30
MEECH DRAGONS
Kale drew in a sharp breath. How could Dirt with his limited vocabulary convey anything but the most basic information? What could be the bad news? “Dar, are you talking about the dragons turning bad? We already knew that.”
Dar shook his head. His ears laid back, a sure sign he was disturbed.
“We expected the dragons to become uncooperative as they fell under Risto’s influence. The bad news is that early on a cold morning, the colony of meech dragons was attacked and driven into the Northern Reach.
“There’s a colony of meech dragons?” Kale looked at Bardon to see her surprise mirrored on his face.
“There was a colony of meech in Wittoom. They secluded themselves in the Kattaboom Mountains. Occasionally, a member of a warm-blooded race was allowed in to quicken an egg. I believe that is how Risto got wind of Regidor, or rather the egg that was Regidor.”
“Explain,” said Bardon, his voice cool.
“A meech dragon sent out a request for someone to come quicken an egg. This would have been a message to a specific person, not a general announcement. But Risto heard of it, followed, or had the person followed.
“The doneel traveling to assist the meech died on his journey. Soon after, a battalion of bisonbecks descended on the colony. The fact that it was early in the morning aided the attackers. No dragon moves very quickly on a cold morning when woken from a deep sleep. During this raid, Risto acquired the meech egg. The entire cluster of dragons fled to the north.”
“And at this time,” said Bardon, “the second egg was also stolen?”
“Apparently. My people have not had contact with the meech dragons since they abandoned their homes and escaped. An envoy discovered the disaster on a routine diplomatic visit. Of course, he had no way of knowing two eggs were stolen.”
“How did he know one was stolen and where the dragons had gone?” asked Kale.
“There’s a tribe of mountain ropma in the same vicinity. He questioned them.”
Bardon rubbed his fingers across his chin. “I take it meech dragons are not warriors.”
Dar grimaced. “Totally useless in a fight.”
Kale’s mind went to her meech dragon friend. Regidor slumbered. Kale touched his dream of a table laden with rich foods and dismissed it. She turned to Dar. “So Regidor has parents in exile in the Northern Reach?”
“Yes,” Dar replied.
“Will we rescue them?”
“That’s a problem for another day.”
Bardon put his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked to the manor. “What did Librettowit find out from the Gransfords?”
“That many of the local farmers are having difficulties with their dragon comrades. That is, except the Honorable Mr. Gransford, who claims to have a superior ability to manipulate the dragons. That Mistress Gransford has an unpleasant desire to better herself at the expense of her neighbors. That the girls are empty-headed, vain creatures with no book learning whatsoever. That has disgusted our librarian more than the master-of-the-house’s pride and greed.”
Dar paused. “I suspect we have uncovered a member of Risto’s network to debilitate Amara’s economic structure.”
After a moment, he continued, “The dragons are an integral part of Amara’s commerce. Dragons carry messages and products. For centuries, dragons have worked willingly alongside the seven high races. A dragon’s nature requires it to develop a relationship with one person or one family. This bond nurtures their hearts. Without this connection to someone outside its species, a dragon will become depressed and waste away.”
Kale leaned against the rickety wooden shed, crossed her arms, and stared at the shining white globe in the almost black sky. “I wonder why Wulder did that? Wulder created the dragons, and He created a deep need in them to connect with the high races. He must have a purpose behind His design.”
Dar winked at her. “Wulder always has a purpose. But sometimes His way of doing things is so far beyond anything we can comprehend, we praise Him without complete knowledge. Then there are those things that seem harmful. For those, we must wait for an explanation. And until that day, we trust in His wisdom and goodness.”
Bardon spoke with a flat voice. “Wulder is always wise, always good.”
Dar looked at the young lehman with a furrowed forehead above his shaggy eyebrows. “Very few people are privileged to learn that in their hearts. We almost always learn it in our heads first, and then Wulder reveals it to our hearts.”
Kale turned on Dar. “There! You did it again. Only this time it was Bardon. You heard what he was thinking.”
Dar chortled. “No, Kale. I do not have the talent of mindspeaking.”
“But you knew Bardon was concerned, because he can say the principles of Wulder but doesn’t feel them.”
Dar shook his head slowly. “Kale, some thoughts are common to those who seek to follow Paladin. Each individual tends to think that his problems in understanding his role in life are unique. But no. Wulder has made us similar even in the places that cause us to stumble. For that reason, we are better equipped to help one another.”
Bardon picked up a stick and examined it. Kale watched him, flooded with the feelings that coursed through the proud young man’s heart. The onslaught came too quickly and with too much intensity for her to decipher.
Odd. He looks so detached. So cold. Yet these feelings are fierce. If they were my own, I’d be wailing.
At that moment, Bardon looked over at her. Their eyes met, and she read disapproval. Hadn’t she told him earlier that delving into another’s thoughts was rude? She turned away, unsure if the reprimand had come from Bardon or her own conscience.
She quoted Granny Noon, My thoughts belong to me and Wulder. She shook her head to disperse the confusion of Bardon’s feelings jumbling her mind and tried again. My thoughts belong to me and Wulder.
Paladin had told her she could always talk to Wulder. Wulder? Shouldn’t Bardon’s thoughts belong only to him and You? I don’t really want to be this closely entangled with his mind. What’s going on here?
“Discipline.” Dar’s voice broke through her musing.
Both Kale and Bardon studied the little doneel. Their eyes roamed over the shorter man’s earnest face and the way he had his fists shoved up against his waist above the hips.
“I see now why Paladin put you two together. You’re going to have to help each other.”
Kale saw Bardon’s jaw clench at the suggestion and almost laughed. However, the prospect of being called upon to help the lehman set her teeth on edge as well.
“Bardon, have you been reporting back to The Hall on Kale’s progress?”
“Yes, up until when we parted from Wizard Fenworth. I no longer have a means to communicate with Grand Ebeck.”
Kale bristled. She’d forgotten that Bardon was to keep an eye on her and tell of her development.
Dar continued. “And what was the prevalent theme of your reports?”
Bardon lifted his chin and looked straight at the doneel. “That she lacked…” He hesitated.
“Discipline,” Kale finished the sentence for him. “You told them I lacked discipline.”
She stomped her foot on the sparse grass and growled. “I have discipline. You can’t be a slave for years and not have discipline.”
“I agree,” said Dar. “However, that discipline was enforced by those in authority over you. Bardon is referring to discipline that comes from within. That you still need to develop. And there is none better to help you than Bardon.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared, first at the doneel and then at the lehman.
Dar grinned. “But to ease your displeasure at such an onerous endeavor, Kale, don’t you have something you feel you must bring to Lehman Bardon’s attention? An area where he needs instruction?”
She felt her mood lighten. She couldn’t help the smug smile that settled on her face. “Yes! Bardon has the gift of mindspeaking and doesn’t know how to use it or contain it.”
Dar cocked an eyebrow at the strong young man standing so straight in the moonlight. Bardon jerked a nod at the doneel.
Dar turned to Kale. “You remember Leetu Bends’s instructions?”
She nodded. “And Granny Noon’s.”
“Well, then,” said Dar. “I think this will be a fair exchange of ability.” He clapped his hands together in a gesture of satisfaction.
The diplomat turned to the lehman. “Bardon, you will be surprised at how much self-discipline Kale has developed in managing her talent for mindspeaking.” He smiled at Kale. “Kale, you will benefit from applying that discipline to other areas as Bardon reveals to you how that can be accomplished.”
He took a deep breath of the cool night air. “Now, let us return to our beds. Tomorrow, we have a long journey to Prushing. And then our adventure really begins.”