Arimore

As dawn broke Rowan and his men returned to the camp to meet with Mason.

“Get these men some hot food,” Mason ordered, “Rowan, may I have a word with you?”

“Of course,” Rowan followed Mason away from the rest of the men.

“Tell me, did you or your men see anything unusual?”

“Nothing of worth I’m afraid,” Rowan shook his head, “The only thing we encountered was the occasional wild animal and one mountain man.”

“Mountain man? Was he an old man wearing a tattered cloak?”

“Yes.”

“Long silver gray hair and beard?”

“Yes, but how did you know that?”

“I encountered the same man in the meadows last night. He seemed quite disturbed when I told him we were investigating rumors of the dragon.”

“He was in the meadow? When we left him he was headed back up the mountain. He didn’t seem disturbed by mention of the dragon but he did seem to know a lot about him.”

“I suppose if I lived on this particular mountain I would know a lot about the dragon too. If you are to be neighbors with a beast like that you better know all about them.” Mason concluded.

“Including their weakness?” Rowan asked.

“Including their weakness,” Mason agreed, “Rowan, you are a genius! We must find this man’s shelter and learn what we can from him. I know your men are weary; it’s been a long night. Rest here at camp and I will take my men to search for him. We will be back before nightfall.”

“Be careful Mason. I fear this man may not be all he seems.”

Mason and Rowan embraced. Mason took a group of men and began his journey through the valley to the mountain. They methodically searched from the base to where no man could have climbed. There was no sign of the mountain man. No shelter to be found anywhere and not a single goat. They returned to the valley of Min and Mason met again with Rowan.

“I don’t understand,” Mason said, “there was no trace of the mountain man. No shelter, nothing. After we got about half way up the mountain we even lost his tracks. It’s as if he just vanished.”

“Or grew wings,” Rowan added.

“Wings?”

“I know it’s just legend, a story from my childhood but one tale stated that the great dragon Arimore had the magical ability to cast a spell and take human form. It is said that most often he would take the form of an old man with silver hair.”

“You don’t think…”

“That feeble old mountain man was Arimore. Honestly Mason, right now I don’t know what to think.”

“What will you report to Elara?”

“I will tell her all that transpired here, including the friendship you showed me and my men. It will mean a lot to her.”

“What of the dragon?”

“I will tell her we saw no solid evidence of his return but that there are still many unanswered questions. I will tell her the details of both our encounters with the mountain man. Most importantly I will tell her that there are too many questions that cannot be answered and I think we need to be wary and vigilant in seeking answers. If our suspicions are right we cannot afford to be unprepared.”

“Thank you Rowan,” Mason smiled, “You will always have a friend in Mardock.”

The two men parted and each returned to their homes. Prince Mason continued to watch the sky in search of Arimore and awaited word from Queen Elara.

Rowan arrived back at Calithorne early in the morning and was greeted by the Queen.

“After you have something to eat and a chance to clean up,” she instructed, “meet me in the throne room. I am anxious to hear what transpired.”

Rowan didn’t waste much time before he headed for the throne room for he was just as anxious to tell his story as she was to hear it. Upon arrival he bowed and asked, “Did you have any luck finding your charge?”

“First I need to hear of your trip, then I will tell you what I have learned.”

“Very well,” Rowan recounted the events of the last few days, “My Lady, Prince Mason is a good man. He is not at all what I expected from a Mardocian. He is convinced, as am I, that the mountain man was Arimore under some kind of transformation spell. If he does in fact have that kind of power we need to be ready for anything.”

“I agree,” she sighed, “and I am very torn. I wish this was an easy thing for me to dismiss but the fact is I am in agreement. Last night I had a dream and in that dream Arimore came to me in the form of a man identical to the man you described. I know my father said he was an ally but he also said to be wary because he was still a dragon.” She rose from her seat and began pacing around the table. “Rowan, if the truth be known, it is times like these that I wish I were not the Queen.”

“I understand,” he stood and placed his hand on her shoulder, “but the fact remains that you are. What you need to decide is how you are going to handle this situation.”

“What am I to do?”

“I would take precautions,” he replied, “Send word to Prince Mason that you would like to meet. See if he has any strategies for combating this threat. Maybe between the two of you, you can at least come up with a plan so that if things do go wrong you are prepared.”

“Yes, I agree,” she returned to her seat and continued, “but there is more.” She paused trying to figure out how to explain Sacha to Rowan. After a moment she decided that she would show her to him. “I have something I want to share with you because I know you can be trusted. This is something that must remain secret but I think I will need your help keeping it that way. Come with me.”

Elara led Rowan to the old dungeon. “Rowan, before we go any further I need your word that this will never be spoken of.”

“You have my word.”

Elara took Rowan to the armory at the rear of the dungeon and pressed the stone opening the wall to the inner chamber. She watched his face as he first gazed upon the eggs.

“You found them,” he said with delight in his voice.

“Yes. But this creature is so much more than I ever imagined. Come and look closely at the large egg.”

Rowan’s eyes widened as he watched the form of the dragon swimming in the egg, “It’s beautiful.” As Sacha came close to the shell revealing her face Rowan stepped back in surprise.

Elara placed her hand on Rowan’s arm, “It’s alright Rowan.” She then stepped up to the egg and spoke, “This is Rowan. He is the Captain of my guard but more importantly he is my friend.”

“Hello Rowan.”

“Hello,” Rowan was in shock at what he was seeing.

“I have something for you,” Elara spoke to the egg, “I have chosen your name.”

“Oh, please tell me.”

“Your name shall be Sacha.”

“Sacha. A wise choice. It means protector of mankind. I like it very much. This means also that I will be a female. I like that too.” A worried look came over Sacha’s face, “He will not be pleased though. He was expecting a male.”

“Do you think it will make him angry?” Elara asked.

“It may but the choice was not his to make; it never was and he knew that.”

Elara and Sacha explained to Rowan how she would grow up as a human and upon maturity become a powerful and magical dragon with the ability to take human form.

“Sacha, was the mountain man Arimore?”

“I was not there Rowan,” she began, “but from what you told me I would guess that it probably was. Dragons are very curious creatures and knowing that so many men were in his valley looking for him he had to know what they found. The only way to do so and still honor Elara’s request that he stay hidden was for him to cast a spell that allowed him to turn to human form. Then he became free to roam amongst the men and learn what they knew.”

“How long until you hatch?” Elara asked.

“Soon. Probably by morning.”

“When you hatch will you be fully human?” she added.

“Yes.”

“Rowan, we need to find a way for Sacha to be brought to my court as my ward. We need a story to cover her true identity.”

“Don’t you have cousins in Orindell?”

“Yes, I do. Why?”

“You could say your cousin has fallen ill and you agreed to care for her daughter while she recovers.”

“Brilliant!” Elara smiled, “Meet me in the north woods day after tomorrow and I will deliver Sacha to you. You will bring her in through the gates so all can view her arrival. She will live with me in the castle where I can protect her.”

“Wait,” Sacha added, “It is a good plan but taking me outside the gates with no protection even for a few moments could be dangerous. If I fall into the wrong hands…”

“I will guard you with my life,” Rowan assured.

“And your life it may cost,” Sacha added, “Also, without the small egg for nourishment I will die. Please Elara, let me remain here at least until I can defend myself. I will be safe here.”

“Very well,” Elara agreed because she could sense the fear in Sacha’s voice, “We will begin talking about my cousin so that the addition of Sacha to the royal household will not seem sudden. Sacha, how long until you feel strong enough for the move?”

“Give me a few days to feed on the egg and I will know better. Elara will you come and be with me tomorrow when I hatch?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”