Dragon Alliance Dark Storm : Dark Storm (34 page)

“Yes, please enter, Enlightened ones, come. There are refreshments and wine in the hall,” Tekend bellowed out as he had his servants usher the dozens of guests into the large grand banquet hall. Over one hundred of the top leaders of the Enlightened Party gathered in the hall lush with rare food items and cuisine, as well as the finest of wines and ales. And there were even illegal lotus trays for consumption later when the true celebration began.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to my humble vacation dwelling. We gather today to first celebrate our collective enlightened vision for the future of the republic and to affirm our oath to the change that is inevitable. Please let us utter our promise,” he stated as all joined him in his pledge.

“We, of the utopian and egalitarian ideals of the Enlightened, of the Enlightened vision, seek the inevitable and benevolent absolute power of the Enlightened control of the masses for their nurturing and own well-being and the contentment in that control for the betterment of society,” they all said in unison as they then toasted themselves.

One junior senator from Atlean yelled out as he raised his wineglass, “To the fall of the Alliance, and its rebirth in the image of Enlightenment!”

All in the hall yelled out, “Here, here.”

“Now that we have reaffirmed our commitment to a better world, we have a few issues to resolve before we can truly celebrate. First, Master Remsin, would you please?” he looked over to a very haughty-looking man dressed in deep purplish robes and nodded. The thin-featured man grabbed the chain to a necklace he had around his neck and pulled it from his shirt, revealing a nice-sized piece of dark crystal. Some in the audience gasped as he uttered a quick incantation, and the room was bathed in a flash of purplish light that quickly disappeared. He then cast a protection-from-magic spell so as to prevent a magic or spying eye from an Alliance wizard from hearing or seeing the meeting.

“Senator Tekend, is this not what we protest and rally against, the use of wizardry?” a guest asked.

“My dear Enlightened friend, when you fight those with this type of power, you must fight fire with fire. Master Remsin has learned the art of sorcery from fine instructors and is our countermeasure for the so-called benefactor evil dragonstone-wielding wizards of the Alliance. May they all end in early demise,” he replied.

“But the mere possession of dark crystal carries a life sentence on the prison island, my liege,” another party guest stated.

“We are on my island. The Alliance wizards and military would not dare to interfere here, but we take precaution, for we are at war with all those who do not share our vision of equality and enlightenment. And as the treasure-hoarding dragons and weirs make war, we must retaliate,” the smug senator replied. “Now we must get to business before we can enjoy my hospitality. First, we must talk of the pending diplomatic envoy to Shidan to meet with the learned and wise King Ibliss. In a show of both solidarity and force, I call on all our Enlightened senate colleagues to join me in having the full complement of the Capital Weir’s dragons ferry us to the desert paradise kingdom, to show our message of peace and cooperation to His Majesty Ibliss. What say ye?” Tekend pontificated.

“What? Have the giant flying worms and their dragonstone-wielding pets take us there? I would rather die first,” Senator Kushien stepped forward and straightened up, almost spitting his words out with the contempt he held for the dragons and their riders. His reference to the wielding of dragonstones was a point of extreme contention given his innate jealousy over the awarding of the powerful devices. This was a very sore subject, especially in light of that fact that no member of the Enlightened Party was ever granted one by a dragon. This sentiment was echoed by many of this party affiliation and mind-set.

“My learned senator, I know of your anger at the dragons from our last senate meeting, and I fully understand your venom. However, we need to show one voice on this issue and use the very point of our contempt as the vessel to allow us to demonstrate the cowardly aggressive nature of these beasts and their riders. Doing this and exhibiting what can be done with our open arms, superior intellect, and compromise, we can dissolve this crisis while discrediting our opponents,” Tekend finished his tirade, at which Senator Kushien nodded his head in agreement.

“My esteemed fellow free-thinking and tolerant friends, this is our opportunity to seize the initiative that both I and Senator Tekend secured from the bumbling Premier Reagresh in superior debate at the last senate gathering. This can be our greatest achievement; peace on the verge of a weir and zealot pro-Alliance senate war with a misunderstood peaceable people. This lofty goal is worth the sacrifice in being carried to our victory by our very enemies. What say you?” Terrjok spoke out in his deep but authoritative voice, and almost all shouted out in compliance as they toasted the hollow victory.

“Then it is settled, my compatriots. I declare this meeting adjourned, please let us rejoice in our collective efforts. Servants!” Tekend yelled as dozens of kitchen help began to rush in wine and dozens of food trays. There were several young ladies very suggestively dressed moving in and through the partygoers who caught the eye of several of the senators and male guests. They began to slip away.

“That was easier than I thought,” Tekend whispered to Terrjok as they talked in the corner of the large room.

“Very impressive, we are. This is exactly the diversion that our friends wanted. It will be a resounding success and a massive defeat for the weirs… and the beginning of the end of their influence over the republic,” Terrjok countered as he touched wineglasses with Tekend.

The Morgathian envoy had finally cleared the southernmost break in the mountain chain and was now covering their last several miles to Hasera. “These desert vermin better have a good excuse for causing us to take this long, arduous journey!” Harfrac yelled to his personal servant and guards, who were flying the wyverns in tight formation next to his. The Morgathian ambassador’s black silken robes were flowing from under his traditional darkened but very polished light, black-iron chain-mail armor as the dragon-like steeds rode the mountain currents toward the Shidanese city barely visible in the distance.

As they flew down from the mountains where the drow tunnels ended, the cooler air slowly gave way to the hot winds that the deserts of Ariana were known for. The young apprentice sorcerer raised his staff, with the sizable dark crystal attached to it glowing, up to his face. “Vorten, answer your crystal,” the diplomat spoke into the purplish gem.

“Harfrac, what do you want? Oh, are you almost there?” the sorcerer’s friend answered.

“We are heading to the city now. I forgot how stinking hot this kingdom is. Why doesn’t the chromatics make us the cooling crystals that the metallics do for the Alliance?” Harfrac asked.

“They say to make us stronger than the weak Alliance peoples through adversity,” Vorten replied.

“I’d like to make us cooler right now instead. You hear things, how did I get picked from all the apprentices for this mission? You don’t think Prefect Stalenjh knows about me and his daughter?” asked Harfrac.

“No, this is a mission of great importance that you were entrusted with, and you are among our brightest and most skilled negotiators,” Vorten replied, offering a rare compliment.

“I see you finally admit my superiority in this and many matters,” the Morgathian sorcerer/diplomat announced with a smug smile across his face, which quickly went away, as his black hair twisted in the wind.

“These Shidanese mongrel pieces of camel dung better have something more to offer than apologies and tea after this trip. I expect a slave girl or one of their temporary wives they always brag about,” he answered.

“What, Stalenjh’s daughter does not satisfy you back here?” Vorten answered.

“Yes, she is a sultry little whore, but my advancement to the Talon Covenant is much more important than her, and this little dealing will help propel me to that point without having to tolerate her any more than I do already,” Harfrac explained.

“I sincerely hope so, my comrade,” Vorten interjected.

“Ha, to negotiate with dung beetles will be an easy task. I am almost there; I will talk to you once this is over and I give my final report to the Covenant,” Harfrac ended the conversation.

Back at Aserghul, Vorten looked over to Stalenjh, who sat across the black polished table from him. “Good, once he gets in the emir’s palace, I will force him through his own dark crystal to insult the king, and he and the guards will be killed. Then I will go to Tiamat and convince her to raze the city. The drow and orc armies are moving into place now along the main tunnel through the mountains. The Usurper dragons will send two squadrons and another from Tbok’s complement. Once the city is destroyed, the drow will move in and clean the gems out of the emir’s stockpile and the readily available ones in their mines before Sultan Dalmach’s people arrive there to reclaim the land. This is once the Arianans are brave enough to reclaim it. Our cut has already been negotiated among the drow. The orcs get all they can eat from Hasera, once inside the city. As for Harfrac, his service to the empire will be duly noted, and if I ever catch you with my daughter, a worse fate awaits you,” Stalenjh spoke.

Vorten nodded in acknowledgement. Stalenjh saw the young man’s fear of him but liked the way he had manipulated his friend to his advantage. He had the drive, cunning, and ruthlessness to make a good Talon sorcerer one day, as long as he kept his place.

As the four wyverns approached the city, a squadron of manticores with riders dressed in the traditional black head and face scarves met them and with a wave of the young sorcerer’s staff, as an acknowledgement, cautiously surrounded the Morgathian envoy and escorted them to the center of the city and the bulbous domed palace of Hasera’s emir. The structures were all made of the typical tan clay building material that was common to that area.
Everything’s
brown
and
dusty,
Harfrac thought.
What
a
dismal
place!

They landed in front of the main palace gate and were immediately met by a hundred of the emir’s palace guards and a dozen manticores on the ground. While a show of force to a visiting dignitary was customary, this seemed a little excessive to Harfrac. He looked at his lead guard and crumpled his broad forehead in a sign of concern. The guards dismounted their wyverns and were also looking at the manticores with apprehension.

Harfrac dismounted and walked up to the emir’s emissary and gave him a slight bow. He then spoke through his dark crystal staff, which translated his words into their language. “I trust that the emir is waiting for me?” he asked.

“Yes, His Magnificence is awaiting your arrival. Please follow me,” the crystal translated back. The sorcerer’s two guards moved to his side as forty of the palace guards escorted them through the large, green, finely decorated palace doors. The guards were actually wearing their breastplate armor over their finely wrapped white-linen tunics and their pointed steel/copper helmets with full circular battle shields and long spears. Their curved scimitars were hanging from their woven belts. The palace was finely decorated with murals of past battles the Arianans fought and scenes from other calligraphic designs. The emir was sitting on his golden embroidered pillow on the raised platform at the end of the great palace hallway. Slaves and slave girls were all attending to him and a table with brewed tea and food spread before them.

“Please sit, my Morgathian friends, and enjoy our hospitality,” the emir stated as Harfrac sat on the firm pillow and rested his staff across his lap. He took the teacup handed to him by the slave girl and started to sip it. It was very sweet but always good. He grabbed a couple of pieces of seasoned goat meat from the tray.

“Very good, Your Majesty, your hospitality is as always exquisite,” he complimented the monarch, who nodded an acceptance. “We do have several matters to discuss. First, we have gotten word that your ships are not only raiding those that trade with the Alliance, but the Shidanese as well. As for your tithing and sales of gemstones to Morgathia, well, they have not been up to standard as of late. The Morgathian Empire is embroiled in a campaign against our common enemy, the Dragon Alliance and its allies in the Northern Ontaror region, Freiland, Southland and especially the hated kingdom of Ian. In order to help us protect you, we need your cooperation, and…” Harfrac saw his dark crystal pulsate while it was translating, and he felt a strange tug at his mind. He had to pause to regain his composure.

“My noble Morgathian ambassador, the city of Hasera enjoys the trade with the Morgathian Empire and has found our relationship profitable. However, the empire as of late has not been overly forthcoming in payment for the precious gemstones we harvest in our rich mines, and we feel that greater compensation is due. If a couple of my overzealous holy warriors have taken Shidanese or Morgathian ships, it is either in the name of just payment or for the will of Kallysh,” the emir replied, an evil smile across this thick, bearded face.

“Emir, you miserable lowly dog! No one attacks a ship under the Morgathian Talon standard. If this continues, it will be considered an act of war, and I don’t think that your cousin Sultan Dalmach would appreciate a war with the empire,” he almost screamed out. The volume and content of the words shocked even him, as if the words had been forced from his mouth. His stomach was also starting to feel a small but steady pain.

“Infidel, you come into my house as a guest and insult me! Is this what we are to expect from our Morgathian allies?” the emir yelled back.

“You will be expected to kneel to the Talon Council and Queen Tiamat and obey like the dog that you are, as will your wretched city, and be glad that we simply do not take what we want,” again, Harfrac blurted out the insulting comments, which he really didn’t want to say in this manner. He couldn’t understand why he was saying them with such venom.