.
Ten minutes later, all the horses were ready for travel. The riders set out onto the Via Avillonia, heading south down the valley.
"Bilbus," Rishala said. "You lived in Brallian at one time. There are a number of elves around there, right?"
"There are some," Bilbus answered. "Not as many as there are in the Elven Kingdom."
"How do cats react to elves?"
"What?"
"Did you ever notice how cats acted around elves?"
"I don't know... I think they don't really care one way or the other. Both of them think they're superior to humans, anyway. Maybe cats think elves are just big cats."
Rishala sighed to himself as he slowed his horse.
Near the side road for the bath houses, on the south end of town, Bilbus suddenly asked, "Are we following the caravan?"
Sturm answered, "The caravan hasn't left yet."
Eric added, "Rishala knows the way to Twin Saddles, anyway." He then turned in his saddle to see Rishala riding behind everyone else. "And Rishala is in back."
"Aye," Rishala said. "I don't know if I want to have my back to ye, Eric, after last night. We have a few miles before the turn."
Sturm brought his horse next to Bilbus's. "You've talked about a particular well-dressed man in the past Bilbus," the Sun Knight said as he rode, keeping his eyes forward. "I think I know what you mean about his clothing..."
When Bilbus did not reply, Sturm looked over at the mountebank. Bilbus kept his head pointed forward, but he was pale and his hands held his reins too tightly.
Eric overheard the comment, and he slowed his horse until he was riding alongside the other two. "What was that?" the explorer asked.
"I had a dream last night," Sturm began as way of explanation. "In that dream, I was back at my vineyards. It was harvest time, but no one was harvesting anything. Just when I realized how odd that seemed, I saw hordes of orcs charging from the south." The Sun Knight looked around. "The orcs ran right past me and destroyed the vineyards. Then I found myself standing nowhere. Everything around me was black. That was when a man appeared in front of me."
Sturm glanced over his shoulder. Rishala had closed so he could listen to the story, as well.
"The man wore the clothing of a noble from al-Rhayidh. He talked to me for a while. Well, more like he taunted me. He said I was too dishonorable to do what needed to be done. And," Sturm paused, "he called me a descendant of Uther Paendroeg."
Bilbus let out a nervous laughter, but stopped just as Rishala said, "It's nae a laughing matter."
Sturm glanced at Bilbus, then continued his narrative. "The man said he would be able to summon 'the Great One' from his death slumber to revel on the lands."
Eric had his journal out, and had started making notes. He stopped writing and looked pensively at the pages. "If that was Bilbus's Great Lord, what would he call a 'Great One'?"
After they had ridden in silence for a few seconds, Bilbus decided to speak. "I had a dream once. The well-dressed man -- the Great Lord -- wanted me to kill someone. He offered me a lot of things, including Adria, if I would kill someone for him. At the time, he didn't seem to know who it was I was supposed to kill." Bilbus looked at Sturm. "Maybe now he knows."
The mood was somber as the riders traveled south along the Via. The forest around them was quiet, and the sun did not warm the travelers much. The still air kept the trip from being too cold, but puffs of fog escaped the mouths of human and horse alike.
Rishala slapped his leg. "That's right."
"Huh?" Bilbus said as he was roused from thought.
"Elves and cats. Cats are indifferent about elves, just like they are with humans. Cats hate dark elves."
Not understanding the relevance, Bilbus said, "So?"
"There was a dream last night for me, as well," Rishala said. "I had journeyed to the dreamlands once more, as I had a few weeks ago. I don't know how I got there this time, but I was in the dockside tavern in Celephais. The raven-haired singer was there again, and I recognized some of the other people. One of the cats was on my table, rubbing against my hand, when a man took a seat opposite me.
"The cat really hated him. It hissed and left before the man started to talk. The man seemed to be looking for someone, but he didn't think I was the right person until he saw my necklace." Rishala touched the fox-headed medallion that he wore constantly. "He was really odd -- his ears were slightly pointed, so I thought he might have been an elf, but his skin sometimes flickered, even though the lanterns in the tavern were steady."
"So he was a drow?" Bilbus ventured.
"Aye, and he wanted to talk to me."
"Talk to you? Why?"
"That's what I asked. He said I had to meet him in that tavern, because he knew where to find Rhongomyant..."
Sturm interrupted. "Uther's battle spear?"
Bilbus nodded, "The one I dreamed about in Saltcliffs."
"I believe that's the one. He dinna say," Rishala said.
Bilbus furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would he know where to find it? In the dream I had, the Great Lord was talking to someone who was part-skeleton with glowing eyes."
Rishala shrugged. "That is what he said. He knew where to find it, and he needed to tell me. He said he would return to the tavern every week until I met him there."
Eric was jotting notes in his journal once more. He paused. "Why would he want to tell us where the spear is? Surely he must know that we would be able to stop his master if we get it."
"I don't know," Rishala admitted. "Do ye think I want to meet with a drow in my dreams?"
"So," Bilbus said, "this drow wants to meet you in a tavern in these dream lands so he can tell you where to find Rhongomyant. It would be nice if someone could back you up."
"Aye."
Eric nodded to himself. "That may be possible."
"Sure," Bilbus said, laughing. "Maybe we can all jump into Rishala's dream and cover his back."
Rishala cleared his throat. "The dreamlands are not the same as dreaming. You can get to the dreamlands from a normal dream, if ye know how. But the dreamlands are another world entirely..."
"Great," Bilbus interrupted. "Another Phaeree story."
Adria laughed sharply. "Rishala, are you actually trying to have an intelligent conversation with Bilbus?"
"Aye," Rishala called to her. "Some day I will succeed."
"Nice," Bilbus growled.
"In any case," Rishala concluded, "we could all meet in the dreamlands, in case this dark elf is up to no good."
"He is a dark elf," Bilbus said. "Of course he is up to no good. It's like Kasey being honest. It's in his nature."
"I'm nae arguing with that," Rishala said. "I still want to know why he wants to help us."
The lull in the conversation lasted for a number of minutes as the party followed the paved stone road. At the round of a bend, the party saw a sign posted to the left of the road, near a muddy wagon track leading east. The paint on the sign had peeled until it was nigh to illegible.
"That's the turn," Rishala said. "The tracks will take us to Twin Saddles."
"You're kidding," Bilbus said. "The mud tracks to Hold Asam were in better condition than this mess."
"Twin Saddles is not a large town," Rishala admonished. "They are well off the main trade route through the Middle Range."
"I can see that," Bilbus said as Acquisition 2 turned down the mud track.
The road wound slowly along a side valley, climbing towards a low pass a few miles away. A small herd of deer stood to one side, hiding in a copse of pine trees to watch the party warily.
Several trees stood near the road, forcing the rutted path to wind around them as it progressed along the valley. As the path crossed close to one of the trees, Breanna reached up and broke off the end of a low-hanging branch. She looked at the green needles of the branch curiously, bending some of them and rubbing others between her fingers.
Bilbus chuckled. "Some trees are like that, Bree."
Breanna threw the branch at Bilbus. "I know that. These trees are different than the pines I've seen near Armagh. I was wondering if I could use them as a substitute in some of my mixtures."
Adria said, "These trees tend to have more sap, and it's a little stickier. As long as you make adjustments for it, you should be able to use them."
Once the road cleared the pass, it dropped into another valley dominated by a lone mountain to the north. Most of the steeper mountains of the Middle Ranges were twenty miles to the north, separated from this valley by rolling foothills, but one lone, jagged mountain reached for the sky a mere ten miles away.
Two miles away, slightly to the south, was a small village. The village covered the top of a lone hill in the center of the low valley. On the highest of the three peaks of the hill was a two story building that had a commanding view of the village. A pair of banners fluttered from one edge of the building. The remainder of the village consisted of single-story structures, few of which were as large as the two-story building. The village was clear of snow, but the spaces between the buildings were dark from mud. Smoke curled from chimneys on all of the buildings.
The party continued along the mud track, which curved towards the village.
"Twin Saddles?" Bilbus asked.
"Aye," Rishala replied. "The hill has three tops in a line, so there are two saddles between the peaks."
Bilbus grunted, but said nothing else.
They reached the town a short while later, riding single file down what appeared to be the main road of the town. All the buildings were aligned down the length of the hill, with an ample space between them.
Villagers stopped to look at the procession of strangers riding in to town. Some of them murmured to others in wonder, while a few abruptly remembered proper etiquette and bowed or curtsied, or sometimes both.
"Don't get many strangers around here," Bilbus commented.
The road led to the two-story building. It was now obvious that the building was a home, a veritable mansion compared to the rest of the residences. The party passed the mansion and spotted an inn forty paces ahead, down the slope a short distance.
The inn was small, little more than a large house. The gray stones of the walls were smoothed with age, with a few deep gaps in the mortar. The sign above the entrance was no more than a weather-beaten round panel; any markings it may have had at one time were lost. Two large panel windows near the entrance had been shuttered, but the smaller windows -- panes filled with oiled skins -- were open to allow light into the place. The door was as worn as the sign, and a pair of large cracks in the wood threatened to leave the door in pieces.
Adria looked at her husband. "Looks like your kind of place."
Bilbus jumped down from his horse, flashing a brief retort to Adria in the Thieves' Sign. She laughed as he walked to the door.
Inside, Bilbus found the innkeeper sitting at the lone table in the common room. His bare feet were propped on another chair close to a fireplace that provided some warmth. The innkeeper had half-turned towards the entrance when he heard it open. His hair was dark, but thinning, and he wore a faded woolen shirt and dark trousers.
The shocked look on the innkeeper was priceless. He scrambled to his feet. "Milord!"
Bilbus turned on his charming smile. "Good afternoon, good master. My friends and I require rooms for the night. Do you have any available?"
"All six rooms are empty now, milord," the keeper answered. "You may have as many as you need until the merchant returns."
"Merchant?"
"Oh, yes, milord. Lord Nighvass sent a merchant to bring weapons to town to train a town watch. He has ordered that they be kept in the inn, so they will have these rooms when they return."
"I see," Bilbus said as he stroked his chin. "Is there another inn, or other rooms in town?"
"Another inn?" the keeper asked, perplexed. "No, milord, this is the only inn Twin Saddles needs. I think the widow's ranch might have a couple of spare rooms, and there is a barn with a good sized loft down there." The innkeeper scratched his balding head. "Oh, and I think Elare, the blacksmith, has a spare room or two now that his boys left for Arabel Cinlu to apprentice there."
"Thank you, good master," Bilbus said before the innkeeper could continue. "Let me relay this news to my companions and see what they wish to do."
Bilbus quickly went back outside and climbed back into his saddle. He sighed. "This town... The inn has six rooms that are spoken for as soon as the caravan gets here. The innkeeper started listing peoples' spare rooms and hay lofts as options."
"We can pitch tents on the edge of town," Sturm suggested. "It would be no worse than what we were doing on the way to town."
"We are nobles," Eric said. "We can go to Lord Nighvass's house and request rooms. He can't really refuse us; it'd be a serious breach of custom."
Bilbus slapped a leg. "That's it. Come on, Eric." He jumped down from his horse once more and strode towards the two-story house. Eric sighed and jumped down to follow the black-clad mountebank.
Eric caught up with Bilbus just as Bilbus hammered a gloved fist on the door. Bilbus waited for an impatient second, then hammered again.
A servant opened the door. He wore green livery with a threadbare insignia on the front. The servant ran a hand through his brown, unkempt hair. "Yes?"
Bilbus straightened. "I am Lord Hogain. My manservant and I are traveling the Middle Ranges, exploring these wild lands. We require lodging for the night."
The servant swung the door the rest of the way open and pointed at the inn, where the rest of the party still waited on horseback. "The inn is right there, milord."
Bilbus glared at the servant. "The innkeeper says Lord Nighvass has reserved those rooms for some merchants. We wish to have a room here."
"Lord Nighvass is at his country estate at present."
"Then what is the problem? We can stay in his room."
"This is Lord Nighvass's house. Only he can authorize me to give you a room."
Bilbus sighed. "Where is this estate?"
The servant pointed north. "It's at the foot of The Crag. You should be able to follow the trail. He just left this morning."
"Well, when will he be back?"
"Usually he spends three days at the estate."
Bilbus turned to leave. Eric quietly cleared his throat. "M'lord, it is customary to tip the household staff when one visits."
Bilbus shot a glare at the Azirian, then turned back to the servant. "If you ever go to Arabel Cinlu, buy a Departure Bond." He turned to leave again.
"No, m'lord," Eric said quietly. "A Crown is customary."
Bilbus grumbled under his breath as he dug out a silver coin and flipped it at the servant. He stomped back towards the inn, then realized that the party had left. A quick scan around the village showed that they had gone down the hill a short distance and dismounted. Sturm already had his tent on the ground, and Adria was busily untying the lashes on the tent she and Bilbus shared.
Bilbus stomped towards the party, still grumbling. "You made that up, didn't you?" he asked Eric accusingly.
"Perhaps I did," Eric allowed, "but it is customary to be kind to the servants of nobles whom you visit."
Bilbus snorted and kept walking.
Adria had the tent laid out on a patch of ground that she had cleared of snow, and she had started to hammer stakes through loops in the canvas to keep the tent still. When Bilbus stopped next to her, Adria offered him the hammer. Bilbus kneeled next to the stake and hammered it into the hard ground. He then moved to the next canvas loop and took a stake from his wife and started pounding it as well.
Bilbus had just started on a third stake when Eric approached. "Bilbus, we need to check out this country house. I want you to come with me."
Bilbus straightened thankfully. He held the hammer out to Adria. "Sorry. Eric needs me to go with him."
"Typical," Adria said as she took the hammer. She winked at Bilbus, then turned to hammer tent stakes.
Bilbus and Eric got their horses and rode through town towards the north. The trail north was easy to find. It led into a sparse forest, up a gentle slope towards the sharp-peaked mountain that loomed ahead of them.
"What do you have in mind?" Bilbus asked after they had traveled nearly a mile.
"I want to take a look at this house. If Lord Nighvass is the dragon, he is going to need a pretty big place to hide. The villagers seem pretty normal for someone off of the main trade routes, so I am not sure if we do have the right place."
The house appeared through the trees some time later. The two riders stopped, watching it for a moment. Like much of Twin Saddles, the building looked weather-aged. It was only a little larger than the inn back in town, and smoke curled out of chimneys near both ends of the structure.
Bilbus pulled his spyglass out of its pouch and pointed it towards the house. Eric did likewise with his own glass.
The two observed the house quietly for a minute before Bilbus snorted. "That's not much of a country house. I have a bigger house near Londoun."
Eric lowered his glass and looked at Bilbus. "You have a country house?"
Bilbus kept looking at the house. "Well, yeah. I have the house and a few acres of land. I let a farmer use the land to grow crops. He stays in the house and keeps it up, and he gives me a five percent share of the crop."
Eric nodded pensively. "That is a very generous arrangement, Bilbus. I am impressed."
"You did not hear it from me!" Bilbus warned.
Eric resumed looking over the house. "Do you see the trail leading up the mountain from the house?"
"Where?"
"See where this trail leads to the front of the house? Follow it around to the left of the house. It leads farther north."
Bilbus shifted his telescope. "No... Oh, I see it now. Where do you think it goes?"
"It looks used, and not just as a game trail. Maybe that's where our dragon is?"
Bilbus nodded to himself.
"We should ride back and get Kasey. I want to meet this Lord Nighvass and see what type of lord he is."
"Why do we need Kasey?"
"One more noble to be with us when we impose upon Nighvass for hospitality. And he can back us up if anything untoward happens."
"Okay," Bilbus agreed. The two riders stowed their spyglasses, then turned to ride back to town.
Three hours later, the three men had returned to the house. The sun was low in the western sky, and a chill had crept into the air. While in Twin Saddles, Eric noted that the merchant caravan had arrived and taken their rooms in the inn. The party had finished erecting their tents, and Sturm had tended a blazing fire in the center of the ring of tents.
Kasey did not understand why Eric wanted him to come along initially, but he did so after a quick explanation.
The three rode up to the front of Lord Nighvass's country estate. Eric jumped down from his horse and reached the door before Bilbus could. The Azirian knocked on the door, crisply but not pounding. He glanced back at Bilbus, who fumed to one side. Kasey had dismounted to gather the reins of Bilbus's and Eric's horses, but the Church Knight left Farran loose.
After no one responded to the knock, Eric rapped once more upon the door. Another pause ensued, during which Eric placed his ear against the door. His eyes were squeezed shut as he listened intently. He pulled back suddenly.
A young woman opened the door. Her livery was disheveled and incompletely laced, and she looked hurried. She looked up at Eric and the other two men behind him, then curtsied. "Milords," she greeted.
Eric started speaking in his noble voice. "I am Lord Hogain," he started to say as Bilbus snickered quietly. "My fellow noble," he gestured towards Kasey, "my manservant, and I are traveling the Middle Ranges. We have decided to bed over in this town, but the inn is full. The servants at Lord Nighvass's manor in town refuse us lodging, so we were forced to travel clear out here to request lodging from Lord Nighvass himself. May we enter? It is cold."
The servant blushed slightly and opened the door wide, letting the three men into the house. Eric looked around the room. It was modestly appointed, little different than he would have expected for a merchant. Compared to what he had seen of Twin Saddles, it was fine decor; compared to any nobles house that Eric had visited in the past, it was paltry.
"Lord Nighvass is here, yes?" Eric asked the servant. She nodded nervously, curtsied slightly, and rushed into a different room.
A man entered the room through the doorway that the servant had used to leave. He wore fine clothing that he was still donning as he stepped past the doorway.
"Lord Nighvass?" Eric asked.
The man nodded as he finished affixing a belt around his waist. He was in his early forties, of slight build, with a messy mop of pale brown hair that he started smoothing as he met Eric's gaze. His eyes were dark, with a spark of irritation that he quickly extinguished.
"I am Lord Hogain, of the Kingdom of the Five Crowns. Lord Kasey and I have been traveling along the Middle Ranges, and we arrived in your fine village today."
"Welcome to Twin Saddles," Lord Nighvass said. His voice was reedy, and it had a stronger Brythokelltic accent, more common to the southern extents of Eiresud than to the Middle Ranges hinterlands of the kingdom.
Eric walked over to the fireplace. "This is an interesting crest." He was looking at the shield on the mantle above the fireplace. "What do these stripes represent?"
Lord Nighvass strode across the room to stand next to Eric. He started explaining the meanings of the markings on the family crest, as well as explaining some of the family's history. Eric asked questions about the region, and the prosperity of Twin Saddles, and a variety of minimally relevant questions.
Bilbus stood near the door, arms crossed, watching the Azirian make small talk. He glanced over at Kasey, whose eyes had glazed over. Bilbus sighed loudly.
Eric glanced over at his two companions, then turned to face Lord Nighvass. "I must apologize for taking so much of your time. I had intended to simply ask if you would extend the normal courtesy of offering a room to us for the night, since your inn is full."
Lord Nighvass glanced around the room. "My country home is full. There is room in town, if you do not mind taking my own room for the night."
"That would be acceptable," Eric quickly assured the man.
"How long were you staying?" Lord Nighvass asked cautiously.
"Mmmmmm. I expect we will leave tomorrow," Eric answered.
"Then I see no problem." Lord Nighvass left the room for a moment, then returned with a note that he had stamped with his signet ring. "Take this back to my mansion. The servants should not give you any further problems. If they do, tell me before you leave and I will correct them."
"I'm sure there will be no problem, Lord Nighvass. I thank you for your time and courtesy."
"And well met, Lord Hogain."
Eric nodded his head graciously. "Come along, Lord Kasey. Servant, make our horses ready."
Bilbus bowed towards Eric and flashed him a derogatory phrase in Thieves' Sign that the Azirian missed entirely.
Several minutes later, the three men were riding in the twilight back towards the village.
"Don't you find the behavior odd?" Eric wondered aloud. "Why were Lord Nighvass and his servant dressing when we got there?"
"You are kidding, right?" Bilbus asked. "You don't know why they would have been undressed?"
Kasey blurted out, "That was nothing odd. They were at the country house, where the lord would normally relax. He probably did not expect to have visitors, so why would he be wearing his courtly garments?"
"That may be it," Eric allowed. "He still seemed a little stand-offish, and the servant did not seem proper."
"Country lords are more casual. When you don't have to deal with other lords all the time, you can afford to be less formal."
Bilbus nodded. "Kasey makes sense, Eric. Lord Nighvass may not be keen on a whole lot of lords showing up unannounced."
"That may be. I wonder if there is anything else going on here."
Kasey turned in his saddle. "Hey, doesn't Rishala know how to see through walls? He can see if anything else is going on here."
"He could," Eric agreed. "I wonder if that really is Lord Nighvass, though."
"I'm hungry," Kasey said. "I can go to the inn and get something to eat, and find out what Lord Nighvass looks like."
"That is a good idea, Kasey," Eric said. "Bilbus?"
Bilbus already knew what Eric was going to ask. "What?" the mountebank asked unhappily.
"Someone needs to watch the house."
"Fine," Bilbus said. He stopped Acquisition 2 near a tree. "I'll be up in this tree, freezing my fingers off watching the house while you two ride back to town and thaw out."
Bilbus tied his horse to the tree, then climbed up on a low branch. As he settled onto the branch, he mumbled, "Maybe the dragon will get bored and come out here to warm me up."
As his comrades rode away, Bilbus started watching the house through his spyglass. "Nothing is going to happen," he said to no one. "I'm going to waste the next hour or two, in the dark, in the cold of winter, and nothing will happen. I could be riding back into town to warm up. But, no, someone has to watch the house. And we couldn't possibly have Eric do it."
Acquisition snorted and rubbed against the tree.
"Hey! Knock it off!" Bilbus growled down to the horse. Sighing to himself, Bilbus climbed back down and rummaged through his saddle bags. He pulled out a grain bag. Acquisition took an interest in the bag, trying to push Bilbus aside.
"Do you want fed?" Bilbus asked before he slipped the bag over Acquisition's muzzle.
He climbed back into the tree to watch the house again. After a few minutes, he looked up at the stars twinkling in heavens far above. "You are really enjoying this, aren't you, Fate? Bilbus, your personal toy, freezing in the cold. What else can we do with him? We've already made him the personal stall toy of a demon horse, and we've nearly killed him in more ways than most people can imagine. Oh, and we let him spend a couple of weeks with orcs that looked at him like a side of beef every time he wasn't watching them." Bilbus noticed that the windows to the main room of the house were not shuttered, and he could see into them readily, even at this distance. People kept walking by, dressed not in livery or noble garments, but in casual clothing that a commoner might wear.
"Then there was the city of dark elves." Bilbus looked back up to the stars. "Don't you have any other worshippers you can harass? Certainly someone else deserves your attention, too."
Kasey took a seat at the lone table in the inn's common room. The innkeeper looked at Kasey nervously until he saw the Church Knight's dagger.
"Sir Knight, what may I do for you?" the innkeeper asked as he shifted from one foot to the other.
"Some hot stew and wine would be really good right now. It's a cold night."
"Yes, Sir Knight. Right away." The innkeeper bowed and scurried into the kitchen next to the common room.
When he returned with a large bowl of stew, Kasey asked, "What is Lord Nighvass like?"
"What do you mean?"
"I hear Lord Nighvass is the lord of the town. What is he like?"
"He is not a people's man, but none of the Nighvass family ever has been. He rules the town fairly, and he does not ask much of us."
"It sounds like this Lord Nighvass is a good ruler to have. Too many of them like to be involved in everyone's life. Have you ever seen him?"
"Oh, of course, Sir Knight. He sees the people regularly, and, when he is in town, he lets us approach him with grievances during the mornings."
"What does he look like?" Kasey asked just before he slurped a large spoonful of stew.
"Oh, he is an older man. Light hair, with a quiet voice. He has a bit of an accent, sounds more like a southerner."
"Oh? Has he ruled the town long?"
"Lord Anmae Nighvass has ruled since his father, Baliel, died twenty years ago."
"Are they from around here?"
The innkeeper scratched his head. "The Nighvass family has ruled for as long as I know. It's been a few generations, for sure."
"Thank you," Kasey said. The innkeeper left as the Church Knight devoured his bowl of stew. After half of a second bowl, Kasey asked if he could take the rest of the stew with him. "I will bring the bowl back," Kasey promised.
"Okay, I suppose," the innkeeper agreed.
"And, could you fill this skin with wine?" Kasey asked as he held an empty skin up. Kasey placed a pair of silver coins on the table.
"Of course, Sir Knight," the innkeeper said graciously. The meal was worth no more than half a silver coin. He took the skin into the kitchen, then returned with it filled a moment later.
Kasey thanked the innkeeper again, then took the bowl and wineskin and left the inn. He rode back to the north along the trail. The moon, just past its waxing quarter, gave enough light to follow the trail through the snow.
He found Bilbus's tree with no difficulty. Eric and Rishala had already returned, and they spoke with Bilbus, who was still on the branch, watching the house. All three stopped to watch Kasey approach.
Kasey maneuvered Farran close to the tree. The branch on which Bilbus sat was about even with Kasey's head.
"Here," Kasey said as he offered the bowl to Bilbus. "I think it may still be warm."
Bilbus grabbed the bowl away from the Church Knight and slurped noisily at the cooled stew.
"I also brought some wine," Kasey added as he held the skin out to Bilbus. The mountebank took the skin and took a long draw of the wine. "Sorry, it's not Scowling Knight."
"That's okay, Kase," Bilbus said before he started slurping at the stew once more.
Eric regarded the Church Knight. "Did you ask about Lord Nighvass?"
"Oh, yeah," Kasey said. "He sounds just like the man you talked to."
"Okay." Eric turned to Rishala. "Do you want to take a look inside and see if everything seems normal?"
"Aye," Rishala said. He concentrated on weaving a tight ball of Heka. Once the energies were shaped, he directed the casting into the house. The mental image formed quickly of the interior of one of the rooms.
Rishala moved the scrying viewpoint through the house, quickly checking each of the rooms. He found all four of the house's occupants in one room, sitting around a table. Stacks of copper coins were in front of each of the people -- two men, two women -- and each player held cards. Rishala relayed his observations.
Now done with the stew, Bilbus growled, "I told you nothing was going on in there." He held the bowl out for Kasey to take it back.
"What's this?" Rishala suddenly asked. "There's a trail out from the back of the house."
"Can you follow it?" Eric asked the Caledonian.
"As long as it does nae go all the way around the mountain, aye." The Caledonian fell silent as he sent the casting along the trail. "It leads to a cave. A large cave. I kinna follow the cave too far -- there's too much rock for me to keep control of the casting."
"Can you see any footprints around the entrance?" Eric asked. "Any signs of anything other than the man?"
"No," Rishala finally decided. "There is no snow at the entrance, and the rock is bare. No tracks of any type."
Eric nodded to himself. "We need to see if that is the cave."
Bilbus climbed down from the tree and removed the grain bag from Acquisition's muzzle. He put the bag away, then climbed into the saddle. "Let's go. The sooner we get to the cave, the sooner we get back to a warm bed."
"No," Eric said, "we need to get everyone else. If there is a dragon up there, we may want to have everyone with us."
"Yeah," Bilbus snorted. "No sense giving the dragon just an hors d'oeuvre. May as well give it a serious appetizer."
The four rode back to Twin Saddles in silence. Sturm and the two women had already retired to their respective tents, although the fire still burned in the central fire pit.
Rishala roused Sturm from his tent, Eric went to the tent he and Breanna were sharing, and Bilbus went into his tent. Several minutes later, everyone was ready to go, although Adria complained bitterly about the cold and the hour -- she had just gotten warm in the bedding when Bilbus walked in and pulled her covers off. In spite of her unwillingness to go along, Adria still got dressed in her leather armor and wrapped herself in riding furs.
The party rode back towards The Crag. They circled wide around Lord Nighvass's country house, making sure that no one in the house could possibly hear them.
The trail leading up the mountain was not difficult to find. The snow had cleared during the day, but not completely. The trail itself was a rutted footpath winding its way up the side of the mountain, easily visible in the moonlight. The path was a gradual climb, switching back a couple of times on a steeper stretch of the mountainside, until the trail vanished at the huge mouth of a cave -- fifteen paces tall and over twenty wide.
The party dismounted and looked at the cave entrance.
Eric looked at the dark entrance. When he spoke, his voice was a faint whisper. "We need to see if the dragon really is in there. If it is, we don't want it to know we're here."
"Right," Bilbus said quietly. "We need someone to scout it out quietly." He looked significantly at Adria, who nodded. "Let's go peek at the dragon."
Bilbus walked slowly into the cave, placing each foot carefully in the darkness. He felt, more than heard, Adria following him along the cave. The air was cool, but warmer than the air outside. Adria had a hand lightly touching his shoulder, helping the mountebank keep track of her, since she was walking more quietly than he was.
Adria pulled lightly on Bilbus's shoulder. The mountebank stopped, freezing in position, straining as he tried to see or hear something amiss. Adria pressed close to Bilbus's back, leaning close to him until her lips nearly touched the lobe of his ear.
"Bilbus, there is a light up ahead. It looks like a steady light coming from a side passage."
Bilbus looked up the tunnel, trying to see the light. "What light?" he asked.
"Up ahead, maybe thirty or forty paces. Trust me, I can see it."
Bilbus nodded slowly and started walking forward again. He kept his left hand near the adamantine dagger on his hip. Several steps later, he was able to see the faint glimmer of light. He moved his left hand until it touched the wall of the cave tunnel. It was cool to the touch, and surprisingly smooth. Bilbus used his left hand to help guide him towards the side passage from which the light pouring. The glow of the light was steady and warm, like that of a well-fueled lantern.
At the edge of the side passage, Bilbus stopped to draw his dweomered adamantine dagger. He shifted it to his right hand, then glanced back at Adria. Her face was a ghostly apparition in the dark tunnel, lit indirectly by the lantern in the side tunnel.
Bilbus listened intently for nearly a minute, then stepped around the corner and into the tunnel, dagger at ready.
The tunnel was a little more than a pace long. It emptied immediately into a four pace square room. The walls and ceiling of the room showed signs of carving -- scrapes that had been made to shape the room into a rough square.
After assuring himself no one was in the room, Bilbus stepped into the middle of it. Adria followed, putting a dagger away as she did.
The floor of the room had an old rug on it. It was stained with years worth of dirt, but it still provided a warm cushion from the stone floor of the cave. On the rug were a modest bed with several layers of covers and a small writing table. Several sheets of paper were stacked on the center of the table, and the source of light, a well-fueled lantern, was placed at the top edge of the paper, weighting the paper. Bilbus flipped through the sheets, finding all of them blank.
A brazier was placed against one wall of the room, away from the rug. Bilbus kneeled next to the brazier and held a hand near the coals. They were still very hot. As he looked around the room once more before standing, he noticed a low wooden chest pushed under the bed.
The mountebank shifted so he could pull the chest out from its place of concealment. Adria watched him for a moment, then padded back to the main tunnel to make sure no one was approaching.
Bilbus checked the latch on the chest, then lifted it. It opened freely to reveal a heavy woolen cloak. Bilbus carefully lifted the cloak out of the chest. Beneath the cloak was a neatly folded scarf.
Bilbus carefully put the cloak back into the chest, closed the lid, and reset the latch. He pushed the chest back under the bed and walked back into the dark tunnel.
Adria was just around the corner, in the darkness, looking farther into the mountain. Bilbus stood close to her and quietly described the contents of the chest.
Adria nodded. "We should keep going."
Bilbus once more took the lead, walking quietly up the smooth tunnel.
Kasey paced along the mouth of the tunnel. Every now and again he would slam his fist into his open palm and look into the abyssal entrance. The rest of the party stood to one side of the entrance, watching the knight and waiting for some message from Bilbus and Adria.
"Maybe the dragon found them?" Breanna worried in a hushed voice.
"Of course not," Eric assured her.
"We would have seen the flame if they did," Sturm added.
Breanna looked at the Sun Knight curiously. In the light of the moon, she could not tell if he was kidding her or not. He sounded serious, but, even on those times he was joking, his voice was the same.
Kasey stopped next to the party and found a large pebble on the ground. He picked it up and threw it down the mountainside. "Guys," the Church Knight said, "we should have gone with them. They need us."
"Kasey," Eric said in his soothing voice. "If we went in there, the dragon would have heard us and charged."
"Yeah," Kasey agreed, "and we wouldn't all be standing out here, waiting."
Eric shook his head slowly as the Church Knight grabbed some more pebbles to pitch down the face of the mountain.
Bilbus guessed that he and Adria had walked another hundred paces into the mountain when he first heard the voices. He paused, looking into the darkness to find the source. Adria had moved to his side, still in contact with the mountebank, as she, too, searched for some sign of the origin of the voices.
One of the voices sounded normal. Although the words were hard to understand in the echoing of the cave, it had the lilt and tempo of Kelltic speech. The other voice, however, was much different. The voice was deep and alien, rolling down the tunnel more like distant thunder than the voice of any man. On occasion it uttered sibilants that reminded Bilbus of the hiss one of Londoun's spring rain showers striking a roof.
"I think we found it," Adria whispered in the dark.
"Let's get closer," Bilbus suggested, just as quietly. "I want to know how far in it is."
Adria looked at her husband in the blackness. She could not see his face to read it, and she knew he could not see the look on her own. She suppressed a sigh as Bilbus stepped forward.
After thirty more paces, Adria pulled gently on Bilbus's shoulder. The mountebank stopped, and, once more, Adria leaned close to his ear to speak in a nearly inaudible whisper.
"I can see them. There is a lantern up there, and a man sitting to the left of it. And... And the dragon is up there."
Bilbus stared into the darkness. He could just make out some sort of illumination up ahead, but he could see no details.
"I can't see it. We need to get closer."
"Are you mad? Bilbus, that dragon's head is bigger than you are. You might make a mouthful."
Bilbus slinked forward once more. Adria followed, fighting the urge to run away from the gigantic form ahead in the darkness.
At long last, Bilbus could see what Adria had reported. The tunnel widened ahead into a cavernous room. On the near side of the cavern was a single table with a lantern atop it. To the left of the table was a man -- the one whose voice Bilbus had heard earlier. The man had some papers, and he was writing intently.
On the right side of the table was something else. The head was the only part that the lantern illuminated, but the head was fearsome enough for Bilbus. It was red, with scales Bilbus could just make out. The tips of the scales reflected the lantern light like a polished steel mirror. The shape of the head was similar to that of a lizard's, but it was far larger than any lizard Bilbus could imagine. The head alone was easily ten feet long.
It spoke with a deep rumbling that filled the cave, and it revealed teeth as long as a dagger when it opened its mouth. Glowing golden eyes, each as large as a serving platter, watched the man opposite the table as he wrote.
Bilbus froze, the first tendrils of panic creeping into his spine. He had read about dragons during his years in the orphanage, and he even believed some of the stories about them, but he never quite had been able to convince himself such a being could be real. And here it was, barely sixty paces away.
Bilbus stepped back a half a pace, to Adria's side, so he could speak directly into her ear. Keeping his whisper as quiet as he could, and barely controlling the jitter of fear, he told Adria, "We should talk to it."
Adria tensed, then moved so she could speak back in his ear in the darkness. "You are crazy. We were just supposed to see if the dragon is in here. Even you have seen it now. Let's get out of here and tell everyone else."
Bilbus shook his head slowly, then leaned back to her ear. "We both know that we would never make it this far with everyone else in tow. It would hear us and come charging down the tunnel, and all that would be left of us would be some smoking charcoal. If we talk to it now, we may be able to negotiate something that leaves all of us breathing."
"Bilbus, you have had some stupid ideas. This may be the worst of them all." Bilbus started to shift to reply, but she held him firm. "You think this is a good idea, you go ahead. I'll stay here so I can tell Rishala and everyone else that your stupidity finally got the best of you."
When Adria relaxed her grip, Bilbus nodded. "Okay. I'll be back in a minute."
Adria watched the mountebank move forward, towards the nightmarish monster.
Bilbus crept towards the dragon, his hands steady despite the panic that kept trying to overtake him. His heart was pounding loudly enough to wake the dead, yet the dragon seemed to be unaware of the tiny human who approached.
I should let it know I'm here. No sense surprising it and getting cooked, Bilbus decided. He intentionally scuffed a boot on the stone underfoot.
Too quickly, the gigantic reptilian head swung towards Bilbus, its glowing eyes a pair of pale lanterns. Bilbus could feel a slight breeze from the motion, which was faster than Bilbus could have imagined it. Just on the edge of his awareness, Bilbus noted that the man had jumped to his feet in alarm, trying to see what had caught the dragon's attention.
If I ever wanted to know what a mouse was thinking when it faced a hungry cat... Bilbus put his hands up, to either side of his head. "Hi," he said, a quiver in his voice despite his best efforts. Quietly, he muttered to himself, "Well, if Fate really does want to keep me around for her amusement, she better do something." After taking another faltering step forward, Bilbus repeated, "Hi." He lowered his voice again. "Now I'm repeating myself." Looking at the dragon's head, just thirty paces away, he added, "Gods, you're big."
The dragon watched Bilbus approach, its enormous predator's head inscrutable. The man who was sitting with the dragon had taken a few steps forward, holding the lantern, until he saw Bilbus in the shadows.
The panic faded quickly as Bilbus realized the dragon had not charged. Sensing curiosity in the gigantic beast, Bilbus decided to make his move. "I'm Bilbus the Great. Perhaps you've heard of me?"
The sound rolling out of the dragon's mouth was deep and slow. It sounded like the fog horns at the mouth of the River Llwelyn in Londoun, but at a faster tempo. "Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo."
I hope that's a laugh. Bilbus relaxed slightly, deflating. "I didn't think so." He waved his empty hands. "I have no weapons in hand." He then remembered that his adamantine sword was in a scabbard worn on his back. Its grip was inches from his empty hands. "I am not a threat," he added as he advanced on the dragon again. "Certainly not a threat to you."
When he was five paces from the dragon, Bilbus stopped. He was close enough. "You know," Bilbus began conversationally, "I couldn't help overhearing part of your conversation." He added, almost embarrassed, "Since I was sneaking into here." He lowered his arms. "So you're the one running this town?" When there was no response, Bilbus continued. "That is really admirable, caring for the people like that. You know, I am a lord myself, and I have people of my own. I only discovered this recently, but... I'm rambling.
"Look, I am following a prophecy from Uther's time. Were you around then? I know dragons live longer than people. Anyway, would you like to save your village? I am trying to save the world, according to this prophecy we've been following. We need your sword."
The dragon spoke in its deep, slow tongue. Bilbus looked blankly at it, then looked quizzically at the man standing next to the dragon's head.
The man translated. "Anmanivas says he expected an Azirian man to be here."
"Oh, him," Bilbus replied, feeling a wave of relief. "He's outside, waiting."
The dragon spoke again, the pitch of its voice rising at the end.
Again the man translated. "You wish to buy the sword?"
"Buy, trade, whatever. We need the sword to stop the Dark One."
"What do you offer?"
Bilbus paused. "I have gems sewed into the lining of this armored jacket. They're worth at least forty Kingdom Drakes." He patted his coin purse. "I have some coin, as well."
Again the dragon laughed in its deep voice. It said something afterwards that the man dutifully relayed. "Do you think Fragarach is worth so little?"
"It's all I have with me," Bilbus admitted. He looked around the cavernous room. The glow of the lantern reflected off of countless objects, all shiny and golden. Bilbus's heart leaped as he realized just how much coin was piled on the floor, and how many statues and other objets d'art there were in this cave. He then noticed the finely-crafted wooden display rack in the shadows of the cave. On it were several swords. "A collector of fine weapons? I could get you an Azirian sword. It's like nothing you'll find around here."
The dragon chuckled. It was then that Bilbus could see the rest of the creature. Its neck snaked back from the head twenty paces, little more than a pace in diameter at the head, but widening quickly near the body. The body itself was huge, almost fifteen paces tall, with enormous leathery wings folded along its back. Four legs, folded under Anmanivas's body, were each twice as tall as Bilbus. The tail tapered away, around the back of the cavern, to end on Bilbus's left. Just a quick guess left Bilbus sure Anmanivas was about seventy paces long.
Bilbus felt his face go pale as the man translated for the dragon. "Is the sword like the one I have?"
Bilbus looked again at the display of weapons. He realized, to his dismay, that the sword on the end was indeed an Azirian sword, with its slightly curved blade encased in a golden scabbard. The grip was a dark material, but had a golden thread wrapped over it. A large jewel, glittering green in the lantern light, jutted from the end of it.
"Heh." Bilbus said. "Of course you would already have a nice Azirian sword." He looked around again at the trove in the cavern. What could we possibly have that the dragon would accept as a trade? We can't give him Kasey's lightning sword.
The dragon watched Bilbus as the mountebank tried to think of something.
Bilbus removed his right glove and pulled his signet ring off of his finger. He held the ring out for Anmanivas to see. Bilbus's voice was earnest when he spoke, with none of the usual half-hearted undertones. "I have nothing which I can use for exchange. Would you consider lending us Fragarach. I will leave this ring with you, for I will come back for it. It is my family's signet ring. My parents were killed when I was a child, and... This is all I have left of them. I'm sure you can tell if I'm lying. I swear, by the gods, that I will return Fragarach. I will leave this ring as a deposit for my return."
The dragon considered the offer. He spoke to his aide.
"You are a noble?" the man asked.
Bilbus nodded. "I learned of it only recently."
The dragon spoke with the man once more. After several moments, the aide relayed the dragon's speech. "Anmanivas considers this an honorable request. Such a sentimental item would be a great reason for your return." He added, "However, if you fail on your quest, Anmanivas will have nothing but a signet ring to show for his generosity."
Bilbus looked at the man, unsure of how to answer.
The man did not wait for Bilbus to speak. "Anmanivas suggests a contract. You and I, as his chamberlain, will sign it. It will be dated for one year from today. In this contract, you will assign all of your lands to me. I will keep the contract safe for that one year, and if you, or someone else, fails to return by then with Fragarach, Anmanivas will keep your lands."
If I don't return in a year, I will probably never return. "Very well," Bilbus agreed. "Where do I sign?"
The chamberlain returned to the desk and started writing. As he wrote, he added, "You may get the sword."
"Heh. I don't actually know which sword it is. I need to get Eric."
The chamberlain looked at Anmanivas, who nodded his enormous head. The chamberlain glanced at Bilbus. "Go ahead. It will take me some time to complete this contract."
Bilbus quickly walked out of the cavern. He passed Adria on the way. He flashed her a quick sign telling her to stay put, and he hoped she was able to see it.
Outside the cave entrance, Bilbus found the rest of his companions still waiting for someone to return. Breanna started to rush towards him when he reached the entrance, but Bilbus put his hands up to stop her.
"Adria?" Breanna asked in a hush.
"She's fine," Bilbus said. "She's staying put while I came out here for Eric. Everything's fine. Anmanivas and I had a talk, and we reached a deal."
Sturm asked levelly, "You made a deal with a dragon?"
"Sure," Bilbus said. "Hey, he's a businessman, too. He runs Twin Saddles, and he's a reasonable man. Dragon. Whatever." He looked at Eric. "Come on, Eric. Let's get your sword."
As Eric followed Bilbus into the cave, he asked, "What sort of deal did you make?"
Bilbus kept walking.
"Bilbus, what sort of deal did you make?"
Bilbus stopped to face Eric in the dark. The Azirian stopped just before running into the mountebank. "I gave him my signet ring as a deposit to ensure I come back with his sword. I also am going to sign a contract that gives the dragon all of my lands if I fail to return that sword within a year."
"You signed your lands over to Anmanivas?"
"Eric, we need that sword. All of the prophecies say so. What else could I do? Steal it? You think I wouldn't get caught? And you realize we could never sneak the knights in close enough to take on the dragon, right?"
"Okay," Eric said. "I understand."
Bilbus walked away again. Eric quickly caught up with Bilbus's fast stride.
They reached the dragon's lair a couple of minutes later. Eric kept his face stoically neutral as he looked upon the enormous red beast. He even greeted the dragon formally, as he would a fellow noble whom he had just met.
"The swords are over there," Bilbus said as he pointed towards the wooden display.
Eric passed piles of coin and golden statuary as he approached the wooden racks. There were half a dozen swords on the rack, including an ornately bejeweled specimen from Karasimi. Eric studied it for a moment before looking at each of the remaining swords.
He easily recognized Fragarach. The sword was just over a pace long, with a simple, straight crossguard. The blade was encased in a dark scabbard. The wrap on the grip was a black leather that appeared to be scaled. All of the metal was a dull gray, not polished or coated with anything decorative. Eric picked up the sword and drew the blade out, exposing several inches of the faintly-glowing blade. The blade had strange runes carved into the side of it that seemed to shine when Eric viewed them at just the right angle. He pushed the sword back into the scabbard, then looked at the other weapons on the rack.
The sword that was adjacent to Fragarach was longer, over four feet in length. It had runes on it, as well, and the exposed blade -- it was not in a scabbard -- glowed very faintly. Two magickal swords. An incredible treasure, indeed. Eric thought.
He returned to the entrance of the cavern, where Bilbus had just finished signing the contract. Eric held the sword out for Anmanivas to see. "Lord Anmanivas, is this the correct sword?"
The dragon said something. The chamberlain asked, "Do you not remember the sword you saw in your dream?"
Eric nodded. "I did not want to select the wrong one. I noticed one other sword that was very unusual. The hand-and-a-half sword, over there. What is it?"
"It is called Gretorixmar," the chamberlain said.
Bilbus straightened out and stretched. "Well, I think we're done here." He glanced at Eric. "Are you ready?"
Eric nodded. Bilbus turned to the dragon. "Good doing business with you, sir. I will be back for my ring."
The dragon nodded his gargantuan head slowly.
Bilbus strode down the cavern tunnel. He noted that Adria was no longer waiting in those shadows.
"Well, Eric," Bilbus said. "My lands are now in your hands. Even if I do not return, promise me you will bring that sword back here."
"I will," Eric promised.
They reached the entrance of the cave in time to see Kasey throw a handful of pebbles down the mountainside. The Church Knight turned to face the two men.
"Are we going after the dragon now?" Kasey asked hopefully.
"No, Kasey," Eric said calmly. "It's time to get some sleep."
"Oh." Disappointment was clear in Kasey's voice.
The party climbed onto their horses and rode quietly back down the trail towards Twin Saddles.
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Original Draft 3 March 2002
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