PART 5

Most commoners turned away from him anyway, choosing to ignore his presence, or watching him like a mongrel dog that might make off with their flock in the night. It was difficult to tell whether he looked more or less threatening without hair. With the hair, it shrouded his eyes and covered his teeth and grin. Without hair, all of his facial expressions were accentuated, exaggerated even. He was more mindful of his reactions when clean shaven. More composed so as not to reveal his darker thoughts with a cruel smile or cunning eyes.
The wall surrounding the kingdom of Sveldin Donan arrived much earlier than Dresden anticipated. He thought he should be able to hear the crashing of waves, but with so many buildings between him and the coastline, they muted the natural sounds and replaced them with man-made noises from manufactured ecosystems. Guards at the gate inspected him as he passed but said nothing. Sveldin had indeed changed! Busy markets and houses filled his senses. People everywhere, but mostly women and children as Thedra had said. The only men, he noted, were in uniform or working at the businesses.
The place overall had a country feel, in comparison to the Northern Lands. This kingdom was quite young. He could tell by the newness of everything. It couldn't be more than a hundred years old, if that. He decided it would be good to locate an inn that had a pub, and was pleased to see that there were still plenty of pubs in Sveldin. Once he found a clean looking inn he made his way inside, reserved a room for a week, even though he knew he didn’t have that much time, and went to the adjoining pub. At this time of day there were few customers to bother him and he wasn't looking to drink, just sit. Perhaps he would find a chatty drunkard to fill him in on the goings-on of this place.
The bar-keep glared at him as he made his way to a table. Only after Dresden pulled his sword from his back to set it aside did the man behind the bar address him.
"Hey, there's no weapons allowed in here, stranger."
Dresden just nodded, went up to his room and laid on the bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about what Thedra had told him about happiness. What rubbish. They might have seemed happy, living the life of peasants. What was happiness to a Dragon? What had it been to him living among people for so long? How short lived it had been in the Northern Lands when Sariahfina and the Council of Seven had ousted him, showering more dishonor upon him, even now after almost five-hundred years in exile. How long would they be out to seal his doom? The thought seemed loud to him as he again fingered the bottle at his hip. It let out a sickening hiss, quietly, but audibly. The sound sent his thoughts blazing for a moment, understanding and trying to accept what it meant for him. He let himself indulge in a nap and slept for the remainder of the day.
Dresden awoke before the sunrise and groaned as the sounds of a bustling world crashed below him. His room on the second floor overlooked one of the markets where silks, textiles and other finery were sold. He paid no attention to the wares, but to the people, their mannerisms, their speech, their formal manner of addressing one another. Indeed, this kingdom was still extremely young for the commoners to speak so formally in the open streets. This place had not fallen to slovenly language and the folks were dressed respectably and modestly. There were no wenches to entertain, but perhaps that was because it was still morning and they were all inside, entertaining. He would wait and continue to observe the place until he understood the values and moral currency of the people.
He allowed himself to remove his hooded cowl, for the day was drenching hot. He retained the gloves though, and a dagger, but left Kizjin Kol under the mattress in his room. He dared not leave such a valuable object within view since he was unable to secure the room properly. As he adjusted his attire for some casual wandering, he made note of how very out of place he appeared. Although the manner of his outfit carried the weight of a nobleman, the darkness of its color seemed wrong for such a sunny place and bright people. He did not wonder how he would be received, but let his mind focus more on what he would learn from the people if they were open enough to speak plainly with him. It was his intention to get information about the place without seeming suspicious, which had always been made difficult to manage by his appearance alone.

That evening Dresden considered all his news at a corner table in the bar with a pint in front of him, nursing it only to make it seem like he was a normal drinking man. He went through the main points and categorized bits for later use. The kingdom was only six generations old, and had always been a monarchy. Queen Adeline Donan was twenty-two years old and fiery in her convictions. She was the daughter of Queen Ruby Donan, who was known for her reign of peace for thirty years, the longest and oldest of the queens to rule these lands and the people were not pleased when the coronation of Adeline took place. Most of the kingdom was supportive, but many thought her naïve, selfish and unfit to rule because of her stubborn nature and inexperienced politics. The war, he recalled one fisherman saying, had made his trade nearly impossible because it was not safe to venture too close to the Island Kingdom of El Rey. They took no prisoners and were offended so deeply at the queen’s dismissal of Prince Drighton that they fought to take over the kingdom for themselves. Dresden had not seen the warfare damage at this Northern border. The fisherman made it clear that due to the number of men who volunteered to ward off the threat early on, the majority of Sveldin Donan had gone untouched by the onslaught. He recalled the man’s words with a sip of the ale from his pint.
“Do yourself a favor and don’t head any farther South. The coastline isn’t as pretty as it once was. That landscape will need time to recover from cannon fire, and I hear they are rebuilding the wall to the Southwest where a surprise attack from the Islanders tore a hefty gape in the stonework. We had them chasing their tails though. Strong and capable men in Sveldin.”
He would of course make his way farther South, he intended to get right down to the beaches, that was his entire reason for coming this far. If he remembered correctly, there were some high cliffs to the East of the town, where he had once enjoyed a cave as a Dragon. He wondered if it was still there, when a dirty, bearded man entered the bar, swaying from side to side, torn rags for clothing and no shoes on his feet. He seemed quite the contrast from the prim folk he had spoken to earlier in the day.
“I’ll have a double!” the man bellowed, laying two silver bits on the bar, still swaying slightly. With a drink in each hand he made his way right over to Dresden’s table, pounded the mugs down hard and shoved Dresden’s boots from the wooden chair so he could plant himself down. Dresden would have been offended, but he sat upright and looked around cautiously.
“How did you find me?”
The man no longer feigned drunk and stared at Dresden with dead serious eyes, replying, “It wasn’t hard, you dolt. You might be able to see the past, but I can see the future, remember?”
“I have no business with you or your perceived future. Leave me in peace. Unless you wish to make a mess of yourself by remaining in my company when you are unwanted.” Dresden grabbed for the dagger at his hip before realizing he was unarmed because of the bartender’s rules.
“You gonna kill me, Dresden?” The slovenly man laughed hard, and loudly made a scene, although no one in the crowded bar was paying attention to him.
Dresden noted his stench, and the mud caked on his long beard. This man looked homeless, destitute, a completely different level of poor from Thedra’s family. Why would a Dragon let himself become in such a way? He wondered.
“You aren’t going to kill me. Not yet anyway, you piece of shite.”
“If you continue to insult me, I am leaving this conversation.” Dresden went to stand up, but the man grabbed him with a dirty hand.
“Sit your ass down and listen to me. You don’t have much time to do so. You know that.” He leaned far over and eyed the bottle on Dresden’s hip. The one object he would not let out of his sight. Dresden covetously covered it with a hand.
“Why would I trust you, exile? What do you expect to gain from me? Be gone and darken someone else’s life with your miserable existence.” Dresden was simply disgusted.
“I am Lazarus, Dragon Priest of the Temple of BasNassal, you christened your sword under my duty and my stead. We were brethren. I mean you no harm, fool. Shut up and hear me.”
Dresden leaned back against the chair, resting his boot on a knee. He shoved the beer aside. “Fine. Talk fast, because I will not sit and listen to you prattle about futures that have no meaning and will change on a donkey’s tail if the weather disagrees with it.”
With that Lazarus laughed. “Oh, you always did amuse me with your wit, Dresden. It did you no good in the Northern Land though. None at all. You were cocky and your arrogance brought the wrath of Sariahfina.” He whispered the Dragon’s name, peered around cautiously and continued. “That bottle either holds your doom or your exaltation. It’s your choice. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement I am proposing.”
A nasty grin dominated Dresden’s features. “I knew you wanted something, you snake!”
“Shut up and listen to me! You know what that bottle holds as well as I do. We were present at the ceremonies together. You’re not a fool. What did you hope to do, get a human to drink it for you? The new moon is two days away and you know what happens then.”
Both of Dresden’s hands lay clasped on the table now. His face had changed from angst to rapt attention. “Go on.”
“I need to die. And you have shite to do that requires you to be alive. Don’t question me!” Lazarus held up a hand when Dresden went to interrupt him. “It’s not your place to tell me how to live or die or when, and Sariahfina thinks she won by cursing us to this place forever. Look around you man! This is a human world now. The portals that existed, the treaties with the Elves, the Undines, the Elementals and all the other creatures… you remember, GONE. All of them are gone. There are a few dark entities left that this world hasn’t been able to kill off, but Numa? We will never set foot in our home world again and you know it!” Lazarus spoke with passion, grief and desperation. Dresden thought back to his longing feeling, perhaps it was a longing for Numa, the Dragon home world. An unfortunate event had caused very tenuous treaties to be dismantled overnight, leaving more than one race of beings stuck in a world that didn’t want them: Earth. Humans had overrun the lands, driven out the magic and anything associated with it. They were barbaric and uncivilized, even with all their formalities and politics. But Dresden had to argue that the Dragons weren’t much better, with their cruel ways and unforgiving mindset. Their choice not to participate in worldly affairs seemed to apply to everything except for him. They had meddled with his life in exile, and why? Why send mercenaries after him, especially women who were no match for him? He fingered the cork to the bottle.
“You know what this will do to you if you drink it.”
Lazarus grinned, leaning in, with both hands on the edge of the table; his face practically touching Dresden’s, he answered, “I don’t plan on living long enough for that to matter.” Then he sat back hard against the chair and let Dresden consider his words. Dragons were known for their time in thinking, speaking only once they formed the appropriate perspective to answer correctly.
“Why do you consider my life more valuable than yours?”
“Ah, a valid question. You are an asshole, donkey, a mongrel among Dragons wearing a despicable human being costume. It's not more valuable in terms of value. It is ideal to accomplish a feat that will ensure the Dragon Council must step down from their perch as overseers of Earth. The world will learn of the treacherous dealings happening on BasNassal. I am here to tell you that the Council of Seven are determined to do what you and others of us proposed, and which led to our fate as we sit here now. They will not succeed as long as you live, and you MUST live in order to prevent their treachery against the human race. You hoped to rule the people, to nurture mankind under the law of Draconian principals, but they intend to destroy humanity and take everything for themselves. You know what I say is true, there’s no need to look so hard into my soul. I have no reason to deceive you.”
Dresden had assumed that their exile was justified, given the gravity of the situation the Dragons had proposed, but now he questioned that. He realized that he and the others were simply in the way of Sariahfina’s plan for world domination that did not involve people at all.
The look on Dresden’s face made Lazarus laugh again. “You act like you like people,” he whispered. “What the hell is that all about?”
“I do not like people; human beings are primitive and scare easily. They are children as I have always said. Children need guidance. You do not have to like children to rear them well with discipline and learning. What I proposed was far more tolerable than wiping out a species native to this realm, as you claim Sariahfina hopes to achieve. Parents do not hate their children, Lazarus. I have always seen human beings this way. I do like children, there is wonder and newness in their eyes, an innocence and naivety that is unmatched. That is something worth protecting.”
Lazarus was nodding his head. “Which is why you must live and I must die. Here is what we need to do.”