Dragons of the Valley (27 page)

Bealomondore saw Tipper frantically scooting backward. She used her booted foot to propel her. Taeda Bel stood between her mistress and a charging foe. The tumanhofer artist raced to intercept the villain.

Tipper yelled, “Be careful!”

Of course he aimed to be careful. He wanted to tell her to take cover but didn’t have the time. He pinned his attention on the marione he opposed at the moment.

The young man, who had pretended to be the son of the owner, fought with vigor but not much skill. The tumanhofer worked to keep from stabbing the fellow with a fatal blow. Injuring Danto Posh so that he could no longer fight was Bealomondore’s goal.

The chaos around him grew less frenzied as Librettowit and Paladin downed their opponents.

“Give it up,” said Bealomondore to Danto. “I’ve no wish to kill you.”

With a panicked look around him, the young marione saw that he alone still stood from his party. He cast a glance behind him, where Librettowit now blocked a retreat.

“Don’t run,” commanded Paladin. “Talk to me.”

Danto lowered his weapon.

“Drop it,” said Paladin.

The marione’s knuckles turned white before he loosened his grip and let his sword fall.

Bealomondore heard a rustling behind him and jumped to defend himself. Wizard Fenworth stood a few feet away on the bank of the river. Leaves and vines still clung to his garments. The wizard scowled.

“Pesky invaders. They disturbed my deliberations.” He shook his head as if clearing something from his brain. The usual multitude of tiny bugs flew out of his hair and beard. “No matter. I have a plan completely formed and ready to implement.”

“Really?” Librettowit snorted. “Completely? Ha!”

Bealomondore cleaned his sword and sheathed it. The bisonbeck lying at his feet groaned. Librettowit glared at him.

Fenworth stretched out a hand, pointing at the downed warrior. “So untidy, leaving bodies all around.” He snapped the fingers of his other hand, and the man disappeared.

Bealomondore gulped. He looked at Danto and saw the marione’s eyes widen as his face paled.

The wizard repeated his pointing and finger snapping until only
Danto Posh remained of the outfit from the boat stop. The captive’s eyes darted from one of the wizard’s companions to the next. Bealomondore thought he would jump out of his skin.

The tumanhofer artist took a firm grip of Danto’s sleeve.

“Are you going to kill me? Am I a prisoner?” Danto Posh jabbed a finger at the spots where his comrades had fallen. “Where’d they go?” His body jittered, and his tongue kept spewing out questions. “Who are you? You’re not regular citizens of Chiril. You don’t look like an army unit. Who are you?”

Fenworth wagged his head. “Talks too much.”

A long snake slid out from under the wizard’s robe and shot across the grass toward the marione captive. The man screeched. Bealomondore lifted his sword, but the snake shot past him and disappeared into the pond.

Fenworth’s scowl grew deeper, and he wagged his head again. “I can’t abide the excitable people on this side of the globe, Librettowit. I think we should go home.”

“In all fairness,” said his librarian, “the people of Amara also tend to shriek and holler under snakish situations.”

“Quite.”

“And Wulder would not have us leave before our task is done.”

The wizard patted his stomach. “Did we have refreshments?”

“We did,” said Hollee. “I saved you some.”

“What a good kimen you are.” He smiled benevolently at them all. “I shall eat, then be on my way. Librettowit, I shall ask you to accompany me on this urgent venture.”

The librarian closed his eyes, as if drawing on inner strength. “It’s not a quest, is it?”

“No, a building project.” Wizard Fenworth beamed and gave his tumanhofer friend a wink. “And the outside is already made.”

Librettowit sighed. “I’ll go.”

“Me too,” said Hollee.

“Of course,” said the wizard.

Hollee frowned. “Where did you send those others?”

“An island. A pleasant sort of place. A few hungry predators, but other than that, a wonderful vacation spot. I deemed those fellows to be too intense, in need of hours and hours of peaceful meditation. I daresay they shan’t bother us again.”

He turned to address Paladin. “You wanted to question this man?”

“Yes.”

“He’s likely to tell you a lot of nonsense.”

“I’m expecting that.”

“Well, if you venture into his mind, try to avoid the self-righteous rigmarole. It’s sticky stuff and can ruin your attitude.”

“I will avoid all rigmarole, sir.”

“Where’s this leftover fish, Hollee? We’ve got whirling to do. But first I must eat.”

Librettowit followed Hollee as she led the way to the campfire. The branches had settled into a bed of coals.

“Just right for warming buns. A bit of jam and nordy rolls.” He searched his hollows and brought out a lumpy cloth bag.

“Yes,” said Fenworth. “Hollee, you are going to like nordy rolls.”

Bealomondore handed Danto Posh over to Paladin and sat on the boulder next to Tipper to watch the interrogation.

Paladin clamped a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “You will tell me the truth.”

Danto Posh nodded.

“Who sent you to the boat stop?”

“My mother”—at the second word he drooled an oily black substance with his speech—“bought the boat stop, and we came together.”

Danto wiped the slime from his chin and looked at it in horror. “What is this?”

“Why don’t you tell me the truth and see if it goes away?”

Danto gulped, then made a horrible face as if he had swallowed something foul. He rubbed his mouth on his sleeve.

Blinking his eyes rapidly, he began again. “Things are pretty bad back home—”

“Where is back home?”

“Baardack.”

“Continue.”

“And I got this opportunity for some work. So I took it.”

Bealomondore watched carefully. So far nothing more oozed from Danto’s mouth.

“A job?” asked Paladin.

Danto nodded.

“An honest job?”

He nodded again with his lips clamped together. He barely kept the black bile in his mouth for two seconds before he gagged and spit it out.

He glared at Paladin. “What are you doing to me?”

Paladin shrugged. “I’m not doing a thing. You’re the one who controls what comes out of your mouth.”

Danto sputtered. “This is impossible.”

“Why don’t you tell me about the job you were hired to do?”

Posh heaved in a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking the time to examine those watching. Bealomondore gave him a supportive nod when their eyes met.

The artist felt sympathy for the man’s confusion. Dealing with Fenworth, Verrin Schope, and Paladin had often left the tumanhofer befuddled.

“It’s better to accept,” he said by way of encouragement, “that the ruler of these people is much more powerful than your King Odidoddex.”

“King Yellat?” Danto sounded doubtful.

“No,” said Paladin. “I serve Wulder, and He doesn’t like deception.”

Danto looked like he would ask another question but thought better of it.

Paladin guided him over to a fallen log. “Have a seat. Have you eaten lately? I know that bile leaves an awful taste in your mouth. Perhaps Taeda Bel and Tipper will fix you something to eat while we have a pleasant conversation.”

Tipper rose to her feet and exclaimed, “The pain is gone! All gone.” She tapped her foot on the ground. “I’ll have to find my boot. Where is it, Taeda Bel?”

Taeda Bel jumped up and turned a somersault in the air. The kimen grabbed Tipper’s high top shoe and helped her get it on and laced. They went off together toward the campfire.

Paladin sat down next to Danto.

“Now, young man, what was your objective in occupying the boat stop?”

Danto looked to Bealomondore once more. The tumanhofer nodded while wondering why the marione had chosen him as some sort of confidant.

Danto told only the truth as he answered Paladin’s questions. He and his comrades had been sent to disrupt transportation, to cause shortages of goods, and to detain anyone who might have information that would benefit the commanders of the invading forces.

Tipper brought a plateful of fish and a bean casserole, a large chunk of bread, and cheese.

“Thank you,” said Danto. “You people are different.”

Tipper grinned. “Yes, we are.”

“You’re the princess?”

“Yes.”

“Really the princess?”

“Yes, really the princess.”

“What are you doing out here instead of living at your palace?”

“Well, I’ve never lived in the palace, and I’m not free to say why I’m here instead of in my grandfather’s home.”

Fenworth spoke up from where he sat by the fire, finishing his meal. “Doesn’t matter. She’s not going to be out here much longer doing what she is not going to tell you, as I am relieving her of the reason she is out here. Now where she goes next is an interesting puzzle.” He tilted his head as he looked her over. “My dear, would you like to take a vacation? An island perhaps?”

“Decidedly not.”

Hollee clamped her eyes shut as Fenworth started them on their journey. She focused on naming the numerous odors that drifted by in the rush of wind.

Her wizard had taken the two statues from Bealomondore and Tipper and put them in his hollows. He informed Hollee and Librettowit that they were going to build a suitable place for the
Trio
to be housed. Just before the commotion of whirling commenced, he told his two traveling companions they were going to a cave in the same valley in which Paladin had once lived.

Hollee could see flashes of light from behind her closed eyelids, but as the smells disappeared, the noises ceased, and the sense of air flowing erratically around her came to an end, she opened her eyes to total darkness. Hollee reached into the dark and grabbed Fenworth’s robes.

“Are we in the cave?” she asked. “Should I brighten up?”

“Yes, no, not yet,” said Wizard Fenworth.

“What? Give us a light, Fen,” Librettowit grumbled. “Keeping us in the dark? No good in that. I’d like to see where I’m going to be spending my time.”

“Coming, coming.”

A light flickered above her head, and Hollee saw a sputtering ball grow in her wizard’s outstretched palm. It grew until he had to hold it with two hands. The sight fascinated her so much that she forgot to look around. He placed it on the ground, and it continued to expand until it was as tall as Librettowit. The sphere emitted a series of popping noises and decreased in size.

“Here now,” admonished Fenworth, “none of that.”

A sizzle of complaint came from within the light, but the globe again began to expand.

When it was the same height as the wizard, including his pointy hat, Fenworth smiled. “That will do. Thank you.”

Hollee danced around the light and spoke to it. “You’re beautiful. Beautiful! Oh, you make my clothes feel tingly against my skin. I like you. I do!”

“Entirely suitable,” said Librettowit.

The tiny kimen looked over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the amazing chamber around them. Color exploded wherever the light hit the walls. She imagined that some collector of fine jewels had come into the plain cavern and embedded his best gems in glorious abandon on every surface. Floor, ceiling, and walls all sparkled as if they stood in a multicolored geode.

Hollee twirled around, trying to see all of the beauty in the crystal cave. Her whole kimen village would fit inside. And if it were possible to stack villages, then it would take ten, maybe fifteen, of her hamlet to reach the ceiling.

When she stopped twirling, she saw Librettowit helping Fenworth remove the statues from his robe.

“Right here in the center, don’t you think, Wit?” Fenworth scooted one statue to face inward.

“Agreed,” his librarian answered with enthusiasm. “Splendid idea, Fen. I can’t think when I’ve been so pleased to be part of one of your schemes.”

“I believe it must have been around four hundred years ago.”

“Ah yes, the castle by the towering waterfall.”

“Exactly. Move
Morning
a bit to the left, please.”

“Lightrocks! I see what you’re up to.”

Hollee joined them so that she could see as well. “You’re going to
put them together around those lightrocks? They weren’t here when we arrived.”

Fenworth grunted as he pushed the farmer statue into place.

“They were here, just not on the surface.”

Hollee put her back to the same statue and helped. “Do people come to this cave?”

“No,” said Fenworth. “There is no way in or out. That shall be our project.”

“You want people to come? What if they—”

“Steal the statues? We’ll set up a watch of dragons to prevent that. But this gift of Wulder’s must be seen. We can’t hide the cornerstone now that we have a proper place to display it.”

“Why not? I thought the idea was to hide them so they couldn’t be taken.”

“A temporary situation. In the end, these statues will cause thinkers to contemplate the completeness of Wulder’s world. Feelers will experience the solidarity of His love. Doers will be forced to stop and recognize a power beyond themselves, a purpose underlying their many actions.”

Librettowit gestured to the beautiful crystals surrounding them. “This will be a library of eternal truth, a museum of knowledge of Wulder, and a sanctuary for those who need His healing touch.”

Hollee clenched her hands together, trying to contain her excitement. Fenworth called for her help, and she let the energy flow into their task.

With a few small adjustments, they had
Day’s Deed
situated so that the farmer’s extended hand touched the fingers of the female kimen in
Evening Yearns
. The o’rant in
Morning Glory
connected
Evening Yearns
and
Day’s Deed
. Fenworth, Librettowit, and Hollee maneuvered the heavy statues until they brushed one another with the slightest of touch in exactly the right formation.

A hum rose from the statues as if their unity generated an energy force.