Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

truth.
    Then again, his friend would say he had written the words himself.
    In any case, he simply could not mention anything to Lucian.
    Once they arrived at the school, Samuel quietly sat through his classes and tried to get back into his everyday life. Despite his best efforts to do so, his teachers and Lucian had to bring him back from his daydreaming a few times. For the most part, however, everything went smoothly and soon enough, the school day was over.
    “I think we’re being watched,” Lucian said to Samuel, as they were packing books in their bags.
    Samuel discreetly turned his head. At first, he only saw dozens of students who were rummaging through their lockers and getting ready to go home, but then he saw one who was standing still, staring at Samuel: Danny. He was on the other side of the hall and, for once, without his two followers. His eyes still burned with anger.
    Samuel thought of all the battles he had fought these past few days and the skills he now possessed. If Danny tried anything on himself or Lucian, he would be in for a nasty surprise. But then, as he imagined the shock on Danny’s face, Samuel remembered the advice of the mysterious voice: learn about your opponent before you charge in . He had almost paid with his life to learn that lesson, so he might as well apply it right now. What’s more, as Kaleb’s story had taught him, appearances were often deceiving. He opted to ignore Danny for now, at least until he could learn a little bit more about him.
    “Come,” he said to Lucian. “Forget about him.”
    On the way back home, Samuel asked Lucian if he wanted to go back to The Gryphon’s Lair.
    “Sure, I’ll go with you,” replied the red-haired boy. “I need to find a proper sword anyway, for this weekend’s costumed event. I am so looking forward to the event. It’s going to be epic. The Briton army, bravely fighting against hordes of barbarians! Can you imagine how awesome it must have been to live in those times?”
    “I can imagine some of it,” replied Samuel. For the hundredth time, he had to fight back the urge to relate to Lucian everything that had happened to him.
    “Why do you need a new sword? I thought you already had one,” he said instead.
    “Yes I do, but the one I have is a small spatha . Nothing more than a concealed dagger, in fact. I need a full-bladed, two-handed sword, if I want to properly play my role.”
    “And who are you supposed to be, Conan the Barbarian?”
    Lucian’s eyes widened in shock, looking at his friend as if he had just committed the worst of sins.
    “Are you kidding me? You seriously don’t remember? I’ve only been talking about this for weeks.”
    “Apparently I don’t.”
    “I’m going as Malloy Cadwallader, of course.”
    Samuel thought he must have heard wrong. He felt the blood leave his skin and his heart jump in his chest.
    “What … what did you say?” he asked.
    Lucian noticed the sudden change in his friend and the widened eyes now staring at him.
    “Did I say something wrong? I only said I was going as Malloy—you know, the guy who saved Uther Pendragon and commanded his army against the barbarians. You wanted to play his role, but I won the bet. Wait a minute! Are you trying to switch with me?”
    It suddenly hit Samuel like a ton of bricks. Angeline was right: the slightest miscalculation on his part could affect this world, in ways he could never imagine. Even if he had been careful not to change anything, careful of keeping the legend as it was supposed to be, he had still modified the myth.
    Now he was witnessing firsthand the results of his misstep.
    By helping the Lorekeeper and saving Uther from the dark man, Malloy had carved himself a place in the legend and had become a part of the whole Arthurian mythology. After Samuel had left Metverold, Malloy had taken on a major role, fighting alongside Ambrosius and Uther. Maybe he had even met Arthur and influenced him.
    A simple act of courage on the part of the young Briton and, a couple millennia later, people still remembered his name. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I guess I forgot. You made a good choice. He was a brave and genuinely good man.”
    “Of course he was,” said Lucian.
    “All right then, let’s go to the store as soon as we get home. My sister can drop us off at the mall. I will also need to stop at a bookstore to get some things.”
    “Like what?”
    “I don’t know. Books? Anything about legends and