The Finding (5 page)

As Lynhi peered out the window like a mother bear eyeing her cub, Jahrra sprinted to the end of the rocky path that led to the main road. She eventually stopped to catch her breath and glance back at the little stone cabin. It looked the same way it did six years ago when she first arrived here; nothing had changed but perhaps a little growth on the trees in the orchard and a little more moss on the roof.

The small, two-storied structure was the image of home to Jahrra. She simply adored the way that none of the stones in the walls were smooth, but rather they were rough and jagged like they’d been chipped off of some huge rock by a giant’s pick. The tiny house always smelled of earthly things like old smoke, dried lavender, soil, leather and eucalyptus oil. Sometimes it would smell of the wildflowers she or her mother collected in the spring and summer and every night and every morning it held the aroma of home cooking. Jahrra could always count on that.

The first sound of rickety cart wheels in the distance caused the young girl to jump out of her reverie and release a small yelp of fright. Once she saw that it was only the mail cart creeping up over the hill in the distance however, she grinned in relief. The mail cart always picked Jahrra up on the days she met with Hroombra and it was always driven by Mr. Dharedth the mail carrier. The mailman was a kind soul, not grumpy like most letter carriers in town. He was big and jovial with brown hair, brown eyes and a full beard, one that he was quite proud of.

Jahrra would ask him about it sometimes since her father didn’t grow a beard.

“How do you get your hair to grow on your face like that?”

“Well, Little Jahrra,” Dharedth would say cheerfully, “it takes time, patience and the ability to keep oneself groomed.”

Jahrra would sit on the wooden seat next to the mail carrier and ponder this question on their drives to the Castle Guard Ruin.

“I think I’ll try to grow one myself,” she would answer after spending some time lost in thought.

Dharedth then laughed warmly, telling Jahrra not to try too hard. He didn’t think a beard would look too becoming on a young girl. Jahrra would smile up at the middle-aged Nesnan man, one of the few people she talked to besides Hroombra and her parents.

As Jahrra made a mental list of all the questions she’d be asking her new classmates, the wobbly old hay wagon she’d heard only minutes ago pulled up and stopped in front of her drive. The mail cart, a retired hay wagon now full of stuffed canvas bags, was pulled by a fat, tired looking dapple-red horse that sagged sluggishly as soon as the cart stopped moving. Jahrra beamed as Mr. Dharedth gave a gapped-tooth smile above his bristly beard, his form partially blocking the two other children that were already sitting in the cart.

Jahrra’s heart caught in her throat when she saw them. She had no idea she’d be meeting her new classmates so soon and she suddenly lost the gumption she’d felt earlier. On a normal morning Jahrra would skip up to the cart and hop on, but today she approached warily, keeping her head low and her eyes veiled.

Dharedth rested his arm on his knee, one hand loosely holding the reins and smiled down at Jahrra.

“What’s the problem Little Jahrra? Don’ you feel well today?”

His brow furrowed with concern and his smile began to fade.

“Um . . .” was all Jahrra could muster as she started to turn pink.

“Well, cheer up! You have some classmates here who’re headed to school just like you. Why don’ you introduce yourselves?”

The mailman turned to the two children sitting behind him. They looked as timid as mice but luckily Dharedth was patient and knew how children could be shy when meeting others for the first time. Jahrra braved a glance up at them: a boy and a girl about her age sitting in the back of the cart. They both had very dark hair and green, slightly slanted eyes. Their uniforms were the same as Jahrra’s but instead of looking hand-sewn like her own the girl’s jumper and the boy’s vest and pants had most likely come from a tailor. Jahrra quickly returned her gaze to the ground and continued to stand in silence, pushing the loose soil around with her toe.

“Oh, for goodness sake!” Dharedth exclaimed, chuckling in amusement, “How’ll you three last in a classroom full of children if you can’ even introduce yourselves here?”

Finally, the girl in the cart spoke.

“Hello,” she said in a quiet yet friendly voice, “my name is Gieaun and this is my brother Scede.”

Jahrra could now see that the girl named Gieaun had cool green eyes and her brother Scede had a little bit of brown mixed in his own. They both, however, had black hair that reminded Jahrra of the shining, silky feathers of a rooster’s tail. Jahrra gave them a genial grin back.

The girl was all smiles now that the ice was broken but the boy seemed much more bashful than even Jahrra. Jahrra took a deep breath and introduced herself to the siblings and then, after a questioning glance to Dharedth, jumped up into the wagon.

On the ride to the Castle Guard Ruin Jahrra learned that Gieaun and Scede lived about three miles down the road from her on a ranch.

“Wood’s End Ranch,” Gieaun piped more confidently now that the cart had started moving once again.

Their parents raised sheep and horses and even traded with merchants outside of Oescienne. Scede, it turned out, was seven months older than her and Gieaun was four months younger.

Jahrra began asking the two siblings questions of her own, such as: “What’s it like where you live?” and “What type of tree do you like to climb the most?”

Gieaun was happy to answer these questions having many for Jahrra herself. Scede nodded every now and again, still reluctant to speak.

“He’s really shy,” Gieaun whispered knowingly. “We’ll be lucky if he talks at all today!”

The ride to Hroombra’s went by much quicker with two other children to talk to along the way, even if one of them only listened. Before they knew it the group reached the remains of an old stone building perched near the edge of the bluff. A narrow but long dirt path ran from the road to the crumbling stone structure.

Once Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede were out of the cart and the mailman was well on his way, the three children walked slowly up the small path gazing around in wary interest as they did. Jahrra naturally led the way, having been to this place many times before. It didn’t take them long to traverse the trail and at its end they found themselves standing on a wide patch of earth free of the tangled field grass but littered with weathered stones.

“What is this place?” asked Gieaun in a small voice as they stood in the ancient courtyard.

“This is the Castle Guard Ruin. It’s where Master Hroombra lives,” Jahrra said knowingly.

“Oh,” Gieaun answered simply, a little too frightened to question any further.

“I wonder where all the other students are?” Jahrra inquired aloud as she crossed over a circular area that was about ten feet in diameter. She had always imagined a great tree might have once grown here, guarding the building that used to be.

The three children gazed up at the stone wall looming before them. It was quite large and continued around to the other side of the building. The roof, one built of poles and large wooden slats, looked much newer than the ancient stone. In one corner there stood a large circular tower, easily twenty feet tall, with a conical roof of wood. A few windows, looking like empty rectangular eyes, stared at them from just below the tower’s peak. The entire building backed up into a tiny hillock that dropped off at the edge of the bluff on the opposite end.

Jahrra, having seen the Ruin a hundred odd times, shuffled over to sit down on the stone steps in front of the doorway.

“I guess we should wait here until everyone else arrives. I wonder where Master Hroombra is.”

“Who’s Master Hroombra?” Gieaun asked, dusting off a place to sit next to her.

“Oh just wait, you’ll love him!” the other girl replied.

She neglected to tell her friend that Hroombra was a dragon, but Jahrra had grown so used to him that she hadn’t even thought that perhaps Gieaun and Scede had never seen one before.

The two girls continued to chat while Scede walked around the old courtyard, kicking stones and drawing in the sand. After several minutes of loitering around the edge of the Ruin, Scede gave up and sat down next to the girls.

Gieaun and Jahrra were so busy talking about their summer adventures that they hardly noticed Scede stiffening next to them. Something was moving from behind where they sat and he was the first one to notice. It sounded like something rather large, something much larger than an animal or an adult shifting around inside the old building.

Scede elbowed his sister and the two girls stopped talking immediately, looking in the direction where the disturbance was coming from. The children glanced at each other and quickly scuttled behind the massive boulders bordering the steps.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a great beast stuck its head out from around the far corner of the Ruin. Jahrra had to resist the urge to burst out laughing. She’d been so caught up in her conversation with Gieaun that she’d allowed herself to think that anything dangerous could be lurking around the Castle Guard Ruin.

The terrifying monster was none other than the dragon Hroombra, easily the size of her little cottage if not bigger, and he was peering between the edge of the wall and the curve of the tower on the northern end of the building. Gieaun and Scede looked terrified but Jahrra broke into a bright smile, her blue eyes shining with mirth.

Hroombramantu inhaled deeply, looking very old as the morning light cut deep shadows into his wrinkled hide. Jahrra wondered if he knew that the children were there because she was getting the impression he was trying to sniff them out. She was almost tempted to sneak up on him and surprise him but another glance at her new friends told her that maybe she should introduce them to her mentor a little more gently. It was obvious from their terrified expressions that they’d never seen a dragon before. Well, at least a friendly one.

Hroombra stopped sniffing abruptly and turned to look directly at Jahrra. Her grin widened and she skipped towards the looming reptile not at all fearful or cautious of him. Gieaun and Scede simply looked on in horror.

“Young Jahrra?” Hroombra sounded quite confused indeed. “What are you doing skulking around in the shadows?”

“I was going to sneak up on you but I thought that if I actually frightened you and caused you to shout my new friends might faint!”

Jahrra giggled cheerfully, hoping that Gieaun and Scede would see now that Hroombra was harmless. When she looked in their direction, however, she noticed that they still crouched behind the stone rubble.

Hroombra smiled and spoke, “It seems you’ve been distracted with the task of making friends. It’s alright children, you can come out. I won’t eat you.” The voice was deep, soft, kind and definitely not hostile. “Come on. I assure you no harm will befall you.”

Hroombra’s speech wasn’t coaxing but patient, proving that he’d dealt with many terrified children before. Jahrra immediately stood up taller and told her friends that she’d known Hroombra her whole life and that he was a wonderful storyteller.

“Come now, everyone out in the open!” the great dragon said once more, “My name is Hroombramantu for those of you who don’t already know, and you can call me Master Hroombra. Now what should I call you?”

By this time Gieaun and Scede had mustered enough courage to crawl out reluctantly from their rock barriers. “I-I’m Gieaun,” answered the girl in a voice that could have belonged to a mouse.

“And you?” Hroombra nodded towards her brother.

“Scede,” Gieaun put in, her voice still small but audible. “He’s, my, my brother. He doesn’t say much. He’s shy.”

Now that Gieaun had spoken and realized she wouldn’t be swallowed after all, she became a little more confident.

“Well, Gieaun and Scede, it’s nice to meet you two. But we must get moving. The day won’t wait,” Hroombra said.

“We’re not staying here?” Jahrra asked in surprise.

“No.”

“What about the others?”

“They’ll meet us in town.”

“Town?”

Hroombra smiled at his small pupil’s incessant questions. Most schoolmasters would’ve grown impatient by now but not Hroombra. He took a small breath and answered, “In Aldehren, where the schoolhouse is.”

“Why can’t we stay here?” Jahrra pressed, becoming slightly upset.

“Oh, no Jahrra, you must go to school and be taught by a teacher of your own kind. A dragon may be a good tutor for you on occasion, but it’s not for most children,” Hroombra said seriously.

Jahrra stood with her brow furrowed.
What’s wrong with having a dragon as a teacher?
she wondered to herself.

“Well then, shall we get going? It’ll take quite a while to get to the schoolhouse. Unfortunately I’m not as young as I used to be or else we could fly there. We’ll have to make do with walking.”

Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede looked up at Hroombra in disbelief.
Walk?! All the way to town?
Jahrra thought with horror. She was certain it would take her more than a day to walk to town.

Hroombra realized what they were all thinking and smiled once more. “Don’t worry! You three can ride on my back. We’ll arrive faster that way.”