The Orb of Truth (The Horn King Series) (22 page)

Surprised by the Orb carrier’s challenge, El’Korr stood next to Bridazak, “We have the advantage now, and if you value your life then you will lead us to the Tree. We don’t make deals with dragons.”

It laughed heartily inside their minds,
“Fools. I give you what you are looking for and yet you still resist me.”

“You no longer have any leverage.”

“Oh, leverage is what I need? Well then, let me present to you my full leverage. I can teleport to Manasseh’s door and warn him of your little army of dwarves.”

El’Korr warily narrowed his eyes. He peered back at his band of heroes and then into Bridazak’s eyes, who waited for his response. El’Korr returned his focus on the black dragon, “Once this guardian is killed and you have taken over as the leader of the dragons, I want your kind to pull out of the battle above. You believe we are capable enough to handle the Guardian, so I want to sweeten the deal for us.”

“Hah! Now it is you that has no leverage! But, I have been under Manasseh’s hand for far too long. I will take your request into consideration. Do we have a deal?”

“Not much of a deal, but we have one.”

.

15

The Guardian

“T
he army will be engaging King Manasseh’s forces anytime now.

I suspect we are right below the castle. Blacky, as my brother calls him, says the Tree is in the next chamber, and anyone approaching it will summon the Guardian. Any thoughts?” El’Korr asked the huddled group.

“We need to protect Bridazak and the Orb, so he needs to stay behind us, preferably at a high point with his arrows, while we take on the critter,” Dulgin suggested.

“Agreed. The protector of the Tree must be a dragon of some kind, as the black dragon alluded to Bridazak’s arrows,” Abawken added.

“It’s going to be one dead dragon after we’re done with it,” Dulgin clenched his fist in anticipation.

“Rondee will go first and trigger the Guardian to show itself, while the rest of us spread out through the chamber. We don’t want to be caught in any dragon breath situation. Hit it with all you have, boys. Don’t hold back.”

They all nodded in agreement and began to walk further down the large rock tunnel, Rondee in the lead. Everyone was on high alert, looking side to side, turning back to look behind them, and peering up towards the ceiling. A short hundred yards later, they reached the opening.

As they entered the massive chamber, made entirely of the same obsidian rock, they each felt a distinguishable sense of foreboding that caused their skin to tingle. Cut columns carved from the walls rose beyond their sight into the darkness. In the center stood a stone pyramid twenty feet tall with steps on one side leading to the pinnacle. On top was the Tree—a black, gnarled, leafless skeleton, its branches twisting out in all directions. An oily, opalescent sheen wrapped around the trunk and branches, like a disease. An eerie blue mist hugged the ground at the base of the Tree, and traversed the stairs, surrounding the structure it was planted on. The mystical vapor weaved through a graveyard below, and gave off an occasional flash of light accompanied by a muffled crackle. The smell of death and decay was prevalent.

“Are those…” Bridazak hesitated to state the obvious.

“Skeletal remains,” El’Korr barely answered, as his focus was on the horrific, defiled gift to the world of Ruauck-El. The fallen state of the once glorious tree churned his stomach. He felt violated at its sight, anger beginning to boil inside.

“Looks like Manasseh made this a sacrifice site to the Tree,” Abawken surmised.

“Or this guardian has been well fed,” Dulgin added.

“Dear God Almighty,” Xan was the last to enter, and whispered at the sight of the disgraced relic atop the pyramid. It pained him to see it in this state. The petals of crystal were no more, the life was drained, and he felt the cancerous evil inside of it as waves of dark energy bombarded his heart.

“Stay focused, Xan. Everyone spread out. Rondee, kel-forteh,” El’Korr commanded. “Bridazak, stay back and cover us. Make your arrows count. Xan, you will support us with your spells.”

Bridazak continued to stare at the endless pile of blanched bones. Had his father come this far in his quest? Had he… met his end, here?
“Bapah,”
he whispered, surprising himself. He couldn’t remember ever having used that word—the Ordakian for Father.

Suddenly, breaking him from his thoughts, the earth moved beneath them. They heard loud thuds and noticed dust falling from the darkness above with each concussion.

“What was that?” Bridazak asked.

“That was Raina, saying hello to King Manasseh. Give them hell, Raina. Now, let’s do our part.” He refocused his attention and moved away from the Ordakian.

As the explosions continued above, they all focused on Rondee near the base of the pyramid, stepping on the many skulls that littered the floor surrounding it. The mist shifted with every step he took. It chilled his skin, and the smell of death intensified. He fearlessly took the first step onto the stone stairs leading to the Tree. From behind him he heard the rattling of the bleached white bones.

“The Guardian is here,”
the black dragon said within their minds.

A dozen skeletons reformed as they stood, and then moved toward Rondee.

“Skeletons, bah!” El’Korr laughed, pulling forth his holy symbol—an item he had received at the Holy City temple. He yelled, “Shaubiste,” holding the clerical piece toward the walking dead. An unseen pulse of power waved out, hitting and shattering the skeletons into bone shards.

Another group of skeletal remains sprouted up, and then another. Rondee was still on the first step, but now completely surrounded by the undead. He revealed his yellowed, chipped teeth in a snarl, and then began casting a spell.

“Look out!” Bridazak signaled above them. The Ordakian spotted a distorted movement within the mist behind Rondee. He could not make out what it was, but he was sure it was descending the stone steps. The others looked around at each other to get confirmation of Bridazak’s alert, but saw nothing. The arrow in his grasp was glowing brightly and giving the strongest vibration he had yet seen from the magic. He quickly notched it and lined up his shot. He knew instinctively it was there. A voice inside his head settled his mind. It was the Orb saying,
“Trust me.”
He released his arrow. It soared through the chamber and ignited into the brightest light the heroes had ever seen, but was somehow soothing to their eyes. The light illuminated the entire room, and there before them they could all now see what Bridazak initially spotted. The once invisible dragon hovered above the Tree—a dragon like no other.

“It’s a Dracolich!” El’Korr yelled.

The arrow had launched into the sternum of the skeletal body and exploded on impact, so only Bridazak noticed its invisible bone tail had stabbed Rondee from behind. Blood shot out of the wound as the tip pen-etrated cleanly through the Dwarf, leaving behind a gaping hole under his left shoulder, but narrowly missing his heart and lung, thanks to Bridazak’s timing. The wild magic contained inside him burst as he flailed to the ground. A sudden rain cloud appeared above the skeletal warriors, and as the water droplets hit the dry bones, they began to smoke and hiss, like water striking a hot surface. The undead felt no pain, but they soon collapsed from the holy effect of the acidic rain pummelling them. Rondee flinched at each pelt of the wild magic he released; he was fortunate enough to be on the outside edge of the caustic torrent.

A chilling roar echoed throughout the room, filling their ears. The nonliving dragon was still active, though several pieces of its bone structure were now missing. A bluish flame surrounded it, with intense light flaring from inside the empty eye sockets. It was a dragon larger than the black ones earlier, except it had no flesh. Its leathery wings were shredded, dangling from the cartilage.

“It’s too powerful for me to turn it!” declared El’Korr.

“Somebody get to Rondee!” Bridazak shouted.

“I’m on my way,” Xan responded, running to assist the writhing, bloodied Dwarf.

Abawken flanked the Dracolich by utilizing the power of his sword to walk on air. El’Korr cast a spell which caused him to rise up in the air. An aerial combat was their best chance to take the advantage back from the undead monster. The human fighter was soon dodging several attacks from its claws, wing bucks, and the powerful maw filled with sharp and broken teeth. A deafening snap of the ossein jaw rang throughout the chamber. Abawken spent his time defensively with no counter strike, and El’Korr understood the reasoning: his mighty warhammer was more effective in smashing bone than a scimitar slashing at it; they had found their strategy. Another crushing blow came when he hurled it while still moving higher into the air. Several fragments from the dragon’s neck fell to the ground below.

Xan reached Rondee just in time. He quickly summoned healing powers and laid his hands upon the life-threatening wound. The gaping puncture soon began to fill in with flesh, tendons were repaired, and it was sealed with a new layer of skin. His left arm and part of his leg were pockmarked by several acid burns, but he would survive those for now. Rondee appeared to be himself again and said, “Fhelp rocks glin glitter.” Xan cocked his head; he couldn’t grasp the jumbled jargon, but understood the gratitude behind the Dwarf’s smile.

As Xan helped Rondee back to his feet, one of the skeletons attacked, raking the Elf’s back. He turned in pain to see several more of the bleached figures coming toward them. He shouted out the same word El’Korr had said earlier, “Shaubiste!” His clerical training had given him the ability to turn and destroy the lesser undead. The skeletons were blasted back and exploded into dust particles.

Bridazak held his last arrow, made specially for dragon-kind, waiting for the best shot possible. He scanned the battle below; Abawken and El’Korr still engaged it head on, Dulgin battled more of the skeletal army, and Xan put down another group of them with Rondee back up on his feet and by his side. Bridazak suddenly felt very alone; an inexplicable chill of separation caused his heart to race and his breathing to become more sporadic, until a garbled voice snapped him back into focus—Rondee was casting a spell. His torso swayed from side to side and his arms waved sporadically in all directions. There was a low groan coming from him that became louder each second.

“Shaza bocktel geesta!” He finally shouted. An eruption one-hundred feet up along the wall sent huge fragments of volcanic rock coming down. Massive pieces of the columned wall now descended.

“Look out!” Xan yelled to them.

Abawken and El’Korr scurried and dodged the larger rock, but were grazed by several other smaller debris. The Dracolich was hit multiple times, as it was too large to maneuver away. One of its wings completely snapped off, like a huge branch cracking off of a tree. The behemoth pitched sideways and was hit by another large piece of rock, which caved in its torso. It was pushed further down by each impact, but it still remained in magical flight, showing no signs of weariness.

“What in dwarven crap is going on?” Dulgin scrambled around the falling rubble. Large chips destroyed several of the walking bone warriors that had sprouted around him.

Another roar from the Dracolich sounded in the cavern as the rock pieces shattered. Bone and rock dust enveloped everyone on the ground below, and rose up into the air like a billowy cloud. Bridazak’s vantage point allowed him to see the dragon turn invisible again while the others battled the dust now around them. He suddenly noticed a protective, blue-hued force field around the Tree, brightening a bit with each impact as the rocks bounced away harmlessly.

Abawken and El’Korr pushed higher into the air to be able to see the area more clearly. Xan and Rondee could only wait for the dust to settle. They had their hands over their mouths, their eyes squinting against the powder. The smell of rock and bone infiltrated their noses and they couldn’t see more than five feet in front of them.

“It’s not dead yet! It went invisible!” Bridazak shouted to them.

Some of them were coughing. Dulgin was closest to Bridazak but still deep into the room. “We’ve got it on the run!” Dulgin yelled.

“I don’t think so,” Bridazak whispered quietly, arrow still readied, eyes carefully peering through the dust. “Where are you?” he whispered.

A slight shift in the dust behind Xan and Rondee drew Bridazak’s focus, but it was too late. A blast of electrical energy shot out from the Dracolich as it became visible once again. The Elf and Dwarf convulsed wildly; blue and white sparks shot out from them like arcing static, too charged to have been extinguished by their bodies alone. A bright light once again filled the room at the release of Bridazak’s arrow. It slammed into the eerie eye socket and then detonated, splinters of bone launching violently in all directions. Then it was quiet. Remnants of electrical shock intermittently crackled over Rondee and Xan’s crumpled bodies. Bridazak held his breath. The Draclich now laid motionless, but he did not feel at ease.

Bridazak lowered his bow. Dulgin yelled back to him, “Good shot!”

“Yes, a fine shot indeed, Halfling,”
came the voice of the black dragon again inside his head. Before he could turn around, the scaled beast had him inside its mouth, the same way he’d held Xan.

Dulgin responded to the sudden attack, “Let’em go, Blacky!”

The black dragon pulled Bridazak back into the darkness.

“I changed my mind. The Halfling, once presented to King Manasseh, is a bigger prize.”

The group hustled, Rondee and Xan still sluggish, to the open cavern perch to intercept it, but it was too late, as the dark betrayer blinked from sight and teleported itself, along with Bridazak, out of their reach and directly into their greatest enemy’s evil hands.

Dulgin screamed as he continued to charge the vacated location. He fell to his knees and raised his father’s axe while yelling uncontrollably in pure rage.

“He’s gone. Dammit! We need to get the Orb back,” El’Korr stated.