Sauragia: Journey to the Red Mountain

Chapter 7

The hard-working Royal Guard of Saurahall was up with the sun. Alongside the Force, they set about industriously clearing the streets and walltops of their fair city. Leading this work were Astron, Johnny, and Rob, and within a few hours, the families who had stayed at the Palace overnight were able to return to their homes with ease. The storm did not do a great deal of damage, but as older dinosaurs remarked, Cardolin had not seen so much snowfall at once since long before they were born. Talk of the mysterious stranger Astron had rescued the night before also leaked out somehow, and many made guesses as to who he could be or where he was from.

Nevertheless, the day was otherwise a quiet one with dinosaurs staying in their homes and attending to simple chores. After helping clear the walls and streets, Astron was more than happy to spend a rare day in the company of his family. Rob joined him later on in the nursery with the young ones, and Alyssa had plenty of free time in between tending to the unconscious patient. His condition had levelled out quickly until he was completely out of danger. She brought in an old Alvarosaurus named Wulfstan to get a second opinion from him. Wulfstan was Saurahall’s leading physician as well as priest, and he quickly came to the same conclusion as she. This came as welcome news to Astron and Rob, who had to make a strong effort to keep the children out of the stranger’s room.

Several more such days came and went during which he continued to improve and the snow began to melt, albeit very slowly. The young ones enjoyed going outside when the sun was out, though the places they could go were still limited by the thick drifts everywhere. Alyssa continued to worry that they would catch cold or something of that nature, but their father was more permissive.

“A few sniffles now will save them a mess of coughing later,” he said. Alyssa did not exactly abide by this idea, but let them go out under the condition that they wore plenty of layers.

“But if they catch anything, it will be entirely on your shoulders, Astron,” she told him.

“Of course, dear.” He kissed her cheek and followed them out to play like the big kid he sometimes was.

Upon the fifth day since the festival, Arnor and his siblings were left to amuse themselves for a while. It was too cold and cloudy for even Astron to let them outside today, so they decided to play a few rounds of hide-and-seek on the third floor of the Palace. This was their favourite place to play, as the third floor had three connected corridors and countless unoccupied rooms in which to hide. Since his siblings thought him too good at hiding, Arnor was chosen to be the seeker this time. And so, starting in the nursery, he stood in the corner of the room facing the wall and dutifully counted to thirty. When he turned around, his brother and sister were gone.

Thus began his hunt.

He checked only very briefly around the nursery, as there were only two possible places to hide, and there was no one in them. He left there and looked up and down the corridor, but saw only Martha going into a storage closet. Thereafter he made a search of the unoccupied bedrooms along the corridor to no result. He then went down the main hallway running the length of the Palace, checking his siblings’ bedrooms along the way. At the opposite end he came to the door of the Royal Study. Knowing it was usually occupied by his parents or grandfather, he knocked before entering.

“Enter!” came the voice of King Henrik. He did so, causing the king to look up from his studies. “Aah, Arnor! What is it you need, my dear grandson?”

“Nothing, grandfather,” said Arnor, who was always a little shy around his granddad. “I was just looking for Freddie and Rose.”

“Playing hide-and-seek, are you?”

Arnor nodded.

“Well, I can assure you they’re not in here to my knowledge, but you’re welcome to look around anyway.”

“Okay.”

He proceeded to work his way around the room, checking every nook and cranny as he did so, though he was more interested in the shelves full of books. Some were copies; some originals, but all were written by claw. He could only imagine the hours it would have taken to fill up all those pages with writing.

“Grandfather?”

“Yes, Arnor?”

“Have you ever read all of these?”

“All of them! Good gracious, no. Much too busy for that.”

“Has anyone?”

“Not to my knowledge, though I suppose it’s possible.”

Arnor nodded, then went back to his half-hearted search. Once he had gone completely around the room and made a note to himself to be the first to read every book in the study, he bade his grandfather goodbye and left.

Again he looked both ways down the corridor. He considered searching Rob’s bedroom to the right and the king’s to the left, but then had a better idea.

All three of the children were equally fascinated by the mysterious guest who always slept, so he decided that the stranger’s room was the most likely place to find them. Running back down the central corridor, he stopped at the door of the corner bedroom. Now it came to it, he realized the stranger frightened as well as fascinated him. Though he was still asleep, he did look scary, what with the scar above his eye and all. But if his brother and sister were in there, he had to find them. So, with a deep breath, he inched the door open ever so carefully.

Arnor peeked inside. He could only see the stranger lying in bed and the blazing fire. But there were numerous places for a little dinosaur to hide as well. So, despite the fact that he and his siblings were not supposed to go anywhere near the convalescent, he decided to have a closer look.

Sneaking in and closing the door quietly behind, he crept over to the bed and looked under it. Nothing there. He went over and checked behind the table, but found no one there either. But that was all right. It was what lay atop the table that interested him anyway.

He cast an envious eye over the array of weapons the mysterious guest carried. From the long-bladed dirk in its exquisite sheath to the masterfully carved longbow with its perfectly fletched arrows. The shafts had long feathers of a strange kind attached to them, and he did not doubt that they flew straight and true when launched from such a powerful length of yew.

But the armament that fascinated him most was without doubt the rough old broadsword with its fine black scabbard and polished hilt. It was almost as nice as his father’s, and he liked it immensely. He could just imagine himself wielding it, performing heroic deeds and cutting down evil wherever it resided. He felt an intense desire to pick it up and just hold it for a few seconds, but he knew he was not quite big and strong enough yet. So, he settled on the smaller blade.

Reaching for the hilt, he carefully drew it from its scabbard so as to make no sound. He stood there with it for a moment, savouring the feel of the weapon in his claws. It was exceedingly well crafted, with silver inlays adorning the blade and hilt. And to a youngster like him it was practically like a short sword. He swung it around a bit and gave it a few experimental twists and flicks of the wrist like he had seen his father do. It felt so smooth and natural, and it wielded so much better than the wooden swords he and his brother trained with. Wait until he told Frederik about this!

“b****y hot in here,” muttered a low, gruff voice behind him. Arnor practically leapt out of his skin in fright. His first instinct after sheathing the dagger was to run out of the room as fast as he could and hide. However, he realized he would be spotted if he did. So, he stood there feeling a little dumb and very frightened. Suddenly the stranger shifted his position and spotted Arnor, who wished he was anywhere else at that moment.

“Hello there, young un,” spoke the guest in a somewhat unrefined manner of speech.

Arnor timidly replied, “H-Hello, sir.”

“What’s your name, then?” asked the stranger, sitting up.

“A-Arnor, sir.”

“Arnor,” repeated the patient. “A strong name, that. Could you tell me where I am, Arnor?”

“In a guest bedroom on the third floor, sir.”

“Third floor of what?”

“Well, the Palace, sir.”

“Palace?” The traveller was quite confused.

Arnor nodded. “The Royal Palace at Saurahall.”

“Saurahall, eh?” He sighed. “Not exactly my planned destination. Still, I guess it’s better than dead. My quest will continue after all.”

“Quest!” said Arnor, liking this dinosaur more by the second. “What kind of quest?”

The stranger seemed hesitant to answer, but before he could, the door cracked open and Alyssa and Martha entered the room.

“Arnor! What are you doing in here?” exclaimed Alyssa.

“Nothing, mum,” mumbled the abashed Arnor. “Just talking to him.” He pointed to the stranger, hoping that his waking would distract her from scolding him.

Seeing her patient conscious, Alyssa ordered Martha to go and fetch Astron immediately. She then approached the guest.

“I’m glad to see you awake, sir. I do hope my son hasn’t disturbed your rest.”

“Not at all, marm,” said the patient, glancing at Arnor. “Me an’ the lad were just talkin’ a bit. I understan’ this is Saurahall, then?”

Alyssa nodded. “It is, sir. I am Princess Alyssa, daughter of King Henrik of Cardolin.”

“A pleasure, marm, but I’m hardly worth the time of a princess.”

“Every wounded or sick dinosaur who enters this Palace is my concern, sir.”

“Very well then, Your Majesty. P’raps you can tell me how long I’ve been out.”

“Several days and nights. A week in all.”

“Flippin’ hell!” exclaimed the stranger with frustration. Then, seeing Alyssa’s appalled expression, he hastily apologized.

Suddenly Astron appeared in the doorway with Rob behind him.

“Well Alyssa, I see our guest has finally come to,” spoke Astron.

“Um…yes,” said Alyssa, still a bit shocked by the stranger’s outburst. “These two dinosaurs are Astron, Prince Consort and Defender of the Realm, and Captain Robert Winstone of the Royal Guard.”

Rob bowed and added, “At your service, sir.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“And what is your name, if we may ask, sir?” inquired Astron.

“Bard,” replied the traveller simply. “Leastways that’s what they call me.”

“We are glad to finally make your acquaintance, Bard. We’ve been eager to do so for some days now.”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” said Bard. “But I’ve got plenty o’ silver in my purse. Just tell me how much I owe and I’ll be on me way.”

Astron, Rob, and Alyssa regarded each other in complete bewilderment.

“On your way?” said Astron.

“That’s right. I wouldn’t want to put you kind folks out any longer, and I’ve got to be going soon.”

“He has a quest to complete,” Arnor piped up.

“A quest? Of what nature?”

“Nothin’, really,” replied Bard hesitantly. “I was just headed up to the Sauragian Mountains to…to take care of a few matters.”

“The mountains at this time of year?” spoke Rob. “You’re bound to get yourself jolly well killed, old boy. The weather’s bad enough down here during the winter, much less in the bloomin’ mountains. Why, the passes will be all blocked up with ice soon if they’re not already, and that’s no small obstacle.” He shook his head for emphasis. “No, my friend, I’m afraid you’d never make it through this time of year.”

“I had intended to get there sooner, only I met with a few delays on the road up from the south.”

“You’re from the South Country?” spoke Astron. He himself was from the South Country, and always enjoyed meeting others from his homeland.

Bard shook his head. “Not originally. But I’ve been just about everywhere in these lands and beyond in my travels.”

“That’s quite impressive,” remarked Astron in admiration of the stranger.

“Impressive indeed,” said Alyssa. “But it does not change the fact that you won’t be going anywhere just now. It’s far too cold out there for one thing, and your leg couldn’t possibly take the strain.”

“My leg’s fine, miss.”

“It certainly is not,” insisted Alyssa, claws on hips.

“Look, milady, I’m most grateful to you for all you’ve done, but I’ve got to be going.”

“Not with your leg in that condition you won’t. You wouldn’t make it two steps before falling.”

But Bard would not listen and attempted to get out of bed. He did not even make it a single step, however, before an intense pain shot up his calf as his hind claws hit the floor. He fell back onto the bed, gasping.

“You see,” spoke Alyssa, folding her arms in a haughty I-told-you-so manner.

Bard looked over at Astron and said, “You’ve got yourself a very stubborn mate there, mate.”

“Don’t I know it?” Astron chuckled. “But she’s right, Bard. Between the weather and your injury, you’d never make it far. You need rest and time for your wound to heal. The mountains will still be there in the spring.”

Bard sighed and leaned back on his pillow in frustration.

“Doesn’t look like I have much choice in the matter. Though I don’t know that I can pay for everything.”

“Pay, old boy?” spoke Rob. “Nonsense! Our fair princess wouldn’t dream of accepting money for her services. Nor would any of us, for that matter. It would be an absolute insult to our station if we did. As Saurahallers, it’s our duty to help out decent chaps like yourself. I promise, so long as you’re with us, no one will even touch your purse.”

“What about my weapons?”

“Same there. No dinosaur will lay a claw on them without your permission, old lad. I’ll even post a guard at the door of your chamber, if you’d like.”

“Don’t bother.”

“Right,” said Alyssa. “With that settled, we’ll leave you to your rest, Bard. My servant and I will come along later to see how you’re faring.”

“I look forward to that immensely, madam,” said Bard with exaggerated politeness.

Alyssa ignored the remark and nudged Astron and Rob out of the room.

“Come along, Arnor,” she ordered her son. “Let’s leave our”—she hesitated—”guest to his pleasant dreams.”

The young Alvarosaurus slowly obeyed his mother, casting one more glance back at Bard and the blade he had just held before leaving the room.