"Where have you been?" Lady Skie demanded in a shrill tone as Xaxis landed gently in the courtyard. "I was getting worried!" She caught a glimpse of Leia, who was still covered in a thick layer of dust, then spotted Sly, who was not only covered in dust, but in blisters and burns as well. "By the gods! What happened to you two? You look like you've been through a war!"
"We'll tell you inside." Sly grumbled with a heavy sigh. "I need something to drink so I can wash all of the gravel from my mouth." The little man stumped off towards the castle, leaving Lady Skie to stare after him in confusion.
"Thank you for all of your help, Xaxis." Leia said to the huge serpent earnestly. "We couldn't have done it without you."
"It was my pleasure, little mother." The great beast rumbled, lowering his head down to nuzzle at the young girl gently. "Call upon me whenever you need, and I will be there for you."
Leia watched as the huge veiled dragon launched himself into the air and sailed off into the distance, then she turned and led the others into the Serpent's Keep. They found Sly sitting in Damion's office with a pained expression on his burned face, and a small barrel of his personal ale sitting in the chair next to him.
"Look at me!" The little man complained to Leia angrily. "Half of my hair and beard has been singed away, and my face is one giant blister!"
Leia took one look at the angry little man and collapsed into a chair laughing uncontrollably.
"It's not funny!" Sly roared in fury, then he winced in pain as one of the blisters on his face suddenly popped. "I look like I've been burned at the stake!"
"You do look a little crispy." Juco laughed, flopping into one of the overstuffed chairs. "What happened?"
"We were on our way back from speaking with the Deolan Council in Mercedia when we spotted a large bonfire surrounded by dragonspawn." Leia explained as she continued to laugh. "We flew closer to investigate, and was attacked by a group of those winged dreadspawn, forcing Xaxis to take action."
"That damned overgrown lizard incinerated some of the dreadspawn, then flew right through his own wall of flames!" Sly snarled in fury. "Leia's armor protected her from being hurt, but I was left to roast like a chicken over a bonfire!"
"What happened to the dragonspawn?" Lady Skie asked with a concerned expression.
"Xaxis killed all but a few shadowspawn." Leia said with a shrug. "They fled into a goblin hollow which led deep beneath the foothills."
"Considering the fact that you are covered in a thick layer of dust, I'm guessing that it didn't end there." Captain Repheth murmured shrewdly.
"Leia decided to follow the shadowspawn underground." Sly informed them sourly.
"You did what?" Lady Skie exclaimed, turning to stare at Leia in disbelief. "Surely you wouldn't do something so foolish!"
"Well," Leia started in a pained tone. "I thought if we followed them, they might lead us to the rest of the horde."
"And did they?"
"Did they ever." Sly grunted. He quickly went on to describe the enormous chamber, and the countless dragonspawn, shadowspawn, and dreadspawn who had gathered together into one massive horde. "I have never seen anything like it before. If they had been able to launch their attack, there would have been little we could have done to stop them."
Lady Skie fixed Sly with an angry glare. "You let her follow a group of shadowspawn underground?"
"I tried to stop her, but the girl is even more stubborn than her father!" Sly objected with a scowl. "She said she was going after them, with or without me! I didn't have any choice but to follow her and try and keep her from getting herself killed!"
"How many spawn did you say were in this horde?" Juco asked curiously, grabbing a tankard and dipping it into Sly's cask of ale.
"Thousands." The charred little man sighed wearily. "Tens of thousands. I've never seen anything like it before!"
"And you saw more of those winged dreadspawn?" Lady Skie asked, her expression concerned.
"More than we could conveniently count." Leia nodded. "It looks like the Dragon God made sure to keep them well hidden after He created them, until their numbers had multiplied to the point that they would be of use."
"This is grave news." Captain Repheth frowned. "If the horde is truly as large as you say it is, the people of the south will be helpless to stop them. Even the dragons will be helpless against those numbers! It will be even worse than when the Etazk invaded!"
"We don't need to worry about the horde anymore." Sly assured him with a tired sigh. "Leia used her magic to collapse the chamber on top of them. They're currently buried beneath thousands of tons of stone."
"What?" Lady Skie exclaimed, turning to stare at Leia in disbelief. "You destroyed the entire horde?"
"With father gone, somebody had to deal with them." The young girl replied in a deliberately nonchalant tone. She gave them all an innocent look. "Is anybody else hungry?"
"I have the feeling that the Dragon God will be quite upset with our little Leia when He finds out that she completely destroyed His army." Sly smiled in spite of his pain. "She single handedly managed to save the people of the south from another attack, and thwarted the Dragon God's plans to destroy the mortals of this world." He let out a harsh laugh. "Draco probably hates her even more than He hates Damion!"
Lady Skie turned to looked at Leia, who still wore an innocent expression. "What did you do?" She asked suspiciously.
"I just used my magic to collapse the cavern." The young girl answered in an evasive tone. "It was nothing, really."
"She snuck through the horde and destroyed the limestone pillars which supported the cavern ceiling." Sly informed them with a grunt. "We barely made it out of there alive!"
"Don't be so dramatic, Sly." Leia said with a roll of her eyes. "We made it out of there just fine."
"Just fine?" The little man asked, rising to his feet and holding out his hands so she could get a good look at his charred clothes and blistered skin. "Do I look just fine to you?"
"You're still alive, aren't you?"
Sly gave her a disgusted look, then dropped back into his chair with a resentful expression.
Axel suddenly appeared in the office doorway, followed closely Slither by, who had healed considerably from his injuries in their absence.
"Leia?" The shadowy beast hissed in surprise, rushing over to her side anxiously. "What took you ssso long? Are you hurt?" He quickly looked her over. "You do not appear injured. Jussst very dirty."
"That's what happens when you decide to single handedly destroy an entire dragonspawn horde." Captain Repheth laughed ruefully.
The huge shadowspawn stared at the older man for several moments in confusion, then turned to look at Leia questioningly.
"We followed some shadowspawn into a goblin hollow which led deep below the foothills, and discovered where the spawn have been gathering in preparation for an attack."
"You found the rest of the ssspawn?" Slither's eyes went wide in surprise. "Where?"
Leia quickly retold their adventure in the massive underground chamber, watching closely to see how the shadowy beast would react. "When the pillars supporting the cavern ceiling finally gave way, the entire cavern collapsed down onto the horde." She finished with a shrug.
"The horde hasss been dessstroyed?" Slither sat in stunned silence for several long moments, then he finally gave an approving nod. "Good." He grunted in a satisfied tone.
"You're not upset that I killed the rest of your brethren?" The young girl asked in some surprised.
"Of courssse not." Slither hissed with a shake of his horned head. "The horde would have dessstroyed everything that they encountered. It isss better thisss way. Besssidesss," The huge shadowspawn lifted his chin proudly. "SSSlither isss no longer part of the ssspawn. SSSevria isss SSSlither'sss home now."
"I still thought that you may find the destruction of all of your kind a bit upsetting." Leia admitted helplessly.
"You didn't dessstroy them all." Slither told her grimly. "You only dess
stroyed the ssspawn that dwelt here in thessse mountainsss. There are ssstill many, many more ssspawn ssspread throughout the world."
"What will happen now that the dragonspawn here in the mountains have been destroyed?" Axel asked curiously.
"Without the threat of the dragonspawn hanging over their heads, I suspect that the goblins will eventually return to their hollows." Captain Repheth replied, his eyes narrowed in thought.
"That should make the Merchant's Guild and the work crews happy," Lady Skie commented, her expression still disapproving. "though I have the feeling that Damion and Raven are going to take issue with Leia taking matters into her own hands."
"I'll worry about that when they finally come home." Leia said dismissively. "Right now I'm more worried about getting word to everyone that the horde has been eliminated."
"That reminds me," Lady Skie started, looking back to Sly. "How did things go in Mercedia? Was Leia able to handle dealing with the Deolan Council?"
"Let's just say that it was no worse than when Damion would meet with them." Sly snorted in amusement. "Although, I think they now fear Leia even more than they fear her father!"
"That bad?" Captain Repheth asked, desperately trying to hide his amusement.
"Those men are the most infuriating group of jackasses that I have ever encountered!" Leia scowled angrily. "They spent half of the time complaining about father! But Clan Chief Lek," The young girl let out a furious growl. "I just wanted to turn him into a radish, and toss him to the livestock!"
"But you didn't," Lady Skie stated, then her expression became uncertain. "did you?"
"No," Sly laughed, pounding the table in delight. "She hung him from the rafters by his ears!"
"You didn't!" Lady Skie gasped in shock as the others burst out laughing.
"She most certainly did!" The singed little man chortled. "Lek kept casting threats and insults at us, even after the rest of the council warned him against angering her. After one too many insults, she ended up dangling him by his ears high above the rest of the council, until Bativa finally convinced her to drop him." He shook his head rueful amusement. "I've never knew a man's ears could stretch so long! He looked like an ugly old hound dog!"
"Leia!" Lady Skie looked at the young girl with an expression of both disapproval and amusement. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Yes," The young girl told her without batting an eye. "Yes, I did. I was not going to sit there and let that pile of goblin dung insult me and my father, so I decided to remind him just exactly who he was speaking to."
"And did he learn his lesson?" Captain Repheth asked expectantly.
"Actually, no, he didn't." Sly chuckled, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. "He and a bunch of his lackeys tried to accost us just outside of Mercedia, but Xaxis decided to intervene." The little man started chuckling again. "You should have seen the look on Lek's face when that great brute suddenly materialized out of the thin air before him!"
"What did Xaxis do to them?" Lady Skie asked apprehensively, knowing how the huge beast looked upon the young girl like she was his mother.
"He just gave them a little scare." Leia assured her with a tired sigh. "The last time we saw them, they were all fleeing for their lives." She frowned. "I still think I should have turned him into a radish, though."
"Why do you and your father have so many problems when it comes to dealing with members of the Deolan Council?" Lady Skie demanded of Leia in exasperation. "Every time that either of you go to meet with them, there is always some sort of conflict!" She shook her head wearily. "Damion always has problems with Clan Chief Krel. They have hated each other since the second they laid eyes upon one another."
"Chieftain Krel was killed some time ago." Sly informed her, taking a long drink from his tankard, then burping thunderously. "Apparently, a bull was feeling a bit feisty and decided to gore him right through the eye. Lek was his eldest son, and his successor."
"That explains a few things." Captain Repheth murmured.
"Indeed," The blistered little man agreed with a nod. "Lek is every bit the stubborn jackass that his father was, except he's not quite as bright. Hopefully, he's learned his lesson, though I seriously doubt it. He really didn't strike me as being very perceptive."
"Well," Lady Skie started with a sigh. "I guess all that's left to do is let everyone know that the horde has been destroyed. There's no need for everyone to prepare for war anymore."
Leia let out a groan.
"What's wrong, little one?" Lady Skie asked in confusion. "You should be happy! You managed to save everyone from a terrible fate!"
"I know," Leia started with an exasperated sigh. "but I just got back from notifying the Deolan Council to the danger the horde posed. Now I have to go back and let those jackasses know that we have taken care of the problem!"
"Look at it this way," Juco told her with a mischievous grin. "Maybe this time Lek will give you a reason to turn him into a radish."
Chapter 21
"Get Delilah and Gilroy out of here!" Damarius ordered the others as he rushed forward to join Damion, who had appeared from behind the raised temple platform and strolled calmly out into the center of the courtyard. "Damion and I'll handle this!"
"I'll help them!" Shirk told Raven and Brody as he charged after the old wizard. "Take them and go!"
Raven and Brody quickly grabbed Gilroy and Delilah and hurried away from the chaos, leaving Damion, Damarius, and Shirk to deal with the blood elves.
"Kill him!" Yrinn screamed as he backed away from Damion with a fearful expression. "Kill the Dagon Lord in the name of Hetris!"
All of the blood elves who were not preoccupied with Captain Harper's sailors immediately gave up their pursuit of Petra's faithful, and turned to focus solely on the huge warrior.
"It's about time that you got here!" Damarius yelled to Damion as he leveled his crystal topped staff and released a sizzling bolt of energy that struck one of the blood elves square in the chest and exploded, hurling the elf backwards several yards before he crashed down in a lifeless heap.
"We've been busy running around this damned island on some wild goose chase!" Damion roared back, chopping down a pair of elves as they charged towards him with their weapons held high.
"Wild goose chase?" Shirk asked as he split an elf's head with a vast overhand blow.
"The elves never wanted our help with locating Yrinn and the blood elves." The huge warrior growled angrily, sending another elf's head bouncing across the courtyard. "This has all been an elaborate ruse to draw me here so the elves could obtain the Dragon Sword."
"I've had my suspicions." Damarius admitted, making a sweeping motion with his staff, causing a wall of flames to burst forth from the cobblestones and engulf several blood elves who were charging towards him with crazed expressions. "Something about this entire crisis just hasn't felt genuine. It's had the feeling of a poorly rehearsed play."
Damion cut down three more followers of Hetris with three vast overhand blows, then drew in his magic and focused it into a blazing fireball. He sent it streaking across the courtyard where it struck the cobblestones at the feet of several more blood elves and exploded with earthshaking force. The blast ripped the elves to shreds, and sent jagged chunks of cobblestone whistling through the air, shredding several more of the unlucky attackers. The remaining blood elves were all forced to duck for cover as chunks of their brethren suddenly began to rain down upon them from the sky.
"Where's Yrinn?" Damion asked as dozens of elven soldiers suddenly appeared from the crowd and charged to the attack, quickly cutting down the remaining blood elves.
"There!" Shirk pointed to the silver haired elf, who was attempting to flee the temple courtyard.
Damarius cursed. "He's heading towards the tower!"
They set off after the fleeing elf, who quickly reached the far end of the courtyard and disappeared through a large archway.
"Watch out!" Shirk suddenly bellowed, shouldering Damarius aside as an ar
row came whistling out of the nearby shadows. It struck the bearded bandit in his upper chest, just below the shoulder, causing him to drop his broadsword with a snarl of pain.
"Shirk!" Damarius hurried over to the injured old bandit, who was cursing in agony. He quickly examined his shoulder, gingerly checking the entrance wound of the protruding arrow. "You're lucky. It didn't hit anything vital."
"Great!" Shirk snarled through clenched teeth. "That makes me feel so much better!"
"Take care of him!" Damion yelled to Damarius as he cut down an elf who had appeared from the shadows carrying a long bow. "I'm going after Yrinn!"
"Go!" Damarius told him with a wave of his hand. "I'll look after Shirk!"
Damion turned and charged off after the silver haired elf, detouring down several dark alleyways in an effort to cut him off.
"Hurry!" Snowfeather hooted from overhead. "He's almost reached the tower!"
Damion cursed, then hurried down a deserted street towards the huge spiraling Royal Tower. He finally rounded a corner and spotted the silver haired elf as he rushed towards the courtyard surrounding the massive tower. "Yrinn!" The huge warrior roared with such vehemence that the silver haired elf stopped mid-step and whirled around to face him.
"By the gods!" Yrinn cursed in a frustrated voice. "What does it take to kill you?" He shook his head in bewilderment. "I have sent some of my most vicious brothers against you, elves who have proven their prowess in battle, and yet here you still stand!" He shook his head again in disbelief. "I would have never believed it possible of a human!"
"Enough!" Damion snarled, drawing the Dragon Sword from its sheath. "You drew me here so you could kill me and take the Dragon Sword." He held up the legendary blade for the elf to see. "Well, here it is. Come and get it."
"I wasn't the one who lured you here to die." Yrinn informed him, drawing his own long sword, and starting towards the huge warrior with a grim expression. "That was Queen Serena's idea. I had nothing to do with it, other than being the object of your search."
Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) Page 41