“Do we have any pitch?” Mary asked a tired looking Pem.
“I already have it boiling and ready to rain down on the attackers” Pem replied.
“So you are ahead of me” Mary gave a grim laugh. “I want all arrows fired into the center of the crowd to be flaming pitch. The more bodies they pack in the better, I want the inferno to rage as we start eliminating people at the gate”.
Pem ran off to complete her mission as the attackers got closer, some held shields over their heads but none of it would matter. They would be dealt with but it was the number of boats that gave Mary pause. Eventually mages would be sent out here, then things would get interesting. Mary saw her commanders rush up and down the lines to give instructions. On the wall she had 75 men with countless arrows and other weapons, they would earn their money this day. The marching got louder as the attackers were within fifty paces of the gate, some pulled out grappling hooks and began swinging them. The wall was too high for them to get a good grip on it with the hooks, only one managed to snag the wall and it was cut down quickly. The signal was given to fire as her archers alternated turns and fired down on their countrymen. Their arrows carried armor piercing heads for the most part, those went straight through shield and man alike. When the flaming arrows started landing in the middle of the crowd, that’s when the panic really started.
Men would die on fire, that fire would spread to others which caused a stampede of human flesh. Men were getting trampled or skewered from the attack and their lines were in disarray. Mary say the griffins take off again and by their trajectory she could tell they were coming to land or at least to fight. Mary looked around and could see one of her commanders, a girl no more than 16 named Chloe directing her men to grab pikes. The griffins came in hard and fast and attempted to sweep the defenders from the wall. The defenders for their part instantly switched to being pike men to keep the animals at bay while their riders were plucked off then thrown to the horde below. The griffin riders that landed only had a little more success in the fact they stayed breathing a little longer but the small men in leather armor were no match for her heavily armored troops. Mary had captured at least twenty of the griffins before the rest flew away. Mary thought that had worked better than she expected, maybe she gave the griffins too much credit. It was either that or the force she had was just that good.
The arrow storm continued as did the fire, men at the back of the formation were in no hurry to fill their dead comrades’ spot and some even broke out of formation entirely. It was then Mary had the pitch dropped on the attackers at the gate. Men screamed loudly as Mary ordered for it to be set ablaze. The smell of burning flesh sickened her as she could see more and more of the enemy attempt to fall back. Mary didn’t think she had loss anyone really, there may have been a few bumps and bruises but her men still looked ready to fight. Mary called a halt to the arrow storm, she would let them regroup as much as the wanted. She would need to send men down their though to recover as many arrows as possible, while she was sure she had enough it was better to be safe than sorry. Mary was about to turn from the wall to tell Pem to get some rest when a shout rang out. Mary looked to where a man was pointing and that’s when she saw him.
CHAPTER 11
Max and Xander had taken off before the sun came out and were riding high on the currents. They were a little early but Mary should have been there by now and Xander had been anxious. The dragon wanted to be doing something, anything to get a step closer to freeing the other dragon. So far he had been silent during the entire flight, Max didn’t mind it so much as he was daydreaming about marriage. Up as high as they were, there wasn’t much to see but clouds. Not even birds came this high up Max thought since he had yet to see any. Xander then twitched his muscles and dove, Max held on as Xander went tearing through the clouds like a hawk diving on prey. When the finally broke through the clouds the sight made Max’s heart drop. It looked like the island he was going to was under siege, Griffins were flying in the air, ships were out on the water and more men then he had ever seen in his life were attacking the walls through a narrow passage.
“Go for the ships” Max told Xander as he could feel the dragon bank towards one. Max figured in the open sea the big slow moving ships were a liability against a flying opponent. Xander came in just out of arrow range and set a small boat on fire before pulling up. Max looked back and could see the whole thing bathed in flames as Max went back down and not only burned a big boat, but used his tail to snap its mast and leave the boat a floating inferno. Max could see men pointing at him as Xander destroyed another of the larger vessels, this one with just a single pass of dragon fire that must had ignited some wine barrels or something. The boats started turning back towards shore, Max and Xander burned two more of the bigger ones to make sure they would get out of the water. Max and Xander then focused on the men sieging the fort and made a big pass overhead at the back of the group and bathe them in fire. The men screamed as Xander pulled up and did another pass over the frightened attackers. Max looked back and could see the griffins had joined in the chase, there were at least twenty or so of them but this chase would end very differently Max thought.
“Land inside the stronghold” Max thought to Xander. “They would be foolish to follow us in there”.
Xander banked up did a barrel roll and charged right at the griffins who were scattering from the angry fire breathing dragon now coming right at them. At least two of the creatures went down as Xander went up and over the wall before landing in some kind of courtyard. The men with pikes ignored him but instead focused on the incoming Griffins who pulled up immediately and flew in the opposite direction. Max could see Mary waving frantically at someone, Max turned to see who had her attention when thirty or so griffins came out of a big wooden building and took towards the sky after the intruders.
“I WANT TO TAKE PART IN THIS” Xander said through their link as Max waved him on.
Max saw Xander take off and went towards the small cliff he saw Mary on. As he got closer he could tell someone had carved stairs into the mountain supporting the cliff as Mary came running down them. Max gave her a silly grin as she gave him a big hug. Max was shocked by the affection, although there were many attackers, now that he thought about it Mary’s forces didn’t seem like they were losing.
“Do you have on your red armor?” Mary asked as she felt his chest through his clothes.
“I don’t really need it” Max said as he pulled up his shirt and showed her the scales on his belly.
“You do need it, if only for inspiration” Mary replied.
“Right now it is tied to Xander” Max admitted. “He took off before I could retrieve any of my belongings”.
“Well take off your shirt and let them see you are the red warrior” Mary said as she surprised Max by practically ripping the shirt off him. “You already have a name made for yourself amongst the enemy, we need them to see you are here under my control. We need the women and men who fight with us to see they have a champion”.
Max had no idea what she was talking about, but if it meant he didn’t have to cover up his scales anymore then he was all for it, only leaving on his scabbard and his pants as his scales did not cover everything down below. Max followed Mary back up the cliff and liked her view, she could see everything from there, the gate, the water even the beach. Max could see Xander making pass after pass on the men who were now jumping into the water to escape the dragon. Those who didn’t burned to death where they stood as Xander finally let off his attack. The air power for the enemy seemed to be overwhelmed by Mary’s griffins; they were currently fleeing towards the main shore for their lives. Near the back of that pack flew Xander who Max thought was enjoying this whole thing a little too much. As the first griffins landed spouts of flame started erupting from the shores, it was mages.
Mary’s griffins broke off as Xander came closer and returned fire with fire. Xander cast his flame all over the shore then suddenly jerked and almost fell out of
the sky. Xander turned around quickly and flew back towards Max but his gait was all wrong. Max hurried down the cliff and waited for Xander who practically crashed instead of landed. Max could see he was peppered with arrow, no these were ballista bolts. Most were on his chest but the larger of the ten or so he saw actually went in and was at the base of his tail. Max first examined the couple on his chest, they dented the scales there and although stuck fast did not seem to get to the soft meat underneath. Max Yanked these all out. The one at the tail though had to be fired by a large machine, this one punched right through Xander’s scales and was still stuck fast in his body. Xander heated up his sword and slowly cut the top off the huge bolt, and began to light probe inside of the wound until he could see the tip of the projectile. Luckily it was not barbed or flared, it was probably used to punch through boats that tried to attack Gale but it had served its purpose as a dragon deterrent. Max pulled out the bolt and was happy to see although there was bleeding, it wasn’t of the bright red and squirting kind. Max then used his sword to cauterize the wound and although he could tell Xander was in pain the dragon said nothing to him.
“I think we should stay put for a bit” Max said out loud to Xander. “Don’t worry about food, I think the Queen will have some brought to us.”
“I WILL NEED TO RECOVER” Xander began, even his voice in Max’s head sounded shaky. “WE SHOULD DETROY THOSE WEAPONS ON THE SHORE OR AT LEAST AVOID THEM”.
“I think that is a smart plan” Max said as he examined Xander’s tail. “Well let’s see if we can have a place built for us”.
“Is he alright?” Mary said as she came jogging up.
“He will be fine, he was just a little careless” Max said as he pointed to the bolts he had pulled out. “They fired ballista at him, one particularly large one caught him at the base of the tail. He will need some time to heal up. Do you have any place for us to stay?”
“You’re going to stay with the dragon?” Mary asked.
“His name is Xander and yes I am” Max said as he gave Xander’s hind leg a good pat. “I don’t want people bothering him, believing he is a dragoon or something. He will retaliate even if they mean well, can you have people just avoid him and leave him alone?”
“I guess that makes sense” Mary admitted. “I do have a place he can fit but it only has three walls and no hay or anything soft to lay on”.
“That would be perfect for us”.
“Well I will show you there” Mary said as she pointed to the items still strapped to Xander. “Bring your items, we are going to have your look updated”.
CHAPTER 12
Max had been on the island for two months now, Xander had healed and was off hunting large fish in the sea. For a big heavy dragon he was quite adept in the water Max thought and often brought back shark or other large sea creatures which helped out the island for food. Max though became a little depressed somewhat, the knowledge he received from Xander was insufficient about his change. Max believed after his last growth spurt he was done changing, that could not have been further from the truth. Max hands now were larger, his claws alone were about the size of lady’s long finger and it made him adjust his grip to carry his sword properly. He now had ridges of bone spikes all over his upper shoulder and the outsides of his arms which if he was building a killing machine would go perfect with the denser scales he now had which Xander had told him were as thick as those on Xander’s neck and head. Max’s feet could no longer support any shoe, it was larger, wider and had vicious looking claws on in that would rival any dragoon. Max could have dealt with all of that easily, what he couldn’t deal with was the wings and tail he now had.
His tail started at the base of his spine and was strong thick and scaly. It grew so fast Max had no idea what was happening until Xander told him. Max refused to leave the lair he shared with Xander out of embarrassment until Mary had a special armored piece made to protect his modesty. During the same time as the tail his wings sprouted, first they were small pitiful things but now they 8 feet tall and had a span of at least 16 feet when extended all the way. Max resembled the demons in the book of Solare, Xander’s response was whoever wrote the book probably saw a dragonbreed take on this form before and plagiarized. Max’s wings though no mater hot big or strong could not make him fly, at least not under his own power. If he were high up on the air currents he could travel for a good distance, once he dropped below all he could do was glide as he fell. Maybe if his wings were feathery and hollow boned like the griffins he stood a chance, but his resembled dragon wings, leathery with bone spikes on the tips. Max had hated his new appearance, people who saw him shied away terrified of his new visage. The helm and other armaments Mary had made for him did nothing to make him look more human; on his tail she made an armored piece that had iron spikes poking out of it, his helm looked exactly like a mini dragon head, complete with teeth at the top and bottom. It all but erased his peripheral vision but all in all he looked like someone not to be tangled with. The only thing he had that was not as frightening was Mary’s crest which was emblazoned across his breastplate and shield. Mary wanted all of the traitors to fear Max, she wanted them to tell stories to each other about the red warrior and the horde.
The horde were all griffins and their riders, this bunch though differed from their main land counterparts in the way they would fight. Normal griffin riders were expected to fight on griffin back then get off and fight on their feet if necessary, these griffin riders were strapped all the way in. To put on all the straps took a longer than normal, taking them off quickly was almost impossible short of cutting them with the strange buckles they had. They were made to be put on quickly and difficult to take off, this was the riders didn’t have to worry about being thrown. They were armed with an iron ball and a spear, the ball was only for dropping. The target would be buildings like the homes of the traitors, dropped from up high the balls should be able to punch through the roofs of estates. The spear they held was just in case they had to get off and fight, they would at least have a way to defend themselves. Tonight they were supposed to ride out under the cover of darkness and strike the estate of Countess Genny, Yadia’s cousin. The plan was to take off and land some many miles away in a clearing, it was far enough away from any city that anyone who stumbled upon them wouldn’t have enough time to warn anyone. Even if they did it was likely Max would be gone before any kind of force could be brought to bear. They were to stay there until early morning then fly out, Mary wanted the horde to be seen at midday when everyone was out. Xander was to burn the fields and the estate itself, the iron balls were just to open up more holes for the fire to seep through. The griffins were there to menace any guards and kill off livestock. Max if he could was supposed to plant a flag bearing Mary’s coat of arms outside of the estate. Mary would consider it a total victory if he were able to kill the countess herself, but the main mission was to leave the woman destitute. Mary also wanted the loss of life limited in the attack, only the countesses guards could be killed at will. Max at first didn’t know what to think of all the killing he was to do until he remembered they had went after him first in the arena.
“Are you ready for this fight?” Duchess Pem asked as she walked up behind him. “The queen is nervous, I have tried to calm her, telling her that you will only be gone for slightly more than a day”.
“Is she worried about defending this place my lady?” Max asked.
“No” Duchess Pem replied. “Even without you we could hold on to this place almost indefinitely with the amount of troops they have sent here. After the first two attacks ended horribly they are content to stay on shore and watch. The war is still raging and from what I hear everything has been going to plan but I think they have committed the mages too soon. No, the Queen is worried about the attack itself, she is worried about it being successful. She wants to be there to see it happen and has started to take drastic measures to join you and the horde”.
“What do you mean by drastic measures?” M
ax asked curious.
“There is a griffin slightly larger than the rest of them” Pem said as she pointed out a big griffin. “She is strong, in the wild if there was such a thing she would be a pack leader, the dominant female. Her majesty believes that griffin, who she has named Tabitha is big enough to let her fly. You stay out here most of the time, your appearance frightens you and you don’t like the way others stare. You have not seen the drastic change in her appearance, where she once had a little extra weight on her she is slowly losing it, replacing it all with lean muscle from the workouts she forces herself through. She thinks your attack will have some success, you shouldn’t be there more than a heartbeat anyway. She just hates if something does happen she will not be there with an alternate course of action”.
“It’s not that hard” Max began. “I swoop in burn a lot of stuff, plant a flag and leave. “Whoever the queen is now probably think we exiled ourselves to this place and is relieved. Not to mention the place we are attacking is a good ways away and almost everyone who could fight has probably been called up for war”.
“You know more than you let on” Duchess Pem remarked.
“Not really, Xander told me his take on things” Max admitted.
Max the Dragon Warrior Page 8