The Defender of Rebel Falls: A Medieval Science Fiction Adventure (The William Whitehall Adventures Book 1)

by Christensen, Erik

  Rachel returned, running at full speed and breathless. “There’s fresh footprints all around here,” she said. “I was hoping they’d given up by now, but they’re still looking for us. And over there…that looks like smoke from three different campfires. There’s no way we can reach the river without being seen.”

  William sighed. Would they ever catch a break? “We’d better get back,” he said. “The longer we’re out here, the more chances we’re taking.” They hurried back to the hidden entrance and made the reluctant trip back to the den.

  “Now what?” asked Jack as they all rested their backs against the rock wall.

  “I’m out of ideas,” said Rachel. “We can’t stay here forever, but we’ll get caught if we try to leave.”

  “Can’t the dragons help us?” asked Charlie.

  William shook his head. “They won’t get involved. The Elder made it clear they want no one else to know about them. We can’t drag them into this.”

  “Maybe there’s another way they can help,” said Jack. “They have to go outside to hunt, but they never get caught or noticed.”

  “That’s right,” said Maya. “They must know the terrain if they hunt or forage.”

  Rachel nodded. “They’ve practically cleared the whole area of game.”

  “So how do we ask them? We don’t want to tell them about the poison, do we?” asked Maya.

  “I still don’t believe we should,” said William. “The Elder won’t be happy when he finds out that’s what led us here. But we could at least suggest that if they help us escape unnoticed, we would be less likely to draw attention here.”

  “That’s risky,” said Rachel.

  “And bad salesmanship,” said Jack. “If you want someone’s help, you don’t tell them how it might be bad for them.”

  “What’s the worst that can happen?” asked William.

  “Think it through, Will. What would you do?” asked Jack.

  William knew the answer. If the dragons felt threatened, they might refuse to let them leave. But it was the only option, and he had to try it. But they needed a backup plan. “Speaking of salesmen, I’ll need one with me when I visit the Elder. Know any good ones, Jack?” he asked.

  “Well, my dad is the best there is, but he’s a bit far away. Perhaps I can help?”

  “You’ll have to do,” said William, grinning with delight that his friend was joking again. “You three prepare to leave if we don’t come back. If we aren’t back in…I don’t know, just get out if you think we aren’t coming back.”

  “Will, it’s not worth risking your life!” said Maya.

  “I don’t think I am. Maybe my freedom, but I don’t think the Elder would have us killed. Anyway, finish the job if you can, but get out alive no matter what. I mean it. And if they keep the two of us prisoner, feel free to tell everyone about the dragons. I’ll be damned if we keep a promise if they won’t. Let’s go, Jack.”

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Will?” asked Jack as they hurried down the corridor.

  “I have no idea whether this will work, Jack, but it’s our only option as I see it. How do you want to approach it?”

  “Silently, and from behind,” said Jack. “But since we can’t do that, we have to make an offer that sounds good for them.”

  “How?”

  Their footsteps echoed as Jack pondered. “We’ll convince the Elder it’s his idea,” he said finally. “We tell him the evidence we found, and that we came back to warn them there are other humans nearby.”

  “Won’t his instinct be to hide the dragons until the bandits go away?”

  “No, they have to eat, same as us. They have dragons out at night anyway. They may as well scout for the bandits while they’re out there.”

  William gasped as Jack’s idea became clear. “Yes! We say our colleagues in town will want to capture these bandits, but we would have to know where they are first.”

  “I like it. It could work.”

  They reached the smelting area and admired the fire-breathing for a moment. “You know, I’m eager to leave, but this is one sight I won’t get tired of,” said Jack.

  “I know what you mean,” said William. “You know something? No matter how this all ends, it’s been a pretty amazing trip, hasn’t it?”

  Jack sighed. “It’s a shame we can’t tell anyone.”

  They were about to leave when a cargo dragon crossed their path. “Whoa, that beast nearly flattened me,” said Jack. He stared as the colossal dragon receded into the dark. “Wait a minute…have any of the cargo dragons gone that way before?”

  “Not that I remember,” said William. “What’s got you so excited?”

  “Will, the garbage pile, the stuff they don’t use, whatever they call it. That’s what it’s carrying. We’ve never seen where they take it, have we?”

  “We don’t have time to satisfy your curiosity Jack. We have a job to do, remember? Maya and the others will leave if we waste too much time.”

  “You don’t get it, Will! Listen to me. What would you do with all that garbage?”

  “I don’t know, I’d want to dump it far away as possible. It’s probably toxic, and…oh!”

  “Exactly. Can you keep up? They move pretty fast.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” said William. “Just follow it; I’ll find you later.” Jack ran after the lumbering beast and disappeared into the darkness ahead. Even the sound of the cargo dragon’s pounding footsteps faded, but William had no difficulty choosing the right path: none of the tunnels branching off were large enough to accommodate the behemoth. They descended at least a hundred feet below the Elder’s den by William’s reckoning, deeper than they had ventured before. Eventually, he found Jack waiting for him at a level spot. As he bent over, heaving to catch his breath, he asked Jack, “Why’d you stop?”

  “Look,” said Jack.

  William followed Jack’s gaze. Ahead lay a vast underground lake, its far end lost in darkness. At its near shore loomed a giant pile of castings, much of it spilling into the water. Splashes echoed through the massive cavern as the cargo dragon discarded its load, ripples spreading across the water and faded into the blackness.

  “Jack, this is it! This is where the poison comes from! Do you have anything to carry water? We need to get a sample for Maya.”

  “I left all my stuff in the den.”

  William searched his clothing. He’d already lost his cloak to Maya’s lye-making contraption. Rifling through his pockets, his hand chanced upon his forgotten hat. Wait…hadn’t Jessica told him it was waterproof? It had kept his head dry, but holding water was another thing. “Jack, you have to run this to Maya as fast as possible after you fill it. I don’t how long it will hold water, but you’re faster than me right now. You need to get there before they leave.”

  “So why are you still talking? Give me the hat.” Jack scooped a hatful of water and turned to leave. “You’ll be okay alone?”

  “Go!”

  In truth, he wasn’t excited about walking back alone. He wished he hadn’t surrendered his crutch; walking without it had strained his injured leg, and now he had a long uphill climb ahead of him. He limped his way up the tunnels, seeing neither dragon nor human, and hearing nothing but his own staggered footsteps. Twice he stopped to ease the pain and listen for his friends. That Jack hadn’t come back for him was a good sign, but he was nervous anyway. He had no desire to be left behind. Relief washed over him as he reached the den and he saw that his friends were still there. Exhausted, he stumbled and fell to his knees several yards from the entrance.

  Charlie noticed him first, and ran over. “Your leg?” he asked.

  “You have a way of cutting right to the point, Charlie.” He groaned as he tried to stand.

  “Let me help you,” said Charlie.

  “Thanks.”

  “It’s positive,” said Maya as they entered the den.

  William winced as he sat beside the fire. “For certain?”

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nbsp; “Great idea, using your hat. I had enough water for a flame test, and it had all the right color flashes, only brighter. If that dump isn’t the source, then the source is upstream from it.”

  “I suppose that would be unlikely,” said William. “But now what? Do we simply ask them to move it and hope they agree? Or do we go back to town and convince the Earl to send enough guards to subdue a mountain full of dragons?”

  Jack shook his head. “There’s no chance the Earl would do that. He wouldn’t even spend money on donkeys for us; he won’t pay for dozens of Guards that he might lose.”

  “I doubt Guards could do much anyway,” said William. “We don’t even know how many dragons there are, and how many it would take to fight one giant black. It wouldn’t be worth trying.”

  “So how do we convince the Elder to move the dump?” asked Maya.

  “Jack gave us the idea earlier,” said William.

  “I did?”

  “Sure,” said William. “You make it their idea, because it’s sensible. Consider this: we came all this way from—what, two hundred miles or so?”

  “More like three hundred,” said Rachel.

  William nodded. “Okay, so we know the dragons want to stay hidden. Cleaning the dump is exactly what they should do, assuming they don’t want to attract more people here, right? Even if we keep our promise not to tell anyone about them, someone else will show up on their doorstep sooner or later.”

  “There’s no way it’ll be that simple,” said Rachel. “Maybe you can convince them to start dumping their trash somewhere else, but do you really expect the Elder to spend all that effort on moving what’s already there?”

  “It’s worth a try,” said Maya. “Their own security is at stake, too.” William noticed she and Rachel appeared to be on speaking terms again and could disagree without animosity. He was glad he hadn’t needed to intervene. He probably wouldn’t have anyway, based on Jack’s advice; doubtless it would have done more harm than good. No, it was best to stick to concrete matters, and let people solve their own personality conflicts.

  Consensus reached, they hiked to the Elder’s den, William leaning on his recovered crutch. Convincing the Elder was not as easy as he had hoped. “Why did you hide from me your purpose for coming here? And what will you tell your people when you return? You will need to lie in order to keep your promise not to reveal our presence here, and while I do not know humans well, I understand you well enough to know you dislike speaking falsely, William Whitehall, even though you did so to me.”

  William jumped at the sound of his name coming from a dragon’s mouth. It hadn’t happened before. “That’s true, Elder, but I dislike breaking promises even more.”

  “Then what will you tell them? They must believe your words if you are to prevent others from following your path to our home.”

  “Why tell them anything?” asked Jack. “We can say we didn’t find anything, and let them be satisfied the river got clean on its own.”

  “That’s not an easy lie to tell,” said Maya. “Lester knows how determined I am.”

  William hadn’t considered Lester. He could deceive the Earl if he had to, or any of his other officials, but even the idea of misleading his boss made his stomach turn. Besides, he doubted he could pull it off: the old man was sharp.

  “We could blame the bandits,” said Jack.

  Rachel shook her head. “One of them is bound to be caught one day, and when the Earl’s men question him, you can be sure the truth will come out.”

  “A mountain slide?” asked Charlie.

  Once again, William was struck by how often Charlie found the exact words or idea they needed. He didn’t talk much, but when he did it really mattered. From the looks on everyone else’s faces, they thought the same.

  “I guess we could sell that,” said Jack.

  “How do we explain the river getting clean?” asked Maya.

  “We tell them most of it had already washed away, and we moved the rest in a heroic effort,” said Jack. “Of course, that would only work if it actually does get cleaned.” Jack looked at the Elder pointedly.

  After a moment’s thought, the Elder answered. “I do not like this. If we do nothing, the poison might attract others. If we do as you ask, the swift change in the river’s condition may do the same. There is no path that removes the threat completely, so I find I am forced to trust you. If you betray us—”

  “We won’t,” said William.

  “—whether you mean to or not, it may threaten our existence. I believe you mean us no harm, but it is not my place to extend that trust to all of your people. We are not yet ready to face other races, and we do not wish to do so until we are fully prepared.”

  “Prepared to do what?” asked Jack.

  “Defend ourselves, of course. Sickness has ravaged us, and I owe you thanks for helping contain it, but we still do not know its cause. For all we know another race may be attacking us.”

  “Are you serious?” asked Rachel. “How likely would that be? And how could you not notice?”

  “Before you came here, would you have imagined it likely you would find dragons? And yet, you did. My people have colonized many planets, and we have encountered many beings capable of attacking us whether by force or by stealth. In fact, I am convinced we have met your people at least twice now.”

  “That reminds me,” said Maya. “How did you get here? On this planet, I mean. If your people have been to many planets, how do you travel between them?”

  The Elder stalled before answering. “I have said I am willing to trust you, and that I deem you to be honest. I ask you to extend me the same courtesy, and believe that I tell you the truth: I do not know how we arrived here, or how we travel between planets.”

  His colleagues’ silence told William they were as puzzled as he was. How could the Elder—the leader of his people, at least on this world—not know how they got here? “You mean—”

  “We will clean the dump site, and we will find another location that does not foul the water. This is something we should have noticed before, but the damage has been done. It must suffice that we do no more damage.”

  Despite numerous requests, Dr. Marshall Ibycus declined the mantle of leadership. Citing his late arrival, and the success of the colony administration to date, he stated that there was no point in replacing those who had done a better job than he ever could. When reminded that it was his work that had brought them to Esper, he responded, “the merit of that remains debatable. But be it for good or ill, my work would not have been done had I been stuck in a desk job.”

  Planet of Hope: A History of Esperanza

  William stared at the flickering shadows on the cave wall cast by the firelight as he lay on his bedroll. Every muscle in his body ached, and he desperately needed the sleep that would take him if he allowed it. He resisted, preferring instead to relish this feeling, one he had never experienced. True, he had accomplished things before, and the confidence that had given him wasn’t negligible. His report for Duke Vincent had been one of his best moments, and he still remembered nearly bursting with pride after the praise reached his ears.

  But nothing compared to what he felt now. He understood the enormity of what they achieved, as well as its consequences. At least two large towns, and who knows how many other communities had been saved. Crops would flourish again. Fish could be caught, and livestock watered. Lives would be saved.

  And that was only the beginning. The metal might have an even bigger effect. Even if the dragons refused to trade, he still had direct evidence that metal existed in these mountains. The changes this implied were staggering: better tools, stronger carriages and wagons, more boats. Buildings could be raised more quickly and new land cleared for farming. Even a regular shave might soon be available to the common man.

  He fell asleep dreaming about the progress they could make if only they could get their hands on that metal…

  And if they could get home. He startled himself awake fro
m a bad dream in which bandits surrounded him. It was one of those horrible dreams, the kind where he could make no progress or get away from danger. He would escape temporarily, but the bandits always trapped him again. Worse, he always returned to the same place, and he never managed to travel any distance downstream.

  The worst of his anxiety passed as he rose from his bed and shook his head, but it still cast a dim shadow on his mind. The river would run clean eventually whether or not they made it home, but nothing else would happen if they failed to return. And the Elder could not spare dragons to scout the area for bandits, so a safe return was by no means certain.

  A thought darted around William’s mind, like a mouse scurrying between dark corners. Something about the dragons bothered him, something the Elder said that was lost in yesterday’s euphoria. Perhaps if he stayed quiet it would sit still and he could ponder it properly…

  He snuck out of the den to relieve himself, making sure not to wake the others. As he splashed cold water on his face, he remembered. The Elder had said he did not know how he and the dragons had come to Esper. If the Elder didn’t know, then no dragons knew, or so William supposed. Perhaps the name “Elder” was a mistranslation? No, the Ambassador obeyed the Elder completely, and Hermes could boss any other dragon they had seen so far. The Elder must be the top dragon. So how could he not know?

  When he returned Jack was awake and agitated, and he intercepted William outside the den. “Will, I was thinking…doesn’t it seem odd that the Elder doesn’t know how they got here?”

  William’s jaw dropped. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  “You’re just saying that,” said Jack. “Quit trying to share the glory of my genius.”

  “Why would I—never mind. What were you saying?”

  “What I’m not sure about is whether they’ve been here for generations, or they were brought here against their will, or if they have some sort of amnesia.”

  William nodded. “I know. It’s confusing.”

  “Will, I think we need to stay here a little while longer and learn what we can. We don’t know what we don’t know, and that could be dangerous.”