Kara has been in bed so long she knows she won’t sleep hardly at all tonight; she makes everyone else, who’s been up most of the night sleep while she takes the first two watches. Shae will finish her meditation and then finish the last two watches. Kara listens to Aran and Ava take jibes at each other over dinner about “sweetie” and “lover.” Shae laughs and shocks everyone because she doesn’t understand the taboos about lovers; her people believe in open love among everyone. They will take mates, but it’s not uncommon for several mates to live together. Jealousy is completely foreign to her.
Persi laughs with them and contemplates what could have happened if the temple hadn’t intervened and cured him. After dinner, Aran, Ava, and Persi fall asleep instantly. Shae gets back up on the table and squats to meditate. Kara has met other wild elves that prefer to do the same while in trees, some even preferring the elements to shelter. Kara sets and catches up on work in her journal; it’s been a while since she wrote in it, and maybe writing in her journal will help. She decides to start with recent events since the battle at Nexus. She never notices Bind enter the room, invisible. She doesn’t notice anything until the arm tightens around her neck and the point of the dagger presses against her side. Kara tenses then she hears, “No, no. Don’t say a word; I listened to what Gurvar said; you’re the brains behind this.” Shae hears the whisper but can’t see the source. Shae grabs her daggers, and Kara holds up her hands and, as calmly as possible, says, “No, Shae, don’t.”
Bind says, “Smart girl, maybe you are the brains.” Aran, Ava, and Persi wake up looking around; they see Shae with her daggers out and ready, looking at Kara. Kara says, “Please don’t anyone move. Kal told me about you, Bind. Leave now, and you can make it out of the city.” Bind says loud enough for everyone to hear, “This blade is coated in purple worm poison, but that’s not the best part. Even if you can survive that, the blade will drain and destroy your soul.” Kara’s blood goes cold. Where the dagger is, it could easily hit the baby. Kara says, “For the sake of my baby, please, no one does anything.” Bind says, “Yeah, that’s my girl. There, on the floor, pretty boy, take that small black handkerchief, unfold it, and drop all the loot into it.” Aran eases forward, picks up the portable hole, and starts opening it. Ava eases her hand toward Dawnbreaker.
Bind presses the tip of the blade a little harder and whispers, “Get your girly under control.” Kara looks at Ava, only moving her eyes, “Ava, please stop.” Ava does as commanded. Kara says, “Bind, please.” Bind mocks her, “Please, please, please, a real leader would take the sticky stick. But you sit there, frozen in fear.” Kara says, “Bind, I’m pregnant, please don’t…” Bind whispers, “Oh my, I wonder what would happen. Would it eat you or that pure little soul in your belly? I had a daughter once. Want to know what it feels like to lose a kid?” Bind yells, “Move, boy, or we find out if this dagger eats your girlfriend or her baby.” Aran opens the portable hole and starts tossing in bags as fast as possible. Bind says, “You know as well as I do, I don’t just walk out of here.” She looks at Ava, “Get in the hole, girl.” Ava looks at Kara; Bind yells, “Don’t look at her…”
Arden steps into the doorway and utters a single word; as Bind starts to shove the dagger, Kara screams, and then Bind and the dagger are gone.
Kara rolls out of the chair onto the floor, holding her side where the dagger was. Bind comes back into sync with the time stream and becomes visible, shoving the dagger into the space Kara occupied barely a second ago with a surprised look on her face. Shae hurls both daggers, and they hit one in the neck and the other in the side below her arm. Ava swings Dawnbreaker, hitting the handle of the dagger below her arm, then pouring all the divine power she can muster into it, driving the dagger into her side to the pommel. Bind drops her dagger. Persi dives for Kara, pulling an elixir, and Aran also dives for Kara, placing himself between her and Bind.
Arden rushes into the room toward Kara; Ava drops Dawnbreaker and grabs Bind, shoving her into the wall so hard the stone wall cracks. Ava can see nothing but red as she pushes as hard as she can, wanting to hear bones snapping, and lightning begins to crackle around her. Kara yells, “Ava, don’t. I’m okay.” Ava pushes and squeezes as Bind dangles, gasping and gagging, “AVA!”
Ava releases her grip, letting her fall, and kicks the dagger to the other side of the room. Then, she slams her fist into the wall, splitting the stone and busting her hand. Persi is still checking Kara, ensuring the dagger didn’t break the skin as Kara sits up. Bind coughs out, “What, kak, can’t take a kak, kak, joke.” Then, she lays over with her eyes starting to close. Kara crawls over to her and sends a little healing into her, just enough to keep her alive. She removes the daggers and then gives her just a little more. Bind opens her eyes, “Why, I would’ve killed you and your baby?” Kara says, “Because I’m not you.”
Persi takes hold of Ava’s busted hand, and she flinches; now that the adrenaline has worn off, the pain is setting in. He opens a vial and speaks as the mist emerges; Ava’s hand heals. Several priests come running in. Kara looks at Arden, “How did you know.” Arden says, “We have several wards up around the temple. We knew someone in the temple, but we didn’t know where. I just happened to be down the hall headed this way when she yelled.”
Some priests pick up Bind and place manacles on her. Arden says, “Those will keep her from using magic and slow her.” We’ll take her to the cells to await justice. Are you sure you’re alright, Kara?” Kara picks up Bind's dagger, which feels cold and hungry. Kara nods and carefully hands it to Arden, still holding her side where the dagger was, “Just shaken; I guess there’ll be no sleep for me; there’s no way I can sleep after that.”
Aran looks down in the portable hole; in addition to the bags he threw in, there are four bodies in it, too. Two look like a couple of Nutwood’s Crownsguards, but he doesn’t recognize the others. Shae comes over to Kara, “Shae doesn’t understand why Kara allows her enemy to live. Would it not be better if she had died?” Kara says, “Hope. Shae, Kara hopes her enemy can find redemption and a better life.” Shae smiles, “Kara speaks wisely. Shae understands this.”
No one sleeps anymore after this. Arden sends acolytes to move the gold, using the portable hole supplied by Bind, to identify the bodies, then places priests and paladins of Veleris to guard it. He brings the now empty, portable hole to Kara, “I think you may have a use for this in the future.” Kara places it in a pouch, “I’m sorry, there has been nothing but trouble since we arrived.” He holds a hand up, “Shush, it’s something I should have done long ago. The good news is that since we captured Bind, the Bloodhoods have dispersed, and the rightful Crownsguard has captured or put down the corrupt Crownsguard. The papers your friends captured will be more than enough to charge them all. Also, the families and city officials involved are being rounded up. Sharvoor Nutwood, or the Pig, as everyone likes to call him, demanded that everyone keep their gains with him. Then, they would come to him when they needed some of it, and he would dole it out. He kept an excellent ledger. He even recorded how much he stole from you. Kara, I knew he was corrupt, but I had no idea about the slave trade going on.” She says, “When you have so much responsibility, you can’t watch everything, Arden. I had the same problem on Nexus. I went from being an adventurer in the middle of everything to helping run a, well, I guess, an Empire. We controlled trade between hundreds of worlds and collected artifacts across all the planes. It was hard to see what everyone around Nexus was doing unless I worked with them.” She looks at Ava, “I should have spent time with her. Instead, I was always too involved with other things, and Aran, I only ever saw him on the training grounds. He was just a subject of conversation about his skills as a warrior. Even Persi, I knew him, but I didn’t know if that made sense. That is sad because they are all wonderful.” He places a hand on Kara’s back, “So, what you are saying is, I need to get my ass out of this temple and start spending time on the streets.” Kara smiles, “What I’m saying is, both of us need to keep our eyes on what’s around us and not be so wrapped up in the big universe that we’re blind to what’s closest to us.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Arden says, “Since you can’t sleep, we have some time now. I want to hear about this redeemed dragon Veleris told me about.” Kara smiles, then looks sad. Arden says, “It can wait.” She shakes her head, “No, no. It’s alright.” Ava has heard the story; she loves to hear it when Kara tells it, so she sits on the floor to listen. Aran, Persi, and Shae turn their attention to her. Kara relaxes, remembering what it was like in the village when stories were told.
Kara says, “We traveled far west when I was adventuring with my brothers. To a dwarven city called Varin Drumth. We had a lead that the Cult of the Dragon Queen was there. When we arrived, we could find nothing. The dwarven King,,, King Tomold Hammerstiker sent a messenger for us. When we met with him, he told us that some of his prospectors were looking for a new vein of gems but ran into some kobolds. He offered us a bounty on the kobolds. We thought, “Kobolds. Cult of the Dragon Queen. Maybe? It’s as good of a lead as any.” So we accepted. We had no idea.”
Kara sits still, gathering her thoughts and remembering what happened. “We searched for days, then found a crevasse at the base of one of the mountains. Large ropes dangled down into the dark. We descended into the darkness. At the bottom, we saw a buried castle in the faint light. As we walked toward it, the kobolds ambushed us. We fought hard, but I had the feeling they weren’t trying to kill us. They were trying to drive us away. I yelled for my brothers not to kill them, but Malachi,” She stops and sneers, “Malachi had one pinned down. He drove his dagger into the kobold’s heart while looking at me in defiance. I threw down Misery and yelled to the kobolds, “We surrender.” My brothers looked at me like I had lost my mind.”
Kara bobbles her head from side to side and crosses her eyes. Shae laughs. Kara looks around the room to make sure everyone is still interested. Even Arden looks like a schoolboy listening to a story. “The kobolds took our weapons, much to the protests of my brothers, and took us to meet their leader, or who we thought was their leader. Her name was Dawn Seer. I begged forgiveness for the death of the one Malachi killed and told her that if a life must be paid in kind, then I offer my life. Dawn Seer was astonished a human would offer her life or a kobold. She said she would have to ask their queen. I said, “Queen? I thought you were their queen?” Dawn Seer told me to follow and for my brothers to remain where they were. This almost started another fight.”
Kara flips through her journal to a picture she drew of Dawn Seer and holds it up for everyone to see. She is a regal looking green scaled kobold, “Dawn Seer took me through a grove deep underground. I saw strange plants I had never seen before. The ceiling glowed like an artificial sun. Then she took me through a Fey Gate to another world. The sky was green. The sea was pink. The air smelled of sweets and spices. In front of me was a massive building that seemed more like it was grown from rock and crystal than built. Dawn Seer said, “The rest of the journey is yours.” A dwarf greeted me inside a massive library. I was set back on my heels. I didn’t understand. The dwarf said her name was Sydra the Seeker. I could feel ancient magic woven into her voice and a wisdom I had only encountered a few times. Times when I had heard gods speak. Well, dummy me, I asked, “What are you, really?”
Kara looks around, sees a glass of water, and then drinks. “Sydra smiled at me and pointed up. I looked up. It took a few moments for my mind to register what my eyes were seeing. A massive green dragon was coiled around the library about five floors up. She was the most enormous, most magnificent creature I had ever seen. I was in awe. Then her voice brought me back, “You killed one of my children. What should I do with you?” I said, “My life is yours. It was a mistake.” She said, “You didn’t kill my child.” I told her, “I accept the responsibility. I convinced my brothers that the kobolds were a lead and possible threat. We would not have come here if not for me.” She walked around me, looking at me. She saw my tattoo. It was a moving chaos of colors back then. I could see she was interested in it. I told her that I had no idea what it was for. Elirae gave it to me when she saved me from killing myself after Azura broke the pact. Sydra touched my arm and back, looking at it.”
Kara turns to a page that shows Sydra as a dwarf on one page and her as a dragon on the other page. Aran says, “That thing looks bigger than a building.” Kara says, “Her true form is massive. I knew I was at her mercy, completely. I also knew that green dragons are usually the most evil and conniving of all dragons. But I also saw something else in her. A curiosity, a willingness to not just be what is expected. She asked me a question that lit my heart for the first time since Elirae spoke to me.”
Arden asks, “What, what was it?” Kara smiles, and a tear drops from the corner of her right eye. “She asked me to teach her of Elirae,” I asked her if my brothers could join me. I knew Donjo would be lost in the library. I figured Whelp would stay with the kobolds to help them. Thomas would go crazy trying to figure out which stories in the library he would love the most. Valas would probably look for information on potential problems between the Rrostarr Dynasty and the Ostrellor Empire. Malachi would stew over working with a dragon. I was right on all accounts. I talked to Sydra for days about Elirae, the Order of the Dawn Bringer, etc. Telling her everything I knew. What brought me to her and so on. Then she asked me if she could join The Order of the Dawn Bringer and wondered if Elirae would accept a dragon. I was floored. I think I passed out. By then, I knew Sydra didn’t covet treasure like other dragons. She coveted knowledge. She told me to pick any item in her library and it would be mine. I explained that I couldn’t accept something for nothing. She told me my stories, and teaching her about Elirae was enough.”
Kara opens Em to show the Girdle of Trials, “Then I saw this. Sydra saw me lock on to this. It drew me to it. But again, I refused. Even though I knew Elirae had led me here to Sydra’s lair for this. Seeing my reluctance to ask for it, Sydra asked me what I had to trade. The only thing I could think of was the journal that Elirae had given me. It recorded my thoughts, dreams, actions, and everything I said and heard. It was a recording of my life from the moment I was born. When I showed that to her, she was mesmerized. She said, “This will be my greatest treasure. There is nothing that equals this.” I couldn’t understand why. I handed it to her. She helped me put on the Girdle of Trials for the first time. Before we left, I thanked her for the new knowledge we gained in her Library about the Cult of the Dragon Queen. She told me the journal would still be there, waiting for me when needed. I still don’t understand that part. It was some months later that word arrived to me that the Cult of the Dragon Queen had found Sydra and taken her soul to fuel their ritual. I wish I could see her again.”
There is a knock at the door.