Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [11]
Alarmed, Kale turned pleading eyes to Librettowit. “What am I supposed to do?”
He cleared his throat. “I, of course, will help you all I can, Kale. But I must admit that so far my attempts to reason with and guide Regidor have met with less than satisfactory results.”
Oh my, if Librettowit and Wizard Fenworth can’t handle this Regidor… “Why me?”
“You carried the meech egg. It quickened because of your contact. During the time it incubated, your dragons guarded the egg. In short, Kale, Regidor is attached to you, not Fenworth. It is obvious to us now. You are the one who can befriend him. Indeed, affinity for you has already been accomplished, and most of his disruptive behavior can probably be accounted for by his need to have you at his side.”
A slight pressure from Grand Ebeck’s hand turned her to face him.
“Kale, you must go. Fenworth is old. This disturbance in his life is causing him to weaken. He is distraught.”
“Aggravated,” put in Librettowit.
High Chancellor Grand Ebeck took his hand from her shoulder. “Dealing with a stubborn meech has made Fenworth a bit disagreeable.”
The librarian clenched his fists. “Cantankerous, surly, crotchety, petulant, hot-tempered. Disagreeable? Ha! Impossible!”
Grand Ebeck regarded the fuming tumanhofer with sympathy.
“We will do what we can,” he assured him and turned back to Kale. “Our council judged Fenworth to be the best equipped to handle the meech dragon and the important role Regidor could play in Risto’s defeat. Perhaps we did not consider Fenworth’s advancing years as carefully as we should have.”
He looked out the window for a moment, his expression grave, his eyes sad. At long last, he sighed, then shook himself as if a shiver had gone up his spine.
“We will need the wizard and Regidor in the months to come,” he said. “A great evil is brewing in that nest of vipers under Risto’s command.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and solemnly looked into her eyes. “You will leave immediately. Accompany Librettowit back to The Bogs and lend what assistance you can.”
“Toopka?” she croaked.
“Toopka will go with you.”
“Dar?”
“He will remain here and finish his training to serve Paladin.”
“My training?”
“You will enter your apprenticeship to Fenworth. It is premature, but you were always meant to be a wizard. You will do well.”
She blinked. She could not think of one thing to say. She felt the two little dragons thrum with excitement under her cape. Toopka gave her neck a squeeze and giggled.
Grand Ebeck continued. “Librettowit will oversee your scholastic advancement.”
She nodded.
“And Bardon will accompany you. He will instruct you in the art of defense, which would have been part of your training here at The Hall. He will also report back to the dean of leecents, keeping him informed as to your progress.”
One word sprang up in Kale’s mind with a whippish hiss. Snitch!
5
EXPECTATIONS
Bardon stepped forward. “Excuse me, Your Grace. I don’t see how I can accompany Leecent Kale and also finish preparations for knighthood.”
High Chancellor Grand Ebeck grasped the front edges of his silken robes, resting his hands against his chest. “Time enough for that after you’ve been on your own, away from The Hall for a while.”
Kale watched Bardon out of the corner of her eye. She knew some of what the other students said about him. Bardon had been left at The Hall by his father when he was just six years old, two years younger than most candidates were when they entered training. He was a few years older than Kale, so that meant he’d been here at least a dozen years. The Hall was his home, and everyone said he took his obligation to fulfill his father’s will seriously. In fact, they said that was why Bardon was such an unyielding, tiresome bore.
The muscles in Bardon’s neck tightened. With the same talent that enabled her to mindspeak and find dragon eggs, Kale could feel the other o’rant’s tension. Sympathy for him invaded her heart. The emotion surprised her for only a moment. When she’d been a slave, there had