Simon

Two weeks later...

I hung my cloak on a peg by the door and waved towards the tavernkeep. "Just some coffee, please."

Lakeshire's tavernkeep nodded at me and slipped into the kitchen. I finished arranging my cloak, then sat down at a table in the corner. The tavern was empty at this time of day, so I had my pick of spots to sit in. I made sure to pick a comfortable one, since I had a feeling I would be here most of the day.

The post rider had come and collected the mail from Lakeshire six days ago. Give it two days for the rider to reach Yellowseed, then four days for Connor to reach Lakeshire, and I could probably expect him either today or tomorrow. I was ahead of schedule in regards to the crystals I needed to mine this month, so I could afford to miss a few days if it meant I didn't miss the meeting with Connor. I had asked him to come all the way out here, so the least I could do was be here when he showed up. And I had a theory I wanted to test out, too.

Still. It would have been nice to have that communication spell Enola had hinted at, that let her send messages to Cess. Having a better idea of when Connor would be arriving would have been really nice.

The tavernkeep came back with a mug of coffee, and I slipped him a few copper coins from my pack. He started to go back to his table by the kitchen, but paused when I held up a hand. "Do you know if Henry will be coming by today?"

A frown came over the man's expression, and he shook his head. "Doubtful; Henry usually keeps to himself. Do you need something from him?"

"It's nothing too important, but I would like to talk with him today if he has some time. Do you think somebody could let him know I'm in town? I'll probably be here most of the day."

The tavernkeep shrugged. "Sure. I'll swing by after lunch and let him know."

"Thanks." I reached back into my pack to bring out some paper and another inkwell. I didn't have any letters to write, but I had been meaning to write down the story Cess had told me about the turkey. If nothing else it might be an amusing insight into how dragon parents treated their children, and it would kill an hour or two of boredom...

~

I jerked awake from a nap when I heard the door open. I glanced towards it and started to go back to sleep, still a little groggy, but opened my eyes back up when it finally sunk in that I had seen Connor at the door, and not a random villager as I had first thought. I yawned and sat up straighter in my chair, then waved him over.

He frowned and walked towards me, glancing around the room before pulling a chair out to sit in. "Aren't you worried about causing some suspicion?"

I looked back around the completely empty room. "Not particularly. But we can go through a cover story if it makes you feel better. 'Why hello there, perfect stranger I have never met before. What brings you to this tiny village nobody ever goes to. Is it on your way to somewhere else, being on the way to absolutely nowhere at all like it is?'"

Connor just scowled. "Fine, I get your point. This is such an out of the way place that people would talk no matter what. But I assume you didn't call me out here to mock us for being paranoid. What have you learned?"

I reached beneath my shirt and pulled on the string necklace that held the mouse charm. Both eyes were as dull as always, confirming I hadn't been placed under any spells, and I made sure to hold it up for Connor to see before letting it fall over my chest. "Katerina was telling us the truth. I've confirmed everything through Enola. The magedebt was a very real thing, and dragons are compelled to pay it back. A rider bond will give the dragon access to any magic the rider has – it's always possible Katerina was under some other kind of spell, but the explanation she gave is possible, too. Her becoming a rider would have allowed the dragon to use her magic, and explains how the dragons made that cliff."

Connor looked around the empty room again as if to be absolutely sure nobody was listening, then nodded. "What about the dragons letting us live in their lands? Do you think that's true? That we'll be safe?"

"Absolutely."

The surprise at my answer was obvious on Connor's face. He looked down at the mouse charm, then frowned back up at me. "That's awfully certain. Why?"

"Because I told Enola the truth about what I was." I reached up to touch the charm again, emphasizing how I was still free of any mind-control magic. "About two weeks back."

Connor's look of surprise doubled. "What? Why?"

"The dragons already know about us anyway. She didn't know herself, but that's just because she's living out in the middle of nowhere on her own, and isn't very interested in what the other dragons learn about humans." I shrugged, then I grew more serious. "She shared a secret about herself that could lead to serious problems for her if it got out. She trusted me, so I trusted her."

"What did she tell you?"

I rolled my eyes. "A... secret. I'm not going to tell you or anyone else what she told me; it's not my secret to share. And it would put her in danger if it reached the wrong people. But the point is that she's in a situation where taking magic from a Wellspring would be very, very beneficial to her. She's known where one has been for two weeks now, and hasn't made any attempt to enslave him or take his magic. Either that option just isn't something that occurred to her, or it has occurred to her and she's rejected it as something she should do. Regardless of which it is, if she isn't trying to enslave me for my magic, then I am certain the other dragons won't, either."

Connor leaned back in his chair. He was quiet for a moment, then finally shook his head. "This is still so hard to believe. I want to believe the dragons' offer is legit, but..."

I nodded. "Yeah. The risk is enormous if they aren't. And for all I've learned, Enola is still just one dragon. It's always possible the other dragons are different, and are up to something... but I can confirm that there's a chance they aren't. She isn't like that, and wouldn't hurt us. Not without being provoked first. That's the most we'll be able to confirm until we actually try going into the dragon lands, but... I've confirmed it."

"Hmph." Connor looked away from me and stared at the far wall in silence for another moment. I stayed quiet and let him brood in silence, until he sighed and shook his head again. "I'll start spreading the word. Several people have already started heading in the direction of the dragon territories, and have just been waiting in cities on their border until we heard from you. The dragons are going to have their claws full in a few weeks as the news gets out. We'll at least know with absolute certainty after that, one way or the other."

"Yeah." Either the dragons would spring their trap, and Wellsprings would end up trapped in some dragon's hoard to fuel their spells... or the dragons would welcome them in, and those Wellsprings would have a chance at a life I had previously only dreamed of. I hoped for the millionth time that I was right, and that they would be okay. I was sure they would... but it was scary to know they would pay the price if I was wrong.

"What will you do? Do you plan on going to the dragon lands with them?"

"No." I shook my head, and grinned at Connor's sudden suspicion. It would say a lot about how much I believed what I had just said if I wasn't willing to trust the dragons myself. "Not at first, anyway. I want to stay here a little longer. I don't feel right leaving Enola yet."

"Oh?" Connor's suspicion faded to a mocking grin. "Are you trying to follow Katerina in becoming a rider for those, and I quote, 'surly overgrown lizards'?"

"Heh." That would solve her problem... and I had decided that either way I was going to move to the dragon lands in the end, so being stuck as a rider didn't seem like quite the horrible ending I had imagined when I first heard about Katerina's letter... but... "Even if I was willing to put up with being carted around on their backs on a regular basis, Enola has zero interest in taking a rider right now. But we have become friends, of a sort, and she's in trouble. I don't feel right leaving her on her own if I can help. Even if just by digging out more crystals so the king doesn't try to drive her off."

"That's fair. I suppose three months is a lot of time to get used to someone. Well, I should-" Connor trailed off as the door opened.

I looked over my shoulder to see who had come in, and grinned when I saw Henry following the tavernkeep. I motioned for Connor to stay, then waved to Henry as the tavernkeep headed into the back kitchen. "Henry! Thanks for coming; I hope I didn't pull you away from anything too important?"

Henry and Connor exchanged confused glances, but Henry walked over to join us. "Not at all; just helping neighbors plow some more fields while I have Smokey's help. Do you need him back?" Henry frowned at Connor as he sat down, clearly wondering who the stranger was, but keeping his curiosity under control for the moment.

"No, nothing like that. Just a question, actually – you said your parents were from Emerson, right? That they moved here before you were born?" I noticed Connor start to frown as Henry sat down, clearly wondering what I was up to.

Henry seemed just as confused. "Yes... but they died when I was just a boy. I don't remember too much about them."

"They were killed in a naga attack, right? The only victims of it, back before Enola started living here? Thirty years ago?" I brought my hands to rest up on the table and concentrated on the shields I kept around my magic.

"Yes..." Henry looked between me and Connor, then back at me. "Why? What's this about?"

"Enola told me the story of how they died." Henry jerked in his chair and focused on me, but I continued before he could ask any questions. "The naga had captured her. She was freed by two humans – a man and a woman – but the naga killed them in the process."

I checked to make sure the tavernkeep was still in the kitchen, and that nobody else was in the room to overhear us. I held my hand out towards Henry... and I lowered all the shields that hid my magic from detection.

The shields that also stopped me from sensing the presence of another Wellspring.

The look of confusion was still all over Henry's face, but he finally took my hand. I felt a jolt as he did, as if I had grabbed a warm log from out of the fire. He frowned and looked down at my hand, even more confused by the strange sensation he must be feeling. A sensation he had probably never felt before in his life... since his parents had both died before they could explain what he actually was.

"And one of your parents was what's known as a Wellspring. Just like you."