The Howl of Avooblis Page 17

  “Fire for a while for old Grizzard,” the old rogue said as Dagdron approached.

  At Grizzard’s bidding, Dagdron rummaged through the pile, which consisted entirely of announcements about the amazing magic show that Wendahl was going to put on and the astounding sword exposition that Egon was going to perform.

  Dagdron couldn’t help chuckling. Throughout the week, the carnival had been abuzz about the battle between magic and sword that was set to take place. Many villagers remembered Wendahl’s performance from the previous year, so, in order to divert attention from the enchanter, Egon had started putting up parchments to announce his sword spectacular. At the sign of the first poster, Wendahl had created his own, and the enchanter and warrior ended up plastering parchments all over Bodaburg. As the news of the competition escalated, Wendahl and Egon decided to put their shows on simultaneously, deciding it was the only way to outdo one another and prove who the best showman was.

  Dagdron looked at the enormous pile of crumpled parchments again, figuring that Grizzard must have spent his night ripping down the vast majority of announcements. He was about to ask Grizzard why he had taken such issue with Wendahl and Egon, but giggling sounded from the entrance of the alleyway as Elloriana rushed in.

  “Be quiet, wench,” Dagdron said. “You’ll attract attention.”

  “Sorry,” Elloriana replied. “I know it’s taken me a long time, but I’m just now realizing how much fun it is to sneak away. I ditched Grady in Chesna’s shop.”

  “Did you get them?” Dagdron asked.

  Elloriana took out a pouch and uncinched it, exposing the sparkling items inside.

  “Sparkle bombs,” Grizzard said, cackling. “Can old Grizzard have a few?”

  Elloriana hesitated momentarily but then held out the pouch so Grizzard could take a handful of the sparkling balls.

  “These will add some color to my bonfire,” Grizzard said, opening his almost toothless mouth and cackling loudly.

  Elloriana gave Grizzard an unsure look, but Dagdron told her not to worry about it.

  “He’s burning Wendahl and Egon’s posters. The sparkle bombs explode and that’s it?” he asked.

  “Yes, you can help me find a concealed place to throw them from. It will be less conspicuous than casting spells. The guards will be distracted by the sparkle bombs, and then we’ll see if your rogue skills are good enough.”

  “Are you dating Grady now?” Dagdron asked, ignoring the last part of what Elloriana said.

  “No,” Elloriana said, scowling. “He’s worse than Byron. He’s trying to hold my hand now. Gross.”

  “You can pretend you love him and find out if he’s still in contact with Byron,” Dagdron said.

  “No way. I had enough of doing that the past two years with Byron. I’m not doing it with Grady. Can we just finalize our plans?”

  Grizzard laughed as he saw Dagdron smile quickly underneath his hood.

  Dagdron and Elloriana weren’t the only people scoping out the area where Wendahl and Egon planned to put on their performance duel. Other festivalgoers were already staking out spots to have a prime view.

  Not knowing when or where the Fortigroffs would show up, Dagdron led Elloriana next to the stall of a meat vendor. He grabbed a sausage and then paused. Wendahl and Egon’s announcements were posted all over the kiosk, but a different one had been nailed over them. He ripped it off before climbing and jumping onto the roof of the butcher shop behind the booth. A few people watched but, figuring he was finding a good vantage point for the show, their only reaction was to hurry to get a spot of their own.

  Elloriana, not wanting to attract any more attention, climbed as well instead of using a levitation spell. She struggled to get on the top of the meat stall but used her long legs to step across to the roof without a problem. She joined Dagdron behind the chimney of the butcher shop.

  “What is that?” Elloriana asked, seeing Dagdron reading the piece of parchment.

  Dagdron tossed it to her.

  “Does Earl know about this?” she asked.

  “Obviously not,” Dagdron said.

  “You’re right. He’s going to freak out when he sees it.”

  The parchment was advertising a correspondence course for the unfulfilled adventurer, led by none other than Mercer the merchant. He promised any inhabitant of Bodaburg who had been unable to fulfill their dream of becoming an adventurer that he could train them much quicker than the academy could, starting them on their way to fame.

  “Mercer needs other ways to earn money now that the headmaster shut him down,” Elloriana said, handing the parchment back to Dagdron, who shredded it with his dagger.

  Dagdron would have been content to fiddle with his dagger in silence, but Elloriana kept peeking around the chimney, commentating about passersby.

  “You’re worse than Earl,” Dagdron said.

  “Be nice,” Elloriana said. “It’s our last Winter Carnival, and this year I finally feel like I’m really experiencing it.”

  Dagdron sharpened his dagger until Elloriana spotted Earl and the others.

  “They’re looking for you,” Elloriana said.

  Dagdron peeked over the chimney. Earl and Lita were looking this way and that, obviously trying to find him, but their parents were paying attention to the vendors and food. Dagdron’s dad had his hood on, but he could still tell his dad was searching around from under the cowl.

  “Here come my parents and the Solloughbys.” Elloriana gasped and ducked.

  Dagdron watched as King and Queen Loftloomburg and the Solloughbys passed. They were clearly searching for Elloriana. The king kept pointing for the Lordavian guards to search behind stands and people, but they never looked up.

  “They’re going to kill me,” Elloriana said.

  “Instead of talking, you can think about what to say to them,” Dagdron said.

  Elloriana rolled her eyes, but, realizing she would have to have a believable explanation, took his advice. They sat hidden until the crowds started amassing in anticipation of the magic and sword performance duel, creating a circle for when the entertainers arrived. Only then did Dagdron put his dagger away and peer over the chimney, scanning the crowd intently. He didn’t have to wait long before he saw the six Broodavian guards clear a pathway for King and Queen Fortigroff and Byron. The anxious throng wouldn’t allow the royals to push all the way to the front, so they stopped in the midst of the crowd but in front of butcher shop.

  “It’s perfect,” Elloriana said.

  Dagdron nodded as he slipped his dagger from his cloak. He knew waiting for the performance ran the risk of the Fortigroffs being in an unapproachable location, but what Elloriana said was true. In the midst of the crowd, as soon as Elloriana distracted the guards, Dagdron could jostle past the people and hopefully reach the king.

  Right when Dagdron was about to climb down from the roof, Egon arrived with a mighty yell. The throng twisted their necks this way and that, trying to locate the warrior, who lifted his sword in the air and pushed his way to the center of the circle from the side opposite the Fortigroffs. Egon jogged around the circle, tossing his sword from hand to hand before striking a muscular pose in the center.

  As Egon jogged in place in order to keep his muscles loose, the crowd grew restless, wondering where Wendahl was. When Egon, appearing pleased, was about to start a solo performance, Dagdron and Elloriana heard a magical hum. They quickly turned to see Wendahl levitating over the butcher shop. A young boy cried out as he saw the magenta-robed enchanter flying through the sky, and then the rest of the multitude looked as mumbles and gasps of excitement spread. Egon flexed again but, the focus having been taken off him, he could only wait until Wendahl lowered himself to the middle of the circle, twirling his hoe.

  Without further ado, the duel began. First, Egon jumped in front of Wendahl, circling him as he swung, thrust, and arced his sword in an amazing attack formation. The spectators broke into applause until Wendahl lifted his hoe, casting mage
nta balls in the air and juggling them with the movements of his farm tool.

  “Be ready,” Dagdron said, pausing until Elloriana took her eyes off of Wendahl’s magic. Dagdron had already seen enough of Wendahl’s magic and Egon’s swordplay to last him a lifetime. But he couldn’t risk the wench being distracted by her obsession with what a great enchanter she thought Wendahl was.

  Dagdron climbed down the side of the butcher shop with ease and slid into the crowd. It was a tight squeeze as the spectators pushed against each other, trying to see the performance as best they could. When Dagdron had successfully slunk within three feet of the Fortigroffs, he glanced up at the chimney of the butcher shop. He saw Elloriana getting ready to throw the first sparkle bomb, but then a voice whispered intently, “Now!”

  Dagdron watched as King Fortigroff led the six guards forward, shoving through the crowd. The rogue hesitated, not knowing what was going on. But then he followed in the wake of the Broodavians and ended up in the performance circle as King Fortigroff and the guards surrounded Egon.

  The throng let out a collective gasp as King Fortigroff demanded that Egon surrender. A smile broke out on Egon’s face as Wendahl’s went pale. All the focus was instantly taken off the magic of the enchanter as Egon flashed his sword, ready to take on the king of Broodavia and his six guards.

  “This is against the rules,” Wendahl yelled. “The duel was one on one. Everyone would be watching me if I was being attacked by six enchanters from Lordavia.”

  Egon ignored Wendahl as he swung his sword, fighting off the combined efforts of the Broodavians.

  While the crowd watched with high emotions, Dagdron calmly made his way around the sword circle until he was behind a pie stand that had been vacated for the duel. King Fortigroff’s back was to him. The royal had his sword drawn but was letting the guards have a go at Egon first. Now that everything was so public, Dagdron had given up on Elloriana helping him. He figured, in spite of so many eyes watching, he would have to chance stealing from the king right then. But then Elloriana threw all her sparkle bombs at once. The twinkling flashes of blue and purple sparkled in the circle, and the guards and King Fortigroff backed up. Dagdron snuck around the pie stall, keeping crouched. King Fortigroff’s back was still to him, so he slit a hole in the king’s cloak where he had scouted out the location of the royal’s money pouch. The king and guards were still distracted, wondering where the sparkle bombs had come from, so Dagdron was able to stick his dagger in the hole and cut the strings of the pouch. Dagdron dropped to his hands and knees, lunging forward to retrieve the pouch of coins. As he did so, one of the guards was forced farther backward by an attack from Egon, and he tripped over Dagdron, crashing into the stand and splattering fruit pies.

  King Fortigroff looked down to see Dagdron with the pouch in hand, and he brought his sword down at Dagdron. The rogue rolled to the side just in time to elude the blow. Dagdron continued to roll across the ground, the dirt sticking to the sticky pie filling that had covered his cloak, until he hit Wendahl’s feet.

  “Flame him,” Dagdron said, seeing King Fortigroff coming after him.

  Wendahl, seeing his opportunity to get back into the excitement of the performance, lifted his hoe and cast a magenta flame spell directly at King Fortigroff.

  In the meantime, Elloriana had been spotted on the roof of the butcher shop. Seeing that her parents were staring at her as well, Elloriana levitated down into the circle next to Dagdron.

  “This didn’t quite go as planned,” Elloriana said, watching as Egon continued to battle the six Broodavian guards and Wendahl kept King Fortigroff at bay with his magical hoe.

  Dagdron decided it was time for him to ditch the scene, but King Loftloomburg burst into the circle, his jeweled dagger in hand. Elloriana sighed, accepting her fate, but her father ignored her and turned on Dagdron.

  “You dirty rogue!” he bellowed. “I should have known you were the reason my daughter was disappearing during the festival.” King Loftloomburg lunged at Dagdron.

  “Dad!” Elloriana exclaimed as Dagdron dodged out of the way.

  “Is he threatening you? Or is it blackmail?” King Loftloomburg said. “I bet the Valoringtons have shared our royal secrets with him.” He stabbed his dagger toward Dagdron again, but Elloriana grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “He has nothing to do with this,” Elloriana said.

  “Then why have you been abandoning us? Why did you show up right when he did?”

  Elloriana stumbled over her words momentarily. Dagdron, frozen for a few seconds, realized he had no reason to stick around, so he turned just as Elloriana said, “I wanted to show off for Grady.”

  Dagdron was almost tempted to stay and listen to Elloriana’s explanation, but he had fulfilled his personal quest of pickpocketing King Fortigroff, so he didn’t care what happened to Egon, Wendahl, or Elloriana. He pushed his way through the crammed watchers until he broke through the back side of the crowd. He jogged along the mostly vacant street until he passed through the gate of Bodaburg, making a clean getaway up to the academy.

  Chapter 19: Cozy Cocoons

  Dagdron spent the weekend after the Winter Carnival hiding out in the cave with Dugan, Wendahl, and Egon. The Fortigroffs had postponed their departure from Bodaburg with the hope of arresting Dagdron and recovering the stolen money. Dagdron had hidden the pouch and his other possessions, so he felt he was safe for the time being, even though his companions were annoying. His father was obviously frustrated with him but only told him once that he needed to be more careful about the people he pickpocketed. Dagdron told him to go back to Coastdale, but Dugan refused to. Although his father pretended it was to make sure the Fortigroffs didn’t get to him, Dagdron could tell that Dugan was sticking around because he was suspicious because there had been no mention of Wendahl or Egon leaving the area.

  Wendahl and Egon, on the other hand, never stopped talking. While they never mentioned the fact that Dagdron had robbed King Fortigroff, they argued constantly about who had won the duel. The warrior had held off the six guards, and the enchanter had held off the king, but then Headmaster Gwauldron had intervened, bringing the fights and performance to an abrupt end without the crowd being able to cheer loudest for who they accepted as the winner.

  Earl hiked to the cave on Monday morning the third week of November. As soon as they saw Earl, Wendahl and Egon asked him who he thought had won the duel, but Dagdron forced Earl outside the cave before he could answer.

  “King and Queen Fortigroff left this morning,” Earl said. “The first snowstorm in the valley is supposed to happen tonight. The headmaster told me to tell you he expects you in class today.”

  Dagdron didn’t reply and headed down the mountainside.

  “Doesn’t honor mean anything to you?” Earl asked as they went.

  “Nope,” Dagdron said.

  “Well, I truly believe someday you will be filled with honor, so for now I will just appreciate how much you like challenges.” Dagdron glanced at Earl, not having any idea what he was referring to. “You’re probably the only person who can say they’ve stolen from King Loftloomburg and King Fortigroff. It’s truly an amazing feat, regardless of how dishonorable it may be.”

  “Thanks,” Dagdron said.

  “See,” Earl said. “That’s the first polite word you’ve used in two and a half years. You’re already becoming more honorable.”

  Dagdron tried to control himself, but he couldn’t help glancing at Earl. The warrior was trying to keep his face straight, but the rogue saw how much he was struggling not to laugh.

  Dagdron spent the rest of November and the first two weeks of December with a normal routine, fulfilling his mini-quest each day, then spending the cold evening in his tree. Flip’s latest obstacles included cauldrons scattered across the rooms with boiling water covering the floor, forcing the rogues to jump from cauldron to cauldron. Once the pouch was retrieved, the cauldrons would begin to bubble and spew their mystery contents, requiring
much more skill, timing, and balance to cross back to the door on the edges of the large pots.

  While Cort ended up with quite a few burns to go along with his spike and thorn scars, Dagdron’s enjoyment increased. He couldn’t picture any real quest that would involve a bubbling cauldron, but completing the jumps and balancing on the rims seemed to go right along with the roguish activities Dagdron appreciated.

  If Earl and Lita hadn’t told Dagdron that Elloriana was still at the academy, he would have thought the wench’s parents had finally forced her to go back home. Earl and Lita were still sword battling in the snowy weather outside, but Dagdron didn’t see Elloriana until the middle of December. She strode across the back grounds and, even though Dagdron could see her clearly from his now leafless tree, Elloriana levitated right up, coming to a rest close by the rogue.

  “Get out of my tree,” Dagdron said.

  “We haven’t had a chance to discuss everything that happened at the Winter Carnival,” Elloriana said. She found a sitting spot but still clutched tightly to a branch.

  “I know, and I didn’t think we’d have to. I thought your parents carted you off to Lordavia.”

  “No, I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so I told my dad I was showing off for Grady,” Elloriana said, glowering. “Long story short, Grady stayed in Bodaburg again and we’ve been seeing each other almost every night.”

  “I knew you loved him,” Dagdron said, tilting his head so Elloriana couldn’t see his small smile.

  “That’s not funny. I convinced my parents that I might want to settle down with Grady someday.”

  Dagdron caught his dagger and looked expressionlessly at Elloriana.

  “Stop looking at me,” she said after a minute. “I’m still going to be an adventurer. When graduation comes, I’ll tell my parents the truth. I couldn’t risk not being able to finish out the school year. I’m just going to have to figure out how to keep Grady from finding out how much I loathe him.”