The Dragon on The Border

by Gordon R. Dickson

  "—This is Sir James Eckert, a knight famous for slaying an Ogre at a place called the Loathly Tower—"

  "We know of that Tower," said Ardac, son of Lutel, "but I had not heard of an Ogre-slaying there, particularly by a single fighter."

  "—With Sir James is Sir Brian Neville-Smythe, who was also with him at the Loathly Tower and slew a Worm by himself."

  "Good fighters, they seem to be," said Ardac, "but you've yet given us no reason why they should be considered friends and allowed here; though I own that the fact that they have slain both an Ogre and a Worm puts them on our side of the Wall, so to speak. Who is the third?"

  Dafydd came forward.

  "I am Dafydd ap Hywel, look you," he said, "and if I mistake not, my blood is none too distant from yours, though we must go far back in time to see the connection."

  "Ah?" said Ardac. "Where are you from?"

  "He is," said Liseth, "a man of Wales. Though there are other reasons why you might find him a friend; he was also at the Loathly Tower and almost died in holding off with his arrows the harpies that dived on them from clouds barely overhead."

  "That," said Ardac, "is something I would not have believed possible. Do you know this for a fact, Liseth?"

  "All of Britain knows it for a fact," said Liseth. "I give you my word."

  "And I, mine," put in Giles, "for what it is worth. I have seen this man and there is no better archer in the world."

  "Do you say so?" said Ardac. "Where is his bow, then?"

  "It is here," said Dafydd, stepping back to his saddle and laying his hands upon the cased bow which rode upright in its socket just behind his saddle.

  "A bow—that?" said Ardac. "Rather a spear shaft. I've never seen nor heard of any bow half so large."

  He jerked his head backward and to the two flanks of the formation behind him.

  "Our archers carry bows less than half that size."

  "It is not the size alone, to be sure," said Dafydd, "but the taper from the center to the ends. In that taper lies the secret of the longbow. I say this, who am a bowyer, or bow-maker, myself; as well as fletcher, or arrow-maker."

  "If you are a maker of anything, you recommend yourself to us, cousin," said Ardac, "and I call you cousin, for I see and hear now clearly that you are indeed of the ancient blood. There was a time when our people owned much of north and west Britain and land beyond the water west of this island. But tell me this. It appears to me, now that we learn you're from Wales, that you bear some signs about you by token of which it would be that we might owe you ancient respect and obedience. Answer me if my eyes do not lie to me?"

  "You speak of things from ancient days, which are now forgotten," answered Dafydd, "but in so far as you see what you think you see, you are correct."

  "They are not forgotten by us, who are the People," said Ardac. He spoke sharply over his shoulder.

  The front spears that had been leveled at the newcomers all this time returned to upright. For a second they lay in the hands of all the Little Men there, then suddenly shot skyward, held up at full arm's length, so that their bright points clustered suddenly in the sun like a silent shout of salute. Then Ardac spoke again and the spears came down.

  "I thank you," said Dafydd simply.

  "And now," said Ardac, "we would greatly wish to see you use this long bow of yours."

  "Willingly," answered Dafydd, "if only we can come up with the targets for which they are intended—without which any demonstration would have little meaning—"

  He broke off abruptly, for there had been a stir in the ranks of the Little Men; and they were now all looking off to one side. Jim, with Dafydd, Brian and Giles also looked off to the side, and saw approaching a wolf. For one wild moment Jim thought it was his old friend, Aargh, appearing here, as he had appeared in France the year before when he was needed.

  But this wolf was smaller than Aargh, though not by much, and somewhat heavier of bone. He had appeared from among the rushes less than fifteen feet away, and was now approaching Liseth, head down, ears back, tail low and wagging.

  For a moment, Jim felt a twinge of irritation. What was this about wolves that made them take so to human females? This wolf was not approaching Liseth with quite the complete appearance of surrender with which Aargh approached Dafydd's wife Danielle, whom he apparently prized above any other human. But close to it.

  Liseth now, like Danielle, stepped forward and put her arms around the neck of the wolf, fondling him and scratching him amongst the fur of his neck ruff.

  "I did not think to see you here, Liseth," said the wolf. His voice had the same harsh, unyielding quality that marked Aargh's.

  Chapter Seven

  "I've brought some friends to meet our friends, Snorrl," said Liseth. "You see them there before you. The man closest to me is Sir James, Baron de Malencontri et Riveroak, and next to him in armor is Sir Brian Neville-Smythe. A little behind them, the tall man is Dafydd ap Hywel, a Master archer. Last of all in armor is my brother Giles, whom you have surely seen, even if he has never met you."

  "I know Giles," said Snorrl. His yellow eyes roamed over the other three. "And you say these are friends. Do you trust them?"

  "I trust them absolutely," Liseth said fondly. "They saved Giles's life."

  "That is something," said Snorrl. "Very well, then, I will trust them also for your sake. They may listen."

  "Why should we not listen, Sir wolf?" asked Jim curiously.

  Snorrl's golden eyes focused on Jim.

  "Because anyone unknown should not be trusted," answered Snorrl. "You ask a young and foolish question, Sir Knight!"

  "Do not speak him so!" burst out Giles angrily. "He is not only our friend but a Mage!"

  He turned on Jim.

  "Show them, James!" he said.

  Jim found himself, as often when that sort of challenge came up, in an awkward position. His best trick to date had been changing from his human body into a dragon one. But that meant taking off all his clothes and armor, or seeing them burst apart and reduced to near ruin—aside from the fact that he hardly felt like disrobing in front of Liseth, no matter how indifferent fourteenth-century attitudes might be on such things. Luckily, he lately had come up with a substitute. Accordingly, he took off his helmet and wrote a spell on the inside of his forehead.

  MYHEAD→DRAGONHEAD

  He felt nothing, as usual, but an increased weight on his shoulders; but the change had been, as usual, instantaneous. Certainly, the reaction about him was instantaneous.

  No one changed expression. No one started or cried out. But a sudden absolute stillness took over both all the Little Men and Snorrl, as if he had made a spell to that effect instead.

  He wrote the counter spell on his forehead.

  DRAGONHEAD→MYHEAD

  He could feel from the lessened weight on his shoulders, suddenly, that his ordinary head was back. He put his helmet back on. There was a sort of near-soundless sigh from the ranks of the Little Men, and Snorrl's sudden tension was gone.

  "So, you are a magician," said Snorrl's voice. "As a magician you get respect from me, as from all beasts; since it has been known for many years that magicians are our friends rather than our enemies. I will not say I'm sorry, because the words I spoke were the words I thought. But I will give you credit from now on, Sir James, for your skill as a magician."

  "To be honest," said Jim, "I'm a very low-class magician, as yet; and really don't rate the address of Mage. Which should actually be only for magicians of high skill and rank. But such magic as I have, I have; and you may believe me when I say not only I but my friends are friends to all of you. You can trust us as you might trust anyone you had known for a long time."

  "Sir James," said the voice of Ardac, "we are a people who have some small magic of our own. But that is small magic, indeed; and we respect any of those who follow the hard road to higher learning in that art. Therefore you may count us your friends as if you had known us all your life. I speak for all?"
r />   He turned to look at the rest of the Little Men. A murmur of agreement came from them.

  "Thank you," said Jim. He turned back to Snorrl. "Can we hear this news of yours now, then?"

  Snorrl turned to look at Ardac.

  "I bring you word," he said. "It is of the Hollow Men; who, having only rare chances to eat, drink, or have to do with their own kind of females, have their main pleasures in killing and dancing—and the dancing is only a means by which they may start fights among themselves. There is a force of about a hundred of them again on the move; but this time in your direction here. They have penetrated into the upper valleys and will come upon you shortly, unless you turn aside."

  "Into our valleys?" said Ardac. "They know this land is forbidden to them. They also know that we always go to meet them. Never have we turned aside from them, because we are of the old blood; and what is ours is ours, even if we die upon it. But, since all things are done by agreement of all, I will ask the rest."

  He turned about to face the ranks of the Little Men behind him.

  "What say you?" he asked. "Shall we stand aside and let the Hollow Men pass?"

  There was a dead silence from the ranks.

  "Shall we go forward and drive them from our valleys?"

  There was no sound in response but once more every spear there shot upward to the full extent of the arm of the Little Man holding it, so that again a forest of the fiercely bright points stood together over their heads.

  "Good," said Ardac; and the spears went down. He turned back to Snorrl.

  "We thank you for your warning, Snorrl," he said. "Where might we meet them in an open space?"

  "Above this stream and above the one that runs into it, you know the valley part that widens to a small meadow? There is firm ground there, vertical rock all around, and no place for them to go but back," said the wolf. "I will fight with you if you wish it."

  "No, friend Snorrl," said Ardac. "You are of more value bringing us messages like this, than by risking yourself against these mad shades. It may be we shall lose some men to them. But we have the wherewithal to replace our numbers, and they do not. Nor will they gain any recruits from one of us, whose people once ruled."

  "But I will join you, damme!" said Sir Brian. "I have yet to feel my sword strike home on one of them; and they had the effrontery to attack my Lord James, Dafydd and myself on our way to the Castle de Mer. Unless there is some reason why you will not have me, then, I'm with you."

  "Sir Knight," said Ardac, "any who fight on our side are welcome, provided they do it with a full heart and for our common good, not just for some purpose of their own."

  "I will fight under your orders," said Brian—then checked himself. He turned to Jim.

  "Forgive me, m'Lord," he said. "I had forgotten that you command me."

  Jim winced internally. Once more he was up against the fourteenth-century attitude that the person bearing the highest rank must be in command. Brian knew, better than anyone, how much more fitted he was to lead than Jim—since Jim had now been his pupil for two winters in the use of arms, and was not even beginning to be a match for his teacher. But the formalities must be observed. Of course, this meant that Jim must fight, too, though no one had asked him. Giles and Brian—particularly Brian—would be taking as much for granted. So, apparently, were Snorrl and the Little Men.

  "I give you leave to fight as you wish, Sir Brian," said Jim. He turned to Dafydd and Giles. "The same thing applies to you. Sir Giles. As for Dafydd ap Hywel, it would be presumptuous of me to say him yea or nay."

  "Why, then," said Dafydd's voice, "I will be very glad to fight. As I have said, I have a new form of arrow I wish to try out; and it is made for use on Hollow Men. This will be a most excellent chance to try it out."

  "And I will fight with you," said Liseth, "except somebody will have to give me a shield and a sword."

  "You will not fight under any circumstances!" said Giles. "Do you hear me, Liseth?"

  "I hear you," said Liseth, "and since you are my brother and my elder and this a case of fighting, I suppose I must obey you. But it does not please me to do so!"

  "Whether you like it or not is beside the point," said Giles, heatedly. "What would I tell Father, if I had to bring your dead body back to the castle? Would you wish me put in that position?"

  "Well… no," said Liseth, her voice softening. "You are right, Giles. I must stand aside."

  "You'll do more than that," said Giles. "You'll climb a cliff the minute we enter the valley where we're to meet the Hollow Men; and watch what chances from there. Snorrl can stay with you, if he will, and see you safely back to the castle if it should happen that none of us is able to escort you there when all is over."

  "He speaks only truth, Liseth," said Snorrl. "No more than your father or brother would I care to lose you; and even if the Hollow Men come after us, I shall have no trouble losing them. Most of them, for some reason, are fearful of a wolf."

  He clashed his jaws.

  "I could say with good reason that it is because such as I are what we are; but it is more than that. Their fear of a wolf is something like the fear living humans have for ghosts like themselves."

  "Then you, Snorrl, and you, Liseth, will move behind our schiltron," said Ardac. He turned to Jim. "By your leave, Sir James," he said, "we would prefer it if you four rode behind us, also."

  "Of course. Whatever suits you best," said Jim.

  "But—" Dafydd spoke up, looking at Ardac. "Travel back there, we will, if you wish. But I must come forward when we sight the Hollow Men, so that none of your people may be between me and my arrows when I shoot at them."

  "Then come around our left side when the time is ready," said Ardac, "but, of your pleasure, return to the rear, before they and we actually come together."

  "That I will," said Dafydd; and took a step backward, in token of agreement.

  Snorrl, Jim and the rest moved around to the rear of the company; and they all began their march down the valley. The Little Men increased their pace. They were not trotting, but walking quite quickly, so that, even as short as their legs were, Jim and the rest had occasionally to trot their horses to keep up with them. It was curious, thought Jim, watching their disciplined movement ahead of him. Theoretically it should be almost slightly humorous, a bunch of small men like that, laden down with swords and spears and shields, moving swiftly up the valley floor like oversized toy soldiers.

  But, somehow it was not. There was an air of purposefulness and professionalism about the Little Men that made them seem very dangerous indeed. Jim realized, with something like a start, that he would not care to be an opponent facing them right at this moment. They looked entirely too much as if they knew exactly what to do.

  They reached the valley to which Snorrl had referred and found it still empty. Clearly, the Hollow Men had not reached it yet—which justified the speed at which they had traveled to get there.

  Within general limits, it was very much like the other little valleys they traversed, which had been like a series of narrow openings in the rock, each connected by pinched ends, both above and below the stream that flowed through them.

  This valley was something of an exception in that the stream with its surrounding bulrushes flowed down one side of the valley, right next to one of the rock walls; and behind the bulrushes, stretching to the farther wall, was a relatively flat meadow, tilting only slightly toward the streambed. Its surface sheltered by the cliff walls was already covered with grass, thick enough and tall enough here, in young, green spears, to lie down in a springy carpet underfoot.

  At the far end of the valley, where the Hollow Men would be entering, the rock walls approached each other fairly closely. Still, there was space enough in the extended valley floor there for the Hollow Men to come through, possibly a dozen or more abreast.

  Ardac took up his position at exactly the opposite end of the valley, where the rock wall came closer together and the front of the Hollow Men attacking them
would necessarily be pinched between the valley walls and the boggy soil underneath the bulrushes of the stream, so that at most ten or a dozen of the enemy on horseback could attack at a time.

  They waited.

  Meanwhile, Liseth and Snorrl had left them, and were climbing the nearby wall of rock, which was not a difficult slope at all, but one that did require a certain amount of scrabbling on both hands and knees by Liseth. Shortly, however, they saw her with the wolf, outlined against the sky at the top of the wall to their left. She waved at them and Giles waved back.

  "Will she wait to see what happens?" Jim asked Giles.

  "You couldn't pull her away with ropes," answered Giles. "Not only that, but she'll want to tell Father of how things went down here. Moreover, of course, she hopes we'll win, and she'll be able to come back down and join us again."

  It was perhaps twenty minutes before the Hollow Men put in their appearance. Their first numbers through the opening at the upper end of the valley checked on seeing the Little Men drawn up and waiting for them, but after a few minutes they came on again; and gradually their whole motley crew spilled out into the upper end of the valley. Those in front were mounted upon the invisible horses; and seemed to be clothed in complete sets of armor. Those farther back appeared to have only bits and pieces of armor, but all were weaponed, with either sword, ax, mace, or long spear.

  Once they were all into the valley, some hesitation appeared among them.

  "What's holding them up now?" fumed Brian.

  One of the Little Men in the last rank just ahead of them looked back over his shoulder.

  "There are usually several would-be leaders among them in any group like this," he said. His voice was almost eerily like Ardac's; or maybe it was the particular timbre of the speech that must be common to all of them. "Usually like this, they pause while it's sorted out who is actually going to be in command. Ardac will take advantage of this."

  "Dafydd ap Hywel!" called Ardac's voice in almost the same moment from the front of the formation.