Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon

by Ritu Ghosh

  “Then, who is following us?” Aaron asked.

  “Let’s waits and see” Dan sat on the horse still and expressionless.

  They waited for a long time before they heard the taps of a horse coming towards them.

  “He is coming back” Aaron said nervously.

  Ony was on the horse but he was not alone. He had somebody tied at the back of his horse. Aaron could hear Ony cursing his captive.

  “Found this one spying on us!” Ony grabbed the captive by his collar and threw him on the ground in front of Dan and Aaron.

  The captive’s face was covered with some kind of rough brown cloth. He cried as he fell hard on the ground. By his build, Aaron understood that it is a boy of his own age. The captive sat up silently and didn’t move.

  “Where did you find him?” Dan asked.

  “He was hiding behind the bushes over there and watching our movements. He was following us on foot” Ony pointed towards a few large bushes that surrounded the forest.

  “How do you know that he was a spy? He could be a hunter or just a passerby.” Dan said since the captive didn’t seem to put up a fight or try to run away.

  “Because he was listening to our conversations hiding, and had these in his hands.” Ony presented a couple of very short shiny knives to Dan and dropped them on the ground. “If I hadn’t caught this worm, he would have attacked us.”

  Aaron got down from his horse and picked up one knife. They looked very familiar to him. He then pulled out a similar short knife from his belt. The knife Flynn had given him.

  “These are Flynn’s Knives!” he said aloud.

  “Are you sure?” Dan said taking the knives from Aaron and looking at them carefully.

  “Yes! These are made by him, he always made them like this” Aaron showed a symbol that resembled an ‘F’ on the Knife. “He puts it on anything that he makes for himself”

  Aaron stood dumbfounded for a moment then he looked at the boy who was sitting silently in front of them on the ground.

  Ony suddenly picked up the boy by his neck and said angrily “So this one killed your friend and took his weapons. Ha?! I will teach him a good lesson”. He was about to thrash the captive with all his strength.

  “No! Stop!”Aaron screamed “Put him down!”

  Ony looked at him in surprise.

  “I said, put him down!” Aaron said in a commanding voice.

  “You do not tell me what to do boy! This is a spy of the Dark Lord and he deserves punishment.”

  The captive was struggling and trying to say something, he grabbed onto the giant’s arms to keep himself from falling.

  “No, you don’t understand, he is not a spy” said Aaron urgently.

  “And how do you know that?” asked Ony.

  “I will tell you if you just put him down” Aaron pleaded.

  Ony hesitated for a moment but finally he put the captive down and stood aside.

  Aaron quickly sat beside the boy and started to untie the cloth on his head. Ony watched Aaron with sharp eyes, he was ready with his axe in case the captive tried to escape. Aaron took the cloth off.

  “Flynn!” he gasped “What are you?.. How did you?…” He didn’t complete his questions and hugged Flynn tight. He untied his hands fast.

  Flynn was unusually silent; he didn’t say a word but looked at Aaron with watery eyes. It looked like he was in the jungle for several days, he was badly bruised all over and most of his cloths were torn.

  “Flynn!” Aaron shook him, but Flynn gave a blank stare.

  “Quick, give me some food and water”, Aaron said.

  “But this is for our journey” Ony spoke up.

  Aaron turned his head angrily. “This is my friend, if it’s too hard for you to share our food, then just give him my share”

  Ony silently handed some bread and the pouch of water he was carrying. Aaron gave it to Flynn and Flynn devoured the dry bread and the pieces of cheese hungrily. He drank like he has not seen water for days. All this time, Dan stood behind Aaron watching him and Flynn but didn’t say anything.

  “Are you ok Flynn?” Aaron asked again and Flynn shook his head.

  Ony was already back on his horse and had lost all his interest in Flynn. Dan tapped on Aaron’s shoulder and said, “We better be going, there is no time to waste”

  “He is coming with us” Aaron said sternly.

  “He can’t” said Ony “He doesn’t belong with us; ask him to return to the village”

  “No!, I can’t leave him like this. Just look at him” Aaron stood up. “If he can’t come, I am not going either” Aaron folded his hands in protest.

  “But, we don’t even have another horse for him” Ony said.

  “He can ride with me“ Aaron said.

  “Your horse is not strong enough to take the both of you” Dan finally spoke.

  Aaron was out of words, he didn’t know how to convince these men. He looked at Flynn, he was still fallen on the ground, hurt.

  “He can ride with me, we will look for a horse in the next village” Dan said.

  A smile appeared on Aaron’s face. He immediately helped Flynn get on Dan’s horse.

  Chapter 7

  Hunter Village

  They rode towards the north and came to the end of the jungle. The big tall trees started to disappear and open green lands were now visible. Soon, they entered an uneven valley. Here the land ended abruptly in places. Some places were high and some were low. But the most dangerous were the ones with steep edges.

  Dan lead the way, he rode as if he knew the valley very well. Ony and Aaron tried to keep up with him due to fear of falling behind and not being able to find the right way later. Flynn was still gloomy and was quiet. It worried Aaron though he didn’t show it much.

  “Where are we going? This place is scary“ Aaron said after a while.

  Dan smirked, but did not say anything.

  “I told you we should have stuck to the old path, we did not have to put our lives in such danger” said Ony harshly. He didn’t like where they were going.

  Dan turned to Ony and said “I told you your path is too predictable. This is the valley of the hunters. They do not want outsiders to be able to come here and steal their game. This is the safest place to hide from whoever is following us.”

  “Who is following us?” Aaron was scared now. “I didn’t see anybody following us!”

  “Just because your eyes cannot see them doesn’t mean that they are not there!” Dan sped up “Let’s hope nobody has followed us. We have to make it to the hunter village before the sunset”

  The evening was setting in and it was getting darker. They finally reached the Hunter village before nightfall. This village was very different from Brinsar. There were no farms or green fields, no sheep or even cows. The land looked dry and a few trees were seen here and there. The houses were mostly made of mud with thatched roofs. They had small windows and doors. The village looked empty. Nobody was outside their houses.

  After riding around for a while, they spotted a few men. They were carrying a huge animal they had hunted on their shoulders and coming out of a big hut.

  Dan signaled Aaron and Ony to slow down and follow him. A big man came out of the hut. He, like most others was not wearing any shirt. He had a covering on his waist made of animal skin which stretched up to his knees. Aaron noticed some strange markings on his chest and forehead made with some kind of white powder.

  The man looked at them in a strange way as if he was shocked to see them there.

  “These men do not look friendly…” Aaron said to Ony.

  The big man came towards them. Aaron was scared, he wished that they did not get into any kind of trouble. Dan got down from his horse as he saw the man approaching.

  To Aaron’s surprise, the big man hugged Dan and looked extremely happy. Dan started to speak in a strange language and the man seemed to be overjoyed. After speaking for some time, Dan pointed towards Flynn and said something. Aaron panick
ed; he didn’t want to leave Flynn with these people.

  The big man instructed a few men in his language. They got Flynn off the horse and walked towards one of the huts. Dan asked the man to take the horses away too.

  “Where are they talking Flynn?” Aaron asked Dan as soon as the men were out of sight.

  “They will take good care of him, don’t worry!” Dan said with a slight hint of smile. “Follow me, we will meet the chief of the village now.”

  Aaron and Ony did as Dan said. Dan stopped at the porch of a big hut and took his boots off. Then he asked the others to do the same. He then took a small pot filled with water kept nearby and washed his feet and hands. Then he passed the water to Ony. Ony looked at Aaron with his eyebrows raised. Neither of them knew what was going on. But they silently followed Dan inside the house after washing their feet and hands.

  “Have you ever been here before?” Aaron whispered to Ony.

  “No! This is a strange place, I’ve never seen anything like this ever before.” Ony said looking around in astonishment. There were strange paintings of animals and trees on the mud walls of the hut. “These look very similar to the paintings I’ve seen in some of the abandoned caves in Arktor, but these are much more complex” said Ony.

  Aaron walked into the hut. But the insides were not as what Aaron had expected. The decoration of the hall was extravagant. The furniture was like that of a king’s palace. There were carpets and rugs everywhere with intricate details on them. Aaron stepped in and saw a portrait of a man with a big mustache hanging on the wall. He was standing with a live tiger and he had a spear in his hand.

  “Good evening friends!” came a thin voice and everybody turned around. The man from the portrait stood there. But he was much shorter and leaner than he was in his portrait. He hugged Dan like he had found a long lost friend. They again spoke in that same strange language. The man looked very happy. Dan introduced him to both of them as Chief Barda. The chief greeted them with great enthusiasm. He spoke some more to Dan and then with a big smile he said, “Enjoy your stay my friends!” and then he left the hall.

  “What was he telling you?” asked Aaron.

  “He said he is very happy to see us and he will have a feast arranged in our honor tonight.” Dan replied.

  Ony’s face lighted up at the mention of a feast.

  “A feast?! That’s the way I like it” he said stroking his beard.

  Soon, they were escorted to another hut by some pretty girls. They wore long dresses and decorated their hair with many colored beads.

  The hut they were taken to had three large beds and a large bathroom. The beds were neatly laid out. A lady dressed in bright red gown came to them after the girls left. She wore a lot of jewellery studded with precious gems. She looked like an important member of the village.

  “Make yourself comfortable sirs; we are all here at your service.” she said.

  Dan and Ony bowed and said thanks to her.

  She then clapped her hands and a man wearing pristine clothes appeared out of nowhere. “This is Ali, he will serve you during your stay here. Please call him, if you need anything at all.”

  The man bowed to Dan and Ony.

  As the woman turned to leave, Aaron asked suddenly “What about my friend?”

  The woman looked back at Aaron and said “Don’t worry sir, we are taking good care of him. He will be up and about by the time for the feast.” She smiled and walked away gracefully.

  Ali brought some food for them immediately and made sleeping arrangements. A warm bath, a cozy bed and an upcoming feast made Aaron feel so comfortable. Both Ony and Dan fell asleep on the soft beds. Aaron closed the door and lied on his bed. He had a good sleep which took all his tiredness away.

  He was awakened by the sounds of drums from outside the hut. Both Dan and Ony were up and getting ready for the big feast. Aaron washed his face to wake himself up just in time they left for the feast.

  The whole village had gathered on the village grounds for the celebration. It reminded Aaron of the harvest festival in his own village except that the people here wore strange cloths and performed strange dances with fire. The long tables and benches were laid out for the hunters to enjoy the feast. Everyone there looked very happy. Aaron’s eyes were searching for Flynn in the crowd.

  All three of them were escorted to a small circular seating arrangement where the dances were talking place. Dan and Ony sat next to the Chief Barda. Ony pulled Aaron to sit next to him. Some girls were dancing to fast drum beats and the music of a strange flute. A music Aaron had never heard before. He started to enjoy himself in no time and was lost in the dances and the music.

  The hunters served some drinks in big clay pots. Dan and Ony gulped the drinks down the moment they got their pots in their hands. Aaron could see the droplets of the red liquid falling from Ony’s beard. Aaron tasted the drink. It was sweet and bitter at the same time; he never had a drink like that ever before. He had a little more and soon, he finished nearly half of his pot. Dan and Ony’s pots were regularly filled by Ali. Ony seemed to be enjoying the dance very much. Soon, he got up and joined them. The girls danced around him and the village chief laughed in amusement.

  One girl came up to Aaron and pulled him into the dancing circle. He felt very shy, there was not much dancing he had done back in the village. He and Flynn would always hide and watch the dances from behind the trees. They were always too timid to take part in those dances.

  But now, there was no escape. The hunter girl caught his arms and started to dance around him. Aaron soon forgot that many people were watching him and began to dance merrily. His shyness was all gone. He knew that the drink had something to do with it.

  After many dances and drinks, Aaron started to feel dizzy but Ony was going strong. Dan didn’t budge from his seat even as many girls requested him to join in with them. Chief Barda was also in the dance circle now with two drinks in his hands.

  Aaron didn’t know how long it had been since he was making merry. He started to feel hungry. Finally he settled down on a stone stool nearby. The drum beats became intense. The songs and the thumping of feet could be heard everywhere.

  Aaron finally spotted Flynn sitting opposite to him. He was enjoying his drink. He looked happy and high. Aaron walked up to him slowly. It was not quite easy to get though the dancing crowd especially when you were intoxicated. Finally, Flynn saw Aaron and gave him a weak smile.

  “How you feeling now?” Aaron asked Flynn shouting on top of the drum beats.

  “I am fine now.” Flynn answered but Aaron couldn’t hear his voice

  The drum beats stopped abruptly and there were voices of cheering. Aaron wanted to ask Flynn so many things but before he could say anything, Barda walked up to them.

  “Here are the guests of honor, come, join us for the feast!” he said.

  Both Aaron and Flynn were very hungry and immediately got up on their feet at the mention of food. They followed the chief who led them to a big table. The seating was for six people. Dan and Ony had already taken their places. Aaron sat next to Dan and Flynn sat next to him.

  The lady in red who spoke to them in their hut finally introduced herself as the chief’s wife. Her presence was graceful and she talked in a hush tone.

  Very soon, the food started to arrive and filled up the table. Aaron saw Flynn’s jaws drop at the variety of dishes kept in front of them. The table was soon full of wonderful aroma from the dishes. There were seven varieties of meats, fishes and many kinds of tubers which were all new to Aaron. Nobody spoke till they had eaten to their hearts content. Aaron ate till he was full to the brim. Finally, when he couldn’t eat anymore, he looked at the others who were also in a similar condition. But Ony was still holding on to his share of mutton chops and showed no intention of leaving anything on the plate.

  Barda asked some of the men to clear the table. Some girls brought plateful of deserts. There were all kind of berries and sweet fruits in them. No one could eat much of
it, but the fragrance lingering around them made them happy enough. On the longer tables, the other hunters were seated and were enjoying themselves to the fullest. Everyone else had stopped performing and now the feast was the only thing that held their attention.

  After the big dinner, they scattered in all directions. The chief and his wife took permission to leave and asked them to enjoy the rest of the night.

  Aaron couldn’t spot Dan or Ony. Flynn was sitting next to the bonfire all alone, lost in his thoughts. Aaron joined him and found himself a nice spot to sit on the straws. Flynn did not notice Aaron and he continued to stare at a group of girls giggling at him from a distance.

  “How are you feeling now?” Aaron asked turning Flynn’s attention towards him.

  “Much better…” Flynn said barely.

  Aaron now remembered the last conversation he had with Flynn. He was rude and mean. Aaron assumed that this was why Flynn was not talking to him.

  “I am sorry!” Aaron said with regret.

  Flynn was a little surprised, but he didn’t show it.

  “For what?” He asked flatly.

  “For speaking to you like that at the market”

  Flynn shook his head and said “Don’t worry about it”

  “But I want to tell you something. Things I couldn’t tell you before” Aaron said, looking at Flynn with the hope that he would listen to him.

  Flynn turned his attention to Aaron now.

  Aaron told Flynn about everything he was holding back. He told him about the wolves, about the strange lady in the book shop, all about Dan and Ony and what they told him about his parents. Flynn sat still not able to believe his own ears. Aaron described everything without a pause. Flynn was excited, but he still did not ask Aaron about anything.

  The usually talkative Flynn was very silent today. Aaron knew something was not right.

  “Flynn!” Aaron stopped and asked “What were you doing in the forest and how in the God’s name did you get there?“

  Flynn didn’t answer.

  “We searched for you and your father everywhere. Where is your father? Is he alright?”