Zuan

by Michael E. Halbrook

uan circled the town for the fourth time. His unease grew more tangible as

he slipped from cloud to cloud. Despite his caution, he was certain the towns folk had spotted him. The apparent lack of concern shown by those below puzzled him and added to his distrust. He made another turn, compensating quickly for a vicious downdraft that threatened to flip him on his back and drop him to the rocks below. The wind died for a moment, and the waters of the lake beside the town became clear. Turning his head slightly he saw the bones of a great dragon sprawled in the shallows. He pulled his turn tighter and climbed above the clouds. He looked about the mountains that blocked the approach to the town from three directions. On the slope of the closest mountain he saw a scar right at the tree line. He dropped closer and saw that a dragon had fallen here as well. This one had flown right into the side of the mountain. Three of the dragons that had left in years past had talked of taking this route South. As Zuan swung away from the town he saw dragon wings nailed to the front of the town hall. No word had been heard of those three dragons. Now he knew why. He thought it best that some other brave, strong, and much more fearless dragon investigate that town. He was sure the townspeople had found a way to use the limited approaches to their town against dragons. As Zuan flew south, the men-at-arms eased the covering grass mats from their weapons and cursed with disappointment. The oversized ballistas the grass had concealed were strung with dragon sinew, and loaded with spears tipped with steel. The town had eaten the last two dragons to come through, and they had been hoping for another feast.

Zuan was small for his age, his wings spanning 70 feet rather than the usual 80 or 90. He was red brown above fading to light gray underneath. He was 35 feet long, and like all his family his eyes were blue. He was admitted by his fellow dragons to be the cleverest and most curious dragon of all the North. The same dragons would also call him the laziest, most indolent, and slothful creature to ever walk, crawl, or fly. But he was the best flier of all the dragons and none of them would dispute this. Zuan was 600 years old and come to an age when dragons sometimes left the safety of the isolated dragon-lairs in the far north and sought their fortune in the wide world. He had grown tired of the small-mindedness and petty bickering of some of his fellows; he was ready to taste freer air. The dragons that returned from such travels brought strange and sometimes amusing tales of the world beyond the northern mountains. It was a time for wandering, of petty livestock thefts, and sometimes tragedy. Dragons that left often were never heard of again. Zuan wondered how many places there were like that too quiet town, and if they also had dragon bones scattered about them. The world was an infinite series of traps and the price of carelessness was death. "At least for some of the stupid clods I've had to suffer with in the North. I wonder if they would have known the town for what it was before the towns folk began to cut off their wings," Zuan thought to himself. He had set out from his home wearied of the smug short - sightedness that had surrounded him. Zuan thought about the future. "Just what do I seek from the world? To be a Dragon-Lord of a mighty realm, with slaves to do my least wish? Or to be left in peace and learn of the world of men and their allies more sensibly?" As he continued south he concluded it would be wise to learn of men and their ways first, regardless of his long range ambitions. The elk scattered as Zuan swept down and struck the bull he had selected. These game animals were less wary of attack from above than the skittish animals in the North. He was sure none of the other animals would run themselves to death because there was heavy forest surrounding the meadow where he made his kill. Zuan, like all his family believed in waste not, want not. He sat and thought as he devoured his kill.

"I must have more knowledge of men before I face them again. I remember talk of a dragon that established himself by a bend in a great river. I could be in that area in few days. He may have settled in well enough to be interested in news of other dragons. At least I may get a better idea of what to expect in the lands of men." Although unaware of it, this snap decision would change his life forever. The flight to the river took two days and part of a third. As he approached this river he saw increasing signs of destruction. There were burned out forests, a ruined town, and as he came upon the dragon lair, he saw animals had been killed wantonly and left to rot before the ruined gates of what once had been a mighty cavern kingdom. "One of the dwarf-holds. I thought dwarfs were but legends. What chaos! I wonder how he defeated them, it looks to have been a great fortress." Thinking of what he had heard of the dwarfs, he circled the ruin of their pride. The idea of contacting this dragon had lost appeal to Zuan. The wanton destruction went against all of his teaching, and would have been a great crime in his homeland. He wheeled about to leave and headed east; perhaps one of his own distant kin was there. A scream erupted from the ruined dwarf hold, a piercing sound that would freeze blood. Zuan knew it to be incredibly bad manners. The other dragon shrieked again as he came forth from the ruined gates. Zuan suddenly understood why the country was so devastated, and how the dragon had been able to destroy the dwarfs. "You breathe fire. Surely you know this is forbidden?" These were the only words Zuan spoke to the other dragon. Zuan knew that by eating certain plants and minerals dragons could sometimes develop the ability to breath fire. The price was high. Most dragons that attempted this were unable to master the magic needed to survive their own fires and died quickly. Those that lived, went mad. There was no purpose to arguing with a fire breather. Zuan thought of flying off before the other dragon could catch up to him. He was certain he could out fly him with ease. He turned back instead. He would accept the challenge, and he felt sure he could keep clear of the dragons fire. "I could do well here myself, besides this country deserves more than this destructive fool," Zuan thought to himself as the other dragon climbed close.

Tucking in his wings he swooped down as the other dragon turned to attack. Zuan swerved at the last moment as a blast of fire swept past his face. The dragon fire had a smell like sulfur and methane. Zuan's senses swam and he felt the deadly lure of the dragon fire. He came to himself with great effort and realized he could not see the other dragon. He suddenly turned as the other dragon screamed down upon him, his approach hidden by the sun. Once again Zuan was surrounded by dragon fire. Furling his wings he dived away trying not to breathe more of the deadly, disorienting, and maddening fire. Zuan knew now it had been a mistake to accept the challenge from the fire maddened dragon. He felt the onset of real panic as he heard the dragon shriek again. The chemical processes that allowed a dragon to breathe fire robbed the brain of vital oxygen and should have weakened the other dragon's body as well. He was mad, but he did not seem at all weak. Zuan tried to think. "I'm lighter than him. I can climb faster and turn tighter." Pulling into his tightest turn Zuan began to climb with all his strength. "I can climb higher and turn tighter than him," He said again to himself, hoping it was true. The other dragon's name had been Clon, when he could still think well enough to recall it. Now Clon followed behind, his dim mind full of hate for this intruder, but he had long ago lost the ability to express why. The long exposure to the dragon fire had left Clon with little but a desire to kill. Clon's turns became wider as he tried to follow the smaller, lighter, dragon into the sky. Finally, the years of fire breathing were beginning to tell against his strength. Zuan saw the other dragon falling farther behind and below him. He was able to think more clearly now that the dragon fire was safely away from him. He knew he must avoid more of the dragon fire at all costs. The solution came to him at last, and he began to head back to the northeast. "Now I must keep this mad thing on my trail for three days," Zuan said to himself. Clon was now straining to keep Zuan in sight. Zuan slowed, conserving his strength for the days ahead, allowing Clon to stay on his trail. For Zuan knew that Clon must die. The scar on the mountain side convinced Zuan he had returned to the right town. The clouds were absent today, and he climbed high to be sure the towns folk saw the dragons.

The chase from the great river had been at times harrowing and other times pathetic. Clon's only desire was to kill. Anything that moved and had life would come under attack. At the same time it was clear Clon could not remember why he was so far from his cavern. Zuan found himself shadowing Clon's wandering and revealing himself only when Clon drifted off the course Zuan wanted, or when he found he must interfere with the most destructive of Clon's urges. Zuan pitied the mindless ferocity of the mad dragon. He was certain his plan was the only answer. Zuan swooped down past Clon at high speed, dragon fire missing him by inches. Clon followed quickly, his greater weight gave him the advantage in a dive, and he soon began to gain on Zuan. At his highest speed Zuan entered the twisting canyon that led to the town. Clon began to fall behind as he tried to follow Zuan's turns. The town came into view, and Zuan turned his tightest and climbed towards the mountain pass. He strained his utmost and he suddenly realized that the scar on the mountain was caused by a dragon that had also seen the danger in the town and turned from it too late. Clon came around the last turn into full view of the towns people. He slowed at once to attack the town as he had attacked everything before. From three hidden sites the ballistas fired their steel tipped spears. There was a hiss as the spears flew, cleaving the air violently, and a hollow sound as of an enormous, hide covered drum on impact. Clon screamed as he was transfixed, his body suddenly limp. He lost all forward speed and began flopping slowly end over end down towards the lake. Zuan cleared the mountain top with only feet to spare. He turned and saw Clon's plunge end in a great fountain of water. Clon's body slowly settled to the bottom of the lake next to the moldering bones of the first dragon to fall to the spears of the town folk.

The cheers of the people below came to him as he circled high above, but he knew they were wary of his return. He knew that any attack from the air would leave the attacker laid out beside Clon and the others that had come before him. He circled farther off, and the boldest of those below set out in boats to begin the process of rendering Clon into steaks and roasts. Zuan began his journey south once more, thinking of the cavern that was now his. He wondered how long it would be before the trees would grow, and the

water run sweet again in the great river. He was proud to have brought Clon's reign of destruction to an end. It did not occur to him that one dragon looks much the same as another from the ground. The flight back to the cavern was uneventful. It was almost dark when Zuan landed at the gate. He crawled inside, curled up and went to sleep. Zuan was tired by the flight and long pursuit, and more shaken by his first encounter with madness and violent death than he dared admit. It was a less brash, more thoughtful dragon that awoke. He awoke and had his first clear look at the cavern. The chaos was incredible. The central hall was heaped with all the gold and jewelry that had belonged to the dwarfs. Bones, broken furniture, and partly eaten animals were pushed into all the corners. The hall had once been a place of light, of feasting and merriment. The faded tapestries on the walls still glittered with interwoven gold and platinum. Now even the carvings on the ceiling were covered in sooty slime from Clon,s fiery breath. Zuan was horrified at the ruin of such a beautiful hall, and daunted by the thought of the work needed to make it a fit place to live. "I should have left him to his madness and his charnel- house." Zuan said to himself. "I've got to get outside. This place reeks of dragon-fire and death." The sight that awaited him as he passed through the shattered gates was almost as bad. "I've got to get these gates repaired," he thought absently. There had once been a mighty bridge of stone across the river and a village of stone houses on the far side. The bridge had been cast into the river and the waters had backed up behind it to form a marsh that had begun to cover the foundations of the burnt out village. All about were other signs of the ruin brought on by the dragon. The mountain itself had been heavily forested. Now only blackened stumps remained. He thought of just leaving. The work needed here would take years. Many more years would pass before the damage to the land itself would completely heal. He sat in the morning sun and thought of all that needed to be done. The idea of leaving was uppermost in his mind, but the thought of encountering another pitiful, mad creature like Clon, or another dragon killing town convinced him to stay. He was unwilling to immediately return to the hall and it's smell of death, so he began clearing the remains of the bridge from the river.

"No one will come to live in a town half under water," Zuan said to himself. Already he was making grandiose plans for the trade town he pictured growing under his protection and sponsorship. The idea that anyone may have had prior claim to the town, or that people would object to living near any dragon did not occur to him. He worked in the river the rest of the day, clearing snags and dragging the huge bridge stones to the banks. When darkness fell, Zuan returned reluctantly to the hall. He looked again at the twisted gates. They had been heavy oak, strapped with steel riven from the very mountain's heart. Naively, he thought of the craftsmen that would soon repair them.

The next several days Zuan spent outside, working on the mountain side and exploring the lands that surrounded him. The signs of destruction were present in a broad area, but except for the immediate area about the cavern the land had begun to recover. Zuan spent increasing time flying about and exploring, and less and less time working about the cavern or the surrounding land. He kept putting off starting the enormous task of clearing out the rest of the cavern. He wondered that he had yet to see any men returning to the area. Zuan was sure that the death of Clon was well known by now. One night Zuan suddenly awoke to the sounds of smashing crockery and falling cabinetry. He had never gotten around to doing much work in the hall, and now the rotting supports to one of the great cabinets holding the dwarfs crockery had given way. Plates and cups rolled across the floor, and part of the cabinet came to rest across Zuan's left wing. He decided it was time to begin the work of restoration. But not now, he would do it in the morning. Zuan woke the next morning and as he stretched a final chunk fell from the wall. It was time. He spent the next two days clearing the hall of a mixture of bones, broken furniture, and busted crockery. The white shards of cups and plates contrasted in the sun with the old and discolored dwarf bones. Zuan had pushed the mess out the gates and left it, cursing again the twisted doors that let in rain, wind, and small animals. As he continued working the hall became cleared and he could see where Clon had blocked many side passages back into the mountain.

The other areas of the fortress that Zuan now uncovered had not suffered from Clon's daily presence. Zuan found artwork, musical instruments, and many books. His curiosity about the dwarfs, which had been left unsatisfied by the few signs remaining in the great hall, led him to bring many of the books out to read in the hall when the afternoon sun came in past the gates. All dragons can read, and not requiring any great effort to understand the dwarf letters, Zuan began to learn of dwarfs and men. He found mention of great dragon-lords in the distant past that had ruled over broad lands and by their protection spread the influence of dwarfs and men. This followed some of the oldest tales among the dragons themselves. Zuan continued to explore as much of the dwarf hold as he could enter. He discovered there had been several side exits to the cavern. This led him to believe some of the dwarfs survived Clon's attack. He was surprised that no one had contacted him in the months that had past since Clon's death. He had now cleared all the debris from the great hall, and the early work he had done to clear the river had drained the town site. Zuan began to fly quite far from the cavern seeking to contact someone and explain his plans for a trading center. He saw few people, and they were quick to hide at his approach. Throughout the lands word of the dragon spread. Many were the councils taken, and plans were made ready for the attacks that were certain to come. Clon had long stayed near his cavern, he had been thought dead by some, now renewed fear of the dragon swept about the land. Zuan came though the gates one morning cursing them as always, to find a young woman dressed in white chained to a stake at the foot of the hill. He advanced to within several feet of her, and was about to speak when an enormous stone shattered beside his head. Zuan's body shielded the woman's from the splinters of rock that flew about. Zuan moved suddenly as he saw another stone come crashing down from the sky. The second stone landed even closer to his head. He was dazed by the noise and had numerous slashes from the splintering stone. Zuan ran towards the river. He took to the air just as a third stone landed at his feet, sending rock splinters up to cut his belly. Flying past the town site Zuan swung back in a circle. He had not yet found the source of the deadly stones. He climbed in a spiral, to get out of range and yet keep the cavern in sight. He caught a flash of light from the river and flew

closer to investigate. Zuan saw two barges anchored under reed mats designed to blend into the riverbank. Each barge had two great siege engines mounted on it. Zuan dove at the first barge, red with rage, his wounds streaming a thin trail of blood behind him. He was intent on killing all on board. A hail of arrows met him, rattling from his scales. A sudden buzz from a crossbow bolt and a sharp pain in his left wing forced him to break off the attack. Zuan quelled his rage and saw that heavy crossbows were mounted both barges, powerful enough to injure him greatly. He knew if he became grounded the men could quickly surround him and cut him to pieces. He climbed away from the river and tried to think of a plan. He flew to the mountain and grasped the largest tree trunk he could find. The tree trunk was half burned though by dragon fire, but was still all that Zuan could lift. Zuan struggled to get aloft, swinging back to the river. The men below worked quickly to free the barges from their anchors. Keeping above the range of the deadly crossbows, he dropped the tree trunk on one of the barges, hitting it squarely. He climbed away towards the mountain and found another tree, shorter but thicker than the last. The men had abandoned the first barge as it sank into the mud, both catapults shattered by the falling tree. The second barge was loose of it's anchors and was moving into the main current. Zuan released the tree and cursed as it splashed behind the barge. Returning to the mountain he gathered up two slightly smaller tree trunks. He came back to the river, and swept close as another crossbow bolt buzzed past his face. The tree trunks dropped and hit the barge at the front corner. Water immediately began filling the barge and it sank. He watched the men struggle in the water, many weighted down with armor. Some men dropped their gear and swam towards the banks, others drowned. As the men came ashore Zuan swept down upon them like a thunderbolt and killed them quickly. Zuan flew back to the cavern. His wing hurt where the crossbow bolt had pierced it and the slashes from the catapult stones burned. He landed before the gates, and saw the young woman, still chained to the stake. She had been the bait. Zuan advanced quickly, his one thought was to kill. The woman ceased struggling against her bonds as Zuan came close. Zuan reached out ready to rend and tear. He stopped as he was about to grab the woman. He had just noticed that she was gagged. This made him curious.

"Why would they gag her?" He thought aloud. The woman started at the sound of his voice, and shrank away as Zuan came up to look at her bonds. He saw a tall, blonde haired woman, her face reddened from her tears. Her bonds were cruelly tight, and blood ran from her wrists where she had tried to slip from the chains. "I will free you from your bonds, but you must tell me of the men that tried to kill me, and treated you so foully," Zuan said slowly to the woman. She again jumped at the sound of his voice, but it was clear she had understood him. She stood still as he came to the stake and grasped it in his claws. Zuan put his claws against the top of the stake and began to push back and forth. The stake had been hurriedly put into the ground, and was soon rocking loosely about. He took a firm grip and carefully lifted the stake from the ground. The woman's chains were now where she could step through them, and she brought her bloody hands to her mouth and removed the gag. "The men feared I would warn you of the trap," she answered his spoken thought. "Why should you have warned me?" Zuan asked in puzzlement. "I awaited only death from you, Clon. My fate at their hands would have been much worse," she answered. "I am not Clon. I am Zuan, newly come from the dragon lairs of the North. Clon's wings are nailed to a town hall three days flight from here." "All have heard of the dragon that fell at that place, but Clon was believed to have escaped. One of the dragons saw the trap in time to fly clear of the town," she said in reply. Zuan asked the woman. "Did you not see the changes about the land? The river runs clear, the old town is drained, and some of the game has already moved back to the area." "We could also see a great mound of bones outside the gates, many gleaming whitely in the sun," she countered with heat. "The only bones are those of the dwarfs that Clon slew and ate," he replied. "Come with me to the gates and you shall see for your self." The woman thought of running, but knew that the dragon could have her in moments if she tried. She was beginning to hope that this was not Clon, as he claimed, for she believed that Clon would have killed and eaten her by now. She walked beside Zuan's great head and allowed herself to hope for her life for the first time in days.

"See now that which gleamed in the sun? Clon had reduced the cavern to ruin. I finally began the task of restoration only when things began falling about my head," Zuan pointed out the dwarfs broken crockery, mixed among the bones, as he spoke. The woman began to laugh, and she cried as she laughed, with tears running down her face and off her chin. She sat down beside the mound of broken cups, and plates, and old bones, and held her face in her bloody hands and cried. "What do you want of me?" she asked Zuan at last, when it finally looked to her as if she might indeed live. She looked up at Zuan as she spoke, and saw him truly for the first time, without a haze of fear. She marveled that a dragon could have blue eyes. She followed the subtle shading of his scales as the colors shaded from brown above into gray below. "Why he's beautiful!" she thought. "I've never seen a living creature so lovely." She stood now, and without fear put her hand on his cheek. "The men that attacked you were hired by the dwarfs. The dwarfs have grown powerful once more and have put a death-price on your head," she told Zuan. "A price upon Clon's head," Zuan reminded her. "I was stolen from a town near the river. The men found that I was still a maiden. That made me all the more desirable as bait, and saved me from their attentions, as long as you lived. I hoped only for a quick death from you, and their deaths as well. I would have died many times at their hands had they succeeded. I was glad when you killed them," she told Zuan passionately. "I see now their fear that you might warn me. They knew you sought their deaths as well. I knew you for a captive when I saw the gag," Zuan replied. "The treachery of Clon made him many enemies. It is told that he came to the dwarfs speaking of making common cause against their foes. He gained their trust and used it to destroy them," she said. Zuan's plans were as ashes within him. He looked again at the ruined gates and saw now that they had been burned from within. The work he had done to the river, the restoration he was doing to the cavern, all seemed to no purpose now. "I shall never get the gates repaired now," he said aloud. The woman had removed the last of her chains, and she walked down to the river to cleanse her bloody arms. Zuan sat thinking in the afternoon sun, watching her with half an eye. She stopped and called out to him to join her in

the river. As he walked towards the river, he noticed again his many cuts and slashes from the morning's battle. The first barge he had attacked was sitting in the mud close to the bank. A thin trail of blood from within it told Zuan that not all the men had gotten clear of the tree trunk. Zuan sat in the shallows, his feet deep in the warm mud. The woman bathed herself nearby. She had lost all her fear of him, and she suddenly noticed his wounds. "I didn't think they had hurt you the way you fell on them. Let me clean your wounds. I know much healing craft," she moved up beside him as she spoke, and began to gently wash his cuts. "The dwarfs and men hereabouts must be very evil to use you so cruelly. I had many hopes for this place," Zuan said. "The dwarfs knew nothing of my capture. I was an afterthought of the men themselves. The men were mercenaries, capable of anything. They told me stories of their many foul deeds, and of their plans for me after you were dead, if I yet lived. I think they have betrayed the dwarfs in some way, but I could not find out more than that," she told Zuan. "I am the daughter of a great warrior. My people would have taken a bloody revenge for my kidnaping, if they found it out. I was a danger to the mercenaries as long as I remained alive." "I had hopes of this town becoming a center for trade and a stronghold of men under my protection," Zuan said. "The story you tell of Clon's treachery and the ongoing hatred of the dwarfs makes this seem impossible now. I have done much work here, I do not wish to leave, but I will not fight the entire land." "I think you would make a great leader, a Dragon-Lord beyond all the tales of old. There may yet be hope for your plan. Do not despair," she said as they walked back to the cavern. Her name was Elanor, she told him. She admitted her people were also coming to kill the dragon, in hopes of getting the great death-price the dwarfs had put upon Clon. The news of the price on Clon had spread quickly, and there would be others coming to challenge him soon. Elanor had been visiting a town near her peoples encampment when she was stolen. The mercenaries had been shaken when it was discovered who she was. Some wanted to kill her at once, but their leader kept them to their original plan. Zuan sat with Elanor in the great hall, lamps were burning that had been dark for a hundred years. Elanor had heard of the dwarf-lamps in old legends, and

they had quickly responded to her attempts to light them. Zuan lacked the delicacy for many of the fine things he had found, and after a few bumbling attempts, he had given up. Now the hall sparkled with light, but they could also see that Zuan had missed much of Clon's handiwork in the dark. He could see the great tapestries by the entry were becoming mildewed from the weather that came though the ruined gates, and soot still covered part of the ceiling. "I have much yet to do here. I thank you for your help. The lamps show the hall as it really is," Zuan said. "Do you plan to seek your people? I would like news of Clon's death spread quickly." "It is a long and perilous journey to the encampment of my people. Any one of the mercenaries that escaped your attack would kill me to hide their guilt," she replied. "Shall we wait then instead, until your people come to attack me as well? You would think ill of me if I kill your kinsmen," Zuan said. "I shall write a letter to my father, telling him of the death of Clon, and of the men that tried to use me against you. I will also tell him of your bravery and the kindness you have shown me," Elanor said. " I will set out in the morning for your father's people," Zuan promised. Zuan swept over the tents and men scattered everywhere. He climbed high as he prepared to return, the men would be ready for him this time. He spotted his mark as he completed his first turn. The colors of the central tent and the banners about it told Zuan this was indeed the encampment of Elanor's kin. He was sure he had their attention by now. Zuan flew over the central tent and released the weighted leather pouch that had Elanor's letter inside. He climbed away towards his cavern, and as he flew out of sight the pouch was recovered by the boldest of the men. His flight back to the cavern was seen by many eyes. People still hid when he was about, but the destruction of their lands and herds they feared had not yet occurred. Some folk thought this was because of sacrifices given to the dragon, but Zuan's widely spaced kills of elk and cattle had often been seen and led many to doubt the idea of sacrifices. Because Zuan went far afield to make his kills, folk that had never seen Clon became intimately aware of the reality of the dragon. Zuan wanted the game to return to the area, and this made his hunting grounds much greater than he would have normally needed.

Zuan found Elanor sitting beside the gates when he returned. She had found a golden harp in a far hall opened by Zuan and she played it now as the wind blew her yellow hair about her shoulders. It seemed to Zuan that her hair danced about in time to the wild music she played, golden in the sun, the harp a part of her and herself one with the music. "I find you have much to show me. I did not know I could be so moved by someone of another race," Zuan spoke amid his growing wonder. "The dwarfs put much of their most subtle art into this harp, you must learn to unlock it," she replied. "My people had contact and trade with dwarfs in the long years past. We were glad when we heard the dwarfs were making plans to return." Zuan and Elanor spent the next few weeks completing the clean-up of the cavern. At Elanor's insistence, they also sorted the china from the dwarf-bones and put the dwarfs remains beneath a huge stone at the mountains heart. This was in keeping with the dwarfs own customs. Zuan was becoming quite familiar with dwarf customs, both from Elanor's knowledge of old, and the many books that they had found. Many evenings Zuan would sit and read by the light of the dwarf-lamps, the music of the golden harp floating in the background. The great halls of the dwarfs were beginning to look as they had in days past, but the twisted, burnt gates were a constant reminder of treachery and death. Elanor told Zuan of her people, proud and brave. How the band led by her father Eoin had set out to seek their fortune in the world. "Our homeland had become prosperous, the land is good, and there are many farms and ranches. They have no longer a great need for warriors, and my father soon would have retired to a quiet farm and obscurity," Elanor told Zuan. "I am his only unmarried daughter, I also wanted more than a quiet farm. When my father set forth with those of his men that felt the same, I went also. Now that I have seen the evil in the world, I wish I had stayed behind." "The world is an infinite series of traps and the price of carelessness is death. This is an old saying among dragons. I did not much believe it myself until I saw dragon wings nailed to a town hall." Zuan replied. "I also left my homeland to seek my fortune. I became weary of the same voices, the same faces, year upon year. I would welcome your people here."

Zuan often dozed outside the gates in the afternoon sun. He liked the feel of the sun, and the sounds of the river near by. He awoke to the sound of laughter to find a tall man looking at him in wonder and not a little fear. "This is Erran, a scout from my father. He carries messages from my father, both to me and to you!" Elanor told him joyfully. "Peace be between us Erran. You have my word-bond and my protection while you are here," Zuan said formally. "You have my hand and my heart on our peace," Erran replied in wonder. "I saw you deliver Elanor's message, yet we still feared for her life. I find instead she has taught you of our customs and our ways." "There is much that Zuan has taught me in turn. I owe my life to Zuan and more," Elanor said. "Then the tale of the mercenaries and their theft of you is true? We captured several men that claimed they had tried to rescue you and that the townsfolk offered you as a sacrifice to appease the dragon. Your letter came as we were preparing to put the town to fire and sword." Erran exclaimed. "Then this is more evil you have averted, Zuan. Erran, it was just of my father to seek confirmation of my fate. Those men are party to great treachery and told me of their evil deeds. My father needs withhold judgment no longer," Elanor replied. "Now one of my messages to this dragon is without meaning," Erran laughed. "Elanor, your father wishes you to return with me. You are the proof of the dragon and the town. He will accept no less to stay his hand." Elanor was silent, and Zuan saw with surprise she was unhappy about leaving. "Zuan you are proved to me at least, and as the messenger of Eoin I tell you the gild-price of Elanor is not small, and the friendship and support of our folk is yours upon her safe return," Erran said. "I would rather stay until our people come upon this place, I have come to feel safe here, under Zuan's protection," Elanor told Erran. "Your father will burn the town to ashes and come here with fire and sword if you are not seen alive by him personally." Zuan told her. "You must return with your kinsman if I am ever to live in peace." She consented at last, the welfare of Zuan and the townspeople was enough to bring her forth from the cavern and the dragon she had come to love. That night Zuan told Erran of his travels from the North, and the full tale of the battle

with Clon and of the mercenaries attack. Erran marveled at Zuan's bravery, and at the destruction of Clon when Zuan could have simply flown away. Zuan gave Erran a message for Eoin, offering the town site and his protection towards an alliance between them. Erran and Elanor set out the next morning. They could see Zuan circling far above them all through the day. The sun went down, and he turned towards the cavern at last. For a time they could see the sun shining on him still although the world below was dark. The moon was high when Zuan returned to the cavern. It seemed empty and cold after the talk and laughter of the night before. He thought of Elanor and her journey, and his future if she did not arrive. There was little more he could do, and Erran had impressed him with his quiet competence. He thought back with surprise at how much he had enjoyed the man's presence. For the first time since learning of Clon's treachery, he began to think again of his plans for a trade-town. He did little over the next several days. Zuan found it hard to stay to a task without Elanor to encourage him and to harp as he read in the evenings. He began flying about aimlessly, and he noticed that people still hid from view as he flew over. He knew then that the word being brought to Eoin had not spread though the land, and that people still feared his approach. One day Zuan was flying along the river. He was following it to the north, hoping for sign's of Elanor's people. He saw smoke coming off the water, and dove to investigate. The barge was stuck on a sand bar in mid stream and was burning brightly. Zuan saw with a shock the remains of great siege engines amongst the flames. Someone clung to the arm of another catapult were it stuck out of the water. The barge it was mounted to had sunk into the river mud. He saw another barge against the bank, men fighting around it as he watched. Zuan swept down upon the man clinging to the catapult, ready to grab him up and smash him into his fellows on the one remaining barge. Diving with whistling speed, the man on the cross beam grew close, Zuan suddenly turned aside.

"That was a dwarf!" Zuan said to himself. Zuan had recognized the barges as dwarf-make, the same as used in the earlier attack upon him. He had thought it was Elanor's people fighting mercenaries, now he was unsure of anything. Zuan flew over the battle, both sides looking up at this new threat. The folk on the bank were men, the last barge was still held by dwarfs. Zuan flew low, and he could finally see the shields and banners of the men on the banks. His mind was now clear. He climbed quickly and turned to dive on his enemies. The men broke like straw in the fury of his attack. Many were forced into the river by the panic of their fellows, and Zuan watched as they drowned. Those that struggled free from their armor were immediately set upon and killed by the dwarfs. The surviving men ran up from the unprotected river banks. He grabbed men in his claws, carried them aloft, and hurled their broken bodies among their fellows. Zuan flew after them killing them as they ran, for Elanor had told him of the devices and banners of the mercenaries that had stolen her. He knew what evil men they were, and he feared for Elanor's safety seeing them here in such numbers. The mercenaries ran up under the cover of a stand of trees, and safe from Zuan's attack for the moment, they rallied what force they could. As Zuan flew close about the border of the wood, a crossbow bolt came buzzing up, piercing his right wing at an angle. The men had hidden several large crossbows in the wood, and as Zuan faltered, another bolt hit the same wing. He flew away inland, trailing a thickening streamer of blood from his right wing. As he flew wind pressure on his wing caused the slash from the first bolt to widen. Soon he would be forced to land, and the men could easily surround and kill him. Zuan screamed as his wing tore completely through. He saw the ground coming up as a blur, and he hit with a bone-jarring impact. "This is the end," he thought. "I'll never see the gates repaired now," he mumbled aloud, wistfully and irrelevantly. The mercenaries had seen him fall, and came forward now in a long line to finish him off. Zuan came to his feet unsteadily, waiting for a fate he could not escape. It would take weeks for his wing to heal, and he was unsure he would be able to fly again if it did.

He retreated further on to the open plain, wanting room to take as many of his foes with him as he could. The men came closer, shouting insults and plans for roasting dragon. They knew he would not stay ahead of them much longer. Zuan turned to face them, he would not retreat further, it was time to die. He suddenly froze, uncertain of something he had just felt. It came again, a thrumming from the earth itself. The horsemen broke over the low rise behind him. Zuan tried to turn to face this new threat, but they were on him in moments. They were clad in bright mail flowing down to their knees, and carried long spears with tips of burnished steel, Zuan braced for the shock of their impact. The horsemen flowed to both sides of him, like water past a jutting stone. They came smoothly together, and fell upon the mercenaries like lightening from a cloudless sky. The sound of their impact was music to Zuan's ears. He watched as the mercenaries were smashed, speared as they stood, cut down as they ran. Zuan was in the middle of incredible carnage, but untouched by anyone. The dwarfs came out of the trees, cutting off any retreat there. The plain ran red with blood. The mercenaries that remained were now outnumbered and totally destroyed. A horseman rode back to Zuan as the battle ended. With relief and amazement, Zuan recognized Erran! "The gild-price of Elanor awaits you Zuan, I bring word from Eoin. Elanor is safe, and the friendship and support of our people are yours," Erran spoke formally, and then broke into a smile. "There are others here that wish to speak with you." A dwarf stepped forward. Zuan recognized the dwarf that had been hanging from the catapult in the river. "We saw you attack the men that had betrayed us, I knew you could not be Clon, our fathers knew him of old, and the tales we have heard of Clon's death at your hands must be true," the dwarf said. "I am Zuan of the dragon lairs of the far North, I seek the renewal of the kingdom of old. I give up the death-price of Clon, and tender the gild-price of Elanor towards my life among you," Zuan offered. "I am Baragon Ironbeard, lord of the dwarfs of the old kingdom. We shall ponder your offer. Eoin's people were known to us of old, their friendship is a mighty gift," the dwarf replied. "We shall speak again soon."

The dwarf left Zuan, and Zuan turned his head and saw others approaching. The first was a man, stern of face with hair the color of iron. This must be Eoin himself. Beside him rode Elanor, clad in silver mail as a warrior, her long hair unbound, blowing golden in the wind.

A dragon lay dozing in the afternoon sun. He awoke as Erran and Elanor's children came through the gates and climbed shouting all about him. Around them was the bustle of a busy kingdom. Only the most obscure travelers stopped to stare at the sight of a dragon festooned with children. From the dwarf gates, gleaming with silver and steel, past the renewed bridge, and the living town beyond, all was as it should be. Zuan stretched carefully. "A story! A story!" the children shouted. "Tell us a story." "Very well," Zuan said. "I circled the town again, uneasy at what I saw," Zuan began.