whispered knowingly. “We’ll be lucky if he talks at all today!”
The ride to Hroombra’s went by much quicker with two other children to talk to along the way, even if one of them only listened. Before they knew it the group reached the remains of an old stone building perched near the edge of the bluff. A narrow but long dirt path ran from the road to the crumbling stone structure.
Once Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede were out of the cart and the mailman was well on his way, the three children walked slowly up the small path gazing around in wary interest as they did. Jahrra naturally led the way, having been to this place many times before. It didn’t take them long to traverse the trail and at its end they found themselves standing on a wide patch of earth free of the tangled field grass but littered with weathered stones.
“What is this place?” asked Gieaun in a small voice as they stood in the ancient courtyard.
“This is the Castle Guard Ruin. It’s where Master Hroombra lives,” Jahrra said knowingly.
“Oh,” Gieaun answered simply, a little too frightened to question any further.
“I wonder where all the other students are?” Jahrra inquired aloud as she crossed over a circular area that was about ten feet in diameter. She had always imagined a great tree might have once grown here, guarding the building that used to be.
The three children gazed up at the stone wall looming before them. It was quite large and continued around to the other side of the building. The roof, one built of poles and large wooden slats, looked much newer than the ancient stone. In one corner there stood a large circular tower, easily twenty feet tall, with a conical roof of wood. A few windows, looking like empty rectangular eyes, stared at them from just below the tower’s peak. The entire building backed up into a tiny hillock that dropped off at the edge of the bluff on the opposite end.
Jahrra, having seen the Ruin a hundred odd times, shuffled over to sit down on the stone steps in front of the doorway.
“I guess we should wait here until everyone else arrives. I wonder where Master Hroombra is.”
“Who’s Master Hroombra?” Gieaun asked, dusting off a place to sit next to her.
“Oh just wait, you’ll love him!” the other girl replied.
She neglected to tell her friend that Hroombra was a dragon, but Jahrra had grown so used to him that she hadn’t even thought that perhaps Gieaun and Scede had never seen one before.
The two girls continued to chat while Scede walked around the old courtyard, kicking stones and drawing in the sand. After several minutes of loitering around the edge of the Ruin, Scede gave up and sat down next to the girls.
Gieaun and Jahrra were so busy talking about their summer adventures that they hardly noticed Scede stiffening next to them. Something was moving from behind where they sat and he was the first one to notice. It sounded like something rather large, something much larger than an animal or an adult shifting around inside the old building.
Scede elbowed his sister and the two girls stopped talking immediately, looking in the direction where the disturbance was coming from. The children glanced at each other and quickly scuttled behind the massive boulders bordering the steps.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a great beast stuck its head out from around the far corner of the Ruin. Jahrra had to resist the urge to burst out laughing. She’d been so caught up in her conversation with Gieaun that she’d allowed herself to think that anything dangerous could be lurking around the Castle Guard Ruin.
The terrifying monster was none other than the dragon Hroombra, easily the size of her little cottage if not bigger, and he was peering between the edge of the wall and the curve of the tower on the northern end of the building. Gieaun and Scede looked terrified but Jahrra broke into a bright smile, her blue eyes shining with mirth.
Hroombramantu inhaled deeply,
The ride to Hroombra’s went by much quicker with two other children to talk to along the way, even if one of them only listened. Before they knew it the group reached the remains of an old stone building perched near the edge of the bluff. A narrow but long dirt path ran from the road to the crumbling stone structure.
Once Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede were out of the cart and the mailman was well on his way, the three children walked slowly up the small path gazing around in wary interest as they did. Jahrra naturally led the way, having been to this place many times before. It didn’t take them long to traverse the trail and at its end they found themselves standing on a wide patch of earth free of the tangled field grass but littered with weathered stones.
“What is this place?” asked Gieaun in a small voice as they stood in the ancient courtyard.
“This is the Castle Guard Ruin. It’s where Master Hroombra lives,” Jahrra said knowingly.
“Oh,” Gieaun answered simply, a little too frightened to question any further.
“I wonder where all the other students are?” Jahrra inquired aloud as she crossed over a circular area that was about ten feet in diameter. She had always imagined a great tree might have once grown here, guarding the building that used to be.
The three children gazed up at the stone wall looming before them. It was quite large and continued around to the other side of the building. The roof, one built of poles and large wooden slats, looked much newer than the ancient stone. In one corner there stood a large circular tower, easily twenty feet tall, with a conical roof of wood. A few windows, looking like empty rectangular eyes, stared at them from just below the tower’s peak. The entire building backed up into a tiny hillock that dropped off at the edge of the bluff on the opposite end.
Jahrra, having seen the Ruin a hundred odd times, shuffled over to sit down on the stone steps in front of the doorway.
“I guess we should wait here until everyone else arrives. I wonder where Master Hroombra is.”
“Who’s Master Hroombra?” Gieaun asked, dusting off a place to sit next to her.
“Oh just wait, you’ll love him!” the other girl replied.
She neglected to tell her friend that Hroombra was a dragon, but Jahrra had grown so used to him that she hadn’t even thought that perhaps Gieaun and Scede had never seen one before.
The two girls continued to chat while Scede walked around the old courtyard, kicking stones and drawing in the sand. After several minutes of loitering around the edge of the Ruin, Scede gave up and sat down next to the girls.
Gieaun and Jahrra were so busy talking about their summer adventures that they hardly noticed Scede stiffening next to them. Something was moving from behind where they sat and he was the first one to notice. It sounded like something rather large, something much larger than an animal or an adult shifting around inside the old building.
Scede elbowed his sister and the two girls stopped talking immediately, looking in the direction where the disturbance was coming from. The children glanced at each other and quickly scuttled behind the massive boulders bordering the steps.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a great beast stuck its head out from around the far corner of the Ruin. Jahrra had to resist the urge to burst out laughing. She’d been so caught up in her conversation with Gieaun that she’d allowed herself to think that anything dangerous could be lurking around the Castle Guard Ruin.
The terrifying monster was none other than the dragon Hroombra, easily the size of her little cottage if not bigger, and he was peering between the edge of the wall and the curve of the tower on the northern end of the building. Gieaun and Scede looked terrified but Jahrra broke into a bright smile, her blue eyes shining with mirth.
Hroombramantu inhaled deeply,
Similar Books
