High Elve of Red Hallow

Chapter 19 The Portrait

So another page turns...

Val spread his bedroll out on the ground and used a few branches to build a small fire.

Night descended.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a worn, leather-bound merchant's journal, Zzigio's journal. Gently, he opened the book and flipped to the next page. In the orange glow of the firelight, Val read aloud, "The Dragon". He whispered the name to himself

'The Dragon came. Zzigio not say much other than I was annoyed and about to leave island of Silent Harbor when that shriveled-up, gangly old man and those three women approached. As I was about to pull away in my gypsy cart, one of the women threw sack of coin to me. I stopped to look down at stinking pile of gold.'--

"Open for business, honored customers." Ziggio jumped down from the waggon.

"We have coin and will pay for your time. We will pay more if our master enters your wagon." The blonde woman huddled up to him and handed Zzigio another sack. "I do hope that this is enough."

He opened the sack and peered inside with a toothy grin.

"Show you what your man wants, yes." Zzigio motioned for them to follow. "Come in. Come in." He walked to the back of the cart, unlocking the small door. "Shop is open for business, friends no?"

He shuffled his feet with nervous attentiveness as he watched them. The blonde woman raised her hand and beckoned Zzigio to help her up into the cart. He walked ahead of them up the steps, grabbed her hand, and helped her aboard. She was deathly cold. A brown-skinned woman with curly titan-hair stepped up. Another woman with short sandy-locks and wild eyes stepped in. Then came the decrepit old man. The girls hoisted his frail body onto the wagon and inside.

The old man stumbled forward and held onto a wooden railing, his eyes a deep, mesmerizing brown. His mustache was grey and his white hair fell from a crown. His figure was gaunt and he wore a red cape.

Ziggio jumped to help the old man sit. He pulled a chair out of the corner and pushed it towards him. "Have a seat, no."

"Nobody commands the Dragon but thank you, kind merchant." the frail man sat.

"Think nothing of--" Zzigio stopped. "The Dragon? But cannot be. Dragon died eons before my birth. He wage war, took lives, went against the elve's Master, placed his enemies on pikes, and drank the life force from others. No, no, no. Zzigio thinks is all tall tale, yes?"

"He is a great man. A powerful man." the sandy-haired girl spoke, grinning ear to ear.

Zzigio stepped away from the table, aghast. His eyes widened in disbelief. He studied the character in front of him, revulsion and contempt coursing through his veins. "It cannot be." He scoffed. "Conqueror and destroyer. Still alive and in Zzigio's home?" He fought to contain his outrage that they dared to cross his threshold.

The blonde woman wearing a laced bodice frowned and sat at the table, her voice like honey, a saccharine sweetness. "You will give us your time. Do you understand?"

Zzigio's mind pulsed. He felt a wave as if she were sending some unseen force toward him. He looked into her eyes. They glowed an eerie shade of red.

Despite any remnants of fear he might have had, Zzigio laughed. "Zzigio finds you attractive, no doubt. Yet, tricks won't work on an experienced traveler such as myself. I knows what you are."

Rapha had already killed his family. He was in no mood to deal with Darklings. 

"Our master has been in hiding for many zeni'ziahs. His power has weakened over time." The titan-haired woman stepped up to the table. "He has come to this humble shop to find something to ease his pain."