The Technical Objections

Solbert raised his voice. "I have a number of technical concerns that I would like to discuss with you privately, Sartoma."

Sartoma addressed the other three, "If you will excuse us for a few minutes, that would be helpful."

Fred

What an opportunity! Vast lands to the East, across the Great Ocean. And I will be the first from Allaria to see them. There are many wonders to see and many deeds to do. When I get back, I shall be famous, maybe wealthy, and have many tales to tell. And as an Allarian, I will win respect for my King and Country through my valour and courtly manner. Of course I want to go!

Checkers

Home! I had given up hope of ever seeing it again, much less coming back with my quest fulfilled. The League is so far away - it took me years to get here, although my progress was hardly steady, nor my route direct. When I think about the humiliating start of my quest, cut off from my people, riding ashamed in that cart, it seems like all that happened to a different Glider. But Sartoma claims that we will be back in less time than 'a few weeks.' I have a hard time believing that, but I would rather take my chance with a friendly dragon and three humans* than to have to go back alone. I do not know quite what the nature of this tie that dragon has to the League, but Astra seems to be sensible, and I hope that she will not set herself up to be queen, as Minestus tried to declare herself a king and tyrant. But that is a concern for another day.

Astra

I really wanted to go home. I just wanted to be a princess, and live a carefree life. Well, Astra, is that what you really wanted? You know better. This is a sitaution where someone needs to take charge, and you are of the Royal House of Aqualaria, and if you cannot fix this problem, nobody can. Besides, what is your alternative? Stay at home, bat your eyes, and get married to some dirty little prince from some tribe in the Ryngaerd, in order to help keep the peace? While away the hours with court companions, growing old and stale? This is not only adventure, but adventure that not even my mother, or her grandmother, or her mother before her could experience. My family might be disappointed in my choice for a time, but I cannot help but think that my ancestors are heartily approving, from beyond the grave. Still, I would like the chance to let my family know that I am safe, and say good-bye, at least for a time. Maybe we can depart for the Dolomite League by way of Aqualaria.

How I got tied into this magic and the Glider homeland is beyond me at this point, although I suspect something in my hoarde. The coins? The spearpoint? But I am not going to give them up. That stretch of ocean looks big. I have no idea of what Sartoma has in mind. It would take months for a Hespan galleon to cross it, if they had the courage to do so. I hope that there are some islands to stop at; even with my new strength (which is nice to have, I must admit), I do not think that I can make it all the way.

In a room just off the ampitheater

"You have doubts, Solbert?"

"Yes. First of all, why are were vacating the caves? And why are we not waking the others? Our mission is not to save the wild Gliders of the East, as humane as that may be."

"That is not my primary mission either, but the decisive battles that save a country may take place far outside of its borders. And we need friends. Although we are powerful, there are only fifty of us. That is not enough to rebuild the kingdom."

"And so we rely on one newly minted dragon who is really a princess, one knight of some half-civilized kingdom, and a wild Glider?"

"As a start, yes. And they represent two powerful kingdoms and one civilized republic, if you can believe what they are saying."

"Do you believe them?"

"Yes, allowing for the natural exaggeration that all creatures feel for their homelands."

Solbert sighed, and nodded his head. "My heart agrees with you. But we are taking a huge risk."

"Everything we do from now on involves taking a huge risk, even waiting. That is why we were chosen, as they trusted not only our skill, but our judgment."

"So how is taking Astra to the Dolomite Range going to help us rebuild?"

"First, it is our best chance of keeping her alive, and intact as a dragon, until we can rebuild our city."

"But what good is she going to do us over there?"

"She will gain in strength and knowledge, far away from here. We will have a chance to educate her, and incline her heart to our enterprise. When the enemies attack, then we will have a friend. In addition, we need to entice the top quality souls to Mount Erebus."

"I would think that we would want to go to Allaria with Lord Fred and start identifying them. Allaria is much closer."

"That is true. But I do not know where the enemy lies. If we make our presence known too soon, then the Dragons may come back in force to claim the Skreken, and we will not be in a position to defend it. We may need to awaken a few of the guardians, and discreetly place a watch on the place, but we do not want to awaken too many. If we fail, then there still is hope, in those who remain asleep."

"There are two more things that bother me."

"The first is?"

"Minestus. Do you think that he had a bond with this Dolomite League?"

"That is hard to know. But I think that he had a warped bond, yes. He possibly added some Glider artifacts to his hoard, and in his lust for power, became fixated on the power that the Glider nation could give him, and so unconsiously bonded with the Gliders. But his heart and horde were here, even though the true source of his power lay abroad. If that were so, it must have been a burden on his mind, which we know was not that strong to begin with. If this is true, then Astra must not get near the contaminated horde. This is another reason that we must get Astra out of here."

"So once we get her there, will she be able to leave? Or will her bond with the Dolomite League be too strong?"

"That is a good question, and one for which I do not have an answer. I do not even know whether she will be accepted. As I said earlier, everything that we do has risks."

Solbert wiped his brow. He said, "My second objection. I think that you underestimate the time it will take to cross the Terel Sea. I would think that it would take a fortnight to get across, and that Astra could not carry us, enough food to feed us, and her hoard, and stay aloft."

Sartoma smiled. "The technical objection. The flight across the Terel may take four or five days, depending on how quickly we wish for it to take, and Astra will not be strained at all."

"How is that possible?"

"Lady Atheline had two great robes, one blue and one red. The red robe was used in a sport of the dragons called ballooning. I remember that the robe was fringed with buttons and ribbons. If the buttons were unbuttoned, then the robe could be unfolded until it was a vast circle about sixteen times the original area of the robe."

"And?"

"A dragon would lie on his or her back, and breathe hot air into the area where the neck was. The balloon would fill with hot air and rise. The ribbons would be tied together behind the dragon's back. All the dragon had to do was blow in the balloon to keep its air warm from time to time, steer it, using its tail as a rudder, and enjoy the ride."

"But you are relying on the wind to get you across. That will take far more than five days."

"The prevailing winds over the Terel are from west to east, so that helps. And if one goes high enough (and dresses very warmly), then the winds are very fast indeed. We will have no trouble getting across."

"But the air would get thin, would it not? And what happens if the dragon slips out of the harness, or loses control against the wind?"

"The blue robe was part of another dragon technology, the parachute. But I will spare you the details. As I said earlier ..."

"Yes, yes, I know. Everything we do has an element of risk. You are much more comfortable with that than I am, but I see your point. I would advise for travel at night over land, to avoid the notice of any of our enemies, old or new."

"I would tend to agree, especially in this land. We do not want to attract any more attention than we must."

"So do we take Fred with us? And how do we ensure that the caves remain free from prying eyes?"

*Checkers, like most Gliders, tended to place the non-flying creatures in the same category, and so lumped Solbert the gnome in the category of 'human' with Fred and Sartoma.

1. "I would advise that Fred come along. Astra and Checkers have a personal stake in the situation, as do we. Fred has less of a stake, and may offer more disinterested advice."
2. "I would advise that Fred stay behind, after awakening a couple more of the guardians. He can discreetly recruit some of his comrades to watch the caves."

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree