Page 16 of The Dragon Maiden
Hyacinth took it from me, her eyes scanning over the list. “We should have most of these here,” she said. “But a few, I might need to send for.” She gestured for me to follow her inside.
I was surprised to see that the entirety of Lord Lorka’s quarters was covered floor to ceiling in foliage. Somehow, the floor was covered in grass, and vines stretched up the cave walls, with ferns and flowers spread out all over the cave. In the corner was a small waterfall, water trickling down the rocks. He had a window that shone light inside, illuminating a beautiful delphinium. I stopped in my tracks, admiring the view, and Hyacinth turned to look at me.
“I wasn’t expecting to see something like this inside a mountain,” I said, still absorbing the view in front of me.
She smiled. “It’s one of my favorite places here,” she said. “Lord Lorka takes great pride in this place and all manner of plant life. That’s why he’s in charge of the gardens and crops.”
Hyacinth led me further inside to another room filled with shelves that were stuffed with all sorts of food. Fruits and vegetables were separated by season and there were jars of spices and pickled crops. Towards the right were jugs of juice and cider.
“Does all of this feed the entire clan?” I asked. Though it was an expansive collection of food, it did not seem enough to feed all the dragons that I knew lived within the cave system. I had not come across any except for the Dragon Lords, but from what I had been told, the rest of the clan lived deeper inside the caves. Very rarely did any of them go see the Dragon Lords.
“No,” Hyacinth said, starting to pick out items that were on the list and putting them in a basket. “This is Lord Lorka’s special supply of ingredients from what he personally grows. Lord Dracul prefers to use these rather than the ones harvested by the workers. He says they’re better quality.”
“Lord Lorka grows all this himself?” I was flabbergasted that a Dragon Lord would have time to do such a thing. Based on the size of the produce, he had great skill and care towards growing things.
“I help him,” Hyacinth said, smiling at the unspoken compliment. “But it is just us two.”
“That’s amazing,” I said.
“Thank you.” A deep voice came from behind me and I spun at the sound. A man with tanned skin, cropped orange hair, and yellow eyes looked at me. He was dressed simply, wearing a beige linen shirt, rolled up to his elbows, and dark-brown pants, cuffed at his calves. Surprisingly, he was barefoot and covered in dirt. A golden hoop hung from his ear and glinted in the light of the lanterns.
“My Lord, it is a pleasure to meet you,” I said, bowing. “I was talking with Hyacinth about your personal store. It is quite impressive.”
He smiled at the compliment. “And what brings you here today?”
“Lord Dracul asked her to fetch some ingredients,” Hyacinth said, holding out the piece of paper for him to look at.
Lord Lorka brushed past me to see the list, frowning slightly as he looked at the ingredients. “Interesting,” he mumbled to himself, bringing a hand to his chin as he examined the list further.
“There are a few items that we don’t have here,” Hyacinth said, pointing out the ingredients in question. “I planned to fetch someone to get those from the main storeroom for me.”
“There’s no need,” Lord Lorka said. “I will be back in a couple minutes.”
He disappeared, and Hyacinth continued to gather the remaining ingredients, the basket almost overflowing.
After a few minutes, Lord Lorka returned, three small jars in his hands. “These are very potent,” he warned me. “So please tell Lord Dracul to only use a small amount, around half of what he would normally use.”
I nodded at his instructions, and he put the jars in the basket, making sure they were safely tucked away.
“Thank you, my Lord,” I said, bowing once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hyacinth smiling at my behavior and felt a swell of pride.
“Please feel free to come back anytime,” Lord Lorka said with a smile. “My storeroom is always open to Lord Dracul and his Dragon Maiden.”
Hyacinth led me back to the hallway and bade me farewell. I made the way back to Lord Dracul’s cave with the heavy basket, surprised at how much he had requested. I knew that he had his own stockpile of ingredients and could not figure out why he would need so much more. When I entered the cave once more, he was over by his tables, which were filled with potions and glassware, his back turned to me.
“I have everything you requested,” I announced, heading towards him.
He looked up and motioned for me to set the ingredients on the table next to him. “Did Lord Lorka say anything?” he asked, looking through the basket and pulling a few items out and setting them aside.
“These three jars are very potent. You should only use half of you normally would,” I said, pointing to the jars Lord Lorka had specified. “What do you need so much for anyway?”
He did not answer my question right away, continuing to pick through the ingredients. “I was running low on things,” he said, checking back at his book before continuing. “There are a few tonics I would like to make over the next few weeks.”
I moved to his other side to look at the book as well. “Like what?”
“There are a few potions that I want to try and combine,” he said, pointing at one page and then flipping a few pages to point at another. “I’m hoping to combine these two in order to help the lingering cough a number of villagers contract in the winter months. Due to the wind, weather, and the dampness in the caves, it is not a good combination.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, not expecting him to work on something for the humans. “That’s… unexpected.”