DragonSpell (36 page)

She shook her head slowly from side to side. Paladin could not be wrong. But what he said didn’t make sense. She was a slave girl who didn’t even follow orders very well. Who didn’t do the right thing. Who caused all sorts of problems. Who caused terrible things to happen.

“Kale, what happened when you first found the meech egg and you tried to walk away?”

“I was stuck.”

Paladin nodded. “Sometimes we cannot walk away from our responsibilities. What happened when you left the cape and reentered the tunnel to open the gate?”

“Nothing. I mean, the meech egg didn’t hold me.”

“Sometimes the order of importance of our responsibilities shifts. What was crucial at one moment moves down to second place, or third, under different circumstances.”

Kale wrinkled her brow, trying to understand.

Paladin squeezed her hand. “What do you think Wulder wanted you to do? Sit and cradle the meech egg, or try to help your friends?”

“Help?”

Paladin nodded. “You did the right thing, Kale. You didn’t sit and reason it out. You jumped up and did the right thing. You are a better person than you think. Wulder is pleased with who you are.”

“But it was my fault.”

“You have the power to crack a mountain in two? Amazing! I thought you were just a slave girl.” The twinkle in his eye took away the sting of his words.

A smile played at the corner of Kale’s mouth. “I guess not.”

“You have choices to make now, Kale.” Paladin let go of her hands and leaned back in his chair. “You can return with Dar to The Hall. Or you can stay here in the o’rant valley. Either choice is all right with me. If you go to The Hall, you will be trained, and much will be required of you.

“If you stay here, you will learn more about your people. Things will come across your path that will require you to help friends and even strangers.”

Paladin sighed and leaned back in the chair. He looked perfectly content and at ease, not troubled by wicked wizards and all the evil they created. “It is quieter here. The likelihood of adventure is less. But still you will be my servant. I will be pleased with you. You are mine, Kale, and I do not scorn those who have given their service to me. You won’t be bored here, either. There will be plenty of opportunities to do good.

“You don’t have to decide tonight. In fact, you can wait until spring.” He stood up and stretched.

Kale watched him. His strong body silhouetted by the fire looked much like that of any young man, yet Paladin had been around since before the Battle of Ordray. Her eyes widened at the thought. Wizard Fenworth was that old too. Paladin was special in ways Kale could not understand, and he had claimed her as his friend, his child.

She looked down at her callused and scratched hands. She didn’t seem a good candidate for service at The Hall.

“I didn’t much like questing,” she said, barely above a whisper.

Paladin nodded. He didn’t look surprised or upset over her admission.

Kale remembered Fenworth’s words. “Questing is often uncomfortable.”

Paladin smiled, and Kale knew he recognized the wizard’s thinking.

“Unpredictable,” he added.

Kale nodded, looking into his eyes and knowing he would not condemn her for her choice, no matter what it was.

He left, carrying the empty bowl. Kale got out of bed and sat in the window seat, gazing out at the peaceful countryside. Its blanket of fresh snow glowed under a full moon in a clear sky.

There must be a million stars in that sky. Librettowit said that Wulder knows each of their names. Paladin knows my name…so does Wulder.
She tucked her chilly toes beneath the long nightgown.
I don’t have to decide tonight. I don’t have to decide until spring.

The days that followed gave Kale a most wondrous taste of belonging. She sat with Ornopy’s girls and learned to sew at Dar’s instruction. Librettowit regaled them with hours of stories and taught them history. They danced with the kimens and did chores with Mistress Moorp. And the chores were not drudgery, but fun because of the companionship.

Librettowit and Fenworth told legends and tales of old. Leetu and Dar demonstrated juggling feats. Everyone gave it a try but only ended up laughing more than catching the objects thrown in the air. Brunstetter and Lee Ark knew an astounding number of games. Members of the household and guests played every afternoon in the light of the sunroom. Contented, Kale took pleasure in each moment she spent as a part of this happy entourage.

The days lengthened. Crocus and springbuds poked their colorful heads through the last of the snow. Birds flew back into the o’rant valley from the south and began nest building. Lambs, calves, and colts frolicked in the pastures.

Kale made her decision.

One day, when the breezes chased away puffy clouds that had sprinkled the newly sown fields, she looked at the broken slopes of the shorter peak of Tourbanaut and sighed.

“There is one thing I must do first,” she said to the empty road. “I must go find the meech egg, or what’s left of it.” She did not look over her shoulder at the massive bright walls of Ornopy Halls. She didn’t go back to gather provisions from the ample supply of kitchen cupboards. She wrapped the shawl she’d knitted at Mistress Moorp’s hearth around her shoulders. She set her eyes upon her goal and started the long walk back to the wrecked entrance of the abandoned tumanhofer mine.

         
50
         

S
TANDING
T
OGETHER

Muddy waters swirled in the streams coming off the mountain. With the spring thaw, melted snow washed down the slopes, creating rivulets that ran together, making tumbling brooks and swift, quiet rills. White mountain dewdrops, tiny flowers on mosslike plants, covered the ground.

The smell of new grass, damp earth, and sweet dewdrops filled Kale with exuberance. She climbed rapidly, using paths well worn by shepherds and their flocks. As the sun began to sink to the west, she stopped and surveyed the countryside now spread below her. Sighing, she sat on a boulder and gazed with contentment at the valley of the o’rants. She easily picked out Ornopy Halls, three beautiful buildings with an elegant wrought iron fence around them and a straight road running out its front gate.

It’s been home to me as if I’d never had a home before. But Paladin put a claim on my heart as well as my life. I want to go to The Hall.

She stood and began the more arduous climb up broken granite and shifted crags. The cool mountain air penetrated her clothing. Shivering, she wished she’d brought something a little more practical than the shawl.

Granny Noon’s moonbeam cape always kept my body warm. I must find the cape and the eggs.

Her foot slipped on some loose rocks. Some of the pebbles fell into her boot. She sat down to remove it and shake out the debris, but as soon as her backside touched the ground, she sprang up again.

Kale frowned and bent to sit down. Her legs straightened and she took two more steps up the mountain. Every muscle in her body strained to go forward.

“The eggs! I’m being pulled to the eggs.” She gave a whoop and grinned. “I’ll find them. I can’t help but find them.”

Kale climbed more vigorously while the sun went down and the moon rose. She reached a flattened area that looked vaguely familiar. When she spied the twisted entrance to the tumanhofer mine, she knew why. She turned her back on the gaping black mouth and headed to the cliff where the moonbeam cape and its precious contents had slipped over the edge.

Bright moonlight cast the region in a stark contrast of light and shadow. To the right was a slope of boulders which might be easier to descend than the spot at Kale’s feet. She took a few steps in that direction. A light at the bottom of the crevasse caught her attention.

A glowing cloud hovered at the base of a rockslide. It constantly shifted. The edges grew thin and drifted into nothing. The center remained unchanging, a roundish mass of eerie green light.

“I don’t much like the looks of that.” Kale spoke her doubt even as her feet moved toward the easier descent and the mysterious luminescence.

The day’s walking and climbing, the lack of food, and the cold night air began to wear on her. She tried singing some of Dar’s marching songs to keep alert. She struggled to slow down against the ever-increasing strength of the meech egg’s pull.

She mumbled to herself, “Making your way down a crevasse side is no place to fall asleep on your feet.”

An almost forgotten nudge in her mind caught her off kilter. She sat down with a thud on a hard jagged rock.

“Ouch!”

Even the pain couldn’t disguise the persistent niggling in her mind.

“Gymn?” She stood up.
Gymn!

Kale moved cautiously down the rocks. Gymn’s thoughts, and then Metta’s, bombarded her. She wouldn’t go to sleep now, but she also found it hard to concentrate on where to safely put her feet.

Slow down. I’m not understanding it all.

You’re all right, and so is Metta.

The meech egg is fine.

The worm is a nuisance.

Worm?

Kale shuddered as she got Gymn’s impression of the worm—big, slimy, slowly stalking them. Kale caught the image of the two minor dragons picking up rocks and flying over a massive roundworm. They dropped the rocks on the squirming beast. Pelting it discouraged its advance, and the worm slithered back into the rock walls. According to Metta’s account, this happened often. They also spat on the creature, leaving green and purple splotches that hurt the worm and caused it to turn back.

So it’s very dumb and very persistent.
Kale chuckled at Gymn’s tirade.
And you are glad I am coming, because you and Metta are tired of it.

It was so good to have those choppy, chaotic thoughts of the minor dragons flitting through her own thought pattern, Kale laughed out loud.

She learned Metta and Gymn had spent a comfortable winter in a cave that boasted three hot springs and plenty of insects and small rodents. The minor dragons knew she would come get them. They had felt it their duty to protect the meech egg from the worm. The mention of the worm sent Gymn off on another lengthy description of the clumsy beast’s constant stalking. Apparently when it captured a victim, the worm surrounded it and went to sleep, absorbing the captive directly through its oozing skin.

Kale grimaced with distaste. Clearly, the worm was an undesirable creature to winter with in a cave.

She reached the bottom of the ravine. Broken rocks littered the floor. She picked her way toward the glowing mist. The air smelled musty and unpleasant. It stung her eyes as she passed through. On the other side, a gap in the rocks gave entrance to the cave where Gymn and Metta guarded the meech egg. Kale heard its thrum, deep, constant, and strong. As she entered the chamber behind the mist, steamy air clung to her skin. Streaks of lightrock material mottled the cavern walls, giving off an even blue light.

Gymn and Metta flew to greet her. Tears of joy slipped down Kale’s cheeks. She uttered a praise of thanksgiving to Wulder as she cuddled each little dragon’s slim body against her face. She walked with them on her shoulders and collapsed beside the bush holding her cape and the meech egg. There she gently rubbed the two dragons’ scaly backs until she felt calm and rested.

As Metta sang a song of rejoicing, Kale’s spirit revived. The small piece of her heart that had been discontent even while she enjoyed the company of her own people now felt at peace. Gymn’s healing touch took away her aching fatigue.

Before settling down for the night, she carefully broke away the dead branches of the bush that ensnared the cape and egg. She explored the pockets and found all six unhatched dragon eggs safe. She delved into the hollows and discovered treasures from her travels and from Granny Noon. She wrapped herself in the moonbeam cape, and the sticky heat of the cavern no longer bothered her. Metta assured her she could drink the spring water, so she drank her fill. At long last, she lay down, curled herself around the thrumming meech egg, and let its soft vibrations lull her to sleep. The minor dragons would take turns watching through the night against a visit from the worm.

Kale awoke to Metta bouncing on her shoulder and chirruping a warning. Sunlight filtered into the cave. Kale saw clearly the huge worm slowly advancing across the open space. Worms on a fishhook had never been a lovely sight. A worm the size of six cows walking one behind the other made Kale sit up and stare. Pinkish gray flesh undulated as the creature inched forward. It moved sluggishly, rippling and sliding toward a tree near one of the hot springs.

Kale blinked at the sight of the stubby tree. She didn’t remember it from the night before. A tangle of long moss hanging off one side caused her to sit up even straighter and squint at the thick limbs.

“Wizard Fenworth!”

Metta and Gymn left her and flew to the tree. They circled Fenworth, chattering in high-pitched squeals. Kale stood and grabbed a long branch she had broken off the dead bush the night before. She charged the worm, hitting its head. It recoiled and turned away. Its retreat was slow and cumbersome.

“Well, if I have to face an enemy alone, that worm will do.”

Gymn landed on her shoulder and scolded.

“Excuse me,” said Kale. “Of course I wasn’t alone.”

Fenworth stretched and began to look more like a wizard. He yawned and shook his head. His hair and beard flew about him.

“Tut-tut. Shouldn’t sleep sitting up at my age. Puts cricks in my shoulders.”

“Good morning, Wizard Fenworth,” said Kale. “Did you follow me yesterday?”

“Follow you?” The wizard harrumphed. “I didn’t follow you, my dear. I led the others.”

Kale looked around the cave. No one lurked in the shadows as far as she could see. “Where are they?”

Fenworth glanced around in puzzlement. “Oh dear, where did I put them? No, no, I remember. I came on ahead. Got tired of walking.”

He watched the tail end of the worm disappear through one of the many cracks in the cave walls. “What a dreadful existence. Makes one glad one’s a wizard.”

“Yes, being a wizard is much preferable to being a worm.”

Kale recognized the voice before she turned to see Wizard Risto. Amazed, she realized how closely the evil man resembled Paladin. They were about the same build and had the same coloring and similar facial features.

He stepped into the cave from where he stood by the entrance. “But being a wizard who has taken his destiny into his own hands is infinitely preferable to being a wizard who lives to please another.”

“Tut-tut.” Fenworth shook his head and slowly stood. Shaking out his robes, he dislodged a lizard and a mouse. As always, leaves fluttered to the ground as he walked over to Kale and put a hand on her shoulder. “He means me, you know. Not the first part, the ‘destiny in his own hands’ part. The second part, about pleasing.” He shook his head again. “I don’t think Risto has ever given me a compliment before. And really, I should compliment him back. Polite, you know. But I can’t think of anything nice to say. Oh dear.”

Risto sneered at Fenworth. Kale saw any resemblance to Paladin melt away. Where compassion and wisdom enhanced Paladin’s face to make him attractive, Risto’s contempt shadowed his face with hard, ugly lines.

Wizard Fenworth leaned closer to Kale’s ear. “He had to wait for you to show up, you know. Couldn’t find the meech egg on his own, even when it was at his back door, so to speak. He hasn’t the talent for finding dragon eggs as you do, my dear. Galls him. He wants to be all-knowing, all-powerful. Galls him that a mere o’rant girl can find the meech egg, and he can’t. Had to follow you. Galls him.”

An angry, guttural growl emanated from the evil wizard. “Hand over the meech egg, old man.”

“Oh, I couldn’t do that.” He looked at Kale. “Perhaps Kale would like to…”

Kale found she was too scared to speak. She shook her head.

“No,” said Fenworth sadly, “I didn’t think so.”

“You’re no match for me, Fenworth.”

“No match. Haven’t got a match. I’ve got a good fire spell, but Librettowit doesn’t like me to use it. Librarians can be incredibly picky about details.”

Risto took a step forward and roared. “Fenworth!”

“Yes?”

“You bore me with your prattle.”

“Oh, regrettable, that. Why don’t you go seek the company of someone who doesn’t prattle? Seems like a good solution to your problem.”

“Enough of this nonsense.” Risto marched across the cave.

Kale ran.

She flung herself over the egg and cringed, expecting to feel Risto’s large hands grab her and hurl her out of his way. Instead she heard laughter: the soft chortle of Dar and Leetu, the shimmering giggles of kimens, and the bark of hearty laughter from Brunstetter and Lee Ark.

“Foiled again.” Librettowit’s voice bubbled with merriment.

Kale looked toward the entrance of the cave. Her friends filed in and came to stand with Fenworth.

“You’re late!” said the wizard.

“Ran into an angry group of grawligs,” said Lee Ark.

Kale rolled off the egg and sat with a thump on the hard cave floor.

“Why didn’t he grab the egg?”

Librettowit came to her side. He extended a hand and helped her to her feet. “You were between him and what he wanted, and you are Paladin’s servant.”

“I’m not a very powerful servant.”

“Doesn’t matter. He wasn’t prepared for resistance.” The librarian looked over at the frustrated wizard. Risto’s face had turned dark with rage. His eyes bulged as he glared at the line of opposition. “
Now
I think he is prepared. Let’s go stand with our comrades.”