Chapter 10
"The messengers have been sent to Sierra, Crete, and Kainpre with news of the emergence of these winged dragonspawn, and with warnings of possible attacks." Sly reported as he hurried into office where Leia, Lady Skie, Captain Repheth, Axel, and Juco had gathered to discuss different strategies that they could use to defend the city. "Word should spread fairly quickly from there."
"What about the Deola?" Lady Skie asked curiously. "Damion would usually inform the Deolan Council himself when anything of this nature occurred. I don't think they would take kindly to a messenger delivering the news."
"I guess I'll have to go see them." Leia shrugged. "I've been in front of the Deolan Council before. I know how to handle them."
"You are not running off to the grasslands." Lady Skie told her in a firm tone. "Not when there are roving bands of dragonspawn terrorizing the countryside. It's bad enough that you spend your evenings out hunting when there are so many goblins infesting the area. There's no way that we're going to allow you to go riding off to see the Deola."
"I wasn't really planning on riding." The young girl told her with a smile. "I was planning on flying. Xaxis can take me. It shouldn't take him more than a few hours to reach Mercedia."
"That's really not such a bad idea." Sly grunted in approval. "Our relations with the Deolan Council have always been a bit strained. Other than Bativa, most of the council members despise Damion, but continue to do business with Sevria because we've always treated their merchants fairly. If they decide to take offense to our sending a messenger to deliver such dire news, it could ruin everything."
"So you think we should allow her to just run off to Mercedia on her own?" Lady Skie asked in disbelief.
"Of course not." The scruffy little man told her in exasperation. "I'll go with her. I've been before the council numerous times, and they know that I speak for Damion. I can help convince them that the situation is as dire as we believe it is."
Everyone stared at Sly suspiciously.
"Why would you do that?" Lady Skie asked, her eyes narrowed in distrust.
"To try to keep our affairs with the Deola cordial, of course." Sly told her a bit defensively. "Damion would never forgive us if we allowed relations to break down while he was gone. The caravans that pass through on their way to and from Mercedia are responsible for a significant amount of our annual taxes. I don't think Sevria could survive without them."
Lady Skie still looked suspicious, but it was obvious that she couldn't find any fault with his reasoning. "How long will it take?" She asked, her expression still one of disapproval.
"A week or two, at most." The scruffy little man shrugged dismissively. "We should be back before you even realize that we're gone."
"I don't know," Lady Skie still sounded unconvinced. "It still sounds like a bad idea to me. What if you were to encounter some of those winged dragonspawn?"
"Xaxis is more than capable of making sure that nothing happens to us." The young girl assured her. "He would die before allowing me to be injured by one of those beasts."
"I still don't like the idea." Lady Skie shook her head.
"My mother and father left me in charge of Sevria, right?" Leia asked her reasonably. "And part of that responsibility involves doing everything necessary to make sure that I perform my duties, no matter what the danger may be, right?"
"Yes, but..."
"And have I not spent the last several years training daily to ensure that I can take care of myself if the need arises?" The young girl interrupted her, a note of steel in her voice.
"Yes, but..."
"And have I not proven that I can take care of myself, even against goblins and dragonspawn?"
"Yes, but..."
"And you do believe that I can deal with the Deolan Council, and alert them to the dangers that we've uncovered, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Then what is the problem with me going to Mercedia?" Leia demanded in exasperation.
Lady Skie stared at the young girl for several long moments, then her shoulders finally slumped in defeat. "Okay," She sighed, closing her eyes as if saying the words caused her pain. "Go ahead and go to Mercedia and speak with the Deolan Council. I'll take over things here until you return." She turned her gaze to Sly, who looked unusually pleased. "If you let her get herself hurt, you'll have me to answer to when you return. Do you understand?"
"Everything will be fine." Sly assured her with a wave of his hand. "We'll fly down there, deliver our warning, and fly back before you even notice that we are gone."
"When are you going to depart?" Lady Skie asked Leia, still watching Sly with suspicious eyes.
"We may as well leave this afternoon." The young girl shrugged. "We should be able to reach Mercedia just after the sun has set, which should allow Xaxis to drop us off just outside of the city without causing too much of an uproar."
"I guess I had better go get ready then." Sly said enthusiastically as he jumped up from his seat. "I'll meet you outside of the stables when I've gathered everything that I may need." He hurried off with an eager expression.
"I still think he's up to something." Captain Repheth commented to the others once the scruffy little man was gone. "He seemed a little too eager to go running off to Mercedia. A few weeks ago we couldn't drag him away from the city."
"Sly is always up to something." Juco laughed harshly. "He is a born scoundrel. He has an ulterior motive for everything that he does." He smiled broadly. "I think that's why I like him so much."
"It really doesn't matter what his reasons are for wanting to join me." Leia told them with a shrug. "We're only going to be there long enough to warn the council of what we have discovered, and then we're returning to Sevria. He's not going to have time for any side trips."
"What should we do in the meantime?" Captain Repheth asked curiously.
"We need to step up the patrols to help dissuade the goblins from bothering anyone traveling the trade road," The young girl told him after a moment's thought. "and have the men on the wall begin preparing any supplies that they may need for the castle's defenses in the event of a dragonspawn attack. We want to make certain that we have everything that we may need to withstand a siege already in place before the dragonspawn begin their war." She frowned. "And make certain that Damarius's siege machines are all in fully functioning order. We're going to need them if we want to have any chance against those flying dragonspawn."
"The locals are sure to notice if we begin preparing for another siege." Axel pointed out wisely. "They've been through several in the last decade. What should we tell them if they begin to ask questions?"
"Tell them the truth." Leia told him grimly. "The people of Sevria know what to do in this type of situation, and will take steps on their own to prepare for the worst. In fact, many of them will wish to help defend the city." She suddenly frowned, then looked to Lady Skie. "Do we have enough food to withstand an extended siege?"
"We should have enough to hold us over for a considerable time." Lady Skie nodded. "Thanks to Slither and your efforts, our stores are currently overflowing with fresh meat and poultry. I wish we had a few more vegetables stored away, but we still have plenty enough to survive if the city comes under siege."
"Do you really think that the dragonspawn would be foolish enough to attack Sevria after what happened during their last attempt?" Axel asked skeptically. "They left thousands of their dead behind."
"The dragonspawn will do whatever the Dragon God tells them to do." Leia sighed. "If He tells them to attack, that's exactly what they will do, no matter the costs."
"Where do think these new dragonspawn came from?" Juco asked curiously. "Do you think that they were created from your blood, like the veiled dragons?"
"I doubt it." Leia shook her head. "Draco already knows about the bond that I share with the veiled dragons. He wouldn't be foolish enough to make the same mistake twice." She thought about it for a moment. "If I had to guess, I'd say that He must
have created them as a way of neutralizing the dragons while the rest of the horde destroys every human settlement that they encounter."
"This is where we would usually have Slither go and convince the dragonspawn to abandon their plans," Captain Repheth murmured with a scowl. "but I don't think that's going to work anymore now that he has been banished from the horde."
Leia suddenly frowned. "Where is Slither? I haven't seen him all morning."
"SSSlither isss here." The huge shadowspawn appeared in the office's doorway, then limped across the room and collapsed into a chair.
"You're hurt!" Leia cried, hurrying over to the huge beast's side, her expression concerned.
"SSSlither will be fine." The shadowspawn assured her with a sigh. "SSSlither hasss been hurt far worssse than thisss in the passst."
The young girl quickly looked him over and saw that his thick scaled hide was covered in numerous cuts and scratches, and he had a horrendous wound on one of his thighs. "What happened? You look horrible!"
"SSSlither attempted to contact the ssspawn again to learn what the Dragon God hasss planned, and to find out more about thessse new creaturesss." The shadowspawn groaned weakly. "But the ssspawn turned on SSSlither and attacked."
"You tried to go back?" Leia asked in disbelief. "Are your mad? Didn't you say that they no longer considered you a part of the spawn? What would make you think that they would listen to you?"
Slither held out his hands helplessly. "SSSlither thought that they may lisssten, but they refusssed. SSSlither wasss lucky to get away alive."
Lady Skie hurried over to examine the shadowspawn's wounds, then frowned. "That wound in your leg is going to need to be cleaned and stitched up. We don't want it to begin to fester." She hurried to the office door and sent a passing servant to retrieve the castle healers, then she quickly made her way back to the shadowspawn's side to continue her examination. "There doesn't appear to be anything too serious." She announced finally. "Most of the cuts and scratches are superficial, but that wound on your leg is pretty serious."
"One of the ssspawn sssnuck up and bit SSSlither'sss thigh while SSSlither wasss fighting off ssseveral of itsss brethren." The huge shadowspawn growled, wincing in pain as he shifted his injured leg. "SSSlither had jussst approached a group of ssspawn outssside of another goblin hollow, when a dozen of them sssuddenly burssst from the underbrusssh and attacked."
"How did you manage to get away?" Captain Repheth asked with wide eyes.
"They were only dragonssspawn." Slither snorted disdainfully. "It would take dozensss of dragonssspawn to kill SSSlither."
"Dragonspawn or not, they still managed to tear you up pretty good." Leia told him as the castle healer hurried into the room and began to examine the shadowspawn's injuries. "You're lucky that they weren't those winged dragonspawn. You may not have gotten away."
"Dreadssspawn." Slither groaned weakly. "The ssspawn call them dreadssspawn."
"Dreadspawn?" Axel asked, his face going pale.
"SSSlither overheard the ssspawn talking about them." The huge shadowspawn nodded. "SSSlither attempted to find out more about them, but the ssspawn merely attacked."
"Well, you're not going to be going anywhere any time soon, at least not until that leg has healed up a bit." Leia sighed regretfully. "And I was hoping to take you with us."
"Where are you planning on going?" Slither asked an instant before letting out a hiss of pain as the castle healers began to clean the wound on his leg.
"I have to go to Mercedia and alert the Deolan Council to what we have discovered." Leia explained with a frown. "I would have liked you there at my side to help remind them of exactly who I am." She sighed in disappointment, then shrugged. "I'll make do. I'm sure that if Bativa's there, he'll help convince the council that the situation is as serious as we say."
"And if he isn't?" Juco asked dubiously.
"Then I'll just do what my father does and make things up as I go along."
"Oh dear." Lady Skie dropped her face into her hands wearily.
They assembled in the courtyard outside of the castle later that afternoon after Leia and Sly had finished making their preparations.
"I hope you know what you are doing." Lady Skie told Leia with a uncertain expression. "I still think that this may be a mistake. Mercedia is a dangerous city. You could be attacked, or worse. Your father would never forgive us if something were to happen."
"Everything will be fine." Leia assured her confidently. "We're just going to fly down there, deliver our warning, and then fly back. There's nothing to be concerned about. Besides, I'll have Sly with me." She gestured to the scruffy little man, then frowned. "What is that?" She asked Sly, who was attempting to force a small cask into his traveling pack.
"What is what?" He asked quickly, stepping in front of his pack in an effort to block her view.
"What is in that cask?"
"What cask?" Sly asked unconvincingly.
"Sly," Lady Skie started in a dangerous tone. "What is in the cask that you just stuffed into your pack?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Leia stared at him for a long moment, then stomped over and yanked open the little man's pack, revealing the small wooden cask that was protruding from its top.
"Oh, that cask. It's nothing. I just thought I would bring a bit of ale with me, you know, just in case I get thirsty."
"What are you up to, Sly?" Leia asked in a demanding tone. "And if you say nothing, I swear I'm going to leave you here to run the castle, and take Aunt Skie with me to Mercedia instead!"
"You wouldn't!" Both Lady Skie and Sly exclaimed in unison.
"Try me!"
"Okay, okay!" Sly surrendered with a sigh. "I finally perfected my ale, and thought I could take a bit with me to have investors sample while we're there."
"We are not going to Mercedia so that you can peddle your swill!" Leia bellowed at him angrily. "This is serious business! I don't want to deal with you slowing us down with this nonsense!"
"Swill?" The scruffy little man sounded offended. "I'll have you know that I've have spent years perfecting this recipe! I'll not have you calling it swill! Besides," He patted the cask fondly. "this ale is going help make me a very, very rich man."
Leia rolled her eyes. "Fine! Bring it with you. But I'm warning you, the very first time that we're slowed down because of that ale, I'm going to pour it in the gutter."
"And make sure that you stick by Leia's side every second that you're in Mercedia." Lady Skie told him, her expression still concerned.
"Don't worry," Sly assured her in a suddenly serious tone. "I know what I'm doing. I wouldn't let her go if I didn't think it were safe."
Lady Skie stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. She turned back to Leia. "Promise me that you'll be careful, little one. And try not to take too long. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done around here, and I don't want to have to handle it all alone."
"I promise." Leia smiled. "Make sure that Slither stays off of that leg while we're gone. I don't want him to injure himself any further by trying to pretend it doesn't bother him."
"I'll look after him." Lady Skie promised, giving the young girl a hug.
Leia turned to Juco, who was eyeing Sly's cask with an expression of longing. "Are you and your men heading back to Crete?"
"My men have already set off." The short little man told her with a shrug. "There are dozens of caravans waiting for their escort through the mountains, and we don't want to keep them waiting too long. But I thought I would hang around here for a while. It's been too long since I've been in a good fight, and it's sounds as though you're preparing for quite a battle. My men can look after things until I return."
"Your expertise would be invaluable." She told him with a relieved smile.
The sudden sound of something heavy landing in the courtyard drew their attention to an odd shimmer in the air nearby. "You called for me, little mother?" Xaxis asked, appearing to materia
lize out of the thin air as he allowed his camouflage to fall away.
"Sly and I need to get to Mercedia as quickly as we can." She told him, laying a fond hand on the massive beast's neck. "We need to deliver a warning to Deolan Council. Can I convince you to carry us?"
"Of course." Xaxis agreed immediately. "It would be my pleasure." He lowered himself down and allowed them to scramble onto his broad shoulders.
"I'm not so sure about this now that I think about it." Sly grunted nervously. "I'm not that great with heights."
"Too late to change your mind now." Leia told him, taking a firm grip on one of long horns protruding from the dragon's back, then nudging the huge beast with one heel.
Sly let out a blood curling scream of terror, and threw his arm's around Xaxis's neck desperately as the massive dragon suddenly leapt into the air with a single thrust of his powerful wings.
"Take it easy, Sly!" Leia called to the little man, her face red with suppressed laughter. "Just relax and enjoy the view!"
"That's okay." Sly told her, still clinging to the veiled dragon in desperation. "I'm sure that the view is very nice and everything, but if I look down, I'm going to vomit up my lunch."
"Please don't." Xaxis rumbled, sailing easily towards the south on the cool mountain breeze.
It was nearly dusk when the massive fortress city of Mercedia finally loomed into view, looking much like a solitary mountain rising up from a sea of grass.
"Have Xaxis sit us down near the bridge leading into the city." Sly told Leia, briefly glancing down, then clinging to the dragon's neck once again. "We're going to have to walk across to avoid causing a disturbance."
"The bridge leading into the city is five miles long!" The young girl protested in disbelief. "It'll be midnight before we reach the gates!"
"You don't want to throw the entire city into a panic by having a dragon appear right outside of the gates, do you?"
Leia scowled. "I guess not. It would have saved us quite a bit of time, though."
Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) Page 21