Island of Dragons

A story set on the Tanud, the Isle of Dragons.

In the year 1099

**Characters**

Roztov - aged 45 - 15 years prior to his arrival in Yaja

Turplence B’iyano, scholar of Hyadna - (Tuppence) a Hyadnian wizard

Salveri - a sailor, from Bellavia

Arrin - a sailor, from Tomsk

Tankle - female sailor, from Enttland

Dreggen - baddie dude, not decided yet

Meggelaine - fressle druid

Broddor - dwarven paladin from Kardane - a dwarf fortress in the Vale of Adders, Styke

Ghene - elven driud - "Ghene was
the expert on Garumuda, but Roztov knew more about dragons in general."

**Dragons:**

Lorkuvan - a Stov dragon that Roz rescues

Mordran - shape shifting Spire Dragon

Shumakkak
the Green. The Huntress

Neith - the dragon killed by Broddor etc

**Flora and Fauna**

vegetain - tree climbing cow

rotrok - shell-less turtle

naraberry

**Places**

Runaway village - the chiefs name is Ber, the scouts that found us are Nac and Wen

Stovolgard

**notes**

The
Battle at Bograt - whatever it was, lead to the breakup of the 'heroes'

The 'original trip west' was 10 years ago (or 11.5 according to Broddor)

A pivotal part of the story is about a mission sent to Garamuda by King Primus, three years prior to the events in the the story. As described by Dreggen and Ghene:

Dreggen:

*Dreggen*
looked down at the blade and licked his lips. ‘Well, it doesn't matter now
anyway. I was just a servant. All of us are servants to the dragons.Twelve
dragons and ten people. Sent east by King Primus. He has a... connection to Garumuda.The
dragons are crowded onto this island, always fighting amongst themselves. What
they needis living room. If they invade Nillamandor from the west, while Garumuda
invades from the east then the whole continent can come under the control of
dragonkind.’

*Ghene*
laughed mirthlessly. ‘Old Bones is already invading from the east, you idiot.’

*‘Yes well,’*
said Dreggen, licking his dried up lips again. ‘I know that now.’

*‘This is*
bad, I admit. Did you see Garumuda? What was said?’

*‘I never saw*
him, only Kretorek, our chief diplomat, and his human consort Tverten saw him.’

*‘Well, and?’*
said Ghene as he grew impatient, pressing the dagger closer.

*‘I don't*
know!’ pleaded Dreggen.‘It was between them!’

*‘Then why*
bother coming all the way back here if there was no message to bring?You are
lying.’

*‘Very well! Garumuda*
wants to set up a gateway, a portal between east and west.’

*‘What does*
that gain him?’

*‘I don't*
know. But that is the message.’

Ghene:

*He relayed*
the details of what he had learned from Dreggen.

*‘How did you*
know about a message from Old Bones?’ asked Meggelaine.

*‘I didn’t*
know, at all really,’ admitted Ghene, ‘but I remembered something that had
happened a while back and took a stab in the dark. What Dreggen said fitted
with the thing that I remembered, unfortunately. Well, maybe three years ago or
so a flight of ten dragons went over Nillamandor. They had human riders, or so
I heard.They flew east and were not seen for a couple of weeks, then they flew
west again.What I heard was that on the way east they had flown over our ranger
station east of Tygnz, and on the way back they were ready for them. Not a bad
bit of multilateral planning I heard. The rangers atLodz sent magical
messengers back to the King in Bydgoszczand he had his gryphon cavalry airborne
by the time the dragons crossed his lands. We have diplomatic ties with Lodz,
so I was able to read the dispatches about it. It did rather alarm me at the
time, I remember, as there havenot been mounted dragons over Nillamandor since the
Empire. Nothing else like it happened after that though. I never got word of
who they were or what they were doing, so sinceit seemed like a one off I
didn't bother enquiring through our diplomatic channels. Dreggen must have been
part of that flight, taken prisoner and then escaped.’

*'I don't*
remember that at all,' said Meggelaine.

*'You were in*
Tyra at the time I think, maybe missed it.'

*‘Hmm,’ mused*
Roztov. ‘I maybe vaguely remember reading that in a chapbook in Timu. I just assumed
itwas bollocks though, as everything that gets printed in Timu is bollocks.'

*‘I never*
verified it, just had one source, a single bit of velum delivered from our
embassy in Bydgoszcz. I think at the time I'd also thought it possibly exaggerated.
I mean, mounted dragons? Maybe someone saw a goblin riding a wyvern and
everyone got a bit excited. Then a story gets cooked up to present the King of
Lodz in a good light. The Council should have checked up on it, but you know
what they are like. Lilly had other things on her mind. But now that we are so
familiar with the manhunters, and then when I saw Dreggen again and looked at
his wrists, it all slotted into place.’

*‘Incredible,’*
groaned Roztov, sitting back and rubbing his face with his hands.

*‘All this*
time, what an idiot I’ve been,’ cursed Ghene. ‘We’ve been played for fools.
Dreggen must have waited a year or more for a ship that was going as far west
as us. Then he led us straight to this island. He must have laughed at us every
single day. Oh Etruna.’