The Man From the East

If It Were Only A Dragon [Chapter 4]

It was just past mid-day, and I had traveled about the Royal Capital more than I would normally in a week. Along the way, I quelled several groups of people wondering if we were truly at war with someone or something. I declared, multiple times, that it was only a skirmish in a far-off land, and that I the Ministry of Arms had it under control.

I mean, it certainly was going to be under control once I got the necessary information from the elves of the Ministry of Magics. Alas, I was hungry, so a pause was in order.

Eriques and I stopped at a restaurant of roasted meats along the main street. It was well on the way to the spires that housed the magi, so not a soul could say that we were wasting time or stalling.

Eriques finished before me, eating like a pig that had been released to the scraps of the royal court. I did not mind his lack of manners, as I could remind myself that I had done good to take him off the street, like a stray animal. A stray animal with thumbs that could carry a sword, or fasten the leather straps of a set of armor.

Through one of his final mouthfuls, he addressed me. “Is it just me, Glad, or are you a little bit miffed about meeting with the Elves? Do you not like them or something?”

I nearly choked but was able to clear my esophagus and my doubts with a swig of ale. “My dear boy, why would you say such a thing? And in a way that every soul in a mile would be able to hear? No, no, no, the Elves are quite a fine people. It’s just…”

“Just?” My squire leaned in.

I sucked down another swig of ale to buy more time. “Erm, it’s just… have you ever been offered to hold a small child? A baby?”

Eriques snapped. “Almost. There once was this time, before I was under your care of course, that my old gang got a hold of one.”

“Then you… wait, got a hold of one?” I stammered.

“I mean, you know how clumsy I am, sir,” Eriques said with rub of his head. “I didn’t hold it myself. Anyways, we was gonna sell it to make some money and buy some grub.”

“I think I’d like not to hear more, for the sake of my opinion of you,” I declared, standing up from the table. I couldn’t help but notice some of the other diners shifting their eye our way. “But my point, Eriques, an Elf is like a baby.”

“Like… a baby who is hundreds of years old? More, even?”

“Not as a matter of age. Nobody, a male least of all, is never prepared to hold a baby. They weigh a lot more than they seem to. Like a sack of potatoes. And what do you do with a baby once they are in your grasp, your care? I have no teats for which to provide it with food. My point, squire, is that I simply do not have the experience in dealing with Elves. They are of magical blood, whereas my experience is with those of warrior blood.”

Eriques rubbed at his chin. “Granted, if you were to drop one of those frail folk of magical blood, it would be as terrible as dropping a young child!”

“You understand,” I nodded, sighting the magical towers of the city at the edge of the restaurant. “And I can’t help but stare at their strange, pointed ears, either.”

From a little ways down the road, I heard my name being called, the voice ever approaching. “Sir Gladius! Sir Gladius!”

I squared up my shoulders and prepared to quell another rumor. “At ease, my countryman.”

“I have been searching for you all morning,” the out-of-breath man said, leaning down on his knees before us. He had a simple sun-touched face, a strange, choppy hair style appearing as if it had been carved with a dull knife, and clothes that were more filth than fiber.

“I appreciate your dedication. Alas, there is no worry nor any war. Simply a… disturbance far at the edge of our kingdom that is fully under control.”

The man huffed hard and forced himself up. “You don’t understand, my good sir, as I from the one from the east…”

“From the east?” I said with an understanding nod. “I beg you, then, to perhaps wait before heading back that way. At least before news returns about our quelling of the disturbance. Good day.”

I almost had begun to leave the man behind when he shouted.

“Will you not listen, Sir! It was I, this morning, in the castle to deliver that news. I must accompany you!”

I jerked about. Certainly, the man had a certain look and smell about him, a style that not even the most ragged beggar would take on here in the vicinity of the capital. It was the same form that begged on the carpet before the King.

“Stand,” I addressed him. “Your name?”

“Farvin, Sir,” He said back, daring to look me in the eyes.

“What are you to your land?”

He lowered his head. “I’m just a good for nothin’ sir. Not even good at farming. I’m normally just walkin’ aimlessly, a daydreamer they call me. So heading here on foot was no bother. Oh, but they made me repeat about a hundred times the news to bring here, and what sort of help we needed. Apart from that, all I had to do was follow the settin’ sun to get here to the capital. Not that I could get my mind off that dragon and his terrible deeds.”

I nodded and put my hands on his shoulders reassuringly. “And what a wonderful job you have done. So you did indeed see this… dragon?” I finished, the final word on my tongue lower than the others.

“Sure,” Farvin said, looking almost up in the direction of the sun. “It came from beyond the mountains. Without warning, it swallowed every last cow farmer Tunk had, then burned his home and grain storage.”

I smirked. “I see. You see, the Ministry of Arms has this quite under control. We’ve delved into many tomes about this threat. We’re well aware of the fire and the eating of livestock. I’m surprised you did not leave out piles of treasure to appease it. Dragons are fond of riches and shiny trinkets, as we all know.”

Farvin breathed out an exasperated sigh. “We have no riches, sir. We are but a small farming town.”

“But about how big is it?” Eriques said, waving his hand to get out attention. “Like… as big as this tavern, or bigger?”

Farvin almost answered, but I held a hand to his face. “The size does not matter. We are recruiting folks with the expertise to slay such a fierce creature. Why don’t you head back home and speak of this news to the people of your town?”

“If I head back home with no force at my back, I will surely be sent off to face the dragon by myself!”

I hummed, hoping to somehow bore the man to dissuade him from pursuing us.. “Well, if you walked all this way, following us on our errands won’t hurt either.”

“Of course not!”

I nodded. “Behold my squire, Eriques. I trust him with many things, but there are other task that require much stooping, metaphorically, of course. While I busy myself with the important task of this mission, I may need someone to do such stooping.”

Farvin bobbed his head emphatically. “I’ve not heard the word meteorically before, but I am born to stoop, I’d say.”

Erique tugged at my arm and muttered into my ear. “Don’t allow this man to show me up, Gladius.”

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