The Darkness of Old; The Ancient Crown; The Winged One

by Hans Bezdek

I felt my face turn red and I looked away. I wasn’t a fan of getting constructive feedback, but I knew she was right. I’d need to think less impulsively and more with a plan if I was going to help lead any additional battles.

  “How were you planning on taking out the dragons?” Kiera asked King Soeren.

  “With me archers,” shrugged King Soeren.

  Kiera didn’t look thrilled by that answer. “Our scales can withstand quite a bit of damage, including sharp arrows.”

  “Aye, I’m no fool,” chuckled the King. He walked over to a nearby archer and pulled out an arrow. Instead of being made out of wood with an arrowhead, it was completely black and looked to be made out of one piece.

  “What in the world is that?” I asked.

  “Zorikium?” asked Cassandra, taking a step forward and marveling at the item. “You use Zorikium as arrows?”

  “Aye,” smiled King Soeren, standing straight and proud. “We’ve got a whole armory filled with em.”

  “I’m not familiar with Zorikium,” said Kiera.

  “I don’t mean to sound harsh, but you should really know this stuff,” I said in a mocking tone. Kiera made an unamused face.

  “It’s one of the strongest materials in all of Yaerna,” explained Cassandra. “It’s incredibly hard to come by nowadays. The Queen kept some, but I never knew what it was for. I wonder if the elves used it in the last Dragon War…”

  “They might’ve,” nodded King Soeren. “It’s one of the only types of arrows I know that can consistently penetrate a dragon’s scales.”

  “Normally I wouldn’t like to hear that,” said Kiera. “Given the circumstances though, this is great news.”

  “I’ve got another thing to show you before we talk specifics,” said King Soeren, heading for the wall in front of us.

  We once again entered inside the wall, this time taking a set of stairs that led to the top. A hundred or so dwarves patrolled up here with their bows at the ready. Catapults could be seen at each corner where the walls met, each being manned by two dwarves. Down below we could just make out a group of four going from bridge to bridge. It looked like Dhot was enjoying himself.

  “These catapults are loaded with metal nets,” explained King Soeren. “They have plenty of reloads with them, and should be able to take down any dragon it hits.”

  “We’ll have to be careful how they use this when my people are in the sky,” commented Kiera.

  “Aye, we’ll be sure to be.”

  “So you plan on letting the Greeners advance, blowing up several of the bridges once they do so,” I reasoned. “What about from there?”

  “Me ground troops will initially block them at the bridges, taking out as many as they can with the help of some of the archers,” explained King Soeren. “As the black and reds fly in, the archers switch to the Zorikium arrows and focus exclusively on the dragons. The catapults will do their work, and the ground troops will fall back to the wall. The ground fighters can fight from within the walls, or close them up and force the Greeners to come up with a plan to break them down. By the time they do, we’d hopefully have most of the dragons scared off or killed.”

  It wasn’t the worst plan I ever heard. I glanced over to Kiera and Cassandra, both of whom seemed satisfied.

  “Where should we fit in the new plan?” I asked.

  “Our archers can stay on the roof and continuing firing at the Greeners even after the black and reds push,” recommended Cassandra. “The rest of the army can fight down with the rest of the foot troops, along with us.”

  “The blues can wait inside the courtyard for the signal that the black and reds are coming,” offered Kiera. “We can fly up and join the fight then, hopefully surprising them and gaining the upper hand. It’ll also allow the Jiezvall archers and catapults to fire without worrying about us for a time.”

  The three of them turned towards me for input.

  “Um… ditto,” I nodded, pointing at each of them in turn. “You both stole the words right out of my head. It’s like we’ve got some sort of freaky connection going on.”

  “Uh huh,” said Cassandra.

  “I think that plan sounds ideal,” nodded King Soeren. He glanced down towards the inner courtyard. “Looks like yer army has finally made it up.”

  Although I didn’t want to, I looked down at the disappointing mass. They all watched the dwarves preparing with interest, none of them seeming to think it would be a good idea to get ready as well. I supposed that was more my fault than theirs, but I wasn’t about to take any blame for it.

  “If we succeeded with them Sheridan elves, I’m sure we’ll manage here,” said Braun.

  “I hope you’re right,” I chuckled. Something came to my mind I hadn’t considered earlier, and I turned back towards King Soeren. “How much was Eluf involved with this planning?”

  “Eluf?” repeated King Soeren, thinking about it for a moment. “Well, I suppose he knew all of it.”

  “That’s not good,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “While he might not have had contact with the Dar’Ka for at least a few days, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t able to tell them about your initial plan.”

  “Reimar brings up a good point,” nodded Kiera, smiling at me. “Now you’re thinking.”

  “Agreed, but nothing seems out of the ordinary,” said King Soeren, scanning around us. “Everything appears to be in place.”

  “Ulrich even knowing what your planning could be dangerous,” warned Cassandra. “However, there is a good chance he doesn’t know we’re here, so that should be enough to throw them off, no matter what they know.”

  I looked down and scanned over the courtyard. I couldn’t see anything that seemed wrong, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something that Eluf was able to sabotage without us knowing. I wasn’t sure how much time we had left, but maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to get everyone to inspect their weapons, the walls, and anything that could be important.

  “What if we-” I began.

  “King Soeren!” cried out one of the dwarves manning the catapults. He had a long looking glass that he ran over with.

  “What’s the matter?” asked the King. “Spot somethin?”

  “Aye!” he nodded, handing the looking glass to the King. “There’s something coming from the southeast!”

  King Soeren was quiet for a moment as he looked through it, trying to determine what was coming.

  “Times like this would be nice to have Dhot’s Goggles with us, eh?” mumbled Braun.

  While it might’ve been nice, it wasn’t necessary. There was only one thing that could be coming from that direction, and when King Soeren lowered the looking glass, he confirmed it.

  “There’s no mistakin it,” growled King Soeren, his eyes narrowing. “It’s the Dar’Ka. They’re here.”

  Chapter 14

  Horns blew all around the stronghold as dwarves ran every which way to get into position. I spent more time than I’d like to admit screaming at the Durnskeep fighters, trying to explain to them that those with bows needed to come up to the top of the wall while the others should follow the dwarves into the walls. They eventually got it and followed the necessary dwarves.

  By the time I got back to the others, Dhot and Gerard finally made it to the top of the walls with us.

  “What’s all this ruckus?” asked Gerard, stepping out of the way as some of the Durnskeep archers ran past him. “Is it... them?”

  Cassandra nodded, pointing behind him. The half elf turned, saw what she was pointing at, and sighed. By the time the two of them had made it up here, there was no denying the growing mass that was headed our way.

  A few dozen black and red dragons flew over the sea of green creatures marching towards Jiezvall. The army of Greeners numbered into the deep thousands, far more than the ones that attacked Queen Dedra. We could see siege structures being dragged behind them, and as they got closer I recognized the giant swinging hammers as the same kind of technology used against the Palace a
week earlier.

  “That’s a lot of people,” said Dhot, slightly taken aback. “Were you all expecting so many?”

  “Don’t matter the number,” said King Soeren grimly. “We are puttin a stop to the Dar’Ka even if they come at us with their whole army.”

  “There are fewer dragons than I thought there would be,” I said, trying to look at the bright side. “We have more than they do, nearly double.”

  “I don’t mean to discredit my people,” said Kiera, “but the black and reds are typically stronger than us blues. Still, it should be more of an even fight than if the Dar’Ka dragons outnumbered us.”

  I glanced back down at the courtyard, this time to the eastern part where the blue dragons were waiting. Most had transformed into their dragon forms by now, and all were listening to Darius bark orders at them. Kiera had quickly told him the plan, and the blue dragon was off to let the others know what to do. After the catapults and archers took care of some of the black and reds, hopefully the blues could take out the rest without too many casualties. I planned on transforming and helping when the time came.

  “This is gonna be exciting,” said Braun, pounding a fist into his open hand. “I can’t wait to… to… ah, ya’ve gotta be kiddin me…”

  The dwarf passed out.

  “Maha!”

  “Perfect timing,” I said sarcastically.

  “We’ll need him to fight instead of heal,” sighed Cassandra. “He’ll need to use that rock when he wakes up.”

  King Soeren looked down at the dwarf and up at our annoyed faces with concern. “Erm… is this normal?”

  “It’s definitely not normal, but we’re used to it,” I said, still focusing on the approaching Dar’Ka.

  “Wha… Where are we?” asked the light side of Braun, finally waking up. The dwarf rubbed the side of his head and struggled to his feet. “K-Kiera?!”

  “Hello, Braun,” smiled the blue dragon.

  “I don’t want to sound rude, but you should really change back to your other side,” I cautioned the dwarf.

  “What? No!” said Braun, shaking his head and taking a step back. “It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve been back! Why would I let him take over again?”

  “You’ve got a decision to make, and you need to make it right now,” said Dhot, putting an arm around Braun’s shoulders and pointing out at the coming army. “Over there is the Dar’Ka, and they’ve come to take this stronghold. You can either fight with us, or change back to your other form.”

  Braun’s face turned white as he looked out at the incoming horde. “O-Oh my…”

  “I’m sorry, Braun,” smiled Cassandra down at him sympathetically. “We’ll tell your other form to change back after a day or two, okay?”

  The dwarf hesitated, but then nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his special rock from the Great Oracle. “This looks to be fer the best, anyway.”

  The dwarf passed out a second time.

  King Soeren looked very uneasy. “Should I really be puttin me trust in ye four?”

  “They have a way of getting things done,” chuckled Gerard. “Even if it’s a bit… unorthodox.”

  “He’s right,” giggled Kiera. “You can trust them.”

  “If ye say so,” mumbled King Soeren, turning his attention again to the battlefield.

  “Wha… Is the battle over?!” demanded the dark side of Braun, scrambling to his feet.

  “Not quite,” said Cassandra. “Your other side was kind enough to change back for the fight. He’d like you to remember that and use your rock in the next day or two.”

  “Fair is fair,” said Braun, looking excited once more.

  We could now better see the individual goblins, orcs, and trolls as they neared the moat and Jiezvall.

  “I’m surprised they have so many Greeners with them,” I mentioned.

  “The Dar’Ka must have given them ultimatums when they conquered towns in Gorland,” mentioned Gerard. “In the First Dragon War, the Greeners were promised their lives if they joined Ludek’s army, and promised death if they didn’t. That’s how he got so many on their side, aside from the percentage that actually want to work with the Dar’Ka.”

  “Goblins and orcs aren’t exactly known for their honor,” nodded Kiera. She glanced down at Dhot. “Er, no offense.”

  “I’m used to it,” shrugged Dhot.

  The Dar’Ka forces were now within range for our archers. I wasn’t sure what King Soeren was waiting for, and then the Dar’Ka stopped. A single red dragon flew between their army and the guards stationed near the bridges.

  “Dwarves of Jiezvall!” roared the red dragon, his voice raspy and annoying. “The united forces of the Dar’Ka have come to lay claim to our rightful place on the mainland of Yaerna. We have made great headway into Gorland, and have now turned our sights to the realm of Brumark.”

  “Should we just shoot at this dragon right now?” asked Dhot.

  Everyone shook their head no.

  “Let’s hear what they have to say,” said King Soeren. “In their overconfidence, they could give us information that’ll be helpful.”

  “As you can see,” continued the red dragon, “we have more than enough power to take you and your walls down. We would love nothing more than to avoid the shedding of blood, and so I come before you with an opportunity. Surrender your town to us, and we will spare your lives. You’ll find that being our slaves has many benefits.”

  King Soeren rolled his eyes and held out a hand to a nearby dwarf. The guard placed a large horn in the King’s hand, who then brought it to his face.

  “I am King Soeren of the dwarves of Jiezvall!” declared the King, his voice booming out from the magical horn. “While we understand yer desire to not shed any blood, we will never become another creature’s slaves! We dwarves of Jiezvall are a race of warriors!”

  The dwarves around us cheered at this, stomping and banging their weapons as loudly as they could.

  The red dragon didn’t appear impressed.

  “Are you formally declining our kind offer?” clarified the dragon.

  “Aye!” roared King Soeren. “We’d never accept yer terms!”

  The red dragon nodded, spreading his wings. “Very well. We have no choice but to…”

  A human dressed in all black leather broke away from the Dar’Ka line and approached the red dragon. A sudden hush fell over both sides as the man walked up to the dragon, speaking quietly to it for a moment.

  “Is that a human?” mumbled King Soeren to the rest of us.

  “Yes,” said Dhot, fiddling with his Goggles. “I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising that some are working with the Dar’Ka.”

  “That isn’t a human,” I said quietly. I couldn’t blame the others for not realizing who it was. Only Cassandra and I had seen this man before.

  The others turned towards me.

  “Uh… yes, it is,” said Dhot, taking a second look at the man talking with the red dragon. “You can take a look yourself if you don’t believe me.”

  “He’s a half dragon,” I explained. “That’s Ulrich.”

  “Huh,” said Dhot. “I was expecting someone bigger.”

  The red dragon picked his head up and addressed us again. “Before we continue with anything, we would like to speak with the one called Reimar down here in person.”

  “Guess he saw me,” I mumbled, trying to come up with a plan for how I wanted to handle this.

  “Ya think we’re fools?!” roared King Soeren into the horn. “I ain’t about to send one of me allies down to his death!”

  “Hold on,” I said, putting a hand on the King’s arm. “I’m willing to meet with them.”

  The King looked conflicted. “Ya sure? Ya don’t have to, ya know. We’ll protect you up here.”

  “No, I’m sure,” I nodded. “I think I’ve got a plan.”

  “Those usually go well,” muttered Dhot. I gave the goblin a look and he smiled back. “Maha! Just having some fun!�
��

  “Okay,” said King Soeren into the horn. “Reimar will be down shortly. If this is a trap, know that we will start by killing you first!”

  The red dragon nodded.

  “We’re coming with you,” Cassandra said to me.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “We need to lower Ulrich’s guard. He knows that you have the Shattered Sword, and has surely heard of the other two by now. If I can make him think he’s in control, I may be able to take him out before any of this begins.”

  “But ya’ll be by yerself!” complained Braun. “Ulrich might try somethin!”

  “Braun is right,” agreed Kiera. “It would be foolish to send you down there by yourself. I insist that you take me with you.”

  Cassandra raised her eyebrows at the blue dragon. “Why would he take you and not us?”

  “Ulrich might not know about me,” explained Kiera. “Even if he does, he knows I don’t have any legendary weapons.”

  I thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Okay, Kiera can come with me.”

  Cassandra did not look pleased. “Really? You’re going to take her with you, and leave us behind?”

  “It’s not a personal shot,” I explained. “Kiera is a great fighter, too, but Ulrich is less likely to know that. He’ll also be less intimidated by just the two of us rather than twice that.”

  “He’s making sense,” agreed Gerard. “If he wants to try and surprise the Dar’Ka leader, this might be the best way to do it.”

  The others conceded, Cassandra being the last to do so. “Fine. But if anything goes wrong, you two need to book it out of there as fast as you can.”

  “Come on, look at who you’re talking to,” I grinned. “Do I really need to be told to run away?”

  Chapter 15

  I filled Kiera in on my plan as we went down the steps inside the wall, tightening the straps on my goblin glove. There not-so-lovely stench of a hundred dwarves packed into a small space was a bit distracting, but I managed to get out the most important parts. We needed to foster trust with Ulrich, and when the time was right, we’d strike and kill him where he stands. One of the dwarves opened up the outer wall for us, and we slipped out.