"Yes, that is so," she agreed. "They will most certainly deny involvement in the assassination. And the fact that you appear to be acting in their best interests may impress them. I can only try. Do you want me to leave at once?"
"I think you should," Thelvyn said. "I need something I can work with as soon as possible. And I want you to return before I have to leave the Highlands, if it comes to that. I trust that the parliament will allow you to return. I haven't broken the terms of the truce."
"My brother Marthaen suspects that my duty to you was secretly commanded by the Great One," Kharendaen said. "He will make certain I am allowed to return. I must not be parted from you."
It was still the midmorning, and Kharendaen left for the Parliament of Dragons at once. Thelvyn watched her as she lumbered out into the yard and leaped into the sky, climbing in broad circles over the city. He knew her departure would be noticed by others, and he hoped it gave the king something to think about. Just the same, he felt very vulnerable without her. Kharendaen's company had always given him not only prestige but also a high degree of mobility, both decided advantages over his enemies. But she had also been his closest and dearest friend, unhesitating in her support and affection.
Now that Thelvyn faced the possibility of being separated from Kharendaen for the first time, he realized that he valued her company dearly. As an orphan, he had been able to assemble at least the shadow of a family. Sir George had been like a father to him, or at least a kind and devoted uncle, while Solveig had made a rather erratic sister. But none had been closer or more constant than the dragon.
Thelvyn had expected there would be time to have a brief rest and prepare himself before anything else happened, but it was not to be. Early that same evening, a griffon rider arrived with an urgent message from Emperor Cornelius of Thyatis. Thelvyn accepted the message grimly, only too aware that it implied far worse than it actually stated. Just the same, whether or not it made his own position of neutrality more difficult to defend, he knew that he had to discuss the matter with King Jherridan at once.
"I've just received a message by griffon rider from Thyatis," Thelvyn began when he sat alone with Jherridan in his private chamber. "Unfortunately, it didn't say as much as I wish it did. To put it simply, Thyatian spies have learned that the Alphatians and the dragons have been meeting together, and their discussion has resulted in an alliance. The terms of the alliance are not known, although I suspect that it was more a treaty of surrender on the part of the Alphatians."
"I gather we don't know anything for certain yet, aside from the fact that there has been some type of surrender or alliance made," Jherridan said. "Until I know more, I feel I have to treat this news as the most dangerous of all possible situations. An alliance between the Alphatians and the dragons in a war of conquest would be unstoppable, even with the Dragonlord to defend us, according to what you told me earlier."
"But an alliance makes no sense," Thelvyn protested. "Why would the dragons want an alliance with Alphatia? If they were interested in building an empire, they could have conquered all of this part of the world, including Alphatia, long ago."
"For the dragons, you are the primary enemy," Jherridan reminded him. "Obviously the dragons feel such an alliance gives them the power they need to deal with the Dragonlord, the only enemy they have cause to fear. The nations of the west can't help you fight the dragons or act in retaliation if they are tied down by a war with Alphatia. And with the dragons keeping you occupied, the Dragonlord can't hope to defend the west against the Alphatians. It seems to me that an alliance solves both their problems."
Thelvyn frowned. Unfortunately, the alliance made sense if the dragons were prepared to go to war with the Dragonlord. He realized something that he had not considered before, that the dragons could have convinced themselves he had been involved in the theft of the Collar of the Dragons. He had been so busy with his suspicions regarding Kalestraan that he had failed to consider that the dragons might look upon him in much the same way they did the Fire Wizards. Thelvyn desperately needed for Sir George to find that collar in order to divert the suspicions of the dragons away from him as well as forestall their anger against the Flaem.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted helplessly at last. "You seem determined to provoke a war with the dragons. They've kept the truce and stayed out of the Highlands, and you conceded them the right to inhabit the Wendarian Range. If you attempt to drive them from lands that you agreed they could claim as their own, then you're making war inevitable. That was the very cause of their conflict with the Alphatians, and you saw how fiercely they fought to defend their lands."
"My best hope for defending the Highlands against an enemy as dangerous as the dragons is to move quickly," the king insisted, although he appeared to be wavering. Even he had to admit that attacking the dragons in their rightful lands was an extremely provocative act.
"Kalestraan hasn't been pushing you toward this, has he?" Thelvyn asked candidly. "You know that if he were involved in the theft of the treasure of the dragons, he wouldn't think twice about using both of us to stand between him and their justifiable anger."
This time, it was Jherridan's turn to sit for a long moment in thoughtful silence. Finally he sighed, still looking uncertain. "I don't know what to think anymore. Kalestraan is pushing me too quickly toward war. You push me away from war. My only concern is the defense of my own land, and I agree that war with the dragons would be a disaster for us. But our disadvantage is even greater if we wait for them to come to us."
"My duty is to do anything I can to prevent the dragons from going to war," Thelvyn explained. "If you give me a chance to work with you, I hope to be able to promise you the security you need without the cost of a war. And if the dragons are determined to provoke a war, then I will defend you. You may or may not be aware of it, but Kharendaen has already departed to speak with the Parliament of Dragons. We should have their answer soon."
"All the same, I feel I must prepare for the worst."
"Yes, I agree," Thelvyn said. "I just hope it hasn't come to that.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Well, you were determined to push the dragons into breaking the truce. Now you're stuck with it. There's not much I can do to prevent this war if you continue to provoke the dragons in the lands you promised them."
Jherridan nodded slowly, still looking pensive. "I still don't see that I have any choice. Whether intentionally or not, the dragons have threatened us, both in their attack upon you and in their reported alliance with the Alphatians. I will continue to prepare the Highland Army for war, and I will begin moving forces into the frontier. For now, I want no dragon but Kharendaen to enter the Highlands, and I am still prepared to force the dragons out of Wendar as well. But I will do nothing more for now until Kharendaen returns with the parliament's reply."
Thelvyn had to admit that was the best he could hope for, considering that the situation appeared to have taken a very bad turn. He still believed that this was all a great misunderstanding, that the purported alliance involved nothing more than Alphatia's surrender to the demands of the dragons to withdraw from their lands. Considering that they had gone to war over that very issue, it was the most logical assumption. Until Kharendaen returned and could tell him more, all he could do was wait and hope that no side did anything to make war inevitable.
Thelvyn was reminded of the time, shortly after he had become the Dragonlord, when he had spoken with Marthaen on the subject of misunderstandings. Marthaen had explained his belief that the first war with the Dragonlord had begun with a misunderstanding. The more the wizards of Blackmoor fought to protect themselves from the threat of the dragons, the more the dragons fought to protect themselves from the threat of Blackmoor. Marthaen had spoken of his concern that a new war with the Dragonlord might easily begin through just such a misunderstanding, and now his words seemed prophetic. The dragons had been provoked by the theft of the collar and by the need to defend their own lan
ds. They had made the situation worse in their zeal to protect their secrets. And they could not defend themselves, even when they had been wronged, without awakening the fears of others.
King Jherridan wasn't prepared to relent on the subject of the dragons just yet. The next morning, he gave orders to have the Highland Army prepare to march north to establish new forts and strengthen those already in existence. If the dragons did not withdraw from the mountains of the Wendarian Range soon, then the army would enter the mountains to remove them. Jherridan would have liked to send the Dragonlord at once to some of their closer allies to request support, but Thelvyn had caused an unintentional delay in that by sending Kharendaen to the Parliament of Dragons.
Of course, sending a show of force to the frontier wasn't the same as actually fighting the dragons who lived in the mountains to the north, beyond the borders of the Highlands. Whether or not war developed would depend a great deal upon the king's resolve and on how the dragons
responded.
Thelvyn had hoped to be left alone, but it now seemed that everyone had plans for him. The next morning, Byen Kalestraan sent a messenger to deliver a request for the Dragonlord to come to the wizard's private chamber at the Academy. The wording was cordial enough, far more friendly than the senior wizard had been the last time they had spoken. Thelvyn thought he had a good idea what Kalestraan had in mind. The wizard either wanted to plead Jherridan's case for war privately, or else offer some secret evidence implicating the dragons, the Alphatians, or both.
After brief consideration, he decided to accept the invitation, thinking it best to learn just what Kalestraan did have in mind. Thelvyn had been to the Academy, or indeed anywhere else in that part of the city, only rarely in all the time he had lived in Braejr. He was escorted immediately to Kalestraan's private chamber, where he found the wizard to be much more friendly and helpful than he had the other night. Thelvyn was offered a comfortable chair and a cool drink. He had to decide quickly if the Fire Wizard would dare attempt to drug or poison him.
"I have attempted to prepare for all possibilities," Kalestraan began, coming directly to the point. "As you said yourself, if you were required to go to war with the dragons, you would immediately lose the assistance of your dragon, and without a dragon to carry you, you would lack the mobility needed to fight dragons effectively. You felt that the first Dragonlord must have possessed some magical means of mobility, but you had no idea what it was."
"That is so," Thelvyn agreed, surprised by Kalestraan's unexpected helpfulness.
"I have been looking into the possibility of finding you some magical means of flight, something to give you the same advantages the dragons possess," the wizard continued. "For once I can say that our research has proven to be both simple and fruitful. Rather than one possibility, we must decide upon the best of several such methods."
"That sounds encouraging," Thelvyn said guardedly, wanting to know more.
"I think we can safely assume that the first Dragonlord did not ride a dragon into battle against other dragons. A captive dragon would have been unreliable, and an enchanted one would have been unpredictable. In either case, the dragon would have been far more vulnerable to attack than the Dragonlord himself. Have you had any thoughts about the secret of his mobility?"
Thelvyn shook his head helplessly. "I always thought he must have possessed some magical flying device, perhaps something like an armored sled or carriage."
"Perhaps, but that seems to me to lack the elegant simplicity of the enchanted armor itself," Kalestraan said. "Whatever his means of flight, we can be sure it left the first Dragonlord free to use his weapons and defenses in the most effective way possible. My own suspicion is that the magical artifact must have been small and simple enough to incorporate it as an actual part of the armor. The fact that it was not with the enchanted armor when you received it does not mean that we cannot arrange a substitute."
"Then you have something specific in mind?" Thelvyn asked.
"Indeed. My hope is that the armor itself may give us a clue to the nature of the magical device by showing us the place where it was attached to the armor and possibly even its shape."
"Then you want me to summon the armor?" Thelvyn asked suspiciously.
"Summon it?" Kalestraan asked, seemingly confused.
"I really don't know what becomes of the armor when I teleport it away," he explained. "I simply will it off and will it to come back. But I have never physically removed it in the same manner one would remove one's clothing."
Thelvyn didn't add that he certainly wasn't about to hand it over to Byen Kalestraan even if he could.
"If you would simply teleport into it, then we might inspect it," the mage assured him.
Still fearful of some kind of trap, Thelvyn had to consider that briefly. The enchantments of the armor had stood against the best that Jherdar, the crafty leader of the red dragons, had been able to throw at it. He felt certain there was nothing that Kalestraan would be able to do to harm it. He teleported into the armor, then removed the helmet.
"I can see one thing right away," the wizard remarked. "There are two attachments on the shoulders, one on either side, obviously meant to hold a cape. Was there a cape with it when you received it?"
"No, there never was," Thelvyn said. "I always assumed the cape had been optional, perhaps merely a ceremonial decoration that would have only been in the way during battle. Could this cape have been the magical artifact of flight?"
"Nothing would be simpler," Kalestraan replied, obviously quite satisfied with himself. "What indeed is a cape but a large square or rectangular piece of fabric or cloth? In essence, a flying carpet."
"A flying carpet?" Thelvyn seemed dubious. "I can't imagine a flying carpet being stable enough for the first Dragonlord to have ridden one into battle, nor can I imagine trying to fight a dragon while hanging from one by the shoulders. Or are you thinking of something different?"
"More likely, I suspect, the artifact imparted the power of flight directly to the wearer, responding to his will. In a sense, flight was a part of the enchantment of the armor, although that enchantment was instilled within the cape. It seems the cape was either destroyed or for some reason was missing at the time the first Dragonlord retired his armor."
"Can you duplicate such a device?" Thelvyn asked.
"We can certainly research the matter. A modification of the spell would impart the enchantment of flight to the wearer, rather than to the carpet itself. That should be irrelevant to the spell of flight. A carpet has never been the most stable or practical vehicle of flight, but it has always been highly effective for holding a spell. That is why it would be better to adapt the spell of flight to a cape rather than attempt to infuse it into the armor itself, especially considering the powerful enchantments the armor already possesses."
"I always wondered why flying carpets seemed so common," Thelvyn said. "However, they don't seem especially safe."
"They're not," Kalestraan replied as he returned to his seat behind the desk. "Fortunately, this aspect of the Drag-onlord's armor is perhaps the only part we can duplicate. I am certain we'll be able to give you the speed and agility of a dragon soon. I understand your friend Kharendaen has not yet returned."
"I expect her back by tomorrow at the latest," Thelvyn said. He teleported from his armor and returned to his seat.
"You obviously expect the dragons to claim they had no part in the attack upon you," the wizard continued. "Is there any chance they might be persuaded to declare their support to our own alliance against Alphatia, to prove that they are not already secretly allied with the Alphatian mages?"
"I can understand your concern about an alliance between Alphatia and the dragons," Thelvyn replied guardedly, curious.
"I must consider it a very real concern. Enemies of the Dragonlord could be expected to find a common cause."
When he finally left the meeting with Kalestraan, Thelvyn felt rather confused. The wizard still seemed determ
ined to go to war with someone, although he no longer seemed concerned whether he was fighting the dragons or fighting with the dragons against the Alphatians. The only thing Thelvyn was sure about was that war must in some way be to the wizard's advantage. Thelvyn was unsure just what he thought of the possibility of flying about with a flying carpet tied to his neck. He wished that he could ask Kharendaen for her advice on the matter.
Kharendaen returned the next evening, settling heavily into the courtyard just at twilight. Thelvyn could see she had exhausted herself by making the journey as quickly as possible. He decided not to pester her for news until she had eaten and drunk most of a barrel of Flaemish sweet ale. Then Thelvyn moved his chair closer so that he could face her as she reclined in her bed in the lair.
"How do matters stand in Braejr?" she asked.
"Very much the same as when you left," Thelvyn explained. "I'm afraid Jherridan and I have had something of a falling out, although I believe he is becoming more willing to listen to reason. At the same time, Kalestraan has his wizards hard at work making a magical artifact of flight for me. In other words, I won't need you. I just don't know if he actually means to give it to me."
"But the king has not changed his plans to drive the dragons from the mountains?"
Thelvyn shook his head helplessly. "The army is making plans to fortify the northern frontier. Whether he actually marches them into the mountains remains to be seen."
"Unfortunately, the situation is not very simple as far as the Parliament of Dragons is concerned either," Kharendaen explained. "They declared that they had no part in the attack upon you and they have not broken the truce. They will defend themselves against any attack, but they are also willing to keep the truce if Jherridan will."
"That is very much as I expected," Thelvyn observed.
"There is this to consider," Kharendaen continued. "They reminded me that Jherridan himself requested the truce with the Nation of Dragons five years ago, and the dragons now expect that he should abide by the terms of that truce. Specifically, the dragons are to be free to inhabit the Wendarian Range. If Jherridan sends his army into the mountains, it would be the same as invading another country, and the dragons will consider that an act of war. In other words, the dragons feel that the responsibility for the breaking of the truce is with the Flaem, not you. They don't necessarily hold you accountable for the king's actions, but they will attack if provoked. How you respond to that situation is entirely up to you."
D& D - Mystara 02 Dragonking of Mystara Page 14
