Chapter 11

Ricky didn’t consider himself a stupid man, after all, he was a hundred and fifty years old.

Ricky was not happy about why Kerr was setting up a camp on his plateau. To go anywhere near dragons was a fools’ errand at the best of times. To try and capture a dragon was an even greater one.

The dragons on this island didn’t make good pets, and they went psycho if kept captive for any length of time as previous royals had learnt to their detriment. If the people with Kerr approached the wrong dragon, they would be dinner or just plain dead.

In fact, most dragons didn’t go for polite conversation first. They had a deep-seated distrust of humans and for very good reasons. If you were in their home and they didn’t invite you, you became dinner, not a dinner guest.

Very few humanoids were invited to their mountain, and the dragons had exceptionally long memories if you were stupid enough to come back uninvited a second time.

Ricky knew that it was only because of the fates that he was alive and even on speaking terms with Fleur the Dragon Queen. He rubbed the band on his arm as he worried about her and her people.

The fact he had rescued her daughter Silver, didn’t hurt either.

Forty-five years before, he had been on his way home from visiting Mineral City.

He had stopped at an Inn just outside of Emerald Dale. The idiot that stole the egg that Silver hatched from also had a room in that Inn. The only reason that he had lived was that he’d been downstairs at the bar drinking when Silver hatched.

Silver’s high-pitched cries had pierced Ricky’s magically enhanced hearing. He had the room next door. Ricky had to investigate the noise because it was driving him crazy and making his eyes twitch. Her cries were that distracting that he had difficulty saying the spell to unluck the door.

Upon spying him, Silver had mentally bonded with him. At first, Ricky had thought it was because he was a High Mage. He had read that dragons were sensitive to magical people, and if they were a baby and liked the magician, they would bond with them. The greater the ability of the magical person, the stronger the bond and the more likely it would happen.

It wasn’t until later that he learnt that wearing the armband was also why she had bonded with him. He was the Dragon’s Paladin but hadn’t really understood all that this title meant since it was handed down to him from his father.

At the time he did wish Queen Fleur had also explained what was expected from him when they had first met. It was also why he could hear Silver’s cries when no one else in the Inn could.

Ricky knew that even in her weakened state if the idiot who stole her had entered the room before he had, she would have killed him and then eaten as much of him as possible, considering her size.

Most people were unaware that dragons could also breathe out a vapour that paralysed their prey. Even newly hatched dragons like Silver, who were commonly around 30cm tall when standing on their hind legs, could easily kill a human once they had immobilised them.

It was because the hot vapour being breathed out in winter looked like steam, that people thought the dragons breathed out fire. People would believe the silliest of rumours.

Mages and witches that wore strong magical items with at least three gems were impervious to the gases. One other good reason for a dragon baby to make nice to a mage. The rest of the population and novice mages (only one or two gems) were, however, fair game.

Ricky had cracked open the balcony door to the idiot’s room to make it look as if someone had gotten in and stolen the egg. The fool shouldn’t have selected the second floor with a balcony that was so easy to get onto from the tree planted beside it.

Ricky collected the shell pieces and then took the baby dragon back to his room, next door. Silver had been forced to hatch early because she got too cold. She was weak because, while she was perfectly formed, she hadn’t grown to her full capacity and strength.

Had she stayed where her mother had put her, she would have continued to grow for several more months during the winter and then gone into suspended animation until the right circumstances or her mother had wished her to hatch.

Ricky had to make Silver a nest as hot as he could, to keep her warm. He bundled Silver into one of his spare town-shirts and put her in the water pot that hung near the fire in his room. Fortunately, he had his bag of magical crystals with him and with quick thinking, he was able to push some of the magic from his own body into them.

He then put them around Silver’s shivering body with some hot rocks that he also spelled. He hoped the bedding didn’t burn as he stoked up the fire up.

Silver was able to draw the magical energy from the crystals and sucked in the heat from the fire, so she didn’t have to rely on her own limited abilities. Now she needed food, and she sent that image to Ricky.

Even with Silver heated, Ricky knew riding the 180km back to his plateau with her would be hard on Silver and his magical abilities. There was a high probability that before he got her home, she would die. His body heat wouldn’t be enough without the magic once he was exhausted.

The next problem was that he had two lankys and a loaded-up cart with him because he was on his way home after having just come back from a shopping trip to Mineral City, so he couldn’t travel fast, and he couldn’t blink to the crossroads.

His other worry was that if he left now, even an idiot would work out that he had stolen the egg and could have only gone one of four ways. He then chuckled, “Who in their right mind took a stolen baby dragon back to its mother?”

He sighed because he knew it was exactly what he would be doing. Silver cried, and he shushed her as he patted her still soft scales. He knew that she desperately needed food, and so did he. He headed downstairs to order a double helping of the roast meat and vegetables that were on offer.

He had no sooner sat down to drink a tankard of beer while he waited for the food, and to his surprise, Kerr joined him. Ricky hadn’t seen the man for five years as it seemed he hadn’t stopped at the crossroads when he was home, during that time. It was soon apparent to Ricky that Kerr didn’t remember him.

“Hey, pretty boy, you here all alone?” Kerr slurred as he rubbed against Ricky drunkenly and suggestively.

Ricky wasn’t really surprised that Kerr had no idea who he was. It was rare that his one-night conquests remembered his face and that was by design, not chance.

He was also dressed in more acceptable clothing for being out in public and had his hair tied back neatly.

Ricky was still in his fancy togs because he had to go visit his agent and his banker in Mineral City.

His agent had requested a special shipment of Quaz crystals as he had sold most of his stock due to some unusually large orders. Normally his agents sent him a courier after the snows melted and in early autumn.

Ricky had devised a system where the courier from each agent in each of the major cities and dales could access one of the three large draws under the vanity in one of the loos at the crossroads.

First, the agent deposited the money owing for the weight in crystals requested with his banker. The banker gave them a token with the weight, his signature and the agent’s name drawn on it. The courier put the token in the draw when they arrived at the crossroads.

The next morning, they could open that draw and only that draw, and retrieve the crystals. This time the courier had also left a note telling him that his Mineral City banker and agent would like to see him urgently.

He had planned a shopping trip, so he decided to go before the snowstorms made it hard to get back to his home. For this trip, he had determined that he would need to take two lankys and his cart with him. He kept it in pieces in one of his storage rooms until he needed it.

Ricky wasn’t happy when he learnt that the banker hadn’t sent the message. Lady Shella did have the coin for the crystals so that part was legitimate. She even recognised the token and knew the courier. His agent often used the man.

Lady Shella was happy to see him, and they did discuss business. She often kept him up to date with any worthwhile investments he might like to be involved in. So, it wasn’t all bad as she did have a deal that she thought he might like since he was there.

When Ricky checked, he found that the agent had also gotten the crystals, so all was good there too. His agent was delighted with the quality and said that he would like to increase his orders in future.

He had a new customer that had devised a new invention that used the crystals. The increase would be more than Ricky’s maximum for a single buyer, but then the man had been a good customer of many years, so he agreed.

The courier, when Ricky found the man, did with a little persuasion admit that a handsome young man had given him the note when he stopped at the inn outside Emerald Dale on his way to the crossroads. He had been told it was a personal request from the young man to the mage at the crossroads.

When Kerr sat beside him in the inn, Ricky knew who sent the note and who stole the egg. He was somewhat amazed at the audacity of the man, even if appalled. He was also shocked that Kerr was silly enough to get into his cups.