Nothing further transpired, so the companions continued their ride toward the village. They warily watched the tree line where the dragon had disappeared in case they needed to run for cover. They had not gone more than several hundred yards when the dragon reappeared. It soared high into the air in a large arc.
“Is it just me, or is there someone riding that dragon?” asked Kazin.
Sherman squinted. “I can’t tell. Your eyes are better than mine.”
The morning sun got brighter and the dragon swung around to head back toward the ground. Amelia called out. “He’s right! There is someone riding that dragon!”
“That explains the magic I felt,” said Kazin. “Unless I miss my guess, that dragon is being ridden by a mage. We’re in a time when mages are capturing dragons with dragon orbs. What we are witnessing is one of the first dragons being tamed by magic!”
“That’s incredible,” said Sherman. “Except for you, Kazin, I’ve never known anyone to control a dragon before - except that you change into a dragon physically.”
“Dragon orbs are a new invention in this era,” said Kazin. “We are likely to see more dragon riders in the days to come. Dragon mages like me come a little later when dragons die for various reasons while their life essence remains intact in the orb.”
“He seems to be having fun,” interrupted Amelia, pointing. The dragon was flying erratically and finally dove back down again, this time heading for the village. Suddenly it let loose with a blast of fiery breath, striking a building on the outskirts of the village. In an instant the building was ablaze.
“That wasn’t very nice,” remarked Sherman. “He could have shown off any number of ways without causing damage.”
The dragon circled around and blasted another building. The mage on its back was waving his arms wildly.
“I don’t think he’s showing off,” said Kazin suddenly. “He looks as though he’s lost control of his dragon!”
“Oh, no,” wailed Amelia. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” said Kazin smugly, “that the mage will have to get control of his dragon soon or he will be controlled by the dragon. If he’s using an orb - and that’s the only way he could be riding one now - he’s linked to the beast. There is no severing the connection, except by death.”
“Oh, no,” said Amelia again. She consulted her orb. It was faintly pink.
Suddenly, another dragon and rider appeared from where the first one had emerged. It swung east to confront the renegade dragon, which had already set a third building on fire. Riding this new bronze dragon was a figure with a pointed hat.
“Where’d he come from?” asked Sherman. “We should have seen him earlier.”
“I suspect he was on the ground since we crested the rise,” said Kazin. “He was probably involved in capturing the other dragon. Now he’s going to intervene to try to stop the renegade from doing any more damage.”
The trio watched the aerial battle in fascination. The dragons circled one another several times before the renegade blasted at its counterpart with fire. The mage on the bronze dragon put up a shield that prevented the flames from doing any damage and then lowered his shield to shoot a lightning bolt into the renegade dragon’s flank. With a shriek, it spun away with the second dragon in pursuit.
Then the mage riding the renegade dragon turned and shot a lightning bolt back toward the second dragon. The mage was not prepared for the attack and turned to steer his mount to the side to avoid the bolt, but it struck the dragon’s right wing. The searing pain made the bronze dragon howl and it banked away sharply, causing its rider to lose his grip and slide down to the injured wing.
Seizing the advantage, the renegade dragon turned to attack its counterpart and clawed its right side with its long talons. The mage wasn’t in a position to cast any spells to aid his mount and the dragon screamed in pain again. It dove for the cover of the trees to escape the wrath of the renegade dragon. Ironically, the dragon rider never lost his hat in all of that commotion.
Sensing victory, the renegade dragon screamed in delight and soared back into the sky. It circled around in preparation to redirect its energy back at the village.
Meanwhile, the bronze dragon landed in a field and staggered to a halt, with the mage hanging on for dear life.
“Uh, Kazin,” said Amelia.
He turned to the red headed mage. “What is it?”
She held up her orb. It was bright red. “I just consulted the orb. According to this, the renegade was not supposed to prevail.”
A shriek drew their attention back to the sky. The bronze dragon was airborne again. It flew erratically, its injured wing obviously causing a great deal of pain. Its rider was urging it on.
“It looks like he’s back in action,” said Sherman.
Amelia consulted her orb again. “This isn’t good,” she said.
“What is it?” asked Kazin.
“If the bronze dragon confronts the renegade dragon again, he will lose, and his rider will die.”
“Then that’s what must happen,” said Kazin.
Amelia shook her head and pointed. “If that dragon rider dies, the war will be lost and history as you know it will be changed forever. That dragon rider is one of the most crucial individuals in the war.”
“Are you saying we have to intervene?” asked Sherman.
Amelia’s face reddened. “According to the orb, we are in this time in history and we are the only ones who can correct the current problem.” She turned to Kazin. “According to the orb, we are a part of this history. It took me a long time to come to that conclusion, but it’s the only thing that makes any sense. We are a part of this era, whether we like it or not. That’s why we haven’t changed history despite all of the things that we’ve done so far. Under normal conditions we should have changed history dozens of times by now, but we haven’t.”
Another shriek sounded as the two dragons clashed again. It was not looking good for the bronze dragon and its rider.
“Alright,” said Kazin. “We’ll discuss this more later.” He took a few steps away from his friends and transformed into his dragon form.
“You’re not going without me,” growled Sherman. He bounded up Kazin’s wing to find a spot on his back.
“I’m going too,” said Amelia. She climbed up Kazin’s wing and the warrior’s strong arm swung her up beside him. The startled horses were left to graze in the field beside the road.
“Let’s show that wise guy how real battles are fought!” cried Sherman. He brandished his Sword of Dead.
Kazin sprang into the air and shrieked, enjoying the feeling of being a dragon once again. He had been repressing the sensation for quite some time. The cry was loud enough to distract the renegade dragon as it was about to deal another serious blow to the bronze dragon. The mage riding the bronze dragon, seeing the new approaching dragon, knew he was outmatched, so he guided his dragon below the renegade and fled in the opposite direction.
The renegade dragon, feeling confident, swung around to face the newcomer, shrieking in delight. Its rider howled in glee, feeding off the dragon’s emotions. The dragon was in complete control.
Kazin flew straight at the renegade dragon. “Get ready to throw up your shield, Amelia,” he instructed. “If that dragon unleashes flames, I want everyone to be safe. I’ll concentrate on getting close enough for Sherman to strike with his sword, and if that mage tries something, I’ll deal with it. Be prepared to drop the shield on my command.”
“Right!” said Amelia above the rushing of the wind in her ears.
As the two dragons neared one another, Kazin was surprised at the size of his opponent. It was a fair bit larger than himself. He concluded it was probably an older dragon, but one with a strong will. The mage was undoubtedly not strong enough to overcome that will.
As expected, the renegade dragon
blasted Kazin with fiery breath. Amelia’s shield easily directed the heat away. A moment later, the renegade mage shot a lightning bolt at Kazin and his riders. The bolt was harmlessly deflected aside as well.
“Now!” cried Kazin. Amelia dropped the shield as Kazin swung close to the other dragon while Sherman prepared to swing his sword. The renegade dragon made a sudden movement, trying to slash at the warrior, but Sherman was ready. He swung his sword and sliced clean through one of the dragon’s extended claws.
The dragon shrieked as it suffered its second injury. Angered, it circled around for another pass, but not before Kazin shot off a weak fireball at the enemy mage. The mage was struck squarely on the back, but ignored the pain while his cloak caught on fire.
Kazin turned to confront his foe again, but this time the opposing dragon opted to make a close in attack with its claws. Kazin anticipated this and told his riders to hang on. As the dragons came together, Kazin and the other dragon reared back and sank their claws into one another’s chest. They snapped at one another with their giant jaws. Locked in combat, they frantically flapped their wings to retain altitude.
As they struggled, Sherman climbed to a spot where he could slash at one of the other dragon’s exposed claws. Another lightning bolt from the enemy mage would have knocked him off his mount if it wasn’t for Amelia’s protective shield. No more magical spells came from the enemy mage as he finally noticed his burning cloak and hastened to deal with that problem.
Amelia saw what Sherman was trying to do and had the foresight to cancel the shield spell just as Sherman’s sword struck true, severing another claw from the renegade dragon.
The dragon was unprepared for this and let go with that clawed foot. This unanticipated motion caused it to lurch to the side so rapidly that its rider lost his grip and tumbled from its back. The mage gave a weak cry as he fell, his cloak still ablaze. It was a moment before the renegade dragon realized what had happened. Remembering the orb in the mage’s possession, the dragon pushed itself away from Kazin and dove to try to rescue the mage.
As Amelia looked down, she was shocked to see how much altitude they had lost while battling. She could see the falling mage as he fell, and knew that his dragon would not be in time. Thankfully Kazin turned so that she could not see the last few seconds when the mage hit the ground.
A piercing shriek from the renegade dragon was enough to inform them of the mage’s death.
Kazin circled slowly as he watched the dragon land by the mage’s inert body in the field below. A few minutes passed as the dragon examined the body. Then it cried out one last time and threw itself on top of the human mage. It never moved again.
“Is it - is it dead?” asked Amelia.
Kazin flew back to a safe distance from the village. “I think so. The orb must have become damaged in the fall. Without it the dragon’s life essence has been lost. If the orb was intact, the dragon could have taken it and survived.”
“That’s so sad,” said Amelia woefully.
“That’s the price of the magic,” said Kazin. “When I obtained my dragon orb, the dragon died, but the orb was still intact and contained its life force. That’s why I was able to meld with it and become like it. If I die and the orb is still intact, whoever takes it over will have the same abilities as I have.” Kazin stopped speaking in order to land in a grassy meadow a short distance from their horses. His passengers slid and jumped to the ground. Then he transformed back into his human form. His face and chest were cut and bleeding.
“Kazin!” exclaimed Amelia. “You’re hurt!”
“They’re only minor wounds,” said Kazin. “That’s another thing I share with the dragon.”
Amelia was about to tend to his wounds when the ground shook as an earthquake struck the area. It didn’t last long, but it caused the horses to whinny and jump. They were already skittish with Kazin’s arrival as a dragon, and Sherman was hard pressed to settle them down.
Amelia was finally able to tend to Kazin’s wounds and deftly took care of the worst of it. She was concerned about the earthquake and wondered out loud whether it might have something to do with them and their quest.
“Perhaps,” said Kazin. “The landscape as we know it is going to change drastically from what it is now. The question is when.”
“We should ask some of the upcoming villagers what they think,” suggested Sherman. “Maybe earthquakes are normal in this point in history.”
“You’re right,” said Kazin.
As they prepared to saddle up, the bronze dragon came into view. The rider saw them and gave a command to his mount. It landed awkwardly nearby because its wing was still damaged. The rider quickly dismounted and approached them while Sherman worked to calm the horses again.
“Greetings, strangers!” he called. “Have you seen a dragon fly past?”
“We saw a couple of them,” said Kazin evasively. He looked at Amelia, who shrugged. She didn’t know if Kazin should give away his identity.
“I could have sworn one of them landed around here somewhere,” said the dragon rider, looking around.
“One landed somewhere over there,” said Sherman, pointing to the area where the renegade dragon went down.
“I saw that one,” said the dragon rider, “but I was looking for the one that won the fight. It flew over here somewhere.”
“If it landed around here we would have noticed it,” said Amelia.
The dragon rider’s eyes narrowed. “To be sure.” He studied Kazin’s bloody face. “You’re hurt.”
“I fell off my horse as I watched the battle,” lied Kazin. “I’m ok.”
The dragon rider grunted. “Are you a mage?”
“I know some magic,” said Kazin unhelpfully.
“Why aren’t you at the tower?” asked the dragon rider.
“I’m going to see some sick relatives,” said Kazin. He was referring to their quarry, whose companions looked sick according to the stable master in Trent. He pointed at Amelia. “My sister came to get me because she knows the way.” Amelia knew the way because of her orb. But he knew the dragon rider didn’t know these things.
“I see,” said the dragon rider. He didn’t sound convinced. “Well, if you come across the dragon or its riders, find out who they are. Then report back to the tower to see me. Just ask for Arch Mage Gresham.”
“Ok,” said Kazin.
“Right then,” said Gresham. He took off his hat, tried to straighten the kinked tip - unsuccessfully - and put it back on his head. “Have a safe journey.” He turned and went back to his dragon. As he climbed back on his mount he said, “Let’s go, Horath. We’ll tend to your wounds shortly.”
The great beast launched itself back into the air, but not before giving the companions a shrewd glance. It appeared he didn’t trust these strangers either.
As they flew back to the first dragon, it occurred to Arch Mage Gresham that the strangers didn’t even show any interest in Horath. It was as though they had seen dragons up close before. Anyone else would have been awed by Horath’s presence, not to mention the fact that a mage had apparently tamed him. He looked back at the trio as they became small specs in the distance. The warrior with them looked about the right size to be the one who had ridden the dragon to his rescue, and the red-haired mage could have been the other rider if his eyes were to be believed. The blue cloak was not a common colour for a robe, yet the second rider wore an identical blue robe. What were the odds of that? Did the redhead have possession of an orb in order to control a dragon? But where was the dragon? It was too big to hide from Horath’s keen vision, yet it was simply gone. And what of the injured young mage? How did he fit into the picture? One would think his companions would be cut and bleeding, not him. Perhaps he had been casting spells from the ground. Maybe in the process he did fall from his horse as he had claimed. Gresham shook his head. He had a feeling he would run
into that trio again.
But right now Gresham had the problem of finding a way to deal with cleaning up a failed experiment. The handful of mages assisting with the experiment should already be on site by now. The master mage’s body would be returned to the tower for burial. But disposing of the dragon’s body would be a challenging task. Thankfully, the nearby village was known for having experts in tanning hides and manufacturing leather goods. Hopefully, the value of the dragon’s hide would make up for the buildings that were damaged by the renegade mage and dragon. Also, Horath needed healing. The cleric among his group would have her hands full. Thoughts of the work ahead raced through Gresham’s mind and he soon forgot about the strange trio in the field.
Chapter 21
Olag and Zylor arrived at the base of the dwarven mountains near a cavern entrance to where the dwarven realm was located. It was heavily guarded by a large contingent of dwarven soldiers. It was fortified with trenches and barricades, and towers dotted the area, filled with expert dwarven archers. Even the mountainside itself was carved in such a way that from a distance it appeared like a giant castle wall with buttresses and turrets from which the defenders could fight. Overhangs were also factored in, to ensure protection from aerial foes such as dragons.
At the gate, the convoy was greeted by a dwarf adorned with shiny silver armour and colourful feathers protruded from his horned helmet.
“Password!” he called out.
A dwarf from the convoy rode forward. “Amethyst.”
The guard nodded and turned behind him. “Open the gates!”
Giant iron gates opened outward, silently and smoothly, not a sound coming from the expertly crafted dwarven hinges.
The guard turned to the convoy leader. “You may enter. Follow me.”
The procession moved forward and Olag steeled himself as he went along with them. He fervently hoped he and Zylor would not be found out. He nudged his horse forward in order to listen in on the conversation between the procession leader and the guard.
Spirit Blade: Book III of the Dragon Mage Trilogy Page 25