Wizard in the Woods Read online

  “What is a ‘totem pole’?” his mother asked, confused.

  “I’m sorry. It’s a saying I’ve picked up from Steve. It refers to priorities. Straosia isn’t a priority. I know that. You know that. However, it’s still something father thinks about.”

  “How can you be so certain?” Callé asked, curious.

  Mikal was silent.

  “You’re not certain, are you?” Callé guessed as she gazed at her son’s face.

  Mikal slowly shook his head. “It was an educated guess.”

  “Mmm-hmm. You’re bored, aren’t you?”

  “Aye, I am. You have to help me, mother. Ask father to give me something to do. I’ve earned that right, don’t you think?”

  The door to his mother’s chamber suddenly opened. His father strode in. His father smiled warmly at his mother and then eyed him speculatively. The king closed the door and then took the seat next to his.

  “I’m sorry for intruding earlier, father,” Mikal told him, after a minute or two of uncomfortable silence had passed. “I was playing with Peanut. She ran into the Great Hall before I could stop her.”

  “You were playing,” his father repeated, using a strangely neutral tone of voice. His father eyed him in silence for another few seconds before he finally smiled. “I would have thought you’d be tired of playing by now.”

  Mikal jerked up straight in his chair. His face reddened. Had his father overheard the conversation with his mother?

  “The look on your face pleases me, son. I assume you’ve been discussing your restlessness with your mother?”

  “I, uh…”

  “We will have to work on your public speaking skills,” his father dryly observed. He reached up to take off his crown and set it on a nearby table. “Let me ask you a question, son.”

  “Uh, sure. What?”

  “What has taken you so long?”

  Mikal’s brow knit together in confusion. “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “I have been waiting a long time to see if you were ready to start accepting responsibility worthy of your status as prince.”

  “You have? Father, why didn’t you say something? I have wanted to do something worthwhile for quite some time.”

  “Like running off to explore Straosia?” his father asked with a smile.

  Mikal shrugged. “I still say it’s something we need to do.”

  Kri’Entu nodded. “I agree, only there are more pressing things to deal with right now. With regards to not saying anything, it was for you to decide that.” The king leveled a gaze at him, causing him to squirm in his seat. “I needed you to want to accept the responsibility and ask for it.”

  Mikal nodded and cleared his throat. “Very well. Father, I hereby announce that I am ready to act on behalf of the crown.”

  Kri’Entu reached for his crown. “We’d better make this formal.” He placed the golden circlet back on his head. “Very well. The crown acknowledges that you’ve requested a mission with responsibility. I have one to give to you.”

  “You do?” Mikal asked, incredulous. He looked over at his mother to verify she had heard the same thing.

  The look of shock on his mother’s face was something Mikal was never going to forget.

  “You do?” Ny’Callé repeated.

  “That’s what I was discussing with Commander Rhenyon and the others. It would seem we have a situation brewing up north.”

  A grin split Mikal’s face from ear to ear.

  “Dragons!”

  Kri’Entu frowned. “You don’t have to look that happy. The dragons are our allies, aye. However, something has caused several of our wyverian allies to go on a rampage. Several fires have been started. The Dragon Lord has kindly extinguished the fires for us and offered his apology for causing the residents of Verdayn so much distress.”

  “What would you need me to do?” Mikal asked in a small voice. Now that he was faced with his first mission on behalf of the kingdom he couldn’t help but feel daunted by the involvement of the dragons.

  “Kahvel assures me that he has his subjects under his control and will launch an investigation as to what happened. However, I would like to launch our own investigation. I want our own eyes up there. You, my son, will be those eyes.”

  Mikal’s eyes widened.

  “You want me to find out why the dragons started a fire? They’re dragons! Isn’t that what they do?”

  “Not without permission from the Dragon Lord,” his father told him. “Kahvel assures me they did not. In fact, both dragons have denied any involvement even though they were witnessed by human and dragon alike. Something doesn’t feel right. I need you to get to the bottom of this. Will you do this for me? Will you accept this mission?”

  Mikal stood and solemnly bowed. “I will, Father.”

  “I will get you the portal key to Verdayn,” his father told him. “Unless Maelnar made one for you as well when he crafted your Capily key?”

  All the color drained out of Mikal’s face.

  “I…er…uh…”

  “We’ll talk about that later. Right now you need to get going.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  “Take Peanut with you. She is restless. She could do with the exercise.”

  “I will, Father.”

  ****

  “There isn’t much to tell. One minute all is well and the next dragons are on the rampage. What more clarification do you need, your highness?”

  “Were the dragons hunting?” Mikal asked, staring hard at the constable and feeling himself grow angrier by the moment. Peanut was lying at his feet and resting her head between her forelegs. Mikal had given her the ‘wait’ command and was silently hoping Peanut would remain at his feet until this meeting was over. His irritated eyes looked up from the dog and found the constable’s once more. Brekon, Verdayn’s stalwart constable, had clearly already made up his mind with regards to why those two dragons had lost their minds. “Were they fighting something? Were they fighting each other? Constable, for all we know the dragons could have been honing their targeting skills and an errant shot started those fires.”

  Constable Brekon didn’t bother to hide his irritation. He rose from his chair and walked around the front of his desk to sit down on the corner closest to Mikal, presumably to try and look intimidating. He folded his beefy arms across his chest and scowled.

  “Look, your highness, everyone knows you’re fond of all things wyverian, but don’t let that cloud your judgment. I know what the people told me. It happened exactly as I said. You’re wasting your time here.”

  Mikal’s posture stiffened. All traces of emotion disappeared from his face as he gazed at the constable.

  “You will do well to remember who you’re addressing, constable. If you find your position to be that much of an inconvenience where you’d rather draw conclusions from secondhand information rather than conducting your own investigation then just say so. The list of suitable constables is something that I am privy to and let me assure you the list is long and extensive. Have I made myself clear?”

  The constable’s face noticeably reddened and his gaze temporarily dropped to the floor.

  “My apologies… your highness.”

  Mikal’s eyes narrowed. He had noticed the constable’s delay in adding his title after the forced apology, which wasn’t fooling either of them. Coming to a decision, Mikal slowly walked around the desk and sat down in the constable’s chair.

  “That will be all, Constable Brekon. You are dismissed.”

  Brekon was on his feet in a flash. His eyes practically dared him to stay seated.

  “What do you think you are doing, your highness? You don’t have the authority to dismiss me.”

  Mikal kept his face neutral. “As a duly designated representative of the crown, I’m going to have to disagree with you, constable. Fear not. You haven’t lost your job. Yet. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with you. I assume you enjoy your duties as Verdayn’s constable?”

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nbsp; Thick cords emerged on Brekon’s neck as he glowered at Mikal. After a few seconds he slowly nodded.

  “May I give you a piece of advice?” Mikal coolly asked.

  The constable nodded again.

  “Show me you deserve to sit in this seat. Convince me you are the man for this job. So far you have failed to do so and don’t think for a moment that I won’t have you replaced. However, I don’t want to do that if I don’t have to. You don’t like me? I don’t care, constable. What I do care about is the welfare of this village. I care about our people. Do you?”

  “Permission to speak freely, your highness.”

  Mikal’s mouth turned upwards in the beginnings of a smile.

  “Granted.”

  “I know full well why you’re here.”

  Mikal sat back in the chair and clasped his hands in his lap.

  “Enlighten me, constable.”

  “You’re a spoiled rich boy who has always gotten what he wanted. You’re the prince. I get it. However, just because you’re the prince doesn’t mean you’re the right person to be sent up here. The dragons live nearby. You know this and I know this. At least two dragons lost their damn minds and started a fire that came close to destroying the village. My village, your highness. I ask the king for help and I get a boy who is trying to become a man. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot, your highness, but I need someone else. I need someone to believe me.”

  “Your point is taken,” Mikal conceded, keeping his expression and his voice neutral. “Your opinion is that I shouldn’t have come up here and instead my father should have sent somebody more experienced in these matters, is that it?”

  A smug look appeared on Brekon’s square face.

  “Aye. That is my opinion.”

  Mikal nodded. “Excellent. It’s a good thing that neither my father nor I care about that opinion, constable. My father sent me here. I will be conducting an investigation on behalf of the crown. You will assist me in whatever way that I need, is that clear?”

  Brekon grit his teeth and was silent as he studied the prince.

  “This isn’t open for negotiation, constable. Either you will agree or you will be replaced by one who does. Which will it be? I grow tired of your impertinence. I’ll have you know my father would have replaced you ten minutes ago.”

  “Very well,” the constable softly grumbled.

  “I’m sorry, what was that? Please speak up.”

  “I said, ‘very well’,” the constable repeated, only marginally louder. “My men and I will be at your disposal. Ask what you will.”

  “Thank you. Please be seated and we can begin.”

  The constable hesitantly sank down into the seat closest to him. Brekon cast a quick look at Peanut, who was eyeing him as though she was going to bite him at the slightest sign of trouble.

  “Call off your pet,” Brekon mumbled.

  Mikal, about ready to pull out several sheets of blank parchment, hesitated as he glanced back at the constable. He managed to keep the irritation he felt from showing on his face.

  “Your highness,” the constable grudgingly began, “please call off your dog.”

  Mikal smiled. “Peanut, off. Leave him be. For now.”

  The snarl that had been slowly forming on the dog’s face disappeared. However, Peanut’s ears were still lying flat, indicating Brekon had yet to be invited to join the corgi’s pack of humans. Peanut was silent as she gazed, unblinking, at the constable.

  “Now,” Mikal began as he spread the papers on the constable’s desk and reached for the quill and ink that were sitting nearby. “Has this happened before?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know of anyone that was in the area when these dragons went on the attack?”

  “No.”

  “Has anyone witnessed any other obscure wyverian behaviors that bore repeating to someone else?”

  Brekon’s mouth opened, ready to give an immediate ‘no’, when he realized the question was legitimate and worthy of an honest answer. The constable paused as he thought about the question.

  “No. Not that I am aware of.”

  “Are there any other behaviors, non-wyverian in nature, which you or any of your deputies have witnessed?”

  Again, Brekon hesitated. The scratching of the quill pen paused as Mikal looked up.

  “Constable? Have you something to say?”

  “I personally haven’t, no, but I do remember one of my deputies, Bresk I think, mentioning something a few days ago. Something about a string of burglaries.”

  Mikal blinked with surprise. “Did you not file a report?”

  Brekon’s face colored with shame.

  Mikal rose from his position behind the constable’s desk.

  “Let’s do this, constable. I want to see the area where these dragons were for myself. I want to look around. I’ll give you some time to find that missing report. Come to think of it, I’ll also give you time to question all your men to see if there are any correlating facts.” Mikal turned to look out the window directly behind the desk. He noticed the sun was not quite directly overhead. “There are only a few hours left before sunset. We will meet again tomorrow to discuss our next move.”

  For the first time Mikal felt a sense of gratitude coming from the constable. The hard lines around Brekon’s face appeared to soften. A little.

  “Very well. I will have everything you have requested ready for your perusal, your highness.”

  “Perfect. I’ll let you know when I’m ready. Peanut, come.”

  ****

  Half an hour later Mikal emerged from the forest and looked out across the grass-covered valley floor. Way off in the north, visible as a thin blue line, was Lake Raehón. The vast majority of the dragons, Mikal knew, lived in the mountains directly ringing the valley and the lake. He also knew dragons were experts at camouflaging themselves so it was possible that he could be standing directly before a wyverian and not even know it. Thankfully a peace treaty existed between humans and wyverians. For once he didn’t have anything to fear from a dragon should he come face to face with one.

  Nevertheless, the last thing he wanted was to meet a strange dragon up close while he had Peanut with him. Knowing the feisty little canine as well as he did, Mikal was certain the dog wouldn’t hesitate to jump out in front of an adversary regardless of what size they happened to be. He gripped Peanut’s leash tightly in his fist and stepped out into the bright sunlight on the valley floor.

  His gaze was automatically drawn to his left, towards the unmistakable location of where the dragons had started the fire. A huge swath of charred land lay to his left. Mikal could see blackened husks of hundreds of trees, followed by shriveled up burnt grasslands where the grass had met the forest. The charred, brittle vegetation crunched loudly under his feet as he stepped out onto the scorched earth. Remembering that Peanut was with him and would undoubtedly end up hurting her paws if she tried to follow, Mikal moved to the edge of the scorch marks and slowly walked along its border, keeping Peanut well away from the blackened ground.

  The two of them approached the first row of burnt trees. Peanut edged close to a charred remnant of a tree and gave it a few cursory sniffs. Disinterested, the dog turned to look back at Mikal, as if to ask him why they were there.

  “We’re here looking for clues,” Mikal told the dog. “Something set these dragons off. It’s up to us to find out why.”

  Peanut’s ears suddenly perked straight up. She lifted her head as high as she was able and looked around the valley.

  “What is it, girl? What do you smell?”

  Peanut had turned to look back the way they had come. She pulled at the leash as she backtracked as far as she could to the south. Mikal gently pulled her to a stop.

  “What are you doing?” he asked the dog. “There’s nothing that way. We came from that way. We want to check out the damage, remember?”

  Peanut whined as she pulled on her leash. She wanted to go back the other way.
/>   “Peanut, if you go to the bathroom I just can’t leave it there. I don’t have a baggie. You had better not do what I think you have to do.”

  The corgi pulled him over to a large mound of rocks he hadn’t noticed before. Peanut guided him to the base of the rocks and whined. Then she pulled her way forward a few inches more, just enough to give the closest rock a lick.

  Mikal stared at her as though she had lost her mind.

  “What’s gotten in to you, Peanut? You’re licking rocks now? Don’t be a goofball.”

  Peanut sat down in the soft grass before the rocks and gave a playful bark. Before Mikal could shush her the rock pile began to shimmer. Mikal began to automatically back away. He picked up Peanut and retreated a dozen steps before the rocks completely disappeared and an immense form began unfolding itself from the curled up position it had been sleeping in.

  It was a dragon. Mikal stared at the dragon’s colors. It was a luxurious dark green color that had a hint of a golden glow around the scales. Mikal’s eyes widened. He knew that dragon. He had met her before. In fact, so had Peanut, only the last time he had seen this particular dragon she had been a quarter of the size she was now.

  Peanut barked again. She had adopted her playful stance and was waiting for some signs of acknowledgment from her former playmate.

  “What have we here?” the dragon spoke as she finished uncurling her body. She stretched her wings before folding them flat against her body. The dragon then lowered her enormous head down until she was staring straight at the two of them.

  Mikal cleared his throat. “Hello, Pravara. Do you remember me? We’ve met once before.”

  Pravara took a step closer and inhaled.

  “Ah. The young human. I do remember you.”

  Mikal pointed down at Peanut. “Do you remember her? She certainly remembers you.”

  Peanut yipped loudly and maintained her pose. The stump that was her tail waggled back and forth with excitement.

  Pravara smiled, showing that not only had she gained her adult size but a mouthful of long dagger-like fangs, too.

  “The creature from another world. I do remember you, small one. We played together.”