“There’s one more thing,” started Matt, “the queen will want to know who opened the gate and we can’t very well tell her it was Soliander if she thinks I’m him.”
“True,” agreed Anna, frowning. “So what do we tell her? I’d rather not lie, so can we just say we don’t know? Is learning the truth part of the quest?”
“No, it is not,” replied Lorian.
“Failing to admit it is still a lie, by the way,” Eric interjected, “but I think we just go with a better lie than not knowing. Let’s blame it on Raith. We think he’s a cult member and involved in the stolen scroll anyway, so this isn’t a stretch. As a cult member, he would have wanted to open the gate anyway but it was already open.”
“The queen might not know a soclarin item is needed to open the gate, but if she asks if he had one, we’ll just duck the question,” added Matt. “He went through the gate before we could have asked him that.”
Ryan nodded. “I think that is the way to go.”
“There’s something I should mention,” began Matt. “When Soliander did his mind meld spell on me, he learned our real names and that we’re from Earth, a name he seemed to recognize. I’m concerned he might track us down there and finish what he started.”
Everyone’s expressions became sober and serious.
Eric observed, “He could go after our families.”
“Daniel,” Ryan whispered, paling. Looking at Matt, he remarked, “I sure hope you can cast spells back home because if he shows up, you’re our only real chance.”
Matt exchanged a concerned look with the others.
They soon turned to drinking the night away in the safety of the elven estate, trying to forget the worst parts of the quest or what might lie ahead. On their way back to Olliana, each had their own preoccupation.
With help from Lorian, Matt practiced spells every day, hoping they still worked on Earth. He didn’t know what to expect but suspected he wouldn’t have the staff or books. He tried to memorize everything and spent all day with his nose buried in books to the point of rudeness. The others understood and left him alone.
Eric and Ryan both learned tracking from the elves and took seriously elements of horsemanship and wilderness survival that might be needed if they ever did another quest. Both expressed an interest in learning elven, so Lorian just cast the spell on all of them, then dwarven. Learning other languages like ogre came up but the elf said with a smile that they needed to absorb what they had already gained. There would be time enough for more later.
Anna had lapsed into quietness that prompted more than one to ask if she was feeling okay. She would nod and smile serenely but not say much about her inner world. She didn’t understand what she was feeling and had something to sort through on her own. When Rognir had healed her, she’d felt the powerful effect of a god’s compassionate touch in her. Part of her felt deeply shaken by it, but this was mostly psychological, her mind struggling to accept what had happened. Emotionally, she had never felt more at peace. She sensed that she’d been changed forever by it, and while that scared her a little, she felt eager to leave behind her old disposition and embrace something new. She been reading everything she could about the gods here, face buried in a scroll almost as much as Matt.
As they neared Olliana, people emerged from roadside homes and inns to offer congratulations, flowers, and even their chastity. Ryan exchanged knowing looks with Eric and Matt about the bounty of female flesh offering itself up, and how unfortunate it was that they had to be going.
“It’s good to be the champions,” remarked Eric, pulling up beside Ryan.
Ryan laughed, his banner snapping in the breeze atop his lance. “Yes, if only we had time to enjoy it.”
Chiding them, Anna remarked, “Just think how many diseases you could bring back with you.”
Undaunted, Ryan suggested, “You could always cure us.” The boys laughed aloud while she failed to suppress a grin. The return to joking was nice.
They trotted through Olliana’s main crowded cobblestone streets with Lorian and surrounded by elves, though Morven had remained behind at the estate. The escort Queen Lorella had sent out to meet them led the way, steel-clad knights riding in formation. The crowd’s roar of appreciation greeted the champions and flowers flew, gifts were given, and ribbons were strewn around their necks.
From a balcony, the queen gave a suitable speech, declaring the day a holiday and that a festival of celebration was to begin immediately. Yet another banquet in their honor would be held that night, but first the champions gathered in the War Room to tell the queen, her wizard Sonneri, and the Prime Minister the details of the quest.
“I understand you were successful in sealing the Dragon Gate,” the queen observed, smiling from her seat behind the hexagonal table. “Please tell us precisely what happened.”
With a look at Eric to see which of them would speak for them, Ryan received an encouraging nod and replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty. When we arrived at the castle, we discovered that Cirion’s group had arrived ahead of us, but they were captured with some loss of life. We freed those remaining and set about dealing with the dragon.”
Queen Lorella asked, “And were you able to chase her back through the gate before sealing it?”
Resignation on his face, the knight replied, “No, my queen. We had hoped to subdue her, but her hostility was too great, and in the course of battle she was killed.”
The queen’s eyes widened in shock, a flash of anger appearing before she relaxed and assumed a look of resigned acceptance. “While I don’t agree with the Dragon Cult’s methods,” she explained, “I do understand
