Kazin's Quest: Book I of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (63 page)

Della took her glass and drank with her eyes closed, savouring every gulp.

“I wonder if this milk came from my dad’s cows?” whispered Sherman into Kazin’s ear.

Della, who sat on the other side of Kazin, overheard the comment. “You have cows?” she asked the warrior.

“My parents do,” said Sherman. “I grew up on a farm.”

“It must have been wonderful!” exclaimed Della. “Why would you leave when you could have fresh milk every day?”

“I never thought of it that way,” said Sherman. “I always viewed it as a lot of hard work.”

Della gave the big warrior a strange look.

Part VII

The Election Battle

Chapter 50

S
o this was a royal visit?” asked Kazin.

“Yes,” answered Della. “I’m just surprised at how fast King Mython and Perenia got here.” She walked casually beside the mage. It was night-time, but some shops in the square were just closing up. They did not want to miss out on the business generated by the elf king’s visit and the many elves thus attracted from smaller communities in the area.

“I think the centaur king acted mainly on Perenia’s insistence,” mused Kazin. “She knew where we were going and what we were trying to do, and she probably felt that she owed us for what we did for her father and her people. Without her presence here, it would have been harder to convince your king that things were as bad as they seemed. The centaur king’s capture and subsequent escape were fresh on the elf king’s mind when we first arrived. That, more than anything, was enough to get us started on negotiations.”

“I’m glad it worked out,” said Della. “I guess your decision to go up into the mountains was the right one after all. I doubt Frosty would even have convinced my king of the danger otherwise. Even if my king were convinced, he would have been bottled up with the raiders threatening here in the south.” She looked up at the mage with a smile. “You sure fried them but good! I wish my arrows made half as much damage as you did!”

“Your contribution was more important—and more hazardous,” countered Kazin. “We needed the enemy to wonder what was happening at first so that Zylor and Harran could do their job. If I had flown in there outright, the enemy would know where the attack came from and would have acted accordingly. The mages would have combined their magic against me, and any archers would know exactly what to do. With you, Perenia, and Frosty, it was a gradual escalation of chaos. The enemy was too busy looking for other attackers to know it was just you three causing all the confusion. You were in more danger than I was, charging through the enemies’ midst the way you did!”

“You were in even more danger than I,” argued Della. “That demon was everyone’s biggest threat.”

“That’s true,” said Kazin. “I certainly didn’t count on meeting one of those. It’s a good thing Frosty knew how to deal with it.”

“Did he kill it?” asked Della.

“No,” said Kazin. “He used his horn to send it back into the netherworld.”

“I hope it stays there,” said Della, shuddering.

Kazin removed his cloak and put it around her shoulders. At first she looked up questioningly but then she turned away and hid her smile. In so doing, she spotted someone she knew hurrying across the square.

“Father!” she cried suddenly and sprinted away with Kazin’s low-hanging cloak flying out behind her. She ran across the square and literally pounced on an elf, giving him a huge bear hug. Kazin shrugged his shoulders and allowed the elf to reunite with her father. He walked slowly along the shops on his side of the square and looked with detached curiosity at the vendors’ displays in the torchlight as they were closing up. With one eye he watched Della and her father.

When Della finally released her father, Kazin heard him say, “Della! I’m glad you’re back! Did you see the king—?” He couldn’t hear the rest but could well imagine what the elf would have to say regarding their recent adventures.

Then he came across an herb shop whose owner was lazily going about closing his shop. Kazin drew near and the elf looked up.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“Perhaps,” said Kazin. “I’ve been all over, but I can’t seem to find a special herb to deal with an upset stomach.”

“What is the nature of your ailment?” asked the elf. “I have magical expertise that may help ease the problem without the use of herbs.”

“My problem is not one that can be healed,” said Kazin. “It is a burning in the stomach that returns without warning.”

“It is a common problem,” said the elf. “Are you sure—?”

“Mine is more serious,” interrupted Kazin. “I’ve had many clerics make the attempt, but none have succeeded.”

“Have you tried the clerics’ tower in your lands?” asked the elf. “Surely they have the power to heal you with their combined magic?”

Kazin nodded. “I’ve tried there. My problem is more—magical in nature.”

The elf considered Kazin’s words carefully. “Is it a curse?” he asked.

“Of a sort,” said Kazin evasively. “Listen, if you don’t have—.”

“I’ll be right back,” said the elf quickly. “Just wait right here.” He ran off into the back of his shop.

Kazin breathed a sigh of relief. He knew the elf was merely trying to help, but the questions were unnerving. He didn’t want to give away his alternate identity just to purchase some herbs.

He turned to watch Della and was surprised to see that she was pointing in his direction. She spoke excitedly with her father and he frowned as he looked at Kazin, his face looking rather gloomy in the torchlight above him. When Della stopped talking, he turned back to her and shook his head. He started to say something but Della cut him off.

“How could you say that?!” she exclaimed. Then she lowered her tone and spoke angrily, her father answering in angry tones as well. It was clear to Kazin that they were talking about him.

He turned back to the shop owner as he returned from the back.

“I’ve got just the thing for your condition,” said the elf jovially. “I thought I had run out, but luckily I always pack spare supplies.” He handed Kazin a rough pouch containing a leafy material. “It’s hard to come by down here, but it’s effective. Don’t take more than three leaves every two hours, though. It’s poisonous in large amounts.”

“Poison?” asked Kazin.

The elf nodded but then grinned. “Don’t worry. You’re human, so you won’t die from the stuff. It’s only poisonous to elves. If you overdo it, you’ll only go blind.”

“Blind?” asked Kazin. He didn’t like the sound of that any better.

“There’s a positive side effect if you use it conservatively, though,” continued the elf. “You’ll temporarily be able to see much better in the dark.”

Kazin gaped. “You mean—?” He opened the sack and poured some of its contents out on the counter. It was wildhorn leaves.

“Careful with that!” said the elf anxiously. “I told you these leaves are hard to come by!”

“How do I know these will work?” hedged Kazin. “The clerics in the Tower of Hope have relatively easy access to these leaves. If they work for my condition, why didn’t they try using them?”

“Have you ever seen a human cleric using wildhorn leaves?” asked the elf.

Kazin recalled the days he spent in the Tower of Hope. “I can’t say that I have, but—.”

“They know that wildhorn leaves enhance the vision temporarily,” interrupted the elf. “They also know that the leaves can blind or kill in large doses. Why use an herb to enhance eyesight in the dark when a staff will do the job? Similarly, why use an herb that can potentially blind or kill? It is for that very reason that they have overlooked its other qualities.”

Kazin considered. Perhaps the elf was right. It all made sense. On the other hand, maybe he was being scammed. He thought not. The elf was trying to help. What harm was there in trying? “How much?” he asked.

“One silver,” said the elf.

Kazin knew it was a lot to pay for a pouch of wildhorn leaves, but considering how hard it was to find in this area, it was reasonable.

He paid the elf, thanked him, and turned to leave. Della was waving him over. Her father had a resigned expression on his face.

Kazin walked across the square and greeted Della’s father with a good-natured smile. “Hello. I understand you’re Della’s father?”

The elf, who looked no older than Kazin, nodded. “Yes. Greetings, human.”

“Father!” chastised Della. “I told you his name was Kazin!”

Her father nodded but said nothing.

There was an awkward silence.

“My father has a temporary shop set up around the corner,” said Della. “He’s selling more of his homemade flutes.” She pulled out the flute she had played on several occasions in the company of the companions. “He made this flute,” she said proudly. “It was his best one!”

Kazin already knew that—she had told him about it often—but took the cue and gasped. “So it’s you who made that flute!” exclaimed Kazin. “It’s the most wonderful instrument I have ever seen or heard!”

Della’s father’s face softened somewhat and he nodded shyly. “It’s a talent I seem to have,” he said.

“You are too modest!” said Kazin. “Your talent is beyond compare!”

Della’s father’s eyes narrowed. “It probably looks that way to you because you don’t know how talented elves are in general. In your human world, you know nothing of detail and precise craftsmanship in the creation of various things, however delicate.”

“Father!” berated Della.

Her father looked at her unemotionally.

“He’s right,” said Kazin suddenly.

The elves looked at him curiously.

“Where I come from, there is nothing comparable,” said Kazin. “It’s a shame we aren’t often allowed to have a look at the creations of the elves. We could learn much.”

Della’s father relaxed a little.

“You are right, hum—I mean—Kazin,” said Della’s father. “Our race has much to offer.”

“Your talent, and the talents of the other elves, would be welcomed among my people,” said Kazin. “We have come a long way with the dwarves in the exchange of knowledge and goods. Perhaps one day the elves will be even more open to trade than they are now. Much improvement has been made in the past several decades, and the exchange of herbs and ointments for meat and milk is only a start.”

Della’s father smacked his lips at the mention of milk. “That is one very good trade arrangement,” he agreed. The elf turned to his daughter. “Della, would you be so kind as to fetch me a jug of fresh milk? I haven’t had any for days!”

Della grinned. “Sure, father. The inn down the street should have some.”

“Excellent,” said the elf. He handed her some coins. “Hurry now. I’m thirsty!”

Della looked uncertainly at Kazin and then ran off.

Della’s father turned to Kazin. “Della has told me much about you,” he said. “Is it true that you’re a dragon mage?”

Kazin sighed. Della had told him. “Yes, I am.”

The elf seemed interested. “Then perhaps it is possible,” he mused.

“Pardon?” asked Kazin.

A short smile appeared at the corners of the elf’s mouth. “Nothing. Tell me about this recent battle of yours, Kazin.”

Kazin related the events in the Five Fingers Mountains leading up to the battle in the Waste. Oddly, Della’s father seemed more interested in Kazin’s thoughts and feelings than in the events themselves. He also asked Kazin what role Della played in the events and was surprised to learn of her brave ride through the heart of the enemy camp.

They were just finishing their discussion when Della’s father spotted her across the square. He quickly put a hand on Kazin’s shoulder. “You take good care of her, Kazin, understand? She can be very headstrong.”

Kazin never got a chance the question the elf on that remark.

Della arrived and handed her father the jug of milk. “Here you go, Father.”

“Thank you, my dear,” said the elf. He opened the jug and drank deeply. When he finished, he closed the lid and wiped a hand across his mouth. “Delicious!”

“I bet you haven’t even told Kazin your name, have you, Father?” said Della. She was still somewhat angry with him.

Della’s father blinked. “You’re right! I completely forgot!” He turned to Kazin and held out his hand. “My name is Simon.”

Kazin shook his hand and smiled. Simon smiled back. Della looked back and forth between the two in bewilderment. This sudden change of heart had caught her off guard.

Simon looked at his daughter with a twitch of a smile. “I’d better get to my inn. It’s been a long day. Make sure you see me before you leave, or I’ll have your hide. Your mother is still fuming about your last disappearance.”

“But I told you, I had to bring back the unicorn!” said Della.

“I’ll be sure to tell your mother,” said Simon. “But I don’t think it will help. She wants you to go home and face the music.”

Della grinned. “I like the music from your instruments better, Father.”

Simon laughed and kissed his daughter. Then he nodded at Kazin. “Bye, Kazin. Remember what I said.”

When he left, Della looked at Kazin curiously. “Remember what? What were you guys talking about?”

Kazin grinned mischievously. “Oh, nothing much.”

“Tell me!” demanded the elf.

Kazin smiled but said nothing. He started back in the direction of the companions’ inn.

“You’re incorrigible!” exclaimed Della, sprinting after him.

Chapter 51

T
he following morning the companions gathered at the front of their inn.

“Are you sure you have to leave us?” asked Kazin.

Frosty nodded. “Yes. Don’t worry, Kazin. You’ll be fine for a while.”

“It’s you I’m worried about,” said Kazin.

“I’ll be fine,” said Frosty. “The pegasi are unpredictable, but not dangerous—unless they are provoked. Besides, I’m obligated to do this.”

“But what about the page of the Book of Prophesy?” pressed Kazin.

“Someone will be filling in for me,” said the unicorn.

“Who?” asked Milena.

Suddenly Perenia came galloping up to them. “I just heard you were all leaving. Is this true?”

“Yes,” said Kazin. “We’re going to sail for the Tower of the Stars, and from there to the Tower of Strength. I suspect it’s time I got involved with the northern effort.”