"They won't be bothering us anymore," Damion replied, smiling at Raven. "but before Raven sent them to meet their maker, we could hear them talking about Tara and Susa. I guess they're only a few miles ahead of us, heading for some place called the Blind Man's Cave. I guess Tara encountered the men and offered them some gold if they could stop us." He smiled grimly. "She should really be more careful in who she hires, though. The men had just decided to turn back and track her down to rob and kill her when Raven's arrows put an end to their plans."
"Does she still have Susa?" The one eared man asked with a worried expression.
Damion nodded. "The men mentioned her several times during their discussions. If we hurry, and a little lucky, we should be able to catch up to them by dawn."
They quickly gathered their belongings, then set off to the southeast at a brisk canter in an effort to make up time. Snowfeather circled overhead, keeping watch for danger as they quickly made through the darkness.
Once they had traveled several miles, they slowed to a walk to avoid alerting anyone to their presence. The road soon began to grow more difficult, and the swamp had overtaken the road for long stretches in many areas, slowing their progress even more.
After another few miles, Damion began to grow impatient. "We're never going to find them if we're blundering around in the darkness like this!" He reined Storm to a halt. "We could completely miss the trail those men mentioned leading to the Blind Man's Cave and never even know it!"
"What do you suggest?" Raven asked, peering around through the darkness for any sign of movement.
He thought about it for a moment, then slid down from Storm's back and tossed Veren the warhorse's reins. "Keep moving until you find a suitable place to set up camp. Snowfeather and I will keep looking for this cave, then once we locate it, we'll come find you and make our plans from there."
"Ohhh no!" Veren exclaimed, jumping down from his saddle indignantly. "You're not running off again!"
"You're not going to be able to follow me when I leave. Just do as I say, and find a safe place to set up camp. Snowfeather and I will find you once we locate Tara and Susa."
"Why wouldn't we be able to follow you?" Raven asked, a baffled look on her face. "Our horses can keep up with Storm!"
Damion laughed, then wordlessly stepped several feet away from the horses, and drew in his magic, allowing his body to slip into he form of a sleek black panther.
"Oh my!" The young woman stared at his new form in wonder. She jumped down from her horse, and slowly made her way toward the giant cat. "Damion? Is that really you?"
Damion growled menacingly, trying to make Raven nervous, then slowly began to advance on the wide eyed young woman, his mouth open wide to show off his gleaming white teeth.
Oh my!" She repeated, taking an involuntary step backwards, her eyes now wide with fear.
Damion growled menacingly, then suddenly lunged forward and bumped her gently, causing her to take an unbalanced step backward. She tripped over her own feet, and crashed to the ground.
"Hey!" Raven struggled to get back to her feet, but suddenly found herself nose to nose with the sleek black panther.
Damion stared deeply into her hazel eyes for a long moment, then licked her nervous looking face from chin to forehead.
"Uck!" She objected, trying to push Damion away as he attempted to lick her again. "Okay! Okay! I see why we can't follow! We'll go make camp while you locate Tara and Susa." She made it to her knees, then threw her arms around the great cat. "Just don't take long, and be careful!"
Damion laid his head gently against hers for a long moment, then sighed heavily and turned away, disappearing silently into the darkness.
Once away from the others, he immediately set off in search of any sign of Tara and Susa with Snowfeather ghosting quietly overhead, his keen eyes searching for any hint of activity.
At first, it was difficult to pick up any scents other than the stagnant smell of the swamp itself, but after an hour or so of searching, he taught himself to ignore the nearly overwhelming aroma of the marshes, and he was able to move quicker through the shadows at the edge of the road while searching for anything that may lead him to the scar faced woman's hidden campsite.
It was nearly midnight when he finally caught the faint scent of smoke coming from somewhere nearby. He located a faint trail leading away from the road, then slowly began to follow it along, his senses alert for any sign of danger.
"There's a small opening on the back side of that stone outcropping just ahead." Snowfeather reported to him a moment later. "I'm pretty sure there is someone inside, but I didn't want to get too close, and alert them to my presence."
Damion silently made his way around to the far side of the stone outcropping, then slowly began to creep forward towards the entrance of the cave.
"Because I said so!" A woman's voice suddenly erupted from the interior of the cave, sounding irritated. "When I tell you to send some people out to deal with them, I expect you to follow my orders!"
Damion carefully slinked through the shadows and peered into the cave, which was lit by a small fire near the entrance. The cave was much larger than it appeared from the outside, and he was surprised to see that several dozen men were lounging around on crudely made cots, or tossing dice together in small groups. There was only a single weary looking horse tethered to a heavy table near the rear of the cave, which he instantly recognized as belonging to Tara.
He scanned the cave and his eyes finally fell upon the scar faced woman arguing heatedly with a short broad chested man with a vast beard. He was dressed in rough leather armor, and carried a pair of vicious looking curved swords which he carried strapped across his back. Damion continued to scan the cave for several more moments, but saw no sign of Susa anywhere.
"For two men, and a woman?" The brutish man scoffed. "I'm not going to rouse my entire crew to deal with a tiny group of outsiders! Why should we care if they want to wander around the marshes? The snakes will eventually take care of them for us!"
"One of those men following me is the man responsible for releasing the dragons back into the world!" She snarled at him, her pale face red with fury. "He will not be stopped by a few snakes! I have already sent several people to deal with them, but I'm pretty certain they have failed!"
"One of the men following you is the Dragon Lord?" The man's eyes were wide with shock. "The man from the stories we have been hearing?" He suddenly looked confused. "But why would you wish to kill him? He released the dragons! He should be welcomed as a hero!"
"He is no hero!" She hissed. "He has come here to destroy our way of life! I heard him say as much with my own ears!" She suddenly drew herself up to her full height. "It does not matter. My people have allowed you to remain here to from escape justice for several months now! If you wish to continue to remain here, you'll follow my orders! Otherwise," She added in a threatening tone. "my people may decide that you are worthy to be sacrifices to our returning lords!"
The bearded man suddenly gulped. "It'll be a little while before everyone is sober enough to be of any use. We'll ride out at dawn, and do what you ask of us. Those outsiders will be dead by nightfall tomorrow."
"Either they will, or you will." She warned him, turning away. "I need to rest. I must make it to Daconia to insure that all of our plans are ready to be set into motion." She retreated into the darkness at the far end of the cave.
Damion drew back away from the entrance and deeper into the shadows, then paused to consider his options. He knew that it would take a while to go and get Veren and Raven, giving Tara time to escape, but if he were to rush in blindly, not knowing where exactly where Susa was located, he could endanger the slave girl's life. After another moment's thought, he decided to play it safe, and return to get the others, hoping fervently that it was the right decision.
He turned and began to race through the shadows back towards the road. "Snowfeather?" He called out silently. "Where are you?"
"Right abov
e you." The huge owl replied, swooping down from the darkness above. "What did you find?"
"Tara is in there, along with several dozen men, mostly thieves and cutthroats from what it appears."
"Did you see any sign of the child?"
"No, but I couldn't see everything inside without revealing myself."
"If there were only a few dozen men, why didn't you just deal with them yourself?" Snowfeather inquired, still gliding silently overhead as they quickly reached the road and turned back to the northwest. "I've seen you take on entire armies without batting an eye! Why are you hesitating now?"
"I don't want Susa to be injured in the melee, or worse yet, by Tara herself! She obviously has some plans involving the young girl, other than selling her for a sacrifice, though I'm not sure what it could be." He raced down the dark road in search of the others.
Thanks to Snowfeather's keen eyes, they quickly found Raven and Veren eagerly awaiting for his return a few miles away, hidden behind a group of trees a couple of hundred yards from the trade road.
He returned to his normal form so he wouldn't startle the horses, then stepped out from the shadows, causing his companions to jump nervously.
"I hate it when you do that!" Veren complained sourly, slipping his sword back into its sheath. "Can't you cough or something before jumping out of the darkness like that?"
"Did you find Tara?" Raven asked, ignoring the one eared man. "Was she at this Blind Man's Cave like those men said?"
"Aye, she's there," He told her with a grim look. "along with several dozen men. They're getting prepared to come in search of us, thanks mostly to a number of threats she leveled at their leader. She apparently feels the men that she has sent to stop us before have failed, although I don't think she realizes just how close we actually are."
"Did you see Susa?"
Damion shook his head. "I didn't want to risk getting noticed while searching for her. I felt the best course was to return so we can plot our next step together."
They quickly set off through the darkness, hoping to return to the cave before their prey had the chance to escape. It was still a couple of hours before dawn when they reached the trail leading towards the cave hidden in the rocky outcropping. They stashed their horses behind a large group of boulders, then slowly crept forward, hoping that Tara hadn't yet departed.
"I know it's a hassle, Eek," A man with a bushy beard and rough leather armor was saying to a mousey looking fellow dressed in a filthy peasant's smock as they stepped outside of the cave's entrance, mere feet from where they lay hidden in the shadows. "but I had to agree to it, otherwise the rest of those fanatics in Daconia would hunt us down and feed us to those serpents of theirs!"
"But that woman and her whelp are gone now!" The little man whined. "Surely you don't plan to carry out her plans anyway?"
"Aye, we're going to follow her orders," The bearded man said reluctantly. "to keep those crazy zealots off of our backs. They have tolerated our presence only because we keep to ourselves, and in return they don't feed us to their pet dragons! If they request this from us, then think we should accommodate them, to help keep the peace between us, if nothing else."
"It's sounds as if we're too late." Veren whispered as they watched the men disappeared back into the cave. "It appears Tara has taken Susa and moved on to Daconia."
"That's okay." Raven said reassuringly. "She can't have gotten far. If we hurry, we should be able to catch up with her."
"But what about these men? We can't leave them to sneak up behind us!"
"I need to know what that bearded man knows before we go any further." Damion growled, his anger over losing the chance of catching the scar faced woman at a boiling point.
"What are you planning?" Veren asked suspiciously.
"I have to insure that man doesn't get killed." Damion said, drawing the Dragon Sword from its sheath. "I'm going to try to knock him out before taking out the others. Feel free to take out any that try to escape, but stay out of the main fight. I don't want to accidently injure either of you. Take out anyone who tries to escape, but remain clear of the entrance. Sometimes I get a little overzealous."
"Please stay safe!" Raven whispered, grasping his hand tightly.
He lingered for a moment, still holding her hand tightly, then stood and walked boldly out into the light of the fire. Someone noticed his sudden entrance almost immediately and let out a cry of alarm.
Most of the men who had been lounging earlier were now on their feet, preparing to head out in search of Damion and the others, while others were still lounging about, unwilling or unable to rouse themselves awake. Those who could quickly drew their weapons and turned to confront him as he strolled boldly into their mist.
He stopped in the center of the cave, his keen eyes quickly scanning the cavern to verify Tara's departure. He felt a fresh surge of disappointment as he confirmed his fear, and his eyes quickly scanned the crowd of armed men for the bearded man. "You." He pointed to the bearded man, who stared at him in open astonishment. "Come here."
"It's not my nature to follow orders of a... freak," The bearded man stumped up to Damion fearlessly. "but I'll make an exception for you." The huge warrior towered over the man by three feet, but the bearded man seemed to think the men at his back was more than enough to handle one man.
Damion grit his teeth. "It is not wise to continue to insult me." He growled at the little man in a deadly voice.
The bearded man gestured to his men, who had slowly closed in their ranks behind their leader. "I don't think I have much to worry about." His face grew hard. "What's your reason for being here?"
"I need you to tell me everything that you know about Tara, the scar faced woman with the child that was here a few hours ago." He hoped to surprise him into providing some new information before the inevitable ugliness began.
"Tara?" The man asked with a laugh. "Is that what she calls herself? You should be careful in your dealings with that scar faced hag. There is far more to those dragon cultists that she serves than what appears on the surface!"
"She serves the dragon cultists?" He asked, unable to hide his shock.
"Of course! She claims she a slave chaser, but she serves those zealots to the southeast, there's no doubt about it." The man's face grew suspicious. "Just who are..." His eyes suddenly grew wide in recognition. "You're one of the ones we're supposed kill. You're the one that released the dragons!"
"Where did she go?" Damion asked, ignoring the man's revelation. "Was Susa alive?"
"I assume you mean the child slave? " The bearded man asked, seeming almost baffled into answering by Damion's calm demeanor. "She seemed fine. As for where they were headed, that would be Daconia, of course." His face suddenly grew regretful. "But you'll never make it that far, I'm afraid. She gave us the task of eliminating you and your friends, and that's exactly what we plan to do." He grinned an evil grin. "It was just our lucky day that you happened to wander in here for us to kill. No one will really notice that there's one less freak in the world!"
The stout little man never saw the fist that connected firmly with the point of his chin. His men stared in shock as their leader fell, many having completely missed the blow that knocked their leader unconscious.
"I really don't like being called a freak." He told no one in particular. He looked around at the others, who were still staring at their fallen leader in incomprehension. "Those who wish to die quickly, step right up, otherwise, you can just wait until I get around to you!"
Several of the rough looking men laughed, but none of them retreated.
The huge warrior shrugged. "Have it your way. Let's get this started then!" The seemingly innocuous looking sword in his hand suddenly burst into flame, and he began to slowly advance on the crowd of men.
Many of the men cried out fearfully, and began to back away from the death promised by the giant advancing down on them, until one of the men suddenly gathered his courage. "Let's take him down, boys." He let out a sudden r
oar, and brandished his rusty club. Nearly half of the other men roared in approval, while the others fell back in fear.
The first man that charged forward to meet him had his head removed as Damion ducked under a clumsy blow and struck out with the flaming blade. The next three fell just as quickly as Damion began to lay about with the fabled sword. After that, chaos erupted. Men began to surge in all directions, some attacking, some desperately trying to flee his wrath. Some few made it passed him and through the cave's entrance, but were quickly felled by the Raven and Veren, if he correctly guessed the screams that suddenly erupted outside.
Fully half of the men now lay dead, but many still they fought on like prey cornered by a predator. They began to charge at him in groups, obviously hoping to overwhelm him, but Damion's expertise easily overwhelmed them. There were still a dozen men left, the rest having managed to escape through the entrance, when he finally began to tire. He took a step back to take a breath, but four more men chose that moment to attack, forcing him to defend himself.
A dagger suddenly flickered through the air and grazed Damion's face, opening a long ragged cut down one cheek. He roared in sudden fury, drawing in his magic and releasing it on the remaining men, blasting the closest three to bits and hurling the rest to the cold stone floor. The shockwave from the blast shook the entire stone formation, causing the rear section of the cave to collapse in on itself, crushing the last few men still alive.
Damion quickly turned and scooped up the bearded man's unconscious body, then sprinted towards the entrance as the remainder of the ceiling gave way, collapsing into the cave with a great rumble. He tossed the man's limp form through the mouth of the cave, then dove clear an instant before a dense cloud of dust and pebbles erupted, spewing out into the stagnant air of the swamp. When it finally cleared, the cave was gone, as was a large portion of the stone outcropping.
Veren and Raven came running up to him anxiously, their faces concerned.
"Are you hurt?" The young woman helped him to his feet, then began to brush away all of the dust and debris, examining him closely in the process for injuries. She cried out in horror when she saw the ragged gash that marred one side of his face.
Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons Page 29