The Dragon War

by Salvador Mercer

  More than one head tilted up to allow them to see Dor Akun high overhead. Dour looked back down and then over his shoulder at Damien, “How in Agon could those simpletons have enchanted shields? That would cost them more than they make in a year.”

  “It had to be a wizard,” Damien answered.

  “Where is this magic-user?” Dour asked.

  Damien shrugged, “Hard to say but I do not think he is far. The magic is a simple spell that lasts only a day or two at most.”

  “The real question is why did these mercenaries even have enchanted weapons in the first place?” Zokar asked.

  “Shields,” Damien corrected.

  “Fine, shields then,” Zokar said.

  Damien tapped his staff for a moment, and he looked intently at his gemstone. Then his gaze went back to Zokar and he said, “I fear that my own realm has also attacked here in Tyniria. This is more widespread than we thought.”

  “How can Kesh fight a war on so many fronts and against so many realms?” Azor asked, not understanding the full might and scope of the Kesh realm itself. The Northman had not left to scout yet and was following the conversation.

  Damien answered, “We have always used mercenaries, enlisted other realms to assist us, and the most obvious is our arcane might. One wizard can do a great deal of damage to any army from any realm.”

  “Now that’s the truth,” Dour said, nodding and looking back at Alyssa. “There, your bleeding has stopped already. The magic is running through your blood quickly.”

  Alyssa seemed more intent on the conversation than on her health as she all but ignored her healer, “If what you say is true, then this other wizard is most likely very close by.”

  Damien saw that she was looking and talking directly at him, so he answered, “I doubt he is too close by.”

  “Why’s that?” Dour asked, giving Damien the same look he was receiving from his other companions.

  “Because he would have intervened by now and not allowed these mercenaries to engage us one on one.” Damien said.

  “You call that one on one?” Dour asked his friend.

  “Well, two on one then,” Damien corrected himself. “At any rate, I stick by what I said. I am positive there is not another wizard anywhere close to here.”

  “Then what do ya call him?” Dour asked, pointing past Damien and in the same direction at the ridge line where the Ekins had appeared and disappeared not more than several minutes ago.

  The group turned to face the ridgeline and they saw close to a hundred mercenaries including a small group of them near a tall, swarthy man in a tasseled, pointy, hat holding a staff with a beautiful red ruby atop of it. The smaller group was pointing in their direction and several of them were wounded and looked too familiar, “Oh dear,” was all that Diamedes could say.

  The other wizard held is staff in front of him and peered through his gemstone at them. A faint but visible red pulse of light shot out and engulfed them and the landscape, bathing them in its warm hue. Once done the man nodded at a mercenary next to him and he used his staff as a walking stick and started to approach.

  Damien started walking to greet him and he spoke without turning back, “Stay here.”

  “Why?” Zokar asked.

  “Because,” Damien said, “If you approach so will the mercenaries.”

  The companions almost didn’t notice that the other wizard was approaching alone and the hundred or so mercenaries had formed a skirmish line, brandishing their weapons. The idea of fighting a hundred professional soldiers supported by a wizard powerful enough to cast enchantments that even Damien could not defeat was not something that looked even remotely possible as far as achieving any degree of success.

  After walking halfway the other man stopped and waited. Damien completed his walk by stopping almost within touching range of his fellow wizard. When he didn’t speak the other wizard asked, “Who are you?”

  “I could ask the same,” Damien said, undeterred by the group now outnumbering his own twenty to one.

  “Amsel,” the man said his name.

  “Kedam,” Damien answered in kind using his wizard name.

  The other man squinted intently then said, “You are the outcast.”

  “I was,” Damien nodded. “The High Mage has sent us on a mission however and I have reinstated my position in order to complete it.”

  The other man looked skeptical, “What mission? I have not been informed.”

  “Actually the quest is for that man,” Damien turned and pointed rather boldly at Diamedes. “He is the royal historian of Tyniria, and the High Mage has tasked him with conveying orders to the Duke of Ulatha to stand down. My orders are to assist him in this task.”

  The arch mage looked again and nodded, “I know who he is.”

  Damien spoke quickly, “You are my superior, do you require my service at this time?”

  “No,” Amsel said, “However, why did you attack our troops?”

  “I did no such thing,” Damien said, making sure his voice had a tinge of distaste in it. “They attacked us.”

  The other man’s staff was glowing a very faint red and Damien worked hard not acknowledge it. The other man seemed content at the line of questioning so far, “The historian’s bounty was rescinded?”

  “Yes, by the High Mage himself about a week ago.”

  “You came from our homeland then?” The mage continued to scrutinize Damien making him feel unpleasant to say the least.

  “Yes. We landed on shore not long ago near here on our way inland.”

  There was a mostly unseen relaxing in the arch mage, something that no one other than Damien would have noticed. “You know about the Tynirian king?”

  “Of course,” Damien said without hesitation. “Nicely done I might add.”

  Flattery always worked on a Kesh magic-user and the man allowed the faint glimmer of a smile to cross his countenance. “There have been many triumphs for Kesh and many more will follow.”

  Damien nodded and used an old Kesh expression, “This is the fate of the Father and the Mother.”

  The mage said, “You and your party may proceed. I warn you however to guard yourselves from the rebels still infesting this realm. They do not readily accept the fate that the Mother and Father have bestowed upon them.”

  “Understood,” Damien said. “I understand the draconus are active here as well.”

  “They are,” Amsel said. “I believe there is only one nearby, not a threat to one of us.”

  It was obvious the man meant one of the Kesh, able to use arcane magic to fend off a dragon. Damien played along. “Agreed, though my charge is in protecting those who are lesser than us, at least until the High Mage’s request is fulfilled.”

  The other man nodded and then turned and headed back to his troops. Damien didn’t waste time and returned to his group where he was greeted by more than one surprised and skeptical look. Zokar asked the question that all them were dying to know the answer to, “What was that about?”

  “Yeah,” Dour added, unable to contain his excitement, “How come we ain’t fighting them right now?”

  Damien held his free hand up to motion them to silence. “Pick Lady Alyssa up and carry her if she is unable to walk, but we need to leave immediately.”

  Zokar saw the man’s serious expression and called for help, “Azor, Dour. See if you two can help her to her feet then let’s move now.”

  The group did as they were asked and quickly headed through the grove of trees passing to the other side within five minutes. They found a worn trail that headed inland and took it moving as quickly as possible. Alyssa spoke once they were clear, “I think I can manage.”

  Both Azor and Dour, who were assisting her on either side, loosed their grip and stepped back to allow her freedom of movement. Dour spoke back to her, “Lass, if you need help there ain’t no shame in asking for it, especially after taking a shot like that in the gut.”

  “The talaman is working quickly and th
e bleeding has stopped if not the pain,” Alyssa said. “Let’s keep moving.

  The group walked and minutes turned into hours before they found themselves leaving the valley near the coast and heading into a larger area that was flatter and had occasional grouping of trees around it. There were no homesteads and the trail petered out once on the other side. “Azor spoke, “Game trail.”

  “Aye,” Dour said looking at their path. “Best head to that hill northwest of here. I see plenty of trees and some ridge lines behind it that could aid us in establishing a defense if necessary.”

  Damien nodded and looked back apprehensively, “We can make camp there and I will inform you of what has transpired.”

  Most nodded, no one spoke, and the group set out as Dor Akun had set hours earlier followed by the sun. The group walked well into the night as the twin sisters rose and aided them in their travels by illuminating the wild terrain around them. The journey took longer than they thought as the crisp air seemed to convey nearness of the countryside around them when the opposite was true.

  When they arrived, Azor had scouted ahead and motioned for them to follow him. He took them through the trees and to the base of a hill that had a cliff facing them. They had to walk around the north side of the hill to climb it and took shelter in a small draw near the top where the wind was mild, and they were relatively unseen by any unless they walked directly past the terrain feature.

  They pulled out their camping gear and Azor assigned himself to first watch going to the top of the hill and belly crawling to its summit to prevent any silhouette of his from showing. No one asked about a fire and none was started. Finally, Dour had had enough. “Well, what in Akun happened between you and that wizard back there?”

  Damien found a tree log to sit on and the others took up a position in the dark to face him making their seating arrangement rather lopsided. They looked as if they were sitting in an auditorium ready for a show to begin. Damien cleared his throat and began, “The Kesh was a mage, not a wizard.”

  “What does that mean?” Alyssa asked from her prone position opposite Damien. The others had laid out a blanket for her as well as using packs for support and an overly large jacket as a pillow.

  “It means that he is powerful beyond a wizard’s ability, much less my feeble attempts at magic.”

  “So how are we still alive?” Alyssa asked.

  “That is a good question,” Damien began. “I believe he used a truth spell to ascertain if I was being factual with him or not. I ensured that I spoke truthfully to every question he asked, though I worried about what I did not say.”

  “How’s that?” Dour asked.

  “The spell can detect a falsehood, but I was not sure if he could tell if I was being evasive or not with him. I did not exactly tell him the entire truth about our mission or my status in the order.”

  “But you told him enough to ally any concerns he might have,” Zokar pointed out.

  “Did you know him?’ Diamedes asked, eager to learn which mage it was.

  Damien nodded, “I did. Was it possible for you to hear our conversation?”

  “No,” Diamedes answered.

  “Good,” Damien said. “I phrased my own greeting by saying I could ask him the same thing.”

  “What thing?” Dour asked.

  “He asked who I was,” Damien explained. “Had I said I would then he may have registered my response as a falsehood. Saying I could meant that I could ask or not ask even though I recognized him.”

  “Pretty sly and typical for a Kesh,” Dour noted. “You’re doing well for yourself.”

  “So then who was he?” Diamedes pressed.

  “He goes by the name of Amsel,” Damien said. “He used to be a wizard from Ulsthor but later moved to Keshtor and must have recently been promoted to mage considering the attrition our order has had recently.”

  “Aye, I remember him,” Dour said. “Pretty ruthless fellow too if I remember correctly.”

  “Yes, his vanity and thirst for vengeance were legendary,” Damien said.

  “So what else did you tell him?” Zokar asked, wanting to understand their situation better.

  “I told him the truth,” Damien said. “What else could I say?”

  “You told him about our quest?” Zokar asked, incredulity in his voice.

  “Basically… Yes,” Damien said. “I told him the High Mage tasked Diamedes with ordering the Duke of Ulatha to stand down. That is what the High Mage requested, was it not?”

  Diamedes nodded, “He did.”

  “Then I told him I was ordered to protect him in this quest,” Damien clarified.

  “Well, no one exactly ordered ya,” Dour said. “Though I did kind of task you with this.”

  Damien smiled at the older cleric and said, “It was not you who tasked me with what I do now. This comes from my birth mother who swore me to serve Agon. That is what brought about my downfall within my Kesh order and led me to where I am now.”

  “You’ve done a fine job of it,” Dour said. “Even when you’ve been down you’ve managed to come through for us.”

  “You are too kind,” Damien said. “Anyway, that is about it. My main worry was that the Ekins would demand retribution for their dead and that soon, the mage would contact the High Mage and seek clarification on what I said.”

  “Using his critir,” Diamedes stated.

  “I assume so,” Damien said. “I have no idea what the High Mage response would be, but I was not ready to find out yet.”

  They were disturbed by a voice coming from above out of the dark, “I think the High Mage’s response would be ordering your death.”

  Chapter 14

  Child’s Play

  “Azor, come down from there and explain yourself,” Damien ordered.

  Zokar had to intervene as well, “What’s going on?”

  Azor took a few steps around them and down into the draw. He had addressed them from directly overhead on top of the ten-foot-high slope that was too steep to climb. When he reached them, he said, “I spotted torches coming from the game trail near the hill pass east of us.”

  “How many?” Zokar asked.

  “A hundred,” Azor said without emotion.

  “Bloody hell,” Diamedes cursed, holding his head with his hands.

  Zokar looked around then said, “Time to go.”

  “Go where?” Dour asked.

  “We aren’t staying here to find out what a hundred mercenaries want with us, not after Damien’s story,” Zokar said. “We travel all night if we have to in order to stay in front of them.”

  “We will be challenged to maintain that pace, especially with one of us injured,” Damien said. “Perhaps you should go, and I will lead them away from you?”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Dour protested. “Your place is with us.”

  “Not if it puts you all in danger,” Damien said.

  Zokar ended the conversation, “We travel together, and we leave now.”

  Alyssa stood and held up both hands to fend of the objections she saw coming. “I feel much better now, and I can travel all night for several night if I have to.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Diamedes said, looking at her in an approving light.

  “Then let us get to the Tynirian capital quickly then,” Damien said. “We need to lose our pursuers and we cannot afford to confront a mage at this time.” That was Damien’s way of saying he wasn’t strong enough to match his fellow magic-user.

  There wasn’t much talking, and the group put their things away while Azor gave updates from the hilltop above. The group travelled the rest of the night and into the morning. Their pursuers showed no signs of relenting and Damien had informed them that the mage was known as a divinator, or someone who could divine truths, find secret doors, or say track prey. In this case the mage was tracking them and with the magical dagger, talamans from the High Mage, and other items they carried it was thought that they would not be able to lose them anytime soon.r />
  “We can’t run from through all of Tyniria without stopping,” Dour said at one point the next day.

  “We’ll all run till we can’t run anymore,” Zokar said, then he turned to Azor. “How far behind us are they?”

  “We’ve done well,” Azor said. They were four hours behind us and made up some time, but they must be tiring as well since we have maintained at least a two hour lead this morning.”

  “How are you calculating this?” Dour asked.

  “The same way I calculate anything,” Azor said confused. “Don’t you hunt game in your realm?”

  “This isn’t the same,” Dour said.

  “Close enough for me,” Azor said.

  “Keep moving,” Zokar ordered.

  The group ended up traveling through the rest of the day and then deep into the night. They mainly walked at a quick pace but would run for spurts up to an entire hour when Azor would advise that the mercenaries were making up ground. Each spurt seemed to even things back up, but the intense pace was taking a toll on them. “I’m done,” Dour said falling down and sprawling out on the grass near a group of trees. The land around them was desolate and when they came upon a settlement it was either destroyed or deserted.

  Diamedes plopped down beside him and bent over. “I’m sorry, Zokar, but I think us old men have had enough. I don’t think I could climb a flight of stairs now to save my life.”

  Alyssa dropped on the ground to sit next to Diamedes. “I feel better but with this pace I don’t think I’ve fully recovered. I’m still in pain and won’t leave them here alone.”

  “No one is saying anything about leaving anyone alone anywhere,” Zokar said, somewhat exasperated at the moment. “You still wanted to get reach Akilon to request an audience with one of the king’s sons, correct?”

  Diamedes looked up to see the Balarian looking at him. “Yes, I wanted to see the king himself, but if that’s not possible then I wanted to talk to either son. Whomever is in a position to help us end this war.”

  “From what we’ve seen the last couple of days I’d say that Tyniria is in its own civil war on top of the Kesh invasion, no offense Damien.”