Cinder Reign: The Midnight Flame: A Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Adventure

by Vinn Winters

  Eygodon jumped at the sound of a small rock falling down the cliff.

  “This is a very dangerous game you’re playing,” Tuq-tuq whispered as they climbed the winding path. “If he doesn’t like your proposal… our fate will end as his dinner.”

  “If you could begin to comprehend my power; Dregeldune is no match for my might,” Eygodon bluffed.

  “I’ve seen your power many times, boss. Even you are no match for him,” Tuq-tuq replied flatly.

  “That’s not true… I’ve gotten stronger,” the warlock protested.

  “Not that strong, you haven’t,” the goblin replied.

  Kae-koon’s wisdom! He’s right… even at my best; I’m no match for Dregeldune, Devourer of the Sun, Eygodon thought, cringing internally, that’s why we’re here after all… he’s the only way to break into Beckonthrone.

  If this is merely the front door, I fear to meet the one who lives inside, the warlock thought. Brielle… you’re covering any tavern tab I create for the next three seasons!

  Eygodon could actually hear Tuq-tuq shaking as they approached the cavern entrance. He decided to go easy on his goblin companion, mostly because he was quite nervous himself.

  The cave entrance looked like a gaping, toothy maw, threatening to swallow them whole. The inside was not any more comforting. The sharp rock jetting from all sides of the cave looked more like stone teeth than stalagmites and stalactites. Darkness loomed ahead. Eygodon asked himself for the fifth time why he was daring to venture to a place that not even light dared travel.

  “You know, I could always, just… wait outside,” Tuq-tuq added meekly.

  “No, you’re coming with me,” Eygodon commanded softly.

  “What difference do I make?” Tuq-tuq argued quietly. “You’re the all-powerful warlock—”

  “Sorcerer,” Eygodon corrected.

  “—that has any chance of fending off a dragon. All I do is present a nice appetizer to the meal.”

  “Don’t be foolish. The only thing that dragons respect from the non-Ancient Ones is their courage. If you leave now, he’ll see our weakness and devour us for certain,” Eygodon hissed quietly.

  “If I leave right now, maybe he wouldn’t have seen me,” Tuq-tuq added optimistically.

  “If that’s how you feel, you should have stayed in Trailmex,” Eygodon lectured.

  “It’s Trael,” Tuq-tuq corrected. “I could have sat by a rock on the way up here too, you know.”

  “No, you would have died then,” Eygodon said and stopped walking.

  “Why? From an avalanche?” Tuq-tuq whispered sarcastically.

  “No,” Eygodon said, staring into the darkness ahead. “Because by then, he already knew we were coming.”

  Tuq-tuq opened his mouth to speak again, but hesitated when noticed his master was frozen in place.

  “My, my, what strange sight is this before my eyes?” a deep gravelly voice echoed through the dark cave. “Two little goblins, strayed far from the homes. Into my claws they willingly wander, but for what reason I wonder?”

  “Actually… he—he’s only half-goblin,” Tuq-tuq stammered, his voice quivering. “He wasn’t lucky enough to have the full blood of—”

  “Silence, you moron!” Eygodon hissed. “Save the small-talk for another time.”

  “I’m sorry! I just babble when I get nervous!” Tuq-tuq pleaded quietly.

  “Just leave this to me,” Eygodon whispered, as he composed himself.

  “Oh, great and majestic Dregeldune, Devourer of the Sun,” Eygodon said with a graceful bow. “We have come seeking the aid of the most powerful being in the entire third realm. We seek—”

  “My might extends far beyond the boundaries of these lands and the skies above it, little goblin, and so does the nightmares that come to those who imagine crossing me or testing my patience,” Dregeldune replied. Eygodon’s blood froze at the tone of irritation in the dragon’s voice.

  Damnit, I’ve already faltered! Think of something, fast! Eygodon thought anxiously. A dragon’s weakness, like most Ancient Ones, is its ego. There’s got to be a way to turn this around.

  “Of course, please forgive my misstep,” Eygodon apologized smoothly. “I was merely reciting the diminished context of which you are spoken in the city of Beckonthrone.”

  Eygodon grinned subtly as he waited for the dragon’s reply. I’m not dead… not yet at least.

  “I care not of petty Kae-koon gossip, goblin. Why should their opinion matter, they are merely nourishment to me. Your opinion, however, matters a great deal to me; as feeding upon Kae-koon requires hunting, you’ve presented yourself to me here, as a convenient treat. Tell me, little goblin, why should I not indulge myself?”

  Eygodon squinted into the darkness; as his eyes adjusted, something began to slowly materialize from the dark. Eygodon’s heart skipped a beat when he realized it was the dragon’s sharp, jagged teeth, only an arm’s reach from his face.

  Every instinct in Eygodon’s body screamed at him to run as fast as he could away from this place, and it took all of his strength to resist it. The reasons of continuing this gamble are simple, he told himself silently. I will bring Brielle back at any cost. And even if I ran, neither of us would escape the dragon alive.

  “Why are you so bad at this? Stop screwing up!” he heard Tuq-tuq hiss from behind him. “Or we’re both dead!”

  Not helping, you idiot! Eygodon thought furiously.

  “I’ll make my dying wish that he eat you first so I can watch with satisfaction if you don’t shut up!” Eygodon snapped, flashing a glare at his goblin assistant.

  “Sorry, boss,” Tuq-tuq muttered out of obligation.

  “You make a fine point, oh Grand One,” Eygodon purred, turning back to face the wall of jagged teeth. “You could indeed kill us at your whim. But we are just a mere snack, and we could be of far better use to you. You see, I am the great sorcerer Eygodon. Like yourself, I am feared across the realms as I brought terror to many Kae-koon—”

  “I have not heard your name before,” the dragon said with a huff.

  “Eygodon, the Feared? Eygodon, the Vicious?” the warlock asked with draining confidence.

  “No,” the dragon replied.

  “Eygodon, the vile warlock?” Eygodon said with a sigh.

  “Though I rarely ask for tales of those I devour,” the dragon said.

  “Maybe… Nodogye, the wandering scholar?” Eygodon said meekly.

  “He bedded Elrisa the Omniscient!” Tuq-tuq added quickly.

  Eygodon flashed Tuq-tuq a wide-eyed look of shock.

  “Kae-koon’s wisdom! Why can’t you keep your damn mouth shut—”

  A menacing growl shook the cavern, and then two large eyes flashed open in the dark. Swirls of crimson ruby light swirled across his midnight eyes. Eygodon stood speechless as he stared up into them.

  “Elrisa the Omniscient? Ah, yes… I am familiar with her by a different name,” Dregeldune snarled, and the cavern shook again. “I have no alliance to The Duskpetal Witch, or mercy for her… plaything.”

  A gust of hot air singed Eygodon’s skin. He froze his lungs, knowing that inhaling Dregeldune’s breath would be inhaling toxic fumes. He waited until his lungs screamed, and then began gasping for air. Tuq-tuq began gasping a few moments later. Eygodon despised Tuq-tuq, but he still made Tuq-tuq his assistant for a strategic reason; the goblin was a huge pain to deal with, but he had been the smartest and most educated of The Gruharr; which Eygodon realized, considering how events were currently unfolding, might have been too low of a bar to set.

  “Wait!” Eygodon pleaded. He fell to his knees, reflexively shutting his eyes and held his hands up in front of him. “Please, wait! It’s a misunderstanding! Please, let me clarify!”

  He felt the sharp touch of the tip of the dragon’s teeth against his skin; even the lightest touch punctured skin, he felt his blood trickle down his body.

  “Please,” Eygodon pleaded. He dared not draw breath as he felt the w
arm air of the dragon’s gaping maw brush past him.

  “Kill me if you must, but at least hear me out first,” Eygodon said, with the remaining air in his lungs. He either gives me a chance, or I die right here, right now.

  He slowly felt the sharp points of the teeth with draw, and the heat against his skin vanished. Eygodon slowly opened his eyes to see Dregeldune glaring down at him. He could see the creature more clearly now. Its wings were tucked in but easily could eclipse the sky if they were opened. Ebony scales covered its enormous body, except for its head which was surrounded by a mane of blackened, sharp spikes.

  “Your desperation amuses me,” the dragon said. “Plead for your life more, Witch’s plaything.”

  “Well, first,” Eygodon stammered, blabbering in fear of what would happen should he stop talking, “it wasn’t so much that I was her plaything. We were actually together for a while. It was more of an equal partnershi—”

  “Grovel before me like the pathetic insignificance that you are!” Dregeldune roared. The cave shuttered with the might of his voice. Stalactites fell from the cave ceiling. Eygodon’s ears began to ring.

  Eygodon bowed to the ground, so low that his forehead touched the damp cave floor. Tuq-tuq whimpered weakly behind him.

  This is it, he thought, if this doesn’t work...

  “Please,” Eygodon said, it took all of his strength to fight the terror and force the words from his mouth. “We are no longer allied with The Duskpetal Witch. Our feud belongs to your other enemy. We seek the King’s Pharos, which is currently wrongfully claimed by the kingdoms of the Kae-koon.”

  “We do?” Tuq-tuq asked, looking at the warlock with wide eyes.

  “The King’s Pharos? That name I have not heard in a long time,” the Dregeldune replied. Eygodon was relieved to hear a hint of interest in the dragon’s voice. “And what desires would you have with a trinket of such power?”

  “Well, to simply bring it to you, of course,” Eygodon replied humbly. “All great things should belong to those of the greatest strength, don’t you agree?”

  “Careful with your wits, little plaything. Your heart beats as loudly as your voice, and I can hear them both,” the dragon snarled.

  “I speak truth! I swear!” Eygodon pleaded. “We are ancestral allies, are we not? The Fae and the dragons, we go all the way back to the beginning.”

  “If you consider an ‘alliance,’ being our mercy for only slaughtering you when we hungered, then yes, I would say we have an ‘alliance,’” Dregeldune mocked.

  It explains why we fae never sought your help in fighting our wars, Eygodon thought bitterly.

  “We would just rather see such power in your hands than the Kae-koon,” Eygodon replied. “Will you help us get it back?”

  “The Kae-koon kingdoms serve as a plentiful source of food for me. It is easy to pick off travelers between cities. Why should I raze their dwellings to the ground? Without them, I will no longer have easy meals,” Dregeldune replied.

  “The Kae-koon Empire grows in strength,” Eygodon said. “Their might has already surpassed my own, as well as the rest of the Fae, and soon it may even threaten your own.”

  “Do not underestimate me,” Dregeldune snarled. “When I spread my wings, I block out the sun, casting the world into twilight.”

  “I do no such thing; I know you are mightiest of the mighty. But I have seen their strength, are you so certain that you do not underestimate them?” Eygodon asked.

  “You challenge me?” the dragon growled. Eygodon could feel his shaking all the way in his bones.

  “I do not challenge you, Great One. And neither do they… yet,” Eygodon replied.

  Dregeldune leaned back and tilted his head, as if pondering Eygodon’s words.

  “I will allow you to leave,” the dragon replied carefully. “Perhaps I shall pay little Beckonthrone a visit.”

  “Thank you, oh great Devourer of the Sun,” Eygodon replied and then bowed again. “If you let us know when. I will gladly offer our support.”

  “Your help is unneeded, little plaything,” the dragon replied, “Be warned. If you are there when I unleash my fury, I will turn you to ash without a second thought.”

  “Well, then I will most certainly be as far from that bloodbath as possible,” Eygodon replied with a grin.

  “Be gone with you, before I change my mind about that meal,” Dregeldune growled and drew back, disappearing into the darkness of the cavern.

  “Of course, oh excellent one,” Eygodon replied. He hastily grabbed Tuq-tuq and darted for the exit.

  They were both halfway down the mountain before either dared say anything.

  “So we’re doing all this, just for the dragon?” Tuq-tuq asked, perplexed.

  “Of course not!” Eygodon said with a nervous laugh. “The dragon will be the best distraction I can afford. While that arrogant lizard is destroying the kingdom, I’ll sneak in and grab the King’s Pharos.”

  “You didn’t tell me you were seeking the King’s Pharos,” Tuq-tuq said, sounding almost jealous.

  “I don’t tell you many things,” Eygodon replied calmly.

  “I remember reading about the bauble in one of your old tomes,” Tuq-tuq said. “Does it really wield power over life and death?”

  “So the legends say,” Eygodon said with an uneasy chuckle.

  “I’m surprised you were able to pull off lying to a dragon like that!” Tuq-tuq said, his eyes wide.

  “I did not lie to him,” Eygodon replied with a grin. “We agreed that all great things should belong to those with the greatest strength. And when I have my hands on the King’s Pharos, the greatest strength will belong to me.”

  A roar erupted from the cavern above, shaking the earth around them. Tuq-tuq squeaked with fright.

  Could he have heard me all the way down here? Eygodon thought frantically, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the dragon exit the cave and take to the sky above. The beast spread its massive wings, covering the mountainside in darkness.

  Kae-koon’s wisdom, you really screwed up this time. Well, it was a nice life while it lasted. I’m so sorry, Brielle, Eygodon thought, closing his eyes and bracing to be ripped apart. He waited a few moments, and then opened one eye slightly, with the grave knowledge that his shut eyes were the last line of defense against witnessing his own brutal mutilation.

  To his relief, he saw the shape of the dragon disappearing in the distance, heading in the direction of Beckonthrone.

  “Will you look at that? Impatient one, isn’t he? That didn’t take long at all for him to take us up on the offer,” Eygodon said with a grin of delight.

  “I was afraid that he had just changed his mind about eating us,” Tuq-tuq said, suddenly sounding exhausted.

  “You should have more confidence in me. I always know what I’m doing,” Eygodon said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  ~

  Vyra nervously walked down the red carpet alongside Lord Aldrean, down the palace hallways. Across the marble floor, stone statues of heroes past towered on either side; each statue appeared like it was looking down on her, judging her worthiness as she passed. She had never been in the palace before; it was shocking that a building could be constructed with so much empty space inside it.

  “Just let me do the talking,” Aldrean said, trying to sound comforting. It didn’t work.

  Four royal guards stood in front of the giant doors ahead, each adorned in shiny armor that looked both elaborate and effective. As Vyra and Aldrean reached the end of the passageway, they pushed the doors open, allowing them entrance.

  The room beyond it was bathed in rays of colorful light, trickling in through the giant painted windows. At the end of the room, a broad scale of steps ascended to a tall ebony throne. Beside the throne stood a tall, bald man with slender, defined cheekbones and a short beard that came to a point beneath his chin. Vyra immediately felt a dislike towards that man, as his robe and facial expression flaunted opulence and superiority. Si
tting on the throne was King Sargedon, wearing the same extravagant battle armor that she had seen him wear during the celebratory dinner at Brightmeadow Manor.

  He must really enjoy wearing that armor, Vyra thought, swallowing hard.

  “Your Grace, I present to you… Lord Aldrean and — her,” De’eyzen said with blatant disdain. “You stand in the grace of our majesty, his Royal Highness, King Sargedon, Sovereign of Ancantion, and Ruler of the—”

  “Your Majesty!” Aldrean interrupted, falling to one knee. “Please forgive me for not introducing my squire to you sooner. We have been training with haste, preparing for future goblin threats, and—”

  “It is not why you haven’t presented your squire to me that concerns me, but whom you chose as your squire,” King Sargedon boomed. The wrath in the king’s voice made Vyra shiver.

  “Your grace, she is as capable as any man of becoming my squire, if not more,” Aldrean protested. “She has already bested Lord Salderon’s squire, who was presumed to be one of the strongest—”

  “Yes… I heard a great deal about that battle,” the king responded. “Prefers her fists over a sword, does she? I did not know that was custom amongst duels of your knights.”

  “She fights to survive,” Aldrean retorted. “I find that a valuable skill in fighting goblins that will do the same.”

  “As the paladin of Beckonthrone, you are supposed to be the embodiment of the will of the crown,” the king said, his formal civility carrying a menacing undertone. “Yet here you are, standing against my decree by recruiting a woman as your squire.”

  “Under your guiding hand, this kingdom has known many years of growth and prosperity, even during The Cinder Wars. But I feel that this decision only brings division to our people and weakens us as a kingdom,” Aldrean explained, with forced confidence.

  “This is a decision of the crown, not of its paladin!” Sargedon yelled.

  “And it is a foolish decision, made by a foolish king!” Aldrean countered heatedly.

  Oh Holy Willow, Vyra thought, her blood running cold. This isn’t going well.