Chapter 7

The following new characters appear in this chapter and others:

Tsomo

Tibetan guide, 5’-7’’ tall, 145 pounds, 30 years of age, brown eyes, black hair

Banko Gyemtsen

The Great Lama, 5’-6’’ tall, 135 pounds, 65 years old, shaved head, brown eyes

A ... a Female Dragon! But there have been no Female Dragons for ... for forever. How can there be one here now?” the man asked in a shocked whisper.

“Of course, there are Female Dragons. Both of my parents are Dragons. I have two Sisters who are Dragons, and they each have two daughters who will grow up to be Dragons. It was my Mother, the Dragon Queen, plus the Queens of Old in the Jewel who sent me to find a lost Female Dragon. I found her in Cambodia, and she studied Magic in Thailand. We came to Nepal to look for the Dragon Nest in Tibet because the Chinese would have prevented us from going to Tibet,” I told him to an even more shocked look from him.

“You could be in trouble here already. The Chinese have spies everywhere. Do they know that you are here?” the man asked in a worried voice.

“Yes, I know about their spies. I killed two of their spies in Korat, Thailand. The CIA also has spies everywhere. I don’t think either of them know where we are,” I told him.

“Did you come by airplane? If so, they recorded your passport. Many of us from Tibet have no passport and want none. It is too easy for the government and the Chinese to find you if you have one. You should leave where you are staying and move to some place that won’t ask for your passport or ID card and report you to the government,” the man told us.

What he said made sense. Our passports and ID card numbers had been recorded at both Don Muang and the airport here. The CIA was bound to eventually learn that we had left Thailand, and where we had gone. Also, as he had said, the Chinese had spies everywhere, and they too would eventually learn where we were.

“My name is Craig and my wife’s name is Jorani. You don’t want to hear our Dragon names even in Gaelic. What is your name?” I asked him changing the subject.

“Master, I am called Tsomo. You are correct, it would not be good for you to say your Dragon names here. I cannot do much for you, as I am only a guide. We should go to see the Great Lama who is here. He will know what to do, and where you should go,” Tsomo told us, as he looked around at those near us suspiciously, but no one appeared to be paying any attention to us.

“Where is this Great Lama who will help us?” Jorani asked. “Is he here at this Temple?”

“No, the Great Lama does not come here. He escaped from Tibet many years ago, but the Chinese still hunt for him. Only a few of us know where he is. I can guide you there,” Tsomo told us.

I wasn’t sure of his story. He could be trying to lure us into a trap by the Chinese or even the CIA. If so, those involved would be very sorry. We would play their game and see where it led.

“What do we need to do?” I asked after several seconds.

“How did you come here? Was it by car?” he asked.

“Yes, the driver is waiting for us in the car to return us to our hotel,” I told him to a frown.

“You must send him back. He could follow us or could be a spy. We must be very careful,”Tsomo told us in a worried voice.

“I could tell him that we are staying here at the Temple overnight,” Jorani told him, reentering the conversation.

“Yes, that is an excellent idea. Tell him to return tomorrow. After seeing the Great Lama, you will have a plan of what to do. We have a place where you can stay while working on the plan,” he told us.

Jorani went out to the parking lot and talked to our driver for a few minutes before returning. We waited until he had been gone for several minutes before following Tsomo out of the Temple area by a different exit. He led us into an area of buildings some distance from the Stupa complex. We moved down several narrow streets and changed directions a couple of times. The buildings along these streets were crowded together cheek by jowl. They were three, four, and five stories tall. They were narrow but deep. No two were the same in looks, construction, or materials. Eventually, we came to the ordinary looking entrance of a building that appeared no different than those around it, at least on the outside.

We were met by two men in the narrow entrance area of the building. Tsomo spoke to them in what Jorani later told me was Tibetan. They both frowned but allowed us to pass through the entrance and into the back part of the building. The transfer, as we passed through the curtain to the rest of the building was amazing. Jorani and I had both felt the Magic that was used as we passed through the curtain. I wasn’t sure what spell was used. There was a lot of Regular or Ordinary Magic in use here in Kathmandu. Much of it was associated with the many religious sites in and around the city. I was sure though that if the police or someone not approved by those out front came into the building, they would not find themselves in this new location, but in the empty back part of that building.

There were many candles burning here, and the large room looked like several of the temples that we had visited in Kathmandu. There were butter lamps burning and prayer wheels in use plus chanting by those present. It all stopped shortly after we appeared. There was an older man in a monk’s robes who had been leading the chanting. He turned and looked at us, and a surprised look appeared on his face. He said something to another man in a similar robe before standing and strode away from those who had been chanting, walking toward a doorway at the side of the room.

“We are to follow the Great Lama,” Tsomo told us. As we moved toward the doorway, the chanting began again. The doorway opened onto a short hallway. At the end of the hall was a room. The old Monk was seated on an ornately carved wooden chair when we arrived.

“This is the Great Lama, Banko Gyemtsen. His name means ‘Everlasting Banner of Victory,” Tsomo told us. We all bowed deeply to the Great Lama.

“You are both Dragons. There have been no Dragons here for a long time. One of you is a Female Dragon. There have been no Female Dragons for a long, long time. They disappeared long before even the Lord Buddha was born. How can there be one here now?” the Lama asked in fairly good English.

“Yes, Great Lama, we are both Dragons. I was sent by my Mother, the Dragon Queen, to find a lost Female Dragon. We have come here instead of going to China, as they would not have allowed us to visit Tibet. We are looking for the Dragon’s Nest that is in Tibet,” I told him.

“The location of the Dragon’s Nest was forgotten thousands of years ago. It was sometime after the last of the Female Dragons disappeared. What records there were from that period, the Chinese destroyed when they invaded Tibet. I do not know where to tell you to look. I am sorry,” the Lama told us in a sincere voice.

“We were planning to visit Mount Kailash. There has to be something there as it has been a holy site for several religions for a very long time,” I told him.

“’Kangri Rinpoche’ is the Tibetan name for the mountain. It means ‘Precious Snow Mountain’. Pilgrims have visited it for thousands of years.

“The Chinese are very careful who they allow to go there. How will you gain access to the area?” the Lama asked.

“There are tours of the mountain. If we can get close to it, we will change to our Dragon forms and fly around the area. We should be able to locate the Nest by the remaining Magic there,” I told him.

“That area is vast. The mountains are high and the air there is thin. Often it is very cold there. You will not find it an easy task,” the Lama warned us.

“Still, we must try. The Spirit of Ley Line Magic will help us,” Jorani told him to a smile.

“If you are that committed, we can help you get to the mountain. First though, you must disappear from the sight of the government. Can you stay here with us for a time while things are arranged?” he asked.

“Yes, we can stay here. We will retrieve our things from the hotel. We will also need better clothing for the coming cold weather. We are able to pay for what we need,” I told him.

“How will you retrieve your things from the hotel? It could be dangerous to return there,” Tsomo asked in a worried voice interrupting us.

“We will use Magic. They will not know that we have been there until they find the room empty. First, though, we will need a place to return to. I don’t believe that you would want us to return here,” I told them to smiles.

“Tsomo, take our guests to one of our secure locations. One where they will not look out of place,” the Lama told our guide.

“I know the best place, Great Lama. The Dragon Guest House and restaurant,” Tsomo told him.

“Very good. Make it so. May the Buddha go with you and guide you,” the Lama Banko Gyemtsen told us in dismissal.

We left the building by a different entrance. Tsomo led us down several streets. After a time, he pointed out a large building as we passed it.

“Scechen Monastery. If lost, ask for directions to it,” he told us. Right after that, we came to the Dragon Guest House. It is in a five story building. The property is surrounded by a six foot tall masonry wall, and it appeared to be quite nice. Tsomo led us into the reception area. The older local woman there did not appear to be happy to see him. Apparently, she could not see that we were Dragons as nothing was said about that. He spoke to her in Nepali or Tibetan, I wasn’t sure which. Eventually, the woman looked better and smiled at us as Tsomo turned back to us.

“I have arranged for a room on the fourth floor. It is a large room. You share the bathroom with those in the other rooms on that floor. The room is 1250 NPR a night. You can expect to be here up to four days. There is a restaurant on the ground floor. It is what you call a vegetarian restaurant. There are other restaurants in the area,” he told us. I counted out 5,000 NPR and gave it to the woman who was apparently the manager or the owner, to pay for the four days.

“I will return tomorrow after you are settled. We will go to see about winter clothing,” Tsomo told us before departing.

“I will take you up to the room,” the older woman said in good English, surprising us.

“Where is your luggage?” she asked on seeing that we only had backpacks with us.

“We need to retrieve it. Let’s look at the room first, and then we will bring it here,” I told her.

“We should eat first before retrieving our luggage,” Jorani told me. “We can try the restaurant here,” she added.

The older woman took us up to the room. There were no elevators in any of these buildings. The three flights of stairs to the fourth floor were long, but not unusually so. The room was very nice with a queen size bed, a desk, and several windows. There was a ceiling fan and a lamp on the desk. A sign in English and other languages stated that the room had free WiFi. The woman also showed us where the bathroom was. There were three other rooms on this floor that shared it. It appeared to be very neat and clean with a shower and a western toilet. She left us following that.

“Do you really want to eat first?” I asked Jorani when we were alone in the room.

“Yes, it’s rather late. Also, I have noticed that those working at the Karma Travelers Home usually relax in the afternoon. They aren’t as vigilant then,” she told me. Obviously, she had been paying more attention to things like that there than I had.