(Dragonkin) Dragon Rider (33 page)

   Menimeth pulled one of his swords from its scabbard and approached the swordsmen.

   "You fight very well." Menimeth said to the man. "But you use an old trick that will not work on some warriors."

   "It is just faster to taunt them into making a mistake." The man said.

   "And if they do not get angry when you taunt them, what will you do?" Menimeth asked the man.

   "It does not matter," The man said. "I have never met the man who could best me."

   "You have now." Menimeth said. "The question is, how good you really are?"

   "You have no shield to protect yourself." The man said. "You would not last long enough for it to be interesting."

   "I will use two swords." Menimeth said as he pulled his second sword from its scabbard. "You can use the shield."

   The man attacked with a move Menimeth had seen many times in the past by the outlaws in the White Kingdoms. He countered it easily, and with one sword in front of him and the other in back, waited for the next attack from his opponent. This stance confused the man, and he attacked with a lot more caution on his next attempt. Menimeth blocked every move the man made with only the sword he held in front of him, and made it look easy. The man taunted Menimeth as they circled each other, but it had no affect on the dragon rider, and so the man attacked again. This time Menimeth used both swords, and within seconds the man was disarmed, and a look of shock was on his face.

   "I have never seen such skill." The man said, as he retrieved his sword, and slid it back into its scabbard.

   "You are skilled, but with some instruction, you could be much better." Menimeth said.

   "I am called Tukhal, and I would know who bested me with a sword if I may"

   "He is the king of the empire, and that is his dragon." The instructor said, as he pointed to Danorathin who sat above the gate to Glansford.

   "You are the dragon rider?" Tukhal asked, worried he was in serious trouble for attacking the king, and saying the things he did to taunt him.

   "Yes, but I am still just a warrior of the empire." Menimeth said, and turned to walk back to the garrison. "Please follow me."

   Menimeth walked to the headquarters in the garrison, and into Feran's office followed by Tukhal. Feran sat behind his desk and looked at the two men as they entered, rising to salute the king.

   "I have found you a trainer." Menimeth said to Feran as they entered. "He is very good with a sword, and all other weapons I suspect."

   "That is good news indeed." Feran said, and looked at the man who was with his friend.

   "His name is Tukhal." Menimeth said. "And he carries his own sword and bow."

   "Where, if I may ask are you from?" Feran asked Tukhal.

   "Far to the south, in a place called The Hinderland." Tukhal answered. "It once traded goods with the empire of old."

   "What brings you so far from home, and why join the Dragon Guard?" Feran asked. "Does the Hinderland not have an army?"

   "The Hinderland is no longer a kingdom." Tukhal said. "And all that remains south of the empire are a few small villages. The stories have reached the villages there of the return of the dragon rider, and so I came to fight for him."

   "So you are here to kill solders of Arnoran?" Menimeth asked.

   "I do not like killing, and would do all I can to avoid it." Tukhal said. "But I will do whatever must be done for the empire."

   "What we need is someone who can train the men as they join the Dragon Guard." Feran said. "To prepare them to defend the empire."

   "That I can do." Tukhal said. "And would be honored."

   "Then you will start tomorrow morning." Menimeth said, and turned to Feran. "Have a room in the officers building assigned to him, he is now a Captain of the Dragon Guard, and will need the emblem of his rank."

   "I will see to it as soon as possible." Feran said, and rose to carry out his orders.

   Menimeth walked from the garrison, and across the great road to the dragon rider capital. Tomorrow he would scout the west and gather some information, but tonight he needed to rest.

   Menimeth and his dragon flew from the Dragon Tower the next morning, long before the sun was to rise. There was no sound to give them away as they slipped from the castle and made their way into the western realm. Today they were flying to the lands north of Argnon, and in the direction of the enemy camp in the northwest. It had been several days since they last flew across the empire, and he needed more information on the forces that they would face in the coming battle.

   There was no moon to see by, but Menimeth used the dragon sight spell, and was able to see as if it were still daylight. The land looked normal as it passed beneath them for most of the way across the realm. It was not until they reached the western part of the realm, that the houses and towns below were burned to the ground. Menimeth hoped that all of the people had fled from these towns, and that none had been captured or killed. The people of the empire were his biggest concern, and he did not want any harm to come to them.

   Danorathin gained altitude and was high overhead when they reached the distance needed to look down on the camp hidden among the trees. The fires of the solders were beginning to get bigger, as they prepared them for their breakfast, and there were more than he could count. A path was being cleared through the trees south of the camp, where the largest number of the fires were located, and it was well under way. It would not be more than a week before the way was clear, and they could begin to move the large pieces of the siege weapons from the trees. It would take another two to three months to reach the castle once they were clear of the trees, but they sent riders ahead, and burn everything they found along the way.

   Menimeth watched as a patrol rode into the camp and disappeared under the trees. Men began to move around their fires, and several hundred streamed into the clearing to the north. Menimeth could see the parts of the siege towers and the battering ram in the clearing, but could not tell what the other device was. The sun was just beginning to peek above the horizon when he turned his dragon southeast, and in the direction of the Dragon Tower.

   The day of the battle was getting closer, but Menimeth had the time he needed to get his warriors into position. He had more men than he expected for the defense of the west, but could not afford many losses. He spotted the enemy solders riding east as he passed high overhead, and wondered where they were headed.

   He was lost in thought when the rider came into view, and Danorathin dropped to the ground in front of him. The battle for the west was about to change, and the empire would have the advantage they needed. Menimeth did not know it yet, but this chance meeting would change the way the battle was to be fought, and the path the empire would follow when it was over.

Chapter Twenty-Six

   Eoavin watched as the solders of the mage king rode from the camp and turned east. He counted sixty men in the raiding party, but only around twenty of them were true horsemen. The remaining solders were those that could ride, but fighting from the back of a horse was another matter all together. It was the twenty men in front that were the horsemen, and they would be the hardest to defeat in a skirmish.

   Several times over the last few weeks the raiding party rode out, and each time more solders rode with them when they did. The raiding party was not as important as the progress of the woodcutters, since they cleared a path for the siege weapons, but they did represent a threat.

   Eoavin walked from the trees from which he had watched the camp, and mounted his horse. The raiding party would not reach his position for at least two days, but he would be far away by then. As he rode from the trees, and into the farmlands of the towns northeast of Argnon, he entered a burned out land. All of the fields were blackened, and the houses were nothing more than charred ruins. The few villages of this region, and the towns that supplied them, were all destroyed as well.

   He traveled east, and for several hours he saw the results of the raiding party, all around him. When he finely left that blackened and desolate land behind, and rode on in the direction of his objective, he was once again in the forests of the west. There were no more towns or villages this far north, and he did not believe the enemy would continue east for long. He decided to ride late into the night to put some distance between the raiding party and himself, but he would need to let his horse rest more and more until he stopped for the night.

   The time had come to send the information to Loren, and he needed to reach Rantinel, who waited in the camp by the Great North Road. From there, one of the runners would ride to the north, and give the message to Loren in the Elvin Kingdoms. He also needed to get word to the empire about the raiders north of Argnon, as well as the information he was sent to collect.

   It was late when he stopped for the night, and only a few hours remained before the sun would rise the next morning. He could no longer see the raiding party, but he knew they were behind him still. He slept in the trees for a few hours, but was up before darkness had been swept from the land. As the sun began to rise, Eoavin headed east once again, but did not get far before the sound of wings brought him to a stop. He turned back to the west, and in the direction of the sound, just as the dragon and his rider landed on the ground in front of him.

   "Good morning sir." The elf said to the dragon rider. "I am Eoavin, and you must be Menimeth."

   "It was the dragon that gave me away, was it not?" Menimeth asked with a smile. "Or was it the armor?"

   "No, it was Loren." The elf replied. "He said to look for you to show up when you were needed most."

   "Did he now?" Menimeth asked, surprised. "And what else did he tell you?"

   "That you had no scouts in the north to supply you with information." Eoavin replied.

   "He is a remarkable elf." Menimeth said. "And he is right."

   "That is why he sent us, to gather information about the enemy, and relay it to you." Eoavin said. "That is where I traveled when you arrived."

   "Then I am lucky to have seen you." Menimeth said to the elf. "For I fear I would not have been in Glansford when you reached it."

   "You have seen the raiding party that rides east?" Eoavin asked.

   "Yes, but they have already burned all the towns east of their camp." Menimeth replied. " They will not travel east long."

   "No, they clear a path for the main army and their siege weapons." Eoavin informed him. "But they will try to burn all the towns and villages west of Argnon."

   "Starting with the north." Menimeth said. "We must not let them go unopposed."

   "There is another scout in the west that is watching the camp to the south." Eoavin said. "And he has spoken with the cavalrymen in the red and white as well."

   "I will look for him after I have stopped at Argnon." Menimeth said. "Where can I find him?"

   "He is camped by a stream, which crosses the old west road in the north. It is the last bridge before the road ends." Eoavin replied. "And his camp is not far from the road."

   "What news do you have of the enemy camp?" Menimeth asked the elf.

   "They will be leaving the camp soon, and then they will head for Argnon when they do." The elf said. "They have four or five hundred horses, but I have only seen twenty men that were true horsemen."

   "They will walk to Argnon then." Menimeth said. "That is what I expected. We should have at least two months to gather our warriors and have them in place."

   "When they arrive, they will find that only the battering rams, and the towers will work." Eoavin said. "We have disabled the other weapons in the last few nights."

   "Will they be able to repair them?" Menimeth asked.

   "Yes, but they will not discover they have been disabled until they reach Argnon." Eoavin informed Menimeth. "And by then it will be too late."

   "That will give us an edge." Menimeth said. "If we strike at the right time."

   "At last count, there were more than five thousand men in the camp." Eoavin said. "But not all are fighters and archers. We counted nine mage's with them as well."

   "They will not be a problem." Menimeth said. "It is the leader that I worry about."

   "Yes, he is a harsh leader from what we have seen." The elf replied. "And so the solders will follow out of fear, but they will follow none the less."

   "Then I must see to the defenses of the castle." Menimeth said. "Thank you for the information, it may be the difference in the battle."

   "There is another matter we should discuss." The elf said. "There is a traitor in the castle."

   "Yes, we suspected there was, but could not find him." Menimeth said. "Captain Brannor still looks for him."

   "We have watched as he leaves the castle, and followed him to the ruins in the north. There he meets with a messenger, who then rides to the enemy camp in the northwest."

   "Do you know the identity of the traitor?"

   "Yes, it is the son of the regent. The one called Saesic."

   "That is a problem indeed." Menimeth said. "We will have to expose him to his father somehow."

   "Capture the messenger, and he will expose the son." Eoavin said. "The messenger despises the traitor, and has shown it."

   "First we must capture the messenger." Menimeth said.

   "There is always a messenger at the ruins, unless he is gone to report what the traitor has relayed to them." The elf said. "If he is not there, just wait. He will show up at the ruins again before long, or another messenger will take his place."

   "Thank you once again, Eoavin." Menimeth said. "You have done the empire a great service."

   "Farewell dragon rider, we shall meet again I think." Eoavin said, as he turned his horse east again, and was soon lost among the trees.

   Danorathin was on the way to Argnon seconds later, flying just above the treetops to avoid being spotted by the raiding party. Menimeth did not think they could see him from that distance, but he could not know what kind of magic they might be using. As the trees passed beneath them, and the sun began to climb in the morning sky, he noticed the horse at the ruins north of the castle. It was not from the garrison, and did not have any markings on it that would identify it as belonging to the realms. He could not see it clearly, but he believed it to belong to the messenger Eoavin had spoken of.

   Captain Brannor stood at the gates of the garrison, and was assigning the tasks for the day to his men when Danorathin landed. Menimeth dropped to the ground, and walked to the gates.

   "Welcome to Argnon sire." Captain Brannor said. "I will see your arrival is announced to Falendor at once."

   "There is no need for that." Menimeth replied. "I have come to speak with you, and not the regent."

   "This is a military matter I take it." Captain Brannor said.

   "Yes. A raiding party is burning the towns and villager to the north, and I would like to slow them down some."

   "Do you wish me to assemble the men?"

   "No, I only need twenty of your best archers, and some fast horses." Menimeth said. "I wish to strike, and move to a new location before the enemy can recover."

   "I will have them here within the hour, ready to depart."

   "Have them meet me at the ruins north of the castle." Menimeth said. "I have something I must do first."

   "We will be there when you arrive." Captain Brannor said. "And ready to fight."

   "There is a horse at the ruins, I wish you to see if you can catch the man who rides it." Menimeth said. "He is a servant of the mage king, if I am not mistaken."

   "We will catch him, and have him waiting for you when you arrive."

   "Then I will see you at the ruins." Menimeth said, and walked back to where Danorathin waited.

   While Captain Brannor gathered the archers, and led them to the ruins, Menimeth flew west. He reached the camp of the elf scout along the stream by the old road, and found him among the trees soon after. They talked for several minuets about the enemy camp, and the movements of its men. When the dragon rider was once again in the air, he was armed with the latest information available.

   Captain Brannor was waiting for him when he arrived at the ruins, along with the archers he had requested to set up the ambush. They had captured the enemy messenger, but could get nothing from him.

   "He will not talk." Captain Brannor said, talking about the prisoner.

   "He believes it was the traitor who told you where to find him."

   "Then we will use that to our advantage." Menimeth told his dragon. "But you will need to be the one to take him to Argnon, if we are to make this plan work."

   "I do not have to carry him in my mouth, do I?" The dragon asked.

   "No my friend, you do not."

   "Good, because this one, smells worse than the last one, and there is not enough water in the land to wash the taste from my mouth."

   "It does not matter." Menimeth said to the Captain. "I will use his horse for now, and have Danorathin take the prisoner to Argnon."

   "Someone will be there to take him to the dungeon." Captain Brannor said. "If he lands inside the garrison."

   The look on the prisoners face as the dragon reached out and grabbed him with a front claw, was one of pure fright. The men of the western realm could hear him screaming as the dragon leapt into the air, and they laughed as they turned north to set up the ambush.

   Danorathin caught up with Menimeth before they reached the first village, after dropping the prisoner off inside the garrison, and guided his master to the best place to attack the enemy. It was late in the day when they reached their destination and camped for the night, but the raiders had set up a camp as well, and would not reach them until midday of the following day. Menimeth did not hope to defeat the raiders, just to thin out their numbers, and retreat to set up another ambush farther south.

   The next morning, the men were ready soon after daylight, and waited for the enemy to arrive. The day went by slowly at first, but as the enemy drew nearer, time seemed to speed up. Menimeth stood with Captain Brannor and discussed the plans once again.

   "I will no longer need the horse." Menimeth told Captain Brannor. "From here on, I will be with my dragon."

   "We will take it with us." The captain replied. "I will not leave it for the enemy to use against us again."

   "Remember, only two arrows are to be fired before you and your men ride south to the next ambush site."

   "The enemy will be here in less than two hours." Danorathin said to his master.

"Then the time has come to return to me." Menimeth replied.

   "You have less than two hours." Menimeth said to Captain Brannor. "We will cover your retreat."

   The dragon landed, and seconds later they were in the air again. They were soon out of sight of the men, but were close enough to help if they were needed. The men were ready when the raiders reached the ambush site, but waited until the leaders had passed before attacking. It took less than ten seconds for the men to attack and begin the ride south, and by the time the raiders had regrouped and reached the place the attack had come from, the solders of the western realm were gone.

   Menimeth counted thirteen dead and several wounded, but the wounded were not hurt badly enough to hinder their ability to fight. Menimeth expected the raiders to chase their attackers, but they turned west instead. That route would not take them to any more towns or villages, but back to the camp of the enemy's main army.

   After watching the raiders long enough to be sure they were not trying to get behind their attackers, Menimeth returned to where Captain Brannor waited with the men.

   "The raiders have turned west again." He said, as he dropped from the back of his dragon. "They appear to be returning to the camp of the main army."

   "Then will they return with more men?" Captain Brannor asked.

   "No, I do not think they will leave the camp again, until their army begins to move east."

   "And how long do we have, until they do?"

   "Less than a week, but they will not be able to reach Argnon quickly pulling the siege weapons they have constructed." Menimeth said. "The raiders left their dead behind, so gather their horses, and strip them of their armor and weapons, then you can return to Argnon."

   "As you command sire." Captain Brannor said with a smile, knowing how much the warrior disliked the title. "We are forever in your debt, your majesty."

   "If he bows to me, eat him." Menimeth said as he turned to his dragon.

   The men started laughing when Captain Brannor hurried to his horse, and quickly mounted it.

   "You eat him, he is too old and he smells." Was Danorathin's reply, and Menimeth started to laugh as well.