*************
Chapter 29
*************
"Despite your gigantic sparkly hands, we are disinclined to respond well to threats like that," said Cantrell as bravely as he could. Still, it even sounded to him like it came out as a bit of a croak.
Surprisingly the giant elf laughed. The voice was deep, but somehow underneath, Cantrell thought he could hear something else. The crackling timbre of great age.
"My daughter said that you were brave and a good leader. You can thank Ardwynns opinion of you that I haven't already killed you where you stand." said the giant. "Perhaps your men will not be so willing to make a hasty and misguided decision to die"
"You are Ardwynns father?"
"Yes, I am Duke Tempton". "My brother is Emperor Argent. He will not be pleased by what I have observed here today."
"Did you hear that? Ardwynn's the daughter of a duke!" said Yewstrong. Who knew?
"It wasn't on her resume' " said Cantrell.
"I haven't seen you around here, and I make it my business to try to keep track when royalty is slumming in this little town. Not to mention being concerned about overly large elves that boast of being able to kill more than a half dozen wardens at once."
Tempton smiled. It didn't reach his eyes.
"Yet you seem to have been unaware of a great many things lately, said the giant. There are reasons for our anonymity. My wife's duties are specifically designed not to attract any special attention, and what's more, I personally sleep most of the time,". He continued. "It preserves certain bodily functions so that my time awake is much more fulfilling."
"It probably makes it hard to hold down a real job!" said Telehalla.
"Eating dragon eggs does seem to have a few limitations. " agreed Amstell sarcastically before suddenly realizing who he was talking about and dropping his eyes to the floor.
Cenderick reached out and quickly pulled Amstell and Telehalla behind him as Duke Tempton raised his right hand and started to point it at the previously snarky elves. Electricity crackled. Cantrell realized that this situation could get worse very quickly. He also was once again reminded that Cenderick was very brave.
"Hey, none of that now! Why don't you explain to us why we should help you? Maybe you can convince us," he said, stalling for time.
"Indeed, although my patience is growing very thin," said Tempton. looking strangely at Amstell. "Very well. One last chance. Know that I only indulge you for my daughter's sake. Follow me."
The entire assembly began filing out of the office behind the overly large elf.
Cantrell was beginning to grow concerned as the group crossed town and came to a stop near the barn of Ardwella and Alberath.
"A female neighbor found something horrifying in the barn and fled down the road screaming. It attracted some attention, including my own. That and the reports of dragons flying overhead this morning forced me to draw an obvious connection. Open the door and take a look inside."
Impetuous Amstell, seeming to have forgotten his recent close brush with high-voltage death, ran to the door and looked inside. He turned back to the group with a strange look on his face.
"Cantrell, It's Jontain! He's dead. His whole arm has been bitten off! There is a lot of blood in here!"
Cantrell jogged over and took a look for himself. Huge quantities of blood and a little vomit covered the straw. Were those buckwheat cakes?
"Uh oh," thought Cantrell silently. "Lothinar, this doesn't look good. What happened here?"
As Cantrell returned, the rest of the rangers also rushed forward to look inside the barn. They came back quickly, obviously shaken, to form a semi-circle around Duke Tempton, who had not moved.
"It is obvious that one of your own, I believe his name was Jontain, must have stumbled across something nefarious. He was caught investigating. He was summarily killed by one of the bloodthirsty dragons sheltering here." said Tempton.
"It definitely looks like a dragon bite," said Cenderick, but the arm is still there. The dragon obviously didn't eat it. From the stories, I thought that was a given."
"Then there is the rest of the body too! Untouched," said Telehalla. "I thought dragons found elves delicious."
"Hey, it is Jontain we are talking about here said Bodine. We all know he could be pretty nasty. What an epitaph! 'Even a dragon wouldn't eat him'."
"Way too soon, Bodine!" Said Cantrell.
"So have I made my case?" asked Tempton.
"Maybe you had better spell it out one more time, clearly," Said Cantrell, "So that everyone here will be on the same page"
"Fine then. Regardless of how you feel about the policy of gathering dragon eggs, it should be clear that dragons on the loose are far too dangerous to be allowed to live. I expect you to do your job and help me track them down and kill them."
"Why do you even need us at all?" asked Cenderick. "You and your sparkly hands."
Tempton rolled his eyes.
"I could hit them with overwhelming force, yes. I have a vast reservoir of unused power at my disposal. But, don't forget that one of them is my temporarily misled daughter, I'd like to try and take the elves alive. "
"I guess that we had better come along then, said Cantrell".
The other wardens nodded their heads cautiously but somewhere in the back of the group he could hear whispering....
"And you wanted to ask Ardwynn out.." someone said to Califer. "Can you imagine how it would have gone if she had taken you home to meet her parents?...."
"It would never have happened anyway." He hissed. "You know she has always had a thing for Lothinar."
----------------------
Ulaire and Quinton stood by the lake. They were talking to Benedar and Killingsworth.
"We have searched thoroughly. Candasar and the freak Tundor are no longer within the lake. Nor are they on the shoreline." said Benedar.
"We have had reports of two airborne dragons flying in the area. What are your thoughts on this? asked Quinton. "Could it be these two?"
"Impossible!" exclaimed Killingsworth. "We are all that remains of our kind. You have seen to that thoroughly throughout the years"
"I have pruned the vine these last five years, yes." Said Ulaire. "But it seems that some of your more devious females have been breaking our contract"
"Yes, A few of your females have hidden away eggs that should have been surrendered!" said Quinton hotly.
"Candasar and Tundor have not had the time to make winged dragons come forth again. This, you know!" Shouted Benedar. "We have disclosed everything"
"Someone has obviously found a way to interfere!" said Ulaire. "My understanding is that one of the flying dragons is blue"
Killingsworth looked at Benedar and then back to the elves.
"Candasar is a blue. It is a rare color among our kind. This is one of the reasons she attracted the attention that she claimed to hate so much," said Killingsworth, blinking his single eye.
"Can such a thing be possible? A reverting?" asked Benedar.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"This may change things between us!" said Killingsworth starting to swim off.
"Listen, you two!" Said Quinton. "You will keep this to yourselves and continue to behave as before. You will continue to surrender your abnormal eggs!"
"Or what?" Asked Killingsworth.
"Or I will kill every dragon in this lake!"
"You would not do this!" the water dragon hissed. "You would also guarantee the end of your ancient emperor when he is deprived of our eggs" Then he swam away.
"Well, you sure told him, Quinton", said his mother. "Way to call their bluff. Now what are we going to do?"
"Don't worry, I'll think of something!"
"If they start hiding their eggs from me this situation will land you in a great deal of trouble!" said Ulaire. "Trouble I don't even think your father can get you out of!"
---------------------------------
Esmarilla could feel them coming. The elves. There were many of them and they had a monster with them. She could feel a strange throbbing power as he approached. Alberad and Tundor had gotten close to the human town but still needed some more time to get within its walls. She was glad she had been able to set down the horse. Unburdened now, except for the elven riders, she would be much more nimble in the air. As a matter of fact, she could probably do better yet. She quickly landed.
"They are getting close. Get off!" said Esmarilla, directing her thoughts to Ardwynn.
Through the bond Ardwella was provided the explanation for her dragon's thoughts. She spelled it out.
"We need to buy Tundor and my husband a little more time. We must fight. We have fought on Dragonback before. You have not. You will slow us down. You do not have a bond with Esmarilla, and in our rapid maneuvers, you will most likely fall off. "
"What is going on?" Exclaimed Lothinar as he brought Candasar to earth and slid to a halt next to them. "I don't think we have time for this!"
"I have given you Esmarilla's reasons. You must climb down!" said Ardwella. "The warden elves are coming. I do not know how Cantrell was turned against us, but they will be here soon"
Lothinar gazed back toward the elven village from whence they had come, peering through the trees as if trying to see something. Suddenly his eyes flew open wide.
"Who is that? The energy surge is huge!" he exclaimed.
"That is what happens when you spend hundreds of years eating more than enough magical dragon eggs," said Ardwynn. "My father is coming. He is also the reason you definitely want me in the air with you"
"Not with me!" said Esmarilla, tipping suddenly and spilling the younger female elf onto the ground below where she landed on her backside with a small thud. "I will not hide in battle behind a hostage"
The black dragon quickly backed away and once more leaped into the air. On her back, Lothinar could see his mother drawing her white sword as they headed back the way they had come.
"Ouch! That hurt," said Ardwynn. "And I am not a hostage! I am a volunteer!"
Looking down Lothinar asked the unspoken question of Candasar.
"Yes, I can carry her too," but somehow Lothinar knew that the answer that appeared in his mind did not sound very confident.
"I will be much slower," came the explanation. "And you had better hold on to her very tightly if I have to dodge arrows"
"Get on!" he said, holding out his hand as she climbed up.
"I want to apologize in advance. Candasar says I must hold on to you tightly so that you will not fall off"
Looking back at him, Ardwynn rolled her beautiful eyes.
"I'll try to endure that" Then she chuckled.
Candasar ran forward and launched once again into the air. Slowly she turned and followed after the great black dragon god on her way to do battle with an ancient evil elf.
------------------------------------
They were slower. As they closed on the conflict up ahead, Lothinar could see his mother astride her dragon, her white sword gripped tightly in her outstretched hand. There was an enormous crackle and flash as a huge bolt of lightning jumped up from the huge elf upon the road. It struck the outstretched sword instead of the dragon. Ardwella twitched and jerked but stayed astride the black dragon. Her hair seemed to stand out from her head. Then she began to slump on her dragon's back. The sword began to slip from her grasp. She caught the sword and herself, but just barely. The great black dragon continued her plunge toward the elf on the road. The monster elf pushed forward with his hands as a purple power built and grew once more. He prepared to strike again.
"NO! cried Lothinar, too far away to do anything but watch his mother's impending death. Suddenly Cantrell was there. He swung a knife at the huge elf, who flung out his arm at him, sending the lightning intended for his mother straight into Cantrell's body. The elven warden crumpled, flopping to the earth where he lay twitching. The other wardens nearby could only look on in shock. At least none of them had yet fitted arrows to bows.
The black dragon arrived, pounding down upon the overly enlarged elf. Raking her talons across his face and body intending to snatch him up, but he eluded her grip and left her strafing past, beating her great wings to prepare to come around for another pass.
"Shoot them, you fools!" screamed the large elf to the rest of the wardens. Lothinar could feel the energy flow and heard the word Heill being self-cast. The terrible wounds on his face and body, though still bleeding, had already begun to close. The wardens hastily began to comply, taking a bead on the large black dragon and her rider now circling for her return. Ardwella seemed slumped and unresponsive. For some reason, the wardens hesitated and did not seem willing to fire.
From behind a tree Lothinar suddenly saw the human male that they had met on the road earlier. He carried a longsword. He was trying to sneak up on the huge elf, whose attention was obviously focused on the great black. Perhaps it was because he was human and insignificant to the elf, but he seemed to be able to close unnoticed.
"Dodge this!" screamed Harvey as he struck for the neck of the giant. The sword was swung incredibly hard, but it only went halfway through, stopping at the spine. Still, the large elf grunted and swayed, putting one hand on his neck and the other forward to magically blast the human. The man glowed for an instant like a torch before falling and rolling around screaming upon the ground. "Heill," the large elf gurgled out again, and the gruesome half-decapitation unbelievably began to swiftly repair.
Then Candasar was there in the air above it all. Lothinar and Ardwynn upon her back. The giant elf Tempton, the brother of the emperor, looked up at the blue dragon bearing down upon him. He looked and saw the terrified face of his daughter astride her. He lowered his hand. Candasar breathed out heavily and all at once. The air ignited with flame. Intense fire fell upon the huge elf. Tempton stood there silently, burning for over twenty seconds before he finally fell to the ground.
Candasar had flown past but swung around and rapidly settled near the burning body. She seemed surprised at what she had done. She still watched the flames cautiously as if the elf could somehow have survived even that. Lothinar was vaguely aware of Esmarilla landing next to the blue dragon. Ardwella, with serious burns on her arm and hand, managed to slide off her back and onto the ground. She staggered over to the fallen human and Cantrell, who both lay nearby. For some reason, Ardwynn seemed to be crying. None of the warden elves fired their arrows, pointing them away and relaxing their pull. Everyone seemed stunned, unable to process what they had just seen.
Ardwella reached the human first. She gazed down at his charred face. He managed a twisted smile.
"I got your horse tied up behind some trees over there" He pointed with his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to make that date at the temple later"
"I'm sure that I would have enjoyed meeting you under better circumstances. Thank you for what you did," Said Ardwella.
"So, I was curious... " came the gasping words as the man's life began to fade. "Are you married to that sweaty elf that was with you at the gate?"
Ardwella looked down at him sadly.
"Yes, I'm afraid that I am."
"Kind of figured that, someone as beautiful as you...." breathed out the man as he slumped and closed his eyes for the last time.
-----------------
Lothinar found himself standing over Cantrell. Surprisingly, the warden was conscious. He looked up at him with a curious expression on his burned face.
"So, about Jontain? What happened"
"He followed Ardwynn to our house and then followed my mother out of the village where I was waiting for her with Candasar. We were trying to sneak in. Things happened fast. We had to knock him out and tie him up."
"How did he die?"
"The next morning, after I untied him, he jumped me with a big knife. Almost killed me. Tundor grabbed him by the arm...."
"Ok. I think I get it." Said Cantrell. That makes sense. I’m glad you are alright.
Lothinar could tell that the warden's strength was near the end.
He noticed that while he had been talking, the other wardens had gathered around. They had been listening. They looked somehow satisfied. They did seem to get extremely nervous when Candasar finally finished looking at the cremated elf and walked over to stand next to him. Ardwynn remained kneeling by the pile of ashes. He wanted to go to her, but the faces of his co-workers held too many questions.
"Guys, this is Candasar" She used to be a water dragon. We kind of fixed her up." said Lothinar. In spite of what you may have heard, you have nothing to fear from her.
That earned him some dubious glares.
”I’m sure she’s harmless, “ said Yewstrong.
"Can you heal Cantrell? asked Cenderick. I don't think he's going to make it."
"I'm sorry guys, my magic is kind of broken right now..."
"Heill!" said Candasar and a cooling blue light began to flow into Cantrell's body. His ragged breathing began to stabilize and he began to look immediately better."
"That will get him stabilized for now," said Candasar. Let’s load him onto Jamison and get him into town. We can do some more healing later. He’s going to make it.
"Did you know that they could do that?" asked Telehala.
”I think that there are a lot of things about dragons that we do not know,” said Amstell.
-------------------------------------
Starett heard a commotion over by the temple entrance. A large wagon was trying to squeeze inside the courtyard. Ridiculously, It was being pulled by a dragon. A dragon without wings. Starett sighed. This was the dragon temple, after all. He would have to see about widening that hallway. Walking behind the wagon was one of the elves that had come to calm down the dragon god on that fateful first day. He was the one who had given Starett half of his wedding gift for future expenses. Starett sure had appreciated that. Very useful. The elf looked exhausted.
"You may leave your wagon here. It will not be disturbed. I already have quarters prepared. The dragon god said that you would be coming." said Starett.
"Thank you so much. My name is Albarad, and this is Tundor. The dragon god and the rest of our party should be here soon."
Starett looked over and happened to notice that the old priest Womber had suddenly become very interested in the brickwork. He was mixing some mortar.
----------------------------------
Ardwynn looked at the pile of ashes. She was having a hard time accepting it. He hadn't been that much of a father, really, sleeping most of his life away. And yet, Ardwynn knew that there at the last, her presence on the blue dragon had stayed his hand of death. She didn't know what to think. Her father had lived his life both empowered and enslaved to the magic of the dragon eggs. Somehow their use forever changed him. The lure of easy power and near immortality had its costs. She wondered how her mother and brother would take the news. Now all she had were the frustrated tears for what might have been.
She looked over at the elf that represented the new life that she had chosen. A life that represented the best that an elf could be. Even now, she could see him looking her way, trying to close out his secondary conversations with the other wardens and come to her. To offer her sympathy and love. But even now, his sense of duty made him wait. She understood duty. She could live with that. She had made the right choice. As soon as the dragon was ready, she would ask Tundor for his bond. Together the two couples would change the world.