Marthaen bowed to his king and hurried to rejoin the dragon sorcerers. Alessa accompanied him, looking very tired and unhappy about the situation. Only recently had Thelvyn learned that the Flaem with the greatest talent for magic were also the most vulnerable to the call of the Masters, so he realized how much she was really suffering. Of course, she was also still dissatisfied over turning control of the Radiance over to the dragons, although she had to admit it was best, considering the way things had turned out. The dragons could command the full power of the Radiance, but they could not take it away with them. The Fire Wizards claimed the Radiance, but they had access to only a small part of its true power. That helped to insure that neither party would be tempted to misuse it.
Within the hour, Thelvyn had a final meeting with the remaining delegates of the Grand Alliance. He explained to them that the evacuation of Braejr was continuing and that the time had come for them to leave as well. Although he was cautious with his information, he tried very hard to imply that he didn't expect to be able to hold the city. He was somewhat surprised when they all agreed to leave immediately. If there was a spy among them, apparently the Masters thought that his work was done.
To his dismay, Thelvyn discovered that the Masters had outguessed him once again. Later that same morning, a dragon hurried to Braejr with the warning that he had seen a dragon of tremendous size, a strange, wingless dragon that appeared to have metal armor. The metal dragon had apparently come through the worldgate near their stronghold east of Braastar and was moving quickly overland, heading south to join the invading army. The young dragon had to admit that he had few details to offer, since the Masters had prevented him from coming closer than several miles. But he had certainly seen something odd and alarming.
Thelvyn decided he had better see this thing at once. He took along with him enough bodyguards to force their way through the defenses of the Masters long enough for a close look at the metal creature. To keep the element of surprise as long as possible, they began by flying west from Braejr. After many miles, they came to the hilly, wooded lands of the central Highlands and began a long circle northward that brought them across the Aalban River from the northwest, just above Braastar. They continued to fly swiftly over the forest east of the city, over a hundred dragons in a tight column as they searched the wilderness for the mysterious metal dragon.
Finding the strange dragon in the wilderness proved to be easy, even from miles away, since it stood taller at the shoulders than the tops of many of the trees. It was like some strange, alien draconic form, with a long, serpentine body carried on four sets of legs. Its extended face had eyes that burned like red jewels from the deep shadows of protective horns and spikes, and its long tail was armed at the end with a massive weight like a crushing club, lined with ridges of sharp-edged plates that glittered like metal. The very size of the metallic beast was alarming. It was easily a hundred yards from its nose to the end of its tail and twenty yards high at the shoulders, making it several times the size of even the largest gold dragon.
Keeping just above the trees, Thelvyn led his dragons in as fast as they could fly. As he came closer, he began to have serious doubts about what he saw. Whatever this strange creature was, the massive shell of dark bluish silver metal was almost certainly not its natural armor. But if the creature was wearing a suit of protective armor, then it had to be carrying more than its own weight in metal. Thelvyn had seen dragon armor at Windreach, but only partial pieces that usually covered only the wearer's neck, face, and chest and could be easily carried in flight. Of course, since this beast didn't fly, it was free to bear far more weight. As massive as it was, it was moving along at a rapid pace and would probably overtake the invading army by the next morning.
Thelvyn led the dragons in for a swift attack, taking a chance that the armored creature lacked flames or other deadly weapons. The beast didn't even hesitate in its ponderous stride, seemingly unconcerned by the flood of dragonfire that the scores of attacking dragons directed at its back. Thelvyn quickly realized that he would have to reconsider his tactics. He had thought that dragonfire was enough to penetrate any thickness of armor in moments, but the armor of this creature had to be enchanted in some way to resist the flames. He warned the dragons to keep their distance and then landed in a clearing some distance ahead of the armored creature.
That gave him a moment to change to human form and teleport himself into the armor of the Dragonlord. He found that he moved a bit unsteadily because of the long time since he had taken this form. He stepped out into the south end of the clearing and turned to face the armored dragon as it pushed through the trees with the lumbering ease of some massive beast crashing through the underbrush. As it came into the clearing, Thelvyn drew and lifted his sword, directing the power of the enchanted blade toward the heavy armor of the alien dragon. It didn't even react to the first several strikes, even though the bolts were powerful enough to have slain a red dragon. Pausing a moment to summon the full power of the sword, he aimed a final blast of tremendous strength directly at the chest of the armored beast in the last moment before it was upon him.
The blast was fierce enough that it caused him to turn his head aside, and the force of the explosion echoed through the hills like thunder. The front end of the creature was lifted from the ground by the impact, but it hesitated only momentarily in its stride, the thick metal of its armor not even dented or scorched, even though the grass was seared for some distance around it. Then it reached out with one massive foreleg and swatted the Dragonlord aside almost casually.
Only the magical armor saved Thelvyn's life, since the force of the blow lifted him from the-ground and sent him flying more than a quarter of a mile over the top of the forest. The panic of falling awakened newly learned instincts as he struggled to spread his wings and fly, forgetting that he was no longer in dragon form. Then he crashed heavily through the branches of the trees, landing on the soft humus of the forest floor on his back. For the moment, he was stunned by the blow and ached fiercely in spite of the protection of his armor.
All he could do was lie moaning in pain amid the wreckage of torn leaves and broken branches. After a time, he stirred and lifted himself painfully, shifting out of the armor of the Dragonlord and returning to his draconic form.
Moving slowly, he found an opening through the trees where he could show himself to his concerned dragon bodyguards, already flying back and forth over the forest searching for him. He seemed to have no serious injuries, although he needed several more minutes to recover before he dared to spread his wings and trust himself to flight. The massive armored form continued to move quickly through the woods with single-minded determination, its brief encounter with the Dragonlord seemingly forgotten. A small band of gemstone dragons had joined the fantastic creature.
Now Thelvyn understood why the Masters believed from the first that they could fight the Dragonking and the dragons and win. Their armored beast was impervious to attack, having taken the worst the Dragonlord could throw at it and had emerged unharmed. Thelvyn had no idea how he could fight such a thing, but he was now certain there was no living creature inside that armor.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Many years had passed since Thelvyn had faced an enemy he could not fight. There had always been a great deal of security in knowing that if things got out of hand, he could always win any argument that came to blows. Even when he had faced the dragons a year before, desperate to find some way to save them by avoiding battle, he had always had the assurance that he could defeat them. Of course, Marthaen had known that the dragons could not fight the Dragonlord, and he had never had any intention of trying. The Masters had found a very different answer to the problem of fighting the Dragonlord, by building a device so big and solid that it could simply walk right over any opposition.
Thelvyn was glad the evacuation of Braejr had continued uninterrupted, since the metal beast was moving along quickly enough to be there some time the next day if it did not
slow down to march with the invading army. Thelvyn believed there was a way to defeat the giant war machine, but at the moment, it was unavailable. He returned to Braejr as quickly as he could, calling together his chief advisors for a hasty discussion. Above
all, he wanted Marthaen to be there.
"At least now we know why the Masters were willing to have their spy leave the city," Sir George commented when Thelvyn had related the events of his brief encounter. "Obviously they believe they already have the answer to any problems they may encounter."
Marthaen sat for a moment in silent thought. The news that the Masters had a weapon that even the Dragonlord could not face up to had shaken them all, since they had always looked upon the Dragonlord as the most dangerous force of destruction in the world. The gold dragon looked up at last. "What manner of beast could be locked inside that armor? No true dragon-kin, certainly."
"I'm fairly certain there is no living creature inside the armor," Thelvyn replied, to everyone's considerable surprise.
"A giant automaton?" Perrantin asked.
Thelvyn shook his head from side to side. "I also doubt that there is any machinery inside that armor. The reason why I believe it's impervious to attack is that it's nothing more than massive pieces of metal joined together by heavy hinges and set in motion by the will of the Masters. The heat of dragon-fire doesn't harm it and explosions do not damage it because it is nothing more than solid metal. The Masters stayed clear of their device as long as the dragons were attacking it. But after my battle with it, the gemstone dragons returned. Obviously their will animated the thing."
"Do you think the power of the Radiance can shut down this armored device?" Marthaen asked.
"If you can protect the Flaem by cutting off the will of the Masters, then you can block their control of this thing as well," Thelvyn stated. "I see no other way of defeating it. Of course, the Masters must know that as well, and I suspect they'll send their armored device here as quickly as they can before we learn how to use the Radiance against it. I think you have until tomorrow afternoon sometime to learn to command the full power of the Radiance, or the city is lost."
Marthaen considered that statement briefly, his ears laid back. "I think you're right. If we can break the will of the Masters, we will solve any number of our problems. Whether or not we can do it by the time that monster gets here remains to be seen. Do you have any idea how you might slow it down?"
"It might just slow itself," Thelvyn said. "Can you imagine how much that thing must weigh? I'm interested in seeing how the Masters plan to get it across the river."
Keeping track of the siege device was no problem, even from such a distance, since they could frequently see it moving through the forests and clearings east of the river from as far away as twenty miles or more. As they watched it come closer that day, they found that Thelvyn's estimate had been fairly precise. Unless it was slowed down somehow, it would reach Braejr by late the next morning, a full day ahead of the invading army. And it probably did not need an army to help it.
Finding a way to slow the metal beast was one of Thelvyn's most pressing problems, and he was unable to find any good answer. Trapping it in a pit or some other obstacle was too impractical because of the size of the thing. Its only vulnerability seemed to be that it required the will of the Masters to keep it motion, but he doubted that his own spells would be enough to break their will. If he was to try, the best time would be when it tried to cross the Aalban River. With any luck, it might become stuck in the soft mud. Just the same, he thought it best to continue the evacuation of Braejr, knowing that only a fraction of the Flaemish population could withdraw from the city in die time that remained.
When the reports came in early the next morning, the news was not good. The metal beast had turned west late the previous afternoon to intercept the main road, and it had made even better time during the night by staying on the road. It had passed the army of the Masters in the middle of the night while the invaders were camped on the side of the road, and dawn had found it less than ten miles from the bridge.
All of Thelvyn's previous plans were now of no use. He sent Kharendaen to find her brother and have him engage the full power of the Radiance as soon as he could. Then Thelvyn hurried to the near side of the bridge over the Aalban River to do anything he could to prevent or delay the armored creature from crossing the river. He had dragons stand ready in the fields on either side of the river, with firm orders that they were to stay well back from the road and avoid the metal beast. Their part was to force the Masters to keep their distance, making it as difficult as possible for them to maintain their control over their metal warrior.
When all other preparations had been made, Thelvyn could only sit in the field beside the bridge and wait. Since the powerful enchantments of the Dragonlord had failed him already, he elected to remain in dragon form. His real weapons would be his own remarkable powers and those granted to him as a cleric of the Great One, the same ones he had used to fight the will of the Masters in the first few days of their invasion of the Highlands. He was certain that the metal beast would try to wade across the river itself. The bridge would never support its tremendous weight. His part would be to keep it from gaining the west bank.
Near midmorning, he could see the dark silver-blue of the metal monster's back just over the tops of the trees to the northeast. Minutes later, the immense war machine stepped out from the trees into the last long stretch of open land on the east side of the river. At a signal from Thelvyn, Jherdar led the dragons against the score of gemstone dragons that accompanied their warrior. Spreading their wings, four hundred dragons climbed steeply into the morning sky from both sides of the river, more than enough to encourage the Masters to make a grudging retreat back to the northeast.
The metal beast paused momentarily in its stride, briefly lacking the full attention of the will that animated it while the Masters withdrew. But after a few moments, it began to move forward again, more slowly than before but with purposeful resolve. Thelvyn glanced up. The Masters were doing everything they could to evade the packs of dragons who harassed them and still stay within sight of their metal servant. Watching them, Thelvyn knew that their control of the fighting machine would now be at its weakest.
He hadn't seriously considered trying to fight the Masters for control of their warrior, but there was nothing he could do to slow down the armored monster otherwise. Once again he sat back on his haunches and opened himself to his deepest powers, and then he reached out with his will to seize control of the metallic warrior. In almost the same moment, his will was forcibly rejected, as if his mind had hit against an unseen wall. In that brief instant, he had witnessed the intricate network of spells that gave the massive device both the strength and direction that set it into motion. It was far more complex than he had anticipated, but it was also strongly warded against the intrusion of any will except that of the Masters, fiercely protecting itself from any hostile influence.
But it was also dependent upon the eyes and minds of the gemstone dragons for guidance, and the nearest of the alien dragons was now almost five miles away. Thelvyn was now fairly certain that the Masters could see through the metal warrior's jewel-like eyes, but from this distance, they could not see the land about it well enough to guide the creature accurately. While dragons had the sharpest vision in the world, five miles was a long way to try to guide the steps of a machine with eight legs. The warrior had already begun to wander somewhat north of the road, although that might have been to avoid getting itself entangled with the bridge.
Thelvyn watched with interest as the warrior's jeweled eyes began to glow bright red within the deep shadows of their protective brows. His first thought was that the Masters must be enhancing the device's vision, since they were obviously too far away to direct the creature themselves. Then he realized his mistake and leapt aside, running as fast as he could in an erratic, zigzag course. That alone saved his life. Suddenly beams of power shot out from the e
yes of the warrior, striking the ground with explosive force where he had stood only a moment before.
Desperate to escape, Thelvyn scrambled over the ground, his dragon's claws digging into the deep sod to give him purchase for tight turns. The beams of ruby light followed him, ripping through the ground like some immense plow, then suddenly jumping ahead or sharply to one side to cut off the young dragon's escape. There was nowhere for Thelvyn to run, caught as he was in the open fields north of the city without protection from the searing beams. In growing fear, he turned back toward the river, seeking the uncertain safety of the water.
The attack was so swift and relentless that Thelvyn could not even begin to plan ahead, running blindly a short distance and then leaping aside to elude certain death. Suddenly one of the beams flashed across his lower back, not quite touching it but so close that it felt like raw fire. The pain caused him to stumble and crash heavily to the ground. The armor on his haunches and the base of his tail was still smoking as he struggled to rise, aware that he would be dead if he did not resume running. For the moment, the burning pain was so intense that he could hardly even walk, let alone run. But the Masters had been so intent upon their attack on Thelvyn that they had not been watching the steps of their animated servant. It continued to march toward the bank and out into the river without slowing its stride.
It was already too late for the gemstone dragons guiding the warrior to correct the problem. The front legs of the device slipped in the soft mud, and it fell down the surprisingly steep bank of the river channel, hurtled forward by its own tremendous weight. Carried by the momentum of its fall, the warrior was thrown completely over on its back and fell heavily, upside down, in the middle of the channel, creating a tremendous splash. Several hundred yards away, Thelvyn had to close his eyes and duck his head as he was caught in the sudden deluge. At least the cool water eased the burning pain of his scorched back.
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