Jundag

by Chris A. Jackson

  “An’ I was thinkin’ this trip might be too much for her!”

  Abashed, he turned to the apparently more difficult task of convincing the dwarves that a floating stone ship was a safe means of travel.

  CHAPTER 30

  Lysethra sighed with relief as a shadowy figure appeared before her in the summoning circle. She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes to rest for a moment. She was exhausted. Her communion with Xakra had been arduous, and her subsequent search for Calmarel had frustrated her beyond belief. Her sister’s room was empty: no Calmarel, no baby, no slave. The citadel was too large to search by herself—she was not yet prepared to admit her sister’s disobedience to the mediator—so she had returned to the temple to summon help. Now the creature hunkered before her, a shadow within shadows, only its red eyes clearly visible. She pushed herself upright and held out a scroll case.

  "This is a simple task," she said, "but you must make haste. Take this scroll to my sister, Calmarel Darkmist. She is somewhere within this citadel. Once you deliver it to her hand you may return to your home. Go now, and hurry!"

  With a brush of dark breeze the scroll tube vanished from her hand. The shadows before her lightened; the creature was gone. Wherever Calmarel was, the shadow servant would find her, of that she had no doubt. The question was: would her sister accept the invitation on the scroll? She had to assume she would, and prepare. Lysethra heaved a sigh and thought longingly of a glass of wine and a soft bed. But it would be many hours before she could rest. Patience and persistence were essential for luring wary prey into a web.

  “Many hands make light work!” said UrMae with a satisfied smile as she clapped the dust from her hands. The crowd of priests around her looked similarly pleased, but all looked wearier from their efforts than the energetic high priestess.

  “It certainly helps that yer a favorite o’ the Earth Mother,” DoHeney said as he marveled at the craft they had shaped in only a few hours. It only vaguely resembled the ships he’d seen in the world above, but if it took them where they wanted to go, he didn’t care what it looked like.

  The vessel had three long, narrow hulls attached side by side by thick platforms. From the center of each hull rose a hefty stone mast topped with a slender horizontal yard. The entire vessel had been fashioned from stone, and neither crack nor seam marred her lines. She was squat and sturdy, a true dwarven ship, stem to stern.

  DoHeney sprang aboard, hoping to encourage the dwarven troops who had watched the building of the ship as if watching the building of a gibbet to be used for their own hanging.

  “Come aboard right quick now!” he called, annoyed by the grumbles from his men. Bein’ a commander is kinda like bein’ a babysitter, he thought irritably. When this is over, I’m goin’ back ta bein’ a loner. He was about to yell out reprimands when UrMae sauntered through the crowd, clapping backs and playfully admonishing the laggards.

  “Git up there, NorFoman. Don’t ye tell me it’s not safe! I made that ship wi’ me very own hands and the grace o’ the Earth Mother. Are ye mistrustin’ either me or her?” None would accept that challenge, and the troops boarded. The stability of the craft seemed to ease their fears, though they tended to huddle near the center, away from the sides and the view down into the inky waters. UrMae boarded last, with a flourish and a big smile. “All aboard, Captain!”

  DoHeney bellowed, "Set sail, Prael!"

  The wizard tossed a red silk handkerchief into the air while reciting an incantation. The handkerchief dissolved into a shimmer of red sparks that shot aloft to fall gently over the yards. In the wake of the sparks, filmy red fabric appeared that attached to the tops of the yards and draped down toward the decks. DoHeney ordered some dwarves to tie lines onto the corners of the makeshift sails, and secure the ends.

  "A little wind, if ye please, Marris," DoHeney yelled with a grin as he stood in the bow of the center hull.

  The mage stood in the stern of the ship and threw a bit of shimmering dust into the air toward the masts. A breeze stirred the air, then freshened until wind filled the sails. Slowly, they pulled away from shore, then picked up speed until they raced across the calm water.

  “Just tell me which direction you want to go in,” Marris called, “and I’ll adjust the wind accordingly.”

  "Handy magic, that," DoHeney said. “Thankee very much.” He turned toward UrMae as the priestess approached. This close, he could see the weariness in her eyes, and how she repeatedly clenched and relaxed her fists to ease the cramps induced by hours of molding stone. This effort had taxed even her, though she made sure the troops didn’t see.

  “I couldn’t do this wi’out ye,” he said.

  “Ah, yer doin’ fine,” she said as she leaned against the bulwarks. “Everyone’s got their special skill, an’ it takes everyone ta git things done. Howdaya like the name?”

  “What name?” he asked.

  UrMae pointed over to the outside of the hull below them. “Every ship’s gotta have a name.”

  DoHeney leaned over and read the sharp dwarvish letters. He nodded—he didn’t trust his voice not to betray his emotions—and leaned on the rail beside UrMae as they surged across the water aboard DoHeney’s Dream.

  Shay glanced over to the great silver-scaled dragon that flew alongside Phlegothax. He could just see Onnowarr astride it, her golden scales winking in the light of a nearby volcano. Around the two dragons flew hundreds of armed drakoll. He rolled his shoulders to rid them of the kinks that had set in during the long ride. He could hear Hufferrrerrr's growling snore somewhere behind him, but his mind was too agitated for sleep. Avari’s agreement with the draconic deity bothered him. His friend had always been too quick to act without considering the ramifications. When they were back home, he would do some research to determine if there might be a way to void the deal.

  "There it is!" exclaimed Feldspar as he poked Shay in the ribs. Shay shook him off irritably. The cantankerous old wizard had been like a child in a toy shop since they started on this mission. Well, Shay thought, I imagine this must make a nice change from working the same old magics for an emperor. He turned in the direction that Feldspar’s finger pointed, and saw what looked like a tear hanging from the black eye of The Void. As they neared, the tear resolved into the shimmering shield that cradled the Black City.

  "Look at the size of it," Lynthalsea said.

  "Is anyone besides myself being in the thinking that we may be in the biting of more meat than one can be chewing?" Hufferrrerrr sounded worried.

  Onnowarr’s booming voice startled them, sounding as if the deity was right next to them. "We have not had a chance to chew,” she said. “For even I have been unable to take the bite that will breach the shield."

  "What has been tried against it?" Shay asked. He pressed his arm against the bulge of one of the cornerstones in his robes.

  "Entire flights of dragons have failed to breach the shield," Onnowarr said. "And although my own powers will prick the shield, it is reinforced by Void essence," she glared at the shimmering barrier as if personally offended, "and it immediately regenerates."

  "Great," Voncellia muttered.

  "But it was damaged!" Avari called out excitedly. "And you said you could get us in!"

  "Indeed I did say that,” Draco’s daughter agreed as Phlegothax and the silver-scaled dragon banked toward the shield.

  There was a flash, and before Shay could blink, Onnowarr stood before him, her stance steady on Phlegothax's scaly back. “But I will need a concession from you.” Her eyes narrowed, and he felt the weight of judgment in her gaze. “I will need to borrow the cornerstones, Szcze-kon." She extended her taloned hands toward him.

  Shay flushed with momentary fury. If this was her trick to take the gems—put them in an untenable situation and deny her help until they acquiesced—she would be sorely disappointed.

  "You cannot touch two cornerstones at the same time, Onnowarr," Shay chided, his hand moving protectively to the sequestered stones. "T
heir combined energies cause a—"

  "Do not deign to tell Us, Szcze-kon, what We can or cannot do!" Onnowarr commanded, her hands still outstretched. "Hand me the cornerstones, and I will breach the shield. You will be able to pass through before it regenerates."

  "While you stay on this side with the cornerstones? That is not acceptable." Shay ignored his friends’ protests, and considered himself lucky that Avari was not close enough to reach him.

  “So you would jeopardize your task, Szcze-kon, to retain possession of what does not rightly belong to you?” Onnowarr said, menace evident in her hushed tone.

  “I am their rightful master!” Shay protested. “Only I can use them as they were meant to be used.”

  "The emerald belongs to DoHeney and the dwarves, Shay," Avari yelled to him.

  “But he gave it into my keeping!” Shay snapped.

  “Please listen, Shay,” Lynthalsea pleaded. “If Onnowarr needs the gems to get us through the shield, then give them to her! This is not the time to—"

  "This is exactly the time, Lynthalsea!" he barked. "I am not prepared to hand them over to this being and not get them back!" Even his own sister was denying his right to the cornerstones. How did they expect to accomplish anything here without them?

  “So, Szcze-kon,” Onnowarr purred with a smile, “you reveal your true self to your friends. You are as covetous as any dragon, interested only in your own pursuits and unwilling to sacrifice for the greater good, as Jundag did...as your companions are doing...as Avari will do.” She scowled down at him. “And you do not apologize for your trespasses, hoping that others will forget what you have done, the hurts you have inflicted.” She waved her hand and a drakoll flew up; its sides were slashed by healing scars, wounds that looked suspiciously like claw marks from a lion...or leotaur.

  “You are no better than those within the Black City!”

  These words hit Shay like a slap across the face, and for an instant, it seemed as if he stood outside of his body looking back, seeing himself as others saw him. And he realized that Onnowarr was right, as it was obviously her intention in showing him this. His mind reeled.

  Is this truly what I have become? He had thought that only by maintaining control of the cornerstones could they achieve their goal, but as he considered his actions and interactions of the past year, a pattern emerged. He did not like what he saw. And he thought of Avari’s great sacrifice for a friend, given freely and without coercion, and his face burned with shame.

  "Very well," Shay said softly, handing over to Onnowarr first the diamond, then the emerald, though he had to force himself to loosen his grip.

  As the second gem touched Onnowarr's hand, the combined energies of the two cornerstones flared like a green-white star, tendrils of glowing energy arcing and writhing in a nimbus around the goddess as she rose into the air in a lazy pirouette. Her eyes glowed like twin golden suns and her skin began to incandesce, shimmering with the power of the stones.

  "Be ready!" Onnowarr said in a voice like thunder. "The shield will begin to regenerate as soon as it is damaged."

  Shay heard his companions unsheathing swords and pulling arrows from quivers, and Brok chanting in a deep, soft voice. Shay said a prayer that Tem would watch over them, and hefted his hammer. The drakoll gathered in a swarm in front of Phlegothax, then wheeled and shot toward the shield wall.

  Onnowarr brought her hands together, and a spear of green-white energy lanced out, impacting upon the shield with the clap of a thousand thunderbolts. Shay’s ears rang, but as his vision cleared, he saw a large hole in the shield, glowing red at its edges, which immediately began to close.

  Shay’s stomach dropped as Phlegothax plunged toward the hole in the wake of the drakoll, and he crouched low. The dragon tucked in its wings as it passed through the shield, then billowed them wide and banked. The dragon flew back to the shield wall, where Onnowarr floated on the other side of the shrinking hole, a grin of satisfaction on her face. She flicked her hands, and the cornerstones flew through the gap. Shay stretched out his hand to catch one, and Phlegothax caught the other in its massive jaws.

  The shield opening snapped shut like it had never been breached. Shay caught one more glimpse of the daughter of Draco as they wheeled and plummeted toward the citadel.

  CHAPTER 31

  Jundag stood behind Calmarel, the baby in one arm, their pack of supplies in the other. Beyond the archway he could see the portal to Xerro Kensho, guarded by two rock trolls. It had taken them several hours to reach this place; Calmarel had led them on a circuitous route through the adjacent city sections to avoid detection by Lysethra or the Xerro Kensho guards.

  Several mages walked by, looking weary and discussing ways to stabilize small fissures in the Void portals. Calmarel motioned to him to be ready once they were past. Then a great clap of thunder rent the air, staggering them. Jundag dropped the pack and braced himself against the wall, pulling the baby close as she began to wail. Outside, the rock trolls looked up.

  “Now!” hissed Calmarel, and they started toward the portal.

  A roar like a waterfall reached Jundag’s ears as he strode into the open a step behind Calmarel. Instinct drew his gaze to the source of the sound, and he stopped.

  "What? Don't stop now! We—" Calmarel fell silent as her eyes flicked up.

  Flying creatures dove toward the portal. A flight of spears flew from the vanguard, riddling the two rock trolls. They fell, pierced a dozen times by the long shafts.

  “Hurry!” Calmarel screamed as she raced forward, but it was too late. The swarm creatures surrounded the portal and hacked at the stone frame with maces and axes. Chips of rock flew, and the frame shattered under the onslaught. With a white burst of magical energy, the portal collapsed. Along the shield wall, Jundag could see similar scenes enacted at the portals to the other dark cities.

  Calmarel’s cry of frustration pierced his ears. Cursing, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward the Citadel. It would have been easy to leave her to her death, but now that they were trapped here, he would need her to help him protect the baby from Lysethra. He glanced up once more before they raced under the archway.

  High above, a dragon circled.

  “Excellent!” Shay exclaimed. “The drakoll have taken out the portals. They will not be able to get reinforcements from their cities.” He swung the diamond cornerstone back and forth in front of him. It glowed more brightly toward his left.

  “Phlegothax!” he called. “Can you land us on that balcony?”

  The dragon huffed and dove.

  "I bet ye never thought ye'd be huddled under a blanket with a scarred old dwarf," DoHurley laughed as he wrapped an arm around Irielnea to quell her shivering. Her slender body didn’t have the natural insulation that the sturdy dwarves possessed, and she seemed out of place down here in the caverns. DoHurley could more easily picture her walking through a green forest in the springtime wearing a long diaphanous gown that brushed the dew from the grass, dappled sunlight gleaming off of her dark, silky hair, perhaps singing a lilting tune. Whoa there! he admonished himself. Ye shan’t be takin’ advantage of yer guests or thinkin’ those kinds of thoughts about ‘em, even if ye are keepin’ ’em warm.

  "M...my second husb...b...band was human," Irielnea said through chattering teeth. "I see no r...r...reason why my next c...could n...not be a dwarf."

  DoHurley’s shock must have shown on his face, because Irielnea laughed aloud, great clouds of white vapor billowing from between her pretty lips.

  The temperature had crept slowly but steadily lower, despite the presumably unquenchable heat of the volcanic vents. The entire mountain was becoming one giant deep-freeze. Many folk were huddled together, piled with blankets and conserving their strength, trying to sleep. But Irielnea had insisted on staying up to keep DoHurley company.

  "D...do you think it will g...get much colder?" she asked.

  "Nay, lass," he lied. "That vent o'er there's puttin' out more hot air than a malconten
ted elder. Methinks we've reached a happy medium."

  "G...good," she sighed, snuggling closer, her shivering slowly subsiding as her eyes sagged closed. "I'm sleepy, DoHurley. Wake me if—"

  "Oh, no, lassie," he scolded, joggling her awake and lifting her to a standing position. He drew her close and rocked her back and forth. He knew the signs of hypothermia, and she was exhibiting them all. If she fell asleep now, she’d never wake. "There's no sleepin' on duty. Up ye go. Get them legs movin'."

  "I can't, DoHurley," she said as she slumped into his arms. "I'm too tired to walk."

  "How about some hot soup then?" he asked, dragging her over to the figures huddled around the cook pots. "DruEllen! Let's have some soup fer our guest here."

  "The heatstones're near spent, Yer Majesty," the portly cook said apologetically. "The soup's barely warm, an' there ain't much more. Near all our water's froze."

  "Well, break out some o' them baskets o' coal we lugged down here! I want a hot cup o' soup!" His kinsmen's low spirits sparked his anger. He was king; he couldn’t let them give up. "You there! QueRonia! Strike up a tune on that pipe o' yours! That's what we need, a bit o' music! Maybe even dancin'."

  Several of the dwarves looked at him as if he’d gone mad, and even Irielnea gave him an odd stare. They probably thought he was losing his mind, but he didn’t care; at least it would keep them awake trying to figure him out. They had stocked plenty of food and drink, and had enough coal to burn down the mountain. What they needed now were positive spirits.