Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (62 page)

They passed through a square and many elves milled about in curiosity. Several elves gave exclamations of surprise and awe and pointed at Frosty and the others as they rode by. Many had never left their realm, preferring to stay within the confines of their homeland, so these strangers were a curious sight.

Then the companions rounded a corner and approached a finely crafted dwelling adorned with colourful flowers and shrubs. It was a much larger dwelling than those around it.

“The mayor’s house,” said Della. “I wonder why we’re going there? We wanted to see the king, not—oh!” she exclaimed suddenly.

“What is it?” asked Kazin. He was looking at the multi-hued trees on either side of the mayor’s entrance.

“There are royal guards at the mayor’s house!” said Della excitedly. “The king must be nearby! We may have lucked out!”

“It would save days off our journey,” said Frosty.

The border guards stopped at the mayor’s entrance and the tall elf spoke urgently with one of the royal guards, pointing occasionally in the unicorn’s direction.

The guard nodded and entered the mayor’s house. He came out momentarily and was followed by the king and what was presumably the mayor. Following them were two centaurs.

“Perenia and King Mython!” exclaimed Della.

Perenia spotted them in an instant but was temporarily hemmed in by the two kings in front of her. She had to be content with a wave for the moment.

Mython talked to the elven king urgently and the king nodded. Then both kings made their way over to the waiting companions.

“Welcome to the Elven Nation, friends,” said the elven king. “I am King Wenzel of the elves.” He indicated Mython. “This is King Mython, as some of you may already know. He owes his life to your selfless act of rescuing him and his warriors. What’s more, you caused a threatening army to be disabled before it could strike at the Elven Nation. My gratitude is therefore extended toward you wholeheartedly.”

Della flushed at her king’s praise and clutched Kazin tightly.

The king noticed the elf’s movement and looked at her curiously. “Ah!” he said, his eyes observing her keenly. “You must be the elf maiden I’ve been told about. There were some elves in my service who reported your sightings of a unicorn to me, but they all claimed that you must have been mistaken or were making false claims. It appears that you were right all along. You have brought the unicorn into our midst and made us look foolish because of our disbelief.

“Furthermore,” continued the king, “you have shown remarkable courage in the face of overwhelming odds. My subjects can take an example from your bravery. You have done well. I am proud to have such a loyal subject. I will see to it that you are rewarded.”

“Th-that’s not necessary—,” began Della.

“Nonsense,” said King Wenzel firmly. “Since I don’t have my treasury with me, I will give you a writ at tonight’s supper, requiring me to pay you in any way you choose. Within reason,” he added.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” said Della breathlessly.

The king looked at Frosty. “It appears the time to act has come, as it is written in our ancient texts. Welcome, unicorn, and advise us well in our objectives and our obligations to the other races.”

“It’s about time,” muttered Frosty to Kazin alone. To the king, he said, “Thank you, King Wenzel. I look forward to our discussions in the very near future.”

The king gave a short bow. “Please, come into the mayor’s house and we will discuss momentous events.”

The mayor, a short, wiry elf, wrung his hands nervously. Apparently, he was not accustomed to having four legged animals in his home. First it was centaurs, now it was a unicorn. In his opinion, humans and a dwarf were not much better, either.

Perenia pressed up against Milena’s horse. “Where’s the minotaur?” she asked.

“Right there,” said Milena, pointing at the attractive looking warrior behind her.

Perenia’s eyes widened. “What—?”

“Magic,” said Milena. “The fewer who know who he really is, the better.”

Perenia hid a giggle. “My mouth is sealed.” In spite of herself, she took another look.

The companions dismounted and left their horses in the care of the guards outside, and Perenia and Frosty led them into the mayor’s attractive house.

Inside was a large hall decorated with many musical instruments—apparently the mayor collected them—and the walls and ceiling were decorated in gold. In the middle of the hall rested an intricately carved wooden table with chairs on three sides. Perenia, her father, and Frosty stood at the remaining side facing the others.

The companions waited until the king of the elves was seated and had given his invitation for them to sit and make themselves comfortable at the table.

Kazin studied the elven king. He had silvery hair and dark brown eyes. His frame was rather heavy for an elf but by no means was he overweight. His clothes were silky smooth and had a silvery sheen to match his hair. There were laugh wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but these were the only sign of his age. The rest of his complexion was smooth and sun-browned.

When everyone was settled and introductions were made, King Wenzel cleared his throat. “It appears events in the human realm to the north have resulted in war. How such a thing happened, I’m not certain. I have received several letters from the Tower of Sorcery for aid in this matter, but as you know, we do not engage in the affairs of other races without some sign that we should take an active part. Many have put pressure on me to act sooner, but often these things are not as severe as they seem and tend to blow over after a short period of time.

“When the centaurs began to have increasing difficulties with raiders a few weeks ago, we were concerned, but not alarmed. The centaurs are a resilient race and can deal with such matters effectively.

“When things began to worsen for the centaurs and more and more of them sought refuge within our borders, we began to encounter some of these raiders ourselves. Due to the advanced warning of the centaurs, we were prepared for this eventuality and managed to drive the intruders off each time.

“However,” continued the elven king, “I received increasing pressure to act—to strike out at these unknown raiders—and destroy them before they became more powerful.” The king cleared his throat. “As you know, elves revere life, and to take life when it is not necessary is sacrilege. Only if we receive a sign that something drastic should be done do we respond. It has been that way for our race for thousands of years, and is so written in our ancient texts.

“King Mython and his entourage appeared at my border recently and requested an audience with me, which I happily granted,” said King Wenzel, looking at the centaur king across the table. “Once here, he spoke to me in detail regarding the battle of a few days ago, including the appearance of a unicorn and a dragon. This immediately drew my interest. If a unicorn was present, things were indeed as dire as the Tower of Sorcery had claimed.”

“Then you will aid the humans in the north?” asked Kazin eagerly.

“Yes,” said King Wenzel slowly. “But first we must help the centaurs to secure their own lands. The raiders suffered a defeat, but they haven’t been entirely eliminated yet. Roving bands of mercenaries and goblin wolf riders are still on the loose, causing upheaval wherever they go. When the lands to the south are secured, then we will be ready to sail north to assist the humans.”

“That could take a long time,” commented Frosty.

The king nodded sympathetically. “It probably will. There is much territory to cover. I certainly cannot send troops north before things are fully under control down here. I do not wish to leave my lands and peoples open to attack.”

“I wish we could help hurry things up a bit,” said Kazin dejectedly. “Many lives will be lost in the meantime.”

“What if you were given aerial support?” asked Frosty.

King Wenzel smiled ruefully. “I appreciate the offer, but even if you called on your dragon ally to assist you, it could take months to track down all the raiders.”

Kazin sighed and shook his head. “Then it’ll be too late,” he murmured.

Frosty shook his head vigorously. “I wasn’t talking about myself or the dragon. What I had in mind is something far better.”

“What did you have in mind?” asked Wenzel curiously.

“Pegasi,” said Frosty.

Everyone stared at the unicorn.

“But those beings have disappeared hundreds of years ago!” objected the mayor. “No one knows where they went after the last great battle!”

“I do,” said Frosty calmly.

The elven king leaned forward excitedly. “Pegasi could significantly reduce our tracking time and help us to secure the southern lands within weeks! Our forces could then be freed to help the humans in the north!”

“How soon do you think you will be able to send help?” asked Kazin eagerly.

The king sat back and considered. “Four weeks, maybe five.”

Frosty shook his head again. “I’ll give you two weeks. After that, you must send your biggest force north. A token army can stay behind to deal with the remnants of the southern raiders, if any remain by then.”

King Wenzel frowned. “You are hardly in a position to bargain, unicorn.”

“Oh, no?” said Frosty flippantly. “I know where the pegasi are. Furthermore, I know where the portal was that allowed the raiders into the south. I can help or hinder, and you of all people should know that I am a valuable ally. I came here to advise. You said so yourself.”

The companions blanched at the unicorn’s sudden change of attitude.

“You are not advising. You are threatening!” exclaimed the king.

“And you are toying with us!” growled Frosty angrily. “Two weeks is more than enough time to remove any threat in the south, yet you procrastinate, hoping things will settle down in the north so you won’t have to send an army after all! With that attitude, there will be no one left to aid, and no one will be left to aid you as your nation falls to the same evil!”

“You are being insolent, unicorn!” spluttered the elven king. “Do you not realize that I am a king?”

“So am I,” said Frosty calmly. “Since I am the only one of my kind, I am both king and peasant. As a king to a king, I would remind you that a good king assists his allies in their time of need and drops everything he is doing in order to help.”

“But not to the point of leaving my borders undefended against a possible threat!” retorted the king.

“I don’t think you grasp the enormity of the situation,” said Frosty. “The humans are being attacked by more than just minotaurs. There are lizardmages, orcs, goblins, and zombies being controlled by mages. Where they have come from is unknown, but the same forces are at work here in the south. Do not be surprised if there is a more serious threat behind these attacks. Magic is being wielded here that far exceeds our own. Those seated at this table have sacrificed much to close off the threat here in the south, and you owe them more than just a mild favour. You needn’t worry about any further danger to your lands for the moment. After two weeks of being routed, the raiders will no longer be a threat to anyone, least of all yourself!”

King Wenzel said nothing for a moment. When he spoke again, it was with a calmer, more reasonable attitude. “You’re right, unicorn,” he admitted. “The securing of the land can be achieved within two weeks with the aid of the pegasi. It is obvious to me now how dire the situation to the north really is. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be pressuring me so. I will send my forces north in two weeks, and they will support the humans as they did in the great war hundreds of years ago.” He shook his head. “Very rarely have I had to deal with such a head strong creature,” continued the elven king. “It proves the ancient texts were right about you. They state you will have your way during the dark period, and that the elves will be thrust into war. I was trying in vain to prevent my otherwise peaceful people from being subject to the horrors of war. But alas! Sometimes we have to fight to preserve the lands that we so cherish.”

“Then I will hold to my part of the bargain,” said Frosty. “The pegasi will be here in a couple of days.”

“When the threat in our lands is lessened sufficiently,” said King Mython, “my people will add our support to the elves and march north. You and your companions have done much for our people, and we will return the favour.”

“Your help is greatly appreciated,” said Milena, speaking at the table for the first time.

King Wenzel seemed to notice her for the first time. “You are a druid?” he asked.

“Yes,” she responded.

The king nodded at the centaur king. “There is your answer to the wolves, Mython. If anyone can create a barrier for wolves, a druid can. They have the power to turn trees into men.”

Mython looked at Milena. “Is this true?”

Milena nodded.

“Then my special thanks to you for giving us the head start that we needed to escape.”

“My pleasure,” said Milena.

“Do you think you can assist us with the wolves for the next couple of weeks?” asked Mython. “They are our greatest threat.”

“I’d love to but I can’t,” said Milena. “My obligation to the company I travel with is vital to their success. I have to keep them in good health during the long days ahead, for, if they fail, we will all fail.”

“I understand,” said Mython, but he looked at her cryptically.

“Fear not, Mython,” said King Wenzel. “Our archers and swordsmen will help you take care of the wolves. Without the goblins to control them, the wolves will eventually retreat far to the south.”

“What of the dragon?” asked the mayor. “Can he not aid in our cause?”

Wenzel looked at Frosty.

“Oh, he is,” said the unicorn, looking knowingly at Kazin. “In his own way.”

King Wenzel caught the look and gave a short gasp. “Of course!”

“What?” asked the mayor, confused.

“Later, Ralbert,” said the king, waving his hand dismissively. “Let us put aside this talk of war and celebrate our guests’ success of the other day! They must be famished after their long journey!” He clapped his hands and elves carrying trays of fresh fruit, bread, and meat entered the hall. Large pitchers of cold milk were also brought out and poured for each of the guests.