Ben the Dragonborn by Dianne E Astle Page B

this quest.
    “Are there any questions before you leave?” Lea Waterborn asked.   
    “You mean we leave right now?” asked Ben, his voice pitched high.     
    “Yes,” said the Watcher emphatically. "The matter is urgent.  The crown must be back in the Mer King’s hands before the week is out or there will be a war.” 
    “I don’t understand why he would think a hunk of metal is more important than lives,” Brina stated.  
    “His pride has been wounded.  He will keep his own sons and daughters away from the battle.  Those close to him will make sure that no heartbroken mother or father gets too near to disturb him with their tears.  It will seem like nothing more than a game to King Somos and his closest supporters.”  
    With that Lea Waterborn stood and led the way.  They stopped briefly at the pool where Akca and Osch waited.  The Watcher gave them last minute instructions in their language before they disappeared from sight.  
    “It will be good to have you with me, Brina,” Ben said fervently. He did not want to be alone with Akca and Osch in a world full of water.   
    The Watcher led them through the corridors that Charla and Ben had traveled the day before.  When they emerged from the cave the Orcas were by the steps. The Orcas were both outfitted with a harness that would hold the boys in place on their backs.  A student stood waiting beside the steps with a small backpack in each hand.  Attached to each backpack was a short spear.   
    “Inside your pack there is a small amount of food. Fish should be your diet as long as it is available.  The food should be saved for when the journey takes you to land, where there may not be food available.”       
    The student handed a backpack to each of the boys.  He also handed Ben a leather knife belt.  Ben buckled it around his waist.  Brina already had one like it around his own waist.  Brina climbed on Osch’s back and strapped himself in.  Akca waited for Ben to climb on, but Ben stood frozen to the spot.  
    Ben tried to move his feet forward but they would not work at his command.  His mind came up with many different excuses to get him out of this situation.  He spoke none of them aloud.  Lea Waterborn, Brina, Osch and Akca were all staring at him. He made his right foot move and then his left.  His body was visibly shaking by the time he put a leg over Akca.  His hands were shaking so badly it was hard to strap himself in.  The Watcher shook her head when she saw Ben’s fear, and wondered, not for the first time, if the Guardian had indeed made a mistake in choosing Ben.  
    Lea Waterborn had serious concerns about sending the two boys to Spencer Island.  It had a well-earned reputation as a dangerous place.  Brina was well aware of the dangers.  The Watcher had made sure of that. Ben had not been told about any of the dangers, he was frightened enough already.  Lea hoped that the knowledge she had shared with Brina would provide the protection needed to bring Brina safely home and send Ben back to his own world.  The only thing she had not told Brina was the rumor that a dragon had been seen several times in the sky above the island. 
    It was not just what Lea Waterborn knew of the Island that caused her concern, but it was also what she did not know.  She did not understand why her connection with the island was lost.  Lea Waterborn had agonized over whether to send them into unknown danger, but in the end decided that the Guardian knew Ben’s abilities and the situation he was going into. 
    As Ben and Brina rode out of sight, the Watcher muttered to herself, “I wonder if I should have told them about the rumors.  I can’t see how they can be true and yet something strange is going on. Something is causing the tregs to behave in an unnatural way.”
    Lea Waterborn assured herself that there could not be a dragon. If there was a dragon, an inexperienced boy would not have been chosen by