His mom wasn’t worrying for herself right now, anyway. She was hesitating because she was afraid for Will. So he gave her the best smile he could muster and said, “Go ahead, Mom. I’ll be fine. It’s for the best, I promise.”
Her eyes glistened with tears. Her lower lip trembled. Then she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
He hugged her back, feeling his eyes prickle even though he didn’t feel sad at all. His heart thrilled with the new adventure he was about to go on.
“Take care of yourself,” she whispered.
“I will, Mom. And I’ll come back for you.”
She released him, wiped a tear from her eye, then followed Elder Madoc out the doors.
Watching her go, it occurred to him that, from this point on, he was on his own. He looked at the two eggs resting on the table, so different in appearance. His egg looked so unnatural, more like a shiny egg-shaped rock. “I’m really allowed to go?” he asked Master Bard Aven.
The bard chuckled and leaned back against the stage. “Of course. Though, I daresay, Madoc is counting on your failure. The hatching ground is far from here. On foot, you will have to travel quickly if you hope to make it in time.”
The three girls whirled to stare at Will. One of them gasped, though Will couldn’t imagine why. He was in pretty good shape. Exerting himself every day while working for Elder Madoc had only made him stronger. It wasn’t like he couldn’t handle a long walk.
The bard turned to the girls now with his book and pen ready. “And your names are?”
The girls gave their names as the bard took them down in his book. The blonde-haired girl was Lexi. The girl with short brown hair and freckles over her nose was Rin. The girl with dark eyes and hair, the one with the striped-tailed creature riding on her shoulder, was Anri.
Master Bard Aven asked them a few more questions about their egg, taking notes in his book the whole time.
Will wasn’t paying attention. His mind was darting between worrying about his parents and wondering why it surprised the girls that he was traveling on foot. The bard had also warned him he’d need to hurry. How far away was this hatching ground? How fast would he have to walk to get there? What would happen if he didn’t make it in time?
When the bard finished questioning the girls, he slapped his book shut, shocking Will out of his thoughts. “Well, then. It appears I need to find accommodations for all four of you. And you—” he turned to Will “—it seems you’ll be needing some supplies. The bard hall has some stores of food and equipment you may find useful for your journey, though I don’t know whether an off-lander will be familiar with Avrian tools.” He chuckled. “Do you know how to start a fire with a knife and firesteel?”
Will shrugged. “You mean like a magnesium fire starter? Yeah, my uncle taught me how to do that when we went camping.” He still wasn’t paying much attention. The more he thought about it, the more worried he was that he might not get to the hatching ground on time. What if it was farther away than he thought?
“He actually came from outside Avria?” the brown-haired girl, Rin, asked. “From out in the ocean?”
This got Will’s attention. Everyone was getting ready to follow the bard out of the room. He shrugged and picked up his egg. “You could say that,” he told Rin. “But it’s not like I actually lived in the ocean.” Though for the last few weeks before the storm hit, it sure felt like he did. He chuckled darkly. “So, how far away is this hatching ground everyone’s talking about? Do you guys know?”
The girl with the creature on her shoulder, Anri, turned and stared at him in silence. He watched as surprise, confusion, and then anger flashed across her face.
What had he said? All he did was ask where the hatching ground was. How could that be offensive? If he was expected to take his egg there, he’d have to know where to go, right?
“It’s three days by cormant-back,” Rin said quietly.
Well, that was something, at least.
“And you only have seven days to get there,” Anri added, raising her eyebrows significantly.
Will felt a wave of relief wash over him. Riding in the cormant cart to Aldlake had given him a pretty good idea of how far and fast cormants traveled in a day. “Oh, that’s good. I should be able to make it, then.” He shrugged.
The girls stared at one another in disbelief. Maybe they thought he was bluffing. It didn’t matter. They’d see he wasn’t. They’d get to the hatching ground and maybe he’d already be there, waiting for them. He’d love to see the shock on their faces then.
“You have a cormant?” Anri asked, shaking him out of his daydream.
“Huh? Oh . . . nah. But we walked from the bridge up to Aldlake with one of them. Elder Madoc was bringing a cart of stuff from one of the other cities. Someplace like . . . Shiver-lake? Are all the cities on this island named after lakes?”
Anri’s mouth fell open. She stumbled a little, causing the creature on her shoulder to swing its striped tail to keep its balance. She didn’t seem to notice the fresh scratches on her upper arm.
“An island?” Anri practically shouted. “This is Avria. Avria isn’t an island. Avria has islands!”
Will remembered the map of Avria he’d seen in Elder Madoc’s study. It was clearly an island. Was this girl so uneducated she didn’t know what it meant when water went all the way around land? “I’m . . . pretty sure it’s an island. I mean, on the map I saw there’s water all the way around it, so . . .”
Anri was giving him a squinty-eyed death glare now. Even the creature on her shoulder had its ears back, staring at him as though mirroring her mood.
“Lots of cool places are islands, though!” he said, trying to soothe her. “Like Japan and Greenland.”
“Well, I don’t know about those places, but Avria is probably a lot bigger.” Anri sniffed. “If you were walking along with a cormant, it wasn’t going at traveling speed. You expect to get to the hatching ground on foot in seven days? You’d better plan on not sleeping the whole way there, because you won’t have time to. Why were you even hunting for an egg in the first place when you don’t know anything about the search or becoming a dragon rider?”
Will chuckled, hoping to shift Anri’s mood away from murderous. He didn’t know how he’d offended her, but if he could clear things up, maybe they could all be friends and help one another. “I wasn’t looking for an egg. Madoc wouldn’t let me look. I just came across it in the bank of the river. It was mostly buried in mud.”
Instead of smiling, Anri blinked incredulously, then looked away, pressing her lips flat and folding her arms.
It seemed like nothing he could do would please this girl. Were all the kids in Avria nasty like Tavin? “So, how did you find your egg?” he asked.
Anri took a deep breath, pulled back her shoulders, and stared straight ahead. “We looked for it,” she said tightly.
He repressed a laugh at her dramatic response. “That’s a good plan when you’re trying to find something.”
The girl’s face flushed and, if possible, she looked even more furious.
Before she could say anything else, the bard spoke, grabbing their attention. “This room will be for you three,” he nodded to the girls and pushed open a heavy wooden door at the end of the hallway. Then he looked at Will. “And yours is this one.” He pushed open the door opposite the hall from the girls’ room. “There is a bathhouse outside the back door and around the corner so you can get cleaned up and soak your aching muscles. If you wish, you may leave your eggs with me and they will be quite safe until you’re ready to continue on your journey.”
Will was still trying to figure out what the bard meant by a "bathhouse," but he knew he didn’t want to leave his egg anywhere. Even though the master bard seemed trustworthy, the idea of being separated from his egg made him nervous.
Anri also clutched her bag tighter and shook her head no. At least they had that in common.
When the girls closed their door behind them, Will was
about to thank the bard and go into his room too when the man put his hand on Will’s shoulder to stop him. “May I have a word with you?”
Will gulped. He knew when someone said something like that, it was rarely a good thing. “Um . . . okay?”
The bard nodded. “Follow me.”
Chapter Twelve
The master bard led Will through a door at the end of the hall. It opened to a courtyard with immense trees, a bubbling fountain, and a big wooden building with clouds of steam billowing out the back.
“Tell me about your life in the off-lands,” the bard said in a friendly tone.
“Well, I’m not sure what you want to know.” Will shrugged and adjusted the bag on his shoulders. “I lived in Florida, but not in any of the big cities. I was in ninth grade in school. Math was my best subject, but I sucked at history. My favorite food was pizza with root beer. I liked riding my mountain bike on the weekends . . .” Will trailed off and stared down at his feet. He hadn’t thought he missed his old life very much, but remembering all these things he’d probably never do or see again left an ache in his gut.
“It must be difficult for you to leave all that behind,” the bard said as he opened another door that led back into the bard hall. He lit a lamp and Will followed him inside. This room was smaller than any of the others Will had seen so far, more like a large closet. Shelves lined the walls, filled with boxes of supplies, clothes, and tools.
“I miss some of it, I guess,” Will confessed. “But Avria has a lot going for it, too.”
Master bard Aven paused and smiled at Will in the lamplight. “Tell me about your time here, then.”
So Will told him all about the storm, losing his uncle at sea, and everything that had happened to his family since they washed ashore on Avria. He talked for a long time while the bard searched the shelves for supplies, adding a thin blanket to Will’s bag, a fire starter, a waterskin, a knife, and a small jar of healing salve.
With Will’s bag a lot heavier, the bard led him out through long corridors until they came to the library, a massive room with books and scrolls lining most of the walls, and a huge map of Avria on display over shelves covered in interesting and mysterious objects Will didn’t recognize.
The master bard pulled a heavy book from a shelf, dipped a pen in ink, and asked Will all about his egg and where he’d found it, taking careful notes of his answers.
“Can I ask you something?” Will said while the bard scribbled down his last notes.
“Anything,” he said with a smile.
“Why is my egg so different? Is it really . . . not alive?” Will didn’t want to say the word “dead.” He ran his fingers over the shining eggshell, not meeting the bard’s eyes. The egg didn’t feel quite as cold as it had before, probably from being in his warm bag for so long.
Master Bard Aven took a deep breath and dropped his pen in the inkwell. He folded his arms across his chest and gazed at Will’s dragon egg thoughtfully. “I don’t know for certain. We’ve never seen an egg like this one before. At least not in living memory. It’s true what Ilsa said, though. Sometimes the eggs that hatch into blue dragons aren’t as warm as the others. The cooler eggs tend to hatch dragons with the strongest ice powers.”
“So my egg might have a blue dragon inside?”
The bard ran a hand over his chin and tapped his lips with his index finger. “But that gold color . . . I’ve never heard of anyone finding an egg with coloration like that from any of the bard halls. It puts me in mind of one of the ancient songs of the white dragon.”
“What song?” Will asked, eager to grasp onto any thread of hope.
“Well, I don’t remember all the verses. It’s one of the older tunes that’s fallen out of popularity lately. But . . .” He started humming a lilting tune, tapping a quick beat on his knee. Then, in a deep and pleasant voice, he sang:
Strike the drum and pluck the lyre
Dance all day and sing all night
Give thanks for the egg of fire
The egg that held the dragon white.
“You think the egg of fire was like this? Shiny gold?” Will asked.
The bard chuckled. “Who knows? The songs and stories about the white dragon have been passed down for generations. The egg of fire might reference Fire Mountain, where all dragon eggs hatch. I wouldn’t go trying to associate your egg with the white dragon, however proud you are of it. I’m just saying that it’s possible such vibrant colorations have been seen before in ages past.”
Will nodded thoughtfully. “I get it. Yeah, I won’t give up hope. I’ll focus on getting to the hatching ground first and see what happens after that.”
“Right. As for that, I’ve got one more thing for your bag.” The bard pulled a paper scroll from a shelf and laid it out flat on the desk. It was a small map of Avria, not as detailed as the one on the wall, but small enough it would fit in his bag easily.
“This is where we are, in Aldlake,” the bard said, tapping a dot south of the mountains. “To get to the hatching ground in Fire Mountain Dragonhold, you must follow Aldriver north.” He traced his finger over the winding line marking the river. “When you reach the foothills, you’ll find a road branching off to the right with stone dragon statues on either side; you can’t miss it. Follow that road to the end and you’ll be at the hatching ground. Understand?”
Will nodded and repeated the directions, following the lines on the map with his finger. “But what if I get lost or run out of food or something?”
“You can always seek help in villages along the way. They’re marked on the map here.” The bard pointed out a few places with small dots marking villages. “Providing food and shelter to egg holders is part of Avrian law. You might only get to eat cold porridge, drink stale kaffa, and sleep in a barn, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Yeah. I don’t mind. Thanks!” Will rolled up the map and tucked it into his bag with his egg.
“Well, I’d better get you back to your room now. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get cleaned up, have a good meal, and get an early start in the morning. You have quite a way to go before you get there, you know.”
“Right! Just what I was thinking!” Will grinned eagerly.
The bard gave him a crooked smile and led the way into the corridor. “Follow me. I know the bard hall can seem like a maze if you aren’t familiar with it.”
“So what do dragon riders do, anyway?” Will asked as they walked. “Besides ride on dragons—I figured that part out already.”
The master bard looked at him in surprise. “I forget that, being an off-lander, you might not know these things. A long time ago, dragons and their riders were a fighting force, here to defend Avria. They practiced aerial fighting techniques based on their special abilities in order to protect us against attack. These days we have no need of fighting dragons, so the dragons and their riders do other useful jobs, such as carrying passengers, reaching parts of Avria inaccessible by land, moving heavy objects, and of course, everyone loves the dragon games.”
Will was about to ask who the dragons fought against before and why the fighting stopped, but the mention of dragon games instantly distracted him.
“What are the dragon games? Like the Olympics?”
The bard shot him a quizzical look. “The dragon games are held every summer. Dragons and their riders can enter to compete in tests of skill, strength, and stamina in the air. It’s an event many look forward to and spend a good deal of money on just to watch. It’s something of a national holiday for us.”
“Really?” Will asked, bouncing on his feet with excitement. “Who can enter? What do they win? What kinds of games do they play?”
The bard laughed. “There are so many games. One of my favorites is the technical flying competition. Another that most people go to see is the coastal race, competing to see which dragon can fly around the whole coast of Avria the fastest, collecting rings from checkpoints on the way. But my favorite thing about the dragon games isn’t even t
he dragon games. It’s how it brings people together from all over. The parties, the songs, the food you can’t get anywhere else.” He let out a longing sigh.
“You said it’s held every summer. Is it coming soon? Can I go?”
They stopped in the hallway outside Will’s room.
The bard placed a friendly hand on Will’s shoulder and smiled wryly. “Not if you bond with a dragon.”
Will glanced down at his bag where his egg was nestled among all his new supplies. “Why not?”
“Your dragon will be too young. New riders spend their first year at the training grounds in Fire Mountain Dragonhold until their dragons are big enough to carry them.”
Will bit his lip, feeling conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to go see the dragon games. On the other, he really hoped he bonded with a dragon and became a rider. Then he’d be able to join the games himself someday.
He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. What was he even thinking? He wasn’t supposed to be worried about bonding with a dragon or playing games. He was supposed to be looking for help to find his uncle and to get his family home. Why was he worrying about parties and games when his uncle might be stranded and hurt somewhere?
Seeing Will’s sad expression, the bard squeezed his shoulder in a friendly way. “Don’t worry, boy. I’m sure you’ll get to the games one way or another someday.”
“Master Bard Aven! I’ve been looking for you,” a woman’s voice called from down the hall.
They turned and saw Ilsa walking toward them. “The researchers from Fallshore came back. They say they need to see our copy of a record from Ashfield from fifty years ago.” She held up her hands and shook her head in exasperation.
The bard sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’d better go keep an eye on them this time. We can’t have them destroying all our old books.” He patted Will’s shoulder. “When you’re ready, you can find food laid out for you in the banquet hall. You’ll be able to find your way there?”
Secret of the Dragon Egg (Dragon Riders of Avria Book 1) Page 11
