I stepped into the soft loam of the forest from the portal and immediately noticed the smell of the woods. It was clean and fresh, and I felt like I’d just been dumped out of a chamber pot and into a flower bed. There may be more than one correlation, depending on who I asked. I was surrounded by oak, maple and birch trees that filled the sky. The woods here were dark and quiet, with barely a glimmer of direct sunlight here, which, although it provided shade, also gave a lot of cover to the predators always lurking nearby. Very few birds were chirping, and there were none that sounded close. It was worthy of note, but they were probably reacting to me and my portal. I was no ranger, after all, and my footsteps and clanking could wake the dead compared to the quiet that was prevalent here before my arrival. I plodded towards the road, winding my way through the trees and trying to avoid tripping over roots. That was difficult because I had my rectangular shield strapped to my left arm and I was carrying the large strongbox, so I couldn’t see my feet.

  Seeing a little sunlight ahead, I headed for it and made it to the road without too much trouble. I turned left for the walk to Warsong Keep. It was about noon now. The road was a gravel and dirt path wide enough for one wagon, just as I remembered it. I wasn’t even out of the trees when suddenly I was yanked off my feet by my ankles and onto my back. As I dropped the strongbox, I couldn’t help but yell out a very bad word I knew in Terran. The strongbox was pitched onto its side and spilled some coins out when it partially opened from the force of the blow. I could see now, though. It was as I feared. A pit spider had grabbed me by the ankles and was dragging me towards its den. I was less than twenty feet away. I could clearly see its fanged, poison-dripping mandibles and beady eyes as it used its two black, chitinous tentacles to drag me to my death.

  I had only a second to react if I wanted to live, but I didn’t panic despite my initial surprise. I had a magical power reserve that I kept with me at all times for occasions like this. Focusing my will to form a spear out of lightning, I hurled it straight into the pit spider’s open maw. It was only about five feet away by the time I flung it, but I likely only had one shot at it before I’d find out if my armor had any gaps. The spider jerked and spasmed weirdly, then let me go abruptly and dropped down into the pit it had dug beside the road. The trap door dropped into place, making the pit look like a shallow pile of sticks. I heard it moving around. Somehow it was still alive.

  The pain I felt at creating the lightning was already fading. I was only a few feet from the pit, so I scrambled backwards the best I could, then quickly got to my feet. Though I could run away now, maybe another traveler wouldn’t be able to. After thinking about it briefly, I focused my will and hurled a blast of concussive force to knock the lid off of the hole. I focused again, drew more power from the source, then hurled a stream of fire at the hole. Holding my shield before me, I advanced to the edge of the pit, hurling death down the pit as I got closer. I was rewarded with a hissing sound the spider made as it caught fire. In a few moments, it stopped thrashing, and a few moments after that it was reduced to a charred ruin of its former self. It stank like burned hair and offal.

  As I looked down the pit, I could feel a sort of a magical tug in my mind towards the keep, and I saw Grath Warsong galloping towards me on his warhorse. When he got to the edge of the forest, he saw that I was all right and slowed to a canter. I was still trying to slow my heart rate when he stopped the horse about ten paces away. I took off my helm.

  “Having a bit of trouble are we, Master Smith?” Grath asked.

  “Just doing a bit of cooking, Master Warsong,” I replied glibly.

  He had a chuckle at that as he took in the scene. “Mmmm, pit spider. Tasty,” Grath said with a grin. “I bet it’s a bit overcooked, though.”

  “I never said I was a great chef, you know. I’m all out of salt, too.” We both had a little chuckle.

  He approached, and we shook hands.

  “Well met,” I said. I righted the strongbox on the road and started scooping up the gold coins that had spilled out.

  “You look like a bandit’s dream. All that money and only one person guarding it,” Grath said.

  “I didn’t see any…” I thought for a second, remembering how he somehow saw the scrying magic. “You saw me viewing you earlier, didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I did. You were polite about it, at least.”

  “Glad I didn’t catch you at a bad time. You came here. Alone.” I said, clearly hoping for a little more information about how he could possibly know about the scrying magic and how he could know he could handle whatever was happening in the woods. Could he feel that a portal was opening close by?

  “Yeah, I knew it was you scrying. There’s only one person that could possibly use that particular type of magic right now.” Grath paused. “Maybe it’s time for some straight talk with my parents in the castle. Will you be joining us for lunch, Master Smith?” Grath asked politely.

  “I’d be honored.”

  The strongbox was pretty heavy, but I hefted it in my arms anyway. It wasn’t going to carry itself. Even though it bothered me that the strongbox was scraping against my cuirass and vambraces a bit, I made a mental note to fix that later with the mending spell I knew. It was the first trick I ever learned, and just like the little cleaning spell that Mira didn’t mean to teach me, I could use it whenever it was needed, so long as people weren’t looking. That death sentence for sorcerers was a nuisance I could live without.

  Grath rode slowly next to me as I walked towards the castle. He made small talk as I huffed and puffed with my burden. It didn’t escape my notice that he didn’t dismount or offer to put the chest on his horse, too. It was a power move of some sort. Maybe because he was my social superior here, he didn’t have to muck about in the dirt like his lessers. Or maybe he didn’t want me to feel especially welcome. Maybe he was gently telling me that I was on my own. Always in my higher senses, however, I could feel that little tug towards him and the two other people in that huge castle.

  I still didn’t know what that tug was, and I was afraid to ask. But it was important.

  The woods were at least a mile or two away from the castle, and as we walked, I admired the green pastures that surrounded Warsong Keep. The pastures were extensive, maybe the largest cleared area in this part of the world. Because the predators in Aldon made things so dangerous for man and beast alike, the fields and the pastures we city folk worked were usually small and well defended. As well as having a very large castle, Warsong Keep could bring its entire herd of cattle inside the bailey every night. The bailey was easily the size of the entire upper city of Stonekeep, too. The grass there was always green and lush rather than the trampled mud pits a person would normally expect to see accommodating herds that size. This was why they employed a pair of druids to keep their livestock well fed.

  Warsong Keep was renowned for their heavy cavalry, which they used extensively to protect the finest herds of livestock in all of Aldon. They employed hundreds of warriors, all arrayed in plate armor, which literally cost a king’s ransom. They were a force to be reckoned with. Lord Warsong was not a warmongering sort, however, so they rarely ventured forth to war. Woe to their foes when they did, though. I remember father talking about his experiences with Warsong Keep’s Cavalry in his youth, and he said they were undefeated on the battlefield.

  The walk was good for me. It helped me clear my head, and many of the aches and pains I’d acquired from my exertions with the ogrish army started to work themselves out. I watched the patrols and the drilling cavalry as my mind wandered. Soon enough we were striding through the front gates of the outer wall, and I could see the caravansary, inn, and stables we used when travelling with Hamot on the right. There was a gentle incline to the front gates of the castle itself, which were massive. The gates were about thirty feet wide and forty or fifty feet tall, which was way too big to be practical in times of war. The smaller the gate was, the harder it was to breach, so having gates this large was a very strange thing to see. Of all cities in Aldon, only Stonekeep Castle had gates this large to the best of my recollection.

  The keep itself was built in just as large a scale as its gates, too. It was several times the size of Stonekeep Castle in breadth, but not in height. They kept a large number of their warhorses stabled inside the keep itself. This was another anomaly because people usually kept their animals separate from their dwellings. This castle didn’t have an inner bailey, either. All the area inside this monstrously large keep was dedicated towards harboring its soldiers, servants, and steeds.

  The corridor from the gates into the interior was thirty feet wide with ten-foot-wide corridors leading to the left and the right at intersections from time to time. Grath handed off his mount to a waiting servant and walked inside. I followed a little behind and to his left. We walked deeper into the keep and eventually into a great hall. The great hall was lined with columns to hold up the ceiling, which was about fifty feet high. It was a very impressive place. There was a balcony or a hallway above us running all the way around the room. All the stone this place was made of kept the interior very cool and comfortable, protected from the outside heat. There were tables and benches lined up throughout the hall and there were many doors leading to this chamber. Grath strode across to great hall and up to another pair of enormous double doors just as big as the outer gate. Guards stationed there opened the door on the right without being told as Grath approached. Why they needed a pair of doors this large inside the castle I had no idea.

  Beyond these inner doors was a living area that was obviously for the lord of the keep and his immediate family. It was a very large room almost as big as the great hall with very little furniture in it. Our boots echoed in the almost empty chamber. There were three more very large sets of double doors, one on each side of the room, each as large as the outer gate. It seemed pretty impractical to have doors this big everywhere. It would take two men just to open one. I guessed it would be thief-proof, though if that’s what they were going for. The furniture in the room was set up in the corners of the room with very wide expanses of floor with nothing in it at all. One corner was set up with sofas and chairs, another corner was set up as a library, another corner was set up as a study, and the last corner was set up as a dining area with a large wooden table and ornate chairs. Sitting at that table were two people, Lord Warsong, whom I had met once before, and what must be his wife.

  Lord Warsong was wearing his resplendent gilded plate armor, which was a masterwork of craftsmanship. Lord Warsong had shoulder length black hair, piercing green eyes, and a short black beard much the same as Grath did. His helm was set on the tabletop next to him and was worked to have golden dragon’s wings on the sides of it. His mace was leaning against the table leg close beside him. I couldn’t see much of it, but I could feel the magical power of that weapon from the doorway. Even sitting down, he seemed to have a commanding presence about him that filled the room. I could feel that little magical tug towards him that I had felt the first time we had met and briefly wondered again what it meant.

  I was not surprised to feel the same sort of magical tug towards the woman sitting around the corner to Lord Warsong’s left. She was dressed in a green dress that matched her eyes, and she had straight black hair that didn’t have any gray in it. She was wearing a golden tiara along with earrings and a necklace that were each adorned with emeralds and diamonds. Her jewelry looked like it was worth a fortune. She had a timeless beauty, and held herself with regal poise and grace.

  There were four servants in the room standing behind chairs meant for the four people dining today, and place settings were already laid out, including a plate with a gold cover and goblets for wine. All of the utensils were made of gold now that I looked more closely. The candelabra were all gold as well. Clearly, cattle herding was a very lucrative business. As Grath and I walked across the cavernous chamber, I realized that I was causing the lord and lady of the castle to hold up their lunch. I was also very noisy compared to Grath, and I could feel my face heat up a bit from embarrassment. The Lord and Lady Warsong stood to greet me.

  “Welcome, Master Smith,” Lord Warsong said in a deep, commanding voice. “Won’t you please join us for lunch?”

  “I’d be very glad to do so, my Lord Warsong. I apologize for causing your lunch to grow cold. I’m very embarrassed by this, but I’m also very grateful that you would honor me with this invitation,” I said as politely as I could. Etiquette was not something I was familiar with, but I did have good manners, and hopefully they made up for my lack of training in dealing with royalty.

  I finished saying this with a deep bow that was made a bit awkward by the heavy strongbox that I was still carrying. It had to have weighed over two hundred pounds and I was starting to get a little tired of lugging it around. Lord Warsong must have sensed this and waved a servant over to take my burden from me. I turned to the side and held the box out to him, which he took in both hands. I let go and turned back to the Lord and Lady Warsong as the servant gasped and dropped the strongbox. The box hit the floor with a loud crash and broke into a half dozen pieces, spilling gold and silver coins everywhere in a twenty-foot radius. After being blown up once and dropped twice, the box was weak enough that it just gave up the ghost. The servant stood there with a horrified look on his face, staring at his hands.

  “Master Smith, I apologize unreservedly for this,” the servant said, his voice shaking. “It was a lot heavier than I realized it would be.”

  “It’s all right, sir,” I said graciously. “I should’ve warned you it was heavy, but my mind was on other things.”

  I heard a low laugh from my right and looked over to see Grath chuckling with his fist over his mouth, clearly trying not to. Lord and Lady Warsong didn’t laugh outright, but they each had a twinkle in their eyes as they watched. I felt a little embarrassed for the servant’s sake.

  “I can pick it up later, if that’s all right with you, my lord,” I said. “I wouldn’t want your lunch to get any colder.”

  “Quite right, Master Smith. We can only eat this while it’s warm once, but we can clean up a pile of money any time,” Lord Warsong said, gesturing to a chair. “Please, be our guest.”

  Lord Warsong indicated I should sit at the chair immediately to his right, which was a great honor. I took off my shield, helm, and gauntlets and gave them to another of the four servants attending us, then took my place after my hosts had resumed their seats. One of the servants disappeared, presumably to find another strongbox, and one of them brought us all steaming, wet towels with a pair of tongs. I gratefully accepted mine and wiped away the sweat and dirt from my face and hands. The servant took the towel back, and then the other two men removed the covers from the golden platters before us. It appeared that we were having roast pheasant, potatoes, carrots, and green beans. There was some sort of sauce in a small bowl on the table that smelled delicious. I waited for my hosts to begin, which Lord Warsong did with a raised goblet.

  “To new friends,” he said.

  We each had a swallow of the wine. I was not a connoisseur of fine food and drink, but everything went very well together. Despite having such a large breakfast a couple of hours ago, I did my best to finish everything on my plate but couldn’t quite manage it. While we ate, we made small talk about the state of Stonekeep and the invasion. I gave Lord Warsong the official version that left out my direct involvement. We all ate quickly, and Lord Warsong dismissed the servants.

  “So, Master Smith,” Lord Warsong began, “how have you been handling your heritage so far? There haven’t been many sorcerers alive or active since the Breaking.”

  My mouth suddenly went dry. If Lord Warsong was in league with the Xerith, I was as good as dead. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing, my mouth working a bit, but with nothing coming out. Lord Warsong transfixed me with a keen gaze.

  “Yes, I see right through you, Jeron. We all do. We know what you did to break the siege. Don’t worry, we’re not in league with those disgusting shapeshifters, nor do I owe any fealty to the King of Mithram. We do things my way here.” He paused to take a sip of wine. “In fact, I intend to have a very direct conversation with you today. There is much you must know if you are to make informed decisions.”

  That put my mind at ease a bit, but I was still stunned. I felt like I was hopelessly outclassed here, too. It was good that I felt that way, because my life was literally in his hands. I didn’t even feel the smugness a rich merchant would feel at having brought such a large amount of money with me. Money wouldn’t save me should this man become upset with me. I could feel it in my bones.

  “Thank you, Lord Warsong. I could certainly use any wisdom you have to offer. I have a thousand questions.”

  “I’ll bet you do,” Lord Warsong said. “First things first. Show him, Grath.”

  Obediently, Grath stood up from the table, walked to the center of the cavernous room, and turned back around to face us. He seemed to concentrate, and suddenly a small lightning bolt arced from his chest and flickered around his armored body. He began to grow much, much larger. In a few seconds he had become a huge, golden-scaled dragon whose head reached almost as high as the ceiling fifty feet above.

  He was terrifying.

  Grath was the single largest creature I’d ever seen. He had a torso with four legs shaped the same way a predatory cat’s legs were shaped, a tail as long as his torso, a neck half that long, bat-like wings that were each larger than a mainmast, and a head the size of a wagon. Grath had golden scales very similar to his armor except that now the spaces between his scales had a slight purplish glow emanating from them. I could have kicked myself. His armor was made of his own scales. No wonder it looked so authentic. Grath had two large horns sweeping gracefully from his forehead back behind his head and a ridgeline of spines from the back of his head to the tip of his tail. He had huge, pearly fangs that looked as long as my shortsword, and black claws as long as spears that looked like they could rend a mountainside. Everything about him embodied strength and titanic power. He looked down at me like a cat would look at a mouse, and I had a strong urge to find a chamber pot. There was an aura of fear he projected quite naturally. It wasn’t something I imagined, either. That radiating menace was a concentrated fear I’d rarely felt.

  “Holy flyspecks,” I whispered. My eyes must have been very wide.

  “I’LL TAKE THAT AS A COMPLIMENT,” Grath said softly. Well, softly for him. He spoke as loudly as a cavalry charge, and with the same thunderous timbre.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Dragons were creatures of legend that no one had seen for centuries. Everyone thought they’d all died out, and I was forcefully shown that this was most certainly not the case. Satisfied that he had made the desired impression, lightning flared and arced around him as he changed back into his usual armored, human guise.

  Lord Warsong cleared his throat. I turned in my chair to face him, aware suddenly that I was not facing only one dragon right now. Swallowing nervously, I sincerely hoped that I was polite enough.

  “That is the secret behind Warsong Keep, Master Smith. We have an acute perception of things happening around us, especially magical things, which is how Grath perceived your scrying magic from the Throne.” Lord Warsong paused for a moment to let that sink in. “Yes, I know all about the Throne, Stonekeep’s portals, the Icosahedron, the War of the Breaking, and your parentage. You see, our kind, the dragons, were brought to Aldon from another world to fight in the Crix War at the time of the Breaking. That feeling of fear you felt just now is how we affect people who see us in our true forms. It’s something that gets in the way sometimes, but we accept it as it is. The point being, even the High Magi felt that fear when around us at first, but they sought our help anyway. There are very few things as destructive as dragons, after all, and they needed the most powerful help they could find to defeat their foes. The High Magi trusted us, but because they felt that instinctive fear, they shackled us with the Geas to keep us on the helpful side of the spectrum.”

  “What’s a Geas?” I blurted out unthinkingly.

  “The Geas is a magical compulsion, like a binding covenant. That’s the little tug you feel when you regard us, and that feeling was the first indication we had that another sorcerer in Mordon’s bloodline was still alive. The Geas will compel our aid in times when the sorcerer needs it. I hate to admit that, but you’d find out soon enough on your own.” Lord Warsong paused for a moment. His gaze was piercing. “I wouldn’t abuse that if I were you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said earnestly. I meant it, too. The very last thing I’d ever do was to make someone as powerful as Lord Warsong angry with me.

  “I can sense and appreciate your sincerity,” Lord Warsong said. “Mordon bound us with that in order to reassure the more fearful among the High Magi. I do not want to see the Geas abused again, as it was when my brother lost his life.” There was another long pause as Lord Warsong considered. “I tell you these things because I can feel a change coming. You need to know that you can rely on us to come to your aid by using the magic of the Geas. We’ve been summoned at times of strife in your life already, but we arrived too late to do any good. That business in the Sunset Isles was a prime example.”

  “You were aware of the danger?” I asked.

  “Yes, but we couldn’t fly fast enough to be of much use in your battle against the undead. We can’t teleport at will like you can, after all,” Lord Warsong said.

  “Teleport?” I asked. “Is that what it’s called when I whoosh myself to someplace close by?”

  “Yes,” Lord Warsong said, shaking his head. “You really need a teacher. You probably didn’t even know that you could travel all the way across the world in one go if you needed to, did you?”

  I shook my head sadly. I could have saved a lot of time, and probably a lot of lives, too.

  “Teleporting takes familiarity with the place you’re going to along with a great deal of power. You may not yet have the strength to teleport back to Stonekeep from here, but you could if you had the same confidence your father had as well as the attunement to the Icosahedron that the High Magi enjoyed.”

  That last statement unsettled me strongly. My father? Attunement? Lord Warsong saw my thoughts whirling and let me settle for a moment before continuing.

  “I believe your father to be Mordon, and your mother to be Ismaera, both of whom were High Magi. I can see features from both of them in you, but you resemble your father greatly,” Lord Warsong said kindly.

  “This is the first time anyone’s told me something so definitive about my parentage, aside from a letter my birth mother wrote that I received when I was ten years old,” I said. I wanted to know more, like a blind man wants to see. “Can you tell me about them, please? Uh, Your Majesty.”

  “Certainly. Your father was a great man, and though he appears a little older than you, he’d walked this world for a long, long time before the War of the Breaking. He was kind, thoughtful, patient, caring, and helpful towards everyone, no matter their station. For all his good qualities, he was also an absolute terror on the battlefield. I think it was his nature as a caregiver towards his people that made his protective instincts flare like that. He was not complacent when the Crix first came, and he acted much more quickly than his fellow High Magi did. You should thank God for that.”

  “What happened to him and Ismaera?” I asked.

  “No one really knows,” Lord Warsong said. “He slept for decades after playing such a pivotal role in the formation of the twenty-one worlds. The kind of power the High Magi channeled then will never be equaled, I think. I hope. After peace and stability were restored to your worlds, the coalition of High Magi broke, and they went their own ways. That applied as much to dragons as it did with the remaining High Magi and Priests. The war had affected us all profoundly. Once Mordon had awoken again, he kept a watch from Stonekeep, but he never interfered in the happenings of the world in the centuries since, no matter how bad things got. I don’t think he had it in him anymore. He did visit from time to time, though. He and Ismaera were very charming company, and they always treated me and mine as trusted friends. The last time I saw Mordon was about twenty-five years ago. He seemed distracted, like something was bothering him, but he didn’t mention it and I didn’t want to know.”

  “Where could he have been for the last twenty years, though?” I asked.

  “You mean why wasn’t he being a father to you, don’t you?” Lord Warsong asked.

  I nodded.

  “I thought so. Well, he had failed as a father before and ended up making a monster of more than one of his sons despite his best intentions. Yes, that would be Ithion, in case you were wondering. He would never have abandoned his own child, no matter his regret at how Ithion turned out. I think he and Ismaera have been incapacitated somehow. If they were dead, then the Geas would be ended, and I am not sure that anything on this world could kill him unless he allowed it. He must be alive. Have you tried to find him with the Throne?”

  “No, I haven’t. I thought then he must be dead, but from what you’ve said about his resilience, I’ll certainly give it a try,” I replied.

  “If I were you,” Lord Warsong said, “I would start thinking about learning magical defenses before I went looking for your parents. Whatever person or place has the power to trap them would have to be extremely potent. Being as young as you are, you’ve probably only given thought to spectacular attacks and such.”

  “You’re right again, Lord Warsong,” I said a bit sheepishly. I knew wisdom when I heard it, and Lord Warsong was full of wisdom. He’d been right about everything so far. “I do my best, but I’m learning on my own through instinct and chance mistakes. I know I can do more, but I really don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “You should check Mordon’s chambers more thoroughly. He had at least one text that he used to teach his children magic. Maybe it’s still there.” Lord Warsong paused to consider for a moment. “What do you know how to do already?”

  Normally I wouldn’t trust anyone with this kind of knowledge, but the Warsongs had revealed a lot about themselves, which showed a lot of trust. “I can whoosh, um, teleport myself short distances, I can forge items from iron or steel without need of a hammer and forge, I can block arrows and things, I‘ve learned to attack with elements like fire, cold, lightning and concussive force, and I can clean and fix things.”

  “Mordon loved to create and to repair things. I see the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Would you mind demonstrating on the chest there?”

  “I may as well do something useful,” I said. “Won’t the servants figure out what I am if they see the repaired strongbox, though?”

  “Though I don’t share everything with them, they know enough already, and they’ve proven to be completely trustworthy, a trait they know I value highly,” Lord Warsong said with gravity.

  I nodded. I got up from my chair, walked over to the pile of coins, and laid a hand on the largest remaining part of the strongbox. I focused my will and used my mending spell, which caused a flaring, burning pain in my hand. The pieces of the strongbox, no matter how small, slid together and fused into one solid box again. Not a dent remained on it. I put the box on its base and sat down again.

  “You would be a handy person to have around. You did that knowing how much it would hurt,” Lord Warsong said thoughtfully. So he knew about the pain of using magic, too. “I take it that the gold you brought was to hire out either Kimor or Fajen to repair the fields around Stonekeep?”

  “Right again, Lord Warsong. Would you mind?” I asked.

  “I don’t mind a bit, Master Smith. I think you showed a lot of resourcefulness in coming here to ask for aid, and in my estimation, this is a very generous amount of money for those services. It’s fitting that the strongbox of the ogrish army be used to pay for the damage they caused.” Right again, I noted. “It still smells a bit of goblins,” he said by way of explanation.

  “Thank you very much. The prince and the Council will be thrilled to see the damage repaired, even if they don’t know of my involvement.”

  “I intend to make no secret of Warsong Keep’s druidic help, Master Smith. I can use the influence to my personal advantage. I’ll keep your personal involvement out of it, however,” he said.

  “I made too many assumptions. Sorry, sir. It comes from doing things in secret too long,” I said.

  “In my experience, if you are powerful enough, you won’t have to worry so much about keeping secret your involvement.” He paused. “Say, while I have you here, would you mind helping us with the repair of certain sensitive areas of the keep?” he asked.

  “I’d be happy to help, my lord,” I said.

  “Excellent! Follow me.”

  Everyone got up from the table. Lady Warsong excused herself before Lord Warsong, Grath and I went to the massive double doors opposite the entrance to the great hall. He opened the gigantic door with very little effort and walked in. Either that door was very well balanced, or he was incredibly strong even in human form. Inside was another enormous chamber. This one had no ceiling in it except the roof high above, and it must have filled the entirety of one of the keep’s massive towers. The roof was at least a hundred feet up. The room was lit by sunlight streaming in through some arrow slits very high in the tower wall. Those defenses must have been for show only, as there were no stairs or balconies to access them. My eyes were then drawn to a huge pile of coins, gems, and assorted objects of art that looked like it served as a bed for one of the dragons. It was more wealth than I’d ever seen in one place before.

  “My bedchamber,” Lord Warsong said simply. “Would you mind putting this place back together again? I can’t tolerate any of my retainers in this room.”

  Now that I looked away from the pile of treasure, I could see the place was in shambles. The walls were cracked in places and there were great chunks of stone blocks that had been knocked loose, then brushed up against the closest wall. The stone floor had great gouges in it from his claws.

  “I’ll do my best, my Lord Warsong.”

  It took me at least a half of an hour of agonizing effort, but I repaired everything I could see. I even fixed some goblets and statuettes that had been crushed. When I was done, there wasn’t a speck of dust on the floor. I had used it all to fill in the cracks and gouges everywhere. Lord Warsong was so pleased that he had me repeat the process in the other two towers that were at the double doorways at the other ends of the Warsong’s private hall. Each of those other towers had large treasure piles as well, but were not as large as the first horde, of course. In all, I spent two or three hours repairing all the damage the dragons had accidentally done to their castle. Seeing what they could do accidentally, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them could level this entire place in minutes. No wonder they didn’t need a moat.

  “We thank you very much, Master Smith,” Lord Warsong said in his very resonating, deep voice.

  “You’re welcome, sir.”

  “Allow me to get you the help Stonekeep needs. This way, please.”

  Lord Warsong led Grath and me out of the Warsong clan’s personal suites and out into the great hall. Soldiers and servants hurried this way and that on their various errands as we passed by. As we exited the keep, the guards there saluted their lord. Lord Warsong turned his attention to the left, and we walked slightly downhill across the massive bailey. Ahead of us, I could see the two druids standing in the field chatting casually with each other. They saw us coming and hurried up the hill to meet us.

  The two druids looked very much alike not only because they were wearing the same white surcoat with the golden dragon rampant on it with green pants, but also because they were brothers. They both had the same brown hair and brown eyes, and they had similar features in their faces. They both saluted when our groups met.

  “My lord,” they said together.

  “Things look to be going very well here, Kimor and Fajen,” Lord Warsong began, nodding to each in turn. “Thank you for your efforts. You may remember Master Smith from his visit a few years back.” He indicated me with a hand. “I have a task for one of you in Stonekeep that will require considerable effort over the course of the next few weeks. Anyone interested?”

  “I am,” they both said at the same time, identical smiles spreading on their faces. Then they looked at each other and frowned. Fists went to their hips as they puffed themselves up for the conflict to come.

  “You got to go last time,” Fajen said to Kimor.

  “Yeah, but that was a year ago,” said Kimor. “Besides, she likes me better.”

  “In your dreams, you cad,” Fajen said. “It’s my turn.”

  “Fajen it is, then,” Lord Warsong interjected. The discussion was over. “There is a certain redhead in Stonekeep that these most ardent arborists here desire to visit.”

  “That wouldn’t be Relina of the Grimguard, would it?” I asked.

  “You know Relina?” the brothers both asked in unison.

  “Not as well as you do, I’d say. We’ve been introduced, though,” I said.

  They both heaved a sigh of relief. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

  “You know she’s not the steady, faithful, homemaker type, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah! We know!” the brothers said in unison again, this time with huge grins on their faces. How did they keep saying exactly the same thing at exactly the same time?

  “Fajen, you’re going to repair Stonekeep’s fields,” Lord Warsong said. “They recently had a bit of a setback, and they need our help. You are to return in one month. Fill your pouch with some of the gold that is lying on the floor by my table, pack your things, then return here to take Master Smith with you to Stonekeep. Oh, and try not to enjoy yourself too much, Fajen. You represent Warsong Keep.”

  Fajen saluted and hurried away up the gentle hill to the keep.

  “Anything amiss with our lands, Kimor?” Lord Warsong asked the slightly crestfallen druid.

  “No, my lord. All’s well. Some cattle got into the northeastern garden again, and we just finished putting the vegetables back to right.”

  “My thanks. Have someone see to the fence.” Lord Warsong then turned to me. “Master Smith, it was a pleasure to have you here today. Please give my regards to Prince Kimorel should you happen to see him.”

  “I will if he speaks to me, sir,” I said politely. I wasn’t on speaking terms with the prince and planned to avoid him at all costs. Out of sight, out of mind.

  Lord Warsong understood completely. “Enjoy your journey,” he said with a wink.

  Lord Warsong turned and strode back to the keep. There wasn’t much about a week-long march through monster infested woods that sounded pleasant to me, but I held my tongue. Kimor turned to Grath.

  “By your leave, Master Warsong,” he said.

  “Of course,” Grath said.

  Kimor saluted Grath and walked downhill towards the bailey gate, leaving Grath and me by ourselves.

  “I’ve heard interesting things about Relina. Kimor’s pretty unhappy to be staying behind, but he’ll get over it,” Grath said.

  “I get the impression she’s a man eater,” I said. Considering the company I was in, that was probably a poor choice of words.

  Grath gave me a toothy grin. “I’ll bet.” He definitely knew what I was thinking.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak with you or your mother much while I was here,” I said.

  “No worries,” Grath said. “It’s our nature to be very conscious of personal power. The strongest one present is the one who speaks and makes the important decisions. For me to interrupt my father would be most unwise.”

  “I definitely wouldn’t want to be on his bad side,” I said. “I’ve been wondering. Are there many other dragons on Aldon?”

  “Not anymore,” Grath said. “I had an uncle once, but he was killed in the Crix War in the fields east of Grim Hold. His end was legendary. The other dragons split up and went to some of the other twenty worlds before the portals were closed. As friendly as we’ve been to you today, we dragons are very territorial. It’s instinctive, you know.”

  “Have you traveled the other worlds before the portals were shut down?” I asked.

  “No. This was a whole planet the last time I felt wanderlust. Much has changed since then. There could be anything lurking beyond those portals now.”

  I kept forgetting how ancient the Warsongs were. The Breaking happened more than twelve hundred years ago. I was almost twenty years old now, which must have been like the blink of an eye to beings like them. We made small talk for a little while longer while we waited for Fajen to rejoin us. After a little while, Fajen emerged from the keep’s gate and began walking down to us.

  “You know, Jeron, you should try to find out what happened to your parents. They were not the type of people to just abandon their children, and I have the feeling that whatever happened to them is very important. Though I can’t speak for my father, you can call on me when the time is right.”

  “Thanks, Grath. I will.” We shook hands.

  Fajen reached us. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Isn’t it a little late in the day to start a journey?” I asked. “We won’t reach the next enclave before dark.” Sleeping in the wilds was usually a very bad idea.

  “No need to worry. We won’t be walking.”

  I checked my gear. I had everything on me. “Ready when you are, I suppose.”

  Fajen nodded, then laid a hand on my pauldron. He concentrated for a moment, then began a chant. I could feel magical forces gathering, and they felt like they were in tune with elemental air somehow. Fajen finished his chant, and a whirlwind formed around us. While still holding onto my upper arm, we began to lift up into the air as the breeze whistled around us. I was very unpleasantly surprised to find my feet leaving the ground, and I panicked, flailing my arms and legs around for something solid. Fajen kept his grip on my arm, though, and we began to rise higher and fly faster. Grath waved as the ground receded in the distance and we turned toward the northwest. I got a grip on myself when I felt how constant the magic was and thought about how unlikely it was that we would fall out of the sky. After that, I looked around with interest as the land sped by beneath us. Flying was exhilarating, and after my initial surprise, I couldn’t stop grinning. In an hour or so I could see the city of Stonekeep in the distance, and it was coming up fast.

  “We need to keep our arrival a secret, Fajen,” I yelled over the sound of the wind.

  He looked at me and nodded. “Where should we land?”

  “If you can find the southern river road where it’s wooded, we can walk the last mile or so,” I yelled.

  Fajen nodded, then raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw the devastation wrought on the farmlands surrounding the keep. Every bit of it was covered in craters and ashes, as was a large swath of the forest surrounding the city where the ogres had camped, and there were blasted bodies of ogres and goblins lying everywhere. There were dozens of stroks outside the walls feasting on the remains. Stroks were large, black or gray birds with twenty-foot wingspans that fed on the dead. When hungry enough, they would feed on whatever or whoever they could catch unawares, too. They were very dangerous to farmers and townsfolk and were usually shot on sight. Groups of militias slowly roamed the devastation picking up weapons and armor fragments that were still useful as scrap, and the stroks ate their fill in defiance of the soldiers just out of bowshot range. Sooner or later the militia would have to drive them off, but they must be letting them eat so they didn’t have to carry so much to the pyres.

  Fajen dropped lower as we approached the area to avoid notice, and we dipped into the trees at a point where we saw a break at a fallen tree at the road. Fajen brought us down gently, and my feet were back on solid ground before I knew it. That was a lot of fun. When I had some time and privacy, I planned to try to duplicate that spell, so I tried very hard to remember what the magic felt like.

  “That was a much better journey than I thought it would be,” I said earnestly. “Thanks!”

  “My pleasure,” Fajen said.

  “Follow me.”

  We walked north on the road through the woods for a little while with a wary eye for danger. When we got close to the edge of the fields, the smell was atrocious. We walked through what was left of Stonekeep’s farming land as we neared the city, walking around the edges of the craters. The road was gone.

  “Looks like I really have my work cut out for me,” Fajen said to himself.

  Fajen and I walked through the gates almost unchallenged, then through the city to our smithy, where I thought Dortham would be. Sure enough, he was at his anvil shaping a hinge for a greave he was working on. He looked up as we entered the shop.

  “Well, that was quick,” Dortham said.

  “Thanks to Fajen here, yeah. Fajen, this is my father, Dortham,” I said. “He’s on the Council of Elders here and can handle your introduction to the prince.” They shook hands.

  “Well met, Master Smith,” Fajen said.

  “Well met, indeed. Are you the help sent to us by Warsong Keep?” father inquired.

  “Yes, sir,” Fajen replied politely. “Lord Warsong sends his regards.”

  “We’re most grateful for your aid. It’ll be dinner time soon. Would you care to join my family for the evening meal?” Dortham asked.

  “It’s a kind offer, Master Smith, but I have a friend that I’d like to meet at the Rusted Cutlass. I’d be happy to meet with you in the morning if that’s all right.”

  “Sure, sure,” father said. “I’ll meet you at the tavern in the morning to bring you to the prince, and then you can get started.” Seeing Fajen pause at the door, Dortham pointed. “It’s that way two blocks, then turn right. Can’t miss it. Have a good evening.”

  “I’m sure it will be,” Fajen said with a hopeful smile. “See you tomorrow.” Whistling a jaunty tune, Fajen walked out the door with a spring in his step.

  “Well, that’s that,” I said.

  “Are you sure he’s a druid?” father asked.

  “Yeah. He sure doesn’t look like a druid from the stories, does he?” I said.

  “Sure doesn’t. Hope he’s worth the gold.”

  “We’ll see soon enough,” I said. “I wish I could stick around for dinner myself, but I think I need to report for duty.”

  Dortham nodded. “Your talon’s down at the north river gate the last I heard. If you hurry, you could probably get there in time for a gourmet meal.”

  “Ah, yes. Day old bread, jerky and beans. I can hardly wait.” I moved towards the smithy door.

  “You did good today, son,” Dortham said. “The city needed this help badly, and it came at a great personal cost. I’m proud of you.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded once as I left. Father didn’t say things like that often. I savored it as I walked to the gate.