Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town (33 page)

            
“There is a vastly more important reason for our coming to Adapazan. Back on
Voss, I am afraid to say this, but we have overpopulated our world. There are virtually
no hoofed animals left on Voss. Slowly, we are all starving to death. I pointed this out to
our High Council over four years ago, but they chose to ignore my dire warning. Sofie
and I were barely able to get enough antelope to feed our twins. Zoran has kindly
allowed more of us to come and live here where food is plentiful and abundant.”

            
“He is also allowing some of us to establish gem cutting businesses here in Brn.
You see, we mine for raw gems and then we cut them into exquisite stones. Golds are
particularly skilled at this. He has kindly given us the mining rights to the inaccessible
areas of the mountains around Brn Province, where we dig for our both homes and
gems. In time, the humans here will come to discover the high quality work that we do. I
expect that this will be a very profitable venture for both our races.”

            
A totally unexpected phenomenon occurred within Zoran’s mind. He suddenly
knew that Baron Aldo Monda of the agrarian planet of Cosma wanted to arrive at his
Circle! “Excuse, me, but Baron Aldo wants to come here. I must go meet him.”

            
“Allow him to join us. Also allow Baron Tom Witherspoon and Baron Etienne
Gervaise to come; they are our allies,” Uncle Milan hastily interjected his wishes.

            
“I would not allow your enemies to come, if I were you,” Uncle Viktor added.
“Specifically, Bogdan Clav, Cheng Meerong, Carwyn Alun, Eckhard Hadwig, and your
father. The others are neutral.”

            
“Thanks, I have to talk with you about the politics soon, I can see that!” Zoran
replied. He and Zdenka left to meet with Baron Aldo. No sooner than Baron Aldo
materialized within Zoran’s new Circle of Ascension than his senses detected a request
from Barons Tom and Etienne. Zoran smiled, he guessed that his uncle had alerted his
allies to the possibility of a new Circle appearing. He allowed both men to materialize,
but wondered if he would always know who was going to arrive at his Circle.

            
Shock, surprise, wonderment, excitement, and keen interest shown from the faces
of the three men as they shook hands with Zoran and Zdenka. Their faces flickered from
one expression to the other, rapid fire. Baron Aldo was in his fifties, a tall, thin man with
a black moustache. His planet, Cosma, was primarily an agrarian one. Baron Tom
likewise was in his fifties. He was short and stout, but his blue eyes missed nothing. Like
Aldo, he ruled over a planet mostly devoted to the growing of crops, Terra. Both Terra
and Cosma exported vast amounts of grain to the other planets. Baron Etienne was in
his mid-forties. His planet, Gonda, consisted mostly of rolling grasslands filled with
horses. Yes, these were primarily horsemen; Etienne was thin with long blonde hair and
even smelled of horses.

            
Zoran gave them his welcome address, introducing the Zars and explaining their
roles in construction of the Circle. “We owe everything to Warlord Mikolas of Sholov
Province. He discovered Bandar Zar’s secret chamber beneath his fortress and
commissioned the Zars to build him a Circle. Unfortunately, he was killed this past
summer by Baron Kazimir, but we rescued the Zars and the documents, keeping them
out of the clutches of my dad. I assure you, Baron Kazimir will never get his hands on
them!” All three men replied that this was a very wise decision on Zoran’s part.

            
“Come, you must see the sight of our Circle’s protectors. We have over a dozen
gold dragons here providing protection for us and the tower.” He and Zdenka took the
three men outside to view the dragons that were still flying around the general area of
the tower. All three men were most impressed with the dragons, especially when Zoran
told them that Barons Milan and Viktor were inside talking with them. They insisted on
joining the pair, as Zoran knew that they would.

            
“Ah there you are, Tom, Etienne, Aldo, I would like you to meet Aldrick Vogler, a
gold dragon from Voss!” Baron Milan greeted the three as they entered.

            
Just then, Zoran’s Circle commanded his attention. He hastily excused himself,
and Zdenka and he raced down the stairs. “Bogdan and Kazimir want permission to
come. Damn them anyway.”

            
“Perhaps you should allow them to come and see that we have Archmages and
dragons protecting us,” Zdenka advised cautiously. “After all, if they see them with their
own eyes, they will believe that they are real. Kazimir already knows how devastating
two young ones can be.”

            
“You are probably right, dear. Just stay on your guard. I don’t trust these men,
not even remotely!” Zoran told General Janos who was coming and to be prepared.
Janos gave a wry smile, and Zoran realized that the General would be savoring this
meeting with his ex-Baron.

            
The two barons arrived at the center of this new Circle. “You!” exclaimed Kazimir
angrily, as he recognized his son and realized that his son now was his rival here on
Adapazan!

            
“Hello Baron Kazimir, Baron Bogdan,” Zoran said quietly, still unwilling to
acknowledge his familial relationship with this man. “Welcome to the House of the Free
People of Brn and Adapazan. You are in Archmage Oldrich’s tower, guarded by a half
dozen Archmages, to say nothing of all the many Mages here. General Janos Lavos is in
charge of our security, along with over a dozen gold dragons. At the moment, the
dragons are giving us a flying demonstration. If you two will follow me, I will show you
our dragons, which live with us. I believe that Baron Kazimir knows all too well about
gold dragons.”

            
“Damn you, Zoran! It was you! You murdered your own brother!” spit flew from
the violently shaking, raging man.

            
“Sorry, Baron, I cannot take credit for that. You murdered your own son by your
ill-conceived war against free people. I didn’t lay a finger on Radek nor any of your
soldiers. I was too busy rescuing the Zars and the ancient documents of Bandar Zar,
which told us how to build this new Circle of Ascension. Warlord Mikolas was about to
have his own Circle, when you attacked. His dying wish was for me to carry on and build
the first new Circle in centuries. With his financial backing, I have done so. Ah, there are
the fine gold dragons.”

            
Both men stared up at the five story stone tower, non-descript in all ways, except
for the many golden forms flying around it high in the sky. Snow covered mountains lay
behind them, outlining their huge forms. “I can have as many gold dragons come to
protect us as I desire,” Zoran added for emphasis. “Besides breathing fire and shooting
electrical bolts, they are also very competent magic users. Two are my dear Archmage
friends. I am giving you both and your allies fair warning. Do not attack Brn Province or
any of the other Wild Lands of Adapazan. If you do, I will summon hundreds of these
fine dragons to incinerate your entire army and then your castles. Do I make myself
clear? If you send assassins here, I will feed them to these flying creatures, though one
man does not make for more than a cookie snack with these fellows. They have such an
appetite. I guess we would too if we were a hundred feet long.”

            
“Son, how could you do this? Why did you not consult with me, your father? I
hear that you are in cahoots with those spineless so called do-gooders! They cannot
protect you. You and I, we could have been the most powerful men in the entire
Federation! Son, it is still not too late to change your ill-thought allegiance,” Baron
Kazimir attempted to reason with his son one last time. He was terrified of the winged
creatures, having seen his army decimated in minutes by just two of them.

            
“Someone has to stand up for the free people that remain on Adapazan and stop
you from turning them into your slaves. Someone has to stop the march of your army
across our world. Your days of conquest here on Adapazan have ended. We are entering
a new age. I will not hesitate for an instant to sick my dragons on any army that comes
marching across the Wild Lands. I give you my word that I will not attack you, your
castle, or the lands that you now control, Baron Kazimir — that is, not unless you
provoke me by sending assassins here or sending forth another army to conquer the
Wild Lands or Brn.”

            
“Baron Bogdan, just so you know, dragons can also Shadow Walk. If you try
anything, we will come to Rehor and feast on your men, women, and castle. If you send
out assassins to harm my sisters or their fiancés, my retribution will be swift and final.
Do I make myself clear?”

            
“Why should I send out assassins, Baron Vladislov?” the cagy, fat Baron Bogdan
whined. “I have no quarrel with you or your sisters. It has been made abundantly clear
that Kazimir cannot control his own children. Might I ask, was it you that stopped all of
the magic from occurring there at the Ceremony of Passing for your mother, right before
everything went dark?”

            
“Yes, I saw that such was needed. I would not allow my mother’s funeral to be so
disgraced by men who cannot hold their tempers.”

            
“Ah, excellent, lad, excellent indeed. You prevented a good deal of bloodshed that
day. You have earned my respect, young Baron Vladislov. Well done indeed, Archmage,”
Baron Bogdan feigned admiration with a coy smile. “We should meet one day and
discuss the future. Baron Kazimir, we ought not take up more of young Baron
Vladislov’s time. Thank you for showing us your new Circle of Ascension.”

            
Zoran followed them back into the tower and basement, verifying that they both
did leave and not try some trickery, such as going invisible and attempting to kill. When
they were gone, Zdenka commented, “Well, I believe that went well, Zoran. Both men
realized just how dangerous it will be to them if they try anything, don’t you think?
Bogdan seemed in far better humor today than he was at the Ceremony of Passing for
your mother.”

            
“He’s trying hard not to totally alienate me,” Zoran replied. “You are right;
Kazimir’s anger got turned into fear. Maybe he will leave us all alone.”

            
“Son, I would not count on that,” General Janos broke in, “always expect the
vilest treachery from those men.” Zoran smiled; he knew that was true.

            
When the two and the Zars rejoined the five barons and Aldrick, lunch was being
served. Zoran found all six had definitely become friends. Aldrick excused himself; he
had a business meeting with the Mayor. Lida changed the topic from business to what
interested her and Rayna more, their marriages. “Say, Zoran, Duke Leo and I are going
to marry next month, on the twenty-fifth of January. Uncle Milan is hosting our
wedding, since mom has passed away.”

            
Not wanting to be left out, Rayna added, “And Duke Stefan and I are going to
marry at the same time. Lida and I are combining our weddings. Uncle Milan has
offered to host our wedding as well. We’re all going to go to his palace on Gladno, a
double wedding!”

            
Baron Milan chuckled, “It is more cost effective for me to host one wedding
celebration.”

            
“Yes, and I am quite glad that he’s doing it,” Baron Viktor teased him. Duke Leo
and Duke Stefan looked very pleased.

            
“So when are you and Zdenka marrying?” Lida asked what she really wanted to
know. “I know that this is none of your big sister’s business, but Uncle Milan has agreed
to host your wedding with ours. We can make it a trio, that is, if it’s not too soon for you,
little brother.”

            
Zdenka flushed and looked at Zoran. “Dear, what do you think? Shall we take up
this offer? We are done with our magic training now. If you think this is too soon or if
you’d rather marry here in Brn, just say so.”

            
Before she could reply, Baron Milan spoke softly, “Zoran, Zdenka, your safety is
vitally important. I have an ulterior motive in hosting these weddings: your safety. On
Gladno, I can guarantee your safety. Here in Brn, I cannot and neither can Baron Viktor
or the others. Besides, your mother was my dear sister. I would like to honor her
memory by giving you the best possible special wedding day. Please, if only in the
memory of my sister.”

            
“That’s fine with me,” Zdenka timidly replied. “I would love to share our special
day with Lida and Rayna. It’s just that I don’t have any appropriate clothes to wear, you
know, fancy court dresses and such, and I don’t know a thing about fancy weddings and
what I am supposed to do and all that. Honesty, I am totally ignorant of courtly life. I’m
sorry to let you all down so badly. I’m just a forest archer, not a courtier.”