The Eighth Warden Ch. 017-018

"I haven't seen one either, but I think they're in my book," Shavala said. She stood and went over to her saddlebags, which were propped up against the wall. Pulling the book out, she thumbed through it until she found the page she wanted, then brought it to Bobo. "Can you read it?"

He looked it over. "Yes, this is just Old Matan. It's still used in some places in Matagor that haven't switched to Western. I grew up speaking both. And this is a drake." He passed the book around so everyone could see the page.

The picture looked much like Corec had expected, a skinnier version of a dragon. Not that he'd seen a dragon, but he'd seen plenty of paintings and drawings of them. The ink in the book was smudged, but the picture was clear enough to see the scaled skin. The drake was sitting back on its thicker rear legs, with its wings spread and one of its forelegs extended to show its talons.

"What does it say about it?" Corec asked. "How big is it?"

Bobo read through the page before replying. "It says an adult can reach up to twelve feet from the nose to the base of the tail, and then another eight feet for the tail. The wingspan can reach up to fifteen feet, with the wings fully extended."

"Twelve feet? That's taller than an ogre. How big does it get before it learns to breathe fire?"

"It just says they get their fire when they're nearly full grown, so I imagine it could be anywhere almost up to that size. They reach their full size at twenty years."

"Mother Yewen said it was still small," Treya said. "Does the book say how to fight them?"

"No," Bobo said, "but it does say their scales harden over time. The older they are, the harder it is to hurt them, just like dragons." He turned to Shavala. "I like this book. Can I borrow it?"

"Will you read it to me? Or teach me to read it?"

"Of course."

Corec said, "I know a bit about fighting drakes, but I've never done it before. Their claws are sharp, especially when they're young, so I'll have to do this alone." Facing Bobo, he added, "Unless you want to buy some armor and join me."

"I've never learned how to fight. I'd just get in your way."

"I don't think you should do it," Katrin said. "It sounds too dangerous."

"If it's young, it's not that bad," Corec said. "I trained with people who've done it. And if it lets us hire Rallus, it would be worth it."

She frowned at him, but nodded.

"Can I help?" Shavala asked.

"I don't know," Corec said. "I guess it depends how hard its scales are. And you'd have to be as far away as possible. The young ones can still fly, and it might decide to come after you."

"What if we disable its wings somehow?" Treya asked.

"How?"

"Maybe if I throw a chain around it and hold it down long enough for you to cut it?"

Corec frowned. "You'd have to get close enough for it to reach you, and if you're holding onto the chain, it'll knock you off your feet. Were you planning to buy some armor?"

"No. I can't fight like that."

"I don't like it then," Corec said. "I think I should go alone. I'll buy a heavy crossbow and hit it from a distance, and if that doesn't kill it, I'll use my sword."

"What about a net?" Treya suggested. "If I could get that around one of its wings, I wouldn't have to hold on to it."

"That might work. We'd need to find a place where you could hide out of sight until I have it distracted. And then you'd need to hide again as soon as you're done."

Treya looked like she was about to protest, but then nodded reluctantly.

"Would bear traps help?" Bobo asked. "If you're trying to bring it to you, you could place them before you fire the crossbow."

"With the talons spread out, I don't think its feet would fit in a bear trap," Corec said. "And if Treya and I are out there, there's too much chance of us stepping on one."

"True, I suppose. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know."

"Can you talk to it?" Corec asked Shavala. "Convince it to move somewhere without people?"

She shook her head. "I can speak to the beasts of the natural world, but drakes and dragons are different."

"Treya, do you know where we can buy a net?" Corec asked.

"No," she said. "I left Four Roads eight years ago, and I was too young then to be allowed around town."

He nodded. "We'll come find you tomorrow morning, then, and look for a net and a crossbow. Can you ask around to find out where it's been nesting?"

"Yes."

He took a deep breath. "All right, then. I guess we'll try to do this tomorrow."

After Treya had taken her leave and Bobo had returned to the other room, Corec looked at Katrin. "Would you like to go for a walk?" Mama Wenna had given him some relationship advice.

She bit her lip and glanced at Shavala, but when the elf girl shrugged, she said, "Yes, but it's dark out."

"Four Roads is safe, and I'll keep my chainmail on. I usually wouldn't bother with a sword here in town, but with those red-eyed fellows, I'll go ahead and keep it with me, just in case."

She nodded.

They were quiet as they left the inn and took a right on the street. It was late enough that the shops were closed, but the taverns and inns were still doing lively business. Light came through their windows and from the lamps hanging from the fronts of the buildings. The sounds of laughter, shouting, and music could be heard up and down the street.

Corec spoke first. "You don't have to worry about the drake. We'll scout it out first. If it looks too large or too dangerous, we just won't do it."

"Are you sure?" she said.

"Yes. I have no intention of getting killed by an overgrown lizard. The money will be helpful if we're going to hire a wizard, but if we don't get it, then we'll keep looking."

As he spoke, he reached for her hand. It felt warm and dry, and she curled her fingers around his.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked. "And Bobo?"

"I don't want you anywhere near it. You can stay here."

"But what if something happens?"

"Then I'd rather have you away from the danger. Honestly, I'd rather go alone, but if Shavala and Treya think they can help, without getting too close..."

"Are you just going after the drake because Treya wants you to?" she asked.

Corec sighed. "I owe it to her, and to you and Shavala. That doesn't mean I'm going to do something stupid."

"I don't think she'll stay this angry at you forever. She just needs time to get used to the idea."

"She shouldn't have to get used to the idea," he said. As he spoke, the itch on his right arm grew worse, but he couldn't scratch it while wearing his chainmail. "Neither should you. If I have Bobo do the talking with anyone new we run across, hopefully we can keep it from happening again."

"Do you really think that will work? You and I didn't talk that first night."

"I know, but I can't think of what else to do. I can't stay locked up for the rest of my life."

"We could try my blindfold idea."

Corec laughed. "If an appropriate occasion comes up, sure."

The street they were heading down was darker ahead of them, so they turned right to stay in the area that was better lit. They walked in companionable silence before Katrin spoke again. "What are the four roads?"

"Hmm?"

"Four Roads. You said there's the Trade Road and the Farm Road, but what are the other two?"

"There are only the two. That's the big joke around here, and they never get tired of telling it. The Trade Road goes east and west and the Farm Road goes north and south. The town was built on the crossroads, so from the point of view of the residents, there are major roads heading in four directions out of town. Well, three now—you don't want to go too far south down the Farm Road anymore. There's a dragon that way."

"A dragon?" she asked. "Why doesn't someone do something about it?"

"Because it's full grown and it's a real dragon, not a drake. There's nobody in the free lands who could stop it. It took over a keep at a toll road crossing, and everyone who lived there had to abandon the area. The older folks say Four Roads doubled in size when all the refugees showed up. That was decades ago."

"Couldn't someone else kill it or drive it off? Larso?"

"I don't know. Maybe if all the knights assembled and brought their siege equipment, but I'm not sure that would be enough. Besides, Larso has no reason to help the free lands. People live here because they don't want to be beholden to any of the kingdoms. The only reason I can think of that would interest the king is that it's a more convenient trade route to southern Larso, but they're more likely to build a new road than fight a dragon."

"Oh."

Corec took a deep breath. "There are some things I should tell you. I was a knight once. A trainee, anyway, with the Knights of Pallisur. They kicked me out when they found out about the magic."

"Oh," she said again. "I'd wondered how you knew so much about them. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I don't like to talk about being kicked out. And...I don't talk about my family, either. I lied that first night when you asked about the crest on my armor. My father's a baron. It's not a big deal, because I'm illegitimate and I have two older brothers, but I'm sorry for lying."

"I figured it was something like that," Katrin admitted, "and Treya mentioned your family, too. I can understand not wanting to talk about it."

They turned right again and were quiet for a moment before Corec said, "Have you thought any more about staying here?"

"If I can find a teacher, maybe, but you're still planning to work as a caravan guard, right? How often are you gone?"

He hadn't considered that. "A lot. They sometimes shut the caravans down in the winter, or if the roads get too muddy, but other than that, I'm traveling most of the time. I was thinking of switching to courier work, so I wouldn't have to be gone as much, but to get enough jobs, I'd have to move to Tyrsall. And if I have to live in Tyrsall anyway, maybe I could do something that doesn't require traveling. I'm sure I could get work as a bodyguard, or maybe with the constabulary." He laughed. "Or Deshin suggested I could spend ten years as a wizard's apprentice."

Katrin stopped walking and tugged on his hand. He turned to face her.

"If you're really thinking of living in Tyrsall," she said, "it would be a lot easier for me to find a teacher there. The bardic school won't take me—I already asked—but maybe there's a bard who'd be willing to teach me outside the school."

Corec stared into her green eyes as he thought. His resistance to living in Tyrsall had been mostly due to its size, but over the years, he'd grown used to it. And constantly traveling back and forth was growing tedious. It might not be a bad thing to stay in one place for a while. Perhaps he could ask Varsin Senshall if anyone in the family needed a bodyguard.

He smiled at her. "Tyrsall, then, after we figure out the runes and get your brother out of prison?"

"Tyrsall. After Circle Bay, I'll come back with you."

He cupped her cheek with one hand and bent down to kiss her, her lips meeting his as she tilted her head back.

#

After her walk with Corec, Katrin returned to her room. They hadn't spoken much after the kiss, simply enjoying the time to themselves.

Shavala looked up from where she'd been mending one of her tunics. "Are you going to stay in his bed tonight?"

"What? No! Why would I do that?"

The elf girl cocked her head to the side. "You've never...?"

"Yes, I have, but..." Katrin knew she was blushing as red as her hair. "I just...we're still getting to know each other."

"You've known him for over a month."

"I know, but I spent a lot of that time hating him, so I'm still getting used to the idea." Katrin had only been to bed with two other men in her life, and both had been mistakes. She'd decided to be more cautious this time. "I'm sorry—I know you like him, too."

"Why are you sorry about that? Though if I'd known you were going to take this long, I wouldn't have waited for you to go first."

"Go...first?"

"You've known him longer, so it's only right."

"But what do you mean, first? I'm planning to come back with him after Circle Bay, not to end things between us."

Shavala looked at her curiously. "Humans don't share their lovers with others?"

"No! I mean, not usually. Sometimes a man has a wife and a concubine."

"A concubine like Treya?"

"Treya's not a concubine. She's just trained by them, I guess. I don't really understand it, either."

Shavala said, "When I found a lover I liked, I shared him with a friend back in Terrillia. He shared me with one of his friends, too."

Katrin felt her jaw dropping. "You slept with his friend?"

"No, we didn't sleep. I just had sex with him. How do humans find the right partner if they don't try others?"

"We do, just...not all at the same time. What happened with your...your lover?"

"He was fun to play with, but we weren't looking to settle down. There's too much I want to do still."

"Are you going to go back to him after you're done with your travels?"

"No, I don't think so. Besides, my friend shared him with another friend, who's still with him."

Katrin shook her head, laughing. "So, you share lovers until, what, you get married?"

"Sometimes after. My parents are still close with some of their friends. My brother and his wife decided not to share, though."

"Humans usually only see one person at a time. If things don't work out, then they might seek another. And they don't always sleep together right away—I mean, have sex."

Shavala nodded. "So, if you stay with him after Circle Bay, the two of you won't share each other with anyone else?"

She didn't sound particularly disappointed, but Katrin had seen the looks she gave Corec, and the looks he gave her.

"I...I don't know. Let me think about that, all right?"

###

Chapter 18

The plan fell apart before it even got started.

Early in the morning, Corec had tracked down some of the fishermen who worked the local lakes, and found one that was willing to sell him a large net. Then he'd bought a heavy crossbow, wishing he hadn't sold the last one.

While he was doing that, someone at the Three Orders chapter house helped Treya find a local farmer who knew where the drake was nesting, and could take them to it.

Bren, the guide, led them north up the Farm Road for an hour, then onto a series of trails to the west that passed farm after farm. They'd walked, not wanting to risk their horses panicking if they came upon the drake suddenly.

"It's just up ahead," Bren said, nearly two hours after they'd left the main road. "See that meadow there? The drake comes after anyone who goes into it. It spends most of its time in the trees on the far side."

The group was hiding behind a large mass of blackberry bushes, peering over them to stare out across the meadow.

"I don't see it," Corec said. The trees weren't dense enough to block the view, and there wasn't any movement.

Bren spat on the ground, and pointed his pitchfork up at the sky. "Probably out hunting. It got two of my chickens yesterday and scattered the rest, then took one of my neighbor's sheep and killed his dog. Or it might be sleeping—it hunkers down over there behind those rocks."

"What should we do?" Bobo asked. Corec wasn't sure why he'd insisted on coming, but at least Katrin had remained behind.

"Well, if it's sleeping, that'll make it easier to surprise it with the crossbow," Corec said. "We should go around the meadow, though, if it—"

That was all he had time to say before a deafening shriek pierced the air. A shadow passed above, and then the drake was on them, landing with its rear legs striking Corec and Bobo. As Corec fell, he felt his mind shift twice, like it had during the fight with the red-eyed men. This time, it wasn't as disorienting, and he recognized the second shift as another spell. He hit the ground hard, and his barrier shield flared and died, but the second spell remained in place. He heard his companions shouting, but with the drake's continued shrieking, he couldn't tell what they were saying.

With his heavy armor weighing him down, Corec felt like a turtle on its back, but he managed to roll to his side and brace himself on one arm. On the ground in front of him was the crossbow, the limb snapped in two, making it worthless. He hadn't had a chance to cock it, anyway. The net was still tied up in a bundle, and Treya had dropped it to the ground to help Bren pull Bobo out of the way of the drake's claws. There was a small cut on Bobo's head, and a large blood stain spreading across his upper chest. Corec couldn't see Shavala anywhere.

With the other targets moving away, the drake focused its attention on Corec, slashing at his armor. He hadn't managed to stand up yet, and fell back to the ground instead, crossing his arms in front of him to block the talons. Now that the creature was standing on its rear legs, it was using its smaller forelegs to attack. Corec was able to fend it off with his gauntlets and vambraces, hoping the claws didn't find a gap between them.

Then, something distracted the drake and it pulled back, scanning the tree line. Corec took the chance to roll over onto his stomach so he could push himself up to his knees. He caught a glimpse of Treya pressing her glowing hands to the wound on Bobo's chest, but couldn't spare any time to worry about them. As he got to his feet, the drake turned back to him, ignoring whatever had drawn its attention. Corec drew his sword and tossed two mage lights to float around the beast's head, hoping to distract it again. It worked—the drake tried to attack the lights, its claws passing through them harmlessly.

Corec cast the spell that let him move faster in his armor, figuring he would need the extra speed to dodge. He was finally able to get a good look at the drake. It had dark brown scales and stood ten feet tall on its hind legs—nearly full grown, and much larger than he'd expected. Its shrieking mouth showed sharp teeth, but it hadn't tried to bite them. As Corec charged at the creature, he made a mighty overhand swing against the nearest foreleg. It connected, and he felt the force reverberate up his arms. He'd cracked the scales, but that was the only damage he'd done.

The drake immediately turned its attention back to him, no longer distracted by the lights. It attacked him, and Corec fell into a steady rhythm. The creature was stronger than him, but its patterns were predictable and it didn't attack as quickly as the knights Corec had trained against. As long as he braced himself, he could block the attacks and keep himself from being knocked over. But it was difficult to counter-attack, and when he did, it didn't have much of an effect. The scales on the drake's underside seemed softer than the ones on its back and legs, but Corec still wasn't able to do enough damage to stop it.

He had his own advantage, though. Any time the beast's claws struck his armor, there was a dull thump, and Corec once again felt like he had an extra layer of armor that couldn't be seen. It could only have come from the new spell, but he wasn't sure how long it would last. He needed to finish the fight quickly, but he wasn't able to gain any ground, and he didn't know how well his armor would hold up against the claws after the spell faded.

Then, one of Shavala's arrows pierced the drake's wing, and it pulled back from the fight, its shriek higher in pitch than before.

"I'm out of arrows!" she shouted from somewhere back behind the tree line. She must have been firing all along.

Corec took advantage of the creature's distraction and thrust forward against its chest, but his sword skittered against the scales over the ribcage at the wrong angle, and the impact jarred the blade out of his hands. It fell to the ground as the creature renewed its attack with fury.