"Are you sure it's a dragon, and not just a large lizard that is basking in the sun?" Damion asked. feigning a skeptical tone. "Peasants tend to embellish their stories, I've noticed, and the sighting of a dragon would be a good cover story for someone's carelessness with a torch."
"It's a dragon," The man told them, a haunted look in his eyes. "I saw the beast for myself. I've never seen anything so big in my entire life!"
"I'll make a deal with you," Sly said suddenly, rummaging in his pack and withdrawing a wineskin. "You and your men have a drink with me, while Damion goes to have a look at this dragon. If it turns out you actually do have a dragon on your hands, we'll help you drive it off."
The silver haired man looked at the wineskin with longing. "Is that wine?"
Sly shook his head. "It's a little something some friends of mine brewed up." He grinned. "A couple of sips of this, and you'll be ready to take the beast on all by yourself!" He glanced sidelong at Damion, then winked.
"You and your men enjoy a drink with Sly." Damion told the man, sliding down from Storm's broad back, and handing the reins to Raven. "I'll return once I have seen this dragon for myself." He turned and hurried off through the crowd, leaving Sly and the others with the patrol, who were all focused solely on the little man's wineskin.
As he drew closer to the edge of town, he noticed several of the buildings were charred by fire, while a number of others had burned completely to the ground.
He emerged from the village, following the road through the smoldering remains of the farmers' crops, and soon found Scale a half mile or so from the village, lounging lazily in the center of the road.
"Damion." The enormous scarlet dragon greeted him gravely.
"Scale." Damion returned the greeting. He looked around at the smoldering fields meaningfully. "What happened here?"
Scale looked around at the ruined crops. "I did that," The great beast confessed in a regretful tone. "but it wasn't exactly what I had planned."
"What did you plan?"
"I searched for your child's kidnappers for a while without having any luck, so I decided to try and cause a bit of a commotion in the hopes of slowing their escape." The enormous scarlet dragon shrugged. "I started a small fire, but it quickly grew out of control. I guess I should have thought things out a little better."
"It happens to the best of us." Damion snorted in amusement.
"The worst part of it is that it was all for nothing." Scale grumbled unhappily. "Either the witch that stole your daughter had already passed through before I arrived, or she bypassed this place altogether. I have seen to it that no one has passed through here since I arrived a few days ago."
The huge warrior frowned. "Perhaps she still in the area. We haven't had the chance to search the village yet. We were stopped by a patrol and pressed into aiding the local soldiers in running you off."
The dragon chuckled, sending twin curls of smoke drifting up from his cavernous nostrils, then rose and stretched his wings. "What would you have me do now, Dragonkin?"
Damion thought about it for a moment. "Can you get into contact with any other scarlet dragons?"
"Of course."
"Good. Locate another dragon willing to aid us, and send them to Sevria to let Tempest and the others know what we have managed to discover. Once they are on their way, head to the highlands of Teirsia. Do your best to make sure that the witch never reaches the temple with my daughter. Do whatever is necessary to stop her, but make sure you do not harm Leia."
"As you wish." The great beast launched itself into the air with a single thrust of its powerful wings, and quickly disappeared from sight.
Damion quickly made his way back towards town, his mind racing. The idea that Leia's abductors may have turned aside without them knowing was almost enough to send him into a panic. It could take them quite some time to locate their trail again, and that was time they couldn't afford to lose.
He was met by a small crowd at the edge of town who began to cheer as he approached.
One of the men gathered, an elderly old farmer, stepped forward, an expression of amazement on his weathered face. "By the gods, lad! What did you do? How did you drive that beast off?"
Damion shrugged. "I asked it to leave." Without another word, he made his way through the crowd of cheering peasants, leaving the old man to stare after him in astonishment.
He found the others waiting in the plaza where he had left them, still in the company of the Aliono patrol, many of whom were laying sprawled out on the hard cobblestones snoring happily.
"Damion, my old friend!" The silver haired man greeted the huge warrior in a slurred voice. "We were just wondering if you had gotten lost."
"No, I just wanted to have a look at this dragon for myself."
The man made a face. "Big brute, isn't it? I'm not looking forward to trying to drive it off."
"Today is your lucky day, then." Damion told him, taking Storm's reins from his young wife and climbing up into the saddle. "The dragon has departed. I don't think that you and your men will have to worry about it bothering you anymore."
"Thank the gods!" The man exclaimed in relief, swaying back and forth on his feet unsteadily. "I truly thought today would be my last day here in this world." He smiled happily, then his eyes suddenly rolled up into the back of his head, and he dropped to the cobblestones in an unconscious heap.
Damion looked to Sly, who was staring at the unconscious soldier in amusement. "Dragon's milk?"
"I just thought they might enjoy having a drink." The little man grinned impishly.
"It was a good idea. It allowed me time to get a report from Scale, and find out if he had been able to discover anything useful."
"And?"
The huge warrior shook his head. "He couldn't find any sign of Leia or the witch."
"That doesn't surprise me." Damarius remarked, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I'm sure the witch has many ways of concealing her presence."
"Why did the beast start such a large fire?" Jacom asked, looking around at the villagers, who were still milling around with frightened expressions.
"It nearly burned the entire village to the ground." Jarom added, his expression one of disapproval.
Damion frowned. "That was an accident. When Scale couldn't find any signs of Leia, he decided to try to get ahead of her abductors and create a bit of mayhem in the hopes of slowing them down enough for us to catch up to them. I guess the fire he started grew a bit out of control."
"So the witch that took Leia hasn't passed this way?" Raven asked, a slight note of panic in her voice.
"It doesn't look that way."
"She may still be here in town somewhere." One of the twin knights suggested shrewdly.
"We should spread out and canvas the area." The other twin added. "They may be holed up here somewhere. If nothing else, we may find someone who may have seen them."
Damion thought about it for a moment. "I think that's the best plan." He agreed finally. "Let's split up into pairs and search the village. Speak to every person you see. If we're lucky, one of them may know which way they may have taken to avoid Scale."
"What if we can't find their trail again?" Raven asked fearfully.
"Then we'll continue on towards Teirsia." Damion decided with a sigh. "We're fairly certain they are heading to the highlands, so we'll head there."
"But what if we're too late?" The young woman's eyes were filled with tears.
"Not a chance." Damion assured her confidently. "I had Scale locate another dragon to carry word to Aunt Skie and Shirk, then hurry on ahead to the highlands to prevent the witch from reaching the temples." He smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. The witch will never reach destination with Leia." He looked to the others. "Talk to everyone who will speak with you. Look for anyone who may have seen the witch or her puppet bodyguard. We'll meet back here in an hour."
Chapter 14
"It's getting close to nightfall, Mistress." Boris pointed out, glanci
ng over at the hooded woman with a questioning expression. "Do you wish to stop and make camp soon?"
As if on cue, the young child the witch carried in her arms began to wail, her high pitched screaming echoing through the tiny wooded vale.
The hooded woman sighed in exasperation. "I guess we may as well. This retched little creature won't stop its wailing until it has been fed."
The bull hide armored warrior took the lead, and soon located a secluded grove that was not far from the road, but would still keep them well hidden from prying eyes. He quickly set up a crude camp, building a tiny fire to provide some light and a source in which to cook their meal, then set about tending to their mounts. Once the horses had been fed and watered, he gathered enough wood to last them the night, then quickly set about preparing the child and himself something to eat.
"How much further is it until we reach the border of Teirsia?" The hooded witch asked in a tired, raspy tone.
"At least a hundred leagues, Mistress." The huge man informed her as he turned a chicken that was sizzling on a spit over the hot coals. "The detour that peasant pointed out to us to avoid the dragon has taken us quite a distance out of our way."
"Accursed dragon!" The witch hissed spitefully. "The Dragon Lord must have sent it to try and stop us. It will do him no good, however. The elder spirits have given me the task to deliver this child to the temple of the highlands, and that's exactly what I will do."
"Do you think they discovered the hunter's trail we took to avoid the beast?"
"It is doubtful. The peasant that showed it to us mentioned that few others knew about its existence, and he will not be showing it to anybody else now." She frowned. "He wasn't enough to provide me with all of the energy I required, but his children," She shivered in delight. "They provided me with all that I require to speak with the spirits. They shall continue to guide our steps."
The young girl, who had been watching Boris as he tended to their dinner, suddenly turned and fixed the witch with a hateful stare.
"Look at her," The witch sneered. "The little beast is just waiting for me to attempt to contact the spirits so she can try to interrupt me with her wailing."
Boris shrugged. "She is just a child. I sure she isn't doing it intentionally."
"Don't be so sure. This is no ordinary child. She is the daughter of the Dragon Lord, which means she also has the blood of dragons flowing in her veins. She carries a power within her that has even made the gods take notice. She may even have more power than her father, who is one of the most powerful sorcerers to ever live."
"Is that why the elder spirits commanded you to bring her to the temples?"
"The elder spirits have no interest in the girl. They have commanded the little beast be taken to the temples and surrendered to a god."
"A god?" Boris looked surprised. "Which deity could command so much respect that the elder spirits would agree to aid them?"
The witch shrugged. "The dragon god, Draco, of course. Who else would be interested in that annoying little beast?" She returned the hateful stare that the young girl was still leveling at her. "I guess the dragon god has plans for her, though for what reason He wants her, I have no idea. The reason and meaning behind the things the gods do are often obscure. Personally, I would have just consumed her and been done with it, if the elder spirits hadn't commanded me otherwise."
The huge man removed the chicken from the spit, then ripped it in half with his bare hands and handed one part to the girl, who took it from him eagerly.
"I shall go and attempt to contact the spirits while she is preoccupied with her meal." The young woman decided, rising to her feet. "They will show us our path." She disappeared into the darkness, leaving Boris and the child to finish their meal.
The huge warrior and the tiny child ate together in silence, staring across the fire at one another as they waited for the hooded woman to return.
When the witch finally returned, she seemed shaken, and had a anxious, almost panicked expression on her face. "Ready the horses." She snarled angrily. "The Dragon Lord has somehow gained ground on us. He's less than two day's behind us."
"How was he able to catch up with us?" The huge warrior had jumped to his feet, and was quickly tending to their mounts.
The young woman shook her head. "I don't know, but he will not being going any further." She lowered her hood, revealing the twin fires of violet which burned deep within her eyes. "Take the child, and go apart some way. I'm going to deal with this Dragon Lord once and for all!"
************
"There it is, milord, just as I said." The young boy pointed out the scarcely visible game trail which branched off to the north. "I saw Herbert and his two sons disappear with that man and woman up this trail. They haven't been seen since."
Damion and the others stood at the edge of the trade road, looking at the scarcely visible game trail with the young boy Sly and Damarius had located during their search of the village.
"And you're sure it's the people we are looking for?" Sly asked, giving the boy a skeptical look.
The boy rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm sure, milord. Our village isn't exactly what you would call a metropolis, you know? They arrived here two days past, just after sundown, and left at sunrise yesterday morning. The man was huge, and smelled really bad, and the woman kept herself hidden beneath a hooded cloak." He smiled. "My father runs the local inn, and I'm the stable hand, but sometimes I'll help out in the kitchens. I served food to the man and the child that was with them, but the woman had already retired to their room before I was able to get a good look at her."
"The child," Raven asked the young boy, her voice desperate. "H-How did she look? Did she seems to be in good condition."
The boy nodded. "She look fine to me, and her lungs are functioning perfectly. She wailed the entire time the woman was with her. She quieted down once the hooded woman disappeared into their room."
"And you say they left at sunrise, two days ago?" Damion asked the boy, who stared up at him with slightly frightened eyes. "You're sure that it wasn't the day before that?"
The boy nodded again. "I'm sure, milord. I saw them as I was running to get supplies for the kitchens. Herbert and his sons, Gren and Grom, were leading them up this path, probably showing them a way around that dragon that you chased off." He stared at Damion in awe.
"Where does the trail lead?"
"North." The boy shrugged. "I followed it once for a couple a miles last summer, but finally had to turn back. I asked Herbert where it led, and he said it eventually joined back up with the trade route."
The companions exchanged glances.
"You have been very helpful." Damion withdrew several coins from a pouch at his waist and handed them to the boy. "Thank you for everything."
The boy's eyes brightened, and he smiled happily. "Thank you, milord!" He turned and hurried off towards the village.
"Finding that boy was a lucky break." Jacom murmured as they watched the boy hurry off. "We could have searched for days without discovering this trail."
"There are signs that someone led some horses this direction recently." Jarom pointed to some hoof prints in the soft soil at the edge of the road. "It seems the boy was speaking the truth."
"Now we just need to decide which way we're going to take." Damarius told them scratching his beard thoughtfully.
"What do you mean which way?" Raven asked in confusion. "The boy told us that they left taking this trail. We're only two days behind them. Why would we want to take another path?"
"The boy said that the man that was leading the witch once told him that the trail eventually joins back up with this trade road." Damarius pointed out. "They won't be able to travel as quickly along this trail as we could on the road. If we continue along the trade route, we could gain ground on them, possibly even catch up with them."
"That is an interesting plan." Sly conceded with a nod. "It's a bit chancy, but it could work." He looked to Damion. "The decision is yours. Wh
at do you think?"
The huge warrior thought about it for a long moment. "Let's do both." He decided finally. "Sly, you and the twins follow the road, while Raven, Damarius, and I continue along this trail. With a little luck, we may be able to trap them in between us."
"It's nearly sunset now." Damarius pointed out. "Are we going to get rooms for the night and set off at first light, or press on until night overtakes us?"
"Let's keep moving. We can still get a couple of more miles behind us before it gets too dark." He looked at Sly. "You and the twins go ahead and keep following the road. Move as quickly as you can, but keep your eyes peeled for the place this trail rejoins the trade road."
Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God Page 22