Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons

by Barry Gibbons

  Raven rushed past him and into the cage. The children recoiled from her in fear and many of them cried out in terror, but she began to quietly assure them that they were safe.

  Veren quickly searched the bodies and located the keys to their shackles, then tossed them through the bars to the young woman.

  One by one, the young Deirian woman unchained the sick and tired slaves. There were six young girls and two elderly women, all dressed in soiled smocks and looking as though they hadn't been fed in days. They each had a strange star shaped tattoo next to their left eyes, indicating their status as a slave. They emerged from their cage hesitantly, looking around in fear at their dead captors. Raven quickly led them into the cool shade of the outcropping, while Veren and Damion lingered to plunder the other two wagons, which were packed full of the slaver's supplies.

  "There's an entire wagon full of casks of water, and plenty of fodder for the horses and stock, but only a small amount of food." Veren reported to Damion a few minutes later. He held up a large pouch. "But I did find this!" He smiled happily.

  "You can't eat gold." Damion told him. "There isn't a lot of food here, and our own supplies are nearly tapped out!"

  "Well, we need to figure out something." Veren told him, glancing over at the children. "There are a whole lot of mouths to feed over there."

  "I have an idea." Damion said suddenly, his eye falling upon the oxen that were still harnessed to the rolling cage.

  The one eared man followed his gaze to the oxen, then smiled happily. "I'll see to it, milord. Let me just lead the other teams into the shade, then I'll set about butchering one of those beasts."

  "Better make that two." Damion told him. "We can use the leftovers to help bolster our supplies." He grabbed two casks of water, then took them over to Raven, who was still busy looking to the children's wounds.

  The children cried out in terror as they caught sight of him approaching, and he suddenly stopped, not wishing to cause them any more fear. He sat down the casks of water, then quickly retreated from their view, and went to help Veren.

  Once they had seen to the wagon teams, and rounded up all of the horses that had belonged to the dead slavers, they led a couple of oxen out of the children's view and set about the grim tasks of butchering the creatures.

  Since there was little fuel for a fire, Damion built a large fire pit well away from camp, and lined it with dozens of fist sized stones. He drew in his magic and focused it for a moment on the stones, setting them aflame. The slaves were soon gorging themselves on steaming slabs of beef, and drinking their fill of clean water.

  Raven went to each child one by one and gently cleaned the filth from their hair and bodies, while Veren scavenged up suitable clothing to replace the rags the girls currently wore. Once their bodies were clean and their bellies full, the children were put to bed to help them recover from their imprisonment.

  The young woman made sure that every child was comfortable, then turned her attention to the two elderly woman. "What are your names?" She asked them in a gentle voice.

  "I am Uuna." One of the women answered in a rusty voice. "This is my little sister, Eena."

  "How is it you came to be slaves?"

  "We were taken from our homes long ago." The old woman cradled her sister's head. "I remember fighting with them at first, and Eena kept screaming and screaming, until they cut out her tongue. We were sent to work in the salt mines for many years until we finally grew too old to be of any use, then we were sold from merchant to merchant as cooks, or caregivers for our master's children." She sighed wearily. "Most recently, we were purchased along with these children to be taken to the escarpment. Our new owner is a man in the lower village." Her wrinkled face soured with distaste. "He is apparently very fond of young girls. He purchased my sister and I to care for them when his isn't..." She paused. "Amusing himself with them."

  Raven smiled grimly. "You'll no longer have to worry about that, grandmother. The lower village was destroyed, and most of the people slaughtered."

  The old woman didn't react to that news. "It matters not." She sighed in resignation. "We haven't any where to go. We will return to being slaves, or we will die."

  "Not if I have anything to say about it!" The young woman said hotly. She left the old women to rest, then quietly drifted over to the fire pit at the edge of camp.

  "Is everything okay?" Damion asked worriedly.

  "These women and children have been treated horribly!" Her voice was outraged, and tears filled her eyes. "What are we going to do with them? Where are these children going to go? We can't just send them off to find their own way! The women already believe they will perish unless they return to being slaves! We have to help them!"

  "And what would you have us do?" Veren asked in exasperation. "Do you really want to take those children into battle with us when we find the shadow dragons?"

  "Of course not!" Raven rolled her eyes. "But there must be something that we can do! We can't let them just end back up as slaves again!"

  "We can send them to Muddy's." Damion suggested in a quiet voice. "Once they have had some time to recover, not to mention some food in their stomachs, the women should be up to the task of leading the children back to the escarpment. We'll give them that gold that Veren found on the slavers and a map showing them where to camp, then they can take refuge with the dwarf until we return."

  "That's brilliant!" She exclaimed, grasping Damion in a impulsive embrace.

  "Hey! That's my gold!" Veren whined.

  Both Damion and Raven turned to glare at him with flat expressions.

  "But I would be happy to donate it to their cause!" He amended quickly, a slight note of wistfulness in his voice.

  "You are so generous." Raven murmured, rolling her eyes again.

  It wasn't until the sun had set that the children finally awoke, still slightly frightened from their whole ordeal. Raven, Veren, and the old women were there to calm and reassure them, while Damion and Snowfeather remained by the fire pit, continuing to monitor the cooking oxen.

  After she had seen that the young girls were fed, Raven quietly drifted over to Damion, her face concerned. "The temperature is dropping pretty quickly tonight. Several of the girls say they are cold. Can you help?"

  Damion grimaced. "I don't want to scare the children. They have been through enough already."

  "Don't worry," She promised him in a gentle voice. "I'll reassure the girls that you will not harm them."

  "Very well. I'll see what I can do." He watched as she disappeared into the darkness, then sighed heavily and rose to his feet. "Why don't you go hunting while I go help these children." He suggested to Snowfeather. "The marshes of Arleia are not far. I'm sure there is plenty to eat there."

  "That's not a bad idea!" The huge bird agreed, stretching his huge wings and launching himself into the air. "Good luck in dealing with the young!"

  Raven returned to the children, who were huddled together in an effort to stay warm, and explained that Damion was going to join them and not to be afraid. He soon appeared from the darkness carrying a heavy sack in one hand. Several of the girls gasped fearfully, but the old women was able to calm them as he knelt and emptied twenty or so fist sized stones into a small pile.

  "What are you planning on doing?" One of the children, a dark haired girl of about six years, asked bravely. She had pale skin and large dark eyes that were alight with curiosity.

  "I'm going to start a fire." He answered in a quiet voice.

  "How?"

  "I'm going to set these stones on fire."

  "You can't set a stone on fire!" She scoffed, crossing her arms. She was silent for another moment and her expression suddenly grew uncertain. "Can you?"

  Damion smiled, then waved one hand over the pile of stones.

  At first, nothing seemed to happen, then the stones slowly started to glow a deep red and began to smoke. They could all feel the heat that the glowing stones were producing as they continued to grow brighter
and brighter, lighting the dark overhang with a pleasant radiance.

  "But they're not on fire!" The girl protested. "You said you could set them on fire!"

  All of the girls giggled, and Raven and the old women laughed.

  Damion smiled again, then snapped his fingers.

  Flames suddenly leapt up from the glowing stones, roaring toward the ceiling of the overhang, then dropping back down to a merry fire.

  The children all gasped in astonishment, and several of them began to clap happily.

  "How did you do that?" The dark haired girl demanded, seeming unimpressed.

  "Magic." He replied, surprised by the girl's fearlessness.

  "You can do magic?" She put her hands on her hips. "Show me."

  Veren laughed. "She's a little bossy one, isn't she?"

  Damion chuckled. "What would you like me to do?"

  "I don't know." She said with a note of exasperation in her young voice. "You're the magic user! Do some magic!"

  They all laughed this time. The other girls had all grown a bit more relaxed, and slowly began to inch closer to the fire to warm themselves, but their eyes were all locked on him expectantly.

  Damion thought for a moment, then drew in his magic and held out one hand palm up.

  The girls all gasped in wonder as a tiny spark of light appeared in the palm of his hand. It pulsed rhythmically, growing larger and larger, until the light was the size of a large melon. It began to pulse faster and started to morph and stretch into different shapes. It suddenly flashed brightly, forcing them to shield their eyes, and when they looked back, the ball of light had formed itself into the shape of a mouse, which leapt from his hand and began to scamper around the campsite. It scurried in between the girl's legs, then disappeared into a crack in the stone, leaving a twinkling trail which lingered for several moments after it was gone.

  The children all clapped in amazement, except for the dark haired girl, who still looked unimpressed. "Wow." The girl yawned. "Impressive."

  He gave her a bit of a disappointed look, then glanced around the campsite and spotted the rolling cage that the girls arrived in. "How about this?" He raised his hand and the caged wagon rose into the air to hover ten feet or so off of the ground. She still didn't look impressed, so he closed his hand into a fist, crushing the cage like it was a piece of parchment, then released his magic and let it crash back to the ground.

  "I guess that's okay." The girl shrugged. "It's more than others that I've seen that claimed to know magic." She snickered. "My last master claimed that he was a sorcerer, but he couldn't conjure up a breeze on a windy day."

  "What is your name?" Raven asked the girl, who continued to watch Damion curiously.

  "My parents called me Susa, before I was taken away and sold to my first master." She answered emotionlessly. "I've had many names since then." She turned her attention back to Damion. "Are you a giant?"

  Damion shook his head. "No. Giants are much bigger, much meaner than I."

  There was a flutter of wings as Snowfeather returned from his hunt with a lizard clamped tightly in his beak. "How's it going with the younglings?"

  "It could be worse, I guess."

  The children stared at Snowfeather in wonder as he settled down to enjoy his meal. Susa walked up to watch him closer, but he hooted a warning to Damion. "Please ask the youngling not to get too close. Something about her makes me uncomfortable. I don't like the way she's staring at me!"

  "He asks that you not get too close." He told the little girl.

  "What is it?" She watched the huge owl with a captivated expression.

  "His name is Snowfeather. He is a snow owl. He's my friend."

  She didn't reply, but merely continued watch in fascination.

  The girls all seemed far more relaxed in his presence now that he had entertained them, but he still decided to retreat back into the fire pit. It wasn't long before Raven slipped away to join him under the stars.

  "You did good with those children." She complimented him in a soft voice. "Susa seems to have taken quite a shine to you!"

  "She's a tough little one, that's for sure!"

  "So, we are going to send them to await us at Muddy's place until we return, correct?"

  The huge warrior nodded. "We'll stay here with them for another day or two so they can build up their strength, then we'll send them back to the escarpment while we continue on." He looked up at the stars. His eyes, as always, was automatically drawn to the constellation of the serpent god Draco, which glittered especially bright in the night sky. "We still have a long way to go before we can return home."

  "Thank you for helping these girls." She whispered, drawing a bit closer. "I shudder to think what would have happened to them if we hadn't encountered them!"

  Damion snorted. "I don't think there was much 'we' that had to do with freeing those children. You had them all sprouting arrows before Veren or I could even react!"

  She held up her hands helplessly. "I just couldn't stand seeing those poor girls in shackles! I couldn't help myself! I was moving before I even realized what I was doing!" Her voice was fierce. "I've seen slavers and their slaves many times before and it never bothered me, but seeing those children..."

  "I understand." He assured her. "Everyone has always told me that I have a problem with reacting before thinking. Besides," He laughed. "if you hadn't killed those slavers, I would have!"

  "I still wanted to thank you." She took his huge hand in hers. "You have gone out of your way to make sure that they were warm and fed, and even got them to laugh. That's amazing, considering everything they have been through!" Her face grew quizzical. "But what will happen once this is all over? Where will we take them?"

  "Maybe we can find homes for them along the way."

  She gave him exasperated look. "They're not puppies, Damion! They're children! We can't just give them away to strangers!"

  Damion laughed. "Of course not! I only meant maybe we can find their families, or perhaps an orphanage that could take them in. If nothing else, we can take them with us back to Sevria. We can be sure that they are safe then."

  Raven let out a squeal of delight and pulled him down to give him a long lingering kiss, then turned and quietly returned to join the children at the fire side.

  "Why do I have the sudden feeling that I just made a huge mistake?" He asked aloud. He shook his head helplessly, then quietly returned to monitor the oxen that were sizzling over the spit.

  They remained encamped for two more days while the women and children recovered, then once they were strong enough to continue, they began to prepare to part ways.

  "Continue west until you reach the upper village of the escarpment." Raven instructed Uuna, who sat with her sister at the head of the largest wagon, which was now packed with supplies and casks of water, not to mention the six little girls who were hidden among the covered goods. "Once you reach Muddy's place, tell him that we sent you and give him this." She handed the old woman Veren's heavy pouch of gold.

  "And if any of the tribesmen give you problems, tell them that you are under the protection of the Sorcerer of the South!" Veren laughed. "I promise you that they will trip over themselves to lend you aid!"

  Uuna took hold of her hand. "Thank you, milady!" She looked to the others. "Thank you all! We had lost hope of ever escaping this nightmare!"

  "Just keep the girls and yourselves safe." The young woman told her with a teary smile. "With a little luck, we'll meet you at the dwarf's place in a few weeks." She stepped back and watched as the oxen began to plod along at a walk, slowly pulling the wagon up the road and out of sight.

  They finished their own packing, then started back off towards the east with Snowfeather ghosting through the darkness overhead to scout the area.

  They had only made it a half mile or so before the huge owl alerted Damion that they were being followed. "There's something following us!" He hooted in warning. "It's moving fast, but starting to fall behind!"

  "W
hat is it?"

  "I'm not sure, but it's much smaller than a shadowspawn."

  Damion slowed Storm to a walk and informed the others.

  "If it's already falling behind, why bother to stop?" Veren asked with a shrug. "It'll eventually lose our trail."

  Raven shook her head. "It's best not to leave something to sneak up from behind."

  "I agree." Damion looked around for a moment. "Let's lead the horses behind that rocky outcrop and wait for it to catch up. I'd rather not have anything following us."

  They concealed the horses, then dismounted and waited silently in the darkness for whatever was tracking them. It wasn't long before they heard the sounds of footsteps pounding up the road.

  "Here it comes!" Snowfeather warned, nearly invisible as he soared high overhead.

  Damion waited until the last second, then drew the Dragon Sword and stepped out into the center of the road, blocking the approaching shadow in its tracks.

  The shadow tried to back away, but found its way blocked by Veren, who had circled around to block any retreat. "Okay, okay!" A squeaky voice piped suddenly as the shadow threw its arms up in submission. "Don't go all barbarian on me or anything!"

  "Susa?" Damion exclaimed in shock. "You're supposed to be with the other girls! What are you doing following us?"

  The little girl stepped from the shadows into the moonlight. "I'm not going with them. I'm going with you." She said this as if the decision had already been made.

  Raven appeared from the darkness. "Do you know how much danger you would have been in if we hadn't found you?"

  Susa shrugged this off dismissively. "I was doing fine until I started getting winded and falling behind." She made a sour face. "I was hoping to follow you all night, then show up after you had made camp for the day. I didn't want you to try and chase down the wagon and dump me off with them again."

  "Don't you want to stay with the other girls?"

  She scowled. "I don't know any of those other girls. My only sister was taken away over a year ago. Sold to the salt mines, I'd guess." She looked up at Damion. "The point is, I'm not going to go with them. I'm going to go with you."