Dragon Blade

by J. D. Hallowell

  No one raised a hand and he nodded. “Good then, follow me.” He led them off through the twisting streets of Larimar. Even though the city wasn’t as big as Palamore, it was still a quarter of an hour before they reached their destination.

  The metalsmith’s shop was dimly lit as always: the smiths liked to keep it that way so that they could easily judge the temperature of the hot metal by its color, and bright light tended to interfere with that. Elom was hard at work at one of the forges. As they walked further into the shop, one of the apprentices got the master’s attention and pointed to the group of Riders. Seeing that Delno was leading the group, Elom stopped his work and walked toward them with the peculiar rolling gate that he was forced to adopt due to the braces on his legs.

  “Corporal Okonan,” Elom exclaimed, “I thought you had left for good. I heard all about what you and your dragons accomplished out there,” he waved one of his massive arms in the general direction of the field outside the northern gates. “It’s good to see you again, my friend.”

  “And it’s good to see you, Elom,” Delno replied. “How have you been doing since I left?”

  “Busier than ever, once word of that blade of yours got around the caravans. I had to take on two more apprentices and hire two men I’d hoped to send off as journeymen just to keep up.”

  “Well, I’ve brought you even more work, I’m afraid. I need these seven equipped with swords: shields, too, if they use them.”

  Elom looked over the five men and two women. Then he said, “Nassari? I thought you preferred to do your cutting with that wicked tongue of yours, not with a blade.”

  “It seems I find myself in a position where I may have to use both, my giant friend,” Nassari responded.

  Elom looked a bit confused and then said, “You’ve bonded to a dragon, too, then?”

  “Inadvertently, but yes, I’ve bonded, and now I find that I may actually be needed to fight in this war.”

  “Well, you may not have fought in the last one, but you still did your part. I remember lying in that hospital and you working yourself near to death to help care for all of us who had been wounded. I also remember you doing your best to comfort the dying, and then shedding tears for them when you thought no one was lookin’. And you never once complained to anyone about it. You worked and worked until you couldn’t stay on your feet any longer and then some doctor would order you to go and rest and you’d be gone for a couple of hours before you started again.” He paused for a moment and then added, “It was you that got my father and the doctors to work together to design these braces so I could walk and work. I’ve never forgotten that. Whatever you need is yours for the asking.”

  Delno looked at his best friend with new respect. He had known that Nassari had done some volunteer work in the hospitals, but the man never talked about it. Apparently it was pretty much the same way that Delno never talked about his war time experiences.

  “Well, we certainly won’t take advantage of your generosity, Master Elom. The king has agreed that the Crown will pay for what you supply to us.”

  “I just said I want no money from you, Nassari,” Elom said, somewhat put out by the thought.

  “That’s all very well, but since I know it comes from your generosity, and it isn’t coming out of my pocket, there’s no reason you shouldn’t at least be compensated for your time.”

  As Nassari spoke, his eye settled on something on a nearby work bench. He walked over to the bench where there was a blade that was similar to a footman’s saber, though about six inches longer, but not quite as wide, and slightly more curved, though not enough to be considered a scimitar. He looked at Elom and asked, “May I?”

  “Ah,” said Elom as he nodded for Nassari to pick up the blade, “Now that blade was commissioned by a wealthy merchant. I made it to his exact specifications, but he refused to pay the balance, swearing that it was too plain. It’s an odd design, and I was sure no one else would want it.”

  The blade was plain, but quite serviceable. It was strong and light. The guard, though not as ornate as Delno’s Dragon Blade, was done in a similar style of bronze and nickel-steel. Instead of dragons designed into the guard, it was done in beautiful scroll work. There was a scabbard on the bench that accompanied the blade.

  “Too plain?” Nassari said, “What was he looking for, a sword or a tiara?”

  “So, you’ve met him,” Elom laughed. “He was one of those dandies who wanted a jewel-encrusted bauble to hang on his belt at parties. I made him a blade that would keep him and his skin all together, but I doubt he knows more than which end of the thing to aim at an opponent. When I pointed out the fine points of this blade, he stalked out and said he’d find someone who really knew metal. He didn’t ask for his deposit back, and I didn’t offer, so that blade is all but paid for anyway.”

  Nassari made a few practice swings. Delno knew that his friend had studied sword like most Corisians, but the two of them hadn’t sparred since they were children, and he was pleasantly surprised to see the ease with which Nassari handled the blade.

  “Then with your permission, good Master Smith, I will take this fine blade. I already have a main gauche of my own that I am comfortable with.”

  Elom smiled broadly and nodded.

  As Nassari and Elom had been discussing the blade, the other new Riders had also been looking among the blades already made. The four young men and the younger woman all chose long swords, and small shields. Nadia chose a footman’s saber and ten-inch targe.

  “Well, Elom,” Delno said as he made out the voucher for the merchandise, “it seems that circumstances once again are going to keep you and I from spending much time together. I have to get these Riders outfitted because I must fly off to Orlean tomorrow morning. From there I don’t know if I will be back this way or go straight to Horne to confront the beast-men.”

  “I have no experience with those monsters, but I wish you didn’t have to face them. I heard from a vanner that they already killed one dragon and Rider down there. I don’t like the idea of you goin’ off into that.”

  “I go to do what must be done, my friend,” Delno replied. “I haven’t chosen this war, it’s chosen me. I have to see it through.”

  “Delno,” Delno was surprised that Elom had used his given name and not called him Corporal, “I know men who served for thirty years and retired from the army with full pensions who never saw a tenth the action you did. How much does a man have to go through before he can sit back and say it’s someone else’s turn?”

  “For some, Elom, that time may never come. My grandfather fought the Roracks off and on for three thousand years, and in the end they killed him, but it’s because of him and men like him that most of the people of Corice have never even heard of the beast-men of the south.”

  Elom looked as though he was going to argue his point, so Delno laid his hand on the smith’s arm and said, “Don’t worry, Elom, if this war goes our way, we will put paid to that account, as well as settle other scores here in the north.”

  “Very well,” the smith replied after a moment’s thought, “but you must promise me that when it’s all over, you will come back and spend a day just tipping a few back in honor of the old unit and the heroes, living and dead, who were a part of it.”

  “That’s a promise, Elom. Until then, take care of yourself.”

  “That’s a good bit of advice Dragon Rider; see that you take it yourself,” Elom said as he turned and strode back to the forge.

  Since the Corisian Army issued long bows, while Riders needed shorter recurved bows for shooting while mounted, Delno took them to the same bowyer where he had bought his own months before. It had been too much to hope that the man would have another horn bow like his, but they did find suitable weapons for all seven of them. Again, Nadia surprised him by choosing a heavy bow with a ninety pound pull. For such a small, shy, young woman she was remarkably strong, and handled both bow and sword with surprising ease.

  “Because of m
y size and young appearance, I’ve had to get twice as good as those I practiced with to be taken seriously,” she said without conceit in response to his inquiry. “Besides, pulling a strong bow is more an act of personal energy than sheer physical strength.”

  Their next stop was the quartermaster’s storage point. The supply men had been told they were coming and had field packs all ready for them. The packs contained the basic supplies they would need while traveling: mess kit, sleeping roll—which contained a thin, insulating bed cushion as well as a sleeping bag—a small, one-man scout’s tent instead of the usual shelter half that would require two people to build a tent, and rain gear in the form of a poncho and large brimmed hat. The supply sergeant offered them dried field rations, but Delno declined. He told the man that the packs already weighed nearly two stone, and he wanted to keep the weight down to spare the dragons, but the real reason was he’d spent enough time eating those dried rations while he was in the army, and he wanted to spare the new Riders the misery.

  Once they had everything, they returned to where the Riders were quartered: a small house near the palace that had been turned into government offices and later a storage place that had been hastily cleaned and furnished for their purpose. As the others stowed their gear, he pulled Nassari aside.

  “You’ve spent a bit of time around these young men and women, Nassari. What’s your opinion of them?”

  “In what way, Del?”

  “Well, since Warrick has his eye on the north, we will have to leave some of the new Riders here to protect Corice. All of the Riders have to train, and those who stay will probably get to actually do the most training. Those I take with me to Horne will have to be willing to put up with the travel and be able to learn their jobs as they do so. Therefore, I need those who accompany me to be more mature with the temperaments of soldiers.”

  “So, you want to know which of the men would be better soldiers in your war in the south,” he said thoughtfully.

  Before he could continue, Delno said, “Not just the men. We may be Corisian by birth, but we are Dragon Riders by choice of fate. We have to put aside the prejudice of not allowing women into combat. I have been watching that young woman, Nadia, and she seems to be much more than first impression would have you believe.”

  “I was going to say pretty much the same thing before you spoke up, Del. She would be my first choice. She’s smart, she’s tougher than she looks, and she might lull an enemy into a false sense of confidence that could just give her an advantage in one-on-one combat. Adding that to the fact that Pina is a mature dragon of forty-four years should give them an edge when they are training as they travel.”

  “I didn’t know Pina was so old; I thought all of the dragons were younger for some reason.”

  “Most are: except Pina and Wanda, all of them are less than twenty years old. Wanda is forty-one.”

  “That’s quite interesting. So, any other recommendations?”

  “Well, I was thinking about Terra and Raymond; they seem pretty level headed, and Raymond’s father was a career soldier who instilled discipline into his sons. Other than myself, that’s about it, I’m afraid. The others are good folks, but I don’t think they have realized their place in the wide world yet. It’s probably best we leave them with Adamus and Will to train.”

  “Actually, Will is coming with me to Horne. I was rather hoping to get you to stay with them.”

  “After those bastards tried to destroy my home with war and plague, you want me to stay here and train new Riders? I would prefer to go and take this battle to our enemies before they bring it back home again.”

  “Nassari, this is war, not vengeance. I need to have people who are clear headed and not likely to act because of emotional ties to what has been done.”

  “I can be clear about it, Del,” Nassari said with such steel in voice that Delno was actually a bit shocked by his friend’s statement, “but I’ve seen what happens if we ignore Warrick, and I don’t want to give him any more chance to work his mischief. I want to come along, and Wanda is completely with me on this. Since Riders and dragons are not truly under the command of anyone other than themselves, we will not be left behind.”

  Delno and Nassari stared at each other for a long time. This time it was Delno who looked away first. “Very well,” he said, “we will have to figure out how to do this. Adamus will need someone else to help him train the new Riders and watch the borders. I’ll discuss it with Rita and Brock and see what they say.”

  “Good,” Nassari responded, “I’m glad you are willing to see my point. I know that the idea of having Geneva order Wanda to stay must have passed through your mind, but Wanda, too, is a lineage holder.” At Delno’s astonished look, he continued. “Wanda’s lineage was scattered because two successive lineage holders died in Horne at the hands of Roracks, so she doesn’t have as much authority as Geneva or Sheila, but she isn’t as compelled to listen to them, either. To put the dragons’ politics into human perspective, she is like a smaller country that has joined two bigger countries. She doesn’t have as much authority because she doesn’t bring as much to the alliance, but she is still independent and only has to listen so long as she agrees with what is said.”

  Delno thought about that for a moment and then said, “I don’t want either one of you going off in search of vengeance once we get to Horne. She has lost much of her family and history, which is vital to draconic society, and you have seen these enemies attack your home directly. You both feel great hatred toward our enemies, and rightly so, but I don’t want either of you getting reckless down there.”

  “Del,” Nassari said with his usual nonchalance, “this is me; have you ever known me to be reckless?” Then he quickly added, “With my own life, at least?” He smiled broadly and added. “Besides, all of those same things could be said of you and Geneva!”

  Knowing he’d been outmaneuvered, Delno switched subjects. “How long until the leatherworkers have your saddles ready?’’

  “They claim a week, but I’d give them ten days due to the fact that there are eight of them to make. Even in a city the size of Larimar, there are only so many skilled craftsmen. Add to that the fact that the plague has killed so many people and slowed down all trade, and I would prefer not to rely on the earlier estimate.”

  “Well then, we’ll have to get you all in the air without saddles until then,” Delno said. “We’ll rig safety straps and avoid aerobatic maneuvers for now, but I want everyone flying as soon as possible. Once all of the gear is stowed, and you’ve had a bit to eat, have Wanda relay that you are ready and meet me on the field. I have to inform the king of our progress and have lunch.”

  He quickly gripped Nassari’s arm and then left the house.

  Chapter 24

  Once he reached the palace, he was informed that the king and Rita could be found in the private dining hall with Laura Okonan, but he was totally unprepared for what he found there.

  Rita and his mother were both present and each was holding a young child. The children were both about two years old and both looked exactly alike. They were fair skinned with blue eyes and curly blond hair. There was a slightly older child who looked to be their sibling playing quietly on the floor near them.

  “Nephew,” Dorian said happily as he entered the dining hall, “come in, we have new guests.” Dorian indicated the children.

  “These are Gwendolyn,” his mother indicated the child she was holding, “and Gillian,” she pointed to the child Rita was holding, “and Marcus,” she indicated the boy sitting on the floor.

  “Hello,” Delno responded, smiling at the children. The little boy smiled, but it was a smile mixed with a lot of sadness.

  “Rita says to tell you that these children are orphans. Their parents died of the plague just before we arrived. They nearly died too, but Nat’s skill as a healer saved them. The boy is four and the twins are two,” Geneva relayed the message to him. He nodded to Rita and smiled at his mother.

  R
ita gave Gillian to Laura and motioned Delno away from the group. They walked far enough away to hold a private conversation if they whispered.

  “The boy pretty much understands that his parents are never coming back, but the girls are just too young to grasp the concept. By the time the girls are old enough to understand about death, they most likely won’t remember their parents at all.” She hadn’t spoken about what was truly on her mind concerning the children yet, but Delno knew it was coming. “We can’t just abandon them; they have no other family. Your mother and I were hoping that we could help with raising them.”

  Delno had thought he’d seen just about every emotion that her eyes were capable of showing, but this one was new, and it left no doubt that she was going to do this regardless of what anyone else might think of the idea.

  “We can’t drag them off with us now,” he responded. “Do you plan on fostering them with my parents until this business with Warrick is settled?” The thought of even suggesting that she turn away from these three was simply out of the question. From the look she had given him, he knew that as far as she was concerned, she had already adopted all of them.

  “Your mother seems to think it will work, and your uncle has said they can simply move into the palace now, since they have no place else to go. Your father was a bit shocked at first, but he is really soft-hearted when it comes to children; I wouldn’t be surprised if he has them start calling him grandpa by this evening.”

  Delno looked back and stared at the kids for several moments without saying anything. Then he began to knead his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

  “Delno, we can’t turn our backs on them; they have no one, and your parents are willing to help us raise them for now. We have to do this.” Her tone was imploring but also set: she would do this whether he agreed or not, and he knew it.

  “Of course we can’t turn our backs on them,” he said. “After all, if we aren’t doing all of this for the next generation, then who are we doing it for?”