Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5)

by Barry Gibbons

"Where are they going?" Sly asked, watching as the creatures fled through the tall grass in a panic.

  "It looks like they're heading for that rock formation." Leia pointed to a large granite outcropping which was partially concealed by a large grove of bushes. "It's probably concealing an entrance to another goblin hollow."

  Xaxis swooped low over the fleeing dragonspawn, casually breathing fire down upon them as he passed over their heads, until only a few shadowspawn remained.

  Leia and Sly watched as the shadowy beasts vanished into the outcropping, then turned and looked at one another as Xaxis began to silently circle the goblin hollow.

  "What are you thinking?" Sly asked suspiciously, noticing the look of determination on the young girl's face.

  "I'm thinking that we should follow them and see if they take us to the place where the rest of the horde is gathering."

  "Are you insane?" Sly asked in disbelief. "Do you know what your mother and father would do to me if they found out I allowed you to go traipsing off after a bunch of shadowspawn?"

  "But they're not here right now," Leia told him. "and somebody needs to put an end to all of this mess. Xaxis," She patted the great serpent's neck. "Take us down."

  The huge veiled dragon circled the outcropping one last time, then settled down in the soft grass and lowered himself down to allow them to dismount.

  "This is a really bad idea." Sly grumbled, his voice scarcely above a whisper. "There's no telling how many of the beasts could be in there."

  "Oh, quit acting like such a chicken, Sly." Leia growled to the scruffy little man, whose skin was still an angry red from Xaxis's flames. "We need to figure out a way to put a stop to the Dragon God's plans before He can release the horde. If that means we have to take a few chances, then so be it!" She looked to Xaxis. "Stay here. We may need to make a quick getaway when we leave."

  "What's your plan?" Sly asked suspiciously.

  "I don't have a plan." The young girl told him absently. "I figured I would just make things up as I go along."

  "You are exactly like your father." Sly sighed heavily. "He likes to make things up as he goes along too."

  They quickly made their way up to the granite outcropping, then began to search for the opening to the goblin hollow.

  "Here it is." Leia whispered, pushing aside a large bush to reveal a narrow crack leading beneath the outcropping.

  "I still don't think that this is a good idea." Sly murmured doubtfully. "We have no way of knowing what may be down there. I think that you should just use your magic to collapse the entrance, and then have Xaxis take us back to Sevria before Lady Skie begins to get worried."

  "Collapsing the entrance won't help." Leia told him in a stubborn tone. "The dragonspawn will just move on to the next entrance. We need to locate the main horde, and find a way to destroy them before they are able to launch anymore attacks."

  "It's not a good idea to attempt to deal with these creatures without your father here." The scruffy little man persisted, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder to stop her from entering the goblin hollow. "The dragonspawn are formidable beasts, and the gods only know how many of them are down there. We shouldn't do anything foolish."

  "This is the best chance we've had at discovering the location of the horde, and I'm not going to let it slip away. I'm going to find the rest of the dragonspawn, and put a stop to all of this madness before the Dragon God has a chance to carry out His plans." She shook herself free from his grip, then slipped through the narrow crack in the granite outcropping.

  "Just like her father." Sly muttered sourly before hurrying after her.

  They carefully made their way through the narrow crack, and down into a small passageway that opened up into a dark chamber which appeared have been roughly chiseled from the dense stone. The floor was littered with numerous old bones and debris which had been scattered about by scavengers, and was covered in a thick layer of guano from the hundreds of bats that hung in the various nooks and crannies of the unfinished ceiling. Several old torches had been fixed to the rough walls and burned fitfully, producing just enough light to illuminate the small chamber.

  "It looks like some poorly skilled stone masons excavated this chamber." Sly grunted, running a hand over one of the rough walls. "It almost has to be the workmanship of goblins. Dwarves would never be so sloppy in their work."

  They made their way deeper into the dark cavern cautiously, their eyes alert for the slightest sign of movement.

  "There." Leia hissed, pointing towards a dark opening at the back of the chamber. She hurried over and cautiously peeked around the corner. "It's another passageway. There are more torches lighting the way." She ventured in a few steps. "It looks deserted."

  "If we're going to do this, then let me take the lead." Sly grumbled reluctantly. "If we're attacked, you run, and I'll hold them off."

  "Yeah, right." The young girl snorted, starting off down the passageway. "How about you run, and I'll hold them off."

  The singed little man scowled after her, then hurried to follow.

  They followed the passageway for nearly an hour as it twisted, turned, and descended, leading them deeper and deeper beneath the grasslands. It finally opened up into another small chamber which had a number of passage openings leading off in different directions. The chamber was occupied by several shadowspawn who were busy arguing amongst one another in agitated tones.

  Leia slowed to a stop in a patch of shadows. "Those look like the same shadowspawn from the surface." She murmured to Sly in a scarcely audible voice.

  They watched as the shadowy beasts continued to argue for several more minutes, then the beasts suddenly turned and hurried off through one of the other passage openings.

  "Let's go." Leia whispered to Sly, who suddenly seized her by her shoulders.

  "Wait!" The little man hissed, stopping the young girl in her tracks as a dozen dragonspawn suddenly appeared from a different passage, only to disappear through the same opening as the shadowspawn.

  "That was close!" Leia breathed in relief.

  "Maybe we should head back." The little man murmured worriedly. "If the dragonspawn catch us down here, we're going to be in big trouble."

  "I'm not going back until I locate the rest of the horde." Leia told him stubbornly. "This may be our only chance to stop them. If we fail, a lot of innocent people are going to die." She took another look to make sure the way was clear, then hurried across the chamber and into the passage after the dragonspawn.

  They continued along the roughly carved passageway, pausing now and then to make certain that they wouldn't be heard, until Leia finally spotted a light at the end of the passage. She hurried to the end of the corridor, then slowed to a stop, and peered into chamber beyond.

  "What is it?" Sly asked, watching as all of the color suddenly drained from the young girl's face. He crept forward and peered into the chamber. "Oh no." He groaned in voice full of dread.

  The passage opened to a rough cut set of stairs which descended into a cavern chamber that was, by far, the largest underground cavern Sly and Leia had ever seen. It descended down incredibly deep into the earth below in uneven steps, ending in an enormous clearing which could have easily held the entire city of Sevria, castle, battlements, and all. Ten enormous stone pillars supported the massive ceiling above, which was bristling with thousands of sharp looking stalactites. A great glowing river of magma cascaded down the far wall of the immense cavern chamber and flowed along one wall, casting a sooty orange glow over the entire cavern.

  But it was not the size of the cavern chamber which caught their attention. Milling about on the huge lower steps, or gathered in large crowds about the massive clearing below, were tens of thousands of dragonspawn, shadowspawn, and dreadspawn, all assembled together in one colossal horde.

  "This is far, far worse than we ever thought it could be." Leia breathed in horror. "If the Dragon God releases this horde upon the world, there will be nothing that can stop them." She
gestured to the thousands of winged dreadspawn that circled high above the rest of the horde in huge flocks, or sat perched along the numerous ledges around the cavern. "There are even more of the dreadspawn than we feared. They must have been building up their numbers for years!"

  "I think you're right." Sly grumbled grimly. "There are so many of them that even the dragons would be helpless against them."

  "I guess now we know why the Dragon God isn't concerned about the scarlet dragons or the veiled serpents getting involved. The dreadspawn's numbers are so great that it wouldn't really matter. The dragons would be completely overwhelmed!"

  They watched the milling crowd for several moments, then Sly finally pulled Leia away from the opening. "It's time we got out of here." He told her in a firm tone. "Now that we know where the horde is located, we can return to Sevria and decide on how to proceed."

  "We're not going anywhere." Leia told him just as firmly. "We have to figure out a way to destroy them."

  "How are we going to destroy them?" The little man demanded in exasperation. "There are thousands of them down there! How do you propose that we kill them all?"

  "I'm not sure." Leia frowned. "What would my father do?"

  "He'd probably bring the entire cavern ceiling down on them." Sly grumbled absently, glancing up at the rough ceiling above.

  The young girl blinked. "That's not a bad idea."

  "That wasn't a suggestion." The little man growled. "Forget about destroying these beasts, and let's get out of here while we still can. We could be discovered at any moment!"

  "Go ahead and go." Leia told him, glancing back into the cavern chamber with a speculative expression. "I'll catch up to you."

  "Not going to happen." Sly shook his head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you down here alone."

  "Then wait here." Leia started to hurry into the massive chamber, but Sly seized her by her shoulders once again.

  "What do you think you're doing?" The little man snarled in disbelief, dragging her back into the shadows of the passageway.

  "I'm going to go bring down that ceiling." She gestured for him to join her at the passageway's entrance. "And if I'm going to do that, I'm going to have to sneak in there, and take down those pillars." She gestured to the massive stone pillars which supported the jagged ceiling above.

  "Can't you do that from here?"

  The young girl shook her head. "I need to be close enough to the pillars to make sure that they are completely destroyed, and that means I'm going to have to make my way through the horde."

  "And how do you plan on doing that?"

  "My armor should keep me hidden well enough." Leia told him with more confidence than she felt. "As long as I keep to the shadows, and use the skills that Slither taught me, they'll never even know that I'm there."

  Sly shook his head. "It's too risky. There is no way that you'll be able to sneak passed all of those creatures. There are thousands of them down there! Besides, they'll pick up your scent before you make it a hundred yards."

  "Not likely." The young girl snorted. "The only drawback to this dragon armor is the scent. It has a reptilian quality to it that is quite distinctive."

  The little man leaned in and sniffed her armor, then wrinkled his nose. "It smells just like Slither."

  "Exactly." Leia nodded. "My scent should be hidden well enough, and as long as I remain in the shadows, the spawn will never even know I'm there."

  "And what if you're wrong?" Sly asked harshly. "If you're discovered by any of the spawn, you'll be slaughtered before you can even scream."

  "And if I don't try to stop the horde, thousands of people will be slaughtered when the spawn finally decide to attack!" Leia growled back. "If I can figure out a way to get across the cavern to each pillar without being seen, I can bring an end to their attacks before they even begin."

  They stared at one another for several long seconds, neither of them willing to back down.

  "I have to do this, Sly." Leia told him, finally breaking the tense silence. "Without father here, I'm the only person who stands a chance of destroying them." She held out her hands helplessly. "I have no choice. I have to try."

  Sly shook his head. "We need to go get reinforcements. We shouldn't try to do this alone."

  "There is no other way." She told him insistently. "The horde may pick up and move, or begin their attack, before we can return. We have to strike now while we still can!" She shook herself free from his grip. "I'm going to sneak in there and destroy those pillars, then I'll hurry back here. With those pillars gone, the entire ceiling should collapse, crushing the horde."

  "And you with it." Sly grunted with a scowl. "If the ceiling collapses, how are you going to keep from being squished along with the spawn?"

  "If everything goes as planned, we'll be well on our way back to the surface before it collapses."

  "And if not?"

  "Be ready to start running."

  Without another word, Leia disappeared into the cavern chamber, flitting from shadow to shadow as she quickly made her way down the roughly carved stairs using the skills that Slither had taught her to move in complete silence.

  She found it easy to avoid the first group of dragonspawn, who were busy devouring a freshly slaughtered pig, but soon found her way blocked by a large shadowspawn who lingered in the shadows directly in her path. She watched as the beast slowly settled down against the cold stone wall of the cavern, then carefully withdrew her dagger. Creeping forward silently, she waited until the very last instant, then struck.

  The shadowspawn's eyes widened in confused shock as Leia's dagger suddenly plunged deep into its throat. It attempted to grab the blade feebly, but the young girl ripped it free, causing a great fountain of blood to erupt from the wound. The shadowspawn kicked at the stone floor uselessly for several moments as its blood continued to spill into the shadows, then, with a gurgling sigh, it fell still.

  Leia quickly made sure that the commotion hadn't attracted any attention, then she hurried on, her heart pounding so loudly that she was afraid that it may be heard. She skillfully made her way around several more groups of dragonspawn, then finally arrived at the first stone pillar.

  She crouched down in the shadows cast by the pillar for several moments while she caught her breath, then she looked around to make sure that she hadn't been detected. Once she was certain that she hadn't been seen, she turned her attention to the massive pillar. It was huge, almost as large as one of the soaring towers on the Serpent's Keep. Made of pure limestone, the colossal column spilled down from above, providing support for the immense cavern ceiling.

  Leia immediately realized that simply using her magic to blast the pillar to pieces would bring the horde down upon her, and even if she did managed to destroy all of the pillars, the ceiling would collapse long before she was able to escape. After thinking it over for several moments, she suddenly remembered how her father had brought down the legendary battlements that had surrounded the Walled city of Kainpre several years before, after it had become overrun by the Etazk.

  She frowned. She had never attempted anything as difficult as what she was planning. Her father had used the power of the Dragon Sword to amplify his own magic, enabling him to bring down the massive structure which had surrounded Kainpre, but she would have to depend on the strength of her magic alone to destroy the massive pillars.

  She took a moment to draw several deep calming breaths, then she began to gather her magic about her, allowing it to fill every fiber of her being until she felt as though she were about to explode. She then laid her hand upon the limestone, and released the built up energy into the pillar.

  At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then a tiny hole appeared in the stone, spilling sand down onto the floor as it continued to grow in size. It quickly began to spread up the pillar towards the ceiling above, reducing the limestone to a fine sifting dust as it continued to climb.

  Smiling in satisfaction, Leia hurried on towards the next pillar, skirting arou
nd a large crowd of dragonspawn which had gathered to watch while a shadowspawn and a dreadspawn scuffled nearby. When she reached the second pillar, she once again drew in her magic and released it into the heavy limestone, causing it to begin to dissolve into a fine dust.

  For the next hour, she carefully made her way through the shadows to the next three pillars, skillfully avoiding the throngs of dragonspawn, shadowspawn, and dreadspawn, who lingered about the cavern in huge groups, feasting on the carcasses of various animals, battling amongst themselves, or merely wandering about aimlessly. She was just approaching the sixth pillar, when a loud snarl drew her attention to one of the massive dreadspawn, who was staring at the patch of shadows that the young girl had just passed through, its teeth bared in a vicious snarl.

  Leia quickly ducked down next to the pillar as the winged beast stepped into the shadows, its eyes narrowed in suspicion. It slowly began to make its way through the darkness as it searched for the flitting form which had caught its attention, then it slowly began to step around the pillar towards to place where the young girl was crouched hiding.

  Leia prepared to sprint away in panic, but froze as a sudden grinding sound drew all eyes towards the ceiling, where large amounts of sand suddenly began to sift down in a cascade of dust.

  The dreadspawn quickly made its way around the pillar without noticing Leia, and hurried off to investigate the noise, which continued to grow louder and louder, punctuated occasionally by the loud sound of cracking stone.

  Leia breathed a sigh of relief as the huge beast passed by, then drew in her magic and released it into the pillar.

  Another loud crack echoed throughout the cavern, drawing the attention of the rest of the horde, who stood staring up at the ceiling in confusion. More dust began to sift down onto the spawn below as Leia's spells ate away at the stone, slowly spreading, splitting, and combining as they continued their destruction.

  Using the distraction to her advantage, she dashed off to the next pillar and repeated the process once again, then she crouched down in the shadows once more to catch her breath.