Bridges and Bears
Kendra, Seth, and Henrick trotted under the trees, a vague shadowland of contorted shapes. Underbrush rustled as the horses plunged forward in single file. Kendra knew she could see better than Seth and probably better than Henrick, and still the shapes sliding past remained confusing. She kept her head down to avoid the grasping limbs. Vegetation swished against her legs. Henrick maintained a quick pace for a long while, finally slowing to a walk.
"We're being watched," Kendra whispered. She could see eyes at the edge of the dimness.
"Perceptive," Henrick said. "Nothing to fret about. Just moss people. Shy folk. Hiders, not fighters. We're about to lose the cover of trees for a time. Stay with me."
They emerged from the woods on a wide, grassy slope. The horses cantered downhill. After the gloom under the trees, the moonlit panorama looked bright. Kendra scanned the sky. Patches of clouds obscured many of the stars. She saw no dragons.
Up ahead, the slope fell away into a ravine. A bridge spanned the gap, and another slope rose on the far side. As they approached the bridge, a lean form sprang up from underneath, blocking the way. The creature had a narrow chest and abdomen, but broad shoulders and long limbs. The heavy jaw and upturned tusks emphasized a pronounced underbite, and thorny spines covered the scaly scalp. The lanky figure stood nearly as tall as Henrick.
"Slow the pace, travelers," the figure announced. "This bridge has been claimed."
Henrick came to a stop, holding out a hand for Kendra and Seth to halt as well. Glory obeyed him before Kendra could react.
"Stand down," Henrick ordered. "This bridge is property of the sanctuary, accessible to all."
"Don't get lost in the past when we're standing in the present," the creature said. "I'm no historian. This bridge might have been common property long ago. Today it has been claimed. Today it is mine."
"I am Henrick, son of—"
The creature waved away his words. "I know who you are! I'm not new."
"Then you know I'm the gamekeeper of Wyrmroost," Henrick said.
The creature chuckled. "Are you? Or were you?"
"I am," Henrick said firmly, taking a single step forward.
"You know who I am?" the creature asked.
"I know your kind," Henrick said. "Stand down before this escalates."
"And what kind is that?"
"Gate troll," Henrick replied. "Sometimes called a bully troll."
"And here you come, subtle as a brick, threatening me on my bridge," the troll said. "Price just went up. Way up."
"I'm in no mood for play," Henrick said, his hand a blur as he pulled an arrow from his quiver and set it to the string of his bow.
An ax appeared in the hand of the troll, and he lunged to the side of the bridge, where the railing provided some cover. "But you're the gamekeeper! Surely you like games!"
"Stand down and wait for easier prey," Henrick said. "You're out of order."
"Whose order?" the troll asked. "I heard the Dragon King is the new chief around here. Tore up Blackwell Keep. Not long now before he drives off the mortals. What rules will you enforce then? What status will you enjoy? Way I see it, the time of listening to you give orders has come to an end."
"You stand before me armed, troll, impeding my way," Henrick said. "I'll ask you a third time; then I let arrows fly."
"That so?" the troll replied. "Looking for a fight tonight, are you? Even with the precious cargo watching?" He looked past Henrick to Kendra and Seth.
"I'm warning you, Grimp," Henrick said, pulling the arrow back, ready to fire.
Grimp crouched low, now mostly hidden behind the railing, his ax still visible, glinting in the moonlight. "You know my name! Is that supposed to impress me? Here you are, skulking about in the night. Two kids in tow. Sanctuary on the brink of anarchy. You really want to fight? How fast can you kill me, mooseman? Before any kids get hurt? Before we raise a commotion? Don't you want to hear my terms?"
"Speak," Henrick said, arrow still ready.
Grimp licked his lips. "After you cross, the bridge belongs to me. Officially. Not squatter's rights. Not a claim. Mine. Final word from the illustrious gamekeeper."
"Unacceptable," Henrick said with a growl.
"It costs you nothing," Grimp replied. "I already claimed it. This bridge is almost never used by the Blackwell staff. And you won't be pretending to have a say over it much longer."
"Unacceptable," Henrick repeated.
"I'll throw in lifetime privileges," the troll said. "You ever come back this way, cross as often as you like, with whoever accompanies you."
"Not a chance," Henrick said.
"One last offer," Grimp said. "Tell me who is with you and your business tonight. On your honour. And you're free to pass."
"I'm glad that was the last offer," Henrick said.
"Are you sure you want a brawl rather than a negotiation?" Grimp asked. "Are you sure you can take me before they get hurt? Are you even sure you can take me?"
"Let's find out," Henrick said.
"No counterproposal?" Grimp asked.
"Sure. Move out of the way. Three. Two."
The troll lifted a tube to his lips. Kendra flinched, fearing it was a blowgun, but the troll ducked under the railing and slipped beneath the bridge. A long, low note sounded. A moaning call.
"Ride!" Henrick yelled, bow still ready.
Glory surged forward and Kendra hung on tight. Mendigo sat behind her, clattering and tinkling. "Protect us as needed, Mendigo!" she called.
Galloping beside her brother, Kendra raced across the bridge. Henrick followed, bow still ready. Looking back, Kendra saw no sign of the troll. But the moaning call kept sounding.
"Dire bears," Henrick said as he caught up. "The scoundrel is calling dire bears. He knew he couldn't stand up against me in a fair fight. Trolls and their traps."
They started racing up the slope at the far side of the bridge. The way ahead was clear except for brush and bushes, with trees off to either side.
"Dire bears sound bad," Seth said.
"Bigger and more aggressive than any bear you know," Henrick said. "Magically enhanced. Huge and fierce. Several roam this area of the sanctuary."
"Will they come?" Kendra shouted.
"Depends," Henrick said. "If Grimp prepared correctly, he conditioned them by blowing the call and having fresh meat at the bridge."
A huge roar bellowed from off to one side.
"Not good?" Seth asked.
"Glory, Noble, keep going toward the grove," Henrick said. "I'll rejoin you later."
With an arrow still held ready, Henrick veered to the right, toward the sound of the roar. Kendra watched in fear as a pair of bears the size of elephants stormed out of the forest. Grotesque spines bristled on their heads, backs, and shoulders, and vicious teeth showed when they roared again.
Henrick ran straight at them, an arrow nocked and ready. He swerved as the nearest sprang at him, launching an arrow into the immense, shaggy beast. The attacking bear just missed the alcetaur, who circled around and released a second arrow into the hindquarters of the other dire bear.
Glory continued to pound up the slope beside Noble. The weedy ground streaked by in a blur. Kendra realized that she could get really hurt just by falling. Glancing to the side and back, she saw that Henrick had succeeded in getting the hulking bears to chase him.
"Should we help him?" Seth called.
"He wants us to get away," Kendra replied. "He told us he's fast. If we go back we might endanger him more. Once we're clear he can run."
"What about Mendigo?" Seth asked.
"Against the bears?" Kendra shouted. "I don't think he's big enough. He wouldn't even slow them."
Seth seemed satisfied.
Kendra looked back again. Henrick was leading the dire bears toward the bridge. The bears were very fast, but his zigzagging path seemed to give them trouble. Turning was not their forte.
Noble and Glory plunged into woodlands again, and Kendra could no longer see Henrick or the colossal bears. The deeper they fled into the trees, the more Kendra hoped the horses knew where they were going. She had no idea.
After some time they emerged from the woods. The horses ran along ridges and over hills. Racing through the night without Henrick kept Kendra on edge. The night sounds made her anxious—ominous hoots and chilling howls. What if they met more dire bears? Or a dragon?
As they cantered across a moonlit meadow, Kendra heard hoofbeats from behind. Turning, she was relieved to see Henrick catching up. Noble and Glory slowed without being told.
"We can pause here," Henrick said, coming to a stop. Sweat glossed his torso, and he was panting. There were noticeably fewer arrows in his quiver.
The horses halted as well.
"Are you all right?" Kendra asked.
"I got some exercise," Henrick said. "There were a few close calls."
"Those bears were enormous," Seth said.
"Dangerous beasts," Henrick agreed. "Savage. Strong. My arrows were minor annoyances. But the dire bears lost interest in me after I outdistanced them."
"Should you have bargained with the troll?" Kendra asked.
"I wish I could have," Henrick said. "I didn't want to provoke violence, especially with you two present. But Grimp was testing his limits. As you witnessed, our authority is in question right now. If I had yielded to his demands, word would have spread quickly that we are on our way out and can be bought. That we back down under duress. It would have spawned much bigger problems in the future."
"Good thinking," Seth approved.
"Necessary thinking, if we want Wyrmroost to survive," Henrick said. "This sanctuary is a wild place under the best conditions. We already have enough enemies. We can't afford to lose our credibility."
"Are we getting close to Dromadus?" Kendra asked.
"Almost there," Henrick said. "This way."
Kendra and Seth followed Henrick to the edge of the meadow. They rode through some small trees and came out into a field. At the far side of the field, Kendra saw a grove of sequoias towering in the moonlight.
"That has to be it," Kendra said.
"I believe so," Henrick replied, eyes on the sky.
Kendra looked up too, scanning for dragons. She saw only stars. The moon was slowly disappearing behind another cloud.
They hurried to the redwoods. The grove included perhaps fifty trees, spaced widely apart, with little undergrowth between them. Deep, jagged grooves marred the rough bark of the thick trunks.
At the centre of the grove they found a clearing. Toward the centre of the clearing a pair of what looked like cellar doors were flanked by large stones. The upright stones had flat surfaces that carried several inscriptions. Kendra could not read some of them. The rest repeated a single word: WELCOME.
"I see a lot of 'welcome,'" Seth said. "What does the rest say?"
"Probably the same invitation in various languages," Henrick said. "I can't read them all. But enough to guess."
Kendra dismounted and approached the stones. "I can read these." She touched the legible words. Each "welcome" looked like English to her, though she knew several were being translated by her fairykind abilities.
"'Welcome,'" Seth said, touching one that Kendra could read. "And this. And this. This too. And this."
Some of the inscriptions Seth indicated looked like gibberish to Kendra. As a shadow charmer, he could read some languages that remained foreign to her. But she knew that some of the languages she understood were illegible for him.
"Impressive," Henrick said. "Between the two of you, you can decipher most of the languages of the magical races. Highly unusual for mortals."
"What if the stuff we can't read is the fine print?" Seth aske
d. "Welcome . . . to dinner. You are the main course."
"The simple welcome message is ominous enough," Henrick said. "One of the first rules of Wyrmroost is to let sleeping dragons lie. Don't stir up trouble with the most powerful predators in the magical world. Dragon lairs are never inviting. And yet this one has a clear invitation."
"Like a spiderweb welcoming the flies," Kendra said.
"You get the idea," Henrick replied, looking around. "You two came to see Dromadus. We appear to be unobserved."
"Are you coming with us?" Kendra asked.
"My presence would reduce your chances for help," Henrick said. "Your vulnerability makes you more appealing. And inside the lair of a dragon, if he decided to kill you, there would be nothing I could do to stop him."
"Would the dragon freeze you up?" Seth wondered.
"I can hold my own against a dragon," Henrick said. "I can still move and speak. Otherwise I would be an unfit gamekeeper. But the presence of a dragon is not comfortable. My preference is to run."
Kendra took Seth's hand. "I guess it's just us."
"And me," Calvin chirped from Seth's pocket. "I've never met a dragon."
"Don't be surprised if you get frozen with fear," Seth said.
"That's never happened to me before," Calvin said. "Either I'll find out I'm as brave as I suspect, or I'll have a new experience. Good either way."
"It might help if the dragon doesn't notice you, Calvin," Henrick said. "They can concentrate their intimidation on a target."
The alcetaur crouched, grabbed one of the heavy, wooden cellar doors, and heaved it open. A dim stairway yawned before them.
"Nothing creepy about that," Seth said, peering down. "Just an old basement in the middle of a forest. Where a dragon lives."
"What about Mendigo?" Kendra asked.
"I don't think the puppet can help you or harm you in this matter," Henrick said.
"Mendigo, stand guard with Henrick," Kendra said. She smiled at her brother. "Shall we?"
"Ready to fly into the spiderweb?" Seth asked.
"Let's not think of it like that," Kendra said.
"Jump into the cooking pot?" Calvin tried.
"Not that way either," Kendra said. "I'm not sure we need a comparison. Walking into a dragon's lair is bad enough."
"Amen," Henrick said. "Keep your wits about you. Be polite but show no weakness."
"Did you hear the polite part, Seth?" Calvin asked.
"I know," Seth snapped.
"You're the boss," Calvin said brightly.
Kendra looked back at the horses. "Thanks, Glory. Thanks, Noble. Good job back there."
The horses bobbed their heads.
"Stop saying good-bye," Seth said. "You're jinxing us. We'll see them in a minute."
"Henrick, do you have any paper?" Kendra asked. "Maybe we should write a quick will."
"Come on," Seth growled, pulling his sister forward as she laughed at her own joke.