But that couldn’t be…
Yet, it was. He was looking at his home, the tiny house in need of paint. He could see Ellishome beyond it all. A mystical energy filled the landscape, something foggy white hovering over the town and fields beyond. He saw Ben walking—much to Seth’s surprise—down Main Street in the middle of town.
“Howdy, lads!”
The vision broke. They were in a room again, nothing resembling the palace at all. If anything, it was the exact opposite. They stood at the threshold of a banquet hall, a tavern of some kind. Wooden tables lined the room. Men stood around wearing leather jerkins, drinking from foaming tankards of ale. Women wore long skirts and bodices. A fire took up the wall opposite, warming the tavern. People were carrying on, laughing in the throes of some strange celebration.
“Aye! We’ve been waiting for you, lads! Come, sit, have a drink on the ole ’ouse.”
A large man with thick shoulders stood several feet in front of them. Leather bracelets took up his forearms. He wore what appeared a brown rug around his midsection, a vest made of animal hide: buffalo or bear, and Seth thought back to when his friends grew old before his eyes. The man’s hair was long, matted, and blond. A full, thick red beard covered his face. His eyes were alight, a startling, merry blue. He welcomed them, slapping Gavin on the back, and the boy virtually stumbled to the ground. Gavin’s brows came together, and he gave the man an irritated look.
“Drink up, lads,” the man bellowed. “Twas a tiring journey, I say! Perhaps some juice for the boys! This drink’s a bit too strong for yer young bones. Make you fuzzy in the head, it will!”
The man let out a booming sound of laughter, holding his thick, round belly. If Seth didn’t know any better, he’d say he was looking at a primitive, albeit, younger version of Santa Clause.
Seth looked at his friends, raising his eyebrows. They mirrored the same shock, bewilderment, and surprise. There was something else, however, in their faces. Joy? Relief?
Eddie and Gavin took in the revelry, looking around them with huge grins on their faces. Cheers and shouts erupted from all around. A dark-haired man played a quick, rhythmic melody on a fiddle, while a man and a woman linked arms together and danced on top of one of the tables, kicking their heels. The ladies cried, “Ho!” thrusting their tankards into the air. Thick foam sloshed and splashed to the floor.
Malcolm’s eyes were aglow, the fire reflecting off his glasses. Seth noticed Albert tapping his foot.
“We knewed ya’d make it, lads. Tis half the battle won already.
“Gladis!” the big, bear-man called. “Bring the boys something cold to drink! They’re prob’ly dyin’ a thirst!”
A portly, round faced woman approached with jet-black hair. Her feet were bare under a long black dress. Her eyes revealed the same, twinkling, merry expression as the man who’d welcomed them. Gladis carried five tankards, two in one hand, three in the other. The task looked daunting. She set them carefully on an empty table, nodding to each of the boys, and said, “Good to have ya back, young masters! We’ve been waiting a long time to see ya!”
Back, Seth thought? Had they been here before?
“What is this?” Seth asked, indicating the celebration. When Seth eyed the establishment, he noticed one of the tables directly in the middle of the tavern brimming with hot food, cakes, rolls, potatoes, pudding, a goose, turkey, and a ham. When he looked at Albert, the once-portly boy stared at the food with eyes like two silver moons. Albert licked his lips.
“A celebration, young master,” the man said. “In yer honor, and yer company a’lads here.”
Someone clapped Seth on the back, welcoming him. A lady, during one of the dances, moved around him, bent at the waist, and kissed his cheek. Seth laughed, bewildered at the same time.
No, not two worlds, but three. Ours as well. Or more. Somehow. We’re a part of this. We’ve always been a part of it.
The large man motioned for Seth and his friends to sit and partake of the food. At the sight, Seth’s stomach rumbled. Albert didn’t object either. A plate was set before the boy, and he began to dig in with relish. Eddie helped himself to the hot rolls. Gavin and Malcolm were still trying to absorb it all.
“Who are you?” Seth said, to the large man standing by his side. In all the revelry, he had to shout for the man to hear.
“Your friend shou’d’ve told ya all about it,” the man said. “Nothin’ to be scared of. Rather proud, if ya must know. It hasn’t been easy waitin’ for ya all this time. Shakin’ in a’weary boots, we ’ave, trem-blin’ w’expec-tay-tion.” Here, he laughed, as if amused by his own words. “And it hasn’t been easy for ya tryin’ to understan,’ I’m sure. But I’ll say this, boy. I’s never so glad to see yer young fine face as I am this ve-ry day.”
The man laughed again, a giant roar of a sound, and clapped Seth between the shoulder blades, virtually knocking him over.
“Don’t let Wincomb frighten ya, boy.”
A much smaller and darker man approached from the throng of revelers, holding a tankard of ale. He had a long black ponytail, a thin white face, wore a dirty white shirt, and long breeches with moccasins. His eyes were scrupulous, dark, and skeptical. The hilt of a dirk was visible at his belt.
Both Wincomb and the dark man laughed, which only puzzled Seth.
“Name’s, Percy,” the dark man said, holding out his hand. Seth took it and shook, looking over at Malcolm, quizzically. Malcolm shrugged and helped himself to some potatoes, leaving Seth alone with his new friends.
“The bear-like man is Wincomb,” Percy said, “and like he said, we have been waiting. In time, it will come to you, and you’ll understand more than you may want.”
Seth was more puzzled, but at least this man’s speech was easier to understand.
“Not to be troubled, lads,” Wincomb roared. “Tha’s the ticket! We’re awl in this togetha’!”
Again, Percy and Wincomb laughed, clashing their tankards, and drank.
For once, the hot food on the table was calling. He didn’t want explanations. He wanted something to eat.
“It’s the tiger, boy,” Wincomb said.
“Ben,” Seth acknowledged.
“Aye. And ye are the Bearer of the Black Sword. Like one big tiger stripe i’self, aye?”
Seth thought, but wasn’t sure, he heard Ben chuckling in his mind. “Who is the stranger we’re fighting?” he asked.
The jovial character went out of Wincomb, and he looked at Percy for explanation.
“The Dark World,” Percy said, solemnly, and nodded.
Someone else came up to Seth, ruffled his hair, said, “Congratulations,” and moved on. Malcolm and the others were gorging their faces at the table already.
“It’s too long ago to remember how exactly,” Percy said. “None of it makes sense. He affects the lot of it, the worlds, both yours and ours, yet they are the same. The tiger’s and the stranger’s world are both separate as well. That is how it used to be. And that is something you already know. But it isn’t so now, and will never be the same again. We’ve been with the tiger for centuries, or rather, he has been with us. It gives us cause for thanks. Much of what you see before you now. And the fact is, he’ll never leave us. Just as he’ll never leave you, now that you’re here, now that he has shown himself to you. But the Dragon will never leave you, either. At least not yet. But you have defeated him already, at least part ways, do ya see?”
“The black palace?” Seth said, even though he didn’t understand. “It was like a giant and a palace at the same time.”
The dark man nodded. “Yes,” Percy said. “The battlefield you traveled through. You’re world, Ellishome, would’ve become that very scene.”
The revelry quieted somewhat, yet many were still laughing and dancing. Seth heard no one but Percy.
“’Tis better for all of us here. Ya made it boy!” Wincomb said. He grabbed Seth by his shoulders and jostled some life into him. All it did was give Seth a headache. Th
e man was only playing, even if he didn’t know his own strength.
Percy said, “But that doesn’t mean it’s over. Not by a long shot.” He paused, and in more of a whisper, smiled at Seth, saying, “But it will be.”
After a pause, Percy explained further:
“Truth is at the heart of everything, lad. And that is something you must know. That is what people are afraid of. Truth and the heart. And what you battled already was the heart of it. You can feel it in everything. Evil is in almost everything to some extent. That is what you saw in the crags.”
Seth looked at Percy for a moment, thinking about what he said, then looked at his friends. Gavin and Eddie talked to some man as they related their adventures. Gavin was making excitable gestures with his hands.
Why hadn’t Ben explained this to him?
“The palace isn’t real, then,” Seth said. “And neither are you. You’ll disappear if we leave. This is just another part of the journey that doesn’t make sense. Why are we here? Who are you?”
“Ah, lad, yer missin’ the point,” Wincomb said. “It’s all quite real. And it will never leave. We’ll be with ya more now th’n ev’r. Who da ya think cre-ayted the quake when the beasts were chasin’ ya? Who do ya think sent the lights? This is ’ome, jus’ as well fer you and yer fellow lads. Tha’s the humor of it. There’s one more ba’tle lef’ to fight. An’ when it’s ov’r, it’ll bring th’ whole lot inta such a state ya can nev’r imagine. We ’ave magic in the land, but we ’ave beasts as well. Just as you do in yer own. Only different, see?”
Seth shook his head; he took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure he understood a single word Percy or Wincomb said. If anything, he was more confused now than when he’d walked into the tavern moments ago.
“I still don’t understand,” Seth said. “Where did the Dragon come from? Where did Ben come from?”
“No one really knows, lad,” Wincomb told him. “And it isn’t up to us to oonderstan’. Some things ’r b’ter unexplained. Saf’r. The fact is, they’re both here. One wan’s t’help; the other wan’s t’destroy. We’ve ba’tled this rogue in ’r own way. Awl of us. Some ’ave survived. Some ’avn’t. Ya need to bring the worlds together again; but you need to pull them apart as well. Wh’t ya need to oonderstan’ is simple. Yer not alone. Tha’s why we’re here. Oth’r worlds ’ave been dark’ned by the Dragon, but others ’ave been saved by our friend, too. Yer here to end the ba’tle completely, so as no other worlds can soo-ffer.”
Seth thought he understood, but couldn’t quite digest it. It was too complicated, more than Ben had ever told him. He had no doubt Wincomb and Percy were telling him the truth, but it seemed so obscure.
“I’m hungry,” Seth said, trying to change the subject.
Percy and Wincomb exchanged a glance and smiled.
“Aye, then fix yerself up, boy,” Wincomb said. “A hot meal’ll do ya good.” He clapped Seth on the shoulder, pushing him toward the table. Percy smiled and nodded.
Where was Kinsey? It seemed wrong to celebrate without her.
Seth went to the table and grabbed a large turkey leg, some rolls, and potatoes. His friends smiled at him. He drank from the tankard, tasting apples, and some other strange, exotic fruit.
“What did they tell you?” Malcolm asked, as Seth sat down next to him.
“I’m still trying to absorb it,” Seth told him.
Malcolm smiled. “That good, huh?”
Seth shrugged. He looked at Gavin, Eddie, and Albert. An audience of men and young women had gathered around them, listening to Albert relate some part of their quest.
From the far side of the room, music—another tune of fiddles and flutes—erupted. Men and women continued to dance. Seth thought how strange this was, how out of place he felt. He saw one man larger than Wincomb with a battle-axe dangling from his belt.
Seth rejoined Percy and Wincomb when he was done eating.
“Return fer more, lad?” Wincomb said, smiling.
Seth couldn’t help but smile himself. He was not the ten-year-old boy who’d traveled across miles of mountainous terrain from one world to the next. He was one of them. Why else had he seen Malcolm and his friends as older, wiser warriors?
“What is this place?” Seth asked. “This palace? The entire place is like a ghost ship. And then we walked in here, and it’s nothing like that at all. It doesn’t even look like it belongs.”
“Not just a palace at all, boy, but perhaps a palace of dreams,” Percy said. “You and your friends are not the only ones to have dreamed about it.” Percy looked around and indicated everyone there. “All of those around you have dreamed the same. Think of it as you will. Heaven, perhaps. Home. It makes no difference. The one ya seek. That would be more accurate. We can all be together here, enjoy one another’s company. Have revelry. We can’t just walk in and out of everybody’s lives when we feel like it. But here we can. The tiger allows it.”
Seth looked around and nodded. “We’re looking for someone,” he said. “Kinsey. We lost her on the journey when we were attacked by wolves. Do you know if she’s here?”
Wincomb and Percy exchanged a glance.
“Aye,” Wincomb said, looking at the floor. “But where…is a mystery. Tha’s a part of the da’ker side of this place, I think. Not all of it is pretty, ya see? The stranger’s influence has tooched these walls as well. That is where you’ll find yer princess.”
“I think we should get going then.”
“Leaving?” Percy said. “Nonsense. At least not yet. This is all in yer honor, boy. At least let us give you a parting farewell.”
Percy surprised Seth by jumping up onto one of the tables, holding his foaming tankard in the air. With two fingers in his mouth, he whistled loudly, getting everyone’s attention. The music stopped, the dancing, and everyone looked at Percy.
“Lads and lasses, gentlefolk and maidens alike!” he cried, with a wide smile. “Let us bring your attention to the five boys who have graced our banquet hall! In salute to them, a sendoff, a parting farewell for their coming, their success on the road thus far, and the victory in the end!”
“Ahoy!” everyone cried, holding tankards in the air.
“A salute to thee, young master, Seth, and yer valiant companions!” Wincomb bellowed, holding his tankard high.
“Victory!” everyone in the establishment shouted.
“Victory!” Percy cried.
Seth looked to his friends. They were smiling at him in return, holding their mugs in the air.
“Victory!” his friends cried.
“Victory!” Seth said, holding his tankard, and took a drink.
ii
After many thanks, Percy and Wincomb bestowed gifts to each of Seth’s companions, and much to his surprise (or was it? Had he expected this?) the gifts were beautiful, black velvet cloaks embroidered with gold thread. He and his friends slipped these on over their coats. Seth felt he’d gone back in time hundreds of years. For some reason, the cloak made him feel truly a part of the land.
“To keep ya a bit warmer, I’m sure,” Wincomb said, and stood back, looking at them. “Trav’lers made fer the very land. Aye, Percy?”
Percy, without his tankard, folded his arms, and nodded proudly. “Goodbye, lads,” he said. “May your journey’s end be safer than its start.”
Surprising each of them, Wincomb bent and kissed Seth and his companions on the cheeks. Percy did the same, while the rest of the revelers watched.
“Now, then,” Wincomb said. “I don’t much like goodbyes, I say. Bes’ to get ’em ov’r with. We’ll be celebra-tin’ here in the great hall when ya reach yer journey’s end.”
Seth nodded, couldn’t think of anything else to say, and turned to his companions.
“Bye, lads!” Wincomb cried. The others in the tavern raised their tankards and shouted, “Here here!”
Seth and his friends said goodbye, and stepped out into the silence of the marble palace, cutting off the sound of the revelry when Gav
in shut the door. Seth was surprised to find a slight pang in his heart. No matter how skeptical he felt, he’d grown fond of Percy and Wincomb.
“That was bizarre,” Eddie said.
“You can say that again,” Albert said, eying his cloak. “This is nice, though.”
“What did they tell you, Seth?” Gavin asked.
“I’ll explain later.”
“He’s still trying to absorb it,” Malcolm said, smiling at Seth.
Seth smiled back. “We’ve got to find Kinsey,” he said.
The others nodded. Looking at them in their black cloaks, Seth realized how far they’d come, transformed from boys to warriors.
Not wasting a moment, they continued to search the palace halls, the strangely empty rooms. They found access to the higher towers, climbing endless stairs, but Kinsey—wherever she was—was nowhere to be found. After several tedious hours, Seth grew increasingly frustrated. Out of all the doors they opened, not a single one hinted as to Kinsey’s whereabouts.
She’s a prisoner.
They had to find an entrance that led below, Seth thought.
His influence…
Once again, the five of them gathered at the top of the stairs. They separated, and combed the palace again, double-checking where they might’ve missed, only to produce the same results. Every door opened to quiet, uninhabited rooms. Again, they got together at the top of the stairs and made their way down. Their backpacks still sat at the bottom of the steps.
Malcolm sighed. “I just don’t know,” he said. “I have no idea.”
“There must be more,” Seth said. “There’s something we haven’t checked. A cellar, maybe…a…dungeon.”
They looked at Seth. He hated saying the word
“Of course,” Albert said. “Every palace has a dungeon.”
Eddie nodded.
“But,” Seth interjected. “I…”
They looked at him, knowing his thoughts. Even though he voiced the answer, he did not want to believe what he’d said. For all its grandeur and beauty, he could not imagine this place having a dungeon.
“Either way,” Malcolm said. “We need to find her. Let’s look around and see if we missed anything. Maybe there’s a door somewhere leading below.”
Snapdragon Book II: In the Land of the Dragon Page 21
