The Horn of Moran

Argus continued talking as he led them into the house. Rooms had been prepared for each of them, away from the busy and noisy parts of the estate. Once Alex and the others had been shown to their rooms, Mrs. Goodseed excused herself, but Michael remained next to Andy.

“May I offer you some refreshment?” Argus asked. “We can have a bite and a drink or two, and perhaps swap tales of adventures past.”

“A pleasing idea,” said Bregnest. “Though I think a few of my company would like nothing better than to go looking for their friends Skeld and Tayo.”

“Ah, yes,” said Argus with a nod. “Andy, you know where those two troublemakers are. Take your friends and show them the way.”

“Can I go too?” Michael asked in a pleading tone.

“Not right now, Michael,” Argus answered in a kind but firm tone. “Perhaps tomorrow they will take you with them, but not right now.”

Alex and Halfdan both bowed to Argus as they prepared to follow Andy into the city. Alex made a point of asking both Sindar and Val if they would like to come along, but they both said they would rather stay behind and share stories with Bregnest and Argus.

Andy led Alex and Halfdan back into the streets of Oslansk, almost bouncing as he walked. The city was large, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going, and he led his friends quickly through the narrow, busy streets.

“Well, if it isn’t Anders Goodseed,” commented an unpleasant-sounding voice as Andy, Alex, and Halfdan walked into a large square. All three of them turned to see who had spoken.

Standing in front of a booth that sold sandwiches was an extremely fat and unpleasant-looking young man. Alex wondered who he was, and how Andy knew him.

“Been off fighting dragons again, have you?” the fat young man sneered. The two companions behind him chuckled.

“Hello, Otho,” Andy replied pleasantly. “I see you’re still trying to eat everything in the city.”

Otho didn’t say anything, but turned red as he stuffed his half-finished sandwich into his mouth.

Andy turned and walked away, and Alex and Halfdan followed after a slight delay.

“Who is that overweight windbag?” asked Halfdan once he and Alex had caught up to Andy.

“Otho Longtree,” said Andy, his voice tight with anger. “He’s the heir of Osgood Longtree.”

“And who is Osgood Longtree?” Alex questioned.

“He’s the city magistrate,” said Andy, slowing his pace and softening his tone. “Osgood is a good man, but Otho . . .”

Andy didn’t finish and started to walk faster again.

“Otho seems to be a bit of a bully,” Halfdan observed thoughtfully.

“He is,” said Andy shortly. “He thinks that just because his father is the magistrate, he’s a big deal around here.”

“I really don’t like bullies,” said Alex, looking back over his shoulder at the fat Otho Longtree.

“Nobody does,” said Andy, a slight smile returning to his face. “In fact, it would be hard to find anyone the people here in Oslansk like less than Otho.”

“Then why hasn’t someone put him in his place?” Halfdan questioned.

Andy paused for a moment. “It’s because his father is such a good man and an excellent magistrate. Nobody wants to tell Osgood that his son is a bully—or worse.”

“Someone should,” said Halfdan in a serious tone.

“I suppose so,” said Andy. “But I think the news would break Osgood’s heart. Most people think that Osgood’s sorrow would be worse than putting up with Otho, so no one says anything.”

“What was his crack about fighting dragons?” Alex asked.

“I told Michael about our last adventure,” Andy answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “It seems he’s been telling the story to anyone who will listen—you know, about Slathbog and all.”

Alex knew that Andy was proud of his little brother and pleased that Michael believed the story about Slathbog. It didn’t seem to matter very much to Andy that Otho didn’t believe any of it.

They continued across the square until they reached a large tavern on the far side. The sign in front read The Dragon’s Keep. The three of them laughed when they saw the poor replica of a dragon painted above the name.

“Skeld and Tayo have been staying here,” said Andy as they entered. “They’ve both bought houses, of course, but tradition won’t let them move in until they’re married.”

“This isn’t what we ordered,” they heard Skeld say loudly. “If you can’t get it right, we’ll just have to find someone who can.”

“And who might that be?” Alex asked in a loud voice, spotting Skeld and Tayo standing at the bar next to a nervous-looking man.

“What?” said Skeld, turning to see who had spoken. His eyes widened, and he poked Tayo in the side, making him turn around as well.

“Alex?” Skeld said in amazement.

“Halfdan?” Tayo echoed.

“What—didn’t you think we’d show up?” Halfdan asked with a grunting laugh.

There were no more words for several minutes as Tayo and Skeld rushed across the room and started hugging Alex, Halfdan, and Andy.

“We didn’t expect to see you so soon,” said Tayo.

“Andy said he was going to join Bregnest’s new adventure and that he hoped you would both be joining as well,” said Skeld to Alex and Halfdan. “But we weren’t sure either of you would be coming.”

“Well, we have come,” said Halfdan. “So why don’t you finish your business and then we can talk in peace.”

“What? Oh,” said Skeld. “All right, Oscar, I suppose you’d better try again.”

The nervous-looking man at the bar nodded, looking relieved. He bowed to both Skeld and Tayo before moving swiftly away from the bar and hurrying toward the door.

“What was all that about?” Alex questioned as Oscar ducked out of the tavern.

“He’s doing a bit of cooking for the weddings,” said Tayo. “We thought we’d try to get some of the food we tried in Techen, but Oscar can’t seem to manage it.”

“Small wonder.” Halfdan laughed. “It’s not easy to duplicate Techen food.”

“No, it’s not,” said Skeld, looking sad. “But enough of this, let’s get a drink and have a good long talk.”

Soon the five of them were seated around a table set off to one side of the room. They all had a great many questions to ask, and Alex found himself answering the same questions that Andy and Halfdan had asked only a week before.

“What I want to know is how you two found women—sisters, for that matter—who would put up with you long enough to agree to marry you,” said Halfdan, shaking his head in wonder.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Skeld.

“And Andy didn’t help at all,” added Tayo.

“What did I do?” Andy asked in a stu

“It’s what you didn’tdo,” Skeld commented. “You didn’t make yourself scarce. Where love is concerned, two is company, three is just a

“Well, if that’s all my company is good for . . .” said Andy in mock fury.

“It seems to me that Andy was trying to help you two,” said Alex. “Or maybe he was trying to help your future wives.”

They all burst into laughter at this comment, and it was some time before any of them could speak again.

“It’s good to see you all again,” said Tayo. “We haven’t laughed so much since . . .”

“Since we got Andy drunk and he fell off his horse,” Skeld finished for Tayo, and they both started laughing again.

“What did they do to you?” Halfdan asked Andy in a concerned voice.

“Oh, it was nothing really,” said Andy, his face turning bright red. “After Skeld asked Lilly to marry him, we were celebrating a little, and I had a bit too much to drink.”

“More than a bit,” Tayo corrected.

“Much more than a bit,” added Skeld.

“Well, anyway,” Andy went on, “for some reason I thought I’d ride around the square, and I just fell off my horse.”

“Fell off and landed in a water trough,” Tayo burst out.

“And because it was still winter, when he got back inside, he was covered with icicles and frost,” Skeld added.