Princess of Lanfor

by F. P. Spirit

  “Dragon!” Martan interrupted his thoughts with a choked cry.

  The five of them leaned forward as one. Indeed, the archer was right. The dark form had a sleek body, adjoined on either side by a graceful bat-like wing, and trailed a long, lithe tail. Yet there was something off about the dragon-like figure. Lloyd couldn’t quite figure out what it was at first, but then Elladan put it into words.

  “If that’s a dragon, it’s either tiny, or that airship is a lot bigger than we think.”

  Lloyd nearly laughed aloud at the bard’s observation, but then he noticed that Glo’s face had gone pale. Lloyd nudged his elven friend in the shoulder. “Are you alright?”

  The wizard shifted his eyes toward Lloyd, a wan smile spreading across his lips. “I’m fine. It’s just Raven—dragon or not, that thing has her spooked.”

  They all watched anxiously as the small, dark, dragon-like creature closed on Glo’s anxious familiar. The gap between them grew smaller and smaller, till without warning, Raven banked and veered away. The note the black bird carried dropped from her claws, unfolding and fluttering down through the air. Raven’s tiny wings flapped like mad as she sped away, but the dark creature did not pursue her, instead diving after the fluttering parchment. The small, dragon-like beast snagged the note out of the sky, then gracefully arced around and headed back toward the airship from whence it came. It receded swiftly, and reached the vessel well before Glo’s familiar would make it back to the monolith.

  “Whatever that thing is, it’s certainly fast,” Donnie noted with a wry lilt to his tone.

  “What’s fast?” a familiar voice sounded from behind them.

  Lloyd spun around in time to see Alana, Cyclone, Elistra, and the two squires spill out of the shaft in the center of the room, none waiting for the floating disc to finish its ascent. It was Alana who had asked the question, the lady knight and the dragon hunter leading the way across the chamber. Cyclone answered her before anyone else could speak.

  “The little black dragon headed for that airship.”

  Lloyd spun around and took another look at the fast-flying creature. So Martan and Elladan were both right—it is a dragon! A little black dragon.

  The others drew up next to them and peered out the archway just as the little dragon reached the airship and disappeared behind the forecastle. Alana shaded her eyes with her hand and stared intently at the approaching vessel. “Anyone care to explain what we’re seeing here?”

  Elladan turned to face the others, his eyes fixed on Alana as he went through a brief explanation of what they had missed. When he was done, the lady knight closed her eyes and shook her head, a d smile upon her face. “Really, Elladan? Claiming the monolith in the Baron’s name?”

  Elladan’s mouth twisted into that all-too-familiar half-smile. “Easy there, Alana. No one’s actually claiming anything. It was just a ploy to deter that airship—at least until we know who we are dealing with.”

  Donnie strode up next to the lady knight, and waved a hand through the air in front of him, a mischievous smile across his lips. “Emissary of Ravenford… you have to admit, it does have a nice ring to it.”

  Elladan tilted his head to one side, and squinted at his slim friend. “Give me a break, will you? It was the best I could come up with on such short notice.”

  A quick retort formed on Donnie’s lips, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by Martan. The somber archer pointed out the archway. “Don’t look now, but I think your plan worked.”

  Lloyd cast a glance back over his shoulder—the airship was still a couple of miles away, but it had visibly slowed. Abruptly, the bright ring around the vessel disappeared, and the airship came to a complete halt. It sat there, floating in mid-air, a little more than a mile away.

  Elladan pointed a triumphant hand toward the airship as his gaze shifted back toward Alana. “See, what did I tell you?”

  “It must have been that awe-inspiring emissary title,” Donnie quipped with a shameless grin.

  Elladan let out a short, close-mouthed laugh. “Guess I just have that effect on people.”

  Donnie opened his mouth to fire off another retort, but was cut off once again, this time by Cyclone. The dragon hunter nodded toward the open archway. “We’ve got company.”

  Lloyd glanced out the window once more, and saw the little black dragon again, this time zipping away from the airship. The creature swiftly banked, and headed straight for the monolith at an incredible speed. Lloyd squinted at the little black dragon. It appeared to be carrying something in one of its claws—a note, most likely.

  Cyclone must have seen it as well. The dragon hunter folded his arms across his chest, and shook his head. “A dragon acting as somebody’s messenger? Disgusting.”

  Lloyd sympathized with the dragon hunter. Since he had left Penwick, his entire world had been turned upside down. The young warrior had seen many strange things, some of which he never even knew existed. From skeletal wizards to stone golems, giant serpents and wolf-like demons, Lloyd had faced more bizarre foes in these last few months than in all his eighteen years. The young warrior cast a sidelong glance at Cyclone. “Kind of goes against everything you believe, doesn’t it?”

  Cyclone kept his eyes fixed forward. “Did I ask for your opinion…”

  Lloyd was taken aback by the dragon hunter’s harsh response. Yet before he could say anything, Donnie drew up next to the duo.

  The slight elf gazed out the archway at the approaching dragon. “Trust me, I’ve seen some strange things in my lifetime, and I’ve learned one thing from it. Much as the scholars would like you to believe, not everything fits into a nice little pigeon hole.” The elf’s expression grew distant, his voice somewhat hollow. “There are things in this world that just can’t be explained.”

  Donnie’s little speech was capped with a series of coughs. Lloyd spun his gaze toward Elistra. The seeress had a fist in front of her mouth, her face turning red as she coughed into it. Glo swiftly stepped behind her, and patted Elistra gently on the back, his eyes filled with concern. “Are you alright?”

  Elistra swiveled her head toward the wizard, and gave him a wan smile. “I’m… fine. Wrong… pipe…”

  Glo placed an arm around her and held the seeress until she calmed down. Once her impromptu coughing fit subsided, everyone’s attention returned to the little black dragon. As the creature drew closer, it became apparent that it was truly tiny for one of its kind, barely larger than a man. Lloyd glanced at Cyclone once again. “Is that a baby dragon?”

  The dragon hunter responded with a single shake of his head. “Nah. A baby would be half that size.” Cyclone’s eyes narrowed as he sized up the young dragon. “I’d guess this one is no more than twenty—not even a teen-ager yet in dragon years.”

  The little black dragon’s dark scales glistened in the morning sunlight as it drew near the monolith. When the creature reached the clearing, it slowed and executed a wide arc. The little dragon let out a derisive snort as it flew by and casually released the parchment in its claw. The young black dragon continued its arc until it faced away from the monolith, and with a few great flaps of its bat-like wings, shot out over the forest, back toward the waiting airship.

  Lloyd overheard Glo speaking in elvish to his familiar, the tiny black bird planted firmly on his shoulder since her frantic return. “Revia. Gad i’ lekmee.”

  Raven seemed unwilling to move at first, but after a bit more coaxing, finally flew out the window and dove down after the fluttering parchment the dragon had dropped. The black bird caught the paper a few feet above the ground and returned with it a few seconds later. She hovered in front of Glo, holding what looked like the original note that they had sent to the airship. The elven wizard gingerly took the parchment from his tiny friend, then let her light on his arm, softly cooing to her.

  “Quel gwenn. Q
uel gwenn.”

  Elladan held out a hand to his elven friend. “Let me see that.”

  Glo proffered the parchment to the bard, then fed Raven something from a pouch on his belt. The elf then stroked her tiny head, still cooing to her softly. The small black bird appeared to settle down, and hopped back up onto the elven wizard’s shoulder. Meanwhile, Elladan unrolled the parchment and read it aloud.

  Dear Elladan,

  You have made me laugh. If you ever want a job as a jester, please feel free to apply at my court. However, as my intentions are peaceful, I have complied and parked my airship. I will set up a meeting place in the meadow south of here, where we can discuss any claims on this territory. Please be kind enough to join me there in an hour from now.

  Regards,

  Anya, Princess of Lanfor

  Elladan responded with a short chuckle. “I’ve been called many things in my life, but never a jester.”

  Lloyd paid little attention to the bard, his mind focused on the last line of the written reply. “Princess of Lanfor? That’s on the other side of the Merchant’s Channel. What would a princess of Lanfor be doing all the way out here?”

  Lanfor was a small island kingdom directly east of Thac. While nowhere near the size of the island continent, Lanfor was nonetheless a powerful nation. Yet their strength did not come from a wide-reaching naval presence, like Lloyd’s home city of Penwick, but rather from their queen and the great army that supported her. Lloyd had heard rumors of the Queen of Lanfor. It was said that she was a powerful sorceress who had ruled that kingdom for nearly three hundred years.

  Lloyd cast a curious glance at Glo. The wizard appeared as perplexed as he, a single eyebrow arched across his forehead. “And why, of all places, would she be headed straight for this monolith?”

  A wry smile graced Donnie’s lips as he stared out the window at the hovering airship. “If she came all this way for take-out, she’s going to be sorely disappointed.”

  “Unless she likes roast dragon,” Cyclone added, with a quick glance toward the great carcass still smoldering in the clearing below.

  Snorts and chuckles erupted from the group, until Glo spoke up once more. The elven wizard eyed Donnie and Cyclone with a raised brow. “You can ask her about the roast dragon when you see her, but right now what I really want to know is, how does she know about the monolith in the first place?”

  Glo’s query left everyone in silence. Not many folks knew about the existence of the monolith. As far as Lloyd was aware of, it was just this group, the Knights of the Rose, and the first family of Ravenford. It didn’t seem likely that any of them would contact Lanfor about it. Lloyd’s eyes went wide once more as a sudden thought occurred to him. The only other group that knew about the monolith was the Serpent Cult…

  Lloyd opened his mouth to speak, but Elistra beat him to it. The seeress sounded hesitant as she broke the silence. “I had meditated on this a bit before we came up here…”

  All eyes turned to the seeress, as she paused for a moment’s reflection. Glo placed his arm around Elistra again, and gently prompted her. “And…”

  Elistra cast a brief smile at the tall elf, then continued. “…and while I didn’t have any visions, I got the distinct impression that there is some sort of connection between the green dragon and this airship.”

  Glo peered down at the seeress, his eyes narrowing at this startling new revelation. “Connected in what way?”

  Elistra slowly shook her head, deep creases lining her comely brow. “I am not quite sure. It’s just a feeling, but my intuition is seldom wrong.”

  Lloyd reached up and scratched the top of his head. Elistra had proven her abilities time and again on this journey—he wasn’t about to question her now, but something just didn’t add up. Feeling even more confused than ever, Lloyd swept his eyes around the group, looking for answers. “Let me get this straight. First, we have this black knight who commanded the two green dragons. Now we have this princess, who has a little black dragon as a ‘pet.’ But the only person who could ever control dragons was the Dragon Thrall Master.”

  Glo’s eyes fell on Lloyd, the blue orbs lit with a keen intensity. “Go on…”

  Lloyd responded with a brief nod, then pressed on with his thoughts. “Well, yesterday you were thinking that this black knight was the Dragon Master, somehow still alive after all these years. But if this princess can also control dragons, then what does that make her?”

  Glo let go of Elistra and steepled his hands together in front of his chin, his eyes remaining fixed on Lloyd. “You bring up an excellent point. I doubt this black knight is on board the airship, or we would have seen that huge green dragon by now. That being said, how is it this princess has a little black dragon running errands for her?”

  Cyclone folded his arms across his chest. “Maybe a metallic dragon, but a chromatic—no way.”

  Donnie peered out the window again, eyeing the floating airship suspiciously. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit.” The slight elf folded his arms in front of him and bit his lower lip. “I just wish there was some way we could warn Ruka to stay away from here—at least until we know it’s safe.”

  Alana strode up next to the worried elf and placed a gauntleted hand on his slim shoulder. “So do I.”

  Donnie cast a brief glance at the lady knight, then put his hand on hers and gave her a strained smile. Glo, still standing next to Elistra, responded to both their concerns in a soft voice. “There might just be a way.”

  Donnie spun all the way around this time, and cocked an eye at the wizard. “How?”

  Glo took a deep breath, then reached underneath his tunic and pulled out a bronze chain from around his neck. At the end of that chain hung a perfectly round moon-colored gemstone, the size of a large pebble, inset into a bronze border.

  A low whistle emanated from Elladan, the bard leaning in for a closer look at the amulet. “I’ve never seen such a large pearl. Where in Thac did you get that?”

  A thin smile spread across Glo’s lips as he gazed down at the bard. “It was a gift from Ves before we left. She called it a ‘Pearl of Friendship.’ She said that I could use it if we needed to get in touch with her.”

  As Elladan stepped back, Elistra peered up at Glo. “May I?” Glo responded with a single nod. Elistra gently grasped the amulet and brought it up to her eye. Her gaze remained fixed on the large pearl as she spoke. “Yes, I am familiar with these. They are used for communication over long distances. They are also typically made as a set.” Elistra gazed back up at Glo. “If Ves has one, then Ruka most likely does as well.”

  “Can you please try to contact her?” Donnie implored, his normally carefree features lined with concern. Alana stood quietly next to the slim elf, her face filled with equal apprehension.

  Glo gazed at the duo with a resigned smile. “I’m not quite sure how it works, but I’ll do my best.”

  Elistra grabbed hold of the tall elf’s hand. “Let me help you.”

  The wizard and seeress walked off toward the center of the room, most likely in search of a quiet place to concentrate. Lloyd watched after them for a few moments, then turned his attention back to his friends. “So, we have less than an hour till this meeting with the princess. How do we want to handle it?”

  A Picnic with the Princess

  Her elegant outfit bespoke of nobility, at the same time exposing as much skin as possible.

  The sun peeked through the canopy of trees above, already well on its journey across the clear mid-morning sky. Elladan practically strutted along the wooded path through the dark forest, his bright white fringes dangling in time to the jaunty tune he whistled. Birds in the nearby trees heard his song and responded in kind, creating a beautiful woodland harmony in the surrounding forest.

  The squire Lamorn marched next to the bard, decorated i
n the formal white flower-covered tabard of the Knights of the Rose. Elladan purposely did his best to make a spectacle of himself in the woods, attempting to catch the attention of any prying eyes in the area. The young squire walked proudly next to him, but Elladan sensed the lad was just a touch nervous. He whispered to him out of the side of his mouth. “Don’t worry son… help is close at hand.”

  Elladan cast a furtive glance toward the woods to the left of the path. The vaguest hint of a fleeting shadow passed through the trees, barely seen by even his sharp elven eyes. Martan was quite adept in the woods—the tracker could stay hidden from even the most discerning of observers. Elladan gazed briefly to his right, but there was not even the remotest of signs that Donnie was there.

  Glo had cast a spell on the already-stealthy elf to make him invisible. Yet Martan had declined the offer of magic, steadfastly claiming that he would be fine as long as he stuck to the trees.

  The path they were on led south from the glade where the monolith stood, entering another meadow about two miles to the south. Raven had scouted out the area ahead for them, the reluctant familiar turning tail as soon as she had spied the clearing. Elladan had wished the bird could have given them more information as to what they were facing, but Glo said she was too spooked by the little black dragon to fly into such a wide-open area alone. Thus, the need for their current deception with Martan and Donnie covertly flanking them.

  Lloyd, Cyclone, Glo, and Elistra had all stayed behind at the monolith, to guard the structure in case this meeting was merely a ruse to get inside unchallenged. It would be a while yet till Aksel and Ruka returned. Glo was able to contact the dragon girl, and had warned her about their current situation. After hearing what was going on, Aksel decided it best they come in on the ground—that would slow their progress, but help them to remain unseen.