“Thank you, my friends,” replied Osrik. He smiled wryly. “And you know, there is a part of me that hopes he does get his wish, even if the rest of me does not.”
The company all laughed with Osrik before saying good night to the king.
The next morning, Alex and his friends assembled in front of the main gates of the dwarf city. Thrain and his two friends, Melnoch and Nitek, were waiting nervously to one side, away from the company.
Alex was happy Thrain would be traveling with them to the White Tower because it meant he would not have to say good-bye just yet. He had not met Thrain’s friends, but he knew if they were anything like Thrain, the journey would be a happy one.
Osrik came out to the gate to say a final good-bye.
“I’m placing the three of you in Master Bregnest’s care,” Osrik said sternly to Thrain, Melnoch, and Nitek. “If any of you misbehave or fail to follow his orders, I’ll throw you all in the dungeon for a hundred years.”
Alex and Andy tried not to laugh as Osrik turned his back to Thrain and his friends and winked at the company.
“Good-bye, my friends. If ever you come this way again, you will be most welcome,” Osrik said.
“Good-bye, great king,” replied Bregnest. “Your kindness will remain with us always.”
They all bowed to Osrik and then started down the slopes of the Brown Hills. Thrain and his friends brought up the rear, which made Alex and Andy feel a little strange at first because they were used to being the last in line. As they turned their horses west, though, Thrain rode up beside Alex and Andy and started talking happily with them.
As they traveled from the Brown Hills to the city of Techen, Thrain, Melnoch, and Nitek adapted, as well as they could, to the adventuring lifestyle. However, they were still a little unsure of how to deal with Skeld and Tayo’s constant
teasing and joking.
“You get used to it in time,” said Andy in a low voice to the dwarfs. “And they don’t mean any harm.”
“Because if we did mean harm, our wizard friend would turn us into toads,” Skeld laughed, overhearing Andy’s words anyway.
“I may do that anyway,” replied Alex, laughing along with the rest of his companions.
When they arrived at Techen, Alex saw that the city had changed a great deal since they had left it. A vast array of tents had sprung up around the mud-brown walls. Hundreds of horses and carts crowded the roads, and a great number of people were selling all kinds of things just outside the main city gates. Bartholomew the gatekeeper was still there, but he looked tired and a bit thinner than Alex remembered.
“You seem to have some new friends,” Bregnest commented with a smile.
“I don’t know about friends, but there are a lot of them,” replied Bartholomew. “Been turning up in droves over the last couple of weeks.”
“Why would that be?” Bregnest asked.
“Well, it’s the dragon, isn’t it?” said Bartholomew, looking at the tents and carts along the road. “Story is out that old Slathbog has finally died, or been killed, or gone away, depending on which story you choose to believe. This lot is off to look for the dragon’s treasure, and in my opinion, the sooner they go, the better.”
They all had to suppress their laughter because they knew these treasure hunters would find little in Varlo, unless they were looking for land.
“The magistrate must be happy with all the trade,” said Bregnest with a short laugh.
“I suppose he is,” Bartholomew replied thoughtfully. “Though it’s hard to tell what makes him happy. I suppose you’ll be spending the night then?”
“If we can find a room in the city,” said Bregnest.
“Oh, you needn’t worry about that,” Bartholomew called, as the company started moving through the gate. “Not many of these will pay for a room. I believe old Tantic has plenty of space.”
Tantic greeted the company as if they were old friends he hadn’t seen in years. Before they could even climb off their horses, he had brought out a tray of drinks for them and toasting to the good fortunes of Techen. After their drinks and a few words with Tantic, Alex and the others took their horses into the stable for the night. There was no sign of Eric Von Tealo, so Bregnest asked Tantic where he could be found.
“Ah, a sad story that,” answered Tantic. “A good man he was with horses, though perhaps not so good with people.”
“You say was,” Bregnest interrupted. “Is he no longer here?”
“Old Eric turned sick this last winter,” said Tantic, shaking his head sadly. “We tried to care for him, but there was only so much we could do. He crossed the wall just as spring was coming in.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” Bregnest said. “We owed him a debt. Can you tell us where he is buried? The least we can do is pay our respects.”
“That’s very kind of you,” said Tantic with a smile. “Though I doubt you’ll be happy with his resting place.”
The company followed Tantic’s directions to Techen’s graveyard to pay their last respects to Eric. They noticed that there were many fine headstones scattered about the graveyard, but on Eric’s grave was only a small wooden marker with his name on it. When they returned to Tantic’s inn, Bregnest questioned Tantic about it.
“The magistrate didn’t much like old Eric,” Tantic said, an unhappy look on his face. “Eric was always telling him off for the poor way his soldiers took care of their horses, and for anything else that didn’t seem right. The magistrate wouldn’t let me put a stone on his grave, only that small wooden marker.”
“Can you send word to the magistrate that we would like to see him?” Bregnest asked in a calm voice.
“’Course I can,” said Tantic, a slightly wicked grin spreading over his face. “It would do my heart good if you lot told him off.”
Bregnest motioned for the others to follow him into the inn’s common room. The company sat around a large table, leaving the chair to Bregnest’s right empty. Thrain, Melnoch, and Nitek sat at the bar, watching with a great deal of interest. It wasn’t long before the magistrate appeared, walking up to their table and frowning.
“You wished to speak with me?” he asked, in an unfriendly tone as though their request to see him was a great inconvenience.
“We do,” replied Bregnest and motioned for him to be seated.
“What can I do for you?” asked the magistrate brusquely.
“We wish to discuss the grave of Master Eric Von Tealo,” Bregnest replied calmly.
“What about it?” The magistrate’s face turned slightly red.
“Well, you see,” said Bregnest. “We all owe a debt to the late Master Von Tealo. Now that he has crossed the wall, we would like his final resting place to be honored with something more than a piece of wood.” Bregnest’s words were spoken softly, but there could be no doubt of the power and anger behind them.
“I’m sure some arrangement can be made,” said the magistrate, hardly bothering to conceal the greed in his voice.
“It will be made,” Bregnest replied coldly. “We will pay for a large stone to be placed on the grave. Further, we will pay the city of Techen for upkeep of the stone and the grave so that weeds do not grow over it. We will also pay for fresh flowers to be placed on the grave twice a week. We will require these services to be performed for the next one hundred years.”
“That is quite a lot for an old man who worked in a stable,” the magistrate sneered.
“Perhaps, but we are willing to pay the price you name for these services,” Bregnest replied. “Draw up an agreement and we will all sign it.”
The magistrate thought for a moment and then called for Tantic to bring him pen and paper. He wrote out the agreement and offered the pen to Bregnest so he could sign it.
“You first,” said Bregnest, looking the magistrate in the eye.
The magistrate signed the document and placed the seal of Techen beside his name.