Silver Dragon Read online

  Alto found the first campfire a few minutes into the woods. Faint wisps of smoke rose from the dark embers, hinting at hotter coals beneath. A short hut made of rocks and pine boughs stood next to it. Alto peered through the morning shadows and saw the dark outlines of other huts scattered through the trees.

  A snarl from behind him made Alto stiffen. It looked as though there were more wolves in the mountains than just the ones he'd killed. He turned to his right and saw one walking closer to him. Another crept through the woods towards him and he heard a fresh howl from where he guessed he'd butchered the first one.

  A harsh cry made him cringe. He turned just enough to see a goblin had pushed some pine boughs away and was now gesturing at him with a short wooden spear. Others were calling out and emerging from their huts. Alto spun back in time to draw his sword and deter the first iron wolf from chewing on him with a warning swipe.

  The wolf leapt away and Alto leapt after it. He swung again and clipped its left hindquarter, severing the muscles and forcing the wolf into a sideways roll. He thrust his blade into its chest and jumped back to be ready for what came next. Another wolf was leaping for him but he brought his shield up in time to block it from snapping at his face. He fell back under the weight of the large hunter but brought his sword up in time to cut a lethal gash across its belly. Alto pushed the whining creature off into the snow and rose up to see two more wolves coming through the trees and several goblins approaching hesitantly.

  Alto howled at them, forcing his voice to sound like a gruffer version of the howl the wolves had made. The goblins paused but the wolves came on at him. So far he counted six goblins and two wolves, but the goblins were even less steady than usual.

  Alto slammed his hand into the engraved image of the crown floating over the mountain. Light burst out of the face of the shield in an arc that made the creatures, wolf and goblin alike, crouch and fall back. Alto laughed maniacally and charged at them, scattering the wolves before he turned and bore down on the goblins. Two goblins lay dead before the others thought to flee. One more fell before the other three could escape while screaming in their crude language.

  Alto slowed, now in the center of the village, and turned. Other goblins were emerging and staring at him, many with their hands held to block the light from his shield. Alto slammed his arm into it again and roared. He didn't see goblins staring at him; he saw the shield's light reflecting from the snow and sparkling. It reminded him of flames. The flames that had consumed his parents’ house and lit up their land so he could bury the bodies of his family.

  Alto charged forward into the closest of the huts, kicking the leaning boughs aside and using the sword that he'd taken from the butcher who had killed his family to destroy every goblin he could reach.

  Alto didn't stop until he realized the huts had been destroyed and the rocks that remained would not budge. He slumped to his knees, his shield resting on the ground and his sword hanging from loose fingers. He was covered in blood, but none of it was his. The goblins hadn't tried to fight back, only to defend themselves. He'd succeeded in terrifying them; whether it was the outfit or his ferocity he didn't know. He could see it in their beady little eyes as they tried to escape.

  A howl reminded him of the wolves. Alto turned and saw the two mountain wolves watching him through the trees. He scowled and lurched to his feet, and then pulled his bow off his back and fit an arrow to it. The wolves watched him without moving until he let his arrow go. The wolf leapt into the air and snapped at it. It turned until it could get its teeth on the shaft and gnawed at the arrow. The wolf continued to bite at it even as it fell to the ground. The other wolf looked to its fallen pack mate and then turned to stare at Alto. Alto fit another arrow to his string but the wolf learned from its fallen brother. It turned and fled.

  Alto grabbed his sword and sheathed it and then picked up his shield. He turned again and studied the destroyed goblin village. He nodded in grim satisfaction, and then glanced at the fire pits that still smoldered. Alto scowled. He didn't need a campfire now. He wasn't cold anymore.

  Chapter 9

  Patrina walked out of the northern gates of Holgasford ahead of the Blades of Leander. Mordrim walked at her side, clanking in his freshly polished and oiled plate mail. She stopped once they'd cleared the crowd of merchants and travelers and cupped her hands to her mouth. Patrina whistled as loud as she could but the shrill sound faded quickly on the open landscape.

  "You never were any good at that," Namitus said after stepping up beside her. "Want me to try?"

  "Winter won't come for you," she pointed out.

  Namitus shrugged and returned to the horse he'd been given by the jarl. They all waited and scanned the countryside until a white stallion came galloping from the east. Winter crossed the ground so fast he seemed as though he was trying to race his shadow from the morning sun behind him.

  "Took you long enough," Patrina teased the unicorn when he slowed to a trot and then bumped into her playfully. "I need your help."

  Winter snorted and tossed his head before he looked at her and waited for her to continue.

  "I know I don't need to ask, but I want to. It's Alto—"

  The unicorn stomped his foot.

  "Yes, again. He's gone off and done something stupid and we have to go and save him."

  Winter snorted.

  "Don't be like that. You know you'd do it anyhow."

  Patrina turned back and saw most of the others staring at her. Tristam and Garrick had open mouths and furrowed brows while the rest waited. Patrina raised her chin and said, "We're talking," she explained.

  Garrick snickered while Tristam cleared his throat and nodded. "Anything you say, my lady."

  Patrina stomped her foot and Winter whinnied. "It's not like that! He's magical. I know what he's saying even if he can't speak the words."

  "He's a fine stallion," Tristam agreed.

  Patrina let out a squeal of frustration and turned away. "You'll see," she promised before turning her attention back to Winter. "He's trying to find the dragon in charge of all the monsters in the mountains. He means to kill her."

  Winter pawed the ground and then crouched low to make it easier for Patrina to mount him. She grabbed his mane and pulled herself up, and then turned to the others. "He wants to hurry, but you're riding regular horses so he'll wait for you."

  They others turned to look at one another, and then jumped when Patrina said loudly, "Well? Mount up!"

  They scrambled onto their horses, or pony in Mordrim's case, and within a few minutes were ready to go. Patrina closed her eyes, whispered a prayer to Saint Syllenia, and then turned to the northeast. "We'll head this way," she said before urging Winter on with a gentle nudge from her feet.

  As they rode out, Mordrim and Garrick ended up riding side by side. The barbarian looked down at the dwarf and chuckled. "Little man on a little horse," he teased.

  "The right height to cut your horse out from under you!" the dwarf reminded him.

  Garrick's grin faded. He leaned over a little, nearly losing his balance, and then sat his saddle with a hint of color added to his cheeks. "Are all the nobles in this realm crazy enough to talk to their animals?" he asked after a few moments passed.

  "Crazy or not, I spent time with her on that beast and she's got the right of it. It's special, to be sure," Mordrim said. "Fast as the wind and they seem to know each other's mind without even speaking half the time."

  Garrick grunted. "There's a reason we don't ride horses in the north."

  "Afraid after a few drinks you might mistake them for your wives?" Mordrim asked.

  Garrick's eyes widened and he turned to glare at the dwarf. "Northern women are the finest in all the lands!"

  "Aye, no doubting that. They must be to be that scrawny and still be able to bear up under all the work left to them when their men are off playing in the snow."

  Garrick swore and reached for the sword on his back. The movement on the unfamiliar back of the horse
unbalanced him and made him sputter while he abandoned his blustering in favor of staying in his saddle.

  "That's enough, boys," Tristam called over to them. "Don't be making it any easier for them gobs to do their job."

  Garrick snorted. "No goblin can hurt me."

  "Maybe not one, but I seen men better armed and armored than you overwhelmed when the little biters come swarming. Sure, you're as tall and as strong as an oak but what happens when half a dozen of them try to chop you down with axes?"

  Garrick scowled and fell silent. Mordrim began to hum a happy dwarven tune and rode on behind the lady he'd pledged service to.

  They rode for three days, passing in and out of the area where fresh snow was beginning to cover the ash that dirtied the land. They found no sign of Alto but Patrina was steady in her course. They camped that night at the base of the foothills below the Northern Divide.

  "Is Saint Syllenia guiding you still?" Kar asked as they gathered close to the campfire that night.

  "I believe so," Patrina said.

  "Where do we go then? We're not far from the hidden cave that took us back into the mines through the troll's lair."

  "Why would Alto go back there?" Namitus asked.

  "I'm not going there," Patrina answered. "Or at least I don't think I am."

  "So where are we headed?" Tristam asked. "And winter or not, where's the animals and less savory sorts that we should be seeing this close to the mountains?"

  "Gold's gold," Patrina snapped at him. "You're being paid for this, isn't that what matters?"

  "Now hold on," Tristam argued. "Alto's a friend of mine, too. I taught the boy everything he knows about fighting and more than a few things beyond that. Being paid to sleep arse deep in the snow's one thing, but if I'm to do it, I'd just as soon make it count for something."

  "The fact that we're trying counts for something," Karthor interjected. He smiled when everyone looked at him before elaborating. "People see us doing this. They saw us in Holgasford and the few soldiers and travelers we've run across. It spreads the word of hope and good deeds. They will share the tale of people who are willing to fight the odds and endure hardship to do what is right."

  "You hit your head on an altar?" Kar asked.

  Karthor offered his father a smile. "No, I'm reminded of early attempts of the Church of Leander to establish itself through the use of wandering priests and missionaries. It seems to me that the northern reaches could use some more of that. It might do people well if times of hardship are coming to have some faith to fall back on. Give them hope and a reason to hold out."

  Kar snorted. "Give the vultures at the top extra time by using the common folk as fodder holding back the enemy until they can negotiate a more profitable truce."

  "My people do no such thing!" Patrina protested.

  Kar turned on her and raised his pipe to silence her. "Know you your history, Lady Patrina? When Holgasford was nothing more than a hill that men would meet to trade and drink, they gathered to tell stories of their conquests and little by little, they convinced themselves that they were better than those around them. They thought they'd set up their own nation."

  "My ancestors sent men to build Holgasford to protect our realm from the Kingdom and the savages in the mountains." She glared at the wizard.

  "Oh they did, and in doing that, they occupied a traditional meeting and trading ground. All the while the people that lived there continued to lose ground against wolves, goblins, northerners, and worse."

  Garrick scowled at the mention of his people.

  "It wasn't until they came asking for help that your ancestors sent their soldiers out and earned the subservience of the common folk."

  Patrina shook her head and protested. "There was never any intention to indenture anyone!"

  "Perhaps, but I wouldn't be so sure of it. Perhaps the road to the abyss is paved with good intentions." Kar shrugged and took a puff off his pipe. "What's done is done. Look now to the Kingdom, for they face this threat even more than your people do. Do you trust in the good intentions of the Kingdom royalty?"

  Patrina snorted and then caught herself. Kar smiled, seeing that she'd made a breakthrough in her own understanding of the way the world worked.

  "What about Alto?" Namitus asked, bringing them back to their task at hand.

  Patrina looked at Namitus and nodded. "Yes, Alto," she echoed. "If he's after Sarya, then the last time we saw her she was north of Highpeak. You were the one to see her."

  Namitus nodded at her reasoning. "Except I never saw her, I just heard her."

  "Close enough. You felt the wind from her wings. It feels right to me that we look for him there."

  "Intuition and inspiration," Kar said with a smile. He puffed on his pipe and then added, "You make it difficult for me to refute you."

  Patrina smiled too-sweetly at him and said, "Oh, I don't know about that. You seem to enjoy refuting people simply for the sake of hearing yourself argue."

  Kar's muttering response was drowned out by laughter.

  Watches were soon set for the night and they turned in, sleeping as close to the fire and to each other as they dared. Morning dawned cold and overcast, heralding fresh snowfall as they set out and headed into the foothills.

  They spent two more days travelling along the edge of the mountains. The sun broke out from time to time, giving them hope that the blast of wind and snow they'd just endured would be their last. It was not. They only thing they took heart from was the return of wildlife to the hills.

  More than a week away from Holgasford, Patrina paused before a ravine that cut between mountains. Highpeak was straight ahead of them to the west still, but she kept looking into the ravine that climbed up to a plateau. After well over a minute of debate, she turned and guided Winter onto the new course.

  The snow was deeper where Patrina led them. Mordrim's pony was dragging his belly and the sputtering dwarf's feet through the snow. Garrick glanced back and chuckled when he saw the dwarf's problem. A few moments later, a snowball burst against the back of his head. Garrick spun on his horse to glare back, only to lose his balance and topple out of his saddle.

  He rose up from where he'd fallen in the powder. Snow clung to the wolfskin cloak he wore and was slowly melting and running down the side of his face. Mordrim guffawed with laughter until the barbarian started stomping through the snow towards him.

  "Enough!" Patrina's voice carried to them.

  They looked up to see her and Winter at the top of the ravine. She was already staring ahead and motioning for them to join her with her hand.

  Garrick sent a last glare at the dwarf and then returned to his horse. He climbed onto the saddle and muttered a few choice words regarding his mount's fate and how it was related directly to the barbarian's next meal. A moment later and they were climbing up the ravine in Winter's footsteps until they crested the rise. Patrina had gone ahead on a path that led between some fallen rocks and occasional pine trees.

  "You guys really need to cool down," Namitus said to Garrick and Mordrim when he joined them on his borrowed steed.

  Kar scowled at the joke and spurred his horse to ride past them.

  "Up here!" Patrina called back, her voice echoing off the steep walls that rose on either side of them.

  When they joined her, they found her dismounted and standing near a large rift in the rock wall. The opening was shallow, going back no more than half a dozen feet, but it was large enough to fit three of their horses in.

  "Not much of a cave," Tristam observed. "Which is fine by me. I'm in no rush to find myself in another one already."

  "It's not a cave, it's a sentry post," Patrina said. She pointed out a large stump that sat near the entrance, as well as a large skin of water that was frozen to the ground. Bones of small animals were tossed on the floor near the entrance.

  "Sentry post for what?" Namitus asked.

  Tristam was already looking up and down the path. He pointed farther in and said, "Unless I miss
my guess, there are some huts up there. A village, maybe?"

  They walked their horses ahead, Garrick and Tristam taking the lead with their weapons in hand. It didn't take long to come to a clearing where six primitive huts were built. They were made of rocks, sticks, and the hides of large animals that were crudely stitched together. More important to them than the huts were the occupants. At the edge of the clearing, a partially eaten and completely frozen body of an ogre lay on the ground. Other snow-covered ogre-sized lumps lay in the small village ahead of them.

  "They've been killed," Namitus said after inspecting the gnawed-on body closest to them.

  Tristam snorted. "Ya think?"

  Namitus stood up and pointed at Karthor. "He's the healer! Ask him."

  Karthor glanced down at the corpse and shrugged. "The body's been eaten too much to know anything."

  "Why's this one over here?" Tristam asked. He turned and looked at the village. "And where are they over there?"

  Patrina and Garrick walked into the village and looked around. The fires were cold and the bodies frozen. Many had been chewed on by whatever animals found them first.

  "What kills a village of ogres and just walks away?" Mordrim muttered. "No other dwarfs in these mountains anymore."

  Garrick snickered. "Good thing—the ogres would have still been here to greet us!"

  Mordrim scowled at the barbarian.

  "A sword did this." Patrina rose up from the ogre she'd just been studying. "I'm not sure what kind, but it was a blade that could sever limbs and still stab deep into their bodies."

  Karthor studied the corpse at her feet and nodded. "Too narrow for a broadsword."

  Patrina nodded and turned to stare at the path to the north that led out of the village. "Make sense. Alto gave my father his broadsword. He wields a long sword now."

  "You think Alto did this?" Garrick blurted out. "He's a decent fighter but this many ogres? Come on!"