My 8 E-books written over the years by Alina Udrea - HTML preview

Chapter 3: Bad news

Olekson the dwarf, Harry's brother, was running along the castle halls towards the throne room. He was accompanied by two slender women. They all barged into the throne room out of breath. Cold sweat was running down Olekson's face while the women kept calm.

-What's the meaning of all these? Asked Scar, the king of Donn. What's wrong Olek?

Olekson knelt in front of the courtroom and in front of the king and queen and spoke loudly so every soul in the chamber would hear him clearly:

- Your Highness, forgive my interruption but I bring news from the Northern borders. Finally my scouts have returned with news, bad news I' m afraid. Speak out Sneak, Davyn! He said addressing the slender women who were by his side.

- Your Highness, said Sneak, Olekson's scout, the best spy he had,

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we have just returned from Loyalis bearing bad news I' m afraid. King Dova is preparing his army of mercenaries to attack Donn and he also has a powerful weapon. He has a dragon, a fire dragon, last of his kind. He is preparing an attack by the end of the year.

Sneak and Davyn bowed and retreated behind Olekson who spoke again:

-My king, we have to take some measures against that dragon in the first place. Our army can most probably defeat Dova's mercenaries as they only fight for money, whereas our army will be fighting to defend their loved ones, their families, their homes, their children and wives. But the dragon is another matter. I think you should ask for Mean's 10

advice, maybe he has some information on how to defeat a dragon in one of his many old books.

-Ok, thank you Olek, Sneak and Davyn. You may go now. Mongo, please bring Mean here. Tell him it's urgent!

-Sure thing my king! And Mongo was already out the door. He was back with Mean in less than five minutes. Mean wasn’t very happy as he had been interrupted and summoned by the king on such a perfect afternoon when all he wanted was to study his books of spells and try brew some new potions. Having such elixirs could prove useful in many situations. He was working on an elixir that boosted speed and strength when Mongo came in and took him to see the king without telling him anything else besides the fact that it was urgent.- Mean, said Scar, I want you to find out anything you can about fire dragons!

-Forgive my rudeness, but are you thinking of taking one as a pet? Maybe you should find something less dangerous…said Mean half jokingly half serious as he didn’t know what the fuss was all about and how had a dragon come into discussion.

-Sometimes I wonder if you are trying to annoy me on purpose Mean! Why would I want a dragon? No, I received news from the Northern

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borders. It seems king Dova the Ruthless wants to conquer our land and he has a dragon to aid him. Any idea how we can defeat that?- I will search for some information in my books. There must be at least one holding the information we seek. I will let you know as soon as I find out anything useful my king! And Mean bowed and exited in a hurry, obviously worried at the king's words.

Then Scar and Miiah retired to their room as Scar wasn’t in the

mood to do anything else for the time being.

Mean hurried back to his books to find something useful on fire

breathing dragons. He took all the books from the shelves and scanned them for the information he needed but he couldn’t find anything on the subject. Then he remembered he had a few more books in a drawer which he hadn’t opened in ages. He hoped he would find what he was

looking for in one of those forgotten books. They were as ancient as time itself so if he was going to find out anything about an ancient creature as a fire dragon then those were the right books. They had to be. He started scanning the first book keeping his fingers crossed. Barely had he scanned a few pages when there it was: a picture of a fire dragon and some information about it! He was so thrilled that he almost dropped the book in the excitement. He read everything about it and went back to pass the information to the king. He was informed that the king and queen had retired to their room so he wasn’t sure if he should bother them now or wait till tomorrow. After a few minutes of pondering he decided he had better inform the king of his findings right away.

There were two guards at the king's chamber. They had been

ordered to make sure nobody would disturb the king for the rest of the evening but Mean was determined to talk to Scar.- Hello, I' m here to see the king! Said Mean in a determined voice. It is important that I see him now, I have urgent matters to discuss.

- No one is allowed to disturb him for the rest of the day. Scar

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made it clear, we are sorry, one of the two guards answered bored.

- Is that so? And Mean put them under a sleeping spell. Both guards started snoring right away, leaning against the wall in an awkward position. Then he knocked on the door and entered.- What is the meaning of this? Roared Scar. I asked not to be disturbed today. Where are the two guards?- Asleep for now, but it is not their fault. You wanted me to find out anything I could about fire dragons. Well I have and that is why I had to see you.

- Hmmm, if you entered then you might as well speak. Ok, what did you find Mean? Asked Scar impatiently.

- This is what I found: fire dragons can be tamed and made to accept the person who manages to put the Fire Necklace around their neck. That person automatically becomes the fire dragon's master and the dragon will protect his master for as long as his master lives. There will be created a special bond between the dragon and his master, they will be able to even communicate telepathically. The dragon will feel if his master is in danger even if they are worlds apart. And the other way around, the master will feel any pain the dragon feels. It is a bond for life. Now comes the tricky part: retrieving the Fire Necklace from the most dangerous mountain in Donn, the Shale Mountain. It is a ragged mountain and the necklace is said to be in a cave hidden somewhere on that mountain. The book also says that only the person meant to tame the dragon will be able to take the necklace off the pedestal. If someone else touches it, then the necklace will summon fire imps to protect itself. On the other hand when the person meant to have it will touch it, the necklace will shine in that person's hands. So Scar, do you know anyone who would like to tame the dragon? Asked Mean curious to what Scar would have to say after having heard him.- Oh, wow. I know quite a few brave men and women who might

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give it a try. I will send Mongo, Ulo, Harry, Alyss and of course the newest warrior, Adi. One of them must be able to tame the dragon. They are the bravest in the kingdom, so if that dragon is to be tamed, then it will surely be by one of them! You and Bratty will stay here in case they don’t return with the Fire Necklace in time and Dova should attack Donn before they get back. Donn will need you both!

- Ok. I hope they will be successful. I will give them an old map which I also found in the book to guide them. Good night my queen, and he bowed to Miiah. Good night Scar! And Mean left. When he exited he snapped his fingers for the two sleeping guards to come back to their senses.