Journey to the Red Mountain

Chapter 2

“Looks like another cold one tonight.”

The young guard standing watch over Saurahall’s main gate blew into his chilled foreclaws and shivered as he rubbed them together for warmth.

“Just like last night,” said the other, whose arms were crossed tight and hugged close to his chest. “Hard to believe the autumn’s nearly over already. Seems like summer was just getting started a couple weeks ago.”

“That’s just what my brother says,” said the first.

“Must be something to it, then,” came a more mature voice from behind them. They jumped with surprise and turned around. Before them stood an Alvarosaurus in the uniform of the Royal Guard of Saurahall like themselves. He was taller and more muscular than the two, particularly regarding his powerful legs, and was a good deal older besides. He bore a small scar on his lower left leg, and wore the bluish cloak of an officer.

“Hi there Jo…er, Lieutenant, sir!” said the first one as they both saluted smartly.

“Good morning, Harrison.” The lieutenant nodded to his younger brother. “Robertson.” He acknowledged the other. “Everything in order here?”

“Certainly, sir,” said Robertson. “At least as well as it can be when it’s b****y well freezing out here.”

“It could be worse, but would you like me to send up some extra garments for you? A pair of cloaks, perhaps?”

Harrison shook his head. “No, thanks. It’d be a lot better if we could just pop down into the guardhouse to get out of the wind once in a while. Could we please do that, Johnny?”

The officer gave him a sharp reproving glance. “That’s Lieutenant Harrison, to you, Ronald. And no, you certainly can’t do that. If I let you and Henry go down, then I’d have to let everyone else, and pretty soon we’d have no one to watch the walls.”

“Oh, come on, Lieutenant Johnny, sir,” pleaded his younger brother. “We’re freezing our tails off in this wind. Can’t you set aside the rules just this once? Besides, nothing ever happens out there anyway. Nobody’s going to try and attack us or anything like that.”

“You don’t know that! It’s been tried before, remember? And no, I can’t. That whining might work on mum and dad, but it won’t work here. You’re in the Guard now, and if I made exceptions for you I’d be showing favouritism.” He paused. “I’ll send up the cloaks and a couple hot drinks to keep you warm. Just do your stint, and then you can go back to the barracks. It’s only an hour or so more.”

He patted them both on the shoulder then carried on down the snow-dusted walltop, his scabbard clacking against his leg as he walked. Ron turned back to his watch, muttering to his companion, “An hour or so before my claws break off. See what he tells mum and dad then.”

Henry took his friend’s complaints with a shrug and a shake of his head. He knew Ron never meant anything by it, and would forget all about it by the next day. But he could be very trying in the meantime, of that there was no question.

“Come on, Freddie! Show a little initiative. Take a good swing at me like your brother. Keep it up. There’s a good boy!”

The cold air of the Palace Courtyard was anything but silent as the sound of clacking wooden swords floated up from the parade ground on the east side of it. Astron, Prince Consort of Cardolin and Defender of the Realm, hopped about with unmatched agility as he warded off attacks by his sons Frederik and Arnor. The two were practically the same age, having come from the same clutch of eggs. Frederik had hatched about ten minutes ahead of his brother, with their sister Rose having hatched in between, though to look at them one would think otherwise.

Frederik, heir to the throne of Cardolin after his mother Princess Alyssa, was of a slighter build than his brother, and was less adept at this sort of swordplay. Arnor was also slender with a healthy length of tail, but stood taller than his older siblings by just a bit. He was also a tad rambunctious, and took to the sword quite naturally. In short, he was very much like his father in every way save for his appearance, which was more like his mother’s. At present he took the lead in the attack on Astron, which was not going at all well.

“Have a go, Freddie! Let’s get him,” he urged.

“All right, all right!” said Frederik. “You first.”

At once the brothers charged, Arnor in the lead. They brandished their own smaller swords, and Astron expertly disarmed them with a clean sweep of his weapon. The two stood in awe of their father’s skill, though inside Arnor was also fuming at having lost.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“Lots of practice,” replied Astron casually.

“I hope I’m as good as that when I’m older.”

“You will be, given time and practice. Maybe even better.” He looked up as a little girl strode up in the company of a distinguished-looking dino about Astron’s age.

“What ho, old lad!” spoke the latter.

“Ah! Morning, Rob. How are you today?”

“Positively splendid, thanks for asking,” replied Captain Winstone, or simply Rob to most, with a smile to match his dashing appearance. He wore an officer’s cloak of black velvet and a wide-brimmed black hat turned up rakishly on one side with a long white plume inserted in it for flair. On top of all this, he really was quite handsome, and had a cavalier charm that was hard not to love.

While their father was thus distracted, a subtle cue passed between Arnor and his brother, and they rushed him. Experienced as he was, even Astron found their combined force a bit much and backed up. In doing so, however, he made a slight misjudgment of his claw placement and lost his balance. This was all the two boys needed, and they took him down in a trice. Those standing by could not help but smile as they watched their prince switch instantly from stern instructor to loving father, embracing his sons warmly.

“How was that, dad? Did we do good?” asked Arnor eagerly.

“You certainly did,” said Astron, letting them up with a proud gleam in his shimmering golden eyes.

“Looks like they caught you breaking your own rule there, old lad,” said Rob, chuckling lightly. “Never turn your eyes away from a living enemy.”

“Quite so, Rob. Got what I deserved, I suppose.”

“That looks like loads of fun,” spoke the little girl. “Can I play too?”

“Certainly not, Rose,” said Astron, standing up. “Your mother would put up such a fuss if I let you dirty up your dress before noon. Besides, it’s not very ladylike, sword fighting. Not to mention you could catch cold in air like this.”

“That’s just what old Martha said,” sighed Rose.

“Afraid I have to agree with her there, missy,” said Rob. “Smart dino, our Martha.”

“Exactly,” said Astron. “So why are you out here, young lady?”

“I might ask the same of you,” she wanted to say. But, mastering her innate impudence, she replied, “Mum said to come and fetch you. She wanted to talk to you about something, and said I could play with Freddie and Arnor if I stayed clean.”

“Oh yes, that’ll be about the winter festival. I’d better go talk to her then. You know how she hates to be kept waiting on this sort of thing.”

“That she does,” said Rob. “Shall I return with you?”

“No need for that, Rob. You’ve your own duties to attend to.”

“Very good, sir,” said Rob as his old comrade-in-arms hastened back to the Palace. He shook his head.

“Fine dinosaur, your father,” he said to the young ones. “Hard to believe he was once merely another new recruit in the Guard.”

“Oh, tell us about that, will you Uncle Rob!” said Arnor excitedly. “Tell us about the time father saved Saurahall.”

“Again? But I must have told you about it at least a hundred times before.”

“We don’t mind,” said Frederik. “We like that story. Especially the part where he beat that nasty Edward.”

“You see? You all know the tale well enough to tell it to me.”

“Please, Uncle Rob,” said Rose sweetly. The look in her little yellow eyes was enough to melt even the stoniest of hearts, so naturally Rob’s soft heart gave in immediately.

“All right, my dear, I’ll do it for you,” relented the captain. “But do let’s not stand about freezing while we tell it, eh? Why don’t you lot run along and tell old Willy to have four cups of hot tea sent up to the sitting room, and then wait for me there. And fetch your sister Violet, while you’re at it. She may want to hear it too. I’ve got a couple of errands to run, but I promise I won’t be long, all right?”

“Hooray! Thanks Captain Rob!” said the joyous children as they raced each other toward the kitchen.

Rob sighed as he turned to make one more tour of the ramparts. He had always had a knack for handling young ones, and those of his best friends Astron and Alyssa were no exception. He certainly had a close connection with them, having been there since their hatching. And he always found it endearing to be referred to as “Uncle Rob.” Nor did he ever really tire of telling them how their father—with a little help from himself and some flying reptiles—had saved Saurahall from that barbarian who had once called himself king. As he reflected on it, he realized just how much had changed in nine years since the war’s end.

A lot of the young ones had grown up, and several were now in the Guard under his command or in the Saurahall Defence Force (the Force, as it was called by most) under the aging Captain Humphreys. He wondered when, if ever, Humphreys would give it up, though he rather hoped he wouldn’t. Humphreys was a good fellow, and the only veteran of the old school military left after Richard Torilis, Captain of the Guard before Rob, had died a couple of winters back.

As he climbed to the walltop, he found one of those youngsters on duty watching the east gate.

“Everything all right up here, Wilson?” Rob asked.

“Morning, sir! Everything’s A-okay,” replied Wilson with a snappy salute.

“Good show! Carry on, then.”

“Righto, sir!”

It warmed Rob’s heart to see such devotion from the young. Yes, he had seen a lot in his life, out front but unscathed, and hardly affected at all. “Good old Rob,” he was called, and such he was, though not really that old. But he was just as good-natured and dutiful as ever. And in such an ever-changing world, he rather liked it that way.

So many had died or moved away from Saurahall in the past few years. It was mostly due to what folks called the “Rush for Riches.” After the defeat of the Saltrak in Cardolin, trade routes throughout the east had become open to merchants from Cardolin and Umbria again, and many dinos had moved away to bigger cities like Allington to the north in search of profit and adventure. In the absence of Saltrak, of course, the eastern roads were now plagued by disparate bandit gangs, but this was not enough to discourage adventurers from seeking their fortunes abroad.

Thus, there were now barely enough dinosaurs left to call Saurahall a city. His own family had remained, along with a few other stalwarts, but many were now gone. One of the few remaining factors binding them all together was King Henrik, who had occupied the throne for as long as anyone could remember. But even he was getting on in years, and Rob feared the good king had not long to go.

But he did not wish to dwell on such unpleasant thoughts as he finished his patrol and headed back to the Palace. As he headed upstairs, Rob encountered Johnny on the way out.

“You needn’t bother with your circuit, old boy. Just covered it myself.”

“Oh, all right,” replied Johnny. “Thanks, Captain.” He paused. “Off to tell the young uns another yarn, are you?”

“Same old yarn, actually. They never tire of it, wot!”

Johnny smiled. “You know, given how much you like young ones, I’m surprised you don’t have any of your own.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! Who’d want an old Guard Captain for a mate, eh? Besides, I’ve got my claws full with everyone else’s.”

Johnny shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“What about you, old lad?” asked Rob in a lower voice. “You found anyone new yet?”

The lieutenant sighed and shook his head. “No. My heart will always belong right where it is.”

Rob nodded slowly. When Astron had first come to Saurahall, he and Johnny had been very close. Astron’s heart had eventually moved on: Johnny’s hadn’t. It was sad to see in a way, but Johnny seemed content to wallow in the memories of the happiness he’d once so briefly known, and he wasn’t going to jeopardize their friendship by trying to force a change. So, with a sigh and a pat on the shoulder, he said, “Well, see you around, old lad.”

“Right. Later, Rob.”