Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

Still, as much as it rankled him, Grath chose to obey. Lord Green had been good to him for the most part and was still a necessary ally. He would forgive the Dragon King his mistake this time, but if it happened again, Grath would remember for the future. Patience and memory are important driving forces, his mentor had said, allowing one to survive for years until the time is ripe for vengeance.

As usual, it all made perfect sense to him.

Lord Green wished him to find Benjin Traske. Very well, then, he would find Benjin Traske. It would give him the opportunity to ask a few questions that had arisen this evening.

The walk was a long one, and at other times he would have contemplated sending a messenger, but Grath knew that this once it would be better if he obeyed the command to the letter. He walked through the halls, unaccompanied but not alone. Toos had indicated that this night no escort would be necessary for the drakes, but that did not mean that security had been relaxed. Tonight, sentries lined the major corridors, the regent’s precautions against assassins and possibly wayward drakes. Grath admired their order and steadfastness as he walked. Too many drakes still underestimated their human counterparts, but he did not. Underestimating your opponents was the best way to open yourself to utter defeat.

There were guards even in the corridor outside of the chambers that had been set aside for Grath and the other visitors. Again, it was supposed to be for their own safety, but he was certain that the regent had also ordered the soldiers stationed here in the hopes that it would discourage his draconian guests from wandering off to where they were not desired. The rooms he sought were farthest down the hallway. He walked past the remaining sentries, faced the door, and softly rapped on it.

The door swung open without preamble. The face of the tutor appeared. “What is it, Grath?”

Disconcerted, he still managed to reply, “I was sent here by Lord Green. He thought that you might yet make an appearance. He insisted that I personally go to you and ask if that might be so.”

“The Dragon King insisted that you come for me?”

Grath nodded.

The massive figure stepped out into the hall. He was clad in the robes of a scholar, making it appear as if he were just about to begin class. The nearest guards glanced the tutor’s direction, but when they saw who it was, they immediately resumed their statuelike stances.

“Did he say why he wanted to know?”

“No, Master Traske,” replied the young drake after a quick look at the sentries. “He simply insisted I go, then walked over to where Kyl and the regent were standing.”

“Did he now? I’d not planned to be there, but if Lord Green is so interested, it would behoove me to come.”

That was somewhat of a relief to Grath, who was not certain how the Dragon King would have reacted if he had returned alone. Eyeing the guards once more, Grath asked, “Would you prefer that I wait out here while you prepare yourself?”

A brief smile spread across the bearded face. “Yes, that would be good of you.”

Benjin Traske slipped back inside. Grath took up a place just to the side of the door and watched the guards. They did not even so much as twitch. These were veterans, men who had fought in battle. The young drake hoped that no reason would arise that would force him to fight one of them.

The door opened but a minute later. The scholar, slightly neater but overall looking much the same as he had a moment before, stepped out into the hall again. After making certain that the door was secure, he turned and began marching down the corridor.

Throughout most of the journey back, the large figure beside Grath said nothing. The drake attempted questions once or twice, but they were met with short, unenlightening responses. Grath gave up and concentrated his efforts on keeping up with the other. His companion was setting a swifter pace than he had expected, almost as if there was some urgent need to appear at the reception as soon as possible. He would have liked to have asked if there was some reason for the speed, but if one of the sentries overheard, it might make for some misdirected conclusions.

As they neared the ballroom, Grath noticed that the reception had grown much quieter during his absence. He wondered if perhaps something had occurred that had made Toos call an early end to the event. If so, it could not have been anything terrible, for the few voices that he did hear seemed as unconcerned as he would have expected.

“Is something the matter, boy?”

“No . . . nothing.”

A soldier opened one of the doors for them. Grath nodded in the manner of a superior to a servant, but his cool demeanor was shattered by what he saw in the ballroom.

It would have perhaps been more appropriate to say what he did not see. More than half of the guests had vanished. Small groups clustered here and there, but the bulk of those who had come to meet the new Dragon Emperor were gone. As were, Grath realized in a quick, anxious survey of the ballroom, Toos, Lady Troia, the Green Dragon, and Kyl.

A heavy hand clutched his shoulder. “Where did they go, Grath?”

“I don’t know! They were here when I left.”

Traske looked around. His eyes alighted on a trio of elderly men wearing robes like his own. “Wait here a moment.”

Grath was tired of being commanded by everyone, but he did as he was told. The scholar marched over to his counterparts and immediately questioned them, ignoring their annoyance over his rude interruption of their conversation. One of them made a reply that Grath could not hear, a reply which was then apparently supported by a nod of the head from another in the trio. Benjin Traske gave them a curt response, then returned to the waiting drake. His expression puzzled Grath; it looked as if his companion was suffering a number of conflicting emotions, none of them good.

“They are outside. The arena. Some tournament. I was not told anything about this.”

“Tournament? You mean the chess game?”

“Yesss . . .” The huge man came to a decision. “Come, Grath. We do not want to be late.”

“What are-”

Grath’s question died abruptly as his companion glared at him. Clamping his mouth shut, he followed the other through the ballroom.

Toos watched the game unfold with uneasiness in his heart. There was no reason for him to be anxious, not with the safeguards that he and the Gryphon had implemented for this visit, but simply having the drake heir out in the open like this, with not even a roof to protect his head, made the regent uncomfortable. The night sky was dark, there being no moon out. He kept imagining Seekers or some other airborne danger circling above, biding quietly until the proper time. A part of him knew that it was paranoia, but another part argued that there was a basis for his fears.

His entire life was a basis for those fears.

Kyl, with the subtle aid of Toos himself, was playing opposite Baron Andrean. Toos had confidence enough in Andrean to know that the aristocrat would do his best to see to it that his royal adversary looked good. As to whether the baron would actually allow the young drake to win, the regent could only guess. Baron Andrean was an intelligent man. He was capable of judging what results would best serve Penacles.

The dragon heir was actually doing fairly well against the much more experienced Andrean. Either that, or Andrean was much more skilled at manipulating the game than Toos had ever imagined. Both players were fairly even at this point. Andrean had a slight advantage, but it was one based more on the strength of his champions than numbers. Through sheer circumstance, the baron had drawn some of the best of the guardsmen who played as pieces. Fortunately, Kyl had a few masters of his own.

In point of fact, the young drake’s knight was about to defeat Andrean’s pawn. This particular combat had gone on for more than the normal two or three minutes. Since they were confined to a single square, duels by champions often ended when one player was forced beyond the boundaries. In this case, both men had succeeded in remaining in place. However, the knight had finally beaten down the defenses of the baron’s pawn and had the