Ow, he muttered. Khollo flinched at the pain reverberating across their mental link.
I hate crossbows, the dragon grumbled.
Where are you wounded” Khollo asked urgently, beckoning the others closer.
Both forelegs, wings in multiple places. Maybe two in chest, one in side.
Khollo quickly passed on the information to the others, who set about examining Kanin for injuries. The result of the inspection was five tears in Kanin’s wings, three snapped off bolts in his forelegs, and three in his torso. It was quickly determined that none were life threatening.
We’re going to be all right, Khollo murmured, placing a hand on Kanin’s snout. We’ll live, and we’ll heal in time. And the vertaga are beaten.
Are you sure?
Khollo looked back at Dun Carryl. The entire canyon had vanished, buried under tons of rubble and earth. They’re finished, he assured Kanin. The lake, the gates, the canyon. It’s all gone. Destroyed.
Kanin exhaled gently and closed his eyes. Good. We will go home soon?
Yes, Khollo agreed. As soon as we are healed, we will return to Ethgalin.
And hunt wild steers, Kanin said happily.
Khollo laughed, drawing puzzled glances from the others. Leave it to you to think about food at a time like this, he said fondly.
Kanin showed his fangs in a terrifying grin. It is nice that such simple things are the biggest of our worries, he said. No war, no enemy, no more pain and death. Kanin growled suddenly, flinching as a bolt was removed from his leg. Well, maybe a little pain, he amended. But soon, home. And that makes it all worth it.
As it happened, returning home did not happen quite as quickly as they would have liked. The first problem was that Kanin was in no state to fly until his wounds had healed, especially the gashes in his wing membrane. So they set up a camp in the next valley over, away from the remains of Dun Carryl, and there they stayed, under the protection of Sermas, Hern, and one hundred of Relam’s cavalry. The rest of the army began limping its way back north, for Relam was a king and was needed by his kingdom for other things, with the war over.
Two months after the battle of Dun Carryl, Kanin and Khollo finally took flight to return to the West Bank. Hern and Sermas had left several days earlier with Janis and some of the soldiers, as Relam had asked them to meet him at Etares three months after the battle. With that deadline fast approaching, they had elected to leave a little early so they could all rest and recuperate at the West Bank for a few days before pressing on to the capital.
After a few restful days among friends, the long journey north to Etares began. Hern, Sermas, and Janis rode while Khollo and Kanin flew overhead and alongside. They made good progress each day and, unlike when they had marched for the Fells with Relam’s army, Khollo and Kanin had no cause to be frustrated by the pace of their earthbound friends.
Finally, three months after Dun Carryl, everyone had assembled at Etares. In the dazzling capital city of the Sthan Kingdom, it was time to take a short respite from repairing the damage of war and officially recognize the heroes who had won the battle.
Behind the palace in Etares, in a courtyard of tremendous proportions that overlooked the wide Furnier River, hundreds and thousands of nobles, ladies, warriors, and peasants gathered to see their heroes. Stories had swept through the city like wildfire when the soldiers returned home, stories of dragons and monsters and fire and death.
The details had already been altered to the point where the real story would never be believed, but few cared. It was a much more interesting tale when the dragon took down the enemy army in a few flaming passes and cleared the way for the king to charge the enemy stronghold.
Khollo and Kanin stood a little apart, feeling decidedly out of place and a little embarrassed at all the attention. Unfortunately, there was no way for a dragon to blend into such a crowd. People of all rank and station stared openly and shamelessly, but did not press too close to the subjects of their admiration. To do so might unsettle or anger the dragon after all, and no one wanted to experience what so many vertaga had in the battle of the Fells.
Kanin snorted and lowered his great head so it was on a level with Khollo’s. Why are we here again?
The king wants to publicly thank us, Khollo reminded the dragon. He grinned as he noticed that the surrounding masses had shrunk back noticeably when Kanin moved.
Yes, but why do we have to be here for it?
Khollo bit back a laugh. “It will all be over soon,” he murmured. “Then, we can go home.”
Home. As much as Khollo had enjoyed the last three months with his old friends, Sermas, Hern, Janis and the others, he had found himself yearning more and more for Ethgalin. The high mountains with their sheltered pools and springs, the wide plains with their bountiful supply of food, the white shores, sandy and warm. He missed his hold, the great library, the view of the valley from above the tree line.
The people were beginning to press in again, and Kanin quickly put a halt to that with another dragon-sized snort.
And Khollo missed the peace and quiet. Especially now.
Finally, the king took the stage and the masses focused their attention on this new figure of interest, leaving Khollo and Kanin alone. Relam was clad in rich robes of midnight blue, a golden cape hanging from his shoulders. He wore a ceremonial sword inlaid with jewels at his hip, but beyond that there
