Beyond Dragons Crown

Beyond Dragons Crown Part 5

NAZCA was not at all what the boys had envisioned. Gronin pulled at his restraint uneasily and demanded to be set free. Matt and Henry were not about to take that chance and kept Gronin on a tight leash. They were now short on energy having not slept in over 72-hours and nothing but, herbs and berries to eat. They desperately needed a bath, food, drink and rest. They went by the inn where they were told that they were welcome but, would have to leave their pet outside. Henry asked if there was a barn or something similar nearby, the innkeeper said not really but, he did have an old house out back that was seldom used and they were welcome to it. The maid would be by with bedding, food, ale, water, and soap for bath. This sounded like just the thing and they followed the innkeeper outside and to the back. It was a quaint little cottage. The maid lit the lanterns and set the fireplace while the boys began to unwind and relax. Henry asked the maid if she could find a chain with a lock and bring it. The maid returned in a half hour with a 7-foot chain and large lock and key as well as a spiked collar, Henry thought, what a fitting necktie and quickly attached this to Gronin under heavy complaints. He then fastened the chain about the heavy cast iron bed frame. The maid soon returned with plenty of food, ale, fruits, and nuts and filled the bath with steaming water and soap for the boys to use before dinner. There were two large tubs on opposite sides of the large bath and both boys settled in to relax before they ate dinner. It was quite obvious that Gronin was not one for taking a bath so they did not bother to ask him. After the bath, the boys got into the provided rob and sat down to feast on the bountiful meal set before them. Gronin was quite content with his pile of bones and leftovers from the evenings fare in the inn. Matt was looking for his clothes when Gronin stated that the maid had removed them for laundering and would bring them back in the morning. She had emptied the contents into the drawers in the side tables. As the boys lay down for rest, the innkeeper was headed for the mansion of The King of The Old Ones. He felt it his duty to let the King know of these two new strangers who were staying with him at the inn. They were definitely odd and warranted investigating.

The boys and Gronin slept long into the morning awakened by a slight breeze blowing through the opened windows. Breakfast was waiting on the table with steaming coffee, hot tea and an assortment of fruits, nuts, and slices of bread, meats, cheeses, and jams. A feast for a king as Henry stated. Gronin was still sleeping and he had a fresh pile of new leftovers and a large bowl of mixed grog and ales. As the boys ate breakfast, the innkeeper came in and smiled asking if all was in order. A resounding yes was heard, however, Matt wanted to know what the fair for all of this was. The innkeeper said it was taken care of by The King of The Old Ones. Gronin woke quickly upon hearing this and groaned and shook his head. The innkeeper left stating he would return later with their fresh clothes. Gronin said over and over under his breath; "Not good for us, not good for us, this is very bad indeed." Matt and Henry ignored Gronin as they ate their fill. The innkeeper came by with their clothes and requested that the boys come by the inn when they had dressed. The boys had fastened Gronin outside to the iron post and went into the inn where they met the innkeeper who informed them that a carriage was on its way to get them. A very stately black carriage pulled up outside and two smartly dressed tall men in black suits with top hats escorted them to the carriage where they climbed in. Gronin was put on the pet stoop on the rear of the coach and chained there rather tightly. The carriage drove off at a leisurely pace and 15-minutes later pulled through the gates of a huge mansion. This place was larger than anyplace the boys had ever seen before. They were taken to the front doors which were at least 20 feet tall and swung open with a slight groan. They were greeted by a butler of immense size who informed them that their pet would be cared for in the stables should they need to know. The boys were then escorted into the parlor and told to sit. Food and drinks would be served shortly and the man of the manor would be down soon to greet them. The man of the manor, as it were, came in and stood before us at the door arms folded holding a pipe, unlit. He was dressed in a beautiful dark oxblood velvet smoking jacket with the black satin collar over a black satin tunic adorned with a huge gold jewel encrusted Crest. He wore black satin pants and had on black leather oxfords. His hair was slicked back in classic European aristocratic style and his handlebar mustache was waxed and pointed to perfection. He had two large rings that he wore one on each hand, forefingers, classic European aristocracy. He greeted us with a strong British accent and then walked smartly over to a large very comfortable looking overstuffed and well worn brown leather easy chair. He settled into the chair easily while watching us, sizing us up and then commented that we were not from around here looking at our mode of dress. I guessed that did not require a lot of intelligence to make such a statement but refrained from saying so. He seemed agitated and not amused by our presence in his "KINGDOM". Henry had anticipated his next question and answered before he asked it: "We have no idea where we are, what we are doing here, what we are looking for or why, we were dropped through some kind of time portal and that is all we know at this point. The ugly little grey creature found us in the dark forest and helped us get through and we ended up here on your doorstep. And thank you for paying our tab at the inn." He pondered me and then quietly snapped back; "Please, refrain from responding to questions that I have not yet asked, that is very impolite and I do not appreciate anybody assuming that they know what I might ask." I retorted back that it was quite perfectly and logically the right answer for the time. He became extremely flustered by my answer and got up and paced the floor in front of his huge fireplace. He did not seem to take lightly my quick answers, so now I knew how to keep him at bay. This had quickly become a very entertaining and fun sparring match and Matt very quickly jumped in; "And NO, we do not find any of this amusing and to say the least it is downright boring." He was now taken completely off guard. I had forgotten that Matt could read his mind and I allowed Matt to take over the conversation, which grew uglier by the minute with Matt responding to his every question just seconds before he would ask them. He yelled loudly in a thundering voice: "Do you know who I am?" Well, let me see now.....you are "The King of The Old Ones" as I have been told. I guess I do not find any significance in being King of a bunch of geriatric old people. I am sorry, but, is there something else of greater importance that I have missed here, otherwise that about sums it up stated Matt. Their host stormed out of the room to be replaced by the Tall butler who then escorted us to our rooms, I am assuming that we were to be his houseguests at least for the evening. The room was palatial with gold gilded and velvet inserts in all of the furniture, quite an entertaining evening this was going to be. The butler loudly stated that they were expected at dinner which would be 6 pm sharp, "Please, do not dare to be late," Were his parting words. Well, I guess we will not be getting separate rooms, quipped Henry and we both laughed. Not that it mattered as this room was the size of a small house with lots of interesting oddities for pleasure and conversation. Laid out on our beds were the clothes that we were expected to wear for the evening's entertainment. I commented to Henry that we should play him like paddle ball and because I had the ability to read his mind I would start and Henry could follow when he felt the need to do so. I felt that this was going to be a very entertaining event, this evening.

The afternoon burned on into the early evening as the grounds outside were lit with lamps and torches. We both took our baths and dressed for the evening's festivities. We were both attired similarly to our host: Black silk tunic, Black silk pants, and loafers with a dark Green velvet and silk smoking jacket for me and Maroon and black silk for Henry. They fit perfectly so somebody had a real eye for instantly sizing you up.

A knock at the door revealed the butler and we followed him down to the main dining hall, the size of a small football field and beautifully appointed. There were a handmaid and waiter standing at attention every 6feet or so. We were waiting at our appointed seats at one end of the table when our host entered the hall and stood at the head of the table. He looked sternly at us and then his face softened as he seemed to smile briefly. I think we shall forget about this afternoon and begin the evening on a lighter tune. I am sorry I lost my manors and have forgotten to introduce myself properly. My name is Sir Fabian Diego Salamanda-III, Lord of the Manor Dragon's Lair and King of The Old Ones. You may refer to me as Sir Fabian or just Fabian and your names are, please? My name is Henry McCredie O'Doul and this is my longtime friend Matthew Hemmingway. We all stood for a minute eyeing each other when Fabian said, "Please, sit and enjoy." And with that, he clapped his hands twice and the room took off with a buzz of activity. Like, little wind-up soldiers, they all went about their appointed duties and functions and food and drink just started appearing, more than we had ever seen or could ever consume in a lifetime. Several varieties of red wines, ales and sparkling water along with every type of meat and fowl imaginable, it was truly a feast to behold. After what seemed like hours of eating and music the table was cleared, new cloth set with after dinner dessert utensils and finery and then in came an assortment of desserts that were as no ending as the dinner was. There was too much to even begin naming. We ate our fill and at that our host took us to another smaller library or smoking room as it were. We were asked to sit in two very large overstuffed leather chairs opposite our host and next to the large fireplace. The butler appeared with a small silver tray of after-dinner mints, cookies, and cakes along with coffee, tea, and sparkling water. We enjoyed the treats and began to relax when the butler once again appeared with Cognacs for all to which we saluted the meal and good fortunes of the evening. The cognac was slowly starting to settle in when our host began slowly talking about some of his exploits leading to where he was today. His tack this time was of nonaggression and being friendly and getting us to let down our guard and it was working. By the end of the evening, Fabian had announced he was retiring and would see us at breakfast, the butler would come for us and he got up and left the room. The butler came in and said that we were welcome to stay or he would take us to our room, which we opted to do, bringing along our cognac.