Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

“What do I do about you?” Cabe muttered not for the first time. He prodded the box ever so slightly. “I should destroy you now, that’s what I should do.” Destroying it was not truly the answer, however. That would only leave the incident unresolved, possibly forever. The box was proof.

He knew that, but the warlock could still not bring himself to take it to its former owner. This could set kingdom against kingdom . . . create civil wars. . . . Cabe wondered if the one responsible for the box had foreseen that. Had they actually wanted that?

Cabe? The voice that suddenly echoed in his head made him grateful he had also taken the precaution of shielding part of his mind. Despite the fact that she was now linked to her husband, Lady Bedlam would not be aware of the thoughts running through his head. She, especially, could not be told just yet.

It was possibly the first time he had kept something of such importance hidden from her. Cabe struggled with the shame as he responded to her mental summons. Yes?

At last! came her response. I was beginning to fear for you, you know! This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to contact you.

He grimaced. Cabe did not even know how long he had been sitting here, save that the small breakfast he had forced down no longer was enough to sustain him. At present, his stomach was sounding much like a volcano preparing to erupt. I’m sorry.

Where are you?

In my study.

The surprise was almost vocal. Still? Darling-

Before she could ask the question that he would again be forced to ignore, Cabe interjected, What is it? You sound as if you have some news.

I do. It was clear that she did not like her questions being shunted aside again, but knew better than to argue at this point. For that, the frustrated mage was happy. This morning there was a missive from the Green Dragon.

He straightened. “What does he want?” he asked out loud before recalling the link. Fortunately, asking the question was the same as framing it in his mind.

The master of Irillian by the Sea is demanding to see Kyl sooner than we’d planned. In fact, the missive clearly indicates that we can expect him to leave his kingdom tomorrow or the day after.

Of all the things that the missive might have contained, the meeting between Kyl and the Dragon Kings’ chosen representative had been the only matter the warlock had not worried about. Yet, it should have not been so surprising. Of course the Dragon Kings would know almost instantly about the botched assassination; they would be justly concerned about the state of affairs at this point. This alteration in the schedule was as much to assess the change the attempt might have had on the heir’s mental state as it was anything else. Cabe could not blame the drake lords, but he certainly wished that they had not reacted so. It meant one more terrible concern to add to the mountain already looming before him.

Is the meeting place still the same or has he changed that, also?

That’s what makes this even more important. The Blue Dragon is coming here.

Cabe grunted. There really had been no reason to think that the Blue Dragon might have wanted to change the location of the meeting, but the warlock had wondered. Now he was being rewarded for the curiosity.

There is no stopping the Blue Dragon. Therefore, Lord Green would like one of us to come see him. There are some details that he would like to go over; things we might have to do differently now that the Manor is the location. I think he might have some concern about Penacles and its stability, too. The Dragon Kings might be anxious about the Gryphon resuming control. That may be one reason that Blue will not wait. I know that doesn’t quite make sense, but the message indicated such a fear.

Toos only died the other day, the somber mage noted to his wife. Does the entire continent already know? There really was no reason to be concerned about the return of the lionbird to the throne of Penacles; the policies of the general and his former commander were of a like nature. If the Dragon Kings had not been overly fearful of the regent’s rule, then the return of the Gryphon should not be bothering them that much. They could certainly not be thinking that the monarch of Penacles had war in mind. Cabe found the Green Dragon’s fears questionable.

Will you go or shall I, Cabe?

He realized that he had drifted away from the silent conversation. The warlock tapped a finger on the arm of the chair. He knew what he wanted to say, and he also knew it was the coward’s way. After some deliberation, Cabe finally sighed and replied, I’ll go.

There was a still moment as she obviously waited for him to continue. When it evidently became clear that he had finished, the enchantress returned, All right. I hope everything goes well.

Her concern, her love, was quite genuine, as it always was, and knowing that only served to make him feel even more guilty for hiding what he knew from her. Not for the first time, he was amazed that she still loved him so after all these years.

It’ll be fine, he promised.

Please hurry back.

“I won’t stay any longer than need be,” he promised out loud. A breath later, the link was broken. Left alone once more, Cabe at first resumed his pensive staring, but then guilt forced him to sit up. Guilt and the glimpse of some figure at the very edge of his vision. Using his body to shield the box from the newcomer, he quickly cast a spell that sent the artifact to one of the chests in which he stored objects. The chest was protected by other spells, so Cabe knew that the box would be secure there.

That left the intruder to deal with. The warlock finished turning around. “Who is-yes, scholar? Did you want something?”

It was indeed the form of Benjin Traske, but the huge man was acting in a peculiar manner. First, he did not respond to the mage’s question. Second, the tutor appeared obsessed with the books just to the side and above where Cabe presently sat.

“Scholar Traske? I asked you a-”

Through the massive girth of the man the warlock could see the opposing wall.

The Benjin Traske before him was nothing more than one of the Manor’s ghosts. Even as the realization sank in, the bearded figure, hand outstretched toward the shelf of tomes that Cabe kept in the study, ceased to be.

Knowing that the tutor had been in the study more than once in the past, Cabe’s interest in the phantom dwindled somewhat. Out of habit, he located the notebook in which he kept track of all sightings and wrote down this latest addition to the parade of images. Cabe eyed the list, briefly wondering if he would ever discover the pattern or reasons for any of the ghostly intruders, then replaced the tome among the others. His gaze rested on some of the titles.

Aurim was still not free of Toma’s spell. Cabe knew that he would not rest easy until that problem was also dealt with, but he had run out of ideas . . . of his own. It occurred to him now, though, that he had not consulted any of the books in his small collection here. Perhaps there was something he could quickly thumb through. It would but take a few minutes of his time to decide whether the books would be of any use. The Green Dragon could wait that long. Certainly Cabe could, if only for his son’s sake, he told himself.

The master mage scanned the titles. To his disappointment, he knew almost immediately that he could eliminate virtually all of them. There was, however, one volume that he decided might offer some hint of what he sought. Cabe reached up, but as he took hold of the tome, the notebook, several volumes to the left, suddenly slipped and fell onto his desk. The book flipped open before him, revealing the page upon which he had just recorded his sighting of the Traske ghost.

Cabe took the book he was holding and set it aside. Then, with more care than he had apparently used the last time, the annoyed mage returned the notebook to the shelf, this time making certain that it would not slip again.

A quick glance through the book he had chosen revealed that it held no clue to a swift and safe manner by which to unbind the spell Toma had cast. In point of fact, it held nothing of use.