The Tome of Agrimar

Chapter Five

“Right there,” Kendra pointed the jeweler’s stand out to Talon as people continued to bustle through the market streets. She could only catch glimpses of the shop through the legs of passing people and the occasional mule, but her companion was tall enough to see over most heads and spotted the glint of sparkling necklaces hanging from the vendor’s window. Kendra immediately set off toward her destination, but Talon pulled her back, grasping her pack and yanking her off her feet to be pulled up to his side.

“Hold on there, little one,” he said. “You cannot just take it back. He will have you thrown in jail again.”

“I’ll just tell him it’s your statue, silly,” Kendra replied, rolling her eyes.

Talon shook his head. “For one, it is not my statue. And two, if he lied to get it from you, we cannot trust him to give it back should I identify it as my own. He will set a high price for it if he knows how badly we want it.”

Kendra crinkled her nose and scrunched up her lower lip in disgust. “I guess you’re right,” she said. “So what should we do?”

“I do not have any spare coin to waste buying it back from him,” Talon stated. “If I distract him, you can go around back and sneak it out.”

Kendra’s eyes widened. “You mean, steal it?”

“Of course not,” Talon said, sounding slightly exasperated. “He’s the one who stole it from you, but the guards won’t believe us. So we just have to get it back ourselves.”

“I guess…” she didn’t sound convinced.

“Look, are you an escaped convict?” Talon asked.

“Of course not!” Kendra demanded. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was in there because he lied!”

“But you picked the lock of the jail cell and broke out,” Talon replied. “This is no different. The law is not always right.”

“Hmm…” Kendra still seemed unconvinced.

Talon rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “You were dead-set on getting it back when we left that jail cell, and now you don’t want to do anything because you think it will be stealing?”

“I was going to ask him for it back, silly,” the girl huffed.

“And if he dishonestly took it from you, do you really think he’s just going to give it back when you ask him?”

“Well… Someone had to have seen what happened. They would know that the statue wasn’t his…” Kendra said slowly. She was feeling less certain about her direct method as Talon explained things to her, but she didn’t quite understand how the truth could become so clouded.

“Anyone who saw what happened probably wasn’t paying that close attention and would prefer to mind their own business,” Talon continued explaining. “If you wanted to sort it out with witnesses and abided by the law you should have stayed in that jail cell and waited for them to bring it to trial. But the law doesn’t always work if it doesn’t have complete information, and they will trust his word over yours.”

Kendra folded her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. “Well, I wasn’t about to sit around in there and let him sell it while I was waiting for the law to handle it. Besides, they probably wouldn’t even do anything about it. It’s not like they care who the statue actually belongs to.”

Talon smiled. “So, if you want to get this done quickly and avoid all the time and trouble of a bunch of beurocratic nonsense, you need to sneak that statue out of there without getting the jeweler involved.”

“Ohh,” Kendra finally drawled in understanding, her eyes going wide as all the pieces finally came together. “I get it. Alright, start distracting. I’ll be out in a flash.”

As if to prove her point, Kendra dashed under the legs of a passing horse, causing the animal to sidestep nervously as the rider watched her disappear into the crowd with a shake of his head, rubbing his mount’s neck and speaking softly to soothe the startled beast. Talon shook his head as well and made his way more carefully and courteously to the jeweler’s stall. He held a gloved hand in front of his shoulder, and the black bird stepped onto it. Whispering into the raven’s ear, he gave his hand a small toss, sending him into the air.

Kendra was nowhere to be seen, so he had to trust that she was already in position. Talon stopped at the vendor next to the jewelry stall and perused the wares, and his raven flew past him to land on the jeweler’s counter.

“Hey,” the jeweler called out, flapping his hands toward the bird. “Shoo, get out.”

The raven was undaunted, puffing out his feathers and cawing at the man, snapping at his fingers threateningly. He had to pull his hand back as the black beast snatched up a pearl necklace. “Hey!” the jeweler called more furtively, drawing the gazes of several passersby on the street. Talon turned his head with interest, allowing an expression of shocked surprise to cross his face.

The vendor reached out to grab the bird with both hands, but he deftly avoided the grasping attempt and took flight, setting the man into a panic. Instead of disappearing, the raven glided over to one of the many onlookers and settled the pearls down around a lovely neck. He then returned to the stall, this time taking up a bright diamond ring in his beak before taking off again, nimbly avoiding the jeweler’s swatting hands.

When Kendra appeared at Talon’s side, tapping his leg and pointing at her bag with a smile, he returned her smile and stepped over to the jeweler’s stall. The raven returned to snatch another piece of jewelry, and stopped just out of reach of the jeweler when Talon called out, “Luscious!”

A crowd had gathered, and all eyes turned to the newcomer, as Talon held out his hand. “You fool bird. What do you think you are doing?”

The raven dropped his newest acquirement into Talon’s hand and alighted on his shoulder, as his companion turned to the jeweler. “I’m so sorry,” he said, returning the item to the jewel vendor. “I don’t know what got into him. He usually has such wonderful manners.”

“Yes, well,” the jeweler seemed a bit put out, but the eyes of the crowd were on him and he seemed flustered under their gaze, clearly considering the results of upsetting many prospective customers by calling the guards. “As long as my items are returned…” Even as he spoke, the bearers of the necklace and the ring squeezed through the still growing crowd to hand the expensive valuables to their rightful owner, and the man could only nod his thanks. Even if they’d wanted to make off with the items, the spectacle had attracted so much attention that they would have been quickly found and brought to justice. “Yes… no harm done. Thank you, for… stopping your animal.”

“Of course,” Talon replied. “I am sorry for the trouble he caused.”

“Just… get him out of here. I won’t have him snatching up my wares again.” The man looked rather flustered, and Talon just smiled.

“Of course,” he said, placing a couple small coins on the counter. “For your troubles.”

“Thank you.”

Talon nodded in apology and turned away. Once he’d made it past the crowd and prying eyes, Kendra appeared once again at his side, hopping up and down with joy. “That was wonderful!” she said, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Your bird is so smart! Luscious, you said? Oh, Luscious, I’m sorry I thought you were dumb. You’re not dumb at all. You were an amazing distraction. I loved it!”

The black bird puffed out the feathers of his chest proudly, causing Kendra’s smile to spread even wider.

“Do you have it?” Talon asked.

Kendra nodded and swung her bag around from her back, settling it on the ground in front of her. Opening the flap, she dug inside and drew up the small figurine. It sparkled brightly as it caught the light, and Talon’s eyes seemed to sparkle in tandem despite another bought of coughing that jostled the bird on his shoulder.

“Thank you,” he smiled, as Kendra handed him the little dragon, her head tilted to the side curiously.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked.

The older man waved his hand dismissively and knelt down in front of her. He held the statue and ring together, examining their likeness in every detail. The small woman leaned her head in over his, peering down with him curiously. “They’re really the same, aren’t they?” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Does it mean something important?”

“I’m not sure…” Talon muttered, his voice sounding distant. “Do you know anything of the Great Dragon War?” he asked.

Kendra rolled her eyes. “Who doesn’t? All the dragons were fighting among themselves, right? Some wanted to rule the other races, and others wanted to protect them. Vexi.. Vexi-trainy…” Kendra wrinkled her nose in thought.

“Vexitraenylaesk,” Talon supplied, bringing a wide smile to Kendra’s lips.

“Yeah, that one!” she said. “Well, he led the revolt against the bad dragons and sacrificed himself to stop their leader.”

Talon nodded and handed the statue back to Kendra, “Vexitraenylaesk was a silver dragon.”

It took Kendra a moment, but then her eyes widened in understanding, looking from the small figure and to the ring on Talon’s finger with excitement. “So these are of him?!”

Talon nodded again.

“What does it mean?” Kendra asked.

The older man only shrugged, and Luscious ruffled his feathers with a little cackle. “Probably nothing,” Talon replied. “Vex is, afterall, famed for his sacrifice. I’m sure there are many such items bearing his likeness. But I do not believe in coincidence. The fact that we both carry such items may very well be a sign that we are fated to travel together.”

“Well then,” Kendra shoved her thumbs under the straps of her pack with a satisfied smile. “Where are we headed?”

Talon momentarily gazed off into the distance, pondering what to reveal to the strange woman by his side who mysteriously carried a statue of the same dragon on his ring before finally speaking, “I am looking for someone named Thradris.”

“Ok, let’s go look for him then,” Kendra stepped past Talon only to find him grasping her pack and pulling her backward.

“Not so fast, little one,” he said softly, once again stifling a cough. “We must be careful about our searching.”

“Why?” Kendra huffed impatiently. She had to wait for him to clear his throat, and she tilted her head to the side curiously. Had he caught a cold when he was locked up in that damp prison cell? The thought did not distract her long before he was speaking again.

“Because this is to be no friendly encounter,” Talon explained. “Thradris is a night-elf, and he killed my father.”

Kendra’s eyes opened wide and her hands dropped to her sides. “Really?! I’ve never met a night-elf before. They’re evil, right? Well, this one must be evil since he killed your father. Are you going to avenge him? I thought night-elves lived underground. How do you know he’s here? How are you going to kill him? Are you a wizard? Do you have some nasty spell prepared that will rip his heart through his skull?”

Talon clamped a gloved hand over her mouth and shook his head. “Enough questions,” he hissed. “Please! And what is it with you and wizards? I told you. I’m not a wizard. Now. I know Thradris lives alone in the woods on the outskirts of this village. The trick is trying to pinpoint exactly where. The people here don’t seem to know much about him, but I’m sure somebody must have crossed paths with him at some point.”

He removed his hand from the young woman’s mouth and she nodded dramatically. “So let’s find him!” She turned around to walk back into the market square, and Talon followed shaking his head and muttering a prayer to Rokhr under his breath.