The Morning
Treylen dreamed of the black stone where the queen held her court.Aaron lay bleeding in his arms while Treylen begged the queen to help him. “I’m quite fond of him,” the queen answered.“Yes, he will do well here.” Her shadow leaned behind Treylen, long fingernails digging into his shoulders.“You have to help him though.” Aaron let out a gurgling noise and Treylen tilted Aaron’s mouth so the blood spilled out. He fumbled desperately with his friend’s jaw, trying to find a way to stop the bleeding.She watched but did nothing. The hands rubbed Treylen’s shoulders.When he looked up, it was not the shadow, but Apogee, leaning over him. “I’ll help.” She held a needle in one hand. The other held the rottencorpse of a dragon.There was a knock on the door to his room and Treylen shook the dream away, forcing one eye open.
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Land of Dragon 15
The Mines The minor lord who looked a bit like a rabbit would not stoptalking.His demeanor lent credence to the authenticity of Marziel’s obnoxious alter ego. Treylen had intended to pay close attention to the count and countess who gave a thorough overview of the mine’s operations—from labor and capital to the finer points of prospecting for new ore deposits.But the lord's chatter about food, weather, and his frequent trips to and from the capital formed a steady din that drilled into Treylen’s ear like a wood beetle. It was all he could do, to smile and nod, and to say, my uncle would have me wait to give our assessment, whenever his opinion was asked on anything. That seemed to frustrate the mine officials, but not the count and countess, as they likely had no intention of taking Marziel's advice in the first place. The hospitality they had received was all just a show of
Land of Dragon 16
The Scene The spycatcher’s neck was broken. The throat had been cut so deeplythe head fell back like a cast-off hood with only a scrap of skin and sinew holding it to the body. Someone had pulled the head out from under the body and pushed it back into place, but even without it, Treylen would have recognized the build of the woman who had snuck up on him the night before.Adeline Vait, aide to Count Tsoro, lay at the base of the ore pile, in the pit just outside the entrance to the mines. She’d been stuffed into a cart and covered over, then the cart had been left in an offshoot of the upper tunnels until one of the clan women saw it and took it to be dumped out.That woman was being questioned by Jargus Duremo to the side of the path while his mother, the countess, leaned over the body along with three mine supervisors, Aide Remin, and a blue-vested woman that Treylen
Land of Dragon 17
The Guard Dreams troubled him again.Treylen had slept longer than he was accustomed to. He was certain they were watching the room so he’d kept his outing short that night. He’d snuck out and searched the alleyways then crept around the outside of the lodge, peering into the rooms where he suspected the servants of the Tsoro household slept. Then he jogged out to the stone in the mountains where he’d fought the Ketaresk men. Nothing. No blood stains. No signs of struggle. He couldn't even find the bodies that she’d hidden for him, though he’d climbed down through the dwarven gate again and spent an hour walking the wide, empty tunnels that he found there.He’d returned early, in case they came early to question him, and was asleep hours before dawn. But the dreams kept waking him. Blood and rain. Dirt and daggers. There was no plot to them, only gore and filth, and a sickening u
Land of Dragon 18
The Breakfast Treylen woke to a heavy fist knocking on the door. His firstthought was of Aaron. He’d worked into the early hours to finish the letter, then placed it along with some blank pages, a fresh quill, and a stoppered inkwell inside of a scroll case that he’d found in the writing desk. He tied a strap to it so Rime could more easily carry it in his teeth.It had been near morning. The guards had been dozing in shifts and kept a sharp eye on Treylen’s balcony. He’d cracked the door, met the eyes of the guard, then stepped out and made a show of leaning on the railing and yawning as if he’d been unable to sleep while Rime snuck out onto the balcony. Treylen had looked out at the darkened city, then scowled at the man before going back inside, shutting the door, and going to bed.Maybe Aaron had found something already. It would have to be urgent if he’d come here.
Land of Dragon 19
The Approach “Are you struggling to keep up?” Jargus called over his shoulderwhile Treylen picked his way down the mountainside one boulder at a time. The sun was hot and high, but a towering storm of black clouds loomed on the horizon, creeping steadily closer.“I’ll be just fine,” Treylen said, but one of the hunters had already turned to help him. In truth, the difficulty was not in traversing the rocks, but in holding himself back from hopping over it all as if it was nothing.He had to let go of his hold of the dragonmind entirely, to avoid any temptation of using it. Rime was having just as much trouble. Normally he would have simply followed behind, camouflaged. But they were a sharp- eyed group, and although Treylen had finally got the Countess’s son to admit this was an egg hunting expedition, they were armed to the teeth with bows, pole arms, hooks and shields
Land of Dragon 20
The Saddle The storm had finally caught them.Clouds rolled in, tall and black, top-heavy like an anvil. The afternoon sun withered to gloom and the rain began, falling first in spits and dribbles, then smatterings, then dense, wind-driven sheets that drove over the mountainside. The broad vistas of the Dragon Lands seemed to drown in it and the world shrank until all that Treylen could see through the rain were the backs of his fellow hunters and the jagged slope a few paces ahead.All that day they had hiked…it was not the endless up and down that Treylen was accustomed to at the abbey; here, the mountains were tight together and the abutting slopes and ridges snaked around the steeper peaks and deeper chasms. But now they were going up, gradually at first, then quickly the mountainside grew steeper until at last it was only by finding hand and footholds on the slippery boulders that they progr
Land of Dragon 21
The Shelter Water oozed down the back wall of the little shelter.A slab of rock jutted up from the landscape, a steep enough angle to cover them. It wouldn’t have kept them hidden from the hunters, but the rain did that well enough.If Remin hadn’t shaken the brains out of his head with all the bowing and scraping he did, then he might have mind enough to as Treylen had told him—keep them moving toward town. At any rate they weren’t likely to find him while a mother dragon poured fire down on them through the storm.Volgnash lay at the back and leaned on the rock, where Treylen had ordered him to go, the rivulets of water running over him and mixing with the blood that seeped from the wound on his chest. His rider sat against him. She had fussed over his wound until it became clear she couldn’t do anything. He wasn’t bleeding quickly at least. The rider had suffered a gash to
Land of Dragon 22
The Dinner“I’m sorry for the death you had to witness,” Jargus said as theyreached the stairs to house Duremo. “It is the price we pay to serve our queen. She’ll mark our hunt a great success even if we did lose a man.”“Thank you, but I understand.” Treylen followed the others through the hall and out to the courtyard overlooking the city. “I’ve not been long in Iverna, but already I know the importance of your queen’s favor.”“It’s everything,” said Remin. “You’ll see, in time. Just take care not to run afoul of it.”“Heed that,” said Jargus, “Now, this is where we leave you. Oakwren and Roland here will take you to gather your things then see you safely back to Duremo Lodge where we can put a closer watch on you. I hope you understand it’s for your protection. There’s a killer on the loose, after all.”“I’m grateful for it,” Treylen lied, bowing again. “As long as it won’t interfere with me resuming my duties.”“It must,” said Jargus. “There’ll be no touring the mines until after