The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I: Volume I

candle flame. Into Jaylor’s glass came the image of Baamin. Like the journeyman, the senior magician held a glass, though his was much larger and rimmed with gold.
    “Jaylor?” The old man murmured from his own trance.
    “Sir,” he replied. Had his master really been that old and worn two moons ago when Jaylor left him?
    “Finally, I’ve gotten through to you!”
    Surprise wound its way into Jaylor’s consciousness. He thought he had done the summoning. “You have need of me, sir?”
    “Trouble is brewing in Coronnan. Strange reports come to me from all quarters. What is happening in your sector?” The old man’s image wavered in the glass. Jaylor strengthened his contact.
    “Baamin, I have seen a dragon. Twice. Yet I do not believe I have finished my quest.”
    “Which dragon? Is it well? Are you alone or have you been followed. Have you encountered anything or anyone strange on your quest?” The magician’s questions came out in an anxious rush.
    Some of Baamin’s emotions reached Jaylor through the spell. Jaylor’s disquiet grew. Which strange event should he relate first? “I believe a rogue magician frequents the southern mountains. He disguises himself as a one-eyed drunk, but he looks upon himself as a younger red-haired man.”
    “We must beware of anyone in disguise, Jaylor. I, too, have encountered a rogue in a different guise.” An impression of a shaggy-headed monster, very like a spotted saber cat but with bright red hair, superimposed upon Baamin’s features then vanished before Jaylor was certain of what he had seen.
    The lines of worry deepened on the old man’s face.
    “I encountered Rovers inside Coronnan. The border is nearly gone and no magician guards it,” Jaylor continued.
    “Dragon dung! Lord Krej swore to me, two days ago, that Journeyman Tomalin was stationed there. Have you seen the boy?”
    “No. I have seen no one from the University.” Jaylor sensed the summons diffusing. The spell wasn’t weaker, just more spread out. As if someone were eavesdropping. He tightened his control of the flames and pressed on with his report. “I have found a great golden wolf that a dragon protects.”
    “Stargods guard us all! Jaylor, anything to do with the dragons is important. There are very few of them left. If a dragon protects a wolf, then the wolf is important.”
    “He was injured but is healing. He appears more intelligent than a beast should be.”
    “Stay with the wolf and the dragon. We need more information before you return to the capital.” This time the magician’s agitation nearly broke the contact.
    Jaylor forced his mind back into the flame. It burned brighter, the image steadied. Wasn’t Baamin doing anything to maintain this spell? Again he sensed that this conversation was not private. He had to phrase his next comments very carefully. “I am told the dragon saved the creature from some kind of trouble at the solstice.” More than a moon before Jaylor began his journey.
    “A number of the Rovers went missing about the same time. Could the soul of a missing man have been trapped within the wolf’s body? Any missing man? Someone we know perhaps?”
    Baamin’s image drew away from the glass. The swirling colors in the border of the spell faded to blinding white. “If that is the case, after so many moons he will still think himself a wolf when the spell breaks. Beware, Jaylor. Beware of attack when you least expect it.”
    The danger was clear. Jaylor remembered the dripping fangs aimed at his throat. But how was he to break the spell? Baamin clearly expected him to. He didn’t know who had thrown that particular piece of magic. Each magician left a trademark in the colored aura of his spells. That trademark made it possible to trace the path of the magic and then reverse it.
    But Jaylor was useless at following traditional magic forms, and this didn’t smell like a University spell.
    “Sir, has my friend returned to the capital?”
    “Your friend?” Baamin looked distracted and uneasy. “Oh, um, your friend, of course.”
    Jaylor breathed a little easier. Roy had been absent from Coronnan City for several weeks before Jaylor was sent on his quest. Not unusual. But always before, Roy had left a secret message for Jaylor regarding his destination and expected return. Just one small precaution against assassination.
    “Sir, I need some books from the library on shape change spells if I am to finish this quest.”
    He could almost see the