Forest Keep 29
#31 of Forest Keep
XXIX
This was a different and colder cavern. The fire globes were dimmed to mere flickers that reflected vaguely off the walls as several dragons met and spoke in clandestine council. The atmosphere was tense and hatred was almost palpable in the air.
"Are you sure?" one asked disbelievingly. Surely the clan had grown soft to allow one of the monkeys to join.
"There can be no doubt" came the sibilant reply. "He survived the test and was welcomed with open arms by our brethren"
There was a shocked silence from the group at this revelation. "And no clan member was bold enough to deny this atrocity?" spat another figure who remained hidden in the shadows.
"Nay, even the elder wyrm seemed enthusiastic though I doubt this was little more than a pose". There was a dry susurration of scales as the others shifted uncomfortably. The hiss of private channels loud in the confined space.
"Then we have no choice. We must act for the good of all dragon kind and remove this threat ourselves" murmured one slowly. "It is a single weak human for all the threat he poses in corrupting one of our foolish females" There were muted sounds of assent from the assembled wyrms.
"There is still the difficulty in divining his location and preventing the clan from intervening" one older dragon wheezed. "The amulet he was presented with is shielded from all but those he chooses to trust. We shall have to use more primitive methods to determine their lair and ways to assail it"
"Information will find its way to us if we are patient. But we must be alert" said the apparent leader of the group, his posture proud and predatory as he surveyed the members. "Knowledge may come from unwitting words spoken and actions observed amongst the brethren. I find it hard to believe only three dragons know their whereabouts."
Casting a cold reptilian eye over the assembled conspirators he let his gaze rest on each briefly "We do not want to risk a hybrid of monkey and dragon appearing at the council...do we?" he hissed meaningfully. The assembled dragons nodded in agreement and slowly made their ways from the chamber back towards their travel rings and their own lairs.
Shalla lay on her bed grinding her teeth in frustration. Everything had been going so well up until her father had shown up. And then her annoying older brother had gotten involved and ruined it all.
She hated being made to look a fool in front of others and now she had been forced to scent-mark a human and face scorn from that common cow-dragon Cill and her monkey-toy.
Her brother was making plans in his room for his next visit to the keep and she wondered what she could do. She had given her word not to tell anyone about the couple and their home and she couldn't break that.
This led to the other powerfully conflicting emotion that reared up whenever she thought of the keep. That damned annoying Tommy. She could still feel the pressure of his lips on hers when she thought about it. She did want to see him again and that was what was aggravating her the most. It wasn't fair. All she had wanted was to have a closer look and see what a human had that a drake didn't. She was starting to get an inkling that the difference was a personality.
He hadn't treated her like chattel and a nuisance female like her brother always did. He had listened to her and offered sympathy as well as standing up to her and making her question her father's wisdom in choosing a mate for her.
A talon scratched slowly down the side of the lounger as she brooded on that little question. She hadn't seen many males she liked as they tended to look at her as if she was...prey or something to be collected. Was that to be her destiny? To be mated and sit on a clutch for a male she didn't like? The grooves grew deeper in the wood of the lounger as her anger grew.
Tomako grinned to himself as he held the paintbrush in his talons, the parchment beneath it showing the broad strokes and patterns he planned for his armor. There still remained the problem of paying for it though and he racked his brains to find a way around the problem. Taking gold from his father was out of the question as it would inevitably be discovered and lead to awkward questions. But he thought, there wasn't a problem with being -given- gold now.
He tucked the plans under his bed and walked slowly out into the lair, head down as if deep in thought.
"So finally he shows himself" the thought came from his mother as she lay quietly on a extravagantly woven carpet. "What have you been doing in there?" an amused mélange of embarrassing images swiftly passed through his mind as she looked her son over, making his ruffs flush "Just thinking" he replied quietly and sat on his haunches next to her.
"If I wanted my own lair..." he began cautiously "How would I go about it?"
"Oh my" murmured his mother "What brought this on? You are a little young to be thinking of going out on your own. Was it the ceremony yesterday?"
Tomako cringed as he realized he was so obvious "Partly...It made me think a lot" he shifted his rump awkwardly
"I spoke to James and he is learning how to fight and travel and Cill is learning with him too"
Nakkour nodded slowly, She had been reluctant to let a human join but the benefits had outweighed her personal beliefs and once she had convinced Divitchka not to interfere and to try some of the new things Mella had demonstrated life had become rather more pleasant in the lair. She had been chosen to mate with Divitchka and had come to love him despite his flaws.
"Do you feel cramped here now?" she asked gently, a paw stroking her sons back "I know you hear all about adventures and want to spread your wings and roar in battle. But it can be hard alone...unless you want to find a mate as well?" her voice held a hint of amusement.
Tomako's ruffs flushed "I haven't found a female I really liked yet" he murmured as a paw traced a pattern on the carpet. "But I have only seen the females in our own clan..."
Nakkour nodded and thought a bit "You should ask your father when he returns. He will explain about starting a lair and hoard of your own."
Tomako's eyes lit up "How do you start your own hoard? Do you steal it? Dig it up?" he asked eagerly, almost bouncing on the spot in excitement.
Nakkour smiled at her son "That depends on the dragon. It is common to hunt for gold and silver but stealing from other dragons is common too. That is why your father has portal-traps all over the lair so if a new portal is made it will alert him"
Tomako nodded, Shalla had been right after all. "Cill said at the ceremony that James had given her hoard?"
Nakkour gave a slow nod "It isn't uncommon for prospective mates to present their chosen ones with a gift of hoard to show they can provide gems and gold as well as food and shelter. It isn't vital though for beginning mates"
Tomako nodded "He had gold on his coverings too! Is it so common amongst humans they can put gold everywhere?" An idea was forming in his head as he considered something that would never had occurred to him before meeting humans.
Nakkour smiled broadly "Some humans have more than others and it seems Cill was lucky to meet one with plenty of gold. I admit I liked the ring he gave her as it goes so well with her scales" She looked down at her own blend of striped blue and white scales "I think I will have one made with a sapphire on white gold" she murmured lifting a forepaw and flexing a talon speculatively as she gazed at it.
Tomako nodded and after giving his mother a lick along her jaw trotted back to his room to make his plans.
James and Cill listened to Joe as he showed the eager novices how to use a lance without unhorsing themselves each time. The man at arms had hammered roped wooden lists down the bottom of the bailey and was mounted astride one of the keeps chargers who was very nervous at Cill's presence but was well trained enough to be under control.
A target dummy was set hanging from an impromptu gibbet as Joe explained the proper use of the lance in tourney and battle. It was an imposing length but he was able to wave it around easily enough.
"Listen up!" he shouted over the heads of the assorted men and dragoness "This is a lance. Ya stick this end..." he pointed at the sharpened tip at the end of the fifteen foot length "...into the target. It sounds easy but when that target is trying to avoid it as well as having one of his own that he is trying to stick into ya it gets a little tougher."
He grinned down at them from the snorting stallion "Le' me set you straight about a coupla things." He waved the lance at the dummy "A joust is a duel, pure and simple. Ya want to unhorse your opponent before he does it to ya. Some nobles will challenge ya simply for the hell of it. It's considered bad manners to kill ya opponent but accidents happen" he chuckled "In a battle though, The knight cavalry is used to flatten infantry by both trampling and lance charges" he hefted the lance and showed the novices "Ya can make a lance from any handy tree though alder and ash are best as they're springy"
He demonstrated this by flexing the lance against the ground "This is useful as ya can throw yer opponent from his saddle and still have a weapon left to stab another one with"
Cill peered at the wooden spike and chuckled to herself. It wouldn't be more than a handy toothpick to her father but to a small dragon it would mean a broken wing or worse. Looking at the horse Joe was astride she noticed the heavy saddle and stirrups he was using and thought hard. She knew James wasn't keen on heights but he had to learn not to fear flying and she couldn't pick him up in her talons all the time, it would be...well... embarrassing.
Joe turned the impatient warhorse and walked him down to the end of the list. Setting the lance in its place in the saddle he yelled back to the novices "Always walk your horse until your actually facing up to someone, ya don't want him ta be tired"
Dropping the lance into attack position he kicked the eager destrier forward into a slow yet powerful advance. Churning up clods of turf the huge horse thundered past the wide-eyed novices as they watched Joe approach the dummy with the lancetip unwavering. There was a crash it impacted the shield attached to the dummy and set it swinging back and forth violently on its rope.
Fighting the swinging lance Joe forced it up with a grunt of effort and jammed the butt end into the saddle socket before reaching the end of the list and turning back to the awe-struck students.
"There we go" he puffed and dropped the lance in front of them "Now then, there's somethin' else ya need to learn" his gaze settled on James and with an evil grin said "Pick it up lad"
James flushed and reached down to grasp the lance behind the flange, close to the centre of balance as he'd been taught as a squire. He went a little pinker as he strained to lift it up and hold it properly though. Scowling at Joe he managed to stand it on its end and upright it next to the jovial man-at-arms.
"Why thank ya James" Joe said with a grin and pushed the tip of the lance over with a hand, making James stagger back and forth as he tried to regain his balance until he finally spun round in a circle with the lance atop him and landed on his rump much to the amusement of his classmates.
"As ya can see" Joe shouted over the laughter. "The lance is very heavy and awkward to control ...So..." there was sudden silence as light dawned in several students eyes. Joe pointed at a pile of freshly cut nine-foot lances piled beside the lists.
"Startin' today, I want each and every one of ya to take one of these every morning and run around the outer bailey wall holding it over yer head"
There were a few disbelieving groans and Joe grinned evilly "Ya want to be knights? No-one said it was easy...now get to it!"
James felt a surge of anger at being made a fool of and reached for a lance. He surprised himself once more as it lifted easily in his grasp this time and by overcompensating he promptly threw it in the air and landed on his rump once more to another chorus of jeers. The lance landed heavily across his stomach as he lay blinking on the hard ground. Joe gave him a queer look as did Cill, neither could figure why he should do such a thing.
"You like it down there boy? Better get up and catch up" he chuckled. Cill however had noticed the surge of power when he had angrily grasped the lance.
James stood up and dusted off the seat of his breeches with an abashed expression before lifting the lance once more; trying to keep his power in check he lifted the lance over his head and began to follow the others round the long outer wall of the bailey.
Cill looked at Joe with a worried expression "has he done that before? Gotten angry and shown great strength?" she sent silently to him.
"Aye he near crushed a tankard one night when another novice angered him a couple of weeks ago. Scared me out of a few years growth that did" he gave her a shrewd look "Ya know why he can do it don't ya" Joe murmured back to her.
Cill nodded slowly "When he is angry his power comes out. He needs to learn to control that though. It will take time though and I hope he remembers not to give in to the urge to get angry"
Joe leaned against her side nonchalantly and grinned up at her "He got angry that night because they thought he had a lover hidden out in the woods and wanted him to share her with them"
Cill blinked and flushed, she didn't know what to say to that.
James trotted round the wall and tried to keep his emotions under control and as a result the lance got heavier with every step he took until it was resting atop his head and bouncing up and down awkwardly. He remembered Marre's words about focusing his power and tried to recall the feeling of that day. The feeling of heat in his muscles was misleading though and he felt so tired...he struggled to push out the power and dimly felt it respond, the lance growing a fraction lighter.
Thus encouraged he fed a little more power out and was relieved to feel the lance rise until he was able to carry it high once more. Dimly he heard shouting behind him but he was so engrossed in looking at the lance that he couldn't make out the words.
Suddenly something gripped his ankle hard and yanked, looking down he was shocked to see himself several feet above the ground as Tommy tried to pull him down.
With the sudden loss of concentration James dropped like a stone and landed flat on his back in front of the chuckling Tommy who offered the winded novice his hand, James took it gratefully and staggered to his feet. "Thanks Tommy, I don't know what happened there. I think I'm going to have to be careful though"
Tommy nodded and handed James back the lance with a grin "Is that a trick Cill taught you?" he asked curiously as they started running once more, James trusting more to his muscles this time.
James thought quickly, if Tommy found out his power had come from mating it might affect his tentative relationship with Shalla and either drive him away from her out of fear or precipitate a headlong plunge into catastrophe with neither party given enough time to discover their true feelings. He decided to dissemble a little.
"Its something I'm being taught, but it's very hard to control and can be very dangerous if I don't pay attention" he admitted, panting as they rounded the corner near the gatehouse. The guards on duty waved cheerily at them as they passed; glad they weren't the ones being forced into such exercise.
Cill and Joe were discussing the benefits of various types of saddle as the first wheezing novices staggered round the last bend of the wall. Dropping their lances into the pile each one fell to the ground with a groan and lay there gasping like fish out of water.
Cill look concerned as James finally appeared with Tommy, both were breathing hard and their gait looked a little unsteady. Sending an acerbic thought to Joe she admonished him "He'd better not be worn out this evening or you'll have a tetchy dragoness tomorrow" Joe paled and moved slowly away from her making placating gestures with his hands "It'll do him good ya'll see...it'll make him stronger"
Cill regarded him from under half-lidded eyes "It will?" not really believing him.
"Aye, though t'will take time for him to build him up more stamina, coupl'a years perhaps"
James and Tommy both shucked their lances and fell backwards gratefully onto the grass. Cill peered down at her mate and he chuckled up at her, waving a finger in small circles over his head "wheee...."
She snorted at Joe "He doesn't look any stronger to me" her talons tapping on the grass as she looked over her mate "foolishness"
Joe sighed and shrugged "young men need exercise ta get stronger, he's just no' used to it yet"
Cill looked doubtful and flexed her own muscles. They moved like taut cables in oil beneath her iridescent silvery scales. "Well, I know you mean him no harm but I shall watch to see if he improves"
Joe grinned widely as a thought occurred to him "D'ya think ya could chase them roun' a bit sometimes? Just to... motivate them a little?"
Caroline's father looked aghast as his daughter proposed a small excursion to the country.
"What? Why do you want to go trotting off to some godforsaken run-down keep in Guildford forest for?" he bit heavily on a chicken leg as he regarded his quiet elegant daughter seated across from him at the dinner table. Finishing the drumstick off he tossed the remnant to one of the hounds lying by the fire.It eagerly snatched it out of the air and gnawed on it happily.
"There's nothing out there but shepherds and woodcutters not to mention the outlaws and thieves".
Caroline sighed as her father wiped his greasy fingers in his large black beard and stared at her. "This isn't some silly romantic escapade is it? Those books you read..." he let his speech tail off as he drank deeply from a goblet of wine.
Shaking her head Caroline sat demurely, she took after her mother with long honey-blonde hair that highlighted the aristocratic yet soft curves of her face, dimpled cheeks surrounding a pair of generous soft lips now pursed in displeasure at her father's behaviour. She knew he was only doing it to annoy her as he was the soul of courtesy at others dinners.
"No father, I want to go and see the countryside and get some fresh air." And get away from those painted pansies you keep sending to harass me. This last bit she thought to herself as her hands clutched her knees under the table. "And the keep is safe as well as being close to Farnsworth"
Her father grunted an assent and in that uncanny way fathers have, put her on the spot.
"Wasn't that young lord you met a couple of months ago heading there for something...?" he grinned widely at her, his beard shedding fragments of chicken onto the table as he did so. "youngest son of the earl of Cheltenham wasn't he?"
Caroline felt her cheeks flush rosily and she cursed them roundly if silently as the traitors they were. "Yes I believe he was to receive training there as a knight" she replied, giving nothing away.
Her father toyed idly with another drumstick, pushing it round his plate "It's a good 3 days on horseback to get there. You'll have to have a retinue and servants. Not to mention guards"
Caroline swallowed; he was going to let her go? He must have seen her reaction and decided it was a good idea. She suddenly felt manipulated and flustered.
"I believe I can manage three days of camping and discomfort father" she calmly said, smoothing her dress down. Brocade was too hot and heavy and she looked forward to wearing something lighter on the trip.
Brian Hampton stared at his young daughter, worry in his heart. She had never put herself forward before and now she wanted to ride off to some desolate old castle. He remembered it hadn't always been run down, a couple of centuries before it had been the home of one of the kings before he had died. Since then it had been used mainly for training novices and keeping ruffians busy. This lad obviously had made an impression on her though and he weighed the possibility of having an earl's son as a son in law against letting his daughter out of his sight in a place where anything could happen.
"Very well then, But I will choose your retinue and you will follow the instructions your guards give you...do you understand?" he emphasized this statement with insistent jabs of the drumstick at her.
Catherine's eyes followed the drumstick and nodded, her heart pounding as she thought of the look that would be on James's face when he saw her again.