All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) Read online




  All that Glitters

  By Loren K. Jones

  Twilight Times Books

  Kingsport Tennessee

  All that Glitters

  This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Loren K. Jones. Expanded and revised from a previous electronic edition published by e-Quill Publishing, Brisbane, Australia 2010 with title "All that Glitters."

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

  Twilight Times Books

  P O Box 3340

  Kingsport, TN 37664

  www.twilighttimesbooks.com/

  Revised Electronic Edition: July 2016. Author's preferred version.

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  For my wife, Pamela Ann Jones, the love of my life,

  and the adventures we have shared since 1983.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 1

  STAVIN KEL'ANISTON STRUGGLED UP THE steep slope of the crater's side, through deep snow and line after line of thicket, trying to get to the cave located on the crater's highest peak. He paused and scraped the top layer of snow off a drift in search of some clean snow to quench his thirst. He had started with a full water bottle and enough food for five days, but the climb had been harder than he expected and his water had run out after just three days. His food would last only one more day, but that didn't matter. He was determined to succeed, or die trying.

  He looked down at the valley, through a gap where the trees had been scoured away by a landslide, and gazed at the smoke rising from the chimneys of distant Kavinston. He clenched his fists in anger as he looked at his home. The town was nearly obscured by the distance, but he imagined he could see the people in the streets. Hear their laughter at the idea that he might dare the cave. Hear the derisive laughter of the only person who mattered to him as she called him a runt.

  Turning away, he looked at the last thicket he must cross to reach the cave. The thicket was a long, straight line of juniper trees that looked like they had been deliberately planted by someone. Legend claimed they had been, but not by a man. Supposedly, they had been planted by a dragon as his hedges. Stavin discounted that as pure fancy.

  What he didn't discount was the legend of the dragon's gold.

  Everyone knew there had been dragons in the old days. After all, the Empire of Luxand had been founded by the dragon Dandarshandrake. Other dragons had been seen through the centuries, though few humans had been blessed by their attention. A dragon had often been seen soaring majestically above the valley back when Kavinston was being built, but it had been ages since it had last been spotted.

  The stories of the dragon's gold had been around since an intrepid youngster had chased a wounded deer into the cave more than a hundred and fifty years ago. He'd gone in after it, then stopped in his tracks when he saw a huge pile of gold. Supposedly, terror had gripped the boy's heart as a long, low moan filled the cave, and he'd run for his life, forgetting the wounded deer and the gold in his fright. He had run all the way down the mountain to the village and told the Elders what had happened.

  The Elders of Kavinston had sent a band of stout warriors to investigate the cave. Only four returned three days later. They confirmed the boy's story of a dragon's hoard of gold, and added to the legend of the terror.

  Their leader had been much farther into the cave than the rest when the terror hit, and he hadn't won free to the sunlight with the others. His screams had echoed horribly, only to be followed by an even more ominous silence. The survivors had fled down the mountain as fast as their horses would carry them, and none of them would ever climb that mountain again.

  Some years after that incident, two foolish boys had dared one another to go into the cave and prove their bravery. They had both entered as their friends watched. But both had reportedly emerged at a dead run just a few moments later. The second to emerge claimed to be the bravest because he had stayed the longest. And so had begun the foolish tradition of boys proving their bravery in the dragon's cave: That was why Stavin was making his lonely journey now.

  Stavin struggled through the last line of thicket and saw the mouth of the cave, just as it had been described. It was a pitch-black, irregular circle in the side of the mountain, near the summit. The edges of the opening were smooth, as if they had been worn down by the passage of countless hands. A shiver of fear shook his slight frame, and he made no effort to hide it. There was no one to hide it from. No one had come with him. No one believed that he'd really do it.

  No one believes I have the courage, he thought.

  That thought burned in his mind and started his legs moving once again. Stavin approached from the side and peeked around the edge into the darkness, but he could see little of the interior. Gathering the last shreds of his courage, he crept into the cave.

  Stavin walked until he couldn't see where he was stepping, then stopped and let his eyes adjust for a few moments. When the impenetrable darkness had been replaced by a deep gloom, he walked forward. Then, suddenly, as if it had been hidden by an outcropping of stone, he saw the treasure glinting in a shaft of sunlight. The mound of gold was as tall as two grown men standing one on the other's shoulders, and as long as the cave was wide. Then The Terror struck.

  Wild, unreasoning fear grabbed Stavin's heart and squeezed. He gasped for breath as his knees shook uncontrollably. His bladder and bowels threatened to let loose and shame him. Yet, for all his fear, he didn't run. He couldn't. I'd rather die than go back without proof that I really went into the cave. Gathering his breath, he shouted, "I won't run! I won't!"

  New terrors assaulted his senses. Barely seen shapes flitted through the darkness at the corners of his sight. Sh
adows moved and writhed as if they were tormented spirits. The sounds of moaning and screaming assaulted his ears, and still he stood his ground.

  "No!" he screamed. "I won't let you frighten me away!" Suddenly the fear was gone, and Stavin fell to his knees in relief, gasping for breath.

  "You really won't run?" a deep, echoing voice asked.

  "N-No!" Stavin shouted.

  "You are alone," the voice said softly. "Who do you think to prove your bravery to?"

  "Myself!" Stavin shouted, bolder now that he was still alive. He struggled to his feet once again and stared at the pile of gold.

  A sound like a gigantic sigh filled the cave. "Kids," muttered the voice. "And what do you desire as proof of your bravery?"

  "Gold! As much as I can carry," Stavin shouted into the darkness. That'll show 'em. That'll prove how brave I am.

  Harsh laughter echoed through the cave. "Is that what the last hundred and sixty years have been about? You have indeed come on a fool's errand, boy, for there is no gold here."

  Stavin got angry when he heard that. He could see it plainly before him. He shouted, "No gold? What's that if it's not gold?" as his hands balled into fists.

  The mound of gold seemed to shimmer, then it moved. It rose toward the roof of the cave, and part of it unfolded toward him. The center lifted from the floor, and he could see what looked like legs underneath. Then a long, sinuous neck swung a wagon-sized head around to bring two golden eyes the size of battle-shields to focus on him.

  "You mean me?" the voice asked, and Stavin realized how foolish they had all been. It wasn't the dragon's gold that they had been trying to steal: it was the dragon itself.

  Stavin stumbled backwards and tripped on a rock, landing on his backside. "Don't eat me. Please don't eat me," he pleaded in a little boy's voice as the dragon's head swung closer.

  The dragon considered him for a moment, then snorted. "I don't eat humans. You surprise me, boy. Most grown men would have run screaming for the sunlight, messing their britches the whole way if I turned on them like that. You are braver than you believe."

  "But no one else believes," Stavin whispered. "None of them believed enough to come and see if I'd even enter the cave. Not one of them. Not even—you wouldn't understand."

  The dragon's head nodded. "I understand better than you might think."

  "And now I'll go back empty-handed, and no one will believe that I really came in here."

  "There you are wrong, boy." The dragon shook itself like a wet hound and a sprinkling of golden scales fell to the cave's floor. "Be a good lad and gather those up," it commanded, and Stavin automatically did as he was told. "Good enough. What are you?"

  "I'm a human," Stavin answered softly.

  "Don't try my patience, boy, or you'll be bear-bait," the dragon snapped. "What do you do? Are you a warrior?"

  "Yes. Or, I will be when the spring draft comes and I take my place with the others."

  "What is your weapon?" the dragon asked.

  "The Dragon's Tongue," Stavin answered, then wished he hadn't.

  "What is that? I've never heard of it before," the dragon asked, tilting his head to the side.

  Stavin was relieved to still be alive, so he explained. "It's a quarterstaff with a spear point at each end."

  "Odd name," the dragon commented. "Why is it called that?"

  Stavin thought for a moment before answering, "Because it has two points, is very sharp, and can cut both ways."

  The dragon actually chuckled. "Heh. Now that's truth if I ever heard it. What armor do you wear?"

  "Breast and back plates, thigh and shin guards, chain-mail leggings, a long chain-mail coat and cap, a helmet, and armored gauntlets," Stavin answered. "Why do you want to know?"

  "You'll see. Now shut up for a moment."

  Stavin suddenly found himself in the center of a circle of bright light, surrounded by a whirlwind made of the dragon scales he had collected. His arms were abruptly pulled out straight from his sides and his clothes vanished. As he was taking a breath to protest, he was magically clothed head to toe in a soft, felt-like material that looked like spun gold. Golden chain-mail rattled and chimed as it made itself around him. Tall gauntlets formed around his hands, but only the backs of the gloves were armored. Breast and back plates snapped around him like a mussel shell. Thigh guards wrapped his upper legs, and shin guards with knee cups wrapped his lower legs. There were even plates that extended out over his boots.

  As he looked up at the dragon, he could see the reflection of his armor in its eyes. He was filled with wonder as a helmet formed around his head in the shape of a dragon, its body forming the dome of the helmet while its wings formed cheek guards and the neck and head formed a nasal guard. When Stavin looked at his hands, a brightly shining staff appeared, then transmuted into a Dragon's Tongue.

  "You have all the proof you need, and more courage than any man before you. Now get out of my cave."

  The light was suddenly gone, and Stavin stumbled and swore as he made his way to the circle of light that marked the entrance of the cave. He stopped at the edge of the light and shouted back over his shoulder, "Thank you," but he received no reply.

  He stood with his back against the edge of the cave for a moment as his knees shook. He'd done it. He'd done what no one had ever done. I faced The Fear. And he was alive to tell the tale.

  Now Barvil will say yes. Now Dorvina will accept me, even if I'm not as tall as her chin. Now everyone will have to accept me as a real man, and not a runt. Now I have proof no one can deny.

  Chapter 2

  THE PEOPLE OF KAVINSTON DIDN'T RECOGNIZE the gold-clad figure that walked into town near the middle of the next day. Warriors came running with weapons in their hands as the Elders hurried to confront the intruder just inside the town gates.

  "Halt where you are, stranger," the Chief Elder said, holding up his hand, palm out.

  Stavin stopped as commanded, but he was puzzled. Then he realized that they couldn't see his face and removed his helmet. "Chief Elder Kel'Davin, it's me, Stavin. I've been to the dragon's cave."

  Another of the Elders pushed forward and looked down at him. "You expect us to believe that? Where did you get that armor?"

  Stavin looked up at the Elder and, for the first time in his life, found that the man's aggression didn't frighten him. "I'm wearing my proof, Elder Barvil Kel'Carin. The dragon gave it to me because I faced the fear and didn't run away."

  "The dragon has been gone for decades," the Elder snapped. The crowd murmured and laughed.

  Stavin shook his head as he answered, "No, Elder Kel'Carin, he has been there. The great mound of gold that everyone has seen isn't his hoard of gold coins. It's his scales. That's what he made this armor out of."

  "Liar," Elder Kel'Carin snarled, then stepped forward and reached for the Dragon's Tongue in Stavin's hands. Stavin stepped back and brought the weapon to the ready, stopping the angry Elder in his tracks.

  "You dare challenge me?" the Elder hissed, then held out his hand imperiously to one of the warriors. "If you won't surrender it, I'm just going to have to take it from you." He caught the weapon that had been tossed to him without looking at it and took a ready stance.

  Stavin put his helmet back on and flexed his knees. "I will not let you take what is rightfully mine," he snarled defiantly as he prepared to fight one of the mightiest warriors in the valley.

  Elder Kel'Carin sneered and took a contemptuous swipe at Stavin's legs, but Stavin met the attack with ease. Instead of backing away, he attacked, following the maxim that it is always better to lead when dancing with steel. The staccato clacking as the two weapons met was the only sound as they fought. Stavin was just trying to keep the Elder at bay and not dishonor his name, while Elder Kel'Carin's face was turning red and an expression of rage was twisting his features.

  Stavin fought with all the skill he had, trying to keep Elder Kel'Carin from scoring on him. This was the man he most wanted to impress, the man who had driv
en him to the extreme of going to the dragon's cave in the first place. The man he had faced in a different arena twice already and been turned away. The father of the lovely Dorvina Kel'Carin, the girl Stavin wanted for his wife.

  The lack of food and sleep coming down the mountain was making Stavin slower than usual and he let his guard down for just a moment. In that instant Elder Kel'Carin struck, driving his borrowed Dragon's Tongue forward as hard as he could, through Stavin's defenses, and into Stavin's chest, where it—stopped. The finest steel the smith could produce met dragon scale and failed. A point that would pierce the finest armor made by man turned when it hit armor made by a dragon.

  Stavin was knocked back a step by the force of the blow and stunned by the implications. Elder Kel'Carin wasn't just trying to score a blow against him. The thought, He's trying to kill me! flitted through Stavin's mind as he staggered backwards.

  Elder Kel'Carin was standing still, as if frozen by the implications of what he had just tried to do. He had just tried to kill a child of the people, an untested boy of the Cat Clan of Aniston. To kill a child was the most dishonorable act a man could commit.

  The crowd roared in protest, but Stavin was focused on the vile act of the man before him. That's dishonorable! How could an Elder do that! I've proven myself! Anger that had been smoldering burst into flame and the Dragon's Tongue in his hands flashed in the sun, slicing off one, then the other point from the frozen Elder's weapon, then flashed a third time to cut the haft of the weapon in half in contempt.

  Stavin continued to whirl his weapon for a moment, then abruptly came to a stop with his weapon held vertically in front of his chest in the traditional salute of the victor to the vanquished. Relaxing, he let go with his right hand and put the weapon at rest against his left shoulder.

  Looking past Elder Kel'Carin, he addressed the crowd. "No one would come with me to the dragon's cave six days ago. No one saw me enter the cave to get the treasure. I faced the fear alone, to prove my bravery to myself since none of you would let me prove it to you. I faced my fear and conquered it. I learned the truth: the dragon never left our valley, and he's still here. He gave me this armor and Dragon's Tongue, made from his own golden scales, as a reward for my courage. I was the only one who didn't run away."