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

by Hans Bezdek

  The others put me in bed and let me know that they were going to check on the rest of the fighters. I was to try and get some sleep, and they’d be back soon. I quickly obliged, drifting into a nice, deep sleep.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  My eyes cracked opened and I rubbed a hand over my face. I had no idea how long I had been out for, or why someone would be knocking on my door. All the Durnskeep fighters were told to go back to their own rooms for the night, and my friends wouldn’t have knocked. I thought for a minute it could’ve been Kiera, but surely she knew to not come try anything while I was trying to recover. On second thought, I was very confident that if it was her she’d have skipped the knocking and just come straight in...

  The person knocked again, breaking me from my thoughts.

  “Go away!” I groaned, throwing some covers over my head. “Trying to sleep!”

  There was a pause, then another set of knocks.

  Maybe it would’ve been better if Ulrich had just killed me.

  “Okay, fine!” I shouted. “Come in!”

  The door opened and an old man hobbled in, leaning on a cane. He was wearing socks in sandals, shorts that were a bit too short, and a pineapple print button up shirt that was tucked into his shorts. He wore big sunglasses and a brown hat. The man looked like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days.

  “Uh… can I help you?” I asked, looking the bizarre man over.

  “I believe you can,” he said with a shaky voice, turning around and closing the door.

  “I don’t know the way to a beach,” I warned him. How did such a strange old man end up in the underground dwarven city?

  “I’m not looking for a beach,” he laughed, removing his sunglasses and hat. “I’m looking for you.”

  I tensed up. Was this an assassin? I could see Ulrich taking the easy way out and hiring some thug to kill me now. I wasn’t sure I regained enough energy to fight for my life, even if it was just against some old guy with horrible fashion sense.

  “If you’re here looking for trouble, you should know my friends should be back any minute!” I said, trying to hide the concern in my voice.

  “That’s fine by me,” smiled the old man, turning to face me.

  With the sunglasses and hat off, the old man looked somehow familiar. There was something about his eyes…

  “W-Wait…” I said, trying to sit up a bit more. “You… This can’t be real…”

  “It is,” laughed the Great Oracle, walking over and sitting on the bed next to me. “Far more real than the last time we talked.”

  “B-But I saw you die!” I exclaimed, holding my head in my hands. “Am I dreaming?!”

  The Great Oracle picked up his cane and bopped me on top of my head. “Nope!”

  My mind was racing. “How did you get here? How did you survive Ulrich’s attack? Why are you wearing that ridiculous outfit?”

  “Oh, this?” asked the Great Oracle, looking down. “I needed a disguise if I was going to travel out in the open. Couldn’t risk being noticed by Ulrich or any of his spies. I even had to shave my beard, which was fairly heartbreaking. It’s growing back quickly, though.”

  “You think that look wouldn’t make you stand out?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “It makes it harder to recognize me, at the least,” he shrugged. “As far as how I got here, the same way you did. I flew.”

  “You flew?” I asked. “On what? Another dragon?”

  “No, no,” he laughed. “I gave myself wings.”

  “You have wings?!” I gasped, looking behind him.

  “Just with a spell,” he chuckled.

  “Oh…”

  The door opened up and in walked Cassandra, Dhot, and Braun.

  “Told ya he wouldn’t be sleepin,” said Braun.

  “Wait.. who’s that old guy?” asked Dhot, coming to a stop.

  “Hey, you three,” I said, gesturing at the old man. “This is the Great Oracle.”

  The Great Oracle turned around and gave them a smile and a wave.

  “What?!” the three of them shouted.

  “I’m glad to see everyone was thoroughly convinced of my passing,” said the Great Oracle, inviting the others to have a seat on the other beds. “That was the plan, anyway.”

  “You faked your death?” asked Cassandra, sitting down on the bed across from me. “So what Reimar saw wasn’t real?”

  “Ha!” laughed Braun. “I knew that kobold couldn’t have fought off Ulrich!”

  “No, that actually happened,” said the Great Oracle. “I forgot to tell him my plan until after and he went into a bit of a rage…”

  “Huh,” said Braun, nodding and looking impressed.

  “To address Cassandra’s question, the answer is yes and no,” conceded the Great Oracle. “I summoned Reimar in his dream state like I usually do, and all of the stuff with Ulrich was quite real. The thing was that I wasn’t real. I was an illusion, and a fairly powerful one at that.”

  “But Ulrich stabbed you,” I said, shaking my head. “He’d know that you weren’t real when his claw went through you!”

  “The illusion I used is the strongest there is,” smiled the Great Oracle. “It requires a lot of very rare and expensive ingredients to put together, not to mention much of my own power, but it gives the user the ability to have an illusion they can speak through for up to one hour.”

  “You should teach Reimar that one!” exclaimed Dhot.

  “I’m afraid he isn’t powerful enough yet to withstand the toll it takes,” said the Great Oracle, shaking his head. “It would probably kill him.”

  “Maybe don’t teach him then…”

  “Why go through all that effort?” asked Cassandra. “What were you hoping to accomplish?”

  “Everything that came to pass, my dear,” smiled the old man. “I knew that Ulrich was coming to kill me, so I had a few options. I could run, but that would just delay the inevitable. I could fight, but I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to kill him. I decided on tricking him instead. He would believe I was dead, which meant he wouldn’t come looking for me anymore.”

  “But why trick me?!” I demanded, feeling hurt in more ways than one. “Do you know how much I cried about your death? Strong, manly tears, but tears nonetheless!”

  “I apologize for that, but it needed to be done,” said the Great Oracle. “I knew you were the one that let it slip to Ulrich that we knew when he’d attack. I couldn’t be sure if it was intentional or not, so part of this was to see how you’d react. It was clear early on that you hadn’t betrayed me on purpose.”

  “Then why not pop up earlier?” asked Braun.

  “He might not have slipped up on purpose, but he still slipped up,” laughed the old man. “When he met with Ulrich the next time, I needed to make sure he didn’t out that I was still alive. Now Ulrich believes beyond a doubt that he killed me, and I can rest easy.”

  I still felt a bit jaded that he felt the need to trick me, but I knew I’d get over it. I was just glad the Great Oracle was still alive.

  “So what now?” asked Dhot.

  “Roxbury is hard at work building us a new hideout,” said the Great Oracle. “I’ll be heading there shortly, and when the time comes I’ll invite you four to visit. I’ll reach out to Reimar through the usual means of communication if I see anything going wrong, as I’ve done in the past.”

  “Yipee,” I said dryly.

  “After the whooping we gave to them Dar’Ka today, I don’t think ya gotta worry about us!” declared Braun. “We’ll push em back wherever they go!”

  “I must congratulate you on the victory today, but I don’t want you to get too confident,” the Great Oracle warned. “This war is not finished yet, not by a long shot. There are several battles yet to come, and you’ll continue to need to rely on one another.”

  “I think we’ve got that part figured out by now,” I nodded.

  “Good,” smiled the Great Oracle. “Ulrich and the Dar’Ka are hurt
, but they aren’t out. They will take a few days to recoup, and then they will continue pushing deeper into Yaerna. After the loss today, they will skip Brumark until they can be sure they’ll win the territory. If you can convince some of the blue dragons and dwarves to accompany you to the next battle, all the better.”

  “Oh, what about Fulco?!” asked Braun.

  “Um, I think I’d feel a little better if he didn’t come with us next time,” said Dhot, shifting on his bed uneasily.

  “Why not?” asked Braun, frowning.

  “That guy’s too much of a maniac,” said Dhot. “Even for me!”

  “He is a bit unpredictable,” agreed Cassandra. “While he’s a great fighter, killing Eluf without telling anyone about it ahead of time almost really hurt us.”

  “It actually almost led to all of us dying,” I clarified. “If we didn’t have the Time Shield, we’d all be dead under some rocks right now.”

  Braun sighed and crossed his arms. “Fine…”

  “I’m sure we could use him another time,” I said, trying to keep the dwarf happy. “Maybe if we ever invade Ra’Chok?”

  “I’d like that,” smiled the dwarf.

  “If you want to end this war, you will need to invade Ra’Chok,” advised the Great Oracle.

  “That doesn’t sound fun,” I mumbled.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it now,” said the Great Oracle, getting to his feet. “Ulrich will set his eyes on the heart of Truska.”

  “That’s not too far,” I shrugged. “Shouldn’t be a problem for us to move down there.”

  “You’ve got a stop you’ll have to make first,” said the old man, putting on his sunglasses and hat again. “I’m afraid you aren’t going to like it. There’s someone you know that you’ll need to get on board for this battle.”

  “No…” I said, shaking my head. He couldn’t be talking about him. It had to be anyone else. “No, please. Please don’t say it.”

  “I’m sorry, Reimar,” sighed the Great Oracle, opening the door and looking back at me. “You’re going to need Laurinaitis’ help.”

  The End.

  The Ancient Crown

  Book 8

  Chapter 1

  “How do you know this, again?” asked Kiera, stretching her arm out and nodding her thanks to the light form of Braun for healing her. He would’ve done it earlier, but she refused help until after the rest of the blues were healed.

  It had been a couple of days since the battle for Jiezvall happened and I was finally feeling well enough to get back on the road. We didn’t know the exact timing or location of the next place the black and red dragons would strike, but we knew enough for now. The four of us went above ground and prepared to head out west. After saying our goodbyes to the two dwarven kings, I decided to tell Kiera we were leaving. For some reason, I expected her to just accept it like the others had and say goodbye.

  That had proven not to be the case.

  “Uh…” I stalled. While I knew I could trust the blue dragon with my life, I wasn’t sure if I should tell her the truth about the Great Oracle. The old man made it seem very important that no one knows he’s still alive, and that meant keeping it a secret from even Kiera. “Let’s just call it a feeling.”

  Kiera stared blankly at me. “We’re banking on your feelings when deciding where to send our troops now?”

  “I’m not asking for you to send troops with us,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m only telling you where the Dar’Ka will strike next, and that we’re leaving.”

  “And the three of you are fine with this?” asked Kiera, glancing behind me and crossing her arms.

  “Of course!” exclaimed Dhot. “We go where the black and reds go.”

  “But how do you know they’re going to the middle of Truska?” asked Kiera, narrowing her eyes. “Are you just magically having the same feeling that Reimar is?”

  I turned around to see the goblin looking conflicted. “Er… yes?”

  “Perhaps you both ate something that isn’t settling with you well,” said the blue dragon.

  “Listen, Kiera,” said Cassandra, apparently done watching us play this game. “We’ve received information that we know is reliable, but in order to keep receiving it we have to keep our contact a secret.”

  “Oh,” shrugged Kiera, glancing back to me. “Why didn’t you just say so?”

  Because I never thought of it was the answer, but I opted to chuckle uncomfortably instead.

  “Most of my people are still recovering from the last fight, but I’m sure I can rally them,” said Kiera, turning to walk away. “We should be ready in an hour or so.”

  “No, wait!” I said, taking a few quick steps and grabbing her arm. “There’s no need for that.”

  “No need?” she asked, even more confused than before. “Do you think we are poor fighters?”

  “Course not!” said Braun. “It sounds like ye blues worked wonders durin the battle!”

  “There’s no need to get the blues involved in this,” I explained. “The dragons that were with Ulrich will be just as exhausted as yours are right now. It’s better if you and your people rest up for whatever comes next. There’s no sense in losing more of your people in Truska.”

  “How will you defeat the black and reds, then?” she asked, looking at the four of us. “I have no doubt in your fighting abilities, but only one of you can fly. You also aren’t carrying Zorikium arrows with you.”

  “We’re going to be making a quick stop before the battle,” replied Cassandra. “We’ll get a fresh army to fight with us. At least, that’s the hope.”

  “Aye,” nodded Braun, looking slightly nervous. “Wish it were a guarantee…”

  “You’re all making this sound so promising,” said Kiera flatly.

  “We need to get the Republic to help us out,” I admitted.

  “I thought that didn’t go so well last time?”

  “It didn’t go great, but I wouldn’t say it went horribly wrong either,” I said. “The Republic probably wouldn’t have cared about helping some dwarves in Jiezvall, but they’ll care if something close to them is taken over. If the Dar’Ka can get hold of Truska, all of the territories will be in trouble. That includes the Republic.”

  Kiera looked like she wanted to argue some more, but sighed.

  “I don’t know why the four of you are acting weird about this, but I trust your intentions,” she yielded. “My people will appreciate the chance to get more rest, and the next time we fight with you, we’ll be back to one hundred percent.”

  “Good,” I smiled. “We’ll be looking forward to it.”

  “While you won’t take my help, I can’t let you go to the fight completely empty handed,” Kiera continued. “When you know for sure where you’re headed, give me another call and let me know. A few of my blues that showed up late didn’t get a chance to fight. I can send a handful of them to come give you some help, along with some of King Julfr’s dwarves that aren’t too winded from the other day.”

  “But-”

  Kiera poked my chest with a finger and pushed me back. It might’ve hurt a little. “I’m not going to budge on that.”

  “Okay, okay!” I said, rubbing the spot she hit. “We’ll call you when we know more.”

  “You better,” she said threateningly, then playfully smirked.

  “We should probably get going,” chimed in Cassandra. “The way back to Ravendale will take some time, even while flying.”

  “We… we’re flying?” I asked.

  “You thought we were going to take a nice stroll for a few weeks?” asked Dhot. “Maha!”

  Everyone stared expectantly at me. I wasn’t thrilled at the thought of covering so much ground in my green dragon form, but it looked like I didn’t have much of a choice. I supposed we didn’t have a ton of time to waste.

  “Alright, give me a minute,” I grumbled, getting some space and moving towards the center of the stronghold’s courtyard.

  Closing my eyes, I
focused on letting the dragon blood rush through my veins. I felt my scales form and my body begin to grow. After a few seconds, I knew I was close to my half dragon form but kept the transformation going. Carrying the three of them a short distance wouldn’t have been a huge deal as a half dragon, but I’d need to go all the way if we planned on traveling to practically the other side of Yaerna.

  I opened my eyes and stretched out my wings as I completed the shift into my full green dragon form.

  “Looking good!” catcalled Kiera, whistling at me.

  I was glad no one could see me blushing under my scales. “Um, thanks.”

  The other three hurried over to me, climbing on my back with some effort. I took a few steps with the added weight on me, trying to get a feel for what was going to be a long journey. Several of the dwarves that were repairing the town paused to watch me. It wasn’t every day someone saw a green dragon.

  “Best of luck getting the gold and silvers to work with you!” called out Kiera, waving goodbye to us. “Try not to die before I see you again!”

  “We’ll do our best,” I chuckled, glancing at the others on my back. “Ready?”

  “As ready as we’re going to be,” said Cassandra, looking mildly worried as she clung to my neck. Dhot and Braun were clutching on behind her, the goblin giving me a thumbs up. I knew better than to wait for this side of Braun to give me his go ahead.

  I took off with a quick kick and strong beat of my wings. The four of us climbed higher and higher into the air as we aimed west. The wind was strong in my ears, but I was fairly certain I could hear the dwarf’s cry and panicked screams. The cries lessened as I leveled us out, finally reaching a height I felt comfortable with.

  Over the next several hours we kept to a path similar to the one that the blues took on their way to Jiezvall. The wooded land of Truska kept to our left as the beautiful snow-capped mountains stayed to our right. Every so often I would spot a nomadic group of trolls or giants on the Brumark side stare up at us with shock, but there was no chance they’d be able to track us down. I laughed at the thought of them telling others they saw an elf, goblin, and dwarf riding a green dragon. It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke.