“So. what of your dragon?” Nyssa asked, looking over her shoulder at Quint as she led us north. “How will she know when to come to assist us?”
“I can call the dragon when needed. She will be here in moments, should we encounter danger. I will likely call her in when we near the Keep. Right now, no need to forecast our approach.”
“Good thinking. Stealth is advantageous.”
Gnath strode alone with us in silence, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Rika, ever by his side, hung her hand off his belt at the small of his back. As we walked, I told Quint of our adventures in the Edenkeep dungeon, and how we escaped.
The grassy fields turned to rocky as we grew ever near the great castle city. The dark clouds overhead began to sprinkle raindrops the size of grapes, splatting on the ground as we trudged onward. We were beginning to feel the cold sea air as we continued towards the gulf. Soon the clouds stopped teasing and let loose its full deluge, drenching us almost immediately.
“Good. I was hoping for a new level of miserable,” I mumbled. “I don’t suppose you could summon your dragon to come warm us up a bit, do you?”
“Naamagal doesn’t know warm. It’s either nothing or toasted.”
“Right now, toasted doesn’t sound all that bad.”
“We must consider a strategy,” the Spellcrafter suggested in an obvious attempt to take our minds off the cold and wet, our feet squishing as we walked the soggy terrain. Gnath covered Rika with his tunic as she cuddled close to his massive hip.
“You said you escaped down a narrow path along the cliffs, Cliff said. “Take us there.”
“We’ll show you, but it will put us out in the open,” I replied. “The good part is that we won’t have to fight our way through the Keep; we’ll go straight to the dragon.”
“Frankly, it’s not something I care to repeat. I’m sure Gnath will agree.”
“Maybe if we went to the front door of the Keep, they’d just let us in?” Nyssa said, sarcastically.
“I get it. It’s our best option. Just not a pleasant one. I’m just saying that Gnath, here…”
“Kill dragon.”
“Yeah, yeah… kill dragon. We’ll probably die. There is no easy way to enter the cave from the ledge without being seen or heard. We barely made it out while the dragon was away. If he’s in there, he certainly will see us coming.”
“Then we must go in while he’s asleep.”
“You mean you intend to go the whole way there tonight without stopping? It’s getting dark, and this rain doesn’t seem to be letting up.”
“Do you think waiting another day would be wise? Time is critical. We must press onward.”
“I forget… why did we come along on this journey?”
“Rika,” Gnath said.
“Oh yes. The damsel in distress. Figures…”
“We should make the cliffs in just a few hours, and you can lead us down to the dragon’s cave.”
“I look forward to it.”
“This is unacceptable!” Zaleus screamed, angrily pacing his chamber floor. The hapless sergeant, half charred and fearing for his life, trembled as the sorcerer raged about the room.
“You let the dragon live? It was just a baby. You couldn’t even kill a baby dragon?”
“Master, the dragon was much larger than expected, and it flew down from the sky. It shot flames that melted armor. Captain Dandridge was turned to ashes in an instant.”
“What of my orcs? What of Dhell?”
“All burnt to ashes as well.”
“Get word to King Banderon. Tell him to muster the rest of his army, have them man the walls with ballistae at the ready. We will take care of this dragon once and for all.”
“Yes, Master Zaleus. Right away!”
The squirming sergeant couldn’t get out the door fast enough. The door shut with a thud.
“It’s time Diatsieg went to battle,” the sorcerer said to no one in particular.
“There it is. That is the path down to the lair.”
“Looks passable,” the Spellcrafter said, stroking his rain-soaked beard, the last hint of the day slipping below the cloud-filled horizon.
“It gets pretty narrow, and it wasn’t raining when we scaled it the first time.”
“Let’s go. It’s getting dark.”
Nyssa led the way, with Gnath and Rika behind, then Quint, while I brought up the rear. As before, Gnath had the worst time of it; his girth almost pushing him off the ledge in places. At times it was so dark we couldn’t see the ledge before us, but the lightning would illuminate our path just enough to get a good idea where we needed to go. Below, the waves crashed a countermelody to the thunder from above.
The ascent down seemed to take twice as long as the trip up from the cavern. The cold rain, the wet salty air from the gulf, and the slippery rocks made every step an act of faith, and made the trip seem to take an eternity. A cold, wet eternity.
And then, with one brilliant flash of lightning, we saw the entrance of the cave. We stopped a moment as the thunder announced our arrival. For a moment I stopped breathing as the weight of our situation hit me – a mixture of relief and terror all rolled into one big heart-stopping realization: The dragon was inside, and we had to kill it.
“Stealth is a must,” the Spellcrafter said as quietly as possible but loud enough to be heard over the rain and crashing waves below. I, however, found his words to be a bit silly since we were all fully aware of the situation we were walking into.
As we neared the opening, we could see the glow of numerous torches shining from the opening. We all crouched as we rounded the corner and entered the cave, the largest boulder keeping our cover as we crept.
“I will go in and see what the situation is,” Rika said, pulling herself away from Gnath for the first time since the rain started.
“No,” Gnath said, his whisper a bit louder than I would have liked it to be.
“It’s okay. No one will see me.” She then disappeared before our eyes.
“A chameleon,” Quint muttered. “That is very fortunate to have on our side.”
We all nodded in agreement.
Rika slipped from around the boulder and quietly made her way towards the resting dragon lying belly down on the stone floor. As she grew near, she could hear someone talking; his speech frantic and desperate. When she was close enough, she could see that the dragon was not asleep, but listening to the words of the sorcerer. Another figure was standing there with the sorcerer. King Banderon!
Rika looked in disgust at the king. She knew the king – something she had not told the others. Her thoughts were fleeting. Her secret might conflict with their mission. She weighed her options. Should she go back and report what she’d seen? Or would it be best to sneak up and… what? What would she do if she were standing there, invisible, next to the sorcerer and the king? Certainly, such a move would be suicide, no matter what her course of action might be.
But before she could act, the sorcerer turned his attention from the dragon and glanced around the room. Puzzled, he stopped looking directly at Rika, and with a brief wave of his hand, Rika became visible again.
“Hello, chameleon,” he said with a sneer.
Chapter 42
“What’s she doing?” I asked as Rika became visible. She looked confused, and in a panic, she turned and ran back towards us. Behind her, the dragon stirred and began to rise from the floor. “She’s been spotted!”
An ear-splitting roar reverberated from the great chamber within, as the great dragon worked against its own great weight to maneuver itself in the direction of the opening to the sea wall. Rika ran for her life when the dragon let loose a fiery burst from its internal furnace, filling the passage. Rika was not going to make it!
Faster than I’d ever seen him move, Gnath rushed out, sword drawn before him, and positioned himself between the flames and Rika – the flames passed around the pair as if a great shield had blocked them. The rest of us ducked down behind the boulder,
the scalding heat of the flames singed against our bare skin.
The moment the flames subsided, Gnath rushed Rika to the relative safety of the boulder, then stepped back out to face down the now charging dragon.
“Gnath, Get out of the way!” I yelled to deaf ears. Gnath was at the ready, sword again before him anticipating another blast. It didn’t come. The dragon, never slowing down, charged over Gnath, head-butting him out of the way as it launched itself into the cold, night air. Gnath bounced off the wall of the cave and landed face-down on the cold stone floor. Rika ran to help him, but he was already getting back to his feet, and with one hand pushed her behind.
“Behind!” he yelled, waving us all to stand behind him. We wasted no time doing so - the dragon lighting up the sky as it turned to make a flaming, deadly run at us.
I could see the fireball approaching and the moment it hit I braced for an impact by the mighty beast, but just as it reached the mouth of the cavern, Naamagal crashed into its side and they tumbled into the rocky ledge clear of the opening.
Writhing together, the two dragons bit and clawed at each other as they tumbled down the cliff until Naamagal broke free and flew out over the water. Diatsieg crashed onto a small ledge before regaining flight as well and took out after the red dragon. Both dragons spit flames at the other in air to air combat, the larger Diatsieg closing in on the smaller dragon with every flap of its mighty wings.
We watched, awestruck at the spectacle, waiting for one or the other to set the wheels of fate in motion. It was then that we realized the dragon wasn’t our only enemy.
“Well, if it isn’t my old friend Quint,” came a voice from behind. It wasn’t a happy voice, not for a joyous reunion, but a sinister voice, typical of someone who had caught a sworn enemy in a trap. We turned.
“Zaleus,” Quint said, recognizing the sorcerer immediately.
“Oh good. Old friends,” I said, my nervousness showing. “Maybe he’ll offer us some dry clothes and a meal?”
“It’s been a long time… what are they calling you in the Devigon? The Spellcrafter?”
“And by what title do they refer to you, here in Neverwind, Zaleus?”
“Simply Master. I see you have crafted yourself a dragon; one soon to perish, as you will see.”
I glanced out over the water, and the dragons were still wrestling in mid-air, fireballs erupting from both, lighting up the night sky.
“You will be nothing, evil sorcerer,” Quint said, taking my focus away from the show in the sky. “Your time here is done.”
“I don’t think so. Look, your dragon is finished.”
We looked out into the sky, and as the sorcerer had said, Naamagal was falling out of the sky. In moments it plunged into the water, a trace of flame could be seen under the water briefly before being snuffed out.
“You see, Diatsieg is the victor, and with him, I shall reign supreme over the land from this day forward.”
Without so much as a hint of a warning, the Spellcrafter shot lightning bolts from his fingers, striking the sorcerer square in the chest sending him backward onto the floor of the cave. Quint advanced, shooting another volley of bolts in the direction of Zaleus, but this time the sorcerer was ready, lying on his back, releasing bolts of his own to intercept those of Quint’s, lighting the cave in a blue-white glow.
“You caught me by surprise, old man, but that won’t happen again. Feel my power!” Zaleus let loose a massive fireball, more powerful than I had seen even from Arick, and it struck the Spellcrafter fully in the face and chest, sending him tumbling backward onto the ground. Gnath took a few steps forward, his sword raised, before Quint caught his leg and stopped him.
“Your sword is no match for the sorcerer. Only against dragons will it be useful.”
Another blast hit the Spellcrafter as he attempted to get to his feet. He didn’t move immediately, and Nyssa jumped to his side, knelt and began trying to rouse him.
“I would step away from him if I were you,” the sorcerer said, closing the distance between us. “Unless you want a dose of what he’s getting next.”
Nyssa rose, drawing her bow, though I questioned her sanity for doing so.
“It is you that needs to back off, sorcerer. We didn’t come this far to go running with our tails between our legs.”
Running doesn’t sound all that bad…
The sorcerer laughed. “Go ahead. Fire your arrow. Do you think it will have a chance against me? I will catch it, and fire it back and pierce your skull with it.”
Nyssa accepted the challenge without hesitation, firing the arrow directly at the sorcerer’s head. True to his word, Zaleus caught the arrow inches from his face. We all stood there in awe of what we had witnessed.
“Now, as promised,” he said, raising the arrow over his shoulder, pointed it at Nyssa and faster than the eye could see, the arrow shot back to its owner. It stopped short of its destination. Quint, on his feet, had intercepted the arrow – in his chest.
“Noooo!” Nyssa yelled. Quint turned, a pained look on his face. Then he fell to the ground, his blood pouring over the wet rock, mixing with the rainwater that flowed into the cavern.
“And now I will put an end to your dimwitted, yet noble plan. I grow tired of your silliness.”
We waited there, expecting him to wave his hands and turn us into bats, or shock us to a crisp, but he just stood there, a perplexed look on his face. He cocked his head to the side, a look of pain washed over him. Then blood trickled from his mouth. Rika behind him. I hadn’t even noticed she hadn’t been with us, and evidentially the sorcerer didn’t either. Rika pulled her dagger out of his back, and Zaleus fell to the ground.
We cheered! We ran to Rika, jumping for joy! We hugged her and reveled in the victory. Then we heard the dragon. And it didn’t sound happy. Slowly we turned to look out the cave opening.
Diatsieg was flying full speed towards the cave, a deafening roar erupting from its lungs, careening in through its own fireball. Once again, Gnath put himself between the flames and us as the dragon drew nearer. The intense heat was again blocked by the invisible shield projected by the glowing sword. The dragon flew overhead into the cave, so close I could feel the wind across my face mixed with the heat of the flames. Diatsieg landed a short distance into the cave and turned to face us. It reared up on its hind legs and made ready to unleash another blast of fire. But then it looked downward, it’s chest agape and spilling its life-giving blood and innards through its now-severed sternum, and the beating heart within, sliced down the middle, tried desperately to pump the life-giving blood that now pooled on the floor.
Gnath, standing there, his blood-covered sword over his head, let out a victory yell that rivaled that of even the dragons. His voice echoed throughout the cavern, announcing his victory over the floundering dragon.
The dragon took one step forward before falling face down onto the floor of the cave, a trickle of smoke left his nostrils as it released its last breath. The dragon was dead.
Chapter 43
Slowly, Gnath let his sword down and walked towards the fallen dragon, followed by the rest of us. He stopped at the body of the sorcerer and stood there for a moment, contemplating what to do. I’d never seen him this way before. He was becoming hardened, the soft, boyish Gnath was nowhere to be seen.
“What are you going to do, Gnath?” Rika asked.
Gnath stood there silently. Then, in one swift motion, he lifted his huge sword and slashed it down onto the floor, severing the sorcerer’s head in one smooth stroke.
We winced and looked away as he breathed a sigh of satisfaction and bend town to retrieve the head. He stuffed it into his sack, filling it completely.
“Proof,” he said without so much as a hint of emotion.
“Okay. Sure. Proof,” I said in disbelief. “Good… job. What now?”
“We need to speak to the king,” Rika said, walking into the cavern.
“Wait, what? The king? Let’s just get out of here.”
“You vowed to get me here. Stick with me until this journey is over,” she insisted, never stopping to look back. Gnath, without a moment’s hesitation, took after her. We stopped for a moment to marvel at the dead dragon before us, and it was then that I noticed a guard watching us from the dungeon entrance. Upon realized he was seen, he turned and ran into the passage.
“Folks, I think we’ve been spotted. I saw a guard run inside, probably to alert the rest of the castle.”
“Then we best hurry,” Rika said, turning to enter the passage that led to the dungeon. The others followed, and after them, I went.
“What could possibly be so important?”
We entered the all-too-familiar passage that led into the dungeon. We strode with a purpose, passing cell after cell until we got to the main dungeon chamber. Inside, there were four guards acting frantic, trying to decide what to do. At the sight of us, they stopped, backed up towards the wall, and then, one at first, then the rest knelt on one knee.
“Defeater of sorcerers and dragons, you have our loyalty,” one said beneath an iron helm.
We stopped at the ceremonious display of submission. We looked at each other in confused amazement. Defeater of sorcerers and dragons, that seems to carry some weight here.
“Who will take us to the King?” I asked in my strongest, authoritative voice. Admittedly, it wasn’t a voice that would move armies, but I imagine the magnitude of the situation added to the intensity of what I asked.
One of the guards raised his bowed head and spoke. “I will take you to him. I will help you find the king. He was just here, but when the fighting started, he wasted no time finding his way back up to the Keep.”
“Of course, he did,” Rika said. “The little weasel.”
“I’m sensing some history here.”
“You just watch my back.”
“Of course, m’lady.”
“I told you to stop calling me that. Come on, let’s find the King so I can finish my business here.”
The Dragons of Neverwind Page 21