A Creature of Fire and Death

If It Were Only a Dragon [Chapter 3]

The Royal Archives in the castle were run by the Ministry of Literature, predictably. The books there in the halls of the castle created an atmosphere choked with the smells of musty old paper and roughly treated dead animal skins.

The place was watched over by an older librarian woman. There was also a handful of mages who had presumably failed enough magic examinations that they were relegated to using their meager powers to sort books.

“The Ministry of Arms visits us today,” the old bag at the checkout desk said. “More books on chess stratagems, I presume? You’ll beat some of these geezers in the castle one of these days.”

I waved my hand at her, giving the best impression of the King. “Not today, ma’am. I have a particular topic I must research as my duty requires. I shall need your tomes on the topic of… Dragons.”

“Dungeons and…?” She asked with a tilt of her head.

“Dungeon? No, this one… hypothetically… comes from the east. But if it were hypothetically attacking the kingdom, I would be the one entrusted to to slay it. Best be knowledgeable on the topic if such a thing were to come up, am I correct?”

The librarian sighed. “I’ll have some of the sorting magi bring them down for you.”

“Perfect,” I nodded and glanced back at my Squire. “And perhaps… if you have one or two with more artworks than words, that would be of great help as well.”

She licked her old, creased lips and nodded. “I might just have the perfect thing, then. Have a seat then, Gladius.”

At one of the long, wooden tables of the Royal Archive, we sat. Several volumes of tomes drifted down to us on magic waves. Each and every one of them were as thick as my sword was wide. I sensed the next few hours, even days, drifting away from my life. Eriques carefully opened the one that had been deposited nearest to him. Peaking out through the gaps in his fingers, he scanned the preliminary lines of text on the random page before him.

“Eriques?”

“It’s… as if I can sense their power… the words and letters opening up my mind. Is that how it works, Gladius?”

“Perhaps if it were not upside down.”

The old librarian appeared again to save me from having to explain the reading process further. “One particular volume from the lesser-used section of these halls. They may help you… visualize this dragon of yours better.”

“Hypothetical dragon,” I said back.

“Take your time,” the old woman said, not meaning it.

I nodded and studied the first tome before me. The title inscribed on the leather cover was ‘Bestiary of Our Known Lands, Volume 27.’

“A bestiary,” I said, glancing over to Eriques. He was deciphering the librarian’s book, trying to determine which was right side up or not. “I knew there would be a perfect book.”

“Excuse me?” He glanced up suddenly.

“It… contains a list of beasts known to our people.”

Eriques cleared his throat and nodded. “My apologies, I mistook it for another word. It’s crazy what you learn when the shepherds come into town, ain’t it?”

I huffed, hoping to keep the young man in order. “Unless you learned about dragons from the shepherds, they will be of no use to us. Now, let’s see.”

I flipped through the well-worn pages for any sign of what could be a dragon. More than the first half of the tome were studies and accounts of mundane animals. Livestock of all sorts, house pets and how to use them as food during times of famine, the crafty wild animals that live on the borders of the wilds and civilization. The latter half, I came across more exotic beasts that I had only heard of; wisps, boggarts, ents, beavers.

Eriques suddenly jolted back in his chair. From his freshly opened book, I caught sight of what seemed to be a magical beast, animate, ready to strike from its hiding place within the pages of the tome.

“What sorcery is this!” Eriques shouted, slamming the book back closed.

The old librarian shouted from the front desk. “Must I remind you that this is a library!”

I stood up and yanked the book away from Eriques, lest the creature try to jump out once more. “Perhaps if the tomes were not to assail us!”

I heard the stomping of old shoes carried by rickety bones. “Nonsense, these are nothing but books. Paper and ink and leather bindings.”

“And yet, behold,” I said, pointing at the book she had provided my squire. “What sorcery is this?”

The old woman scoffed and folded the book outward on the table. From between the pages, the form of a scaly green creature fanned itself out. “Look upon it, both of you. There is no sorcery involved. It is a package of carefully folded papers glued between two pages so it can open up for the reader. It is called a ‘pop-up’ book. There are not many artisans capable of such a craft these days, but wealthy families are rabid to get works like this for their children.”

“A pop-up book,” Eriques and I said in unison. Indeed, the papers inside the tome were made to look as if they had more mass than they truly had, even while being folded between other thick pages when closed. The popped-up creature even had a trail of fire from its mouth, carefully drawn up and down on a piece of string as the pages were tugged on.

I straightened my posture and folded my arms officially. “For children, you say? You’re likely to give a young one a fright. Enough to turn them sour the rest of their life.”

“Only hypothetically,” the old bag drummed, “But I can assure you it has not happened yet. As for the couple of fearless young men, it perhaps holds some of the information you seek.”

I looked again. Below the paper creature was a single word: Dragon.

“My word,” I said, leaning in to better take in the details of the craft. “This is the dragon we are to slay? Hypothetically, of course.”

“If it is this size alone,” Eriques said, hovering over the open book, “then it shall be no problem.”

“Indeed,” I said, taking in the same sight. “But it may also be hard to spot. Let us read on its habitat.”

The librarian sighed and began to wander off. “Just be careful with the book.”

I shifted the pop-up book around to face me. I flipped the page, returning the tiny dragon to its papery form. On the next page, there was a description of the beast. I read it aloud for the benefit of my squire.

“A dragon is a rare fierce creature that always comes unexpectedly. Dragons take long naps for many years, and when they awake, they are often cranky. They breathe fire, and love to burn down buildings! They eat things like big livestock, or little villagers who don’t take baths. They say dragons love gold, and have no weakness. If you ever see a dragon coming for your town, it is better to move away immediately, or just wait until it goes back to sleep again after it eats enough.”

“How can something this small eat a pig or cow, Glad?” asked Eriques, plucking the page back to the paper-craft form of the creature

“Perhaps a real dragon is bigger than this,” I conceded. “And the fire, too.”

“Fire be blasted, Glad. You said that it has no weakness, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said back. “Certainly books aren’t its weakness. But there must be someone out there who has seen to fending off a dragon, as rare as they are. I mean, that’s all we need to do, I’d reckon. Come now, we’ve not time to waste.”

Eriques followed me up to the front desk. “So let’s say that this dragon is not hypothetical.”

The librarian leaned her chin on one arm. “Yes, and?”

“Well, all these books here are old,” I said, glancing back at the pile left behind. “Someone in the kingdom must have some hands-on knowledge of these dragon things.”

The old woman sighed. “The elves who work inside the Ministry of Magics perhaps could be of help. They are quite long-lived. If they don’t have a specific magic to aid in your quest, they might remember a time when dragons were last spotted in Reck.”

I bit at my lip, nodding. “I see, the Elves. Love the Elves. They are a great people to deal with, as rare as they are.”

“Yes, the Elves. Is there anything else I can help you with, Sir Gladius? Like putting all the books back for you?”

I yanked my hands up off the desk as if pulling a defensive military maneuver. “No, we shall be going now.”

“Well, be careful out there, then. There is a vast panic spreading through the streets. A rumor that we are somehow going to war. Where could they have gotten that idea?”

“Yes, quite the strange notion,” I nodded, “For news of war to be true, it would have to come from the King or My father. When we return from this dragon business, it shall be the first thing to clear up.”

<– Previous Chapter | Next Chapter –>