Chapter 11: Here There Be Dragons

IT WAS DOWNRIGHT SPOOKY in the morning to just wake up, fix breakfast, and break camp without any conflicts, attacks, strange people, or weirdness around us. The other campers were also stirring, but each allowing the others their privacy. It looked like a family camp and most of the people were there for longer than a single night.

As we sat around our fire eating breakfast and drinking coffee, we saw people out walking—some looking like they were prepared for a major hike. We returned their waves and everyone smiled. I started getting uneasy. This was just too idyllic. Then a couple stopped and turned in at our campsite with their friendly wave.

“Welcome, strangers,” the man said. “We’re the camp hosts, Frankie and Johnnie. You planning to stay on a while?”

“Oh, no,” I drawled. “We’re just overnighting. Do we owe a fee?”

“The campgrounds in Victoriana are free to the public. No fees necessary,” the woman responded. “You must be on a quest. Do you need any information?”

“As a matter of fact,” Misty said, “we’re looking for Baron Federico Rex, who was kidnapped from East Love.”

“Oh! Didn’t know he’d been kidnapped. Old man Hakuryu said the boy was his great nephew. If you just continue up this road—oh, I’d say—thirty miles, you’ll get to Gold Bar. Pretty good sized city for this part of the Land,” the man said. “Turn left at—let me see now, one, two, yeah—the third traffic light, and just outside the city limits you’ll come to The Trove. It’s a gated community where everyone is rich, beautiful, and pleasant. Two out of three. I’m not exactly sure which place is Hakuryu’s, but someone there should be able to tell you.”

“You mean everyone knows this Hakuryu and that he has the Sovereign’s son in his house and no one has done anything about it?” I asked in disbelief.

“Well, the boy—Baron—is kind of a local legend. He’s got the best Last Battle score going and is an absolute wizard at the Quazar Arcade.”

“Ha!” Princess exploded. “I can beat him at Last Battle anytime.”

“Let’s not start the negotiations with a challenge,” I said. “Remember you have a different goal. Maybe he’s gotten better.”

“Yeah. Like, sure.”

“I think we should pack up and hit the road. Looks like we’re near our goal,” Misty said. I thanked the camp hosts and we got the tent and food put away. I doused the coals while Roadkill and Shasta took one more outdoor opportunity and the rest of us used the latrines again. It was definitely time to move.

Mile 1364

The TripTik agreed with the host’s directions and in a little over an hour, we were pulling up to the gated community, The Trove. What a strange name. I gave the gate attendant the name of Hakuryu and that the Wizard Warrior and Princess were calling. I wanted to include Misty, too, but she didn’t have a title, so I just said, ‘and company.’ It seemed to be adequate for the guard. He called someone and then opened the gate.

“Last one, straight ahead,” he said, waving us through. It was almost as if we were expected. I wondered if Valentine got here before us.

The community was entirely huge estates with a hodgepodge of every style dwelling imaginable, as long as the McMansion could be supersized. There was a soaring glass contemporary next to a Victorian gingerbread. Then one made of stone and another in typical Texas-style colonial with a two-story entry and columns along the front. The last house on the cul-de-sac was a Gothic mansion straight out of Frankenstein. Oh, that was a comforting thought!

We drove straight up to the parking area in front of the doors and all jumped out of the car. I was looking around for possible threats, but didn’t even see another car. I assumed they must be inside the carriage house. I laughed at that, because there was a basketball hoop above one of the garage doors. Well, maybe Baron was the active type. The door of the mansion opened and a man in a butler outfit—I guess it’s just a tux with tails and white gloves—stepped out to greet us.

“Please come in and refresh yourselves. Mister Hakuryu begs your pardon until the mid-day repast as he is terribly busy at the moment. I have prepared a room for you. Please forgive me if my assumption that you would all want to room together is incorrect.”

“A room?” I said. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to freshen up. We camped out last night. Okay. Thanks.” He led us up a massive flight of stairs and along a second floor balcony to double doors that opened into a light and airy room with a huge bed on one side and correctly sized dog and cat beds at the foot. He pointed at a bell cord.

“If you need anything at all, just ring.” He bowed and pulled the doors closed behind him.

“This place is bigger than the ghost hotel,” Princess said.

“How did that butler guy know we were going to arrive today so he had a room ready for us?” Misty asked. “And how did he know how many and of what species are in our party? Look, a dog and cat bed just the right size.”

“Yeah. Look in the bathroom,” Princess added. “Three sets of towels, fluffy robes, and even our favorite shampoos.”

“It seems strange,” I said, “but everything that happens seems strange to me these days. If Mr. Hakuryu is busy ‘until mid-day repast,’ why didn’t he take us to see Baron? And why am I so tired, I think I’ll pass out on that big bed?”

“Do we dare?” Misty asked, bouncing on the side of the bed.

“We’re in the dragon’s lair now. It’s too late to question his hospitality,” I yawned. We all three collapsed and went to sleep.

The knocking on the door woke us up. I jumped out of bed to find out what was going on.

“Dinner will be served in forty-five minutes. Your clothes have been cleaned and pressed. There are fresh towels in the bath. Please follow Midge to the dining room when you are ready,” the butler said when I opened the door.

“Okay. Sure.” I looked behind him and a small woman nodded and bobbed her head. I turned back to my companions. Misty and Princess jumped out of bed naked and I realized I was bare as well.

“When did they take our clothes?” Princess asked. “I don’t remember undressing.”

“There are only three possibilities,” Misty pronounced as she headed toward the shower. “Either we got up and took them off so they could be cleaned and then forgot about it; or we were so deeply asleep that they came in and undressed us without waking us up; or the clothes were spirited off our bodies and cleaned by magic.” She paused in the doorway while I spoke.

“Or four: Jackie is dreaming and that detail wasn’t important, so it was skipped over.”

“Yeah. Or that,” Misty said. She started the shower and we cycled in and out, getting ourselves dressed in clothes that looked as good as new. There wasn’t a speck of blood on any of my clothes, which I found amazing after the amount that had been sprayed on me. When Midge rapped softly on our door, we were ready. Even the dog and cat had clean vests and boots and collars. It was like being in the last scene of Star Wars where they all go into the award ceremony sparkling clean in the same clothing they did battle in. Did it ever strike you as strange that the only person in that entire series who ever changed clothes was Princess Leia? We followed Midge to the dining room.

Mr. Hakuryu greeted us. Standing beside him was ten-year-old Baron Federico Rex.

“Rico!” Princess said, jumping forward to hug her brother.

“Bridge,” he answered, embarrassed by the outpouring but still wanting to hug his sister.

“My gosh, you’ve grown! You’re almost as tall as I am,” Princess said.

“Yeah, but you’ve always been short,” he answered.

“Come, children. Heroes. Familiars. Let’s sit and relate adventures as we eat.” He seated Baron next to him and Princess to the seat beside her brother. The butler ushered me to the other side of Hakuryu and Misty sat beside me. The dog and cat had places on the floor at the foot of the table. The food began arriving in abundance! I didn’t realize how hungry I’d become. It seemed like every time I turned around, I was hungry again.

“You wouldn’t believe the game room here!” Baron was telling his sister. “Ryu and I spend hours a day there. We were in a huge contest this morning that went on until about an hour ago.”

“What were you playing?”

“Last Battle. It was epic!”

“Think you can beat me at it?” Princess challenged.

“Oh, yeah. No sweat. I’ve studied all your moves,” Baron said.

“Why did you study all her moves?” I asked. “Sounds like some pretty serious research.”

“Ryu says a good warrior studies the moves of his enemy so he can see the weaknesses. It’s also so that when something surprises you, you can quickly identify that it is new and categorize it. You aren’t surprised by every move,” Baron said. He was talking like a general.

“So, you just play games here all the time?” Misty asked. “Baron hasn’t gone to school in the past year?”

“School. Ick!” Baron said succinctly.

“Perhaps so, but it is necessary,” Hakuryu said. “We have tutors who come nearly every day. I assure you I have not neglected young Baron’s education.”

“I guess we should talk about why we’re here,” I said. “We need to take Baron back to East Love for the succession celebration.”

“I don’t wanna go,” the boy said. I winced.

“I would miss him terribly if he left,” Hakuryu said. “Perhaps if I send some kind of gift to his parents, they will consent to let him stay.”

“I have to say that everything seems fine here, but there are other things to consider. If Baron does not appear, there will be a general election for a successor. The most likely candidate is Valentine Caesar. I assume you know him from having him bring Baron here,” I said.

“In fact, I chased him off and refused to have him visit again,” Hakuryu said. “A thoroughly disgusting young man.”

“At least our opinion of him matches. He’s been trying to stop us from getting here every step along the way. As if there weren’t enough natural dangers,” I said. “His grandfather has apparently been importing and strong-arming people in East Love and perhaps all over the Land to vote for Valentine as a replacement. If Valentine is elected as successor, he will sue for Princess Bridget Rex’s hand in marriage to cement the position. We really want to avoid that.”

“I’d have to wait a year before I could poison him and inherit the succession,” Princess said. “You should be glad you aren’t a girl, Baron. Nobody listens to what you want.”

“Nobody listens to me, either, except Ryu.”

“August Caesar is a wizard of some power,” Ryu said. “That’s the only reason I’ve kept Baron here. I didn’t think it was safe to send him home.”

“Maybe there’s a way to make everyone happy,” Misty volunteered. We all turned our attention to her as she fed some chicken from her plate to Shasta. “Baron, you have a place here with Hakuryu that you don’t want to leave. I don’t blame you at all. Mr. Hakuryu wants you to stay. Princess wants to be the successor to her father and rule all the Land. I’m all for that. She’ll make a wonderful Sovereign. But we have the problem of the interloper and the succession celebration, which could dash everyone’s dreams. Why don’t you come back to East Love for the celebration, then abdicate in favor of your sister? Then you can come back here with Mr. Hakuryu, if he really wants you. How does that sound?”

“I wouldn’t have to go back and live there forever? Ryu, could I really come back here?”

“I would be delighted to have you back, son. I believe Miss Misty has presented a plan that is acceptable to all of us. And I believe I can make it acceptable to your parents,” the old man said. “It is not uncommon for royalty to give a hostage as a sign of goodwill to powerful lords in the land. I will press ancient treaty rights. There are not many of my kind left in the Land, but we could create an enormous amount of trouble if upset.”

“Your kind?” I asked. I wondered if he meant Japanese.

“I am descended from the ancient dragon of Japan, Ryujin. The bloodline has been thinned through intermarriage over the years, but many peoples in the southern part of the Land of Victoriana owe their allegiance to me.”