The Lone Dragon Knight

by D. C. Clemens

  “What do you believe?”

  “I believe he’s dead, but I also believe there was some funny business going on. The official story says that the people there beheaded Rathmore and burned the rest, but someone ended up burning the head as well. It was never made clear exactly how that mistake happened. Without definite proof of Rathmore’s demise, along with Voreen’s involvement, the rumors of his escape began on that very night.”

  “And his supporters?”

  “Most were pawns he converted to his cause in one way or another. The ones of note were his two mistresses and a younger man that is also thought to have been part of Voreen’s secret training program. Proof of their beheaded corpses satisfied everyone at the time.”

  “But a decade is a long time to add more followers.”

  “Aye. I’ve always believed the guild moved on too quickly from the case. Voreen certainly wasn’t going to release all they knew, and everyone else simply wanted to forget about the bad business. I might have pushed my colleagues more if I wasn’t already tired of the whole damn thing. I should have trusted my younger contemporaries to take over sooner…”

  “If you could investigate now, who would you go to?”

  “A fine question…” She stared at the youths. The boy wanted to continue, but the girl seemed to be explaining why continuing to kick his ass wouldn’t do them anymore good. “What would you do if there was a dead end to your quest?”

  “I know they’re out there, and I know they need to die. I would continue looking for a way around the dead end. I’ll still go to Voreen if I have to.”

  “Ah, I see. A child with nothing but death in his past and in his future… Those two are my grandchildren. They’ve heard most of my stories and they have it in their head that they can make good guild members, particularly the boy. My son hired expensive tutors to teach them, but they’re too afraid to actually hit the kids of a rich man. I suspect that you are not. Agree to help me whip them into shape and I will make sure your quest does not reach a dead end just yet.” Sensing my objecting mouth opening, she lifted a hand. “Come back anytime tomorrow with your decision. You will receive payment, good food, and even a place to sleep if you so desire. They have another three weeks of training before they move to Qutrios’ Festival of Lights. There they will compete in a tournament that the guild likes to use to evaluate young talent. And don’t concern yourself if I happen to die. I will make arrangements for such an occurrence.”

  “I’m no teacher.”

  “Like I said, they’ve been taught. Now they need to be shown what someone their age can accomplish.”

  “How do you know I can accomplish anything?”

  “I would have allowed myself to die by now if I didn’t enjoy employing my wisdom every now and again. All the same, even if I am wrong about you, I’ll know after tomorrow. What do you care, anyway? I can see you’re willing to die to find who wronged you. A little sparring shouldn’t deter you.”

  “I find dying less annoying than people.”

  She snorted. “You just haven’t met anyone worth living for.”

  Knowing I could not dissuade this old warrior woman, I sighed and said, “Three weeks?”

  “Aye.”

  “Very well, I’ll take your extortionist offer.”

  “Ah, you’ve amused a timeworn woman. The gods will smile on thee. My grandchildren appear too tired to continue training for the day. We’ll start again at noon tomorrow. Do you wish to stay over?”

  “I have to notify someone of the change in plans.”

  “You may bring them along if you want. It’s a big house, and my son will welcome anyone I wish him to.”

  “It’ll just be me. I’ll return by noon.”

  I bowed and left the old woman to wallow in her victory.

  Clarissa couldn’t help chuckling when I told her what happened.

  “Sorry, I just know you must hate this.”

  “Hate that an old hag is using me for her amusement before she croaks? What gave you that idea?”

  Putting down the history book I had already read, she said, “I know you don’t like it, but I think you’d make a good tutor. You don’t even talk all that much and I feel like I’ve learned a lot.”

  “What are you going to do for food?”

  “Oh… I guess I’ll just have to adopt a couple of stray cats or something. I’ll be fine here while you’re gone.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I was at the Sunburst home by noon. The same two house guards from before met me and took me to the old woman. It was like she hadn’t moved since I left her the day before. She waved away the guards.

  The larger guard said, “Master Bolin wanted me to watch over the stranger.”

  “Nonsense, Britton. I’m here to watch the stranger.”

  “But Mada-”

  She waved her hand. “If my son was truly concerned about me or his children, then he’d be here himself. Now shoo. I’ll scream if the stranger starts stabbing everyone.”

  The guards shrugged at one another and left.

  “Where are his children?” I asked her.

  “They warm up with a run. They’ll be here shortly. As you saw yesterday, each have been tutored with the fundamentals. I simply prefer to see how they respond to actual hits.”

  “And you believe they’re three weeks away from impressing the guild?”

  “They’d be much more ready if I had things my way. Ethan has been eager to train and join the guild since he was a lad, but his parents didn’t think him serious and ignored a crucial development period. He and his sister are thus latecomers. However, ever since my son realized they were indeed serious about becoming warriors, I have seen them blossom with the little guidance they have had. I love my grandchildren. If I didn’t believe them capable in this endeavor, I wouldn’t encourage them.”

  Her grandchildren showed up a few minutes later.

  After catching his breath, Ethan asked his grandmother, “Is our new tutor here yet?”

  “This is him. Meet Mercer. Mercer, this is Ethan and his sister Catherine.”

  “What are you talking about, Grandma? This guy is the same age we are!”

  “Age is a number. Experience on the other hand…”

  “Who are you?” the bright-eyed girl asked me.

  “All you need to know is that your grandmother thinks I can help train you. In exchange, she’ll tell me something I need to know.”

  “Come on, Grandma!” continued Ethan. “This is an insult! Get one of your guild friends to come over.”

  “Their time is too precious for such a meager goal. No, you will see the wisdom of my choice when this young man shows you exactly what I have seen. What have you seen from them, Mercer?”

  “The boy is reckless and watching the girl is like watching a painting fight.”

  “Boy? I’m already seventeen! And there’s no way you’re that much older.”

  “This can be solved simply enough,” I said. “We spar. I win, you shut up. If you even put up a good fight, I leave.”

  “Good enough for me.” He headed for some training poles of various lengths leaning against the back of the house. He chose one that represented a longsword. “Come on! Let’s get this over with!”

  “Gods,” said Aranath, “I’ve never wanted you to strike somebody more.”

  Agreeing with the dragon, I went to choose a pole that represented a short sword and met Ethan on the grassless area a few yards away. Already knowing what I wanted to do, I held the training pole with my left hand. Ethan looked at his grandmother and reluctantly gave me a small bow. I did the same.

  As I had seen yesterday, he held a stance well enough, but I knew he wouldn’t be disciplined enough to hold it when something went against the obvious. To induce him out of his defensive stance, I charged at him. Showing that he believed the match was even, he immediately moved in as well. I pulled out a dragon stone and lobbed it at him. There was no point in igniting it. A rock in the air was
all I needed to distract my opponent. By the time his eyes were back on me, he panicked and swung with little purpose. My pole easily blocked his and I lunged forward to land a hard punch right above his stomach. Seeing he wasn’t going to fall, I grabbed the arm that held his practice weapon and head-butted him. This sent him falling backward.

  “First lesson, if you’re not sure what the fuck is happening, keep back.” Looking at the girl, I said, “Catherine, right? You’re up.”

  The raven haired girl looked at her elder, who directed her to me with a wave of her hand. Catherine grabbed a spear-long pole and eyed her brother trying to stand back up as she walked over.

  “A spear is a good choice,” I told her. “If they were easier to keep hidden, I’d carry one to gain a longer reach. Let’s see how well you can keep me back.”

  I didn’t go all out on her as I did on her brother, but I didn’t want her comfortable either. Using the same information I had gained the day before, I was very quickly able to attain the upper hand. She was just too predictable. Within a few moves, I had grabbed the shaft of the spear and pulled her in so that I could land a kick to her gut.

  As she laid on the ground, I said, “I don’t know who your teacher was, but they ingrained too much of the basics in you. The stances are a guide, not a universal truth. Get this through your head and you’ll easily become a menace in the battlefield. You’re already better than your brother.”

  “What do you mean better?” asked Ethan behind me.

  I turned to say, “I mean her problem is easier to fix. She just has to open her mind a little more. You, on the other hand, have to actually grow up. That might not happen in three weeks.”

  “I’m growing up just fine. Grandma says I only have to focus a little more.”

  “For your sake, I hope that’s true. Now, what can you each cast?”

  “I can do a little of everything.”

  “Which really means you can do nothing well. What’s your most competent spell? And if you say ‘fire’ I’m going to bash your head in with a rock.”

  “Uh, it’s actually an earth spell for me.”

  “I’ve concentrated on wind,” replied his sister.

  “Good,” I told the sister. “Extending your reach further is a good strategy. As for earth, you’ll have to show me how you employ that.”

  Ethan, probably wanting to surprise me, shot out his arms and I felt the ground beneath my feet shifting. I jumped back just before the ground cratered and became a sand-like consistency. It was Aranath that told me this was a sand-trap spell. Tricky to get out of for those caught in it.

  “A bit faster and you might have something there,” I told him, “but it will matter little if your enemy can still ward off your attacks without moving their legs. All right, I’m tired of talking, so we’ll just spend the rest of our time today focusing on physical attacks. Both of you come at me at the same time. We’ll see if you two can work together to take me down.”

  It was plain they had never worked as a pair before, making it easy to repel their attacks. When I did talk, it was almost always to correct Ethan, which I reinforced by whacking the limb that needed correcting with my practice sword. By afternoon’s end, they each had bruises and bloody scrapes on every visible part of their skin. As they weren’t completely incompetent, they each were able to land the occasional strike on me, but I always returned the favor immediately afterward. Neither of them seemed troubled by their signs of inadequacy. If anything, they looked pleased that they had something to strive for. Their grandmother held a similar expression in her single working eye.

  With the first training session over, her grandchildren helped lift Madam Rachel off her chair, but once she was up, she walked under her own power. I took Madam Rachel’s offer to take a little guest room they had during my three week stay, which also meant I would take some of their food as well. Most of the many family members who saw me gave me a wary look, particularly the mother of my students, but I did my best to avoid them, taking my dinner up to my room. The bed in my chamber had clothes for me to wear. Not needing leather armor during my time here, I removed them and accept their attire, though I kept on my cloak when I exited the bedroom.

  Exempting the people I had already seen, I learned that Ethan and Catherine had an older brother, who was the next in line to own the brewery, and a younger brother. The parents of their mother also lived in the home, and while these were the permanent residents, there were always other people over, which included friends or more relatives. In any event, many of these people would barely get glimpses of me, and what they said behind my back was of little concern to me or the old matriarch of the home. Most of my off time was spent in my room reading from a large collection of books they had.

  Apart from the times I had to speak, I enjoyed the training sessions. It was an opportunity to sharpen my abilities against some active opposition, and it never not felt good to hit Ethan. He had warmed up to me on realizing my superior skills, and started seeing me as something of a rival, which he indicated as much near the end of a training session when he said, “It’s nice having someone else besides my sister as my main rival.”

  In response to this declaration, I said, “A rivalry implies two participants at around the same level. We are not.”

  “Not yet we’re not, but there’s plenty of time for me to catch up.”

  “Unfortunately for you, I have certain advantages that have given me too far a head start.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

  “I guess I’ll just force you to think differently. Hey, if you’re so good, then why don’t you want to join the guild? Or do you want to join something else?”

  “I have my own goal.”

  “Let me guess, you won’t tell me what it is. You know, girls might like guys who are all mysterious and shit, but you don’t have to put on that act all the time.”

  “It’s not an act. I don’t like people and most won’t like what I am, so there’s little point saying or doing anything more than what’s necessary.”

  “Why won’t people like what you are?”

  I sighed. “You talk way too damn much.”

  “And you don’t talk enough. Come on, you can’t be so bad if my grandmother hired you to train us.”

  “Why do want to join the guild?”

  “Uh, well, because I want to get stronger and help people while I’m doing it.”

  “I too want to become stronger, but only so that I may someday kill the people who took away my past and what I could have been. Nothing else matters.”

  He was quiet for a long moment, but his mouth invariably opened to ask, “What did these people do?”

  “All you need to know is that they’ve given me the power to beat your ass.”

  Not long after the conversation ended, his sister came up to me and said, “Sorry about Ethan. He’s always been a little unfiltered with his thoughts and emotions. I personally think he might be too sensitive for the warrior lifestyle, but he really wants to join.”

  “And why do you?”

  “Well, at first I just wanted to get out of this village, but the more I dwell on it, the more I think I just want to keep my stupid brother out of trouble. Ugh, please don’t tell him I said that.”

  “Just keep in mind, the less he’s around me, the less chance I have to tell him.”

  A week after I started training them, Ethan came out to the session shirtless. A few minutes after we began sparring, some of Catherine’s friends came over to watch, giving me the reason why my student was showing off his musculature. Of course, I went at him with fiercer conviction. Catherine’s girlfriends seemed to both encourage and mock Ethan as we fought, and sometimes in the same sentence. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but I had a feeling this was how most people treated the annoyingly outgoing boy.

  Near the end of this training session, Ethan asked me, “Hey, can I borrow your sword?”
>
  “No.”

  “But I just want to show off with some real steel. You see that cute blonde over there? She’s this close to giving me a nice goodbye present before I have to leave.”

  “Very well. Who am I to stop young love?”

  I unsheathed Aranath and handed him the hilt. He had to drop it the instant he grasped it.

  “What the fuck was that?”

  Picking up the snickering blade, I said, “Remember when I told you I have certain advantages over you? This is one of them.”

  “What kind of enchantment is that?”

  “An old one. It only accepts those who have their head in the right place during battle. Catherine!”

  Separating from her friends to come to us, she said, “What?”

  “Hold my blade as long as you can.” Knowing what I wanted him to do, Aranath allowed her to hold him, though I could tell from her scrunching face that he wasn’t making it easy. “See? She’s more ready than you are.”

  “Bullshit, I’m ready! Give it to me, Cat!” She handed him the sword when I nodded my assent to her. His grip and face were tight, but he was no match against Aranath’s power. He had to drop it. “Fuck.”

  “We have two weeks more to get your head straight. If you truly want to act like a warrior, then you’ll learn to hold your fucking stances. Your unpredictability, while a benefit in some situations, won’t take you far on its own.”

  This “proof” of his shortcomings appeared to finally settle him down. I wished I had thought of it sooner. I soon found him studying books on stances, and his performance on the field was less chatty and more focused. The minor adjustment actually did make him a better opponent, especially when he worked together with his sister. Over the next few days the siblings seemed to come up with a system that played off what their stances were, giving them a better understanding as to how to keep me off balanced, since I could not effectively counter two different styles at once. It was finally making things interesting. By the end of the second week, I could only prevent myself from losing by using my explosive distractions.