The Black Dragon

by W. D. Newman

CHAPTER 10

  STUBBORN GRANDKIDS

  Amos reached the Twilight late that afternoon. The weather was changing fast. The high thin mare's tails that usually marked the edge of a storm front had moved through quickly and now the sky was filled with dark, fluffy, gray clouds. Amos was sure that a big snow was coming and worried, that if they did not move quickly, they would get separated from the others by the storm. That would ruin any chance of rescue for Gabriel and Hob, and it would likely strand Jonah, Gob, and Nob at the Crystal Cave with very limited supplies. The Faerie Oaks lifted their branches and pulled back their roots as the bear approached. Through the trees he flew. As he neared the castle, he transformed in mid-stride and ran across the courtyard to the keep.

  Marcus and another elf were standing on the doorstep of the keep. The elf had several parchments with drawings and formulas on them. These were some modifications for the catapults that the dwarves were building; designs for a quick fire mechanism that would trigger all of the catapults at once. He was explaining the one of these drawings to the Keeper, when Amos suddenly appeared.

  "Where are your friends?" Marcus asked with a very troubled expression on his face.

  "They are safe," the big man panted, "We cannot dig out the Black Hills cavern in time. It would take weeks. They are on their way to another entrance, a place called the Crystal Cave."

  Marcus turned to the elf beside him. "Those changes to the catapults look good. Now, go and summon Louise and the children to my study, quickly." He then took Amos by the arm. "Come inside, we have much to discuss."

  The Keeper's study was a small room outside the main library. The walls were paneled with dark walnut and draped with bright tapestries. A beam of winter sunshine filtered through the clouds and shone through a solitary window that overlooked the courtyard below. It projected a thin sliver of gray light onto a map that was spread across the table in the center of the room. Around this table sat Marcus, Amos, Louise, Ben, and Casey. After Amos recounted his tale for Louise and the two kids, Marcus drew their attention to the map.

  "Amos, you know how to get to the Crystal Cave, but I want Louise and the children to know as well."

  "Why on earth do we need to know that," Louise asked, unable to hide the suspicion in her voice.

  "If anything happens to Amos, you will need to know the lay of the land, where things are located, and how to get there."

  "You are not answering my question," Louise frowned at the Keeper. "Why do we need to know this stuff?"

  "You have seen something, haven't you?" Ben asked. "This mission isn't directly related to the dragon, so you have been able to see something in the future."

  The Keeper nodded.

  "Tell us," said Ben, scooting to the edge of his seat and pushing his glasses up on his nose. Casey leaned in closer too.

  Marcus looked up from the map. He glanced at the children and then turned his attention to Louise. She was nervously wringing her hands and staring at him like a hungry cat might stare at a mouse. Marcus could tell that she knew what was coming and he also knew that she was ready to pounce on him the instant he asked them to go, but he had no choice. He reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers. "Louise, you know what I must ask you, I see it in your face. If you and the children go with Amos, there are many paths to many possible futures that I have seen. Most of them are good."

  "And if we don't go?" Louise asked with a trembling voice.

  "If you and the children do not go, there is but one path that I am able to see. This one path leads to great sorrow for many."

  "Tell me," Louise whispered.

  "If all of you do not go, we will never see Gabriel and Hob again, and Amos will die in Kahzidar."

  "No," Louise moaned, "that can't be."

  "Why don't you just send in an army to get them out?" Casey cried. She could feel the panic building in her chest and big tears were welling up in her eyes. She was scared too. The possibility of Amos dying really shook her up.

  "Kahzidar is huge, but an army would not go undetected and a war with the gnomes is the last thing we need right now. Not only are we trying to save our friends, we are trying to save Camelot."

  "Even if Camelot was not in danger," said Ben, "we'd still have to go. They're our friends. They would do it for us."

  "You're right," said Louise, "but I can't take a chance with something happening to you and Casey. I won't! You've just got your mother back and things are finally getting back to normal with your family. It would devastate your mom and dad if anything happened to either of you. It would devastate me and George. I can't, Ben, I just can't."

  "Grandma, we have to try. You know that."

  Louise shook her head and began to cry softly. Ben and Casey put their arms around her to comfort her.

  "Ben's right, Grandma," said Casey. "I don't want to go, but we really must."

  "I know," said Louise. She fumbled around in her coat pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. "Just give me a moment to compose myself."

  Marcus waited patiently while Louise dabbed at her eyes. When she finished, she folded the handkerchief up and returned it to her coat pocket. She then took a deep breath and nodded at the Keeper to continue.

  "When you leave here, follow the main road toward Mountain Rest. When you come to a crossing, turn right and that will take you to Brown's Ford."

  "Is it the first crossing on the main road?" Louise asked.

  "It is. It should be well marked too. Once you reach the crossing, you will not be far from the river. If you cross the river at the ford, the road will turn to the right and will follow the river upstream to Wrightsville. It's about a two mile ride into town from the crossing."

  "Is the Crystal Cave near the town?"

  "Yes, but it's in the opposite direction."

  Louise and the children looked puzzled.

  "I'm telling you about the town," Marcus explained, "because Amos believes that a very bad storm is coming and I think he is right. Once you rescue your friends, if this storm is upon you, Wrightsville will be the closet place to find shelter."

  "Okay, how far is the Crystal Cave from the ford?"

  "Not far. You will still need to cross the river, but you will turn left and follow the river downstream. There will be a narrow path beside the river and you will have to stoop to enter the cave, but when you get inside, the path widens into a broad road and veers away from the river. Once you enter the cave, you are on your own."

  "When are we leaving?" Louise asked.

  "You will be leaving at once. I have horses and supplies ready for you at the stables. I even have a horse that you can ride," Marcus said to Amos, with a twinkle in his eye. The big man raised a bushy eyebrow and cocked a suspicious eye at the Keeper.

  Out at the stables, three of the black elfin horses were saddled, with packs tied down across the cantles and canteens hanging from the horns.

  "I thought you had a horse that I could ride," said Amos.

  At that moment, the stable doors swung open and an old man came out. He was leading a horse that made the elfin horses look like dwarven ponies. Amos paled.

  "I remember that horse!"

  The old man, with a sheepish grin, handed the reins over to Amos.

  "His name is Dan. I like to call him Old Dan, but he ain’t old. That sack of gold y'all left in my barnyard that night was enough to buy a team of horses. And that's what I done too! I been hauling stone from the quarry for this here castle. Got here with a load today. Was getting ready to start back home, when one of the elves here told me all about your troubles and your need for a horse."

  Amos shook his head in amazement. "Mister Miller, isn't it? I always wondered what happened to this horse."

  "Yep, that's me. I heard about what happened when you got into town that day. I mistook your friends for gnomes. I learned later that they was dwarves. Ain't never seen a dwarf before. Anyhow, that blacksmith that stirre
d up all that trouble ain't around no more. Town ran him off. He never did no good work anyways. Old Dan here, he come home a couple days after ya'll left."

  "Thank you, Mister Miller, but how will I get him back to you?"

  "I'm returning him to you, sonny. You done paid for him. He's yorn now." Mr. Miller hugged Old Dan around the neck, and then hurried to leave. He paused though, wiped his eyes with the back of his coat sleeve, and cleared his throat. "You be good to him now, and he'll be good to you."

  "I will," said Amos.

  The old man nodded once and then quickly left, without looking back.

  "Look everyone, a snowflake!" Casey yelled.

  Amos looked up. The clouds had lowered and the sky above them was now a smooth steel grey color. Another flake fell.

  "We need to be leaving, we haven't much time."

  Marcus helped Louise and the children onto their horses, while Amos cautiously climbed onto his. The big man led them through the gates and out of the forest. Although it was impossible to fall from an elfin horse, Amos did not allow the horses to gallop and he kept the pace down to a fast trot for Louise.

  They made surprisingly good time on the main road, but by the time they arrived at the crossroads it was snowing really hard. Fortunately, Marcus had equipped them all with long hooded cloaks that were lined with warm furs. Amos drew his horse to a halt.

  "Louise, we've got to pick the pace up. Can you handle it?"

  "How much faster do we need to travel?"

  "I'm not going to run full out in this weather. Old Dan is no elfin horse and he could slip and fall. I just want to go a little faster. Can you manage?"

  “Yes, I believe I can. Riding is really not that bad, once you get over your fear of falling. I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow, but I will manage."

  "What about you kids?"

  Ben and Casey nodded.

  Amos whirled Old Dan around and clicked his heels to the horse's flanks. Louise and the children fell in behind him. Traveling at a slow canter, Louise discovered, was actually a smoother ride than travelling at a fast trot.

  They made the ford at dusk. The river was wide here, but shallow. Still, they would have to cross slowly and carefully, because it was very rocky. Even though the sun was down, the little daylight that remained was amplified by the snow that was already accumulating on the ground. This happened to be a wet snowfall and it clung to everything. All of the trees along the river were gilded in white, their dark branches etched in stark relief against the shadows accumulating in the forest behind them. Once again Amos led and the others followed. When they were all safely across the river, they turned left and followed the trail leading to the Crystal Cave.

  Because of the snow and the lack of light, they had to slow their pace down to a walk. By the time they arrived at the cave, it was almost dark and the heavy snowfall had escalated into a full scale blizzard. Everyone dismounted.

  "We'll have to take the horses inside," Amos yelled, over the howling wind. "They won't survive out here in this weather."

  Louise and the kids, too tired to shout over the wind, just nodded. Amos turned and led Old Dan up to the cave. He didn't know if he could get the big horse to stoop under the low entrance, but he never got the chance to try, because Old Dan locked his legs up, stiff and tight, and refused to budge. Amos tried to coax him, but he would not move. He tried to threaten him, but that did not work either. He pushed him and pulled him, but Old Dan was having none of it. He simply would not go anywhere near the cave entrance. Louise walked up.

  "He's afraid of that cave for some reason. Maybe he smells something or senses some kind of danger."

  Amos studied the dark opening. They would never get a torch lit out here in this weather. He would have to check it out in the dark.

  "Wait here while I go have a look inside. If it is clear, I will come back for a torch. Maybe he's just afraid of going into a dark place."

  Louise held onto to both her horse and Old Dan as Amos approached the entrance. Both the river and the path disappeared into a dark hole, recessed under a large outcropping of rock. Just a few feet inside this hole, it was totally black. Amos peered into the darkness for several minutes. He could not see anything, but there was a strange smell in here; a smell he was not familiar with. It must be the gnomes, he thought. He turned around to retrieve a torch, and Louise saw the cave troll spring from the shadows onto his back.

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