Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon (15 page)

Both of them reluctantly packed. All of them started on their horses again.

Jane gave Aaron an assuring smile that made him feel better. He thanked God for her being there. He had to pull Flynn away from Sandra as he was trying to speak her. Belster was keeping a hard watch on them.

Belster and Sandra’s horses were fast as the wind, even Dan couldn’t keep up with them. Flynn tried to follow Sandra but she was far ahead of them. Aaron rode next to Jane talking about his village.

It was still dark and they all rode together through the rocky roads that extended a few more miles. Then they entered another forest. Dan had given the lead to Belster now, who seemed to know the forest well.

In the dark, the forest looked much deeper. The tress appeared abruptly. The riders had to bend and turn many times to save themselves from the branches that protruded. Slowly, the daylight began to appear and the forest didn’t look so dangerous anymore. They crossed the forest soon and entered a city.

Chapter 12

Lion’s Inn
 

Aaron had never seen a city in his life but he had heard about them a lot. Matt always told him how grand the city of Kantar was, how magnificent everything looked and how easy it was to get lost there. Aaron always wanted to visit a city to see what it actually looked like. He saw big buildings made of stones. They were painted in many colors. The bright red color of one of the buildings almost blinded him. The houses were nothing like the ones in the village. There were no thatched roofs or farms attached to them. The street was filled with many people. Some wore cloths he had never seen before. He found Flynn looking everywhere with amazement just like himself.

Everyone in the city was so busy that they hardly noticed the Defenders enter the market place. Aaron felt like he was living in a very small place all his life. The market place of the city was huge compared to the one in his village. There was nothing that you wouldn’t find there. From shops filled with fruits to shop selling clay pots were lined up in a row. As they passed the market, some vendors looked up and asked them if they would buy any of their wares.

Belster and Dan didn’t stop for a second. They kept a constant watch as if someone or something was following them. Aaron felt lost between many unfamiliar faces. He stayed near Flynn and Jane.

Finally, they came in front of a large Black Iron gate which was at the end of the street, secluded from the market. Behind the iron gate was a beautiful mansion with a big wooden door and white stone walls. Near the gate there was a big sign that read ‘Lions’. The houses around this big mansion looked like they were empty.

“What is this place?” Aaron asked in excitement stopping next to Dan.

“It is the safest place for us in the whole world, for resting and for fun” Belster winked at Dan. Dan remained expressionless.

A small man with long white beard came out of the door and greeted them.

“Good afternoon Sirs and Madams! Welcome to the Lions. I am Cody, at your service!”. He bowed so low that his beard almost touched the ground. With great effort, he opened the iron gates. All of them got down from their horses and handed them to Cody. They walked inside the big wooden door into a big hall. The hall was mostly empty, except for a small desk in the right corner. A large man was sitting behind the desk.

“Hello, to all of you!” The large man said. He tried to get up but it seemed like he was stuck to the chair he was sitting on. He shook hands with Dan, still sitting down.

“How many rooms would you need?” The large man asked politely.

Belster stepped forward and spoke to the man for a few minutes. Cody walked into the hall and picked up their bags. Everyone followed him. The corridors were large and there were plenty of rooms on either sides. Cody took them to one long dining area.

“Sirs! Be seated here, breakfast will be served in a few moments” Cody bowed again. Then he took off with their bags.

The table in the dining hall was big enough for the seven of them. The walls were painted in sunshine yellow. There was not much in the room except for a colorful carpet and the long dining table with chairs of three different sizes. They sat down quickly. Aaron was very hungry. The memory of freshly baked bread at uncle’s house left him longing for food. He remembered the kitchen table where Mrs. Renn used to give him all kinds of delicacies she made. He didn’t know that one day, he would miss her so much.

They heard a bell and the door of the dining hall flung opened. A very lean lady walked in, she had a grim long face and she wore a white apron with a white hat that covered all of her hair. She was pushing the breakfast cart into the dining room. The cart looked loaded with all kind of yummy food. A plump man suddenly appeared from behind her.

“I will take it from here” said the man.  The woman gave him a catty look and walked out.

The man cheerfully hugged Belster. “Belster! My friend! It has been such a long time. I am so glad to see you here again and this must be the lovely Sandra” He walked up to Sandra and planted a kiss on her forehead which she wasn’t expecting. “Welcome to the city of Balin friends” He turned to Belster and said “Please introduce your friends Belster”

Belster introduced everybody one by one. The man met everyone with the same enthusiasm. He remarked that Flynn reminded him of one of his own nephews. He hugged Flynn so tight that it took all the air out of Flynn’s lungs.

“How rude of me not to introduce myself” He said looking ashamed. “I am Tom Cinn, the owner of the Lions. It is a pleasure to meet you all” He served the food on to the table. There was Eggs, Bacon, Pancakes with syrup, butter and chicken sandwiches for everyone. “Once again, welcome to Balin, enjoy your Breakfast!” Tom said smiling as he left. They ate till they couldn’t eat anymore. Ony was so full that he could not help but belched out loud which made everyone laugh.

After the big breakfast, they wanted to just take rest. Flynn looked sleepy already. Aaron could hardly stand. Both the girls looked weary too. Cody came into the dining hall as soon as they finished eating and showed everyone to their rooms. The three men shared a three bedroom suite with its own hall and bathroom. The girls got an overly decorated room which they seemed to like a lot. Aaron and Flynn got a big room with an equally big bathroom and a balcony. The bags were already kept neatly arranged near the mantel piece in their rooms.

“Enjoy your stay, young sirs!” Cody took leave finally. Flynn was not able to hold his excitement.

“Look at this place!” He sat on the big metal framed chair. The cushions on it were so soft, but sturdy. “I feel like a king here” said Flynn.

Aaron had already occupied one of the two small beds after removing his jacket and belts.

“Well I don’t’ know about you, but I sure feel like a king. This is the softest bed ever!” Aaron pulled the soft cotton blanket over him, it made him feel like he was sleeping on soft clouds as he closed his eyes. He heard Flynn saying something, but he was too sleepy to understand.

Aaron’s eyes opened only by evening. There was still some sunlight coming through the windows. Flynn was fast asleep in his bed. Aaron got up and started the fire at the fire place. He sat next to it for sometime feeling the warmth of the fire. He heard some noises downstairs. The sounds of singing and dancing and thumping. Aaron wanted to see what was going on. He slowly reached for his jacket which was kept next to his bed and slipped out of the room not waking Flynn up. He followed the noise and it grew louder and louder as he approached a room.

He opened the door of the room from where the sounds were coming. It was a large room filled with people from the city. They were drinking and smoking pipes while singing and dancing. They stopped for a moment to see who has come in and then continued with whatever they were doing. Aaron looked around, there were a number of tables and chairs. Most of them occupied by men and women of all ages. It looked like a place of gathering to him.

In a corner, he saw Tom sitting with Belster. Jane and Sandra also sat near them at another table. Aaron walked to the table that Tom and Belster were sitting at. Belster and Tom were so engrossed in their own talks that they did not seem to notice Aaron.  Jane saw him and invited him to their table.

“Where is your friend?” Jane asked.

“Still sleeping!” Aaron had to shout to be heard above the noise.

“What is this place and why is everybody dancing?” he asked bringing his head closer to Jane’s ears.

The dancing stopped in sometime and the noise dropped. People went back to their business of drinking and talking to each other.

Jane smiled. “This is one of the famous bars of Balin. People from all over the city come here to have Beer. The brew is one of the finest in the whole land and people just want to have fun” she said.

‘
Just have fun!’
that was something Aaron had never heard of. In Brinsar, the only time you could have fun is when the harvest is good and you have worked hard enough for that. He guessed that it must be different for the people in the city.

“So, where did you learn to use your bow like that?” he turned to Sandra and asked her.

“My father taught me, he taught me all that he knew” she looked happy “But I still have to pass the trial”

“Trial? What Trial” Aaron asked.

“Having your skills is not enough Aaron, every Defender has to go through the trial. If you pass it, only then can you become a true defender.” Jane said cutting in between.

“Mother used to say that you never know when your day will come. It’s better to be prepared for the worse” Sandra said and fell silent. A tear formed near her golden eyelashes.

Aaron realized that she had lost her mother in this war.

“Sandra, everyone has to go one day. We are a part of a very important mission. You should be proud of yourself” said Jane wiping away Sandra’s tears.

Aaron looked at Jane and wondered the same thing again ‘W
hat had made Jane so strong?’
But what she said was right, they were a part of something very important and he should also be prepared to face the evil, like the others.

Flynn joined them soon, but he was not able to speak much in front of Sandra. He stuttered a lot. After sometime, the girls got up and joined the others to dance.

“Care to join us?” Ony and Dan appeared from behind with large mugs of beer and meat pies in their hands. Aaron and Flynn ordered some beer for themselves too. Flynn was nervous after talking to Sandra. He gulped the whole mug down in seconds before Aaron could say anything. Ony and Dan sat there and watched Flynn in amazement.

“What is this stuff? It feels sooo..good. Can I have more?” Flynn asked in his drunken voice.

After many more rounds of beer, Flynn started to sing as if there was no tomorrow. He got up and joined the others in dancing. Dan got up and sat next to Belster and Tom. He was pulling long puffs on the pipe and was having a serious conversation. Ony and Aaron were still sitting at the table.

“So, who trains me?” Aaron asked Ony suddenly.

Ony was too drunk, he was not sure what Aaron was asking.

“What do you mean?” he tried to look serious.

“Sandra’ father trained her. Jane is trained by Alfadon. What about me? Who trains me?”

Ony sat upright and thought for a moment “Dan will train you!”

“Dan will train me?”

“Yes! Dan, like your father, is an excellent swordsman. Even though there was a rivalry between them, he was assigned as your mentor by your mother. He has to teach you all that he knows.”  Ony said with his eyes, half closed.

“There was a rivalry between Dan and my father? But why?”  Aaron was surprised.

Ony was hardly able to keep his eyes open as the waiter served him his tenth mug of beer. “Don’t worry, I will tell Dan that you are ready to train. He is my good friend. You should also keep an eye on your good friend who is getting into trouble right now” Ony pointed at Flynn who was in the crowd.

Flynn was now dancing with Sandra hand in hand and had forgotten all about Belster sitting right there.  Jane was watching them and everyone was clapping and encouraging Flynn to kiss Sandra. Aaron immediately got up and waded his way through the crowd to reach Flynn. But he was too late. Belster had already pulled Sandra out and was really mad. He went upstairs grabbing Sandra by her hand. Jane followed them trying to convince Belster that it was only a dance.

Flynn was standing on the dance floor all alone now trying to understand what just happened. Aaron pulled him by his arm and took him to the room.

“What do you think you are doing? Do you want to get into trouble with that man?” Aaron was angry.

“I think I am going to be sick” were Flynn’s last words before he ran inside the bathroom. He didn’t come out for about an hour.

Aaron made Flynn take a warm shower before dinner.  He stayed close to Flynn as he didn’t want him to do something stupid again.

Everyone was silent at the dinner table. Belster and Sandra didn’t show up for a while. And when they did, Sandra looked worried but she didn’t say anything to anyone. Flynn didn’t lift his head till he finished his dinner. Belster was giving him the ‘I am going to kill you’ look. Flynn slipped away after dinner, as soon as he could.

Aaron waited for others to finish, he wanted to talk to Dan about beginning his training but he didn’t get a chance. Ony still ate as Aaron waited to talk to Dan. Dan lighted another pipe and signed Aaron to leave him alone. Then he started to speak to Belster in a hushed tone. Feeling irritated, Aaron walked to his room. The door was wide open. Inside, the fireplace was lit.

“Flynn, why did you leave the door open?” he asked as he entered the room.

Someone was sitting near the fireplace with his head down. But it was not Flynn. Aaron came closer to take a better look. The stranger could be anybody, it was hard to trust anyone. Aaron eyed his sword that he kept under his bed.

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” He asked loud enough to scare the stranger. The stranger had long blond hair and he wore a short dirty tunic. The rest of him was still in shadows.