Page 50 of Dragon Fire

Livia also offered polite greetings of the day to the wizard. Gryffid seemed in better spirits this morning, though the thought of his missing spell book cast a pall over everything and everyone within the keep. No doubt things would be subdued on the island until it was recovered.

As if by magic, two plates full of food arrived at the table, placed in front of Livia and Seth by pleasant-faced servants. It seemed, when dining with the wizard, you didn’t have to go and fetch your own plates.

“I have had reports from the far cove about the sea dragons,” Gryffid said as the three of them began to eat breakfast. “Lady Shara is healing nicely with Lizbet and your friends Leo and Xanderanth to look after her. I have also spoken to Lord Skelaroth, leader of the sea dragon community that claims this part of the sea for its own. He has agreed to ally his forces with us for now. Dragons were created with the sacred duty to protect the world from the use of rogue magic. Once Skelaroth heard what had happened, he was eager to be of service. He is also interested in learning more about Sir Hrardorr and his abilities.” Gryffid nodded toward the dragon who sat just beyond the table. “I was asking Sir Hrardorr if he’d be willing to meet with Lord Skellaroth in the coming days and he agreed…with some reservations.”

“Reservations?”Seth sent privately to Hrardorr, concerned for his friend.“Are you all right with meeting this sea dragon lord? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do here, my friend. You’ve already saved this island once. They owe you, not the other way around.”

“Be at ease, Seth. My only reservations are that I am still blind, no matter what I may have been able to accomplish in battle. My…vanity…bothers me at times. I do not want to be seen as handicapped by these new dragons. It’s bad enough suffering the pity of the dragons in our land.”

Seth relaxed as Hrardorr’s words sounded in his mind, ringing with truth. Seth was glad it was something as simple as Hrardorr’s unwillingness to meet new dragons who might judge him because of his injury. The very fact that Hrardorr was willing to acknowledge the reasons behind his hesitancy was a big step forward, as far as Seth was concerned. He wondered if Hrardorr realized it, but Seth wasn’t about to point it out. Especially not when the wizard was still talking.

“I want you both to stay as long as you wish,” Gryffid was saying. “For your bravery in journeying here when the others in your land refused to come, you have earned an open invitation to travel between my land and yours whenever you wish and a guest room in the keep for as long as you want it.”

“That is incredibly generous of you, milord,” Livia answered politely as Seth nodded agreement with her words. “As you may know, my father left a small boat for my use. If it is all right, I’d like to stay on here for a while before returning home.”

“As would I, milord,” Seth put in. “Thank you for your kind and generous invitation. I would see Lady Shara healed more before I consider leaving. I might also be able to help with the other dragons if more will be joining her. I have been showing Lady Lizbet some of the techniques we use in the Lair and would be happy to train others while I’m here.”

“Very kind of you,” Gryffid said, nodding. “I have heard of the surgical instruments Jarel and his folk are working on. If they are successful—which they always are, eventually, I’ve found—I’d like to send you back with some of the sets of instruments as a gift to the dragons of your kingdom from us. And you are correct,” Gryffid went on, not pausing for thanks. “There will soon be dragons patrolling in the skies as well as the oceans. You see, the sea dragons have kept themselves apart from the affairs of men for so long, they lack some of the necessary skills. Skellaroth and I have devised a plan in consultation with General Falthith. Sea dragons will learn how to patrol from the sky with gryphon partners, then take those skills into the depths with them. Skellaroth will set up regular patrols around the circumference of the island, but I have asked Hrardorr to organize the training and lend his considerable wisdom as the only dragon who knows air, land and sea tactics.”

Gryffid nodded toward Hrardorr, and the dragon nodded just slightly as if he knew they were all looking at him.“Although I fear I may not be up to the task, I am honored to try,”Hrardorr finally spoke, including them all in his thoughts.“Xanderanth will assist, of course. He will have to help do the things I cannot, and it will be good experience for him, young as he is. He needs more responsibility. I believe this is just the ticket.”

“It is good of you to consider your subordinate’s needs,” Gryffid said with approval. “Xanderanth may be young, but even I can see he will grow into a mighty dragon in the not-too-distant future. He has the makings of greatness in him, and his knight partner has a pure and true heart. They are a good pair and, like you, will always be welcome here.”

“I may be crippled, but I will do what I can to uphold the ancient trust,”Hrardorr went on, surprising Seth.“We dragons were created to safeguard magic. We stand guard against infiltration of the Citadel, but we also have a duty to protect the knowledge from getting into the wrong hands. I failed here. The book that was taken is a great threat to our world and our way of life.”Hrardorr’s voice had taken on a solemn tone.“But there is more on this island, now that it is not hidden in the mists of time, that could be used against the forces of good. I will do all in my power to keep the rest of the magic on this island safe. If that means treating with sea dragons and training those who have not yet mastered the skills I once took for granted, then I will fulfill my duty.”

“And glad I am to hear it, too,” Gryffid said, confirming to Seth that the wizard had been awaiting the dragon’s decision. Perhaps that’s what Hrardorr had been thinking about so hard when Seth and Livia had arrived. “But, my friend, you did not fail. The theft of the book was my failure and mine alone,” Gryffid told the dragon, facing him, his expression one of compassion, fatigue and sadness.

“I don’t think anyone could have expected a ragtag group like that of having such a lofty goal as sneaking into one of the most magically fortified places in the world,” Livia said quietly, offering comfort.

“I should have been better prepared,” Gryffid said, sighing heavily. “In the old days, no one would have gotten past me, but I fear I’ve lived in peace for a little too long. When the island was hidden, I had little need for the strict vigilance I once took for granted. I must adjust to these new times and being out in the world again. I only pray it is not too late.”

Seth had no idea what to say to that. How did one truly comfort one of the most powerful beings in the world? Gryffid might look, and even act, like some benevolent grandfather, but he was truly unlike any other creature Seth had ever met.

Unlike the fey and the dragons and gryphons, Gryffid didn’t just seem immortal by human standards, hewasimmortal. He had lived longer than any of them had been alive. He had seen and done things in the faraway past that Seth only knew as ancient history.

Gryffid had participated in the wizard wars, for heaven’s sake. He’d designed and created the gryphons. An entire race of mighty beings owed their existence to the wizard, which seemed almost unbelievable to Seth.

Gryffid wasn’t a god. He didn’t pretend to be all-powerful and omnipotent. But he certainly had abilities that put him up there, alongside any deity Seth had ever heard about.

Perhaps that’s why so many of the wizards had turned bad. With such power, it wasn’t too hard to imagine one being tempted to believe in his own magnificence. And from there, it was probably a slippery slope to thinking all other beings were beneath you. That Gryffid hadn’t succumbed to that sort of thing spoke volumes for the man’s character to Seth’s way of thinking.

They continued their breakfast, talking about Lady Shara’s progress, and Hrardorr even said a few things about his plans for teaching the sea dragons to do what land dragons did on land as far as security functions and training. Seth was pleased to hear that Hrardorr planned to take an active role in the work, using the much younger and less experienced Xanderanth as his assistant—hiseyes, though Hrardorr never came out and said it that way.

When the wizard finished eating, Gryffid excused himself, saying he had more work to do in his library. Seth assumed the wizard was going to be casting protections around the remainder of his collection in hopes of preventing more theft. That left Livia and Seth with Hrardorr, finishing the last remnants of their meal.

“Has there been any more talk about a possible traitor in the keep?” Livia asked quietly.

“Not in so many words, but I did notice some new guards had been added to the corridors we passed on our way down this morning,” Seth observed.

“I thought so,” Livia said quickly. “And there are more armed soldiers at the entrances, as well. Both at the doors to this hall and at the entryway we passed on the way in.”

“Indeed,” Seth agreed, popping a last slice of fruit into his mouth.

He looked carefully around the great hall, noting the very obvious increase in the number of warriors standing watch over everyone within. He knew there were more stationed all over the keep now, after the vulnerability of Gryffid’s protections had already been breached. Too late to stop the theft that had already occurred, but perhaps the visible increase in security would deter any further problems? Seth wasn’t so sure.

If there really was a traitor among Gryffid’s people, he or she wouldn’t cease their clandestine acts so easily. Not when they’d already succeeded. They’d had plenty of time to lay their plans, while Gryffid had only had a day or two to realize his own protections hadn’t been good enough. Seth thought privately that if the traitor was going to do further mischief, he or she would do it now, to prove the point that, no matter how many guards Gryffid put in place, he was still vulnerable.

The worst sort of punishment someone like Gryffid could have was knowing they were vulnerable, despite all their imagined power. Shaking Gryffid’s confidence was the ultimate blow and could make the wizard doubt himself if and when he needed to act.

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