A Bard's Story: Here There Be Dragons

Chapter Twenty

"Geri!" Tosun calls. "Wait a minute."

"Why?" Geri says, though he does slow his pace a bit, allowing Tosun to catch up until they're side by side. "I don't want to be anywhere near town when the rest of them figure out what happened to Turen."

"Geri, it's not your fault."

"I know that," Geri snaps. "But it's not me you have to convince. It's them." He waves a hand vaguely back towards town.

"So, what, you're going to leave?"

"No," Geri says. "I'm going to kill that fucking dragon."

"How?"

Geri shrugs. "I don't know. The Manual is mostly crazy ideas, but one of them might work. I mean, we know dragons can be killed, 'cause the dwarves got most of them. And if Leyha and Kehdem do come back, they'll probably bring dwarves..."

Tosun nods. "So, you're really set on fighting dragons, then?"

"Killing dragons," Geri corrects. "We've already been fighting them."

"I suppose you're right," Tosun says. "And there's no way I can convince you to join the Holy Order?"

Geri gives him a strange look. "I thought you said that you could only take people who were already in the Order."

"We only recruit right from the Order. There are always special circumstances, for people who've shown that they could be a real asset to the Holy Order."

Geri considers it. A year ago, he would have said yes without a second thought. But then, a year ago, he hadn't known the Holy Order was real; he hadn't known dragons were real.

A year ago, nobody had died.

"Thank you," Geri says, "but I don't think..." He shrugs. "I don't think the Holy Order is the right place for me."

Tosun nods as if he expected that answer. "A bit more helping people, and a bit less fighting dragons, than you'd expected the Holy Order to be, hmm?"

Geri grins. "A bit," he says. "I like the helping people part, but..."

"You wouldn't have to stay in Talerin, you know. I've heard from Commander Turen, and there's nearly a dozen towns that have seen dragons so far. You could go to any of them. Or you could stay here, if you' rather."

"I'm not sure that's very wise," Geri says. "You heard Zela."

"I heard a distraught mother who has seen the worst thing a parent could see, who was grasping at straws to lay the blame on someone else."

"And I just happened to be a convenient person to blame. It's not worth staying, if that's how people see me."

Tosun gives Geri a serious, thoughtful look. "But you still want to kill the dragon that hurt them."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Geri chews on his lip a little. "I'm not just a mage. But that's the only thing anyone here sees."

Tosun nods in understanding. "And you think that if you can do something to help the town, that'll change."

Geri shrugs. "It's worth a shot, right?"

"I've certainly heard worse ideas," Tosun says. "I assume you're headed back home to go pour over the Manual?"

"I suppose," Geri says. truth to be told, he hadn't actually thought that far. He had only gotten as far as not being in town anymore.