"These four men you mentioned... can you tell me some more about them?" she asked
"One of them is a prince. He is about seventeen years old," Carlard said. "The second one is a draconic human rogue. He's probably in his fifties. Then there's an eighteen year-old human boy who used to be a Servant but betrayed us. The fourth one is a wanderer. I have no idea how old he really is, but he looks to be in his thirties, perhaps late twenties. Also, don't let his, well, appearance deceive you," he said carefully, looking at her eyes, "because he is highly dangerous. I have a feeling... I have a feeling he may be one of them."
"You'll have to be more specific," she said. "I'm not like you Servants. It doesn't mean anything to me when you just refer to them."
"You're a draconic human," Carlard said. "They are your sworn enemies, too."
"Are they, now?" she asked. "Hurry up and tell me what you think he is, instead of being so confusing. I don't have all day."
Carlard let out a sigh. "Joandrey and I think he's a knight."
"Ah," she said, smiling slightly. "A knight it is."
"Probably," Carlard corrected her.
"Probably a knight," she said. "You mean one of the original ones?"
Carlard nodded.
"That should be interesting," she said. "So the dragons slay the knights these days?"
"Don't joke about it. This is serious."
"We'll see how serious it is when that knight of yours is six feet under," she said.
"You appear quite confident," Carlard said. "Need I remind you that your ability to remain unnoticed by a draconic human's scent isn't particularly useful against knights?"
"Well, I'm not just going to walk up to them and challenge them to some kind of fair duel, if that's what you're thinking," she said. "Trust me, no knight is a match for my stealth."
"I sincerely hope so," Carlard said, clearly not very convinced. He removed a small leather pouch from his belt and laid it on the table. "You'll get the rest of the money once you've completed the assignment."
She grabbed it and shook it. The coins jangled. "Is that gold I'm hearing?" she asked.
"It is," Carlard confirmed.
"Nice," she said, and smiled again. "Don't worry: it'll be done in no time."
-----------------------------------------------
"So... that is the border?" Enorwin asked.
"It is," Arwund said.
Enorwin's eyes scanned the small river. It had frozen over and glistened in the late afternoon sunlight. A wooden bridge spanned the river, which, the prince decided, was perhaps better described as a creek.
"I thought it would be... bigger. More impressive," he admitted.
"There are more impressive places to cross the border," Maréin said.
"But this one's less well-known than those others," Arwund said. "I'm quite sure Carlard and the other Servants are looking for us. This will be the last place they'll look."
"Or they might suspect we're taking the less popular route," Enorwin said.
Arwund shrugged. "Could be. But in the end, we have to cross the border somewhere; there is no avoiding the risk."
YOU ARE READING
Prince of Dragons
FantasyThe country of Garowain used to be a land of chivalry, honour and bravery. But that was the past. At some point, the knights, protectors of the people, turned into thugs. The just kings turned into tyrants. The dragons almost disappeared, leaving be...
