Berlina's Quest (8 page)

The trio passed through many small towns, often taking the opportunity to buy food…if it was daylight. Berlina still had no clear idea how much longer the journey was going to last, and she worried about running out of gold. They came to one town a couple of hours after sunset, having taken advantage of the light from a setting moon to continue riding. It was getting too dark to see, and the town looked as if all the inhabitants had taken to their beds.

“Lathan,” said Berlina, “I think this is a good chance to pick up some supplies.”

“Uh, the stores look…well, closed. We gonna wait for morning?”

“No, I think we can get some good bargains by shopping this late.”

“What are barginz? I din't know we needed any of them. We din't have any before, did we?”

Berlina struck her forehead with the palm of her hand in exasperation. “I was talking about food!”

Lathan wore his usual puzzled expression. “Oh, food only. Whychoo say barginz if yoo meant food, huh?”

Not wanting to argue further, she changed the subject. “Look, I think this is a store here. We'll hitch our horses to the post. Then, see if you can bust the door open. Only do it quietly.”

Lathan went over to the door, put the point of his sword where the door met the doorjamb next to the lock, and gave a mighty push. Without much noise, the wood splintered easily0 and the door swung open. Berlina entered and gestured to Felistia and Lathan to follow her. Once inside, she held up her wand so the tip of it gave a light, revealing that it was indeed a store full of food and other essentials. “Fee, can you see in the dark enough to gather up what we need without the light from my wand?”

“Yes, I just shift my eyes to their cat form, and I can see quite well in the dark,” Felistia answered. She found a large, empty sack and moved quickly around the store, picking up an assortment of food and other items. Finally, the bag she carried was full.

While Felistia gathered food, Lathan leaned over to Berlina and asked, “How come the storekeep ain't here, and yoo still know what to pay him?”

“We're not going to pay him anything.”

“Uh, ain't that…like we're…like, uh stealin' the stuff?”

“Yes, we are. Like we stole the horses, we stole the gold.” She could see he was about to protest and held up a finger to stop him. “I really don't like stealing, but we're almost out of gold, and we're on a quest to rescue my brother Darvid, remember? That makes it okay.”

His face lit up in a smile, and he nodded in agreement. “Yeah…hey, dat's right. I furgot.”

“Maybe we can find some way to pay the storekeeper back later, after we rescue—”

She stopped as a door in the back wall opened and a man came out, his hair all tousled from sleeping. He was carrying a battered and rusty sword. “Stop, thieves!” he called.

“Disarm him, but try not to hurt him,” said Berlina.

Lathan pulled out his sword, waved it around in the air a few times, and brought it down on the man's weapon, cutting the blade off the hilt like it was made of cardboard. The man dropped the now useless hilt and began rubbing his hand. “Ow, ow, ow! That hurt!”

Before the man could recover, Berlina grabbed a length of rope hanging on the wall and threw it to Felistia, who hog-tied the man, stuffing a gag in his mouth so he could not scream for help. “There,” she said. “That should hold him.”

Berlina paused a minute in thought. “Hmmm, if he lives back there, I'll bet he has his gold back there, too.” She stepped through the door the man came through and quietly chanted a spell. Her wand swung around and pointed to a small cabinet. She opened it and pulled out a small bag of coins, adding it to her pouch.

Lathan, who had been watching through the door, started to protest, but she waved a finger at him and said, “A quest, remember?” He nodded. “Now,” she continued, “put the storekeeper back here in this room.”

As Lathan was doing so, she glanced back into the cabinet and realized there was something else in there, way in the back corner. It was a ring. She pointed her wand at it and softly chanted “
Ringalevio
.” The ring glowed with a lovely green hue, and a wave of pleasant feeling enfolded her briefly. “Well,” she muttered to herself, “it does something good. Maybe I can figure it out later.” She placed the ring in her pouch with the gold and left the back room, motioning Lathan to follow her. She closed the door and cast a locking spell on it. “There. Nobody will find him for a day or so. We've been here too long. Let's go.”

Felistia was already outside, transferring the contents of the sack to their saddlebags. When she finished, they remounted and started on down the road. It was slow. The wand didn't give enough light to travel very fast, but half an hour later, Berlina decided they were far enough from the town to be safe. They turned off the road and went a short distance into the woods before stopping to camp for the night.

* * * *

The next morning, they ate breakfast and then pushed on. In late afternoon, they came in sight of another town, and Berlina told Lathan to stop. “I think it would be best if we took to the woods and bypassed this town.”

“Uh, ain't that gonna be slower nor goin' troo it?”

“Yes, but I don't want to take chances that word of our depredations at the store last night got here ahead of us. The local gendarmes might cause trouble.”

“Deper who? I tought we jus' stole some stuff. An' hoose this guy John Darm?”

“Never mind. Just follow me.” She turned off the main road and onto a small path that led toward the forest on the right of town.

It was much slower, and darkness caught them long before they could circle around the town. It was almost noon the next day when they got back to the road. Berlina also detoured around the next town they came to. After that, there were no villages, no signs of civilization for three days of travel.

Suddenly, Lathan stopped his horse, shaded his eyes, and said, “Dere's somepin dere, Princess, but it don't look like a village. Yoo got any idear?”

“You're taller and get a better view. I can't see anything yet, and I doubt if Felistia can, either. Let's go slowly until I can get a look.” She started her horse ahead at a slow walk. After a bit, she stopped and said, “Looks like some kind of fort…log stockade or something like that.” Seeing that Lathan was completely confused as usual, she said, “A wooden palace.”

“Oh,” said Lathan. “Ain't it kinda silly buildin' a palace outa wood? Most guys got palaces like ‘em fancier.”

Berlina started forward again, and the other two followed. As they approached a door in the wall, two men snapped to something vaguely resembling attention. “Who approaches?” one asked.

She decided to give the fake names they used at the tavern and hoped Lathan would not get too horribly confused. “I hight Bejanna. This is my companion, Fezzia, and my attendant, Lathan.”

“Why should we let you in?” asked one of the gatekeepers.

Why
, thought Berlina,
are these idiots so fussy about who they let in?
Aloud, to impress the gatekeepers, she said, “We are on a Secret Mission for the Sorcerer's Guild.”
Like I'd announce a secret mission to everyone
. “What is the name of this place, and why is it so well fortified?”

The two men bowed, obviously impressed by the idea of a secret mission. Then, one said, “This is Plumboth. We are just a town, but the walls are because of the dragons wandering in the area. I hight Formold, and my companion is my brother, Forthold. It is our job to close and fasten the gates if a dragon approaches.”

“Dragons? Do they breathe fire?” asked Berlina.

“No, ma'am. There is indeed fire, but it does not come from their mouth. You are in most danger when the dragon is walking away from you, if you understand me.”

“The dragons
fart
fire? Oh, goodness! How can one safely proceed down the road? We have our Secret Mission to accomplish.”

“Ma'am, I suggest you enter the village and talk to the dragonmaster…former dragonmaster, that is. He has recently lost his power to control the dragons.”

Inside the walled village, the guards led the three to a house bigger and grander than any other, yet starting to fall into a state of disrepair. They tethered their horses. Then, Formold led them into the house. The inside of the house was as much in disrepair as the outside. Springs burst through the cushions of what had once been a luxurious couch, stuffing leaked from seams of chairs, and the lone table had several books propping up a broken leg. As they were looking, a man in grand, but now somewhat tattered, robes of a pale green entered the room. The color looked very familiar to Berlina. She thought about it, and suddenly remembered the light given off by the ring she took from the storekeeper's cabinet.

The man introduced himself. “I hight Pyarrow, and at one time, I was the dragonmaster. I had a magic ring which could control the dragons and chase them away. However, the ring was stolen and many died before we were able to build the walls. I understand you have a question for me?”

“Yes, dragonmaster. I hight Bejanna. I, my companion Fezzia, and my man Lathan are on a Secret Mission and must pass on down the road. How do we safely get past the dragons?”

“Ah, ma'am, would that I could help you. If I had the ring, I would simply chant the incantation ‘Puffpuffpuff', and all the dragons nearby would flee, first tucking their tails down between their legs to prevent shooting fire.”

“How far down the road does the dragon-infested area extend?”

“About three day's ride.”

Berlina pulled out her wand, waved it at the dragonmaster in an intricate pattern, and intoned “
Hypnos
!”

The man suddenly went into a trance. Berlina walked up to face him and said, “Dragonmaster, do my bidding, and you will be rewarded by the recovery of your ring. Do you want to do that?”

“Yes, ma'am. I want to do that.”

“Good. You are to get a horse and supplies for eight days travel. Then, come with us. During the first four days of the trip, you will see nothing unusual, hear nothing unusual. You will continue thuswise until I give you new instructions. Do you understand?” The dragonmaster nodded his head. “Will you obey me?” The man nodded again. “Good. Go get ready, and meet us by the city gates.” The dragonmaster wandered off to get ready, still in a dazed state. Berlina, Felistia, and Lathan headed for the gates to await him.

As they rode, Felistia asked, “What did you do to him? How do you plan to get by the dragons?”

“Simple enough. The ring I…uh…found a few nights back is his dragon ring, and he told me the spell to make it work. On him, I used mesmerism. He will not notice me using his ring, nor will he try to get it back. When we are past the dragons, I will free him and give him back his ring. He can come back here as we continue on. Okay?”

“Bee, that sounds like a great scheme, and for once, an almost honest one.”

They met the dragonmaster at the gate and proceeded down the road. Berlina was wearing the ring, so it would be ready. Occasionally, she had to use it, but most of the dragons they saw were far enough away that they were not dangerous. It was most impressive, however, watching a dragon lift its tail and let forth a blast of flames.

Even in his bedazzled state, the dragonmaster seemed to have some idea what was happening, and each evening, he led them to a safe place. These were places where the trees were so thick that dragons couldn't get close enough to be dangerous. By the end of the third day, the dragon population had tapered off to almost nothing, but Berlina kept them moving for one more day. That night, they didn't worry about the dragons. They just picked a convenient campsite and went to sleep.

The next morning, Berlina removed the dragon ring from her finger and placed it on the dragonmaster's. Then, she woke him from his trance. He was very confused and wanted to know where he was and what was going on.

Berlina said, “We are four days ride from your village, dragonmaster. You escorted us past the dragons with the aid of your ring, which you have miraculously recovered. Do you remember?” She waved her wand at him.

“Oh, oh yes,” he said, “now I remember. Of course I remember. I found my ring…” He looked down at his hand to confirm that he had it, “…and I escorted you safely past the dragons. Yes, I remember. Why wouldn't I remember?”

“Now,” said Berlina, “we will proceed on down the road with our mission, and you, with your ring, will go back to your village.”

The dragonmaster mounted his horse and started back down the road, still shaking his head occasionally. As the trio started in the other direction, Lathan said, “Dat was sure nicea yoo to give him back his ring. I kinda guess the guy yoo stole it from, like stole it from the dragon guy, huh?”

“Yes, I imagine that's what happened. If the storekeeper stole the dragonmaster's ring, I no longer feel so guilty about taking his food and his gold. Once I knew what it was, and we were past the dragons, I didn't really need it, anymore.”