A TALL TALE
The Year of the Tankard (1370 DR)
Flickering torches mounted on a pair of poles were the only guide for their eyes as they approached the decrepit barn. Once used for storage for the remote lumber camp, it had become home to old, worn out equipment, hay, and as refuge once a year for a peculiar traveling caravan.
They approached in silence, their voices having fallen in unsure expectation of what might await them inside. Myth, legend, rumors, each they knew well enough, but would they actually see what lived only in their imaginations? In their nightmares? The forest was quiet, and though their feet knew the paths and treeswell, their pace slowed, expectation turning to hesitation leading only to doubt, and fear.
The peeling paint and warped wood walls, once comforting reminders of seasons past, had become as eerie as the walls of a crumbled keep, with secrets etched into every stone. More than once they looked over their shoulders for eyes that were not there. They knew it was foolishness to expect to find anyone else in their isolated home, yet on that night they did not feel alone at all…
'I've seen a dragon!' exclaimed Nollo, an excited grin evident on his young face.
The three other boys, along with the half-elf girl, exchanged looks ranging from amusement to irritation at the claim. McDodd, as expected, was the first to voice his disbelief.
'The closest thing you've seen to a dragon, wagon-boy, is a sand snake bitin' you in your rear when you dropped your breeches to wet the sand!' The biggest of the boys, McDodd often used his size to intimidate the others into agreeing with him. It rarely worked.
Craster giggled, and though he was as small and skinny as Nollo he was filthy compared to the young boy's groomed appearance. His laugh regularly followed McDodd's biting remarks. Nollo frowned at McDodd's rebuttal. Though a few years younger, he did not back down from the larger boy's taunts.
'I have too seen a dragon. I even fed it! And they're called wyrms!' Nollo bit back the rest of his reply, as though realizing he might be saying too much.
McDodd inhaled, preparing another sarcastic remark when Kirsk held up his hand, causing the bigger boy to exhale sharply.
'What? You think he's actually tellin' the truth? He's as big a liar as his father,' McDodd said.
He couldn't resist challenging Kirsk's attempt to silence him. Though physically bigger, McDodd stopped short of intimidating him into agreement, as Kirsk's quiet confidence unnerved the braggart. Kirsk glanced at the half-elf girl Syndar, catching her gaze with his deep blue, nearly black eyes, before turning back to Nollo.
'Tell us about your dragon, Nollo, and what you fed it.' Kirsk's words were spoken with a gentle encouragement.
Nollo smiled and said, 'I gave it deer meat, and some fish left over from my father's cooking pot. It was really hungry, so I stole another fish from the bucket, feeding it to him whole. His teeth were so big, he bit it in half and swallowed both bites at once!'
Nollo used his fingers to mimic the gaping jaws of his dinner companion.
McDodd could not hold back. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, and Craster says a lot of stupid things.'
Craster started laughing at McDodd's comment then sheepishly scratched the back of his neck with his black fingernails. He looked the beggar in his tattered breeches and patchwork tunic.
McDodd continued, 'Everyone knows dragons eat cows, horses, and elves. Especially elves.' His mouth turned into a cruel smile as he leered at Syndar.
She met McDodd's gaze evenly and said, 'The only stupid one McDodd is you. A dragon wouldn't even eat you because you're so stupid. Dragons eat wild animals that roam too close to their lair. They even raid the occasional orchard if they want some sweet fruit. My mother told me about dragons from a book she keeps.' Syndar spoke with the voice of a girl trying to be a woman, surrounded by boys who were not yet men. Kirsk smiled as she stuck her tongue out at McDodd who was shaking his head.
'Explain to me again why we let her up in our tree? Fruit? Is she saying dragons eat fruit? I think elves have fruit between their ears. It rots, becoming soft and mushy.' McDodd gestured to his ear as he spoke. 'Your mother won't know, she left the elven kingdoms to come live in a stupid boring lumber camp. I doubt she even owns a book. What good are books in a lumber camp? Next you're going to say that she's still teachin' you magic too, right?'
'She is you dullard! One day I'll turn you into toad and you'll beg me to turn you back, but I won't, because all I'll hear is some stupid frog and I'll kick you into a puddle and forget all about you.'
Syndar's face turned an angry pink, and though blessed with the ageless beauty and grace of her elf mother, she already demonstrated the temper and strong-willed nature of her human father.
Kirsk intervened. 'Leave it be, McDodd. If Syndar says she knows magic, then one day she'll show us. Nollo is our guest in the tree, let him finish his story.'
Kirsk waited for McDodd to press the issue, but the bully relented, glaring before punching Nollo in the arm.
'You heard 'im. So what else did your dragon eat? Some of those stupid animals your father tries passing off as monsters? He should be arrested.'
Nollo rubbed his arm. 'No, he curled up and went to sleep.'
Kirsk's curiosity got the better of him. 'Nollo, dragons don't usually eat fish fed to them by humans. Why didn't the dragon didn't eat you instead?'
'Because he was caged,' Nollo said. 'I wouldn't feed a dragon if it wasn't caged. That's stupid.'
His reply was so immediate, Kirsk almost believed him.
Craster laughed again, prompting McDodd to punch him.
'A cage?' McDodd pressed. 'I doubt you saw a dragon in a cage. They happen to be as big as a castle and fly so high you can't see them.'
McDodd waited for the boy's reply then looked surprised when Syndar supported the braggart.
'Nollo, that's a tall tale and you know it,' she said. 'Dragons are too strong. If they can carry a horse and rider into the air, they could break out of a cage pretty easy.'
She smiled at the young boy, as if to encourage his story while keeping him honest.
Nollo sighed, staring out as a warm breeze wafted through the framed window of the tree house. A lantern on the floor cast shadows along the wall.
'You can keep them in cages if they're small enough,' Nollo replied, his voice so quiet the others almost missed it.
'What do you mean small enough?' Kirsk persisted. 'You mean like a baby dragon?'
Nollo glanced up, nervous, nodding slowly.
Kirsk smiled and asked, 'Where is this baby dragon then?'
Nollo pulled a knife from the pocket of his soft breeches. Elegantly dressed with his embroidered shirt, he wiped some dirt from his polished boots and notched the wood by his feet.
'Not 'posed to say,' he said. 'My pappy would get mad.'
McDodd opened his mouth, but Syndar spoke first. 'Was it one of the carnivals back east? You said your father took you 'round the southern edge of the desert. My mother says tribes of men and wandering tent cities live within sight of the sands. Is that where you saw it?'
Nollo shook his head in silent disagreement, stabbing at the floor of the tree house.
To the surprise of all, Craster uttered their unspoken question: 'You sayin' yer pappy got a caged dragon up in that barn?'
Nollo looked up too quickly, his expression betraying him.
'Who told you that?' the boy asked. 'There's no dragon, I just… I saw one once. You're lying!'
Kirsk reached out a calloused hand to Nollo's shoulder and said, 'It's all right Nollo, we know what's in the barn. Every year you and your father spend a tenday restocking for the journey west toward the Sword Coast. Every year we share tales, and every year you tell us about the beasts, wizards, and barbarians you encounter. We don't
