by C. E. Swain
"Then we must investigate it further." Javen said, as he dismounted his horse, and began to look around.
Feran and Kyler did the same, and it was not long before they found the faint trail that ended abruptly at the thicket's edge.
"This is strange." Kyler said. "A trail does not just end, it changes course, or splits of into other trails, but it does not just end."
"Then it must continue on." Javen replied, and parting the brush at the trails end, found the entrance to the camp.
They could tell it had been used often in the past, and had been used recently. Supplies for several weeks lay at one end of the large space inside the thicket that made up the hidden camp, and close to the pit used to build their fires were several personal items, along with several bags of various sizes. Feran noticed the spaces cut from the foliage in several places around the camp, where he could watch the castle, the town, and the road in both directions.
Inside the smallest of the bags they found the lists of all of the activities of the castle, as well as all of the items of interest the town held. One of the bags was full of dirty cloths, and it was burned in the fire pit. Another bag held items taken from people killed on the roads around Argnon, and towns along the great road in the west. Feran realized that this was the place Rylee used to hide from the solders, and wondered why the spy would risk his life to attack him in his room. Something more was happening here than it appeared from the camp, and he would eventually figure it out.
They gathered up the bags and other items found around the camp, and prepared to leave. The brush would be cleaned from the hill, and it would not be allowed to grow there again. They could not allow their enemies to have any kind of advantage over them if they were to win the battle. It was Javen who stumbled on the small bag, half hidden under a stump. It was no larger than a coin purse, but it held the most valuable item in the camp. They did not know it, but they held the key to Arnoran's defeat in their hands.
Later that day, when the three captains of the empire faced Falendor at the castle, he was informed of the camp on the hill. Other places around the castle grounds were to be cleaned of the bracken and brush as well, and the regent was updated on the plans for their defense. The bag was to be taken back to Menimeth, along with all of the information that had been gathered from the patrols, and the progress made in the defenses of Argnon. Soon the solders from the other realms would begin to arrive, and camps would be needed around the grounds of the castle for them.
Two days later, the three captains loaded their packhorses with the items that were to return with, and rode to the castle. Arriving there by dawn, the three men waited by the gates of the garrison for the messenger to emerge, and minutes later, Farlin joined them at the gates with several horses trailing behind him. Some of the horses were loaded with bags of various sizes, but most were just extra horses he was taking to Menimeth. Other people began to appear at the gates of the garrison, and wished to travel with the solders of the Dragon Guard. Men of various ages were going to Glansford to join the army, and they were to escort the people to Corlindum safely. The men from Alenvale would stay with them as long as they could, but could not be sure if they would be able to travel that slowly.
When the gates to the garrison opened, several of the castle servants emerged, and the messenger as well. The satchel was handed to Feran, and the messenger returned to the castle without saying anything. They were worried about the coming battle, and wondered if enough solders would arrive in time to save them from the enemy.
The three solders of the Dragon Guards rode from the garrison, and onto the road. The people who waited at the gates with them, followed as the men rode from the castle, but fell behind slowly as the day progressed. Several times along the way patrols were passed, or spotted on the smaller roads that led from the great road. The solders were dressed in the red and white of the Lost Cavalry, but wore cloaks with the golden dragon in the center, and the purple sash at their belt that identified them as solders of the empire. They were no more than twenty men to a patrol, but they gave the people on the road a feeling of safety.
After a few days, the three dragon solders were out of sight of the group that departed Argnon at the same time as them, but the people were moving too slowly. The men had been gone for far to long, and they rode with anticipation as they drew closer to the city, and their friend the king.
The sun was warm on the men as they rode, and the wind made the leaves in the trees dance in waves as it passed through them. The trees were close to the edge on this part of the great road, but trouble was not a problem of late. The people traveled in relative safety for the most part, having their own problems slow them down instead. Soon the roads would be empty again, but that would not last long if the battle went their way. The hooves of the horses echoed across the road in front of, and behind them, as they made their way along it.
When they reached the crossroads, Kyler and Javen described the battle that took place there, and the mage that had helped them win it. The part about the dwarf that leapt from the trees was told at the Red Falcon, but Feran never tired of hearing about it. They were about to continue on their way, when the feeling of dread came over them. It came from the north, and drew their attention in that direction, but the threat was still far away. It was Javen who felt the pull the strongest, and he was the reason the three captains rode north at the crossroads.
They camped beside the road that night, but the feeling of dread grew as they slept, and the next morning, Kyler readied his horse and his armor for a fight. He did not know why he did it, but the others did it as well. They did not travel north that day, but waited just off the road for whatever it was that came. It was after midday before the men appeared on the road in the distance, and the three friends felt the fear rise inside them.
The three captains cowered behind the trees, and did not watch as the men on the road came closer. When they felt that they could take it no longer, a calm washed over them, and they were angered by their fear. The men were mages dressed in the colors of Kath, but one of them was different than then rest. Kyler stood, and as Javen and Feran attacked from the trees, fired two arrows into the mages before attacking them. Two of the enemy lay on the ground with arrows to through their harts, but the strange one raised his staff, and a ball of fire knocked Kyler's bow from his hand. He pulled his sword and attacked the nearest mage, but his left arm hung uselessly at his side.
Javen killed one mage, with the first thrust of the sword he used, but the staff was raised again and Javen was thrown across the road. Feran managed to kill the mage he faced, and cut the arm of the dark colored elf, before he himself was knocked to the ground by a blow to the head. The strange elf raised his staff again to finish off the three men in the dragon armor, when Danorathin landed in the road behind him. He spun around to face the dragon, and sent a ball of fire into the great beast, but it had no affect. Menimeth jumped from his dragon, and pulled his swords from their scabbards. The next ball of fire was aimed at him, but he blocked it with the swords he held, and the ball of fire disappeared.
The dark elf was shocked by the ineffectiveness of his spells, and tried several more times to kill the man who rode the dragon. None of the elemental spells had any affect on the dragon, or the rider, and the mage was getting desperate. All of the mages sent to help him were dead, and the warrior was getting closer, when he raised his staff again. Menimeth held his swords out in front of him, and chanted as he walked forward.
"Drathin-Varadin-Dreather-Kathasren-Lanorda-Esecandri-FarthinDradam-Escovran" Came the words from the dragon rider, as he
advanced on the dark elf.
The power of the staff the dark elf used, warped and twisted as the mage tried to counter the death spell Menimeth chanted. It took all he had to keep the staff from splitting, but in the end, the power of the dragon was too much to contain, and the dark elf was destroyed by the spell. He screamed as his soul was ripped from him, and devoured by the swords Menimeth ca
rried. His power was added to that of the dragon rider, but Menimeth would not be using that spell again unless it was necessary. The thought of devouring the souls of his enemies did not appeal to the king of the empire, and he was afraid it would affect him adversely.
Javen was unconscious at the side of the road, and Kyler could not use his left arm, but Feran was unhurt for the most part. He had a cut on his head that bled still, but he held a cloth to it as he checked on his friends. Javen came around a few minuets later, and tried to sit up. He was dizzy from the spell that sent him flying across the road, but he soon rose and walked to his horse at the side of the road.
Menimeth helped his friends to where their horses were tied, and made them build a camp for the night. It would take several hours for the affects of the spells to ware off, but the death of the dark elf would speed it up. The friends were once again united, and they talked throughout the evening. Menimeth stayed at the camp with his friends until late that night, and then he returned to the Dragon Tower with his dragon.
The next morning, the three captains from Alenvale rode from the camp feeling better than they had in several weeks, because enemies of the empire were dead, and another threat to their king was eliminated.
Soon they would arrive in Corlindum, and find the dragon rider capital was their new home. A lot more people would be at the cities and on the great road, and an army was waiting for them. A lot had happened while Kyler and Javen were gone, and they would find even Menimeth had changed. He was far more powerful now, and on his dragon always. Events were unfolding that would change the empire forever, and the war for the lands of men was getting closer.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gek'Drajen, Master at the temple of Darkness, in the valley of death, in the land of Black Stygren, roared with anger when Ranjgin died, and his soul was lost. The powers of the Dark Elf, as his killer consumed them, left Gek'Drajen drained and weary. Only a mage of great power could have cast that spell, and taken the powers of the Dark Elf that he himself had trained. The Dark Master of the temple would not be pleased when the death of one of their best students was revealed, and he would have to travel back to the temple in Black Stygren to give the report.
How could a mage of limited abilities, as Arnoran had clamed the mage to possess, have defeated his best student? There was obviously more to this mage Darik than Arnoran had led them to believe, but the death must be avenged. There was no doubt that the Dark Master would send him back to fulfill the contracts, and avenge the death of Ranjgin.
The mage of Kath was regaining his powers slowly, but he would not be able to leave the fortress for at least another year, and it was more likely to be three or four. His armies had regained the lands to the north and east of lake Kathirem, and were retaking the lands to the south even now. It would be another two years before all of the lands were reclaimed that bordered the lake, and the way to the west was open for them to attack the hated dragon empire.
Gek'Drajen walked from the private rooms where Arnoran's mages worked night and day to restore the mage kings powers. He was not pleased with the way the conversation had gone, and would relay that feeling to his master when he arrived at the temple to give his report. He was still furious with the mage king for the lack of information his student had been given, but he should not have accepted the contract without it. The fault was all his for accepting the contract in the name of the temple, without the original contract being fulfilled. The Dark Master would consider this to be an offence against the temple, and it would not be forgiven until, both contracts were completed.
Arrangements had to be made for the journey back to Black Stygren, and Gek'Drajen was not used to such remedial tasks. The longer it took to accomplish, the madder the sorcerer became, and by the time the messenger arrived to confirm the arrangements had been taken care of, he was almost beyond control. The man walked into the room in which the sorcerer waited, but before he could speak, was devoured by the spell that the sorcerer cast in anger. Screaming in agony and terror, the man died at the sorcerer's feet, as Gek'Drajen consumed his soul.
Several more servants died at the hands of the sorcerer before he departed for the temple far to the south. Most were just doing as they were ordered by their king, and were just killed for the sake of killing. After several more souls were consumed, Gek'Drajen's anger subsided enough to allow him to depart.
This was the first time in more than one thousand years that a contract was not fulfilled before the sorcerer sent to complete it returned. It would not go well for him at the temple when he arrived, but he would not be killed for the failure of his student. It was Ranjgin who was sent to kill the warrior in the dragon armor, not Gek'Drajen. He was only sent to guide the dark elf from Kath, but the failure to complete the contract was Ranjgin's.
The ship sat in the harbor of the fortress, and loaded the baggage of the sorcerer while he waited in the rooms below. It had taken three days for the ship to reach the island, and it would take another three, to return to the southern port of Osgrad.
The trip to the temple and back would take almost two years to complete, but Gek'Drajen would return and set things right. He would not let the death of his student go without being avenged, and he would see to it personally.
*****
The men walked into the forest, north of the main camp, to gather the last of the seasoned logs to be used in the larger battering ram. A second one had already been built long ago, but it would need to be assembled at their destination. The woodcutters were cutting the last of the green wood that they would need for the siege towers, to prevent them from burning easily, and to protect the men who would be on them. A large part of the trees of the forest north of the camp had been cut down to build the siege weapons, and a way was being made to allow them to move them south. Mareston wondered why they chose to build all of the different parts of the siege weapons in the north, when the battle would be fought the south, because it would take them several months to clear a path wide enough to allow the parts to be moved.
Mareston watched as the men preformed the tasks, and made sure it was done the right way. The men who had been under his command since before they came to the empire, always did the job the way it needed to be done, but the solders from the camp that were sent to help did not. Solders of the mage king were not accustomed to the labor required to lay siege to a castle. Most of these men were from the eastern kingdoms, which always fought over the lands that bordered the countries around them. The battles they fought were in the open field, and were a decisive kind of battle, but a siege war was a different thing, altogether. They may not like the job they were doing, but when the arrows started to fly, and the fires were burning all around them, they might not be the ones who were dying.
He did not agree with the way Chidren was planning the assault, but could say nothing to him about it. Avren was a fool, and Chidren was no better than an outlaw, but he was under their command, and must follow orders. They did not know how to use an army properly, or even basic strategy as far as he could tell. Chidren was just a killer who used terror as his weapon, but really did not achieve that much. He was good at killing women and children, but was never around when the men showed up. No, Mareston did not think much of his two leaders, so he made his own plans, just in case.
Avren waited inside the tent on the hill, and looked for the runner who was to report the victory in the northeast. He had sent four hundred men to ambush and kill the solders of the empire who tried to close the northern passage. With the men they gathered along the way, the force should be close to eight hundred men when they arrived at the site of the ambush.
The report was long overdue, more than two weeks now, and Avren was growing angry. He gave strict instructions to the commander to send a runner, when the forces the empire had sent were wiped out, and the battle was over. When the commander returned to the camp, he would add him to the growing number of fools whose corpses hung from the tree.
Later that day, Avr
en watched as the men he commanded trained for the assault on the west. The plan was a simple one. Storm the castle, and overwhelm them quickly. Avren expected the whole thing to last no longer than it took to assemble the siege towers, and roll them up to the walls. The reports from the traitor put their numbers at less than four hundred solders, and Avren would have far more than that under his command.
He wasted more than a month clearing stumps in the north to have the men drill, only to waste two more to make it bigger. Avren had five hundred archers at his command, but most of them worked on the siege weapons and were not available to drill. Some of the solders cut down the trees in the south to make the path to reach the more open lands that were there, but they were doing it very slowly he thought. The spearman and the swordsmen that were already in the camp were conducting drills in the clearings, and Avren had them repeating the drills over, and over again, but was never satisfied with the results.
The men who had gone west began to return over the next several days, and the camp began to swell with the added men. By the time Chidren arrived with the last group, the number of men in the camp was close to five thousand. Most were simple infantrymen, but there were archers and cavalry as well. Rumors reached Chidren at the camp as he arrived of the dragon that had returned to the empire, but he did not believe it. The mage king ended the reign of the dragon in the lands of magic long ago, and there could be no more he thought.