Forge of the Mindslayers botf-2

by Tim Waggoner

  "Was the dragonhead." Asenka nodded at Tresslar's wand.

  "Yes. We were at least a hundred feet away from the dragon, but as soon as I saw the dragonhead, I could sense the mystic power emanating from it. The magic was strong, more so than anything I had come across in my young life. Erdis saw the dragonhead as well as I, and he turned to me and raised a questioning eyebrow. I understood exactly what he was asking me: Is the dragonhead valuable? Not in a monetary sense, for even if it were the most precious of rare artifacts, Erdis wouldn't risk his life and the lives of his crew to obtain a single object, but a magic object… that was a different story. I looked at him and nodded.

  "A sly smile spread across Erdis's face as he turned back to examine the dragon. He pointed to me then two more of the crew. The message was clear: we three were to follow; the others were to remain behind. Erdis began moving toward the dragon, I came next, and the other two followed behind me. We went slowly and cautiously, for while the dragon appeared to be on the verge of death, still it was a dragon and not to be taken lightly. I don't know how long it took us to cross the cavern floor and reach the dragon. It seemed like hours, but I'm sure it took much less than that. Close to the dragon, the air was thick with greenish vapor, and if it hadn't been for the breathing pebbles under our tongues we would've died long before reaching the beast. When we had closed to within three yards of the creature, Erdis motioned for us to halt. Once again he leaned closed to my ear and whispered.

  "'No blood,' he said. For a moment I didn't understand what Erdis meant, then I realized that the floor around the dragon was spotless. Though the creature was grievously wounded and its injuries were clearly wet with blood, the dragon wasn't actually bleeding. That is to say, blood did not seep from its wounds to spill onto the floor. At first I thought the beast might be some manner of undead thing, but its sides moved in and out as it breathed, vapor curled from its nostrils, and when it had moved earlier, it motion wasn't awkward and jerky like that of an undead creature, but rather smooth and natural, despite its wounds. Only magic of an extremely high order could be responsible for such a miraculous enchantment, and I looked at the golden dragonhead hanging from the beast's neck with newfound awe. A split-second later I realized that if we removed the dragonhead, there was a very good chance that the green dragon would no longer be protected against the progression of time, and its wounds would begin bleeding and death would soon come to claim it.

  "I wanted to tell Erdis these things, but I was afraid to speak aloud and wake the dragon, so I hesitated, and in that moment, Erdis-sword gripped tight-crept up to the dragon's side and reached out for the golden dragonhead with his free hand. How he intended to get the object off the chain, I don't know. For at that instant, the dragon opened its eyes, or rather, I should say eye, for its left was nothing but a hollow, bloody socket.

  "Erdis took several steps backward, but before he could do anything to defend himself, the dragon lifted its head, opened its mouth and released a blast of poison green gas that rolled over the four us like a cloud of thick, emerald fog. The vaporous cloud lingered for a moment before beginning to dissipate, and when the dragon saw that none of us had fallen, it spoke.

  "'I see that you have come prepared. Not that it matters, for all you've done is ensure yourselves a more grisly, though equally swift, demise.'

  "Waves of fear pounded into me with each word, and if I hadn't been so completely consumed by terror, I would've turned and fled screaming for the cavern's exit. I understood then that I had experienced my first taste of dragonfear.

  "When it finished speaking, the dragon rose onto all four feet, wincing in pain as it did so. Whatever the spell that kept its wounds from bleeding, it obviously didn't relieve the pain they caused. The creature drew its head back as if it were a serpent preparing to strike. Half of its teeth were either gone or reduced to broken nubs, but it still had more than enough left in its huge maw to slay with. As its one-eyed gaze was focused intently on Erdis, there was no doubt about whom it intended to kill first.

  "The need for silence was long past, and I fought past my dragonfear to shout, 'Cut the dragonhead from the chain!'

  "Erdis didn't respond, but as the dragon lunged, Erdis sidestepped, gripped his sword with both hands, and swung his blade at the golden object dangling from the chain around the dragon's neck. The strike was well aimed and severed the link holding the dragonhead to the chain. The object fell to the cavern floor. An instant later the dragon stiffened and let out a deafening roar of agony. As if some sort of internal dam had burst within the creature, blood gushed from its numerous wounds. Those of us closest to the dragon fled, as much from a sudden intense surge of dragonfear as to avoid the beast's death throes, but we needn't have bothered, for after releasing a single bellow of pain, the dragon slumped to the cavern floor and lay motionless. The dragonfear that had taken hold of us, Erdis included, subsided, and we stopped running and turned back to gaze upon the dying creature. I say dying, for though the beast did not move, its one good eye remained half open, and tiny curls of green vapor wafted from its nostrils.

  "The dragon's right front claw twitched, its talons lightly scratching against the stone upon which it lay. At first I thought it was trying to get up, but then I saw the golden dragonhead lay less than ten feet from the claw, and I knew the beast wished to reclaim its magic talisman in order to save its life. Overwhelmed with sudden pity for the dragon, I stepped forward, intending to help it, but Erdis put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. I looked at him, and though he gazed at me with understanding, still he didn't release me, and I didn't try to break free. Instead, I turned back to look at the dragon. The streams of blood that had gushed from its wounds only seconds before had slowed to mere trickles, and I knew the dragon didn't have much time left.

  "The beast spoke then. Its voice no longer echoed like thunder through the cavern, but came out instead as a soft rumble so quiet I had to strain to hear it.

  "'For more than twenty-six hundred years I have lain in this cavern, with only my pain for company,' the dragon said. 'The Amahau kept me alive all that time-much as I wish it hadn't-but now its work is finished. The Gatherer is yours now. Use it wisely.'

  "I understood that the Amahau and the Gatherer were both names for the golden dragonhead, and though I knew this was hardly the time to quiz the dragon about the object, my artificer's curiosity was burning to learn more about the magical artifact, but before I could ask any questions, Erdis asked one of his own. "'What is your name?'

  "'I am… Paganus.'

  The dragon's eye closed then, and a last rattling breath escaped its scaly lips. After nearly three millennia-if the beast had been telling the truth-death had finally claimed it."

  Tresslar fell silent after that and gazed out upon the sea. Asenka looked at the dragonhead-the Amahau-with newfound awe.

  "What happened after that?" she asked.

  Tresslar didn't respond right away, and she thought he hadn't heard her or that perhaps he had and merely intended to ignore her question, but then the artificer spoke once more.

  "We left. I took the dragonhead, since as ship's artificer I was best equipped to handle it, and we made our way back to the Seastar. The return journey wasn't without its difficulties… after all, it was Trebaz Sinara, but all of us made it to the ship more or less intact, and we set sail. I began experimenting with the Amahau to learn its capabilities, and eventually I discovered how to use it to absorb and store magic. I affixed it to the end of this wand, and that's the end of the story."

  Asenka very much doubted that last statement, but she sensed Tresslar didn't want to speak more about Erdis Cai or the crew of the Seastar, so she decided to ask something else. "Did you ever learn anything about the Amahau's origins or what the wounded dragon was doing hiding in the cavern for so long?"

  Tresslar shook his head. "To be honest, I was never much of a scholar, but after Erdis and the rest of the crew… retired, I ended up working on Dreadhold. Because so many of the
criminals incarcerated on Dreadhold possessed mystical abilities to one degree or another, the prison had a rather extensive research library for the artificers' use. From time to time I would visit the library to see what I could find about the Amahau or about a green dragon named Paganus, but I found only the most oblique references and very few of those. To this day, more than forty years later, I don't know where the Amahau came from or the full extent of its power."

  Asenka gazed upon the golden dragonhead, its ruby eyes and crystalline teeth, and realized she was in the presence of a great mystery. After a time, she said, "Maybe it's better that you don't know more than you do."

  "I've often thought the same," Tresslar replied.

  They both fell silent after that and stood at the railing, side by side, watching the waves as the Zephyr sped across the water toward Perhata.

  Inside the obsidian sarcophagus, Makala lay in darkness. The coffin's power insulated her from the effects of sea travel, so much so that she had no awareness that the ship was even moving. She wasn't asleep, at least not in the way that mortals understood the term. Just as vampires existed in a shadowy nether region between the worlds of the dead and the living, when resting, they hovered in a state between awareness and unconsciousness. The closest mortals could come to this experience was the delirium that accompanied a dangerously high fever. Makala's mind drifted in this ethereal twilight, images and sensations coming unbidden and leaving only distorted, fragmented memories of their visit upon departing.

  Her reunion with Diran dominated her thoughts. The images that paraded through her mind were mostly of him, but at the extreme edge of her semi-awareness a voice whispered to her, as it had every day since she had been transformed into a vampire by Onkar, Erdis Cai's first mate. When she awakened, she would have no memory of this voice-she never did-but she would be changed a bit more by the dark words it spoke.

  Makala… blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh… Soon you will be ready. Soon you will be worthy. Soon we shall be one…

  And then the voice-feminine, cruel, and so very, very cold-laughed.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Diran stood at the Zephyr's bow as the elemental sloop approached Perhata. His lips were dry, the skin hard and cracked, and his cheeks were red-raw from windburn. He could've easily healed himself, but he didn't bother. He had long ago gotten used to ignoring pain.

  "You should do something about those lips before they start bleeding. You don't want to be more of a temptation to our slumbering beauty than you already are."

  Diran replied to Ghaji without turning to look at him. "I'm not in the mood for jokes."

  "Since when has that ever stopped me?" The half-orc stepped up next to Diran and leaned forward onto the railing. "Sorry if my attempt at humor fell flat. It's the orcish way to try and cheer up a companion by provoking him."

  Diran's cracked lips did their best to form a smile. "What's the companion supposed to do in response?"

  "There are several acceptable responses, but the most common is to kill the idiot who's dumb enough to provoke an upset orc."

  Diran couldn't stop himself from laughing.

  Ghaji smiled. "From your reaction, can I assume you're not going to kill me?"

  "Maybe later," Diran said.

  It was late afternoon, and though the sky was clear and the sun shone bright, the air remained cold as ever. Ships of various types-two and three-masted merchant vessels, fishing boats, and small, sleek pleasure craft-plied the waters around Perhata as their owners went about their business. The wind rushing over Diran's face began to die down, and he realized the Zephyr was slowing. He glanced back and saw that the sails weren't as full as they had been a moment ago, and he knew that Yvka had commanded the wind elemental to decrease its output so that they could approach the dock at a safe speed.

  "How are you?" Ghaji asked.

  Diran faced forward once more. "Ever since that awful night in Grimwall, I've tried to imagine what it would be like to see Makala again… how I would feel…" He shook his head. "I didn't even come close."

  "How do you feel?"

  "As if I've betrayed her. I never should have let her go the night she was changed. I was too weak to do what had to be done."

  "You loved her, Diran," Ghaji said. "Still do, unless I miss my guess. That's not a weakness."

  "I am one of the Purified, and I swore an oath to fight evil in whatever from it might take." Diran paused. "Even if that form is my love for Makala."

  "I don't understand."

  Diran turned to look at Ghaji. "If I truly loved Makala, I never would've allowed the corruption of undeath to take hold in her. I would've slain her the moment I knew her transformation was inevitable. By allowing her to continue existing as a vampire, I've condemned her to something far worse than natural death. She might seem to be the same person now, but eventually her spirit will succumb to the darkness that dwells within her and she will be lost."

  "Makala's as strong-willed a person as I've ever met," Ghaji said. "If anyone can resist becoming a monster, it's her."

  "That's what I've tried to tell myself these last few months," Diran said, "but think of Erdis Cai. The man was a legendary adventurer who faced numerous perils and always managed to survive them one way or another. He had a strong spirit too, but that didn't prevent him from being consumed by evil after his transformation into a vampire."

  "That's different. Erdis Cai wasn't simply bitten on the neck by another vampire. He was changed by Vol herself. No mortal can resist her power."

  "But that's just it, don't you see? Onkar was Erdis Cai's first mate, and he was transformed by Vol at the same time Cai was. Onkar changed Makala, which means she's also infected with Vol's darkness, and as you said, no mortal can resist her power." He glanced over his shoulder, and though he couldn't see Makala's obsidian sarcophagus from where he stood, he nevertheless sensed its foul presence. "At least, not forever."

  "If you truly believe that, then why don't you walk aft, open the coffin's lid, and expose Makala to the light of the sun? You wouldn't be killing her; you'd be setting her free."

  Diran knew his friend was right. He also knew that he couldn't do it.

  "I told you-because I'm weak."

  "No, because you're human." Ghaji put his hand on Diran's shoulder. "No offense intended."

  Diran couldn't help smiling. "So what's your excuse? You're only half human, after all."

  Ghaji shrugged. "I guess I'm the half that can't bring himself to kill a friend…even when he should."

  The two companions spoke no more on the matter, and the Zephyr continued toward Perhata's docks.

  Rather than finding a berth for the Zephyr at the docks, Yvka dropped off the others then sailed away. She planned to return the elemental sloop to the secluded location where she'd hidden her before-both to conceal her from those who might be tempted to steal the priceless craft as well as to protect Makala while she slumbered. Yvka promised to meet up with the others later at the King Prawn. Ghaji felt a bit nervous about the idea of Yvka being alone with Makala, even if the latter was sleeping, but he reassured himself that Yvka could deal with whatever threat came her way, including an attack by a vampire. Besides, Yvka would be safe enough as long as the sun was up… he hoped.

  As Ghaji, Diran, Hinto, Tresslar, and Asenka walked down the dock to shore, Ghaji said, "So where were we before being so rudely interrupted by Haaken and his crew?"

  "We'd decided to track down the barghest that attempted to steal Tresslar's dragonwand," Diran said.

  "A worthy goal, if I do say so myself." Tresslar yawned, "but perhaps it might be best if we got some sleep first. We spent most of the night chasing after you two, and while we dozed aboard the Zephyr, I wouldn't exactly call a few catnaps a restful sleep."

  "I'm not tired," Hinto said, "but then I'm not an old man like you, Tresslar."

  "Old?" The artificer gave a derisive snort. "I prefer to think of myself as seasoned."

  The others laughed, b
ut Ghaji had to admit Tresslar had a point. Even though Diran's healing powers had countered the effects of the amber sleep, Ghaji still felt a weary ache in his bones. Diran's ability to heal could work miracles, but it didn't replace the need to attend to one's natural functions. Ghaji could use a soft bed right now, even if he was alone in it.

  Ghaji expected Diran to protest, for the priest could drive himself quite hard at times, but instead Diran let out a weary sigh. "I suppose you're right, Tresslar. Much as I hate to postpone our hunt for the barghest, it has been an eventful couple of days. Besides, we'll be all the sharper after a bit of rest."

  "I'll return to the Scorpions' barracks and have my people put the word out about the barghest," Asenka said. "Perhaps they can learn something of the creature's whereabouts."

  Diran gave the woman a grateful smile. "That would be helpful. Thank you."

  They held each other's gaze a few moments longer than necessary, and it was clear to Ghaji that Makala's return hadn't diminished Diran's attraction to the commander of the Sea Scorpions nor hers to him. Ghaji wondered if that was a good sign, or a sign of trouble to come. Both, he decided.

  "I think we might have to postpone our rest," Hinto said. The halfling's voice held a note of fear, and everyone turned to see what had disturbed the diminutive pirate.

  From the far end of the dock, a wolf came bounding toward them at terrific speed. It leaped at Tresslar and its jaws snapped closed around the dragonwand. The impact spun Tresslar sideways, and as the artificer hit the worn, wooden planks, the wolf yanked the wand free of his belt and dashed off.

  Ghaji drew his axe, intending to hurl it at the fleeing barghest, but before he could draw back his arm to throw his weapon, a pair of silver daggers flashed through the air. Diran's knives struck the barghest between the shoulder blades, and the creature howled in agony. The barghest stumbled, its forelegs slid out from under it, and the dragonwand fell from its mouth as the beast collapsed.