Hoard

a dragon story

Her most interesting legacy began seven years after she died, when the will was unsealed. A silent dragon from Brazil stood guard over it, the will which she’d carefully burned onto the side of her cave many years previously. There was quiet talk among several dragons gathered to learn what would happen next, and even though they could only peer, one by one, inside the cave, they rarely roared.

Not one wanted to disturb The Treasurer’s rest, and not one knew where she was. Dragons disappeared when they died, and the living never knew exactly where the dead were. There were occasional rather nasty surprises. However, those waiting dragons, shimmering in colors from gold to blue, did talk about The Treasurer’s special and very specific hoard. The call to the area had been irresistible, and they all had opinions about it.

“The Treasurer’s hoard!” one red dragon said. “What a prize!”

“I heard none of us will get the whole thing,” said another.

But they all wanted the whole thing.

The Treasurer’s collections were known around the world. There was her twins display - units from almost every known currency on Earth: coins, stones, wood, metals, beads, paper - all in identical pairs. There were all those different Times, trapped in air bubbles caught in amber, literal piles of historical air in beautiful amber almost the color of gold. Speaking of gold, there were the tiny statuettes of the world’s various gods, a great many of them, glinting in firelight, seemingly alive.

And firelight there was, when the gathering argued and flames were released accidentally or accidentally on purpose. A Chinese dragon and the one who represented Greenland squared off for a moment in a rather splendid display of greed.

“I helped her gather that gold,” the Greenlander said. “It’s all mine!”

“Pah,” said the Chinese dragon. “You’re a youngster of less that two hundred years. I helped her gather that gold longer than you’ve even flown! It’s mine!”

They each crouched until the large golden dragon from Thailand stepped between them.

“Hush,” she said.

“The Greenlander seems cross!” the Chinese dragon said derisively.

“Because it’s too warm here!” the other declared.

“Then hold your fire!”

“Hush!” the Thai dragon repeated. “There is much to wish for, but we must be civilized about it! Just think of the down feathers The Treasurer collected from every kind of bird that existed during the last four hundred years...”

“The feathers, though,” someone said. “What’s a dragon to do with that kind of feather?”

“Be comfortable!” another shouted.

The dragons huffed with laughter. Arguments were momentarily forgotten.

Smoke rose above the dragons like mist - either white or gray, depending on whether a thought or a feeling was selected. One small blue dragon appeared to be puffing on a pipe, peaceful and maybe even content.

The little blue one kept his own council about The Treasurer and her hoard. He wanted it as much as the others did, but thought it was too big and old a treasure for one dragon to inherit. In his mind, he saw it being separated by size to dragons of similar size. The Treasurer had been nothing if not methodical. She had demonstrated her tastes and abilities time and time again over her long life. As her occasional file clerk, the blue dragon knew.

She had different kinds of reptile eggs hidden back in there, or so the rumor went. That was nearly beyond good taste, but perhaps a safeguard for the future. She had a larder of fossil fuels that could keep a fire burning for many years. He knew it was only for external warmth during cold seasons, with fumes only a dragon would appreciate. And the blue dragon knew about the songs The Treasurer kept in the air above her hoard, songs she heard from bards and singers over centuries, and floated by use of commands heard from kings.

The blue dragon sighed. He figured he’d get those songs, maybe. Maybe they didn’t take up much room. It was hard to say, since he’d only collected jewelry himself, and a very small pile at that. His size caused the jewels to stay shiny but that was about it. He couldn’t fit any more. Songs, though. What’s a dragon to do with songs?

The Brazilian dragon cleared his considerable throat. It seemed like the rumble of a storm that started far away and approached fast. Each dragon stared at him with red or green eyes.

“The law is here,” he growled.

The dragons looked around and soon saw the black chrysanthemum dragon make his way to The Treasurer’s cave. He had picked up an affectation from humans he was said to devour in years gone by. He wore glasses. They had no lens, glass or otherwise, but the black dragon thought they added severity to his appearance. He liked that.

“Dragons, one and all,” he said in his best announcer voice. “Welcome to the Reading of The Treasurer’s Will. Stay where you are and it will go smoothly. I’ll be sure you all hear every word. As you know, I’ve studied the reading of burn marks for years under the tutelage of my grandfather, and I can see where the’i’s are dotted and the ‘t’s crossed. I’ve read the wills of many illustrious....”

“Hush!” shouted the gold dragon from Thailand, and the rest laughed again. “We know what you know! Now tell us what the will says, or it may go badly for you before this is all over. Even The Treasurer would understand!”

A gray mist escaped from the black dragon’s nostrils, but he obediently entered the cave and studied the blackened wall. It seemed he took a long time, though many dragons knew it was just their own anxiety. The lawyer straightened his black spine and stepped forward again.

“This is most unusual,” he said, his voice cracking. “It seems The Treasurer has left her hoard to each and every one of us!” He raised his hands or feet, whichever he thought applied, and continued. “We are to take turns sitting in her cave, hoarding her hoard as if it were our own. We are to take turns every month! A rather rapid-fire turnover, and most unusual considering the distances that we must fly to reach....”

“Does the will say all that?” someone shouted. “Read the will!”

“The Will and Last Wish of The Treasurer is just as I have said, with a codicil. That is, that the smallest of us all, that blue dragon there, is to be the Clerk of Residence and be sure we attend to everything The Treasurer has collected. It seems amazing, but it’s true! We are to proceed by color, with gold being the first, and continue so forth through a regular rainbow of a roster. I am to keep each dragon informed when their month is over. My dragonish gods, this will play havoc with my digestion! Everyone knows a dragon needs a month to really...”

“Hush!” This time, it was the little blue dragon, shouting as loud as he could. It worked. “I am prepared to take my duties seriously and in a timely manner,” he said. “I shall move my own hoard to a place of safekeeping. Let us begin at the end of this week.”

All the dragons began to talk at once. It was exciting news, but not without its problems. Each of them wanted to study The Treasurer’s famous collections, but in the comfort of his or her own cave. Still, what a hoard!

When the talk changed to shouts, the matter was settled most decisively by a strong wind that seemed to speak.

“I have written this, and I speak it now,” said The Treasurer. “Hear and obey my wishes, or leave all to the Clerk.” Her voice seemed to moan through every fearsome dragon head, until they each hung low and silent.

Rather sheepishly, the golden dragon began to applaud by releasing a steam-whistle of noise and white mist. She was joined by the rest until the gathering was truly joyous. Then they looked around for the small blue dragon. He was in The Treasurer’s cave already, staring above the main hoard with an astounded expression.

“Do you hear that?” he said. “That music? It’s beautiful!”

The dragons looked at him and then at each other, and seemed to shrug. They heard nothing and decided he was just overcome. They’d find out what he meant soon enough - in fact, almost too soon. Yet, somewhere invisible and unknown, The Treasurer smiled and hummed a little tune. “Ahh,” she sang. “I think I’ll go outside for a while...”