The Green Dragon: A Claire-Agon Dragon Book (Dragon Series 3)

by Salvador Mercer

  Chapter 16

  Combat

  “Why won’t they just shoot arrows at us?” Beth asked from atop of her mount, Galapolos, who ran along the ground, keeping his wings tucked in close to his side. The sound of the Tridra behind them only a hundred yards was unnerving to say the least.

  Wulfric turned his head to be heard over the roar of the wind and the intense pounding of hooves. “Because the Northmen will not use missile weapons against an opponent who doesn’t use them first.”

  “That seems kind of silly to me,” Beth said, looking back again and seeing the three heads of the beast moving, gnashing its teeth, hissing, and squawking. The snake’s one eye was glazed over where the Ranger had blinded it. It was about the only injury the creature seemed to have.

  “You tell that to the Northmen, then, when we meet them,” Wulfric said mockingly.

  “Don’t jest with me. I thought Master Greyson’s plan a failure with this idea of flying over them. I’m not seeing why they won’t just shoot us from the sky,” Beth said, looking forward now and feeling better at not having to see the creature anymore.

  “Then your studies on the culture and honor of Agon were lacking,” Wulfric noted. “Let’s see what happens first and then go from there.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Beth squeezed the Ranger tighter around his waist, holding on for dear life.

  The plan was simple. Galapolos arrived not long after the townspeople of Blackwell departed, led in part by Dunric and Tristan. The pair mounted the magnificent steed and galloped west for a league and then waited. The wait wasn’t very long. The Tridra had sensed Beth from the scouting trip and knew the general direction in which to pursue. Actually catching sight of her caused the creature to go berserk.

  Galapolos stayed on the ground, running full bore in order to maintain a lead on the magical pursuer. The Tridra seemed not to tire and ran at a pace faster than that of any horse. Only the speed of Galapolos was keeping them from being caught.

  The town of Blackwell raced by to their right, a few hundred yards distant, and Beth fancied that she could see her fellow companions taking up a defensive position behind some wagons, just in case. The precaution wasn’t necessary, as the animated creature stayed on their tale, chasing them continuously for more than an hour.

  The terrain was primarily flat all around them, with the occasional rise or ridge that was never more than twenty or thirty feet above the base ground level. Still, it kept the horizon from being more than a mile or two off as they raced along.

  Passing one rise, they came upon the barbarians, who had slowed to a quick march. The Northmen wore leather and fur clothing, which only covered half their bodies in the summer heat. They had weapons ready, and true to their master’s word, the Northmen did not shoot at them with any arrows, though they screamed challenges and yelled at them as they passed, Galapolos taking flight just above their heads.

  More cries came when the Tridra crested the small rise and plowed heads-first into the first line of barbarians who were looking up and back at the pair and their winged mount. Since the Northmen were grouped together enough to cause the magical creature to knock them down, the barbarians in the back started to attack the beast with axes, swords, and spears. A ferocious battle ensued as the barbarians started to die.

  “That worked rather well,” Beth said, starting to smile as Wulfric leaned to his right, indicating to their flying steed that he wanted to circle over the battlefield.

  With a swoop, Galapolos dove over the battle, narrowly avoiding a spear tip and a sharp beak that had reached up to pierce them.

  “Master Greyson had a good plan,” Wulfric said, nodding in approval at the way in which the beast was led upon the Northmen. “I suspect he’ll do the same with the Kesh and let the two factions fight each other, though the Kesh have been known to work with some of the northern clans.”

  “That sounds wonder—” Beth words stopped in mid-sentence as an ancient horror flew up to meet them from the forest.

  “Hold on,” Wulfric shouted, pulling his sword and preparing to swing at the dragon as it approached.

  Galapolos and the green dragon headed right at each other. At the last minute, their winged steed shifted to its right and Wulfric swung his sword, smiting the dragon on its open snout, but a green gas shot out at them. Their steed banked right, kicking off with its mighty hooves at the larger dragon, hitting it on its leg and side. Beth tried to ready her staff to cast a spell to summon the very air to attack the dragon, but before she could do anything, the two creatures passed each other with a last snap of the dragon’s tail as it hit and broke Galapolos’ left wing.

  Wounded, the animal plummeted from the sky, landing near the forest tree line about a hundred yards from the battle and throwing Wulfric and Beth from its back. The pair landed roughly in the grass that bordered the forest. Both stood, stunned and disoriented from their fall, though Wulfric managed to maintain hold on his sword and Beth her staff.

  The green dragon roared in pain and defiance and banked overhead, flapping its massive, leather-like stretched wings furiously to stay aloft. It was not the dragon that caused them concern any longer. No, it was the Tridra that disengaged, bloody but alive and angry as it raced toward them.

  Wulfric shook the shock of his landing from his head, standing and running to Beth a few feet away. He grabbed her free hand and pulled her up. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I think so, nothing broken,” Beth said, feeling her ribcage and looking down at her body. Her brown robe was streaked with green grass stains, and she had dirt in her hair.

  “Prepare to fight,” Wulfric said, taking a step and placing himself between Beth and the Tridra.

  “I don’t think Master Greyson planned on the dragon showing up this early,” Beth said, knocking a few clods of dirt from her hair and readying her staff for combat.

  “Yes, the dragon was most unexpected,” Wulfric said. “It seems that it doesn’t want to play by the rules.”

  “I didn’t know we had any rules,” Beth said, watching as the magical creature closed on them.

  “We have one rule now,” Wulfric said. “Stay alive.”

  Beth doubted that was possible.

  “Why so few warriors?” Gloria asked, watching the Kesh column approach from over the last rise and from around a grove of fruit trees.

  “The main bulk of their force stayed to maintain the siege on the Vulcrest capital,” Edric explained.

  “They don’t fear much, do they?” Gloria asked.

  “No, the Kesh are more powerful than their numbers would suggest,” Greyson said, stroking his beard and watching the column intently.

  “Do you think they will be lured into fighting the Northmen?” Edric asked.

  “I’d say the Northmen will fight anyone, from what I’ve seen,” Elly said.

  “Hard to say,” Greyson began. “They are very cunning and highly suspicious. We don’t have many options with Vulkor under siege and half of the baron’s army either tied up there, or far away helping their duke and their king. No matter. They are arriving first, and it’s up to us to stall them until Wulfric and Beth can bring up the Northmen army.”

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Lucina said.

  “You always have a bad feeling,” Helvie noted. “Do you sense something from the Kesh?”

  “Not from this distance, not the way I did with the dragon,” Lucina explained. “It’s more an understanding of what’s to come . . . like an impending doom.”

  “Are you getting all this?” Gloria asked the small historian.

  “Yes,” Diamedes answered. “Most pessimistic, but then again, from my own personal experience, there is little optimism when it comes to the Kesh . . . or the draconians.”

  “Don’t forget the barbarians,” Gloria added, giving the man a wink.

  “Agreed,” he said.

  “So what are the odds?” Lucina asked, looking at the half-dozen soldiers from Godfrey’s n
early two dozen initial complement. Their ranks had been decimated, and it wasn’t looking good for them.

  “By my count, about eight to one,” Edric said.

  “Eight to one?” Lucina said. “That is poor to be sure.”

  “It would be poor even at eight to one in our favor, facing a Kesh wizard, but if Elister’s bird is correct, then we are facing two Kesh wizards and eight to one odds against us. I’d say this is more like our last stand, which is fine by me. I’m tired of running, and I’m not getting any younger,” Gloria said.

  “Time,” Diamedes said.

  “Yes, you have this fascination for it, and I intend to die with air in my lungs, Agon willing of course,” Gloria said, pulling her sword.

  The warriors did likewise, and Greyson simply looked at them in turn. The group was standing on a pathway that led into the small town from Vulkor. The Kesh contingent was approaching along this pathway and would soon arrive, facing the defenders of the town. The town consisted of only a dozen wooden structures and several farmhouses nearby, with small trackways dotting the landscape. The Greenfeld stood a few stone throws away to the north, and the green grasses of the land splayed out as far as the eye could see.

  They had overturned a couple of carts and stood just in front of them, ready to take cover if the Kesh crossbowmen opened fire. They had only a couple of archers themselves, two hunters who refused to evacuate and instead stayed in town. They took up positions on either side of the trackway behind the rooftops of two small buildings. Edric had his bow, and that was it.

  “Let me begin,” Greyson said to the group, and took a few steps out front, leaning heavily on his staff.

  “I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Lucina muttered under her breath.

  “He does,” Edric confirmed, “though he can’t guarantee success. Too much depends on fate at this point.”

  “Show time,” Gloria interjected as the Kesh wizard in front held up a hand for the column to stop. The mounted Kesh soldiers and mercenaries did as they were commanded, and the other Kesh wizard stopped a few feet behind and to the side of his leader.

  There was a long silence as the Kesh mage looked at the group and shifted once in his saddle. His dress was elaborate, rich in material and design, and his sleek, shiny metallic staff with a glimmering diamond adorned on top of it drew a sharp contrast to the simple wooden staff and granite rock that the druid had. Finally the Kesh spoke. “Stand aside, peasant.”

  “What is your name, Kesh? I wish to know with whom I am dealing,” Greyson asked, ignoring the insult.

  “I am Amsor, Kesh mage and ruler of the nine. So your pathetic order has decided to interfere in world affairs?”

  Greyson didn’t move, and his companions couldn’t see his facial reaction, as he had his back to them, but his words were strong and clear. “Aye, it would seem that your intervention has resulted in a chain of consequences, and so here we are, Kesh. For the record, though you did not ask in return, I am Greyson of the Arnen.”

  The Kesh mage responded immediately, already knowing now with whom he was dealing. “It was your order who drew first blood. She must pay for her transgression.”

  “Really?” Greyson asked, his voice faintly tinted with the mockery of the Kesh’s hypocrisy.

  “Do not play games with me, Arnen. She attacked us, her and her dirty wood boy,” the Kesh mage said.

  Greyson did move then, raising his free hand to stroke his beard. “You attacked Vulcrest. Does that not count for something?”

  “No,” Amsor said. “We responded to a call for aid from our trading partners, the Ekians. It appears that Vulcrest has been antagonizing them for quite some time. It is our right to respond to an ally’s call for aid.”

  The lie was obvious to most everyone there, but that didn’t change the fact that refuting it, or proving it, was nigh to impossible. Greyson knew this and spoke, trying to buy his group time. “So the king of Ekins and the baron of Vulcrest could not parlay without Kesh assistance? Do you call your siege of Vulkor a parlay?”

  The druid’s words were true, but the Kesh didn’t care. They had larger plans for the realms of Agon. “Enough talk. Give up your murderous companion or face the consequences.”

  “Do not speak to me of consequences, Amsor of Kesh, for I have an understanding of them deeper than you or your realm. Decide carefully what you do next,” Greyson said, and both Gloria and Helvie gasped at the old man’s bold words.

  The mage sat for a moment, actually pondering the druid’s words. The Kesh were known to be violent, aggressive, and even evil in both demeanor and design. For all that, they were a calculating, scheming group, and they took nothing lightly. No doubt the Kesh mage was calculating his odds of combat with the Arnen.

  The calculation was in the Kesh favor.

  “Attack,” Amsor commanded.

  There were only a score of Kesh bowmen, the rest being swordsmen and the like. The first bolts were loosed without much aim. And the group ran for cover, darting behind the overturned carts and listening to the thumping of the bolts as they hit and penetrated the wood. Several bolts were aimed at Greyson, but he waved his staff in front of him, and a wild wind swept the area around him, causing the flying missiles to miss by a large margin. The wind brought up a fair amount of loose grass, leaves, and dirt as well, somewhat obscuring visibility and assisting their defense.

  “Poor decision,” Greyson called out to the Kesh, and with another motion of his staff, toward the ground, he uttered the ancient Arnen words of incantation. The ground itself started to rumble, and a large section of it rose, shaking off the grass and dirt around it. It consisted of dense earth and rock, and it stood taller than the tallest rider of all the Kesh.

  Edric took out his bow and shot several arrows at the Kesh bowmen, silencing at least three of them before their fellows could intercept and pull out their shields to defend. The pair of brothers, Jayson and Bryce, from the village, were also shooting arrows and knocking down several other crossbowmen. This resulted in the direct fire from the Kesh to diminish quickly.

  “It’s good to have them around,” Gloria noted.

  Lucina held her sword out and had her shield in her left hand. “You take the left. I’ll cover the right.”

  Gloria nodded, pulling her shield off her back as well. She had lost her original shield in the caravan attack and was now using one with the markings of Vulcrest on it. One of the soldiers had given her an extra shield to use, and though the color scheme contrasted dramatically with her own, she looked deadly and capable nonetheless. “Who takes the middle?”

  “Elly and I will stand center,” Edric said, putting his bow away, as the Kesh had reacted to their counter volley, and he drew his axe instead.

  “Let’s go,” Lucina yelled. “Stay close behind me, Helvie.”

  Together, Lucina and Helvie leaped out to the right side, running toward the first Kesh to approach on horseback. Helvie had her short sword, and Lucina swept the area in front of her with her broadsword. The first rider struck Lucina’s shield and parried a blow by the holy warrior, but was not fast enough to counter Helvie’s stab as she pierced his thigh and caused his horse to rear up and dump him onto the ground.

  Two of Godfrey’s soldiers were tasked with covering their rear, and they stayed behind the wagons and carts with swords drawn and shields at the ready. Diamedes took up a position to observe from the edge of one of the carts that was on its side. The other four soldiers fanned out across the front, supporting the group.

  Gloria gave some sort of war cry, running to her left and engaging the first of the Kesh riders to try to flank the old druid. She dispatched him within seconds, but was pressed back by four riders who tried to trample her with their mounts.

  “Elly, help Gloria,” Edric yelled, running to Greyson’s side to protect his master.

  Elister nodded, running toward Gloria, and then, using his staff to touch the ground in front of him, he spoke the words of growth. The natural magic cause
d the grass around them to suddenly spurt up and cover them waist-high. The grasses also twined together and started to hinder the horses from moving. The Kesh cursed at their luck and swung their blades at the attacking grass, trying to chop it and free their steeds.

  Gloria stepped back toward Elister. “I never thought I’d see the day when my arse would be saved by grass.”

  “And I never thought I’d be using nature for combat,” Elly said, giving the warrior woman a smile.

  Their banter was quickly diminished when a loud crack and a blinding light hit them, almost knocking them to their knees.

  “Elly, protect the master, take out that wizard,” Edric yelled at the Initiate, turning back quickly to wield his axe and drop another charging Kesh rider.

  The large earth elemental didn’t stick around to protect Master Greyson or the group. Instead it rambled forward into the heart of the Kesh and started to smash both rider and mount, not discriminating between the two.

  A quick look and Elly saw that the Kesh wizard had tried to kill Master Greyson with a bolt of lighting, and it narrowly missed. Greyson was locked in some sort of mental struggle with the Kesh mage, Amsor. Both were no longer moving, seemingly frozen in place, but their faces were contorted as if they were mentally exerting themselves.

  Elly ran up to Greyson’s side and, in the nick of time, called a wall of earth to rise between them and the wizard. The earth exploded as it rose in all directions as the wizard launched his second electrical attack, which would have hit and killed Greyson for sure.

  “Well done, Elly,” Edric said, sweeping his axe and clearing a space in front of the old druid.

  The wizard shifted tactics and sent a fireball into the building behind Gloria, the one that Jayson, the hunter, was perched behind. Being made of wood, thatch, and tar, it ignited all too quickly, and Jayson found himself falling into the burning building, his cries of pain heard above the din of battle.

  “No,” his brother, Bryce, yelled from across the road. Taking aim, he loosed an arrow at the wizard.