Scourge of the Dragons (18 page)

“The shadow dragons and their ilk were just
ghosts until recently. Isn’t it possible that spirit people are
real as well? They could be valuable allies in the coming
struggle.”

“Their existence could also provide you with
the means to take over the spirit monastery. Cristoph’s credibility
would be damaged by such a revelation.”

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, my
friend. From what I gather, the spirit warriors are gearing up for
a conquest of their own. If we assist them in taking the four
kingdoms and sending the shadows back to wherever it is they come
from, they would make us Kings!”

“You know I’m not one to take sides, Lamont.
What happens to me and others like me?”

“War always has casualties, but if people
like you don’t get in the way of the spirit warriors, you should
survive. Were the shadows to win, I am not so certain.”

*

Finrul extended his arm as he opened the
shadow portal. It wasn’t necessary, but sometimes the small things
helped when trying new spells. He tried his best to stay calm as he
watched the men disappear into the swirling darkness. Too much
excitement and the spell could spiral out of his control. Too much
apprehension and the spell could fizzle out. For all he knew,
either of those could cause casualties. The dragons had ordered him
to master the technique no matter the cost, but he knew there would
be consequences if he lost more than a few soldiers. He pushed
aside all thoughts not relating to the portal itself. The mind was
a mage’s most powerful tool, but it could also become the source of
catastrophic failure.

“One more squad and then we break,” He
yelled to the nearest Captain.

“How much longer do we have to master this?”
Revin asked as the last of the groups entered the portal.

“They never told me, which means the sooner
the better. I’ll let them rest for a time and then we will begin
with a new group.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” The magician turned toward
Revin as he closed the portal.

“Magic takes a toll on the user, you know
that better than I.”

“I haven’t even come close to mastering the
spell, there is no way for me to tell what will happen to me. Obrin
seemed unaffected by it, that is a good sign.”

“Is it wise to place this much faith in the
dragons?”

“Perhaps not, but this spell is powerful. It
is worth whatever cost is incurred.”

*

Kade rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He
shivered as he glanced around to gather his bearings. The Knights
of Ardevale were gone, replaced by a massive dragon and a lone
warrior. He tried to move his legs, but they wouldn’t respond to
his commands. His body slowly floated toward the two beings. The
warrior altered his grip on his spear as he stepped toward the
dragon. His opponent reared back and snarled. Neither of them paid
Kade any attention as he floated in for a better look. The warrior
was tall and thin. Taller than any human he had ever seen, but with
a significantly smaller frame than the giants of legend. There was
something familiar about the figure. He pivoted to the side as the
dragon unleashed a swath of flames. The two combatants continued
their dance. Neither could manage to get the upper hand. The
massive beast clawed and whipped its tail to and fro, but each time
the warrior was too quick. He darted around the dragon, stabbing
with his spear. Several times he made contact, but the spear slid
off the dragon’s hide.

“Where am I?” Kade shouted as he floated
in-between the two of them.

“This is most unexpected,” said the
dragon.

“I’m not certain that either of us can
properly explain that,” the warrior said.

“Who are you?” The young man asked.

“The beast’s name is unimportant. All you
need to know is that it is indeed a dragon as you already suspect.
I am Tychran of the Kelimar. We are an ancient race that opposes
the shadow at every turn. With your help, I can defeat this
creature. Now is hardly the time for that, though. You must
awaken,” the warrior said as he reached out and touched Kade’s
forehead.

Kade awoke in the forest where his Knights
were camped. He squinted as he glanced around the camp. Everything
was quiet, almost too quiet. He listened for any sound and was
rewarded with the soft crunch of a twig. The sound was immediately
followed by a shushing noise. Kade sprang to his feet and thrust
his hands toward the noise. A shadowy tentacle shot out from his
left palm and grabbed hold of one of the soldiers that was
attempting an ambush. His right palm began to glow before emitting
a beam of silver energy. The beam took another of the attackers in
the chest and knocked him back several feet. Both the beam and the
tentacle took on a life of their own as Kade spotted the rest of
the enemy squad. His eyes were transfixed on his victims as the
tentacle smashed bones, crushed windpipes, and cracked skulls. The
beam tore through the opponents that the shadow tentacle had
missed.

“What’s happening?” Attos asked as he
scrambled to his feet.

“These fools were under the impression that
they could sneak up on us. I proved them wrong,” Kade replied as
the tentacle retracted into his left palm and the beam died
out.

Mariah nodded to Wrotan as he finished
assembling the final ballista. She wanted to say something, but the
timing didn’t feel right. He waved and she waved back before
turning away. A small squad of dwarves was awaiting her orders just
down the tunnel. They were among the few that had survived a run-in
with a dragon and dared to face one again. She was the only member
of the group that didn’t have experience facing off against one of
the creatures, but nobody else had volunteered to lead the small
squad into the dragon’s lair. Besides Wrotan’s task of actually
killing the beast, Mariah had taken on the most dangerous mission.
One of the dwarves joined her at the front of the column as they
began to march.

“Nothing to be afraid of, lass,” he
said.

“There is plenty to be afraid of,” she
said.

“Aye, but we’ll get the beast. That hunter
has the real difficult task. Friend of yours?”

“Yes, maybe something more, I don’t really
know. Do you really think we can do this?”

“As crazy as it sounds, I truly believe we
will succeed.”

The dwarf nodded as he drew his axe. Mariah
pulled the shield off her back and drew her sword. The exit to the
dwarven tunnels wasn’t far from where the dragon had taken up his
position. She took a deep breath as she wrestled with the reality
of fighting a pack of smaller dragons just to get the attention of
the full size creature. Hadrin, having the most experience dealing
with dragons, had insisted that they keep from engaging the earth
dragon until they had it cornered. It seemed to disagree with
common sense, but it was the only way to ensure the beast’s death.
The former guardswoman cleared her mind as she spotted the
drake.

“Take out as many of the smaller ones as you
can,” she ordered as she pointed her sword toward the drake.

“The others said to focus on the big one,”
one of the dwarves said.

“We won’t be around later to kill the
drakes.”

“You’re the only non-dwarf here.”

“Wrotan’s focus may be on the earth dragon,
but he will do his best to kill as many drakes as possible.”

The conversation ended as the drakes spotted
the oncoming attackers. Mariah reached the creatures first. She
dodged to the side and sliced at the beast’s wing. Her sword tore
through the drake’s wing, sending it bellowing in rage. The dwarves
swarmed the wounded creature and finished it off as the former
guardswoman moved on to the next target. They fought off the
initial wave of drakes until the ground began to shake. Mariah
called the dwarves back in to formation. She stayed at the front as
the entire squadron slowly backed away. The ground shook even more
violently as the earth dragon burst out of its cave.

“This is it. Make sure it stays on us until
Wrotan can get to it,” Mariah said.

*

Wrotan stood with a spear in hand, waiting
on the squad to return with the dragon. He heard a low rumble in
the distance. The dwarves began loading up the ballistae. His other
companions stayed back and watched. The hunter took a deep breath
as he spotted the first of the dwarves to return. Several other
dwarves were right on his heels and just behind them were a few
drakes. Wrotan dropped his spear and drew his sword. He sprinted
toward the first of the creatures and leaped toward it. His sword
dug into the drake’s neck. He grabbed hold of the sword and dragged
it down, tearing the beast’s throat open. The creature crashed to
the floor as the hunter pulled his sword from the corpse.

“The dragon is coming!” One of the dwarves
yelled as he ran into the tunnel.

“Focus the ballistae on the earth dragon,
everyone else thin out the drakes!” Wrotan yelled as he sprinted
back to his spear.

He sheathed his sword and picked up the
spear. The dragon let out a massive roar as it burst into the
tunnel. Wrotan launched his spear at the dragon. It flew through
the air and slammed into the creature’s leg. Ballista bolts rained
down on the beast as the hunter drew his sword and rushed toward
the dragon. He nodded to Mariah and she slid down to one knee and
braced her shield against the ground. Wrotan used the shield as a
ramp, but still wasn’t able to reach the dragon’s head. He rolled
to the side as the beast attempted to slam him with a claw. The
hunter pulled his knife and dug it into one of the dragon’s legs.
He used it to pull himself higher and dig his sword further up. The
creature shook off the attack and spun to deal a death blow.

“I’ll send you to your grave, foul beast!”
Wrotan yelled as he rolled away from the oncoming claw.

The hunter grabbed his knife from the
dragon’s leg and ran underneath the creature’s belly. He dug the
dagger into the beast’s gut before rushing out from underneath. One
of nearby dwarves threw his axe to the hunter. He brought the axe
up behind his head and swung at the dragon’s leg as though it were
a tree to be felled. His arms repeated the motion several times as
the beast bellowed in pain. It limped backward and let out a roar.
Wrotan let out a battle cry as he rushed the wounded dragon. The
axe dug into the creature’s front leg just as the back of the
dragon’s other paw collided with the hunter. He struggled to his
feet as the dragon lurched toward him. The hunter dove to the side,
narrowly missing being crushed by the beast.

*

“Reload the ballistae, aim at the dragon’s
leg!” Mariah yelled as she watched the dragon turn and charge
Wrotan.

She ran toward the beast as more dwarven
ballista bolts bounced off of the dragon’s hide. The former
guardswoman grabbed hold of one of the bolts. She lunged at the
beast and dug the bolt into the wound in the dragon’s leg. The
beast roared as it pulled back the wounded leg. Mariah backpedaled
as the creature turned to face her. Several dwarves rushed to her
side, ready to give their lives to assist her. The dwarves’
willingness to work as a team gave her an idea on how to defeat the
dragon. She ordered them to break up into four groups. Each group
focused on attack one of the beast’s legs. They attacked whenever
the creature was distracted by another group. Wrotan joined in on
the attack and before long the dragon’s legs gave out. The massive
beast crashed to the floor with a loud roar.

“Take the axe and aim for the neck!” The
hunter yelled as he tossed her his weapon.

Mariah caught the axe and dodged to the side
as the dragon whipped its head toward her. Wrotan rushed forward
and rammed into the fallen beast. He continued assaulting the
creature to create an opening for his companion. She slipped in
behind the dragon’s head and raised the axe as high as she could.
It took several tries, but she was able to break through the thick
hide and deal a blow that not even a dragon would be able to
survive. The dwarves ordered everyone to back away from the beast,
but Mariah was stuck behind the thrashing creature’s head. Wrotan
climbed atop the dragon and slid down to where she was. He helped
her to slide free and they both ran out of the creature’s
reach.

“We’ve done it!” One of the dwarves
yelled.

Wrotan ordered everyone to gather together
and tend to the wounded. The others obeyed as the remaining drakes
retreated back out of the caverns. Hadrin, Alandra, and Amber did
what they could to help the healing of those who had been injured
in the battle. Lamont and Bertram led their small party of paladins
after the drakes to ensure that they didn’t attack again. Mariah
approached the fallen dragon with a sense of awe. She ran her
fingers along the hide as she walked beside the beast’s body. Even
after having been attacked by the vicious creature, she couldn’t
help but have some measure of respect for the dragon.

“It is a shame that the creatures are not
willing to listen to reason,” Wrotan said as he approached.

“Perhaps, in the future, people will learn
to live with such beasts. They are not like other lesser animals
that can be tamed and they are far too dangerous to exterminate,
even if such a drastic measure were necessary,” she said.

“We can always hope. Unfortunately, they are
trying to exterminate us. That doesn’t give us much choice in the
matter.”

“How will we be able to defeat multiple
dragons? This one didn’t even breathe fire or fly. What kind of
army will we need to face our enemies?”

“Earth dragons are known to be the toughest
to kill. Yes, the others will be more likely to damage our forces,
but they will fall easier.”

“How can you be certain?” Mariah asked.

“I may not have faced the dragons, but I’ve
learned of them. There are tomes and tomes on fighting the beasts.
We will have a decent array of knowledge should be forced to face
more of them.”