There were approximately two hundred dragons sitting on the ground around the little hill we were standing on. Watching us.
18
In Which the King of the Dragons Does Some Explaining
I swallowed hard, and for a moment I wished I were wearing my sword instead of carrying it under my arm. Every dragon from inside the Enchanted Forest had to be there, and quite a few from the Mountains of Morning as well. They were spread out in all directions, so I couldn't even see the ground.
The forest encircled the castle at a distance, and there seemed to be something wrong about the trees. I couldn't tell what, though, and besides, I had other things to worry about right then. Two hundred dragons, for instance.
I stepped forward and bowed carefully in all directions. One of the first things Mother taught me about dragons was that they expect a new arrival to make the first move. They always allow you one chance to convince them that you're too polite or too important to eat. I didn't think I could convince two hundred dragons that I was particularly important, especially since I didn't believe it myself, so I was going to have to rely on being polite. I took a deep breath.
"Sirs and madams, I apologize most profoundly for intruding upon you in this fashion, and I hope we have not inconvenienced you in any way," I said, trying not to shout while still talking loudly enough for all the dragons to hear. "Nevertheless, I offer you greetings in the name of myself and my companions, and I wish you good fortune in whatever endeavors are most important to you."
The dragons stirred briefly, then settled back again. After a moment, an old gray-green male slid forward. "We greet you and wish you well," he said. "May we know your names?"
I bowed again, the half bow of respect for a dragon of great age and uncertain status. "I thank you for your greeting," I said. "I am called Daystar, and my companions are Shiara and Nightwitch. This young dragon has graciously accompanied us for part of our journey."
Since some of them presumably knew the little dragon already, I didn't have to introduce it.
I didn't ask for the dragons' names. It's perfectly acceptable not to, and I didn't feel like standing there through two hundred introductions, especially since the dragons would expect me to remember them all.
"Well met, Daystar," the old dragon rumbled. "We've been expecting you since early this afternoon."
"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," I said. "We had problems with some wizards, and a cave-in, and a quozzel, and I didn't really know you were all here."
"Of course not. Telemain only told Kazul yesterday that you were coming. Silly way to do things, making everyone gather in such a hurry."
He looked at me for a minute, then nodded approvingly. "Well, come along; no sense wasting any more time. You might as well bring the girl and the cat, too. This way."
Our dragon lifted its head. "What about me?" It looked much smaller next to the full-grown dragons all around us, and it sounded considerably younger as well.
"You had better keep quiet," the older dragon said indulgently.
"You're in quite a bit of trouble already. I wouldn't make it worse if I were you."
"I don't have to keep quiet!" our dragon said. "I found a princess, even if I did decide not to keep her, and I fought a knight and bit a wizard. I can talk if I want to!"
The crowd of dragons shifted again, very slightly. Shiara shivered and held Nightwitch closer. I thought about wiping my hands on my tunic, but I didn't want to look too nervous. The older dragon just stood and stared at our dragon, which finally shook its head and settled back, watching the crowd below us with a sulky expression.
The old dragon smiled slightly. "What do you think?" he asked the crowd of dragons behind him.
All of the dragons roared at once. I couldn't tell what they were saying, or even if they were saying anything, but the old dragon nodded again and looked at the little dragon. "You'll get your wish, then.
Well, don't just stand there."
I nodded and stepped forward as the old dragon turned. Shiara followed behind me, very closely, and our dragon came behind her.
"Where are we going?" Shiara whispered to me.
The old dragon looked back over his shoulder, and his eyes glinted with amusement. "You're going to see Kazul."
"Oh," Shiara said. We stepped down from the little hill, and there was a loud clattering and rumbling as the dragons moved out of our way. I stopped short in shock.
The ground around the hill was dry and brown and bare. It looked even worse to me than it would have normally because I'd spent several days looking at the rich green moss in the Enchanted Forest and the contrast was striking. Then I remembered that we were still in the Enchanted Forest, and I started being worried as well as shocked. I knew from experience how fast the moss grew and how hard it was to clear off even a small strip of ground. I didn't like to think about what had stripped the moss from the area around the castle.
Shiara poked me, and I moved forward again. Fortunately, the dragon ahead of us hadn't noticed my pause. A few of the ones at the edge of the crowd had, but they seemed more amused than anything. I walked a little faster, trying to ignore the large shapes on either side of me.
With two hundred dragons around, I could waste a lot of time worrying if I wasn't careful.
The old dragon led us toward the castle. As we got closer, I could see that there were two shimmerings in the air around the castle, one a few feet inside the other. The outer one looked like a shifting green-and-silver veil, very thin and transparent. The inner one seemed to be a pale golden glow, but I couldn't be sure because the one on the outside kept shifting around, interfering with my seeing the inner one clearly. After a few minutes, I gave up on trying to look at the shimmerings and tried looking through them instead.
The shimmerings didn't get in the way at all, so I could see quite a bit of the castle. There was no wall around it, only the shimmerings and a water-filled moat just inside them. The castle itself was a wonderful, ram-bung-looking place, with six towers of various sizes, large square windows, and four balconies. I could see several stairways running up to oddly shaped doors or around the outsides of towers, and a lot of walls that seemed to be there just to confuse people. I was so busy studying the castle and the shimmerings that I almost didn't notice when the old dragon stopped. I was lucky not to step on his tail.
We were about halfway around the castle, and there seemed to be fewer dragons around. I was trying to guess which one was Kazul when the old dragon who had been leading us stepped a little to one side and bobbed his head respectfully.
"King Kazul, these are the travelers who wish to see you. That one's Daystar, the other one's Shiara, and the cat is Nightwitch."
Right away I bowed very deeply, and so did Shiara. I was relieved. I hadn't been completely sure Shiara would do any of the things I'd suggested.
As I straightened up, I got my first look at Kazul.
Even lying on the ground, she looked large for a dragon. Her scales were just beginning to turn gray around the edges, which surprised me; I'd expected someone older. Her eyes were hypnotic, green-gold ovals.
She was the most dangerous-looking dragon I'd ever seen.
Kazul smiled broadly. Dragons have a lot of teeth.
"So," she said, "you are the people Telemain sent through the Caves of Chance, and you have the Sword of the Sleeping King."
"Yes, Your Majesty," I said. I took the sword out from under my arm and held it up so she could see it better. "Mother gave it to me a few days ago, and I was told you would want to know about it."
"Ahhhhhh." As she looked at the sword, Kazul's eyes glowed.
Literally.
The light from them was a little like firelight, except it didn't flicker.