Dragons

Introduction

Shadizar was known as the city of thieves. This was a well-deserved reputation. If you lived in Shadizar and owned anything of value you had to guard it. One of the most guarded locations in town was the estate of Baron Razor. He was fabulously wealthy and it showed in his art collection. The only problem was that most of the art had been stolen from its previous owners. The word on the street was that some of those owners had got together to get their art back. They would pay fifty percent of the value no questions asked. Jack had mentioned this to Percy with the anticipation of making a joke out of it. The more the two men talked the more Percy thought he could pull the job off. Percy told Jack to make contact as if he were a middleman. Tell them you want five percent and that I will only deal with you. Jack said,

“Percy this will get out. The Baron will know in know time and be prepared for your coming.” Percy nodded yes, then said,

“I am going to make sure it gets out, because that will be an important part of my plan.” Jack shook his head but knew he could not talk Percy out of it.

The next day Percy put on a disguise and head for a tavern that he knew the Barons men at arms used. He sat drinking and pretended to get drunk. Then he let it slip that he heard the Graymanwas going to steal the Barons art collection. He then watched as the news spread around the tavern. He saw what looked like a Sargent get the news. He at once got up and left the tavern. Percy smiled and then staggered out. He went home and changed. He dressed even more outlandish than usual, in a mint green jump suit with white rhinestones all over it. He finished it off with a white belt and hat. Picking up a white walking stick he left the house. Walking to Baron Razor’s estate, he got there and asked a guard at the gate to see the Baron. The guard said,
“What is your business with the Baron?”

“I have information for the Baron regarding the Grayman.” The then told Percy to wait; he had to see if the Baron was free to see him. The guard left and was gone for about ten minutes. When he came back he said,

“The Baron would be pleased if you would join him on the back veranda.”

Percy made his way to the veranda and found the Baron at a table having fruit and wine. He rose and said,

“Percy De'Aablo, What brings you to my house?”

“Well” Percy said in a scared little voice, “I over heard a conversation that I thought you should know about.”

“Oh, and what might that be?”

“It was, I believe between the Grayman and his accomplice. They were planning to steal your art collection.”
“How was all of this to happen?”

“I am sorry I do not know how, but I did hear when.”
“So when is this to take place?”

“In five days time. I could not find out anything else, I was so afraid when I figured out who I was listening to.” The Baron nodded that he understood. Then he said,

“Percy I understand and I thank you for bringing me this information.” Percy stood up and said,
“Well I hope it will be of help to you. That criminal needs to be put behind bars or worst.”

“Hopefully thanks to you we can do just that.” Percy then left and went home.

He spent the next three days finding out all he could about the Baron and his security. It took awhile but he eventually found what he wanted. He was introduced to an old stone mason who had helped build the Barons estate. He told Percy of a hidden passage that lead from the sewers into the basement. He told Percy because he hated the Baron. It seems that after he had finished the Barons estate, the Barons men had beat him to what they thought would be his death. He lived but he lost his sight. They felt there secretes are then safe. Percy gave him a couple of gold pieces to help him along. He also told him to go see a friend who might have a job for him. Percy then went into the sewer and found the hidden door. He then went home, having much to do and only a day to do it in. It was still two days until he told the Baron but he was going in a day early. When he got home he went straight to bed, for the next day would be hectic.

The next day Percy got up and dressed in grey silk pants and shirt. He hung his rapier from a large black belt. Grabbing his grey silk hanky that he used as a mask he walked out the back door. Outside he grabbed a large grey bag that was full of all the equipment he might need. He quickly made his way to the entrance to the sewers. At the entrance Percy found a small wagon with two small ponies. He hoped onto the wagon and drove it into the tunnel. The smell was not the most unpleasant thing Percy had ever smelt, but it was close. It took him only about 15 minute in the cart to get to the hidden door. He opened it, and after tying up the ponies he walked in. He found himself in some sort of storage area. It was dirty and the dust was thick on everything. Percy figured it was not used very often.
The door was of thick oak with iron strapping. Percy then looked at the lock. The examination took quite a while, as the lock was very complicated. Percy thought why such high security for storage rooms that looks as if it is never used. He came to the conclusion that it must be because of the hidden door. Taking out a lock pick he went to work on the door. When he got it open he was in a hall. There was light to his right and so he went that way. It led to a set of stairs leading up into the house. He quickly and quietly made his way up into the house. He knew the Baron did not like guards in his house, so it should be a simple matter of just getting to the paintings and taking them out.

Percy had been in the house before at parties, so he made his way quickly to the art room. Once in the art room he looked for the six paintings he wanted. He found them and took one down that he knew. He looked at it carefully. There was something wrong with it. He knew this artist also signed the back of his works. Turning it around he did not find the signature and at once knew it was a fake. Percy quickly looked at the others and found them to be fakes also. ‘Now what?’ he thought. The Baron has pulled a fast one on him. Percy went back to the storage room with all haste. He had to think. He sat on one of the crates and noticed that it felt smooth. He got up and looked at it. That was unusual that crate looked very ruff. Percy touched it again and as his hand touched the box it changed. It looked as if his hand had gone through an outer skin to the inside. Percy thought it must be an illusion, but what is really in here? Percy smiled as a thought crossed his mind. He is a genius who would look for paintings in on old mouldy storage room when there is a room full of paintings up stairs.

Percy then opened a crate and there was one of the paintings he was looking for. He smiled because he had beaten Baron Razor. Then he started to load the art into the cart out in the sewer. When it was all loaded he went back into the storage room and left a note.

Dear Baron

Please leave the theft of art up to the people who are good at it. If there is anything my buyers do not want I will let you know. I will sell it back to you at fifty percent of its value.

Your Friend

Grayman

CHAPTER ONE

1 * Dinner With Katrina

Percy was at a corner table in the Saucy Goose. The little wine shop was very busy. Jack, the owner, was at the front door greeting people as they came in and directing them to the bar until a table opened up for them. Jack had just greeted a very attractive woman in her mid thirties and pointed to Percy’s table, and she nodded acknowledgement. Jack walked over to Percy and asked him if he would mind if the lady joined him as she was in a big rush to get back to her business.

“No, No, Not at all,” replied Percy.

Jack went back to the door and talked to the lady and led her over to Percy’s table where he introduced Katerina Chan and Percy De Aablo. The lady sat down and Percy offered her a glass of wine, which she graciously accepted. He then topped up his own glass. At this point, the serving wench came to their table to take their orders. Percy asked Katrina what she would like and she ordered a small plate of roast lamb with spiced vegetables. Percy ordered the poached river trout in cream sauce with baby potatoes and spiced vegetables.

When the server left, Percy asked Katrina what kind of business she had.

A surprised Katrina asked,

“How did you know that I have my own business?”

“Jack told me that you were in a hurry to get back to your business when he asked me if I would mind sharing my table.”

”Now aren’t you just a smart little guy,” she replied with a sly little smile and Percy noticed that she was a very attractive woman. She had long black hair down to her waist and big brown doe eyes that could just swallow a man whole. She had a small delicate but well muscled body. Her height was around five feet two but she carried herself with and authority that gave her the appearance of a taller woman. Her voice was a collection of bird songs all rolled into one melody. Katrina told Percy that she was in the spice trade and she had a small shop just around the corner. Percy knew the shop. He had even bought some spices there. The shop had always seemed busy to Percy so he assumed she was not hurting for money.

At this point their food arrived and they commenced with their meal. The conversation over dinner concerned current events in the city. Percy noticed that Katrina, although able to keep up with the conversation, was preoccupied with other thoughts. The dinner was nevertheless still very pleasant and Katrina was an excellent dinner companion. When their main course was finished, Percy recommended the Yin-Pin Wine Cake for dessert. Katrina started to decline but Percy had already ordered the cake, along with a nice dessert wine from Aquin. She had her dessert and wine and then told Percy that she had to leave. Percy volunteered to walk her back to her shop he told her it was on his way home. A little white lie. Katrina thanked him and they paid their bill leaving the Saucy Goose.

Percy walked her to her shop and on arrival went in on her invitation.He inhaled deeply the smells of the shop, which were exquisite. While he was at the shop he might as well pick up some Bong spice for his morning drink. He paid and said goodnight to Katrina and thanked her for a pleasant dinner and asked her if she would join him for lunch the following day.

“Come by at about one o’clock. I should be free by then”. Percy left the shop and went back to the Saucy Goose to have a late drink with Jack. Percy walked into the Saucy Goose and went directly to the bar where Jack gave him one of those knowing smiles.

“How was dinner, Percy.”

”The fish was great, Jack.” Jack looked at him and laughed. Percy told him that he was having a very special lunch tomorrow with Katrina.

“What do you know about her, Jack?”

Jack told him that Katrina came to Shadizar about six years ago and opened her spice shop. She had some sort of connection in Yin-Pin because, for any of the spices from the west, she has the best price. Jack also informed Percy that she was single and that he had never seen her with a man unless they were conducting business. Percy nodded he thought that was unusual; after all she was a very beautiful woman. He hoped this condition would change tomorrow when they had lunch. Percy had a couple more drinks and then headed home. He walked past the spice shop and thought he saw something in the shadows across the street. Percy did not go to check to out because he could not be sure if it was his eyes or the wine that had seen something.

The next day when Percy got up, he had a nice long luxurious pampering hot bath. He then got dressed to the nines in a black silk shirt with sued leather pants, knee length black boots and a silver belt with a silver scabbard dagger. He finished off this outfit with a bright red cape. He felt that his public persona as a fop was complete in this ensemble. Feeling confident in his outfit he went out into his garden and picked a nice assortment of flowers to take with him. A glance at his sundial on the lawn told him that it was time to get his tail in gear if he did not wont to be late for his date.

When he got to Katrina’s spice shop, he noticed that there was someone in the shadows across the street in roughly the same spot as he had seen them last night. He entered the shop and saw that there was and attendant behind the counter. He approached her and asked her if Katrina was in as he had an appointment with her. She asked Percy his name and, when he told her, she asked him to wait and she would be back in a moment. The woman disappeared into the back of the shop. A moment later Katrina appeared with a big smile for him. Percy gave he the flowers.

“Oh! They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

Katrina put on her coat and they left the shop. It was a beautiful afternoon and they talked about it while they walked to the Saucy Goose. At the Inn, Jack, in his finest clothes, greeted them. Percy knew that this was an unusual occurrence for this time of day. Jack directed them to a special set table. There was already a very rare bottle of Holmes wine on the table. Jack poured the wine and said that he had prepared a special something for them. Percy nodded for Jack to proceed. When Jack was gone, he turned to Katrina, and said,

“I did not planned all this, Jack has done it without consulting me.” Katrina said,

“Jack is sweet to do all this for us. He must be a very good friend.” Percy nodded and told her that Jack and he went way back. They talked all through their two-hour lunch. Percy told Katrina all about his life in Aquin and she told him about Yin-Pin. It was a lunch that Percy wanted never to end but eventually it did.

Percy called Jack over and asked for the bill. Jack insisted it was on the house for two of his best customers. Percy and Katrina both protested but Jack would not budge. Percy walked her back to the spice shop and when they walked in he immediately knew that something was wrong. There were two young men on the wrong side of the counter with the clerk in between them. Katrina said in a commanding voice,

“What are you two doing?” One of the young men responded,

“We’re here to collect for the dragon.” Katrina moved towards them and said,

“I do not pay to little boys and that is what you are, now be gone.”

CHAPTER TWO

2 * Percy Sets Up A Meeting

Katrina turned to Percy and said,

“Don’t bother yourself about it, I can handle it. It really does not concern you.”

“I would like to help you if I can, but I can’t do anything without your permission,” said Percy.

“Percy, you are not really equipped to handle this. You cant just debate with the dragon in order to make them go away.”

Percy was hurt by what she said and it showed, but he couldn’t argue with her. He helped to clean up and then said his good-byes.

Percy went back to the Saucy Goose to have a drink and calm down. Jack was there and noticed Percy’s mood.

“Percy, what’s wrong? You look like hell.” After Percy told him about the fight at Katrina’s spice shop, Jack said,

"Oh no! The dragon is on the move again.” Percy looked at Jack and asked,

“You know about this dragon or whatever it is?” Jack nodded yes,

“It’s like a thieves’ guild but they have a very different set of rules. They tried to set up a protection racket in Shadizar. That was before you moved here. The thieves’ guild kicked them out with the help of a powerful wizard. The only problem was that the wizard got into a duel with another wizard about six months later and got killed. The thieves’ guild will have a big problem if they try to get the dragon to leave a second time.” Percy asked,

“Jack, if you know anyone who is involved with the dragon, I’d like to get in touch with them.” Jack thought about this for a few moments and then said,

”I don’t know anyone myself but the beggars’ guild always has information for sale.”

This was true, but obtaining information from the beggars’ guild would be dangerous. Percy would have to use his alter ego, the Grayman and the beggars’ guild would do anything in their power to find out who the Grayman was. That information would be worth a lot to them. Percy would have to be very crafty in order to keep the beggars’ guild in the dark concerning the Grayman’s identity.

“Jack, do you have any ideas about how I can pull this off without being found out?”

“Well I think the best thing for you to do would be to be seen in the proper places.”

Percy laughed and said,

“Jack you have this knack for the obvious. Thank you.” Percy sat with Jack and had a few more drinks and then headed home. When he arrived home, he checked his appointment book to see what he was doing the rest of the week. He had two social engagements, the first was a small dinner gathering and the second was a large gala costume ball. This second engagement triggered the start of a plan in his mind. It needed some fine-tuning but Percy was sure it would work quite nicely. Tomorrow was going to be a busy one, so Percy went to bed.

The next day Percy dressed as outlandishly as he possibly could. He wore a lime green silk shirt, yellow silk pants with magenta sash, and a hooded magenta cape. On the way out the door he picked up his black walking stick. Percy was in good spirits as he walked through the crowded streets of Shadizar. He was heading for his tailor in the merchant quarter of town. He knew enough to keep his money inside his sash, as Shadizar was a city of thieves. He moved through the merchant quarter heading for the other side. When he got to the tailor’s shop he walked right in. The man behind the counter was very tall about six foot seven inches, and very thin at about a hundred and sixty pound. The man’s name was Sheven. He looked up as Percy walked in; a big smile broke out all over his face.

“Good morning, master De Aablo, and what can we do for you today?”

“Good morning to you Sheven. I need a special job from you and it must be done quickly.”

“I will do what I can for you,” Sheven replied. Percy explained to Sheven that he needed a duplicate of the costume he was wearing to a party he was attending three days from then. Sheven looked at him and said,

“I don’t know about three days? The first one took me two weeks to make.”

Percy smiled because he knew that Sheven could do it.

“I guess I’ll have to go to Brock’s Clothes and ask him to do it. I know he’s quick enough.” Sheven looked very hurt and asked,

“You would do that?” Percy nodded and looked at some fabric on the cutting table.

“OK, OK, I’ll have it done when you need it. I’ll have to put some people off, but I’ll do it.” Percy flipped him a gold piece,

“Sheven, why do we always have to go through this battle of wits every time I need something quick or special.” Sheven replied,

“This scam works on my regular customers and so keeps me from being too busy.”

Percy laughed and asked Sheven,

“Is business that good?” Sheven looked around and lowering his voice he said,

“Things could be better.”

“Well maybe things will get better soon.”

Percy then left Sheven’s shop and headed to the entertainers’ guild. As he walked through town, he thought about Sheven and his strange reaction to his question and wondered if he were also being hassled by the dragon. At the entertainer’s guildhall, Percy walked up to the reception desk. The man behind the desk asked if he could be of assistance. Percy said,

“I’m interested in acquiring the services of an actor for a short period of time.”

“OK, if you will just take a seat over there someone will be with you in a few moments” Percy sat for about five minutes and then a very slick looking man came out of the back room and walked over to him. He introduced himself as Spealteck and said,

“I am the agent for most of the actors in town.” He motioned Percy into his office and directed him to a large comfortable chair. Percy sat and looked around. The office was very well decorated and had a lot of portraits of different people on the walls. Percy recognised some of them from plays he had seen.

Spealteck asked,

“What can I do for you today, Sir?” Percy replied,

“I have written a small one man play and I need an actor to help me run through it so I can see how it looks. The actor must be about my weight with my hair and colouring.”

Spealteck nodded that he understood and told Percy that he had two people that would do very well. Percy directed him to have them come for an interview at the Saucy Goose tonight at about seven o’clock. With that Percy thanked the agent and left the guildhall. He decided to start setting up his appointment. Percy, knowing that most of the beggars would be in the market went over to the market to find the best available spot for begging. He chose a spot near the tavern and close to the edge of the market. He walked up to the beggar at this spot and took a gold piece from his purse.

“I would like to request a meeting with your master to purchase some information.”

The beggar did not say anything. He just held out his cup.

”The Grayman wants information on the Dragon.” Percy said. The beggar then looked up, he asked,

“You know the Grayman?” Percy shook his head and said,

“No. He came to may house and told me what he wanted and what he would do if I failed him. He requests the meeting at eleven at night, two nights from now, at the back of the Saucy Goose.” Percy flipped the beggar the gold piece and walked to the Saucy Goose for lunch. When he arrived, at about two in the afternoon, the place was almost empty. Jack was not to be seen but one of his severs was behind the bar. Percy knew her. Her name was Gina. Percy asked her where Jack was and she told Percy that he had to go to the market because lunch was very busy and had drained the pantry. Percy sat at a table near one of the windows and asked Gina for a glass of wine and spring water. When she delivered the beverage, Percy ordered a sandwich to nibble on. Gina disappeared into the kitchen and was back in a few minutes with a large chicken sandwich. Percy ate and mulled his plan over in his mind. It would be very tricky but he thought he could do it. He remained in the Saucy Goose for the afternoon working out all the details. When dinnertime rolled around he ordered a nice big steak with all the trimmings. He ate early so he would be finished by six o’clock. He wanted some time between his meal and the appointment with the actors.

The first one arrived about ten minutes to seven. He walked up to Percy and introduced himself as Maurice. He had been an actor for about five years. About five minutes later the second actor arrived and Percy recognised him immediately. He was very well known and had a reputation for being very arrogant. Percy knew that this man would not be able to play the part he had in mind. Percy talked to both of them and the more he talked to the second actor, who’s name was Troy, the more he disliked him. After about a half an hour, he told Troy that Maurice had the job and thanked him for coming. Troy rose from his seat, gave Percy an indignant look and stormed out of the Saucy Goose. Maurice suggested to Percy that Troy seemed to be a pompous ass and Percy agreed with him.

Percy then started to tell Maurice what he wanted from him. Maurice was a little shocked until Percy explained that he needed him to cover for him while he went to see the love of his life. Maurice looked a little concerned,

“Why go through all this?” Percy looked a little embarrassed and said,

“I have to practice deceit because she is trapped in a marriage of convenience.” Maurice knew, as soon as he heard this, that the woman in question must be married to a very important noble of the town. Percy and Maurice sat in the Saucy Goose and drank the night away.

At the end of the night, they left the Saucy Goose and went home. Percy noticed that he was being followed. The person following him was very good, because Percy could get only short glimpses every now and then. No one approached him, just followed him and when he got home, a watch was set up on his home. Percy watched his watchers for a while and still couldn’t figure out who it was. He knew it was someone from the beggar’s guild. He was not concerned, as he had anticipated something like this. He went to bed without giving it another thought.

CHAPTER THREE

3 * The Big Switcheroo

The next day Percy got up and madehimself a breakfast of fruit and bread. He then washed and got dressed. He put on a royal blue shirt with pink sleeves. He also chose pink pants with a silver sash. He sat out in his courtyard and waited for Maurice to show up. When Maurice arrived, they started work on a one-man play. Maurice was very good and Percy couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t been in more plays in town. They worked hard on the play until lunch. After a light lunch they got back to work. Percy had been looking around to see if he could find who was spying on him. He had a couple of ideas but couldn’t confirm them one way or the other. They worked until just before dinner and the Maurice left. Percy sat in his sitting room and read until late into the night, then he went to sleep.

The next morning Percy dressed in a bright orange and black outfit. He ate and then left for the clothier’s shop. When he got there, he picked up the two costumes that had been packed up for him. The package was not too big so he didn’t think it would be too obvious. He walked back through the market and picked up some food for home. While he was shopping, he picked out his tail and maybe one or two others. He left the market and went home and put the food in the pantry. He went into the sitting room and read for an hour or two and then had a nap. When he woke up he started to get ready for the costume party. When he had his costume on, he sat and waited for his coach to show up. His costume consisted of grey pants and shirt with a grey cape and an elaborate headpiece, which was mostly pink and had a large bird beak coming out over his nose. The back of the headpiece was covered with pink feathers. It successfully hid his head with only a few strands of hair falling out the back. When the coach pulled up, he got in and saw Maurice crouched down on the floor per their pre-arranged plan. Percy hit the roof of the coach and the driver slapped the horses into a walk. The coach was enclosed and no one could see into it so Percy motioned for Maurice to be quick. He then took off the mask and gave it to Maurice who put it on and took the party invitation from Percy. With the mask on, Percy thought that Maurice looked enough like himself to pull this switch off. When they got to the party, Maurice waited until the carriage pulled up to the door and then he got out and went up the stairs and through the door into the party. At the party, Maurice pretended to get drunk very quickly. He wandered around and didn’t talk to anyone for a long period. Between the costume and Maurice’s acting abilities, everyone at the party thought he was Percy.
Percy stayed low in the carriage as the driver moved off from the mansion. The driver had orders to drive past the Saucy Goose and the go home until it was time to pick up the gentleman at the mansion. As the carriage passed the Saucy Goose, Percy jumped out and ran up the alley to the back door. He slid through the back door and went to the pantry. In the pantry he sat down to catch his breath. Percy thought that all had gone well...so far. The Beggars Guild’s man would swear that Percy was at the costume party until dawn. Now, Percy, as the Grayman, could have a meeting with the Beggars’ Guild. He went to the secret passage out of the pantry and into the back alley and watched through a peek hole. He saw two large men conceal themselves at each end of the alley. As he watched the men, he noticed that they were very good a hiding in the shadows. Time passed and it was a couple of minutes to midnight when a man walked into the alley. Percy watched him for a minute then started to make his move. He moved into the alley but stayed hidden. Then he threw a small glass vial down near his hiding place. When the vial broke, the chemicals combined with the air to form a large grey cloud. The Grayman walked out from his hiding place and through the cloud. When he emerged on the other side he looked at the man standing there and said,

“You don’t have to call your men, I am here for some information.” The man looked at him as if to say, how did you know, but the Grayman just laughed. He then took the initiative and asked,

“Do you have the information that I requested?” The man still looked a little shaken but gave a positive nod. He regained his composure and said,

“It is all right here,” and patted the breast of his jacket,

“Do you have enough gold to purchase the information?” The Grayman held out a small purse, which he opened and poured gold coins into his hand. The man smiled and reached into his coat. The Grayman said,

“Move slowly, my friend, we don’t want any misunderstandings.” The man pulled out a roll of paper tied up with a big red ribbon. The Grayman handed over half the gold and took the scroll. He was going to open it but the man stopped him. He said,

“What are you doing? You’re not going to open that now, are you?” The Grayman looked at him and said,

“Is their some problem with that?” The man looked quite nervous and said,

“Wouldn’t you like to view it in private?” The Grayman looked suspiciously at the man and said,

"Do you expect me to pay all this money and not check the merchandise?” He could tell that the man was very nervous and he figured that he knew why. The roll of paper or the ribbon had some sort of enchantment on it. They were going all out to find out who he was. He took the scrolls and waved his hand over them. He then looked at the man and asked,

”What kind of enchantment have you put on these scrolls?” The man looked very nervous but told Percy that when the scrolls are opened they will start a fire and send up shooting lights, and in this way, the beggars could find out where he lived and ultimately who you are. The Grayman looked at the beggar and laughed and said that that was not a real smart plan because anyone with half an ounce of brains would want to check the information before the seller left.

“Now, would you like me to open these scrolls or would you like to just give me the information.”

The man then reached back into his pocket and pulled out another roll of paper. The Grayman told him to open it and read the first two lines of each page before he would accept the roll. The man did as he was told and then the Grayman took the sheets of paper and put them inside his shirt. He then reached down to his belt and the man stepped back thinking Percy was going for his sword. The Grayman laughed and pulled out the rest of the gold. He laughed again and said,

“I fully expected the guild to try and find out who the Grayman is and so I figured that was part of the deal”. He tossed the purse with the rest of the gold to the man and said, “There you go. Now tell your bosses that I come across a lot of useful information, so it might be worth his while to make a deal with me instead of trying to find out my identity.” The man nodded and said that he would pass on the message. The Grayman then stepped back and mumbled a little while he dropped another crystal full of the smoke mixture. The cloud billowed up around him and he slid through the hidden door into the panty of the Saucy Goose.

Once Percy was inside the panty and the hidden door was shut, he pulled out the rolls of paper. He looked them over and found there was not much in the way of usable information. The papers did however, reveal the fact that about half of the business entities in Shadizar were paying protection to the Dragon. The guild didn’t know where the Dragon’s headquarters were in Shadizar however; they did know when collections were made at certain locations. This information would be enough for Percy to carry out the next part of his plan. The papers also included a good description of the collection people. Percy stretched out on a cot in the pantry and poured himself a drink. He let all of this information roll around in his head for a couple of hours until he finally went to sleep.

CHAPTER FOUR

4 * To Play or Not to Play

The next morning Percy woke, put on a change of clothes, a wig and went out by the back door of the Saucy Goose. On his way home, he stopped at a couple of stalls and bought some food and when he got to his apartment, he went in by the back door. When he got inside, he found Maurice in the kitchen having a herb drink. The two of them changed clothes and then Maurice told him how the party had gone. He had not had any problems and had even had a wonderful time. Percy gave him five gold pieces and told him to tell his agent that the play didn’t work.

“Tell your agent that you only got one gold piece or you will be out a lot of money.”

Maurice then slipped out the back door. Percy went up to his room and slept until noon. He then went out to the Saucy Goose for a light lunch. As he walked in, he spotted Jack at the bar,

“Good morning Jack. How are you today?” Jack replied,

“How was your evening, did everything go all right?”

”Yes, it was fine but the information was not as extensive as I would have liked, although, I did get enough information to find out What I needed to know about the Dragon. Listen, I would like some lunch and pack up some food for later this evening.” Percy sat, had lunch and started to formulate a plan. He was thinking, that if he could follow the trail of money, it would lead him to the headquarters of the Dragon in Shadizar. After lunch he headed out to the merchant quarter and found a discrete location from which to watch a cobbler’s shop. There was to be a dragon collection made there that afternoon. He also kept his eyes open for anyone from the Beggars’ Guild because they would probably not give up on him that easy. Percy eventually noticed a beggar that was paying more attention to what was going on than begging for money. Now that he knew whom he had to get past, Percy had no trouble. He waited for about an hour and then he saw the collectors going into the cobbler’s shop. There were two of them and, by their walk, he guessed that they could handle themselves in a fight. They were both of eastern origin as was evident by their features and mode of dress. Percy remembered that he had been informed that the dragon had come from outside of Shadizar. He waited for about fifteen minutes. When the two men came out and moved off, Percy was in hot pursuit. He knew where they were going so it was easy to follow them without getting too close. He watched them go into another shop and they were there for about ten minutes. Percy followed them as they collected at about a dozen other shops. They then headed off towards shantytown.

Percy followed them and eventually they headed into an abandoned building and he stood hidden and watched for a couple of hours during which time he saw four other groups of dragon collectors going in to the building. Percy then moved in to look through a window. He was surprised that he couldn’t see anyone. He checked the rest of the building and discovered that there was no other entrance or exit. Percy was about to go into the building when he heard another group entering the building. He watched through the window and saw the two men moving through the building and to a small room. Percy moved to a window into the small room but when he looked in, the room was empty! He checked the room and discovered that there was only the one door. This was getting very very weird!

Percy was about to go through the window when he got a strong feeling, not fear but a warning. He had this feeling a few times before and when he had not paid attention, he had got into more trouble than he liked. Percy took some time to rethink his plan instead of barging right in. He moved away from the building and found a good spot from which to watch the building. He kept up a vigil for the next day and didn’t see anything unusual. He couldn’t quite figure it out, there must be at least one more exit. Where did the people go when they disappeared from the small room. There were at least three possibilities, first, somehow the people had gone into another room, second, there was a way to get to the sewers that ran under the city, third, there was some kind of magic portal that transferred them to some other place.

Nothing happened at the building until the following night when the same group of collectors arrived and disappeared again. Percy quickly moved to the window into the small room and watched. He saw the collectors move over towards the corner behind some large boxes. Then there was a bright flash of light and the collectors were gone. The light was so bright and unexpected that Percy could not be sure whether the light was from opening a door or had they activated some sort of magical device. At this point, Percy decided he needed some rest, so he went home and straight to bed. He slept until noon and when he got up, he wrote a note about the possible whereabouts of the dragon’s headquarters and signed it - The Grayman. The handwriting was very different than Percy’s. It was a very stylish and classical script. He then went to the market and gave the note to the same beggar that he had previously contacted. He told the beggar that there was a verbal message also, ‘This one is free. The next one will cost you.’ The beggar nodded, took the rolled up paper and put it in his robe.

Percy went to Katrina’s shop to see if she would like to go for lunch. He got lucky, she was home, and yes, she would be delighted to have lunch with him. They left the spice shop and headed for the Saucy Goose. They had a wonderful lunch, laughing and talking all the while. When Katrina insisted that it was time to go back to work, Percy paid the bill and walked her back to her shop. He told her he would see her later and left. As he walked out the door, he saw two of the collectors heading towards Katrina’s spice shop. Percy thought that this would be a good time to give them something to think about. He sauntered towards them and, as they were walking past, he turned quickly and tripped one of them. He quickly bent over and made a pretence of helping the man up, but all the while he was actually keeping him down, all the while saying that he was sorry for being so clumsy. The other man came towards them and Percy put his walking stick between his legs and down he went. Now Percy was doubly apologetic to both men but he still hindered them from getting up. When both men got to their feet they were very angry and pulled out their daggers. They moved towards Percy and told him that he was going to die. Percy backed away and told the two that he was just a harmless fool. The two knew better and were so angry that they didn’t notice that the incident had attracted a crowd. The first man lunged at Percy but his move was so predictable and clumsy that Percy side-stepped him. Then attacking, he hit the man with his walking stick, which knocked him cold. The second man was about to attack when a loud commanding voice boomed out, “HALT!” Percy had noticed a group of eight watchmen moving through the crowd. The man with the dagger turned to glare at the intrusion andrealised what had happened. The watchmen surrounded Percy and the two men and listened to both sides of the storey of what had happened. The watchmen looked at the man from the dragon and said,

“You and your friend will have to come with us.” The man protested,

“We meant no harm.” The leader of the patrol looked down at the dagger in the man’s hand,

“Of course you didn’t mean any harm. Come along with us.”

CHAPTER FIVE

5 * Trouble at the Spice Shop

It was getting late and Percy wanted to get a look inside the building where the dragon collectors had disappeared. It would be too difficult to get to the building now because this was the time of day that the collectors came to the place to make their deposits so he went home and sat by the pool in the garden to read until the sun went down. Percy then went to bed.

The next morning he went down to the merchant quarter to find the area was buzzing with talk about the fire that had happened the night before and the talk was that it was no accident. He headed down to the location of the fire to check it out. Percy poked around for a while and picked up the faint scent of oil. The pattern of the fire also suggested that if was started by someone. Percy knew that it was deliberate, but he didn’t have any idea who had set it. He talked to other merchants close by and found out who owned and who operated the shop. He was surprised to find out that a friend of his owned the shop and a tanner ran it. He then went to see the tanner who was large man with a pleasant smile. Percy introduced himself and said he was friend of the building owner, and asked the tanner if he could tell Percy anything about the fire and it’s origin. The tanner said that he didn’t think it was an accident and Percy asked him what made him think that.

The tanner replied, “We’ve been having problems at the shop. There were two break-ins, which were nothing to speak of. Nothing of value was stolen, but items, which were important to the business, were taken or destroyed. The second time nothing was taken, but the business was vandalised. The acts all happened on the same day of the month, one month apart and now the fire is on the same day of the month, one month later.”Percy said,

“That does sound very suspicious. Do you have any idea why these things are happening?”

The tanner shook his head but then he thought there was one thing that was strange. After the first incident, the owner of the business came in and said that he would never pay. Percy nodded and thanked the tanner for his time. He then headed for his friend’s home for a little talk. His friend was a very rich and popular merchant. His name was Murryahla and he lived in the better section of town. Percy was thinking while he walked to Murryahla’s that he was not sure but it sounded like Murryahla was part of the shakedown by the dragon. When Percy got to Murryahla’s home, a servant brought him into the study, where he grabbed his friend’s hand and shook it rather foppishly. Murryahla smiled and said hello and waved Percy to a large comfortable chair across from the desk. Percy got right to the point and told his friend that he was looking into the dragon and their protection racket. Murryahla looked very surprised - almost to the point of being shocked. He looked across the desk and said, “Percy, you’re my friend and I like you. Let me give you some advice - stay away from the dragon and their operation.”Percy asked,

“Are they shaking you down at all of your businesses.”

His friend nodded yes and Percy asked him to tell him about it. Murryahla replied, “It started about four months ago. They came to me and said that I would either have to get insurance from them or maybe I would have problems at my businesses. I told them that I would not deal with them and the day after their second visit, the tanner was vandalised. The next month the same thing happened and the last night - the third month - we have this mysterious fire at the tannery.”Percy then asked Murryahla if he had talked to any other merchants and, if so, were they having the same problems.

His friend replied,

“Yes, all the merchants have been approached. Some are holding out like me, but most are paying.”

“What was the time lapse between the demanding of the money and you having your problems?” asked Percy. Murryahla told him two days. Percy nodded and asked if it had been the same for the other holdout merchants and Murryahla nodded yes. Percy then got up to leave after thanking his friend. He told him that he thought he might have a way of dealing with the dragon. Percy shook Murryahla’s hand and said good day to him but before he could leave, his friend warned him not to interfere with the dragon - it is too dangerous.

Percy smiled as he left and walked slowly down the street to Katrina’s spice shop and asked her when was the first time that the dragon demanded money. She told him that they had approached he about two month’s ago. She also told him that they had been around two days ago. As it was time for lunch, Percy asked Katrina if she had eaten yet. She said that she had so Percy said good-bye and left the spice shop, and headed for the Saucy Goose where he took his usual table by the window. He ordered and Jack came over and asked him how thing were going. Percy told Jack that he was not sure if he was accomplishing anything at all. Jack reassured him with a - just take it one step at a time.Percy nodded affirmative,

“I guess you’re right.”Jack went back to the bar to his unfinished job. Percy finished his lunch and left the Saucy Goose with a good-bye to Jack.

Percy went home for a nap as he thought he might be up most of the night. About eight o’clock he got up and dressed in his Grayman costume. He had a grey scarf with two eyeholes cut in it and he put this in his pocket. He then slipped out the back way and walked towards Katrina’s spice shop. When he got close enough to the shop, he found a location from which to watch. He sat and watched Katrina’s shop for five hours before anything unusual happened. At this time, the Grayman completed his costume, by putting the scarf over his head, which hid his identity. The Grayman started to move towards the front of the shop. The shadows he had seen were moving down the alley between the two buildings. When he had moved into a position where he could look down the alley, he could see two thugs working on the back door. The Grayman looked around, but couldn’t see anyone else so he moved with a great deal of stealth until he was behind the two thugs. He hit the larger of the two where he knew it would knock him out. The man made a low HUF when he hit the ground. The other man turned and looked at the Grayman. Percy could tell, by the look of him, he was from Shadizar and that he seemed to recognised the Grayman. The thug, at once, dropped to his knees and begged the Grayman for mercy. Percy was a little surprised by the thug’s reaction but he told the man that he would live if he would tell the Grayman who had hired him. The thug started to talk to him but stopped in mid sentence. When the Grayman touched the thug, he fell over and he knew the man was dead before he touched the ground. He looked the thug over and found a small dart sticking out of his neck. The dart looked like the kind that would come out of a blowgun. Percy looked around and saw three figure moving in on him from three different directions and when they got close enough he saw that they were dressed in black from head to toe except for a weird symbol on their chests. They moved in soundlessly, with drawn swords. The Grayman, already having drawn his sword moved into a corner where only two of the black warriors could get at him. He was defending himself quite well and had even given out a few nicks, when he saw the third warrior with a blowpipe at his lips. The Grayman knew that this would be it if that dart touched him. He was lucky the first dart was aimed at his head and he was able to duck it. As the warrior was making ready another dart the Grayman saw someone moving up the alley. The third warrior just got the blowgun up to his mouth when a sword came down on it. The man was shocked and backed away and reached for the sword that was on his back, but before he could pull it out of the scabbard, there were three throwing stars in his throat. He gagged and fell face down into the dirt. At the sound, one of the Grayman’s attackers took a split second too long to look behind him and The Grayman took full advantage of his distraction and cut him open across his stomach. The third black warrior was now frightened and it showed in his eyes. The Grayman went on the attack but the black warrior was not out of tricks. He threw his arm up and a cloud flew into the Grayman’s eyes. He was blinded and could only fall to his knees and try to get his vision back. As he fell to his knees, he felt a sword swish over his head. The Grayman forgot about washing out his eyes and just moved away from the noise. A Moment later the fighting was over and he heard Katrina’s voice telling him not to touch his eyes.

She helped him up and into her shop where she sat him down and explained to him that if he had put water on the powder, the burning would have been a hundred times worse. She then came over to him and wiped a cool but stinking cream over his face and told him to leave it on his eyes for about ten minutes and he would then be fine. He sat quietly for the ten minutes and when he opened his eyes, he was amazed that he could see as if nothing had happened.

Katrina was standing over him with her lovely long raven hair flowing down onto his chest. Percy asked,

"You were the other warrior in the alley?”

Katrina nodded and said; “I thought it only fitting that if I knew your secret that you should know mine.”Percy sat up and asked,
“Do you know what kind of warriors we were fighting.” Katrina replied,
“They are more like assassins than warriors. They are called Ninja but the ones we were fighting are specifically called Dragon’s Claws.”

Percy smiled and asked, “Are you also a Ninja or Dragon’s Claw?”

She turned her head and said, “Yes I am a Ninja but I am a Mantis and not a Dragon’s Claw.” Percy looked perplexed so she explained, “The Dragon’s Claw is evil and will kill without remorse. The strive for power and wont hesitate to wipe out a whole family if they oppose them. The Mantis Ninjas are for hire but we will not kill indiscriminately. Mostly the Mantis Ninjas are spies and commandos.” Percy looked at her with a whole new respect and asked,

“What are you doing here?”

Katrina explained,

“I’ve been here since the dragon was forced out of Shadizar the last time. I’ve been watching and waiting for them to come back. Now that I’m certain that they are here, I must get in touch with my father. He’s in charge of the Mantis Ninjas and has a grudge against the Dragon’s Claw.”

Percy asked her how long this grudge had been going on and she looked at him and told him that the grudge started about six generations ago when the Dragon’s Claw attacked our headquarters and nearly wiped out the Order of the Mantis. Since that time there has been war between the two Orders. We don’t have a strong presence here so we like to use local agents, and, up till now, everything has been OK but now that the claw are in Shadizar and in full force, I think it would be best to get reinforcements from Yin-Pin.

CHAPTER SIX

6 * Percy Goes Katrina Hunting

After his conversation with Katrina the previous night, Percy was very confused. He had started on this course of action to help her out but now it didn’t look like she needed or wanted his help. He decided that this would be it as far as the dragon was concerned. He didn’t need this bag of crap in his life. With this decision to eliminate the dragon from his life, Percy decided if might be time to get into some sort of business. The problem was he didn’t know much about the ways of business. Then an idea occurred to him - I know a hell of a lot about objects d’art,jewellery and other valuables - things he learned about from his alter ego, the Grayman. He knew he could judge the value of these items even in a poorly lit room. Another brilliant thought - he could buy valuable art works or jewellery and sell them in Aquin where he had grown up. He knew that gems and gold cost very little in Shadizar compared to their cost in Aquin. Percy knew he could buy low and sell high but he didn’t know how he was going to get the merchandise from Shadizar to Aquin. Percy thought about this for a little while and then, because he couldn’t come up with anything, he decided to let it go for a while.

It was almost time for lunch so Percy decided to go for a walk before eating. While he was walking it dawned on him that a friend of his was in the caravan business. Percy decided to stop by his friend’s office. On his arrival, his friend, Bagot was sitting behind a big desk with a very unhappy look. Percy smiled at Bagot and said,

“What’s the matter, you old Bagot?” Bagot looked up and laughed,

“Percy, you old party hound, where the hell have you been lately?” Percy replied, “I’ve been at all the parties but I haven’t seen you at any of them.” Bagot’s smile disappeared. He said,

“Yes I know. I’ve been meaning to get together with you but business problems have prevented me from getting out.”

Percy looked concerned and asked Bagot what kind of problems was he having. Bagot told him that his partner had stolen all the cash on hand and this placed him in real big money troubles. Percy asked,

“Where is the thieving little asshole now?”

“I don’t know.” Bagot replied,

“But I think he’s left town.”

Percy smiled at his friend and said, “The gods of fate must be smiling down on the two of us because the reason that I’m here is to talk to you about forming a new trading company.”Bagot looked shocked. He knew Percy as an interesting but foppish gentleman. After this initial reaction he smiled and said,

“You must be kidding me. You don’t know anything about the caravan business.”

Percy replied,

“No, but I do know about the value of things and I’m smart enough to get a partner who knows the business. How about we go and have lunch and talk it over?” Bagot said,

“You’re serious aren’t you? I don’t think it will work but a free lunch is, after all, a free lunch. It’s probably worth the time to talk about it.”

They left Bagot’s and went to the Saucy Goose. On their way past Katrina’s spice shop, Percy had a casual look down the alley where he had all the excitement the night before. He noticed some movement and stopped to get a better look. Bagot stopped and asked Percy what he was doing. Percy told his friend that he thought he had seen something. Percy moved up the alley with the grace of a cat to Bagot’s surprise. He moved to within ten feet of the two men and he could overhear their conversation although he could not understand the language they were speaking. It was some obscure dialect from the Yin-Pin area. Percy stepped out from his spot and, in a commanding voice, asked them what they were doing there. The only dialect he knew from Yin-Pin was that used by the aristocrat caste. This dialect had the desired effect as the two men stopped talking and turned around to see who could be there from Yin-Pin royalty. They looked at Percy and bowed and they both started to babble at the same time until Percy told them to slow down and that only one person should talk at one time. The taller of the two stepped forward and in a slow even voice told their story. At first he couldn’t understand but slowly he pieced together what they were up to. They were making a delivery from a warehouse in Yin-Pin. He looked around and saw six large bags on the ground near the door. Percy asked them if they were having trouble with the delivery. The man told him that the shop was closed and they could get no answer from their knocks. Percy moved over and tried the door and sure as shit, it was locked. He knocked a couple of times but no one answered so he told the two men to take the shipment back to their warehouse and to come back the next day. He gave them each a silver coin for their trouble. The two men picked up their bags and started off down the alley. Percy then returned to Bagot in the street and he commented to his friend that it was unusual for Katrina’s shop to be closed at this time of the day. The two friends continued on their way to the Saucy Goose. At the restaurant, Percy and Bagot talked more about the possibility of going into business together. By the end of the meal and the meeting, Percy had won over Bagot and he said good night and went home to draw up the partnership contract.

The deal was that Percy was to buy into the existing business with a cash input over the next six months - a value of five thousand gold pieces. This was a great deal of money, but it wasn’t anything Percy couldn’t handle. He always kept at least twenty thousand gold pieces on hand at his home. When Bagot and Percy had finished signing the contract they had a great feeling about their partnership. Bagot was smiling again and he told Percy that he would see him tomorrow at the office and he would start getting him set up. Percy headed back to the Saucy Goose and when he got their, he asked Jack if he had seen Katrina. Jack told Percy that he hadn’t seen her and that it was unusual because she usually comes in for breakfast. Percy told Jack about her shop being closed and also about the trouble in the alley and Jack asked about the Ninjas and Percy told him all that he had learned from Katrina. Jack was surprised that Katrina was a Ninja, she was so petit and fragile looking. Percy smiled and said,

“I wouldn’t let that fool you. I saw her with a sword and she does know how to use it.”

“Well then, what are you worried about?” replied Jack. Percy nodded,

“I suppose you’re right but I think I’ll go by her place and see if anyone is there.”

Having settled on this course of action, Percy finished his drink and left the Saucy Goose. He walked to the spice shop and around the back he noticed that there was an apartment on the top of the shop. He called out Katrina’s name and got no answer. He saw a small trellis off to the side and he headed for it. He took a quick look around and saw that no one was looking so he quickly scrambled up the trellis and into the apartment through what he thought was an open window. Once inside, he saw that the window was not opened but had been broken, there was glass all over the floor. Percy instinctively crouched into a defensive position and looked around. Someone had taken the place apart it was a shambles. There didn’t seem to be anyone around. Percy started to look around but someone who knew what they were doing had searched the place. The Ninjas came to mind. One good thing - there was no blood around so Katrina was probably still alive. He continued his search and eventually found a secret compartment containing a letter to her father and a silver mantis on a leather thong. He put the mantis around his neck and stuck the letter in his coat pocket. He took a quick look around but didn’t find anything so he moved to the door that led down stairs to the shop. The shop did not look like it had been searched. Percy couldn’t tell for sure, if the searcher had searched the shop as well. He was looking around when he heard a knock on the back door. He moved slowly to the door and opened it. Standing there was Katrina’s clerk. Percy told her to come in. She looked at him as if to say, what are you doing here.

Percy spoke before she did; he asked her when she had last seen Katrina. The clerk, whose name was Razina, told Percy that she had talked to Katrina the previous afternoon. Percy then told Razina that Katrina had to go to Yin-Pin late last night and had asked Percy to tell Razina to run the store fore her until she got back. He told her that if she had any problems that he would be more than willing to help her. Razina asked Percy if Katrina was all right the last time he saw her. Percy nodded yes, then asked,

“Do you have everything you need?”Razina went behind the counter and checked the cash box. She told Percy that there seemed to be a lot of money in the box.

Percy thought quickly and said, “Katrina left enough money in case you have to purchase anything and she asked me to ask you to keep a record of your cash output.”

Percy then left by the back door and walked back to the Saucy Goose. When he got there he went directly to the bar. Jack was standing behind the bar and noticed Percy’s look,

“So what happened? You look like shit.”

Percy told him about the broken window and the place being searched. He told Jack that he thought that Katrina was still alive and why. He also voiced his belief that it was the dragon that had done the damage. Jack asked,

“Well, what’re you going to do about it.”Percy replied,

“I think I’ll pay them a visit to-night. I think I should have a good meal while I got the time.”

Percy sat and ate and thought about the good times he had with Katrina and hoped there would be more in the future. He still pictured her, in his mind, as a fragile, petite girl but he knew that in reality she was a very skilled spy. She could probably take care of Percy as well as herself. He planned out what he was going to do. It would probably be the hardest place he had ever had to break into. His first problem was his inability to get a plan of the place and after that he thought his next problem was that he didn’t know what was in the building once he got in.

He went home after dinner and changed into his grey silks and strapped on all his weapons. The Grayman left his apartment and headed for the warehouse down in the lower end of town. He kept to the shadows and made sure that no one saw him. When he got to the warehouse, he found a good location from which to watch. As before, he saw all the collectors going in. Then the light would go on in the little room. The Grayman moved up to the window of the little office and opened it. He moved in and went behind the boxes to see if there was a door in the floor. It took him a few minutes, but he found it. He opened the door, just a crack, and looked in. There was a well-lit small room under the floor. There was a set of stairs coming up to the door and the Grayman moved down to look around the room.

There wasn’t anyone in the room and the furniture was sparse, just a table and a few chairs. The light came from two torches hanging on the wall. The walls were plain and there was only one door in or out of the room. The Grayman moved to the door and listened for any sound but all was quiet. He moved into the hall, which was not as well lit, and, as a consequence, there were shadows everywhere. As he moved down the hall, the Grayman started to hear noises ahead. He came to a hall that went off to the right. He listened but he didn’t hear a thing, so he moved down the hall to the right which was without torches and very dark. The hall went along for a while and then turned again to the right. He continued to follow it and eventually came to a door with a light under it. He listened and didn’t hear a thing so he opened the door and there at the table was a guard. Grayman quickly closed the door behind and moved towards the guard. The guard moved towards a rope but the Grayman got there first. The guard pulled his weapon out but all he had was a club. The Grayman noticed that the guard didn’t move like a Ninja and this made him feel a little easier. The guard moved into attack the Grayman who had his sword out and at the ready. They exchanged a few attacks and parries until the Grayman knocked the club out of the guard’s hand. The guard backed up and Grayman advanced until his sword was at the guard’s throat.

The Grayman asked the guard,
“Where’s the girl from the spice shop?” The guard answered,
“She’s in the questioners room.” The Grayman asked,
“Where’s that and what do they do there?” The guard answered again,
“That’s where the dragon gets all the answers.” The Grayman pricked the guard’s throat and said,
“Take me there.”

The Grayman moved behind the guard and kept his sword up to his back, and said, “Lead on and, if you try to trick me, you’ll live to regret it.”

The guard led him through a door and down a hall. They came to a door and the Grayman said,

“Is she in there?” The guard nodded yes. Grayman told him to see if the door was unlocked. The guard checked the door and it was indeed unlocked.

Grayman then hit the guard with the hilt of his sword and knocked him out cold. He then pulled the guard into the shadows and then moved back to the door. He put his ear to the door and heard some unusual sounds coming from the room beyond. There were sounds of scraping, rattling and movement. He opened the door just enough to look in and what he saw made him sick. The room was a torture chamber. There were stocks, racks, iron maidens and a mess of other torture paraphernalia that the Grayman had never seen before. The room sent a chill down his spine and he had seen only a small portion of it. He saw a hiding place near the door but he didn’t know if anyone was keeping watch on the door.

The Grayman gambled, he opened the door just wide enough to sneak into the room. He counted - one, two, and three and made a break for the hiding spot and attained a hidden position. After he took a few seconds to make sure he had not been spotted, the Grayman took up a position from which he could see the rest of the room. His view was somewhat less than pleasing. The chamber had a huge assortment of mechanical, chemical and magical devices for getting people to tell the truth.

There was one very large man in the room and the probable reason for his not seeing the Grayman enter the room was the fact that he was sharpening a knife at a grinding wheel. When Grayman was confident that the man was absorbed in his job, he took time to look around the room and at the back, in a cage, was Katrina.

The big man appeared to be from Yin-Pin by his countenance. The Grayman pulled his sword and moved towards the large man at the wheel. He moved without making a sound until he was about ten feet away and then, like a klutz, he bumped into a table and knocked over a metal cylinder. The noise was deafening. The man at the wheel spun around and saw this mysterious man standing there with weapons in his hand. The man smiled and stood up. What a huge mother, he was about seven feet tall and maybe weighed in at about three hundred pounds. He looked at the Grayman and thought - a bug to kill. Grayman stood his ground and waited for the monster of a man to come to him. His drawn sword was in the defensive position. As the large man kept coming, Grayman moved to the attack with lightning speed, however, the big man moved with surprising speed and parried his stroke. The Grayman kept up the attack with a flurry of swipes and jabs. He forced his opponent to move back until he was up against his whetstone. The Grayman didn’t notice that the floor was wet and, when he moved in, he slipped and fell. He thought that this was it - he was done for. He held up his hands to keep the man off of him. The big guard ran at the Grayman and slipped on the same wet floor. He fell on top of the Grayman and stopped moving. With a great deal of effort, The Grayman rolled the giant off himself and discovered that he was dead. He looked down and saw that his sword was through the guard’s throat and up into his head. He pulled the sword from the guard, took his keys and went to the cage where Katrina was captive.

The Grayman opened the cage and asked Katrina if she was Ok. She nodded yes. He then saw, for the first time, a man lying on the cage floor. He looked like the people had used a lot of the instruments in the room on him. He asked,
“Who’s that poor devil?” Katrina answered,
“He is a member of the mantis. I was going to send him to Yin-Pin to get help.” The two of them went to a cabinet and retrieved Katrina’s and her messenger’s weapons. The three of them went to the door and listened. They sat and soon formulated a plan.

CHAPTER SEVEN

7 * Fighting with a Dragon

The three of them sat for quite a while and discussed whether they should leave or attack the dragon’s base. They weren’t too well equipped but they did have surprise on their side. They all agreed that this would be a good time to deal the dragon a blow. They ate some food and got their strength back. After they had finished they went to the door and listened for any sound. It seemed to be quiet on the other side so Katrina opened the door and looked out. The hall was empty so they all moved out and headed deeper into the dragon’s headquarters. The halls were not too well lit so the stayed in the shadows as the moved. The had walked for quite some time when they came to a thick wooden door which made it quite impossible to hear if anything were happening on the other side and therefore they were not sure if anyone was on the other side. When they opened the door there where two thugs in the room beyond and they were reaching for their weapons. Katrina moved inside and pulled her sword and attacked the closes guard with a thrust but he parried and she missed. The other guard moved forward and attacked both the Grayman and Katrina’s brother Chekhov. Grayman and Chekhov both moved on the guard at the same time and although the guard’s defence held for a couple of minutes, Chekhov slid his sword in under the guard’s defence and into his heart. The guard slumped down, dead before he could hit the ground. Both men now moved to help Katrina to dispatch her adversary. Katrina had been exchanging blows with the guard and both had received small cuts but nothing serious. Chekhov moved in behind the guard and knocked him out.

They tied up the guard and then woke him up. Katrina asked the guard to tell them how many people were further down the tunnel. The guard indicated with a shake of his head that he would not answer. The Grayman moved in front of the man and pulled out a dagger. He looked at Chekhov, and smiling, made a happy chuckle as if to indicate that he could enjoy using the weapon on the guard. He looked down at the guard who tried to move away but couldn’t. He took the guards hand and said,
“I guess if he isn’t willing to talk then he wont need his tongue.”

This brought a look of fear from the guard and he shook his head and mumbled through his gag. Katrina looked at the Grayman and nodded and then as if she had a second thought she said, “Maybe we should give him one more chance to answer our questions.”

She then bent down and took the gag from his mouth and asked him again about the number of people ahead of them in the tunnel. This time, without hesitation, the guard told them that there were six groups of collectors and the banker with his four guards. After he finished, Chekhov knocked him out again. They then looked at each other until Chekhov voiced their thoughts; ‘can we go in there against those odds.’

They were silent for a few more minutes and then the Grayman said, “We are three of the best spies in Shadizar. We should be able to sneak in and hurt their operation.” The others took two nanoseconds to agree with him.

They went to the door and listened. There was no noise from the other side so Katrina opened the door just a crack and looked through and saw a large room that looked like a warehouse with large crates all over the place. She moved back and closed the door and described what she had seen. The Grayman said that he had an idea and explained it to them. They both smiled and nodded their consent.

They each grabbed a lantern from the hall wall and hooded them. The quietly went into the large room and hid behind some of the large crates. The room they had entered was at least fifty feet wide and twenty feet high. The Graymansignalled to Chekhov to climb up and look around so, up he went, looked around and came back down. He told them that there was a lounge room off to the right and it looked like all the collectors were inside. They moved over near the collectors and soaked the crates and floor by the door with the oil from the lanterns. Chekhov stayed near the door to set the oil on fire when the time was right. Katrina and Grayman moved over towards the cage. When they were in position, Grayman passed Katrina a throwing dagger. He signalled her with a one; two, three and the two daggers went flying towards their targets. They hit at the same time and the two guards stationed at the outside of the cage both crumbled to the floor. In the next instant the little scribe was screaming commands. The two remaining guards were moving out of the cage towards Katrina and Grayman. Then they heard an explosion and screams from the direction of the collector’s lounge. The two guards momentarily stopped and looked at something behind them. Katrina and Grayman took advantage of the distraction to their opponents - Katrina killed hers and Grayman crippled his. At this point Chekhov joined them. The three of them then moved into the cage where the little scribe was shaking with fear. They told him to give them all of the valuables. He said,
“Don’t hurt me. I just collect the money.”

He got up and moved over to the wall and opened a secret compartment. Chekhov started to load all the loot into a bag he had grabbed. Katrina grabbed the scribe and asked him what was the final destination of the money. We know that this is only a drop off point so where is it going from here.

The scribe told them that he didn’t know where the money went but sometimes during the night the compartment is emptied. He told them that he couldn’t figure out how it was done because there was always someone in the room. The scribe then asked if it would be all right if he left as the place was burning to the ground. The three looked around and sure enough the fire had enveloped most of the warehouse. The all moved to get out of the inferno and in the process the scribe disappeared. When they were outside, the Grayman suggested that they go to the Saucy Goose to get cleaned up and get something to eat. They kept to the shadows and made sure that they were not being followed as they made their way to the secret back door to the Saucy Goose. They got into the pantry and called for Jack to bring down a bottle of good wine and some food. Percy went to the closet and took out his clothes and changed into his bright and flamboyant outfit. It was about this time that Jack came into the pantry with a bottle of wine and some glasses. When he saw Katrina, He smiled and said that it was good to see her again. Percy introduced Jack and Chekhov. They killed the bottle of wine and then Jack led them upstairs and to a private table. They ordered a private feast they all sat and ate until they were stuffed. Percy then said to Katrina,
“Now we have to fine a safe place for you.” Katrina replied,
“That won’t be necessary. Chekhov and I have to leave for Yin-Pin right away.”

Percy thought for a moment then nodding yes, said, “I have an idea that will solve our problem. I am half owner of a trading company. I can take a caravan to Yin-Pin and of course I’ll need the protection of my body guards.” Katrina and Chekhov both smiled at the idea.

Percy paid the bill and they all left the Saucy Goose and headed for the caravan headquarters of BP Caravans and Trades. When they got there, Percy told Bagot that he would need a caravan to go to Yin-Pin within the next two days. Bagot said,

“You do lead a charmed life, just today I received a rush order for Yin-Pin and it includes a large cash bonus if we make a quick delivery. You must leave tomorrow and get it there as soon as possible.” Percy replied,

“I’ll be taking two personal guards with me.” Bagot looked at him but didn’t say anything, however, he was thinking that we can never have too much protection for our goods. Percy continued,

“I’m going to have them stay in the warehouse over night, if that’s OK with you.”

When he got home, he went to the sitting room and poured a glass of wine. He wanted to sit and relax but he kept getting a feeling that something was wrong. The sound of the house wasn’t right. He walked to the corner and picked up his walking stick and looked around the house, but couldn’t find anything. He decided he must be wrong and went to the sitting room and sat in his easy char and took up his glass of wine. He ducked down and rolled out of his chair just in time as a sword swooshed over his head. He rolled and got back on his feet, turned and faced his attacker and, to his surprise, it was a Ninja all dressed in black. He held up his walking stick in a defensive position. The Ninja looked at him, laughed and moved in to the attack. Percy parried the attacks but it was not easy with a walking stick. The Ninja was making the mistake of not worrying about his defence which was to Percy’s advantage. The Ninja couldn’t make any headway with his attack and soon got frustrated and sloppy with his attack strategy. Percy was looking for this overconfidence and he moves inside the Ninja’s attack and pulled out the hidden stiletto from the walking stick. He stabbed up into the Ninja’s heart and dropped the dead body to the floor.

Percy quickly looked around to see if anyone else was in the house but it appeared he was quite alone. He then heard a voice;
“You have done well grey one. Yes, we know who you are, and if you don’t leave Shadizar we will tell what we know.” Percy couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from, but it was obvious that the dragon had figured out that he was the Grayman. Percy didn’t say anything; he just took the body of the Ninja and dumped it into the alley. He then went back to his wine and eventually to bed.

CHAPTER EIGHT

8 * Chased Out of Town

Percy rose the next day at dawn. He had not slept very well. He dressed in a black outfit, which was suitable for mountain travel. He then had a breakfast of fruit. He then packed some clothes for the trip. He then took his saddlebags and put some gold pieces into a secret pocket. With all these preparations complete he sat down and wrote a note to Jack explaining that he might be away for quite some time and asking him if he would look after his house and affairs and he would settle up when he got back.

He left his house and headed for the stables where he got the stable boy to get his horse, along with two others, ready for a trip. The trip will be a long mountainous journey so he asked the boy to pack an extra horse with the necessary camping gear and supplies. He also gave the boy the note to Jack with instructions to deliver it after the supper hour that night. The horses were ready in an hour and Percy took the to the warehouse where the caravan was getting ready to leave. On arrival, he went up to Bagot’s office. His friend looked up as he entered. Bagot had a worried look. Percy smiled and said good morning.

Bagot didn’t smile,

“What kind of trouble are in Percy, and don’t give me any crap.”

Percy pulled the money out of his saddlebag and said,

“There you go, five thousand gold pieces. I wanted to pay you before we leave because I don’t know when I’ll back. When I do come back I want us to be a profitable company.” Bagot looked at his friend and there were tears of sadness in his eyes. Percy told Bagot that he would be setting up an office in Yin-Pin and that he would be working from there until the climate in Shadizar was more friendly. Bagot then found his voice and said,

“I’ll contact you there after you get set up but I must warn you that the people of Yin-Pin don’t deal well with outsiders.”

“That’s the reason that I’m going there,” said Percy. Bagot nodded and got up to walk his friend and partner down the stairs to the waiting caravan. Katrina and Chekhov were already mounted up and ready to go. Percy mounted and the caravan got under way. It wasn’t long before they were out of town and heading for the great East-West trading road.

They travelled well into the night because the cargo that they carried was for a rush delivery. When they stopped, they set up a quick camp and Percy told the others about the trouble that he had the night before.

He also told them that everything he had done today was intended to convince the dragon that he had fled the town in fear. He hoped that he had fooled the dragon and that they were convinced that their threat had forced him to leave Shadizar.

Katrina and Chekhov both looked at him in amazement.Percy asked,

“What’s wrong?” Chekhov replied,

“You actually killed a Ninja that had been sent to kill you. Their creed dictates that, as a group, they must kill you and they will not stop until you or they are all dead.” Percy looked shocked,

“What are you saying - this was a set up?” Both Katrina and Chekhov nodded in the affirmative. Percy asked,

“What the hell can we do to protect against this kind of fanaticism.”

After thing for some time, Katrina said,

”We must do the unexpected. Keep them off their game.” Percy interjected,

“We mustn’t waste time getting to Yin-Pin and your father.”

”Yes, but we shouldn’t go by the road. That might throw them off balance. If we cut across country they might not be able to pick up our trail so easily. That might give us a chance to get there before they catch up to us,” said Chekhov.

They all looked at each other, the Katrina said,
“I should go with Percy while Chekhov stays with the caravan.” Chekhov was about to object but he didn’t get a chance. Katrina continued,
“The dragon is after me also. If I were to stay with the caravan, both groups would be hunted.” Chekhov couldn’t argue with her logic.

They planned to leave the caravan on the following morning. The three of them sat down to dinner and ate without conversation. After dinner was cleaned up and the camp was settling in for the night, Percy went to the caravan master and told him that he and one of his guards would be leaving the caravan in the morning. He told the master that he was going back to Shadizar and that he would meet him either on the road or in Yin-Pin. He said his good nights and went back to his own fire. He found that Katrina was awake and on watch. He sat with her for a while in silence. Percy then asked Katrina to tell him all she knew about the Ninja.

She looked at him and said,

“You are wise to want to learn of your enemies. A Ninja is a spy trained from youth in all the ways of weapons, stealth and assassination. They have a unique code of honour, in which, respect is given to the most skilled and not necessarily to the wisest. This is the way of the dragon, not he mantis. The mantis respects the wisdom of the elderly. This is the fundamental difference between the two groups. Regardless of the group, the Ninja is faithful to his group and dedicated to carrying out the orders of the elders. If it is the wishes of the elders that you die, the Ninjas will move heaven and earth to see that you die.”

Percy thought it was time for sleep. He asked Katrina to wake him in three hours. He went to sleep and was awakened and sat his watch. It was quiet on his watch and he thought about what had happened so far. Nothing happened on his watch and, after three hours, he woke Chekhov for his turn. Percy went back to sleep and was wakened by the morning sunrise. He and Katrina mounted up and, with the packhorse, headed up the road towards Shadizar. They rode for about a half an hour and then turned and started out in a southeasterly direction. Their chosen route was not easy as it was through the mountains, which were not high or rugged, but more like a collection of large hills. Even though the hills were heavily forested and not easy to get through, they still made good time. They rode the whole day and as the sun was receding they made camp. They didn’t talk that night because the day’s ride had been hard and all they wanted to do was get to sleep. Percy took the first watch and after alternating all night, they had a hasty breakfast, saddled up and were on their way. The routine of camping and riding became their day in and day out activity and continued for a week without anything else happening.

A beautiful deciduous forest covered the area they were travelling through and, as they got their second wind, it was a joy to travel through it. They rode on and on the ninth day, when Katrina was in the lead, she pulled up to an abrupt and unexpected stop.

When Percy had pulled up beside her she said,

“I thought I saw something move in that thicket up ahead.” Percy looked at the thicket but couldn’t see anything. He asked her what she had seen but she said that she didn’t know for sure but she thought that it was a man. Percy thought that the best approach was to just ride on as if they suspected nothing but to be prepared for anything. The rode down to the thicket and when they got into it, they found something most unusual. The thicket was just a wall of bushes and inside there was an ancient burial ground. There where about twenty raised platforms and each contained a skeleton of a long dead native. Some still had on the remains of beautiful robes and armour. The general appearance of the remains would indicate that they were of kings or chiefs of some long gone tribe or village. The area had an eerie aura about it. Percy asked Katrina if she knew of any tribes or villages that had been in this area. All of a sudden she went very white and started to sweat. Percy, alarmed, asked her what was wrong. She told him,

“This must be the burial ground for the kings of Trent.” Percy asked,

“What or where is Trent?” She answered,

“You have never heard of Trent? It was, in its time, the ultimate of evil.”

Percy noticed or thought he saw a movement off to his right and so quietly asked Katrina if she had seen it and she nodded in the affirmative. They both drew their swords and moved towards the centre of the burial ground and when they got there they heard a scream that was indescribable. Percy wheeled his horse around to see an old crone of a woman running towards them swinging a long staff. She was a most unusual sight. She had long stringy white hair and black skin. She wore a long black robe on her withered old body and had sandals on her feet. She looked about a hundred years old but moved as though in the prime of her life. Percy took in all this, and more, in a split second because that was all the time he had before the old crone tried to attack Katrina. Percy blocked her first attempt with his sword and at the same time Katrina used her sword to knock out the old woman.

They dismounted and Percy tied up the old crone and slapped her a few time to bring her around. When she woke up, she started to yell and scream in a language that Percy didn’t understand. All of a sudden, Katrina yelled at her in what might have been the same language. The woman looked at Katrina with a look of shock and the she started to talk to Katrina. When she had finished, Katrina told Percy that she was the wife of the dead.

“How nice for her.” sarcastically from Percy. Katrina said,
“ No, no, you don’t understand. When a king die’s he is brought here and, in a very bizarre ceremony, he and the old crone are married. It seems she lives off their magical energy and as they decay, the energy comes out and sustains her and she has lived for a long time. The kings of Trent were very evil and very powerful in the arts of magic. Some of them were fabled to live for thousands of years. This woman could have been here for tens of thousands of years.” Percy retorted,
“Why did she attack us?” Katrina answered,
“She said that she wanted a horse so she could get away from this horrible place and those burial biers.”

Percy didn’t quite know why, but he thought that it would be a good idea to help this poor woman. He told Katrina and she said that she was not quite so sure. The kingdom of Trent is long gone but these kings may still have some power. Percy told Katrina to ask the old woman if she knows if the dead kings still had power. Katrina talked to the old woman in her own language and then turned to Percy and said that the old woman had told her that she didn’t know, but that Katrina thought that she was holding something back. Percy told Katrina to tell the old woman that they would help her and that she should get anything that she wanted to take with her. Katrina told her and she smiled as if she had been given a parole from prison. The old woman, with Percy and Katrina at her heals, went to a small stone one-room building which was surprisingly large inside. The crone packed a few things and then they all left the hut.

As they mounted their horses, Percy noticed something move. Percy turned his horse around only to see one of the most horrible sights he had ever seen. The dead men on the burial platform were rising. Some of them fell apart from long years of decay but ten of the ghouls advanced on the group. The fear of such a sight froze the two of them for a moment. Percy was the first to recover and charged into the group of skeletal Kings. After a moment, Katrina was by his side and they were both fighting for their lives. The problem they had with fighting these ghouls was that their weapons were light and meant for stabbing not the chopping of dead bones. Percy then got a brainstorm. He moved so that a group of the ghouls were under one of the burial platforms. When as many of them were under the platform as possible, he quickly cut the rope that was holding it. The large heavy platform came crashing down on about five of the skeletons crushing them to pieces. Katrina saw what Percy had done and tried it with the group that was around her. It worked well and now there was only one skeleton left. The two of them attacked the ghoul at the same time. The skeleton didn’t last very long and was dispatched to a pile of bones in short order.

When the fighting was over, Katrina looked around for the old woman but all she found was a dead and very decayed body in her black dress. As Percy was looking around, he noticed that there was a chest on each platform. He climbed up to look into one and found a king’s ransom in jewels. He then checked another and found it to be full of gold bars. He kept checking and found that all the platforms had a treasure chest except one. This platform contained a body that had completely turned to dust. In place of the chest there was a sword similar to Katrina’s and a pair of bracers. The braces were decorated with three symbols. One was a dragon, the second was a mantis and the third was a white lotus. Percy put them on his forearm and pulled his coat over them to keep them out of sight. He then took the sword and put it over his back.

Percy loaded the horses with as much of the treasure as they could hold. All this time Katrina had been in the old crone’s stone hut. When she emerged, she had a bundle under her arms and an old large book. Percy asked her what she had found. She looked at him and he could see the fear in his eyes. She finally found her voice and said,
“I have found a record of the origin of the Order of the Mantis.” Percy asked, “Isn’t there a record of the order’s history in the temple of the Mantis in Yin-Pin?”

Katrina answered,

“No. When the dragon almost wiped us out, they destroyed our library and with it our history.”

They mounted their horses and started on their way again. In their camp that night, Percy took to reading the history of the order of the Mantis and the other two orders. He found out that here were three orders - the Dragon that was very evil; the Mantis, which was neutral with leanings to the good, and the White Lotus, which was good but would only, take sides in times of great danger. With this knowledge, Percy enters Yin-Pin and gets to the inn where they were to meet the caravan. As the caravan had not arrived, Percy booked rooms had supper and he and Katrina bunked down for the night. It was great to have a hot bath after the long trip. He soon grew drowsy and dropped off to sleep almost at once.

CHAPTER NINE

9 * Yin-Pin, Simply Amazing

Yin-Pin was a larger in population but smaller in area than Shadizarh. It was a city of towers - each one housing a large number of families. There were people everywhere Percy had been so far; all the streets had been overly crowded. One strange thing that Percy had seen that was most unusual was a small roofed cart that was pulled by a man rather than a horse. They pulled you around town for a fee - this was how they made their living. It was much faster than walking and they knew the town like the back of their hands. They would get you where you wanted to go quick as a wink.

The city was amazingly clean for such a large population. Everyone seemed to take pride in the appearance of his or her homes and businesses. There didn’t seem to be any beggars or other type of riffraff on the streets. Percy thought that this place was the complete opposite to Shadizar and that he could live here and be very happy. Percy said to Katrina that he thought she had better get along home and see her father and asked if it was all right for him to tag along.

Katrina answered,

“No. I will have to set up a meeting between you and my father.” Percy asked, “Will you be able to get home from here without any problems?” She looked at him and laughed,

“This is my town and I could find my way around blindfolded.” With that she walked out of the room.

Percy went down to the hotel common room and sat down for a meal. When the serving girl came over, Percy was amazed to find out that she was from his hometown of Aquin. Her name was Pita and she told him that she had been in Yin-Pin for twenty year; had grown up there. Percy then ordered a bottle of wine and a meal. Pita brought him the wine right away and said that she would be back with his meal as soon as it was prepared. Percy watched the girl while she worked and noticed that she dealt with the people of Yin-Pin as if she had always been one of them. He thought that it would be beneficial to have someone like her in his business. He would need someone on his side if he were going to do business with the natives of Yin-Pin while he was looking around for any indication of the dragon. Pita then brought out his meal. Percy sat and ate and continued to watch the girl as she went about her business. She was attractive with long blond hair and an outstanding figure on her five foot six frame. Her job as a serving girl had kept her thin and in good shape. She was a very attractive mature woman of about twenty-eight to thirty years of age. By the time Percy had finished his meal, the common room was almost empty and quiet. Percy asked Pita to come over to his table for a chat. He asked her,
“Are you happy with your job here?” She gave him a look of disbelief and answered,
“If this is some kind of joke, I am not laughing.” Percy said,
“No. No. It’s no joke. I need someone who knows Yin-Pin, and the people who live here, to help me open a new business.” With a surprised look, she asked,
“Who sent you to me? I’ll kill them and you if you don’t get out of here right now.” This turn in the conversation surprised Percy but he continued,
“No one sent me. I just thought that I had got lucky meeting you. You know the city and it’s culture and you look like you’re not the serving wench type.” She asked,
“You figured all that out just by watching me for a few hours while you were eating lunch?”

“Well yes and no. I spend a lot of time in wine shops watching people.” said Percy. “I have a lot of experience sizing up people and I think that you have worked most of your adult life, but not all of it as a serving girl.” Pita said,

“You have a unique ability there. I hope you use it wisely” Percy confessed,

“Well, up till now, I’ve only had to use it to stay alive but I think it could come in handy in business.” She admitted,

“You’re just crazy enough to make money in this town of cut throat business houses.” It was now Percy’s turn to laugh,

“Good! So it’s agreed, you will run the offices of B & P Trading Co. in Yin-Pin.” She gave him a pretty serious look and said,

“We’ll negotiate the details later but right now I have something I need to do.” She left the table and walked into the back and all Percy could hear were a long series of loud shouts. Then Pita walked out of the back in a well-tailored, but well-worn, dress. She said,

“Well I’m all yours now so what do we have to do to get started.” Percy looked at her to see how shook up she was and said,

“We need a warehouse with at least two offices above and housing for a caravan or two at a time.” She said,

“So you’re a trader are you? Mr. ...er I don’t even know your name, Sir”

“Oh, please excuse my manners, I’m Percy De' Aablo. I’m the P in B & P Trading Co.” Percy told her.

“So, what does the company trade and what cities do they trade with?” she asked. Percy told her,

“The Company is brand new and this post we are setting up here is the first of many.”

She looked at him with scepticism so he invited her up to his room to finalise the details of her employment and to discuss the company’s business in more detail. The two of them got up and went up to Percy’s room. When they got there, he checked to see if anyone had used the door. The hair that he had left across the door and frame was still in place. When they entered, Percy looked around and then checked the shutters on all the windows and noted that they had not been opened either. He then pulled out a set of saddlebags and put them on the bed. He turned the bags upside down and poured out the treasure of the Kings of Trent. Pita’s eyes nearly popped out of her head, for, there on the bed, lay the ransom of twenty kings. Percy said,

“Now do you think we can make this business profitable?”

”When would you like to get started?” she asked.

“How about right now?” Percy answered.

They put the treasure away and left the room. As they were leaving the inn, she told him that she knew of the perfect place for the business. The facility had been abandoned six months ago. The trading company that had owned it had some bad luck with bandits. They had been too extravagant when they were successful and when hard times hit they had no reserves to carry them through. As they walked through the town, Percy was amazed at the number of people and mentioned it to Pita who told him that this was the quiet time and he should see it when people were coming and going to work. Percy couldn’t imagine more people on the streets than were here right now. The kept moving and Pita told Percy to watch his purse but he had already put it inside his shirt. They continued down into the caravan section of town and found the warehouse that Pita had suggested would be just right for Percy’s purpose. The building was close to the gate and had a good stable for the packhorses and an area for the wagons, which seemed perfect to Percy but Pita said it was a little small for their needs. She mentioned that there was a lot of land with the facility so they could expand the wagon area if necessary. Percy asked her how she knew so much about the business.

She looked at him and said,

“Do you remember when I got mad at the inn?” Percy nodded and she went on,

“I came here at a very young age with my family. My father was the location manager in Yin-Pin for Aquin’s largest trading company and he did very well for them but a jealous employee was stealing from the company and making it look like my father was responsible.”

“So, what happened to your father and the thief.” asked Percy

She looked at Percy with large glossy eyes on the verge of tears and said,

“My father took his own life in disgrace while the thief was promoted to the head office in Aquin.”

Percy told her how sorry he was and changed the conversation back to business to get her mind off the unpleasant memory of her father’s demise. They went up to the door of the warehouse and found it was locked. Percy looked at the lock and pulled out a small pick and, in a few seconds, the door was opened. The walked inside and, to Percy, it seemed too large for their needs but Pita thought that it was just right. They went up to the second floor, where they found two offices and a large open area. That area could be converted into living quarters for the caravan men. There was also a third floor, which contained three very nice offices. Percy thought that this would be perfect - one each for he and Bagot and the other would be perfect for Pita. Percy was very happy with the lay out and told Pita so, and asked her what she thought. She said that she thought it was too big for their needs now but they could grow into it.

Percy liked her attitude and said,

“OK, your first assignment is to get our hands on this place at the lowest price possible.”

“You want me to do this by myself?” she asked.

“Well, if you don’t think you can do it...” Percy replied. She straightened up and set her jaw,

“I can do it.” They left the warehouse and headed for the inn.

At the inn they sat down and Percy yelled for the inn keeper who came out of the back and when he saw Pita sitting at the table he yelled at her to get out of his inn - he didn’t want her here after the way she had left. Percy then intervened and told the innkeeper that Pita now worked for him and if the innkeeper had a problem with Pita to take it up with him. The innkeeper backed down and Percy ordered a bottle of fine wine. When the innkeeper came back, Percy asked,

“Don’t you want to apologise to the lady for yelling at her.” The innkeeper looked at the money in Percy’s hand and then turned to Pita and apologised. Percy then paid the innkeeper and threw in a nice tip to show there was no hard feelings.

The two of them sat and talked about the trading business and Percy admitted that he didn’t know much about the trading business - any business for that matter. Pita smiled and said,
“You know more about it than you think.” Percy asked,
“How long do you think it will take for you to acquire the warehouse?”

She shook her head and said,

“I would think probably about a week.”

“That will be just fine.” Percy replied.

“Do you have a place to stay until then?” She laughed,

“No. I was living in the back of the inn in the servants quarters.”

Percy called for the innkeeper and, when he arrived, he told him that the lady would need the room next to his. Would he kindly move her possessions from the servants quarters and when the man didn’t move. Percy said,

“Unless you would like us to move to another inn.”

The innkeeper called a woman out of the back and told her to move Pita’s possessions to the room next to Percy’s. With that, the innkeeper was on his way again. Percy suggested

“Should we go to our rooms.” When he got to his room, Percy asked her when was the last time she had purchased new clothes. She looked down at her dress and said that it must be obvious that it had been quite a long time.

Percy reached into his pouch and pulled out ten gold pieces and told her that it was an advance on your salary of five gold pieces and an additional five for joining the great B & P Trading Company. She looked at him and said,

“You sure are smooth!”

With that she left the room and Percy was left alone with his thoughts. He decided that he would move the treasurer for safekeeping. He went next door to Pita’s room and noticed that the girl had already brought Pita’s belongings up and had put them away. He searched the room without disturbing anything and then decided on a hiding place for the saddlebags. He took out two pieces of jewellery that he thought would be worth about a hundred thousand gold pieces and put them in his pouch. He then went down stairs and asked the innkeeper if he knew who the two biggest jewellers in the town were and where were their shops. The innkeeper told him and he headed off to find them. He was lucky, as their shops weren’t that far apart.

He walked into the first one and there was a Yin-Pinite - as they liked to be called - behind the counter. Percy walked up to the counter and, in his best Yin-Pin dialect, asked to have some jewellery appraised for sale. The man nodded and Percy took out one of the pieces that he had put in his pouch. Percy thought if might be worth about seventy-five thousand gold pieces not counting its antique value. The man looked at it and couldn’t keep the amazement from his face. Percy asked him what he thought the piece was worth. The man didn’t look up but said, “I can maybe give you thirty thousand gold pieces for it.”

Percy looked interested but he knew that the man was trying to rip him off. He then pulled out the other piece that he had appraised at about thirty thousand and gave it to the man as he took back the first piece. The man looked even more shocked as he looked over the second piece of jewellery. The appraiser said,

“I can give you maybe forty thousand for this one.”

This made Percy think that if he had undercut him on the first piece it would mean that the second one would be worth about a hundred thousand by itself and the first worth about eighty-five thousand. Those numbers would also be low to allow for the jeweller to make a profit on the resale. Percy pocketed the two pieces, thanked the man, and said that he would need to get a second opinion and would try the other big shop in town. When the man heard this, he told Percy that he might be able to double his offer but that was as high as he could go. Percy nodded his thanks and walked out. The man ran to the door and said that he might go as high as one and a half his original offer. Percy waved him off and thought that this would be one hundred and seventy-five gold pieces - something to keep in mind during the next appraisal. He walked to the other major jeweller in town and, before he showed him the jewellery, he asked the man behind the counter if he would like to buy two hundred thousand gold pieces worth of jewellery. The man behind the counter looked at him and then said that he would have to get the owner from the back. A little man came out and asked Percy how he could be of service to him. Percy asked him the same question and the owner looked very surprised but nodded yes. Percy then pulled out the two pieces of jewellery and asked for an appraisal. The little man looked them over with his eyepiece and muttered yahoo about six times with each piece of jewellery. After he finished his appraisal he said,
“Two hundred thousand gold pieces is a deal however, I don’t keep that kind of money here so we will have to go to my money handler.” Percy nodded and asked, “Which one do you use? I am opening a new business and will need the services of a good honest money handler.” He said that he would introduce Percy to his moneylender and see that all his needs would be taken care of.

They left the shop with Percy again in possession of his jewellery and headed off down the street. They walked for a few minutes and eventually turned in to a large house near the merchant quarter. In the entrance hall sat a scribe behind a desk. He said,
“Good morning and asked there buisness?" Him and the Merchant talked for a second then we were shown into another room. Here aman at a desk rose to greet them and said,
"Welcome to the Bank of Yaz, and what can we do for you today, Sirs.”On recognising the jeweller he added, “Good day to you Lord Groity.”

Percy now knew his name. The clerk led them in to another office, which was elaborately decorated. A man dressed in fine silks sat behind a very large desk.

He smiled and stood up and addressed them, “Good day to you Lord Groity.” As he talked he was sizing up Percy. Lord Groity said,

“Ah, Good day Lord Yurk. I would like to introduce you to Percy De Aablo who is interested in opening a new business in Yin-Pin.” Lord Yurk moved out from behind his desk and shook Percy’s hand and said,

“It is always good to have new business move to Yin-Pin.” Percy replied,

“Well, thank you very much, Lord Yurk, I hope we can have a mutually beneficial business relationship. We can start without delay if you like.” Lord Yurk laughed and said,

“A man after my own heart - right down to business. Well, what can I do for you gentlemen?”

"Well, I have just concluded a large purchase from Sir De Aablo and am in need of cash.” said Lord Groity.

“I also need the services of a money handler in Yin-Pin and Lord Groity recommended you for the work.” Percy added. Lord Yurk looked very pleased with the flattery. Lord Groity then told Lord Yurk that he needed two hundred thousand gold pieces to pay for the purchase of jewellery from Percy. He then asked Percy if he could show the jewellery to Lord Yurk. Percy took out the two pieces and handed them over for inspection.

Lord Yurk looked the jewellery over. Then exclaimed,

“They are amazing. I have never seen anything like them.” Percy bowed his head in thanks and said,

“I was very fortunate to acquire them but that’s another long story, and, as I’m on a rather tight schedule I must leave it for another day and get back to business.” Percy then told Lord Yurk that he would need two accounts - one personal account with one hundred thousand and the second in the name of the B & P Trading Company with the other hundred thousand. Lord Yurk said,

“This will not be a problem. We can have this set up for you by this afternoon.”

“That will be perfect. I’ll be back tomorrow with our Yin-Pin manager.” said Percy. With that Percy got up and gave Lord Groity the jewellery and received a receipt. He shook hands and said his good byes and left the banking house.

The headed back to the inn and, on arrival, asked if Pita was in. The innkeeper said that she had just come in and was up in her room. Percy asked him if he could send someone up to her room and ask her if she would join him for dinner. Percy took a table in the common room and ordered a bottle of wine. The serving girl brought the wine and poured him a glass. He sat there for about twenty minutes and then all of a sudden the room went quiet. He looked around and saw everyone was looking at the door so he turned to look. When his eyes focused on the door he couldn’t believe his eyes. The attraction was Pita. She was standing in the doorway looking gorgeous. No, gorgeous was not quite the right word - she was stunningly beautiful. She saw him and walked over to his table and sat down. Percy told her he thought she looked really nice and she smiled and thanked him. They had dinner and talked about business and she said,

“I can probably get the warehouse for about a thousand gold pieces.”

Percy said that the banking was final and she could close the purchase of the warehouse in the morning and they had an appointment at one o’clock in the afternoon. If it’s all right with you, we’ll meet at the inn at noon. With that, Percy went up to his room and left Pita to he own devices in the common room.

CHAPTER TEN

10 * Percy Meets the Family

The next morning Percy was awakened by a loud knock on the door. He scrambled to the door and opened it to Katrina. He invited her in and asked if she had seen her father yet.

She answered, “Oh yes, it was very good to see him and he was very interested in what was happening in Shadizar.”

Percy asked him if her father was interested in helping to rid Shadizar of the dragon.

She frowned and replied, “Not so easy Percy, there’s a problem. If we send enough agents to Shadizar to do away with the dragon, we will be desperately weak in Yin-Pin. We are willing to help but not at the expenses of being wiped out here in Yin-Pin.”

Percy thought for a moment and then asked, “Is he willing to meet with me?”

She answered, “Yes, it’s all set up for tomorrow a six o’clock. You are to meet him for dinner if that’s OK with you.”

Percy replied, “I’ll not only be there, I’ll be honoured. So, have you had breakfast yet?”

She told him, “No, and I’m near to starving with all this running around.”

They went down to the common room and were having fruit, bread and cheese when Katrina said, “You know that you’re being spied on right now,” She discreetly pointed at a table in the corner. Percy looked at the table she had indicated.

He turned back to face Katrina and told her, “That’s my new employee. I hired her yesterday.” He turned towards the corner and waved Pita over. She came over with a good morning to Percy and a nod to Katrina.

Pita said to Percy, “I’m going to talk to the owner of the warehouse and I’ll meet you back here at twelve o’clock.”

Percy said, “OK. Oh, by the way, this is Katrina, a friend of mine from Shadizar. Katrina, this is Pita.”

Katrina said, “Hello, Pita. Any friend of Percy’s is a friend of mine. Glad to make your acquaintance.”

Pita smiled and replied, “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you. I would love to stay but, as you heard, I must get to my appointment. We can have a girl get together when I get back. Bye for now Percy.”

After Pita left, Katrina said, “You certainly have been busy while I was away.”

He looked her in the eye and replied, “Well yes, I did get a few things done yesterday.” He then went on to tell about how he had met Pita and how he had hired her on the spot.

She looked at him like she thought he was nuts, “How the hell do you know that she isn’t a spy or some other such nonsense. Maybe even an assassin”

Percy laughed, “A spy, and pray tell, what’s she going to spy on.”

Katrina retorted, “Sometime you’re a real infant! You really don’t understand that Yin-Pin is the city of The Grande Match.”

Percy looked a little put out, “What, pray tell, is The Grand Match and what would it have to do with me?”

Katrina looked around to see if anyone was listening, the said, “The Grand Match is a game played by everyone in Yin-Pin and the surrounding area.”

“So this is nice, a town full of athletes.” said Percy.

”No! No! No! The governments and businessmen play the Grand Match. The whole concept is to manipulate yourself into a better position by making your opponents look bad.” said Katrina. “The Grand Match has been implicated in murder. Everyone in this town plays it and sets up defence to protect their position.”

Percy looked amazed, “You’re telling me they will even subscribe to murder in The Grand Match?” He looked at Katrina with concern and said, “OK, I’ll look into this girl a little more closely. Now how are thing going with the dragon?”

She looked around quickly and told him, “Don’t use that name. We don’t know who’s listening. I don’t even know all the members of the dragon.”

He nodded, “OK, what name can we use in public so we will know we are talking about them?”

She looked at him and laughed, “We’ll call them the daises.”

Percy also started to laugh and for a short time neither of them could stop.

Finally Percy said, “How are the daises to-day?”

She smirked and answered, “Things are very quiet with them of late. My father thinks that there is going to be a lot of activity in the near future. The underground grapevine is buzzing. He thinks that the daises may even try to crowd out the rest of the plants.”

Percy then said, “Maybe we should pull them out and let the other plants grow up to be big and strong.”

“That was my suggestion,” said Katrina. “My father didn’t go for it.”

Percy nodded, “He must have a good reason for his thinking. Well, do you thing we should go and take a look at the daises to see what they are up to.”

She looked at him and smiled. They finished their breakfast and went up to his room. He excused himself and went and dressed in very nondescript clothes. He took the sword that he had found at the Trent burial ground. He still had the bracelets on his arm. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t remember taking them off. Oh, well no problem and they left the room and were off with Katrina in the lead.

They walked out of the inn and down the crowded street until they got to a small spice shop. Katrina pulled him over to look at the spices.

Percy said, “What’s wrong? Why are we here?”

Katrina answered, “There are three dragon members over there and they’re watching this place.”

Percy responded, “Are you sure they’re watching this place and not someone inside?”

She replied, “You have an interesting outlook, You see options that are not always obvious.”

They walked into the shop and saw that there were eight customers and two sales clerks inside. Percy asked her if she recognised anyone. Katrina looked around and when she was half way through the group of customers she let out a small gasp. Percy looked where she was looking and saw that she was staring at an old man with a servant.

He asked Katrina, “Who is it that you recognised?”

She was looking at the old man with love and admiration and turned to Percy and said, “That’s my father.”

Percy said, “Oh well, I guess I’m going to meet him earlier than expected.”

The two of them walked over to the old man and Katrina took his hand and kissed it.

The old man smiled and asked, “Katrina! What are you doing here.”

She answered, “Well, Father, I saw a group of daisies so I thought I would come in to see what had caught their attention. I might ask what you are doing here, and with only one guard.”

”Well dear, “ he answered, “I needed some spices required for the dinner that I am cooking for your friend from Shadizar - by the way, this wouldn’t happen to be thhe gentleman in question?”

She looked shocked, “You know that the dragon would love to fine you out without proper protection.”

Percy the stepped forward, “Well then I think we should get your father back to the safety of his home.”

The man that Percy thought was a servant, went over to the front window, looked out, and said, “There are about eight of them out there now.”

“Well then lets get it over with.” said Katrina’s father.

The four of them headed for the front door with Katrina’s father in the middle of the other three. They turned to the left when they got to the sidewalk. This left Percy closest to the dragon clan members. A sudden overwhelming feeling came over Percy and he turned in time to pluck two arrows from mid air. The only problem was that there were three arrows and the third one went into his left shoulder. The situation went from bad to worse as a group of six dragon members came at them. Percy pulled out the sword that he had got from the Trent burial ground. It had a thin straight blade with a handle for either one or two hands with a small round protection guard. Percy noted that if was perfectly balanced and it was as light as a feather. Percy was worried that it might be too fragile for combat. All the thoughts flashed through his head in a split second. The first man was upon him.

Percy blocked his attack and countered with a speed that he couldn’t believe - his speed was quicker that it had ever beeen, accurate too. The counter attack had sliced his opponent’s stomach wide open. He went down and now the five other dragons were upon them. Katrina was on one side of him and the bodyguard was on the other. Her father was behind them. Katrina and the bodyguard were exchanging blows with the dragon members. Percy was now facing two members of the dragon but something was amiss. In the fight, his sword seemed to be doing things before he had thought of doing them. It was a weird feeling but effective - he made short work of his two opponents. When Percy looked around, he saw there was only one dragon ninja still standing. He saw that the last dragon was just about to slice into the body guard when all of a sudden a throwing star went flying by his head and hit the dragon warrior in the arm and stopped his sword from hitting the body guard. At the same time Percy’s sword came across and sliced off the dragon warrior’s arm. The man ran off screaming but didn’t get far as Percy bent down and ripped the star out of the arm and threw it at the fleeing man. The star hit the man in the back of the neck and he went down like a stone.

Katrina looked at Percy and said, “You really didn’t have to do that - it wasn’t necessary.”

Percy looked at her and put his sword away, “I know, I don’t know why I did it.”

Katrina’s father stepped forward and looked at Percy’s sword. Percy pushed him away, recovered himself and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Katrina’s father said, “It’s OK young man, I think I know what the problem is and I’m sure I can help you. Come along with me.”

He led them back to his house. A high wall surrounded the house that he led them to. When they went through the gate, they were in a beautiful garden with a house up on a hill. They walked up to the house and Katrina’s father took them around to the back of the house where they found a small platform with a roof. They walked up to the platform and the three from Yin-Pin took off their shoes. Percy followed their example and took off his shoes - for what reason, he didn’t know but he diid it anyway.

Katrina’s father took Percy to the middle of the room and asked him to sit on the floor. Percy dropped cross-legged on the floor. Katrina’s father sat down across from Percy and asked of the others, some privacy for Percy and himself. He told them that he and Percy would come in when he was finished. Percy sat and watched the old man.

The old man smiled at him and said, “My name is Chan and I think that your sword has a soul trapped within it. I can not remove the soul but I can help you to dominate it so it will not control you again.”

Percy asked, “Was that why I felt so strange and thought that the sword was doing things before I thought about doing them.”

Chan nodded his head in the affirmative.

Percy then asked, “What is it you think that I should do.”

Chan replied, “You will know when the time is right to take control. I must warn you that if you fail, the sword will control your life and I can feel the soul is full of evil. Take care young man.”

Percy looked at Chan and told him that he would keep the sword and try to get control. They sat on the platform for what Percy thought must have been hours. They had the sword on the floor between them. Then all of a sudden a mist formed over the sword. The mist formed into the figure of a man. The man was dressed in very rich robes and had a crown on his head.

The image spoke in a commanding voice and said, “I am Brackus, first King of Trent and I am going to take over your body and eat your soul.”

Percy looked at the figure and laughed, “You and your kingdom have both been dead for over a thousand years or more.”

Brackus laughed and said, “That may be true but I have the power to form a whole New Kingdom with the magic that I possess from the past - what you call the age of magic.”

With that said, Percy got a little nervous. If he lost the battle of wills, the world could be in a large amount of trouble. Brackus must have sensed his uneasiness. The mist dissipated and all of a sudden, there were two distinct personalities in his head. One was his own Percy De Aablo - nice guy who helps his friends - the other was evil beyond the comprehensiion of Mr. Nice Guy - Percy De Aablo. Percy kept thinking about who he was but it was getting very difficult and he was not always sure of his identity. He couldn’t tell how long the battle had gone on, but Percy knew that he was loosing, so he gave one last burst. He thought about all the good things that Percy had done in his life. All of a sudden there was only one personality. Percy opened his eyes and looked at Chan.

He said, “That was the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life.”

Chan smiled and asked, “How do you feel.’

Percy answered, “I’m very tired and hungry beyond belief. Can I please have some food before I perish.”

Chan, got up from the platform, however when Percy tried to get up, he almost collapsed and Chan had to come to the rescue. He put his arm around Percy, and the two of them made their way to the house. Chan led Percy to a room with a mat on the floor and Percy went straight to it and collapsed and went to sleep from total exhaustion.

Percy awoke some time later but could not tell how long he had been asleep. He felt much better but he was still very hungry and thought he would go looking for food, but just then, Katrina came into the room.

She looked surprised to see him awake an up, “How are you feeling? Is there anything that I can get for you?”

Percy smiled and said; “I’m hungry enough to eat two horses.”

Katrina replied, “I’ll have something for you in a couple of minutes, but you had better stay here for a while. Father thinks you may still be too weak for much activity - better be safe than sorry.”

With this she left and Percy finally noticed that the arrow had been removed from his shoulder and it had been bandaged. He looked out of the window and saw the beautiful garden and the room where he had confronted Brackus. With the thought of Brackus, memories came flooding into his mind. He didn’t recognise some memories but after a few minutes, he realised that they were Brackus’s memories. This gave Percy a big scare - did he win the battle of wills or did Brackus still control him. He thought about how he felt about things but he couldn’t be sure if that was how he had felt before the struggle with Brackus or had his whole mind changed. He thought about these things until Katrina came back with a bowl of thick soup. She handed it to him and then sat down.

Percy started to eat the soup and then asked Katrina, “What am I like, I mean, am I a nice guy or what?”

She looked at him and then told him what she thought about him and how he selflessly helped people. As she talked and he ate, Katrina could see relief come into his eyes.

“Why do you ask such a question, Percy?” she asked

He told her about his battle of wills with Brackus and admitted that he was not sure that he had won because he still possessed Brackus’s memories in his head.

She looked at him and asked, “Can you select your memories to recall or do they come into your head randomly?”

Percy answered, “I don’t know. I know nothing about the ancient kingdom of Trent so it is hard to say. I see a large castle and hundreds of thousands of people coming to see me and it scares the crap out of me.”

Katrina told him, “Percy had won and she could prove it to you. If you would take a second to think about it, you would see it for yourself. Do you think that if Brackus had won he would be wondering who won, would he be worried about what he was going to do.”

Percy thought about what she had said and he couldn’t deny that what she said made a lot of sense and when he thought about how Brackus had tried to take over his mind he knew the evil of the man and knew that he had won. He breathed a sigh of relief and went back to his soup. After he had finished he asked Katrina if she could send someone to meet with Pita at the inn and tell her that I will meet her tomorrow. Katrina nodded and Percy laid back and went to sleep.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

11 * The Dinner Party

The next morning, when Percy awoke, he felt just great - better than at any time he could remember. He got up and walked into the next room and saw that if was the same kind of sitting room. Chan was sitting working on a painting and, as Percy walked in, he looked up and smiled.

Chan said, “How are you today, Sir De Aablo.”

Percy walked over to where Chan was working and looked at the painting - it was exquisite. He then told Chan that he was feeling good, almost too good. Chan nodded and told Percy that it was a reaction of his mind, you might call it a thank you for life.

Percy smiled and said, “I wish to thank you Chan for your help with the sword. By the way where is the sword?”

Chan answered, “It is still in the sanctuary. I must tell you that I owe you a debt of gratitude for my life. The arrow that you took was meant for me.”

Percy said, “I will ask for only two things. First I would like the painting when it is finished. Second and more important, I would like your friendship.”

Chan smiled and a strange look crossed his face, and he said, “I will give you what you ask and one other thing as well. I am the Grand Master of the Mantis Order and as such I do not usually take on students, but if you will accept, I will instruct you in the way of the Mantis.”

Percy replied, “That would be amazing but how long would it take to learn all that?”

Chan answered, “Your training will last for the rest of your life but only for the next six months will you have to be here.”

Percy bowed his head slightly and said, “Thank you. This is the greatest honour of my life.”

At this point Katrina came in and asked, “How about something to eat to help you get your strength back?”

Percy looked at her and smiled, “That would be a great idea. Would you join me Master Chan?”

Katrina looked at Percy and wondered about the unusual show of respect for her father - not that he didn’t deserve it. The words and mannerisms were typically Yin-Pin. Master Chan declined so Percy and Katrina left the room. When they were in the kitchen, Katrina asked Percy about his manner towards her father.

He said, “Is that not the proper way to show respect to your instructor or teacher?”

She looked at him with complete shock on her face, “You don’t mean?”

Percy answered, “Yes, your father is going to personally teach me.”

Katrina continued, “Do you know what that means? My father hasn’t taught in twenty years.”

Percy nodded, “It’s the highest honour he could have bestowed on me.”

The two of them sat in silence and had their supper.

After they had finished, Percy broke the silence, “I must go and talk with Pita.”

Katrina said, “I’ll go with you. I’d still like to check up on that girl.”

The two of them left and headed for the inn. When they got there they went up to Pita’s room and as they were about to knock, she came out and angrily said, “Well, there you are. I didn’t know what had happened to you. You could have been dead for all I knew. What’s the purposeof getting mixed up with the dragon.”

She then motioned them into her room, “Did your arrow wound cause any serious damage.”

“Well, well, well, you certainly are well informed. How come you know about all these happenings.” asked Percy.

Pita looked pretty sheepish, “Well, I had you followed when you wouldn’t tell me what was going on.”

Percy laughed and said to Katrina, “This is a very weird town.” He then addressed Pita, “I have a small connection with the order of the Mantis and I would appreciate it if you didn’t ask about it or spy on me again - OK.”

She nodded and said, “OK. I only did it to try and keep you out of trouble but I can see that you’re already in up to your nose.”

Percy then changed the subject, “What about the warehouse? Did you get it?”

Pita answered, “Yes, but we need the money by tomorrow.”

“Good, then let’s go to the money handler and get it all set up.” Percy said.

Pita put on a shawl and the three of them left. When they got to the money handler there was a clerk behind the front desk and, when Percy identified himself, he seemed impressed and asked them to have a seat while he went to inform the master of their presence. Percy put his hand on the man’s shoulder and told him that it would not be necessary to bother the master. The clerk sat back down and Percy said, “These two ladies are my local representatives and as such, I want them to have access to my account here.”

It took them about another fifteen minutes but, by the time they left, Katrina had access to his personal account and Pita had access to the B & P Trading Company accounts.

With that taken care of, they headed to the warehouse and he told Pita what he wanted done with it. She took notes and made quick sketches and asked intelligent questions when necessary. She also made excellent suggestions, as did Katrina. When they were finished, Percy suggested that they go for lunch. The three of them left the warehouse and went in search of a good wine shop for lunch. When they finally found a place, it was crowded, but Pita found them a table. They had a delicious lunch.Percy put this in his memory bank for future reference. Over dinner, Percy told Pita that he would be moving out of the inn but would be staying in Yin-Pin.

She looked at him suspiciously and asked, “What do I do if I need to get in touch with you?”

Percy told her that he would be around for progress reports and if she had an emergency, Katrina would also be available.

With that Pita got up and said, “I have a lot of work to do so I better be at it.”

As she walked away she turned and looked at Percy and there was sadness in her eyes as she told him to be very careful, they’re killers. With that she turned and walked away.

When she was out of sight, Katrina said, “I knew that I knew her from somewhere.”

Percy asked, “So, what is it.”

Katrina looked at him and said, “The gods must surely smile on you. That girl probably hates the dragon more than anyone else in Yin-Pin does. Her father was a very prominent trader in Yin-Pin. He caught some of his caravan people smuggling for the dragon and so they killed him. She has been fighting the dragon ever since and, as she’s still alive, she must be either very lucky or very good.”

Percy was quiet for a while and then said, “Let’s go back to the inn and get my stuff and move it into your house.”

The two of them left the wine shop and headed for the inn. When they got there, Percy paid his tab for his room and also paid a month in advance for Pita’s accommodations. They then packed up all his clothes and equipment. He then went to Pita’s room and got the jewellery that he had hidden there. When everything was ready to go, they went down to the stable and got his horse and were off to Master Chan’s house. When they got there, the guard at the gate opened and let them pass and they headed up to the house. When they arrived at the house, a groom came out to take Percy’s horse. Percy grabbed his bags and he and Katrina went into the house and she took him to a room that was to be his home until he didn’t need it. Katrina left and Percy unpacked his clothes and when he had finished, he walked out on to the veranda from his room. The view of the back garden was simply beautiful. Percy used a set of stairs to go down into the garden. He walked to Master Chan’s sanctuary and retrieved his sword. When he picked it up, it didn’t feel the same.

He couldn’t say what the difference was but there was certainly some change in the feeling around the sword. Percy thought about Brackus and a flood of memories came back into his mind. He focused on one of the fighting forms and went through it with his sword. It was a simple routine but very deadly. He continued until he had gone through the entire form and then he realised that someone was watching. He turned and saw Master Chan standing and looking at him with utter amazement on his face.

Percy asked him, “What’s wrong, Master Chan, are you all right”

It took Chan a few minutes to regain his composure and then he said, “That was the Taking of the Petals form. It is known by only the most senior of our order.” There was silence for a few moments and the Chan asked, “How did you know these routines?”

Percy told him about what he had found in his head after his battle with Brackus and how he could pull up memories which were not his any time that he wanted. Master Chan asked him who this Brackus person was. Percy told him who he was and a little about him.

Master Chan asked, “Can you pull up any information you want - can you be selective or do you have no control?”

Percy answered, “Well, I don’t know. Why don’t you ask me something that Brackus knew and we’ll see”

Master Chan asked, “Brackus had two brothers which is a well known fact but only a few knew of his sister. What was her name?”

As soon as he was finished the question, Percy knew the answer. He looked at Master Chan and told him, “Her name was Noreen but Brackus called her Nora.”

Master Chan was amazed, “I knew of Noreen but I didn’t know about

Nora.”

They then went on and tested Percy a few more times and found out that he had all of Brackus’s knowledge. The two of them sat there all afternoon and discussed many different things for the rest of the afternoon.

Master Chan finally told Percy, “I now have to go up to the house and make dinner for us.”

Percy looked at him and asked, “Don’t you have a cook or chef?”

Master Chan nodded yes then said, “But I told you that I was going to cook dinner for you.”

Percy laughed and said, “Well then, we will start my lessons now and I will come and assist you. That way we can continue this amazing conversation.”

Master Chan nodded and they got up and walked to the kitchen. In the kitchen, they talked and cooked and laughed. This was not your typical teacher/pupil relationship - they were both learning from each other.

During the cooking, Master Chan spilled boiling water on his hand and Percy automatically grabbed it and mumbled something. Chan retrieved his hand slowly and found that there not a mark on it (where it should have been blistered). It seems as if it had not been burnt at all.

Master Chan looked at Percy with absolute awe, “You know the lost art of nijitsu!”

Percy asked, “What the devil were the lost art of nijitsu?”

Master Chan told Percy that over the millennium, nijitsu consisted of so much more than just fighting and spying. There were also arts of healing and other mental disciplines. At one time, a master of nijitsu could challenge a god. Master Chan then went back to his meal preparations. Percy sat in a corner and kept quiet, it was a very disturbing thing to find out that you have the knowledge to challenge a god.

After some time, Master Chan came to him to tell him that dinner was ready. The two of them went into the dining room and set the table. Master Chan then hit a gong to announce that dinner was ready. The people of the house all came into the dining room and sat down at the table. They had a beautiful dinner and the conversation was about gardening, painting and poetry. Percy contributed to the conversation with both his own and Brackus’s knowledge. The conversation was very pleasant and everyone enjoyed them selves. Dinner lasted for many hours and at the end of the festivities it was time to go to bed. Percy had trouble falling asleep. He lay awake along time thinking about what Master Chan had told him of his new found knowledge.

Percy delved into Brackus’s memories to find out when he had been taught certain things. The lessons were very difficult and Percy went through only a couple of them. The first lesson concerned the art of invisibility. The art of invisibility is a hypnotic art that renders other humans unable to see the one using the art. The second art was the one of illusion. The illusion art makes one or two duplicates of the user. It is an art used in battle to help protect oneself. When he finally finished these studies, he was exhausted and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Percy rose early, dressed and went out to the sanctuary. As he sat in the middle of the sanctuary, he meditated about the art of invisibility and how it was performed. He heard sounds and opened his eyes to see people looking around as if they were hunting for something. He rose from his sitting position and walked out of the sanctuary. He saw Katrina walking down the steps from his room. He waved to her but she acted as if she did not see him. As he walked towards him, he expected her to acknowledge him, but she didn’t. He walked up to her and asked her what she was looking for.

She stopped and looked up at him, “Where did you come from? I turned around and all of a sudden you’re there.”

Percy replied, “I was in the sanctuary meditating on some ancient knowledge. What is everyone looking for?”

She smiled, “We’re all looking for you. You weren’t in your room and nobody could see you around the grounds. We were very worried.”

Percy thought for a moment and then, under his breath, said, “It worked, I don’t believe it but it worked.”

Katrina looked at him not understanding what the heck he was mumbling about. The two of them went back to the house and into the dining room. Master Chan was there and smiled at the presence of Percy. He looked at Katrina and asked her where she had found Percy. She assured him that Percy had found her and not the other way around. Percy sat down at the table and started to eat his breakfast. Katrina had left the room and so Percy turned to Master Chan.

He said, “The knowledge from Brackus can be used in a practical manner. I was sitting in the sanctuary going over the process of invisibility and it worked. Everyone was looking for me and all the while I was sitting there before them.

Master Chan asked, “How could you learn it all so fast?”

Percy answered, “I was going through the memories of Brackus learning this procedure along with others. After I had learned it, I tried it while meditating in the sanctuary. Now that I know how to do it, I can teach you.”

Master Chan thought about that and then said, “No. You can’t do that. You must hide your knowledge.”

Percy looked incredulous, “Why would you not want to know the secrets of the past?”

Master Chan replied, “I am too old to be either a hero or the scourge of the earth.”

Percy was perplexed until a thought came to him - power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Maybe this could happen to him.

He looked at Master Chan and asked, “How can I control all this power? I can’t take a chance on being the scourge of the world. My dear old mother would roll over in her grave - heaven forbid.”

Master Chan replied, “I don’t think it is in your make up to be the scourge of the earth and I think I know how to help you keep in touch with the good in you.”

Percy said pleading, “I’m willing to try anything.”

With that, the two of them got up and went out to the sanctuary where they sat down facing each other. Master Chan told him to clear his mind think of a clear blue pool of water and to relax and breathe deep. The whole idea of this type of meditation is to get in touch with the basic person who is inside you. The more you do this meditation, the easier it will become and the less conflict you will have in deciding between the good and the evil inside of you. Percy tried this method for about an hour and then talked to Master Chan again. Percy couldn’t figure out how to do the meditation and so he asked about it some more.

The more Master Chan told him, the more he searched through his and Brackus’s memories. He couldn’t find anything until Chan told him that in the past this discipline was used to test new initiates. Percy found a discipline that Brackus had used a whole lot to test anyone that he had given power. Percy went through his memories of the learning process and found how to use it in meditation. Percy thanked him and went out to Master Chan’s sanctuary to try again. He sat in the middle of the floor and started his meditation until random thoughts started to run through his mind. He found a random thought of something that he was not particularly proud of. The incident wasn’t evil, just a little shady, but the more he thought about it the sicker he felt, so he changed what he was thinking started to think of the more positive things that had happened in his life. The sick feeling went away at once and he started to feel, not only better, but also better than he had felt in a long time. He tested these conditions several more times and found that it worked every time. He then decided to try something else so he made a mental picture of himself putting a dagger to Master Chan’s throat and immediately he felt sick again. Percy then mentally ran the dagger through Chan’s throat and he almost collapsed from the sudden wave of stomach sickness. He knew that he had to get rid of these thoughts or die from the pain. He quickly about feeding a stray puppy and the stomach pains went away.

CHAPTER TWELVE

12 * Master Chan Has Visitors

The following morning he said his goodbyes to Katrina and Master Chan and started for the warehouse. As he walked up, he was very happy to see a very tasteful but noticeable sign was hanging on the warehouse wall. As he was just about to enter the front door, it opened and a man, who he recognised as the caravan manager, just about ran him down.

The man stopped and said, “Good day Master De Aablo. I really like what you have done to the place.”

Percy nodded as he walked in and saw that the warehouse looked the same but the caravan area had been subdivided into many rooms and they looked very good.

Percy walked up the stairs to Pita’s office and apartment. He walked into the office area and found Pita at her desk. She looked up at him and a big smile crossed her face.

She said, “Well, its about time you came to see what was going on in your business. Just where the hell have you been for the last couple of weeks.”

Percy didn’t answer but asked her, “So, tell me what’s been happening while I’ve been gone?”

She got up from behind his desk and led him up to the third floor where the tradesmen were hard at work and had already divided the floor into four rooms. There were two offices - each with sleeping quarters. The rooms were not complete and there were workmen all over the place.

”Well, everything looks like it is coming along nicely.” said Percy. “I see the caravan is in from Shadizar. Have we got rid of the cargo yet and have we got a cargo to go back to Shadizar?”

Pita answered, “The caravan will be loaded and ready to go tomorrow morning. The load in from Shadizar brought us a nice profit.”

He looked at her and smiled, “You know that I have complete faith in you, so if you think you need something get it or do it and we can always talk about it later.”

She nodded and said, “I thought that’s how you would feel so I have hired a scribe to keep the records.”

The two of them headed back up to Pita’s office and sat and talked about business. Percy listened and asked questions when he didn’t understand what she was talking about. After a couple of hours, Percy took Pita for lunch and they kept up their business conversation in the inn. He was learning a lot about the trading business and about the law of supply and demand.

After lunch Pita headed back to the office and Percy started out for Master Chan’s house. He walked slowly through the town so he could check to see if he was being followed. After checking a few times, he determined that no one was tailing him. Percy wandered through a few shops but nothing caught his attention. He started to head for the estate of Master Chan. As he was walking up the road, he got a weird feeling. He felt as if he were being watched. He kept a sharp lookout but he didn’t see anyone. He walked up to the front gate and rang the bell. He waited and because no one answered he rang the bell again. He waited and finally someone came to the gate. Percy started to walk in when the man stopped him and it was at this point that Percy realised that he didn’t know this man. The man told him that this was private property and that no one, who was not invited, was allowed to enter. Percy looked at him and smiled and then he turned and started to walk down the road. The gate closed and Percy walked around to the side wall and crouched low and up tight to the wall. Then, with his new mental powers, he turned himself invisible and climbed the wall and looked around.

The grounds of the estate looked the same but something was definitely wrong. Then he noticed someone in a tree not too far away. The figure was dressed all in black and Percy couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. Well it really didn’t matter to Percy because he knew that whoever it was didn’t belong there. He took a throwing star from his pouch and let it fly and it hit the man in the head and he fell from the tree dead as could be. Percy climbed down from the wall and moved silently to where the body was laying on the ground. The body was all dressed in black from head to foot and when Percy pulled off the hood he found that his victim was a young boy. He pulled off the boy’s shirt and pants. When he rolled the boy over, he found a small but intricate tattoo of a black dragon. Percy didn’t know the significance of the tattoo but he instinctively knew that it meant no good.

He put on the black outfit and slowly made his way to the house. He didn’t see any more guards until he got to the house. There was a guard on the roof looking out over the gardens. Percy casually watched and noticed that the guard was very attentive to his duties. He turned himself invisible - this was getting easier all the time - annd made his way slowly and quietly up to the roof. He then took out a set of bolla and threw them at the black clad figure. The bolla wrapped around the figure and the weights hit him on the side of the head. The figure was tied up and out cold all at the same time. Percy was quite content with his handiwork.

Percy climbed down onto the balcony and walked around to his room. He looked in through the door and saw that the room was empty, so he entered as quietly as possible. He listened for a few moments and heard a voice coming from down below. He walked to the inside door and opened it very quietly. The voice that he had heard was questioning someone and it was not going well for the questioner. Percy thought that this could be only good. When he moved to go down the stairs something stopped him. The he heard someone coming up the stairs. He moved into the shadows to wait. Whoever was coming up the stairs was very good at stealth movements and if Percy didn’t know the house, he wouldn’t have known where the person was. He guessed that whoever it was, they were not yet at the top of the stairs but very close. He waited, trying to think what he should do when the person got to the top of the stairs. He didn’t want to make too much noise and rouse the rest of the intruders. Then a person came around the corner. To his utter surprise, it was Katrina - what was she doing? He didn’t have time to think, only to react, so he hit her on the neck and knocked her out and grabbed her before she hit the ground. He carried her into his sleeping chamber where he laid her on the bed. What to do now? He didn’t feel safe waking her up but he needed answers. He delved into Brackus’s memories to see if there were any answers there. He didn’t find anything to help him. Though some information on mind control did come forward. Percy checked Katrina’s body to see if there was a dragon tattoo and sure enough he found one. It was in the same location as those on the other two bodies. This was a most shocking revelation. The information on mind control was not complete, Brackushad needed to protect himself from it, not use it; however there was one scrap of information that he might use. He could also protect others from mind control. Percy reviewed this information and found that it was very simple. The one hook was that he needed to know it the mind control was through magic or someone’s mental powers. Because not too many people knew of the powers of the mind, Percy figured that the control must be brought about by magic.

Percyprobed into Katrina’s mind looking for the magical key to unlock her mind from someone else’s control. It wasn’t there and finally, as he probed deeper, he felt it. There was another presence - a mind within Katrina’s mind. Percy wasn’t sure if it was aware of his probe. He moved into her mind slowly and carefully just in case. The mind did not appear to be human but it was very old and very, very powerful. It had not sensed Percy so he backed out very carefully. Percy then concentrated on Brackus’s memories of blocking a mental mind control and probed Katrina’s mind again. At once he found the key and unlocked it. He pulled his mind back and waited to see if the control could be re-established. The control was not re-established so he figured it would be safe to wake Katrina now, so he shook her and she woke. She looked up at him and started to cry. She told him that she remembered all that she had done. Percy quieted her and told her that they had to help Master Chan as soon as possible. She looked at him and nodded.

He asked her, “How many of these dragon guys are downstairs and do you know what they came here for.”

She answered, “There are three inside and three outside.’

Percy smiled and said, “There is only one outside now.”

Katrina said, “OK, lets go downstairs and take care of these creatures.”

Percy led the way with Katrina following up very closely. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Percy could make out what the voices were saying. The questions were directed to Master Chan and basically they wanted to know the whereabouts of a certain book. Master Chan said nothing, he just sat quietly staring straight ahead. Percy didn’t hesitate, he walked right into the room as bold as brass. There was a guard at the door and Percy took him out with a punch to the head. The room broke out into a state of chaos and the other two guards came at Percy. Katrina stepped through the door and pulling out her sword, she went at the guard by the second door. Percy drew his sword taken from Brackus’s tomb and saw a flash of fear in his opponent’s eyes.

Percy said, “Oh, so you know my sword then you must know of me also!”

The man in black pulled a sword that had a glow to it. Percy had never seen a sword like it but thought that it would be prudent to keep his distance. The two men danced around each other looking for some opening. This lasted for a couple of circles - enough for Percy to find out that his opponent was very good. The two of them moved together and exchanged a couple of blows. The two swords moved so fast that someone looking at the encounter could see only a blur. The two combatants broke apart and, again danced around each other. They both lunged at each other at the same time and there was a blur of weapons again which lasted for almost ten minutes. The two broke apart again and this time they were on the verge of falling down from fatigue. They didn’t dance around each other now, they staggered; and the openings were easier to find now but the hard part was taking advantage of these openings. Percy sucked in and used his reserve energy to move in on his opponent. He made three quick attacks and on the third one his sword sliced half way into, and all the way across his opponent’s throat. The man’s head fell half off his shoulders and he crumpled to the ground.

Percy fell over from fatigue. Katrina had finished off her opponent and had released her father. They both rushed over to Percy and helped him onto some cushions. As soon as his head touched the cushions he was asleep. When Percy woke up he was in his room at Master Chan’s house. As it was dark outside, he guessed that he had been asleepfor a least five hours. He sat up and found that all his muscles were stiff and sore, so sore that he fell back into bed.

He looked around and saw Katrina coming over to his sleeping mat, from a cushion in the corner where she had been sitting.

Percy looked up at her and asked, “How long have I been here?”

She looked back with concern and relief, “You’ve been in your room and sleeping for ten and a half days.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

13 * Meeting the Dragon

Percy remembered falling down from fatigue. He thought that he had fallen asleep and then all of a sudden he was falling again. The feeling was like falling down a deep black well, but instead of hitting the bottom, he fell into a squishy swamp. He crawled up onto a bank of some sort and seemed to fall asleep. In his dream, Percy woke up and felt refreshed after his sleep. He got up and looked around, he was in some sort of swamp. Percy didn’t recognise his surroundings or any of the plants. He spent some time taking in the rest of the world around him, some unusual birds flew by overhead and as he was looking at them he noticed that there were two suns in the sky. Now he knew that he was on some other plane or other time, but how? Percy now noticed that the sword in his hand was not his own, but the glowing sword that the Ninja he had been fighting had used. He checked in his scabbard and found that his own sword was still there. This was most confusing.

But first things first he needed to know more about his surroundings. He looked around for some high ground or a tree that he could climb. He spotted a tree on a small rise and walked over towards it. Percy climbed the tree as high as he couldand he was above the general height of the surrounding vegetation. He looked around but couldn’t see too much until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw smoke rising up. It looked as if the smoke was coming from a small village, as there were three separate small plumes. He reasoned that hey must be from cooking fires. Farther off and to the left, there was a lone mountain, which had been wind carved to roughly resemble a large Lizard Head complete with horns. Percy now had a choice to make - go to the village or head for the mountain citadel. He decided to go to the village and then on to the citadel.

He sat down and watched the two suns and noticed one was smaller than the other was. He also determined their paths across the sky. With this information, he took his bearings on the village and started to walk. He very quickly determined that it was going to take a long time to get there as the swamp was full of quick sand and bogs. Percy got himself a good stout walking stick and made fairly good time. Just before night time, he climbed a tree to see if he was still heading towards the village. He was on track and had made good time and had covered a good amount of ground. He figured at the rate he was travellingthat he would be at the village in two days - three at the most. This was good but it created a problem. What was he going to do for food.

It was getting dark so he made camp; well he found a dry spot to sleep. He sat up for a while and went throughBrackus’s memories to see if there was anything that would help him. He came across some teachings that would show a person how to go for a long period of time without eating. The only hook was that when you came off this fast you would have to eat a great deal to make up for the fasting. He knew that he would have to try the method at any cost because he couldn’t take a chance on being poisoned. He settled down to sleep.

The following morning it was overcast and humid and looked as though it would rain. Percy was glad that he had slept through the night because, if it rained, it would be very difficult to find a dry spot to camp for tonight. He climbed a tree and got his bearings on the smoke plumes. He climbed down and started towards the village. The weather held until noon and then it started to rain, light at first, but, by the middle of the afternoon a storm was raging. The only time that Percy could see more than a few feet ahead of him was during the frequent flashes of lightning. At nightfall, Percy found what cover he could and tried to make a fire but everything was too wet. He just sat and tried to get warm.

While he was sitting there - wet and shivering - he pulled up Brackus’s memories about other planes. Drawing on the memories, he tried to figure out where he was and how he got here. The only conclusion that he came up with was that somehow the Ninja that he has slain had something to do with his being here. The more he thought about this the more sense it made. Then he thought about the unusual sword of the Ninja. He took it out and tried to match it with the magical weapons in his memories. He eventually found a weapon that was a legendary sword or Brackus’s time. The sword was supposed to posses an ancient black dragon. It was said to be the master of everything. When the sword changed hands, the new owner was called before the dragon to justify his worthiness to posses the weapon. Percy thought about this for a while and as incredible as it seemed, here he was and he thought that he was summoned by the black dragon for scrutiny.

Percy had never believed much in magic, but with Brackus’s knowledge he was becoming much more skeptical. He started to determine if there was any way that he could get out of this place. He really couldn’t come up with a plan. All his knowledge told him that he would have to know where he was as well as where he wanted to go. This was the premise to the movement between planes, you had to know where they were in relation to each other and he didn’t have this information at this time so he was stuck in this rain soaked muck of a place. He let these thoughts wander away and slowly fell asleep.

The next morning he woke up and the rain had stopped. It was still overcast and the ground was wet but he should be able to make some time. He climbed a tree to get an idea about the direction of the village. He started towards it. Percy had never been exposed to travel in a swamp so the rain made it a whole hell of a lot more difficult. Twice he almost fell in a bog and just missed the quicksand a couple more times, but all this aside, he figured that he was making pretty good time. About half way through the day, Percy noticed the silence. There were no animal sounds - not even insects. This was pretty weird and Percy went on with more caution. That night he made camp and succeeded in getting a fire started. The heat was comforting and his clothes started to dry and as the heat warmed him he became drowsy and soon fell asleep.

The following morning Percy was in good spirits as he set out for the village. He thought he should make the village sometime during the day. He walked most of the day around bogs and quicksand and arrived at the village at sundown. He remained in the undergrowth until he could get a feel for the village. He didn’t see any activity or anyone walking around but the village was definitely inhabited. Everyone must be in doors. The village was not very large with a dozen huts and one large central lodge. Percy thought that he should go to the lodge first.

He walked out of the swamp and through the village. Percy got the feeling that he was being watched as he walked up to the door of the lodge. There was a flap over the door that Percy lifted and walked in and immediately froze. He was glad that he had his sword in his hand. The creatures - and creatures were the only appropriate description - were sitting around the fire. They all looked up when he came in. There were about twelve of them of about a six-foot stature and definitely of a lizard lineage. They were green skinned with scales and large mouths full of small needle sharp teeth.

Percy was about to back out of the lodge, when an older lizard spoke to him, “Oh, a new sword bearer. Bring food. Please sword bearer, sit.”

Percy was confused and obviously the lizard man could see it. He looked at Percy and said, “If you sit and eat, we will try to explain to you what has happened to you.”

Well, Percy had to admit that he needed to eat but the thought of knowledge surrounding his situation, was even more inviting. He moved closer to the fire and sat down. All the lizard men got up and left except for the one who had spoken to him. He directed Percy to take some of the food that was near the fire. When Percy had as much food as he could eat and was sitting close to the warm fire the lizard man started to speak. He told Percy the story of the original Ninjas. The first Ninjas were of one order and it was good and after some time a great leader rose out of the ranks but he was evil to the core.

The master of the order refused to teach him the final secrets. The evil Ninja broke from the order and started his own evil order. When this split took place, a further split of the order occurred - a group of good Ninjas and a group of neutral Ninjas. The hidden secrets were written down and given into the care of the neutral group.

Percy asked the lizard man, “What knowledge is in this book?”

The lizard man shook his head, “I don’t know.”

Then he went on with his story. The evil Ninja with an equally evil sorcerer captured an ancient and powerful dragon. The dragon was entrapped in that sword you hold in your hand. This whole land that you are in is inside your sword.

Percy then asked, “Do you know why I am here?”

The lizard man appeared to look concerned but he went on with his story. The owner of the sword must face the dragon to prove that he is worthy.

Percy looked concerned and asked, “What do you mean by proving your worth?”

The lizard man looked at him, “It could be many things from playing chess or casting spells to personal combat. It all depends on the dragon’s mood and his evaluation of the sword holder.”

Percy sat quietly and ate for a while and stopped thinking and tried to clear his mind. The lizard man told him that he and his people are here to serve the sword bearer. This means in this world of the sword as well as the world of the sword bearer.

This comment caused Percy to look up and asked, “Can you go to my world?”

The lizard man answered, “Yes, but only if the sword bearer summons us.”

Percy looked crestfallen. He sat there for the rest of the evening talking to Slouth about this plane they were on along with many other topics and Percy found him to be quite a philosopher. Later that night, Percy was shown to a hut and told he could use it until he left. He fell asleep immediately.

The next day Percy woke up late and left his hut to a day of heat from the dual suns. It was also very bright. Percy walked over to the central lodge and sitting as he was when Percy had left him the night before. Percy sat down and got a bowl of food and started to eat. He looked up a Slouth and told him that he was going to see the dragon on the following day. I would appreciate it if you could supply me with food for about a week and point me in the right direction.

Slough looked at him and said, “As leader of my people, it is my duty to take you to the dragon.”

Percy replied, “OK, but only if you will not be put to the test with me.”

Slough said, “All will be OK with me and I might add that it will be a pleasure to go with you.”

The two of them sat and talked until mid day and then they went outside. Percy pointed up to the mountain Citadel and asked Slough if that was their destination. Slough nodded in the affirmative as they walked along through the swamp talking and they discovered that the two of them were very similar. They went back to the village a couple of hours before dinner and Percy went to his hut where he sat down on the floor and meditated. He continued to meditate until the dinner hour and then got up and went to the lodge and ate super with Slouth. The two of them talked about disciplines of the mind. Slouth was very knowledgeable and allowed Percy the availability of his knowledge and wisdom. The both went to bed early as they knew that it would be an early morning tomorrow. Percy slept light for a change.

He got up early and got all his gear together and went to the central lodge and met Slouth sitting waiting for him.

Percy walked up to Slouth and asked, “What are you doing outside?”

Slouth looked at him and replied, “Only the leader is allowed in the lodge unless invited. Now that I am your guide, I cannot be the village leader.”

Percy retorted, “You don’t have to help me if it is going to hurt you in the eyes of your people.’

Slouth laughed and said, “Doing this for you has increased my esteem in the eyes of my people.”

With that hey walked out of the village on their adventure.

They walked all that day in silence until camp, when they sat and ate dinner, during which they talked about the Citadel and speculated on what they might find there. Slouth could give Percy only some basic rumours about the Citadel and its Contents and occupants but nothing definite. Percy went off to sleep with Slouth still sitting by the fire. When Percy woke the next morning, Slouth was still in the same spot. Percy asked him if he had slept and Slouth told him that due to his lizard metabolism he only needed an hour or two a night. Percy nodded and got out some food for them but Slouth told him that he only needed one meal a day. Percy put some food back, ate the rest and then got their packs ready. They both shouldered a pack and started off again.

The day was uneventful, as was the evening. The next three days were also uneventful. At the end of the following day they came to the base of the mountain with the citadel on it’s top. Slouth pointed out the path that worked its way up to the Citadel door. The two of them made camp and Percy went right off to sleep but halfway through the night he woke to the sound of voices and he recognised one of the voices as Slouth’s. Percy rolled over to see whom he was talking to. Percy was not prepared for what he saw and gasped.

The two of them ceased their conversation and a very large dragon said to Percy, “Good night Sir. I have just been talking to your guide about you.”

This dragon was HUGE, at least eighty feet long and, sitting up the way it was, at least fifty feet high.

Percy asked, “Did you get all the information that you need or could I help you with some answers.”

The dragon looked at Slouth and said, “I can see why you like him, for a human he does seem to understand the concept of respect.”

Percy asked, “Do you mind if I askSlouth what you two talked about before I woke up?”

The dragon nodded his consent and gracefully flew up into the sky. Percy watched with awe until it was out of sight.

He then turned to Slouth, “Well, would you like to tell me what the two of you were talking about.”

Slouth told him but it just broke down to all the things that he and Percy had been talking about for the last week. Percy lay back down to go to sleep, but before he did, he asked Slouth if he would like to come back to Percy’s world with him.

Slouth looked at Percy and asked, “You would take me back?”

Percy nodded yes and fell back to sleep.

Percy woke to Slouth shaking him. He got up and ate some food, all the while looking up at the citadel. He finished his meal and they packed up and started up the path, which had been carved, into the mountain. There were stairs in the steep sections and the path wound back and forth up to the citadel door. The trip was going to take more that one day. Slouth said that he knew of a place along the way to camp and they made the site by nightfall. Percy and Slouth ate and, since it was late, Percy went straight to sleep. He slept through the night and woke refreshed the following morning. Percy looked up at the mountain and thought: one more day and we’ll be home. He thought of his choice of words - why would he ever call this place home. Oh, well lets get going. The two of them walked all day but nothing really interesting happened. They made camp and Percy couldn’t take his eyes off the citadel. He eventually went to sleep but didn’t sleep well. The next morning he woke up to what promised to be a beautiful day. Slouth handed him some breakfast and he packed while he ate it. The two of them knew that they would be at the citadel today and the anticipation was high. These thoughts helped to quicken their pace, which had taken its toll by the end of the day. When they got there, Percy went to the door and banged the knocker. They stood there for a while and then Percy banged on the knocker again. This time they sat while they waited. It took about fifteen minutes and three loud knocks before someone came to the door. When the door opened, and Slouth saw who was standing on the other side of the threshold. A strange look crossed his face, for the entity was one of his race.

Slouth made a ritualistic bow and said, “I have guided him here and answered all of his questions.”

The doorman said, “You have performed all of your duties well. You may now enter.”

He stepped aside and let them enter into a very large entrance hall. The doorman closed the door and took them up a large circular staircase. The walls were all covered with beautiful tapestries and there were works of art all over the place. They came to a large door, which the doorman opened for them. They entered a beautiful suite of rooms with a large sitting room and two sumptuous bedrooms.

The doorman said, “Dinner will be served in one hour. There is a bath off the master bedroom and you will find fresh clothes in the closet in the bedroom.”

The doorman then bowed and left the room.

When the door had closed, Percy asked, “Would you like to use the bath first?”

Slouth looked at him and smiled, “Do you always treat your servants as equals or do you see me as an equal?”

Percy answered with a question, “What makes you think that you’re my servant?”

Slouth pointed out, “That is my position as your guide. I will be your servant here and back in your own world.”

Percy said, “I would rather deal with a friend and colleague than a servant.”

Slouth replied, “I’ll try, but it will be hard to ignore a lifetime of teaching.”

Percy persisted, “Would you like to use the bath first?”

Slouth replied, “No, you go ahead. I’ll look after getting some fresh clothes out of the closet.”

Percy went into the bath and found the hot water a refreshing difference from the living conditions of the last few days. He stayed in the bath for about a half an hour and when he came out he found a set of grey soft leather pants and a grey silk shirt. After he dressed, he sat down in the sitting room and waited for Slouth to finish getting ready and when he came out he was dressed in a very formal robe.

Percy stood up and bowed to his new friend, “Well I think we’re ready to go downstairs and have dinner with our host.”

The two of them walked down into the entrance hall and turned towards the back of the citadel and, on going through large double doors, came to a very large dining room with a thirty foot table with three chairs.

Sitting at the head of the table was a beautiful woman. She had raven black hair and a long delicately thin face. From what Percy could see, she had a lean athletic figure that looked very good as well as lethal. She stood up to speak in a musical voice and they could see that she did indeed have a lean and athletic figure. She invited them to sit down.

As Percy and Slouth moved towards their chairs, she introduced herself, “My name is Krhynn and this is my citadel.”

Percy looked at Slouth and then at her and asked, “You are the dragon?”

She looked at Slouth and said, “He is smart too. I have picked the perfect test, but you will have to go with him.”

Percy interrupted, “No! If there is any danger, it is for me to face not anyone else.”

Krhynn replied, “The only way back to your world is to go through the course. You can not do it by yourself.”

Percy said, “I will have to think about it. Can Slouth get hurt or perhaps even die?”

She looked at him and laughed, “Are you trying to tell me that you are concerned for this lizard?”

Percy stood up and slammed his fist down on the table, “You are too uncaring about your own people.” He immediately calmed down, apologised for his outburst and sat back down. He then inquired about the dinner.

The three of them sat down and had a sumptuous meal. They talked of philosophy, art, justice and other intellectual subjects. It was an interesting evening a Percy had to admit that he had learned a lot about the dragon and what it thought. Krhynn was basically a neutral being but she had some good tendencies. She also knew or was a master of all the disciplines that Percy knew about and some others that he had never heard of. After supper they complimented Krhynn on the meal, said their goodnights and went upstairs.

When they got up to their room, Percy told Slouth that he had better leave because Percy did not want anything to happen to his friend.

Slouth looked at him and said, “The sword bearer is my lord but you treat me like a friend. The one thing that I know about friends is that they don’t desert each other in time of need.”

Percy looked at his friend and smiled, “I guess I’ve been outwitted by my own good intentions.”

Slouth returned the smile and said, “I guess we should try and get a good night’s sleep so we can be fresh in the morning.”

They both went off to their own room and turned in immediately. Percy had trouble falling asleep. His mind kept coming up with all sorts of tests that the dragon could demand of him. Trying to come up with all the possibilities was next to impossible. He finally fell asleep but he didn’t sleep well.

The nest morning he woke up with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was trying to think of some way out of this stupid dilemma. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He invited the knocker to enter. The door opened and Slouth was standing there. Percy got up and put on his clothes. The two of them left the room and headed down to the dining hall.

When they got there, a breakfast of fruit, cheese and hot bread had been laid out. The two of them ate in silence.

When they had finished, Percy rose and said in a loud but controlled voice, “Krhynn, we are ready but I want to repeat my concern for my friend Slouth’s safety. I do not think he should have to participate in the test.

The door at the back of the dining hall opened and the two of them got up and walked to the door where Percy looked through and saw what looked like an obstacle course. They walked up to what looked like the start area when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Krhynn appeared. Percy looked at her and she smiled.

He asked, “What do we have to do?”

She replied, “You have to go through the course and at the end you will find the portal to your world.”

Percy looked at Slouth and said, “OK, lets get at it.”

Krhynn told them that they could start at any time they wished and they could rest wherever they thought it was safe. Percy looked at Slouth and nodded and his friend nodded back.

They walked up to the line and looked at the first obstacle. It was a large net to be used as a ladder but it had leaves on it. They walked up to it when all of a sudden the floor started to move back towards the start line. They picked up the pace but so did the floor however they were making headway but it was slow and tiring. When they were only two feet away from the end and running full speed, all of a sudden, the floor stopped and the two of them ran into the net. They stood there gasping for breath.

Slouth asked, “Should we stop and rest?”

Percy looked around and then nodded in the affirmative. They were standing there leaning against the net when, all of a sudden, Percy noticed that he plant had wrapped itself around his leg. He pulled out a dagger and cut the plant from his leg and told Slouth to start climbing. As they climbed the plant grabbed at them and tried to tie them up with all of its vines. The two of them made it to the top of the ladder and started to climb over. The vines became very active and Slouth’s leg got caught and Percy had to stop and cut him free. While he was cutting, the vines wrapped around his other arm. Percy was fighting with the vines as he moved over the top. They both got caught a couple more times but they were able to fight their way free. At the bottom on the other side, they had to cut themselves free because the vine made one last desperate attempt to capture them.

The two of the looked at each other in dismay, then Slouth got a knowing look in his eyes and told Percy that he thought they could make it if they walked side by side, holding hand, and so helping each other keep their balance. Percy thought for a few seconds and then nodded his agreement. The two of them faced each other and grabbed each other’s wrists. They slowly stepped onto the logs. It took a while to get used to the roll of the logs but once they got the method down pat, they made good progress across the logs. Just when they thought that they had control, Percy slipped and went down. Slouth acted quickly and pulled Percy towards him and saved Percy from a fall into the pit. Percy looked up at Slouth and gave him a look of gratitude. Slouth helped him back up onto his feet and they started across the logs again and in a couple of minutes they were across and on the other side. They both fell to their knees and gasped for breath. After they caught their breath they got up and looked at their next obstacle. There was a platform about forty feet up. On the platform was a dark door. The path was made of beams about two inches wide. They both looked at the beams and quickly realised that they could not climb the path like they had the ladder; however, they gave it a try and started up. They got about eight feet up when they had to cross a beam. Percy didn’t have a problem with if, but he noticed that Slouth was uncomfortable when walking on the beam. Percy told him to just relax and take his time. The two of them made it across when all of a sudden Percy smelt smoke. He looked down and saw that all the beams below them were on fire. He pointed this out to Slouth and the two of them started to climb faster. They climbed another small section and then crossed another beam. As they climbed, Percy noticed that as they stepped on the wood, it would start on fire. The flames at the bottom were getting higher and the two of them crossed another beam. The climbing was getting easy as the beams were close together. The crossing of the beams was getting more difficult as the smoke thickened. They were more than half way. The fire was not a problem yet but the smoke definitely was. Percy made a mask for himself. They concentrated on the task at hand and were making good progress and were now within ten feet of the top. Percy climbed the last section and started across a beam. Percy looked at the door through which they had to escape. There was a swirling mist in the portal and Percy thought that he could see Katrina sitting beside a bed mat. She was looking down with concern on her face. Then he saw that the figure in the bed was himself. At that point,Krhynn was all of a sudden standing beside the door.

Percy looked at her and she nodded and said, “Yes, this is the way back to your world.”

Percy rushed forward onto the platform. Once he stepped on to the platform, the portal started to close. He stepped towards it just a she heard a scream. He spun around and saw his friend hanging from the beam. He had obviously slipped and was holding on by only one hand.

Percy looked back at the portal and quickly surmised that he could not save Slouth and get through the portal before it closed.

Krhynn laughed and said, “What are you going to do? The portal can be opened only once every hundred years.”

Percy looked at the portal and then turned to grab Slouth. He grabbed his wrist and started to pull him up.

Slouth looked up and said, “You have to go through the portal or you will never get home.”

Percy ignored his words and continued to pull him up. They managed to get his other arm up onto the beam now, but the flames and the smoke were getting to them. Slouth was yelling at Percy that he could manage now and for him to go through the portal. Percy just kept pulling his friend and finally got Slouth up onto the platform. Percy looked around but there was no portal anymore; however, the door was still there and it led to some stairs going down. The two of them rushed out of the smoke and heat and quickly down the stairs and they were back in the dining room. There was a decanter of wine on the table and Percy headed straight for it and poured two glasses. He handed one to Slouth and the two of them toasted their success although Slouth looked a little sad. He then swore and oath that he would not rest until Percy was back on his own plane. Percy smiled at Slouth and told him that they would keep trying until they both got there. Percy looked around again and all of a sudden the table was full of food. The sat and ate and then Krhynnmaterialised at the head of the table. Percy didn’t say anything; he just sat there and ate. Slouth was not so patient. He stood up and faced Krhynn and said, “Your contest was unfair. This man is a noble an honourable individual who doesn’t deserve to be here for the next hundred years.”

Krhynn looked at Slouth and said, “You know something you are right especially since he had passed the test.”

Percy smiled at her and asked, “What was the test anyway because it certainly was not that stupid obstacle course?”

She looked at Percy and replied, “Well I see that you are as smart as Slouth led me to believe. You are right, The test was not the course but whether you would save Slouth or go through the gate.”

Percy nodded and asked, “So how do I get back to my plane?”

Krhynn looked them both over and answered, “You can go back at any time, but first, we must sit and talk.”

Krhynn first told them how they could contact her once they were on the other plane. Percy could do it any time he was holding the sword and Slouth could contact her anytime he wished. She told them that she might be able to assist them with knowledge and advice. They talked for about a day on a large variety of subjects and finally the two went up to their rooms and slept for about eight hours and came back down to the dining room.

Krhynn was there and said, “It is time to send you back home.”

She pointed to a section of the wall, which seemed to be normal until it started to undulate slightly. The wall became a swirl of colours and then Percy could see himself on the bed and Katrina and Master Chan sitting and watching over him. He motioned for Slouth to join him but he shook his head, “No. I can’t go that way, you will have to open a portal when you get back to your plane.”

With that, Percy stepped through and blacked out again.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

14 * Put The Dragon To Sleep

After Percy had told Katrina and Master Chan what had happened, he went to get something to eat. The three of them sat at the table and Percy asked Master Chan if he knew anything about opening portals to other planes. After they had eaten, Percy and Master Chan went out to the sanctuary and talked about portals. Percy thought that he should also ask Krhynn but then thought that he would probably get all he needed to know from Master Chan. After a couple of hours, Percy had a better understanding of other planes and travelling to and from them. Master Chan didn’t know how to travel between planes. Percy thought that maybe now was the time to ask Krhynn for knowledge on planes travelling. He sat in the centre of the sanctuary with the dragon sword across his lap. He meditated according to Krhynn’s instructions. In a couple of minutes an image of Krhynn appeared before him.

Percy said, “Good day to you Krhynn. I am in need of some information. I promised Slouth that I would bring him to my plane, but I don’t know how to do it.”

Krhynn’s image looked at him and said, “So you really want to bring Slouth to your world.” She then told Percy how to open a portal to bring Slouth through.

Percy then thanked Krhynn and asked her if there was anything that he could do for her.

She said, “Thank you but no, everything is fine.”

Then Percy said, “Good-bye.”

The image of Krhynn vanished and Master Chan said, “So, That was the dragon. I always thought that it was the evil behind the dragon cult.”

Percy laughed, “The dragon is not evil, the dragon is just knowledge. The people who use his knowledge are evil.”

Percy then sat down and worked on opening a portal to allow Slouth to come through. In the middle of Master Chan’s sanctuary, a six-foot circle of swirling colour came into being. Percy called out Slouth’s name. In a few minutes a cloaked and hooded figure came through the portal. Percy closed the portal and got up with his sword in his hand.

Seeing Percy’s protective attitude, Slouth pulled back his hood and said, “You did not have to bring me here to kill me.”

Percy laughed and then introduced Slouth to Master Chan. The two of them hit it off at once. Percy excused himself saying he was tired and needed some rest. He went to his room and lay down on the bed mat and went directly to sleep and slept through to the following morning.

When he woke he saw Slouth sitting on the end of the bed. Slouth looked at him and asked if he were feeling better. Percy nodded and got up and dressed and the two of them headed down for breakfast. Over breakfast, Percy asked Katrina if the dragon cult had done anything while he was visiting Krhynn. She told him that they had become very quiet. Percy then asked her if she knew where the dragon cult had their headquarters.

She shook her head no, then said, “But we do know the location of a few of their hideouts.”

Percy said, “Good, because I want to know what’s going on and if need be to deal them a final blow. I’m getting tired of these guys.”

Katrina told him that they owned a warehouse and she gave him the location.

Percy then looked at Slouth, “What are we going to do with you? If we let you run around the city, there will be a panic. Most people will view you as some sort of monster. We could keep you in the cloak with the deep hood on it. You can also have my sword - it is a hand me down from a King like you.”

Slouth looked at the sword and tested its weight and balance. He put the sword over his shoulder and pulled the hood up over his head. The three of them left the house.

Percy was dressed up in his bright and fine clothes with the dragon sword by his side. Slouth with his plain brown cloak with the hood was towering over them all. Then there was Katrina. She was dressed in local clothes and carried a walking stick. They walked to the B & P Trading Co. because Percy wanted to check in with Pita. He walked into the warehouse and up to Pita’s office. There was a young man sitting at the desk. He asked Percy if he could be any help.

Percy said, “Yes, I would like to see Pita, if it’s convenient.”

The young man told Percy that the Lady Mystraian was indisposed.

Percy smiled and said, “Is that so.” then yelled at the top of his lungs, “Pita, get your sweet ass out here on the run.”

The young man blanched and had a look of utter disbelief on his face. He stood up and was about to try and throw Percy out. At that moment, Pita came out of her office and asked the young man if he would please tell her what was going on. When she saw Percy she leaped for joy and gave him a big smile and a sumptuous hug. She told the young man to sit down and be nice, as this was the man that paid the bills. Pita then introduced Percy to Jarek who was the scribe. Jarek bowed formally and Percy introduced his two companions. Jarek was visibly shaken when he saw Slouth.

The three of them followed Pita into her office, “Well, how are things going?” asked Percy.

Pita told them that they had a little trouble with the dragon cult - they tried to take us for some protection money. I told them that we didn’t need their protection and that night for some unknown reason, the sign out front was hacked up with an axe. Percy looked a little miffed and told her that they were going to deal with this problem A.S.A.P. Percy then sat down and checked the books and saw that Pita was making him a great deal of money. When he was finished with the books, he asked Pita if she knew anything about a warehouse, which was not too far from here. She told him that a company that was a front for the dragon cult owned it. Percy smiled and asked her if she thought that he owner of the warehouse would know anything about the dragon cult.

Pita looked at him and said, “Yes, he probably would. He’s a shifty coward who always tried to protect himself with knowledge.”

Percy smiled and said, “This is turning out perfect.”

Percy told Pita that he would see her tomorrow and the three of them left. They went to the dragon warehouse and Percy told each of them to take up different positions from which to spy. They watched the building for about four hours and as the supper hour was upon them, they went to a small street vendor and had some noodles and beef. Slouth looked at the bowl and two sticks that Katrina had given him.

He looked up and asked, “What in the name of the dragon is this?”

Katrina smiled and showed him how to use the chopsticks. It took Slouth a little while to get the hang of it and some of his antics gave Percy and Katrina a little laugh as they watched him. They took some time to compare notes on what they had observed in the warehouse. Add this to what they knew and the information base was available to formulate a plan of attack. Subterfuge was decided upon as the best possible approach.

The three of them walked up to the front door and into the warehouse and asked to see the owner of the company. They were shown to an outer office and told to wait. In a few moments they were shown into an office that was extravagant to the point of being gaudy. The were two people in the office, one was obviously a guard and he looked as if he was good at what he did and the second was a fat bald man sitting behind a large ornate desk. He was dressed in flowing silk and showed a gold tooth when he smiled. Percy didn’t like the man from the moment he first saw him. He signalledSlouth to get close to the guard and then he walked up to the desk. He pulled out his sword (which made the guard a little nervous but he held his ground) and asked the fat man if he recognised it. The man looked at it for a minute and then a look of horror crossed his face.

Percy smiled and said, “I see that you do. Would you like to know how I got it?”

The fat man quickly shook his head no!

Percy went on as if he had not seen the man shake his head, “Well the man who previously owned it lost his head at my hand hence the sword became mine.”He turned to look around the room and then back to the fat man and said, “Now, I want some answers and I don’t want to have to ask my questions more than once.”

At hearing the threat, the guard reached for his sword and stepped forward; however, at the blink of an eye Slouth had his sword out and at the throat of the guard who stooped in his tracks and took his hand away from his sword. Then with a flick of Slouth’s wrist he cut the guard’s belt and his weapons fell to the ground. Slouth then forced the guard to the back of the room. Percy moved around behind the desk and asked the fat man the location of the dragon’s stronghold. The fat man’s eyes bulged with fear and he told Percy that he didn’t know.

Percy looked at him and smiled, “Good, I was hopping that you were going to make this hard.”

He took the fat man’s hand and put it on the edge of the desk and held the dragon sword up against his pinkie finger.

“One more time and I’ll have to start cutting,” said Percy.

He asked the fat man again and he broke down crying and babbling that they would kill him if he divulged the whereabouts of the stronghold.

Percy said, “Well, by now they know we have come here and we’re going to find it anyway, so I would say you’re already dead.” Percy looked around as if looking for a way out then continued, “I guess your only hope is that I can destroy the dragon before they can get to you.”

The fat man’s features changed and you could see the greed in his face start to overrule the fear that he was experiencing. He looked up at Percy and you could see a plan forming. Percy smiled because he knew what was going through the fat man’s mind. He was trying to figure out how he could help Percy without getting caught. He was silent for s short time and then opened up and told Percy all he knew about the dragon stronghold. It turned out that the stronghold was a wine shop with apartments above the store. He told Percy that there were secret passages all throughout the building and that they even went into the basement. Percy asked him if that was all he knew and to emphasise that he was still serious, he ran the sword across the fat man’s finger. The fat man was sweating profusely and he shook his head rather violently in the affirmative.

Percy then took a dagger from the fat man’s belt and said, “If I were you I would leave town as quickly and as quietly as possible. Why, you might ask?Well, I am going to leave this beautiful and distinctive dagger in a body of a dragon follower at the stronghold.”

The fat man’s eyes bulged out and he pleaded with Percy, “That would sign my death warrant. You must not do that ... Please.”

Percy looked at him with mock concern, “Really, do you think so?” and then in a more serious tone, “Next time, pick your side with more concern for your fellow man.”

With that the three of them left and went directly to the dragon stronghold. When they got there they noticed that it looked like a normal wine shop except that all the windows on the top floor where shuttered. Percy led them around to the back and found a spot where they could see what was going on without being seen themselves. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and after some time, Percy told them that he was going to climb to the roof and lower a rope for them.

Katrina looked at him and he said, “More for Slouth than for you.”

He moves up to the building and started to climb. It wasn’t an easy climb, but he finally made it to the top. He dropped a rope and Katrina climbed up with cat like grace. As soon as she reached the top, Slouth started to climb up which took a little long as he was not graceful at all - a clumsy climber if ever there was one - but he finally made it to the top without alarming the people inside the stronghold. When the three of them were on the roof and the rope was pulled up, they headed for a trap door. Percy listened for any sounds from under the door but all was quiet. Nothing to make them nervous. They checked the door to see if there were any booby traps on it. The door was safe so they opened it and looked inside. They were at the end of a hall. They climbed down into the building and looked down the hall.

The hall was empty and had three doors and a set of stairs going down. They tried the first door and found it locked. Katrina bent down and opened the lock with a small wire. They opened the door as quietly as possible. In the room, there were a couple of small beds and some chests. There was no one in the room, so they quickly looked around and left and locked the door and went on to the next door. This was a repeat of the first room. The three of them moved on to the third door. This room had an occupant that sounded asleep. He didn’t even wake up when they came into the room. They looked at each other and almost laughed. They had the man tied up and gagged before he was fully awake. Percy then pulled out a dagger and played with it for a moment and then put it back. Then he slowly pulled out the dragon sword and made sure that their prisoner could see it. He walked over to him and held the sword under his nose.

Percy then asked the man, “Do you know this sword?”

The man nodded in the affirmative and he had the same fear in his eyes as the fat man in the warehouse. He then leaned the sword on their prisoner’s shoulder and reached up and pulled down the gag.

Percy leaned down by the man’s ear and quietly said, “Now you can tell us all you know about this building.”

The prisoner looked at the sword, and then he told them about half a dozen secret passages and what was in most of the rooms. Percy then pulled the gag back into his informant’s mouth. He told the prisoner not to make any attempt to leave this room, as someone would be on guard at the door - a big mean person. The three of them move over by the door, out of earshot of the prisoner, and planned out their attack.

With the knowledge that they had acquired from the prisoner, They figured to use the secret passage at the end of the hall to get them to the basement. They moved out of the room and back down the hall to the location of the secret door. They had to search for some time to find the latch but finally, Slouth found it and opened the door. They saw a set of stairs leading down. Percy took the lead with Katrina following and Slouth in the rear. When they arrived at the next level of the building, they found another door and a landing as well as more stairs going down. Katrina notices a peephole and took a look. She told them that there were about six dragon members in the hall. They quietly went down to where they thought the dragon leader would be. They continued down to the basement. When they got there, they found there were two doors. They looked through both and found that one lead into the basement and the other into the sewers. They all made a mental note that this would be an excellent escape route. The other door lead into an empty hall with a great set of double doors at the end. They opened the secret door and moved down the hall with great care.

It was Katrina that noticed that there was some sort of abnormality in the floor. Both he and Percy got down on their hands and knees to try and figure out what was wrong. Percy was the first to notice that some of the floor tiles moved so they pulled back to discussed their find.

Katrina said, “We can’t step on the tiles that move, they probably trigger some kind of alarm, or worse, some defensive action against intruders.”

Percy thought about this for a moment and then said, “No! The only people who would make it this far into the stronghold would be the Ninja. This type of trap would be far too obvious to a group of Ninja.”

Katrina looked at him with amazement in her eyes and asked him, “Do you think the dragon could be that devious?”

Percy nodded his head and answered, “If I can think of it they certainly can come up with it.”

They pulled back into the secret passage to try and decide what to do. Slouth picked up a rock and dropped it on what they assumed to be the trigger tile to see what would happen. They watched for darts, listened for the sound of gas being released, anything, which would, indicated the nature of the trap’s action. After about a half a minute, the door to the secret passage slammed shut and locked itself. Percy looked through the peephole and saw darts flying all over the place.

He looked at Katrina and said, “You were right. It was a trigger but it had a delay on it. If we were in there now we would be pincushions.”

Katrina gave him a knowing smile, “I know my enemy and they are not that smart.”

They opened the door again and there were darts everywhere. Slouth checked them out and told them that the darts were poisoned. They walked down the hall avoiding all the trigger tiles. When they got to the double doors at the other end of the corridor the saw how intricately they were carved. There were dragons of all typed and sizes and in any position imaginable.

Slouth looked at the door and said, “There is a representative carving of every dragon that ever lived on these doors.”

Percy asked, “How could you know that?”

Slouth looked at him and said, “Because I am part dragon and with the blood comes the knowledge.”

Percy turned and looked at the door again and was amazed.

The three of them decided to open the door. Katrina pushed on the door but it wouldn’t open. Percy tried to push it with all his might but still no luck. Slouth then move up to the door and put his shoulder into it and to their surprise the door swung open as if on greased hinges. It opened so easily that he almost lost his balance. When they entered the room they were all very surprised at what they found.

Slouth looked around and said, “This is a dragon lair.”

Percy replied, “Yes I think you’re right. This is their headquarters.”

Slouth turned to him and shook his head, “No, you don’t quite understand. This is a real dragon’s lair. You know - the ones with the long neck, wings and long large tail.”

Percy turned to Katrina and asked, “Do you know what this lizard is talking about?”

She shook her head and told him, “There is a rumour that the leader of the dragon cult has been around for thousands of years but no one really believed it.”

Percy said to the other two, “We could be in deep doggie dodo and very serious trouble.”

They gathered their composure and looked around the room. There was a very large conference type table with about thirty chairs around it. There was also an elaborately carved throne up on a pedestal, which had a large red crystal set into the headrest. It was probably one of the most beautiful things that Percy had ever seen. They moved into the room and looked around some more. When Percy looked back at the throne, there was a man sitting on it. He was tall and lean and dressed all in black. He had black hair and a black moustache and goatee but the most noticeable feature was his eyes. They were as black as coal and he had a most penetrating gaze. He had a sword at his side that looked like a twin of the one that Percy had acquired but it was hard to tell for sure.

The man spoke with a voice that could charm the devil himself; “I have been looking forward to meeting someone who has caused so much damage to the cult.”

Percy bowed in response to the compliment and also to show respect - for this could only be a dragon.

The dragon said, “So, you have come to kill me. It has been a long time since anyone has tried. I am in you debt for this relief of the years of boredom. Thank you!” Then he bowed to Percy. He then rose from his throne but Slouth moved in between them and bowed to the dragon.

He then asked, “May I have a few minutes with my master to prepare him properly, oh great lord.”

The dragon moved back to his throne sat down and replied, “As you wish. You may prepare him for his death.”

Slouth then bowed to the dragon and turned to Percy and pulled him back by the door and said, “You may have one chance and that is to summon Krhynn to fight the dragon on the metaphysical plane while you fight it’s body in this world. The reason that dragons are so dangerous is because of this inability of a human to fight on more than one plane at a time. That’s why they always lose.”

Slouth then went on to tell Percy how to summon Krhynn to fight for his soul: and when the best time would be to summon her. He also told him that Krhynn couldn’t kill the dragon because dragons cannot kill each other so Percy would have to do the killing for himself.

Percy then walked out in front of Slouth and spoke to the man on the throne; “I am ready to give you your entertainment.”

The man on the throne stood up and drew his sword and walked towards Percy until he was about ten feet in front of him. At this point, Percy drew out his sword.

The man looked at his sword and laughed, “Well, well Krhynn you have come back to me again.”

Percy stared at the man and asked, “What do you know of Krhynn?”

The man returned Percy’s stare and answered, “I was the magician that entrapped her in the sword.”

Percy said, “So, if I kill you, she will be free to leave that realm.”

The man laughed very loud and hearty. When he was under control again, he smiled at Percy again and said, “Yes, if you kill me, she will then be able to leave her realm.”

Percy looked over at Slouth and gave him a small wink.

The man in black said, “Enough of this chit chat. I am getting bored with it all.”

The dragon took up a ready stance with his sword, as did Percy. The two of them danced around each other for a couple of minutes. They were each looking for an opening in the other’s defence. All at once there was a flurry of sword blows and perries by each of the opponents. The two then broke apart. Percy thought for a couple of moments while looking for an opening but this guy was defensively near perfect. He drew on both his own knowledge and that of Brackus but he couldn’t find anything to help. The two moved in to attack each other again and this time there were a few cuts received on both sides. This time, Percy noticed a small flaw in his opponent’sdefence. With this knowledge, Percy pressed his attack and slowly worked towards the opening he had detected. He then set up his opponent and struck swiftly. The man in black staggered back. He had been wounded very badly.

Slouth yelled out, “Now! Summon Krhynn now!”

Percy held out his sword and made the incantation that summoned Krhynn to protect his soul. The man in black was on his back and from his chest rose a black cloud. The cloud slowly formed into a black dragon and at the same time a white cloud formed from Percy’s sword, which also formed into a dragon. The two dragons started to fight. They were all over the room and after a few moments, they flew through the ceiling as if it wasn’t there. At that moment Percy turned back to the man in black who had got back to his feet and was moving towards Percy with his sword at the ready. Percy moved into a defensive position. The man moves in to attack Percy but his moves were not as sure or fast as they once were. Percy was never in trouble like he was in their first encounter and as a result he just wore down the man in black. Percy, at the right moment, went on the attack. He beat down the defence and, in a very unusual move; he cut off the man’s head in a single sword stroke. At that moment they heard a loud bellow from outside and then the white dragon flew back into the room. It hovered in front of Percy who bowed to the image. The image then winked at Slouth and dissolved back into the sword.

Katrina was standing there staring at Percy and trying to understand what was going on. She looked at Percy and then asked, “What just happened here?”

Percy told her that the man in black who was the leader of the dragon cult was indeed a dragon himself.

She looked at Percy and said, “You must be kidding a real dragon. How is it that no one knew?”

Percy looked at her and said, “Oh, but someone did know.”

“What do you mean. Who knew?” she asked.

He looked at her and said, “Well, you knew. You led me all along in order to wipe out the dragon clan.”

She asked, “But why should I. What do I have to gain?”

Percy answered, “Well, that’s simple. You told me that the lotus cult did nothing but charity, so the only thing between you and complete control was the dragon cult and you wanted complete control so badly.”

“When did you figure it out?” she asked.

He looked at her and answered, “It slowly came together but I didn’t know for sure until you said you didn’t know anything about the dragon. You had to know. You were next in line to become the master of the Mantis cult.”

She smiled, “So why did you help me?” she asked.

Percy smiled and answered, “I didn’t help you. You helped me. I wanted the dragon out of Shadizar; and, incidentally your father won’t be turning the cult over to you for a very long time.”

This made Katrina very angry and she asked, “What do you mean? How are you going to stop me from acquiring the leadership of the cult?”

Percy smiled at her and said, “I’m giving him the dragon sword, which will extend his life indefinitely.”

She screamed at him, “You can’t do that. It will ruin all my plans. I’ve been waiting all my life for this to happen.”

Percy’s reply, “On top of what I’ll do for your father, Slouth will be your father’s personal body guard and, of course, he knows all about you and he will protect your father from any harm you try to inflict upon him.”

With all that said, Katrina pulled out her sword and moved towards Percy. He didn’t move and he still had the dragon sword in his hand. She swung her sword at Percy’s head but before it got there, his sword was up to parry it away. He then dropped his sword down by his side again. She tried again but his sword came up and blocked her thrust again. She backed off and the frustration and hatred show in her countenance. She moved back to the attack and threw a flurry of blows at him but Percy blocked everything that she threw at him. He then hit her with the flat of his sword and she fell to the ground out colder than a clam. Slouth moved over and picked her up and they made their way back to Master Chan’s house.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

15 * The Dragon’s New Home

When they got back to Master Chan’s, the people in the house were in a state of utter chaos. Percy found Master Chan in his sanctuary.

Percy walked in and asked him, “What the devil is going on?”

Master Chan answered, “That little display of dragons over the city has sent everyone in panic land.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that it was going to happen. I’m sorry.” replied Percy.

Master Chan said, “It’s all right. The people will calm down and things will be back to normal soon.”

“Master Chan, I Have a present for you. Something that will help you and also show you my respect.” said Percy.

Percy sat down beside him and started the incantation that would transfer the sword and all it’s power from himself to Master Chan. When he had finished, he gave the sword to Master Chan. The look on Master Chan’s face was that of utter amazement. He had a tear in his eye and he was too choked up to speak.

Percy sadly told Master Chan, “I have some bad news which hurts me to have to tell you. Katrina was behind the whole dragon thing and on top of that she attacked me after I killed the dragon. She wanted to control all the Ninjas in the city of Yin-Pin.”

Master Chan looked at Percy and a sadness came over him. He looked about ten years older. Percy then continued, “I am sorry, but I felt that I had to tell you.”

Percy then got up and left. He went to the moneylender’s house and took out all the money from his personal account except for ten thousand gold pieces. He then went to the trading house and talked to Pita and told her that he would be leaving the city the next day. They talked about the business and what should be done in the short term. She told her that if she needed help she could go to Master Chan and he would do what he could.