“That would be me. Large in all good ways, as I’ve already admitted,” Quint chuckled.
Dancer said, “How important is an Earl?”
Quint might have hesitated, but did not. “An Earl becomes king if there is no direct heir, which there is not. My father is the Grand Earl, so he is the next in line for the crown. And that is the primary reason for the invasion, from the highlands of Aare, if my guess is correct. Some prefer another to sit on the throne when Ember dies.”
They walked in silence for a short while. Raymer said, “If your father becomes king, what will happen to you?”
“I will become the Earl of Northwood, and the next in line to the throne. Of course, my father may abdicate, refusing the throne, so I would be next in the line of succession.”
Raymer couldn’t fathom the idea that the man who had occupied the cell next to him for a year might one day be king. It did explain why Quint had been hidden away in the summer palace dungeon where he could be used as a hostage by the King if it should ever be required. It was also a place of secrecy where only a few people knew about the royal prisoner.
As Raymer considered the implications, he came to the conclusion that King Ember could also deny knowing Quint was held in his remote dungeon. The King could twist the story to one where he found out where the second in line to the throne was being held captive, and then released him.
Dancer also seemed to be thinking instead of talking. Finally, he asked, “Who are the soldiers from last night?”
Quint answered, “That’s a question I cannot answer. I can’t fathom King Ember joining forces with another kingdom to attack Northwood, but it is even more unlikely that they chose the exact same time to invade us.”
Dancer paused before topping a ridge where they could be seen from afar. He turned to Raymer, “So now we have these new soldiers sweeping in from the east, and we have a mysterious group of Dragon Clan at the Summer Palace.”
Raymer nodded and turned to look at Ander. “Add to that, the son of the Earl of Northwood is with us. And he is not the only son of an earl traveling with us.”
Ander had been too far behind to hear much of the whispered conversation. Now he stepped forward. “What is my sin?”
“Coincidence,” Raymer snapped.
“What is a coincidence? I chose, this time, to leave my position and join with you.”
Quint said, “That has still been bothering me, too. Maybe accepted you too quickly.”
Raymer said, “And your answers were vague.”
“You never set out to join us,” Quint said. “You’re here by accident. You woke and found yourself our prisoner and then conveniently decided you wanted a change in your life.”
Dancer said, “I have a question. What would happen to King Ember’s Dungeon Master who allowed his two most important political prisoners to escape?”
All of them looked at Ander with varying measures of distrust. He said, “I have been loyal to you. I have helped you ever since your escape. What more do you want?”
Dancer took a menacing step closer. “I want you to answer my question.”
“I guess the King would put me in one of his other dungeons. Or have me killed.”
“Unless you managed to rectify the situation,” Dancer said. “I notice you often travel at the rear, and you explore around your camps. Alone.”
“Meaning?” Ander asked, his anger rising.
Dancer said, “You might be leaving messages for those following you.”
“That might be the case except, as far as I know there are none following us. If they did, they would find your village, and that hasn’t happened, has it?”
“You’d better hope it hasn’t,” Dancer said.
Quint stepped between them. “Listen to me. Both of you. We have other things to worry about for now.”
“You trust him?” Raymer asked Quint, nodding in Ander’s direction.
“I don’t even trust you,” Quint said with a disarming smile. “But Ander here told the truth a while ago, and none of you heard it. When he woke up after we kidnapped him, he realized the King would have him tortured and killed for allowing us to escape. Sticking with us was his only chance.”
“Not because he wanted a change in his life?” Raymer asked.
“Maybe a little of that, too. But mostly because he saw that if we make it back to Castle Warrington, he can spin it so my family welcomes him as a hero. He is the son of an Earl and therefore in the royal lineage to wear the crown, although his ranking is probably below a hundred.”
Ander’s neck and face tinged pink.
Quint continued, “He is just looking for a way out of a difficult situation. Nothing wrong with that. And he’s right. He has been about as helpful as a high-born son who knows nothing outside a ballroom can be.”
Dancer said, “We had better be moving. I think by going west we can slip past the Aare. Fleet, you go up ahead and scout.”
As if glad to be free of adult conversations and accusations, the youth quickly moved ahead and was soon lost to sight in the scrub and thick brush. They moved quickly, their travel more downhill than up. By midday, the steep mountains gave way to rounded hills, some with wide valleys of grass and streams.
The warmth of the day and the surroundings made it almost seem as if they were out for a walk rather than a rescue mission. Raymer realized the warmth he felt on his back was more than the sun. It was the dragon again. Carefully, so the others didn’t notice, he raised his eyes and scanned for the creature, but didn’t spot it. Still, it was near enough for him to feel.
He shifted his attention to Dancer, looking for any sort of recognition the dragon was fairly close. When nothing revealed itself, Raymer wondered if he was more sensitive. If he tried, could he call the dragon to this place? He felt he could, but longed for a conversation with a Dragon Clan elder, like Myron. Just the two of them. The one thing he felt sure he knew was that he knew almost nothing of bonding or of being an adult in the Dragon Clan.
“How far to Northwood?” Raymer asked.
Quint shrugged, “Technically we’re there, I believe, at least near the border. Fairwinds Province is almost due west if I have my directions right, and my home is there.”
“Castle Warrington?” Raymer asked.
“Does that bother you?” Quint said while walking on and never turning his head.
Raymer followed in silence for ten or twelve steps. “Yes, I guess it does. My family, like all the Dragon Clan, has been persecuted and put to death by royalty for generations.”
Dancer slowed and allowed them to catch up a few steps, his head cocked, and he listened for the answer.
Quint shrugged, and his back stiffened. “If you’re looking for an apology or a promise of some sort, forget it. You have stories of persecution. I have stories of massacres from dragons attacking innocent villages.”
“And of people who have strange powers they use to defeat ordinary people. What chance do normal people have when flying dragons are on the side of their enemies?” Ander said. “Dragons that swoop down and spit fire and burn towns and villages at the whim of your people. Who knows what else your witches control. People get sick and die, cattle catch diseases, crops fail, and wells dry up.”
Quint picked up Ander’s line of thinking as if he shared the same thoughts. “After your people curse us with those things, do you wonder why we hate you?”
“We cannot do all those things,” Raymer said, disbelief clear in his voice.
“Let me have my say,” Quint continued. “You say that your family cannot do all those things. Which of them can they not do? No matter. Whatever they can do is more than any in my family or any in my kingdom. Our greatest fear is that somehow the Dragon Clan one day gains power.”