by Ritu Ghosh
The Lurg’s expressions changed, he frowned a little.
“I am going to leave you where I found you and you can go back to your friends” said Dan.
The Lurg stared at him in disbelief, he was not sure if Dan was speaking the truth. “You can go and tell your master that there is no way he can succeed in his evil plans. We Defenders will be always standing in his way before he could even think of harming Kron” said Dan and gave the Lurg a final stare.
The Lurg didn’t respond, he was not happy about what Dan said and if his mouth was not tied up, he would have cursed him. But at that moment he just thought of his own freedom.
The others arrived ready to leave. Dan gave Ony a few instructions and Ony & Billy went to the storage room and got a few big cloth sack used to carry the dragon eggs. They brought it in the hall and untied the Lurg. The Lurg tried to wriggle free but his legs and hands were still tied.
“Hold still” Dan commanded, “I told you we are not going to harm you”.
The Lurg stopped struggling but kept grunting.
“Cut the rope on his hands, Ony” Dan instructed.
Ony didn’t look happy about it but he silently took his knife out and with a slash he cut the tight ropes off the Lurg’s wrists
With a quick movement Billy pulled the sack over the Lurg so that he couldn’t escape and tied the bottom of the sack tightly with a strong thick rope. The Lurg wriggled inside the sack. Ony gripped him strongly.
Aaron, Flynn, Jane, Belster and Bo were waiting outside near the horses. They have saddled the horses and taking a last look at the beautiful garden of the house.
“What’s taking them so long?” Flynn asked.
Flynn looked tired, he was not fully healed. He was not fit yet to throw knives. Jane has strictly told him that he should not even pull on the horse rein very hard.
Jane on the other hand was looking refreshed as ever. It was like nothing had ever happened to her.
It worried Aaron that some magic could be so dangerous. While Jane played with the Tulips, Aaron realized that she plays with dangers every day.
“There they are?” said Flynn who was being impatient. “What will they do with the lurg?” asked Flynn in whispers.
“I don’t know Flynn, Dan said he has it covered” said Aaron still looking at Jane.
“What’s that, it’s moving” Flynn pointed to the huge sack Ony and Billy was carrying out of the house. They loaded it on Billy’s horse. The horse made a nasty cry like some devil is being kept on it.
“Is that the Lurg?” Aaron asked Billy.
“We are taking it with us? Why? To Arktor? Why?” said Flynn and opened his mouth in surprise several times.
“It’s ok Flynn. They must have a plan!” Aaron said and looked down hoping that they could get rid of the Lurg soon. Having a Lurg with them on their journey was the last thing he wanted.
They all rode on their horses. Belster led them for a while because he knew the way out of the mountains quite well.
Billy was riding with the Lurg at the back and was not comfortable at all, he kept on looking at Ony and Ony said things to keep him calm.
They came down the slopes of the Blue Mountains to the valley and then rode till the forest.
“Wait!” said Dan to Belster. Belster halted and looked back.
“Billy! Let him go” Dan said and turned his horse towards the east.
Billy took out a dagger that he carried in his belt and with a quick movement opened the end of the sack. The Lurg’s tied feet were visible to Aaron.
Then with another slash he cut the strap of the horse’s saddle and the Lurg rolled off the horse and fell on the ground with a thud.
The Lurg growled. Dan cried “Now!” and galloped towards the other side of the forest as fast as he could. The rest of them followed him quickly.
Aaron turned back to see what had happened to the Lurg. The Lurg was slowly coming out of the sack. He stood up and stared at them, but they were now very far. He mumbled a few curses to himself and began to untie his legs.
After following Dan for about an hour finally Aaron asked, “where are we going?”
“To Arktor of course!" said Dan.
“I thought we have to go through the river” he said.
“No! We will travel through another route this time. The Lurgs might have traced the way we came from.
Gandok is not a man of his words where there is money involved. We will pass through Balin” said Dan.
The name of the ferryman reminded Aaron how strange he was. But he felt that he knew the man from somewhere. Why did the man say those things to Aaron, why was he staring at Aaron like he knew something? Aaron shook off the feeling that crept in him. He tried to remain focused.
He again asked “how long will it take us?”
“It’s about a day’s journey to Dellwick and from there two more days to Arktor” said Dan, “we might meet some friends on the way, Dan smiled as if he remembered some old joke. Then he sped ahead of everybody.
Aaron looked at Flynn. Flynn gave a shrug. Aaron concentrated on his horse and patted his back.
“Storm!” He called him again, “Good boy!”
In a small sack that he tied at his back he carried little Arkion. Surprisingly, Arkion liked it very much. Even through the jerky movements of the horse, he slept peacefully inside the sack.
Aaron smiled to himself thinking about Arktor, he could see his brother again and show him the little Dragon he found. It was sure to cheer Brandon up. He would also see Alfadon and Thodin, and this time he has many stories to tell them.
They halted for sometimes after a few hours, to take rest. Aaron was sleepy as he couldn’t get enough sleep the last night. Jane gave him some sparkling water to keep him awake. Everybody lazed for sometime at a clean spot in the forest and again continued their journey.
The sun was going down and still there was no sign of Dellwick. Aaron wanted to eat and get to a cozy place for the night before it was completely dark.
Suddenly the forest ended and plain meadows came into view. Aaron saw many tiny lights twinkling far away.
“What’s that place?” Flynn pointed towards the lights and asked.
“Looks like a village” said Jane riding beside him.
But they didn’t ride towards the lights; they turned to north and kept riding. The land was plain and paths were clear.
Just before the sun went down they came near to a mountain.
It was rocky but not very high. Dan looked through the hills and finally led them to a big cave.
“We will stay here tonight” he said in a heavy tone.
“Here! But I thought we will reach Dellwick tonight” asked Aaron.
“No! I said clearly it’s a day’s journey. Tonight we shall stay here. We will be hidden away from all evil eyes” said Dan and led his horse inside the cave.
Rest of them followed him and took their horses along. Seeing Aaron gloomy Jane came to him.
“Come on, cheer up. This is not so bad. Plus I have cherry pies for dessert” she grinned.
Aaron’s smile was back in an instant. He and Jane walked side by side discussing more about dinner.
They tied their horses in one safe corners and Belster took care of their food and water.
Aaron untied the small sack off his back and fed Arkion some grains. Arkion looked at him enthusiastically like he liked the ride along.
“Look, his wings are developing” said Jane looking down at Arkion.
“Yes !” exclaimed Aaron.
Flynn joined them too. They played with Arkion for some time.
Dan laid down on a flat rock lost in thoughts and Ony lighted a fire. Billy and Bo sat around the fire.
Though it was not cold outside yet the cave seemed to have its own chill. The fire was giving warmth to all of them. Slowly everybody sat around the fire and started to have their dinner.
They have plenty of food to eat as they stocked enough from Alfadon’s house. The wh
ole cave smelled of fresh fruits and meat as they ate merrily. Dan kept a constant watch outside the cave. He was alert twice the time now after what had happened with the Lurgs.
Now, Aaron knew what Dan meant when he said they are not safe anywhere. He knew that the ears and eyes of the enemy is everywhere, they could come anywhere anytime.
Billy got the first watch for the night. The rest of them slept close to the fire, while Billy sat at the mouth of the cave trying to notice any slight movement outside.
The lights of the village were far away but none of that could be seen from inside the cave. Aaron looked out, there was only darkness outside with the twinkling starlit sky.
He thought about his home back in Brinsar. The cozy village where people slept peacefully. He remembered the dinner at uncle Sentas’s place and his cozy bed. He slowly closed his eyes wishing that tomorrow will bring something better for him.
Chapter 13
The Town of Dellwick
Next day when Aaron woke, the sun was already out. Jane was serving breakfast and everyone was gobbling it up. Flynn waved at Aaron from the rock he was sitting on. His arms were definitely better than before.
Aaron got up and rolled his blanket. Dan was already ready to leave. Jane handed Aaron a bowl of porridge and an apple.
“Have it soon. We are leaving” said Jane and packed the washed bowls inside one of the bags.
Aaron ate his breakfast gazing outside the cave, he overslept but he was feeling quite refreshed now. The porridge was very tasty. He would have gone for second serving but everybody was waiting for leave.
He got up and gathered his things; he cleaned his plate and spoon and gave them back to Jane.
Jane hurried outside and saddled her horse. Dan was sitting on a cluster of rocks talking to Ony and Belster. Aaron came out and stood beside them.
“We have to inform the king of Kingdom of Light soon” said Dan.
“Yes, they are in great danger, none of them know it yet” agreed Belster.
“I hope the Lurgs will not attack before we could warn them” added Ony.
Dan shook his head, “I do not think the Lurgs will attack them any time soon, the Lurgs who came to steal the dragon eggs have not reached Kora yet and without those eggs King Gordon will not be able to raise his dragon army to attack the ‘Lights’ ”.
“Then we have a few days at hand?” asked Belster.
“Yes! But how many days, it’s hard to say. We better hurry”, said Dan and looked around to see if everybody else were ready to take off.
His eyes fell on Aaron. Dan smiled abruptly.
“How is your little dragon? Giving you any trouble” he asked.
Aaron looked at Arkion who was playing with Flynn.
“Not really, but he is growing up by the day” said Aaron.
“Yes! They do that; actually a dragon may grow many feet a day. The real size of a grown dragon is not actually known, there were dragons of size of an entire mountain range” said Dan as his eyes flashed.
“You mean Arkion can grow really huge and I won’t even know how big he is going to grow?” Aaron's eyes widened.
“You might know something about him by knowing what kind of dragon he is. Alfadon is much knowledgeable in this field, you better ask him” smirked Dan.
He patted Aaron’s back and walked towards the horses.
Aaron thought many things about dragons and how little he knew about them.
Nearing ‘Storm’ he patted him and ‘Storm’ swung his head from side to side. Aaron tied the cloth sack on his back again as they started the new day’s journey.
Flynn had already fed Arkion and Arkion was purring when Aaron put him into the sack.
When everyone was ready they started on their horses and rode into the vast plains of Balin towards the hilly town of Dellwick.
Dan was leading them, he seemed to be familiar with the villages in this area. Many small villages passed by but Dan didn’t stop at any. The villagers came out of their houses and fields to see the riders. Jane waved at many children who giggled and ran.
Aaron was lost in the beauty of the valley.
The golden mountains at distance and the green foliage were very pleasant to watch. Aaron thought how far he had come from his own little village. Once, he never knew the world outside and today he knew so much. But still there was so much more to know and see.
High mountains began to appear again close to noon. Aaron knew they were nearing Dellwick. He was eager to see the town and the friends Dan had mentioned.
They stopped for lunch; the sun was still glowing bright. Aaron took off his jacket and kept it in the bag. Flynn was in quite high spirits today. Dan’s worries seem to melt away as he came closer to Dellwick .
After the lunch they had a short rest then they rode deeper into the mountains. The land turned into a slope and they had to climb up and down. Aaron saw many birds and animals roaming freely in the mountains. He saw goats with horns, something he never saw before.
Ony became quite excited when Aaron asked him about the mountain goat. He told him a story of himself when he fought a mountain goat all alone.
For miles the mountains stretched, there was no village in the sight. No person ever walked in these mountains, the untouched nature was clearly visible as the animals were more than startled to see the passing by riders.
“We better reach there before evening, there is no way we could spend the night among these wild creatures. There are bears in these parts that are very active at night” said Dan as he saw the others riding at a relaxed paced.
The party picked up speed. Aaron was feeling more energetic than ever. He was getting used to his new life. He felt a new vigor inside of him. The food, riding and fighting had made him sharp in mind and body ever than before. He had felt his muscles hardening during the past days. The vest that used to hang loosely around his shoulders and chest were now a very good fit. He looked at Flynn, ‘Is Flynn feeling the same way I am feeling’ he thought to himself. Flynn looked much happier than before to him.
Aaron had never imagined that Flynn will do so well outside home without his father; he had always assumed that Flynn would take his father’s place and be a blacksmith all his life. He has never seen this side of Flynn before.
His spirit rose and he smiled to himself. He rode faster and almost came close to Dan.
As the evening fell Aaron noticed little lights far up the mountains. They rode towards the light. The darkness grew and the lights became more prominent, they changed from tiny flickering lights to lights inside the windows of houses. But still they were quite far.
Everybody felt relieved at the sight of the small town. They were tired and were really missing a cozy bed after sleeping on the hard floor of the cave last night.
As they came closer to the town gates, they began hearing many sounds of singing and shouting. At the gate there were two armed guards who let them pass inside easily.
Inside the gates, the town was completely lit up. Shops were lined up in a row and many people were on the streets.
The whole town was surrounded by big walls as if they were protecting themselves from something.
‘Wild animals may be bears. Or may the Lurgs!’ thought Aaron.
Dan trotted happily towards the central hall of the town. The houses in the town were quite strange. They were all packed together right next to each other, even though there was plenty of space available all around.
Dan got down from his horse and walked towards the hall. Ony and Belster waited on their horses. Aaron, Jane Flynn and Billy waited with Ony and Belster.
Dan went inside the huge building and didn’t come out for a long time. Belster started to get agitated, he looked around irritated. Ony and Bo were in deep conversations about how many kinds of salads exists in the whole world, this annoyed Belster even more.
Aaron spoke to Jane and Flynn about the high walls. They all came up with weird answers. Some of that made them laugh hard.
&n
bsp; Dan came out finally, but he was not alone. There was another man with him. The man wore loose clothing, the long overcoat was hanging on his shoulders, and underneath he wore a leather vest and loose pants. He was shabby; his beard filling his face, his hair was short but not groomed. Neither was his shoes taken care of. But he seemed to be friendly, and a good friend of Dan. The man had his one hand on Dan’s shoulders.
Aaron has never seen Dan like that with anybody. Dan always maintained his distance with everybody and kept a straight face most of the time. But with this man he was very comfortable; he was laughing and enjoying the moment.
