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.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
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
Land of Dragon 23
The Bath “They're waiting on me,” he said. “I must be going.”“As you will, my lord. Take care out there. There's a killer about.” “Thank you.” He shut the door as he stepped out and raced down thealley, leaping onto the rooftops.They’re at the door, bondmate.Treylen launched himself from roof to roof, not bothering to hide his footfalls now. He raced down the line, leaping over the stairs. An unsuspecting guard holding a torch walked their rounds beneath. They peered up, but he was already gone. He jumped to grab the railing and rolled inside, hearing the sound of a key in the door and more knocking. Treylen crawled to the tub and rolled into it, clothing and all, the water splashed and sloshed, as he sank down so just his face was showing as the door burst open.“I was afraid you’d drowned,” said a woman's voice, not the innkeeper. “I’m sorry, Lord Cren’pin,” the innkeeper sa
Land of Dragon 24
The Letter Marziel was gone.Countess Tsoro had ridden to Coal Abbey in person to retrieve him, only to be told that he’d been lost in the mines the same day that he’d seen her messenger. Three days later, he was still missing. To her credit, the Countess had taken it well. She’d even gone so far as to console Cren’pin. The mines of Coal Abbey were extensive. He would not be the first to have been lost this way, nor the first to be found again, should he return. Her own soldiers were looking for him along with the assassins who trained there.When they found him, the queen’s servants would ensure his swift return to Wetherdin for questioning.Treylen wasn’t concerned. There was a small chance that Marziel had truly gotten lost in the mines, but he doubted it. Spymasters were revered by the monks, they would tell whatever lies he asked them to, and they certainly wouldn’t
Land of Dragon 25
The Village “What is it?”Treylen cracked the door and put an eye to the opening.His cousin Laureth pressed near to the door, a dark shawl covering her hair, her face unpainted.“Lord Cren’pin, can we talk?” “I don’t know, can we?”Treylen pulled the door open and scanned the hall. The guard assigned to his room stood to the left, feigning disinterest. To the right was Oakwren— the hunter who’d accompanied him into the Dragon Lands with Jargus and Remin. She seemed to be accompanying Laureth.“I had thought we might walk. You had expressed an interest in touring the old tower, had you not?”Had he? Treylen nodded anyhow.“Just a moment.” He shut the door in her face and raced to the bed.Rime, I’m leaving you here. He pulled the daggers from their hiding place and strapped them on beneath his shirt. As dangerous as it was to
Land of Dragon 26
The Reunion Treylen peered into the shadows as the steady click of metal onstone drew closer. From a tunnel opposite where they’d entered came a monstrous lowsater. His cloven hooves were shod like an oxen and his frame towered over the doorways of the empty village. Uberetus was tall enough to make the Lowsater he had seen in the mine look small. Treylen had to wonder how a man his size could even manage in the tight tunnels and lifts of the mines.Though his star-speckled coat was more patchy than it had been, and his vest and skirt more threadbare, he still carried himself with the patronly bearing of an elder regent. Perhaps he was once a great leader of his people.“You can come out, Lomish man. I see you perfectly well there in the dark.” His voice was loud but welcoming, deep but silken, and drawled with the cadence of one whose patience knew no end.Uberetus stopped jus