Star rumbled. “Omens, perhaps.”
“I don’t get omens.”
“You are having a lot of first-time experiences,” said the dragonne. “Change is part of life.”
“Are the others back yet?”
Star looked in the general direction of where they had gone. “No. But it has only been two hours. What was your dream about?”
“I told you, I don’t dream,” Vanderjack said.
“As you wish,” the dragonne replied. “But don’t expect this to be your last dream. On the Dragon Isles, the dragons of Light dreamed for a thousand years, and great magic worked its way into the world as a result. Your dreams, Vanderjack, may be important too.”
“No offense,” the sellsword said, standing. “But I think all that dreaming was the reason they had their nests ransacked by the Queen of Darkness’s dragons. I don’t think that’s the kind of magic they wanted.”
Star growled. “Never speak ill of the Children of Paladine. My brothers fought and died to protect them as they slumbered, defending their nests. Had they the power to waken, they would have. We bear their sorrows for them to this day.”
Vanderjack raised his hands. “Hey now. Look. I’m just a human, I don’t know from dragons other than the ones I met working for both sides a few years ago. I’m sure you did your best and all.”
Vanderjack shook his head. That was smart. Get the dragon-tiger good and mad; that’ll help matters.
The sound of somebody approaching proved a welcome distraction. Vanderjack pulled on his sword belt, and in so doing he grasped Lifecleaver’s pommel. The Sword Chorus appeared around him, the Hunter already setting off in the direction of the noise.
“Sleep well?” asked the Apothecary.
“You know how I slept,” said Vanderjack. “Did you have anything to do with that?”
“Lucid dreaming is a possible side effect of that compound,” the Philosopher said.
“Indeed,” said the Apothecary. “The swifter the healing, the more intense the dreams.”
“They aren’t saying it,” said the Cook, stepping forward. “But we all saw the dream ourselves. While you slept, you had your hand on the sword.”
Star watched but stayed out of the conversation. The sellsword, however, shot the Cook a look. “You mean they had something to do with the dream?”
“We merely observed,” said the Aristocrat.
“Quite an eye-opener, though,” said the Balladeer.
“Had you known your fellow mercenaries were sivak draconians?” asked the Conjurer.
“Of course I didn’t bloody well know they were sivaks,” said Vanderjack.
“You were drunk,” said the Cavalier.
“And soon after that, Theodenes returned and there was only the remains of the cat,” said the Balladeer. “Sad. Worthy of a ballad, if I say so myself.”
Vanderjack rolled his eyes. “I had already left,” he said. “I could hear Theo screaming for help a mile away. There was such a mess. I didn’t want to deal with it, so I took off.”
“And your mercenary band?” asked the Cook. “What happened then?”
“I found them-the real them-all dead, a couple of miles away. They had been dead for days.”
The ghosts fell quiet, as if to let that sink in. Star still watched and still said nothing.
The Hunter appeared through the trees and broke the silence. “They are approaching. The gnome and the woman.”
“Well, thank the Abyss for that,” Vanderjack swore. “I can tell the gnome all about what happened-in the past, in the dream-and we can all stop talking about spilt milk.”
“I wouldn’t bring it up,” said the Balladeer.
“Don’t open an old wound,” said the Apothecary.
Theodenes and Gredchen walked out into the clearing, the gnome hefting a sack of acquired goods over his shoulder. Vanderjack released his hand from Lifecleaver, and the ghosts winked out of sight.
“You took your time,” he said, walking up to meet them. “How are the ogres? Did you run into any trouble?”
“You could say that,” muttered Gredchen.
“Star!” Theodenes cried warmly and went over to update the dragonne on the events in Willik. Vanderjack wiped his brow with a sleeve and felt as if everything had grown a few degrees warmer. Damn that nagging guilt.
“What do you mean? Did they pick a fight with you?” Vanderjack indicated the sack the gnome had set down to the right. “I can tell you didn’t come back empty-handed.”
“The ogres are gone,” Gredchen said. “Willik’s been emptied out by the highmaster. She was there and told us to pass along to you her interest in your future.”
Vanderjack narrowed his eyes. “Ackal’s Teeth!” he swore. “Rivven Cairn was there? What in the Abyss for? Just waiting for me to happen by?”
“I don’t get it either,” Gredchen said. “She and the baron have always had an understanding. She leaves him alone, and he doesn’t interfere with politics in Nordmaar. Now she tells me that she’s keeping tabs on what you do and that you owe her.”
“Hmm. Well, I did kill one of her officers,” Vanderjack said, rubbing his jaw. “But if that was such a big deal to her, why didn’t she just come out here and get me? Doesn’t she have a dragon of her own that she can sic on me?”
“The red dragon Cear. We didn’t see him. But it hardly matters. Now that we know she’s watching us, we need to be sure to go straight to Castle Glayward as soon as possible.”
Theo came over. “Right,” he chimed in. “I’ve told Star, and the dragonne has agreed to carry us to the castle.”
“When we get there, there’s a good chance it’s been overrun by red dragonarmy forces, and this daughter of the baron’s is there as some kind of collateral,” said Vanderjack. He turned to Gredchen. “Is that how it is?”
“That’s what the baron has been led to believe. I’ve not visited the castle recently. But on those rare occasions when the highmaster has visited the baron’s manor, he’s pleaded with her to bring his daughter back to him.”
“Let me guess,” said Vanderjack. “She said no.”
Gredchen pointed at the sellsword. “Are you fit enough to keep going?”
Vanderjack coughed. “Of course I am.”
“Excellent,” said Theo. “We fly now to liberate the baron’s daughter. Once we have her, we can leave Nord-Omaar and take our earnings with us.”
One by one, they climbed onto Star’s back. Vanderjack looked back over his shoulder in the direction of Willik as they lifted off from the ground and flew due east.
A dragon highmaster had rid a whole town of ogres just to let him know she was watching him. Powers taking an interest in him! Something very curious was going on, Vanderjack thought. And eventually, he reflected with a silent groan, he was going to learn what it was.
Cazuvel stood on the battlements of Castle Glayward, surveying the wet jungle vista.
The highmaster had sent him four sivak draconians, under orders to serve and assist him. Of course, she was still unaware that he wasn’t the real Cazuvel, who was trapped inside a mirror deep within the Lyceum. The creature wearing Cazuvel’s form suspected that the sivaks, who were themselves shapeshifters, might guess something was amiss if they spent too much time in his presence. Cazuvel had given them orders to leave him alone and gone up to the roof of the castle.
There, he could see the single road leading through the rainforest, a wide and once-paved road that wound south to North Keep. Cazuvel preferred to use magic to get from place to place, but he could appreciate the effort once taken to make the road passable. Nobody had lived in Castle Glayward for a decade, however, so nobody had cared enough to maintain the road’s state. The Sahket Jungle had encroached upon it, vines and creepers forming a latticework of pale green above the tumbled paving stones. Cazuvel briefly felt a sense of wonder at the power
