Three arrows slammed together in the target. None had quite made the bullseye, but it was the farthest from the starting line. Ten targets were scattered, all placed at different ranges and heights atop one of the plateau neighboring the city. This last was raised two meter’s off the ground, and was about ninety away. Andrew lowered his bow, looking at his handiwork. After three weeks, the recurve was beginning to feel as natural as his old hunting bow. Up to seventy meters, he could hit the bullseye with consistency. He knew the recurve could fire farther. Much farther, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to hit anything from that distance.
“Looking good, Andrew,” Peter said. Andrew turned to his brother. Both boys had been given light armor and the weapons they might need whenever they were to be sent out into the field. Peter wore his sword strapped to his belt, and he’d straightened out his surcoat, so the sky blue dragon insignia on his chest was clear. He would have looked official if it hadn’t been for his untamable mess of hair.
“I’m getting used to it,” Andrew said. “How are you feeling about the sword?”
Peter shrugged. “Feel’s kind of unbalanced. Not the sword itself! I just don’t know what to do with my other hand. Shield doesn’t feel right, and somethings off when I use both hands.”
“Never would have guessed,” Andrew said. He’d watched his brother’s last sparing match against another student of the blade. The other boy was bigger and used a shield. But Peter had moved quicker than Andrew had ever realized he could, and he held his own just fine.
“No need to worry,” Peter said. “I’ll get used to it eventually.”
“Andrew! Peter!” Both boys turned to see Anna approaching at a run. She still wore her traveling hat, which she held on as she came to a stop before them. “The King and Queen have asked to see us.”
“All three of us?” Andrew asked.
“All four,” Anna said. She gestured to Jarnvaror. The dragon had just woken from his nap and was watching the group with mild interest. Peter grinned.
“So they’re allowing him at the castle, now?”
Anna shrugged. “I get the feeling King Henry was insistent on being able to see him again.”
“Well, let’s not keep him waiting,” Peter said, calling the dragon over. “You’ve been shut up in the library the last few days,” he added a moment later. “How are the studies going? Can you throw fireballs yet?”
“No,” Anna said. “I’m still just getting the basics of magic down. I’ve barely even begun manipulating anything.”
“Is it that hard?” Peter asked. While they talked, he started getting Jarnvaror’s saddle ready. The dragon leaned down so Peter could force it over his neck.
“Well, there’s a lot to learn,” Anna said. “But I’ve been more interested in looking through the records where Wisps are mentioned.”
“Records?” Peter huffed, getting the saddle up. “That sounds…. So boring!”
Anna smiled at that. “Maybe. I’ve scanned hundreds of documents, and I’m making a list of how many times Wisps have been spotted over the years, and in what regions.”
“Think that will help figure out what’s going on around the country?” Andrew asked.
“Maybe,” Anna said, her smile fading. “Sol thinks so.”
“You don’t?” Andrew asked.
Anna shook her head. “That’s not it. I’m just… I’m trying to see if they come from somewhere.”
“Think that’s what Halcyon’s trying to find?” Andrew asked. “Their home?”
“I don’t know. I need to find out more about them to figure out what he wants in the first place.” Anna sighed looking at her bracelet. “I hope it’s as simple as just wanting to go home.”
“Have you found anything, then?” Andrew asked.
Anna shook her head again. “Nothing major. We’ve known there are a few places the Wisps seem to congregate in, but I can’t tell from the records if any of them are special.”
“What places are those?” Peter asked, finishing up the last straps on the saddle.
Anna thought for a moment. “There’s a spot on the north western edge of the Suvaran Desert… then there is the Tiger’s Pass going into Selasem. The Crimson Wood, which is probably the closest. And then there is the lake way up in the north east.”
“And Wisps just float over to these spots?” Peter asked.
“No. There are more sightings in these areas every few years. A lot more. But as far as I could tell, there wasn’t any regular pattern. Nothing with the dates or times of year. Not enough information to tell if it had anything to do with the moon’s phase.”
“Think it’s a dead end?” Andrew asked.
Anna’s smile returned. “Much too soon to say. I’ve still got a whole lot of books to get through before I’ve read all the reports.”
“Glad you’re keeping busy,” Andrew said.
Anna nodded. “We really should get going though. I don’t think Henry was wanting to wait.”
Andrew and Anna strapped themselves into Jarnvaror’s saddle after Peter. The flight was barely more than a single bound as the dragon took them over the city walls in moments before landing in the castle courtyard. In the last few weeks, the King had had a small dais built in the courtyard. It could be moved during the day, but he brought it out to conduct official business outside. So far, it had only been used twice. Both times were for Henry to speak with Peter and Jarnvaror.
Andrew saw, even before the dragon landed, that the dais was full. Two ornate chairs had been brought out for the king and queen, and he could make out their blond hair. He also saw the royal mother standing between the thrones. He couldn’t make out her face, but he imagined it was the same look of disapproval she normally gave the dragon when ever it came within a kilometer of the children. Sol and the Daniel were also there, along with the standard entourage of guards.
“Welcome!” King Henry called, even as Jarvaror landed.
“Hey!” Peter called back. “What’s going on?”
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“Courtesies!” Andrew hissed at his brother. “This is an official event.”
“Oh. Right,” Peter said.
All three riders unstrapped themselves and slid down. They approached the dais, where the brothers bowed and Anna curtsied, first to the queen, then the king, saying, “Your Grace. Your Majesty.” When they looked up, Andrew could tell that Lady Thalia was still glowering at Peter, but she otherwise seemed contented by the formalities.
“We’re glad all of you are well this day,” the queen began. “We’ve heard from your various instructors that all of you are making considerable progress in your auxiliary training.”
“What’s auxiliary mean?” Peter asked under his breath. Andrew did not bother answering.
“It’s not ended yet,” Queen Emily continued.
“But we have a job for all of you,” the King finished.
Andrew exchanged a look with Peter and Anna. Peter grinned, and Anna seemed a little taken aback. “Already?” she mouthed.
Andrew looked back up at the king and queen, and took a breath, recalling what he’d learned about official courtesy before responding. “We thank you for your confidence in us. What mission would you have us do?”
Emily gestured to the Archmage, and Sol stepped forward. “It seems the Wisps are gathering in the Crimson Wood again,” he said. “With all the other things going on, we don’t know if this is a normal gathering or not. But, since this is so close, t’s a good opportunity to test you as a group. And to study the Wisps more closely,” he added, grinning at Anna.
“There is a bit more to it than that, isn’t there?” King Henry asked.
“Not that’s been confirmed,” Chamberlain Daniel cut in. “But if it follows the normal pattern in recent days, you may expect there to be a mage in the area.”
“What do you mean?” Andrew asked.
The Chamberlain shrugged. “The last time there was a… I suppose we’d call it a normal congregation of Wisps? Either way, the last time was only a few months ago. With all of the other happenings around the kingdom, we asked if they noticed anything unusual. They said there was nothing, save an odd stranger or two. On its own, that would mean nothing in the crimson wood, except…”
“Except for what you told us about the bandits,” King Henry said. “We think it could be related.”
“Oh,” Andrew managed. He bit the inside of his cheek, holding back his protests about not being ready to deal with the mage yet. “And… what would you like us to do about the mage should there be one?”
“Observe,” Sol suggested. “I doubt you’re ready to fight an experienced magic user, with the obvious exception of Jarnvaror. Still, I’d avoid trying to arrest the mage, regardless of how criminal the actions may seem. If you’re able to have a… shall we call it cordial conversation with him, though, by all means, take as much time as you would like to talk.”
“And remember,” Daniel pointed out, “We have yet to confirm if that is the case this time or not.”
“Right,” Andrew said, feeling a little lighter. “We’ll remember that. When do you want us leaving?”
“About that,” King Henry said, raising a hand. A group of servants stepped forward and presented the travelers with bags of supplies. “We were hoping you could get started right away.”
“Of course, your Majesty,” Andrew said.
Peter turned to the dragon. “You up for another big flight?” he asked.
*** *** ***
In fact it was not too long a flight. The Crimson Wood spanned over the northern edge of the River Canyons. On horse back, it would have taken them most of a day. Flying, it only took them an hour to reach the woods proper and the better part of a second to find the Elven city of Kalligair. The city sprawled through the trees, mingling with the forest which did not seem to live up to its name. All the trees were a deep emerald green, with broad leaves. The buildings of the city, though, were built of red and yellow wood, making a patch of the forest look like eternal autumn.
Andrew had made a point of reminding Peter to tell the dragon not to land inside the city for once. So, Jarnvaror circled the city a few times, looking for an appropriate place to land along the edge. There were not many places where he could do so without knocking down some of the trees, and either the dragon realized that this was a bad idea, or he didn’t want to bother with the effort.
Still, he found a place along the edge of the city to land. There was a large clearing at one point along the edge of the city which had enough room for the dragon. Jarnvaror landed there. Once he’d touched down, his riders began unstrapping from the saddle.
Andrew looked between the other two. “We should probably go over what our plan is here,” he said.
“Isn’t it just finding out if there’s a person luring the Wisps here?” Peter asked.
“Wisps come here normally,” Anna said. “It would be good to learn what we can about why.”
“It’s both,” Andrew said. “We want to make sure if there is a mage interfering with the Wisps or not. If not, we can investigate the cause of the Wisps coming here a lot more. Sound good?” Anna nodded. So did Peter, and Andrew focused on him. “And remember, if there is a mage, we leave them alone. We look on from a distance, but we don’t do anything. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Peter said.
“And tell Jarnvaror not to go after the mage either,” Andrew said.
“What, really? Why?”
“If there is some group of mages handing Wisps out to all the bandits and rebels in Grealand, we don’t want them knowing about us yet. So tell him.”
“Right, right,” Peter muttered. “Hey, Jarn. Andrew wants me to tell you that if we do bump into that mage – yeah, the one I said we might, but I don’t know – if we do, he wants you to leave him alone…” Andrew watched as Peter repeated the rest of their conversation for the dragon, until the dragon huffed and Peter confirmed the dragon would hang back.
“Good,” Andrew said. “Let’s see if we can find these Wisps.”
He turned to look into the city, and found a small crowd had gathered at the edge of the clearing. “We have that letter of introduction, right?” Peter asked.
Andrew nodded. Before he could say anything more, though, a group of Elvish guards in red cloaks and gilded helms pressed their way through the crowd. They held their spears at the ready, but made no hostile moves. One walked ahead of the others. His gaze kept sliding back to the dragon, then he would pull it back to the others. “Who are you,” the guard asked. “And why are you here?”
“We’re here on a special assignment from King Henry and Queen Emily,” Andrew replied. “We have a letter explaining the situation, in case we arrived before the one sent from Woadrok.”
“They have dragons now?” the Elf asked.
“Just Jarn,” Peter said. “He volunteered.”
The Elf frowned at Peter for a moment, and Andrew could tell the guard was trying to decide if that deserved a response. Apparently it didn’t. He turned back to Andrew. “Are you at liberty to explain your mission to us, or only to Lord Sallowain?”
“We’re investigating the Wisps,” Andrew said. “We were hoping to see what people in the town know about the Wisps before going to see where they gather.”
The Elven captain gave a slow nod, though his eyes remained on the dragon for a while longer. Then he gestured for the other guards to stand down. “I see. I will take this letter to Lord Sallowain. In the meantime, feel free to begin conducting your interviews. However, I must insist the dragon stay outside the city limits.”
“He won’t cause any problems,” Peter said. “He’s used to dealing with people.”
“No!” the Elf barked, looking at Peter. “I do not want him in among the people and buildings, and I know Lord Sallowain will feel the same. He can stay here, under guard.”
“Thank you,“ Andrew said, trying to speak up before Peter said anything else. His heart sank as he heard his brother continuing.
“I’ll let him know, but I doubt he’ll just stay put if he wants to go flying. We are getting pretty close to the time he’d be needing to hunt.”
A moment of silence followed as the Elves, both guards and ordinary people, staired at Peter. Fear was written on the faces of some in the crowd. Andrew saw the captain’s brow furrow in the shadows of the helm.
Thinking fast, Andrew grabbed Peter by the shoulder and pulled him forward. In a loud voice, he said, “I’m sure that if you asked, Jarnvaror would wait here patiently for us, right? He doesn’t want to scare anyone, and we may be back around the capitol soon anyway, so he can hunt deer and elk there. RIGHT?”
“But he—” Peter began. Before he could continue, Andrew squeezed hard on his arm. Peter winced. “Ow! Okay, I can ask him to wait for us.”
“See that you do,” the captain of the guard said. He turned and nodded to four of his men. Those four followed after him back into the city. The rest of the guards fanned out, making a wall between themselves and the citizens. The people continued to eye the dragon.
Andrew sighed , releasing Peter. “Just because the King allows you say whatever comes into your head doesn’t make it a good idea.”
“We’re fine,” Peter said. “And we both know Jarn would never hurt anyone.”
“No,” Anna agreed, stepping between the brothers. “But it’s time we start our job. If any of them will be willing to talk to us after that.”