Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5)

by Barry Gibbons

  Xaxis touched down lightly a few hundred yards away from the pair of guardhouses which watched over the ancient bridge leading into the city, then he lowered himself down to allow them to climb down from his shoulders.

  "This may take us a while." Leia told the huge beast as it lowered its head down to nuzzle her fondly. "I'll call for you when we are ready to leave."

  "As you wish, little mother." Xaxis nuzzled her once more, then turned and leapt back into the air, vanishing from sight almost instantly.

  They quickly hurried towards the guardhouses, then stopped as several heavily tattooed men carrying a variety of weapons emerged from the shadows to block their path.

  "Halt!" One of the men called to them in cold tone. "State your business."

  "We're here to speak with the council." Leia told him politely. "We bring news that they need to hear as quickly as possible."

  "Outsiders are not permitted before the council." The tribesman told them in disapproval. "They do not have time to listen to tales from wayward children. Return to whatever gutter you emerged from, and bother us no longer."

  Leia's expression fell flat. "What did you just say?" She asked in a deadly growl.

  "I said leave, you filthy little creature!" The guard spat insultingly. "The council has no time for vermin!"

  "Don't I know you?" Sly asked the tribesman suddenly, squinting to get a better look at the Deolan warrior. "Oh yes! I remember!" He suddenly burst out laughing. "You're the soldier who tried to stop the Dragon Lord from crossing into the city during our first visit to Mercedia, and then again a few years ago when we came to warn the council about the Etazk!" He shook is head in amused exasperation. "I thought that you would have learned some manners by now."

  "The D-Dragon Lord?" The tribesman stammered, his face suddenly draining of color. "You know the D-Dragon Lord?"

  "We do." The little man grinned, clearly enjoying making the man squirm. "That filthy little creature that you just insulted is his daughter, Leia."

  "His d-daughter?" The tribesman looked as though he were about to faint. He quickly looked back to Leia, who was staring at him angry eyes.

  "Yes, " She growled in a flat tone. "The Dragon Lord's daughter, Leia Omensent, the Princess of Dragons." She raised her chin proudly, ignoring the snort of amusement from Sly, who was doing his best not to burst out laughing.

  "Forgive me, milady!" The tribesman cried, dropping to one knee in front of her. "I didn't realize to whom I was speaking!"

  "What's happening in the city?" Sly asked, his face still red with suppressed laughter. "Any troubles that we should be aware of?"

  "Nothing." The tribesman shook his head quickly. "There have been some reports of dragonspawn causing some disturbances in the north along the border of the grasslands and the foothills, but that's not really all that uncommon. Other than that, everything seems calm enough." He continued to kneel in front of Leia with a nervous expression.

  The young girl rolled her eyes, then gestured for him to stand. "Does Clan Chief Bativa happen to be here in the city?"

  "He is, milady." The tribesman replied, slowly rising to his feet. "He arrived just two nights ago to attend the Spring Council."

  "That's good to hear." The young girl muttered in relief. "At least we'll have a little support when we go before the council."

  "Is there anything else that I may be able to help you with, milady?" The tribesman asked respectfully, clearly hoping to make up for his rude behavior.

  "We could use a ride across the bridge to the city." Sly suggested to the Deolan warrior. "It's a bit of a hike from here."

  "I can have one of my men take you across in the carriage." The tribesman gestured to an ornate carriage that had been parked next to one of the guardhouses. "We keep it here for the clan chiefs who feel that walking, or riding on horseback, is beneath their station."

  "Like Clan Chief Krel?" Sly laughed in understanding. "He's exactly the sort of ass who would expect that sort of treatment."

  "He was," The tribesman agreed. "but Krel was killed last year by a bull. Beast gored him right through the eye." The man shuddered. "His son, Lek, is Clan Chief of the Nacetre clan now."

  "Really?" The scruffy little man asked in surprise. "What's he like?"

  "He's even more of an insufferable ass than his father was, if you can believe that." The tribesman told the little man with a shake of his head. "He seems to think that being clan chief makes all other tribesmen beneath him. He spends so much time with his nose in the air that he'd drown if a minor rainstorm were to pass."

  "We've handled his kind before." Leia told Sly with a shrug. "We'll just have to deal with him like we would have dealt with his father." She looked back to the tribesman. "We will use your carriage to cross the bridge, and then continue on foot once we've reached the city. The streets will be too crowded for horses or a carriage anyway."

  The tribesman ordered one of his men to ready the carriage, and Sly and Leia were soon enjoying a comfortable ride across the ancient bridge.

  "We should travel like this more often." Sly put his feet up on the padded bench opposite his seat, then sighed in satisfaction. "It sure beats clinging to a dragon for hours on end."

  "I prefer flying." Leia replied blandly. "You have a much better view when you're sailing along at a thousand feet in the air."

  "The Princess of Dragons?" The scruffy little man suddenly asked with an amused expression. "Where did that come from?"

  "Well, I thought since my father had a title, so should I." The young girl replied, causing him to burst out laughing. "I am the daughter of the Dragon Lord, and mother of the veiled dragons." She said in a defensive tone. "I felt I deserved a title of my own."

  "But Princess of Dragons?" The little man chuckled again. "You couldn't think of anything a bit more grandiose?"

  "I thought it had a rather nice ring to it." She said, looking slightly crestfallen.

  The tribesman that was guiding the carriage brought it to an abrupt stop just outside of the main gates leading in and out of the mountain-like fortress city, then bid them farewell and headed back towards the guardhouses.

  "What's your plan?" Sly asked the young girl curiously as they passed through the gates and slowly began to make their way down a crowded street toward the city's interior. "It's a three day walk to reach the lifts leading to the upper levels of the city. Do you want to try and put a few miles behind us, or would you prefer to find a nice clean inn and start fresh in the morning?"

  "Let's keep moving." The young girl decided immediately. "We can still get a few miles behind us before we're forced to stop for the night."

  They pressed on through the crowded streets for next couple of hours, passing countless merchant shops and stands whose proprietors repeatedly called to them, promising them the best deals on their various wares. They ignored them all and hurried on, hoping to get closer to the city's center before being forced to stop for the evening.

  Leia finally gave in to Sly, and her stomach's, complaints, and located a well appointed inn in which to stop for the evening. After dropping off their packs in the spacious rooms that they rented for the night, they hurried down to the crowded common room for dinner.

  "It looks pretty packed." Sly frowned, craning his head to try and find an empty table. "We may have to eat standing." He suddenly grinned. "Or maybe not!" He quickly pushed his way through the crowd until they came to a table positioned in the farthest corner of the room, where a huge bear of a man sat in deep discussion with a number of tattooed tribesman.

  "I don't know where all of the damned beasts are coming from!" Bativa was telling the other tribesman with a scowl. "The dragonspawn have always been a nuisance, of course. They will occasionally appear and begin preying upon our cattle, until some of our men kill them, or drive them off. But here lately, the beasts have been venturing further and further into the grasslands, and in much larger numbers. I don't know what has gotten into them!"

  "What are you going to
do?" One of the other tribesmen, a young warrior with an arrogant expression, asked as he leaned back on the rear legs of his chair precariously.

  "I don't know." The Deolan chieftain admitted worriedly. "Every time that our warriors attempt to eliminate them, the dragonspawn retreat into one of those damned goblin hollows." He shook his head. "We won't even attempt to follow them inside. It would be suicide. We usually just collapse the entrances, and move on to the next group of dragonspawn that appear."

  "You're too easy on your men." The arrogant looking tribesman sneered slightly, leaning forward and causing the front legs of his chair to slam against the wooden floor with a loud crash. "You coddle them like they are children. If they are not willing to follow the dragonspawn into the hollows and face the beasts in their own dwellings, then they are not true Deolan warriors. You should order them to follow the wretched creatures no matter where they try to flee, and destroy them once and for all! Think of the glory that could be yours!"

  "My warriors want nothing more than to follow them," Bativa said in a hard tone, his eyes glittering dangerously. "but I will not allow it. I will not throw away my warriors on some foolish attempt to eradicate the dragonspawn. Glory means nothing to the dead."

  "You're going to have to do something." One of the other tribesmen at the table commented reasonably. "You cannot allow the dragonspawn to continue to rampage through your lands. Your herds will never be safe as long as they are around."

  "I was considering contacting the Dragon Lord and asking for his assistance." Bativa admitted with a sigh. "He has dealt with these beasts many times before, and may know of a way to drive them off once and for all."

  "It wouldn't do you any good," Leia informed him with a shake of her head. "I'm afraid that the Dragon Lord has been called away from Sevria, and won't return for some time." She laughed at the look of surprise that fell over the huge tribesman's face.

  "Leia?" The big warrior asked, breaking into a smile. "What are you doing here? Where are your parents?"

  "They received a request for aid from the elves." The young girl explained with a shrug. "Apparently Dar convinced the elven queen that my father was the only person who could save them from a disaster that is threatening to destroy the elves, and she sent a couple of emissaries to plead for his assistance. They left for the Elven Island a few weeks ago."

  "And they didn't take you with them?"

  "They said that it would be too dangerous, and that they wanted me to stay behind and look after Sevria." The young girl rolled her eyes.

  "What are you doing here then?"

  "We've discovered some disturbing information that we thought we should pass on to the council." Sly informed the clan chief grimly. "Since Damion and Raven are busy aiding the elves, the responsibility fell to Leia."

  "Why would the council wish to hear what a child and a drunkard have to say?" The arrogant looking young man asked with a sneer. "Especially a child parading around in such ridiculous looking armor." He gave Leia a condescending look. "Are you and your friend out looking for a dragon to slay, little one?" He let out an obnoxious laugh, then leaned back on the rear legs of his chair once again.

  Without changing expression, Leia placed the sole of her boot against one of the leg's of his chair and gave it a firm shove, sending him toppling backwards onto the hardwood floor.

  The tribesmen packing the common room all burst out laughing as the arrogant young man scrambled back to his feet with a muttered oath. He stared at Leia with blazing eyes, his hand on the hilt of his dagger.

  "Just for your information," Leia growled at the man unflinchingly. "I ride dragons, I don't slay them."

  "You'd better watch yourself, Lek," Bativa chuckled in amusement. "That is the daughter of the Dragon Lord that you are speaking to. She's been known to be even more short tempered than her father."

  The arrogant looking young man stared hatefully at the young girl for a moment, then turned and stormed away, his face burning with embarrassment from the mocking laughter of his fellow tribesmen.

  "I think you may have upset Lek just a bit." Bativa laughed, gesturing for her and Sly to join him and the other tribesmen. "I guess that's what he gets for being an arrogant little toe rag."

  "I hate it when people patronize me like that." Leia frowned, picking up the chair that she had sent toppling, and then settling into it with a sigh. "He's lucky that I didn't dangle him from the rafters by his ears."

  "So what was it this disturbing information that you mentioned?" Bativa asked with an interested expression.

  "It has to do with the dragonspawn that are causing you problems." Sly told him, waving over a serving girl and ordering food and drink. "It all started with goblins being sighted along the trade road by passing caravans and work crews. As the weeks went by, there were more and more sightings, until it seemed the mountains were overflowing with the filthy creatures."

  "Why didn't you have Slither find some dragonspawn to take care of them for you?" Bativa asked with a puzzled expression.

  "He tried, but when Slither went out to locate some of the dragonspawn, he couldn't find them anywhere." The scruffy little man snorted in amusement. "I've never seen Slither so frustrated. He said it was like every dragonspawn in the entire mountain range had just suddenly decided to leave the mountains."

  "Slither and I finally encountered a couple of them a few days ago while out hunting." Leia said, picking up the story. "Slither attempted to question them, but they refused to tell him anything, and told him that he was no longer part of the spawn."

  "How did he react to that news?" The huge tribesman asked in surprise.

  "It didn't really seem to bother him very much. He said that we were his family now." She snatched a turkey leg from a platter that a serving girl was placing on the table in front of her, and took a ravenous bite. "Anyway," She continued through a mouthful of turkey. "The dragonspawn hurried off after refusing to answer Slither's questions, so we decided to follow them. They led us straight to a goblin hollow."

  "It appears as though the Dragon God has ordered the dragonspawn to drive the goblins out of their hollows, and take them for themselves." Sly informed the tribesmen, taking a long drink from his tankard, and then belching thunderously. "That's why the mountains are suddenly teeming with goblins. They have nowhere to go as long as the dragonspawn have control over their hollows."

  "What would the dragonspawn want with goblin hollows?" One of the other tribesmen asked in confusion.

  "The goblin hollows are rumored to all be interconnected through a series of tunnels that stretch throughout the mountains and foothills." Sly told him with a frown. "There are supposedly hundreds of miles worth of tunnels hidden beneath our feet, which the dragonspawn can now use to pop up almost anywhere."

  "The dragonspawn that we've been encountering here in the grasslands have all retreated into goblin hollows when my warriors attempt to attack." Bativa commented with a frown. "We've been collapsing the entrances behind them, but if it's true that there are tunnels connecting all of the hollows, then the dragonspawn could have just simply moved on to the next entrance."

  "That's not all." Leia quickly told him of the appearance of the winged dragonspawn. "I don't know where these dreadspawn came from," The young girl sighed finally. "but I have the feeling that when the horde finally strikes out, it's going to be fairly serious."

  "What makes you think that they are planning an attack?" One of the other tribesmen asked worriedly.

  "Slither managed to question one of the dragonspawn, and it said that was almost time for the dragonspawn to wipe the mortals from this world. With a statement like that, I don't think that this is going to be just any normal dragonspawn attack. I think they plan to throw everything that they have at us."

  "But how can they hope to win without the help of the dragons?"

  "We believe that's why Draco has created these dreadspawn." Sly told them, taking another long drink from his tankard. "We think that the Dragon God cr
eated these new beasts as a way of neutralizing the dragons when He finally starts His war against mankind. With the dragons preoccupied with these dreadspawn, the horde will be free to wreak havoc."

  "The Dragon God knows that the scarlet dragons are still controlled by the Dragon Sword, which my father possesses." Leia explained to the tribesmen with a sigh. "And He is well aware of the fact that the veiled dragons will not do His bidding as long as I forbid it." She smiled. "They don't wish to upset their mother." Her smile fell. "So all that leaves is the shadow dragons, and they all went into hiding after the most of the brood were killed by my father and the scarlet dragons. Since He knows that we would use His own children to repel the horde, Draco needed new servants who could distract the dragons long enough for the horde to carry out His plans."

  "That is disturbing." Bativa agreed with a concerned expression. "Do you know how many of the dragonspawn the Dragon God has gathered for this war?"

  "All of them." Leia told him with a shrug.

  "All of them?"

  "We believe so. If the Dragon God is planning to start a war against mankind, He will send every single dragonspawn, shadowspawn, and dreadspawn that worships Him against us."

  "How many of these new dreadspawn are there?" One of the tattooed tribesmen asked with a sick expression.

  "There's really no way of knowing." Sly told them grimly. "Slither was our eyes and ears among the spawn, but they no longer see him as one of their own, so he is unable to find out exactly what they are up to. But considering the fact that they no longer seem to fear the wrath of Damion or the scarlet dragons, I would guess that there are a lot of them."

  "The council needs to be alerted to this discovery immediately." Bativa murmured with a grim expression. "If everything that you have said is true, the dragonspawn will be able to use the goblin hollows to stage their attacks, and then retreat underground once again to avoid retaliation. We'll never be able to predict where their next attack may take place. And with the appearance of these new beasts among the horde," He shook his head. "There won't be anyplace safe from those creatures."