Scourge of the Dragons (5 page)

“Come on, it’s high time we got back home,”
Julian said.

“Not so fast, my friends,” the stranger
said.

“What exactly do you want here?” Winston
asked as he approached the table.

“The Knights of Ardevale are sworn to
protect humankind from enemies both foreign and domestic. Perhaps
you’ve heard that the elves are dealing with a pervasive disease
that is known as death’s shadow. It is said that the victims slowly
succumb to a scourge of sorts. They are living in death’s shadow,
if you will.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Julian
asked.

“Why don’t we ask your friend?” The Knight
asked as he grabbed Kade’s hand.

“Let go of him!” Amber yelled as she swung
at the stranger’s hand.

The man didn’t even flinch when her hand
struck his arm. Kade attempted to pull his hand away, but the
Knight was too strong. He grabbed the man with his other hand.
Another of the Knight walked over and grabbed hold of Kade’s
shoulders. Their leader pulled back the glove to reveal the small
black circle. Amber gasped as she looked down at her friend’s hand.
Julian rose to his feet and rammed into the Knight that was holding
Kade. Two more Knights came over and grabbed hold of Kade. Their
leader rose from his chair and motioned for the door. He stopped at
the door and turned to face the room.

“If anyone else sees anything that resembled
the scourge, contact us immediately,” he said before pulling Kade
into the streets.

*

“Don’t even think about it, boy,” Winston
said as he moved between Julian and the door.

“What are we supposed to do?” Amber
asked.

“We’ll be contacting the authorities, that’s
what.”

Julian let out a sigh of resignation as he
took a seat at the bar. Amber and Timus took the seats next to him
as Winston exited the inn. The innkeeper returned moments later and
nodded to the three of them. Amber placed a hand on Julian’s
shoulder, but he shrugged it away. The last thing he wanted was to
be comforted. He wanted his anger to well up inside until he was
able to unleash it on the Knights of Ardevale. The thought was
foolish, but one that he could not shake. Winston came back to the
bar and placed a mug in front of each of the three. Julian slid it
closer and stared into the liquid. Amber lifted her mug to her nose
and smelled it.

“This is illegal,” she said as she placed it
back down.

“I watered it down, it’ll do ya both some
good. Listen to old Winston,” he said.

Julian grabbed hold of the mug handle and
took a big swig. The taste would take some getting used to, but
drinking the ale made him feel like an adult. Amber looked at the
mug suspiciously as she raised it to her lips. She took a small sip
before shaking her head. Timus motioned for Winston to bring her
something else and the barkeep obliged. Amber thanked him for the
tea and sipped it. Julian raised his mug and drained the rest of
the watered down ale. He slammed it back down on the bar and took a
deep breath. In the back of his mind, he wanted to forget the
guards and give chase. The door swung open and a young woman in
chainmail approached the bar. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a
ponytail and she carried herself as though she knew how to fight.
The blue tabard draped over her chainmail held the symbol of the
Regent of Reddington.

“You called for the guard?” She asked as
Winston approached.

“That I did. These youngins and their friend
need your assistance,” he replied.

“My name is Mariah, I am here to help. Now,
which one of you wants to tell me what happened?” She asked.

“Our friend was taken,” Julian replied
without looking up.

“You’ll need to do better than that.”

“There was a man in golden armor with an
orange cloak. Some of his soldiers wore gold armor and others wore
silver. All of them had orange cloaks. They called themselves the
Knights of Ardevale,” Amber said.

“We best get going if we are to catch them
before they reach their castle.”

“That’s it? You help us without even asking
who we are. How do we know this isn’t a trick?” Julian asked as he
looked up at the woman.

“Enough, Julian. Mariah offered to help and
we will take her assistance. Kade doesn’t stand a chance without
it,” Amber replied as she glared at her friend.

The guardswoman shrugged before turning back
to the door. Amber scrambled to catch her as Julian waited in his
seat. He watched them leave the inn before looking back down at his
empty mug. Winston and Timus both came closer, but he paid them no
head. His mind was racing as he tried to think of any alternatives.
He slammed his fist on the bar before sliding off his seat and
heading for the door. A quick glance over the shoulder told him
that neither Timus nor Winston would be joining them. He took a
deep breath as he stepped out into the cool night air. Mairah and
Amber were already several blocks down the street. He quickened his
pace as he followed them. They slowed down as he caught up to
them.

“Coming around after all?” Amber asked as
she looked over her shoulder.

“This is our best chance of rescuing him,”
Julian answered.

“That doesn’t mean our chances are high,”
Mariah said.

*

Melisandre grabbed hold of her throne as the
palace shook. She rushed to the nearest balcony and looked to see
what had caused it. An entire wing of dragons was swooping down
toward the palace. The massive gold dragon had already landed atop
the highest part of the palace. Her kin took up spots on the
various towers protruding from the palace and the surrounding
walls. Several other dragons landed in the courtyard outside of the
palace, blocking in anyone that wanted to leave. The Queen rushed
back to her throne room and made her way to the back wall. She
threw aside the tapestry and pulled down on the hidden lever. The
throne slid backward, revealing a secret passage below. She rushed
down the stairs and into a small chamber. Fenzik, Finrul, and
several guards followed her into the secret chamber. The Queen
pulled a level and the throne slid back into place. She turned to
face the magicians.

“What is the meaning of this?” She
asked.

“The dragons appear to have been driven mad
by the scourge. We saw them behaving in a strange manner before,
but it wore off almost immediately. Perhaps that is the case with
their latest action,” Fenzik replied.

“Let us hope that is true. Do the dragons
have knowledge of our escape tunnels?”

“I doubt it, but it is possible.”

The Queen paced back and forth as she
considered her options. Even if the dragons had no knowledge of the
secret tunnels, there was still a chance that they would spot her
and the others fleeing. It was the only viable option that she
could think of. She took a deep breath before motioning for the
others to follow. The paths had not been used during the time of
her reign. They slowed their pace as they got closer to the exit.
One of her guards took the lead and exited from the tunnel first.
He motioned for the others to follow as soon as he saw that the
coast was clear. The market was abuzz with citizens, many of whom
had taken the dragons’ appearance as a good omen. Melisandre pulled
her hood over her head and did the best she could to hide her face.
The move was not enough to fool her subjects and within moments
they were surrounded by elves.

“Make way for the Queen!” One member of the
crowd shouted.

“Hail Queen Melisandre!” Another yelled.

Fenzik pushed through the crowd and the
others followed closely behind. The elves were so happy to see the
dragons that they failed to make way for their Queen. Melisandre
glanced back at the palace and saw the massive gold dragon pull her
head out of the throne room. She kicked out her wings and launched
into the air. Melisandre gasped as the creature swooped into a dive
over the city. Their window for escape was quickly closing. The
entire group pushed against the crowd and slowly made their way to
one of the side alleys. They broke into a run and headed for the
closest gate. Melisandre took the lead as their path wove through
the back alleys. She came to a sliding halt as she exited the alley
and entered the south gate square. The massive gold dragon sat atop
the southern gate. She twisted around to tell the others to head
back the other direction, but there was a massive silver dragon
using its tail to block the way.

“Leaving so soon, my Queen?” The dragon
asked.

“Why are you doing this?” The Queen
asked.

“My true master wishes for us to see our
full potential. That is not something that can be said for
you.”

“Your true master? I don’t understand. What
master are you talking about?”

“You shall see, in due time. For now, I ask
that you and your allies accompany me to the dungeon.”

*

Wrotan stood with the others at his back.
Blood dripped down from his bandaged head as he stared at the
drake. The beast growled as it took a step closer. Two other drakes
moved in behind the leader. The hunter had chosen the spot because
his opponents would be forced to fight him one at a time or get in
each other’s way. He knew there was little chance of success, but
he hoped that he could injure the beasts enough so that the others
could get away. Their last encounter with the lesser dragonkin had
left them battered and nearly out of weapons. Wrotan had been
forced to borrow Obrin’s sword just to fend off the three drakes.
He motioned for the others to get as far back from the fighting as
possible.

“You shouldn’t have to do this alone,”
Alandra said as she leaned on Erlkan’s shoulder for support.

“Fighting drakes with a sword is near
suicide, fighting them with no weapons is beyond stupidity,” he
said.

The largest of the drakes lunged at Wrotan
and attempted to skewer him with its claws. He brought the sword
around and blocked the blow. The two exchanged attacks for several
minutes with neither party landing a blow. His hands began to shake
as his strength waned. The drake reared back and Wrotan saw his
opening. He rushed forward and sliced the beast on its softer
underbelly. The creature roared in pain as it collapsed backward.
Wrotan managed to wrest the sword free. One of the other drakes
rushed in and attempted to bite him, but he threw himself backward.
A deafening roar echoed through the hills, sending everyone diving
and covering their ear. The two drakes returned the roars as they
launched into the air.

A massive black dragon swooped down and
snapped the neck of the closest of the drakes. It whipped around
and caught the other drake with its tail. The smaller creature
writhed in pain as the dragon clamped down on the drake’s neck with
its teeth. It discarded the carcass and landed down next to the
others. The dragon extended its crimson-tinted wings and let out
another roar. Obrin pushed past the others and made a symbol in the
air before dropping to one knee. Wrotan and the others all fell to
one knee as well. The dragon brought in its wings and lowered its
head. Obrin let out a sigh of relief as he stood back up. He
motioned for the others to stay as he approached the dragon. Wrotan
watched as the elf King talked to the dragon. They appeared to get
rather heated as they discussed something. Obrin finally nodded and
turned back to the others.

“He is willing to take us to the Citadel,”
he said.

Before anyone could ask any questions,
another dragon dropped down and landed next to the first. This one
was smaller with the same black color, except it had gray wings.
The two dragons lifted the small group off the ground and took to
the skies. Wrotan was amazed by the view. He could see all of the
evening realms and well beyond. The hunter could see the Citadel up
ahead and the night elf castle back behind them. He caught sight at
what looked like dozens of birds attacking some smaller animals. It
dawned on him that he was seeing the drakes and wyverns attacking
the elves that had come in pursuit of the night elf King. He
shuddered to think of their fate against those beasts. There were
only so many creatures in the lands that could claim supremacy over
the drakes and few of those were as ferocious.

Wrotan was amazed at the sheer size of the
Citadel. The design was far from intricate, but the builders had
needed to create something large enough for the dragons. There was
a large tower in the center of a square wall with four towers. Each
of the outer towers was large enough to house two or three dragons
and the center tower was large enough to house over a dozen. The
two dragons swooped down and dropped off their passengers in the
courtyard below. They landed between the small group and the
central tower. Dozens of dragons came flying in from the towers as
well as the mountains around the Citadel. The hunter was surprised
to see that the only dragon not affected by the scourge was the
massive crimson and black dragon that had originally approached
them. Each of the other dragons had streaks of violet across their
bodies, some more than others. In all, Wrotan was able to identify
four different types of dragons based on their coloring. There were
black dragons, gray dragons, black dragons with gray wings, and the
lone black dragon with crimson wings.

“Take the others to the dungeon,” the
crimson winged dragon said.

“Hold a moment, Ungaroth. These are my
friends and family, they can be trusted,” Obrin said.

“They may be your friends and family, but
they are not our friends and family. You bring with you a very
dangerous group.”

“How can you possibly know that?” Erlkan
asked.

“We are far more involved in the world than
your sun dragons, elf,” Ungaroth replied.

“Tell us your conclusions about each member
of our group and allow us to defend ourselves,” Wrotan said.