Legends of the Dragonrealm: Volume 04

by Richard A. Knaak

  Its pattern was also simple, although time, again, had played a hand in that. The explorer recognized a crude representation of the region where the gnome's five-sided citadel had stood until recently. The material used to weave that section was different from the rest. He suspected it was the grass Xabene had requested. That she had been able to make use of it in her weaving indicated that some of her sorcery still remained.

  The hills and grasslands were easy to identify, but one mark puzzled him. A five-pointed star. He assumed it must represent the citadel, but it stood far away from the field, almost as if it were part of some other illustration not yet complete.

  Wellen repeated Asaalk's question.

  "The best way to explain it is to show you," Xabene replied. She turned the tapestry toward her, then pulled a small crystal from a pouch on her waist. Nothing their eyes, she held up the piece. "I used this in an attempt to spy on the gnome while he worked. I also used this and. .." Her eyes lit up and she rummaged through the pouch. Xabene retrieved a tattered notebook and thrust it toward Wellen. ". . . and this to search for you."

  He looked at the ragged object. It was his notebook. The scholar felt a momentary rush of affection, as if a favored pet had been returned to him. The journal was all he really had left from his once-peaceful life.

  "It occurred to me," the enchantress continued, "that I could use the crystal in another way." So saying, Xabene lowered the crystal onto the waxy star. She held it in place for several seconds, closing her eyes during that period and whispering something to herself. When she opened them again, there was an intense eagerness.

  "What did you do?" Prentiss Asaalk asked. Everyone, including the Dragon King, had turned their attention to the sorceress during her brief display.

  She glanced down at the tapestry, smiled widely, and indicated that they, too, should study her creation.

  The star was no longer situated under the crystal. It now marked a spot in the northwestern region outlined on the tapestry.

  Xabene leaned back and put her hands on her hips, pride at her accomplishment radiating from her. "There is where the gnome is!"

  "So simple!" Wellen marveled. He touched the star lightly, almost afraid he would nudge it away. Examination proved, however, that it was as much a part of the illustration as the plains were.

  "Not so simple. I had to chip the crystal to make this work. There are fragments incorporated in the wax. Only because of them does the tapestry work."

  One observer, however, was not so impressed with the results and what they indicated. "That cannot be! From all that my ssssourcessss have informed me, there hassss been no ssssign of the citadel! It doessss not ssssit there! Not sssso closssse!"

  "It must!" The enchantress looked ready to fight to protect her success. She had proven that her abilities were worth something even without the added power that the Lords of the Dead had given to her. One Dragon King was not going to make that success a failure. "I planned it all out carefully! If the star is there, then that's where the building is!"

  "Then where issss it, female? Floating high in the ssssky? I think one of my cousins would have sssseen it there!"

  Wellen's eyes narrowed as he considered the suggestion. The sky, obviously, was not a proper choice, but what if the gnome had travelled in the opposite direction? He recalled how the Quel had burst from the ground. They lived down there; why not the gnome?

  The short scholar leaned over the area where the star was located. "He's taken it below and shielded it."

  "What?" Prentiss Asaalk stepped back as if struck. Not the reaction Wellen would have expected from the true northerner, but it was possible that Asaalk, out of his depth now, was truly surprised.

  "What do you sssspeak . . . speak of, Master Bedlam? The cursed gnome has taken it under the surface?"

  "Why not? Is it beyond him?"

  "Hardly! Yet . . . " The Green Dragon could come up with no argument against Bedlam's suggestion. Xabene was visibly grateful for his quick thinking.

  Pressing on, Wellen added, "We have to move as quickly as possible. You were the one who first said that. He could send it elsewhere at any time. An entire army might waste weeks hunting him, even if he's only limited to the plains . . . which we do not know is a certainty."

  The Dragon King shifted. His claws scraped at the rocky surface of the cavern floor. "Below . . . and moving. Hissss skillssss never cease to amaze me!"

  "A question, Master Bedlam," the blue man said. "How will you speak with the gnome even if you do find where he is located? He will be far underground, yes? It will make for difficult hearing."

  "I doubt if the gnome pays any less attention to the outside world now that he has moved under the earth. Despite his hermitic existence, he's proved to be very interested in what is going on around him. That's one of the reasons I hope to contact him this time."

  "And assss you indicated, human, time issss a great factor." The drake lord considered matters. He seemed to come to a decision he found both daring and dismaying. The emerald leviathan studied the scholar for several breaths, then finally asked, "Are you and yours prepared to leave within the hour?"

  The Dragon King very much wanted to finish this, but Wellen thought that Green might be pushing ahead too swiftly. Wellen would have preferred to leave after nightfall, thinking that quick enough, but as he had realized before, one did not argue with a drake.

  Bedlam exchanged looks with Xabene. She nodded, seeing the inevitable.

  "We can be ready," he said with confidence.

  "Good! Lore."

  The black man appeared from nowhere. How long had he been lurking nearby? "Your Majesty?"

  "Have the animals been readied?"

  "I ordered men to make them ready more than an hour ago . . . in anticipation."

  "Ssssplendid."

  "We are to ride?" questioned Asaalk. "Not teleport?" "Not until late in the journey. Teleportation works best when one is familiar with the region." Commander Lore's bored look was a mask; Wellen knew he did not care to stay in the northerner's presence any longer than necessary. "There has been no reason to remember that area until now; it was like any other part of the region. With the exception of a few masters, such as Shade, most spellcasters are better off using line of sight for such unfamiliar places."

  "We would need to see where we are going, yes?" "Exactly." No longer needing to look at the blue man, Benton Lore awaited further commands.

  The truth was that there would be no teleporting at all. Neither Wellen nor Xabene was capable of casting the spell, but that was not the reason why. After all, Lore, who was to follow behind in order to keep their backs covered from possible treachery, did have the capability. The Green Dragon, however, had pointed out that excessive spellcasting would only attract the attention of his fellow monarch. A small group of riders had a better chance, especially if Purple was intentionally looking for the telltale signs of teleportation.

  Asaalk was the reason they hinted at utilizing teleportation at all. Whether he was not truly the blue man or was willingly serving the other drake lord, the figure beside them was not to be trusted as far as the Green Dragon was concerned. False information fed to him might make its way to Purple. That would give them two distractions. At the very least, it would certainly keep the blue man at a disadvantage.

  Their efforts might be for nothing; the Purple Dragon by no means could see everything that went on in his domain. Wellen and the others could feasibly reach their destination, succeed or not at contacting the gnome, and return without any incidence of danger.

  No one was willing to believe it would be so easy.

  WeIlen wanted to leave Prentiss Asaalk behind, but the master of Dagora Forest would not have that. Drakes were apparently fond of overdone subterfuge and the Green Dragon reveled in it. The scholar was certain only disaster would come of it in the end.

  The drake lord shifted, bringing everyone's attention back to the situation at hand. "The time for talk is over, then. Lore
, see what activity occurs in my brother's domain. Master Bedlam, you will ready yourself and see to it that your companions are ready." Hesitation, then, "Would that I could be there when he finally realizes he has been tricked and that we have gained access to what he, the Lords of the Dead, and all their predecessors failed to capture!"

  Feeling uncomfortable with the Dragon King's overconfidence, Bedlam reminded him, "The plan is hardly foolproof; the gnome may laugh at me from within his citadel! I am only relying on the thought that in certain cases, he and I are of like mind."

  "I have faith in you, human. Besides, as has been brought up more than once, nothing else has succeeded. Why not try your plan? At the most it can only fail!"

  He was not certain whether the Dragon Lord was serious or not, but he could hardly ask. Wellen took one last look at the tapestry, exhaled sharply, and said, "Let's hope that is all that happens."

  No one had to remind him of what failure by itself actually meant. Wellen and the others might still return to the forest, from there to continue on with their lives as best as possible. For Shade, however, it meant death sooner or later at the rotting hands of the Lords of the Dead.

  That was, of course, assuming he was not dead already.

  Prentiss Asaalk confronted him a short time later in the corridor by the former's chamber. Servants had taken what few things Wellen was going to carry and brought them ahead so they could be packed. The explorer had intended on trying to talk to the Green Dragon for the few minutes that still remained. There were details about the diversions he was uncertain about and wanted clarified.

  "Wellen Bedlam, you and I must speak."

  The scholar's throat tightened. "About what?"

  "Please! Inside the room." Asaalk's voice was low and just a little uncertain.

  After the necromancers' invasion, it was doubtful that anything could occur that Lore's soldiers would not respond to in a matter of seconds. Nonetheless, Wellen was somewhat leery about being alone with the blue man. "Perhaps we could talk later, when—"

  "No! It must be now!" The massive northerner seemed to fill up the corridor. "Please, Master Bedlam!"

  The intensity with which Asaalk spoke, moved, even breathed, made Wellen acquiesce. Nodding, he allowed the blue man to lead the way into the chamber. Asaalk had never struck him as a man who did things for no reason and if he needed to speak so urgently with Wellen, then it might do the scholar some good to listen. Perhaps some questions the Green Dragon had brought up would be answered. Still, the scholar did not consider himself a complete fool. As he followed the northerner in, Wellen put one hand on the hilt of the sword that he had convinced the Dragon King to let him wear.

  Asaalk studied the chamber, possibly seeking magical eyes that might report his words to the drake lord even as he spoke them. Satisfied, the blue man finally talked.

  "Master Bedlam, I must warn you about myself." "Warn me?"

  The blue man's eyes darted back and forth. "I spoke of escaping the collar put on me by the Dragon Purple, yes?" "Yes."

  "I did not escape that collar, my friend."

  "But the marks . . . " At one point when they had last spoken alone, Prentiss Asaalk had shown him the marks left by the metal collar. They were purplish, scaly scratches. Wellen had been certain at the time that removing the collar must have been painful if it had caused these.

  "Aaah . . . " Asaalk gave him a grim smile and fingered one of the scars. "These do not show where the collar was, but where the collar is! Like the building whose master has buried it, the cursed thing lies beneath the surface, yes! Beneath the skin!"

  Without thinking, Wellen started to reach forward to touch the other's neck. Asaalk jerked away. "No! Only I may touch it! Anyone else's touch is agony! One of my captors put a hand to the back of my neck, yes, and I almost doubled over!"

  "How is it you are able to tell me? That hardly seems like a thing that the Purple Dragon would neglect to prevent. He does not mark me as a simple tyrant."

  "And he is not, no. I have some small magic of my own and I have my own indomitable will." He swelled with pride. "I am never totally beaten! I always strike back!" Prentiss Asaalk twitched then, moving like someone just whipped. The blue man deflated a bit. "The collar always fights to regain even that bit of ground from me. I fear that sooner or later it will triumph, yes. Yet, no one can remove the collar, save the Purple Dragon and he will do that only if I obey his commands—

  "And what are those?"

  "To bring you to him, of course."

  "Me? In particular?" Wellen recalled standing before the pentagon and watching it vanish. Had the other Dragon King been observing and decided, like so many others had, that the would-be warlock was responsible? Wellen was beginning to wonder himself. Was he absolutely certain that the tingle he had felt had not originated from him? Absurd, yes, but still not entirely improbable. After all, he had not meant to bespell Shade, yet he had.

  "You." The blue man seemed to bemoan this fact. "He has come to believe you must be here to steal the dragon tome from him . . . he is certain that it is his by right, yes."

  "I only want to be left alone, to live in peace."

  Asaalk shrugged. "But we cannot and now we must think of what to do."

  "The Green Dragon might be able to do something."

  "He cannot. I believe my accursed master, yes, when he says that he has planned for that, but"—suddenly, the crafty northerner's eyes narrowed—"could the gnome, do you think?"

  Even from what little he knew about the short, squat figure, Bedlam thought it quite possible. "If he can do everything that's been hinted to me, then I think it's very possible that he can help you."

  "That is good. If he cannot, I must face the wrath of the Dragon King. I assure you that he is not a forgiving creature, no."

  Asaalk twitched again. Wordlessly, he stepped away from Wellen and turned his back to the scholar. The blue man's entire backside shook from effort. Bedlam purposely found other things to study, thinking that the struggling northerner deserved to preserve his pride. As much as he disliked many things about Prentiss Asaalk, he admired the blue man's spirit. Wellen was not so certain he could have been as strong under the circumstances.

  At last, the blue man turned around. His countenance in no way betrayed his struggle with the pain Wellen had watched him go through. "You must let me come with you. I must speak to this little man."

  The Green Dragon would forbid him doing that and Benton Lore would be with the trio to assure that the scholar obeyed. Still, if there was anything he could do to aid the blue man, Wellen knew he had to try. "I'll see."

  "I can ask no more."

  They heard the sounds of armored men marching through the tunnel. As the two of them turned to face the entranceway, a guard stuck his head inside. He pulled it back almost immediately. There was some muttering, then Commander Lore stepped in.

  "Everything is prepared. We do not know what Purple himself is doing, but our eyes watch his lackey's every move. He seems to be waiting, nothing more."

  "Which means your lord wants us to leave now."

  "Unless there is still urgent need to complete other matters, Master Bedlam. It is for your own sake, I must point out. His Majesty does not desire to endanger you any more than necessary. He cares."

  "How noble," Asaalk sneered. Wellen gave him a severe frown, warning him not to provoke the major-domo.

  Lore's eyes flared, but his visage remained polite and cool, as it always was around the blue man. "Yes, very much so. The same could certainly not be said for most of his kind, especially the tyrant whose land you reenter."

  The blue man said nothing.

  Wellen stepped between them, pretending interest only in the coming quest. "Have you provided Xabene with a map case for the tapestry? We need to keep it clean and out of sight."

  "I have." The dark-skinned officer nodded, his eyes acknowledging his understanding of why the scholar had interrupted. "Even now, she waits by the mounts."

>   "Good. Then we had best be on our way."

  "As you desire." Lore stepped aside and, with a sweep of his arm, indicated that the two outsiders should depart first. Asaalk stalked out of the chamber immediately, with WeIlen following close behind. A good thing we won't be here any longer than necessary! he thought. Each time these two meet, they come closer to blows!

  Whether or not they succeeded, he was determined to help the blue man free himself of the Dragon King's deadly ring. Then, Asaalk would be encouraged to go somewhere, anywhere, that he might like. Wellen intended to spend some time discussing the history of the realm with the Green Dragon, but he could hardly do that if Asaalk remained with him. Xabene also had a say in the matter, a very essential say, and her dislike of the blue man's ways was more than obvious.

  It occurred to Wellen that he was assuming they would all be returning. That was still in doubt even with the information that Prentiss Asaalk had provided him.

  Their footfalls echoed throughout the corridor, a feature of the caverns that he had grown so accustomed to that he barely noticed anymore. That was why when Benton Lore stepped up beside him that the shorter man was surprised when the officer commented, "The echoes have always fascinated me."

  "Oh?"

  "Actually, the acoustics of this entire system of caverns must be experienced over a long period of time to fully understand their complexity. One hears so much." The commander's expression was entirely innocent.

  That settled the question of whether the Dragon King knew what the two foreigners had discussed. Wellen did not reply, but he took it as a mark of the monarch's trust that he had even been given a hint.

  Prentiss Asaalk, several steps ahead, scratched his throat at the sore marks.

  When they reached the animals, Xabene was there. Her eyes, first slits when she spied Asaalk, lit up when Wellen entered the chamber. He returned her smile, but his attention was momentarily fixed on his surroundings. They stood in what was an organized and very well-kept stable. Row upon row of stalls attested to the great capacity of the place. Most of the stalls were empty, but a few held tall, ready animals. The party's mounts were already saddled and waiting.