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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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.”

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What is A Dragon?

If It Were Only a Dragon [Chapter 2]

With duty on my mind, I marched out of the castle and down to the courtyard. My first thought was that if I were going to go all the way to the eastern end of the Kingdom, there was no way I was going to carry my sword and my supplies there and take care of my own horse and meals and armoring myself. As a Knight of the Ministry of Arms, of course, I must have my squire at my side to take care of all those things.

When young men in the Ministry take up knighthood, they earn the right to take up a squire. Many choose teens from families of a lesser status. My youth in the capital among peers like those taught me that I could find better. Someone with street smarts. On the street is exactly where I found the man who would be my squire.

Eric was among the dirty urchins of the capital, scrounging and playing dice to earn coin. Those sorts use the meager riches perhaps to buy dirt from the countryside to smear on their bodies and clothes for warmth. If that is how they use their time, who was I to tell them no? I came to them one certain day with a purse full of their desired shiny coins, betting they would not be able to clean me out.

Many of the dirty youngsters were sated with a meager handful before pulling out of the game. Only one dared to raise the ante over and over until the remainder of my bag was at stake. I do not know how Eric won those countless times that day, but I knew his luck and unending courage would serve me well if he were to become my Squire.

After cleaning him up and teaching him the ways of a squire, I christened him with a proper highborn moniker— Eriques— a name of different spelling, but pronunciation similar enough. The change seemed not to dismay him.

When not in my immediate service, Eriques held the same company as old, playing silly games with the other dirty folk about the city. He was playing horseshoes by the castle stables when I came upon him.

“Eriques,” I called out to him, reminding him of his service.

The dark-haired lad paused his careful aim of the horseshoe and looked up to me, “You’re down from the castle early, Gladius. Did the king fire you?”

“Quite the opposite, lad. His Highness has given me a task,” I said, pointing to what felt to be the east. “A warrior’s strength is needed.”

“War, is it?” One of the urchins called out suddenly, his screech filling the streets.

“War?” Repeated one of the passing locals.

“We’re at war?” Another confirmed with terror.

The flow of the street was suddenly interrupted by the frantic running of those wishing to share the news. I tried my best to wave at them and quell their worries, but soon remembered that my responsibilities lay elsewhere.

I clicked my tongue and shook my head at my squire and the other youngsters. “Not quite a war, but a battle. And against not any men nor nation, but a dragon!”

“A dragon!” The loudmouthed urchin screamed, arms raised to the sky.

I dashed to him and covered his mouth with my hand. “Yes, indeed, lad. But alas, it is far from this place. Far to the east. Eriques, I call upon you to aid me in this venture. But as I speak, the King has allowed me to use any resources the kingdom may offer. So, if any of you should wish to aid us in this venture, I shall offer you… five copper pieces if you travel with us and defeat this dragon.”

Eriques flung the horseshoe finally, landing it around the peg with grace. “I suppose I am dutifully bound to you, Gladius,” He said with a sigh. “Make it… ten coppers, and I’m sure one or two of these shites will join us.”

“Six coppers,” I countered.

“Nine coppers,” an older urchin urged.

“Seven coppers and… a serving… no, a mouthful of meat per day during the journey.” I nodded and thought to myself. If I abandon the others out east there, that will save us on having to carry extra food for the return journey.

Eriques looked about, accepting a few shrugs from his lackeys. “Deal.”

“A deal it is,” I nodded, a job well done. “Now, a show of hands for this quest of ours.”

A pair of hands raised. Then one more, waving as if it had not tasted enough dirty copper coins that day.

“What is it you want there, the dirty one?” I pointed and called out. “If you are not satisfied with the coppers offered, you may stay here in the capital.”

“Sir Gladius… what is a dragon?”

I folded my arms and shook my head. “Our foe, a… beast attacking a province to the east, as I have said. My good squire, what would you fathom it to take to slay a dragon?”

Eriques shrugged. “If I knew what a dragon was, Glad, I would tell all of y’all. But you’d be better off telling everyone here yourself.”

I felt at my forehead with the back of my hand to make sure the heat was from the insolence surrounding me and not my extended time out in the sun. “I suppose it is my duty, young squire, to teach you in a proper scholarly setting as I myself have studied. And no doubt the castle archives have all such details of these so-called dragons. Come, Eriques.”

The castle may have been a step back in the tiny bit of progress my quest had taken thus far, but it was certainly the right direction to proceed. On the march through the halls, I kept Eriques close so as to keep the fine details between us.

“Listen, my boy,” I said lowly in his direction. “I shall need your help diving into these tomes of knowledge, specifically on these dragons. If we are to keep this quest short and simple, knowing how to slay a dragon is paramount. And it will also keep me in good favor with—“

“Glad,” Eriques interrupted, clearing his throat.

“Yes, my boy?”

“This whole… books thing is not quite the task I imagined seeing myself doing.”

“Your position as my squire requires you to engage in such deeds with me. I’m terribly sorry if you had other plans today. But the kingdom is… in danger.”

Eriques nodded hopefully. “No, no, no, saving the kingdom and all that. Maybe help me out with one thing real quick.”

I stopped and grabbed up my squire by the shoulders. A few courtesans and other castle staff fumbled around us. “Do you not trust me, boy?”

“N’ what makes you think I don’t? Nah, I guess I can ask this question. What is… reading?”

I stepped back, words caught in my throat. Maybe even further down. They caught in my stomach. My bowels. “Well, there are words on the paper, the pages. You look at them, and they enter your mind… I guess?”

“And what sort of sorcery is that? Does one have control of the words that enter your mind?”

I chuckled at the foolhardiness of my squire. “Ah, not like that. The words are made up of letters. Like the letter… A. When you put enough of them together, they make a sound, which is just like the sounds you make with your lips and tongue and breathe. You often hear the words in your head as you read them.”

“Then it is like a trance that the reader enters upon viewing these words and letters on paper! But… how can you make it stop?”

I grasped my hand at the air and made sure nobody in our proximity was listening. “Uh, not like that, either. There is nothing strange at hand when reading is performed. Uh… when His Highness the King reads off a decree… he is making the sounds with his lips that match the letters on the paper. That is called reading aloud.”

Eriques rubbed at his chin. “But is it not the wise man, Sacher, who reads off such decrees, that the King then repeats? I did not think of the King as one with magical blood, but surely the wise man…”

I placed a finger on Eriques’ lips. “Questioning the details of the magical aptitude in His Highness’ bloodline is one thing, but asking whether or not the King can read is another. Especially here in the castle halls. Come, let us get to the archives. We can perhaps find something useful for you to do while we are there.”

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News to the Court

If It Were Only A Dragon [Chapter 1]

Our tale begins here, in the grand Kingdom of Reck, within its capital city Recktum. This Kingdom that I called my home was a place of peace and prosperity. Ruling over this land was King Lourd, the greatest king of his time. The greatest king of the kingdom at present, no doubt. Some would say one of the kings of all time.

His court, which I served for many years at that point, had been the source of this land’s stability and constancy that the people of the kingdom enjoyed. You see, His Highness King Lourd ruled through delegation, making sure any possible challenge facing the kingdom would have a Ministerial force behind it. Any niche of our society needing or wanting for something would turn to the various departments and their ministers to find a resolution. If there was an issue of great importance, the troubled party would be directed to a ministry, or in failing to find an adequate one, a brand new ministry and minister would be founded and appointed.

Any functioning kingdom and society needs a few base institutions to keep it running smoothly. A minister of the economy, agriculture, communications, harlotry, all those were accounted for. Ministries of blacksmithing, forestry, waste and sewage management existed as well. The magics that smoothed out the wrinkles in our lives, those all had their ministries as well. Enchanters, alchemists, apothecaries, they all had ministers of their own to oversee them and deter them from the dark parts of their crafts. Far be it for me to name every ministry, as many as there were.

I, myself, served the Ministry of Arms. In fact, my father was the Minister of his Ministry. One might see this as a prestigious position, nepotism or not, but alas I cannot lie about the true nature of this post. As a peaceful kingdom, we had not experienced a war, a battle, a skirmish, or even a tussle in my time in this position.

We had no enemies I could name or even imagine. At the far reaches of the seas to the west of the capital here were lands of fishermen, doing no worse than smelling of fish guts and salt air. Far on the opposite edge of the kingdom were mountains, too high and snowy for anyone to care about crossing.

My father never told any tales of victory or conquest from his time either. In fact, for most of his life, he stood in the same spot as I, within the halls of the castle taking in the pleasantries of his Majesty’s court. For all that I could be doing within the Ministry of Arms, simply hearing the complaints of visiting nobles and ministers was tame and agreeable.

If King Lourd were to be something other than King (gods forbid), he would no doubt be the Minister of Gossip, of Rumors. The nobles, visiting from various corners of our kingdom, always came with their own tales to tell. It was always talk of heirs with them. My wife refuses to produce an heir. An heir has been born, but alas it is a girl. A suitable heir was born, but he passed before he could even wear his tiny heir clothes. An heir was born horrifically deformed and thus has been given to a local family of peasants. We have been blessed with a pair of identical heirs, but I cannot tell them apart and we must smother one to prevent a struggle for power once they become of age. King Lourd, being of a ripe, wizened age of forty-two years old, with a young heir already secured in life, surely indulged in the schadenfreude of such stories.

Alas, court life wasn’t all stories from his Majesty’s distant relatives from the far reaches of the kingdom. Nor was it all performances of court entertainers from the Ministry of Tomfoolery. On the occasion, the court of the king would see to something that had escaped the scope of all the other ministries. The visitor that came before us on that day certainly piqued my interest.

The man was tanned like someone who had seen more of the sun than the halls of a castle— certainly a strange sight to us members of the court. King Lourd, in all his benevolence, allowed himself to be addressed nonetheless.

He knelt on one knee on the carpet before the throne. “My King, I come before you today to beg for your aid—“

The King raised his hand, palm outward, to put the man at pause. “Have you not sought the ministries anchored here in the city for an answer to your plight?”

The traveler lowered himself to both knees before continuing, “My King, yes, I have been in the capital for two weeks now, and have sought out every department that I thought could have aided me, and—“

Lourd raised his hand again. He turned his head and exchanged a glance with the man at his right hand, the wise Adviser to the court, Sir Sacher.

“It is by various referrals that this man comes before us today,” the wise man said with a nod.

“Continue,” the King said back, nodding proudly.

The traveler almost seemed as if he were about to cry, be it through desperation or happiness I did not know. “Your Highness, thank you. I come from the far East of the kingdom, and—“

The King’s palm once more rose into the air. He leaned once more to Sacher, his voice lower. I was just close enough to hear what followed.

“Sacher, is the East… the right, or the left?”

Sacher leaned in closer and nodded, stroking his beard. It was a long but thin and gross beard. Despite having what looked like this rabid rat on his face, Sacher always seemed to know what others did not.

The wise man responded in a concealed tone. “Well, your Highness, from the capital here, the sea is to the West, which you are well aware of. So that means that East is the opposite direction.”

“The sea…” His Highness mumbled. “So, the east then is… the right.”

“Indeed, sire,” Sacher nodded with a smile.

“I surely don’t understand why these people don’t simply say right and left.”

Sacher nodded and stroked his beard more. “Of course, but there is also North and South to contend with, Your Highness.”

The King sucked in a small breath. “Of course, you are correct as usual.”

The adviser nodded and retreated a few steps back of the throne. “I shall perhaps have the Ministry of Cartography organize a new naming system for the kingdom, following your desires of course.”

“Make it so,” The King nodded. At this point he probably realized his raised palm was causing his arm a bit of strain, and that it was in fact, holding a visitor to the court at pause. With a flick of his wrist, he lowered it and placed his arm whole back at his side.

“From the Right of the Kingdom, you say?” The King retraced the conversation thus far.

The traveler was now on all fours, face nearly touching the carpet. “Yes, Your Highness. It is far to the east.”

The King’s palm was put to use once more, but only until he could raise a question. “How far?”

“A… two week’s journey.”

The court members gasped. “By carriage?” The King asked.

“On foot, Your Highness,” The traveler nodded lowly.

A few sighs were released, but others whispered about the possibility and hardship of accomplishing such a trek.

“And this far-off land is still a part of this Kingdom? My Kingdom?’

The traveler nodded furiously. “From the base of the mountains that border our land from… that direction. The province is under attack!”

Hearing this myself, I perked up. I leaned forward and looked at the traveler, then to the King to determine if his reaction was any different from mine.

The King was stony-faced. He nearly raised his hand once more. The strain from the overuse of his arm was likely taking its toll, as the traveler was able to spit out one last line before the King could stop him.

“It is a dragon!” He yelled.

The members of the court choked on their delicacies. The king had to use both hands on his arm wrests to keep himself from falling out of the throne. Sacher stopped stroking his beard. Even the fool frowned.

“I beg of you, you must send a force to slay this infernal creature!” The traveler cried, fully splayed out on the carpet. “Who knows what havoc it could be wreaking on our province! And if it should turn its eyes to other parts of our Kingdom!”

The King nearly stood. He only did so when the bathroom was required, or when he would turn in for the night. Something was quite off, I imagined. King Lourd shuffled side to side, eventually laying his eyes on me, standing off to his side.

“Sir Gladius!” He called out to me. It was one of the few times he had used my name. It was more often to have him mistake me as a servant and demand something of me than to call me by not only my name but my title as well.

Not wanting to strain the King’s neck, I marched to the carpet before the throne. If there was any skill I had befitting my role in the Ministry of Arms, it was the ability to march. I kicked the prostrated traveler out of his position of begging so that His Highness would have an uninterrupted view of me. “My King!”

“Sir Gladius! As Vice Minister of Arms, I shall put it upon you to defeat this dragon. Make use of any of the Kingdom’s ministries and resources to see it to an end. May the gods bless you.”

I bowed. “It shall be done, Your Highness.”

Next Chapter –>

Parents Really Don’t Understand

The Place Where Promises Aren’t Kept [Chapter 28 – Final]

School was back in session the next day, that Wednesday. Kyle wasn’t there in first period, of course. I doubted I was ever going to see him again.

I kept expecting someone to call me out while I was going from class to class. They might have said something like, hey, the kid with the gun! The kid who shut down the school! I couldn’t even think about why someone would bring a gun to school. I mean, maybe if they were really upset, but even that would be terrible. Luckily, nobody noticed me any more than usual.

“That loser is definitely kicked out,” Jakey said somewhat joyfully in the computer lab that day. He had learned about the whole situation the day before when we played Rune Quest together.

“I need to uninstall the chat program he made me install,” I reminded myself out loud. “I don’t want to talk to him ever again.”

“Don’t forget to block him on Rune Quest,” Jakey added.

“Of course!”

One evening the following week I heard my mom on a phone call. It was most definitely Kyle’s mom. She sounded like she was crying a little bit, and my mom kept apologizing. Our two moms could have been friends maybe if Kyle wasn’t involved. I guess that’s another thing he ruined.

I heard a little more about Kyle when my mom talked to my dad and they didn’t think anyone was listening. I guess he was going to a special school, one where they are stricter and you don’t get to have as much fun. Even if I didn’t want him as a friend, maybe he could make a halfway decent friend there.

I think as a result of all this crazy stuff, my mom started listening to me more instead of just talking at me. Of course, as an adult, there was still plenty she didn’t understand. Here’s another story as an example.

My mom came home one day after a trip to to grocery store. I, of course, was knee-deep in a battle of life and death. That was pretty common those days since I was still getting some of my lost gear back.

“Mike, help me get this stuff in the fridge!” She called out to me. Of course, that was an impossible task.

“In a little bit!” I answered. If I were to abandon my keyboard and mouse, my character would become no more than target practice for the enemies, leading me to my downfall.

“Now, Mike, or it’s going to go bad! Just put it on pause.”

Pause. That was the word that my mom chose. Those magic words could have worked in some places, but not online, the place where time never stops. In a world where everything happens without end, there is no pause. If I could tell one thing to any parents or older people reading this, it would be those words above.

When I’m older and have kids of my own, you know they won’t have to explain that. But that’s a long way from now, of course.

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