For the moment, the defenders of Fort Denwarf had every advantage, their enemy trapped in the path of destruction of their weapons, unable even to protect themselves, much less fight back. But Korinn knew how quickly fortune could turn against the dwarves. They kept up their attack for as long as they could, as teams of dwarves cranked back the arms of the ballistae and loaded another stone as quickly as they could. Suddenly, without warning, one of the higher towers of the fortress exploded in flames and crashed down in burning wreckage. The defenders looked up to see dark shapes moving swiftly through the night sky, darting in to strike swiftly with fire and destruction.
But the dwarves were hardly caught by surprise. Korinn had known that if he gave the invading army any trouble, the Masters would return quickly to deal with the problem. Except for the crews working the ballistae, he had already sent all the defenders out of Fort Denwarf by secret ways, beginning the inevitable retreat southward toward Stahl and Evemur. That made the final retreat much quicker and easier now that the fortress had to be abandoned in a hurry. The dwarves released their final shots and hurried into the depths of the main keep, descending into deep tunnels cut into the mountain. In a matter of minutes, the last of the defenders were filing quickly and silently through the underground ways, careful to leave no trace of their passage. In time they came to a secret door in the shadows along one wall, and one by one they disappeared inside.
Korinn Bear Slayer and General Balar were the last to arrive at the hidden door. In honor of the older dwarfs years of service at the fortress, Korinn passed inside first, permitting Balar to close and seal the door behind him.
"A week ago I wouldn't have believed that we would ever be forced to abandon Denwarf to an enemy," Balar said, pausing a moment to listen at the door. "It galls me to leave while the walls are still standing and the gate is still intact. But with those dragons blasting at the towers, it's no use trying to defend the fort. I just hope those beasties don't tear the place apart."
"I doubt they'll spend the time and effort," Korinn assured him. "We'll rebuild whatever is left. I fear we'll have a great deal to rebuild before this is done."
They quickly set the final traps, which would bring down massive blocks of stone to close the passage if anyone tried to come through from the other side. Then the two dwarves hurried along the dark passage. About a hundred yards down the tunnel, they came to a chamber where a small company of soldiers waited for them with their packs. The others were already far ahead. The soldiers bore magic lanterns to light the way, although a dwarfs night vision was sufficient to find his way in almost total darkness. Once Korinn and Balar had pulled on the straps of their packs, the company filed out through the passage on the far side of the chamber.
Korinn wondered what was happening back at the fortress. Had the Masters already discovered that the dwarves had abandoned Fort Denwarf? He hoped they would notice that the fortress was empty soon in order to hold destruction to a minimum. The only thing Korinn really regretted leaving behind was his courier horses. Being young and strong, he had no complaints about marching, but the horses would have gotten him back to Dengar far sooner. But unfortunately the horses were not a safe option. The roads were unsafe for travel with the Masters already within Rockhome, and the cities were probably under siege by now.
He understood that there was little he could do. The dwarves of Fort Denwarf had probably fought the last battle in the protection of Rockhome that very night. From now on, their only for survival was to lock themselves as securely as they could within their underground cities and strongholds and wait for the Dragonking to arrive with reinforcements. But how long would that be? With any luck, the dragons could already be on their way, although it seemed more realistic not to expect them for another three or four days.
Even if there was nothing else he could do, he wanted to return to Dengar immediately. If the lower city was in danger of falling to the enemy, he wanted to be there.
The dwarves marched at a swift and steady pace for nearly two hours before they came to another small chamber, where they paused to rest. They didn't dare wait long, because soon they would have to take to the open. Dwarves were industrious and patient tunnelers, but cutting tunnels took a great deal of time, even small passages such as the one they were in.
After resting a short time, they followed a side tunnel for several hundred yards before it brought them to a hidden door deep within the ravine of the Styrdal River. Korinn paused a moment to look toward the north, fearful of seeing Fort Denwarf in flames. When he saw only a few tiny yellow lights flickering in the distance, he was reassured that the fortress itself was not burning. His companions were already filing across a simple rope bridge that had been erected only days before. It was cut down again once they were all across. When daylight came, there was to be no trace of their passage.
After that, they disappeared into the mountains to the west of the Styrdal Valley, following narrow, hidden paths through the wilderness. Keeping in deep ravines or beneath the cover of trees, they weren't likely to be seen by a passing dragon. The distance from Fort Denwarf to the city of Stahl was nearly forty-five miles, and even the sturdy dwarves couldn't march that far in one night. The sun was peeking above the summit of Denwarf Spur on the east side of the river when they came at last to another hidden door leading down into another tunnel. They paused to rest for some time before they went on. They would march another ten miles through the tunnels before they reached Stahl.
They did not move on again until noon, having reached the end of their endurance. After a final determined march through the tunnels, they entered the remote passages of the lower city of Stahl late that afternoon. Soldiers from Fort Denwarf had been arriving all day. One of the commanders of the city garrison was there to meet them as they emerged through the hidden entrance to the tunnel.
"Korinn Bear Slayer," the soldier said, recognizing him. "Then it's true that Fort Denwarf has fallen?"
"We've been forced to leave Denwarf to the Masters," Korinn said as he moved aside so that the door of the tunnel could be closed. "What about Stahl? Have you sealed the entrance to the upper city yet?"
"Just about. The Masters have been battering at our defenses since the night before last, but we're still trying to move needed supplies down here between their attacks. We hope we won't have to abandon the upper city until the actual siege begins."
Korinn was taken to the residence of the governor of Stahl, where he was able to wash and had his first real meal in some time. What he wanted most was news of the invasion of Rockhome, but there was litde to hear. For the most part, the only things moving between the cities and towns of Rockhome were the Masters. Because the roads were closed, the cities themselves were effectively already under siege.
Having the garrison from Fort Denwarf at hand could make a good deal of difference to the defense of Stahl. The invaders would most likely attack here first, so it appeared that Stahl would have to endure the longest siege of any of the cities of Rockhome. Korinn feared there might be another army of invaders coming through one of the passes to the northeast, which would place the eastern cities, perhaps even Dengar itself, in immediate danger. He suspected that the Masters might pass by some of the lesser cities to attack Dengar first, and so he sent part of the Fort Denwarf garrison on to Dengar at once.
The invaders began to descend from the pass the next morning. The road crossed the Styrdal a few miles beyond Fort Denwarf, and their army could be seen marching down from the mountains on the west side of the river. Standing on the wall of the city near the north gate, Korinn could see them clearly. They appeared to be entirely lacking in siege weapons. That might help slow down the assault of Stahl, unless the gemstone dragons arrived.
"They should be here by tonight," General Balar said. "I wonder if they've learned to keep their distance after the welcome we gave them at Fort Denwarf."
"They'll be more wary of traps," Korinn replied. "The only question I have is whether they'll attack
right away, or if they'll wait for the Masters."
"Stahl is a difficult place to defend," Governor Konar said, stroking his long, white beard. Although he was not a soldier, he seemed eager for a fight. "Our problem is having no less than eight gates to defend, seven crossing the rivers on the east and west sides and one facing south."
Korinn was aware of the problem. Stahl sat on a hilly point of land at the fork of two rivers. While the rivers made the final approach to the walls difficult, there were simply too many gates to defend. If the Masters did level the place, he thought grimly, the city would be rebuilt a litde differently.
"Will you be staying here at Stahl?" he asked General Balar.
"That was my plan," the older dwarf said. "I want to stay with my lads through this. And if I stay here, you can head out to Dengar right away. You might as well go now, before the Masters arrive."
Korinn nodded. "I suppose I should be on my way. Even if I leave now, I won't reach Dengar any sooner than the day after tomorrow. With any luck, the dragons will be here to help us about the same time."
CHAPTER NINE
Thelvyn and Kharendaen approached the hidden city of Windreach boldly, for the first time unconcerned about what kind of welcome they would receive. But when dragons began rising swiftly out of the city of Windreach, Thelvyn wondered if their opinion of him had taken a bad turn during his absence. Kharendaen remained unconcerned about the reception. In fact, she actually looked rather pleased, so he ignored his apprehension and continued his approach toward the city. He was still a bit confused when a dozen dragons of every breed began to circle around quickly to move ahead of him and his mate. More dragons soon joined them.
Only then did he realize that this was an impromptu honor guard to welcome the return of the Dragonking. To his even greater surprise, he realized that he was actually rather touched by the gesture, and also quite impressed. He had always found dragons to be solitary and aloof creatures.
Following their honor guard, Thelvyn and Kharendaen began a slow descent into Windreach, dropping down into the deep late-afternoon shadows of the wall of the city. Looking enormously pleased, Sir George was all but standing in his saddle. He looked as if he would have waved a flag or blown a trumpet if he had one. Thelvyn was beginning to wonder just where he was being taken, but a moment later he saw First Speaker Marthaen moving up to fly close beside him.
"I assume that the dragons have already learned about the invasion of the steppes," Thelvyn said, looking over his shoulder at the gold dragon.
"News arrived last night," Marthaen answered, dropping his sails to slow his flight. "I felt certain you would arrive soon, and I ordered the dragons to begin to prepare for war this morning."
"Good thinking," Thelvyn said. "They no longer seem averse to the idea of going to war."
"They've had a few days to think about it since you were here last," the older dragon replied. "The full extent of the danger we face has become much more apparent to them. You can see for yourself that they've finally begun to understand that you are no threat to them."
Marthaen suggested that they retreat to Thelvyn's lair in the Hall of the Great One, which was large enough to accommodate a hasty council of war. That proved to be a wise course of action. Jherdar joined them while they were still circling to land, and a number of other dragon leaders continued to arrive over the next half hour while Thelvyn and Kharendaen rested briefly, dining on roast elk, bread, and cheese.
"We tried to get a look at the invaders on our way here," Thelvyn told the dragons a short time later. "I cannot say how many gemstone dragons there are, since we had to be careful to keep our distance, but they've brought an army of perhaps a hundred thousand with them into this world. As you know, they're burning off the steppes in a single, immense wall of fire. I've never seen anything like it. By tomorrow night, they will have left the steppes completely destroyed."
"I've sent scouts to do some judicious spying," Marthaen said. "We have already heard that there may be as many as two hundred gemstone dragons. The Ethengar and the wild herds of the steppes have been fleeing into the mountains of northern Rockhome, so they should survive. But I don't believe we can be ready to face the invaders before they have moved on into Rockhome."
"I agree," Thelvyn said. "For one thing, I want to wait for accurate reports of their numbers. If we can destroy the Masters or force them to retreat, dealing with their army should be a matter of sport."
"Do you really expect it to be that easy?" Jherdar asked. "The Masters have to know that we can overwhelm their invasion force. And now that the Dragonking has returned with the collar, they must know that we will be coming after them."
"Not necessarily," Thelvyn explained. "We have one very unexpected advantage. The Masters believe that the dragons have refused my rule and will not go to war. As far as they know, the Dragonking is an exile begging for support wherever he can find it. I suspect that's why they've chosen to attack now, while they believe there's no one in this world willing or able to fight them."
Jherdar looked impressed. "How did they arrive at such an inaccurate impression of the situation?"
"Do you recall that spy in Braejr I went to flush out? I fed her some misleading information before I broke her tie with the Masters. I've learned that she actually served someone called the Overlord, who seems not to be a dragon at all. I suspect the Masters are only slaves to the Overlord, but they don't know it."
"We seem to possess more advantages than I would have expected," Marthaen remarked.
"We must not deceive ourselves," Thelvyn warned. "I may have them fooled, but they may only be leading me to think that I've fooled them. The Masters are experts at conquering worlds. Whole races may be enslaved to serve as their armies. They could open a worldgate and send through a hundred thousand soldiers any time and place they choose. We must be very careful, even if it means that Rockhome must endure a long siege while we gather our strength. If the element of surprise is indeed in our favor, then we must be careful that we do not give ourselves away."
The others looked thoughtful, even a little subdued. Now that Thelvyn had their support, he wanted them to understand just how serious a threat they faced. Although he didn't speak of it, he knew the dragons weren't used to working together in large numbers, even though they had cooperated reasonably well in their war with Alphatia the year before. But his greatest concern was that they would be overconfident. Except for the Dragonlord, the dragons had never known an enemy that was a serious threat to them, able to stand up to them on their own terms.
"How large a force of dragons can we expect to assemble and take into Rockhome within in a week at most?" he asked.
Jherdar lowered his head, considering his answer. "We have been gathering an army here since you returned to the west several days ago, and we summoned the kingdoms of the dragons when we first became aware of the invasion of the steppes. Even so, we have little more than a thousand fighting dragons at Windreach. We can have another thousand in three, perhaps four days. Given a full week, perhaps a thousand more."
"Of course, we cannot have so many dragons assembled in one place for very long," Marthaen added. "It is impossible to feed so many."
Thelvyn nodded. "Jherdar, do you know the location of the ancient city of Darmouk?"
"No," Jherdar replied, looking confused and rather surprised at the question. Darmouk was Thelvyn's lair, his property and the stronghold of his hoard, won in battle from the renegade king Kardyer. Another dragon would not dare violate the privacy of his stronghold.
"You'll be able to find it easily enough," Thelvyn said. "It would be a very good place to establish our stronghold. I'm considering having you take a force of dragons there in a couple of days."
"It may be too near Rockhome," Kharendaen said.
"That's true, but it makes it a very convenient place for a stronghold," he said, then noticed that the others still looked uncertain. He smiled wryly. "I appreciate your concern for my rights, but it cannot b
e helped. We may win this battle, but we still have a long war ahead of us, and the worst is yet to come. We need strongholds for several hundred dragons throughout this part of the world, from the Highlands to
Alphatia. Wherever the Masters might appear, we must be able to get a company of dragons there quickly. They must not catch us by surprise."
Jherdar bowed his head. "It will be as you say. And you may be assured that my own bodyguards will stand watch over your treasure."
"That won't be necessary, I'm sure," Sir George commented. "Is anyone likely to try to steal from the Dragonking?"
As soon as their plans were finalized and duties assigned, most of the others hurried away to attend to the preparations for battle. Sir George retired to his own room, one of the spare chambers of the Dragonking's lair that the Eldar had furnished to suit his needs. Thelvyn felt better about the problem of gathering an army, since everything was proceeding much more swiftly and smoothly than he had expected. He was also beginning to have a much higher opinion of his dragons; he had always been under the well-founded impression that dragons could usually be counted upon to be stubborn, contrary, and determined to do everything the hard way. He needed to be able to trust them to serve him willingly and wisely.
Both he and his mate were exhausted after the long flight from the Highlands, and they needed to rest. When Marthaen returned to the chamber after seeing the other dragons on their way, he found that his sister had moved close to Thelvyn's side so that she could rub her cheek along the side of his chest and neck.
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