by Vic Broquard
“The real problem is all of those Archmages,” Wenzel, the black, pointed out. “These barons are intelligent. They have resisted our attempts to draw them out to protect the smaller villages. Rightly so. Had they spread them out, we’d have won the war already. We must not underestimate their resourcefulness. We need to change tactics here.”
“What do you recommend, Wenzel?” asked Werner, the black.
He replied, “Since they are keeping their powerful forces all bunched up, we need to force them to do battle with us. We should join all of our forces into one huge group and one by one assault each of their main fortresses and circles. We will lay bare their fortresses and towers. If they come out to fight us, our numbers will annihilate them once and for all. On the other hand, if they remain cowards in their holes, then their precious fortresses and towers will be reduced to rubble. Either way, we inflict enormous damage on them all. Who knows, in the process of destroying their fortresses, we may accidentally totally block their underground entrances, trapping them all forever beneath the ground where they can die of starvation. The main thing is to have enough of us present to kill them all should they decide to surface and protect their fortresses and towers.”
He added, “I will predict that in two months’ time, total victory shall be ours. All of these sixteen worlds will be under our total control. We can then put the surviving humans to work for us. Our victory is assured now, my fellow dragons.” The group cheered and began making preparations for their first huge assault.
Chapter 41 Ancient Technology
Jarmila, Danika, and Zoran arrived on Voss on the 16th of February. He gave them a guided tour of the planet from the edge of the Shadows, pointing out the old sixteen Republics. There were still a very few reds and blacks around the far northern mountains where they had kept their captured women prisoners. Hence, Zoran decided to make sure that there were no more “breeding” dragons being kept there, that is captured women from the sixteen worlds of the Federation. All three breathed a sigh of relief. They found none.
Zoran led them next to the pyramid that they had found during their reconnoitering mission some time ago. It was located in the south-central portion of the rectangular continent at the extreme southern edge of the tall mountains which bisected the continent. Just west of this location a few hundred miles lay a dense forest. Another forest began some two hundred miles to the southeast. The desert of Anwyn began almost at the pyramid’s eastern edge. Rugged hills lay to its south down to the ocean some three hundred miles further south. Tall grasslands waved in the breeze as the three materialized just west of the pyramid.
“Well, it is a pyramid, just like Bandar describes,” Jarmila commented upon getting her feet securely on the ground. “We should check for traps and such,” she added, imagining herself as Mage Jarka. Zoran grinned, picking up her thought. All three activated their spell and proceeded to walk slowly around the base of the huge structure. The pyramid was a perfect one, geometrically speaking. Each side was a hundred feet long, making the top vertex about seventy-one feet tall. All three spells revealed a hidden entrance on the south face, but no traps as yet. Bandar had long ago removed the original spells which hid the pyramid from sight and kept people from discovering it.
The entrance door did have a highly powerful Guards and Wards spell on it. It took both Archmages to dispel that one. Further, the door itself did not appear to have any door knobs or locks on it. The three spent an hour working out how the door actually opened. Jarmila finally resorted to her notes from the journals. “He is merely teasing us, dad. He says that to gain entry, knock, knock. What does that mean?”
Of course, all three tried saying “knock, knock” as well as physically knocking on the door. “Can’t be that simple,” Zoran teased his daughter.
“Maybe he means the Knock spell,” Danika volunteered.
“Okay, in case this is a trap, you both stand way back while I try it,” Zoran ordered. Once the two women were well back, he cast his simple Knock spell. Instantly, he vanished from sight, startling the two.
“Dad? Dad! Where are you?” Jarmila shouted, startled and suddenly quite worried.
I am just inside the door. One second. Okay, I have a Light spell. I see, the door is not really a door like we know them. It is a permanent Mystical Door. The Knock spell is its trigger. Okay, you two try it. I’m out of the way, Zoran Messaged the two worried women. A moment later, they appeared just inside the door, three feet from Zoran, who had a Light spell on his sword so they could see.
The three were in a small hallway. Pegs on the walls held cloaks at one time. All that remained of one was a pile of dust on the floor below a peg. Three doors led to their left, right, and straight ahead. The hall was barely ten feet square. Danika spotted a globe and pulled the old bag off of it. The bag disintegrated in her fingers, but a Permanent Light now illuminated the hallway. “That’s better. I bet that we will find these globes all over this place. I suggest that we leave them all on so we can see well.”
“Ah, no one has been here for ages. Look at the dust on the floor,” Zoran pointed out. All three felt relieved at this observation.
“Dad, do you realize that we are probably the first people to set foot in here since Bandar?” Jarmila whispered in awe.
“Looks that way. Okay, most likely the center door heads into the main facility. We should check out these side passages first and see if we can set up some way to sleep, cook, and eat. We’re going to be here for some time,” he suggested. “Again, everyone check for traps everywhere. I don’t trust this place in the slightest.”
The right door led to a kitchen and pantry arrangement, following along the outer wall. The left door led to a bedroom, which at one time had been extremely elegant. Now, however, even the bed had turned to dust. The three cast numerous Clean spells that day, preparing the site for living. They did find a golden pitcher that was enchanted to provide endless water. It still worked, much to their pleasure. In the kitchen, they found an enchanted stove that provided heat for cooking. The numerous pots and pans were still serviceable. By the end of the long day, Jarmila was able to prepare them a hot supper. Zoran’s first worry that they would have a tough time with living arrangements vanished.
The next day, they set to work, entering the center door which led to the machine and numerous workshops. The device itself commanded their full attention and awe. Located in the central portion of the pyramid, a giant tube pointed upwards. A movable seat was at one end of the tube, along with dozens of controls, buttons and levers. Essentially, this was a device that looked through the Shadows. Hence, unlike a telescope, it needed no opening to the sky, which is why it had survived all these millennia.
Wisely, the three decided to study absolutely everything here, correlating them with Bandar’s crude notes before they attempted to operate the device. Their study was long and arduous. Two weeks passed before Zoran and Danika felt comfortable sitting in the chair and operating the device. Already, they’d pasted labels onto the various buttons and levers, outlining the purpose of each.
Now their task was to find each of the dragon home worlds from which they’d been pulled to Voss. That took them another two weeks of sixteen hour days, but at long last they had identified the various home worlds.
“Okay, now we can work out how we are going to pull the dragons off of our worlds and send them back to their own,” Zoran explained at long last.
“Yes, but we are going to have to Mind Wipe them or else they will just Shadow Walk right back here,” Danika countered. “But we can’t Mind Wipe them of their knowledge of our worlds. What’s to keep them from coming right back?”
“Don’t know, Danika,” Zoran admitted. “That’s the flaw in my plan. I think that we can pull them all off our worlds and put them back on their own worlds. However, you are right, Mind Wipe can’t be used. Still, we ought to test it first on the few dragons that are here on Voss. Of course, they can come right back if they want to. I am open to ideas.”
“Let’s see if it even works first,” Danika answered pragmatically. “If it doesn’t work, then the Mind Wipe is moot. If it does work, we can then work that detail out.”
He agreed with her practicality and together, the two set the controls. First, they would force all of the blacks here on Voss back to their original world. Then, they’d do the reds. After making all the adjustments, Zoran pressed the Activate Program button. “How do we know if it is even working?” asked Jarmila.
“Ah, look there, on that screen. I am seeing a couple dozen dots. They are moving,” Danika pointed out. The three watched fascinated. When the process was finished, she asked, “Ought we take a look up north and see if the blacks are gone?”
Zoran smiled. Holding their hands, he stepped them into the Shadows and headed up north several thousand miles. While they saw a few reds flying about, they saw no blacks. He took them into one of the massive caverns that the blacks had been using. It was empty. Satisfied, he returned to the machine room. “Okay, Danika, you get to do the reds.”
She grinned. “With the utmost pleasure!” A few hours later, the reds too had vanished from Voss. As the hour was late, Jarmila headed off to fix them supper, while the two began discussing just how they could prevent the dragons from returning.
The next day passed and still neither had an answer. Hence, Zoran decided to discuss this with his friends, Aldrick, Emil, and Renata. Leaving Danika and Jamila in charge of the machine, he headed back to Adapazan.
An hour later, he sat on the cold stone floor of Aldrick’s cavern. At least, Aldrick, Sophie, Emil, and Renata had changed to their human forms and were sitting across from him. “Well, I’ve asked you here because I have now got a way to send each of the dragons back to their original home worlds.” He went into a lengthy explanation of the ancient history of Voss as well.
“So I can now send them back. Yet, I am at a loss about how to prevent them from just Shadow Walking right back here. Besides, I owe it to you to discuss this with you four. I consider you good friends. Really, I don’t want to send you back against your wills.”
“Hum, this is fascinating, Zoran,” Archmage Emil finally replied. “Indeed, we four have finally decided that if the dragons attempt to attack Adapazan in force, then we will come to your aid. Already, there has been too many deaths on both sides. It has to stop.”
“Thanks, I agree, it has to stop. I don’t want to be a part of genocide either,” Zoran replied.
Aldrick spoke up, “You know, there might be a way. The blacks believe that you originally went to Voss to obtain some kind of Ultimate Weapon. Perhaps this can be used to convince them not to return. Obviously, as they are being pulled from where they are currently at and into the Shadows and deposited on their home worlds, from their point of view, that would seem to be an Ultimate Weapon. Perhaps as you are transporting them, you could tell them that if they return, then the next time you will deposit them in the center of a sun. Give them a scare.”
“Say, I like that. But would they believe that?” Zoran asked.
“I don’t know, but it is worth an attempt. I know that many of the golds here would like nothing more than for this whole fiasco to end. If they were also returned to their original home worlds, I think that they would actually find that highly interesting. As far as we four are concerned, we’d like to come back one day. Sophie is pregnant. Down the road, we’d like to bring our son or daughter here to be trained, if we can,” Aldrick replied.
“Absolutely, just let us know when. We’ll see that your child gets the best magic training we have. Congratulations, by the way,” Zoran grinned. Sophie seemed very pleased with his offer.
“Also, Zoran, I would encourage you to get this process going as soon as possible. Some of my spies out among the blacks are reporting that they are going to change tactics. All available dragons are going to assault one of the main fortresses and tower. Their objective is to render it to rubble or to get the Archmages to do battle with them so they can be eliminated. Even with your magical rods, no one can withstand a hundred dragon breaths at one time. In a month, all of the baron’s fortresses and towers will likely be reduced to rubble,” Aldrick explained. “That’s why we’ve finally decided enough is enough. Please hurry with your plans, if possible.”
Zoran was stunned by the news, but inwardly, it was not unexpected. Long he knew that if the dragons combined all their forces into one group, they’d be unstoppable. “Okay, I best get going then. I will let you know if it works and I will do the golds last.” He shook their hands and stepped back into the Shadows, heading for Voss.
Back at the pyramid, Zoran outlined what he’d learned. “Oh know, we have to get this going fast! We can’t let those dragons totally destroy all of the fortresses and towers!” Danika gushed.
“Right, but we need a way to put my threat into each dragon’s mind as they get pulled back to their home world,” Zoran countered.
The three began reviewing all that they knew about the operation of the machine. Finally, Jarmila pointed out, “Say, dad, how about the Thought Transfer option. Bandar says it is there, but he never tried it out.”
“Brilliant!” Zoran praised her. Quickly, the three set to work on learning how to use that option. A day later, they were ready to test it out on several of the blacks who had returned to Voss already. He worked out his message carefully, bouncing it off of Danika and Jamila several times, until they all agreed on the proper wording. Then they fed it into the machine:
Baron Zoran here. I am using my Ultimate Weapon from Voss to send you back to your original Home World. If you ever return to Voss or to any of the sixteen worlds of the Federation, I will again send you back, only this time, your arrival point will be in the middle of your planet’s sun. Do not ever attempt to return here. This is the only warning that you will ever get.
The next morning, Zoran received a panic stricken message from Baron Leo. Zoran! Hundreds of dragons have just appeared over my fortress! They are going to destroy us entirely! Help!
The machine was still setup for the black’s home world. Zoran didn’t reply, but he and Danika hastily went down the checklist, double checking all settings. Then he pressed the Activate Program button. “Keep your fingers crossed!”
“But I don’t really have any fingers anymore,” Danika teased him. Jarmila grinned.
Two hundred plus dragons stepped out of the Shadows over Gladno. Wenzel and Werner led this massive assault, knowing full well the close ties that Baron Leo had with Baron Zoran. Their plan was to draw out Zoran and his many Archmages and once and for all eliminate them. Baron Leo took his entire staff down into the underground tunnels where most of the city’s population was staying. No way was he going to attempt to defend the fortress and tower, not against such a force as this. He resolved himself to the total destruction of his fortress.
Just as the blacks were about to make their first sweep, one by one they simply vanished from the air. Wenzel and Werner found themselves flying through the Shadows. Try as they might, they could not break loose. They also heard Baron Zoran’s words in their minds. It gave them quite a shock, before they materialized above a strange world, filled with other flying black dragons. One by one, over a hundred blacks appeared behind them.
Dario, the red, suddenly saw all of the black dragons vanishing. He called out, “Hey, everyone, hold off a minute. Where have all our blacks gone? Werner?” He sent a Message to Werner, but the spell didn’t activate. Werner was gone! Suddenly, he thought of Zoran’s Ultimate Weapon. “My god! It exists! Abort! Abort! Abort the attack. Flee, flee for your lives! Zoran has just killed all of the blacks!”
One by one, the huge dragon horde stepped back into the Shadows, vanishing without a trace. Baron Leo listened for the sounds of the destruction of his fortress, but heard nothing at all. Finally, curiosity got the better of him and he teleported to his manor house’s roof top. He was invisible, of course. To his utter astonishment, all of the dragons were gone. No damage had b
een done.
It took an hour to get all of the blacks handled. They had to keep resetting the origin point from one planet to the next to be sure that they got all of the dragons. Blacks handled, the three worked as rapidly as they could to reset the controls for the reds. Danika did the honors for the reds. She activated the machine, sending the reds back to their home world. An hour later, they reset the controls for the greens and repeated the process. Five hours later, they finally finished sending the white, blue, brown, and grey dragons back to their home worlds. That left only the golds.
Zoran then sent a Message through the Shadows to Aldrick, who replied, We are ready. I’ve told the other golds what is about to happen. They are prepared. All have their bags packed and ready. Thank you for finding a way to avoid genocide, my friend.
You are most welcome. Please come back whenever you wish. Just be a bit clever when you do. No sense attracting undue attention to yourselves, Zoran replied. Aldrick chuckled, recalling how he’d first met Zoran so many years ago. Then, Zoran activated the machine for the last time, sending all of the golds back to their home world.
“We had best reset it for the blacks,” Danika suggested. “Of all the dragons, I trust them the least. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of them sneaking back here.”
“True, we had best stay here at the controls for some days just in case,” Zoran admitted. “I will arrange a meeting with the other barons and let them know what we’ve done. You two keep an eye on things.”
Two hours later, the many barons assembled in Zoran’s Great Hall, along with Zdenka and the many other Archmages, Mages, and Duskas. All had heard Baron Leo’s frantic call for help, but wisely had declined, realizing that against so many dragons, it would be suicide to go to Gladno.
“I’ll keep this very brief. The dragon war is over,” Zoran began. “Danika, Jarmila, and I have been successful on Voss. We’ve pulled all of the dragons from our worlds and those on Voss, sending them back to their original home worlds. Each had a message from me saying that if they returned here, I would pull them back again, only materializing them into their own suns. I hope they don’t force me to do that, though. What I need from all of you right now is to keep a very thorough look out for any dragons trying to return to your worlds. Message me off-world if you spot any. I just need its color. I will explain everything more fully when we next meet in a few weeks for the Spring Council.”