By the time the four comrades trooped back down the street with their arms laden with foodstuff, the sun rested on the horizon. A glow still illuminated the western sky, but the first star had appeared in the darkened east.
“Don’t they have a lamplighter in this city?” Toopka asked in disgust.
Kale felt a prickle across the back of her neck. Somewhere in the shadows lurked evil men. She stopped moving in the direction of the house and tried to pinpoint their location.
“Bardon?”
“I know, I feel them.”
“Who?” asked Toopka.
“Thieves,” answered Regidor.
“I told you I needed a weapon,” said Toopka with a stomp of her foot.
Out of the dark alleys came a dozen ruffians dressed in black.
“Toopka,” Kale yelled as she drew her small sword, “go get Dar and Librettowit.”
Toopka dropped her burden, hunched down, and ran between the legs of the attackers. In an instant, Bardon and Kale were back to back, fighting with their swords. Three men swarmed Regidor.
Regidor threw back his cowl. His eyes glowed green in the semidark. He whirled with both arms outstretched and two of the assailants went down. The long brown monk’s robe pulled loose of the meech dragon’s frame, revealing his plain tunic, trousers, and muscular body. Regidor’s tail lashed out, no longer bound to his torso by the belt. The third thief yelped as the thick, scaly tail knocked him to the ground.
Regidor twisted just in time to bash one more man with a fist and a second with his tail. He kicked high as a third approached, landing a foot on the man’s chest and launching his own body into the air. He did a backflip and landed solidly.
Four men with menacing clubs circled the meech dragon. Regidor growled deep in his throat, and the next instant fire streamed from his mouth.
The attackers screamed and bolted for the shadowy alleyways. Even the two fighting Kale and Bardon took off.
Regidor stood with his two feet firmly planted, ready for another assault. His tail whipped back and forth in anger. His shoulders rose and fell as he took in deep, rapid breaths, fueling his body for action.
Bardon and Kale turned toward the rapid footsteps coming from behind. Dar and Librettowit were running from the house to their aid. With their swords drawn, they came to a standstill beside the two o’rants. Toopka, out of breath, joined them.
Up and down the narrow street, men in black garb lay crumpled in defeat. Occasionally, one would moan. Two got up and staggered away.
Regidor reached for his monk’s robe, shook it out, and donned it once more.
Kale raised an eyebrow at Dar.
“You saw?”
Dar nodded.
“I thought you said meech dragons were useless in a fight.”
“Apparently the traditions are wrong.”
Bardon cleared his throat. “He moves like a lizard.”
Librettowit nodded. “Agile like a lizard.”
“I don’t think I’d tell him that,” said Toopka, eying Regidor with new respect. “He might not like it.”
32
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
“I’m hungry.” Toopka picked up the parcel she had thrown down when she ran for help. She stooped for another. “Are we going to eat all this stuff we got, or just stand around in the street?” Her voice quivered. Tucking the second package under her arm, she reached for another. “I want to play with the little dragons. I want Dar to play music and Librettowit to tell stories. I want to eat a whole lot and have fun and go to bed.”
Bardon put his sword away and scooped Toopka into his arms. The packages tumbled to the ground as she threw her arms around the lehman’s neck, burying her head in his shoulder.
“I’m not big and strong. I’m not brave. Can we please eat dinner?”
Bardon patted her back. “Yes, we can. I think that is a good idea for all of us.”
After the meal and the singing and storytelling, Kale tucked Toopka into the bed they would share. The little doneel curled up with the minor dragons. Gymn snuggled next to her neck. Metta nestled on the pillow, crooning into her ear. Dibl played at the foot of the wide bed, doing somersaults and backflips. Kale knew he would eventually settle down. She kissed Toopka and whispered, “Sweet dreams,” then went to help Bardon clean up the kitchen.
“You were nice to Toopka tonight,” Kale said as she put platters away.
“You told me what to do.”
“I did not.”
“Oh yes, you did. I just followed your prodding.”
“I don’t remember any such thing. I do remember thinking she was scared and needed comforting.”
“And so I picked her up.”
She sat down in a chair by the table. “Bardon, we’ve got to talk about this. What passes between you and me goes beyond mindspeaking.”
Bardon sat down opposite her. He laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the tabletop. His serene expression denied the feelings she felt swirling within him.
“I agree.” He spoke slowly, deliberately. “And I must tell you something else I’ve discovered.” He paused and stared at his hands.
She resisted the urge to delve into his thoughts and pull the next sentence out of him. As she blocked the temptation to freely gather information from his mind, she felt an ebbing of the torrent of his emotions.
He stretched his two index fingers out straight so they pointed across the table at her, but she doubted he was conscious of the little gesture.
I’m going to lose all patience and shake him.
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Sorry, Kale. I’ve irritated you again.” He heaved a big sigh. “I’ve discovered that I cannot mindspeak if you’re not in the vicinity. Whatever ability I have seems to be linked to yours.”
“That is odd.” She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “I wonder if Librettowit has any knowledge of what’s going on between us. His books cover almost every aspect of life. I mean, I wonder if there’s a record of it happening before.”
“We could ask him. But his books are in the castle in The Bogs.”
“So we must practice, or explore, this ability on our own.”
“Gain control,” insisted Bardon. “But let’s still ask Librettowit and Dar for any wisdom they can give us.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “I think we can learn to manage the ability, given enough time.”
“And we should have some time here. Dar says we will gather information about anything unusual happening in the countryside.”
She shook her head. “Why can’t we just be out in the countryside where things are happening? Why sit in this dismal city when we could be out tracking that meech?”
“Prushing is the best place to collect tales and gossip since much trade comes through here. We can pinpoint the other meech’s whereabouts by watching for a pattern.”
I don’t like it. I’d rather be doing something.
“We have plenty to do. We aren’t nearly ready to proceed. We must prepare.”
You sound like Librettowit.
“Not such a bad thing.”
She smiled at the lehman across the table. They had entered into a conversation by mindspeaking naturally. If Bardon weren’t such a pain in other ways, she could enjoy him. She clasped her hands together, trying to keep her nervous fingers still. “What did you think of Regidor’s fighting skill?”
“Spectacular.”
She nodded. “Surprising.” She moved a basket of fruit from the side of the table to the center. She picked up a parnot, turned it over in her hands, and then returned it to the basket. “I think it upset him. He was quiet all evening.”
“Maybe that monk business is rubbing off on him.” Bardon grinned at her, and she noticed a lock of dark hair had fallen forward, out of place.
She looked away. “When are we going to work on fine-tuning our mindspeaking abilities?”
“Tomorrow.”
The next day, Dar took on the p
ersona of the butler and hired servants to come in the afternoon and work through the evening.
The band of comrades soon fell into a routine. In the mornings, Dar, Bardon, Kale, and Regidor sparred in the courtyard, perfecting their skills and learning from one another. When Dar suggested the regimen, Kale offered no resistance. Still smarting from Bardon’s assessment of her attitude, she determined to show him she had discipline.
Regidor continued to mature at a phenomenal rate. He grew to a foot taller than Bardon and soon outmatched both Dar and the lehman in hand-to-hand combat.
In the afternoon, the servants roamed through the house doing their chores. Librettowit left the house with Dar, and they sought information from the upper class as well as the merchants and academicians. Librettowit used his letters of introduction and his ability to tell a good story to garner social invitations. Dar visited the taverns where the upper echelon of servants took their afternoon break.
After noonmeal, Regidor retired to his quarters along with the minor dragons. The hired help never caught a glimpse of the “monk” during his meditations each afternoon.
Kale and Toopka worked alongside the servants and gathered news. Bardon talked to the maids and occasionally helped with heavy lifting, but as the sheridan he did no housework. Kale thought again how oddly females behaved around Bardon. And it wasn’t just the young, giggly maids. The older housekeeper and the cook blushed when Bardon spoke to them.
Also, during the long afternoons, Bardon and Kale sequestered themselves in Regidor’s chambers and practiced mindspeaking. Kale demonstrated for Bardon the things that Leetu Bends had shown her. The more she remembered and practiced these exercises, the more her own proficiency grew.
Regidor grew enthusiastic about their endeavors and joined them. He constantly thought of new twists for the old techniques. Some of them were outrageous, and if Dibl were in the room, the results were pushed to absurdity. The meech dragon “confused” Kale’s tongue so that anytime she tried to say something, the only thing that came out of her mouth was, “I’m a rapid rabbit.” She convinced Bardon his pants were soaking wet through a series of mental pictures that made him think he had spilled a jug of water. He would laugh at their antics, but the serious lehman never instigated any mischief.
Kale insisted they also practice the proper etiquette for mindspeaking. Regidor often had trouble bending his own formidable will to Wulder’s principles. He challenged the need to respect another person’s private thoughts.
“Article ninety-three,” said Bardon with authority. “‘Preserve dignity by honoring privacy.’”
The three became very adept with their mindspeaking skills, although Bardon’s talent lay dormant anytime he and Kale were separated. Bardon and Kale could meld their minds and work as one, or totally ignore each other at will. She found it much more comfortable than her earlier experiences of being flooded with a maelstrom of his emotions.
In the evening, the companions came together to compile bits and pieces of the information they had acquired. Librettowit had a map on which he recorded their findings.
“Trese is definitely losing the dragons’ cooperation.” The librarian pointed to the center of Trese, near Bartal Springs Lake. “The latest reported incident was at Bealour, a small village on the eastern shore of the lake. Two dragons destroyed crops and disappeared from the area. Five additional dragons flew off to the north and never returned.”
Dar pointed out the last three areas of discontent. “The pattern indicates that someone is moving from place to place. See how they’ve followed this trade road?”
“Shouldn’t that tell us where the meech dragon is?” asked Kale.
“It should, but for one puzzling thing,” said Dar. “No one has reported seeing the meech dragon. And a meech dragon is pretty hard to overlook.”
“So he’s traveling much as I am,” said Regidor. “He’s in disguise.”
“And doing a good job of it,” said Librettowit. “Most people would remember you as the monk shrouded from head to toe in your clerical robes. This meech is disguised so that even his disguise is unremarkable.”
Toopka squirmed on her chair. “Can we go and look for ourselves?”
“No,” said Dar. “First we must gather information from the port. We haven’t yet extracted what news they might have.”
“Humph,” said Librettowit. “The Port of Prushing is dangerous with many unsavory characters lurking about.”
“Exactly!” said Dar with a wide grin.
33
FORAY INTO A DEN OF EVIL
Kale tried to leave the minor dragons at home, but Gymn reminded her that they’d proven useful in dangerous situations. Dibl just took up residence in his pocket-den and would not be dislodged. Librettowit stated he was a librarian and did not approve of dangerous expeditions. Toopka strangely did not object to being left at home with the tumanhofer.
Cool mist swirled around Kale, Dar, Bardon, and Regidor as they trod narrow streets heading toward the docks. The atmosphere differed from the bright and colorful markets Kale had visited with Toopka during the day. The Port of Prushing apparently led two differing lifestyles. The one shown during the day resembled a carnival. At night, the air hung heavy with treachery.
Dar led them to The Horn, a noisy tavern in a ramshackle wooden structure. Loud music and the thump, thump, thump of rhythmic and enthusiastic dancing welcomed them.
Inside, lanterns hung along the walls giving a greenish glow to the smoky air. Numerous round tables crowded the edge, while energetic dancers, including some urohms, stomped and twisted in a central area.
Kimens! And minor dragons! Look, Dar. What are they doing here?
“Hopefully, they will be providing us with some much-needed facts.”
I mean, what would kimens be doing in a raucous place like this? I always thought of them living in quiet, remote areas.
“Don’t you remember that kimens have taken on the role of watchers?”
Yes, and I suppose the best place to observe evil is where evil is active. But Dar, suppose some of these kimens are in league with Risto’s forces.
“Then Regidor will sense it. You probably could too, Kale, if you tried.”
I don’t see auras around people.
“No, but you can enter a person’s mind and observe the kind of things they think about.”
Dar, you don’t know how draining it is to mindspeak. And when it’s with someone who’s evil, I come out of it with a nasty feeling.
“No, I guess I don’t know anything about it except what I’ve read or been told.”
Kale glanced sideways at her friend.
Along with the minor dragons sitting among the patrons of The Horn, other animals sat at a few tables.
What an odd assortment of pets. Some look bored, and some look more intelligent than their owners.
Kale identified two monkeys. A few dogs sat in their masters’ laps, and some curled up asleep under the chairs or tables. One bisonbeck had a massive, catlike creature on a leash. Large, colorful birds perched on shoulders. And animals Kale could not begin to identify also accompanied a few of the rougher-looking men in the room.
Kale stepped closer to Regidor where she felt safer. The meech dragon had shown reassuring skill in numerous forms of combat.
From the band in the corner of the room, a drumroll drowned out most of the chaotic noise in the spacious hall. A large curtain across one wall parted in the center and opened in short, jerky movements. Kale saw a stage and knew this entertainment would not be like anything she had ever seen at the tavern in River Away.
“Let’s find a table and order some supper,” said Dar. “Kale, ask the minor dragons out so they can gather information too.”
They sat at the only table available with four vacant seats. Two bisonbecks occupied the other chairs, but they had surrendered to a multitude of hefty tankards of strong ale. One snored, and the other drooled on the table. After the questing party had seated themselves, a
urohm came over and hoisted the two bisonbecks out of their seats. He dragged them to a side door and tossed them out. A quick and efficient marione mopped up the table with a limp, grimy rag. Right behind her came a marione wearing superior clothes.
“Rosey, bring a clean rag and wipe this table again. These are fine gentlemen, come from Greater Prushing, no doubt.”
He bowed before Dar. “What would be your pleasure, sir? We have fish from the ocean, beef from the pastures of Trese, a duckling purchased only yesterday.”
Dar ordered a meal for all of them.
Kale knew Regidor would have been better pleased had their seating been more in the shadows. He could have loosened his tail from the belt that confined it. And he would have been able to eat more comfortably without exposing his reptilian-featured face.
The minor dragons crawled out from the moonbeam cape but didn’t venture forth to explore this loud and colorful new place. They sat on Kale’s head and shoulders and scowled at their surroundings. Even Dibl hunched his shoulders and dug his tiny claws into Kale’s scalp.
“Ouch!” Kale lifted the yellow dragon from her hair and gave him to Bardon to hold.
The performers came onto the stage. Three singers harmonized well and sang loud enough to be heard over the continued chatter of the patrons.
Metta slid off Kale’s shoulder and stretched out on the sleeve of her blouse. The little dragon relaxed. Her tail swept back and forth, and her head bobbed to the beat of the music.
Metta! You are not to remember the lyrics to this song.
The end of the purple dragon’s tail twitched in annoyance.
Of course you can help it! insisted Kale. Think about something else.
Metta sat up and glanced over her shoulder at Kale.
I know the tune is catchy. Why don’t you make up words we can share with Toopka while you listen to the music?
The little dragon stretched out her neck and nodded. Then she returned her attention to the stage.
Kale breathed a sigh of relief. Metta did not take correction easily. Kale congratulated herself for steering the stubborn minor dragon away from learning the lurid lyrics sung by the three on stage.