“Terribly sorry to interrupt,” Jared crouched as he reached them. He had overheard their conversation as he approached. He didn’t even attempt to hide the knowing smile. It wasn’t in mockery, it was that he’d never seen Grubb acting so tenderly. He actually thought it was quite romantic in a strange, miniature way, of course.
Grubb quickly became his normal self, “What do ye want?” he grunted.
“I need to speak with Tambly,” replied Jared, still smiling.
“Alright, but you go easy on ‘er,” warned Grubb, “An’ take that stupid look off yer face, ye look like an idiot!”
Jared watched as Grubb shuffled away mumbling to himself, then turned his attention to Tambly, “You gave us quite a scare,” he said. “If it wasn’t for Grubb you may not have survived.”
“He’s lovely, isn’t he?” said Tambly with a glint in her eye.
“Yes, well…” Jared felt a little uncomfortable, “… erm, lovely. Tambly, what happened to you?” he asked, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible. “Did the zingaard attack you? If it did, we shall have to destroy it.”
“Oh, no!” she exclaimed, a clear note of panic in her voice as she grabbed Jared’s hand, “He didn’t mean it, honestly, he didn’t do anything wrong! Please sir, don’t hurt him!”
“Calm down, Tambly,” said Jared, soothingly. “But he is responsible for this?”
“No, and yes,” she replied, “It was my own fault, see.”
Jared frowned, “Go on,” he urged.
“Well, I was by the stream having a wash and fetching some fresh water, as you do. Now, at first, I didn’t realise that the beast was there watching me. It gave me a start when I saw him out of the corner of my eye, I thought he was going to attack but he didn’t, he waved to me! I was taken aback, I must say! Anyway, he never moved any closer, just sat there watching me. He was rocking from side to side, I think he liked the feel of the morning sun on his fur. He started rocking faster but the sun was melting some of the frost. He either didn’t notice it or had never seen frost before, because suddenly he slipped and fell flat on his face. Well I know I shouldn’t have, but I thought it was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen and couldn’t stop laughing. He must have known, because he started to pretend to fall again and again. I was so busy laughing that I wasn’t paying attention. That’s when I slipped. I remember hitting my head on a jagged rock and seeing the blood… and the beast picking me up, but after that, nothing.”
“So, it was simply an accident?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Tambly, “Just my stupid clumsiness. You won’t hurt the poor beast will you, sir? I’m sure he was only trying to help.”
Jared patted her on the leg, “We won’t lay a finger on a single, smelly hair, promise,” he smiled. His expression changed, “Tambly…” he began tentatively, “… I wondered if you could answer a few questions for me?”
Tambly looked puzzled, “Well I don’t know how a Vikkery like me could possibly know anything that you don’t,” she smiled. “But I’ll help if I can.”
“I think you’ll know far more than I do. You see, it’s about Grubb.”
“What about him?” she replied, blushing a little.
“Do you know anything about his family? It’s what Lorzic said about them being ashamed of him. Why would they be ashamed that he transformed into a dragon?”
Tambly scowled, “That Lorzic’s a fool, always has been!” she said curtly, “If it doesn’t line his pocket, he’s not interested. Everything else to him is wrong, so he picks on everyone to get them on his side and make him more coin. He’s not fit to even speak of Grubb’s family, let alone say anything about what they’d think.”
Jared was intrigued and leaned forward, eager to learn more.
“They’re a legend amongst our people, especially his father,” continued Tambly, “He could change into things the rest of us could only dream about! Look at our normal size,” she said, spreading her arms. “But it wasn’t a problem for Grubb’s dad, he could change into things thirty feet tall and it didn’t even weaken his skin!”
Jared shook his head slightly, “I don’t follow your meaning,” he said apologetically.
Tambly thought for a moment, working out the best way to explain it to him, “Imagine a water skin,” she suggested, “Once it’s full, it’s full, but if you keep trying, it’ll stretch a bit, so you can fit more in. But if you try to put too much water in it, it splits when the hide gets too thin.”
“So the bigger the form you Vikkery take, the thinner your skin becomes?”
“Exactly!” replied Tambly. “And the easier we can be wounded. But not Grubb’s dad, his skin actually got thicker. The bigger the form he took the stronger he got, it was the only way he survived as long as he did. He wouldn’t have lasted a day otherwise! I suppose that’s why he was as successful as he was when he had to do what he’d promised.”
Jared leaned even closer to Tambly, “Which was?” he asked, inquisitively.
Tambly suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. She hadn’t meant to say as much as she had but realised that it was too late to do anything but answer the question that had been posed to her. She took a deep breath, “He was a dragonslayer!” she whispered.
Jared’s mouth fell open. Had he misheard what Tambly had just said? “Forgive me, Tambly,” he said, laughing gently, “I could have sworn you said he was a dragonslayer.”
Tambly frowned, “That’s because it is what I said!” she replied. “Why do you think we were all staring at Grubb when we met that scarred sorcerer? We were all expecting him to change into something huge and attack the dragon, not just walk past like there was nothing he could do about it. He has the same strength as his dad, you saw him turn into a dragon the same as we did, or had you forgotten about that?”
“Sorry, Tambly,” replied Jared, “It’s just a bit of a shock to discover that my friend’s father was a dragonslayer.”
“Not just his father,” Tambly corrected him, “His mum, his brothers and both of his uncles were too.”
“Brothers?”
“All three of ‘em,” replied Tambly, nodding her head. It was so horrible for Grubb, losing ‘em all at the same time. His whole family gone in a flash, literally. Broke his heart it did.”
“How?” asked Jared, exasperated by what he had just been told.
Tambly shook her head, “Sorry,” she said abruptly, “I’ve said too much already. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m feeling a bit queer, I need to sleep. If you want to know anything else, you’ll have to ask Grubb yourself.”
Shuffling down, she pulled her shawl tightly around her and closed her eyes.
Jared watched her for a few moments, then rose and quietly strolled away.
“So now ye know,” came a voice from the bushes. It was, of course, Grubb. He hadn’t gone as far as Jared had thought and had heard every word that had passed between him and Tambly. He didn’t seem angry, or even slightly annoyed, more… disappointed. “My terrible family secret,” he snorted. Looking up at Jared, he sighed. “All ye had to do was ask,” he muttered.
“Grubb, I’m terribly sorry,” Jared said, apologetically, “I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just…”
“Yes ye did,” chuckled Grubb, interrupting him, “Ye wouldn’t ‘ave been asking so many questions if ye didn’t.”
“But…”
“It’s alright, Jared. Don’t worry about it, you were bound to find out sooner or later. Tell ye what, you get everyone together and I’ll tell ye everything ye want to know, ‘cause I’m only sayin’ it once and after that… ye can all stuff yer questions!”
***
A few minutes later every companion was seated in a circle around one of the campfires, eager to hear Grubb’s tale.
Grubb himself felt easier walking around it as he began, “It all started before I was born,” he said. “My old dad used to tell me some fantastic tales when I was a lad, made my hair stand on end sometimes it did. At bedti
me I used to stare out into the darkness, terrified that a fire-breathing dragon would suddenly come charging out of it and roast us all alive. We hadn’t built the village then, see, it was decades before we got around to that. Then I’d realise I had my dad there to protect us so as I stared into the flames of the campfire, I’d doze off feeling safe.”
“But you said it started before you were born,” urged Lodren with excitement, “Tell us about that.”
“And do be quick about it,” yawned Poom. “I have a very nice tree branch picked out for a nap, and I’d rather not keep it waiting.”
Grubb scowled, “Well…” he continued, glaring at Poom, “… years before, there weren’t many Vikkery and as we aren’t the largest of folk, we tended to hide out in forest areas as much as possible for safety. There were far more wolves and bears around apparently when my dad was young,” he paused, making sure that he had everyone’s undivided attention.
“My dad was kind of the leader of the Vikkery. They always asked his advice and looked to ‘im for guidance with most things, but then the rumours started. One of the youngsters said he’d been playing in the woods and lost track of time. It was getting dark before he realised how late it was and how far he’d wandered. He started heading back and got the shock of his life. Because the light was failing he couldn’t make out exactly what it was that was ahead of him, only that it was very large and seemed to have small flames coming from its mouth.”
“So it was a dragon then!” whispered Lodren, his eyes wide.
Grubb sighed, “Well, yes it was. But he didn’t know that! He’d never seen one before! Now, do you mind if I carry on? Or was there anything else?”
Lodren looked suitably embarrassed, “Sorry,” he said quietly.
“As you can imagine, the poor lad was terrified. He hid behind a tree for ages, even after the dragon had gone. Thought he’d be gobbled up for supper if he so much as moved an inch. That’s where my dad and the others found ‘im the following morning, shaking and cryin’ with fear.”
“From what you’re saying, the elders didn’t believe his story,” suggested Hannock.
“No, unfortunately not. They thought that because he was alone in the dark he’d just imagined it. After a few days the boy seemed fine and everyone started to forget all about his fanciful tale. It would prove fatal!”
“But dragons aren’t dangerous!” protested Lodren, “They’re our friends, they wouldn’t deliberately hurt anyone.”
“Not now,” agreed Grubb, “But I’ve watched them over the years, Lodren, they’re not the same as they were. The last thing you’d have as a friend back then was a dragon!”
“Pleeaaase,” urged Poom. “My lovely tree! Get on with it!”
“Anyway, a few weeks passed, and more and more tales were being told of sightings of the huge beast that roamed the forest. My dad decided to investigate. He was the most seasoned hunter of them all and set out to see if ‘e could discover any tracks that might give ‘em a clue of what might be causing the rumours. It didn’t take ‘im long. He found massive clawed footprints everywhere! Normally you’d find ‘em on soft damp ground, but these were all over the place. When ‘e got back to the camp ‘e told everyone that they had to move on ‘cause they weren’t safe. It was late in the day, so they agreed that they’d leave the very next morning,” Grubb suddenly looked very solemn, “That delay cost ‘em dearly.”
“The dragon attacked?” asked Jared.
“In the middle o’ the night while most of ‘em were asleep,” sighed Grubb. “They never stood a chance! Some of ‘em were roasted alive before they knew what ‘appened and others were chomped up as they tried to escape the flames. My family were some of the lucky ones. As they ran for their lives the way they went led to a ravine. They all went over the edge, figured that they might survive the fall. The odds were much better than facing a raging dragon.”
“And did they all survive?” asked Emnor.
“Yeah…” sighed Grubb, “… not so much as a scratch between ‘em. Well, my family anyway. Some o’ the others weren’t so lucky. Them that was, hid wherever they could and waited ‘til morning. My dad and a few others scrambled back up the ravine to check the camp. There was nothing left but charred trees and earth, the dragon had killed ‘em all!”
“So your father didn’t have his special powers at that point?” asked Emnor, “He was the same as all the other Vikkery.”
“Nobody had any special powers!” laughed Grubb, “We weren’t shapeshifters back then. That didn’t ‘appen until years later!”
“How did you become shapeshifters then?” asked Drake, now totally engrossed.
“Well if you’d all shut yer faces for five minutes, I’ll tell ye,” snorted Grubb.
There were mumblings of apologies from the companions. Grubb was enjoying being the centre of attention for a change. He cleared his throat and continued.
“As ye can imagine, such a disaster completely changed the behaviour of my ancestors. Once they’d just huddle together and follow a path that was clear enough with no real destination in mind. They’d stop when they needed rest and pitch a camp, life was simple. However, now that they were aware of the existence of dragons they were cautious of everywhere, and everyone. They moved more like a military unit than simple folk seeking a peaceful life. Scouts would be despatched to make sure the way was safe, and the slightest hint of danger would cause them to change course. One night, they found a place that seemed safe, a small cave set into a rock face that was difficult to reach without careful climbing. Better to take a risk clambering up a rock face than tackling an unknown beast or two.”
Poom fell onto his back and rolled his eyes. It was obvious that Grubb was now in full storyteller mode. This was going to take some time, but all he could think about was his nap.
“That night…” whispered Grubb, “… whilst everyone slept, my dad was keeping watch. It had been a hard day, one of many, and my dad hadn’t slept properly for over a week. He tried his best but fatigue took hold of ‘im and, despite fighting it as hard as he could, he nodded off! He started to topple forward and jolted ‘imself awake. His sight was blurry, but he was sure he’d only nodded off for a minute. Then he saw the man! Sitting as bold as brass warming ‘is ‘ands by the fire was a young chap dressed in black robes. He turned and smiled at my dad as if it was completely normal! ‘I hope you don’t mind?’ he said, ‘This night air has chilled me to the bone’!”
“Who was he?” asked Lodren, unable to contain himself.
Grubb frowned at his friend but carried on with his tale, “That was the strangest thing, he never gave his name. My dad asked him, of course, but he said it wasn’t important. It made my dad a bit suspicious of the stranger but as he continued to talk, my dad started to relax a bit. The rest o’ the family, having been woken up by their talk, huddled together behind my dad just in case things got nasty. Turns out there was nothing to worry about, the stranger was really friendly. He asked why they were in such a desolate place and seemed very interested when he was told about the dragon that had murdered so many Vikkery a few years before.”
Drake opened his mouth but Hannock, not wanting Grubb to be interrupted yet again, shook his head and clamped his hand over it before he had time to speak.
“Deep into their conversation, this young chap revealed that he was a wizard! He said he could help my people protect themselves, but that there would be a price!”
“How much!” blurted out Lodren, clamping his own hands over his mouth before anyone else did.
“He didn’t want coin,” replied Grubb, slowly, “He said that they must make a solemn vow and keep it until their dying day! If he bestowed a gift upon them they would have to swear that they would hunt down every dragon they so much as heard a whisper of and slay it!”
Lodren gasped.
“My old dad could still hear the screams from the folk the dragon slaughtered years before and had ‘orrible nightmares about the attack every night. Withou
t so much as a pause, he agreed! The wizard explained how the spell would work, adding that once done it could not be reversed and would be passed down through every descendant of those present! It took about an hour apparently, but when the spell was completed every Vikkery was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. When they woke the following morning, the wizard was gone! Not a trace of how he left, or arrived for that matter. Less than an hour later, my people began their very first dragon hunt. Their prey? The one dragon my father wanted his revenge on!”
“I take it they found it?” asked Jared.
“Oh yes, they found it alright. It took ‘em months to get back to where it all happened. They didn’t know if it would still be there, but it was. It was the very first trophy my dad ever collected. Back in the village, in my family home, there was a whole collection of ‘em. Dragon teeth, scales, even a few bones, only small ones, but dragon bones nonetheless.”
“I apologise in advance for this, Grubb, but…”
“How did they die?” said Grubb, pre-empting Hannock’s question. Hannock pursed his lips and nodded.
“As dragonslayers, my family had hunted every type of dragon you can imagine. There were fire-breathers, frost dragons, even dragons that could shatter rocks with a roar, but they were all doomed once they were discovered by my family. Until one day. There were whispers of a dragon far more powerful than any that had been mentioned before, a black dragon whose scales were like polished iron. Rumour suggested that it could summon the lightning from the sky and disintegrate anyone who so much as set foot near it. That was a challenge my old dad just couldn’t resist! He was fascinated by the myth of the black dragon and before long my whole family ventured out to hunt it down…” Grubb cleared his throat and turned his back to them, “… none of them returned.”
“What happened to them?” Lodren screwed up his eyes, he had not meant to say it aloud. He glanced to his right, even in the failing light he could see Faylore glaring at him.
Grubb never turned around, “Nobody could say for sure,” he replied quietly. “They went looking for my family but all they found was a few pieces of scorched armour. I was told when I was much older that the ground was just ash, as if a huge fire had burned all the vegetation. But it couldn’t have been a fire because it would have spread further, and it formed a perfect circle. But all around, there were tracks… tracks made by a very large dragon.”
The Cessation of Karrak_Ascension III Page 27
