Scourge of the Dragons (26 page)

“Could this be the friend that our previous
visitors spoke of?” King Padraig asked.

“It is possible, but I do not know.”

“We can’t leave him here. Bring him inside
and see to it that you do everything you can for him.”

*

Hadrin grabbed the hilt of his sword as he
approached the gate to House Martine. Several rough looking men
were arguing with one of the guards. The elf was too far to hear
what they were saying, but he could see that it wouldn’t end well.
One of the ruffians pointed toward his group and then they all
dispersed. Nicolai ordered two of his paladins to watch the streets
as they approached the guards. House Martine’s guards were still a
bit shook up by the confrontation, but they were willing to let the
elf Prince meet with their leader. He took Alandra with him as they
headed into the keep. This keep was in much better shape than that
of House Guilder, but it wasn’t overly fancy like the others they
had visited. Lord Martine stood up from his chair to welcome the
two guests.

“You must be the elf Prince that I’ve heard
so much about. Please, sit,” Martine said.

“My name is Hadrin and this is Alandra.
We’ve come seeking your assistance against my father, his army of
elves, and his dragon allies. It is not a small task, but losing
may mean destruction of the known world,” Hadrin said as he took a
seat.

“You don’t give me much of a choice, it
seems. What would the people think if they knew my failure to act
brought about the destruction of the world as we know it? I doubt
anyone alive would care. No doubt you’ve been rejected by each of
the other houses. That is to be expected though.”

“Now you see how desperate we are. Perhaps
it was not wise for me to approach you in such a way, but this is
an issue that needs to be addressed.”

“Of that, you have me convinced. Answer me
this, what are the chances we defeat these dragons?” Martine
asked.

“I wish I could say otherwise, but the
chances are exceedingly slim. We face dozens of dragons, maybe even
hundreds. Then there are the four elven armies to defeat. Last of
all, my father is a powerful magician and he employs at least one
other powerful mage.”

“I’ve always been partial to heroic jaunts
with little chance for success. What is life without a little
adventure? Give me a few days and I’ll have an army together.”

“You have my thanks,” Hadrin said as he
stood up.

“One of my men mentioned that you helped run
off a group of brigands. They’ll see you as a target now. The next
few days should be interesting for you and your bodyguards,”
Martine said as he escorted them to the door.

“They are paladins who are trained for war,
these ruffians you speak of won’t stand a chance,” Alandra
said.

“Perhaps you should seek them out. The
militias have their hands full with those pests.”

*

Hrimgur scratched at his beard as he
contemplated the scout’s words. Their force was significantly
larger than that of the slavers, but it would take time to defeat
the foul humans. The thought of letting a band of slavers prey upon
his people was enough to solidify his decision. He hooked his mace
onto the loop at his belt and called forth his Generals. They
devised a plan that would ensure their people wouldn’t have to deal
with slavers for a long time. He gathered together the majority of
his forces and set off toward the slaver’s camp as one of his
Generals headed around to ambush them from behind with the dwarves’
mobile ballistae. The dwarves marched until the camp came into
view. Their goal was to draw the slavers’ attention while the
ballistae got into position.

“Have a good portion of the troops hang
back, we don’t want the slavers running away from us. We want them
to think they have a chance,” Hrimgur ordered.

His dwarves followed suit, splitting into
two parties. The one group held back and waited for the signal as
the others continued forward. He could see the slavers alerting one
another to their presence. The dwarves drew their weapons as they
quicken their pace. A group of slavers rushed forward to engage
them. Hrimgur held his weapon up above his head and let out a
battle cry. He charged forward and slammed his mace into the chest
of the nearest slaver. His troops engaged their opponents and began
to push them back toward the camp. The fighting intensified as more
soldiers from both sides joined the fray. A horn sounded in the
distance and the dwarves all drew back and formed a shield wall.
Ballista bolts rained down on the slavers, breaking their spirit.
Hrimgur called his men together and they set about destroying what
they could of the camp.

“This should set them back, but it won’t
stop them altogether. We will need to deal with this on our return
trip.”

Amber watched as Wrotan, Mariah, and Lamont
all unhooked their sword belts and held them up to the side. One of
the mages at the tower entrance motioned for them to come forward.
He took their weapons and placed them in a large chest near the
entrance. The door swung open on its own and the mage motioned for
the four to enter. Lamont slouched as he entered the tower. Amber
couldn’t help but feel like he had something to hide from the
Arcane Academy wizards. The entryway was significantly smaller than
she had expected it would be. There was a single round room whose
diameter couldn’t have been more than eight feet. From the outside,
the tower looked as though it would have been two or three times
that size. There were stone arches all along the wall, but each was
only a foot or two deep. She tapped Wrotan on the shoulder to get
his attention.

“Where is the rest of the bottom level?” She
asked.

“The Arcane Tower is a special place. Only
the wisest and most powerful mages have chambers within the tower
itself. The majority of the students are at the academy itself.
We’ve entered the home of the most powerful magicians in the known
world. The outside tower is just an anchor that allows us to travel
to this location. They didn’t want others to be able to tear down
their tower with siege weapons and other means,” the hunter
replied.

“How is that possible?”

“Magic is a powerful tool, young one,” a
mage said as he stepped out from one of the arches.

“Excuse me, sir. We are looking for
magicians who specialize in locating people,” Wrotan said.

“Ah, yes. Location services are not too
uncommon. Theodorus can be found through the orange arch. Best of
fortune in finding your friend.”

“Thank you,” the hunter said as he offered
the mage a small crystal.

“It is refreshing to see that some still
know the practices of dealing with a wizard. If you have any other
questions, feel free to seek me out within the green arch.”

Wrotan nodded to the man before turning
toward the arch with the small orange square above it. He glanced
back at the others before stepping under the arch. Amber gasped as
the hunter disappeared. Lamont let out a chuckle as he followed
Wrotan. Mariah place one hand on Amber’s shoulder and motioned
toward the orange portal with the other. The young woman took a
deep breath before stepping into the portal. Everything went black
for a split second and then she was standing in another room. This
room was much too large to fit inside the tower, which only served
to further prove Wrotan’s comment. The room was lined with
bookshelves. There was no doubt that they had entered the Wizard’s
Library. She had heard stories about how it was the largest library
ever built, but even those stories didn’t do it justice. In the
center of the room, there was a round desk with several statues on
top.

“How can we help you?” One of the statues
asked as they approached.

“We are looking for Theodorus,” Lamont
replied.

“One moment, please.”

The small statue levitated above the table
before heading off into one of the aisles of bookshelves. Amber
watched as it whizzed by a few more times. She turned her attention
to the closest of the bookshelves. There were tomes highlighting
the basics of everything from gardening to magic to masonry. The
library was, without a doubt, the single largest repository of
knowledge in the world. That would make it a prime target for Obrin
and his allies. She wondered if they could use that fact to bring
the sorcerers into the war against the dragons. Her thoughts were
interrupted by the return of the statue. It stopped in front of
Lamont and waited for them to follow. They followed the statue
through what seemed like a maze of bookshelves before coming to a
small desk near the corner of the library. A lone mage sat at the
desk with piles and piles of books all around him. He was
significantly younger than Amber had imagined, or, at the very
least, he looked younger than she imagined. His short black hair
was accented by a small amount of gray at his temples.

“What is it?” The mage asked without looking
up at them.

“You are Theodorus?” Lamont asked.

“I am. Who are you?”

“That is not important, we need to know if
you can use your magic to locate our friend,” Wrotan said as he
stepped forward.

“That is more like it. No offense, but your
friend is far less important than he believes. And yes, I can use
magic to locate your friend. The question you should answer is: Why
should I use my magic to locate your friend?”

“You do not even know me. How could you
possibly know whether or not I am important?” Lamont asked.

“Lamont, you are well known to many. Some of
your theories are sound, but you greatly underestimate the dangers
of meddling in the affairs of others. Regardless of that, I will
still assist your friend if they provide me with a sound reason,”
Theodorus answered.

“The dragons took control of his mind. We
don’t know what sort of havoc he is wreaking as their tool,” Mariah
said.

“Dragons? Why wasn’t I told that the dragons
are involved?”

“We assumed that everyone knew. They
attacked the dwarves and, if they haven’t already, they will attack
the humans next. Some of our allies are already recruiting armies
to fight off the threat,” Wrotan replied.

“If the dragons are involved, then I have
little choice. Is there anything else you need at the Arcane
Academy or can we start the process now?” Theodorus asked.

“We will need to be able to heal his mind
when we find him. There is no telling what kind of damage the
dragons have done to him.”

“One last question: Why is he so
important?”

“I made a promise and I intend to keep
it.”

“Are you fools? The dragons are on the loose
and you seek to rescue a lone man.”

Amber wanted to speak up, but she could see
that Wrotan’s stare had a far greater effect on the wizard than
anything any of them could say. The mage put up his hands, as if to
say that they should ignore his outburst. He extended his hand to
the hunter and they shook. Lamont was already heading back toward
the middle of the library as they others began to leave. The statue
made sure that the others could catch up. None of them spoke as
they wound back to the center of the library. Theodorus stopped at
the center desk and wrote something on a piece of parchment before
rejoining the group. His paper lifted off from the desk and glided
through the air.

“One of our finest healers will meet us at
the exit in a bit,” he said.

“How does this work?” Mariah asked.

“I’ll prepare a spell once we are outdoors.
After that, I can act as a compass to get you closer to your
friend.”

*

Alandra said a silent prayer as she drew her
sword. She never considered herself a religious person, but
fighting brought out a different side. They were outnumbered at
least four to one, but their opponents weren’t as well-armed.
Nicolai and Charise ordered their paladins to spread out as the
bandits approached. Hadrin was the one that everyone worried most
about. Though he was the Prince of the night elves, his skill with
a sword was not something that would instill fear in others. They
all knew he would refuse to stay out of the fight, so nobody even
thought to bring it up. He stood at the center of the half-circle
with Alandra at one side and Nicolai at the other. They knew it
would be harder for their enemies to get to him if they placed him
there. The brigands charged forward and engaged the paladins
first.

Hadrin rushed forward and attacked one of
the ruffians. Alandra and Nicolai followed behind him, ready to
intervene if necessary. She engaged one of the leaders of the
thugs. He attacked her with a high arcing chop, which she dodged.
Her offhand surged forward and she dug her knife into his chest.
The brigand grabbed at his chest as he collapsed to the floor. He
was quickly replaced by one of his companions. She lashed out at
the elven warrior, but the strike was too slow. Alandra knocked her
sword out of the way and dug her dagger into her opponent’s neck.
The elven warrior proceeded to neutralize three more opponents
before she drew back to check on her allies. Hadrin and the
paladins had managed to fight off the majority of the ruffians,
causing what little was left of the force to flee.

“Everyone survive?” Nicolai asked as the
group gathered.

“Yes, a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing
major,” Charise replied.

“You have our thanks, we’ve been trying to
find a way to stop that gang for years,” one of the villagers said
as he approached the group.

“Is there no force to stop them?” Hadrin
asked.

“The council army kept them from harming the
nobles and the militias have always been able to keep them out of
certain areas, but this is the first time I’ve seen anyone deal
such a blow.”

“We are happy to assist. People deserve
better than to be preyed upon by others.”