Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5)

by Barry Gibbons

  "Everything is ready for you to give your speech, my queen." Bellatonia informed her, an excited expression on her face. "The people all seem quite eager for the festival to begin."

  "Let's not keep them waiting then." Queen Serena smiled in excitement.

  They were quickly escorted outside by six of Captain Harper's grim faced sailors, and up to a large platform which had been erected in the courtyard outside. They followed the elven queen up onto the platform, and was greeted by the cheers of hundreds of elves who had packed themselves into the courtyard to hear their beloved queen speak.

  "See anything unusual?" Dar asked Damarius as they both stared out over the crowd.

  "No," The old wizard started, brushing his brow lock from his eyes absently. "but the festival is only just starting. The blood elves will probably wait until our guard is down before they attempt anything."

  "My friends," Queen Serena started, staring out over the crowd with a delighted smile. "It's gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to another Spring Dawning." There was a loud cheer from the crowd. "We gather here every year to give our thanks to Petra, who guides our people, and to celebrate the rebirth of spring." She paused as the crowd cheered again. "As some of you may have noticed, we have guests on our island for the first time in over a thousand years. The legendary Dragon Lord and his companions have come to our lands to help us root out the darkness that has risen to threaten our fair people. With their help, we will prevail, as we always have, and return the peace to our fair lands." The crowd let out a roar of approval. "So, my dear friends, let us set aside our fears, for now is a time for laughter and merriment. Let the Spring Dawning commence!"

  They watched as the assembled crowd hurried off to their various frivolities, then followed the queen down from the platform.

  "That seemed to go well." Bellatonia commented, her expression optimistic. "The people seemed quite receptive of having outsiders in their midst. They even cheered at the news."

  "Those idiots would have cheered if the queen had proclaimed herself to be a butterfly." Gilroy snorted in amusement. "All they really cared about was the queen calling for the festival to begin so they could begin pickling themselves into insensibility."

  "What now?" Dar asked curiously.

  "The dancers will perform the traditional Dance of Renewal in the town center, led, of course, by our own dear Ava Delilah." Queen Serena replied, looking rather relieved at making it through her speech. "It's a beautiful ceremony where the priestesses of Petra perform a dance meant to signify the rebirth of spring. From there we'll go to the edge of town, where I'll judge the first round of the archery tournaments. Then we will return to the Royal Tower for a celebration dinner with the elders of the various ancient families."

  They were escorted through the crowded streets by Captain Harper's sailors to the town center, where they watched Ava Delilah and four other priestesses perform a short, but beautifully choreographed dance, then they hurried on to a large archery range which had been erected at the edge of town.

  "I don't like this." Captain Harper growled as they took their seats upon a raised platform which overlooked the archery range. "The queen is an easy target perched up here for all to see."

  "She will be fine." Damarius assured him in an unconcerned tone. "I can handle any attacks that are directed at the queen. We just need to make sure that your men are spread out amongst the crowd and ready to respond if anything happens. We need the attackers taken alive so they can be questioned."

  "My men know what to do." The wily old sea captain grunted, his expression still worried. "They'll take down anyone who even looks at the queen the wrong way, and then drag them back to the Royal Tower so you can force some of that truth serum down their throats."

  "Your concern for my safety is touching, gentlemen," The elven queen told them with a gentle smile. "but it's completely unnecessary. The blood elves would have to be insane to attempt something with so many witnesses."

  They spent the next several hours watching as a number of different archery contests took place. The elven children were the first to take to the range, first the boys, and then the girls, all of whom demonstrated amazing skills with a bow and arrow. Next came the mounted archers, who put on a stunning display of both riding and marksmanship. It was almost evening when the last group finally took to the range.

  "Finally!" Gilroy sighed as a dozen elves, both male and female, hurried onto the field. "This is the final contest of the evening."

  "These are some of the very best archers that the elven people have to offer." Queen Serena told them, smiling in anticipation. "They have traveled from all over the island to come and compete in the Spring Dawning tournaments. In fact, many of them train all year long to prepare themselves. We should be in for quite a show."

  They watched as the elves lined up along the range and prepared to take their shots. They each notched an arrow and drew back on the strings, taking careful aim at their targets downrange. An instant before releasing their shots, however, four of the elves suddenly turned towards the raised platform and trained their arrows upon its residents.

  "Look out!" Captain Harper roared as the elves released their volley.

  Damarius, who had been suspicious of just such an attack, jumped up from his seat next to the queen and raised his crystal topped staff, causing the arrows to stop mid-flight, and then drop harmlessly to the ground.

  "Grab them!" Captain Harper roared to his men, who immediately attempted to shove their way through the crowd, but the sailors found their way blocked as dozens of onlookers let out bellows of outrage and charged the attackers, furious that they would attempt to attack the queen.

  "We need those elves alive!" Dar cried as the onlookers swarmed the attackers under and began to pummel them with their bare fists.

  By the time Captain Harper's men finally managed to pull the enraged onlookers off of the attackers, the elves had already succumbed to the savage beating.

  "That is unfortunate." Gilroy frowned unhappily as the sailors laid the bodies out in front of the podium for them to see. "They could have had some valuable information on whether there were other attacks planned."

  "Well, they're not going to tell us anything now." Damarius muttered in disappointment. "The crowd saw to that."

  "We shouldn't be too surprised that the crowd acted this way." Dar told them with a resigned sigh. "They just witnessed an attack on their beloved queen. Their outrage is understandable."

  "That doesn't change the fact that we just lost a valuable source of information." The old wizard sighed. "They may have even been able to lead us to Yrinn and the other blood elves."

  "I doubt that they would have been much help." The fiery haired Alena disagreed. "They wouldn't have sent any blood elves who knew anything of consequence, just in case they were caught." He looked to the queen, whose face was pale with shock. "Are you okay, Serena?"

  "O-Of course," The queen answered in a shaky voice. "I have my valiant wizard here to protect me." She nodded to Damarius in thanks.

  "They're pretty unrecognizable now." Captain Harper grunted, hopping down from the platform and examining one of the bodies. "Did you recognize any of them?"

  "No," Gilroy frowned. "and I have the feeling that they entered the tournament under false names to avoid being identified."

  The crowd that had witnessed the attack slowly began to gather around the platform to stare at their queen with worried expressions.

  "I think you should probably say something to calm the crowd." Dar suggested to the elven queen.

  "Yes," Queen Serena agreed quickly. "Yes, of course." She took a deep steadying breath, then rose to her feet and stared out over the assembled crowd. "My friends," She started, her face still pale. "These four cravens, who were undoubtedly minions of the dark god, attempted to slaughter our guests and myself." Her pale face suddenly flushed an angry red. "They failed." She said this with a fierce snarl. "You, the children of Petra, showed everyone what rewar
d awaits those who dare attempt such treachery against their own people!"

  Several elves in the crowd let out angry roars of approval.

  "Let this serve as an example to those still hidden among us." The elven queen continued, her eyes blazing. "The true children of faith will triumph, and those who would attempt to defeat us will suffer a similar fate!"

  The crowd gave another angry cheer, and several of the onlookers spat on the dead elves in disgust.

  Queen Serena stared out over the crowd for several long moments, her expression still furious, then she slowly seemed to calm down. "My dear friends, let us not allow these cowardly vermin to disrupt our celebration. Let us leave these cretins to serve as an example to any who would dare come against us, and continue with our merriment."

  The crowd roared in approval, then several of the gathered elves seized a hold of the corpses and dragged them over to the archery targets, where they propped the dead elves up for all to see.

  "I think that it's time we make our way back to the Royal Tower." Gilroy suggested prudently, watching as the crowd began to disperse. "I'd rather not hang around on this platform for any other blood elves to use as a target."

  Captain Harper's sailors quickly escorted them back to the massive tower which overlooked Celestia, where they found a number of elves awaiting their return.

  "Oh dear," The queen frowned as the elves all turned to stare at her expectantly. "In all of the excitement, I forgot all about the feast!"

  Ava Delilah, Anallia, and Vlane hurried over to the queen, their expressions worried.

  "We just heard the news." Vlane told them with a furious expression. "Is everyone unharmed?"

  "Everyone is fine." Gilroy assured them with a sigh. "Four of the elves who were about to participate in the archery tournament suddenly turned their weapons on us, but, luckily for us, Damarius was able to deflect their arrows before they could find their mark."

  "What happened to the attackers?" Anallia asked with fearful eyes.

  "A fair number of onlookers were quite upset with them, and decided to take matters into their own hands." Captain Harper snorted humorlessly. "There wasn't much left of the attackers when they were finished with them."

  "Have they been identified?" Vlane asked grimly.

  Gilroy shook his head. "They were not from Celestia, and they entered the tournament under false names. We'll probably never know who they really were."

  "Let us adjourn to the dining hall so we may commence with the feast." Queen Serena announced, licking her lips in anticipation. " I am absolutely famished! We can continue this discussion while we dine."

  They quickly made their way up the stairs to the enormous dining hall, and took their seats around the massive circular quartz table, nearly every inch of which was covered with a mouthwatering feast of succulent food.

  "This looks divine!" The queen sighed, sinking into one of the throne-like chairs which surrounded the table. "We haven't eaten since breakfast!" She began piling food onto her plate with a ravenous expression.

  "I'm afraid you must still give your traditional speech, your majesty." Bellatonia reminded the queen gently. "I'm sure that the heads of the various families are eager to hear that you survived the attack unharmed."

  The queen stared at her plate longingly for a moment, her lower lip protruding in a small pout, then she gave great sigh of surrender, and rose to her feet. "My dear friends," She started, smiling at her guests, several of whom had already began eating. "I'm sure that you have heard by now about the vicious attack our guests and myself suffered during the archery tournament. I want to reassure you all that the attack was thwarted, and justice was dealt out to those who dared to disrupt the Spring Dawning."

  The gathered elves all cheered in approval.

  "Now," The queen glanced at her plate again with a hungry expression. "I think we should all enjoy this wonderful feast befo..." She stopped as Gilroy, who had already started dining on a freshly baked fish, suddenly lurched up from his chair clutching at his throat. "Gilroy?"

  The grim faced elf didn't reply, but continued to clutch at his throat with frightened eyes. Suddenly, another elf lurched up from his chair, and then another, and another, all of them clawing and grabbing at their throats desperately.

  "Everyone stop eating!" Damarius roared, jumping up from his seat and rushing over to Gilroy, who had collapsed against the wall, his face turning a violent shade of purple. He carefully eased the ailing elf to the floor and pried open his mouth. After a quick glance, he began riling through his many pouches and withdrew a small flask. He immediately popped the stopper loose from the flask, then poured a generous amount of a milky white fluid into the choking elf's mouth. Gilroy immediately started coughing, then took a great breath of air.

  "Give them each a mouthful of this!" The old wizard ordered Dar, tossing the flask to the fiery haired sprite, who hurried around to help the others. "How are you feeling?" He asked Gilroy after giving the elf a few moments to catch his breath.

  "Better, thank you." The old elf replied, pushing himself up to a sitting position unsteadily. "I took a few bites out of my fish, and then it suddenly felt as though I were being choked!" He gave Damarius a grateful look. "Thank you for saving me. I thought I had seen my last sunset for sure." He rubbed his throat once more. "I'm guessing I was poisoned?"

  "Oh yes," The old wizard nodded, hurrying back to the circular table and taking a sniff of the fish Gilroy had been eating. "A particularly nasty poison called the Choking Death, for obvious reasons. It makes one's throat swell shut, rendering them unable to breathe. It's lucky that the antidote is the main ingredient in one of my potions."

  "It's suitably named, that's for sure." The old elf agreed ruefully. "What kind of potion did you give me? It wasn't that truth serum, was it?"

  "No, it wasn't the truth serum." Damarius patted him on his shoulder. "Let's just say, I would not stray far from the latrine, if I were you." He paused, then added. "For the next several days."

  "The others are all doing better." Dar reported to Damarius, returning the old wizard's flask. "It's a good thing that you happened to have something that would work as an antidote." He gave the old wizard a curious look. "What was in that potion?"

  "Mostly water root, with a few other ingredients added to make it a bit stronger."

  "Water root?" Dar's jaw dropped open in surprise.

  "What is water root?" Queen Serena asked in bewilderment.

  "It's a root found on the southern continent." Dar told her carefully. "The juices extracted from the roots are used as..." He suddenly stopped and began to blush.

  "As?" The elven queen asked expectantly.

  "As a laxative, your majesty." Damarius answered without a trace of embarrassment. "And a very powerful one, at that."

  A loud growl suddenly emitted from Gilroy's stomach, and his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. "Oh my!" He leapt to his feet and dashed away as quickly as he could, followed closely by the other elves who had been poisoned.

  "Those poor dears." Queen Serena frowned sympathetically. "I feel so terrible for them!"

  "It could be worse." Damarius shrugged, sniffing at the food once again. "That poison could have easily killed them." He took a long sniff of the fish that Gilroy had been eating. "I think we had better have the kitchen staff rounded up so we can discover who attempted to murder everyone before they try again."

  "My men and I will take care of it immediately." Captain Harper told them with an angry expression. He made a curt gesture to several of his men, then hurried off towards the kitchens.

  "Are you feeling unwell, Serena?" Dar asked the elven queen, who had grown violently pale.

  "No," Queen Serena shook her head. "I just can't believe that someone would attempt to poison everyone here." She looked around at her frightened looking kinsmen. "There are nearly thirty people gathered with us here this evening. To try and murder them all? It's unthinkable!"

  "There's little doubt who is behind
this attack." Delilah murmured gravely. "It appears that the blood elves are beginning to get desperate."

  "I agree." Damarius nodded, brushing his brow lock from his eyes absently. "This attempt at poisoning everyone reeks of desperation. I have the feeling that they underestimated our ability to counter their attacks, which has disrupted their plans. We can only hope that this latest failure will cause them to slip up and make a mistake."

  Captain Harper and his men soon returned escorting nearly a dozen frightened looking elves. "These are all of the cooks and servants who had access to the feast." The old sea captain reported to Damarius quietly. "They don't seem to know what's happening."

  "Have you asked them any questions yet?" The old wizard asked, his expression thoughtful.

  "Not yet. I thought it would be best to leave the interrogations to you."

  "How should we proceed?" Dar asked with a frown. "We need to figure out who the guilty party is, but that may prove easier said than done."

  "We can always invite them to sit down and eat." Captain Harper suggested. "Whoever refuses to eat is likely the culprit."

  "We can't poison them all." Queen Serena told the old sea captain reprovingly. "That would be cruel."

  Damarius stared at the nervous looking elves for a long moment, then turned to Captain Harper. "Fill a dozen goblets with wine. I'll put a couple of drops of truth serum into the wine, and then have them all drink. We should know who the guilty party is in no time."

  They watched as the elves were each forced to drink their goblets of wine.

  "Do you think this will work?" Delilah asked in a doubtful tone.

  "If the culprit is still here, we'll find them." The old wizard assured her, watching as the elves slowly seemed to relax.

  After Damarius judged that enough time had passed for the truth serum to take effect, he strolled forward until he stood before the elves. "Hello, friends," He started in a friendly tone. "We wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of your hard work. You really outdone yourselves with this feast."