The Howl of Avooblis Read online

  Dagdron gave a quick nod and turned to leave.

  “And thank you for Elloriana,” King Loftloomburg said. Dagdron glanced back. “I’ve never seen her so happy. And if she hadn’t found Earl, Lita, and you, I don’t think she ever would have found that.”

  Dagdron nodded again and headed down the corridor to the back yard of the academy, anxious to get to the freedom of his tree. But he found two people waiting for him there just outside the door: Dugan and Twyla.

  Tears streamed down Twyla’s face as Dagdron stopped a couple of feet from them. Her face had more color to it now, and her black hair was brushed out nicely, Dagdron observed.

  “We got you this for your graduation,” Twyla said. She lifted a square black object awkwardly in her hands and Dagdron slowly took it, the new cloak unfolding as he did so.

  Dagdron pulled off his completely tattered cloak, tossed it to the ground, and pulled the new one over his head. Twyla stepped forward nervously, smoothing it out. Dugan retrieved the badge from the old cloak and pinned it on the new one. After straightening out the sleeves, Twyla gently squeezed one of Dagdron’s hands and froze.

  “Can I hug you?” she asked.

  Dagdron gave a twitch of a nod.

  Twyla took him in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Thank you for rescuing me,” she choked out. “Your dad’s told me all about you, and I’m so proud of you.”

  Dagdron put his arms around her. The embrace felt extremely uncomfortable, but Dagdron couldn’t deny that it felt similar to the unfortunate times when Earl had hugged him. He could tell that his mom was filled with absolute love and caring for him, even though she hadn’t seen him since he was two years old.

  Twyla kissed Dagdron on the cheek before stepping back, taking out a handkerchief to dry her eyes.

  “We would really love it if you can come to Coastdale,” Dugan said.

  “Earl’s making me fulfill one quest first, but after, I’ll be in Coastdale until harvest time. Wendahl needs me as his garden rogue,” Dagdron said.

  Dugan put his arm around his wife, and they both smiled at Dagdron.

  There was a moment’s silence, and Dagdron took out his dagger.

  “I’ll show you my tree,” Dagdron said, pointing with his blade across the yard and then walking with his parents toward the quest tree.

  Chapter 40: The Four Adventurers

  For the first time in his life, Dagdron felt emotionally exhausted, but he still agreed to accompany Earl, Elloriana, and Lita to the Bodaburg Tavern later that night. But that was only after Earl made sure everyone stashed their quest scrolls safely away in their rooms. He wasn’t taking any chances of having them stolen or looked at before the four of them could officially open them together.

  The sky was clear and filled with stars as they walked down the valley trail to the village. Earl hummed as they went, but no one said anything as they passed through the Bodaburg gates and down the main street until they reached the tavern. A crash echoed from Grizzard’s alleyway, so they headed into the darkness to see if he was all right. They found the old rogue rummaging around and plopping a few items into a gunny sack.

  “Hey, sonny, rich sonny, mighty wench, and muscle lady,” Grizzard said, smiling at them.

  “What are you doing?” Earl asked.

  “Old Grizzard’s got a quest of his own,” Grizzard said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out the honorary scroll the headmaster had given him.

  “That was a real quest?” Earl said.

  Grizzard nodded his head but put his finger to his lips, signaling them to keep it a secret. “Someone’s got to track down that nasty old wizard and see what he’s really up to. Old Gwidy pretended it was just honorary so no one would suspect what we’re up to.”

  “You’re going after Mazannanan?” Dagdron said.

  “Got to, sonny,” Grizzard said. “Can’t let the evil get loose. Old Grizzard’s going to run the northern border and see what he can spy.” Grizzard smiled as he saw the worried expressions on the four young adventurers’ faces. “Don’t you worry about old Grizzard. You four focus on the quests you’ve been given, and we’ll see what happens with this Avooblis creature. Go on now. Graduation nights are meant to be celebrated. Our paths will cross again when the time is right. Old Grizzard swears it.”

  Grizzard gave each of them a quick hug in turn and sent them on their way.

  When Earl pushed the tavern door open, they were met with a crammed-full, unruly house. Every table was full, and there was a throng of people swarming around the bar. But as soon as the bartender saw them, he jumped up on the bar and shouted until everyone quieted down.

  “Hey, you!” he yelled. “Get out of the corner table right now!”

  The patrons seated there looked alarmed and, seeing the threatening glower from the bartender, they picked up their food and vacated the table. The bartender motioned to Dagdron, Earl, Elloriana, and Lita to take their seats, and he came over once they were situated.

  “I had my doubts about letting you four into my secret chamber, but I will never doubt you again,” the bartender said. “I guarantee you, for the rest of your lives, you will always eat free in the Bodaburg Tavern!”

  Before Earl could ask why, the bartender told them he’d bring them their usual ham legs and spicy potato wedges and hurried back to the bar.

  “What was that about?” Elloriana said, glancing toward the bar.

  “Let’s go see,” Earl said.

  Earl led the way, and the four pushed through the pub until they could see behind the bar. A fourth keg had been built into the wall above the Goblin’s Bile barrel. A purple tentacle had been nailed to the new keg with “Tentacle Slime” written in gooey letters above it.

  “Oh, disgusting,” Elloriana said, turning around and pushing the others back to their corner table. “I don’t even think I can eat now.”

  “He’s serving Mazannanan’s purple concoction as a drink?” Earl said.

  “Who cares?” Dagdron said. “We all drank some during the battle and it didn’t kill us.”

  Elloriana swallowed sickly and dropped the subject.

  “I don’t know how you four found that secret chamber,” the bartender said when he brought their food back, “but you’ve made the Bodaburg Tavern famous again. Goblin’s Bile was on the decline, but Tentacle Slime has made business boom again.” The bartender loped back to the bar as rowdy clients called out for another mug of the new purple slime.

  Dagdron, Earl, and Lita dug in, and Elloriana slowly began eating as well. They ate, talked, and laughed, discussing to what villages they thought their first quests might send them. Earl dominated the conversation, his face beaming the entire evening.

  They stayed in the tavern long after they had finished their meal, and the bar slowly cleared out.

  “I’m ready, Dagdron,” Earl said. “I told you our first time in the tavern three years ago that after graduation I was going to drink the Goblin’s Bile.”

  “You’re still going to try it?” Elloriana said.

  “Of course, Princess,” Earl said.

  “Didn’t you see—” Elloriana began, but Earl interrupted.

  “Nope,” he said quickly. “I was so focused on our quest that I didn’t see anything in the back room.”

  Elloriana rolled her eyes as she looked away, but she didn’t reply.

  The bartender smiled at them when they reached the bar.

  “One Goblin’s Bile,” Earl said proudly.

  The bartender grabbed a mug and filled it with the greenish-yellow liquid. He set it on the counter, and Earl grabbed the handle. He lifted it up, pausing for effect, and then guzzled the entire mug down in one go. His eyes turned red and smoke billowed from his ears and mouth as he began to stagger back and forth. When he steadied himself, Earl lifted his arms in triumph, but then he froze and fell backward, landing with a thump, completely out cold.

  “Oh,” the bartender said. “I had such high hopes for him.” />
  Lita hoisted Earl’s upper body and Dagdron and Elloriana helped with his legs, carrying him back to the corner. Lita flopped him down on their table. Dagdron, seeing that the celebration was over, shrugged, took off his cloak, and bedded down for the night on one of the benches.

  Lita and Elloriana glanced at one another, and then Lita climbed on a neighboring table to sleep, and Elloriana, wiping off one of the benches, lay down as well.

  “Quiet!” the bartender yelled to the remaining stragglers. “The Bodaburg Tavern is closed. People are trying to sleep!”

  The following morning, Dagdron woke up first. The tavern was dark but had been cleaned. Dagdron sat on the bench, running his finger along the blade of his dagger while he waited for the others to wake up. When they did, the frenzy started.

  Earl and Lita led the charge back through Bodaburg and up the valley to the academy. Earl, Lita, and Elloriana raced back to their rooms to pack up their trunks so that their parents could take them with them to Lordavia and Thornrim. Dagdron climbed to the third-floor bedroom to retrieve a couple of gems he had stashed under his bed, but then he left the hectic environment of the academy and spent the rest of the morning in his tree.

  When Earl, Lita, and Elloriana finished packing and saying their goodbyes to their parents and families, they came to the quest tree. Earl and Lita had their hefty fighters’ packs, and Elloriana had a dainty bag with a few magic supplies.

  “Are you ready to go, Dagdron?” Earl called up.

  Dagdron didn’t answer but caught his dagger and climbed down the tree.

  “We never tallied our fulfillment of Wendahl’s quest,” Earl said.

  “We didn’t fulfill it,” Dagdron said. “Mazannanan and Avooblis got out of the arches.”

  “Rescuing your mom was so special that Wendahl told us we could officially count it as fulfilling his quest,” Earl said.

  Dagdron shrugged and readied his dagger. They each moved to their side of the tree and marked the quest.

  “Remember,” Earl said. “Always keep track of your quests so that we know who’s been back and who’s still out adventuring. Now that I think about it, it sure would be nice if we had a spot to leave notes for each other. Then we’d know for sure if each of us is all right. What do you think, Dagdron?”

  Dagdron glanced up at his tree, remembering all the relaxing rogue times he had spent in it. Since his time at the Adventurers’ Academy had officially come to an end, he figured he could consider it the quest tree as well.

  Dagdron stepped forward with his dagger and stabbed it into the edge of the most gnarled knot on the trunk. The knot popped out, exposing a hole.

  “What is that?” Earl said.

  “I had to have a place to leave my stuff in between school years,” Dagdron explained.

  “Oh, that’s where you were hiding those Broodavia amethysts,” Earl said.

  Dagdron let a proud smile appear on his face momentarily. “Even the headmaster didn’t find my hiding hole when he was searching my tree.”

  “My jewelry’s in there!” Elloriana suddenly exclaimed. She pushed Dagdron out of the way and retrieved the brooches and necklaces that Dagdron had stolen from her room in Lordavia. “And that’s my dad’s pouch, too!”

  She snatched up the pouch but, feeling it mostly empty, threw it back in the hole.

  “Wait!” Earl said. “What was that?” He nudged his way between Dagdron and Elloriana and fished out a small tan-colored book. “I knew even you wouldn’t throw away your adventurer’s handbook! You need to take this with you. And read it!”

  Earl held it out to Dagdron, who gave it a look of disgust but took it and stashed it in his cloak.

  Dagdron emptied out his stash and then fastened the knot back on.

  “Okay, then,” Earl said. “I guess that’s all taken care of. We can leave each other messages in the knot of the quest tree. Is there anything else?”

  “Nope,” Dagdron said, whipping out his quest scroll.

  “Wait,” Earl said. “Maybe we should say our goodbyes first and then open our quest scrolls.”

  “Who cares about goodbyes?” Dagdron said.

  Earl ignored him and stepped over to Elloriana, giving her a big hug.

  “It was wonderful getting to know you for reals, Elloriana,” Earl said. “I know we knew each other in Lordavia, but we really met here.”

  Elloriana didn’t reply, but she hugged Earl tightly as tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Lita,” Earl said next, stepping close to the lady warrior. They embraced each other strongly, their muscles bulging from the force.

  Dagdron almost made a comment about Bodaburg but, seeing tears trickling down Lita’s face, he controlled himself.

  When Earl finally broke the hug, he suddenly became concerned with the quest tree, picking at a piece of bark on the trunk as he kept his back to Dagdron. The other three glanced at each other, wondering what he was doing, but then he turned around.

  He was blubbering.

  “Oh, Dagdron,” Earl said, bawling as he moved forward and took Dagdron in a bear hug, leaning down to bury his head in Dagdron’s neck. “I still don’t know what stars aligned that allowed us to be roommates, but you are my best friend in the whole land. After being together almost every day for three years, I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

  Dagdron was still holding his dagger, but he lifted both hands and placed them on Earl’s back, returning a hug with his best friend for the first time. When Earl finally released him, Dagdron turned his head away from the others.

  “Are you crying?” Elloriana asked, wiping the tears from her own eyes.

  “No,” Dagdron said, whipping his hood onto his head to hide his face.

  Earl, Lita, and Elloriana chuckled at Dagdron’s reaction, and that allowed them to get their crying under control.

  “You guys,” Earl said, sniffling loudly. “I’m just not ready to say goodbye yet. Can we please go to Central Crossing and open our quest scrolls there? Then we can all go our separate ways.”

  “Let’s go,” Dagdron said, knowing there was no way they would convince Earl otherwise.

  Dagdron headed off immediately, leaving Earl, Lita, and Elloriana to grab their packs and hurry to catch up with him. The rogue, warrior, enchantress, and lady warrior headed down the pathway through the pine trees with the towers of the Adventurers’ Academy looming behind them.

  * * *

  They made good time to Central Crossing, though it was nothing compared to when they had chased after Headmaster Gwauldron. They ran into a few dark creatures, but with their combined efforts, they were able to fight each of them off with ease. But other than that, the going was happy and enjoyable as they reminisced about their days at the Adventurers’ Academy.

  They reached the hillside when it was already dark, so they climbed to the top and made camp for the night. Dagdron slept on the ground, Earl and Lita on their bedrolls, and Elloriana, who had made Wendahl teach her, formed a magical bed, though Dagdron noted how thin a mattress it had compared to Wendahl’s.

  The four adventurers woke up as the sun was just starting to bathe Central Crossing Hill. In the light, they saw the scorch marks that still remained from the lightning bolts that had struck from the arches and Avooblis himself.

  Elloriana had little to pack up, so she and Dagdron waited while Earl and Lita got their packs back together, and then they finally pulled out their quest scrolls.

  “Wait, Dagdron,” Earl said. “Where’s your badge?”

  Dagdron shrugged, so Earl stepped forward and frisked him until he found the brown Adventurers’ Academy badge. He pinned it on Dagdron’s cloak and nodded with approval.

  “Okay, Dagdron, you go first,” Earl said.

  Dagdron slit the ribbon with his dagger and unrolled his scroll. There was a single name written on it.

  “Lushmere,” Dagdron said, holding it out for the others to see.

  “Wow,” Earl said, clapping his hand
s and dancing a jig.

  “Where?” Dagdron said.

  “You know,” Earl said. “That’s where Grizzard, Wendahl, Egon, and the headmaster are from. It’s to the southwest.”

  Dagdron tossed the scroll to the ground, but Earl retrieved it, rolled it back up, and stuck it in Dagdron’s cloak for him.

  “You next, Lita,” Earl said.

  Lita tried to take the ribbon off her scroll delicately but ended up ripping it off in frustration.

  “Hillwood!” she exclaimed.

  “Whoa!” Earl said, dancing around again. When he saw Dagdron was emotionless, he explained to him. “Hillwood is about in the middle between Lordavia and Bodaburg. Not far from Lloyd and Rosamund’s farmhouse.”

  “Who?” Dagdron said.

  “You know who they are!” Earl said.

  “I’m next,” Elloriana said, noticing the small joking smile creep onto Dagdron’s face. She cast an open spell and the little magical ball untied the ribbon. “Cliffmount.”

  “Oh my heck!” Earl exclaimed. “Dagdron, can you believe it?”

  Dagdron scowled at him, and Elloriana glanced from Dagdron to Earl.

  “That’s where you’re from?” Elloriana said.

  “Sorry, Dagdron,” Earl said. “I was just so excited.”

  “She might as well just stay in the cave,” Dagdron said.

  “You really did grow up in a cave?” Elloriana said.

  “Of course, wench,” Dagdron said. “Detect magic up on the cliffs.”

  “Thanks, Dagdron,” Elloriana said.

  Dagdron, Elloriana, and Lita turned toward Earl.

  Earl took in a deep breath as he unrolled his scroll. He closed his eyes and then opened them.

  “Baronville!” Earl exclaimed, tossing the scroll in the air and doing a jig until it floated back down into his hands. “Can you believe it, Dagdron? I bet there are jagtaurs there!”