PART 17

It concerned him, but men don’t speak about personal matters of the heart with one another.
Dresden spoke to more people in the Western province over the course of the next several days than he had in the entire month he’d been at the inn. He learned that Baylin had frequented the area for many years off and on and there were stories that a Dragon lurked in the Western woods that the Western province referred to as the Dead Forest. No children were allowed to play near there, and many of the adults feared the place as well since no game could be found, and on many occasions birds would not sing or fly near the forest. Many of the townsfolk told Dresden that the woods had been quiet for about a year now, but only a week ago, a worker in the Queen’s fields reported seeing deer fleeing the forest, heading for the coast.
“This is very unusual behavior for deer.” The man said as Dresden listened carefully. “My friend wasn’t drunk and I believed him when he told me what he saw.” Dresden was at the inn. Jukie was working the bar again tonight, but paid no attention to him as they’d agreed on. Vlad came over to Dresden’s table where he had an old farm hand recounting stories of the forest for him.
“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.” Dresden shook the man’s hand and went to his room. Vlad watched him go, then began talking to the farm hand that Dresden had been speaking to.
“What was he asking you just now?” Vlad asked casually.
“He wanted to know about the forest. You know, the Dead Forest. He just wanted to know if I had seen anything unusual over there. I haven’t, not in a long time, but my friend has, just last week. It’s a bad place. You don’t think he would go there do you?” The farm hand looked up at Vlad with concern in his eyes.
“Im sure Dresden can handle himself just fine. Don’t worry my friend. He is new here and must just be curious.” Vlad smiled amiably taking the pressure off the conversation. He went immediately to Dresden’s room and knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” Dresden called out.
“It’s Vlad. May I come in?”
Vlad had never come to his room before. Dresden stopped gathering his belongings that were accumulating on the bed to answer the door. When Vlad saw all of the clothes and the sword sitting on the mattress, he closed the door quickly behind him.
“Where are you off to then? You still have another two weeks paid up here you know?” Vlad wrung his hands nervously, he didn’t want to see Dresden leave, especially to the Dead Forest. It was a known cursed place, and the people avoided it for good reason. There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Vlad was hoping that they would become friends. Dresden had hoped that Vlad wouldn’t ask where he was going, or for how long. It would be difficult to explain what he planned to do next.
Vlad broke the silence first. “If you need to go, I understand. How does this sound my friend? I will hold your room for however long you need. No one comes to my inn anyways. You have two weeks left paid. If you want to return, you can stay here for the rest of the time you have paid for and I will cook for you when you get back. Perhaps we can talk then about your journey and what is so important that you cannot talk to your friend about it.” Vlad sounded a little hurt. He didn’t know what else to say.
Dresden nodded. He also wasn’t sure what to say. Vlad had indeed become a friend, as much of a friend that he could expect to have in his situation. How would Vlad feel if he knew the truth? Dresden guessed he knew the answer to that. His kind were not welcomed and certainly wouldn’t be considered a friend.
“I appreciate your kindness.” Dresden said, acknowledging Vlads awkwardness. “I have something I must do, so I plan to be away for several weeks, but I welcome the chance to return and share a meal with you again.” Dresden paused, noticing the smile that his words brought to Vlad’s face. He sighed deeply before continuing. “I have enjoyed my stay at your inn Vlad. Freida is a lovely woman. I’m happy for you. You deserve to be happy. Jukie will be glad to be rid of me, I assure you.” When he saw the confusion on Vlad’s face, he added, “I have done nothing to her that I regret, but she and I should not have become tangled in personal matters and I will respectfully leave it at that.”
This soothed Vlad a little to hear Dresden speak of Jukie. He wanted to know more, to hear what had transpired between them that caused both of them to clam up and distance themselves from each other and himself, but Vlad knew better. He would not press the matter. He smiled gently and made his leave, wishing Dresden the best wherever his journey led him. Dresden returned to the bed, sat down and stared at the door a moment, where Vlad had just been standing. He wished he could just leave this matter alone, but Baylin had been a stain on the human world for too long now. His hunger and lust had hurt people’s lives. His exile had made him dangerous to this budding world. Not to say that Dresden hadn’t done terrible things in the early years of his own exile, but Baylin hadn’t learned anything, hadn’t learned how to live amongst people peacefully. He’d had plenty of time to grow some respect for this land 's creatures. Baylin’s judgement day would come at the tip of his blade. Dresden was firm in this conviction and nothing would stop him from hunting Baylin down and giving him the death he deserved.
Kizjin Kol hummed within its sheath. The melodic tune called to Dresden, who picked up the sword lovingly and unsheathed it. When he ran his hand down the blade, he whispered some Draconian words into the air. His mind quieted. He let himself enter the quiet place where memories live. With the help of his sword coupled with his Dragon power, he thought of Baylin. Images of the Dragons on BassNassal filtered into his vision. He saw the monstrous Dragon of silver and grey, with horns twisting upwards towards the sky. He stood in the center of the temple on all fours with twelve other dragons. They were encircled by pillars and seven pedestals with a Dragon perched on each one towering above them. This was the ceremony of exile. This moment that sealed their fate. He walked around the edges of the circle, looking at each one of them, himself among the group, all awaiting their justice. Anger flared up within him, but he pushed it away and let the scene play out before him.
A crimson dragon with a long mane crowning her neck stood in front of them on the widest pedestal. She stood proudly, towering over the group below. When she spoke, her words echoed through the chambers of the gargantuan courtroom.
“Insurrection. Mutiny. Dissidence. You have been judged by the Council of Seven for your crimes against the neutrality treaty we declared with the human beings in this realm known as Earth.” Around the room, the other Dragons were nodding their heads in approval and agreement. “I Sariahfina, chosen leader of the Dragon Council, Ruler of BasNassa,l declare that your judgement on this day shall be the permanent exile from this island. You shall live the remainder of your life in the human world however you see fit to carry out your existence. You have been denounced as Dragons. You are disowned by your own kind. You have no home to return to, and if you ever attempt to return to BasNassal, the punishment will be instant death. I mercifully allow you to keep your lives upon the agreement that you shall never set foot on BasNassal for the remainder of your days. How you spend your exile will be up to you. We will be watching you from afar. We will be keeping you within our sights to ensure that you do not destroy the world we are exiling you to. You will not be allowed to band together during your exile and if you attempt to, you will be killed.”
The dragons below, shifted uncomfortably, some bore their teeth at the Council of Seven, some hung their heads. Lazarus was smiling. Dresden wondered if he had already foreseen this moment during his scrying. He looked himself over in Dragon form. Black as the night, his scales glinted off the high sun coming through the opening above the group. As a Dragon he looked like an intimidating creature, darkest among them in color. He was staring deeply into Sariahfina’s eyes with pure hatred. The others expressed their disgust in similar ways, twisting their heads around to stare at all the members of the Council of Seven. Baylin was grinning openly. He slowly turned to look at each member of the council. Dresden examined him now, through this memory and realized he was getting exactly what he wanted. He was thrilled to go into the world, unencumbered by the politics that kept them from meddling in the lives of creatures less than themselves. Dresden had been so self absorbed at the time, he hadn’t paid any attention to Baylin at this moment. He understood the hunger he now saw in the Dragon’s eyes. He walked over to Baylin, placed his human hand on his leg and allowed the memories to take him deeper into Baylins life. The flash forward of time carried Dresden to a place on the main continent where he could see for a long ways from the top of a great mountain. Baylin was sitting there, in human form, a Dragon man. The fire in front of him lit up Baylin’s face in a way that twisted his features. He appeared deranged, eyes wide, staring off into the distance at nothing. Dresden knelt down to see him better. His hair had become matted, his beard unruly, and dirt clung to his face and hands. Then Dresden heard the rustling of wings approaching. Baylin’s face lit up with a nasty grin as a teal and green colored Dragon lighted on the landing in front of him, stirring the flames with its beating wings.
“About time Galvinor. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.” Baylin remained sitting while the Dragon shifted into a human form, clothing himself with his robe that lay by the fire and resting on a stump across from Baylin.
“Now, now, now, haven’t I always kept my word to you? Don’t play the fool Baylin. You have known me too long for such a ruse.” Galvinor’s deep voice sounded like a grumble, almost a complaint. His large frame, twice the girth of Baylin gave him a formidable appearance.
Dresden watched the exchange between the two Dragon men. They spoke of conquer and conquest, feasting and women. They discussed a treacherous plan together. It was Dresden who had fought to keep the group together as much as possible in the early days of their exile. It was he who spoke of brotherhood and honor to the freshly exiled Dragons that were full of wrath in a new land. But this alliance had one purpose only, it was not honorable in any way and as he listened to the plan unfold, he understood why Dragons had become so hated in the world. These two before him had single handedly taken down empires together, murdering thousands, possibly more to staunch the growth that human beings were making across the land. They wanted them all dead and were working very hard to make that happen. With the new information he had of Sariahfina’s campaigned destruction of humanity, he began to wonder now if this was connected in some way to that. He had more questions than answers. The Dragon men talked through the night, but Dresden did not wait to hear everything. It was unimportant now, several hundred years later. He allowed the vision to fade, and saw once again the blade of Kizjin Kol on his lap. The sword hummed again, this time it was something more like speech. This time, the sound flashed an image in Dresden’s mind. He knew exactly where Baylin was.
“Thank you for showing me the way.” Dresden caressed the blade as it quieted. He returned it to the sheath and finished packing. There was much to be done and the sun was already well up. The Dead Forest stretched wide across the landscape and Baylin had been using it as a playground for long enough. Dresden gathered his belongings and left the inn quietly.