A Bard's Story: Here There Be Dragons

Chapter Twenty-Two

Only two days after Leyha, Kehdem, and Ash arrive in Talerin, they get the excitement that they were hoping for. Leyha and Kehdem are headed over to join the Holy Order's practice when Jessa stops them. "No practice," she says. "Head to town."

"Why?" Leyha asks. The answer comes in the form of urgently pealing bells.

"I'll get Ash," Kehdem says.

"The dwarf was already in town looking at the crossbow," Jessa says. "Go — I'm rounding up stragglers. Tosun should be fighting it."

They don't need to be told twice. They jog the path into town and quickly find the Holy Order grouped in the center of town. It's startlingly familiar — like they haven't just spent six months away.

Tosun spots them as they join the group of mages maintaining the Holy Order's special fire-proof spellshield. "Jessa?" he asks them.

"Still gathering stragglers," Leyha says.

"She'd better hurry up."

A moment later, there's a shout — a dragon spotted to the north. Then another spotted from the south. Kehdem and Leyha turn to the south, along with those near them.

"Bows up!" Tosun orders.

Leyha pulls her crossbow off her back and loads a bolt. Kehdem does the same, but his attention is more on the spellshield than his crossbow.

"Aim!"

There's not much movement — the bows are already aimed at their distant targets. Tosun waits until both dragons are nearly on top of the Holy Order, and then—

"Fire!"

Neither dragon cares much about the arrows that hit it.

"Jessa!"

"I'm coming!" she shouts. Leyha turns towards her shout — Jessa is still halfway across the square from the crossbow. Leyha starts towards the crossbow, too—

—but Kehdem gets a firm grip on her shirt. "Careful!"

"But — Ash could—"

"There's no spellshield over there."

"What about Jessa?"

But Kehdem isn't the only one to figure out that she'll be exposed to the dragonfire. One of the dragons — the significantly larger one — pulls a crazy, slithering move that ends with its head facing Jessa's completely clear path.

There's another shout — "Jessa! Look out!" — and someone runs forward. Jessa doesn't get very far out of the spellshield before she realizes her mistakes, and falls back under its protection.

Whoever shouted the last warning isn't as lucky. They didn't start under the shieldspell, and their shout drew the dragon's attention. The dragon moves on to easier prey. As one, the Holy Order turns to see—

"OREN!"

The shout isn't Leyha's but it releases her from Kehdem's grip — she runs — there's a familiar burning on her forearm, and then—

Everything explodes in a massive flash of magic.

#

Leyha wakes slowly, enjoying the feel of a real bed beneath her and thick covers over her. They haven't been cold in their spelled tents, but even the worst inn's bed is step above a bedroll on frozen ground. And this bed is hardly the worst she's slept in. Someone must have splurged 'cause I went and knocked myself out again, she thinks. I wonder who?

The door to her room suddenly bangs open. "You're awake!" Kehdem says excitedly.

"I certainly am now," she grumbles, hauling herself into a sitting position. It takes more effort than she expects, and she turns to thank whatever poor Healer's assistant has been tasked with providing the "Secret Weapon" with pillows.