“Is there no hope to defeat the Dragonia Empire?” Devarius asked.
“There is always hope. We’re constantly developing weapons that can aid us in a battle against dragons. But until we are fully prepared to fight the Dragonia Empire, we cannot compromise the Resistance. If they learn our location too early, then there will be little chance anyone will ever overthrow the Dragonia Empire.”
“I understand.”
The door behind them rattled and Jonik stood, hand on the dagger at his belt. A man stepped inside, and Jonik visibly relaxed. The man wore a brown peasant cloak and had a grimy face.
“Jonik.” He turned to the others, narrowing his eyes.
“They are safe ... enough.”
“Dragonriders are coming to the village.”
Jonik raised an eyebrow.
“There are six dragonriders in Laeraed. One has scouted Kaedur and the other here. It seems whatever they found in this direction interested them. They’re approaching from the east, blocking off any escape in that direction.”
Devarius stood. “It seems we must go.”
Paedyn’s jaw dropped. “Where could we possibly go where the dragonriders wouldn’t find us?”
The peasant turned to Paedyn and Devarius. “Are they who the dragonriders are after?”
“I’m afraid so,” Jonik said. “They want to join the Resistance ... if they can survive long enough.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” Paedyn muttered.
“How long before they arrive?” Devarius asked.
“Nightfall,” the peasant replied.
Devarius bit his upper lip. “We need to gather the rest of the party in the forest north of here, but then I don’t know where we should go to avoid the dragonriders. We’re kind of in a corner here.”
“Want my advice?” Jonik asked.
“Yes, please.”
“You won’t like it.”
“I’m sure I’ll like it better than waiting to be captured and tortured by the Dragonia Empire.”
“There are a few unattended ships on the coast. If you think you and your party can manage the sails, you could commandeer a ship and travel west into the sea.”
Devarius frowned.
“I told you that you weren’t going to like it.” Jonik grinned.
“I’ve heard stories about the western sea. Isn’t that where the dragons come from?”
“That is the claim. Don’t travel too far. Go west for a while, and then travel south around Kaeldroga. Be careful, it’s cold down there, especially at sea. On the south side of Kaeldroga, there will be two rivers traveling north from the sea into the land. Take the second river, the one on the east side, upstream north as far as you can. That will get you close to Kaedur. Then Ceydar is right across the bay from there.”
“Right,” Paedyn muttered. “Right across the bay. A nice, easy swim away.”
“It’s better than where we’re at now,” Devarius said.
“You’d better go,” Jonik said.
Devarius moved to Jonik and shook his hand. “Thank you.”
Paedyn and Devarius left the tavern. Rain continued to fall. Lightning filled the sky.
“Hopefully, this storm delays them. I don’t imagine this is great flying weather. Hopefully, they’ll travel by foot,” Devarius said.
“We can hope,” Paedyn whispered.
“Go to the camp and gather the others. Bring them to the docks.”
“Right through the village. What if people see and tell the dragonriders?”
“That’s a chance we’ll have to take.” Devarius glanced around. “But it doesn’t seem anyone is outside during this storm. They may notice people moving through the village from their safety inside, but it seems unlikely they’ll know exactly where we’re going without coming outside to witness it.”
Paedyn nodded. “What will you be doing?”
Devarius grinned. “Getting us a ship.”
Paedyn clasped Devarius’s shoulder before running north. Devarius sped west until he found the docks. The storm appeared even worse over the sea. He gulped. Perhaps the dragonriders wouldn’t follow them into the stormy waters. Perhaps they would survive the journey.
He found two empty sail ships that met his standards. It had to be large enough to hold twenty-eight people, sturdy, and easy enough to sail with an inexperienced crew. He decided to pick the one with less wear. He began preparing the sails to the best of his knowledge. Devarius had spent a little time on a ship before, but he’d never captained one.
He waited. It took less than an hour for Paedyn and the rest of the party to appear. They weren’t too far in the forest north of Vaereal. Once everyone was on board, Paedyn helped Devarius lift the anchor. The wind immediately grabbed the sails.
“The wind is strong west,” Devarius called.
Paedyn nodded as the ship sped out to sea. “That is good ... for now.”
“Well ...” Devarius brushed his hand over his head. “You’ve always wanted your own boat.” He gestured to the steering helm.
Paedyn grinned as he put his hand on the helm. “Excellent.”
Chapter 16
Captain Vesryn stood in the center of Vaereal. Rain poured all around him. The storm refused to let up, making it hard to travel. The dragons didn’t like to fly in the rain, especially a storm. He couldn’t blame the beasts. It would be unsettling to fly so close to lightning. They reached Vaereal by foot, and much later than he wanted. On one of his dragonrider’s flights, they found a trail leading to Vaereal from the north, and what appeared to be a camp. However, the camp was abandoned, and there was no trace of its occupants in Vaereal.
“Where did they go?” he mused.
“Captain.” Tirask bowed.
Vesryn turned to glare at the dragonrider. The one person who’d had the traitors in his grasp and lost them. “What?”
“What is our course of action? We’ve searched all the buildings in the village, asked all of the people here, but no one claims to have seen them.”
“Have you found any tracks?”
“None.” Tirask paused. “But it’s hard to tell with this storm. Even if they traveled around the village, or through it, the rain has washed the tracks away. The dragons can’t even determine their scent through the storm.”
“There are only three directions they could have gone from here. North, south, or east.”
“What about west?” Tirask asked.
“Into the sea?” Vesryn laughed.
Tirask tilted his head.
“There’s nothing in that direction but wild dragon land. If they do travel that way, they’re as sure as dead anyway. Only the northern island has been claimed by the Dragonia Empire to tame the dragons. If there are any more, they’re not tame dragons, but wild beasts. Besides, who in their right mind would travel into this storm? With a ragtag bunch of peasants, who know nothing about manning a ship, and no ship to speak of? Do you suppose they carried a large ship from Kaed down here?”
Tirask shrugged. “It was just a thought.”
“Think less,” Vesryn said. “We need to find these men. The general is expecting us to deliver these traitors. We’ve already spent too much time searching. If we fail, we’ll all have to report to the general, and possibly the emperor. Do you want that, Tirask?”
Tirask’s body grew rigid. “No, sir.”
“Let’s split into three parties once more and search the north, south, and east thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir.” Tirask turned around and strode away to find the other dragonriders.
“They have to be out there somewhere,” Vesryn whispered.
Chapter 17
Paedyn’s knuckles turned white as he held onto the steering helm on the ship. Thunder crackled all around them, vibrating the ship. It only grew worse the further west they traveled.
Devarius stepped next to Paedyn. “We’ve traveled a long way west ... we should be far enough away to not see the shoreline, even in clear weather.”
>
“I know,” Paedyn replied. He continued to hold the helm and stared straight ahead.
“Then why don’t you turn south?”
Paedyn finally turned his head to glare into Devarius’s eyes. “Turn south, like it’s so bloody easy. Look, if you feel I’m incompetent as a ship captain, you take over.”
Devarius put his hands up. “Woah, relax, Paedyn. What’s wrong?”
“This bloody steering wheel won’t budge.”
“Is it broken?” Devarius asked.
“I don’t believe so,” Paedyn said.
“Then ... what’s wrong?”
“The storm is pushing us too hard.”
To reiterate his point, Paedyn attempted to turn the steering wheel left. He struggled, making grunts as he tried to leverage all of his strength.
Devarius frowned.
Paedyn stopped, sweat glistening on his forehead. “It hasn’t always been like this. When we pulled out of Vaereal, it was difficult to steer us west, but it was doable. The storm was a lot weaker at the time. Now it’s so strong, we cannot alter the course of the ship.”
Devarius bit his lip. He stepped closer and grabbed the helm. Looking to Paedyn, he nodded. Together, the two of them attempted to turn the wheel of the helm. Even with their combined strength, the helm didn’t budge. Instead, one of its wooden spokes snapped off in Devarius’s hand. He slammed to the deck and slid across its slick surface. Paedyn rushed over to help him to his feet.
“All right,” Devarius said, brushing off his wet clothes. “It looks like we’re heading west until this storm lets up ... whenever that will be.”
“It seems so,” Paedyn said.
“Do you know what lies west of Kaeldroga?”
“Dragons.”
“Dragons?”
“I’ve heard that Dragonia is west of Kaeldroga, and the land of dragons, where they train them. And where the emperor sits.”
“So ... the Dragonia Empire is after us, and instead of us fleeing, we’re heading straight for them?”
Paedyn shrugged. “I don’t believe so. I’ve heard Dragonia is an island to the north. We’re in the south.”
“What’s down here?”
“I don’t know. All the expeditions in the south that have tried exploring the sea to the west have never returned. Or at least, that’s what I heard. I have heard of some seeing a land surrounded by mountains with giant squids and dragons around it, and they turned around and fled back home. I don’t know what to believe.”
“Giant squids, dragons, and possibly death await us? Excellent, another adventure.”
Paedyn rested his hands on the steering helm. “I’d rather have a toy boat; they’re much easier to steer.”
Devarius laughed.
Chapter 18
The ship tipped starboard, knocking Devarius from the bed in the cabin. He sat on the floor, an inch of water soaking into his breeches. He rubbed his head. After shaking his head to clear his mind, he reached onto the side of the bed and pulled himself up. His cabin door sprang open.
“Devarius?” Aquila whispered.
“I’m up.”
“Paedyn needs you.”
“I assumed.” He rubbed his head again. “I thought he knew how to steer a ship. This is dreadful.”
She shook her head, her beautiful black hair waving over her smooth brown face. “How you could sleep during his steering is beyond me.”
Devarius grinned.
He followed Aquila out of the room and to the main deck. The storm hadn’t relented an ounce. Rain raged from the sky with a fury. Thunder crackled all around, and lightning flashed from cloud to cloud in the dark sky. Devarius wondered what time of night it was. He found Paedyn at the helm, holding onto it for dear life.
“What’s the problem?” Devarius asked.
Paedyn turned to look at him, his eyes wide. He inclined his head forward.
Devarius frowned and glanced ahead. All he saw was darkness. He shrugged.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Wait for it,” Paedyn whispered.
Devarius raised his eyebrows and stared ahead. Besides the crashing of waves and the pounding of rain, the ship was silent. Lightning flashed in the sky in front of them in the west. For a few seconds, Devarius could see what lay in front of them. Several large mountains towered out of the sea in a direct line with small passages of water between each one. He saw a large creature with several tentacles at the base of one of the mountains. It was larger than their ship.
“Oh,” Devarius said.
“I don’t know what’s on the other side of those mountains, but I cannot steer away from them. The storm is still too strong to change the sails.”
“What do we do?” Devarius asked.
Paedyn bit his lip. “Pray to the Creator that we don’t crash?”
“Are you going to be able to miss those mountains?”
“Unless lightning flashes at the instant we reach them and we have enough strength to move the steering ... I don’t know. There isn’t much we can do. All we can do is pray we can reach land.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Prepare everyone in case we have to swim. At least with mountains there, we have somewhere to go. Perhaps with mountains in the water, there will be land nearby. At least we can hope.”
Devarius nodded. He paced around the ship, preparing everybody for the worst. The storm did not relent. He prayed they would be able to survive.
After he warned everybody, he stepped back next to Paedyn. Together, they watched the mountains as they approached. Lightning filled the sky every few seconds as the storm raged on, growing more fierce with every second. No one liked the storm, but at least the lightning provided them enough light to see. However, Devarius wasn’t sure if being able to see was good or bad. All it meant was they could see their impending doom.
Miraculously, the ship squeezed between two of the mountains in the water. The lightning stopped. Thunder echoed from the last strike, then slowly faded away. Blackness surrounded them. They could not see ahead. Only darkness awaited them.
“What do you think is out there?” Devarius asked.
“I don’t kn—”
The ship collided with something hard, jerking all of them forward. They no longer moved forward. The storm slowed. Silence filled the air around them. Rain sprinkled from the sky, no longer pounding. Everyone remained silent for several long minutes.
“Where are we?” Aquila asked.
“I don’t know,” Devarius replied.
“Well, are you ready to explore?” Paedyn asked.
Devarius glanced around. They still hadn’t moved. He shrugged. They walked to the bow of the ship and gazed down. Clouds still covered the sky, making it hard to see too far in the darkness without the aid of the moons or the stars. They had found land. Devarius smiled. He couldn’t help it; he thought he’d never see land again. They hadn’t crashed on a mountain. The land in front of them was flat. Devarius gazed off into the distance, lost in thought.
“Well?” Paedyn asked.
“Let’s do it,” Devarius said.
They found a rope and tied it to the ship. Everyone else stayed on top, watching from the bow of the ship. Only Devarius and Paedyn used the rope to climb down. Devarius took a deep breath after he reached the ground. He glanced around. With the clouds still in the sky, and darkness all around them, it was still too hard to see very far. Mountains surrounded them on all sides.
Devarius and Paedyn traveled further onto the land. The land was quiet, almost too quiet. It unsettled Devarius. However, with all their searching, they found no threats.
“Do you think this land is safe?” Devarius asked.
“No. I have a bad feeling there’s something out there.”
“Me too,” Devarius replied. “But what can we do?”
“We’ll have to wait ‘till morning to see if the ship is damaged. It’d be best if we get everyone off the ship and camp for the night.”
“Take turns keeping watch?” Devarius asked.
“Definitely.”
They helped everyone off the ship and made camp. There was little else they could do until morning. Devarius prayed they would stay safe.
Paedyn stepped next to Devarius, slapping him on his shoulder. “Look at the bright side, Devarius.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t believe the dragonriders are following us anymore.”
Devarius chuckled.
Chapter 19
Devarius watched as the first sun rose from the east. He yawned. His body was tired. He had kept watch the past few hours while Paedyn slept. Devarius walked to the camp, where he saw half of his party awake, huddled together in blankets. Winter was approaching. They weren’t in the north anymore.
Paedyn strode over to him. “How is everything out there?”
“Calm. Quiet.”
“That’s good.”
“Is it?” Devarius asked. “It seems too calm ... too quiet.”
“How so?”
“If we are stranded on an island without vegetation, without animals ... what are we to eat?”
“Fish?” Paedyn shrugged.
“All right. You try and catch fish ... without bait, while I have a look around.”
“What will you be looking for?”
“Anything we can use to survive.”
Paedyn shrugged.
“And, Paedyn?”
“Yes?”
“Keep everyone ...” Devarius inhaled deeply. “Keep everyone calm. I don’t imagine this to be a relaxing vacation for anyone.”
“Do you mean not everyone wants to be shipwrecked on a deserted island for a vacation?”
Devarius smiled. “Only you.”
Paedyn nodded and left to be with the others. Devarius attempted to slip away, but he didn’t get too far before Aquila discovered him. She clasped her hand around his bicep.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to explore the island.”
“For what?” she asked.
Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns (Dragonia Empire Book 1) Page 8
