The Lone Traveler - Part Three

The Lone Traveler - Chapter Three





Analia’s search for an apothicarius was futile. They searched for several long and bitterly cold hours. She would have Whiff land out of site from any village they spotted and wait while she walked in and asked if there was an apothicarius anywhere near. Unfortunately, the nearest one was located in a large town and she could not risk Whiff being spotted. She finally decided to return to the cave and bundle Prince Robert up and fly him to where medical help could be found, even if it meant taking him to the large town.

As they neared the cave, Analia had a sudden sense of foreboding. When they had left they could see a slender thread of smoke coming from the entrance. There was no sign of smoke. As she entered the large cave, Prince Robert and the blanket he had been lying on, was gone.

Analia frantically searched the area surrounding the cave entrance. She found a large number of boot prints and further down the slope, many horseshoe prints. The Prince had been taken. He could not have left on his own and had apparently been abducted without his consent. She finally returned to the cave where Whiff waited, bitter tears frosting up on her cheeks. She had no idea what to do, where to go, where to seek help.

"I guess it’s just me and you Whiff," Analia whispered.

"You finally return." A thought from the dragon entered her mind. She was shocked at first, slowly backing away from the dragon and cautiously watching him with a wary eye. Tenderness finally overcame the sensation of fear.

"You speak, Mighty Dragon," she humbly said. “How can I hear your words without hearing you?

"Cut the Mighty Dragon crap," the dragon replied, sounding a lot like her gruff but gentle uncle. "Just call me Whiff; I’ve grown somewhat attached to the silly name."

Analia was again shocked to hear a sense of sarcasm coming from a totally alien mind. She could not understand how an animal could exhibit such intelligence.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Whiff thought back. "I borrowed that expression from your memories, how do you like it?"

"You can read my mind?" Analia asked. “How is this possible?”

"It is not done among humans," Whiff returned, "but it is our basic means of communicating among my race. And don't you dare ask me what we call ourselves, you could never pronounce it. Besides, I can't read everything you think, just your basic thoughts and the ones I dig out. How do you think we choose our riding mates?”

“You read the minds of the females who seek to ride you?” Analia thought. “If they please you, you accept them?”

“Something along those lines, Little Lady,” Whiff replied. “We don’t normally select males because they’re too belligerent and full of themselves and most of the females are not only scaredy cats, many are as dumb as a bag of rocks.”

Analia had slowly recovered from the sudden shock. “Why have you not communicated to me or other humans before now?”

“Not easy to explain, Little Lady. “It takes a certain kind of mind, both human and dragon to make contact. For some reason, you have such a mind. You’re the first one I have encountered that I can easily make contact with. We can read the minds of most of our riders, but we have never been able to conduct two way mental communication.

“What shall I do?” Analia asked. Her tone of voice and body language indicated that she was not only exhausted, but had lost all hope. “I have no one to turn to and I can’t go back to the school. By now I am certain the King’s Own and the other Dragon Riders are searching everywhere for me.”

“We could look for the young prince from the air,” Whiff suggested. “I can see hoof prints from pretty high up, even in the dark, and I can smell a stinking horse from many miles away.”

“A wonderful idea,” Analia replied, hugging Whiff’s large rough neck.

"Well, what are we waiting for," Whiff thought, "let's haul ass," he mentally chuckled.

Analia quickly gathered what small things she wanted to keep, including the remaining blankets that Prince Robert had rested on, and then slowly looked around the cave. She decided against taking the heavy chain mail, after all, she had no plans of going into battle. She had no idea who had taken the prince; it could have been her own people, local serfs, the King’s Own, even enemies of the realm. Most likely enemies of the realm, otherwise they would have left some of the guard to take her into custody. All she knew was that he was the key to her innocence. If he lived, he could tell the King the truth and she would be absolved of her guilt. She was also very weak from lack of food. The last time she had broken her fast was the morning she fled the school with Prince Robert. That was two full days past. The thought of warm bread, butter, thick soup, and especially roast lamb made her mouth water.

“Disgusting,” Whiff thought. “How your kind can consume living beings is beyond me.”

“Whiff, it’s my private thoughts you’re reading!” Analia angrily stated. “Have I no privacy of my own now?”

“Sorry Little Lady.” The dragon somehow conveyed a sense of contrition in his thoughts. “I couldn’t help but notice how worn down and fatigued you are. You’re about to pass out from hunger and exhaustion. I’m not certain this search is a good idea until we get you something to fill your belly.”

“What did you mean by that remark about eating living beings? They are only animals. What else would we eat?”

“Veggies,” Whiff noted. “As you know, we dragons only eat plants and fruit. If vegetables can keep our massive bodies healthy, and we’re much bigger than a horse, why couldn’t they feed you humans, then you would not have to resort to killing and devouring living creatures?”

Analia was at sudden loss of words. Whiff was right about dragons eating only vegetables and fruit, tons of it for certain, but she had never given a second thought to the chicken, lamb, pork, and other meat she had consumed. It simply was and always had been the normal thing to do as far as she was concerned. She was raised to accept and be thankful for any sustenance that was available. While it was the norm that the people in her village, poor farmers for the most part, rarely had access to meat, it was more than welcomed on their table when it was available. Most of the animals they raised went to feed the nobles and for making milk and cheese to sell.

“I am not an analiticary or great thinker,” she finally replied. “I am just a simple farm girl. I have little book learning, other than reading the Great Book of Mysteries, and the only social learning and etiquette I have is what I have received from my uncle. I cannot think about what to eat and what not to eat, or the reasons thereof, I can only think of filling the empty space in my stomach.”

“I noticed some late season cabbage and turnips near one of those small villages we visited,” Whiff mind-spoke. “Perhaps that will do until you can satiate your blood lust for charred flesh.”

Analia rolled her eyes and climbed onto the small saddle located just ahead of Whiff’s massive wings. She wrapped her heavy cloak around her to protect her from the bitter cold. “Shall we go hunting for cabbages and kings?” she asked.

What passed for a smile lit up Whiff’s thoughts. “You are not, I can state with certainty, just a simple farm girl.”

The heavy snow had ushered in a small warm front. Although it was still very cold, especially when flying several hundred feet above the low hills, Whiff maintained a slow gliding pace so it was tolerable. Analia pulled the hood of her cloak snugly over her head and watched the snow covered hills slide by beneath them. They soon landed in a cleared field mostly hidden by a copse of thick evergreens located near one of the small villages they had visited earlier.

Analia dismounted and walked among the field of turnips and cabbages. Now that the snow squall had moved on, a half-moon provided sufficient light for her to forage by. Most of the cabbages had been harvested but she found four large turnips and pulled them from the half frozen ground. They would be more than enough to satiate her driving hunger. While landing, she had spotted a small stream at the edge of the field so she walked over and washed the mud from the turnips and took the opportunity to refill her water skin. She drew her short dagger and quickly pealed the tough skin from one large turnip. She then remounted, placing the other turnips in her saddlebags.

Analia gnawed on the raw turnip as they headed back in the direction of the cave. Although she would have preferred it boiled or baked, she had consumed raw turnips before and knew her system could tolerate it. Besides, the turnip was delicious and her gnawing hunger quickly faded. She threw the turnip stem away and took a healthy swig from her water skin. She felt almost human again.

“Veggies are good,” Whiff mind-spoke. “You devoured that turnip like it was a charred rabbit.”

“Sorry Whiff,” Analia replied. “I didn’t offer you one of the turnips. Are you hungry?”

“Where do you think those missing cabbages went?” Whiff stated. “While you were in the village looking for a medicine man, I filled my gut to the brim. I am particularly fond of cabbage, it’s my favorite food.”

“I’ve always been told that dragons roasted their victims with fire and consumed the cooked flesh,” Analia stated. “The stories the wandering minstrels tell of the old days all agree that sheep and cattle, even fair maidens, were fed to the dragons to curry their favor and keep them from destroying whole villages and devouring entire flocks.”

“Don’t know who made that balderdash up, but it definitely isn’t true, “Whiff returned. “No dragon that I know or heard of has ever eaten the flesh of a living creature and I’ve been around for quite a while. As for eating a fair maiden, that in itself is ridiculous. What may be fair to you humans isn’t necessarily fair to us dragons. One human looks a lot like the other to us.”

“But you still breathe fire. Of what use is that?”

It was a few moments before Whiff finally replied. “Fire is our major defense mechanism, that and our claws and tail. We use fire to ward off anyone who attacks us. It’s also very useful to roast some of the veggies we eat. You try eating a pine bough without roasting it a bit, kind of tough.”

“Why would anyone make up such lies about you dragons?” Analia mused.

“Mistaken identity,” Whiff answered. “There are large flying animals that thrive off raw flesh, they will eagerly consume any animal including human. “They are savage and we do not enjoy each other’s company. We try to avoid one another as much as possible.”

Analia gasped. “You mean they still exist?”

“Like I said, you’ve still got a lot to learn, Little Lady. They certainly do. Between them and the humans, I’ve lost a good number of friends over the ages. We dragons once numbered in the tens of thousands, now we’re down to several thousand.”

“I thought there were only eight and twenty dragons left?”

“There are eight and twenty dragons in the rook, but a large number of my family still live in the wild, as far from human interference as they can possibly get. I’ve often had the urge to join them, and would have soon done so had you not suddenly showed up.”

“I see horses,” Analia interrupted his thoughts.

Whiff angled down towards the tangled forest below. To their left, riding in a long column along the side of a small hill, was a long line of horsemen. It was plain that they were knights for the armor they wore glinted in the moonlight. As they drew closer, Whiff snorted. “They’re Alatarian Knights,” he stated. Looks like an entire troop or possibly a full squadron.”

Analia squinted but could not make out the banners the men in front of the line were carrying. “I can’t see their colors,” She stated.

“Trust me Little Lady, my eyes see fifty times better than yours in the dark. That skinny squire at the front trotting next to the fat knight is carrying a sky blue banner with a black tiercel embossed on it, the coat of arms of the House of Hielgerton, that of King Domides. They’re riding at a steady pace and crossed into Alatarian territory a few miles back. I think….” Before Whiff could finish his thought, the buzzing sound of crossbow bolts sizzled in the cold air around them. Whiff immediately flapped his massive wings to gain altitude and angled sharply away to the right to provide a moving target and place his tough body between Analia and the shafts.

“They’re shooting at us!” Analia yelled.

“How’d you guess?” Whiff sarcastically thought. “You think maybe they spotted a huge dragon and rider bearing down on them from above. Caught a bolt in my tail but it bounced off”

Analia blushed unseen and leaned over to her left to see the long column of knights had suddenly halted. They were busy doing something and soon a flare of light flickered then burst into a small fire. Within minutes, fire arrows were being hurled up into the night sky. They were apparently fired at random and not intended to strike a target.

“They’ll never hit us shooting like that,” Analia sniggered. “You’d think they would have more sense than shoot fire arrows into the sky. It would be better to shoot regular bolts so we couldn’t see them coming.”

“They’re not shooting at us,” Whiff replied. “They are meant to signal others, and I know exactly who those others will be. Hang on; we’re getting the heck out of here as fast as possible.”

Before Analia could form a questioning reply, the sky around them was filled with gigantic hawk like birds. There was at least a score of them and she could see others angling in to join the huge flying formation. What surprised her even more were the riders on the backs of each bird. They were all female and dressed in some kind of tight sky blue uniform, including trousers and wearing stout leather harnesses. They had sky blue cloaks hanging from their shoulder harness clasps. Most sported wheat colored hair with braids hanging down from beneath conical spangenhelms. The nearest riders had pulled composite bows from their saddle sheaths and drawn them to the hilt.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Little Lady,” Whiff thought. “If they wanted us dead you would be on your way to the ground by now. They apparently want to take us alive. Keep your hands tight on the saddle and don’t make any sudden moves. Those bows they have may not be able to penetrate my tough hide, but I am positive they’d make you look like a porcupine in no time at all, especially since you left your chainmail back in the cave. Those vultures they’re riding are the meat eaters I mentioned during our earlier conversation. I usually roast their feathers off but I can’t take the chance with you unarmored.”

A sudden penetrating thought entered Analia’s mind. It was sporadic at first but then the patchy thoughts became very clear. “Who are you, little one? Why are you flying with the dragons?” Dragon wasn’t exactly the name that was used, but the mental picture was clear and it was not a flattering one.

“I am Analia,” she replied. “Which one of you great birds is trying to communicate with me?”

“We are the Tertius,” the reply came. “I am a companion of the first Valkyri Warrior to your right. How can you talk with me, I have never communicated with a human before? Are you a great sorcerer?”

“She’s just a human child of four and ten years,” Whiff butted into the mental conversation. “Bugger off and leave her be.”

“I did not ask for your unwelcomed opinion or interference, ugly face,” came a quick response. “I seek to understand the marvel and mystery of your rider.”

“I am just a simple farm girl, great bird,” Analia returned, aware of the bitter exchange between Whiff and the giant bird. “Must you and Whiff degrade each other in such a manner? I feel the anger behind your thoughts and it is not befitting intelligent and civilized races.”

For a few moments Analia felt a sharp intrusion into her mind. It was if something was crawling around inside her head, something unwanted and unconscionable. She knew that something was digging around in her memories, especially those subconscious memories she could not remember.

The giant hawk-like bird gave a sudden squawk. A thought of great fear, regret, and respect suddenly permeated Analia’s mind. “Forgive me, great one? I did not mean to intrude into the depths of your private thoughts. It is unforgiveable of one as low as me to even entertain thoughts of violating your privacy.”

Analia could tell from the sincere feeling of regret and remorse the giant bird emitted that it was truly sorry and at the same time it was filled with deep fear and trepidation. Why it felt that way she could not fathom. Did it find something hidden in the remote recesses of her memory that frightened it? Obviously something was found to change its perspective for it was now mentally cowering in a submissive manner.

“What name are you known by among your race?” Analia asked.

The giant bird thought for a moment and decided that the human could not pronounce the name it shared with its companions. “I will be called by whatever name or title you wish to give to me,” it finally answered. Know that my companions, the other Tertius, are fully aware of our mind speak.”

“I sense that you are a leader among your race. I will call you Primus which means chief among others.”

Although the huge bird did not reply, Analia somehow sensed that it was pleased with the name. “You will not harm me or Whiff?” She commanded. “For that is my wish.”

Analia could see the heads of all the great birds turn in her direction at once. She sensed that she was to be treated with the utmost honor and respect; however, the thought of not harming a dragon apparently displeased them and went wholly against their primal instincts. She was startled when Primus let out a loud ear-splitting sound, so loud it almost felt like a physical impact. The surrounding birds replied in unison to his screech, and then quietened down. Their riders glanced at each other in fear and unease, completely unaware of what had transpired.

For several hours they continued on in a northeasterly direction. As dawn was breaking over the gentle rolling hills and valleys below, Analia could see the gleaming of a large city in the distance. Within minutes, the city grew into a large metropolis on an island in the center of a great river. There were several large buildings along the river with towers rising into the air, but they did not appear strong enough to be castles.

As they drew nearer, she spotted docks along the river with barges and long ships tied up along the quays and other ships slowly making their way up and down the wide dark river. A large hill dominated the eastern side of the great waterway and positioned on top of the hill was an enormous castle. Great red roofed houses and massive estates surrounded the castle, with ten to fifteen meter walls and cobblestoned streets. They were evidently the homes of the wealthy. The city extended off into the distance and to her eyes it was much larger than Lorainne, the Capitol of Camalund, and the population must be at least twice the size.

As they neared the enormous castle, massive stone walls at least thirty meters in height and a good five meters thick surrounded it. Corner towers were built every fifty meters with battlements running in between and the castle itself extended for a good square kilometer. Within the walls immense keeps and towers filled most of the space, but there were open courtyards where knights and men-at-arms could be seen drilling in the cool morning air. On the eastern side of the castle, five huge stone buildings as tall as the surrounding wall were built along the inner side and attached to the wall. It was to this area the flight squadron made its way.

As they approached, massive wooden doors opened in two of the buildings. The two foot thick doors, banded with stout iron straps, were so large a team of mules was needed to open each side of the double doors. They glided slowly into the buildings and landed on a small interior field covered with sand. As each of the female warriors dismounted, their mounts flew off to perches build along one side of the interior. A troop of men-at-arms or housecarls rushed over to surround Analia and Whiff as soon as they touched the soft sand. Another smaller group of splendidly dressed nobles and knights walked through the massive entrance and motioned for one of the female warriors.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Whiff,” Analia whispered. “They may not harm you if you don’t display hostility.”

“So now you’re telling me what to do, are you?” Whiff questioned. “I wasn’t hatched yesterday you know. The odds here are definitely not in my favor. I’ll hang around for a stretch; sort of keep my nose on the ground and my tail between my legs. But if Primus and his buddies decide to do something stupid, they’re will be a lot of roast bird for your dinner.”

The blue clad female warrior turned and approached Analia. “The King’s Regent, Lord Connahe, commands you to approach him,” the warrior stated. “Be certain to pay the proper respects and courtesies.”

Analia slowly walked over the soft sand until she was a few feet from a man dressed in exceptionally luxurious attire. His robe was of royal blue, with a short burgundy hip length jacket. His white trousers were tucked into shining black knee high boots. A billowing cape of red crimson on the outside and sky blue on the inside fell from his sturdy shoulders secured by two golden broaches. A massive gold chain was draped around his thin neck. He was a tall man, a good two meters, and very thin. His crown of sandy white hair indicated that he was elderly, but the smooth skin of his face and hands stipulated otherwise.

Analia curtsied as deep as she could muster without falling down. “I pray your Lordship will forgive my shabby appearance,” she stated. “I have been on a harrowing journey.”

The regent bowed so low that he almost touched the ground with the top of his head. “It would honor me if Your Imperial Highness would allow me to escort you to the king’s court.”

Analia was positively caught off guard.

“Did he say Your Imperial Highness?” she muttered to herself.





If you would like to read more of Analia's continuing adventures, all chapters have now been posted. Chapter four at:

STATIC

The Lone Traveler - Part Four  (13+) A young farm girl undertakes a fantastic and perilous journey in a Medieval like world. #2065690 by Oldwarrior