Chapter 15: Aid from a reluctant source
The highway reduced to an overgrown track as Fandri rode his pony through less-used lands.
Fandri-La had been flying high overhead to scout, when she dashed down to him with a beaming smile. “There is something up ahead Fandri, which I think will be a help to us.”
A smile crossed the halfling’s dirt-smeared face. “Well now, anything would be an improvement on this endless grass. Come, sweet fairy.” He spurred on the pony and trotted up to a monument. An obelisk had been erected as high as a dragon and the track circled around it. Each of the four sides was smooth with symbols of elvish writing carved ornately upon it. The writing consisted of swirls and pretty letters which they were unable to read. Beneath that was a translation into Relorian Common.
Fandri shook his head, for he had never learned to read.
His fairy fluttered forward and read in a clear voice.
“You have reached the Unclaimed Lands
To the North lies the Diagro Plains
To the East lies the Great Elven Heart
To the South lies Flame Mountain
To the West lies the Eastern Outpost
May your journey be safe and your troubles be light.”
“You are a clever one, sweet fairy, for having studied your letters while I was distracted by play. I didn’t think I would ever have the use for it, but you proved me wrong. Hmm…we have a choice here. I think you deserve to decide where we go next.”
She frowned a little as she pondered his offer. “On one hand we want to get to Flame Mountain as quickly as possible to rescue Varl, but on the other hand we’ve a better chance of rescue if we have help. The Great Elven Heart is many days’ ride out of our way. Perhaps Prince Celdar-Moon would help us.”
“And perhaps pigs can fly.” Fandri gave a wry grin. “He doesn’t seem the most helpful of people.”
“But he is in an alliance with the Diagro King. I think he would help save the son.”
Fandri sighed. “Yes you are probably right. To the Eastern Outpost it is then.”
As luck would have it, there was but a short ride from the crossroads to the castle. It was an imposing dark structure in the exact image of the other outposts. Fandri noticed that the outer walls were twice as high as the others he had seen and wondered if it were due to the close proximity of the dragons’ homeland.
The large metal-reinforced gates were shut. “It doesn’t look very welcoming.”
His fairy nodded. “I guess that living between warring men and dragons is not the most relaxing place to live. Should we knock?”
She reached up with both hands to lift the large metal knocker, but froze when she heard a melodious voice. “Morning greetings. Why have you come to the Western Outpost, Southern halfling and bond-fairy? You are far from home.”
“How did they know it was us when we can’t see them?” Her voice was a low breath in Fandri’s ear.
He shrugged.
The fairy laid the knocker gently back in its resting position and exchanged glances with her halfling. He nodded.
She cleared her throat and spoke up in her loudest voice. “Hello, fair elves. We seek urgent counsel with the elven prince in regards to the dragons kidnapping the Diagro prince.”
The gate swung open without a sound and closed as soon as they had passed. Fandri looked from side to side, but failed to see a soul in the courtyard.
“Hmm…these elves are tricky.” He frowned a little.
The main doors of the castle opened and a familiar elf emerged wearing a flowing white dress enhanced with silver thread. Juline-Mist’s pale hair was fashioned in elaborate flowing swirls and her green eyes appeared large in her pretty face.
“Ah…Fandri and Fandri-La. How delightful to see you here in the West. I have not long since arrived here myself.”
Fandri glanced down at his stained travelling clothes and looked again at her elegant dress. “You sure don’t look it, miss.” He tried to broach the subject of his planned rescue again. “I’m sorry to be abrupt, but this is a matter of some urgency Miss Juline-Mist. Can we see the prince straight away please?”
She glanced sideways, hesitated, then the castle door opened again.
Celdar-Moon walked slowly towards them, a silver cane was in his hand. His long nose was twitching and his eyes were hard. “Halfling, fairy, I’m sorry you have come out of your way, but I am unable to interfere in the manner you wish. If the mountain men have taken the boy, then he is most likely deceased by now. There is no honour or sense of duty between these ignorant races. You will be well fed and accommodated here and you can be on your way home tomorrow. Whether you return north or travel south to your homeland is of no consequence to me. Farewell.”
Without a pause to listen to their tale, the elf turned and disappeared back inside the hall.
The elven maiden held Fandri’s hand between her own, which felt cool in the warm air. These lands appeared to have relinquished winter some time past and were lush and green. Perfect for farming in fact, if not for the predatory dragons.
“Oh, I am sorry, dear friends. It is a difficult position here for diplomacy. Prince Celdar-Moon was injured by a Vergai which had broken into this castle whilst we were in the East Lands. All the elves here were killed, to our great loss. Celdar-Moon has been in an unfavourable mood since I arrived here. Come, take tea with me and we will discuss your options.”
Fandri’s brow furrowed with surprise that a lone lizardman could be a danger to the agile elves.
“Is he badly injured?” The fairy’s eyes shone with concern.
Juline-Mist gave a smile which lit up her beautiful face. “Oh, sweet fairy. Thanks for your kind thoughts. I believe his pride was grievously wounded. I have healed the infected leg wound he suffered from the Vergai’s tail. He walks with a slight limp at the moment, but otherwise he is mending well.”
She led them past a large raised basin, where they refreshed their faces and hands. Over a delightfully sweet brew with light wafers and fresh fruits, Juline-Mist spoke again.
“The elven prince is correct, the chance of success is slim indeed and an attempt at rescue would likely end in your demise. While stout of heart and bravery, you are ill-equipped for fighting or evasion. …oh.”
She tapped manicured fingernails on her perfect teeth as an idea came to her.
Fandri-La flew forward. “What is it, my Lady? I am anxious to hear your idea. Can you help us rescue Prince Varl?”
Juline-Mist tilted her head to the side and blinked several times as she thought. Fandri’s heart beat fast as he waited, and his toes tapped on the flagstones.
He was beginning to think that she had reconsidered when she rose from her seat. “Wait here please.”
A short time later she returned on the arm of Celdar-Moon who carried a wrapped parcel. Fandri-La noticed the pearl on his forehead was glowing with magic and she guessed that he must have been performing the Elven Shield renewal spell. The Shield was a big responsibility. It had faltered during his absence in the desert and he had rushed back to rebuild it.
He nodded at Fandri, although there was no welcoming smile to be had. “I have been informed that you will be my guest here in the castle until I aid you in your quest to rescue Prince Varl.”
Fandri’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but he coughed to cover his reaction and waved for the elf to continue.
Celdar-Moon unwrapped the parcel to reveal dull grey material. “This is my most prized possession which was bestowed upon me by the late King Phelaeron-Sky. It is an invisibility cloak. Ordinarily I would not lend it to a soul, let alone a young, impetuous…”
The maiden cleared her throat in a dainty tut-tut.
“…I mean a bare acquaintance, but I have decided to graciously lend it to you.” He puffed out his chest and raised his pointed nose to the ceiling.
Juline-Mist winked.
“Your highness.” Fandri bowed so low his hand scraped the floor. “We will take the best of care with
your cloak and return it as soon as possible. Thank you very much.”
Celdar-Moon appeared satisfied with this display of gratitude and the maiden’s eyes beamed with pleasure.
Fandri’s mouth dropped open as the Juline-Mist tip-toed up to the prince and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. “I really do appreciate this favour, Celdar-Moon. I feel so indebted to you right now for helping my friends.”
Halfling and fairy exchanged glances and backed out of the room. The last thing they saw before closing the door quietly was the prince’s hand entwined in the maiden’s hair, her arms around his shoulders and their lips locked together.
They walked a ways before the fairy spoke. “Do you think they have noticed that we left yet?”
“Not likely. They looked pretty much lost in each other’s company. Ah…it makes me long for my dear Emina and our life back home in Southdale. We have been gone for ages. Do you think we will ever see her again?”
“Oh Fandri, I’m sure we will. Right now we have important jobs to do here, like saving Varl. We are his only chance of rescue, now that the knights have deserted us.”
“Who ever thought that one small halfling and his fairy would hold the life of a prince in their hands? Come, let’s go.”
With hearty thanks and rumbling stomachs, they grabbed the proffered food bags from the two servants and set off once more on the trusted pony.
On their return journey to the Crossroads, Fandri pondered how the magical cloak might work. Celdar-Moon certainly had not been forthcoming with an explanation.
“Fandy, do you think that the cloak works by turning the wearer into the surroundings?”
The fairy tilted her head to one side, causing the bell on her cap to tinkle. “I guess so. Either that or it moves your eyes away so you don’t see the person. I know the elves are good with defensive spells and shields. Celdar-Moon is so unfriendly. I really am surprised that he lent it to us.”
Fandri laughed. “Well, they say love is blind. Juline-Mist is so fond of him. You know, I can understand this. I would do anything for Emina too.”
“He is rather a handsome elf.” Fandri-La had an appealing pink flush to her cheeks.
“Really? This is the same arrogant elf, I know?” The halfling teased and gave a poke with his smallest finger.
“Maybe a little. His pearl-moon jewel is quite unique.” She hummed and feigned great interest in stroking the pony’s mane.
They reached the Crossroads and took the road to the south. There were no burned-out farmyards past this point, only untended scraggly grass. After a pause to drink at a small brook, they continued on their way.
“Hey, why don’t I try it on and you can tell me if it works.”
A great flapping sounded as Fandri spoke. The sound grew louder as a blue dragon came into view.
Fandri struggled with the cloak and found a peculiar thing. The more he pulled at it, the larger it became. He pulled it easily over himself and the entire pony. The fairy tucked herself onto his lap. The cloak dropped to the dirt and immediately retracted itself so that it skimmed the ground.
At that moment, the dragon swooped low over them, as though pouncing on its prey. Its claws appeared to pass right through the halfling and the cloak. Fandri gasped.
The dragon shrieked with surprise and frustration. It flew up, circled the area twice peering intently at the ground, before shaking its head and continuing on its journey southward.
Halfling, pony and fairy remained motionless, holding their breath until the beast became a speck on the horizon. Then they trembled with fright.
He pulled the cloak free and rolled it into a ball. “What in the heavens happened there? I was sure we would be killed.”
The pony shuddered and collapsed on its knees to the ground. Fandri-La flew down to check on it. “The poor animal is having a heart spasm. Its chest is tight with pain and its legs are numb. Oh no.”
“Can you help it?”
With a small nod, she glowed bright and sang a song of healing. The animal panted with nasal flaring and foam oozing from its mouth. It slowly eased into regular breathing before it fell into a deep sleep.
Fandri and his fairy felt weakened from her exertion. He ate the dainty bread the elves had given him and rested against the pony’s belly.
“I think we had best sleep under the cloak.” Fandri-La tapped him on the shoulder and roused him to drape the cloak over them. They slept for many hours.
The morning sun shining through the translucent cloth woke Fandri. He stretched and groaned. “Ouch, I must have lain on several rocks during the night, for I feel stiff and sorry this morning.”
He rolled over to see the fairy on a toadstool, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “I slept well, but I can feel your aches through our bond.” She rubbed her backside.
The pony made a small neigh as it heard their familiar voices. “Yes, my friend. You are well now. That is a relief, for we have a long journey ahead of us today. By the way, Fandri, he calls himself ‘Gallant.’ Quite the hero, aren’t you pony?”
It neighed and licked the fairy. She spluttered and coughed. “Eww. I guess I should thank you for the bath, Gallant.”
Fandri laughed. “It is nice to have a name for him. Come Gallant, can you stand?” He stepped back and watched as Gallant rolled and stood. He appeared quite steady.
“Great; are you able to walk now?” Fandri stood at his head and led Gallant forward. The pony tapped his hooves as though testing them and walked forward several steps.
The fairy smiled. “He is feeling much better.”
“I’ll walk beside him a while and see how he goes.” Fandri let go of the reins and the pony followed him along the track, which had almost disappeared. “Hey, Fandy, do you know which way we need to go once this track is gone?”
“South. Keep going forward. It looks like hills or mountains on the horizon ahead. It’s the biggest mountain range in Reloria, so I’m sure we will find it.”
They travelled along at a steady pace with Fandri alternating between walking and riding Gallant.
Around noon, dark specks appeared in the sky ahead. Dragons.
They looked around for cover and raced towards a single tree. Fandri wrapped the cloak around them once more.
They watched between the sparse branches as a group of around twenty dragons in hues of black, grey, blue and green flew overhead.
One grey dragon turned its head in the direction of the tree and blew a deep breath towards them. The cloak wavered in the breeze and the pony’s hooves were revealed. The dragon pounced upon them with a roar, lifting pony and rider high into the air.
Fandri realised their ruse was discovered and he bundled up the cloak, which shrank to the size of a handkerchief. He stuffed it into his shirt-front.
“What devilry is this?” Smoke erupted from the dragon’s nostrils and the halfling saw a red glow light up its chest.
Sharp talons turned Fandri over, leaving long gashes which made him gasp.
The halfling was shuffled to one claw and the pony to another. The poor creature struggled and Fandri saw rivulets of sweat dripping from its body. The dragon carelessly rent another deep gash in the pony’s torso and it squealed with pain.
Without mercy, the dragon tossed the pony into the air and incinerated it with a huge blast of fire.
Fandri-La squealed.
Clumps of ash fell to the ground. Small flecks hung in the air and Fandri covered his mouth to avoid breathing them in, as the dragon banked around the remains of the unfortunate pony.
Fandri started to shake and was unable to control the violent shudders which racked his body. Sobs came unchecked from trembling lips and tears rained down his cheeks. “Noo…Gallant. P...p...lease don’t kill us, dr...dragon. We m...m...mean no harm.”
The dragon raised the halfling in front of its face. “Us?” The voice was of a high pitch as though he were surprised. The great beast landed on the ground and its tail stirred up dust on the ground. Its wings cause
d such a breeze that poor Fandri-La was whisked away and had to flap her tiny wings hard to return to Fandri.
When she returned, the dragon held out his claw and she landed atop it. His voice was hoarse from the smoke. “Curious. You be looking rather like the elves’ companions I saw at the Eastern Outpost one moon ago. How is it that you be here, trespassing in the dragon lands?”
Several ideas flashed through the fairy’s mind before she answered. “I apologise for the mistake. We visited Prince Celdar-Moon in the castle and have lost our way.” She pouted and batted her eyelashes at the beast.
The dragon snorted and the lips around its sharp teeth curled. “You be a terrible liar, little sprite. No-one in their right mind visits that arrogant excuse for an elf on purpose, and no-one with two good eyes in their head mistakes the southern track for the east-west road.” His cat-like yellow eyes narrowed as he studied both the fairy and Fandri. “I will give you one last chance to speak the truth, otherwise I will roast this boy and send you back to the knight king with his ashes in a box.”
Fandri gulped. Bile rose up in his mouth.
Teary-eyed Fandri-La held her hands out as though she could stop the dragon with her palms. “Please, please, sir. We are bonded together. Anything you do to one of us will affect the other. Would you truly be so heartless as to kill us?”
The big eyes stared at her for a long while. Not a word was spoken.
At length a green dragon approached. “Leader Aram, shall we continue our harvest to the north?”
The grey mused. “Hmm…collect livestock or return with this tiny prize for a trial before the council? Both be worthy options. Very well, I shall return to the mountain and young Klaw, you may continue on to harvest a farm. This should not delay the expedition. I will see you upon your return.”
Aram Dragon turned his back on the others, with his talons curling around the fairy and halfling. With a running leap, he launched into the air. Mighty wings flapped and they left the ground at an alarming rate.
“Ahhhhh!” Fandri yelled at the top of his lungs as they rose up through the darkening sky. His heart thundered in his chest and his breaths came in ragged gasps.
The air was so cold that he could see his fairy shivering a short distance away.
Despite his own fears, he felt something much stronger, akin to terror radiating out from Fandri-La. He took a deep breath to steady his voice. “Fandy, are you alright?”
She nodded, but seemed too scared to speak. Through their bond he could feel pain from her right arm. It felt like a deep cut and he was worried to see so much blood. He also had many scratches from the dragon, but nothing as serious as hers.
Fandri clenched his fists and cleared his throat. “Dragon. You have injured my fairy. Please stop flying so I can tend to her. She is bleeding heavily and we both feel weak.”
As he said ‘weak’ Fandri realised how true this was. There was a strange numb feeling in his extremities and his head suddenly felt heavy as though he needed to lie down. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but they closed against his will. The last thing he saw was the orange planet Zanarah rising over the horizon between flaps of emerald wings.
Darkness.
Artwork: ‘Ash Dragon’ sculpture by Tania, age 11