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Invading Will

Chapter Seven

By: D. C. Henry ("Ahndeleck")

Matthew Snowbough walked slowly through the pine trees, covered in a deep snow. This time of year was harder for magic, with the life of the forest sluggish and sleepy. Some of the druids in the circles above him needed him to go into town and gather something he recalled, that was why he was in the pine forest. As he walked, he tried to remember what he was supposed to be getting for them, but nothing came back to him.

Several minutes seemed to pass, in complete silence, the faint smell of pine trees and fresh snow all around him. The branches above and around him made soft shadows stretch over the more open patches where the snow had collected. The air was cool and sharp, Matt loved winter, and its sights and smells. When he was a boy, winter always meant adventure. Then when he became a druid, he saw winter as a new form of life, to be appreciated and cared for.

As Matt walked through the snow he felt there was something missing. He thought about it for a few moments, and then realized that he wasn't making any noise through the snow. He felt the crunch of the snow, but never heard any sound. Matt knew that was impossible, his boots should at least make some noise with the snow. He looked down as he continued trudging forward; still no sound came from his boots.

He stopped and thought for a while. Whenever something unnatural occurred, there was a reason for it, he just had to find what it was. Then he remembered what he was doing, he had purposely put himself into a state of dreaming.

Matt knew this would be the hardest part of his exercise. Many of the druids in his circle had difficulties with controlling their dreams. He was already doing much better, or so the other druids said. He never seemed to find what he was looking for though, and it frustrated him to no end.

Especially at this moment, he stood in the middle of a soundless pine forest, not a living thing in miles it seemed. He came into his dream to find the answer to why the circle had been acting strangely. Nothing around him appeared to hold any clues.

The circle had been denying new entrance to the circles for several weeks, and this bothered Matt because without new members it would be hard to teach druid ways. Many of the arch-druids were already extremely old and barely came from their huts. They never seemed to see any of the inner circle druids to let one ascend to arch-druid status either. Matt felt as if the druids just decided to stop trying to continue, which Matt knew would lead to the end of the circle for sure if they didn't fix it soon.

The arch-druids stopped communing as well. Matt had asked other of the outer-circle druids if they had noticed, but none of them had noticed. He wondered how it was that so many people could fail to see what the circle's lack of work for the forest had done to their very home. Matt could feel the forest straining now to support them all, but he couldn't help the whole forest by himself, he needed the circle to work with the forest.

A distinct feeling of being followed began to billow within his mind as he moved through the silent world. Matt knew that in his dreams, his feelings were always right, so he stopped and turned slowly. Behind him stood a man that was dressed in the traditional garb of lower circle druid, just as he was dressed. The figure wore the simple hide pants and short tunic, brown in color with no embellishments to speak of. The cloak he wore was of a leaf green fabric, and on the shoulder lay the three hawk feathers to show the outer most circle rank. This stranger however, appeared as if he stood in the deepest of shadows, all the colors of the man drained into a dark nearly black mockery of the real colors. Matt felt as if the man wasn't really there, as if he wasn't even a part of this dream state he was in. His hood was up and around his face, so Matt could only see the stranger's mouth.

"I want to give you an offer Matt." The stranger's voice felt like icy water in Matt's ears. "There is a new way of doing things in the world, and I need you to help make this new way possible."

The man's voice was harsh, like a whisper spoken too loud. Matt squinted at the man, trying to discern if this visitor could be trusted or not. His impressions with the man seemed to be at war. Part of him wanted to trust the new comer, and the rest of him felt completely repulsed by him. He couldn't shake either feeling, so Matt decided to be cautious. Matt's gut feelings told him that what was before him was more than met the eye.

"I'm glad you've at least decided to listen to me Matt." The stranger stepped closer, "The druids need a new path, as I am sure you've been seeing, the rest of your circle is headed to the end of its days. You can feel it too can't you?

"The arch-druids sit and do nothing. The others have grown apathetic to the woods about them without the leadership of the arch-druids. The forest stands ready to collapse about us all.

"They need a new leader. They need a leader with vision, which I am sure you have. They need a leader with understanding, which you've shown to me just by listening. They also need a leader with power, which I could give to you. Those of your station are leaderless now, and are looking for someone to stand and take the druids to their new glory.

"I could help you achieve mastery of nature Matthew. I could help you attain the power of an arch-druid. I could give you leadership of the entire circle. I could give you the whole forest to let you nurture it. You know the other druids need you. You know the forest needs you."

Matt crossed his arms in front of him and looked down at the stranger, his face still covered. "Where would you have me lead the rest of my circle, stranger?"

"To glory Matthew, glory and war." Spreading like thunder clouds across the sky, the portion of the man's face that Matt could see twisted into a wicked smile, "First tear the arch-druids from their inner circle. Sometimes to help the forest grow, a part must burn.

"But this small wood is but the first of your trials. A raven from the south comes to bring war to the lands of the north. You know that the last thing that people want in this land is war. The lands surrounding your forest could not survive a war with the south. Would you protect your precious circle, would you fight to protect the people of this land? "

"You want me to lead druids into a war? Are you even listening to yourself? Druids don't believe in war, we don't believe in rampant killing of others."

"Not even if you are the only thing that stands in the way of slaughter?"

"That doesn't matter, we're bringers of balance, life, and peace."

"Sometimes Matthew," the stranger stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder, "A people are called to do more than what they believe in. Sometimes they are forced to make difficult decisions, decisions that can lead to the life of millions at the cost of thousands."

Matt nearly cringed at the touch of the man. A cold shiver seemed to pour into his shoulder and through his neck. He felt a haze brush across his thoughts, he felt

The words filled Matthew's mind, but as they did, so did confusion. The longer he had been with the man, the more it felt as if he knew him. Looking at the dark face, Matthew felt this man knew his entire history. With each moment Matthew felt he wanted to believe the stranger, to follow him and do what he wished.

Despite what he felt, Matt knew placing trust in the man would be misguided. Matthew knew the stranger wasn't part of the dream, and that alone made everything the man was a threat. Never once had Matthew had such a solid different person inside his own dreams. What he wanted was wrong as well, Matthew knew that the path druids followed was not one of war. This was the first thing he druids had taught him when he agreed to learn from them. The kinship he begun to feel was a fog in his mind, and clouded his thoughts, nothing seemed clear to him at all.

"Come with me Matthew," the stranger reached up and laid a hand on Matt's shoulder, "together we can bring your circle what we want, even what you want for it. Trust me Matthew, with me, all is possible."

Matt nearly cringed at the touch of the man. Cold seemed to pour into his shoulder and through his neck. Suddenly every mote of trust for the man vanished, and Matt threw open his arms knocking the stranger's hand away.

"I refuse your offer. Now leave me in peace before I force you to leave."

"Force would do you no good." The smile had evaporated from the man's face, "I see now that you are not the one I seek. Your time will come in turn."

As the man turned to leave, his shadowy form dissipated. In the time it took the blink, the man was gone, as if he had never been present in the snowy landscape.

Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He began to let the world around him fall slowly apart into darkness and dreams. The feeling of being swept back by a river filled him. Suddenly the blackness around him seemed to snap into place. His dream had ended finally, and still he hadn't found any answers. He had only found anther question.

He rose from his small bed and rubbed his shoulder slowly. Matt realized the cold he had felt in his shoulder in the dream had followed him into the real world. He looked around the dark nearly unfurnished hut he called his home, there had been no signs of entrance or disturbance at all. He could see in the early dawn light from his small window that the dirt floor hadn't been disturbed since when he had shuffled into his bed. As he rubbed his shoulder, the events of his dream began to trouble him even further.

He remember how the man's presence felt draining and cold. Each time the stranger spoke, it also felt as if he could follow the stranger's ideas in his head. No other meeting he had ever experienced in his dreams had been like the one with the shadowy stranger. Still he felt a stiff cold in his shoulder, which troubled him further. Never had a dream followed him into the real world so certainly. His shoulder felt burned, like the stranger's touch pulled life out of him.

The sounds of the summer birds had already started as he sat in his own silence. That marked the beginning of his day, even though his day began much earlier in the dreams. Maybe he should talk about the dream to some of the others in the circle, someone he trusted. He watched out the window as different druids came out of their nearby small huts.

The entire circle didn't live in this small grove, but many of the outer circle lived here for now. As they came out of their huts one by one, Matt took stock in each one, could this person be trusted, or would they make poor conclusions about his visions last night? As he watched no easy answers came to him, so he looked back to the brightening summer green pine trees all around them and thought even more.

***

Peter and the rest of the men had traveled most of the day, and they felt the challenges of the past several days. Following the captain of the scouts and their dragon ally through the woods hadn't proved easy. The trap they had set at the bridge should have worked as well, but once again the two proved to be more resourceful than either he or Kyle had imagined.

Since the trap, Kyle had ordered them to travel deep into the woods. Hopefully far enough away from the bridge that no one would be able to find them. After all the marching and then running from a failed trap, Peter knew his men needed rest. Their new hiding place in the woods should be able to deliver the rest they all needed.

Kyle sat at a small fire further away from the rest of the men. He had never mingled with the men much. Peter didn't mind that Kyle used him to lead all the men. While most of the soldiers he had selected didn't believe in Kyle's power, Peter knew enough about the man to do exactly what he wanted.

Peter stood from his place at the larger campfire and walked slowly towards Kyle's lonely glimmer of light in the forest. The others whispered, but Peter paid them no attention. Kyle sat starring into the small flames, even while sitting Peter could see the height of the man. His figure draw upright and tight, his face an intense mirror of thoughts.

When Peter came to the edge of the light at the fire he stood waiting to see if Kyle would let him speak. He would not disturb the man, he had heard stories of how Kyle had risen to power. The details were never the same, but the result was always the same, Kyle had killed his father for an early inheritance.

Kyle appeared to be completely withdrawn into his thoughts, even after minutes of standing in place, he continued to ignore Peter. He decided that perhaps Kyle hadn't decided what to do now that all their plans had failed. The master might need more time to develop a way to save their mission, or a way to escape their punishment.

"Peter, wait a moment." Kyle's tight nasal voice never seemed to fit the man's stature, "I believe that the time has come that we need direction in our mission."

"We haven't needed help from the Hearers so far, why would we-"

"Because all of our plans have failed. We need a new plan something that's certain to succeed even with the dragon and the woman present. We can't take any action against them, because they see it coming and know how to counter any force you and I have."

"How would we do that, Baron?" Peter walked to the fire and sat across from Kyle, "Even with your plan with the mushrooms and my plan to sneak in and assassinate the royal family, they still managed to stop us. The bridge was the only real direct approach wasn't it?"

"It was yes," Kyle nodded to the fire silently for several moments before he continued, "But what we need is to see what the Hearers suggest, they may have a better grasp on the situation. Grasps on situations that we can't even understand."

"That's part of why I don't want to deal with the Hearers baron. They can't always know what is going on. They listen to something, I don't even know what, that we know nothing about. What if the Hearers are wrong and get us all killed?"

"Then that's what the Hearers mean for us to do. But I don't believe they would kill us Kyle, we are too useful for them here, right where they need us."

"If you say so Baron."

Kyle turned towards one of his packs and took a black globe from soft wool wrappings. As he held the ball in one hand, he pulled a small silver stand out of the pack and laid it in front of the fire. Slowly, he laid the black globe on the stand, and stared down into it.

The globe looked as dark as the night around them, the fire draining away all colors to pure black. This globe did the same, not even the light of the fire could dance off the smooth surface, the globe was a solid black, nearly a hole in the space between him and Kyle.

Peter shivered as the temperature around him changed suddenly, and the light around the two of them seemed to retract at the same time. Now he could barely see any light on Kyle's face, and the fire between them seemed to turn to small embers. The darkness around them felt as if it was swirling closer, even though Peter couldn't see anything move.

The light stopped receding, and an unnatural stillness piled around them both. At first Peter thought his eyes were tricking him, but then he noticed nearby a similar receded light contained the silhouette of three figures.

"Have you succeeded?" the figure closest to Kyle spoke with a deep husky voice, "Have you and Peter eliminated the royal family?"

"No Hearer," Kyle began, "there is a dragon that none of you have told us about. He knows enough to be dangerous to our mission and he-"

"Yes we know of the dragon." The figure in the middle said, a young woman's voice that sounded smooth ad venomous, "He appeared soon after you arrived. We have been watching him for some time, and have expected you to come to us."

"Much sooner than you did Kyle," The third voice, a strong and pleasant voice, the kind Peter would expect from a friend, "But you've been trying very hard on your own so far. Very brave, but foolish Kyle. You should've come to us sooner when things started changing. We can see what must be done, you know this."

"I know Hearer, but I thought that if I could still do what you commanded without bothering any of you maybe I could still have my reward."

"Don't think of it Kyle," The largest figure spoke again, "your reward will still be yours. But you do need to complete a mission."

"Now though the mission has changed," The woman said, "The Will has been watching your actions and the actions of your enemies. You will no longer be trying to kill the Royal family. The Will knows that a better future awaits us if the prince is convinced of our path.

"How Hearer?" Kyle looked from one shadowed face to another, "Deanna and that dragon will find us before we could-"

"You're not supposed to be asking questions of the Will, Kyle. Perhaps if you'd just listen and then do exactly as you're told, life would be much easier for us all.

"You will go to Freeraven, and pose as an ambassador of Torland. They will be wary of you at first, but you will tell them you're there to make a trading agreement. Freeraven lumber for more refined goods from the north will be one of the things you will bring them. You'll also tell them that you are there to calm the histories between the two nations. With this you will gain their favor, tell them that Torland is learning ways of the south, tell them everything they want to hear about Torland. Lie to them, tell them every sweet thing they yearn for.

"This will help win Prince Alan, because he dreams of such things as well. You will quickly gain his favor. Once you have it, the Will sees the lady of the sword and the dragon returning. They will both have news for Freeraven. The prince will call for a council meeting, one that you'll be called to attend as well.

"Once you are in the council you will tell them that the druids are marching against them. We've already made certain that Freeraven scouts can verify this as well. You'll tell them that the druids are marching against all nations to return the world to its fullest natural state, the destruction of cities and nations."

"Hearers, this seems rather bold to me."

"It might Kyle," The loud vicious man said, "but the Will knows of its success. This is what you must do. They will send the lady of the sword against these druids in the north. You will send them to Fort Blister. From there, all of our enemies will be within our power.

"Then I'll do it," Kyle said, "but what about the prince? How will I convince him to follow the Will?"

The smaller man stood, shadows seemed to fall from him like platelets of dust. His still dark hidden form walked closer to them and held out his dark hand. In his hand a small ring that looked as if it was at the bottom of a deep pool shimmered with darkness in his palm. He held it out for Kyle.

"Kyle, take this ring. This will be our key to the prince, and his mind. When the other two are gone give this to him any way you see fit. As long as you are free to contact us, and empower the Will's stone, we'll crack into his mind. Eventually we shall own him. He too will be a hearer of the Will. Once a Hearer, he will give up his thrown to the one he trusts most. That will be you Kyle."

Kyle took the ring gingerly out of the Hearer's hand. For a moment the ring continued to waver, then the ring seemed to snap all at once in Kyle's hands. It was a simple silver ring, with a small depth-less black stone set in the center. Kyle looked up with a smile.

"When he has this, I'll be king?"

"Not right away Kyle," the smaller man stepped back to his invisible throne in the darkness, "We will need time to work on him. Have patience as we work on his mind. Eventually you'll have your kingdom. Just remember to keep this stone, the one you speak with us charged with your magic each day. Otherwise, we won't be able to reach Prince Alan."

"If we can't Kyle," The huge man leaned forward and the shadows loomed closer to them, "We'll let them have you. Don't fail us."

"No Hearers, I won't fail you."

"Good. The Will guides."

"The Will Guides." Kyle bowed, and Peter followed him.

Kyle hadn't even finished the sentence when the darkness seemed to lift from around the camp. Peter could see the trees suddenly fly back around them as if they ran into place. Life flowed back through the fire, and its brightness and warmth returned. The change was so sudden Peter nearly fell over, a sense of dizziness filled his head, almost as if something heavy had been torn from is mind.

"Damn them all," Kyle said, "how is it they expect me to do this when I can't see everything like they can? Do they expect us all to fail? This plan seems to rest too much on things that haven't happened yet, and no way to know if they will. My first plan would have worked if only they had told me everything. If they had told me about the maggot dragon I would have this whole damned nation as my own."

"Maybe they didn't know about the dragon when they told us the plan baron?"

"The Will can see everything," Kyle snapped back, "It sees into everything, it knew there would be a dragon, and it knew we would fail. Don't think for a moment that the Will doesn't know what we're doing."

"Then why question the Will or damn the Hearers baron?"

"Peter," Kyle said slowly, "why question me?"

Peter took the question as a dismissal, and decided to leave while he still could. He might be Kyle's superior when it came to fighting or simple prowess. Peter knew better than to believe he hoped to have a chance to stop a circle mage, especially one as powerful as Kyle.

Peter stood slowly, then gave a short bow. Kyle stared back at him with cold sharp eyes. Peter felt the stare until he reached the other men at the second campfire. Then the stares of the other men at the camp began to rest on him. There would be no rest from them until he could tell them something about the meeting with the Hearers. Each of them knew that a meeting with the Hearers meant that something was going to happen, something always did.

He looked slowly from one man to another, trying to understand how Kyle might decide to act as an ambassador. He couldn't take all the men, only a small handful of them, not he near twenty he had with them now.

"Alright," Peter said just loud enough to be heard over the fire, "We're going back to Ravenstone. We'll probably be leaving early tomorrow morning. Not all of us are going to be going into the city. So here's what I want to do. Brent, Steve, John, and Mike, all of you will be coming with me and the baron into the tower. The rest of you I want you all to go back to the main camps and tell the others where we've gone. I need you all to set up meeting points in town just like last time so we can coordinate with the camps outside of town. Also, make sure those camps keep moving, the last thing we need is for us to be discovered while we're right in the middle of the ant hill."

"How long will this be going on?" one of the men from the back asked.

"I don't know. It could be a week, or we might get to see how much it snows here. Either way, we're going to be here until this is over. Just listen for my direction, and we'll all come out of this ahead. Kyle will make sure we're well rewarded when we get this nation as our own, its just a matter of time. Now no questions, just go get some rest. We'll need it."

There were several grumbles, but Peter knew each man would follow them. There wasn't much danger for the camps, only the few that would be going inside the tower. Kyle was the one that had the most challenging part of this mission now. How could Torland befriend the small nation of Freeraven? Peter was glad Kyle got the job and not him.

***

Where the arrows had hit him still hurt, but Raogothcar was glad they weren't very deep injuries. The wounds on his side had mostly healed now for him, but the tears in his wing would take a while longer. They weren't bad and he could still fly with them, they just stung a lot when he stretched his membranes.

He worried about Jacob, since his wound seemed to take longer to heal. Raogothcar had offered to draw a circle spell around it to help it heal, but Jacob had turned the offer down. Whenever he asked about it, Jacob would only tell him that his leg felt "Stiff." He wanted to help, but if Jacob didn't want any then Raogothcar wouldn't get in the way.

Deanna had told him that the land past the river was mostly farms, but she didn't tell him anything else. They had cleared the last of the woods the first day after crossing the river. After walking for days through woodlands, Raogothcar was glad for a change of scenery. He stopped to watch the farmer work, and explained to both his companions and the farmer that he'd not gotten a chance to see what they did. The farmer was friendly enough and offered to explain his farm to Raogothcar. Pleased with the chance to learn, Raogothcar told the group to go on without him so he could listen to the farmer. After nearly an hour, he finally felt he understood what they did and thanked the farmer before he left to catch up with Deanna.

On the way he enjoyed seeing many more of the grain farms. Their small path had joined the main east-west road after the bridge, and Deanna decided they would stay at road side inns. Raogothcar discovered that the inns didn't have dragons in mind when they were built and the first night he slept behind the building. Deanna let him eat with the rest of the soldiers in the inns, and Raogothcar enjoyed trying different dishes that they prepared.

The next night Raogothcar enjoyed trying a thick stew with the other guards. It wouldn't have been very filling for him, but Raogothcar had eaten with the humans every time they ate. Three tiny meals a day was more than enough for him to live on comfortably, but his stomach always felt empty. He didn't mind the discomfort since it seemed to make everyone else happy.

After the stew, he walked outside the inn. It had become quite late and the stars had really begun to shine above him. He looked at the small group of buildings around him and guessed there wasn't enough to call the place a village, maybe just a place for humans to rest during long trips.

Raogothcar decided he would sleep behind the in like he had the night before. The small sliver of the deep and white moon gave a faint soft glow. As he found a comfortable spot at the end of the building, he looked out over the field before him. The green stems shooting into the sky slowly waved with the gentle rhythm of the night breeze. Curved waves of bent wheat moved slowly over the entire land, only a fence far beyond broke the patterns.

He looked up into the sky, each star twinkling in time with the chirps and clicks a insects hidden in the wheat. Each cricket seemed to time itself with a star above. Each murmuring insect rumbled with the roll of stars brightening and dimming. Raogothcar smiled as the breeze and the wheat competed against the insects and their stars.

Even far from his den, he felt like this place could be home. He wondered if the humans could see the same wonder in the land he could see. Most dragons appreciated a good view, but he wondered how many humans did.

"Tomorrow we should be in Palitos." Deanna said softly behind him.

The sudden break in the quiet symphony made him jump slightly, "Oh, that will be good."

For a moment he felt sad that they would leave the fields behind and go back into a city with stone and so many people. People were very exciting and always different, but there was something about being out with the wind. There was a comfort in a small cave, and a pleasant grove of pine trees like his new home.

"The stars are beautiful out here aren't they?" Deanna said quietly.

"They are," Raogothcar turned to look at Deanna as she leaned on the inn, "I like how the wheat out there moves too. I haven't really seen it before from this angle. It looks very different from high above. My mother always said it looks like the calm ocean from above."

"I suppose it would."

Raogothcar turned back to the living ocean ahead of him before he went on, "Deanna? Do you like what's out there?"

"What do you mean?"

"The grass moving and the bugs singing, and the stars, all of its nice isn't it?"

"Its different."

"You don't like it?"

"I do like it. I don't look at this very often. I see what other people want to do with it rather than what it is. I see wrong desires, people planning both for good and bad of the land and others, I see life and death."

"You don't see how pretty it is?"

"Maybe I forget to look for 'pretty' sometimes."

"I wish I could show you how pretty Ravenstone is from the sky sometime. Its very nice."

"I'm sure it is."

"Maybe sometime I could learn how to do paintings like the ones inside the tower and show you what it looks like. It might take a long time, neither of my parents learned how to do anything like that, and I can't think of how it might work. But someday I would really like to show you. Would you like that Deanna?"

He waited for a response, but nothing came. He turned away from the scene before him to where Deanna had been leaning. She had gone. Raogothcar sighed and turned back to the rustling and chirping once again and watched for a short time.

Humans might not see things he did, and he felt bad for them. There were so many good things all around them, but if all they saw was how to use the land then humans missed so very much. After he had his fill of the world around him, Raogothcar tucked his head close to him and closed his eyes. There must be a way to show Deanna how to see everything like he did, he knew what he saw was good and that others would like it. He was certain that Deanna would love to see the world the way he did, he just wasn't sure how to get her to see it.

***

An early rising bird woke Raogothcar the next morning. He knew that the others would be getting ready already and that he didn't have much more time before the others wanted to be on their way. The morning was cool and the sunrise promised good leisurely flying as well. Reluctantly, Raogothcar rose, and stumbled his way into the inn to get a small drink of water before they left.

After he got his drink, he sat outside and waited with Deanna for the rest of them to finish. Raogothcar followed them as they walked further towards the east. As they went he noticed more buildings, not only farm buildings but small merchants, even groups of buildings clustered together. By noon he could see the first tower of Palitos. Each step seemed to push the city towards the sky, the only break in a sea of farms. The gray stone shone in the sun drawing the eye out of the monotony of various fields. Below the walls of the city were hundreds of smaller buildings, Raogothcar could tell that the city was much larger than Ravenstone.

By the afternoon they had entered the city. As they walked down the cobbled road, Raogothcar watched the farmers and workers as they passed. Most of them seemed to wear simple clothing, many of them carrying tools that Raogothcar couldn't guess what they were for. He guessed most of the things were for the fields that were near the city.

After watching several people, Raogothcar noticed that most of them were watching him back and whispering to each other. One pair of older men sat on a small porch in small wooden chairs. The nearest one pointed with a walking stick at him and whispered over to his elderly companion. Raogothcar noticed their frowns and quiet whispers. Further down the road, Raogothcar and his group came up to a small group of young women. Raogothcar could see them talk amongst themselves quickly, then they moved to the farthest side of the road. As they passed, Raogothcar smiled at them, but they turned away from him.

Nearly everyone they met seemed to have a frown on their face or would point at him and whisper to others. Raogothcar began to feel uncomfortable being in the city, he couldn't understand why they would act that way. He decided that maybe it was that they didn't know who he was yet. Maybe if he introduced himself they might like him more.

A few houses down the road, an old couple were working outside together. The woman had her back to them washing some clothes in a barrel of water. The old man had his head down over a small box sharpening a set of small knives. He could hear them talking to each other happily, but Raogothcar couldn't understand what they were saying.

The man looked up as they neared and his face melted into the look of surprise, even fear. He set down the small knife in his hand and picked up a much larger one and pointed towards them with it.

"Good morning to you both," Raogothcar said cheerfully, "It's a wonderful day isn't it?"

The old woman had turned around and shrieked, "Harold, get inside!" She dropped the shirt she was holding and stepped inside the door, "Harold come now, don't even think about it."

The old man looked down at the knife in his hand, then back to Raogothcar. For a moment, Raogothcar thought he man looked angry, then it seemed an idea came to him and he dropped the knife and followed the old woman inside. The door slammed shut a second afterwards. He hadn't expected such an extreme reaction from them, he had never seen anyone behave that way when anyone greeted them. Raogothcar knew he hadn't been around humans very long, but the couple's reaction seemed wrong somehow. It disappointed Raogothcar to see them run from him. As Raogothcar walked passed the building Helen rode up next to him.

"Suppose they don't like dragons." Helen said, "Their loss though, you're good enough."

"What do you mean 'good enough' Helen?" Raogothcar turned to look up at her.

"Oh you know there are other dragons that live around Freeraven right?"

"Yes, but I've not seen any of them yet. Where are they?"

"Most of the time, I don't know and don't care to find out. They're a nasty lot the three others flying about. I heard one of them was a real mean merchant when she came into town. I hear the town guards are always getting complaints about her. She'll sell you blind on things that don't work near as good as she says."

"That's just wrong. Humans are wonderful creatures," He looked behind them at the house with the old couple, "although they are strange sometimes."

"You dragons are strange you mean. Especially you, you're alright. You don't yell at people, you don't snap, you're pretty honest. I'd say that's strange for a dragon. Although I heard there's another pretty likeable one down in the Black Feather Woods. We get a couple of odd farmers and hunters in Freeraven once in a while talking about her. Never seen her in town though."

"So I'm not all that strange after all. There's another dragon like me that likes humans. My mother and father like humans too, so that's another two that are nice. We're not so strange at all now are we?"

"Oh you're all strange alright. You talk a little too much for a dragon that's for sure," She reached over to pat him on the back of the neck, "That and you're cute sometimes even."

The last time he heard that was from his mother years ago, Raogothcar could feel the spines on his neck and on the sides of his head rising with embarrassment, and his face began to flush. He looked back and scowled at Helen. When she started laughing Raogothcar nearly stopped walking and decided to sulk in the back of the line. He couldn't believe she thought he was cute. He wasn't even sure how he could be, especially now that he was out on his own.

His mother called him cute when he was playing with his dog when he was still a hatchling. Then he hadn't cared, the puppy was wonderful and nearly always fun. Cute was for hatchlings, not for a grown dragon. Determined, Raogothcar decided he would find a way to redeem himself in the future, he couldn't let the humans think he was still just some hatchling.

When Raogothcar looked back up he had fallen behind, so he picked up his pace to catch up with the rest of the group. Two men on horse back rounded a corner ahead of them and approached Deanna. Raogothcar noticed they were both in shiny metallic armor and looked much like the guards back in Freeraven. Deanna stopped to let them approach, she looked back and motioned for him to come up with her. Raogothcar walked up to her side and waited for the other two men to get to them, wondering what they might want. They didn't seem to be threatening; one of them was even smiling.

The man in the front was the shorter of the two Raogothcar guessed, but it was hard to tell with them both on horses. They both wore a chainmail vest and had simple swords at their sides, but the man in the back also had a crossbow strapped to his the harness of his horse. The two came to a stop in front of them.

One of them raised his hand and smiled at them as he introduced himself, "Welcome to Palitos travelers, I am John Solomon, captain of the guard." He then motioned to his partner, "This is Isaac, one of my lieutenants. We heard from some of our citizens one of the dragons came into town, but I can see you aren't one of our regulars are you?"

"I am Deanna Woolsmith, Captain of the Freeraven scouts. These are my scouts. Jacob, Helen, and Travis. "

Raogothcar realized suddenly that she hadn't mentioned him. He looked up and found she was looking down at him. When he turned back to the guards and found each of them looking down at him too he suddenly felt nervous.

"I am Raogothcar." Raogothcar said slowly, "Its nice to meet you both."

"Well, I'm glad to meet all of you. I'm here to be your escort while you are traveling in Palitos, especially you Raogothcar."

"Why is that?" Raogothcar said as he sat down.

"Since you all aren't from around here, you don't know the news I suppose. I suppose it was what? Was it a week ago now Isaac?"

Isaac nodded, "Yes, a week ago."

"Right, anyway, this dragon came into town and was doing some trading or some such. I think his name was Acealtar, and I'd never heard of him before. Well, what I've heard some young children were playing and apparently they had a dare with each other. One of them was to steal something from Acealtar. Acealtar didn't take on to the kid's game and turned back and mauled the poor kid to death. Brutal mess I'll tell you. I still can't stand the memory of it. I'd never seen such a dragon.

"Well," John shook his head, "everyone was stunned by it. No one was able to get there in time to stop the dragon or help the kid or anything. The dragon then threw the kid aside as if he was nothing and then took off to the west somewhere. We've not heard anything else about him since then.

"From that day the town's view of dragons has been getting worse and worse. I've made it a point to escort any dragon that comes into town. We have quite a few regulars and most of them are quite proper. Most haven't liked my constant presence, but it is mostly for their protection you understand. I don't want any more ugly incidents. Also, it makes the citizens feel more comfortable that if anything does happen, I'll be right there to sort things out.

"So, now that you all know," John smiled and waved at the city behind him, "where can I take all of you?"

"He killed a child?" Raogothcar couldn't fathom such a beastly act, "He really killed a child?"

John sighed then nodded, "Yes he did. I've not heard of anything quite like it before."

"If you could Captain," Deanna said calmly, "Could you take us to the library? Freeraven needs to know a few things."

"Good, excellent." John twisted around in the saddle to Isaac, "Could you go on ahead and let them at the library know they have some special visitors coming?"

"Of course, John" Isaac said, then turned his horse and trotted down the road further on.

"Since you know the town so well," Jacob said from behind Raogothcar, "Could you point us to an Inn? I'd like to sit for a bit and I don't think the air of a stuffy library would do well for that."

John laughed, then said as he turned his own horse, "My men tell me there's a great Inn not far from the library. Some of the neighbors don't appreciate it as much as my men do, but I'll show you. I'm sure it will do."