Funeral

The chalky light from the moon drained his spirit, as it shone on the grisly, gray aftermath of the battle. Fred faced the lake so that he could turn his back on what he had lost. The dragon was dead. When the sun rose, its brilliant light would allow him to see the world as it really was. His mission was complete, and if he had not slain the dragon himself, he had done nothing shameful. He and his kindred would live without fear that the dragon would swoop in and destroy their homes and crops. But in this land of moonlight, he felt unsatisfied. A good man, Thomas, had seen his plans fail. The Princess lived just long enough to believe herself betrayed by a trusted subject. An old man who should have been wise, and an young artist who should have been noble, had dabbled with a couple of potent spells, and appeared to have made a deal with the dragon. Or had they?

Fred heard a rustling sound up the trail, and turned around and looked back. He saw the silhouettes men that cast a shadow against the mountain. The lead man said, "Has anyone survived?"

Fred turned around, and said, weakly, "George, is that you?" He recognized George as one of those who worked to blaze the trail earlier in the day.

"Yes, Lord Fred. We heard the two nuthatch calls, and held our fire. What were Anselm and Simon doing? And did anyone escape the fireball?"

Fred showed the catapulters the statues of Anselm, Thomas, and Astra, and the body of Simon, while telling him what he saw up close. "So where are we going to bury him?"

George said, "By the statue of Thomas is probably the easiest place. It will mark the spot. The ground is soft here, and it is as good a place to have his soul rest as any. It will get him away from the animals."

Fred asked, "Did you know that he and Anselm were wizards?"

"Anselm? I don't believe it."

"I saw what I saw."

"Maybe Simon taught Anselm something when he got here. The two were fast friends, and would sometime work together away from everyone else. That is the only thing that makes sense.

One of the men said, "I brought some rags and a couple of pots. One has wine, and one has some food. I did this to help if anyone broke some bones or had a wound. It does not look like it will help."

Another said, "I brought a couple of spades, in case we had to bury the dead. Let us put them to use."

These two men buried Simon. Nobody in this group knew him well. They said a few words of thanks for his spell that killed the dragon, and said some things about his courage. The Simon that these men were talking about did not quite match the Simon that Fred saw before the fireball exploded, but he held his peace. The two men shovelled dirt and rocks into the pit. George touched the statue, and to his surprise it felt warm.

"Yes, George, that was part of a spell. The dragon spoke of something called a steingeweser. I have never heard of it. Do you know what that is?"

1. None of the men had heard of the term.
2. One of the men said, "Yes, I have heard stories. Stone men. They can move as gracefully as men, but they are as heavy as stone. They are supposed to live far to the south."
3. One of the men said, "I heard it once, in passing, from an Aqualarian traveller. But I did not understand what she was talking about."

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