That night Dartanian followed the Queen’s instructions and silently alighted on the window of the dungeon, low in a cave below the castle. The great bird peered through the bars into the darkness of the dungeon seeking the face of the old man.
“Druis are you in there?” Dartanion whispered into the darkness. “I have traveled far to seek your council.”
Out of the darkness came first a gnarled hand and then a pale arm robed in sackcloth. Then finally the wizened figure of a bent old man. His body was thin but his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. “It has been many years since I last spoke with one of your kind.” The wise man said cheerfully. His skin was pale and wrinkled but his face was bright and shining. “Dear Dartanion, Lord of the Skies, what news do you bring me from our young heroes?”
The eagle and the wise man talked at length about the hero's journeys, the meeting of Lord Andras, the treachery of Stalmar, the haste of King Celtas to return, and the sorrow and hope of the Queen. Finally they discussed the plight of the company of heroes and how they were unable to find a pass into the mountain.
“I know of an old way into that mountain,” Druis said, “A pass long forgotten by time that mortals fear to tread upon, for it may prove more dangerous even then the dragon itself. I had not meant for the company to have to take that pass for it goes not upon the land but under it.”
“Tell me of this path,” said Dartainion, “and I will fly swiftly back to the company and instruct them on how to reach the lair of the dragon. For no matter the danger Lord Andras and Sir Rodrick will conquer, for they are stout hearted and the bravest men I have ever known.”
“It is not that simple,” said Druis. “The pathway is guarded and locked, and only those may enter who know the secret riddles of ages long gone by. In all the land I may be the only one who can find the entrance and pass the test. And I am locked up here many miles away from the brave young heroes.”
“Perhaps I can help you escape?” Asked Dartanion. “I can find the keys to the dungeon and release you.”
“There may be another way,” Said Druis, eyes twinkling. And he told Dartanion strange instructions and magic words.
The next morning Dartanion woke after a long sleep in the old forest. He preened and stretched his wings out. He had stayed up late talking to wise Druis and together they had devised a plan of escape. A plan that Dartanon was particularly suited to. But it would take all of his charm and cunning to pull it off.
On a normal day Dartanion would start the day by catching a fish to eat, but this day he spent all the morning cleaning his feathers. Stroking them carefully until they shone beautifully. He picked a bouquet of lilies with his beak and wove them into a circlet which he wore around his neck. When evening came Dartanion looked to be the most regal and noble bird the world had ever seen.
Just as the last light faded from the sky, Dartanion finally took off and began looking to catch a fish in the lake. He flew in lazy arcs over the water allowing his form to be seen by anyone watching in the dusk. The moon rose and by it’s light he swooped down and gracefully grabbed a fish from the lake. He continued flying slow graceful arcs over the moonlit water.
Then as the moon reached its zenith he began to cry in his most regal voice, “Who can match me? Lord of the Sky, most beautiful and graceful of birds. Come out you nighthawks, you nightingales, you whip-poor wills, none of you can match the grace and beauty of the lord of the skies!” He went on like this for some time, crying out arrogant boasts of his greatness and beauty. As he went on the smaller night birds all went silent listening to him. They alighted on branches and seemed to tremble a little, growing more and more uneasy with his bombastic talk.
Finally after many hours a silent shadow slipped out of the darkest part of the forest. Deadly quiet wings and great glowing eyes approached the boasting Eagle. For he had awakened The Owl, the wise old one who hunts silently in the night. The Lord of the Night Skies. And while he is known for his wisdom and cruelty, he is also known for his vanity and pride, greater than any creature of the forest.
“Who? Who? Who? dares claim to be Lord of the Skies?” The Owl hooted, “For I am the Lord of the Skies, there is no other?” The great horned owl swooped around Dartanion effortlessly sizing him up with an arrogant look of disgust on his face.
“You! You! You! Are merely a day bird, not the Lord of the Skies. You pompous eagle, all dressed up like a doll, you look like a fool wearing those flowers, you fly crooked, you hunt blind, you cannot match my grace, my beauty, my wisdom.” The Owl said.
“But I am a Lord of the Skies!” Dartanion demanded flying around the owl. “I have flown across this kingdom without ever seeing you. I have even crossed the narrow sea and flown far into the Empire. I fly in the service of the Emperor himself!”
“Who! Who! Who! Do you think you are?” The Owl demanded, “You are a minor vassal of the daytime skies. When I am about you are tucked away sleeping like a fledgeling. You say you have crossed the Kingdom? Well I have crossed the world. I have flown to the ends of the earth and seen where the Moon is stored away from the heat of day. I have counted up the shining stars as they are fished from the sky in a great net. I have spoken to the bear and the hunter. I have supped with the seven sisters. And you say you serve the Emperor! I am a free Bird and the King of my Domain!”
“You may travel wide wanderer,” retorted Dartanion hastily. “You may fly gracefully and silently. But you cannot match my beautiful plumage. My golden feathers glisten like the sun and shine brighter than the stars you so admire. I am renown the world over and the mountain goat trembles at my approach.”
At this the Owl became enraged, “You! You! You!” It hooted, “You are a liar and a boaster, your feathers are dull and pale, they cannot match my shining plumage of rich ochre. My eyes blaze like fire. My head is crowned nobler than any king. My down is softer than lambswool. My beak is sharper than a sword. My talons fly faster than arrows. And my longest feathers are striped more richly than the tiger!”
“Not more beautiful than a tiger, I do not believe it.” Said Dartanion, “Perhaps as beautiful as a red fox or a calico cat, but surely not a tiger?” He asked.
“Come here and see for yourself,” The Owl replied. He alighted on a long branch and plucked one of his longest feathers and handed it to Dartanion.
Dartanion eyed it carefully and silently for a long time, turning it over in his talon to look at either side.
“Well? What do you say?” Said the Owl.
Still Dartanion was quiet, intently studying the feather.
“It’s getting along toward morning,” The Owl said impatiently and a bit sleepily. “I don’t have all night, you must agree that I am more beautiful than the pelt of a tiger.”
Still Dartanion was silent looking at the feather intently. The sun began to rise and the owl blinked sleepily at the light and shifted back and forth impatiently.
“What say you?” The Owl finally blurted out, “I don’t have time for this!”
Dartanion replied, “Indeed your feathers are fair but what, pray tell, is a tiger?”
With that the owl huffed and spat at him in disgust flying away to the darkness of the forest. It looked back with one last hoot and said, “You stupid eagle, you may be Lord of the Skies but I am Lord of the Night Skies!” And it disappeared.
The next evening, after resting from his long night, Dartanion took the owl feather to Druis.
“My dear friend,” said Druis taking the feather through the bars of the dungeon, “This feather contains all of the magic of the owl and the night, with it I will perform a great wonder.”
Druis held the feather overhead allowing it to shine in the moonlight. He whispered an incantation silently mouthing secret and ancient words. Then he promptly opened his mouth, leaned back his head, and slid the long feather down his throat, swallowing it.
“What did you do that for!?” Dartanion cried in confusion.
Then something very strange happened. The old man's body shivered all over in the moonlight. He pitched forward then back, then seemed to grow taller, then shorter. His robes fanned out about him and whirled as if caught in a gale force wind. He stretched out his arms then seemed to flap them. His nose grew longer and his eyes grew brighter and rounder. Then his whole form shifted and changed. And feathers sprouted all over him. Dartanion drew back in shock as before him now stood a great owl, not unlike the one he had spoken with the night before and yet it was old Druis, somehow changed.
Out of the beak of this owley Druis came the recognizable voice of the old magi, “Do not fear Dartanion, I have only borrowed his form, and I will not need it long, for we will make haste to join the heroes.” Druis then stepped through the bars of the dungeon, now that he was small enough to fit through.
The two birds rose from the bowels of the dungeon and alighted on the night sky flying off swiftly eastward back toward the mountain and heroes who awaited them. They flew night and day without stopping and Druis said magic words to bring a stiff wind to push them from behind. During the day Druis could not see well with his owl eyes and had to be led by Dartanion. During the night Dartanion grew tired and had to have Druis help support him. By the second day the birds came within sight of the distant mountains and by that evening they were descending into the hero’s camp.
The heroes raised the alarm and all the companions came out of their tents to meet the two birds. As Dartanion alighted on Lord Andras’s arm, Druis swooped low and with a graceful flourish turned back into a man. Though his eyes retained an owlish glow. The men all gasped in surprise at the unexpected transformation. Warm welcomes were said all around and a hearty meal was brought out to the weary travelers.
Druis and Dartanion related all the troubles back in the Castle Town to Lord Andras and to Sir Rodrick. The group listened intently and was very sorry to hear of how Stalmar had given into to the will of the Dragon.
“We must return at once and rescue the Queen and the people from the clutches of terrible Stalmar!” Rodrick exclaimed.
Druis looked at him with a knowing face, saying, “Dear Rodrick you are very brave but foolhardy. We could return and dethrone Stalmar but we would still have the problem of Terranis. We must root out the problem at the source, by going to the dragon’s lair and destroying it. All other solutions would only be temporary as the Dragon will grow in power and influence the more it feeds on and ensnares the minds of the people of the kingdom. That is the terrible and most seditious part of dragon magic.”
“Then we will make haste to destroy terranis!” Added Lord Andras. “Only we cannot get through this mountain pass. It seems every way we turn we are met with smoke and labyrinths.”
“This too is the dragon magic,” Said Druis. “Our path has become difficult to discern because the dragon is getting into your minds as well. We must be as clever as the serpent itself to get around these illusions. There is an old path that we can take into the mountain. It is older than the dragon and though it may be dangerous, it is our only option. There will be much darkness ahead and you all must choose now if you will dare to take the pass. If not then you must turn back now.”
Sir Rodrick was the first to step eagerly forward, “I will go!” He shouted with resolve.
Next came Lord Andras, then all the rest of the men, some with apprehension, some with stout hearts. Finally Gimlet was the last of them, being wiser than the others, “I will go through I know it may cost us everything,” he said
Then Eckbert spoke, “But are we not being foolhardy?” He asked, “Why should we not wait for the Emperor and Lord Celtas to come and slay the dragon? I think it is foolish for us to take on a task so large when there are more powerful men that may come to complete it?”
Druis then gave Eckbert one of his piercing looks, he addressed them all saying, “Eckbert your courage deserts you, it is up to us to slay the dragon. This task has come to us and we have taken on the burden. Would you now forsake it? For what else have we come all this way? Yes, more powerful men may be able to come along someday but for every day we wait the dragon grows more powerful and the kingdom is in greater peril. No, we will not turn back now, nor will we pass on our burden to another. It is now or never.”
Eckbert then sullenly agreed though his pride was wounded.
Once again the men made solemn oaths to continue as brothers in arms. They swore to slay the dragon and free the kingdom or else die trying. They lauded Lord Andras as their leader and Druis as their guide. With shining eyes they sung songs of valor that night and made plans to continue on their quest and to find the hidden path into the mountain.
The next morning the company of heroes departed their long occupied camp and began searching for the hidden path. They spent many hours retracing their steps up different canyons looking for a small cave entrance that Druis had described to them. In each canyon Druis held up a small switch of elm, muttered some magic words, and by some craft discerned whether they were headed in the right direction. Finally by mid-afternoon they spied the entrance and began making preparations to enter the cave. Dartanion looked with apprehension at the dark cavern, for he was a lord of the skies and would not fare well in the underworld. Finally Druis and Lord Andras noticed his misgivings.
“Brave Dartanion,” said Lord Andras, “You will not enter the hidden path for it is no place for a lord of the skies. Neither shall the horses enter for it is too narrow for them to pass through. We shall choose from among us a man to stay here and guard the entrance and await our return along with Dartanian and the horses.” Lots were cast for which one of the men was to stay. Although Eckbert secretly hoped he would be chosen to stay behind, it was Gimlet who was chosen.
Rodrick addressed him, “My dear Gimlet you are the wisest of my brothers and I think it is providence that you should stay behind. I have hope that our quest should succeed but if not then we shall need you to warn castle town and help the people to flee. For that is all that is left to them if we should fail.”
“You have spoken truly,” Said Lord Andras, “Gimlet and Dartanion shall stay behind with the horses and if our quest should fail they will send word to Lord Celtas and my father the Emperor.
With that Druis instructed the party to dismount and leave behind anything they could not carry. The men cut pine branches and made many torches to light their way in the caverns. Finally as night was falling the men lit their torches, said their farewells to Dartanion and Gimlet, and entered the underworld.
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