Dragon Blade

by J. D. Hallowell

  “You can’t do this! This, this, this . . .” The Bournese general was having difficulty making coherent speech. “It simply goes against every rule of warfare we have ever agreed upon.”

  “Are you speaking of the rules of warfare that your king so callously sets aside when it is in his interest to do so?” Delno asked. “Let me assure you, we only have one rule for this war; secure the unconditional surrender of Bourne at all costs. We will settle for nothing else. Either your men will lay down their arms, or they will be killed.”

  The Bournese general started to say something, but Delno held up his hand and said, nearly shouting, “Silence! There is no more to be said here today. We will have your answer, one way or another, tomorrow morning when we start our advance.”

  He turned and strode back to the iron gates. The rest of Delno’s party turned, one at a time, and followed.

  “Do you think that Bournese popinjay will tell his men to lay down their arms?” Dreighton asked as he poured wine for himself and the Riders after dinner that evening.

  “It’s hard to read the man,” Delno admitted. “He is terrified at the prospect of facing the dragons, but he is anxious to prove himself. Also, I think that he is still hopeful that we are lying about events in Horne. However, his staff officers were keen to do what is necessary to avoid facing us. It was the younger officers who delivered up the last commander and surrendered back in Larimar.”

  “I believe,” Brock said, “that tomorrow will be here all too damned early. We have pushed ourselves, as well as our dragons, hard over the last few weeks. Since our plans are set, I am going to finish this glass of wine and go to bed.”

  Nassari laughed and added, “I wish we could have spent the night in Larimar. It would be nice to have a real bed before we start another campaign. However, Brock is right: tomorrow will not wait for me because I am tired. Bed, of any kind, sounds quite good.”

  He got up and bowed to those present. Then he left the fire and headed off into the darkness. Delno did notice, however, that Nassari had headed in the same direction that Nadia had gone a few minutes earlier.

  Delno drained his glass and took Rita by the hand. They would do nothing more than sleep tonight, but he was still glad that they no longer felt the need to take the precaution of sleeping in separate tents to avoid assassins.

  Delno observed that the Bournese had indeed stacked all of their weapons away from their camp, and they were presenting a completely non-aggressive attitude as he and his Riders led the way across the bridge the next morning. Just when he thought that this really would go smoothly, two of the young staff officers approached swinging a white flag almost wildly. They came within about fifty feet of Geneva and stopped. Delno dismounted and waved them forward while Brock and Rita covered him in case this was some trick.

  The men stood frozen in place. They were obviously afraid to come closer. “Well,” Delno shouted, “come ahead; if I wanted to harm you we wouldn’t be talking now, you’d already be dead.” His choice of words didn’t seem to give them much more confidence. “Come on; you won’t be hurt if you don’t do anything to threaten me or my partner.”

  The taller of the two looked at his companion and shrugged. Then he moved forward with his fellow following closely behind. When they were within five feet of Delno, they stopped and the taller man said, “We have a bit of bad news, I’m afraid, sir.”

  Delno shook his head gently. After waiting a moment he prompted, “Well, what’s the news?”

  “It’s General Parsins, sir, our commander.”

  Delno put his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “He hasn’t decided to lead a force against us, has he?”

  “Uh, well, no sir. Nothing like that, but he and two other officers ran off during the night. I’m sure he went to Karne to warn the king. I’m afraid they will have troops waiting for you when you get there.”

  Delno sighed. “Well, thank you for the warning. I suppose something like this was to be expected.” Then he looked at the officers and asked tiredly, “You men weren’t told to attack once the dragons had gone by, were you?”

  The man looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment, and then he shrugged. “I may as well tell you. We were supposed to wait until the dragons had gone by and then grab up our arms and attack your troops. The general said you wouldn’t be able to attack with fire if we were close to your own men.”

  “What did you tell the general?” Delno asked.

  The man smiled and said, “I took a page from your general’s book, sir, and told him to go pound salt up his arse. Then I told him that if he wanted to continue this insanity, he could do it himself. As far as I’m concerned, the best thing we’ve done for Bourne since this whole thing started was surrender this morning.”

  The smaller man finally found his voice, “What’s to be done with us, sir? We’ve surrendered as you said. Are we to be kept as prisoners?” There was no mistaking the concern in his voice.

  “As long as you act accordingly, you won’t be harmed,” Delno replied.

  “It’s not that, if you pardon me, sir. But most of us aren’t soldiers. We’re conscripts. Most of us are just farmers.”

  Delno looked around at all of the men and then asked, “If the farmers are here, who’s manning the farms?”

  “Well, that’s just the problem now, isn’t it, sir? Our farms are being managed by our lady folk, but there aren’t enough of them to do the job properly. There are crops lying in the fields rotting because no one is there to harvest them.”

  “Damn that Torrance!” Delno exclaimed. “It’s bad enough he conscripts his men for the sake of ambition. Then he compounds that by conscripting children. Now I find that he is willing to leave his people to starve this winter as well, all because of his insane desire to conquer Corice.”

  Delno thought for a moment, and then he looked at the taller man and said, “You seem to be in charge of your side at this point, so I won’t try to change that. Get your men organized. Those who have farms to return to need to move out as quickly as possible, and those who have no farms need to move out with them so that whatever can be brought in from the fields is harvested as soon as possible. Fall is upon us: if this isn’t done soon, all of Bourne will starve this winter.”

  The men nodded and turned to carry out Delno’s orders. As a parting shot, Delno said, “I will tell our soldiers what you are doing. So long as your men stay away from those weapons, they won’t be harassed.”

  The two men stopped and the taller man said, “If we didn’t have to get these men to their rightful jobs, I’d offer to come with you to Karne.” Then both of the men saluted and turned back to their task.

  Chapter 52

  “Well, General,” Delno said as he looked out at the capitol city of Karne, “it looks as if Torrance has managed to find some men who haven’t seen what dragons can do to ground troops. Get your men ready to push forward, and let the Bournese see you, but don’t advance yet. We’ll try and talk with them, and if that fails, the dragons will have to convince them of our sincerity. I want your troops to hold until we’ve taken care of any major opposition: then you and your men will move in and deter any counter attack.”

  Dreighton surveyed the city. It had taken one whole day and night to move the men to this point, which had given the Bournese over twenty-four hours to prepare for them. The capitol itself wasn’t walled, like Larimar, but low fortifications had been hastily constructed out of whatever materials could be found on short notice. The main road in was blocked with logs, stones, and sharpened stakes pointing outward. It was manned by both archers and infantry, but that was the most heavily fortified spot, and could be easily circumvented if necessary. Most of the streets had nothing more formidable than a wagon pulled across and then tipped up on its side. Some places had stones or other debris hastily piled up. All in all, it wasn’t particularly impressive. None of the barricades, including the one at the main entrance of town, would stand long against a de
termined force, especially since a generous estimate put the Bournese troops in the city at no more than four hundred.

  “We can take this city without the dragons. I have nine hundred and fifty men who are eager to give these Bournese a taste of what they had planned for Larimar,” Dreighton said.

  “That is precisely why I don’t want your men to move in yet,” Delno replied. “We aren’t here to punish the Bournese for the crimes of their king. I don’t want these men slaughtered if we can avoid it, and I damn sure don’t want this city sacked.”

  “After what these people tried to do to us?” a staff lieutenant asked incredulously.

  “We intend to put this entire country under Corisian control to prevent future wars,” Delno shot back. “Once we take the city, it then becomes the responsibility of Corice to keep everything running. It will be much easier and a great deal less draining on Corisian resources if we leave the governmental infrastructure mostly intact.” Delno looked at the officers assembled and added, “Unless you want Larimar to have to feed and house several thousand starving refugees, mostly women and children, I strongly suggest that you make sure that the men under your command do not move into this town looking for vengeance. There is to be no looting in Karne.”

  Delno then turned away from the men and walked to Geneva. As he was mounting, she said, “Brock is concerned that the Corisian soldiers will have difficulty keeping themselves under control.”

  “Tell Brock that I have issued orders that the men are to be kept in check, and there is to be absolutely no looting. We are going to advance with the dragons and see if we can talk them into handing over Torrance and any senior officers who stand with him. If that fails, we will have to strike, but we will do so very selectively.”

  Geneva relayed the message, and Brock looked at him for a moment and then nodded. Then Delno gave the signal, and all of the dragons rose and flew to within three hundred and fifty yards of the main entrance to the city. They all landed and spread out in a line. Nearly forty dragons arrayed themselves in full view of the Bournese manning the barricade. Delno pulled a large piece of white linen out of his shirt and waved it over his head. It was only a few minutes before a man appeared on top of the barricade waving a white flag of his own.

  Delno, Brock, Rita, Nassari, and Nadia advanced only about fifty feet and waited. The Bournese were reluctant to approach, but Delno and his party simply stood patiently. Finally, one of the officers of Bourne simply walked forward. His fellow soldiers hesitated for a few seconds and then joined him.

  “I am Captain Phillip Saunders of the City Guard of Karne,” the man said when he was close enough to be heard without shouting. “I have only heard vague rumors of what those beasts can do,” he pointed at the dragons, “and I do not want my men to have to face them and find out first hand if the accounts are true. However, my men and I are sworn to protect this city and its residents. Even if your dragons are capable of leveling every building here, we will not forsake our oath and turn the city over to be looted. If you intend to make Bourne pay for the recent incursions into Corice by destroying our capitol, we will fight you to the last man.”

  Delno considered the man’s words for a moment before responding. “Captain, our troops have been specifically ordered not to loot. While some of our men lost family to the plague that was visited on Larimar by agents of your king, they have been told that it is Torrance and his senior military officers who are responsible. We do not seek the destruction of Bourne. We seek to remove Torrance from power and replace him with someone who can rule this land in cooperation with Corice. Torrance has waged war against our homeland repeatedly. This last war has left many of your men dead by the breath of our dragons. Many more men are now fugitives because they saw the futility of fighting us and surrendered. Also, because of Torrance’s ill-advised conscription of your farmers and tradesmen, Bourne may face drastic shortages this winter.”

  “I know that what you say is true because my brother is a farmer and was conscripted and sent to Stone Bridge as part of the reinforcements who were sent after your beasts’ devastating attack there,” Saunders said. “Tell me, please, what has happened to the men stationed at the bridge?”

  The man’s concern for his brother was clearly evident.

  “It will ease your mind to know that the men at Stone Bridge were sent home to salvage what they could from the fields. Hopefully, they will still be able to save enough to keep Bourne fed this winter, though I am afraid that more will have to be brought in from Corice to offset the shortages. Hopefully, none of your people will starve before first harvest next year.”

  “You sound more like a friend than a conqueror, sir. I thank you for the good news about my brother and the men who were with him . . . although . . . well, their general said they were left to fight and would weaken your forces so that we could protect Karne. I don’t know who to fully believe anymore.”

  “You must do as you see fit, Captain,” Delno replied. “None of the men at Stone Bridge were harmed when we crossed yesterday morning. They all laid down their arms, and we sent them back to their farms as soon as we heard about the harvest rotting in the fields. As I have said, we have no quarrel with the honest, hardworking people of Bourne. Our business is with your king. If you and your men step aside, I will have our soldiers coordinate with you concerning the protection of Karne. You and your men will retain their positions as City Guard and the only thing that will change is the name of the ruler of this country. There is no need for bloodshed here today. If you would truly serve Karne, and ultimately Bourne, then allow us to proceed. The choice is yours.”

  “The choice is not entirely his to make,” said a pudgy little man standing near the captain. “I am Lieutenant Errol Gant, of the Bournese Army. My orders come from General Parsins, not the Captain of the City Guard. The bulk of the forces here are under my control, and we have been told to hold this city against you.”

  Delno sighed loudly. “Lieutenant Gant, I have nearly forty dragons arrayed in direct opposition to you. If you choose to fight, when the dragons are finished, a thousand soldiers will then move into Karne and take the city. Those soldiers are being held in check by my orders. Do you want to see this city turned to a pile of rubble?”

  “The Bournese military will give you no problem, sir,” Saunders spoke up.

  Gant looked at the Captain and started to speak, but Saunders cut him off. “If you protest, Gant, I will cut you down right here and now.”

  He drew his sword and menaced the man with it. Geneva growled and moved closer, but Delno had her and the other dragons hold back.

  Delno could see that Saunders was frightened by the growls of the dragons, but he was impressed that the man stood his ground and kept his sword leveled at Gant’s chest, ready to run the junior officer through.

  “I am not threatening you, Rider, please call your beasts off,” Saunders said.

  “I have spoken to my dragon, Captain. They are waiting to see what happens.” Then almost as an afterthought he added, “By the way, they are intelligent creatures and don’t like being referred to as beasts.”

  “My apologies, to you and the dragons: I had heard that they were even capable of speech, but I didn’t know how much was real and how much was embellishment on the tales.”

  Delno chuckled, “When dealing with dragons, Captain, almost anything is possible.”

  It took the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon to coordinate with the City Guard and secure the surrender of the remaining soldiers in Karne. There were only fifty City Guards: the bulk of the forces really were Bournese Army. However, the prospect of facing forty dragons and a thousand ground troops quickly discouraged those men from fighting. The Bournese military were disarmed, and those who were conscripted farmers were sent back to their farms. The remainder were put to work pulling down the defenses that had been hastily constructed.

  “I’m not sure the men like working with the Bournese, Rider,” General Dreighton remarked.


  “I don’t need them to like it, General,” Delno replied. “I simply need them to do it.”

  “It just chafes, if you take my meaning. My men have fought against these men. They think of them as the enemy. It’s hard to put that aside and work with the people who tried to conquer our own country.”

  “Then it’s up to you and your officers to make them understand that it isn’t these people who are our enemies.” Delno paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, and then addressed the general’s staff officers as well as Dreighton. “Look at it this way: in Corice our rulers are somewhat restricted by the laws of the people, and we have a parliamentary council to see that those laws are followed. If our king became a tyrant, he could actually be forced by rule of law to abdicate in favor of his successor. If he has no successor, the council is then obligated to choose a successor by vote.”

  Two of the younger officers began muttering to each other.

  “Do you have something to say?” Delno said to them sharply. “If not, pay attention!” Delno nearly smiled when he realized that he almost sounded like Jhren when he said that. “As I was saying,” he continued, “as we have moved deeper and deeper into Bourne, it has become obvious that this country has no such system to keep the rulers in check. Here the nobility and the wealthy tread on the lower classes as they please. The working classes are seen by those who govern them as little more than chattel property. In fact, they probably wouldn’t misuse their property as badly as they have the common citizens. The king, his top advisors, and his high ranking military officers have not only spent most of the country’s treasury on this last war, but they have left entire crops to rot in order to conscript the farmers so that they would have enough soldiers to fill their ranks. They have stores of food for themselves and simply don’t care that the people they should feel responsible for, and to, will most likely starve this winter because of their actions.”