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

by Hans Bezdek

  "Oh yeah," she nodded. "There's been rumors circling about it for months now. They've really increased over the last week. Some travelers were just in town earlier today from northeastern Truska. They claimed they saw hundreds of Greeners running back toward Gorland. Even said there were some injured black and reds flying above them, if you can believe it."

  "I can," I nodded knowingly. "In fact, we're the ones that sent them running."

  "If you're trying to be funny, I really don't get it."

  "H-He speaks the truth!" cried Braun.

  "There was a battle in Jiezvall," I explained. "We were there to help fight against the Dar'Ka. Lost quite a few dwarves and blue dragons, but we were ultimately able to save the city."

  "You expect me to believe this dwarf fought against the Dar'Ka?" asked Beatrix, nodding to Braun in disbelief.

  "I-I-It's true!" whimpered Braun.

  "That dwarf suffers from some pretty extreme mood swings," I shrugged. "Anyway, what do you say? Are you interested in helping out? A summoner like you could really help turn the tide."

  Beatrix chewed on her lip for a minute, then shook her head.

  "Pass."

  "But why?" I asked. I figured it wouldn't be so easy. "It's not like you're committing to anything more than just a battle or two."

  "I've got to head to a new town now that my cover here is blown," she explained. "It'll take time to find another schmuck like Martin to be the face of our act, not to mention training him. I'm possibly looking at another month or two before I start making money again."

  "We can pay you," I assumed. I had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but I doubted all the soldiers with us would be making it back home to Ravendale. Surely she could have some of their money.

  "I assumed so," she smirked. "But what happens when the battle is over? I assume we're going to somewhere like Gorland. I don't want to set up a new life in an area that's bound to be dangerously close to the black and reds."

  "The Dar'Ka are headed for Vorova as we speak," I explained. "Maybe not the ones that we defeated at Jiezvall, but I can guarantee it won't be easy for the city to defend itself regardless. If the city falls, all of Truska comes under the Dar'Ka's control. It won't matter if you settle in The Republic, Brumark, or even Aelric. You won't be safe."

  The gnome thought about this for a moment.

  "C-Can ya let me go?" asked Braun.

  "Hold on, I'm thinking," said Beatrix.

  "S-Sorry..."

  The gnome ultimately shook her head again. "I'll have to make due, then. I'm sorry, but it's still a no."

  I sighed, trying to think of another way to entice her. There didn't seem to be anything else I could really offer her or reason about with her. If a summoner like her had lasted so long going from town to town and not joining up with anyone, I probably didn't stand a chance.

  "You make some good points, but I just can't go," she said, her tone almost apologetic. "All I care about is going from town to town, looking for a way to scrape by. If I join your army, others will learn about me. I'm used to living in the shadows, like you saw today. I have to hide who I really am. It's something no one else can really understand."

  I tried to fight it, but I couldn't. I let out a laugh.

  Beatrix's face fell into a frown. "It's not funny."

  "No, I'm not laughing at you," I chuckled. "It's just that... I can understand what you're doing far greater than you know."

  "What are you talking about?" she asked.

  While it was proving to be a bit problematic recently, I figured there was no harm in telling her. Maybe this would be the little extra push that she needed. If it was, then it'd be worth the risk. It also was starting to seem like most of Yaerna was figuring it out. Besides, it'd make us even if we both knew a secret about the other.

  "I'm a green half dragon," I said, holding my head high.

  Beatrix blinked.

  "Come again?"

  "I'm half human, half green dragon," I explained. "This is my human form, and I've got these green eyes because of who I am. I wish I could change them, but I can't. I can also turn into a half form, and a full dragon. I've been dusting off the full dragon form recently and let me tell you... The black market for my eyes is really pumped."

  The gnome took a step back, causing Braun to take one, too. "You're joking, or you're crazy. Half dragons aren't real."

  "C-Can we stop this?" begged Braun.

  "What if I showed you?" I offered.

  Beatrix shoved the dagger back toward the dwarf's throat. "If you're thinking about pulling a fast one on me and trying to trick me, I'll have to kill your friend."

  "W-Why's this happening?!" cried Braun.

  "No tricks," I said. "Here we go."

  Watching the gnome's face turn from cautious disbelief to wonder was pretty amusing. It was also nice getting a chance to transform into my half dragon state without worrying about someone killing me while I did it for once. Granted, I guess she could have killed Braun in retrospect, but there was nothing to actually worry about.

  When I had completed my transformation, I held up my scaled hands toward her and wiped my tail about. I knocked over a stack of books, but she didn't seem bothered by it.

  "Woah..." she said, lowering the dagger from Braun. "You really are a half dragon... incredible."

  "Thanks," I smiled. I flexed my wings, knocking over another stack. "It's sort of weird being in this state without trying to kill someone. I feel extra clumsy in such a tight space."

  "You can change back," nodded Beatrix. "I believe you now."

  Reverting back to my human form, I stretched out a kink in my neck and smiled. "See what I mean about relating to you?"

  "Definitely," she nodded. "I feel like watching you fight will be worth the risk. I still expect to get paid for my services, though."

  "Of course," I said. I'm sure we could work something out with Varinia later. The Republic would be thrilled to hear that we brought a summoner on board. "I'm Reimar, by the way. The one you're still holding hostage is Braun."

  "Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said, letting go of Braun and taking a few steps back. "I forgot I was still holding you."

  "N-No problem," whimpered the dwarf, quickly moving closer to me for safety.

  As we went downstairs, I explained to her who the others were and a bit about each of us. By the time we reached the first floor, Cassandra and Dhot were waiting.

  "You found her!" smiled Cassandra.

  "She's agreed to fight with us," I nodded.

  "It's nice to meet you all," smiled the gnome. "I look forward to working with you, at least for the next battle."

  "That's all we're asking from you," I said, patting her on the shoulder.

  "Maha!" laughed Dhot as we walked out of the library. "That sure was easy."

  "Ye don't know the half of it..." groaned Braun.

  "SHHHH!" hissed the librarian a final time.

  Chapter 9

  We spent the night in an inn near the middle of Grisam. We were all going to share one big room, but Braun was so scared of Beatrix that he refused to sleep near her. Instead, Cassandra and the gnome slept in another room while Dhot taunted Braun in ours. Considering how long the dwarf was held hostage, I didn't add to it and just went to sleep instead.

  When light first hit the five of us hurried to the caravan, not wanting to miss out on the free ride to Vorova. Turned out we had nothing to worry about. Most of The Republic's soldiers were asleep by the time we got there, and it took another hour before the carts started to move again. We couldn't spot Varinia, so we loaded into our cart when the time came and decided to introduce the gnome to the silver dragon some other time. The two soldiers that shared our cart eyed Beatrix curiously, but otherwise didn't say anything. I guessed that meant they hadn't been at Martin's show the night before.

  The journey east was uneventful for the first several hours, but as we got closer to Vorova, we started to hit a lot of traffic. Hundreds of families were
passing by us on the road, clogging up sections of it and causing our carts to occasionally come to a complete stop. People of all kinds of races were fleeing to the safety of The Republic, even those that would likely not be welcomed with open arms.

  "Guess words gotten out about the Dar'Ka coming," commented Dhot.

  I nodded. "That must be it."

  "Kinda wish we could go with em," mumbled Braun, watching the group pass with jealousy. The dwarf hadn't changed to his darker side for a while now. Cassandra and I spoke earlier about if we should encourage him to use the rock to change, but we came to the agreement that it wasn't worth the risk. If we changed him now but he went back to the light form before the battle begun, there would be no forcing the change when we needed it most.

  The congestion of people fleeing only got worse as we reached a spot close enough to Vorova to see the tall pillar of the tower hidden behind its walls. I was thankful to see that they hadn't yet been attacked, and was surprised to see just as many people fleeing on the roads to the north and south. For people to consider the harsh cold of Brumark or the unwelcoming elves in Aelric meant that they were truly scared for their lives. Even though most of them were too young to remember the original Dragon War, the stories had done a good enough job scaring everyone.

  The caravan again slowed to a stop when we reached the high walls of Vorova. The guards stationed there were surprised to see us and had to do quite a bit of running around through the command chain before we were allowed in. It wasn't every day a large army of a rival territory showed up on their front door.

  Several men wearing shiny armor escorted us into the city, showing us a good spot to park. From the look of it, most of the town had been evacuated. Whoever was left was still in the process of leaving or had decided to stay and fight whatever came. Judging from the worry on their faces and knowing that Vorova hadn't had any major conflicts for many years, I wasn't so sure they'd have lasted long without us.

  Granted, I wasn't exactly sure we'd last long regardless.

  "What's the plan?" asked Beatrix as we hopped off of our cart.

  "Should we call dibs on one of these buildings before all the good ones are gone?" asked Dhot, watching as the soldiers hurried to claim their temporary housing.

  "There will be more than enough housing for us," commented Cassandra. "We could all have our own building and there would still be some left over."

  "Yeah, all the crummy ones," mumbled Dhot.

  "Let's try to introduce Beatrix to Varinia," I said. "She'll be happy to see we found a summoner, and will know where to best position her."

  Everyone was okay with that, so we walked up to the front carts. Here, the well armored Vorovan guards were speaking with several men and women I took to be The Republics generals or leaders. It took a minute, but we saw Varinia on the edge of the group speaking to someone.

  "Varinia!" I called out as we approached. "We brought a new recruit along. She's a..."

  As Varinia turned and smiled at us, the orc woman she had been talking to turned as well. The orc glanced over our group cautiously, then smiled. Behind her were a dozen or so gnomes, orcs, and humans that were heavily armed and watching her and Varinia speak. They looked very bored.

  "Hi, I'm Beatrix," said the gnome to Varinia, picking up where I left off. "I'm a summoner, and I'm here to help against the Dar'Ka."

  "A summoner!" exclaimed Varinia. "That's perfect! We're so happy to have you join us! I was just talking with-"

  "Nicole Adder," I finished for her, nodding to the orc. "I never forget the face of someone that chased me over half of Yaerna."

  "It's been a long time, Reimar," she said. "I hope you and your friends will keep from blowing up my property this time?"

  "So long as you don't try to take our weapons," said Dhot, crossing his arms. Cassandra and Braun took defensive postures.

  "Seems like everyone knows each other," said Varinia, glancing back and forth nervously. "I hope whatever strange sounding pasts can be left there. We won't win this fight if we don't stay unified."

  "Of course," nodded Nicole. The orc reached her hand out toward me and took a deep breath. "I'm a bit surprised to be saying this but... I'm glad to have you on our side."

  I glanced back at the others, who nodded, then I shook her hand. "Happy to help. I take it you and your Green Snakes are up for the fight?"

  "Gray Adders," said Nicole and Cassandra at the same time.

  "Oh, I get it," said Beatrix. "It's like your last name."

  "I'm glad somebody gets it," said Nicole, her eyes not leaving mine.

  "So I didn't get your pun," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm so sorry!"

  Varinia cleared her throat. "I was just speaking with Nicole about Vorova's military structure. It appears a number of people have abandoned their post and snuck out with the rest of the general population. Because of that, Nicole and a few others here have formed a committee to help defeat the Dar'Ka and defend their city."

  "Maha!" laughed Dhot. "What a bunch of cowards."

  "Is the situation so dire that a museum curator is called upon to fight against black and red dragons?" asked Cassandra. I was thinking the same thing, but her tone was better than mine would've been. She sounded genuinely curious rather than trying to insult the orc. That was probably for the best.

  "A lot of our military is inexperienced," admitted Nicole. "My Gray Adders and I are some of the only ones that have faced any real combat in the last few decades."

  "Can we speak as a group now?" I asked. "The faster we can make sure we're all on the same page the better."

  Nicole nodded and went to gather the others, her men following after her like the loyal lapdogs they were.

  "She seemed nice," said Beatrix.

  "She's tried to kill us a handful of times," said Cassandra.

  "I see," said the gnome. She tilted her head to the side. "Was it unprovoked?"

  "Mmm..." I hummed. "Not quite."

  "I may or may not have blown up an item she had under her control," shrugged Dhot. "Might've caused some irreparable damage."

  "The four of you certainly have a way with people," smirked Varinia.

  "I wasn't involved in any of that!" argued Braun.

  Nicole came back with two humans, an elf, and a dwarf. A few of The Republic's generals came with them, along with the Gray Adders.

  "Here we all are," said Nicole. "Weston and Burley have been in our military for quite some time. Shindar says he was one of the Queen's bodyguards, and Holurf fought in several battles up in Brumark against some neighboring trolls."

  Weston looked pretty out of shape, but sure of himself. Burley looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there, and the bags under his eyes made it seem like he hadn't slept in a day or three. Shindar looked like any other elf, while Holurf might've been the oldest looking dwarf I'd ever seen. His wrinkles had wrinkles.

  "You were a bodyguard for the Queen?" Cassandra asked Shindar.

  The elf looked taken aback. "I, er, uh... yes?"

  "I don't remember you," said Cassandra, tapping her chin with a finger as she stared intently at him. "How long ago was this?"

  "Oh... you know..." stalled Shindar. "It, um, it was a while back. About 80 years ago."

  "Ah," nodded Cassandra. "I wasn't even born yet! That explains it."

  Shindar let out a big sigh of relief. Cassandra might've been fooled, but there was no way that elf had served as a bodyguard. It didn't particularly matter right then, however.

  "I'm not sure how much of a plan you guys have yet," I began. "We figured we'd keep everyone inside the walls for now, sort of hiding the number of soldiers we had. When the Dar'Ka finally get close enough with their ground forces, that's when we rush out and cut them down."

  "Erm, yes," nodded Weston. "I think waiting until they are in range for a surprise attack is best."

  "We've got a number of archers that we can place along the top," said Nicole. "They should be able to cut the Greeners down some as they app
roach. What should we do about the black and reds, though?"

  "Are we not getting assistance from the silver and golds?" asked the chubby human, glancing around with some disappointment. "Did only one silver come to help us?"

  "Our dragons are already being put into position," explained Varinia. "We've divided ourselves to the north and south. Our leader, Laurinaitis, will be in control of the southern dragons. Antonius, our second in command, will be taking charge over the dragons in the north. I will head out and join them shortly."

  "Oh, okay," said Weston, clearing his throat. "I, uh, I think that's a good decision."

  I was starting to miss fighting alongside the dwarves in Brumark. It was clear the fight was going to mostly come down to how well The Republic's forces did against the Dar'Ka. Hopefully, these knuckleheads would provide at least some sort of distraction while the important battles were going on. Surely we had enough time to run through some drills before the enemy reached us.

  Then we heard a loud thump. And another.

  We turned to the eastern part of town where the thumping was coming from. I could've been imagining things, but I could've sworn I heard screaming.

  "W-What's all that noise?" asked Braun, taking a step backward.

  "Don't sound good, whatever it be," muttered the old Holurf.

  A woman wearing light armor ran over to us, clearly out of breath.

  "Everyone," she said, fighting for air. "They're here!"

  Cassandra and I shared a nervous look. We had just got there. All of The Republic's soldiers were spread out in the city to look for places to claim. The Vorovan military was questionable at best. Surely it couldn't be what we thought it was...

  "Who's here?" asked Nicole.

  "The Dar'Ka," said the woman. "Greeners are attacking our eastern wall!"

  Chapter 10

  Our group ran as quickly as we could to meet up with whatever resistance was fighting with the Greeners. Varinia had sent some nearby troops to go gather all of The Republic's soldiers and to meet us on the eastern wall. I hoped it wouldn't be too late.