The Venti raised its head to look at Rhen and then in exhaustion laid it back down on the ground. It let out a bleating moan that reminded Nick of an injured rabbit. It made him feel sad. He knew this was the off spring of the evil that created the Dead Ones, that abused so many and that it must be just as evil, but Nick felt a desire to help it.
“We must help it!” Nick blurted out.
“Are you mad?” replied Rhen. “This is a child of the dragon. This is what hunts for us and helps them enslave us to dig in the mines. This creature doesn’t deserve to suffer, but it does deserve to die!” Rhen said as he stepped toward it.
Hearing this the Venti let out another cry and tried to push itself up again but collapsed. Nick jumped in between Rhen and the creature. “We could restrain it, it might be able to give us information that would be useful. Please, it can’t hurt us in this condition.” Nick pleaded.
“Nick is right” said Owengar who had been quite until now “we might be able to learn something useful from it. Like, why was it here and how many were with this company. They could be close by and we could walk right into them making our journey for naught.” He finished.
“Fine.” Rhen conceded. “Go get the rope from my pack.”
Nick hurried back to Rhen’s pack and returned with the rope. They quickly bound its legs and neck. It didn’t even try to resist as it was too weak. Once it was bound they started to look over its injuries and tend to them the best they could. From what they could see, the broken wing was the worst of them and Owengar did his best to wrap it tight to its body. The Venti cried out as he did, but it seemed to be much more comfortable when it was l back in a natural position like the other one.
They decided to camp here next to the animal out of sight from the road, just in case the party that was with it came back looking for the Dead One. They drug the Dead Ones body up through the trees and away from their camp. They dropped it into a crevice of rock where no one would stumble upon it.
They would not light a fire for fear that it would draw attention to them, and so they ate a cold meal of the dry dwarven travel rations. They fed the dragon a freshly killed rabbit and brought it water from the stream to drink. Then Owengar tied it to a nearby tree and bound its jaws shut. The venti seemed lethargic but grateful for the care.
Night came on quickly and the three talked quietly for only a few minutes and then rolled out their beds and let Owengar take the first watch.
The next morning was cold and crisp. Nick woke and stretched his arms towards the sky. As he did, he could feel the cool air biting at his exposed arms. Reluctantly he got out of his bed and rolled it back up and fastened it back to his pack. He pulled his traveling cloak about him and sat down on a rock next to Rhen who had been keeping the last watch of the night. “Morning” he said to Rhen. Rhen just nodded back to him.
Nick looked over to the Venti and noticed that it was already doing much better. It was sitting up looking back at him. Its eyes were clear and seemed to be searching him up and down. Nick couldn’t help it, he slowly approached the creature to look it over in the soft morning light. As he approached it raised its head and pulled away from him.
“Easy, I’m not going to hurt you” he said softly to it.
“Will you hurt me if I loosen the ropes around you jaw?” Nick asked the creature not sure if it could understand him. To his surprise it shook its head back and forth.
Nick walked around behind the animal and loosened the ropes and quickly stepped away.
“What are you doing?” hissed Rhen at Nick.
“It’s fine, I want to talk to it.” Nick replied.
“I will watch the two” exclaimed Owengar as he wandered over from his bed “It is alright.”
With that Rhen seemed to be pacified, and Nick sat down on a rock near the venti. It had turned its head and shook itself free of the ropes that nick had just untied. Then it watched Nick all the way to where he sat down.
“Are you feeling comfortable? Are you going to be ok?” asked Nick.
It was silent for a while and then the creature responded back in a hissing voice. “Yes, I feel much better. You saved my life, why?” it replied and then asked.
“It was the right thing to do.” Answered Nick.
“Are you sure? I have been serving her since I hatched. I have done much to hurt and betray your kind. Mother forced me to do terrible things.” It seemed to shudder at this last reply.
“Did you not love to serve her?” Nick asked surprised. Owengar was also caught off guard by this. Nick could see it by the look that had crossed his face.
“I have dreaded every day in service to her. She is mean and cruel. Everything was about her and her comfort, never about us or our comfort. I have been beaten by her and her men too many times to count. I have only obeyed for my own survival. Mother said I was broken from the beginning and that I was a shame to our kind. She said I had feelings for the humans that are unnatural for a dragon. She said I had no fire for vengeance or thirst for death like a venti should. I wish to never to see her again.” It finished.
“Why were you being beaten by that Dead One?” Nick asked.
“I had upset her again. She had asked that I kill a young human child in a village just down the hill. I refused to hurt the youngling, and because of this she went into a fit of rage. First she killed the young girl and then broke my wing and flung me to the ground. I was lucky she didn’t kill me then, but Zorig her general reported a disturbance in a nearby town and asked for her to come and squash it just then. Her furry left with her but not before the instruction was given to make me suffer and then to kill me somewhere private. Lucky for me, I was receiving my punishment from Jerick when you arrived and killed him.” The venti replied.
“Excuse me for asking, but are you a male or a female? You are the first dragon I have ever seen up close and I do not know much about you to know.” Nick explained.
“I am a male. My name is Blacwin.” He answered.
“Blacwin” Nick said under his breath. “That seems fitting. You do seem different than the other venti I have seen.” Nick said.
“I am much different from my brothers and sisters. I never thought the way they did. I was always concerned with others and even the other races. It always made mother so angry. So eventually, I faked it to protect myself.” said Blacwin.
“Don’t believe it” Rhen cried over the conversation “They are all evil and he will kill you as soon as he gets the chance.” There was anger and hatred in Rhen’s voice. Nick knew why, his mother and father had been killed by the dragon years before. Nick could understand his feelings but felt there was something about this venti that was different.
“I am different” Blacwin said in a lowered voice, “I don’t want to be like them…” he trailed off quietly.
For some reason Nick believed Blacwin. He spent the next two days tending to Blacwin’s health. Rhen was not happy about the attention that Nick was giving to the creature, but Nick couldn’t help it. He felt a bond with the creature he had saved from Rhen’s sword. He could feel the bond and believed that Blacwin felt a debt of gratitude to him. He had shared very willingly as much information about Mortis and her army as he could. She had been with a group of fifty in the town of Errington not far from where they were when he had defied his mother. It was a lone town in the mountains that was safe, or so they had thought from the dragon and her men. They had taken many of the men and women to work in the mine but when the leader of the town had fought back, Mortis wanted to send a message by killing his young daughter in front of all of them. She had ordered Blacwin to do it.
He had explained that the dragon had taken up residence in the old castle. She wouldn’t fit through the main doors, so she had crushed a hole through the side of the main corridor that lead to the treasury on the second floor. She could just fold her wings in and squeeze down the massive hallway. She had torn down the wall that kept people out of the treasury and opened it to the hallway. Then she h
ad the Dead Ones and slaves build a massive fire place of stone on one wall of the treasury. “She loves the heat” Blacwin had said. “They keep the fire blazing, so she is always warm and comfortable. The slaves have piled all the treasure in the kingdom into the treasury where she loves to lie upon the piles. It is her weakness, she is like a cat with catnip when she sits upon it in her lair. The gold and jewels drive her mad and she can’t focus as she normally would.” He had finished.
Rhen seemed to be even more upset than usual as Blacwin had shared all the details. He was angry that Mortis was killing and enslaving his people to glutton herself with gold and gems for her own enjoyment. “They are no good to a dragon, she can have anything she wants. She can’t even hold a coin between her claws!” he had yelled out at one point.
After Blacwin was healed enough to travel, Nick had pleaded along with Blacwin for them to release him of his bindings. Owengar and Rhen refused at first but after Nick had studied in the Book of Secrets and found an oath spell, they had agreed to it only if Blacwin would swear an oath under the spell.
According to the book, anyone entering the oath that did not intend to keep it, would be destroyed as they spoke the oath. Nick was sure that Rhen was hoping that the venti was lying to them. He was sure he wanted to watch it disintegrate after uttering the oath.
Nick had memorized the spell and made the hand motions by brushing his hand from the left of Blacwin’s head and then the right and placing his hand on Blacwin’s heart. He then cast the spell by saying “Et vien a passe” and Blacwin slowly spoke his oath “I give my life to them who have saved it. I will do all I can to protect theirs. I will gladly give my life in service to their hand and will never betray their trust.”
With that said a blue shimmer of light spread over the young dragon and then passed between the members of the party. They could feel the intent of the dragon and it had spoken the truth.
All was quiet for a few minutes and then Owengar took a knee next to Blacwin. His voice was choked, and he bowed his head. “Thank you Blacwin, I am honored by your oath. You are truly a special creature. My people have a story of a dragon like you, and they are extremely rare. Only one in millions will ever has a pure heart as you have. It is an honor to know you.” He said nothing else but turned and went back to his pack and finished packing.
Nick was astonished at the reverence in Owengar’s voice and could feel something special about Blacwin but didn’t know what it was. Even Rhen looked at Blacwin differently. The hatred was gone, and he looked amazed as he looked him over.
“I guess that is that” said Nick as he walked over to Blacwin and untied the ropes. He suddenly felt a closeness to the dragon. He slipped his arms around its neck at his shoulders and gave the creature a hug. “Thank you, I know you meant it!” Nick said.
“It feels funny inside…. when someone treats you kindly… I like it.” Blacwin said quietly as Nick stepped away.
From that moment on, Nick didn’t see a ruthless venti any more. He only saw a beautiful black and sleek creature. He couldn’t believe it. He had a dragon for a friend. He had a dragon as a protector.
Chapter 20
The Keeper
Nick and his party continued through the mountain pass. Blacwin kept to the forest and trees so that he wouldn’t be seen. He kept true to his word and was serving the party. He kept hunting in the forest and bringing the fresh meat back to them to be cooked for their meals. The roads were clear and like Blacwin had said, Mortis and the Dead One’s had moved on to another town.
Nick spent as much time with Blacwin as he could. He would walk through the forest with him when the trees were spread further apart, and the ground was clear enough to walk. The more time he spent talking with the Venti, the more he liked him. The Venti was full of questions and was invigorated by this new opportunity to think and live for itself. Nick was impressed by the dexterity and speed that the young dragon had.
When Nick would walk with him, he could tell that Blacwin had to hold back and walk very slow to stay next to him. He didn’t seem to mind though as the young dragon was very inquisitive and had so much to talk about.
The stories he shared of his mother and the Dead Ones heinous acts were endless. They made his skin crawl to know of their evil unfeeling characters. It put dread into Nicks soul to even imagine the dragon. Village after village she had plundered with no respect for women, children or animal. From the stories he was hearing she had no care for life whatsoever.
“How will I ever destroy something so powerful and evil?” He thought to himself. The thought that his friends believed he was the answer weighed him down. He began to look at the ground and walk more slowly. He was feeling overwhelmed.
Eventually Nick asked Blacwin not to speak of the Dead Ones or Mortes anymore. He let him know that he could not listen to their evil acts any longer. He asked instead that Blacwin ask him questions instead. Blacwin was happy to comply and immediately asked “Why do humans burn their food over the fire? I prefer the beautiful taste of the raw flesh.” He said as matter of fact. “The flames take away the flavor of blood, so it just tastes like charcoal.” He finished.
Nick smiled at the question and went on to explain that he enjoyed the smoke-filled flavor of meat cooked over a fire. This still seemed odd to Blacwin, but he accepted the fact that humans and dragons must have a different sense of taste. Blacwin had so many questions about human behavior. Nick spent hours trying to answer them.
When they drew close to Errington. Nick left the young dragon and urged him to stay deep within the trees so he would not be discovered. Nick made sure he understood that other humans would see Blacwin as a threat and would attack him to keep their people and families safe. Blacwin nodded his head as if he understood and hurried off into the forest and promised to keep watch out for the group.
They passed through Errington and saw the destruction that had left behind. Families had been torn apart and they told of the pillaging that the Dead Ones had done to their poor town. More than half of their people had been taken to the mines and many were killed. Women were abused and those who fought back were made to suffer. Where ever the dragon and her men went, suffering and destruction and evil followed. Nick hated the dragon, he hated her men. He would put an end to this suffering, or she would put an end to him. He resolved in that moment that he would study harder, he would do whatever he had to do to keep this from happening.
Nick Owengar and Rhen were angered by the news. Nick noticed the town’s people were taking notice of Owengar and his different build. They studied him up and down. To take away from the pain in their hearts and their suspicions, Nick suggested that they help rebuild what they could. They spent a day or two with the people there. The people were grateful for their help, but it did not take away from their sorrow and pain. It did remind them that there were still good people in the world and there still was hope if they would come together.
The nights were somber. There was a depression, a sadness that couldn’t be lifted. The people were suffering for those that had died and for those that were taken. Nick and his companions worked hard to help the people but didn’t do much talking. They didn’t want to be disrespectful to the people as they dealt with their tragedy. Not to mention they didn’t know what to say in such a difficult time.
Owengar did become one of the people’s favorite. He used his strong hands and back to mend wagons, homes and fences. He was short and stalky and extremely strong. His workmanship with wood was amazing. Some of the only smiles seen were those of children that received some of his wooden animal carvings. They were so life like and smooth that it looked as though a tiny animal had sprung to life in the child’s hand. He didn’t seem to mind the attention of the people. Nick thought he needed it after watching how the people had treated him at the feast.
After a few days they continued up through the valley to the Northeast. According to Owengar the lands of the elves were to the East of the rolling plains that they had seen fr
om the mountain pass. After a few more days of uneventful travel, it started to rain lightly. The roads became soft and slippery and made their journey slow.
By the next day they started to see the road covered in heavy boot prints. Owengar crouched down to look at them.
“This is the group of fifty that Blacwin had spoken of” said Owengar with certainty. “We must keep our eyes open.”
“What is that smoke?” Rhen asked pointing in the direction of the northern end of the valley. They all looked in the direction he was pointing. There were black plumes of smoke curling into the air to the north.
“I have no idea.” said Owengar “but it is coming from Darian. It is the last civilization of humans to the North. With these boot prints and the smoke, it can’t be a good thing.”
“It looks to only be a few days walk, so I guess we will know soon enough.” Rhen answered back.
It was a day and a half walk to Darian. They were much more cautious in their travels. They kept to the edges of the road and sent Blacwin ahead to watch for trouble and to warn them if they needed to get off the road. They ran into no one and the forest was eerily silent. The light rain had stopped, and the smoke had died down the next day to just a small light curl in the sky. When they came around the road’s bend into Darian, they saw the cause of the smoke.
The charred remains of a town were all that remained. There were remnants of livestock fences and trampled crops to show that there had been a town there. The people of the town had made graves for those who had been killed and then they must have left for their own safety. There were no signs of life. No livestock, no people, nothing. Rotting food that must have been taken from the homes was strewn about the streets. Animal carcasses were here and there as though they had been killed and left to rot.
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