by Isaac Hooke
The brown-robed orak abruptly staggered, leaning against the wall.
“Gwen, see if you can bind the earth mage’s wound.” He tossed her a bandage from his saddlebags. She caught it in her free hand. “He’s useless to us if he bleeds out.”
Gwen reluctantly sheathed her sword, and then went to the mage. She examined the wound on its back, and then started wrapping the bandage around the creature’s waist.
“My, my, you’re a pretty one,” the earth mage told her, bearing its sharp teeth in a beastly grin.
Gwen tightened the bandages extra hard, causing the orak to flinch.
“And feisty, too, I like it!” the earth mage said.
“Do you have a name, scum?” Malem asked, mimicking the speech style he had heard among the other oraks. He wanted to make sure the beast knew who was in charge. Not that the link would allow the mage to think otherwise, at least while Malem had the strength to maintain it.
“I am Graftly, Master,” the mage said.
“The orange-robed orak outside, what sort of mage is he?’ Malem pressed.
“That would be a fireworker,” Graftly said.
“I could have told you that, if you’d asked,” Abigail chimed in.
“A fireworker?” Malem said. “I don’t think I’ve heard of them. How are they different from fire mages?”
Abigail opened her mouth, but Graftly spoke over her: “They can’t conjure flame from nothin’, like a fire mage can, but rather can only work existing flames, much like myself in how I work with the earth. A fireworker can also summon fire elementals, if the blaze is big enough.”
“Interesting,” Malem said. He was thinking of how he could use such a mage, if he could turn it to his side. A dragon would be preferable, of course.
He reached out and tried to touch the bundles of energy representing the dragons in turn, but his will still evaporated upon contact. No weak willed minds among them. Distance was possibly a factor in his lack of success as well.
He tried the fireworker next, and while he was able to touch its mind, he was unable to maintain a solid grip.
The party backtracked through the passage, toward the stairs leading to the main hall. Felipe occasionally peeked out along the way, only to cuddle deep inside his collar once more.
“Stay back,” he told the women on horseback. “Conserve your strength. Let the monsters work.”
“But I feel like we should be doing something,” Gwen said.
“You are doing something,” he said. “You’re lending me stamina.”
“I can feel the drain, actually,” Abigail said.
Gwen shot her a knowing glance. “It’ll get worse.”
Malem kept his mind watching for any oraks that might be hidden in the side rooms. He had his two oraks double-check those rooms ahead of the party, in case there was a beast he had missed, but always those rooms proved empty.
Another group of six oraks waited near where the collapse had been, and Malem lost his two oraks in the ensuing fight since he had let them wander too far ahead of the earth elemental. He took control of another two in the interim, while the earth elemental crushed the final pair. Their screams echoed throughout the tunnel.
Malem sent the two oraks forward to scout the stairs leading to the main keep. The way seemed clear to the main hall.
He sensed movement in the keep above.
“More oraks are coming,” he said.
“Tell your earth elemental to do his bashing more quietly next time,” Xaxia commented.
Another group of six came down the stairs. Malem had the mage move the earth elemental forward; the two oraks under his control flattened themselves against the walls on either side, and allowed it to pass. When the oraks arrived, the earth elemental bashed the surprised creatures. One of them managed to get away.
Malem waited, keeping his senses open. Via Spirit, he watched as one of the dragons dragged its hulking form toward the keep.
“We have a dragon coming,” he announced.
27
When the black dragon entered the keep, Malem immediately instructed the earth mage to back the elemental away from the stairs, in case the dragon decided to reach its forearm down into the basement in an attempt to grab the creature.
He sensed the dragon coming to a halt.
“It’s waiting at the top of the stairwell in the main hall,” he announced.
“No doubt to breathe acid down upon any members of our party that decide to show themselves,” Xaxia said.
“Or paralyze them,” Abigail added.
He tried touching the dragon’s mind again, now that it was closer. Still, his will evaporated away. So distance wasn’t really a factor then, at least not in this case.
He glanced at Graftly. “Can a dragon’s magic paralyze your earth elemental?”
“Don’t think it’s possible,” the orak mage said.
He glanced at Abigail for confirmation. She nodded. “I don’t think so, either. That said, a dragon like that could very easily melt the elemental with its breath.”
“So a direct frontal assault isn’t the best idea, you’re saying,” he told her.
She smiled grimly. “Wouldn’t recommend it.”
Spirit brought his attention back outside, where the oraks of the gathered war parties had begun to stir. They tossed their torches into a pile, soon forming a flaming pyre next to the two dragons. The fireworker approached the resultant flames and raised its hands. The dragons stepped back, their body language defensive.
The flames wavered violently, and then from their midst stepped a fiery demon: a fire elemental. It was made entirely of naked flame: two arms of fire, a burning torso, a blazing head, but in place of legs, the waist tapered to a flickering ribbon of fire, similar to how Malem imagined a ghost’s body would end.
The creature floated toward the keep. He couldn’t pick it up with his beast sense.
“They’re sending in a fire elemental,” he said.
“No doubt intending to use the summoned creature to flush us out,” Abigail said.
Malem was unused to handling so many mental slots, and he was feeling the growing strain that came with it. Well, that was good, because he planned to switch things up a bit.
He expired the two ordinary oraks with him, draining them of their stamina until they dropped.
“Was that expected?” Xaxia asked.
“Yup,” he told her distractedly.
He felt better from the stamina boost as he reached out into the courtyard above. He tried different oraks until he found two that would submit to his will. He took control of them and had one—which he mentally named Harold—casually approach the fireworker.
The mage’s brow was crumpled in concentration, and didn’t notice the approach, but the two guards beside it stepped forward to block Harold.
“That’s close enough, worm,” one of the oraks said.
Meanwhile, Malem had the second orak approach from the side. He called this one Spike because of the nasty looking pike that particular orak carried. He hoped Spike was good at throwing.
He closed to within ten paces of the fireworker, and then instructed Spike to unleash its weapon.
The fireworker was struck in the side.
Malem grimaced as the mage screamed and toppled. That was a nastier hit than he was looking for. Hopefully the fireworker survived.
Nearby oraks who had witnessed what had happened promptly closed on the defenseless Spike and hewed the poor creature down.
The fireworker pushed itself up on one knee. Still alive. Good.
Malem glanced at the entrance to the keep. The elemental had paused just inside as the mage’s control over it wavered.
“Healing,” the fireworker muttered at the shocked guards.
Malem wrapped his will around the mage and tried to take control, but the orak fought him. Even grievously injured, it was stronger than the earth mage, and he couldn’t get a good hold on its mind. His own growing exhaustion wasn’t helpi
ng matters.
The elemental flickered in and out of existence—the orak apparently was having trouble handling the demon while fighting off Malem at the same time.
“What the hell is it with Brethren turning on us lately?” one of the guards said. That one had gone to a nearby horse and retrieved a jar from the saddlebag—it could only contain healing unguent.
“It’s the dragons,” the other guard said. “Get rid of the dragons and you solve the obedience problem, mark me.” The guard realized Harold was still standing nearby. “What the hell are you still doing here? Git!”
Malem instructed Harold to depart.
The first guard ripped the pike from the fireworker’s side, causing blood to gush forth, and the mage collapsed. Malem took advantage of its weakened state to try again, and this time successfully wrapped his will around the creature’s mind. He was forced to release Felipe from his control because he was lacking one slot to hold the new mage. But the monkey wouldn’t be going anywhere, not while fear kept it huddled inside his jacket.
As the new mage settled in his mind, for lack of a better name, he called that one Fred.
He promptly ordered the mage to send the elemental inside to attack the dragon from the rear.
The fiery creature flickered back into solidity at the main entrance, and vanished inside.
The guard smeared the healing unguent over the wound and then wrapped a tourniquet around the waist to stop the bleeding. He then gave the fireworker some sort of endurance herb so that the mage could at least sit cross-legged. He had Fred focus on the flames that yet burned from the pile of torches, and told the mage to prepare to strike on his order.
At the same time, he had Spirit enter the room in the tower atop the keep, and the hawk flew down the tight stairwell and into a side hall.
He heard a roar from the keep above.
“Fool!” the dragon said in a deep, rumbling voice. “You attack me with your puny minion?”
That was his cue to send the earth elemental upstairs to join in the fight as well. He nodded at Graftly, and the earth creature lumbered forward and up the stairs. As soon as it emerged from the tunnel, it flexed its back and stood to its full height.
Spirit reached the main hall, and Malem had him perch on an upper rafter so he could observe the fight. He transmitted the view to Graftly and Fred, who apparently couldn’t access the vision of their own elementals, and ordinarily had to rely on line of sight.
The fire elemental was drawing the dragon away from the stairwell. The latter’s acid breath was useless against the flaming creature, as were its claws and bite, and presumably its paralyze ability. However, the dragon launched the same magic Malem had seen the black-robed oraks use, in the form of dark, swirling mists. Whenever those struck the elemental, the flames went out, reducing the demon in size. In that manner, the dragon was slowly whittling away its opponent.
The earth elemental was more of an annoyance: whenever the creature got too close, the dragon simply flicked its tale or swatted a paw and sent the creature flying across the room.
“When I am done here, I’m coming outside to destroy you, mage,” the dragon thundered.
The other two dragons perked up at that. Through Fred’s eyes, Malem watched as they turned angrily toward the fireworker. He was running out of time.
“Abigail, in all your studies of dragons, please tell me you found some sort physical vulnerability,” he said.
Abigail hesitated; from the emotions emanating from her bundle of energy, he thought she was torn, just as if she knew precisely what he was looking for, but didn’t want to tell him.
Finally: “There is a spot, but you’ll never get to it. Right here, just underneath the throat.” She ran a finger underneath her chin. “The scales are weakest, there. An ordinary sword wouldn’t penetrate, but the bandit’s blade stands a good chance.”
“Will it kill the dragon?” he asked.
“It depends on how deep you thrust it,” she said. “And whether or not its mouth is open at the time. If closed, and you thrust deep, then yes, you might kill it. One other thing. The belly scales are also looser, and easier to pry free if you have a strong arm. And I mean elemental strong.”
“Thank you.” Malem was watching for the right opportunity. When the dragon’s back was to the stairwell, he glanced at Xaxia.
“Give me your sword,” Malem ordered bandit.
“No,” she said.
He shot her a look. “I’ll return it. I promise.”
She hesitated.
“Unless you want to run upstairs and prick the dragon yourself?” he asked.
She promptly tossed him the blade and he caught it. “You better return it.”
Malem was already spurring Bounder forward.
Felipe squeaked in his collar, and crawled deeper into his jacket and robe combination.
He bounded up the stairs and emerged in the main hall.
The dragon still had its back to him. Malem had the iguanid pad forward as silently as the mount was able, and at the same time instructed Fred to send the fire elemental into the dragon’s face, in the hopes of blinding it.
While giving the order, he caught a glimpse of Fred’s viewpoint: the two dragons outside were stalking angrily toward the fireworker. Any oraks in their path promptly cleared out of the way.
Malem had Fred launch fireballs from the burning pyre into their eyes, in the hopes of similarly blinding them, and buying some time.
Then he returned his attention to the task at hand. The dragon had reared its upper body into the air and scrunched up its neck so that its forelimbs could shield its face from the fire elemental. At the same time, it was unleashing streams of dark magic into the flames at a frantic pace.
Well that’s not going to work.
Malem used the opportunity to race Bounder forward nonetheless. By rearing its upper body like that, the dragon had momentarily exposed its belly scales. The joins between them weren’t as tight, he noticed, with the outlines of several scales readily visible. Perhaps a blade could penetrate those gaps. Or what was it that Abigail had said? “The belly scales are easier to pry free if you have a strong arm...”
Time for Plan B.
He slowed down, and instructed Graftly to send the earth elemental in first; it moved in front of the dragon’s two hind legs, and when it reached the main body, the elemental slid its hands between a pair of big scales on the belly and dug its fingers in deep. Then it ripped the two scales apart in one smooth motion, forming a v-shaped, gaping wound.
The dragon screamed in pain and its tail slammed inward, swatting the earth elemental away. The force of the impact was so great that the earth elemental broke apart before its constituent pieces sprayed the nearby wall.
Malem dashed in next while the fire elemental continued to blind the dragon, and he ducked underneath the receding tail. He stood up in the saddle until he was balanced on Bounder’s back, with his head and shoulders at roughly the same height as the belly wound the earth elemental had inflicted. The temporarily blinded dragon was starting to lower its upper body in an instinctive attempt to protect its wounded belly, but Malem was already underneath. He held the blade above and behind him with both hands, ready to strike. He checked Bounder’s momentum at the last moment, but the iguanid still slammed into the dragon hard.
He swung the blade in a stabbing motion at the time of impact, and the magic sword glowed blindingly in anticipation of the strike; it plunged through the tough dragon sinews all the way to the hilt.
He crashed bodily into the dragon as well, and the blow knocked the wind out of him. He was sent flying off the iguanid, and landed flat on his back on the floor.
He heard a screeching howl of agony, and the dragon recoiled above him, sweeping its tail across the floor.
Bounder recovered before him, snatched his breeches in its mouth, and carried him away from that tail. It caught Bounder in a glancing blow, and Malem and the iguanid were sent spinning together across
the floor, sliding into a nearby wall.
Bounder clambered to his feet, and shook off the blow.
Malem was slower to rise. He slumped a moment later, feeling the blow as his connection with Fred severed: the fireworker had died outside. He glanced at Harold’s vision, and the orak’s perspective confirmed as much: one of the other dragons was chewing on something. It spat out a piece of an orange robe that had gotten caught on its teeth.
Felipe stirred in his jacket, and Malem quickly re-Broke the monkey—he was worried it would try to run away, putting itself in danger.
In front of Malem, across the expansive hall, the dragon stood on its four legs. Without the mage, the fire elemental was no more. The dragon, free of the blinding flames, smiled a wicked grin.
“So, you are the one responsible,” the creature boomed.
Malem was quick to avert his gaze, worried that the dragon would paralyze him, and he instructed Bounder to do the same beside him. He accessed Spirit’s eyes to view the main hall from the rafters instead. He was feeling weak. Unready. Unsure if he was up to the task.
The dragon raced across the tiled floor with a speed Malem didn’t think a creature of that size could ever possess. Powerful muscles rippled underneath those giant scales.
Malem could feel the throbbing coming from the base of its bundle of energy, where the magic sword was embedded in its belly like a poisoned, irritating nettle. But the dragon ignored the pain, and continued forward so that it loomed above him. It opened its mouth as it ran, the gills in its neck glowing dimly as it prepared to unleash its deadly acidic breath.
Malem summoned all the extra stamina he could from Gwen and Abigail, and reached out. He hoped the wound was enough. It had to be.
His will didn’t evaporate upon contact with the dragon’s energy. That was a good sign. He wrapped the tendrils of his mind around it and squeezed.
The dragon froze, sliding across the floor for half a body length, ripping up the tiles, leaving long grooves in the floor in its wake. When it came to a halt, its head was only paces above him.
