Read Dragon Tree for Free Online

try gaining entry
uninvited. The gate itself was built of solid oak timbers a foot
thick, banded with iron on both sides, forged by a master into a
depiction of coiled dragons whose heads and claws interlocked when
the gates were closed. Recessed another eight feet beneath a stone
arch was a multi-spiked portcullis which could be dropped to trap
attackers within.
    Inside the
wall, a large grassed common formed the outer ward and was ringed
with stone outbuildings that contained, among other things, the
stables and smithy. Entry to the inner ward was through a second
sturdy curtain wall that divided the grounds in half, requiring
visitors to pass through yet another arched gateway.
    Oddly enough,
despite the strength and extent of the fortifications, the castle
was not located in a strategically important area. The vast forests
of Lincoln were to the north, the sea to the east, the richest
baronies in England to the south and west. The lake was less than
three hectares in size, surrounded by an outer ring of greenwood so
dense it would take an army months to hack its way through.
    Taniere’s
existence had never appeared as anything more than a passing
notation in the crown’s registry. No king had ever visited. No
rival barons had ever vied for its possession. It had no real
strategic value and before Tamberlane's arrival, had stood empty
for several decades. The walls had became overgrown with brambles
and lichen. The vaulted passageways and chambers had become home
for invading hoards of birds and spiders, the latter spinning huge
blankets of white filaments from beam to beam, doors to sills.
    The
inhabitants of the village that had sprung up along the shore of
the lake told the usual stories of ghosts and dragons and unsettled
spirits to discourage children from crossing the draw and possibly
tumbling to their deaths from the high stone walls. Those children
grew into the men and women who cautioned their own offspring to
stay well away from the hulking ramparts. Several of the village
men went so far as to raise the drawbridge and bolt it to the wall,
ensuring that whatever demons dwelled within the walls remained
there.
    So it had
remained, silent and steeped in shadow, until one spring day the
villagers awoke to the sound of grinding chains and groaning
timbers. The drawbridge was being lowered, and, waiting patiently
on shore was a knight dressed in plain armor. He had arrived with a
small caravan of four wagons, a meager handful of servants, and a
strange assortment of retainers, one of whom proved to be a
dark-skinned woman whose cheek was horribly disfigured by a
puckered scar. Clutched in her arms was a small child, his eyes
wide with awe as he watched the huge draw being lowered.
    Standing
beside the knight was a tall figure completely swathed head to toe
in flowing black robes. Even his face was shielded by an elongated
hood and it was not until later that the villagers learned he was
completely devoid of any coloring whatsoever. His hair and skin
were white, his eyes were a transparent gray rimmed in pink and
shielded by white lashes.
    The simple
villagers who had never seen an albino whispered among themselves
that he was surely a demon, a satyr, an incubus. They hid when they
saw him, fearing he might steal their souls and barter them to the
devil. When it was further discovered that he practised the art of
alchemy, some bundled the few belongings they possessed and fled
the village, leaving Taniere Castle to the dragons and demons.
    Those who
remained did so because they had no where else to go. When none
were turned into toads and lizards, they began to venture into the
castle, wary, but as tenants were obliged to give three days a week
in service due their liege. The knight went further and offered
coin to the workers who repaired walls and cleaned rooms and after
a while he was judged to be fair and affable, though withdrawn.
    The new lord
had no pressing desire to scrape the outer walls clean of moss