The Light Bringer: An Epic Fantasy Adventure Novel (The Dragon Gate Series Book 2)

by Randy Ellefson

  Ogren laughed and refilled his mug from a decanter. “Convince them with violence. I do not disapprove! But it would be easier if you outnumber them. Right now, they badly outnumber you.”

  “I think we need to separate them from the enthralled,” suggested Eric.

  “How?”

  The rogue looked at Jolian. “Sustained blasts of dragon fire.”

  The dragon smiled. “Without hurting them, yes, but this would mean getting in between the lords and the enthralled first. That may not be possible.”

  Anna asked, “Why do we think they have all these enthralled people with them? Are they planning to take them through the portal? I don’t see why they would. They can enthrall people on other worlds.”

  “Good question,” said Matt, but he thought he knew. “Maybe they are just using them to get to the portal. Save their energy for any trouble there.”

  Anna asked the mayor, “Do you know where the portal is? Knowing that might help us. Maybe we can get their first and be waiting for them.”

  Ogren put down his ale. “The Hall of Worlds. They heavily guard it because of its nature, letting people from other planets reach Rovell, and this is the likely reason they have the enthralled, as you say, to save their strength. The lords could probably get inside and to the portal without it, but why take the chance? And this also suggests that the orb may not be on when they arrive. If it was, they could simply walk up and do what they want.”

  Matt said, “Then maybe the enthralled are a backup in case the wizard controlling the orbs is not paying attention.” That seemed reasonable.

  Ryan asked, “So how do we get into this hall? If we told the city why we’re there, I assume they would let us?”

  Talis exchanged a look with Ogren. “Yes, but that may take some convincing, and from someone they know. This would take time. I am thinking I might need to head there tonight.”

  The mayor nodded. “I will draw up something and seal it with the town’s seal. You will take two others with you, each with a copy.”

  “Is that dangerous,” Anna asked, “traveling at night, even with those giant birds?”

  Talis said, “Yes, but it is a risk we should take. The kirii are actually one of the bigger dangers, but we can head away from them for a few miles.”

  “You will not land until you reach Ortham?”

  “They can make it without stopping. If we evade the kirii, we should have no troubles the rest of the way.”

  Ogren said, “I will send more men with you until you are clear of their territory, and then they will return.”

  Anna asked, “So if we’re successful in getting the orb and driving the Lords of Fear through the portal, what is to stop them from returning?”

  Talis said, “They can turn the portal off. The city doesn’t like to do it because opening it again is difficult, but this is a good reason. You would have time to get away with the orb before the lords could return.”

  She asked, “Does it make sense to turn off the portal before they arrive there so they can’t leave?”

  Talis smiled. “Do we really want them to stay on Rovell?”

  Matt didn’t much care which planet they were on as long as it wasn’t Earth, but that made him see Talis’ point. “When trapped, people are more dangerous. I’d rather convince them to leave.”

  “I have a concern about letting them get that close to the portal,” began Anna, her brow creased. “What if we’re too late or they get through? Then we have to follow.”

  “Yeah,” Eric said, “that is a big risk, and I don’t want to go to another world. How fast can they turn the portal off?”

  Talis frowned. “I do not know.”

  Matt had an idea and said, “A few seconds, I would think, but it depends on how they are keeping it open. Are wizards actively casting a spell, or is a spell just in effect and needs to end? That was rhetorical.”

  Eric asked, “Would Ortham provide some wizards who can help?”

  Talis suggested, “I will try to persuade them. They certainly have wizards. More so than us.”

  Eric said, “It sounds like we have a basic plan.”

  Matt agreed and raised an idea he’d been thinking of, and when they thought it sounded like a good idea, he asked for some parchment and began copying one spell from Soliander’s books. The four of them cut a small lock of hair from themselves, put each in a sealed envelope, and gave those and the spell to Talis to take with him to Ortham. The Lords of Fear had a surprise awaiting them.

  “By the way,” the wizard began, “while we were waiting for you at the cave, I grabbed get a few things that might be useful, like the green stuff that Sebast had spit on Brazin. I’m not sure but if seems like acid. Never know when that could be useful. Had to be careful about getting it. The other big one is dragon ice.”

  Eric asked, “What’s that good for? Won’t it melt?”

  “Yes, but I can reform it as dragon ice, which differs from regular ice. I don’t know how, but some spells call specifically for it, and that’s where it gets interesting. Dragon ice killed this Lord Voth. I may be able to use one of several spells on him because I now have this. I had some time to choose spells, based on what we know of the Lords of Fear.”

  The rogue asked, “Like what?”

  “Something to slow poison if the assassin strikes with a blade. And this sorcerer might freak out if I make him covered in boils or something. I might need something better than that for him.”

  “Yeah. Keep looking.”

  Anna cleared her throat. “I used my time as well to reach Aryll, the Goddess of Life. She understands we are facing a necromancer and an undead knight, neither of them from this world, and she is not pleased. We can expect her help.”

  Ryan asked, “Any idea what form it will take? More than healing?”

  “Yes. I sense I can be a, uh, weapon this time, if I see something and call on her and she doesn’t like it.”

  Eric smiled at her. “Time to get your hands dirty.”

  Anna rolled her eyes and quoted an old line. “I’m a healer, not a fighter.”

  Ryan turned to Ogren and asked, “What about Brazin? Are you okay with him being here?”

  The mayor looked to Jolian, who said, “He cannot shift back to dragon form and his magic is suppressed. He should be no trouble, but I would keep the truth about him known to only those who must know. One of your wizards may need to suppress his magic again. I will show them how.”

  Looking doubtful, Ogren agreed, and the conversation drifted to less important matters, the mayor drafting a few letters for Talis, who left to get ready and tell others to prepare. Knowing that the Mind Shield spell did not exist on Rovell, Matt made a copy of it and felt glad that they had captured far more of the sparis fish than they needed for themselves. Back outside the Kirii Cave, while they had been waiting for Eric and Jolian, Ryan had removed the eyes from all the fish and put them in vials. Matt hated handling them, prompting some good-natured ribbing from Ryan. He now had multiple small jars of fish eyes and had them and the spell brought to Talis, who would convince wizards of Ortham to use the spell as needed. This could significantly improve their chances of impeding the Lords of Fear and their approach to the Hall of Worlds.

  “That’s great,” said Eric, looking him in the eye.

  Matt flushed a little at the approval. Part of him wished he was as good at planning as the martial artist. He suddenly realized he loved his friends and would do anything for them. Maybe he should admit to how much he appreciated Eric’s plans. What if his friend felt unappreciated and taken for granted?

  As the night wore on, with another day of unknowns looming, Matt just wanted to be left alone to study. The four agreed to share one large room for safety reasons, extra cots being brought in, Jolian taking the next room over after some brief flirting with Ryan to see if he wanted to join her, but he looked both intrigued and intimidated and had demurred, to the amused smiles of his friends. That only prompted him to ruefully tell the
m all to shut up. He settled for cleaning the leviathan blood from his armor.

  Matt went in early so he could memorize more spells either for use before returning to Earth or so he could write them down once home. This business of not being able to take the spell books back was an irritant. Sometimes he felt like every minute away from home, he needed to be doing this. He’d been tempted to pull out a book on the flight to the Kirii Cave but had known that was ridiculous and he might drop the precious book. But now he stayed up longer than he should have, the others going to sleep one by one until he finally blew out the lamp. He drifted off to thoughts of how to cause dread in the Lords of Fear. He and Eric especially needed to surprise these bastards.

  In the morning, they ate a quick breakfast of porridge and bread with little fanfare and ensured they were ready. The Mind Shield spell only lasted a few hours, so they had already agreed to stop southeast of Ortham so Matt could cast it on all of them, including the dragon. They soon took to the sky, Matt feeling secure in the saddle behind Anna. Ahead of her was Eric, who made a show of being comfortable without a saddle. Matt suspected he did this to mock Ryan, who was behind the saddle and holding on to it for dear life even though Jolian’s magic would keep him on. The big guy had looked suitably nervous, no assurances from Eric able to relieve his concerns.

  With the morning sun behind them, they rose over Valegis and quickly left it and a crowd that had gathered to see a dragon behind, soaring over the mountains until the foothills and plains replaced them. The trip was quiet, a calm before the storm, and Matt spent his time mentally reviewing every spell he had memorized, the words, gestures, and which pocket a needed ingredient was in. Before Ortham came into view, they landed on an open plain and had a quick snack of fruit. He couldn’t help wondering if it might be their last meal. They consulted one last time about the plan before taking to the sky again, and what they soon saw threw their plans into disarray.

  Ortham stood just north of a river that flowed from the Galla Mountains, and they had been following this for some time before the walled city came into view on a plain. Towers jutted up from the battlements and among the stone buildings, a limestone castle south east of town looking over the rushing river. This attracted Matt’s attention, for Talis should have already arrived and hopefully persuaded city leaders to clear the way to the Hall of Worlds or risk the population becoming enthralled. As the dragon banked overhead, he saw few warriors by the river crossing, but hundreds of horses milling around. Something seemed amiss.

  They soared over the city, Jolian appearing to track the primary avenue across the river, past the southern gate and castle, and toward the center of town, where they knew the Hall of Worlds stood. And that’s when they saw it—a force of warriors a thousand strong marched up the road inside Ortham unmolested. At their front strode four figures, one in a cloak that flapped in the breeze and holding a staff with a golden orb held high aloft. From this distance, they could not tell if it was on, but the Lords of Fear were already here. And they saw the dragon with its riders, the one with the Orb of Dominion pointing toward them. Jolian banked wildly just before a blast of lightning lashed the sky near them, but missed.

  “Jolian!” Eric yelled. “Can you land near the Hall of Worlds?”

  “Yes.” She dove then, twisting and turning in case anything else struck at them, but nothing came as they plummeted toward the buildings farther north. Matt saw a large rectangular structure standing by an open square where Jolian touched down. They might have normally expected crowds, but the place was empty. It took several minutes for all four to climb down to the stone plaza one by one.

  “How are they here already?” Anna asked, scowling in worry, her eyes going to the road from where the Lords of Fear were likely coming.

  Eric replied, “They must have ridden through the night.”

  Still in dragon formed, Jolian rumbled, “It is the most likely explanation.”

  “That means they will be tired,” Ryan suggested. “Hopefully. I’ll take any advantage we can get.”

  “Yeah.” Eric’s gaze made Matt turn to see the familiar figure of Talis running toward them, from what he assumed was the Hall of Worlds. A dozen men followed, some wearing the insignia of Valegis, while others wore the red and black banner of either Gisla or Ortham. This was what might sometimes be helpful to know, but it didn’t matter this time.

  “Ellorians,” Talis called as he stopped, “they arrived recently. But we are ready.”

  “Someone cast the Mind Shield spell?” Matt asked. “On how many?”

  “Yes, on those few left in the hall. As many as we could.”

  “What about the illusion of us?” Matt asked. It wasn’t hugely important, but the distraction of it might be the difference between success and failure. This was the reason they had given locks of their hair to Talis, as an ingredient for the spell.

  “The wizards stand ready,” Talis replied. “There are many more wizards than we could shield, so we couldn’t risk others being enthralled by being here. They could just turn against us. We have a hundred and could only bring a handful.”

  Eric sighed. “Planning around this orb is getting irritating, not that we have a choice.”

  Matt had to agree. The orb could turn friend to foe in seconds. A few shielded wizards would have to do instead of a hundred that might become a problem for themselves rather than the enemy. He felt a moment of fear that the shielding spell might not work. The memory of Soliander mentally probing his thoughts would never fade. The orb wasn’t much better. Anger strengthened his determination, and he turned to face the approaching threat.

  “Is the orb already on?” he asked. “I couldn’t tell.”

  Talis shook his head. “No. They haven’t used it, maybe because they didn’t need to. Like you had suggested, we cleared the streets to prevent their numbers from getting even larger.”

  Eric said, “Talis, head back to the Hall of Worlds. I assume that is it behind us? Okay. Jolian, any chance you can duck behind that big building over there as you are? If the lords are far enough in front of the enthralled, maybe a blast of fire in between will keep the mob back. They are innocent and should not be hurt, but feel free to singe the lords.”

  The dragon lumbered over that way, the ground shaking with every step, and the four Earth friends stood alone, silently looking at each other. Ryan loosened his sword and placed the golden helmet over his head, the act triggering the others to make similar movements. Eric checked his knife supply, finding nearly a half dozen left. Anna put one hand to Eriana’s amulet at her neck, closing her eyes and whispering. Only Matt stood as he was, as ready as he’d ever be. The sound of footsteps approaching en masse became clearer, but there were no shouts that one might expect from a force of warriors. Instead, they marched silently, the crowd finally appearing around a corner between two-story buildings of stone.

  In front strode the Lords of Fear, the undead knight Lord Voth on the left, black mail plate seeming to devour the light instead of reflecting it like Ryan’s golden armor. He looked human from here, not something risen from the grave. Beside him strode a blond man with a waist-length cloak, trimmed in white, the underside of it royal purple. It swirled and flapped with the brisk steps of his booted feet, and even from here, his attire seemed elegant. He held a half-staff with the orb atop it, and the device did not appear to be on. Next to him walked a woman clad in black leather, with a ponytail of bright red hair, one hand on a short sword at her hip. She moved nimbly and efficiently, with sleek, dangerous confidence oozing from her. And beside her walked the black-skinned necromancer, in black pants and a matching tunic that appeared covered in silver symbols Matt couldn’t see from here. He wondered if they should adopt intimidating stances, but the time had passed. No one on Rovell knew they weren’t the real Ellorian Champions; maybe they could intimidate from borrowed reputation.

  The enemy continued to advance until they reached the plaza, and by now the lords were twenty paces ahead of the enthra
lled warriors behind them, most wearing studded leather or chainmail. They bore an insignia of Minari, if anything, but a few showed signs of being from Gisla, a mixed mob of threats. Matt flicked a glance at Jolian, her massive red bulk crouched down by a building and wall out of view to one side. The lords reached her position and strode into the plaza and past the wall she hid behind. A few seconds later, just as the warriors came near, she rose, a blast of flames roaring toward the Lords of Fear, who whirled at the sound. The sorcerer Garian raised one hand and Matt saw the flames strike an invisible wall. Jolian seemed to sense it, too, for she turned to aim the blast at the ground between them and the warriors, who stopped and pushed back into the crowd, the sheer mass of them inhibiting their escape. The dragon could have roasted all of them alive if she had wanted to, but she let the flames die.

  “Welcome to Ortham!” shouted Eric, and the lords half-turned to them. “Your fight lies with us.”

  The sorcerer, Lord Garian, seemed to consider that and Jolian, who glared down at him but made no move to attack again. When Matt saw the sorcerer move toward them first and the others follow, he knew which one led them. They advanced until twenty paces away. Behind them, the warriors appeared to advance again until another spout of flames changed their minds, but one ran forward before slowing to a walk, Jolian letting him go but glaring at the others not to try it. So far, this was working as intended. He noticed the necromancer’s lips moving and wondered what he was doing. He could now get a much better look at them.

  Lord Garion was young and wore a haughty sneer that ruined his otherwise handsome face, a neatly trimmed blond mustache and goatee adding refinement to his oval face. Green eyes glittered with intelligence and power lust, maybe a kind of eagerness that made him seem a little unhinged, dangerous, and unpredictable. Until the sorcerer smiled at him, Matt hadn’t realized a grin could be so malevolent. Instinct told him to look away as if bored and unimpressed, so he did.

  Matt’s eyes fell on Lord Voth, who didn’t look the least bit like undead, but then he had died by being encased in dragon ice that preserved him until the necromancer awoke him. If someone hadn’t told Matt that Lord Voth was undead, he might never have known, and yet a sense of foreboding lurked in that direction. The knight’s eyes were black and flat as if truly devoid of life, and he stood coldly surveying those before him without the passion Garian showed. He had trimmed close a black beard on his square jaw. Someone had broken his nose, which poorly healed judging by the crook in it. Only now did Matt notice the frost along the edges of Lord Voth’s armor near his white skin. The symbol of Aranor, Soliander’s home world, adorned the chest plate.