Legacy of Steel

by Mary H. Herbert

  "Yes," Sara affirmed. "We don't have much time left How do you feel?"

  The dragon stretched his wings out as far as they would go and gently flapped them in the evening breeze. "I am stiff and sore, but I feel stronger. You feed me well."

  "Do you think you will be able to leave in a day or two?"

  "Yes." He suddenly bobbed his head and rumbled a dragonly chuckle. "Think how disappointed they will be when they find only an empty cave."

  The next day was a repeat of the previous one. Sara spent the morning fishing for Cobalt and accompanying him while he swam, then she hunted in the afternoon. They saw no goblins that day and Sara went to sleep that night hoping fervently that the goblins had decided the dragon in the cave was not a good prospect for looting.

  On the following day, though, Sara realized they would have to leave the cave, goblins or no. When she returned that afternoon with a hunk of freshly killed deer, she looked out over the ocean and saw storm clouds massed on the western horizon. Her heart sank.

  Cobalt sat on the beach, his head into the wind, his nostrils flared. "The air is changing," he said to Sara. "That storm smells big."

  Sara could not judge a storm by its smell as easily as Cobalt, but she didn't have to for this storm. The signs were very clear. She studied the towering masses of clouds that piled up like battlements across the sky; she saw the distant lightning flicker in the stormheads; she felt a new damp chill in the wind; and she knew he was right. She also realized that the tide was running out. By the time the storm hit, the tide would be coming in and their cave would offer little protection from the rising surf.

  "We need to leave," she told the dragon. "If we go now, perhaps we can find other shelter before the storm breaks."

  Cobalt agreed. He ate his meat and waited for her outside while she hurriedly packed her gear, her blankets, and some dry tinder in her pack. She buried her fire ring, then, as an afterthought, buried her pot, too. The goblins got her mule; she wasn't going to give them her pot.

  The clouds had obscured the sun by the time Sara emerged from the cave. The air was noticeably colder, and the wind beat against the cliffs with gusty enthusiasm.

  She debated about climbing the bluffs to look for shelter in the more rugged hills, but she thought about Cobalt's leg and his bulk and changed her mind. He didn't need to be climbing rocky slopes or plowing his way through trees. She took, instead, the more open southern direction. There wasn't as much cover that way, but the going was easier for the dragon.

  With Cobalt close on her heels, she waded out into the edge of tide and led the way back along the headland. The waves would obliterate their tracks and, with luck, throw off the goblins.

  Cobalt still limped on his front leg, but he made no complaint about the pain in his leg or the stiffness across his shoulders. He followed Sara through the shallow water as best he could and kept a close watch on the approaching storm.

  They had progressed about two miles along the beach when Sara turned up onto dry land and led Cobalt through the tall sea grass and dunes to the path that paralleled the shore. She walked past several clumps of tangled shrubs and vines, came down a gentle slope, and was about to jump over a low, wet spot in the trail when she looked up and stopped so quickly that Cobalt nearly stepped on her.

  The dragon choked on a snort of surprise. There, not more than ten paces away, was a large band of goblins coming along the path toward them.

  The leader of the goblins saw them about the same time. He slid to a stop, startled. His band screeched to a halt behind him, half of them crashing into each other to keep from hitting him.

  For the space of two heartbeats, the two groups merely stared at each other.

  The goblin leader made the first move. In a blur of motion, he yanked up a loaded crossbow and released the bolt directly at Sara's chest.

  5

  "Down, Sara!" bellowed the blue dragon.

  Sara dropped to her face in the mud just as a sizzling bolt of lightning shot from the dragon and burned into the milling troop of goblins. The leader fell, his rusty breastplate split in two and his leather jerkin smoking. Others fell, too, seared by the fiery heat. The band burst apart as goblins scattered, screaming, in every direction.

  Cobalt sent bursts after them to speed them along.

  Suddenly a horn, sounding rather bent, sounded from some nearby bushes. "To me!" bellowed a harsh voice, "Grishnik to me!"

  Sara lifted her head. "Leave the dragon!" she yelled in the deepest, most guttural Goblin syllables she could manage, "To the cave! The cave is unguarded!"

  Goblin voices rose excitedly out of the grass and undergrowth. "To the cave!" a second voice took up the idea. Loud rustlings came from the bushes where the horn had called. "To the cave," agreed the harsh voice. There was a sudden burst of commotion as the goblins sprang out of their hiding places, and before Cobalt could draw breath to blast them again, they disappeared into the thick grasses.

  The dragon heard a strange hacking noise at his feet. He dropped his head and peered at Sara, still lying flat in the mud. Her entire body shook from head to boot. "Sara?" he asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"

  She rolled over onto her back, and the laughter she had contained in the mud burst out of her in a long peal of hilarity. "It worked!" she gasped between fits of giggling. "I can't believe they fell for it."

  Cobalt curled his lips, revealing his white teeth. Humans called it a dragon smile. "What is the most obvious choice for goblin honor? Stay and fight a blue dragon on foot or go search a cave they think might have something valuable in it?"

  The woman picked herself up out of the mud and tried to brush herself off. "Let's go before they realize the cave is empty."

  "Maybe if we're lucky, they will stay in there awhile digging for buried dragon treasure and get trapped by the storm."

  "We can but hope."

  They hurried on as fast as Cobalt's leg would allow. Sara knew they would be approaching Godnest soon and its outlying farms, and she kept a close watch on their surroundings to avoid contact with anyone. She did not want to draw undue attention to the blue or scare anyone out of his wits.

  Eventually she left the path and led the dragon east. She hoped that by going cross-country and traveling at night they could cross the low-lying coastal plains and reach her village near the mountains undetected. They were in Solamnia, after all, where blue dragons were not welcome.

  They did not go far, however, before the mass clouds overtook them and the wind began to roar. The first drops of rain splattered on the ground; thunder rumbled overhead.

  "Over there!" Cobalt called, and he pointed with his nose to a place Sara could not see. He rumbled forward past her and limped to a copse of trees that stood dark in the gathering storm. Sara did not notice until she was nearly among them that the trees hid the ruins of an an old farmhouse. The roof had collapsed at one end of the stone building, but there was just enough shelter left for Sara and some of Cobalt.

  The dragon tore out the collapsed section of the roof, knocked over the remains of a wall, and made himself comfortable. His back end stuck out into the rain, but he didn't mind as long as his head and shoulders remained dry.

  Sara scrambled into the roofed section of the house just as the rain let loose in a drenching downpour. The woman climbed gratefully among the debris to a seat near the stone wall. Night had fallen with the storm, and the house was black within. Sara could see nothing until the vivid bursts of lightning lit her surroundings for a second or two at a time.

  Using the dry tinder in her pack, she started a tiny fire, just enough to see by. She quickly found plenty of wind-blown tree limbs, old furniture, and some pieces of fire-H|wood still lying by the ramshackle fireplace to add to her fire. In a dry spot near the stone wall, she built her fire to a roaring blaze and set a small pot of water near the heat to boil for tea. While her tea brewed, she changed her muddy tunic and hung it outside to wash off.

  "Do you suppose the goblins are sti
ll in the cave?" Cobalt asked sleepily.

  Sara sipped her hot tea and grinned at the darkness. "Sweet dreams, Cobalt."

  By slow, short stages, traveling at night, Sara led the dragon toward the Vingaard Mountains. They passed many farms and a few villages on the fertile lowlands, but most of the humans were asleep, and any night creature that saw them did not bother to make a fuss.

  Each day Cobalt seemed a little stronger and his limp grew less. Sara left his splint on during the night to give his leg more support while he walked, and when they found shelter for the day, she took it off to check his skin and give his limb a rest. Every evening before they started, Cobalt spread out his wings and practiced flapping to strengthen his muscles. Sara knew it would not be long before he could be airborne once more.

  The trek seemed to do him good in other, more subtle ways, too. The dark shadow of depression gradually eased from his mind. He still bore the scars of his loss and his grief, and Sara knew from experience that he always would. Yet since the evening they had talked in the cave about their past, he seemed more himself. He ate heartily, took interest in his surroundings, and lost the tendency toward sickly self-pity. He told Sara tales about Vincit and their adventures, and he often revealed a sense of humor his nestmate, Flare, had never had. never had.

  The only real problem she had with him, and this had the potential to be a big one in the regions near her village, was his complete disregard for ownership. Cobalt did not think twice about snatching an ox or a horse or a cow from a farmer's field at night. If he was hungry and the animal was available, he took it.

  Blue dragons in Lord Ariakan's service were taught the concepts of his dark honor and the dishonorable nature of theft from friends and allies. But Cobalt did not consider the people of Solamnia his allies, and therefore their stock was fair game. Sara worried that his thievery would alert the residents to their presence and send a party after them. She admonished him several times and tried to explain her reasons, but he simply shrugged and ate his catch. Sara knew full well she would have to find a way to impress him with the importance of hunting wild animals, or he wouldn't be able to stay long in Coastlund.

  As it happened, her point was made for her by an unexpected source. Just one night's journey from Sara's village, they stopped at dawn and took refuge in a tall stand of evergreens. Cobalt made a nest in the fallen needles and was about to tuck his head under his wing when he sensed something coming, and coming fast. His head reared up to scan the sky.

  "What is it?" Sara asked, then she, too, felt it, a gathering fear that weakened her legs and sent her body shivering, Instinctively she ducked under a tree and pressed her body down into the undergrowth.

  Cobalt curled into a tighter ball. "Khellendros," he hissed fearfully.

  Sara managed to look up through the trees and saw a tremendous blue dragon winging slowly overhead. The rising light of morning gleamed on his underbelly and sparkled on the iridescent blue scales of his back and neck. Sara knew Khellendros had returned to the north and claimed the Northern Wastes as his own, but she had not yet seen him flying over Coastlund until now. She swallowed through a dry throat. By Huma's shield, he was huge! The largest blue dragon ever to darken the skies of Krynn.

  She watched as he flew lazily overhead. Was he looking for them? Or was he just surveying the landscape? She cast a quick look at Cobalt and was relieved to see he was staying huddled in his nest, perfectly still.

  Finally Khellendros veered away and flew west toward the coast. Sara watched him go until the sapphire of his shining hide was lost in the blue of the sky. Her breath blew out in a gusty sigh of relief.

  "That is the other reason I do not want you to draw attention to yourself," she said fervently. "Khellendros would kill you in an instant if he thought you were a threat."

  Cobalt turned his amber eyes toward her. "I knew he was back," he whispered, "but I didn't know he was so close to us."

  "He has several lairs in the Northern Wastes; he rarely come here. But let's not give him a reason to!" Sara crawled over to Cobalt's side and put her hand on his folded wing. She knew when to push home a point. "When we find a cave for you in the Vingaard Mountains near my home, you must promise me you will not take farm animals or do anything to terrify the people. There are plenty of deer and elk and other large animals for you to hunt. No one needs to know you are there. Agreed?"

  Cobalt took one more glimpse at the sky. "I promise."

  The next night they reached the village of Connersby. Sara recognized the familiar landmarks of the creek and the huge willow that grew near the bridge, the farms and the tavern at the edge of the common fields. She made a wide berth around the village and hiked up into the high foothills to the east. She found the path over the ridge that led to her practice area, and from there she struck north and east, deeper into the mountains. In the years that she had lived in Connersby, she had explored extensively the mountain region beyond the village, not only because she wanted to familiarize herself with possible escape routes but also because she enjoyed exploring and hiking. She knew well the faint game trails and the paths made by travelers of all descriptions. She knew where to find water and shelter and where the best berry patches grew.

  She also knew the location of a large isolated cave seldom used by anything but mice and an occasional bear. The cave was a long walk from her cottage, but its seclusion was better suited to the blue dragon than the caves closer to her home. Unerringly she led the dragon down the ridges, up rocky slopes, and through woods, dense with evergreen and pine, to a deep valley far from the regular mountain trails.

  Cobalt checked the cave from end to end and pronounced his satisfaction by settling down on a dry, flat place near the opening and promptly going to sleep.

  Sara rubbed her hands along his steel-colored horns in farewell before she sought her own cottage and bed.

  She left before dawn the next day to visit Cobalt, taking her sword and bow with her. She practiced her sword play under his interested gaze, and to her surprise, he made several astute suggestions about her footwork and the angle of her blade in two different parries.

  "I used to help Vincit," he told her.

  Afterward they went hunting, and Sara brought down two elk. Cobalt carried them back to the cave, where he ate and saved the rest "for later." He complained about the hardness of his bed and the itches in his healing skin.

  Sara spent the remainder of the morning treating his wounds and oiling his itches. She promised to bring some hay for his bed the next time she came.

  She hurried home to clean house, set up her loom, and fix something to eat. A farmer came late in the evening and asked her to attend a laboring cow. By the time Sara fell into bed after midnight, she was exhausted.

  Her days fell into a hectic pattern as the winter gave way to spring. She quickly decided to purchase an old but spry bay horse, who could carry her to the dragon's cave in half the time or carry bales of hay or meat when needed. The horse soon learned the dragon would not harm him, and he stayed in Cobalt's company with only a halfhearted show of nervousness.

  While the horse helped shorten her traveling time, he could not help Sara with her countless other tasks. She divided her time between her cottage and her garden, the village's animals, and the dragon. The farmers often wondered at her constant absences, but any time they asked, she told them she was hunting, or looking for herbs, or trapping, or anything else she could think of at the moment.

  She also spent time at her loom. She was still a weaver by training, and she supplemented her income by weaving rugs, wall hangings, and fanciful cloth for clothes. Much of her work she sold in local markets, but the better items she stored in her loft for a trip she planned to make someday to the markets in Palanthas, where she knew she could get higher prices. If she ever had time to go.

  Meanwhile Cobalt healed and thrived in his mountain retreat. As soon as his wings were strong enough, Sara encouraged him to fly, asking only that he restrict his flying to the
hours at dusk and dawn or on nights when the single pale moon lit the sky. He squawked a little at the limited time until she reminded him that Khellendros was still making his flybys. Since the big blue was nearly four times larger than Cobalt, the smaller blue swallowed his pride and obeyed Sara's orders.

  Once in a while Sara would fly with him. She had to rig a crude dragon saddle out of strips of leather, heavy padding for his scarred back, and a cobbled horse saddle, but she was pleased with the results. Once it was in place and she climbed up behind his neck ridges, the saddle held her firmly in place while he spiraled upward into the evening sky and dipped and swirled and flew to his heart's content.

  Sara loved those brief hours in the air. She did not realize how much she had missed the feel of a powerful dragon beneath her, or the flow of the wind in her face, or the incredible vistas of land that spread below them She reveled in the powerful upbeat of Cobalt's wings and in the incredible freedom of his flight. Now she did not have to worry about avoiding other dragons swooping around them, teaching battle strategies, or fretting that someone else could get hurt. All she had to do was sit back in her saddle and experience the joy of the ride.

  Cobalt seemed to pick up some of her pleasure, for he flew longer, higher, farther, better when she was with him.

  Spring came and went in a blur of planting and lambing, and summer waltzed in with a long stretch of warm days and balmy nights. The anniversary of the Battle of the Rift on a hot day in Fleurgreen, and the village took the opportunity to celebrate the day with music, festivities, and a bonfire. Sara observed it quietly with Cobalt in the cool shade of his glade.

  As summer passed, Sara continued her busy days, when working late into the night. She sometimes wondered how much longer she would be able to keep up such a heavy load of responsibilities. The constant labor was beginning to wear thin.