Dragons Shining

by Michael Sperry

  “No, actually I wanted to speak with you two about the match.”

  “You know I am an umpire, right?” Baird asked.

  “Tom told me. I’m glad because I was warned about a nasty ploy the Dell’s Keep team is planning.”

  “Go on”, said Baird.

  “We have heard from a very reliable source that they are planning to foul me and take me out of the game.”

  “Hmmm. They have a judge too you know, but that sort of thing usually backfires. It’s not the way to win a match. And, you might get hurt.”

  “That’s possible, master.”

  “Remember a couple of things, Owen. If you bleed, it’s very dangerous. If your blood gets into another’s somehow, it will change them. Second, I want you to use whatever method you need to heal yourself and prevent that from happening if you are hurt. We will be leaving soon anyway, and you are far more important than this game.”

  “You mean I will not make the final match?”

  “Perhaps, but we must get you up to Dragon Mount very soon. Maybe we can return in time, but if not, I think this team can win against the North without you anyway. The match today will be by far the hardest, and they do need you.”

  “The rest of the team will be here in about fifteen minutes”

  “Well come on in and get some tea. I want to show you something.”

  Inside, hot tea had just perked over the wood stove. They sat around Baird’s kitchen table sipping it.

  “What did you want to show me?”

  Baird put down his tea and showed Owen the big Emerald ring on his right hand. “This is a spirit Jewel. Do you remember what that is?”

  “Yes, I remember the spell. You said I could not use such a puny stone, but it sure looks magnificent to me.”

  “No, you would need a Ruby and one bigger than this. Anyway I want you to know that if I am killed; my spirit will be transferred to this ring. If you take it and keep it, then I will still be able to see through your eyes if you permit, and speak with you mentally.”

  “That’s creepy”, said Dafford.

  “Creepy but useful”, said Owen.

  “The dark one has been killing captured Elves, Humans and Dwarves by sucking out and discarding the spirit in their bodies, leaving the husk to be inhabited by a spirit from Hell. I am sure the Maker has taken these displaced souls into his care. You will see these abominations and you will fight them. They are powerful enemies, many of whom will be Malaga. To get me out of the jewel, you will need to rip out and discard one of these Demon spirits. Pick wisely, and I will then inhabit that body just like the Demon did, but much, much better.”

  “Do I have that power, Baird?”

  “The power to rip a soul out of it’s body? Scary huh? Yes, Owen you will find that power, in a very limited fashion. A healthy soul in its own body is the Maker’s territory. Anyway, that would be most difficult and the price would be very high. This you must not even try because it would stain you in His eyes. Also, you can fight the Dark one for control of these Demons. It is not something to be taken lightly, and it can lead to darkness if used without discretion. It can be a powerful weapon, however. Be afraid to use it, but use it you must. Remember these souls will go to Hell, or you perhaps can command them to do your bidding for a while first. Judge well because this is gray.”

  “I do not want that kind of power, Baird. I am not a god to be commanding souls, Demon or otherwise.”

  “Nevertheless, Owen, Belaros is already using the worst abomination of this power against us. The Maker has given you this gift to use wisely and oppose Belaros. I have seen it in you. Another thing: Kragon, the last Dragon King had a sword that gave him the same power in a limited fashion. Znost, the old dragon has it, I believe. You could use it as a focus, a magnifier.”

  “It drove Kragon to madness, Baird.”

  “Yes, and Satan punished him for a thousand years. You are not Kragon.”

  “No, I am Not.”

  “You need to meet Briana. She will keep you straight”, Baird said with a smile. “Your team is here.”

  “I can sense them”, said Owen, standing. “We are going to have a meeting at the river side. See you at the game”.

  Owen left the cottage and trotted Gander to the end of the lane. The five riders approached, moving easily down the path.

  There was Heath, the Captain of the team “Fable’s Arch Dragons” and the Lead, on his white stallion Fire Ball. His main focus was to get possession of the toroid initially and then pass it to a runner or assist. Owen and Sam were the two Runners. The Runners main focus was getting the ring to the end post, being the most adroit, the fastest and best at clearing the obstacles.

  Tom and Bobby were Assists. They were strong and agile and focused on assisting the Lead and the Runners, and always scored the most take a ways on defense. They could also act as goalies. Yet they had found that ploy was not as successful as free riding.

  On defense the team members matched their counterparts and focused on preventing an opposing score.

  There were two backup riders, Han and Ester. These were both older, well seasoned riders that could function anywhere in the team as seconds. Sometimes they would substitute for a tired team member, or an injured one.

  “Good afternoon, Owen”, said Heath as he approached.

  “Hello Heath. Hi guys. Go Dragons!”

  “Hurrah!”

  “This was a good idea”, said Heath as they walked the horses on the one mile journey to the river bank.

  “It was actually father who said we need to take the edge off.”

  “Common sense Hodgens. That’s what my dad says”.

  They didn’t speak much on the way, and they soon arrived at the little park near the Great Aconda River. No one else was present at the park because most people were going to the game. They put the horses into the coral and cleaned the feeders. No one wanted a sick horse today. There was some grass, so the horses contented themselves with that.

  The team sat around at the large picnic table, and Heath opened the meeting. “I guess we are here to discuss the information Suzy brought back to us. You have all been told by now. Have you anything to say Owen?”

  “I will ride as hard as every, yet be on the lookout. They might try to sandwich me against the wall, or trip me up over a jump I expect. Some kind of foul with two or three on one designed to injure Gander or myself. If you guys see them ganging up on me, try to help yes, but we are in the game to win. Don’t all of you pile in, Heath; I think you should stay out of it. Who knows, you might get a score out of the fray. If I have the toroid when it happens, I will send it toward our post. They will be short handed then.”

  “That makes sense”, said Han. “But we don’t want our high scorer hurt either.” There were nods.

  “Just remember guys”, said Tom. “We do not want to resort to their kind of tactics. It is wrong. We keep it to one on one at all times, per the rule. Agreed?”

  Everyone nodded and made yes noises. It was decided. They talked about game strategy for a while, then gathered the horses and headed to the Arena home team stable and dressing rooms.

  The open bleachers around most of the huge Arena grounds were starting to fill. Fable’ Arch had one of the best Toroid arenas, used for Steeple Chase and other equine sports as well. The streets were crowded, and many cheered as the home team made their way through. Others booed and made catcalls. That was all in good cheer, and expected with any rivalry.

  As they walked the horses past the front Arena gate, they noticed a large group of armed men he had never seen before, standing across the lane watching them. “Who are they?” asked Tom.

  Owen did not dare any magic other than passive, yet what he sensed from the men was somewhat sinister. He sensed nothing, passively, and that puzzled him greatly. They were veiled by magic! “I don’t know, but don’t stare at them, Tom. I don’t like it.”

  They led the horses to the stable, where the volunteers would put the Great Ch
itabion bird bone armor on them, while the men donned theirs in the locker room.

  Dafford came in to speak with Owen. “Did you see those men out front?”

  “Yes, I don’t feel good about them”. The others were listening.

  “Well no-one knows who they are and they won’t say, and their arms and armor are all black. They are in the stands now, to watch the game. You guys keep clear of them. After the game, stick together. We have alerted the guard, but there aren’t that many guardsmen in town for the game. We never had any trouble before.”

  “Who do you think they are, Dafford?” asked Heath?

  “Well Baird thinks they are up to no good, so just steer clear and stay together after the game, that’s all.” With that, he left.

  “This is getting better by the minute”, said Tom.

  Sitting on their horses waiting for the gate, they heard cheering from the Dell’s Keep Lions supporters as the visiting team rode out.

  Then their gate opened and they rode out onto the obstacle covered field. “We have seen this arrangement”, said Heath. “It was in the semis two years ago, remember?”

  Owen did remember. He hoped the others did too. “That could be advantageous”, he thought.

  Their fans erupted when they all had reached the field, so they all waived.

  The coordinator raised the Take Position Flag.

  The Fable team and the Dell teams formed a line across from the center post. The teams alternated so that there was an opposing player on each side in the line. Heath was closest to the center, next to the Dell Lead.

  The Ready Flag was raised.

  The center Toroid was hung on it’s post, and the green “Ride Flag” was raised.

  Heath took off across the field with the Lions Lead close to him. They jumped and dodged the oxer and tri-rail jumps, hedges and water obstacles. Heath took the lead as Owen and the other riders jostled their way across in position to run or assist. The assists remained closer to the center while the runners were just outside of the assists. The Lions Runner close to Owen altered course just before a jump and slammed into him. Gander was stronger and forced the other horse away, and jumped the oxer. The Lions Runner lost his timing and had to circle back. This left no runner between Owen and the home post at the top of the course.

  “Free”, called Owen loudly, signaling his advantage.

  Heath reached the Toroid first and hooked it on his pole as the Lions Leader arrived and tried to slam Heath against the wall, but Tom muscled past the opposing assist and got in his way. This allowed Heath to toss the Toroid far toward the top of the field in the direction of the Dragons post. It landed between Owen and the post, just in front of a hedge.

  With the Lions Runner a whole obstacle behind him, Owen had time to slow Gander, collect the Toroid on his pole, and then jump the hedge as the Lions Runner cleared the water jump behind him. Then it was a race around and over obstacles with no one in front of Owen. There was no catching Gander on this type of course. Owen ringed the post with no opposition, and the crowd roared.

  Dragons 1

  Lions 0

  The coordinator raised the Take Position Flag.

  Again they lined up.

  The Ready Flag was raised.

  The center Toroid was hung on its post, and the green “Ride Flag” was raised.

  This time Heath jumped out ahead immediately with a brilliant start, because the other Leader and his Assist had tried to angle over and hit him. That was a mistake, and would have been a foul for a double teaming hit.

  Owen had a problem because he found himself double teamed too. Gander was strong and fast, but not a quick starter. The Lions Runner and the Assist on Owen’s side hemmed him in, and the three of them jumped the first hedge together. Tom started to move toward them, but Owen waived him toward Heath.

  “Maybe they will take the bait”, he was thinking as he put pressure to the right and slowed slightly.

  The two Lions riders stayed with him, determined to keep him hemmed in. They did not see Owen’s ploy. Before long they were directly behind Heath. Other Lions riders and his own team started pressing in from the right because it was obvious to them that Heath would get the Toroid. The action would again be toward the Fable post. The problem with that was there were three riders blocking that route. Owen still had his escorts. When the Dell Runner and Assist finally figured it out, the Runner broke left and so did Owen, but he put on the speed at that point.

  Heath took the Toroid and ran with it. Tom blocked the other Dell Assist that had come across. The remaining riders were out of the play now, behind the front lines. Owen broke ahead of the Lions Runner, but the Lions Assist still dogged him. From their position, the Lions Assist might cross Heath’s path. They were closer to the post, but the obstacles were much harder in the center. So, Owen drove Gander into the Assist hard. They struggled and slowed, jumping a combination water and hedge jump. Gander barely cleared, and the Lions Assist stumbled and went down. It was now a race between Heath and the now free Lions Runner, who had split off through the highest obstacles toward the Dragons post to try and stop him. Heath won the race by only a horse length, and that was all he needed.

  The crowd roared, calling “Heath, Heath, Heath!”

  Fable’s Arch 2

  Dell’s Keep 0

  The horses were beginning to tire a little by this time.

  The Lions Lead raised his time out flag.

  Time Out was signaled, and both teams re-entered their gates and dismounted for a short rest.

  “Twice they have chosen contact instead of skill”, said Heath. He was breathing hard. “And twice they got burned.”

  “I saw Owen take one of them down this time”, said Bobby.

  “His horse stumbled, Bobby. I was pressing him in the jump, yes.”

  “Perfectly legal one on one”, said Tom. “They were double teaming him and he pulled a really slick move to get them both out of play and behind.”

  “I wondered why the field was so clear”, said Heath, laughing.

  “What do you think they will try now, Heath?” asked Bobby. “They can’t beat you to the post, so they might try something drastic.”

  “We can’t worry about that”, said Owen. “We need to keep to our game plan. The only way we can lose is if they beat us fair. Anything else is bound to backfire on them.”

  The Bell sounded, so the two team gates were opened and the teams took position.

  The coordinator raised the Take Position Flag.

  Again they lined up.

  The Ready Flag was raised.

  The center Toroid was hung on it’s post, and the green “Ride Flag” was raised.

  This time the Lions Lead slammed into Heath, lowering his pike to foul Fire Balls front legs where the ref could not see. But his pike was ripped from his hands as both horses went down. Fire Ball struggled back up and took off. The Lion Lead had to fetch his pike, and he let go of the reigns. His horse backed off and shied.

  When Heath went down, Owen slapped Gander’s flank and took off full speed toward the center post. The Dragons and Lions Assist were quicker off the line, but Gander caught them by midfield. The Lion Runner on his left was only a horse length back. Tom rode to the right and slammed into Lion assist. They both slowed. That left Bobby and Sam on the right side, both of whom tangled with the opposing Runner and Assist.

  That left Owen and the Lions Runner the only two riders in the lead to the post. Gander was faster and stronger than the Lions horse, so Owen took the Toroid, and faked a turn left toward the Dragons post, then reared and stopped as the Lions runner who had intended to hit Gander against the wall at near full speed, slammed into the padded wall instead. He flew off the horse and hit the wall with a thud, and his pike flew up into the stands. Both dropped to the ground, unmoving.

  Owen wheeled around the stricken Lions rider and headed for the dragons post and the smaller obstacles nearer the wall. The noise so close to the stands was deafening.

&n
bsp; By this time the three remaining Lions riders had cut left to intercept Owen, outmaneuvering Tom, Bobby and Sam who were a horse length behind the Lions riders.

  Owen saw no way to avoid the three riders who had cut left and abandoned the center post except to pour on the speed. He saw Heath way ahead. He must have had a great deal of confidence in Owen’s ability to get the toroid. He was alone toward the Dragons post with all close Dell riders converging on Owen.

  Tom managed to clip one of the three Lions horses and he went down with them. He heard the crowd gasp. Owen was penned in and hurtling toward a six foot high by six foot wide tri-rail. He would not make it. Just before the two Lions riders piled into him, he hummed the Toroid in Heath’s direction, not able to see past the oxer. Both horses slammed into Gander, not even trying to make the jump. Owen dodged one pike, and the other grazed his back plate knocking him off balance. Then all three horses and riders slammed into the Tri-rail, which was constructed with heavy wooden beams designed to fall on impact.