Erik And The Dragon ( Book 4) (5 page)

Erik shifted in his saddle and stretched his neck. He felt a bit awkward being the only person on a horse, but Goliath wouldn’t let anyone else ride him and there was no point walking if he didn’t have too. Lepkin reached up and handed him a waterskin. Erik took a drink from the waterskin and coughed abruptly when part of it managed to go down the wrong way. His eyes watered and he handed the skin back to Lepkin.

“Shouldn’t drink so fast,” Lepkin pointed out.

“Thanks for the tip,” Erik sputtered with a final cough and a quick wipe across his eyes. “Just my luck, live through battles with warlocks and dragons only to die choking on water while surrounded by allies.”

Lepkin smirked and took a quick drink himself. Then he pointed ahead. “Grobung is not far now,” he said. “Once we go around this bend in the road, the trees will clear and you will see a dark wall surrounding a lot of buildings. There are some farms there too.”

As they went around the bend in the road, it happened as Lepkin said. The thick forest on the left was cut away, giving a wide view of green fields dotted with workers and carts going about their business. A few of the farms also had large pens with sheep or pigs inside. The smell of manure hung in the air heavily, but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant. There was something about it that put Erik at ease. Almost like a sense of coming home, though he had never been here before in his life.

The farms ended at the base of tall, stark walls made of black bricks. The iron portcullis was up, allowing free passage in and out of the city, and only a few guards stood near the gate. Erik started to count the soldiers he saw, but quickly gave up once they passed through the gate. It seemed the town was two thirds soldiers, and only one third villagers.

“The commander at Fort Drake is the governor here,” Lepkin explained. “The town essentially exists to service the fort. The farms you saw outside the walls produce food for the soldiers. There is a large lumber industry here as well, with a mill a few hundred yards to the south of Grobung.”

“Smiths are here in abundance as well,” Lady Dimwater added.

Erik could already hear the ringing hammers pounding away the day’s work, though he could not see any of the shops nearby. He dismounted from Goliath and hitched the horse to a post near the gate and then the three of them walked quickly to catch up with the group. A few of the townsfolk stopped and looked at them, but most paid them no mind. They were busy bartering with soldiers or carrying loads of wood or grains to and fro through the streets. The soldiers hardly looked their way at all, except for a group of younger recruits who pointed at Dimwater and whispered among themselves.

Erik looked to his left and saw a square building façade with red lamps in the window. “The Alley Cat,” he read aloud as he looked to the wooden sign of a suggestively posed black cat.

“Keep your eyes over there,” Lepkin said as he reached over, grabbed Erik’s head in his hand and turned it away. “There’s nothing you need to see in that building.”

Dimwater nodded approvingly and they quickly pushed him along the road until they came to a large inn. Lepkin, Dimwater, and Erik broke off from the group and went inside, while Marlin and the others continued along into the center of the town.

“Where are they going?” Erik asked.

“To buy supplies,” Dimwater said.

“And to send dispatches out to the commander at Fort Drake as well as another to King Mathias,” Lepkin added.

“Shouldn’t we go with them?” Erik asked.

Lepkin shook his head. “No, we have something else to do.” The three of them pushed through the doors and the pleasant, savory aroma of roasting lamb washed over them.

Erik’s stomach grumbled and his mouth started to water almost instantly. “Maybe some food?” he asked.

Dimwater nodded and led them to a secluded table in a quaint alcove with a bay window overlooking a small patch of garden in the back of the inn. No sooner had the three sat down than a short, older woman came over with a big smile and a small carafe of water.

“What can I get for you?” she asked as she gave Erik a wink.

“What’s on the menu?” Lepkin asked.

“We have roast lamb with scalloped potatoes under melted cheese, or we also have a beef brisket with sweet yams and
grilled asparagus.”

“No pork?” Lepkin asked.

“No, I’m sorry dear, but the soldiers have taken the last of our roast pig.”

“That’s too bad,” Lepkin said. He turned to Erik and then pointed out the window. “They have a special pit in the back where they bury the pig and cover it with hot coals where it roasts for hours with sweet peppers, onion, and garlic. It is to die for, and half the reason I was looking forward to coming here.”

The woman sniggered. “Well that is half the reason the soldiers come here too,” she said. “Then she looked to Erik and stifled her next sentence. “So,” she said after regaining her composure. “What can I get for you?”

Lepkin looked to Dimwater. The sorceress looked to Erik and then back to the woman. “We’ll have the lamb.”

“Alright dear, and what to drink? We have ale, mead, spiced wine, and we have apple cider as well.”

“I would like the cider,” Erik piped in.

Lepkin held up a finger. “It’s not like the cider you get at the academy,” he said. “The boy will have water, or plain apple juice if you have that.”

The woman frowned. “’Fraid we don’t have any juice,” she said. “That isn’t a product we get asked for much, but I can bring another carafe of water for him.”

“That will do,” Lepkin said approvingly.

Then the lady turned and wa
lked away, her black and gray pony-tail bouncing with each step.

“Like I said, this town exists to sell their products and services to the fort and its soldiers. She might call it cider, but it is basically beer made from apples.”

“Sounds interesting,” Lady Dimwater said. “Perhaps I will ask for a glass.”

Erik sat back in his chair and looked out the window. He watched a bluebird light on the branches of a birch tree outside, dropping a twig into a nest-in-progress. Then the bird took off, only to return a few moments later with another twig and a bit of spider’s web in its beak. As soon as the new material was in place the bird would fly away for a few minutes and come back with more to work on its nest.

“A bit late for the bird to be making the nest,” Lepkin noted.

Erik turned form the window and looked to his tutor. “Maybe his other nest got destroyed,” he said.

Lepkin nodded. “He won’t likely be able to have a mate this year,” he pointed out. “Seems pointless to build a nest without having a mate, or hatchlings.”

Erik shook his head. “I don’t know, he may as well prepare now,” he said with a shrug. “Perhaps he has a mate, or maybe he will have one next spring.”

Lepkin smiled. “We are not unlike the bluebird,” he said.

Erik narrowed his eyes and drew his brow together.

Lepkin nodded and looked back to the bird. “I don’t know that his first nest was destroyed, but whatever the reason, he is building a nest now, so that he can have a better future. We are like that. We are trying to build a better future for the Middle Kingdom. One where we can each have the hope of resting safely.”

“That’s putting it very simply,” Erik said.

“But the basic principle is the same,” Lepkin countered. “The bird works for a future that he hopes for, but is not certain will come. He toils to make a safe place for that future. We do the same. We are hoping for a future that is better than what we now have.”

“I didn’t take the test,” Erik said abruptly. “We don’t even know if I am the Champion of Truth.”

Lepkin tapped a finger on the table. “If you were not the Champion of Truth, then the sword would not burn white for you,” he countered. “You are the champion, I am sure of it.”

“But how will we win?
I have no special powers. I can’t even see auras like Marlin can. How will I defeat the magic, or the dragon for that matter? I am just a boy.”

“Just a boy?” Lady Dimwater echoed sarcastically. “You accompanied me to Spiekery to defeat a shadowfiend, do you remember?”

“You fought the demon,” Erik said.

“But you helped me confront him, and then you fought the swordsman
as well. Not any mere boy would do that.”

“Let us not forget about the tournament at Kuldiga Academy either,” Lepkin said. “None of us helped you then.”

Erik nodded. “But I was only fighting other kids.”

Lepkin grew impatient and crossed his arms. “Well then, how do you explain turning into a dragon and laying waste to the corrupt senators in Drakei Glazei, or defeating the warlock who came to attack your home?”

“I only accessed your power,” Erik countered. “And the warlock was asleep.”

“Being humble is one thing,” Dimwater said. “But you are being annoying at the moment. You should at least acknowledge the things you have accomplished. It is not any boy who could do the things you have done, even with our help.”

Lepkin nodded and leaned forward. “You didn’t access
my
power,” he said.

Erik looked up quickly and met Lepkin’s fierce eyes. He opened his mouth, but the words didn’t come out. Lepkin arched a brow and nodded decisively.

Just then the serving lady returned with a large platter heaped with skewered lamb and scalloped potatoes with cheese. Erik looked at the food and somehow it seemed less inviting to him than knowing what Lepkin meant. As soon as the lady turned and left Erik looked back to Lepkin.

“What do you mean?”

“It was
your
power,” Lepkin said casually as he took a piece of lamb and plopped it into his mouth.

“My power?” Erik repeated. “What do you mean?”

Lepkin grinned widely, which was still something that Erik was trying to get used to. The big man finished his bite and looked to Dimwater. She nodded and glanced to Erik. Lepkin returned the nod and wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. “Have you ever heard of the Sahale?” he asked.

Erik shook his head. “What is a Sahale?”

“You,” Lepkin said pointedly. “You are a Sahale.” Lepkin ran his thumb along the edge of the table as he phrased his next sentence. “You remember why I said I chose you to be my apprentice?” he asked.

Erik nodded. “Yes,” he said.

“Well, there was another reason besides what I told you.” He was quick to add, “What I said about your character and experience was true. Those were very important factors in my choosing
you
, but there is something else that I was looking for as well. For you to understand, I need to explain a few things.”

Lepkin pushed the platter of food toward Erik and motion
ed for him to take some food. Erik took some meat and scalloped potatoes while Lady Dimwater poured water into his cup for him.

“Thank you,” he told her.

She smiled and dished herself some food as well.

Lepkin then continued. “The Sahale are a special race. Their origin is extremely unique. During the time of the Ancients, long before Nagar the Black ever was known in this realm, there lived a very beautiful woman.
The tales say her hair was red as fire, and hung down to her waist. She was slender, almost like a she-elf, but much taller of course. Her eyes were green, like emeralds, and her skin was a light golden brown. When she sang, the birds would come from miles around to listen to her music. Well, one day, after her fame had spread throughout the Middle Kingdom, a dragon came to listen to her sing. He was so captivated by her that he came every day thereafter to listen to her. When she would stop singing, he would tell her tales of the lands beyond the mountains.

“The two fell in love, which was unprecedented. The dragon went to Hiasyntar Ku’lai
, and the Father of the Ancients devised a magic that would turn the dragon into a human so he could be with his love. As time went along the two of them married and had many children. The Ancients had no way of knowing, but the dragon blood still flowed through the veins of his children.”

Lady Dimwater swallowed a bite and jumped in. “The first one to change into a dragon was one of the couple’s grandchildren. It happened on the girl’s seventeenth birthday. No one knows exactly what sparked the change, but it happened.”

“That’s right,” Lepkin said. “As you can imagine, the family tried to keep it a secret, but a secret like that can’t remain hidden for long. As each of the children and grandchildren married and produced more children, the gift spread. After a couple of generations they began to be called the Sahale, which means the ‘gifted ones’ in elvish.”

“I am a Sahale?” Erik asked incredulously.

Lepkin nodded and pointed behind his ear. “You bear the mark of the Sahale.”

“What is that?”

“A small, crescent shaped birthmark behind your right ear,” Lepkin replied. “Let me finish with the history, and then I will answer your questions.”

Erik nodded and set his food down. He was too excited to be distracted by the food or the grumbling in his stomach.