Tiriel and I went up to the window, and were joined by Arndrir. There were armed men outside, standing in a half-circle on the street and watching as a line of men and women filed out from the building we were in.

“It’s the town guard,” Arndrir said, frowning. “They seem to be emptying the tavern and sending people off. I will go down and see what is happening.”

He left the room and Tiriel and I turned back to the others.

“We have to get the Blade,” Caveria said. “It can’t be allowed to fall into Lecander’s hands!” She was standing, and looked grim. “I will do it, with or without the rest of you.”

“I agree,” Tiriel said. “The war will be bad, but the war with the Dragonblade will be much, much worse.” She glanced sidelong at me.

“So you’re saying we should continue into the mountains, and fight a dragon?” I said.

“Fight it, and kill it,” Caveria said.

“Do we have to kill it?” I shot back. “Can’t we talk to it? Maybe the dragons know where the sword is?”

She shook her head, but looked amused. “They probably do, but if they wanted us to know, or have it, they’d have given it to us already. They’re not interested in helping us.”

I frowned and looked at her. She really wants to fight a dragon, I realized. She just brushed off my questions, like she’d done before.

Just then Arndrir came back, with a serious expression. “The guards are enforcing a curfew,” he said, “and sealing the town. The Dimran army is on the way and will arrive by dawn.”

“The Dimran army?” Tiriel said. “But Davorra is a special territory!”

“Not for much longer, I fear. If what the guard told me is true.”

“I see.” Tiriel frowned and looked at nothing in particular for a moment. Then she nodded to herself.

“We need to know what’s happening. Let’s go back to our rooms and hear the news there. Come!”

She hurried out the door and down the stairs, leaving the rest of us to follow. The guards tried to stop her, but she waved them away with her haughtiest high-princess look, and kept moving. We followed her across the street and down three blocks, to a tall, narrow building nestling up against the cliff wall behind the town.

She glanced over her shoulder to see if we were still there - she’d been moving fast; I’d had to lengthen my stride to keep up - and disappeared inside.

We climbed the narrow stairs, past several landings all the way up to the fourth floor. We must be near the top of the building, I thought, when I saw Tiriel waiting for us outside a plain, unmarked door. Once we were all gathered, she put her palm against the door, where the lock or handle should have been.

She paused, and then pushed the door open gently. I didn’t see or hear anything, but it looked like she unlocked it with her palm. Magic, I thought, and wondered briefly exactly where we were.

Once inside, the rooms gave no clue. It looked like other rooms we’d stayed in - a couple of bedrooms, a common room, and doors that led somewhere else, but I didn’t have time to explore those. Tiriel stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face us.

“I will go up and talk to the staff,” she said. “I think we should get ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”

“I agree,” Arndrir said. “The guards seemed very uncertain.”

Tiriel nodded and disappeared through one of the other doors. I wondered where she was going, and what staff she was going to talk to. Not now, I thought, and went with Arndrir and Thord into the men’s bedroom.

As I’d hoped, my backpack was there. Arndrir had retrieved it, and they’d gone through it while they’d waited in Davorra, and mended the things that needed mending. They’d also stuffed it with provisions, and it was heavy. There was no telling how long it might take to hunt down a dragon, Arndrir explained. I was grateful, and touched.

I helped them pack their own things, and we donned wilderness and battle gear, before we all assembled in the common room. Serah was waiting there, with the women’s things. A minute later, Caveria came out of their bedroom and looked at me.

“Peter, will you come here?” she said. I followed her into their bedroom, where she retrieved a bundle from under one of the beds. It was narrow and long and wrapped in a cloth. She unwrapped it, and held it out in both hands. A sword. No - my sword!

I grinned at her, but she looked wary. “I retrieved it when they took you away,” she said. “I hoped you’d come back, but I didn’t know it was... Lecander.” She looked away.

“Hey,” I said. “I came back, didn’t I?” I took the sword and carefully lifted it out of her hands.

“You did,” she said, “with a very ugly amulet.” She met my gaze, and the doubt in her eyes hurt.

“Caveria,” I said, trying to sound gentle. “You know I’m never going to help him with any of his plans.”

She looked at me for a long moment, and then slowly nodded. “I hope so. But I’m not sure you understand enough to be careful.”

I didn’t know what to say. There it was again. You don’t know.

“Thank you for saving my sword,” I said instead. “It means a lot.”

She finally smiled, and it even reached her eyes, a bit. “You’re welcome,” she said. “Let’s go to the others.”

Tiriel had returned and was talking to the others. I saw Arndrir glance at me and flash me a smile when he saw the hilt of my sword sticking out of its sheath. I grinned back at him. I might not be much of a hero, but I’d felt half naked without any weapon. Perhaps I was getting used to this.

“My people say that King Orcander has decided to seize the town and blockade it. He’s sent the army to the other mountain towns as well.” She turned to me with a questioning look. “It sounds like what Lecander told you is in motion. They seem to either fear an attack from the mountains, or prepare one themselves.”

I stared at her. I shouldn’t be surprised, but somehow I’d expected the war to happen down in the plains, among the human kingdoms.

“That’s... stupid,” I said. “Isn’t it?” Or was it? I wished I knew something more about the history between the humans and elves and dwarves. You don't know, a voice in my mind whispered. I pushed it away angrily.

“Yes,” she said and nodded sadly. “We are not preparing to attack anyone, or prepared to be attacked. Although, how they think they can fight us in our home, among the mountains...” She shook her head, her eyes narrowing to thin green slits.

Stolen story; please report.

“Have you heard anything from my people?” Thord said. He didn’t look unduly worried, merely curious.

“No,” Tiriel said. “We’ve only been able to send a few communications to the King. That’s why I need to leave. I don’t know what Dimra’s planning, but I can’t let them hold me here.”

“We should leave immediately, then,” Arndrir said. “I’m sure there are roadblocks already, but once the army arrives they will be much harder to get past.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It will be a rough night, probably. Let’s go.”

We went back down the stairs and out on the street. Tiriel led us through a dark alley to the back of the buildings, where it was pitch black. The darkness didn’t trouble Tiriel or Thord, but Caveria lit a faint reddish glow that floated a few meters in front of her, so the rest of us could see. We crept through the back alleys, meeting no one.

Out on the main street, I saw the town guards patrolling, and also saw other groups of people with heavy packs who seemed to have the same idea that we did. Some of them had run into the guards, and it looked like they were arguing heatedly.

There were no guards in the back alley, though. Maybe they didn’t have a battle mage to light the way. I wouldn’t have wanted to use a torch or anything with fire - there was a lot of wooden and fabric debris, that looked like it was just waiting for a spark to explode into flames.

The cliff seemed to curve in towards the town, and finally we saw a wooden wall in front. Tiriel turned left and took us back to the street. We were near the upper end of Davorra, where the valley narrowed and started climbing to the peaks beyond.

There were no guards around when we emerged, and Tiriel turned right and walked briskly towards the last row of houses. I noted there was no tent city on this side, the city just ended.

There was a road block, though, like Arndrir had expected. The road passed the last buildings and narrowed into a dirt track, and beside a small hut stood five armed town guards. They looked at us nervously as we approached.

“Halt!” one of them said. “There is a curfew in effect. You must go back to your rooms.” The man looked nervous, but he had official-looking markings on his uniform.

“Greetings, guard captain,” Tiriel said and bowed deeply, gracefully. “I am the High Princess Tiriel of the Splendorous Kingdom, on official business from my brother King Diwelas. May there be peace between us.” She drew herself up to her full length, such as it was, but then did that trick she had, of looking imperious and regal. The guard captain clearly felt it too. He looked more nervous, and miserable.

“I am sorry, your highness,” he said, “our orders are clear. None shall pass.”

“Please,” Tiriel said, “I am sure your orders are not intended to cause a diplomatic incident.” She stuck her hand into her tunic and pulled out a large golden ring. The guard captain clearly recognized it.

“I am aware of the curfew,” she went on, “and I am aware the Dimran army is arriving in the morning. My business cannot wait, even so. I request passage, together with my party here.”

The guard captain seemed to waver. He glanced across his shoulder towards the other guards, who looked studiously at nothing in particular. I almost pitied him.

“Well, he said, “my orders are really very clear.”

“Yes, they are.” Another voice spoke, and a man in a dark, hooded robe stepped out of the hut. I didn’t see his face, but the guard captain closed his eyes and muttered something harsh under his breath. I also noticed how Caveria tensed, standing slightly in front of me.

“Your orders are clear,” the man said. “None shall pass.” He sounded smug.

I didn’t recognize the voice, but there was something familiar about him. I watched him as Tiriel turned towards him and repeated her arguments. The man didn’t respond. He just raised an arm and pointed at the captain.

“Remember your orders, captain.”

The motion triggered my memory. The robes - they were unfamiliar, but the cut was that of a battle mage’s robes. That’s why Caveria was flexing her fingers and looking ready to pounce. Or launch fireballs, more likely. I took a small step closer to her. That would cause a diplomatic incident, no question.

“I - I’m sorry, your highness.” The guard captain clearly didn’t like the other man and was trying to sidle away from him while still blocking our way.

“If I may,” Arndrir murmured and stepped up. “Captain,” he said. “Captain - Rissel, isn’t it?”

The captain smiled slightly, a hard, tense smile.

“We have met,” Arndrir said, “and you know me. I am Arndrir Hellagrimsòn. I can vouch for the High Princess’ words, and the importance of our mission.”

“Everyone claims to be special these days,” the man in the hooded robe remarked to nobody in particular. “I’d think the words none shall pass would be clear enough, though, even for a self-important ranger.” His sneer was clearly audible, even though his face was still hidden.

“Samra,” Caveria said suddenly. “It is you. You have no business here.”

“On the contrary, dragon-fool.” The man pulled his hood back, to reveal a pale face with a thin mouth and a small, sharp nose. He looked at her with dark, nearly black, eyes. “It’s you who have no business here. You, and these - others.” He nodded towards Tiriel and Thord.

I heard Caveria take a deep breath.

“Hey,” I hissed at her out of the corner of my mouth. “Stay calm.”

She hissed back, a short, sharp hiss with no words.

“Captain,” the man - Samra - said. “Do your job and send these back with the others. They can argue their case with the general tomorrow.”

“No,” Caveria said. “We are leaving.”

“You are not,” Samra began, but didn’t get any further before Caveria raised her left hand and launched a beam of red-hot fire straight at him.

He yelped and jumped back, but managed to get a hand up and block it.

“Caveria!” I shouted. “Stop it!” I grabbed her arm, but she ignored me. She walked towards Samra, still firing from her left hand.

“Tell your master,” she said, “that we were here, and that you failed to stop us. Tell him, that we will come after him too, in time.”

I knew she was strong from our fighting practice earlier, but I hadn’t expected that I wouldn’t even be able to slow her down. I held her arm and she just dragged me along. Samra looked very focused, and strained, as Caveria widened the beam of fire. I could feel her trembling from the exertion.

The other battle mage backed away, and tried launching fireballs at her. They leapt up and curved around us, but she just flicked her right hand and they went out.

“I haven’t failed yet,” Samra panted, but even I could see it was empty bravado. He was no match for Caveria. Neither was I, and as she kept walking after the other mage there was nothing else I could do but try to slow her down. With very little effect.

Suddenly, Samra cried out and launched a huge fireball straight at us. It sped down along Caveria’s fire beam and engulfed us. To my surprise, she pulled her arm up, pulling me close. I didn’t protest, as his fireball swirled around us. She kept it away from our clothes and skin, although I could smell some hair somewhere getting singed.

When the fireball cleared away, the other mage was standing behind the guards, visibly shaken. Caveria launched a small fireball after him, but it stopped halfway and exploded into a small cloud of fire.

“Let me go,” she growled, and I did, and took a quick step away from her. Her hands glowed red, and I was abruptly aware of the knives and spikes on her armor.

“That was - that was uncalled for,” the guard captain said, trembling. “Come back here. None... none shall pass.” He sounded like he didn’t believe his own words. I couldn’t blame him. If I was him, I’d want Caveria to keep going, as far away as possible.

“Captain,” Samra said. “I... the general is really most interested in the High Princess anyway. Let - let her go.” He seemed to have changed his mind.

I looked past the guards, where the rest of the party were still standing. Only now did I realize the guards had drawn their weapons, and looked scared but determined. They would not let us all go now, clearly.

The captain was muttering something to himself again. I couldn’t make it out, but from his expression he was saying something very unflattering about battle mages. Then he took a deep breath and brandished his sword towards us.

“Go,” he said. “Go away and don’t come back! But don’t think you’ve won! Once the army arrives we will send out a platoon after you, and with more battle mages.”

“You cannot win,” Samra threatened, peeking out from behind the captain.

“Better make it a company,” Caveria said contemptuously. “I am Caveria Dragonbane,” she said and took a step towards the captain. “Remember that.” Then she turned on the spot and strode away into the darkness, away from the town and up into the valley.

I stared after her, and then whirled and looked at the party. Thord looked amused, Serah exasperated, but Arndrir gave me a solemn look and nodded after Caveria. Go with her, he seemed to be saying. I glanced at Tiriel. Her eyes shone brightly, and laughter danced in them.

I’d never understand her, I thought. She could be controlled, regal, and commanding, but she seemed to thrive most of all on - chaos. She nodded at me, and mouthed something. Go! Go hunt a dragon!

I stared at her for an instant, hesitating. I didn’t want to hunt, or kill a dragon. I wanted to stop the war. But... getting locked up by the Dimran army didn’t seem like it would help me do that, either.

Damn Caveria, I thought. I had no choice. Well, I can always get locked up by the Dimrans later, I thought, if I think that will help.

I turned around, and ran after Caveria.