by C. E. Swain
"Kings do not sit in small shops sipping Blackbeer." Litlorn told him.
"Then you be the king, and I will sit here and sip." Menimeth replied smiling.
"I cannot be the king here." Litlorn said with a mock look of shock. "Besides I will be king of the western lands of the Elves someday, and I do not want to be the king of it."
"It looks as if we are both out of luck in that area my friend." Menimeth said, and both men laughed.
They sat at one of the three tables the shop offered, and in the corner of the small space provided. It was not big enough for a city like Corlindum, since men from each realm would occupy it from now on, besides it did not have a fireplace. An inn was needed to house weary travelers, and those people who were here to conduct business with the empire, but who were not placed in rooms while here.
There were many empty buildings in Corlindum, and Menimeth intended to find out what they were either used for, or could be used for. He planned to use these two cities as the center of the empire, which it almost was, and run the four realms from here. The great crossroads was the center of the four realms, and these cities were only a few days ride east. Besides, there was a garrison that had been used by all four realms when they held a council, but now it would be the first garrison of the new empire.
"I am going to go hunting. I will return soon." Danorathin informed his master.
"I will see you at Glansford." Menimeth replied.
"You will open the city today?" Litlorn asked. "All of the regents are gone, and there is no reason to delay it."
"I thought that also, and I am to meet my dragon there when he has eaten."
"You should consider taking the mage with you." Litlorn said. "He can translate some of the older parchments."
"Yes, and I would like you and Donderan to come as well." Menimeth said. "You both have been here before, if I remember correctly, and you can show me the buildings used the most in the past."
"Yes, we have both been here before, but Donderan is older, and was an adult when last he was here."
"I can use you all, to help me find the items I need."
"You can count on us." Litlorn said. "We will do what we can."
"I must retrieve an item from my suite. You find Donderan, and I will locate Darik, and we will meet in the great road." Menimeth said, as he finished his Blackbeer, and stood from his seat in the shop.
Twenty minuets later, the four men along with Chanry, stood before the gates of Glansford. Danorathin had returned from his hunt, and sat on the battlement above the gates, watching his master.
"Grav-fohr-Drathin." Menimeth said the words as they came into his mind.
"Open in the name of the dragon." Darik said, repeating the words of the spell where everyone could hear him.
The gates began to pop and creak, and a shimmering light surrounded them for several seconds before disappearing. Dust fell from the top as the gates began to open slowly, and Danorathin raised his head and roared loudly. He announced that the old dragon rider city was abandoned no longer, for a dragon rider had returned.
The great walls of the city towered above them, and were twenty feet thick in places, but thirty feet thick at the gates. There were two sets of gates to the entrance, and both sets of gates opened into the passage, which was the only way for the people of the empire to enter.
Streets ran off in both directions just inside the gates, and Stairs led to the battlements from the streets all along the wall. The first row of buildings were no taller than the walls they were close to, but each row after was one story taller than the last, as they made their way to the center. The buildings only reached four stories at most, but the towers of the castle were much taller.
The faces of the buildings were made of ornately carved stone, and depictions of dragons and their riders were everywhere. Some were large, and some were very small, and there were statues of dragons everywhere. Menimeth wondered what was behind the doors of each building, but it would take more time than he had to find out. That would be a task for another day, and most of the storerooms as well.
They made their way to the center of the city, where a large plaza surrounded a tall, fortified castle. It was a castle in the center of a castle, and could be defended if the walls of the city were to fall.
"The city looks almost new." Darik said, looking around him as he walked.
"That it does lad, that it does." Donderan replied. "But it looked the same, the last time that I was here. Only there were many more dragons and people around then."
"Yes, it was that way for me as well." Litlorn said. "But I was young then, and had not reached one hundred years old yet."
"Ah, just a lad you were then, huh my friend?"
"Yes." Litlorn said to his friend. "I was too young to be on my own then, according to my father."
The dwarf laughed at the look on his friends face, of the memories of those days. Loren was a good man, and an even better father, but Litlorn was too adventuresome for an elf in his youth. He would disappear for weeks at a time, and show up again without any explanation. However, he grew up well, and learned the ways of his people quickly.
Danorathin landed in the plaza beside the entrance to the castle, and watched as the group approached. Many dragons had landed here long ago, and the scars of those landings were all around them. Dragons once filled the plaza daily, coming and going, as their duties required it. However, that was many years ago, and the city was now silent.
"This is called the 'Dragon Tower' and was the center of all activity when dragons filled the skies." Litlorn said. "It is the place that you will live, for it was built for the king of the empire."
"Yes, but it was never fully used lad." Donderan said. "The empire was run by the council of browns. There was no dominant dragon in the empire, and they decided to rule as a group."
"That is true my friend." Litlorn said. "But they all believed that a dragon and rider would take the throne someday. The old prophecy from the ancient race that once lived here, spoke of it."
"Well, he is here now lad, he is here now." Donderan replied.
"Yes, well, we should see what is inside now that I am here." Menimeth said, and looked at the dwarf.
"Right you are, lad." The dwarf replied, and laughed as they entered the fortress.
The group entered the castle in the center of the city, and noticed right away it was made for dragons. The space between the walls and the building were large enough for dragons to land and take off with their riders, easily.
The Dragon Tower sat surrounded by the walls, but apart from them. Unlike most castles of the day where the battlements were accessible without exposing your solders to incoming arrows, the Dragon Tower did not. They would find out later, that all of the passages that connected the tower to the walls were underground. The group searched the tower, and learned that most of the places they looked for were in the rooms under the castle.
The king's suite was above ground, and allowed access to his dragon from his private rooms. It was the only part of the tower that had never been used, and it encompassed one whole floor. Stairs led to it from several different places throughout the castle, and dumb waiters from the kitchens as well. Access was there for whoever needed it, but it was the dragon that carried the king to and from his rooms. Even the great hall was easier to reach from the back of a dragon, and the rest of the castle was the same.
Menimeth found the stairs that led to the underground part of the castle, and the storerooms located there. Soon Menimeth found what he was looking for, and looked through the items he required, to learn to be a dragon rider in battle. Many books were on shelves around the room, and Darik became excited.
"These books contain Dragon Lore." He exclaimed. "They give you the spells you will use in battle. Very few of these are in the great library at the school in Tharien, but they were treasured above all of the others."
"Gather a few, and I will see what I can learn from them." Menimeth said. "I may need your
help with some of it, and my dragon will help as well."
"These books will teach you how to use the battle straps that hang on the wall." Litlorn told his friend, as he looked through a stack of books
that were sitting on a table.
"And how to fight from the back of a dragon they will." Donderan added.
"This book gives you simple spells, like starting a camp fire or a fireplace." Darik told the dragon rider. "It also has minor spells of illumination, and other similar spells of a non-combat nature."
"Most of those I will not need, but it is better to know them and not need them, than to need them and not know them." Menimeth said.
"We will take all we can to the king's rooms upstairs." Litlorn said. "It will be easier to learn there, rather than in Corlindum."
"That it will lad, that it will." Donderan said, agreeing with his old friend.
"I guess I have no choice in this matter." Menimeth said, as he looked at his friends. "No, I guess not."
"This is where you belong." Darik said. "As king, you will be needed to give direction to the empire, and those who seek you should come here"
"You are right of course, but I do not have to like it." Menimeth said with a smile.
"No, but then I do not have to like being a teacher of children." Darik said, referring to the school announced at the council of regents.
"I did spring that one on you out of nowhere, did I not?" Menimeth said with a devilish grin.
"Well, I do want to teach, and children are the most fun." Darik replied with a smile. "But it was kind of sudden."
"Where is the lad?" Donderan asked.
"He was here just minutes ago." Litlorn said.
Chanry was not far away, and he stood at a door with a familiar symbol on it. Menimeth stopped beside the boy, and recognized it instantly as the same symbol as the box from the chapel. The door was locked and required a key to open, and Menimeth opened the box and retrieved the key from inside, before replacing it back in his cloak. He placed the key into the keyhole, and turned it until he heard a loud click. When the door opened, all of the men stood and looked inside the room, stunned.
Chests full of gold, and other coins, filled the room. The money needed to restore the empire was here, and had been all along. After reading the logs from so many years before, it was determined that the money was from trade with the southern kingdoms, as well as the Elves and Dwarfs. Some of the money came from taxes, but only fifteen percent of the wealth of the realms ever reached the coffers of the empire.
Other riches lay in the vault as well, and they would get to them in time. Today was for exploring, and finding the tools he needed to fight. Menimeth closed the door and locked it, before placing the key on the chain around his neck. The time to open this door would come, but for now, it need not be.
Menimeth began to study the ways of the dragon riders of old, and picked it up quickly. The battle straps he found in the storeroom turned out to be easy to use, and he soon mastered them. It was a simple strap that secured to his legs to the dragon, and held him in place on the dragon's back. Each day he flew farther from the city, and returned later each night. Darik taught Menimeth the spells from the book each evening when he returned, until all of the books from that storeroom had been used. Other books had been located in different parts of the castle, and in other storerooms located beneath the city, and Menimeth soon began to learn them as well. It was not long before the books grew harder to read, and Darik spent more of his time deciphering them instead if teaching them to the dragon rider. They both learned much from the books, and each became stronger for it.
Throughout the next few weeks, the city was investigated fully, and a list of all it contained was given to Menimeth. The empty buildings at Corlindum were assessed as well, and as with the dragon rider capital, they were not all empty. That information was given to the king, along with a list of the items found inside them. The marketplace in Corlindum did not disband, but increased the variety of goods and supplies that they would offer to the people instead. Both cities were growing slowly, but Corlindum was growing a little faster than Glansford because of the servants of the regents.
Men showed up to join the army every day, but they had no training for the most part. The instructor supplied by Captain Brannor began their training with the wooden swords used for that purpose, and some were beginning to show promise. He would rejoin Captain Brannor in Argnon once the three men form Alenvale returned, and they would take over the training of the warriors.
Commander Rayden and Dorben returned to the camp in the southwest, to relay the plans to the officers of his Cavalry. The wagons with the supplies of food that the men in their main camp needed, and the boxes from Menimeth, were with them when they arrived. Events were now in motion that could determine the fate of the empire, and the Lost Cavalry would have a part to play in the events of the future.
Chanry was always near his master when Menimeth was not with his dragon, and learned many of the spells that the books held. Darik found him to be a natural mage, and taught him all he could until the books became too hard to just read. Slowly Darik began to realize that Chanry was no ordinary boy, and understood why Menimeth kept him so close. In the world of magic, both were almost alike in their abilities to learn it, and to use it in the right way. There was something different about the boy and Darik could sense it, but he could not figure out what it was.
During the time Menimeth was learning to ride his dragon in battle, and learning the spells he would need when in a fight, he was moved into Glansford by his friends. Chanry was given his own suite, and one was assigned to all of the men who wore the colors of the empire as well. The three men from Alenvale were placed in rooms close to the king's level, and next to one another as well. Litlorn accepted a suite in Glansford, as did Donderan, but they would not always be here.
The assault on the northern route used by the enemy was to begin as soon as the forces could be placed in position, and Litlorn and Darik would be leaving to join the attack when the solders from the south arrived. A combination of solders from three realms would make up the assault force, and Darik would cast the counter spell that would allow them to see the enemy. Litlorn could see farther than all of the others, and he would be able to direct the solders to their location. If all went well, and the way was cleared, Darik would cast a spell that would block the way to all that served Arnoran.
It was two months to the day from the council's end, when the solders from the southern realm reached Glansford, and they rested for two days before breaking camp to resume their journey east. Litlorn and Darik were with them when they departed, and Donderan disappeared on the same, morning. Soon all of the men of the Dragon Guard were gone, and only Menimeth and Chanry remained.
Chanry spent a lot of his time at the training grounds with the solders when his master was away, learning how to use his belt knife. He practiced as often as he could, and was getting better with the knife, but it was more like a sword to him. He practiced his spells as well, and was soon very good at the smaller ones. He was getting better at some of the harder spells, but most of them, he did not understand. When he became a man, he would be the best warrior in the empire.
The morning after all of his friends had departed Glansford, Menimeth and Danorathin flew south, after the dragon had eaten. The people were growing used to seeing a dragon fly overhead, and paid him little attention as he passed. Several times men were spotted who moved across the countryside, but they turned out to be farmers or herdsmen. Twice refuges were discovered, and Menimeth landed to talk with them. There was no one injured among the groups he discovered, so he did not worry about sending someone to get them, but directed them to the city of Corlindum and assured them he would see to their needs when they arrived.
Danorathin was about to turn back to their home, when he spotted the two solders that led a packhorse. They were traveling west, and did not appear to be trying to hide as they traveled. Menimeth had his dragon la
nd in a place where the two men would pass close enough for him to speak with them, and determined what they were here for.
The men rode slowly along, and looked around them often. Menimeth decided they were not a threat to the empire by the way they acted, and waited for them to reach him before he revealed himself. The two laughed and joked like they had known each other for a very long time, and Menimeth liked the way they carried themselves. He stepped from the trees as the men reached his location, and smiled as he spoke.
"It is a fine day, is it not?" He said to the startled men. "I hope it has found you well."
The destiny of men often hinged on the outcome of a single event, and sometimes that event could be determined by a single word, or tone of voice. Sometimes it was a look you gave, or the words you did not say. Sometimes it was just being in the right place at the right time. Today was one of those days, and this was one of those times. The lives of many men would be changed forever, or they would not.
