shoved it down into the chair next to his thigh. “Please, have a seat. Join me.”
“I don’t want to take up too much of your time,” Sora started as he dropped into the identical chair opposite Gunter. “I’ve heard from a few dragons that the Burkhard Clan hasn’t always lived in this castle. That there was a smaller one that served as home for the dragons, but there was some kind explosion. I figured if anyone knew the story it would be you.”
Gunter chuckled lightly as he plucked his glasses off his nose. He pulled a soft cleaning cloth from his pocket and proceeded to remove the dirt from his lenses.
“Well, I can’t say that I have firsthand knowledge of the event. It was a couple hundred years before I was born, but I have read various journal accounts of the events. King Griswold and Queen Johanna were dedicated chroniclers at the time.”
“So, you can tell me the real story.”
Gunter smiled as he placed his glasses on his face and settled back in his seat, looking as if he was preparing to tell a tale. A little shaft of guilt cut through Sora. He hated to deceive the dragon, but he truly was interested in the story. And King Alric was right to worry if Gunter wasn’t getting proper exercise for his dragon.
The guilt was forgotten when Gunter started weaving his tale of a festive celebration to commemorate the bonding anniversary of the king and queen—who also happened to be King Alric’s parents. The dragon was a natural-born storyteller, and he created an artful tapestry of the time. The castle had been full of mages and dragons, and it was well before the start of the Dragon War. Laughter echoed off the stone walls, and the world was still filled with hope and wonder.
A determined chef, who wished to see the dragon races but couldn’t step away from his kitchen, devised a plan with a mage who still needed a great deal more training.
“While the journals don’t explicitly describe the spell that was used, it seems poor Otto used a little too much sunlight in the spell. While he slipped away from the castle with the rest of the clan to see the races, the spell was supposed to make sure the queen’s special stew kept cooking and the spoon kept stirring at a steady pace so nothing was burned or scorched.”
“Oh no,” Sora groaned. He was vaguely aware that at least three other dragons had wandered over and were now listening to Gunter’s story.
“Exactly. The fire, the stew, and the spell’s ingredients all combined to cause a catastrophic explosion that destroyed most of the castle. Stones were blown out across the valley and caused a rockslide. The only good thing about this explosion was that it happened at the height of the main race. As a result, everyone was out of the castle, watching the race.”
“No one was hurt?” Sora demanded in shock. When Gunter had first spoken of an explosion, he’d been sure that many of the clan had been killed.
“No one was hurt,” Gunter confirmed. “Don’t get me wrong—plenty were devastated over the loss of their home. The chef and the spellcaster were punished over the affair.”
He paused and scratched his chin as if he were searching through the databank in his mind.
“I think they were forced to dig all the new temporary lavatories for the clan while the new castle was being built.”
“They weren’t kicked out of the clan?”
Gunter shook his head quickly. “While incredibly unfortunate, the explosion was an accident, and no one was hurt. The chef and mage were extremely sorry about the entire thing.”
“That would also be due to the lovely Queen Johanna’s influence,” interjected a new voice.
They both looked up to see Dieter standing beside their chairs, a soft smile on his wrinkled face.
“If I recall correctly, King Griswold wanted to string them both up by their toes from the old castle walls, but Johanna interceded on their behalf.”
“You were there?”
Dieter nodded. “I was, though I’m sure Gunter knows the story better than I do at this point. I wasn’t there for the entire mess of it. I was in the middle of kicking his majesty’s ass in a race we never got to finish.”
Laughter rang out through the dining hall, and Gunter smiled up at the advisor, looking quite pleased. At least, until Dieter turned his attention to the royal researcher.