But his delight at his new talent was brief. As the dragons descended quickly out of the night toward the paved court, they were surprised to find that the old warehouse seemed to be full of griffons. The beasts were aware of the dragons as well, struggling and calling out fiercely in fury at the approach of their one natural enemy. Sir George leapt down from his saddle at the very moment Kharendaen settled to the ground, and both of the dragons hurried to release their leather straps so that they could change form and put an end to the uproar in the warehouse.
Thelvyn tossed his harness aside and immediately began to change his form, but in his haste, he failed to recall that he needed to rise to his hind legs as the transformation began. When he assumed human form, he was rather embarrassed to find himself on his hands and knees on the dusty paving stones of the court. Kharendaen changed form a moment later, in a more dignified manner, and the griffons within the warehouse began to quiet grudgingly.
Thelvyn turned to see Solveig and Korinn Bear Slayer hurrying across the yard from the house to join him. He was more embarrassed to have them see him pick himself up from the stones, until it occurred to him to wonder what Korinn was doing in Braejr. He realized at once that good news could not come from such a remarkable event, especially with the added curiosity of a warehouse full of griffons. Apparently messen-iters had been descending upon the Highlands in flocks.
"I hadn't expected you back so soon," Solveig said, needlessly helping him to stand. "Did you find the black dragon with the gold earring?"
"We did, for all the good it did us," Thelvyn said a bit sourly. "Is there some kind of trouble?"
"There's trouble of the worst kind," Korinn said. "But I'm pleased to see you again, all the same. Doubly pleased, under I he circumstances."
"That will take a few minutes of explanation," Solveig insisted. "It might as well be done over a quick dinner. Have you eaten?"
"Not since last night," Thelvyn said, still mystified.
Solveig had Taeryn and another servant collect the dragon saddle and Thelvyn's harness and move them to safekeeping in a storage room in the house. Since the tack smelled of dragon, they couldn't be kept with the griffons or even in the stables with the horses. Then Korinn collected Sir George's bag, and Solveig led them all into the house through the kitchen door. As they came into the soft light, Thelvyn saw for the first time that his hands and clothes were covered with a thick layer of gray dust, the result of his undignified transformation. He brushed his hands together, raising a small cloud of dust.
"What was that?" Korinn asked, sniffing the air suspiciously, as if he anticipated something magical.
"Pixie dust," Thelvyn said, disgruntled.
"Oh." The dwarf looked perplexed. "Where did you get pixie dust?"
"From grinding up dried pixies," Thelvyn answered impatiendy.
"I'll have dinner for you in a moment," Solveig said, looking quietly amused. "And if our good dwarf friend will oblige, he might fetch a bottle of cherry liqueur from the den."
Sir George smiled contentedly. "Ah, child, you haven't forgotten."
Korinn returned with the bottle of cherry liqueur, plus less distinctive drinks for the others, even before the plates were set on the table. Thelvyn had gone to wash up, and he returned to find that Darius Glantri had joined the others at the table. While the others ate in silence, Darius and Korinn told about the attacks on Thyatis and Rockhome two nights ago. Alessa arrived on horseback before they finished their meal. She explained quickly that most of Braejr had heard the screams of the griffons, which she assumed to have been in response to the arrival of dragons.
"Anyway, I sent the griffon riders in my company to check for reports of attacks in other lands," Darius concluded. "There were attacks that same night in Darokin and Alfheim, although Traladara seems to have been spared. Or perhaps ignored. In all cases, witnesses spoke of seeing the dark shapes of dragons against the night sky."
Solveig nodded grimly. "Since no one seems to have seen the attackers very clearly, at first I wondered if this was some trick of the Alphatians to breed fear and distrust between the Highlands and the dragons. But a griffon rider arrived from Thyatis this afternoon with the report that Alphatia was attacked at the same time."
"I can assure you that these attacks did not come from the Nation of Dragons," Kharendaen volunteered. "From last night until late this afternoon, we were in the company of First Speaker Marthaen and Jherdar, the leader of the red dragons. If something was happening among the dragons, they would have known about it. I also don't think that this was the work of rogue dragons."
"But we don't know for certain that dragons weren't involved," Alessa insisted. "This could have been the work of a band of rogues or renegades."
Kharendaen shook her head hopelessly. "No, I cannot deny that it might have been dragons. I just don't expect it."
"We know a few things you don't," Thelvyn began cautiously, taking stock of his secrets and which ones he might share now that it was important. "The Great One himself assigned me the quest of finding the Collar of the Dragons, and he told me that the dragons face a time of great trouble from an unexpected enemy. These attacks might have been
the work of this unknown enemy."
"What were the exact words of the prophecy that the Great One related to you?" Solveig asked.
"It wasn't exactly a prophecy," Thelvyn explained. "The Great One sat down with us and told us these things in plain language. No riddles. No vague warnings that don't make sense until it happens. He wasn't yet able to tell me exactly what we face, but there was no question of his warning. All I can tell you is that the Great One has taken some pretty remarkable and drastic steps to prepare for this threat, which he has apparently anticipated for years."
"But we still have only your word," Alessa insisted.
"Thelvyn's word is enough for most of us," Korinn declared gruffly.
"That's almost beside the point just now," Sir George said. "Whoever the attackers are, only the Dragonking can stop them, and he needs the Collar of the Dragons to do that."
Alessa paused a moment, as if in contemplation. Perhaps she was only putting a rein to her own fears and suspicions, since she seemed much calmer and more reasonable when she looked up. "Yes, of course. As it happens, I have discovered just what you need to know. The funny thing is that we've always known where to look, if we had just thought about it. As you know, the Flaem traveled between worlds for hundreds of years before setding here. In some of the places our ancestors passed through, they stayed for decades at a time, but they hardly lived in tents like the Ethengar."
"The Flaem don't talk much about their time of wandering," Thelvyn remarked, having always found that curious.
"No, we put that behind us when we decided to settle here," she explained. "But the wizards did keep records of those times. According to the records, the Flaem came into this world through a gateway that was opened in the wilderness near the city of Braastar."
Sir George looked up. "That's where Murodhir said he brought the Collar of the Dragons after he stole it."
"Then that would seem to prove my suspicion," Alessa said. "The wizards had a stronghold of their own in the last world where they dwelled, near the place where they opened the
gateway. That must be where Byen Kalestraan hid the collar."
"Then the missing conspirators would also be there?" Thelvyn asked.
"I suspect so," she said. "Although I don't think they would present you any serious problems in finding the collar and bringing it back with you. I have to admit that I really don't know any more than that. If you can locate the gateway, you should be able to force it to respond to your will. I don't know what you can expect to find on the other side."