A Wizard's Fire

Prologue

Looking to the western sky and the road ahead of him as it stretched onward winding, falling and rising through the low, flat hills that the Escreans planted their farms upon, the man rode pleasantly. His white steed was cheerful. Though tired from the weeks of long days on their journey, she was familiar with the surroundings of civilization whenever they entered the outskirts of a city or smaller community. Despite the fact that the man came to ensure the safety of the kingdom he approached, and time could very well be a critical factor, his hard ride was finally at an end and he could let himself and his beloved steed relax their pace a bit as they came to the city of Escrea ahead.

Every year in the Kingdom of Escrea on the continent of Kalos begins as the Silver Comet passes through the gray-white full moon at midnight on the first day of the Month of the Bear, the first month of spring. The White Commodore, the comet is also called, passes through the moon at midnight on the Day of the Moon annually. The Day of the Moon is the first day of each of twelve months of the year. Each month is thirty-two days long, which is four weeks of eight days.

The first day of the week is Market Day, the first day of the week's festivities.

The second day of the week is thus called Secondfest, the second day of the week's festivities.

Market Day and Secondfest are the days of weekwake.

The third day of the week is called Longdawn, for it is customary to make a restful morning of one's first day of work. The people would give themselves till perhaps ten, or maybe even eleven o'clock to do whatever they wish.

The fourth day of the week is called Leap Day for it is the day when the middle of the week passes into the second half of the week.

The fifth day of the week is thus called Fallday.

The sixth day is called Moonstay because the week awaits the eighth day, when the moon officially enters its next phase, which marks the end of the week.

Yet, before the week ends there is the seventh day, which is Soondusk.

The last day of the week is a day simply called Holiday.

Soondusk and Holiday mark the weekend, where the moon completes a full fourth of its orbit around the planet of the World of the Four Winds.

The moon makes one trip around the world each month, and the people of the World of the Four Winds have all always made their calendar according to the moon.

There is Holiday, the last day of the week, and there is the holiday, which is a day of celebration, of course. The first holiday of the year is the first day of the year, which is New Yuletide.

The first day of each month is the morning night of the peak of the full moon, which becomes the Day of the Moon. The full moon always sets after dawn, and the days are shorter in the winter and longer in the summer. The Night of the Moon comes the nights before and on the Day of the Moon.

It is customary for many people to stay up through the night the eve of the new month the night before the Day of the Moon, or otherwise awaken while it is still night during the morning night of the first of the month. The moon rises in the west and sets in the east. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The sun is northerly in the summer, and southerly in the winter on the continent of Kalos in the northern hemisphere. They both pass through a constellation known as the Celestial Arch when rising or setting, which is in the eastern sky on the horizon.

To the World of the Four Winds a phase in the moon is a half moon, a blue moon (which is when the sun is not visible in the sky), or a full moon. Quarter moons are not officially phases, though they are more often referred to as such. The moon begins and ends each month a full moon, and then begins each week entering its next official phase.

The last night of the first week of the month, the first morning of the second week, is the night of the half moon.

The first quarter moon of the month comes in the middle of the second week on Leap Day.

The third week begins with what they refer to as the blue moon, when the moon is not visible in the sky.

The first quarter moon of the new moon comes on Leap Day during the third week.

The fourth week begins with the half moon, and ends with the moon full again. On Leap Day of the fourth week the moon is three-fourths full. Each cycle of the moon begins each month of the year.

The moon is a giant in the sky, nearly a third the size of the planet.

Few of the peoples of the World of the Four Winds realize the world is round instead of flat except the likes of the man on the horse, a sage, seer, and wizard. The planet is so large that they neither realize it is winter in the southern hemisphere when it is summer in the north. Having been unable to travel to that distance, the discovery remains to be made known. Only lunatics believe that the world is round. They are called lunatics not because they are crazy, but because they argue their belief on the fact that the moon is round.

Each season of the year begins on the first day of three months, and ends with the arrival of the next three months that make every season the next. Spring is the first season of the year, and it begins on the first day of the year. Consecutively, spring is the Month of the Bear, the Month of the Seed, and the month of Blossomspawn. Summer is in the month of Summer Rise, the Month of the Sun, and the month of Summerset. Autumn is in the month of Merry Gold, the month of Autumn Eve, and the Month of the North Wind. Winter is in the month of Season Sleep, the month of Winterdown, and the month of Springwake.

The climates of the seasons migrate with the ecologies of the world at its equator and into its temperate regions, thus consistently providing ideal environments for abundance, multiplication, and survival.

The most celebrated holiday of the year is New Advent, the first day of autumn harvest celebrations. New Advent begins the first day of the third week of the month of Merry Gold, and does not end until the month of Merry Gold ends, and the month of Autumn Eve begins. Although New Advent is a holiday, it is a time of work and trade, but the sweat of the summer spent at the plow was the work that was hard, and the harvest is the work that is celebrated.

Escrea is the central kingdom of agricultural commerce in the heartlands of the continent of Kalos. The time of the year is mid spring. If the fields must be replanted because of the dragons, mayhaps they could be replanted before the end of spring. Yet, the dragons could not be allowed to destroy the crops another year on the day of New Advent. So appeared the stars of the sky as one night fell, when promise came riding to the capitol of the kingdom from eastern roads, a wizard in purple robes atop a great steed as white as snow.

Settlers came to Kalos two thousand years ago to bring civilization to wilderness lands full of friendly native demi-humans the like of dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings. There were then, and still are, just as many unfriendly creatures in Kalos when the new world continent was more commonly called Wilder Realm. They had to deal with many dragons and a myriad of other monsters to plant their fields long ago, and the native demi-humans that lived there before them fought the dragons to protect their forests and mountains. The native dwarves drove many evil dragons out of mountains to protect their dwarven kingdoms inside the mountains. The native elves fought dragons to protect their forests and forest homes. Yet, the monster creatures Wilder Realm could not so easily be made to accept the arrival of human and foreign demi-human civilization, and continued their resistance toward them. The settlers that came exclusively from the western continent of Wyness introduced cities and coins they called money to the demi-humans of the world then known to the natives simply as The Land. The settlers brought entire fleets full of transports of militaries to help slay the dragons and drive the other creatures of darkness into hiding, befriending the native demi-humans and introducing humanfolk to them. Most of the settlers were humans, not demi-humans. Demi-human is a term the humanfolk brought to The Land along with the new name of Wilder Realm for the continent. Demi-humans like humans are referred to similarly as mankind and menfolk.

The settlers would not allow danger to stop them, no matter how fierce. They were strong people, and they were not unused to thoughts of danger and fear. Their courage was known and admired the known world over. When they came long ago they came from the east across the Nether Ocean, and they came to rely on the fate of the winds that brought them there. They came to call the world they had discovered as Kalos, for the continent was discovered by a female explorer named Desmond Kalos.

Though the world had become much more civilized in two millennia of expansion, it was still a very perilous place at times. There were still those who yet called the continent Wilder Realm. In the kingdom of Escrea monsters rose in chaos with the four dragons residing in the mountains of the kingdom and burning the crops. Orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, trolls, kobolds, bugbears, and many other such creatures always arose when greater monsters threatened man's existence.

The wizard lightly whipped his reins as his horse trotted onward toward the capitol of the kingdom, City Escrea, and he stroked the knots from his long, brown beard. A good bath, a bit of food and wine, a night's sleep in a real bed and he would be ready to begin his work to confront the dragons. This year the crops that have been planted would see the harvest of New Advent.

The lights of the city lay ahead of him.

Chapter 1

Winter has ended and spring has come. With the fields planted harvest awaits the autumn sun. Though no one in all the kingdom was hopeful any more than they were the year before, for the year before that was when the dragons came. Fields, homes, whole villages and castles in flames were as hopeless as prayers for rain. Now, for the war the dragons would wage, to the Kingdom of Escrea came Saysmyth the Mage.

It was the eighth day of the second month of spring, the Month of the Seed. It was Holiday, the last day of the week. The evening was scattered gray though fell no rain. The grayish-white half moon shined brightly through breaks in the brisk rifts of clouds as the sun went down. The cool nights and warm days of mid spring was when most of the farmers planted their fields. So, another day passed with carts full of seeds carried from the city market. The calls of parents for their children to ready for home sounded about the plazas. The smells of supper being served drifted from the windows of homes and townhouses. While for most the day was coming to a peaceful end, for many others the night had just begun.

The capitol of the kingdom bore the same name as the kingdom itself. The city of Escrea was the capitol of the Kingdom of Escrea. Renown for commerce in past days before dragons came, the capitol and its kingdom did not forsake their festivities for anything, not even for dragons in mountains. The street musicians played. The food vendors cooked. People danced and sang and celebrated with drink. Merriment was a way of life for all Escreans, a way of life that had been earned by their work and its success.

A robed figure walked through the streets as people made a path. He was not a commoner like anyone else. He wore purple robes and a wizard's cap. His hair and beard were long, dark, and brown. His eyes were darkest brown. He was of strong build, a man in his mid thirties. He led his horse beside him as he greeted everyone who watched him. He was a wizard, and wizards from without were uncommon indeed. There were wizards in the king's court, but all knew their names and who they were. This wizard was a traveler, a wizard who learned by adventure as well as by the archives that were used to instruct the wizards of the court. Mystery surrounded the man with wonderment at what perils he might have ventured from, what distance might have brought him here.

The man came to a street stable and paid five copper pence for his steed. "Keep my bags and pack safely," he said, "and I won't turn you into anything only a mother could love."

The people outside the stable laughed as the stable keeper shook his head with a smile, "I'm already that, sir," he said as he took the horse by the reins and led it inside.

"Where is the Crystal Goblet Inn?" he asked aloud.

"You must mean the Crystal Chalice Inn," a maiden said. "You're on the right street. It's just a bit further down the road. It can be a place of mayhem these nights, but if you can stomach the strength of their drink you might like it."

"It's more than a good bottle of drink I come for," said the man. "I heard from the people living just outside the city that there is a nobleman who frequents that establishment by the name of Anthos Damon."

"Why yes," the maiden said. "I'm sure he's there tonight. Do you know him?"

"Not any more than he knows me," said the man, "but he hates dragons, and so do I. I must see him at once."

"Everyone in Escrea hates dragons these days," she exclaimed.

Saysmyth smiled at the woman. She was lovely. Her hair was light blonde. Her eyes were brown. She only regarded him playfully with her expressions, as if he wanted to play. "Well, I hate them so much I'm going to die trying to kill them if I must," said the man.

"What are you going to do?" she asked with an uncertain grin.

"I'm going to make a pin cushion out of each one with an armory full of arrows, spears, and blades," said the man as the people laughed and nodded with encouragement. "Then I'm going to bury them inside their lairs with a summoned earthquake."

"Hurray!" they cried.

The man strode up the street toward the inn.

A young nobleman spoke to the patrons at the Crystal Chalice. He was a handsome man. He was richly dressed. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He drank as he spoke. "We'll raise an army of knights, and fight them in the Farwest Mountains," the nobleman cried. "We'll mount their jaws on the walls of their lairs, and use their oil to light our lamps and lanterns through the night. The dragons of Escrea will never fly again!"

The crowd in the room cheered, and one dwarf stood and cried, "The dwarves of Norock will forge the finest weapons for the knights from the strongest metals in our deepest mines."

The inn resounded in applause as the dwarf spoke.

"Though the kingdom has never been raided by dragons until now many in the mountains have seen them. They come undetected by most, and many times stay as long as they like before returning to the wilderness from whence they came. They fear us not, and now it seems there are those of them who do not fear us at all. If we allow them to ravage our kingdom they may come in numbers. Escrea would not be the only kingdom that may be destroyed, but many other kingdoms may follow before the dragons are someday driven out." The dwarf's eyes met the eyes of the other patrons. "We have all heard one story or another about dragons destroying lands that did not challenge them. We can either fight them or be seen as easy prey."

A richly dressed man, heavy-set with obesity, at one table set aside his mug and spoke loudly above the other voices, "You are right, Sir Dwarf, but there are many other tales that tell of dragons coming to assist one another because of dragonslayers. For, to the dragons, we pose the threat of overcoming them, and that would lead to more dragonslayers coming for the blood of dragons elsewhere. Even if we succeed in challenging the dragons that trouble us here in Escrea that does not mean that dragons will not retaliate on others in lands elsewhere who seek to conquer them."

The dwarf was stern-faced.

"Do not forget though the battle that waged to the south in the Kingdom of Myros in what your people came to call the Dragoncry Mountains when they first came to this continent two millennia ago," he rebuked.

"Yes," the large man at the table nodded with a baleful grin in agreement as he slightly hung his head. "We are all inspired by that battle today with the four dragons amongst us. They stood against hundreds in the sky with only the elves with their bows, the dwarves, gnomes, and halflings with their crossbows, but they were nearly ten thousand strong. It was the first victory that the alien humans and demi-humans and the native demi-humans shared. They defeated the dragons together for the first time in the mountains just west of Keeri Forest where the elves lived, just east of Shadow Wind Forest where the forest dragons came from, breathing their fireless clouds of death.

"I have not forgotten," he continued. "No one does not marvel at the story when it is told to them in their youth and recounted."

"The dwarven dragonslayers of old were not underestimated by dragons when they fought them," the dwarf began again. "The dragons knew that the mountains they trespassed were the dwarves' only home, and would never be home for the dragons that dared come there. Those dragons that did attack dwarves did not do so intending to invade dwarven kingdoms in dwarven mountain caverns. They knew they could not one day reside in dwarven mines, or horde dwarven wealth. If ever the mightiest of dragons ever did there would be countless dwarven armies to slay him even if until all the dwarves in all the realm were dead. Have you ever heard of such a foolish dragon?"

The patrons agreed with the dwarf.

The heavy-set man nodded, "You are right again, Sir Dwarf. I have not heard of such a dragon. Perhaps with the dwarves fighting with us we will not have to fear the intervention of other dragons when dealing with the four here in the kingdom. Yet, what of any kingdom or land without Escrea?"

The dwarf smiled and raised a brow.

"There were dragonslayers amongst my ancestors," he said. "They slayed many dragons to take the wilderness from the creatures within when they settled these lands. When the dwarves came to the mountains that are my home there was not a single dragon to fight them. They found abandoned lairs, and they returned stolen spoils left within those lairs to their rightful owners. The dragons fled from the dwarves' persistence, and learned the dwarves would not be thwarted.

"Many resident dragons of the Dragoncry Mountains had been there long before they," he said. "It was not just a defense. It was a conquest, a display of strength. Let them go deeper into the wilderness and the earth until they learn to bother us no more. Let them be afraid. The dwarves used to call the Dragoncry Mountains Hovenoch. The elves used to call them Vistemeli. The gnomes of what is now the Highwalk Hills to the south of those mountains called them Relorisala. The halflings called them Meromishae. The names meant 'Shadows of Snow,' and their beauty belonged to no dragon within them."

The heavy-set man folded his arms and lowered his head before he spoke his thoughts. "I know of what you speak just as much as any man, but many of the dwarven dragonslayers that settled the mountains of this entire continent of Kalos came centuries ago. Many of them were not natives of this land, most from militaries of Wyness. They came in more numbers than those who remained to live in the lands, as did our human ancestors who came as dragonslayers. There were more armies and knights in Kalos then, more than ever, more than now. Perhaps more than will ever be."

"More than now is right then isn't it? More dragonslayers?" the dwarf reproached, looking to all of them as their voices quieted. "I don't think so. I would not truly say so. I say there are thousands of dragonslayers in Escrea, and if there are not there will be when there's nothing to harvest. So what's any one man out there going to decide to do? Plow a path to the dragon's lair? Is that not what he does now? I say he does, and so I say he can, and he can beat the dragons with a bag of seeds on his head!"

The nobleman Anthos raised a goblet and toasted to the cheers that sounded their agreement. "What is your name then, Sir Dwarf?" he asked as the dwarf went to stand before him.

"My name is Tauk Embershade," the stout, bearded fellow replied, "dwarven warrior of the northern Norock Mountains. My axe is at your service, my forges without fee." His black hair was faintly gray with age, his eyes pitch black.

"The king will surely repay your honor after the fall harvest, Sir Tauk," the nobleman answered. "I am Anthos, friend of Prince Chaus Deldain, son of King Aryn." Prince Chaus was renowned from birth as the flower of the kingdom, Aryn Deldain's only child. "Who else will join us?"

The room fell still and remained so.

"What is this?" the dwarf admonished as he threw his hands up.

"Anyone?" the nobleman shouted expectantly.

"It's not just the crops that disappear when the dragons strike!" Tauk exclaimed. "Commerce goes elsewhere. Roads once traveled become desolate and dangerous to those who once passed there. Orcs and goblins come out of their dens and start to patrol territory that was once ours. Farmers evacuate the borderlands and move inward when they find room, and outward to other kingdoms when they do not. To move outward farmers must get past the orcs and goblins that took to the marauding with the coming of the dragons. The orcs and goblins now guard the way in and out of the kingdom."

Anthos entered his voice as the inn began to roar with conflict. "The dwarves of Norock may have precious metals and stones, but what does metal and stone buy for a kingdom that doesn't provide food and stock? What is to become of the lot of you? Are you going to die with the crops, or live with the grapes?"

Sudden laughter resounded at the nobleman's cry, and the door to the inn opened as an unusual presence entered. Not very many traveling wizards came into the Crystal Chalice Inn, especially without the kind of company that would bring a wizard away from his books and scrolls. Spellcasters came into the Chalice every week, but those who are wizards go into books and libraries, and into other worlds if they could. Most wizards could not be easily found where there was only drinking to be done, and more of it than most could handle. Not very many nights brought very many wizards to the places and times when others chose to drink to the world rather than try to understand it. Such was a place. Such was a time. Such was a wizard.

"I will join you, noble Anthos, Sir Tauk, dwarf of Norock," said the man in the door entering the inn. The man wore the garments of an adventuring spellcaster, wearing a purple, pointed, wide-brimmed cap and robes, and black, leather traveling boots. "Greetings, Escreans. I am Saysmyth the Mage."

The patrons gasped in disbelief and awe.

"I don't believe you," Anthos said with astonishment. "You have a brown beard, brown eyes. You wear purple robes and wizard's cap, traveler's boots, but I don't believe you. Yet, I surely will not say you lie."

"Alas, Sir Anthos," the wizard replied, "Saysmyth am I. I have come to help you, and I have not come alone…"

Anthos took a sip from his goblet as he gazed into the man's eyes. "Who then do you come with, Mage Saysmyth?"

The wizard went to stand at the center of the room. "There are four dragons in Farwest, each in his own mountain. They will appear just as they did yesteryear and the year before that, but after that they will not appear again. For those I come with will never let them fly the skies of over this land again."

"How is this?" asked one maiden in the room.

"I have called four other dragons to fight them. The Kurom. They fly towards the kingdom even as we speak. They will reside in the Norock Mountains until the red dragons of Farwest would come out in the autumn. The Kurom will so fight them if they do not first leave without disturbing the kingdom any further."

"The Kurom! The gold dragons of the Kurom tribe. Dragons of good!" Anthos cried joyously, and immediately fell despaired. "But this will not save our crops, for the four will surely fight the other four and burn them in doing so."

"No, it won't," the wizard replied. "I have called four of them to fight the other four, but the fight will leave your fields in ruin and your kingdom in poverty once again yet another year."

The hush whispered its fear.

The heavy-set man raised his voice again, "A dragon fight? That'll surely make matters worse. Every time dragons fight to protect a land the dragons that came to destroy it do not leave without doing just that. It's good for those of us who will not die because of the dragons. Many more of us will survive a shortened attack, but the damage to the lives we built will be the burning of our buildings and cities. The dragons have not done that to us yet, and many dragons would not take the risk."

"Your name, sir?" the wizard asked.

"I am Zanith Greenmill," the heavy-set man replied.

"You must work in the city I take it?" said the wizard.

"Yes, I do," Zanith replied. "I buy and store and sell the harvest for the market every year. I do not own a field or till the earth. I am a merchant. I found that I could make more money exchanging the harvest yield than tilling it, and I inherited enough money to begin my business from my father and his father when I was a young man."

"It is fortunate that the dragons do not attack your buildings," said the wizard, "but if they do, as you say, you too will lose what you have. If they fight, as you fear, they will not retreat without ruining all you have. Yet, it would be worse to endure another attack in autumn yet another year after this one. The kingdom as a whole cannot be afraid to fight the dragons as Anthos and Tauk propose."

Zanith sighed. "Yet, with the good comes the bad. It would be as to march an army of ants up a hill to stand beneath the paws of an ant-eater, and with the Kurom comes the tribes of evil dragons. The dwarf said there are already dragons flying unseen through the mountains, hiding. There are many dragon tribes who would fight another, even their own kind if their tribes differ. Why make Escrea the battlefield? Why incite the dragons? There are other ways to make a dragon go away."

Saysmyth was curious, "Such as?"

Zanith shrugged, "Cut off its tail and cover it with salt."

Laughter was dissuaded amongst the patrons at the merchant's comment.

"How would you like it if someone cut off your tail and covered it with salt?" Saysmyth wondered.

"I wouldn't know. I don't have one," Zanith chuckled.

"I was only just wondering if you had," said Saysmyth, "because if you did you would worry about trying to save it. Escrea is not the first kingdom to have ever been afflicted by dragons. It is not uncommon for unknowing people to resort to unknowing circumstances in the hopes of seeing dragons simply fly away. Yet, these dragons do not come out of greed. They do not come to pillage what they take and destroy what they do not. When they burn your crops it is only because they do not eat of them. When they steal your treasures they do not keep them. I've word from other travelers that the dragons take what they pillage and bury it where it cannot pay price. Your gold and silver, your chests and coffers, jewelry and purses all go into the ground. They are not here for your wealth, and they don't need it. They are here because you are here, and they won't leave until you leave. To them it's a trip through the western mountains of Farwest. To you it's only a matter of time."

"Time is one thing we cannot afford," said Anthos.

"And everything else is another we cannot afford," said Zanith.

"That is why I myself have come," the wizard continued. "There is only but one way they can be stopped, the dragons of Farwest. We can find them and slay them singularly in the mountains in their lairs before they fly and fight the Kurom."

"How?" asked Anthos with a curious grin.

"A wizard's fire!" the mage grinned. "With the dwarves of Norock we'll forge our weapons from the white-hot flames of one gold dragon's breath, the breath of one Veldraega, and one wizard's fire."

Veldraega's name echoed through the inn. No dragon good or evil rivaled Veldraega. His strength and proud nature were known and admired the winds over.

"Veldraega is the greatest of all the Kurom," Anthos said to the wizard. "Who are we to put ourselves in the middle of his path? Let us get out of the way and let him fight the red four."

"Veldraega?" Zanith cried. "Now I don't know whether I'd be a fool to believe you, or a fool who would agree to you bringing such a dragon to this civilized land. Have you no idea what bringing the Kurom to begin with could do? Have you no idea what bringing Veldraega himself would do? Are you desperate or are you just crazed? How did you ever convince Veldraega to come to our aid?"

"I did not convince him," said Saysmyth. "He convinced me."

"What?" the merchant could not believe his ears. "Why?"

"Why? You ask?" said the wizard. "We, that is, Veldraega and I, do not believe the Kurom and the red dragons will dare fight."

"They've got a chance to destroy Veldraega when all the rest of the Kurom are at home and he is away!" the merchant shouted. "Why wouldn't they fight? Why wouldn't every red dragon in the World of the Four Winds come out of the mountains to ambush him? Who is to say they aren't already in the mountains waiting for Veldraega and the others before they come out? Scores of them! Hundreds!"

"They will never know the Kurom are here," said Saysmyth. "Even if someone walked straight into one of their dens to tell them they would not know they are truly here. In fact, who in here would not question what he hears of what is said?"

"So how did you arrange this, wizard?" asked Tauk.

Saysmyth faced the dwarf.

"I am not a very kindly wizard when in the company of evil dragons that raze kingdoms," he said. "I have chanced to bring wandering dragons down before, but they all left from me. They may be mighty, but they do not wish to test the power of some wizards perhaps. That is why I am not yet a dragonslayer myself."

"Is that good or bad?" asked Tauk.

"The Kurom are here to make sure the dragons do not escape to return if they burn the crops again," said Saysmyth. "I, on the other hand, am here for the same reason Anthos is here."

"Actually," Anthos spoke with a characteristic grin, "I initially came here to drink."

"I am here for the same reason as Anthos," said Tauk with sarcastic conclusion.

"My, the thought does go around," Anthos said in jest.

"We are feeble to the evil dragons," the wizard explained as he ignored their lighthearted japes. "We can kill them one by one. We will pose no threat to the safety of the kingdom if we slay them while each sleeps in its own mountain alone. We will not awaken them all at once as Veldraega and the others of the Kurom would parading through the sky for all the wicked monsters of the mountains to see. There will be no other dragons to rally, no rally or ruin, no burning crops!"

"So what will happen if the dragons discover the Kurom are here?" asked Zanith. "Won't the tribe of the red dragons come? What will happen then?"

"Then Veldraega is here," said Saysmyth with a slow shrug.

Everyone contemplated the promise together and began to regard the man as whom he claimed to be. "Truly, this is Saysmyth," many began to agree.

"What then is a wizard's fire?" Anthos asked.

"Take this," the wizard removed his cap and tossed it to the nobleman. "Have Prince Chaus speak to the king. Ask King Aryn to issue a decree. By the king's order gather every magic amulet, necklace, every ring or other enchanted ornament. It would be better if the items were all works of greater power, but even trinkets will do. Gather them all into my wizard's hat. With these we can forge more powerful magic to fight the dragons. I have mastered the art of crafting magic, and I am on the verge of discovering the incantations to cast the spell of a wizard's fire."

"You can't do that!" shouted Tauk. "The dwarves would be fools to agree to such a thing. There would be such suspicion in requisitioning magic from others not even a wizard renown with all his spells could survive."

"You will propose making weapons out of these," Anthos surmised with a smirk and restrained frown.

"Arrowheads and spearheads, to be exact," Saysmyth replied, "weapons that can be used to attack the dragons when they fly. Veldraega and I will build a fire from a pile of rocks with his white-fire breath. I will cast a wizard's fire, and the dwarves will cast the weapon heads. We'll need a large squadron of knights, and a ranger to find the dragons' lairs. One by one, the dragons we will strike. One by one we will slay them each."

"What if the people reject this plan?" Anthos asked.

"Then the kingdom will starve and remain penniless another year. The dragons will fight, but the crops will still burn. Yet, to their home the victorious Kurom will return. That is to say, all four..."

"I would hate to say that is what the Kurom have to decide alone and do alone," said Zanith.

Saysmyth went to the bar counter, "Give me a room. I will remain here during my stay." He turned to all within, "Let the king decide. Let the people decide. Let the nobleman and dwarf decide. The dragons are here. They pillage your livestock while they await the harvest, so you know they have not gone. Will anyone ignore them any more than he would hide in his house rather than harvest his crops for fear of four dragons?"

The answer was not one anyone wanted to hear.

Saysmyth sighed and yawned as he stretched his body. "The wizard," he spoke of himself, "will decide to retire for the night. I've come a long way."

Saysmyth exited the inn to fetch his bags and pack from the stable. He was greeted outside by several people that had followed him and listened through the door. They looked to him with question. He recognized the maiden who had directed him to the inn. She cast him a smile and crossed her arms.

"So, you are Saysmyth you say?" she asked.

"It's my only name," he replied.

The maiden and the people followed as he walked.

"Are you going to win?" one man asked.

"I never win against a dragon," he answered, "because they always fly away. This time the dragons we face fly from no one. So, we shall see whether or not we win. Should we lose, however, my dragon friends of the Kurom will not."

"What if some don't believe you are Saysmyth?" said the maiden.

"What if they take an axe to your neck?" said the man with subtle sarcasm.

"It won't be the first time anyone's lost his head," said the mage.

"You ought to have a spell for that if you're Saysmyth," the maiden played.

"Maybe I ought to," said Saysmyth, "and maybe I don't."

"I for one think they'll do anything to get rid of the dragons," said the man, "but what you ask demands success."

"I know what I ask," said the wizard, "but what do you think?"

"I think it's a bitter fruit without a nut inside if you fail," said the man, "but I don't have any more reason to doubt than I have to believe what you say."

They arrived at the stable, and the wizard turned to face the man.

"You will not be the only one," he said. "So, pray that I will not swing that rope if I do nothing at all."

The man smiled wide at the wizard's courage, "Aye…"

The man left as the maiden followed Saysmyth into the stable. The stable keeper showed him his horse was being fed, and gave him his saddlebags and pack. "She's a beauty," he said. "What's her name?"

The ivory stallion with bright hazel eyes seemed to nod in agreement with the stable keeper's complements. Her mane and tail were thick and long. She was alive with excitement always. Anyone could see the life in her as she tapped her hooves and neighed with each approach toward her.

"Her name is Willow," said the mage.

"The same as Mage Saysmyth's steed," said the stable keeper knowingly.

"The same," he said.

"So where are we going now?" asked the maiden as Saysmyth pet Willow and kissed the horse's nose.

"Good night, Willow," he said as he turned to the maiden. "We are going out into the street again, and then I am going back to the inn for the night."

"It's too bad you can't stay at my house," she said.

"Why is that?" he asked. "You live with your grandmother?"

"No, but you wouldn't be able to come over anyway," she said.

"Because I'm a wizard," he guessed. "Best be on your way. Wizards don't like women that ask strangers to come home with them."

"You don't know my name," she teased as they exited.

"You told me your name before you followed me to the inn," the wizard said. "You told me that and so much more, dear Sheerah. I hope we meet eyes again."

A spell…the maiden realized.

Sheerah stood in amazement staring after him. The only thing that stopped her from persuading him was his arrogance, and she would not let herself. If he had any desire to know her he had a long way to go. She would not have him until the dragons were slain, for one, and that he must know if he had read her mind.

The wizard went on his way without her.

The rest of the night at the inn held conversation of only the dragons of Escrea and the welfare of their commerce. Anthos left shortly after the wizard went to his room, intent on convincing the prince to speak with his father first thing in the morning. Tauk Embershade remained to learn what he would tell the dwarves of how the people might react toward Saysmyth and his plan. When asked by the patrons, he assured them he would set out to take word to Norock before dawn. No one was in protest of the plan. At least, not spoken.

The rain did not fall until an hour past midnight, when Saysmyth closed his spellbook and blew out the candles. He lay to sleep, lulled by the slow rolls of soft thunder and almost silent lightning.

The new day came with scattered majestic billows of high clouds. The sun's rays fell warm and windy with the coolness of the morning breeze that careened through branches of leaves and city gardens. The busy bustle of the business of the day had early set to the streets, filling the wizard's sleep with dreams of what was transpiring about outside the windows of his room.

Early mid morning a knock came on the door. The wizard awoke from his sleep and dressed as he called to the door, "Coming! Just a moment."

"There's some people here to see you, Mage Saysmyth," came the voice of the innkeeper. "I think you'll be pleased to see them."

Saysmyth opened the door to meet the delightful expression of the woman. "Really?" Saysmyth said with excitement.

"Yes, come down and see," she bade him, taking his arm into hers.

The main room of the inn was filled with armor-clad knights. Many more of them stood beyond the entrance door, filling the street outside. They rode armored horses and bore every weapon a knight used. They were all young and strong men and women, smiles beaming anticipation of Saysmyth's surprise. The wizard smiled happily, descending the stairs alongside the innkeeper to greet them.

"Marvelous!" he cried. "The king has responded."

"He couldn't be more thankful," said the knight who came immediately before him, a handsomely, well-muscled man with black hair and sharp amber eyes. "I am Berobus, chief squadron commander. We are but the first squadron that will be assembled to fight the dragons."

"Excellent! Excellent!" Saysmyth clasped the knight commander by the arms. "I must speak with you now, for you and your squadron will go to Norock to learn how best to fight the dragons."

"We are a squadron of fifty of King Aryn's knights," said Berobus. "The Duchess of Glynmere is sending a squadron of twenty elites, as are many other nobles of the kingdom. Duke Loresk of Helmshire is sending twenty. Lady Baroness Emily Gelndun of Parasia is sending a squadron. Countess Cherile Drees sends knights from her court. So does Count Jace Redmane send twenty of his elites. We are ready to fight the dragons."

"Good," the wizard beamed satisfaction, "the Kurom will soon be with us and the dwarves will make the weapons we need. The four good dragons that come to the kingdom know everything there is to know about fighting dragons of the sort that have taken to burning your fields. They have fought dragons of their tribe before."

"You don't say?" the commander's attention was caught.

"They most certainly have," Saysmyth said. "These red dragons are all most likely from the same tribe that lives to the far southwest in the coastland mountains of the wilderlands of Southern Casway. They come from a lesser-known tribe called the Tyrie, a barbaric family of dragons with far more sophisticated origins. The ancient dragons of their tribe cast spells as powerful as mine. So, it is best to have a wizard among you. The workings of their magic has been passed down to this generation of their tribe, but whatever compelled them to come to these parts of Arywn remains unbeknownst to me."

"I do not have much use for magic," said Berobus. "I could never understand it. My attempts to at least gain a simple knowledge of it left me alienated. I did, however, manage to learn to read some basic scripts of incantations, enough to be able to identify how a scroll reads, or what a spell in a book might be cast for."

"You've done better than most I would say," said the mage.

"Yes," said Berobus, "but most don't even consider spending the hours it requires to learn anything of spellcaster's magic. They say you were up all night studying. I hope we didn't wake you too early."

"Don't be silly, sir," said Saysmyth. "I rarely sleep-in past sunrise. When I was a boy after I was adopted a farmer's son I had to get up before the morning dew came to finish my day's work and still have time to study magic before the light of the sun fell into night. For when the sun fell my mother was very strict about my not wasting lantern oil or candle wax 'trying to become literate,' she would say."

"When did you cast your first spell?" one knight asked.

"When I was fourteen I was able to cast a light spell so I could read as long as I wanted when it came dark," he answered. "My mother never said a word about lantern oil or candle wax again. In fact, she even bought my paper and ink pens to write with, and I became a proficient wizard as I came of age."

"Many are curious as to what adventures you have had," said Berobus.

"I am used to that," said Saysmyth, "but I think many more are more interested in the task ahead. We'll have to watch for goblins and orcs in Farwest when we go to slay the dragons. Our quest to be dragonslayers begins in Norock, where magic will become our weapon in dwarven forges."

"But the dragons are in Farwest, are they not?" the commander spoke smartly with some jest.

Saysmyth chuckled, "Veldraega will be your teacher."

The knights were honored.

"So, you will have to prepare armor and ready to ride north as soon as you can," he said.

The knights were then confused.

Berobus spoke, "As you can see we are in our armor, Mage Saysmyth, and we are ready to ride today if you ask us."

Saysmyth sat himself on a stool at the bar. "Have you ever fought a dragon before?" he asked. "Any of you?"

They shook their heads.

"Of course not," Saysmyth continued, "only a very few in all the World of the Four Winds ever have. Your plated armor and the barding on your horses are for knights against knights, men against men, knights in cavalry, knights at war. Yet, you do not go to fight men. You go to fight fire. Your metal armor may keep you from catching fire, but it won't keep you from being burned. The dragons we fight, two of the four, breathe both red-hot and blue-hot. Such heat could verily meld the armor you wear now to your skin. You would otherwise be out from the fire and into the frying pan than out of the pan and into the fire."

"That's one potato I'd rather not be," said one of the lady knights standing just inside the door behind the knight commander.

"Shhh!" Berobus glanced behind him. "So we must wear leather armor and padded armor then, and leather hoods as well," he realized. "We should also bind our hilts with leather so that we can keep hold of them when they are hot, and put leather covers inside our shields."

"Very innovative," complemented the mage. "I suggest you do just that."

"We have had untold combat experience battling the creatures that dwell in the darker parts of these lands," said Berobus. "Though none of us have fought dragons, we have weighed what we think we must know to defeat them when the fight comes."

"You will do just fine," Saysmyth replied.

Berobus bowed his head. "There is one more thing," he said. "You are invited as guest of the king to stay in the royal castle if you wish. They eagerly await your company, and want to know what you would like for supper tonight."

"Oh?" Saysmyth was somewhat surprised. "I've heard the royal chef makes an incomparable roast duck," he answered.

Berobus bowed his head again, "I'll tell the king."

The knights bid the wizard and the patrons of the inn farewell, and went on their way. Saysmyth went to a table and stretched himself as the innkeeper sat to join him. She was a fair woman with sandy-blonde hair and brown eyes. She regarded Saysmyth questioningly.

The wizard only smiled, "What do you think? Is the invitation welcome enough to stay the night after dinner?"

"Well," she began, "I would rather your company remain here, of course, but the king and queen and their son are very pleasant company. This place can get a bit loud at night sometimes, but if I were you I would definitely accept the full invitation."

"This place getting loud doesn't really reach the rooms upstairs too much," he said, "and some of my favorite way stations are quite more antic than what I've seen here from just last night. Sometimes I think I can't sleep without the sounds of activity, but last night I slept to the sound of the rain."

"So did we all," she said. "The castle is very comfortable, no doubt, and there are servants on call all day and night. Not that it would make up your mind, but it is a good way to get to know the nobles who also stay there. You might be around while they're around, and then you can find out more about their concerns amongst other things. It's definitely a good place to start a good conversation from what I hear. The king is as hospitable inside his castle as he is outside it. Everyone likes him and the queen and their son."

"Sounds like I'm going as a house guest," he said.

"The queen is a very talkative person," she said. "Both she and the king are very sociable. If she enjoys your company all the ladies of nobility will enjoy your company. She delights in flattery. I would advise doing as all noblemen do when they meet her."

Saysmyth stopped her, "I'm not a nobleman."

His smirk revealed slight aggravation.

The innkeeper only paused a moment to regard him blankly and continued.

"Bring her a gift," she suggested.

"A gift?" he said as his face lit and his eyes lifted.

"Not like flowers or candy," the innkeeper said. "That would only prove you haven't any charm. Bring her something unique, something that would surprise her."

"Something that would surprise her?" Saysmyth pondered. "I can do that. Now, what of the king and the prince?"

"They are both men of conversation," she said, "but in two different ways. The king likes to talk, and the prince likes to listen."

Saysmyth shifted in his chair as he raised a brow.

"That does not mean that the prince is predisposed to the king, mind you," she assured him. "You see, the king likes to talk because that allows him to hear from the conversation what he would like to know."

She put a finger to her temple with a smile and a hum.

"The prince, however, likes to listen so he can talk to guide the conversation when he does deign to speak. Between the two of them some say this is how they both inadvertently communicate with each other when in company. Rather than doing so directly they communicate by talking of what is being said. No one knows why, except that no one thinks that they realize that they seem to be talking to each other in that way. It's no different than everyone else doing that, but if you know that first you might interpret something you would not have otherwise."

"I guess I'll just have to find out what that means," said the mage, "but I don't see how anyone does not do that, but, to the extent of which, I shall see."

"They're both good men, the king and the prince are," said one patron. "I've met them on occasions during holiday festivities. And the queen can surely talk. Her and my wife..." he waved a hand as he rolled his eyes. "I just had to excuse myself."

Saysmyth sighed a smile.

"Well, what I need before any of that is a breakfast of eggs, bacon, hotcakes, and white arbor grape juice," he said. "Oh yes, add a plate of vegetables and onion cream as well. My rations became low toward the last days of my journey here, and I did not go out of my way or stop anywhere the last days of my travel."

"Coming right up," called the cook from the kitchen doorway.

"Care if I join you?" the innkeeper asked.

"I would be graced with your presence, Lady…?"

"Kelendra," she added.

After breakfast Saysmyth went from the inn with his bags and pack. Kelendra bid him farewell, insisting he return to visit them when he could.

"That I will," he said as he walked to the stables, tossing an apple in his free hand. He was met by a different stable keeper, who welcomed him in. The wizard was led to his horse. Willow wagged her tail and neighed as Saysmyth offered the apple. "Did she sleep well?"

"Yes, she did," said the stable keeper. "She was hungry too. You both must have come from a good distance."

"We always come from a long distance," the wizard replied.

"Do you want her to be fed before you ride off?" the man asked.

"Nay," answered Saysmyth. "I do not travel today. She'll be plenty fed tonight at the king's stables. I've been invited to have supper with the king and stay as guest. I hear he's a sociable man. Is that true?"

"That's what everybody says," the man replied.

"I've got to find a gift for the queen," he continued. "Have you any suggestions?"

"She likes music," he answered. "She knows all the performers, all their songs and the instruments they play. Perhaps you could give her a new harp or violin. She also loves to play the lyre."

"She's a great fan of music you say?" said Saysmyth.

"Oh, yes! She's very fond of music."

"I know what I'll give her," Saysmyth decided. "I'll have to find my hat."