Khollo nodded. I know. But I would like to investigate it when we return, find out what’s there, if anything. Who would build a city in the mountains?
Are you sure the marking was for a city? Kanin inquired.
Reasonably. Unless map markings have changed substantially in the last few thousand years. Khollo frowned, considering. I better look at that again tomorrow, he decided. Just to be sure.
Kanin exhaled heavily and curled up in the bowl. So, no success yet?
Khollo laughed. Not yet, no. I’ve only searched maybe half of the scrolls on one floor though. There are five floors in the library, and countless scrolls. There’s bound to be something useful eventually.
Kanin shifted restlessly, then closed his eyes. Khollo finished his dinner in one last enormous bite, then stood and stretched. “Sleep well, Kanin,” he murmured, looking at the massive bulk of the dragon, gleaming in the soft light of two torches flanking the entrance to the hold.
The young warrior retreated to his own bedroom and stripped off his weapons, laying them close by in case something happened in the night. He wondered briefly if the tiger could climb, then remembered that it would have to get past Kanin to get to him. If the tiger tried to sneak into the hold, Kanin would flame it right off the ledge. Khollo smiled at the thought of that one-sided fight and lay down. In moments, he was asleep.
Chapter 30
Sorry, Kanin said to Khollo, raising his head to look the young warrior in the eye. Still hurt.
Khollo sighed with frustration. It was the morning after the tiger attack, and he was kneeling at the edge of the bowl, looking down at Kanin.
It’s okay, he replied. It’s my fault you’re hurt. Keep resting. I’ll try and find something productive to do.
Kanin closed his eyes again and rolled over. Khollo meanwhile straightened and made his way to the ledge outside. The sky was dull and overcast, but at least it was not boiling with menacing storm clouds. They’d had more than their fair share of trouble with storms already.
Khollo stretched, groaning, and paced along the ledge, trying to find something to do. He could start cleaning out additional holds, but there was really no point to that until there were more Keepers and dragons to occupy them. He could not reach the fourth level to start clearing brush. He could not go to the library, not with the tiger on the loose. Nor could he hunt, without Kanin’s aid.
Resigned to a long day of nothing, Khollo sat on the edge of the ledge, his feet hanging over the side and kicking against the stone. The sun broke through the clouds at last, and the jungle was suddenly alive with small creatures and brightly-colored birds. Khollo sighed and closed his eyes, basking in the pleasant warmth of the sun.
“Bad idea, son, sleeping on the edge of a cliff.”
Khollo’s eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice. His eyes finally fell on a slim, untidy figure, standing in front of the lowest level of holds. Ezraan.
Khollo squinted up at the sky. Some hours had passed, and he realized that he must have dozed off on the ledge. The sun had retreated behind the clouds again, and the temperature had dropped. Khollo shivered in his thin shirt, then remembered that he had a visitor below. He glared down at Ezraan, who was leaning on his walking staff, peering upwards.
“What do you want?”
Ezraan tilted his head to one side. “Is this how you greet your long-lost father?”
“Yes.”
The older man shrugged. “Very well. I don’t blame you. I understand how difficult it must be for you, having suffered the consequences of my mistakes.” He moved a little closer to the holds. “But, my mistakes would not have happened without the arrogance of your uncle.”
“So, you want me to blame Janis for all of this?” Khollo asked coldly.
“If blame is to be assigned, that is where it should rest.”
“I forgave Janis for his mistakes,” Khollo replied. “He has done his best to right what went wrong. He found me, gave me a life again. He has protected me and helped me grow into a respected leader.”
“You forgave him, how noble,” Ezraan sneered. Then, he cackled insanely. “And why do I not deserve such a boon from you, my son?”
“You have no remorse,” Khollo said flatly. “You do not accept responsibility. You do not try to make things right.” He stepped closer to the edge of the ledge. “You float along in your meaningless existence, towing your bitterness and anger along with you. You are too busy blaming others rather than doing what you can to make good come of what happened years ago.” Khollo was shouting now, his voice echoing against the hold. “But when we are reunited after so many years, what is your message to me? Blame your uncle!”
Ezraan cackled again. “Don’t go all high and mighty with me, boy!” he called. “Not when you have abandoned your former friends for this island and a ruined Order.”
“I have not abandoned them,” Khollo told him quietly. “Even now, I search for a way back. I am stocking provisions to return to the Sthan Kingdom and finish the war.”
Ezraan was stunned into silence for a moment. “And just how do you propose to get back?”
“I need a map,” Khollo told him. “A map of the world. If I could just find where this island is, I could return.”
Ezraan looked away, twisting his staff in his gnarled hands. “I see,” he said finally. “You truly mean to return?”
“Yes,” Khollo said confidently.
Ezraan glared up at him. “I have misjudged you,” he spat.
