The Dragons of Argonath (29 page)

He came to the blacksmith, Lukula Perri, a stoutly built elf with wide shoulders and a strongly hooked nose. He wore a red-and-white-striped cap that ended in a peak with gold tassles. Working for him were three young elves, all "rooted in the same grove," as Lukula put it. Indeed, they all looked very similar: slender youths with olive skin, fine features, and that distant look in the eyes so characteristic of elves.

"A strong greeting to you, Dragoneer," said the elf smith as he wiped his sweating brow and set aside long steel tongs and a sizzling piece of hot iron.

The younger elves went back to hammering.

"I return your greeting, Lukula. I hope the day finds you well."

The elf smith was plainly pleased at this old elf benediction.

"Truly, you are elf friend."

Relkin wondered what the Game Lords of Tetraan would say in reply to that.

The nearly finished scabbard was brought out. The runes were in place, which would comfort the fierce spirit of the blade. It was a nine-foot-long steel sheath wrapped in black leather, with a studded brass tip and a heavy brass reinforcement at the hilt rest. It was plain of ornament except for the single cat's-eye embossed at the hilt rest. But the heavy buckles were still to be welded on. A delay Had been caused by slow delivery of the buckles, which had been ordered from the Cravath firm of bucklers down on Dock Street. Still, the work would be finished by the morrow.

Relkin walked smartly back to the Dragon House, checked at the armory. Bazil was still being measured for cuisses. The Purple Green was complaining about the greaves. They pinched behind the knee. Relkin left and went down Water Street to Lagdalen's office. The city was spread out below with the blue water of the sound filling the horizon. The rain had finally stopped, and the skies were clear.

At Lagdalen's office, the young lady at the reception room asked him to take a seat and wait. Lagdalen was closeted with an important visitor.

Ah, well. He relaxed and mulled over the good news. No Axoxo, winter spent here on the coast. Much more comfortable than even Kenor. As to what the rebellion might mean in terms of actual combat, Relkin was sanguine enough. The grain magnates would not be putting out an entire army of trolls, and he would never believe them capable of fielding battledragons—not until he saw it with his own eyes. So any fighting would be the guerrilla kind, and the dragons would not play much part. It would be a cavalryman's fight.

Lagdalen's offices were bustling. Two young women came down the stairs and exited after a short talk with the young lady at the desk. A man came in and deposited a bag of message scrolls, tipped his hat, and left. Moments later another man came in with a single large scroll that he left after the reception lady signed a chit for him. More messengers came, some of them took away piles of scrolls as well as leaving them. Every so often a boy of about twelve would come out of a door leading into the rear part of the ground floor carrying another mound of scrolls and message slips on a wooden tray. These he would set down by the reception lady.

Relkin was impressed. This was a veritable hive of industry. Time stretched out a bit, but Relkin waited patiently, mulling over the possibility of promotion and what it might mean to his life. And then he heard a familiar quiet voice coming down the stairs and immediately snapped out of his reverie. That voice was welcome, but it always meant danger. A few moments later the Lady Lessis appeared, with Lagdalen beside her. When Lessis saw Relkin, she broke into a big smile and held out her arms to him.

"Well, well, we meet again. This has to be a good omen, Relkin of Quosh. We survived the last meeting, eh? The patterns of destiny again, don't you think, child?"

Relkin got up to greet her. Lessis took his hand in one of hers and took Lagdalen's in the other. Her eyes were alight in a way he had never seen.

"You know, I have never had the chance to thank you both together for what the two of you did in Tummuz Orgmeen. That was the work of heroes, children."

The reception lady's eyes were bulging as she watched and listened. She knew perfectly well who the slight figure in the worn grey cloak was. And to see the Great Witch take this scruffy dragonboy's hand like that and say those things. Well, it took one's breath away.

The three remained like that, held together in Lessis's magical field. Then they relaxed, and Lessis turned to Lagdalen.

"Now that this young man is here, I can fulfill a second mission. Two partridges with the same arrow!"

Relkin felt a little tremor of apprehension. Relkin had had his fill of such missions as came in the wake of Lessis of Valmes.

"But first, before my manners forget me entirely, tell me how our great friend is? Has he recovered from the wounds taken at Quosh."

"Close. Another two weeks, and he'll be almost completely healed. Wyverns heal faster than men."

"Mmmm," Lady Lessis put a hand to her chin, absorbing this information. Not for the first time the Grey Lady was learning something from the dragonboy.

"They are such fascinating great beasts, the wyverns. I was reading a paper published recently on the dissection of a wyvern brain."

At Relkin's furrowed eyebrows, she hurriedly went on:

"The dragon died of old age. She had agreed beforehand to give her body for research."

"What did they find?" said Lagdalen.

"That wyvern brains are more like the brains of crows than they are like our own. Different parts of the brain are much larger in each case. The animals of the land, and the whales, have brains similar in design to our own. There are various components, and a folded area all across the top, where we believe the processes of thought are formed and carried out. The dragon brain does not have much of that folded layer. Instead there is a large bulge at the front of the brain where another organ has grown, and apparently it is very similar to that which is found in the crows, the most intelligent of birds."

Relkin was excited by this information.

"That explains so much. They are so different in so many ways, the way they think, I mean."

"I should send you a copy of that report. In fact, you should see all the dissection research papers concerning the wyverns. I'm surprised this information wasn't made more widely available."

"I never heard of it. Tell the truth, I never imagined they'd do that to a wyvern, you know what I mean?"

"Ah, yes, well in Andiquant the Imperial science staff are investigating a wide range of topics in the biological world." Lessis paused a moment, it was so easy to get sidetracked.

"Still, I am glad to hear the good news about the Broketail dragon. Such a heroic fellow. I watched him fight in the street at Quosh, and I never saw such a terrifying sight. It's a wonder the enemy would even face him!"

"Bazil had a good fight there, and the wound was quick to heal—no rot set in."

"This is all very fine, my dear, but I must tell you that you have to answer more questions about Mirchaz and your own experiences there. Bell and Selera will be awaiting you tomorrow. I will join them."

Relkin's face fell. So he was the second partridge after all.

"The trouble is, Lady, I just don't know how to explain what happened."

"Yes, I have read the reports. But we won't go into that here." Lessis cast a glance over her shoulder to the reception woman.

"Tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yes, Lady."

He'd have to get Curf to sub for Bazil for the day. He hoped Curf would do a good job. That boy had his head stuck in the clouds most of the time.

Lessis had to leave. She had meetings in the Tower of Guard for the rest of the day. She pressed their hands once more and was gone.

Relkin accompanied Lagdalen past the awed reception woman and up the stairs to the second floor where her private office was.

Inside a room furnished with old chairs, tables, and wonky bookcases, they sat together and Lagdalen sent for a pot of tea. While they drank hot tea with honey, Lagdalen turned to something that had been troubling her.

"Relkin, this gold. There are a lot of questions we have to be ready for. Questions I have to ask. Now."

"I understand."

"I need your bank papers. The records from the Kadein Bank. You have them, right?"

"Of course." What did she take him for? He'd always kept records of all their money, his and Bazil's. They had saved a bit even before the trip to Eigo. Relkin knew his way around the market in. public company stocks and consols.

"I'm sorry, I just have to know, is all." She looked down, sensing his rebuke. "Look, Relkin, the problem is that there's a fortune here. I've seen the list of amounts that they charge you with possessing, and it's enormous. Thousands of pieces of gold. Imperial gold weight, I'm talking about."

"Well, it's not all for just me and Baz. The king gave the rest for the fund for the dragons of the 109th. I've filled out all the papers. The fund is registered, and all taxes were paid."

"I know, Relkin. I know. But we're going to have trouble with a jury because this is a small fortune."

"I took some of it, I admit, but the king gave us a lot of it too. The gold chains, the medallions, all that came from Choulaput. Only the gold tabis are really loot. To tell the truth, I thought it was a payment well deserved for what we'd been through down there."

"Well, that's what we're going to have to convince a jury of. Unfortunately we can't tell them what happened in Mirchaz in too much detail. They won't believe it after a point. It will sound too fantastic to them."

"Well, I wasn't the only looter, and if you ask the folk running the city whether they mind if I keep the gold, I don't think they will. I broke the gates to the city and let the rebellion in. We both almost lost our lives in that fighting."

"Yes, I believe you did." Lagdalen took up a notebook and began to jot things down.

"Tell me more about the fighting and how you came to find the gold."

With a sigh, Relkin once again picked up the tale of Mirchaz and the fall of the elf lords of Tetraan.

Hurrying back to the Dragon House the next day, Relkin saw a company of legionaries marching out of the city gate with a long line of supply wagons behind them. His question to a couple of men in the watching crowd brought a terse response.

"Heard it's part of the Fifth Regiment, First Legion."

Relkin nodded, understanding at once. The Fifth Regiment was mostly based in Blue Hills and was certain to be on the road to Aubinas. Relkin imagined that a lot of forces were in motion all over the Argonath and that several regiments would eventually be concentrated in Aubinas. Putting down a rebellion could be a difficult task.

"I hear that the Aubinans have put Posila under siege," said a fellow a little farther down the line.

"Damn them, it's those farmers in Nellin."

"Nellin and Belland, they'll be hot spots for the rebels. Too big for their britches, if you ask me," said a fat fellow with a soft green hat.

"Well, no one's going to, Ned Battock, so you can stow it," said the man standing beside him.

Relkin crossed the parade ground, dodging through the wagons, and went on to the Dragon House. Things were looking good on a number of fronts. The new scabbard would be delivered the next morning. Meanwhile he had gamed the Dragon House pharmacy system pretty well and would pick up a second handout of Old Sugustus skin toughener and liniment later in the day. That would give him enough to be sure of getting through at least two months in the field. Relkin thought that that was the most likely period of time they'd be in Aubinas on active duty.

General Cerius was in command of the operations against the rebels. Cerius was old, but a good commander who'd fought against the Teetol and the forces of the Doom in Tummuz Orgmeen. Cerius had been stationed out at Fort Kenor until recently. Relkin wondered what other units would be drawn into this thing. Maybe they'd see old friends again.

The empire was flexing its muscles. Everything was in motion, and Relkin was sure the 109th would soon be leaving the city too. Dragons wouldn't be that important in a cavalry-dominated war of skirmishes and raids, but they would still be useful in gaining mastery of any field where serious battle was offered. Let the Aubinans dare to put foot soldiers on the ground against dragons!

He checked on the dragon and found him in the plunge pool after a morning of fittings and sword exercise, complaining already of a prodigious appetite. The wound was really healing well, a complete seal in the skin under a heavy scabbing. It couldn't have looked better, and the Dragon House Medico was pleased as punch with the case.

Nor had there been any aftereffects from the poison in that fish pie. Everyone had been really worried about that for the first day or so, but the dragons seemed unharmed, even the brasshides.

Soon came the bell for the lunchtime boil, and the dragonboys went down to the kitchens and wheeled away the big tubs of legion noodles, liberally soaked in good akh. The air became heavy with the aroma of akh, a compendium of spices, garlic, onions, peppers, and more peppers.

Swane had the latest news concerning the poison.

"It was tainted with Stibium, they say."

"What's that?' said Jak.

"Antimony," said Manuel. "It's real poisonous, some kind of metal."

"They never found out who the Grain Association was."

"Well, we know it was Aubinans," said Swane.

Relkin didn't say it, but he was wondering if it might not have been some revenge for the Battle of Quosh.

Bazil was soon happily at work on a solid lunch. Relkin brought him another tub, filled with the weak beer that was given for lunch. The dragon intended to eat, then sleep. Later in the day there would be an inspection, but after such a long workout with the sword, Bazil would be excused any further physical effort that day.

Relkin, in the meantime, would be back in that room with the witches. His interrogation was scheduled to resume that afternoon. He wasn't looking forward to it.

After the tubs were returned to the kitchens, Relkin made one final check on equipment. He was due at the pharmacy just before the evening boil. Until then he was booked in at the Office of Insight, officially. Unofficially he would be in the Offices of Unusual Insight. Relkin thought he would rather be almost anywhere else, even back in the forest of the Land of Terror, haunted by giant meat-eating pujish.