The Howl of Avooblis

by Charles Streams

  Chapter 9: The Intrusion

  When they reached the wall, Earl made a small effort to see where Egon and the headmaster might have gone, but the forest prevented any chance of spotting them.

  “Wow, he is old,” Elloriana said.

  “I hope I can fight like that when I’m his age,” Earl said.

  Dagdron, uninterested in talking about Egon, climbed the wall into the cemetery of Bodaburg. Earl followed suit, and Elloriana levitated over.

  “Earl, I think you were right,” Elloriana said, dropping her voice as if ghosts might hear her as they crossed the graveyard. “The Backer might be more powerful than Headmaster Gwauldron.”

  “I don’t know what we’re going to do if we have to face the Backer without Egon rescuing us,” Earl said.

  “Headmaster Gwauldron will help us, too, from the looks of it,” Elloriana said.

  “I sliced the Backer once before, and I’ll slice him again,” Dagdron said.

  “If we can get close enough,” Earl said. “And I bet Egon can help us do that.”

  Elloriana glanced at Earl and, seeing that he was serious, let the subject drop. Egon might be a skilled warrior, but she would still bet her gold that Headmaster Gwauldron would be the one to help them against an evil enchanter.

  Dagdron headed straight to Grizzard’s alley. Elloriana hesitated at the entrance, disgusted by the foul stench, but then shook off her indecision and followed Dagdron and Earl. Grizzard was asleep, but Dagdron stood over him until he opened his eyes. The old rogue with patchy gray hair cackled with his almost toothless mouth as soon as he saw who was there.

  “Sonny, rich sonny, and their enchantress friend,” Grizzard said. He struggled to get to his feet and hugged Dagdron and Earl. Elloriana flinched as he approached her but gave him a dainty hug.

  Grizzard was suddenly wide awake and listened as Earl told him of their adventures that summer. The ancient rogue promised he would keep an eye out for the Backer and any other information.

  “Remember to visit old Grizzard on the weekends,” he said, cackling as they left the alley.

  As soon as they were walking along the main street of Bodaburg, Elloriana gasped for breath and rubbed her hands on the front of her robe.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know Grizzard has helped us, but I almost gagged because of that smell.”

  “Wench,” Dagdron said, but Earl hurried to reassure her that she was making great progress.

  They bought bread from the bakery and fruit from one of the stands along the street. They ate their breakfast while they walked to the town gate and headed up the valley slope. Earl hummed more loudly the closer they got to the academy. When they reached the front gate, the young warrior tilted his head back, taking in the sight of the four dark brown towers that loomed above the surrounding forest.

  Dagdron led the other two to the back of the academy and to his tree with a thick, gnarled trunk and plenty of branches and leaves to relax and hide in.

  “Let’s wait for Lita,” Earl said.

  Dagdron already had his dagger out, ready to carve his name and quest tally so it was visible after the summer weather had slightly disguised it.

  “Fine. I’ll be in my tree for the next four days,” Dagdron said. “Don’t bother me.”

  “School starts on Monday,” Earl said.

  “I’m skipping the opening meetings,” Dagdron said.

  “Oh, no you’re not,” Earl said. “This is our last year, and we’re not going to miss anything.”

  Dagdron darted up the tree before Earl could grab him. The rogue found his lounging spot for the year and tossed his dagger up in the air. Earl, Elloriana, and Lita might have been excited about their third year at the academy, but this was what Dagdron had been looking forward to.

  * * *

  On Monday morning, Dagdron was almost tempted to go to the opening meeting with the drama that ensued in the back of the academy. The rogue was lounging serenely in his tree, tossing his dagger. He could hear the bustle of adventurers arriving in the front of the school, but then yelling voices got nearer and nearer until they sounded as if they were right underneath him.

  Dagdron caught his dagger, ready to threaten whoever had invaded his space, but when he inched out on one of the branches and stuck his head through the leaves, he saw King and Queen Loftloomburg having a richy spat with Elloriana.

  “What in the land has gotten into that head of yours?” King Loftloomburg yelled, the exposed part of his thinly bearded face turning red with rage. “First there was the forged note last year, and now you left without telling us?”

  “I left a note explaining everything!” Elloriana yelled back.

  “We were worried sick!” Queen Loftloomburg exclaimed.

  “What schoolmates did you travel with?” the king asked sternly. “We checked with all the other families with children at the academy. None of them had left yet.”

  “You obviously didn’t check with everyone, then!” Elloriana retorted.

  The king’s face turned even redder, and the queen placed her hands over her horrified face.

  “You mean to tell me—?” King Loftloomburg said, seething. “You traveled north with the Valorington boy?”

  “Yes, I did,” Elloriana said unrepentantly.

  “You better not have been with that scoundrel of a rogue, too.”

  “I was!” Elloriana folded her arms resolutely.

  Queen Loftloomburg burst into tears. “What is happening to you?” she said. “You’re not the little girl we raised.”

  “What would possess you to do this?” King Loftloomburg asked when Elloriana didn’t reply.

  “I just wanted to know what it felt like to be free instead of a royal!” Elloriana finally said.

  The energy of the argument deflated in an instant, and silence fell over the back yard of the academy. King and Queen Loftloomburg appeared frozen as their brains made an effort to process what Elloriana had just said. The king moved his mouth a couple times, stuttering, but before he could come up with something adequate to say, Dagdron saw Headmaster Gwauldron striding across the lawn. The headmaster was in such a rush that he almost tripped, barely regaining his balance. He was wearing his best blue robe, and his white hair had been combed and his goatee especially spiked for the arrival of the new students.

  “King and Queen Loftloomburg,” the headmaster said when he reached them. “Perhaps we should retire to my office.”

  “Oh, no!” King Loftloomburg said, finally finding his voice. “She’s not setting foot in the academy again. She’s going straight back to Lordavia, where we keep her trapped!” he added sarcastically.

  “I strongly suggest we move to a more private location,” the headmaster said.

  “More private location?” the king said. “No one else is back here.”

  Dagdron saw it as too good an opportunity to pass up. Still clutching his dagger, he rustled the leaves. When the Loftloomburgs looked up at the noise, he jabbed his blade in a threatening manner. The king and queen of Lordavia, appalled, dropped their mouths open, but Elloriana, unable to help herself, burst out laughing. King and Queen Loftloomburg, even more aghast, each grabbed one of the princess’s arms and marched her across the lawn after the headmaster.

  “Bye, wench,” Dagdron called. “Have fun in Lordavia.”

  Elloriana wrestled her right arm free from her mother’s grasp. She turned and, though still smiling, cast a flame spell directly at Dagdron’s face. The rogue ducked back into the leaves but watched as the spell withered a large portion of them.

  Too bad she’s leaving, Dagdron thought as he returned to his lounging branch. Her spells are getting powerful.

  * * *

  Dagdron had no more peaceful days in his tree. The entire academy was abuzz about the Loftloomburgs’ argument, and Earl and Lita pestered Dagdron nonstop for all the details he had heard. No one seemed to know where Elloriana was, so Earl and Lita speculated all day whether the princess had really gone
back to Lordavia or not.

  On Wednesday morning the first week of September, Dagdron finally entered the academy and climbed to the third floor of the boys’ tower. He followed the sound of crashing trunks and easily located his and Earl’s room.

  “Lita told me at breakfast that Elloriana still hasn’t shown up in their bedroom,” Earl said. “I think that means King and Queen Loftloomburg really made her got back to Lordavia.”

  “Lita’s so lucky,” Dagdron said. “She gets her own room.”

  “It’s actually one of the saddest things that has ever happened,” Earl said. “Elloriana was one of the only royals that wanted to be a true adventurer.”

  “Who cares?” Dagdron said.

  The third-floor bedrooms were a step up from the previous year. They were even bigger, had more furniture, and the beds had four posts with hangings. And they smelled delicious, Dagdron thought, sniffing silently. He walked to his side of the room and peeked in the curtains. Earl had left a plate of sausages for him there. Dagdron, liking the idea of being hidden from Earl, climbed in, closed the hangings, and stabbed one of the sausages with his dagger.

  Seconds later, the hangings were yanked down, and Earl was standing there, wadding them up.

  “I don’t think we’ll be needing these,” the warrior said. “And we care about Elloriana because she’s been our school- and questmate for more than two years.”

  After Dagdron had finished eating and Earl had unpacked all his trunks, the rogue and the warrior headed down the stairs of the boys’ tower. When they reached the entrance to the classroom tower, Earl pulled Dagdron aside.

  “I can’t believe this is the last time we’ll have a first day of class,” Earl said, shaking his head. “I’ve been looking forward to learning from Warrior Sawkett for so many years.”

  “You’re going to be late for your last first day,” Dagdron said.

  Earl suddenly hugged Dagdron, forcing the air from the rogue’s lungs.

  “This year’s going to be great,” Earl said before releasing his friend.

  Dagdron, taking his dagger in hand, headed down to the gray-stoned walls of the basement without replying.

  The rogues’ section of the classroom tower had three corridors. Dagdron followed the right-hand one. He passed all the rooms, heading to the end of the hallway where a tapestry with a dagger woven into it hung. Once he was within five feet of the end, a light blue bubble appeared, bouncing him back. Dagdron wasn’t surprised. The end wall served as the entrance to the Shrine of Avooblis, and he knew the headmaster wasn’t going to allow access this year, but he figured he might as well check for sure.

  Dagdron walked back down the corridor to the first room, where he found his classmate Cort sitting alone. Dagdron sat down on the opposite side of the room, and the two rogues sat in silence until Cort turned toward Dagdron.

  “Are we the only rogues left, Dagdron?” Cort asked.

  Dagdron shrugged without saying anything.

  The room fell quiet again. Dagdron took his dagger out, running his finger along the blade, while Cort twisted his head toward the door every so often, wondering if more rogues would show up. Earl had explained to Dagdron many times how lucky he was to be a rogue adventurer, because their number decreased with every year. Most rogues opted out of becoming adventurers, feeling they could make a proper living pickpocketing and stealing from wealthy homes and businesses.

  Who would’ve thought that me and Cort would be the last two rogues? Dagdron thought. The rogue that hadn’t even wanted to come to the academy in the first place and the rogue who threw up and had toilet duty after each of Scar’s runs, not to mention whose hair was so blond it stood out even in the dark.

  As Dagdron contemplated why he had come back for the third year, a middle-aged rogue with graying hair slipped into the room. He looked like a normal rogue with two visible scars, one on the right side of his face, the other on his left forearm. The one big difference was the gray cloak he wore in place of the usual black.

  “Both of you are here. That’s good,” the teacher said. “You can call me Flip. You’ll have a mini-quest each day. The hallway has ten doorways, five on the left, five on the right. Monday is the first door, and Friday is that last. So today you’ll start with the third doorways. I’ll let you choose who takes which side. As soon as you fulfill the quest, you’re free to do as you choose.”

  The teacher nodded expressionlessly and left the room. Cort waited until Dagdron walked to the door, then hurried to join him.

  “I can’t believe the others didn’t come back,” Cort said as they walked to the third doorways down the hall. “I thought after making it through the noiseless teacher’s classes that they’d think being an adventurer would be easy.”

  “Do you know Earl Valorington?” Dagdron asked.

  “Of course. He’s the warrior from Lordavia,” Cort answered.

  “Just wondered,” Dagdron said.

  Cort looked confused, but Dagdron opened the door on the left and slipped inside. As he let his eyes adjust to the dim light, Dagdron found himself agreeing with one point Cort had made. In their second year, the rogues had dodged so many daggers thrown by the noiseless teacher that he couldn’t imagine a mini-quest being more difficult.

  But then his eyes fell on the sharp spikes covering the floor.

  In the far right corner there was a chair with a pouch on it. Wooden platforms had been built, spaced around the room with different distances in between. Dagdron leaned out, placing his hands on the closest stand, and then vaulted on top of it. From there, the rogue scoped out a pathway he thought he could follow by jumping across the room from platform to platform. Dagdron, picturing boulders in Cliffmount, made the jumps easily, landing softly on the chair in the corner. He picked up the pouch and a creaking echoed eerily across the room.

  Dagdron turned around to see that the wooden stand within jumping distance had folded up and had been replaced by additional spikes. He considered trying a giant leap to the next platform over but realized even his childhood boulder-jumping skills wouldn’t allow him to accomplish that. He felt the walls, digging his fingers into the cracks between the stone blocks. There was no way he could reach the doorway clinging to the wall, either.

  Dagdron paused, considering his options. He chided himself as he heard Earl’s voice in his head, quoting suggestions from the adventurer’s handbook. Annoyed, Dagdron took his dagger in hand and began sawing the wooden chair into pieces. He laid the biggest part over the spikes, carrying the pouch and other wood with him. He moved over the spikes, creating a bridge with the chair pieces until he reached one of the platforms. Then he was able to jump back to the door.

  Back out in the hallway, he opened the pouch to find nothing but rocks.

  “I’ll take that,” Flip said, grabbing the pouch before Dagdron could throw it on the ground. “Nice job. See you tomorrow.”

  Dagdron, excited to have the rest of the day to spend in his tree, headed down the corridor, hearing a cry for help coming from the room Cort had entered.

  Later that afternoon, Earl, full of energy, ran across the back lawn of the academy.

  “Dagdron, watch my third-year sword skills,” Earl said.

  “No,” Dagdron said.

  In spite of Dagdron’s refusal, Earl showed him his sword moves and then proceeded to share every detail about his first classes and then to ask every detail about Dagdron’s class.

  “Only two of you?” Earl said. “Even I’m surprised by that.”

  Lita coming outside was the only thing that rescued Dagdron from more conversation. The warriors excitedly shared their lessons with each other and then began fencing.

  As Dagdron lazily threw his dagger in the air, not paying attention to anything other than the clash of Earl and Lita’s swords, he was suddenly startled from his lounging position as a humming came from below him. He caught his dagger and pointed it menacingly at Elloriana as she finished levitating into the tree.

&nb
sp; “Get out of my tree, wench,” Dagdron said, jabbing his dagger toward her.

  “Did I scare you?” Elloriana said.

  “No.” Dagdron made another lunge with his dagger, but the enchantress grabbed hold of a branch and swung away.

  “I’m sorry to invade your personal space, but wasn’t that one of the funniest, most exciting moments of your life?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I admitted that I feel trapped in Lordavia. I’m one step closer to telling them I’m going to be an adventurer.”

  Dagdron didn’t reply but hid his dagger in his cloak.

  “Of course, I don’t know which was more atrocious to my parents, what I told them or the fact that you were above them in this tree the entire time.”

  Dagdron didn’t say anything, scowling beneath his hood at Elloriana.

  “Anyway, I actually just levitated up here to say thanks,” Elloriana said. “I knew my parents were going to be furious when they reached the academy, but I just kept remembering the conversation we had at the falls where we caught the moogrout last year. I just left this summer and then didn’t back down from my parents.”

  “I can tell you’re still nervous about it,” Dagdron said.

  “I’m not denying that, but at least I took the first huge steps.”

  The sword clanging had stopped by then, and Earl and Lita had returned to see why Dagdron was talking to himself in the tree.

  “You let Elloriana in your tree?” Earl exclaimed.

  “No!” Dagdron said when he saw Earl getting ready to climb. The rogue darted toward Elloriana and pushed her off the branch she was on before she could react. Earl raced over, ready to catch her, but the enchantress cast a levitation spell that slowed her movement, allowing her to drift safely to the ground.

  “You filthy rogue,” Elloriana yelled. “I went up there to thank you.”