The Dragon Hunter and the Mage (24 page)

“Let me guess,” Fadan said. “That third person will charge me a fee as well?”

The sailor shrugged. “That third person will be risking his neck as much as me,” he said. “He deserves pay.”

“I won’t argue with that,” Fadan said. “As I mentioned before, I’m prepared to be generous.” He stood up. “Very well then. I guess I’ll see you in a bit.”

The sailor raised his beer mug as if in a toast, and Fadan left, tossing the twenty crowns onto the table.

Fadan felt a chill as he closed the tavern door behind him. A dog barked somewhere, but otherwise, the street was quiet. He followed the sailor’s instructions, realizing he hadn’t even asked the man’s name. But, then again, the less they knew about each other, the better.

The alleyway was a muddied path squished between two abandoned houses. It smelled as bad as the sewers and was almost as dark.

Fadan waited, pacing around a dark puddle until he finally heard sloshing steps. The sailor walked into the alley and smiled, only he wasn’t alone. Three men followed him, with clubs across their shoulders. Fadan took a step back.

“I thought you’d be coming alone,” the Prince said.

“Oh, me and these guys are inseparable,” the sailor replied. “We always do our business together.”

The four men surrounded Fadan with hawkish stares.

“I thought we had a deal,” Fadan argued. “A long-term deal.”

“Well,” the sailor replied, “I understand your disappointment, but you should look at this as a learning experience. I’m actually helping you. In the
long-term
.”

Fadan drew his knife. “Back off,” he warned.

“Oh, cub’s got fangs!” the sailor jeered.

All four men chuckled.

“Listen, kid,” the sailor continued. “We don’t want to hurt you. All we want is that fat pouch of yours. Just toss it my way, and we’ll leave you be. As I said, it’s a valuable lesson for you.”

“Never to trust people like you?” Fadan asked, circling to keep all his attackers in sight.

“No,” the sailor replied. “I mean, yes, if you’re carrying enough money to buy a brand new ship.”

Again, the sailors laughed.

Fadan was going to reply something, but one of the men swung his club at him. Fadan parried the blow, but it left his back exposed and another of the attackers struck him on the back of the head. The world blurred and his ears started ringing. He staggered, swinging his knife blindly to keep the attackers at bay.

Never let yourself get surrounded,
his instructor’s words echoed in his mind.
When outnumbered, funnel your opponents.

Roaring, Fadan charged the sailor between him and the back of the alley. The man swung his club, but in a predictable angle, and Fadan ducked past him. He ran towards the wooden wall at the end of the alley, boxing himself between two piles of empty crates.

The four sailors closed in on him, eyes narrowed. Two of them hopped onto each of the piles beside Fadan as the others moved head on.

“Alright,” Fadan said. “I’ll give you the money.” He searched his pockets, hands shaking.

Then, out of nowhere, a club smashed against his chest, followed by another blow on his knees, and another right across his head. Fadan collapsed, the alleyway spinning over him. He heard muffled voices, but couldn’t understand a word. Hands tugged at his jacket, his trousers, and his boots.

Then, he heard yells as shadows moved around him until there was nothing but silence.

“Are you alright?” someone asked. It wasn’t a voice Fadan recognized. “Hey, kid, can you hear me? Goddess damn it!”

The spinning alleyway became darker and darker, and the stranger’s voice became farther and farther away until Fadan passed out.

Chapter 10

There had always been plenty of people who didn’t like Aric. The Emperor was obviously probably at the top of that list, closely followed by Sagun, the Citadel’s Castellan. Then there was that cook that always pushed Aric out of the kitchens before he could finish swallowing his dinner, not to mention just about every Legionary he had ever come across. He had become so accustomed to being surrounded by people who didn’t like him it was almost weird not having to hide from any.

In Lamash, he was just another recruit. Most senior Hunters loved to annoy recruits, cutting ahead of them at the food line in the dining hall, or making too much noise on the rare occasions Saruk allowed a nap. It was certainly irritating, but everyone could tell it was done in a spirit of camaraderie. It was the Guildsmen’s way of welcoming them into the family.

Ashur, however, was a different matter altogether. He and Aric weren’t exactly enemies, the exercises demanded that they rely on each other far too often, but that didn’t mean they had to get along. In fact, Ashur had found the perfect attitude towards Aric – rivalry. For Aric, it was a baffling experience. Most of the times it felt preferable to being constantly harassed by Sagun, but it was also much more intense. Especially considering that they spent every moment of every day together. From the sparring lessons where Aric had learned to disarm Ashur in a few quick parries, to the races across the desert where Ashur would push Aric down the tallest dunes. Even in the mornings, when the Company woke up, Ashur always made sure to leave the dorm ahead of Aric, closing the door in Aric’s face just to slow him down a little. It was almost as intense as Saruk’s training itself.

“Come on, hurry up!”

There was only one thing that didn’t change in Saruk’s daily training– the morning sprint across the desert.  The instructor was perched atop a small crag with Lamash standing starkly in the background.

As the last members of the Company climbed the final feet of the small crag, Aric looked over his shoulder and counted the recruits lagging behind him. Every one of them felt like a small victory. Only Nahir, Leth, Clea, and Tharius were now faster than him, which was really impressive considering he had always finished dead last up until only a couple of weeks ago.

Shoving aside everyone in his path, Ashur pushed up to the front as if that could change the fact that he was now among the slowest half of the Company. Aric was forced to hide a proud smile.

“Does anyone here know how to find a Dragon?” Saruk asked as the gasping recruits lined themselves to face him. “Except Tharius.”

Tharius lowered his arm with a disappointed look.

“I’m serious,” Saruk continued. “One day you’ll learn how to kill a Dragon, but you have to
find
one first, and the Mahar is a huge place.”

“I always thought Dragons found us,” Clea said. “Aren’t they supposed to hear and smell us?”

“That’s exactly right.” Saruk jumped down from his rocky pedestal and landed beside a large leather case, a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. “But that is also a problem for you. Anyone knows why? Lower your arm, Tharius.”

Tharius obeyed with a sigh.

“Because if we try to fight them out in the open, we don’t stand a chance?” Aric ventured, his arm half raised.

“Exactly!” Saruk clapped. “So, if we can’t fight them out in the open, where do we fight them?” He picked up the bow and an arrow. “Go ahead, Tharius.”

A smile swelled across Tharius’s face. “We ambush them in their own lairs.”

“That we do,” Saruk said, nocking the arrow into the bow. “That we do.” He stretched the bow, released the string, and the arrow flew away, disappearing as it dove into the dunes. “Now, Tharius, if you answer the next question right, I’ll run down to the dunes and I won’t return until I find that arrow.”

Everyone in the Company exchanged a hopeful glance. Saruk had spent the last month torturing them around the desert. A role reversal would sure be a welcome change.

“Alright,” Tharius said, raising his chest.

The others cheered him on.

“Come on, volunteer,” Dothea told him.

“Yeah,” Clea said. “Forget Aric. If you get this right, I’m voting for you to be our Captain.”

Tharius blushed.

“Let me make this more interesting,” Saruk said, nocking another arrow. “If Tharius gets it wrong, the lot of you will have to find these arrows for me.”

He released the bow string and another arrow disappeared somewhere down into the sand.

“It’s a trap,” Leth said. “Don’t do it, Tharius.”

“Who said he had a choice?” Saruk asked, firing another arrow. “Here’s the question. How the heck do we
find
a Dragon’s lair?”

Tharius’s mouth opened, and then closed again. Around him, hopeful smiles turned into sour frowns.

“Well, we…” Tharius mumbled, shifting his weight. “There’s the… the rotation and… huh…” His eyes darted around and sweat broke out on his forehead. You could almost see his mind desperately at work. “Well, there are regular patrols, and the patrols they….”

“Yes?” Saruk asked, letting loose a fourth arrow.

“Well…” Tharius followed the missile with a miserable stare. “I don’t know…”

Saruk chuckled.

Poor Tharius deflated like an empty wine bag as the rest of the Company showered him with curses.

“Alright, alright,” Saruk said. “Get those murderous looks off your face, I won’t make you find the arrows.”

There was a collective sigh of relief.

“No sir. I have a much better idea. I’ll make you find some Dragons.”

The whistling wind brought grains of sand hurtling towards the recruit’s mouths and eyes. Squinting, Aric pulled his scarf up to cover his mouth.

“What you are holding in your hands is a Tracker-Seeker,” Saruk said over the wind. “They are the Guild’s most precious pieces of property. The only Glowstone devices we own whose charms still work.” His desert robes flapped as he held out an opened leather case just like the ones each recruit was holding “Let me rephrase this just to make sure you understand. The Grand-Master would rather lose any one of you, than any one of those cases. Understood?”

“Yes, instructor!” came the unison reply.

“Inside,” Saruk continued, “you will find two objects – a Glowstone pendant and a Glowstone tipped arrow. Your job is simple. Fire one arrow at a Dragon, and return its corresponding pendant to Lamash. A Company of senior Hunters will then follow the pendant back to said Dragon. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Ashur said, raising an arm. “What does the arrow do? Poison the Dragon?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Saruk replied. “Dragons can’t be poisoned.”

“How exactly will the senior Hunters follow the pendant to the Dragon?” Jullion asked with a confused look on his face.

“It’s a spell, you idiot,” Trissa told him. “Didn’t you hear the instructor?”

“Easy, Trissa,” Saruk said. He pulled the Seeker pendant from his own case and moved it around. “As you can see, the Glowstone shard on the Seeker always points to its corresponding Tracker arrow. So, if you fire the tracker into a dragon, the Seeker will lead us back to it.”

“That sounds a bit dangerous…” Irenya said, her hands shifting around as if she didn’t know what to do with them. “I mean… how close do we have to get?”

“Dangerous?!” Saruk asked. “Of course, it’s dangerous. This is the Dragon Hunters Guild. What did you expect you would be doing, gardening?”

“Yes but,” Orisius came to her defense, “we have no experience with Dragons, instructor.”

“If, or rather,
when
you find a Dragon, you won’t need any experience,” Saruk told him. “You’ll need to hide. In a cave, under a rock, wherever. Dig yourselves under the sand if you have to. Put your head out long enough to tag the Dragon with your Seeker arrow, then hide yourselves once again. Now, if there are no further questions I would like to address another issue.”

He locked the gilded leather case and placed it on his belt.

“I told you recruits to think about who you wanted to be leading you. Your time to think is over.” He paused, scanning his recruits as they exchanged nervous glances. “From here on out, you will train in teams, and teams will compete with each other. How will we choose the teams? Easy. Anyone who thinks he or she can make a good Captain for this Company can step forward and will immediately become a team leader. Everyone else is free to choose the team they want to be a part of.”

There was a small moment of silence until Ashur gave a step forward. “I can do it, instructor.”

Somewhere along the line of recruits, Trissa snorted. Everyone else remained quiet.

“Is that it?” Saruk asked. “No one else up for the job? If we have only one candidate, then the decision is made. Ashur will become Company Captain effective immediate.”

Aric saw a smirk twisting Ashur’s mouth. There was no way he would let Ashur be their Captain.

“Go on,” Leth whispered in Aric’s ear. “We can’t be stuck with Ashur.”

“He’s right,” Clea agreed, tugging at Aric’s tunic.

“Why don’t you step forward?” Aric asked Leth.

“Are you kidding?” Leth replied. “I don’t like anyone in this Company. I’d make a horrible Captain.”

Aric turned to Clea. “You do it, then,” he whispered.

She shook her head very quickly, glaring back at him. “No way!”

“Come on,” Leth insisted. “You’re an Auron.”

“So what?” Aric asked.

“Isn’t everyone in your family supposed to be a hero or something?” Leth said. “Think of your… your legacy or whatever. I don’t care, just step forward.”

Aric exhaled loudly. He pulled his scarf down and stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Saruk said. “We have ourselves a competition after all.” He rubbed his hands together. “So, one of you two is going to be the Captain of thi
s‒
”

“No!” Tharius stepped forward. He looked angry. “They’re not even volunteers.”

“So what?” Saruk asked. “There’s no rule against a conscript making Captain. Are you stepping up to the plate as well, recruit?”

Tharius looked left and right, first at Aric, then at Ashur, as if he was measuring them. “I am,” he said after a while. “I’ve been preparing for this my whole life.”

“And so have I,” the powerful voice of Nahir thundered as he stepped forward.

“Well, fire take me,” Saruk said, “this is going to be more interesting than I thought.”

“It will if you like boys-only taverns,” Trissa said. A couple of the other girls giggled. “We need a girl to lead this Company. There’s a reason the Grand-Master is a woman, you know?”

Ashur snorted.

“You got a problem?” Trissa asked him.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Ashur said without even looking at her.

“Trissa,” Saruk said. “I could not agree with you more. Why don’t you step forward?”

Irenya and Dothea agreed, spurring her forward.

“Alright,” Trissa said, hands on her hips. “I’m in.” She stepped forward.

“Excellent! Anyone else?” Saruk asked. He waited a moment, and when no one else said anything he continued. “Alright, now the rest of you have to choose. Get behind the candidate you wish to follow.”

Aric felt his stomach twist a little bit. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to be the Captain, but he certainly didn’t want to have no one choosing him. That would be humiliating. Especially considering Ashur could count on Jullion and Prion. Those two would never choose anyone else.

Behind Aric, people shifted and moved. Some went straight to their candidates of choice, like Jullion and Prion, while others remained on their spot, scratching their heads.

A sigh of relief left Aric’s chest when Clea walked behind him.

“What are you doing?” Clea asked Leth.

The Akhami boy hadn’t moved yet and was looking from Tharius to Nahir. “What? I have a right to choose, don’t I?”

“You’re the one who told Aric to step forward!” Clea said through her gritted teeth.

“Because I didn’t know there were other choices.”