“So, this place is supposed to have a wine that is so strong no man can drink one cup and stand upright.” Werlek asked the big man standing at the front of the bar.
Aresa was not feeling the happiest, since she and Werlek had to go look for a rare wine, while Grenin and Regorn where devising a plan, and Migor and Mevin were checking the castle out.
The big man nodded, and grinned at Aresa. Aresa was getting impatient, she and Werlek had looked at least five bars, and they only served beer and low quality wine.
They were going to look at this one because it wassupposed to have a very strong wine.
Aresa could smell the liquor which she had always despised drinking, and the drunk people around made her even more disgusted.
“Do you have high-quality wine or not?” Werlek was in a hurry. “I don't like drinking trash.”
The bartender smiled mischievously, and disappeared around a corner. He came back shortly with a big bottle with a blood-red liquid in it.
“This is my best wine, and none have ever drunken from this and not fallen on the ground with their backside.” The bartender chuckled. “Of course it will cost much more money than normal drink.”
“I want a taste first.” Werlek said unconvinced.
“Suit yourself.” The bartender grabbed a little glass and banged it
on the counter. He poured less than halve, then he held it toward Werlek.
Werlek took it, sniffed once, then hesitated. This sure smelled strong.
“Afraid?” The bartender cackled. Werlek took the glass and drank it all. He swallowed, then grimaced.“How much does the whole bottle cost?”
“I don't trust Ymoriso.” Thon whispered to Dion, Inor and Iaven.
“We need to be ready for anything.”
“Come, you need to be in positions when the queen arrives.” Zunok said.
Thon hid behind a curtain. In his mind he wondered ifit was a good place to hide.
“Not there.” Zunok shook his head,
“This is a better place.” Zunok pointed to a closet. “Climb on top of it, you won't be seen easily if you lie down.”
Thon listened, andwith a bit of help from Inor and Iaven, he got on top.
They all got places to hide, and then Zunok went to stand by the door.
In less than three minutes the door opened, and Ymoriso entered with a
woman behind him.
The woman was middle-aged, without the slightest wrinkle on her face, and thin lips. She was not beautiful, but every move she made was elegant.
Thon felt danger immediately when he saw her. She had a regal dress on,
however it did not hinder her movements the least, and she had
a whip and sword hanging from her belt. Thon shuddered as he realised he maybe would have to face her.
“You wanted to talk to me in private?” The queen asked. Her voice was nether high nor low, but it contained a threatening tone.
“Uh, yes.” Ymoriso was clearly unsettled by her tone but kept on
smiling. “Concerning the rebels among the slaves. I have captured them all.”
“You have?” The queen's voice was unimpressed. “And what about the so called Whitecrow?”
“I haven't seen anyone that showed any impressive fighting skills. It was probably just a rumour started by the slaves to scare us.”
“And how, tell me, do they know anything about Whitecrows? They are mere humans!” The queen hissed. “Someone obviously gave them information.” The queen looked accusingly at Ymoriso.
Ymoriso did not lose his cool, but took a step closer to the queen. “I assure you, any suspicions about me are false.”
“Is that so?” The queen sounded amused. “Zunok!” The door opened and Zunok stepped in. “Tell me, does the leader of the Yirin Court harbour any ill intentions against me?”
Ymoriso's eyesnarrowed, his smile long gone. “If any people are hidden in this room to kill you, his intentions are clear. If not, he is innocent.”
“Very well.” The queen suddenly smiled. “Zunok, search the room. Kill anyone you find.”
Zunok started searching and quickly found Dion. He quickly stabbed for Dion's heart, but Dion blocked it at the last second.
In that moment two arrows flew at Zunok's back, while one flew at the queen.
The queen stepped to the side, but Zunok wasn't quick enough. One arrow stuck in his shoulder. He jumped away from Dion just in time to dodge two more arrows.
Iaven jumped out of her hiding place, firing arrows without stop.
Ymoriso ran away from the queen who had taken out her whip and he hid behind a chair. He would obviously not help in the fight.
Zunok waited for Iaven to run out of arrows, and when she did, he stormed her. Iaven froze for a second before
pulling out her sword.
Suddenly the door burst open, and Dragon Hunters stormed in. Inor ran to stand beside Iaven, and Dion
shot arrows from behind. Thon leaped down form the closet, his
heart pumping widely, and adrenaline rushing throe his bloodstream.
The Dragon Hunters stormed forward, and Thon knew there were to many.
The queen watched intently as the Dragon Hunters and humans clashed. She didn't expect the humand to last long, even if they were trained assassins.
To her surprise the cloaked girl killed two Dragon Hunters within the first few seconds because they had clearly underestimated her. The two young men managed to seriously wound a Dragon Hunter each, and the boy at the back was very annoying.
Just as the queen looked at him, the boy looked back at her. His young face held fear, but determination. He shot a arrow right at her face, and the
queen had to quickly jump to the side and move out of his shooting range.
She turned to the wounded Zunok and spoke in a low voice, “They are extremely talented, and very young. That they can keep elite Dragon Hunters from killing them in the first second is already a big achievement. I have never seen such talent in humans... I they were in my service, I could benefit a lot.” The queen's eyes shone with a greedy look.
“They probably hate you, so they would probably just try to kill you, if you tried to recruit them.” Zunok muttered. He was uneasy. He knew that if Thon, Dion, Iaven or Inor survived, they would look for a chance at revenge against him for betraying them.
“Nobody can't change.” The queen smiled creepily.
“Make way! Make way for the king!” A loud voice echoed through the street.
Werlek and Aresa had just bought the wine and quickly walked to the exit of the bar. They both looked outside
and saw a closed carriage riding by, accompanied by a troupe of soldiers.
“The king will hold a speech this afternoon at the market! All people must attend!” The soldier at the front yelled.
He went on yelling, and people on the street started whispering to each other. “Do you think the king will at last speak about what he will do against the dragons?”
“He should say something about the sky-high taxes we have been paying lately!” Unhappy, curious and sad voices mixed with each other, and in the mayhem Werlek grabbed Aresa's arm and pulled her to a quieter place.
Aresa shrugged his arm off, feeling
slightly uneasy. “This will be our one time chance to infiltrate the castle.” Werlek immediately spoke up. “Now we just need to regroup and get ready.”
YOU ARE READING
Dragon Scales
FantasyThon, Aresa, and Dion engage on the adventure of their lives as the journey the land to find the legendary Dragon Hunters, who could save the kingdom of Naresh from their evil, scheming king. On their way they meet new and dangerous people. Should t...
