The Darkness of Old; The Ancient Crown; The Winged One

by Hans Bezdek

  “Don’t think so,” said Black Hood, both of his hands resting on dagger hilts on his belt.

  “We know our way around,” I added. “We don’t need a tour guide, if you’re worried about having to leave your posts.”

  “Ya ain’t seein Markus,” said Sleeveless, a hand inching behind his back. He probably thought he was being smooth. Amateur. “We don’t let no one by unless the boss says otherwise.”

  Braun pushed past me and put a hand up towards Sleeveless.

  The man looked down at the dwarf. “Didn’t ya hear m-”

  A blast of black magic shot out of the dwarf’s palm and connected with Sleeveless, sending the man flying back and crashing into the building closest to us. We could hear Sleeveless groan as he pulled himself into the fetal position.

  At least he was still breathing.

  “What’re you doing?!” I asked Braun.

  “Ye said we couldn’t eat till we be done here,” barked back Braun. “I already told ya I was gettin hungry! Don’t got time to waste with these fools.”

  The other two Shadows finally snapped out of it and pulled out their weapons. Black Hood was the faster of the two, pulling out two daggers and swinging at Dhot with both of them.

  “Wah!” cried out the goblin, jumping backwards and reaching into his bag as the man missed him.

  Cassandra pulled out the Shattered Sword and hopped in between the two, catching one of the daggers with her blade. She didn’t activate the weapon, which I assumed was a signal to us to try and not kill them.

  I wasn’t able to watch what happened next since I saw a spiked club coming for my head and had to duck at the last second. Eyepatch stumbled forward as he overextended, not expecting me to dodge him. I jumped into him in an effort to knock him completely off his feet, but the orc didn’t budge at all. It was a little emasculating.

  The orc shoved me back with his free arm and then swung at me again. I turned my back and let Eyepatch’s club bounce harmlessly off the Time Shield. Eyepatch pulled his club back and gave it a confused look, surprised that the force of the strike didn’t at least move me.

  Taking the opportunity, I jumped into the air and pulled my fist back. The orc looked back to me and smirked as he saw me go in for the punch, assuming it was going to be as useless as my earlier attempt to push him over. Unfortunately for him, I still had my goblin glove on. The rockets in it activated as I punched out, propelling me forward and bringing an extra boost of power right into the middle of the orc’s face.

  Eyepatch took a step back from the blow, then another, and then finally collapsed backwards.

  “Now he’s gonna need two eye patches!” laughed Dhot. “Maha!”

  I turned back to see Black Hood also face down on the ground, Cassandra and Braun putting away their respective weapons.

  “Looks like we’ll be needing some new guards,” came a familiar voice off to the side. A half elf in blackened leather approached us, arms crossed but a smile on his face.

  “It’s good to see you again, Gerard,” smiled Cassandra.

  “Likewise,” nodded the half elf.

  “Thanks for stepping in and telling them to back off,” I said sarcastically.

  “It looked like you had it under control,” shrugged Gerard. “Besides, it’s not like you even went all out and changed.”

  “Can we not?!” I said, quickly looking around to see if anyone was listening. I wished he had never seen me transform, but at the time it wasn’t like I had much choice. At least he and the others didn’t see Ulrich join the fight.

  “Sorry,” laughed Gerard. “Come to talk with Markus?”

  “We have,” nodded Cassandra. “Would you mind escorting us there? I’d prefer to not have to fight anymore of your people, if we can help it.”

  “Sure,” he said, gesturing for us to follow him. “It’s for the better of the Shadows, anyway. Less broken faces this way.”

  We entered the building, Gerard nodding at some guards inside that either didn’t hear the commotion outside, or didn’t care to join. We followed the half elf down the stairs and into the underground passage where the leader of the Shadows kept his office.

  “Should we wait out here?” I asked as Gerard knocked on the door.

  “No,” said the half elf, shaking his head as he opened the door. “After what you did for us, Markus trusts you.”

  “That I do,” came Markus’ voice from inside. The goblin was shuffling some papers around on a large desk. He adjusted his glasses and smiled up at us as we entered. “I appreciate you not killing my men outside.”

  I was surprised that he knew that for a moment, then remembered he had spells set up all over Durnskeep that let him keep an eye on things. He probably watched the whole thing go down. Apparently, the Shadows would rather watch their friends get beat up than interrupt and explain there’s no problem.

  “Aye,” nodded Braun. “Yer welcome.”

  Markus laughed and waved for us to take a seat. “What brings you back to talk with me? Thinking about formally joining the Shadows?”

  “Not exactly,” I said as I sat down. “Remember that second Dragon War we were talking about last time?”

  “Hard to forget,” he said.

  “It’s happening now,” explained Cassandra. “The Dar’Ka are going to attack Jiezvall, and we need to go help them.”

  “Jiezvall…” said the goblin, tapping his chin as he pondered the name. “Ah, yes. The fortress out in eastern Brumark. Makes sense that the black and reds would aim for that early in the war.”

  “It does?” asked Dhot. “Why do you think they want it?”

  “It’s one thing for dragons to overtake a stronghold, another for dwarves,” explained Markus. “The dragons can simply drop in and create havoc. Once they have it, it’ll be more difficult for the dwarves of Brumark to reclaim it. This would give them an easy access point into Brumark, especially once they have Gorland.”

  “They already almost have Gorland,” I nodded. “They could move any Greener forces into Brumark by way of Jiezvall and mask the size of their ground army.”

  “Exactly,” nodded Markus. “Since you know they already nearly have Gorland, I take it you’ve been in contact with the Great Oracle again? Is he leading the forces of Yaerna?”

  My eyes fell to the floor and I felt the others grow tense. I couldn’t cry every time I mentioned the Great Oracle was dead. I needed to remain strong for this battle, and show the Shadows and everyone else that the Dar’Ka would pay for what they did.

  “He’s dead,” I said quietly.

  “H-How?” asked Gerard as Markus fell quiet and closed his eyes.

  “Their leader,” I explained. “Ulrich killed him. He’s a half dragon like me.”

  “I see,” sighed Markus. “This is a serious blow for all of Yaerna, and he should be mourned at the appropriate time. However, it sounds like this isn’t it. We have work to do.”

  “We?” asked Cassandra hopefully.

  “You’ll help us?” I asked.

  “Of course,” nodded Markus, getting to his feet and beginning to pace around the room. “I will need to discuss some with Gerard and see who all is available at the moment, but we will send some people to help protect Jiezvall.”

  “That would be great!” exclaimed Dhot. “Durnskeep, the Shadows, and the Tumblers all working together!”

  “The Tumblers?” repeated Markus, missing a step but quickly recovering. “Dmetri is helping you?

  “Yes,” I said, knowing that wasn’t what the goblin wanted to hear but not wanting to lie to him. We needed to be as transparent as possible with the people that were helping us. “Dmetri is helping us get an army from Durnskeep and will also be sending some of the Tumblers to help us.”

  “I hope that doesn’t mean you’ll have to back out,” said Cassandra, looking concerned.

  “It doesn’t… but I’m surprised you trust him after he betrayed you,” explained Markus.

  “Let’s just say the l
etter you gave us is providing some assurances,” I smiled.

  Markus and Gerard exchanged a smile of their own.

  “I told you he’d make a great addition to the Shadows,” said Markus.

  “I don’t doubt it,” said Gerard.

  “I’m pretty sure my days in gangs are over,” I laughed. “But I appreciate it.”

  While I was done with that part of my life, it certainly didn’t mean I’d throw away all the skills I learned from it. For instance, blackmail had its uses.

  Chapter 6

  “Please, please, please!” begged Dhot as we left the Shadows hideout.

  “Enough!” I groaned, running a hand over my face. “I said we could eat and we will!”

  “Where?” asked Cassandra. “I feel like we always end up in a tavern. Could we try something different this time?”

  “That’s fine by me,” I said, looking around and trying to get a mental map going. I figured most of my favorite spots were still around. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “What’s Reimar’s go to when in Durnskeep?” she grinned.

  “Honestly, I always preferred eating at the headquarters,” I shrugged. “We literally had all the top chefs, so there wasn’t much point in going out unless we were craving something.”

  “Boring,” sighed Cassandra playfully.

  “I know it doesn’t compare to the Queen’s leftovers, but it’s something,” I smiled.

  “Hey! I didn’t eat leftovers like some dog!”

  “Stop fighting and pick something!” shouted Dhot, clutching his stomach. “I feel like my belly is gonna eat all of me!”

  “We can eat at the Tumblers’ since it’s the best,” shrugged Cassandra.

  “Don’t think Dmetri’d like us goin back,” mentioned Braun.

  “He wouldn’t,” I agreed. “We’ll have to try somewhere else.”

  “What haven’t we had in a while…” said Cassandra, pointing at a finger on her hand as she listed out the options. “East Dwarven, West Dwarven, Gray Dwarven, Hurian, Trenton Barbeque…”

  “There are too many choices,” I said, shaking my head.

  “As long as the place has beer, I’m good,” said Braun.

  “That goes without saying,” nodded Cassandra, continuing to count. “Vorovian, Elven… what’s the name for what desert people eat again?”

  “Stop listing and just pick one!” shouted Dhot.

  “Let’s just pick something close,” I said, looking off to the right. A sign of a pig with the words Gud Eatin under it hung over the front of a storefront. “There’s a place.”

  “Done!” shouted Dhot, running away from us without a moment’s hesitation and into the restaurant.

  The three of us exchanged a look, shrugged, then followed after him.

  We pushed the door open and found a plain room with a few round tables and bar towards the back. Two of the tables had people eating at them, and a third had Dhot skimming through a menu.

  “Really?” asked Cassandra flatly, giving me a dirty look. “A tavern?”

  “I had no idea,” I said, putting my hands up apologetically.

  “That should be the title of your life’s story,” she grumbled, pushing past us and sitting next to Dhot.

  “Ha! She got ya there!” laughed Braun as the two of us joined them.

  I racked my brains to come up with a sick burn back, but I couldn’t think of one. The moment had passed, anyway.

  We looked through the menus and ordered our typical food and drinks, Cassandra not looking particularly pleased. Dhot was just happy to finally be getting some food. Our lunch came out quickly and we started into it.

  “I wonder what Jiezvall will be like,” said Dhot in between gulps of food.

  “I’ve never been to eastern Brumark,” I added. “I assume it’ll be mostly like what we saw in Feldarkr.”

  “What do you know about it?” Cassandra asked Braun as she picked at her food. “Anything interesting?”

  “Haven’t been there meself, so can’t say much about what it’ll look like,” shrugged the dwarf. “But based off what I know, I’m hopeful.”

  “Hopeful?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

  “The town was completely destroyed during the First Dragon War,” explained Braun.

  “You’re not great at motivational speeches, you know that?” I asked.

  “Let me finish, lad!” said Braun. “After Jiezvall got wiped out, the dwarves decided they’d never let such a thing happen again. When they rebuilt the town, they did it knowin that one day them black and reds would come back.”

  “So they’ll be better prepared than most towns,” smiled Cassandra.

  “And many of em probably still remember the first war,” added Braun, tearing into his turkey leg. “They’ll be waitin to tear the Dar’Ka a new one any chance they’ll get. I get what Markus was sayin, what with it bein a good entry point into Brumark, but I’d be skippin Jiezvall if I were Ulrich.”

  “He must be confident,” I said, trying to guess the wicked half dragon’s motives. He had always seemed like such a paradox to me, but after what he did to the Great Oracle I saw right through it. He was just an evil maniac who believed he deserved to control Yaerna. “After seeing how easy it was to take Gorland, he probably thinks he can take anything. No offense, Dhot.”

  “None taken,” shrugged the goblin. “If Gorland had more of a will to fight, my town would’ve never been wiped off the map. I have no special place for the territory in my heart.”

  “I’m glad this’ll be the first battle of the Second Dragon War,” said Braun, rubbing his hands together. “Good to start off with a win against those blasted dragons.”

  “Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” warned Cassandra. “Yaerna took heavy casualties last time. This won’t be easy either way.”

  “What nonsense is this ya’ll are talking about?!” demanded a man sitting alone at a nearby table. He wore a brown trenchcoat and looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days. There was something about him that gave off a highly confrontational vibe. Maybe it was the aggressively interrupting people thing.

  “Huh?” asked Dhot, patting his stomach now that the contents of his plate were now in it. “You mean the Second Dragon War?”

  “There’s only been one stinkin Dragon War!” insisted the man, pounding his fist on the table as if that was somehow going to convince us.

  “Right,” I nodded. “And now there’s another one. Not sure how great your math skills are, but that makes this one number two.”

  Cassandra and the others snickered, making the man grow even angrier.

  “Ya think yer funny, huh?” asked the man.

  “Sometimes,” I conceded. “What’s your problem? We’re just talking among ourselves.”

  “My problem is nutjobs like you four spreading a bunch of false rumors all over the place,” he said. “It’s bad for society. All it does is work people up about somethin that’s never gonna happen.”

  “What makes you so sure about that?” asked Cassandra.

  “Our ancestors whooped them dragons so bad, none of em are ever gonna show their faces ever again!” declared the man. “They know so long as us humans are around, they ain’t gonna stand a chance.”

  Cassandra rolled her eyes and Braun jumped in.

  “Ya think ye humans were the only ones takin down the black and reds?” scoffed the dwarf. “Yer outta yer mind.”

  “Oh, I’m sure some of you other races killed a couple of em,” shrugged the man. “But we do the bulk of the work. You other races just wanted to take all the credit to seem better than us.”

  “Uh huh,” said Cassandra. “That’s totally it.”

  “I think you’ve had enough to drink today, pal,” said Dhot.

  “Says the goblin yappin on about some red and black dragons coming back,” laughed the man without any humor in his voice. “Yer just hopin they come back. You and all yer Greener buddies want nothin more than to have em as yer maste
rs again.”

  Dhot’s hands clenched and I could see the goblin beginning to shake in anger. If this drunk guy wasn’t careful, he was going to get himself blown up. Come to think of it, if Dhot started blowing up places in Durnskeep, we’d have problems getting the city to give us troops. I needed to deescalate the situation before it came to that.

  “Alright guy,” I said, turning away from him. “Thanks for your input. Have a good one.”

  “I can see why they’d be spreadin these lies, but you?” continued the man. “Have some self respect as a human.”

  I laughed and shook my head. If this guy only knew who and what he was talking to.

  “Only explanation is you must be tryin to get with this bat head!” laughed the man.

  I was standing before I knew it, the dragon blood surging in me.

  “Don’t you dare call her that!” I shouted, shoving my finger in his face.

  “R-Reimar,” whispered Cassandra, pulling on my arm for me to sit down. “It’s okay. Let it go.”

  “Looks like I hit a nerve,” said the man, getting to his feet, too. I was a few inches taller, but that didn’t seem to bother him. I could sense the rest of the room looking at us, but I wasn’t about to look away in case this guy went for a cheap shot.

  “Get outta here before we make ya,” said Braun, getting to his feet as well even though it didn’t make much of a height difference.

  “So you four are the ones spreading lies about dragons coming to kill us, and I’m the one that needs to get out of here?” asked the man, shaking his head.

  “If you know what’s good for you,” I nodded. It was taking everything I had within me to keep from transforming. I knew it was a mix of all the things that had been happening today, but this guy was going to end up paying for it.

  “Oh, yeah?” chuckled the man. “Well, how about I-”

  There was a loud scream outside.

  Everyone paused, including the man.

  I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it snapped me out of my anger. If I thought Dhot blowing this place up was a bad idea, transforming into a half dragon and killing someone in the middle of town certainly qualified as one as well. This drunk idiot wasn’t worth it.