were not of the royal guard, for instead of the eggshell breast plates, these men wore chain mail under their cloaks. The sentries, a full dozen, resembled to Cabe avenging wraiths risen from the grave. They eyed the newcomers blankly, somehow radiating a sense of dread power. Cabe was surprised to sense a bit of power among them. So far, that power had not been used, but it was potent enough that he remained wary.
The master groundsman raised his staff. “Stand aside for King Melicard I, the Queen Erini, Princess Lynnette, and their most respected guests!”
The guards did not move despite the command, and it took the warlock little time to realize why. He doubted that drakes had ever sought entrance to the necropolis before, much less the royal crypts.
Roe waved his staff at the reluctant guardsmen. This time they obeyed, albeit casting distrustful glances toward the drakes in the party. The master groundsman waited until they had stepped aside, then turned to his charges.
“My liege, I must apologize for this behavior.”
It was Kyl who replied, “Pleassse, King Melicard! Assure him that I underssstand the hesssitation.”
“Again, that is most gracious of you, Lord Kyl,” Queen Erini said. She looked pointedly at Melicard, who nodded.
“Lead on, Roe,” the king commanded, putting an end to the incident.
The groundsman led them up the steps and to the doors, which opened up as the party reached them. A pair of gray sentries stood at attention behind the doors. Cabe found the situation rather ironic. Melicard had left his soldiers at the gate in respect to the dead, at least so he had indicated, but the monarch had failed to mention that his ancestors had protectors of their own, protectors with sharp weapons and secret magic.
If the party had expected a dank, frightful tomb, they were disappointed.
“This way,” announced the keeper, pausing to point to a corridor to the party’s left. They followed him down the new hall, passing empty spaces in the walls that were obviously reserved for the future. Cabe shuddered and saw Gwendolyn do the same. Neither Erini nor her daughter seemed bothered by the reminders of their mortality, perhaps because they had come here so often that the crypts no longer held any anxiety for them.
The corridor was short and ended in a stairway leading into the earth. Roe began to descend, with Melicard close behind. The Green Dragon also had no qualms about the descent, but Kyl and Grath both froze. Then, the emperor-to-be stiffened and literally forced himself down the steps. Grath hesitated only a bit longer. The queen and her daughter followed after them.
Bringing up the rear allowed the two spellcasters to take a moment to ready themselves. The enchantress squeezed Cabe’s hand, took a deep breath, and started down. Grimacing every step, he shadowed her, trying not to think about the sort of hole they were entering.
The remainder of the trip was thankfully short. The names and faces carved into the stone plaques became more recent until at last the party confronted the final resting places of Rennek IV and his wife, Queen Nara, who had died many years previous to her husband.
It should have been darker, for a single candle was all that was burning when they arrived, but the master groundsman’s staff proved to be a surprise-the head glowed brighter the darker the path became. Thus it was that the illumination available to them was almost as great as if they stood out in the open air.
Before Kyl was permitted to begin, the king had a ceremony of his own. One day each week he journeyed to this place, often with his family beside him. A wreath already hung over each of the stylized images of his parents, wreaths fairly fresh, since Melicard had been here four days prior. Nonetheless, the king removed the wreaths by hand, then reached into a sack he had been carrying. From it the monarch of Talak brought forth new wreaths, which he then placed where the previous pair had hung. Melicard then stepped back and knelt before the two plaques.
He spoke, but was so quiet that no one else could hear what it was he was saying. Cabe did notice the queen silently mouthing words, tears running down both cheeks. She, at least, knew what her husband was saying.
After several minutes, the king rose. There was a hint of moisture on both cheeks, which disconcerted the warlock a little since the one eye was only supposed to be a carving. The magic of elfwood, however, was a mystery to even the most learned. There was argument as to the extent of its ability to mimic life. Over the years, Cabe had come to the opinion that elfwood did
Now at last it was Kyl’s turn.
He signaled Grath, who carried a bag similar to the one the king had been holding. The younger drake reached into the bag and pulled out not a wreath, but rather two bundled packages about half the length of his forearms. Grath gently opened each bundle, revealing what at first appeared to be a pair of roses. He held out the roses to his brother, and as the dragon heir reached for them, they caught the light.
The roses glittered. The sight was breathtaking. Only now did those gathered realize that the scarlet flowers were not real, but rather
No one spoke as the drake stepped forward and placed one rose before each of the two plaques.
Straightening, Kyl broke the silence. “May thesssse lasssst as a sssymbol of both regret and hope, King Rennek, Queen Nara. Long after the beauty of a true rossse would have faded, let the not ssso cold beauty of thessse pieces show my pain at what my kind hasss done to thisss kingdom. Let it alssso symbolize my promissse to the lords, both passst and presssent, of thisss mountain kingdom that the days of terror are now forever passst. I cannot remake all of what wasss lossst thanks to my sssire and hisss predecesssorsss, but I shall do what I can; that I ssswear in memory of all of you!”
There was more after that, much of it concerning regret to Rennek in particular for the atrocities of Kyrg and Toma, who in the name of their sire and emperor, had been willing to do most anything, no matter how vile. Kyrg had paid the penalty at the siege of Penacles and no one had seen Toma in years, but the memories of the terror the duo had spread remained vivid to those who had been involved, including Cabe. Kyl’s words faded as the warlock pondered the evils of the drake dukes and their master. He knew that he would not rest easy until he was certain that Toma had followed his brother and his emperor to oblivion.
The young drake finished. It was an elegant and worthy speech, no matter what the true reasons behind it. The king was too intelligent a man to fall prey to pandering, but it was impossible for him not to be affected by something such as this. Erini had tears in her eyes.
Kyl turned to Melicard. “I hope I have acted with sssensitivity toward your esssteemed progenitorsss, my lord. If you find the rosesss not to your liking, I will replace them with sssomething elssse.”
“The fire roses were . . . appropriate,” replied the king. His voice shook a little. “I’ve not seen such beautiful work in years.”
“The skill isss almossst lossst. A ssservitor in the Manor knew how to make them, but had not done ssso since coming there. When I was made aware of sssuch skill, I had him make thessse two with the original intention of them being given as farewell giftsss to your lovely queen, but that changed when I dissscovered I had no proper token to bring to thisss ceremony. I hope you will forgive me, Queen Erini.”
“Of course I will. They shall have a place of honor down here, Lord Kyl,” the queen said, her eyes still a bit moist. “I will see to it.”
“I thank you. Perhapsss when I return to the Manor, I will be able to convince Osseussss to make another pair for you.”
“Osseuss?” Erini glanced at Cabe and Gwendolyn. “A good thing then that we were able to prevent a terrible injustice. It would be a tragedy for the world to lose such an artisan!”
Cabe, who had never been aware of the servitor’s talent and wondered how Kyl had come to know, had to agree. The roses had been the crowning touch to the drake’s performance, a perfect complement to the carefully crafted, yet emotion-turning speech he had given. Even Grath and the Dragon King had been touched by it. Roe was staring at the dragon heir as if seeing him for the first time.
There was nothing more to be done here, but it was several seconds before Melicard appeared able to organize his thoughts. His gaze darting back to the roses, he commanded, “Have someone watch these closely,
