DragonQuest (31 page)

“Yellow,” said Kale. “It’s going to be a bright day.”

“Is it, dear? I predict problems, and thus, yellow is the perfect choice.” She nodded at the dress slung over a chair. “Yellow!” Lyll examined her daughter’s attire. “I do believe you could use a dress as well.”

         
55
         

T
REACHERY

Lyll’s prediction of trouble was validated as soon as they walked out of the tent. Dar and Bardon stood with Wizard Cam. Toopka hovered at their heels. All of them looked as though someone had died.

Cam stepped forward. “In the hour before daylight, all the dragons aligned with our camp took flight. It is reported that they headed north.”

“Which would take them to the enemy,” added Dar. “It seems our dragons have gone over to Risto’s camp.”

Bardon looked at Kale only. “And Regidor is nowhere to be found.”

She blinked. “He and Gilda persuaded the dragons to defect?”

“Subterfuge
is
Gilda’s specialty,” said Cam with a sigh. “I’m afraid her brand of persuasion was too much for Regidor to resist. Remember, Risto enhanced her natural abilities. Once Regidor was converted, the two of them must have been a formidable pair against our dragons’ trusting dispositions.”

“All the dragons?” Kale realized the magnitude of the treason. “Celisse? Merlander?”

Bardon nodded. “All the dragons.”

Kale felt the pressure of Metta’s claws in her shoulder. “Not the minor dragons,” she said. “The minor dragons are still here.”

“Yes,” said Cam, “but the minor dragons cannot carry soldiers into battle or transport wounded men. They cannot deliver supplies or give a commander an aerial view of the battlefield. Risto now holds an unbeatable hand.”

“Will he attack today?” asked Bardon.

Cam looked old and sad. “If he wanted to win just this battle, he would. But he’s smart enough to know we’re amassing a fair-sized army to block him. If he waits a day, instead of crushing five thousand men, he can crush ten thousand.”

Kale twisted the pouch hanging around her neck. “We have to rescue the dragons. If I talk to Celisse, I know she’d come back.”

“Invading the enemy camp would be too dangerous, Kale,” said Lyll Allerion. “I’m hoping Wizard Cam will have a trick or two up his sleeve. After all, he is a lake wizard. And Bartal Springs Lake just happens to be his home lake.”

Cam nodded. “We’ll go to my castle under cover of darkness.”

“What are we going to do all day?” asked Toopka.

“Sleep!” said Cam. “At least some of us. Others will mingle with the new recruits, bolster their spirits and squash rumors.”

“Am I one of the ones who gets to squash rumors?”

“You’re one of the ones who gets to sleep.”

“I slept some in the boat.”

“You’ll sleep more in a bed.”

“I could—”

A bucket of water appeared over the little girl’s head and dumped its contents.

Toopka sputtered.

“That was warm water,” said Cam. “But you shall soon be cold. A nice warm bath and a snuggly bed are the best thing for you at the moment.” He turned to address the tumanhofer servant. “Taylaminkadot, would you be so kind as to escort this little doneel to the tent that’s been made ready for Kale? See to her needs, if you will, and don’t let her out of your sight! Not even when you think she’s sleeping.”

“I won’t be able to sleep,” protested Toopka as she was led away.

Kale didn’t think she would be able to sleep either, but a warm breakfast of porridge and hot mallow, a soothing bath, and a cozy bed invited slumber. She woke up hours later with no more aching muscles, no headache, and a hearty appetite. Gymn rested on her shoulder. When he saw her awake, he perked up.

“Heal their minds?” Kale sat up and contemplated her green dragon. “Whose minds?”

Gymn trilled and the explanation unfolded in Kale’s mind. “The other dragons. They are deluded, and you think it’s an illness. Maybe it is, Gymn. We’ll try almost anything to get them back. How would you treat an illness like that?”

Gymn hummed in his throat and squeaked as he thought.

“Isolate the bad and nourish the good?”

Kale spied a new set of clothes. Forgetting about Gymn’s theories, she jumped out of bed and raced to put them on. The pants and tunic reminded Kale of her mother’s outfit she’d worn to fight the mordakleeps, except they weren’t a flashy pink. The supple boots were black. Creamy soft material made a formfitting undershirt. The breeches and tunic were an earthy brown like the uniforms of The Hall.

Toopka stood in the doorway, pouting. “You’re supposed to come eat.”

Behind her Taylaminkadot nodded approvingly. The tumanhofer followed Toopka with the air of someone who would pounce if the child strayed so much as an inch. Kale grinned to herself as she watched the thwarted mischief maker march to the dining tent.

They rushed through supper. The winter sun had already set, and dusk shrouded the camp. Kale and Bardon, Dar and the two wizards, Brunstetter and Lee Ark, Taylaminkadot, Toopka, and several kimens marched down to the lake. The hike covered at least three miles of rough path through timber and rocky hillside. No one spoke unnecessarily, but concentrated on where to place the next step.

Two kimens guarded the boat tethered to a shoreline pine. Azalone took the point position, sitting astride the prow.

Dar sat on the next seat with Dibl on his knee.

Kale sat with Wizard Cam.

Brunstetter took the rowing bench and wielded one oar while Lee Ark and Lehman Bardon plied the other.

In the back sat Taylaminkadot with Lady Allerion and a half-dozen kimens.

The remaining kimens on the shore untied the line and shoved the boat out onto the lake. Gentle waves rocked the boat. The oars dipped in and out of the water. The three men propelled the skiff toward deep water.

“Where to?” asked Brunstetter.

“Oh, toward the middle in clear sight of the enemy camp, I should say,” answered Cam.

Kale hoped they would not have to set up their fortress in full view of Risto’s henchmen. “Is that where your castle is?”

“Well now, it’s anyplace I want it to be, isn’t it? But we do want to draw Risto’s attention.”

“We do?”

“Yes, we do. I must ask you to be quiet now, Kale. I am plotting all sorts of devious surprises for the wicked wizard and his cohorts.”

Kale didn’t mind being quiet. Fenworth would have been more blunt in ordering her silence. She found she missed the old wizard. A dozen topics of conversation sprang into her mind, but they all led to what would happen tomorrow and who would win the battle. How did she get in the front line of a war?

The quest was to find the meech dragon and save him—her—from Risto. To rescue those dragons already under the influence of Risto. And to thwart Risto’s evil plans. We found Gilda, but didn’t lure her away from Risto. Not only did we not rescue any dragons, we lost the ones we still had. And as for thwarting Risto—

Her eyes surveyed the western shoreline where the camp of bisonbecks sprawled for miles.

If Wulder sends Paladin, Paladin could obliterate the whole army. What can we do alone?

She glanced back at the shore. Were soldiers gathering on the banks of the river? Had they been spotted?

We certainly aren’t doing much to hide. Azalone is lighting the prow. At least the kimens in the back are subdued. The moon’s path across the water seems to be pointing right at us.

The mural! This is the painting on the wall of the Gander!

“Bardon!”

“That has occurred to me as well, Kale, but remember you’re being quiet.”

Bardon!

“It doesn’t really mean anything that I can see.”

But it’s happened to me before. On the last quest, there was a point when we looked just like the mural in the River Away tavern.

“I still don’t see that it means anything for us today. What would be significant is if you were to see another mural that has us all doing something else. That might mean we’ll live through tomorrow.”

Oh, Bardon, do you think it’s possible?

“We work for Paladin, Kale. Anything is possible.”

“This will do,” said Cam.

He stood and looked at the water some distance ahead of them. “There it is.”

A spire broke the surface of the water and pushed upward. It was attached to a central turret, which soon became visible. The white stone edifice shone in the moonlight. Water cascaded out of the windows and off the balconies. The castle continued to thrust toward the sky, revealing a massive structure as it rose out of the water.

The eruption of a castle in the middle of the lake attracted attention from the shore. The water pouring from the building formed a roaring waterfall. If the bisonbeck soldiers hadn’t seen the spectacle, they surely would have heard it.

Cam turned and handed Dibl to Kale. “Thank you for the loan of him, Kale. He has inspired many interesting events to unfold within the next twenty-four hours.”

The rush of falling water subsided. The whole castle sat, apparently, on the lake.

Cam signaled the rowers to proceed. “To the front door, if you please.”

They hitched the boat to a dock and climbed damp stairs to an ornate double door. Cam turned to frown at the sky.

“Feels like snow, wouldn’t you say?”

Kale looked at the stars shimmering in a clear sky and thought,
Not in the least.

“Well, there are extra blankets in each bedroom. You’ll be warm enough. Shall we get some sleep? Big day ahead of us, you know.”

From the shore a flaming arrow arched over the water. It fell far short of the castle target and sizzled as it plopped into the lake.

Cam put his hands on his hips. “Now that was optimistic. Had the fellow actually been able to shoot the arrow that great distance, did he expect one lone firebrand to demolish a castle still dripping water?”

He looked again at the masses of bisonbeck soldiers milling around on the shore. “On the other hand, it does portend well for us. They don’t seem to solve problems well on the spur of the moment, do they? Yes, that bodes well for us.”

         
56
         

A
CTION

A dry bed surprised Kale that night, and so did the blizzard in the morning. Cam seemed a bit unhappy with the view out his dining room window.

“Well, Cam,” said Lady Allerion as she buttered her toast, “you have to expect the wind when you gather together such a storm on short notice.”

“Yes, but let’s subdue it, shall we? I’m sure it’s done its work, and we don’t need it any longer.”

“As soon as I’ve finished breakfast, Cam.”

“What work did the blizzard do?” asked Toopka.

Cam sat down again at his place and poured himself another cup of tea. “The ropmas, grawligs, and schoergs all like their cozy little dens and hovels. They particularly like to be in them when there’s inclement weather.”

“In-clem-at?” Toopka scrunched up her face over the new word.

“Inclement, wet, in this case, wet
and
cold. I, personally, find inclement weather refreshing.” He frowned. “Wind can be a bit bothersome.”

“So the grawligs and others won’t like the snow?”

“Hate it.”

“What will they do?” Toopka leaned forward.

“Go home.”

“Oh! That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Good for us. Annoying for Risto. He’s not going to be pleasant to work with today.”

After breakfast, Lyll and Cam combined their skills to tame the wild wind. In a few minutes, the company could see farther than four feet out the window. Snow blanketed everything on the shore.

“Listen,” commanded Cam.

From a distance they heard whizzing and thumping noises.

“An eerie sound,” said Lyll, a smile curving her lips.

“What is it?” asked Kale.

Cam smirked, looking pleased with himself. “Hundreds of dragons stirring their blood. If we were on the land, we could feel the vibrations under our feet.”

“I’m sure the bisonbecks won’t like the ground shaking,” said Brunstetter.

“No, they won’t, and the earthquakelike feeling will be the last straw to send the less disciplined warriors home before the battle begins.”

Cam patted his damp beard. “Time for us to make a morning call.”

“Where are we going?” Toopka dogged the wizard’s steps.

“You’re staying here with Taylaminkadot.”

“I amn’t.”

“You can’t say ‘I amn’t.’ That isn’t a proper contraction.”

“Regidor says I can’t say ‘ain’t.’ What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say, ‘Yes, Wizard Cam, I shall do as I am told.’”

“Aargh!” growled Toopka between clenched teeth.

An hour later, Toopka stood on the front steps of the castle with her hand firmly clasped by Taylaminkadot. The rest of the party shoved off in the skiff and headed for shore at the northernmost end of the lake.

Kale looked back at the castle and started. At every window, at every parapet, an armed soldier stood sentry.

“The castle is manned!”

“Illusion, my dear. Risto will tell his soldiers it is just illusion, but the sight will weaken their resolve. It’s so hard to believe your ears over your eyes, especially when appearances line up with expectations.”

“Will you tell us where we’re going now?”

“Oh, didn’t I say? We’re going to call upon the dragons.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Soon she would touch Celisse. All her efforts to mindspeak to the dragon had been useless.

If I can see her and touch her—if she sees me, I know she’ll want to come back.

The oars pushed through the water, and again she suspected the kimens somehow sped the boat over the waters. When they approached the shale-covered beach at the northern end of the lake, she marveled at the colorful array of dragons. Against the white backdrop of snow, the brilliant colors looked like colored panes in a stained-glass window.

Regidor stood on the shore as the boat skidded across the shallow water and scraped the coarse bottom. He greeted them with a smile. “Mission accomplished, Wizard Cam.”

“Splendid. Lord Brunstetter, Lee Ark, you’ll find your mounts ready to take you back to your troops.”

Lady Allerion shook a finger at her fellow wizard. “This was a ruse, Cam!”

Cam did nothing to hide the smug look on his face.

Kale bounced out of the boat and threw her arms around Regidor. He looked surprised and then caught her up with a hug, whirling her around the snowy beach.

“Where would you have me, sir?” Bardon’s voice sobered Kale.

A battle still loomed ahead of them. Regidor put her down, and they faced the elders.

Cam eyed Bardon solemnly. “You go with Lee Ark, Lehman.”

“Yes sir.”

“And me?” Kale was glad her voice didn’t squeak.

Lady Allerion put her arm around her shoulders. “You’re with me.”

Lee Ark, Brunstetter, Regidor, and Bardon took off on their noble steeds with most of the dragons soaring into the sky and following. The plan devised by Cam and Regidor had worked. Gilda had been overconfident in the influence that Risto had gained over the dragons through her persuasive personality. She’d scoffed at the possibility of Regidor taking the loyal dragons into Risto’s camp and winning back those under his influence.

The gentle dragons mingled with the dragons gone wild, and the voice of reason won. The dragons would return to the men they had deserted only weeks before. Many men under Lee Ark’s command would now ride into battle.

“I wish Toopka were here to ask some of her endless questions,” said Kale as the battalion of dragons shrank into the distance as they flew to the south.

“What questions do you have?” asked Lyll.

“Will the farmers accept the dragons after their betrayal?”

“Yes.” Lyll gently squeezed Kale’s shoulders and began to walk, guiding her daughter across the beach. “It may take time for the wounds to heal, but there’s an immediate need for cooperation. Fighting side by side will do much to mend the past.”

“Are we going to win this battle?”

Lyll laughed her deep, throaty laugh that somehow comforted Kale. “We’ve already won, Kale. We’ve chosen right, and that’s victory in itself. Now whether we come out of this engagement alive is another matter. But no one can take away the personal conquest of good over evil that we waged in our own hearts before the war began. And in the bigger scheme of things, if our side is defeated here on this battlefield, others will stand and fight tomorrow. As long as Wulder reigns, and He reigns forever, there will always be those who choose right over wrong.”

“Still, speaking of the smaller scheme of things, I wish you could just say, ‘Yes, we will win.’”

Lyll laughed low and quiet as she leaned to press her head against Kale’s. “I would like that too.”