Cursed Cleric

by Salvador Mercer

  Hermes huffed in protest at being left behind again with his men, with the clan’s women and children as part of the caravan. “What’s the matter, Master?” One of the handlers asked as he took the horses reins in case Hermes had to dismount.

  “I do not know,” Hermes said. “There seems to be a fair amount of consternation. Let the reins go, I will ride up there and find out.

  The man complied and Hermes rode in the same direction as Baku. The men in front were at a rise along the rough ground that served as a road. It wasn’t a true road, but when the clan traveled in a north-south direction they tended to follow the same terrain so it served in a utilitarian manner much as any road would do. Riding up to them, the ground in front was visible and three other riders sat on their mounts a good stone-throw away. One man on a horse was engaged in conversation with Kaz.

  “I told you to wait back there,” Baku said, displeased, pulling his horse up to block Hermes. The pair of men were almost to the lead group.

  “I am a Kesh wizard and I will not be ordered to wait amongst the women and children of any clan.”

  Baku scowled slight but even Hermes appeared as a more than capable wizard, someone who would demand respect even amongst the fearless clans of the north. “Fine but keep silent or risk my Chieftain’s wrath.”

  Hermes nodded and the men rode their horse up to the others and sat in silence listening. Hermes tried to make out what the man was saying but either he was using a lot of slang, profanity, or was utilizing a dialect that was foreign to the Kesh wizard. All Hermes knew was that something bad had occurred and many of the Owl Clan had lost their lives.

  After some time, Kaz turned and pointed at Hermes saying, “Akrik no to abood ni Kesh.”

  The man nodded and then tilted his head slightly, “Ko to?”

  Kaz nodded and Baku turned his head to Hermes saying, “Can you demonstrate your magic?”

  Hermes was slightly flustered but seeing that the attention of more than a dozen fierce Northmen were on him, he nodded in return and murmured his words of the arcane, holding his staff high overhead with the tip pointed straight up. He summoned the biggest fireball he could, and it reached out to the sky. The key talent for any wizard was in keeping the fire in as compact and as hot of a ball as possible from staff to target. More than once, Hermes was challenged in this area and the flames started to lose shape and form and spread out across the sky over them much as if a large, fire umbrella was opened.

  Instead of murmurs of disapproval, the northmen cheered at the spectacle and waved their weapons wildly about the air. They liked what they saw, and it appeared that only Hermes understood that while he created an interesting pyrotechnic display, the true power of the spell was still lacking. Baku leaned over to him. “You did well, shaman.”

  Hermes nodded and said a simple response, “Thank you.”

  “Takik ne hoe. Akrik ni bood.” Kaz yelled.

  The men cheered and Hermes didn’t need Baku to translate for him. Kaz had just informed everyone that the great Kesh shaman would lead their assault on, and kill, the dragon that had attacked the Owl Clan only a few days earlier. “Why me?” Hermes whispered to himself again.

  It wouldn’t take long for him to find out. The group marched past the current encampment of the Owl Clan and the burned vegetation, scorched ground, and the remaining black-sooted corpses, were evidence enough of the dragon’s recent presence. They left the civilian women and children with the survivors of their fellow clan and a handful of Owl Clan fighters, along with their main group of warriors from their own Eagle Clan, continued the march with the Kesh wizard and his troops for another two days until they reached a ghastly sight.

  They came out onto a ridge where a third clan had seemingly traveled not long ago. What was left of them was dead on either side of the ridge since there were no survivors to bury them. Even the dozen horses, which were prized animals for the northmen since they normally never mounted such animals, were charred to a crisp. The dead were frozen in horrific positions of battle, anguish, and death.

  There was something more alarming to them, however. Far to their west, slightly north, flew the red dragon itself. It was on a trajectory south towards something, or someone, and it was flying with both speed and purpose. To Hermes dismay, instead of staying quiet and allowing the beast to fly away from them, the warriors yelled in challenge at the beast trying to get its attention and engage it in battle. Hermes could only hope it was hard of hearing.

  “Watch out,” Dareen said loudly, but calmly, to Dorsun as the man engaged a pair of undead zombies. The creatures looked like they were Kesh soldiers from last summer, so it was easier for the Ulathans to handle than say Ulathan undead. No one seemed to care for what Dorsun thought when battling the undead of his former kin.

  Moving quickly and hacking the pair down, Dorsun swirled and parried several blows from a trio of undead that had moved to flank him. The battle was taking place in a meadow within the forest that was close to their cabin. In fact, the sounds of combat could be heard from the Terrel homestead. Dorsun allowed the trio to follow him in before cutting the first one down and then parrying blows by the remaining two. “You are sure the druid wanted them here?”

  “Yes’ Dareen said, moving to take on a skeleton wearing ancient armor from a thousand years ago. It was trying to flank Dorsun again and Dareen hacked it down with her short sword.

  “I think he has something special planned for them,” Mary said, thrusting her own spear through the skull of another skeleton that was flanking Dareen. There were too many of them to keep up with.

  “Well, he better do something quick,” Dorsun said. “They are flanking us and we’re almost out of room. If we’re driven back into the forest the cabin will be within attacking range.”

  “Did you call?” Elister side, striding up to them from the southern edge of the forest.

  “Sort of,” the Kesh fighter said.

  Dareen smiled at him, but her demeanor was still stern. There were at least a few hundred, if not more, undead filing into the meadow that was created the day before by the druid. The trio, Horace was back at the cabin keeping an eye on any stray undead that may escape, were doing their best to lure the undead into the open space. Dareen spoke, “We’re out of space and time.”

  “Then you did well,” Elister said, lifting his staff and speaking words of the Arnen. The forest responded and the trees began to move as their roots picked up. “Come to me know and hold hands. It won’t do for you to fall now.”

  The trio disengaged and ran to him standing slightly behind him and holding hands after securing their weapons. Mary on the right had her spear in that hand while her left held Dareen’s. Dareen held her hand along with Dorsun’s who seemed uncomfortable with the act. Mary had her spear in her right hand and Dorsun shifted his sword to his left. They formed a tightly knit semi-circle around the druid. “Ready,” Dareen said.

  “Aho, iliathad nore,” Elister said loudly, picking up and then slamming his staff into the ground at his feet. The very earth beneath shifted and then rose into the air with the dead druid and three living humans on top of a block that was no more than ten feet wide on any side. The ground heaved until they stood a good ten feet above the forest floor.

  “He wasn’t kidding,” Mary said, wobbling a bit from the movement.

  “That was incredible,” Dareen said. “Are we safe?”

  “See for yourself,” Elister said, motioning for them to come in front of him and look over the edge.

  Doing so, the trio could easily see the meadow and the undead within it as they tried to reach them. The ground they stood on was literally a square tower with sheer sides that were not scalable. The forest around them closed in with the hard, oak trees moving side by side forming a literal wall that now enclosed the meadow. “I never,” Mary said, putting her free left hand on her chest and trying to comprehend the sight below her.

  “Don’t get too close,” Dareen said to Mary. “It won�
�t do for any of us to fall into that mass of creatures.

  “What is your plan, Master Elister?” Dorsun asked respectfully.

  “No need for formalities now, Dorsun,” Elister said. “I would be lying if I told you I hadn’t done something like this to your ancestors.”

  “Better to lie, I think,” Mary said, perhaps too honestly.

  “Well,” Elister began. “The lich is conniving and more than a bit cunning, but his brute force tactics requires something a bit special in return. With our wards and charges of those in our care so close, we can’t afford to let even one of those abominations near.

  “How will trapping them here help us?” Dareen asked.

  Elister smiled, “Who said we were only going to trap them?”

  “If not trap, what else is there?” Mary asked.

  “Funny you should ask,” Elister said, turning to look south above the tree line. Within a few short seconds, Tyra came into view gliding on a pocket of warmer air rising from the center of the forest where the green canopy refused to yield to winter. The green dragon banked and turned over the meadow and then tucked her wings in slightly and dove into the center of the undead.

  “Mother of Agon,” Mary said, making the sign of warding.

  Dorsun’s reaction was a bit more optimistic. “Now that is a dragon.”

  Tyra tore into the undead with her claws and snapped others in two with bites that took in up to a half-dozen of the creatures at a time. The dragon seemed to romp a bit within the meadow and the undead were fearless, mindless, and without much direction against a creature of that size. While her poisonous gas would do nothing against these creatures, her fangs and talons were permanently lethal.

  Elister cleared his throat, not a true gesture that needed action, but one from habit to draw attention to himself. It worked and the trio turned to face him after watching in morbid fascination at the demise of the undead by the scores. Elister said to them, “Now the real trap closes.”

  The trio noted his slight smile across his stone, hard lips and turned again to watch as Tyra flapped her wings and took flight with at least ten of the creatures attached to her. She shook parts of her body and they fell off while she gained altitude and then dove in on another mass again. Simply landing on them killed over a score and a half in one fell swoop. Dareen was curious, “Why does she do that?”

  Elister answered, “While much smaller, they number so many that she can’t allow them to swarm her, so she’ll take flight while doing her duty and shake off her attackers. Besides, she’s young and she likes to practice her dragon dives.”

  “Dragon dives?” Dorsun asked. Though usually silent, the Kesh warrior was feeling more and more comfortable around the Ulathans and had started to open up somewhat.

  “She didn’t have another dragon to mentor her, so she’s working purely on instinct now,” Elister said. “Well, that plus a few tips and pointers from myself, though I am no dragon tamer.”

  “She seems to have learned,” Mary noted, as Tyra took flight again and this time spent two swoops simply skimming and slicing the heads off the undead with her razor-sharp claws as she flew barely above them.

  Elister nodded, though no one was looking at him. “She has learned indeed.”

  It didn’t take long before the dragon had fulfilled her duty and laid to rest the dead that had risen at the call of their dark lord.

  Chapter 18

  Red Dragon

  The dragon was racing at them and they were taken back. It was not only unexpected, but they were unprepared for any contingency even remotely approaching what they were now about to face.

  “I guess our journey ends here,” Will said, pulling his broadsword and stoically standing in front of his companions.

  “Let me have that sword,” Targon said, moving to Salina and taking the sword off her shoulders where she had become accustomed to carrying it despite Will’s better health. Will actually healed in part due to the lesser load and strain that would have been placed upon him.

  Khan became to chant something, and his staff began to blow a lightly hued blue as it gathered charge particles from the very air itself. “We may have to improvise a bit in this battle.”

  “I hate to break it to you, Khan, but we’re beyond improvising.” Will said, consigned to his fate. “I think the best we can hope for is to get one really good hit in before it kills us.”

  “Wait a second,” Salina said. “Didn’t we undertake this quest for the purpose of securing that shield that Targon has now? Isn’t it called the Shield of Ulatha and Elister said it was proof against magic and dragon’s fire?”

  “He said dragon’s breath, Mother,” Cedric said, “but you recount what he said very well.”

  “So will it help us against the dragon?” Salina asked.

  “Who knows,” Will said. “I’m guessing Targon and the rest of us will find out soon enough.”

  “If it doesn’t work, we’ll be dead before we understand it,” Cedric said.

  The others turned to look at him and Will even tilted his head a bit before replying, “You read too much, you know that?”

  “How does it work?” Targon asked, dropping the packs and pulling the shield off his back and holding it in his left arm. He had to loop his hand through the first metallic loop in order to grasp the second. This secured the shield across his entire forearm and to his surprise the shield fit, barely.

  “Do you need to use magic words like Khan?” Salina asked, turning to face the Kesh wizard.

  Khan shook his head, “If this is what Elister described, its magic is embedded in the item itself. The shield will draw upon the surrounding energy to deflect any magical or dragon attack.”

  “And if you’re wrong?” Will asked.

  “Then as young Cedric pointed out, we will be dead before we know it does not work.”

  “I think you read too much too,” Will said. “Maybe we need to get behind you, Targon, if you’ll pardon me so saying.”

  “Not at all,” Targon said. “The way Elister instructed me for this to work, you’ll all have to be behind me.”

  “So even if it deflects the dragon’s breath weapon, it won’t do much against its jaws or claws, right?” Salina asked.

  “It should do as well against them as a normal shield,” Khan said.

  “Then Targon dies to a massive blow by this thing’s claw or tail?” Will said. “That doesn’t sound good either.”

  “Uh, I think we’re out of time,” Cedric said, pointing to the north.

  “Cedric, stay behind me and I’ll stay behind Targon,” Salina ordered. “I love you, my son.”

  “I love you too, Mother, but we’re not going out this way.”

  “I wish I had his confidence,” Will said, flanking left of Targon and slightly behind him.

  Khan moved to Targon’s right allowing Salina and Cedric to stand directly behind their Ulathan protector. “Ready yourselves,” Khan said.

  “Don’t forget what Elister taught you,” Cedric said. “The red ones can’t be harmed by fire.”

  “I have not forgotten my lesson from the druid regarding the nature of the chromatic dragons. I do not plan on using fire against this one.” Khan thrust his staff against the rocky, snow covered ground, allowing extra energy from Agon itself to enter his staff as Elister had taught him.

  The dragon narrowed its heavily armored eyelids and dove straight at them. It didn’t bother to roar in defiance or swoop and glide over them. For whatever reason it was hell bent on destroying them and its first target was the large human with the shiny shield that hurt its eyes. It tried to land on the man and crush him while inhaling and preparing to blast the others with fire.

  “Move back,” Targon yelled, jumping behind and raising both shield and sword against the beast. The creature’s rear legs landed with a thud while the front claws narrowly missed crushing Targon. Snow and rock flew into the air from its impact, much of it ricocheting off Targon’s shield. Targon wasted no time
in counter attacking, swinging the magnificent sword at the dragon’s right leg which landed closest to Will and he brought it down with such power and force that it cleaved through the dragon’s scales and into its flesh.

  Now the dragon did roar, in pain and anger. It reared its head back and the companions could see the bright glow of fire as it filled the gapping maw of the beast. With a lunge of its head forward, it exhaled an immense fireball that dwarfed those cast by the Kesh magic-users. At point-blank range, it was met by the magic of the shield and Targon struggled against the kinetic energy of the blast. The fire itself was vented to either side in a cone that extended from the shield behind it at a forty-five-degree angle. Fortunately, all of them were within its protective radius.

  “It worked!” Cedric yelled.

  The euphoria was short lived as the dragon reared back and brought its tail lashing forward. It impacted on the shield which in turn pushed Targon back straight into Salina and Cedric. Will had swung and missed the dragon’s leg as the beast had pulled it back so quickly after Targon’s strike. With his health in question and his age adding to his slower reflexes, his strike with the heavier broadsword was too late.

  Khan, on the other hand, was right on target. After the initial attack, he summoned the most lethal force the Kesh wielded. Luckily for them, this was not a blue dragon which would be immune to an electrical attack. With a single word, a lightning bolt shot out and hit the red dragon where the tail spread out from the torso. It knocked more scales off the creature and left a gash into its tender skin below the previously armored spot.

  Both Will and Khan were now exposed as Targon was on his back on top of their other two companions. Cedric couldn’t see anything, but Salina saw the danger and yelled out, “Will, get back!”

  The dragon recoiled but its neck propelled its head back into battle. Instead of heeding Salina’s call, Will said, “Back to the abyss with you, demon spawn,” charging towards the dragon with both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword.