Dragons eating plants? Kanin snorted derisively and lay his massive head on the surface of the ledge. The old one has finally lost it.
“How do you know all of this?” Khollo asked, though he suspected he knew the answer.
Ezraan let out a short bark of laughter. “The library, of course! That’s the only thing that’s kept me sane all of these years. All there is to do on this bloody island. Well, besides explore. And hunt. And gather water. And – ”
“We get it,” Khollo broke in.
“Yes, well, then you took all of that away from me a few days ago,” Ezraan continued. “And all I’ve had to do is think.”
“About what?” Khollo prompted.
Ezraan’s face fell. “The past,” he whispered. “What could have been. What is. What could be.” He finished skinning the steer and set down his gore-covered knife. “So far, I’ve come up with about a hundred things that could have gone differently and kept me from having to flee over the sea.”
“Only a hundred?”
“I said so far,” Ezraan pointed out. “I’ve spent the most time thinking about what might have been. If I hadn’t ‘died’ . . . if we had abandoned Tamor. If the vertaga had been countered immediately, if the army had mustered faster.” He shook his head. “So many lives were lost that could have been spared.”
He turned to Khollo. “What happened after Tamor? You say the vertaga were beaten, but that does not hardly seem possible based on what I experienced.”
“You’re sure you want to talk about this now?” Khollo asked. “I mean, the past wasn’t exactly kind to you and I don’t want to . . .”
“Tell me,” Ezraan said firmly.
Khollo thought for a moment. “After Tamor, Janis retreated to Ganned’s Gorge with what remained of your forces. They picked up some reinforcements along the way and set up a heavily fortified camp that was surrounded by cliffs on three sides and only accessible by a narrow causeway. The vertaga stormed the causeway and climbed the cliffs to get at Janis’ force. But the defenders held, pouring arrows into the beasts and sending avalanches down on their heads.”
“On the third day, a storm swept through the land the like of which has never been seen since. The gorge became a river, swift and deadly. It happened so suddenly that many vertaga were drowned. By the time the water levels receded, the king’s army had arrived to reinforce Janis. The vertaga retreated, disappearing into the Fells after a few more skirmishes. For a long time, most people believed that we had beaten them, wiped them out. But some came to realize that thousands escaped.”
Ezraan nodded slowly. “Interesting.” He began butchering the steer carcass, separating pieces with his heavy knife. “And this second war you mentioned. What is happening with the vertaga now?”
Khollo explained how the monsters had first been sighted by a trade caravan making for Ishkabur, and how Janis had gone to investigate and found a camp of vertaga. He followed with the burning of the villages, the scouting trip he had taken with Janis, and the battle at the West Bank. He mentioned the slaughter at the East Bank as well, finishing with Kanin’s rescue in the Fells.
Ezraan listened carefully, occasionally asking questions to clarify details of the story. When Khollo had finished, he sat very still, brow furrowed, thinking.
“And it’s been . . . two, three weeks since you left?” he asked finally.
Khollo nodded. “Close enough.”
“Hmph.” Ezraan stood and paced to the edge of the ledge and back. “Interesting.” He returned to the carcass of the steer and continued his grisly work. “I was hoping you might have discovered the vertaga stronghold. Destroying that, I’m afraid, may be the only way to end this war for good.”
“We haven’t spent much time searching for it,” Khollo said, shaking his head. “We’ve been more focused on just surviving the attacks.”
“Understandable,” Ezraan agreed.
They lapsed into silence until they had finished butchering the steer. Khollo looked over his shoulder at Kanin. At some point during the evening, the dragon had dozed off and was now sleeping fitfully, growling to himself.
“So,” Khollo asked Ezraan after a long while. “Do you still blame Janis for what happened?”
Ezraan glared at Khollo. “It’s his fault!” he snapped. “The prideful, arrogant – ” He broke off when he noticed Khollo frowning. “Well, some of it was his fault,” he muttered.
Khollo shrugged. “It’s hard to do the right thing when we don’t have all the information.”
Ezraan nodded slowly. “I suppose that’s true.” He sighed. “It’s just . . . I’ve spent so long blaming my brother for this mess that it’s hard to think any different. I know that there are others at fault, the vertaga, for instance, but I cannot forget the part Janis played in destroying our family.” Ezraan shuddered. “And I cannot forget that I never even attempted to return to the Sthan kingdom, even after I discovered the map section of the old library and found the way home – ”
“You what?!” Khollo exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Kanin stirred and growled in his sleep.
“I found maps in the library,” Ezraan replied. “Lots of them. First level.”
Khollo closed his eyes briefly, the only outward sign of his aggravation. “Do you know where Kanin and I have been going these past few days?”
“Exploring?”
“To the library,” Khollo replied. “In search of maps.”
“Oh,” Ezraan said, understanding. “That’s unfortunate. I take it you haven’t found them yet?”
“We will tomorrow,” Khollo muttered. “Thanks, father.”
Ezraan cackled. “Father he calls me! What’s brought about the change of heart, son?”
Khollo shrugged uncertainly. “Well .
