Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [135]
“Where to?” asked Brunstetter.
“Oh, toward the middle in clear sight of the enemy camp, I should say,” answered Cam.
Kale hoped they would not have to set up their fortress in full view of Risto’s henchmen. “Is that where your castle is?”
“Well now, it’s anyplace I want it to be, isn’t it? But we do want to draw Risto’s attention.”
“We do?”
“Yes, we do. I must ask you to be quiet now, Kale. I am plotting all sorts of devious surprises for the wicked wizard and his cohorts.”
Kale didn’t mind being quiet. Fenworth would have been more blunt in ordering her silence. She found she missed the old wizard. A dozen topics of conversation sprang into her mind, but they all led to what would happen tomorrow and who would win the battle. How did she get in the front line of a war?
The quest was to find the meech dragon and save him—her—from Risto. To rescue those dragons already under the influence of Risto. And to thwart Risto’s evil plans. We found Gilda, but didn’t lure her away from Risto. Not only did we not rescue any dragons, we lost the ones we still had. And as for thwarting Risto—
Her eyes surveyed the western shoreline where the camp of bisonbecks sprawled for miles.
If Wulder sends Paladin, Paladin could obliterate the whole army. What can we do alone?
She glanced back at the shore. Were soldiers gathering on the banks of the river? Had they been spotted?
We certainly aren’t doing much to hide. Azalone is lighting the prow. At least the kimens in the back are subdued. The moon’s path across the water seems to be pointing right at us.
The mural! This is the painting on the wall of the Gander!
“Bardon!”
“That has occurred to me as well, Kale, but remember you’re being quiet.”
Bardon!
“It doesn’t really mean anything that I can see.”
But it’s happened to me before. On the last quest, there was a point when we looked just like the mural in the River Away tavern.
“I still don’t see that it means anything for us today. What would be significant is if you were to see another mural that has us all doing something else. That might mean we’ll live through tomorrow.”
Oh, Bardon, do you think it’s possible?
“We work for Paladin, Kale. Anything is possible.”
“This will do,” said Cam.
He stood and looked at the water some distance ahead of them. “There it is.”
A spire broke the surface of the water and pushed upward. It was attached to a central turret, which soon became visible. The white stone edifice shone in the moonlight. Water cascaded out of the windows and off the balconies. The castle continued to thrust toward the sky, revealing a massive structure as it rose out of the water.
The eruption of a castle in the middle of the lake attracted attention from the shore. The water pouring from the building formed a roaring waterfall. If the bisonbeck soldiers hadn’t seen the spectacle, they surely would have heard it.
Cam turned and handed Dibl to Kale. “Thank you for the loan of him, Kale. He has inspired many interesting events to unfold within the next twenty-four hours.”
The rush of falling water subsided. The whole castle sat, apparently, on the lake.
Cam signaled the rowers to proceed. “To the front door, if you please.”
They hitched the boat to a dock and climbed damp stairs to an ornate double door. Cam turned to frown at the sky.
“Feels like snow, wouldn’t you say?”
Kale looked at the stars shimmering in a clear sky and thought, Not in the least.
“Well, there are extra blankets in each bedroom. You’ll be warm enough. Shall we get some sleep? Big day ahead of us, you know.”
From the shore a flaming arrow arched over the water. It fell far short of the castle target and sizzled as it plopped into the lake.
Cam put his hands on his hips. “Now that was optimistic. Had the fellow actually been able to shoot the arrow that great distance, did he expect one lone firebrand to demolish a castle still dripping water?”
He looked again at the masses of bisonbeck soldiers milling around on the shore. “On the other