A Bard's Story: Here There Be Dragons

Chapter Fourteen

In the morning, Jes leads them not back into the labyrinth, but instead through a well-disguised door on the other side of the stone walkway. It leads to another tunnel, which looks a lot like those ones that wound between destinations in Gazerü. Although it's rather more cramped than the labyrinth, it's quite short, and quickly deposits them in an otherwise nondescript clearing.

Away from the heat of heat of the volcano, it's much cooler. "I thought you said it was summer," Leyha says to Kehdem as she digs in her pack for her cloak.

"I'm pretty sure it is," Kehdem says. "We've gone rather far north, and I've rather lost track of how exactly many days have passed... but I don't think we've made it to your birthday yet."

"Oh, Goddess, I hope not," Leyha says. "I told Mama I'd be back in time for my birthday."

"Yeah, that's not happening. Unless I've terribly overestimated, I think we're in August somewhere."

"Oh," Leyha says.

"Is everything alright?" Kehdem asks.

"Yeah, I... I think so," she says. "I guess I just hadn't thought about long we've been gone."

"It's perfectly fine to be homesick," Kehdem says.

"Are you?"

For once, she doesn't get an answer to her question before Kehdem speaks. "I... don't know," he says. "I try not to think about it, to be honest. Better to focus on what we're doing now."

"Which is...?"

Kehdem turns to the dwarves, who seem a little uncomfortable at being outside of the mountain. "What are we doing out here?" he asks.

"Vülcanü did not help," Ash says. "We have to go look for things to take back to the yelet to show there are dragons."

"Any particular kind of things?" Leyha asks.

"There were human cities near here," Jes says. "They helped us fight dragons before. They will have what we need. Follow me."

#

Although Leyha and Kehdem don't really expect there to be a helpful human city where Jes predicts, they certainly enjoy themselves on the road. It's a bit chilly, but between wool cloaks and the exertion of walking, the days aren't too bad. At night, they're plenty comfortable in tents spelled to keep them warm in the dead of winter. Leyha is too thrilled to see the sun to mind that they've really missed summer.

They spend almost two weeks walking through dense northern forest before seeing any signs that the area is inhabited. When they do, it is rather sudden. One moment, Jes is blazing a trail for them; the next, they emerge from the woods to find a large meadow filled with grazing sheep. A shepherd boy spots them first; strangely enough, he's more startled by Leyha and Kehdem than the two dwarves.

"Welcome, travelers," he says as they approach. He has a a thick accent to Leyha and Kehdem's ears, but it's still reassuring to be greeted in Common. "Town is that way, if you're looking for it."

Leyha grins brightly. "Thank you!" she says, and the boy relaxes a little. They follow his pointing finger, and a collection of long, low buildings comes into view not much later. While the group of them is easily recognizable as a town, their shapes are unusual. Just how far from home are we? Leyha wonders.

Rather far, Kehdem says. I can't say for certain, but I'd guess we're in the distant north.

Leyha nods her agreement. "So, Jes, what are we looking for?"

"The jarl," Jes says.

"The what?"

Jes and Ash have a brief discussion in Dwarven. When they are finished, Ash says to Leyha, "The jarl is like the yelet, but there is only one of him."