Plenty of people know about the color variation. I doubt that you'd have figured out the transformation, though. Only people who are fairly familiar with dragons know about the differences in the shapes of their scales, and I don't think anyone at the castle understands dragons very well.'
'How do you happen to know so much about dragons?' Mendanbar asked, nettled.
'Oh, Kazul and I have been friends for a long time,' Morwen said.
'We trade favors now and then. She lets me have a spare scale when I need one for a spell, and I lend her books from my library and pots and pans that she doesn't want to keep around all the time. In fact, Kazul was the one who convinced me that it would be a good idea to move to the Enchanted Forest.'
'Kazul,' Mendanbar said, frowning. 'That name is familiar. Who is she?'
'Kazul is the King of the Dragons,' Morwen said. 'Drink your cider.'
Automatically, Mendanbar lifted his mug. Then the implications of what Morwen had said sank in, and he choked. Morwen was a good friend of the King of the Dragons? No wonder she knew so much about dragon scales! Morwen gave him an ironic look, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. To give himself time to recover, Mendanbar sipped at his cider. It was cold and sweet and tangy, and it fizzed as it slid across his tongue. He looked at the mug in surprise and took a longer drink. It was just as tasty the second time. 'This is very good.'
Morwen looked almost smug. 'I make it myself. You may have a bottle to take back to the castle with you, provided you take a bottle to Kazul when you go see her about these scales you found.'
'Thank-wait a minute, what makes you think I'm going to see Kazul?'
'How else are you going to find out who these scales belong to? I may know more about dragons than most people, but I can't tell whose scales these are just from their color and size. Kazul can. Besides, you should have paid a call last year, when the old king died and Kazul got the crown.'
'I sent a note and a coronation present,' Mendanbar said. He sounded sulky even to himself, and he felt as if he were being lectured by his mother, who had died when he was fourteen. 'I was going to visit, but the Frost Giants decided to come south early, and then some fool magician tried to turn a rock snake into a bird and got a cockatrice, and-' '-and it's been one thing after another, and you've never found the time,' Morwen said. 'Really, Mendanbar. Haven't you learned by now that it's always one thing after another? Being busy is no excuse.
Everyone's busy. You take those scales and a bottle of my cider and go talk to Kazul. At the very least, you'll get some good advice, and I expect you'll get some help as well. You look to me as if you could use it.'
'The castle staff is very good,' Mendanbar said stiffly. 'And my steward does an excellent job.'
'I'm sure he does,' Morwen said. 'But one good steward isn't enough to run a normal kingdom, much less one like the Enchanted Forest. It's perfectly plain just from looking at you that you're wearing yourself out trying to do everything yourself.'
'It is?'
Morwen gave a firm little nod. 'It is. And it's quite unnecessary.
All you really need-' '-is a wife,' Mendanbar muttered resignedly, recognizing the beginning of Willin's familiar complaint.
'-is someone sensible to talk to,' Morwen finished. She looked at him sternly over the tops of her glasses. 'Preferably someone who knows at least a little about running a kingdom. An exiled prince, for instance, though they don't usually stay long enough to be useful.
Someone who'll do more than make lists of things you need to attend to.'
Mendanbar thought of Willin's endless schedules and could not help smiling. 'You're probably right.' He suppressed a sigh; he didn't have time to spend hunting for a capable adviser. 'Do you know anyone suitable?'
'Several people, but they're all quite happy where they are right now,' Morwen said. 'Don't worry. This is the Enchanted Forest . If you start seriously looking for good help, you'll find some.'
'I hope I recognize it when I see it,' Mendanbar said. He took another long drink of cider and stared into the mug. 'You're the most sensible person I've talked to in days. I don't suppose you'd consider moving to the castle?'
'Certainly not,' Morwen answered tartly. 'I have quite enough to do here. However, I'll have the cats keep an eye out for any more burned-out patches of forest, and if I think of anything that might be important I'll let you know. Finish your cider and go see Kazul before you talk yourself out of it.'
'I won't talk myself out of it,' Mendanbar said, taking another sip of cider. 'It's a good idea.' He picked up the dragon scales and put them back into his pocket. He hoped Kazul would be able to tell him something worthwhile.
The Enchanted Forest was large, but it could disappear in a hurry if someone started punching holes in it. He frowned suddenly. 'Do dragons eat magic?'
'Not that I know of,' Morwen said. 'Why do you ask?'
'That burned-out place I told you about,' Mendanbar said. 'There wasn't any magic left in it. It had been sucked dry. I've never seen anything like it.'
'I don't think dragons would have done that,' Morwen said. She considered for a moment, then rose. 'Wait here a minute; I want to look something up.'
She walked over to the back door, the one through which Mendanbar had come in. He watched, puzzled, as she opened the door and stepped through into a room full of tall, dark bookcases. Morwen left the door open and disappeared among the shelves. Mendanbar blinked. The windows on either side of the door looked out on the garden, and the one on the right still had a cat in it. Oh, of course, he thought.
It's one of those doors that go where you want them to. There was a door like that in one of the castle attics, which was convenient for getting back to the ground floor without actually climbing down seven flights of stairs. Unfortunately, you still had to climb up all seven flights in order to get to the attic in the first place.
Morwen reappeared, holding a red book with the title The Patient Dragon printed on the cover in gold. She closed the library door behind her and sat down at the table again. She flipped rapidly through the book, then slowed and read half a page with great care.
'I thought so,' she said. 'Dragons don't eat magic. They generate their own, the way unicorns do.'
'You're sure?'
'See for yourself.' Morwen held the book out. 'Austen is very reliable, and the more obscure the fact, the more reliable he tends to be. If he says dragons make their own magic, they do.'
'I'll take your word for it,' Mendanbar said. 'But the more I find out, the less sense any of this makes.'
'Then you haven't found out enough,' Morwen said.
They talked for a few more minutes while Mendanbar finished his cider.
Morwen told him how to find Kazul's cave in the Mountains of Morning but refused to advise him on what to do when he got there. Finally, she packed him off with two bottles of alder, the red book about dragons, and a recommendation not to waste any more time than he had to.
Mendanbar headed straight back to the castle. Visiting the King of the Dragons was going to take more preparation than simply talking to a sensible witch, and Morwen was right about wasting time.
4
In Which a Wizard Pays a Visit
When Mendanbar got back to the castle, the first person he saw was Willin standing in the doorway looking relieved. By the time Mendanbar got within earshot, however, the ells expression had changed to a ferocious scowl.
'I am happy to see that Your Majesty has returned safely,' Willin said stiffly. 'I was about to send a party out to search for you.'
'Willin, that's ridic-' Mendanbar broke off as his brain caught up with him. Willin might fuss and complain about the king playing hooky, but he wouldn't send someone out looking for him without more reason than irritation. 'What's happened?'
Willin unbent very slightly. 'Your Majesty has an unexpected visitor.'
