The knight, the dragon and the necromancer. Daert dilogy-1

— What are you doing, Signora Rosa? — The knight, who was watching her manipulations, asked uncertainly. — What is in this flask?

— Alchemical solution. — The student was so focused on her work that she didn't even glance in the young man's direction. — Includes calcium and half a dozen other substances. — "Powder made from human bones, for example," she added mentally. Marius shouldn't have known that. — If you put it into your bloodstream, you'll die in agony. Probably. Or lose a limb. But if I inject it into you, altering and directing it with magic as I'm doing now... your broken leg will heal in three days. Completely.

— Wow, — the young man breathed out. — Where did you get it?

— I took it for myself, — Rosa shrugged. She squeezed the vial, making sure the solution flowed evenly into the tube. — I didn't want to abandon the study in case of injury.

— Would you be able to... yourself...? — The knight swallowed and looked at the sorceress as if seeing her for the first time.

— I had once. — After emptying the vessel, the girl pulled out the tube and sealed the wound with healing clay, covering it with cut scales. — It's a human dose. But we're not fusing the bone, just strengthening it. In a week and a half, the wing will be as good as new. The pain will be gone even sooner.

— Signora, I... I don't know how to thank you.

— For what? — Rose looked up at the knight in surprise. — You saved my life, my lord. Let's wait for the clay to dry now and move on.

She sat down on the ground, her back against Toad's warm paw. The dragoness's breath warmed the back of her neck. It seemed that the young sorceress's "patient" had dozed off, no longer in pain. Don Marius, after some hesitation, sat down next to her.

— What happened to Daert, my lord? — Rose asked a question that bothered her less than it should have. — Who killed the queen? What's going on?

— It's a long story, signora, the young man said evasively, looking at the swaying crowns of walnuts. — Octavia was betrayed. The new king was involved in her death. Some of the queen's supporters rebelled against him. Others have seized the moment to their own advantage. The Duke of Velonda wants to leave the kingdom and become an independent ruler. He has conspired with the nomads. The remnants of the Queen's supporters have joined him.

Rose remembered Queen Octavia, who had visited their faculty only six months ago. The queen was the same age as Rosa — a tall black-haired beauty with bright blue eyes, wearing a black and gold man's suit, without a crown on her head... She smiled little but sincerely, listened attentively to the teachers, asked them useful questions and answered students' requests herself. Rose never dared to speak to her then, though she could have. And now the queen is dead.

— Is it all to do with your mission, my lord? — she asked.

— You don't need to know that. — Don Marius bit his lip again. Apparently he did that when he was nervous. — I'm travelling to the southeast on important business, that's all. Don't take offence, please. It'll be better for you.

Rose actually felt a pang of resentment, but she kept silent. The knight owed her nothing, but she owed him everything. It was foolish to pester her own saviour. Still, Don Marius was clearly in a mad rush to leave before Toad had fully recovered. What's driving him? And whose side is he on in the war that has begun? Keeping these questions to herself, she changed the subject:

— Hvogbjorn is not a Daert name, is it? Are you also a local foreigner like me?

— Almost, — the young man grinned. — I am descended from Olaf's companion. The first Hvogbjorn won the crown of Daert for Olaf and got the right to breed dragons from him. That was centuries ago, so we're almost native Daertans. Only one surname remained. And your family?

— Iolians. Only I was born in Daert. — Rose touched the silver crab-shaped brooch on her beret. It was used to fasten a ragged white and grey feather.

— Where are they now?

— Across the ocean. — The girl closed her eyes and leaned back on Toad's paw. — Daddy bought a ship and sailed for three years to the overseas colonies, and mom with him. They promised to come back three times richer than before. Praise the Creator.

— Yes, maybe things will be settled by the time they return, — Don Marius agreed. — And you make them happy by staying alive. When we get to the city, I will take a promise from you, signora.

— Staying at home?

— Or in the Academy office. Behind the fortress walls, anyway.

— Tempting, my lord. I will consider it.

By connecting herself to Toad with a strong ethereal thread, Rose could constantly feel her pain — and muffle it as best she could, taking some of it for herself. It was tiring, but the dragoness was cheerful and quicker. It was dusk when the travellers reached a large trade route and immediately encountered a column of refugees coming slowly from the south. There were about forty of them, with three carts. Old folk, women, children, only a few men. Only four horsemen in identical leather armour had weapons. The leader of the horsemen rode out to meet Toad, dismounted, bowed. He introduced himself to the young men who had descended from the dragon:

— Sergeant Bernard, milord. Commanding the guarding of the merchant convoy.

— Don Marius, dragon knight, — the young man introduced himself briefly, dropping his last name. — Master Rosa, a mage of the Academy.

Rose opened her mouth, about to clarify that she couldn't be called master yet, because she was just learning... and closed it without saying anything. These frightened people definitely wanted to see a knight and a mage, not a knight and a student.

— Are all these people with you? — Marius continued in a confident tone. The young dragon rider was transformed before her eyes; he held himself differently from the way he did when he was alone with the girl.

— Only two carts, charioteers and mounted men, my lord. — The sergeant straightened his back. — The others are from a few hamlets. The nomads are prowling everywhere, burning villages. The men have been taken by the king or the rebels. The women and children are afraid to stay. I decided to escort them out. We all wanted to hide in the town, but the closest one, Bitel, closed the gates. We walked for two days to Turvon, but they wouldn't let anyone in there either.

Marius and Rosa looked at each other. It seemed that the knight's plan to leave the girl under the protection of the city walls had broken down. The knight asked:

— Where are you going now?

— The peasants want to take refuge in the forests. — The warrior pointed his chin behind Marius's back. — They say there are impenetrable thickets there. We can hide out. The main thing is that there should be no nomads between the road and the forest. But since milord has come from that direction...

The young men exchanged glances again. The knight's confidence had left him, and now he seemed distressed and indecisive. Chewing his lips, Marius answered:

— I'm afraid, Sergeant, there are nomads out there. A lot of them.

— What shall we do, my lord? You're not going to leave us, are you?

— I... will think of something. — The young man turned his gaze from Rose to Toad. — We will think of something.

Chapter 3

Don Marius woke Rosa when a strip of water glimmered ahead. The sun was already rising, and she stretched, yawning sweetly. It seemed to her that after all she had experienced during the day she would not be able to sleep, but the dragoness's measured footsteps were warm on her back and lulling... And the young sorceress's nerves were stronger than she had suspected.

From their conversation with the sergeant they learnt that the refugees had been walking for a long time along the bank of the Clay River, a fairly wide river flowing southwards. Where the tract crossed the river, the wooden bridge, placed on the stone supports of an older stone bridge, had been burnt down by someone. The ferries were also all gone. But there were traces of an army that had travelled this way weeks ago. Unable to cross the river, the group turned north, towards the forests.

— I think King Auguste's army passed through there, — Bernard explained to his new companions.

— They could have destroyed the crossings themselves to cover their rear, — Marius suggested. — Or the nomads might have destroyed the crossings to prevent the king from quickly moving his forces inland. So if we took the route south, we could catch up with the king's forces.

— Last we heard, my lord, the king was encamped on the borders of Velonda's lands, against the main rebel forces, — the sergeant nodded. — He will be there for a long time.

— This is the way out. — The knight drummed his fingers on the hilt of his long sword. Before, the blade had been strapped to his saddle, but now the young man wore it at all times, Rosa thought, to look more solid in the eyes of the fugitives. — I have business in those parts. You'll have nothing to fear from the raiders when you're near the army... And I can leave master Rosa in safe custody there.

— It's only a matter of time, my lord. — The merchant guard was certainly not inclined to be subservient. His tone remained deferential, but there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. — To drag fifty women and old men and their belongings across a full-flowing river.

— It might not be possible with the luggage. — The warrior's insolence didn't hurt knight, or he didn't notice it. The young man's shrewdness caused Rosa some doubt. — We'll get the men across. My dragon was wounded in battle and can't fly. But it doesn't need to. Dragons are very good swimmers, sergeant.

— You want to... load people onto it? — Bernard looked at the lizard incredulously.

— On her, — Rosa corrected, deciding that the enigmatic silence going to the mage's image was not to be overdone. — Toa... Cornelia is a lady.

— She's won't lift them all in one sitting, — Marius said. — Are there any islands in the river, sergeant?

— Yes, we've seen a couple of big ones, my lord.

— You can point the way to the nearest one. We'll cross there, — the don decided. — First, we will take the people in batches to the island, and from there to the other side. But I must make two conditions.

— Yes, my lord.

— One. — The young man looked very serious and mature again, his voice sounded firm. Rose could hardly contain her smile. — We will set out at once, and go all night until we reach the shore. Make arrangements — put the children and the old men on carts and horses, and dismount yourselves. Secondly, the dragon will need a sacrifice on the riverbank.

— S... sacrafice? — The sergeant glanced warily at the peacefully slumbering Toad again. The green dragoness had a remarkable gift for falling asleep at any quiet moment.

— Yes, Sergeant, — Marius nodded gravely. — Toa... Ahem... Cornelia hadn't eaten in a long time.

In half an hour Rosa went round the refugees, quickly assessed their condition, and distributed all her stores of corn ointment. To a couple of stout old men who were walking behind the cart, she relieved the pain in their joints, which made her feel quite ill. When she found herself in Toad's hard saddle, the student immediately began to nod off, and soon she did not notice how she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

— You have slept well, signora, — Don Marius told her.

— Didn't snore? — The girl tried to smile at the knight more sincerely than she had done yesterday.

— No, of course not. And you don't seem to have nightmares.

— Mm-mm... — Rose lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes with the bend of her thumb. — When I was fifteen, I cut off a chicken's head...

— Erm... I'm sorry? — The young man even looked over his shoulder.

— It was an assignment, — the student hastened to clarify. — At the Academy. Anyway, that chicken kept me awake for a week. And then we were assigned to cut up a pig carcass and make a list of its innards. I never thought about the chicken again. Now I always sleep well, if I can sleep.

— Ahem... And there's our crossing, — the knight changed the subject awkwardly.

An oblong island, overgrown with mixed forest, divided the Clay River into two streams — narrower, but also faster. It was shaped like a giant's insole or sole, left exactly in the middle of the channel.

— We'll have another spurt and rest, — said the don, pulling Toad back. — On the other shore.

The refugees literally collapsed from exhaustion as soon as the dragon stopped. Sergeant Bernard, however, with shouts and slaps brought his men to their feet, along with a couple of younger peasants. They began to unload the carts. The horses were unharnessed, and the sergeant led the worst of them to Toad.

— Here is your... — the warrior grinned crookedly, — ...sacrifice, my lord.

— Thank you. — The knight took the mare by the reins. — We'll leave you for some time, you keep watch over the plain. If riders appear, sound the alarm. No matter how many or under what banner.

Marius led the two mounts down the bank, Rosa trailing behind.

— You shouldn't look either, signora... — the knight started, but the girl looked at him over her glasses:

— Milord, Toad recently bit a steppe dweller's head off in front of me. And another one's arm and a piece of torso.

— Yes, but she didn't eat them. — The young man coughed, blushing slightly. — And I thought maybe a horse was different. You like animals, don't you?

— Very much so. — Rose fixed her glasses, trying to keep a serious face. After a good night's sleep, the girl felt quite well, though her bruises were still sore. The young knight's clumsiness in communication amused her now, and the sorceress made an effort not to show it. — I love animals, so I know that predators eat meat. And they don't get it from a butcher's shop.

Don Marius stepped from foot to foot before giving Toad a command: "Eat!". The green dragoness knocked the stunted horse to the ground with a single swipe of her paw, snapping its neck so swiftly that the unfortunate horse didn't even have time to neigh.

— Interesting... — the knight stretched out, watching his giant pet rumblingly tear off the horse's hind leg. — I didn't like meat when I was a kid. Not at all. My sisters teased me about it. But after bonding with Toad, I grew to love it. All dragon knights like meat.

— The bonding is a bond of dragon blood, milord? — Rose perked up.

— Yeah. That's what we call the ritual amongst ourselves.

The ritual of the dragon bond mixed the dragon's blood with the blood of its rider, creating a bond between them similar to an etheric thread, but much stronger — and, interestingly, invisible to the magical eye. Beast and man understood each other almost without words. In addition, the lizard received a drop of human intelligence, and the rider a tiny bit of dragon power. The ritual was born in the old empire, when the current schools of magic did not yet exist, but it combined features of blood magic and nature magic. Rose had studied its history, but the ritual itself was not taught to nature mages. The girl asked cautiously: