by RG Long
“Free the crew, get out to the boat,” Holve said.
Ealrin knew it was a hollow plan. Who knew how many were still on those three boats out at sea? Still, they had to try it.
“Blume?” Holve asked as he turned to look down at her. Ealrin watched every eye move to the girl.
“Yes?” she asked, hesitantly.
Holve eyed her for a breath.
“If that tree gave you your magic back, now would be a great time to use it.”
She looked at the others who were looking at her and nodded. Holve turned back and began trotting, then running towards the group of pirates running at them.
Ealrin felt the sand under his boots. It was hard packed by the tide that had gone out hours ago. Small bits kept flying up as the few in front of him flung it up as they ran. The shouts of the pirates chasing them rang out in the evening air. The two groups were just a stone’s throw apart when several things happened at once.
A monumental crash rumbled the island, sending the ground shaking underneath their feet. Then a deafening roar filled the sky as Nerashi came bursting out of the side of the mountain, fire pouring from her mouth as she charged down on the pirates coming up on the beach. They were enveloped in flames before Ealrin could even feel the heat from the blast on his skin.
He used his arm to block the burning sensation he could feel from the fire. When he turned his head out to sea, he beheld another sight that made him lose the breath in his lungs. The three ships that had anchored by their own boat were splintering and cracking to pieces. One of the masts fell into the sea with a crash, while another split in two, sending both chunks of ships to the sea. The third burst apart in several places until nothing was left but timbers and pirates diving off of the thing before it cracked beneath their feet.
Ealrin turned to see Blume, hand outstretched towards the sea, a green aura flowing from her necklace and eyes, words of power mumbled under her breath.
Then Nerashi landed in front of them with a graceful trot, Amrolan and Panto came riding up behind her, and Blume fell to her knees.
“I...” she said as she put her free arm down to brace herself against what must have been a wave of dizziness. “I think I’ve got my magic back.”
THEY HAD UNTIED THEIR crew and began rowing out to their ship before they could all process what had just happened.
“That dragon can come with us into any battle!” Gorplin was saying joyfully. “Just leave some for us next time, eh?”
“Can you believe the kid?” Silverwolf said to Holve. “I thought you all were nuts when you talked about her using magic.”
“She’s unrivaled power,” Elen commented to Wisym.
“She’s got it back!” Jurrin was exclaiming happily. “Wait until I tell Jurgon!”
Ealrin was glad they had gotten into boats and pushed off before he had to hear Holve usher the halfling into a boat with him so he could explain about his friend. Jurrin was much more subdued when they climbed up onto the deck and spread out, checking on the dwarves and the others.
Denise was running up to the wheel before the anchors were even beginning to be pulled up from the water. Elves were busily working on that task as the captain took her position.
“Get us sailing!” she said. “If there were Blood Spire pirates here for us, there may be more coming to check on their friends! We need to get back to Death’s Gate with all haste!”
“I’ll help with that,” Nerashi said as she circled them, wings flapping. The dragon flew once more around the ship, and then, with what Ealrin could only assume was a head-butt from the flying beast, the ship lurched forward and sped on its way.
Ealrin grabbed onto the railing with one hand and to Blume with the other.
“Hold on!” he shouted over the rushing water that split in front of them as the boat jumped forward again.
“I am!” she shouted back, and it was then that Ealrin realized she wasn’t holding onto the boat at all. She was holding onto him.
33: Grievances
With Nerashi’s help, they found themselves sailing back to Death’s Gate in half as many days as it had taken them to arrive. The winter weather was mild and no storms deterred them from their journey. Spirits on the ship were high, especially as they realized that Blume had, in fact, recovered her magic ability.
The only issue was that it was now seeming to work without her having to use words to Speak her magic into existence, or even think to do it. She was ravenously eating whatever was put in front of her. That was the cost of Speaking; it caused the user to need to replenish themselves. Once, Blume had performed magic so powerful she had been sent into a coma for months and lost all of her power.
Granted, Ealrin thought, the magic he had just witnessed her perform was on a large scale as well, and the only thing it had taken from her was the ability to get full. A mug of water zoomed through the air and landed in Blume’s outstretched hand as she hungrily ate through an entire loaf of bread. After she chomped on the last piece, she gulped the whole mug of water in four swallows before letting out a satisfied “Ahh.”
“Bah,” Gorplin said in obvious awe of being out-eaten by a teenaged girl. “Good thing we’re going to get back to Death’s Gate early. Otherwise she’d eat everything on the ship.”
“She’s halfway there,” Silverwolf remarked, looking at the bone of a fish she had just finished. There was a wistful way in which she looked at the crumbs around Blume.
Ealrin just shook his head.
“I can’t believe it worked,” he said, sitting down beside her. “It really worked.”
A napkin hit his head as it landed in Blume’s other hand. She dabbed her mouth with it and let out a deep sigh. She looked at him and beamed a smile he was sure hadn’t crossed her face in ages.
“I’m a Speaker,” she said with elation dripping from every word.
“Death’s Gate!” came a call from the crow’s nest. Everyone looked up from the table and saw that they were, in fact, only an hour or so from docking at the city.
“I hope the elves and dwarves have got along alright,” Wisym said, sounding worried.
“Eh,” Brendt said dismissively. “They’ll be fine when we deliver the good news. Can’t believe that dragon is actually going to let them stay.”
“I’ll be surprised if they want to go,” Silverwolf added under her breath, throwing the fishbone over into the sea.
“We’ll just have to tell them what we found out and go from there,” Ealrin said.
With a light crunch of claws on wood, Nerashi landed on the deck, taking a break from pushing the boat along. Panto let out a growl as he had to move positions with the addition of the dragon to the boat.
“I’ll gladly help deliver the message,” she said, licking her lips. “If you think it’ll make it more bearable for them to take.”
Ealrin couldn’t help but think the dragon was enjoying the thought of speaking to pirates on behalf of herself and her mother.
Holve nodded.
“Yes,” he said with his hands on his hips. “I think that’s the only way they’ll believe half of what we’re going to tell them.”
A SHIP ARRIVING AT Death’s Gate was not unusual thing. Ships came and went from the port daily. A ship with a dragon, however, was a different story. Ealrin saw at least one dock worker drop an entire barrel of fish and be immediately set upon by his boss. The elf was beating the worker with a rod repeatedly, until he, too, saw what had distracted the servant.
Both boss and servant watched in awe as the ship made port and threw out the ropes to be tied down.
Not one dock hand grabbed a rope to fix the ship to the dock. No one moved.
“You’d think they’ve never seen a dragon before,” Denise muttered before commanding her own elves to jump to the dock and tie off the ship, which they did obediently.
“How many of these elves do you think have seen a dragon before?” Ealrin asked Holve, who raised an eyebrow at him in reply.
“Th
eir expressions don’t answer that question for you?”
Ealrin supposed they did.
“See that large tower, Nerashi?” Holve said, pointing to where Ealrin knew the pirates held Court.” Meet us there in an hour. It’ll take us that long to walk there.”
Nerashi snapped her large jaws.
“You don’t want a ride?” she asked.
Blume stepped forward, hopefully, but Ealrin put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a look that clearly was meant to be pouty, but he just smiled at her.
“I don’t think you could carry all of us,” he said.
Nerashi snorted.
“I bet one of those could,” Blume said, pointing up to a ship that flew through the air and came to rest on a dock close to where they were heading.
“Suit yourselves.”
Then, every member of the company who was not under Denise’s control began the walk to speak with the judges.
WITHIN THE HOUR TIME frame Holve had suggested, they arrived up at the tower of the Court, with a few of the Death’s Gate guard who patrolled the bridge accompanying them as well. Elen and Wisym had gone to discuss things over with the Wood Walkers. Gorplin and Brendt had gone to the dwarves. The rest of the group, Ealrin, Silverwolf, Holve, Blume, Teresa, Felicia, Urt, Amrolan, and Jurrin, stood at the door.
“Should we knock?” Blume asked, looking up at Ealrin with her fist raised against the door.
“I think we should wait just a moment,” he said, looking over his shoulder.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Nerashi landed on the balcony that surrounded the tower. Death’s Gate guards scattered, not even bothering to defend their judges with the spears they had been provided with. Most who hit the ground crawled away as quickly as they could, while those who had managed to stay on their feet used them to flee with as much haste as they dared.
Nerashi let out a low, gurgling noise that sent sparks flying from her mouth. Ealrin assumed this was a laugh. He saw a twinkle in the dragon’s eye as she asked the group.
“Are we ready, then?”
“Go ahead and knock,” he told Blume, who obeyed with a smirk on her face.
The door opened to them after her third knock, but no guards were visible to them from the inside. Again it was dark and dreary in the circular room. But this time, Ealrin thought they might have a little more light.
“Who’s going to make sure we don’t trip up the stairs this time, Blume or Nerashi?”
“Better let Blume” Teresa said with crossed arms. “I think our dragon friend is a little too eager to set things on fire.”
Nerashi let out that same, deep, guttural noise, but kept her mouth closed otherwise. Blume shrugged and, without even whispering, three balls of light burst from her hand and began to float around the group in small circles. The green light would have been eerie to many others, Ealrin thought, but to him it meant that Blume had her magic back. And nothing about that would strike him as frightening. She was in control.
The group made their way up the stairs again, encircled by the light of the pulsating green orbs as they did so. From above them, Ealrin could hear hurried conversations and the shuffling of feet. He put a hand to his sword.
Holve took his wrist and nodded to Nerashi.
“I doubt we’ll need them,” he said with a rare smile.
Ealrin returned the look and took his hand off of his hilt. As they stepped through the opening in the floor to the second story, there were several guards with bows, spears, and swords standing in front of the judge’s table. Very few judges sat behind it.
Micah was one of the few who were left. Ealrin saw him put on an expression that said he wasn’t surprised to see a dragon, but that he would rather not have one in his halls if he could choose so.
“So,” he said in a voice that was higher than his threatening tones the last time they met. “You’ve come back.”
“Indeed,” Holve said, folding his arms and looking into Micah’s eyes. Ealrin was sure the old man would have been threatening enough without the dragon, who now planted itself behind him and reared up so that its head nearly touched the ceiling.
“And,” he began shakily. He took a second, swallowed, and looked like he steeled himself for the words that came next. “And for what reason have you brought a dragon along with you?”
Nerashi growled and several guards rattled at the sound of it. Ealrin was fairly certain the noise was their helmets and breastplates shaking due to their fear. He held in his remarks.
“My name is Nerashi,” their scaled friend answered. “I and my mother are guardians of the island you wish to send your elven refugees to. We agree to this arrangement on one condition.”
Micah looked like he might faint, having to address a dragon. Ealrin wondered what the elf would do if he knew this was only a small, undersized dragon, whose mother was at least five times as big.
“We don’t,” he began to say, looking left and right at the heads who were slowly peaking out from their large table. It looked like the judges were getting a glimpse of who they were dealing with. “We don’t make bargains, as a rule.”
“I think you won’t mind breaking that rule once you hear the condition,” came a voice from behind them. It was Wisym. Ealrin turned around to see the four who had gone to the dwarves and elves walking up the steps to the judge’s chamber. None took a second notice of Nerashi, but rather walked around her calmly.
“And, once you know that the dwarves and the elves have both agreed to the terms,” she finished, standing beside Holve and smiling at Ealrin.
He was glad at least one of the three who had been under the emperor's spell was back to normal. Teresa still sulked in the background. Then again, he supposed, Teresa had never been overly expressive.
Micah tried to sit up a little higher in his chair, obviously taking in the fact that the dragon had been in the room with them all for several moments and had not yet eaten a single guard.
“Alright then,” he conceded. “What is the condition?”
Nerashi growled and the guards took a step back from her. One hit the table in front of Micah and the judge pushed him back up. The guard looked warily behind him and held his spear higher.
“My mother and I want Blood Spire reduced to ashes,” Nerashi said. “For years. they have stolen our resources and given us nothing in return. Then, to add insult to this grievance, they captured me and forced me to live like a pet in their realm.”
She roared and the sound was deafening. Micah clapped his hands to his ears, as did many guards. In the process, their weapons fell to the ground. Nerashi clamped her mouth shut and the sound echoed throughout the chamber for several moments. Dust fell from the rafters. “Promise us you will aid us in this endeavor, and the elves can live on the island with us as guardians of the tree.”
Blume’s orbs continued to float around the room, casting their green light against the red of the Rimstone lanterns that normally lit the place. Micah took his hands off his ears and looked to the judges whose heads were visible from behind the table. Most of them were nodding yes. At least the ones Ealrin could see.
Micah turned back to the group and the dragon. He stood up slowly and addressed them all.
“Blood Spire is an enemy that has sought to do us harm for decades. We accept this offer and will aid the dragons in retribution of our joint grievances.”
It was at that moment that an explosion rocked the tower and a guard burst through the door below them, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“We’re under attack!”
34: Fate and Flight
Blume’s green orbs went out with a brilliant flash of green. She looked around at Ealrin, who had grabbed her shoulder. The entire tower shook.
“Who attacks?” Micah asked as he held onto the table for support. His fellow judges had fallen from their crouched positions to the floor.
“Blood Spire and Enoth!” came the reply of the guard.
Nerashi let out another
piercing roar and crashed through the roof of the tower before they had anytime to consider what was going on. Timber and titles came raining down on them in the wake of the dragon’s exit.
“She really doesn’t like those pirates,” Silverwolf said as the dust cleared.
“We need to get out of here,” Holve said looking at the group. “If Enoth is attacking, then we’re in for some big trouble. And I don’t think we’ve made any friends with Blood Spire either.”
Ealrin looked around and knew Holve was right. Most of them had been prisoners in some way of either group in the last year and he was sure they would be glad to get them back.
“Well,” Silverwolf said sarcastically. “Our most valuable asset just busted a hole through the roof and is now probably trying to roast some ships. Too bad we can’t fly out of here.”
“Fly?” Blume and Ealrin both said together. Blume’s mind immediately went to the ship they had seen docking close to the very tower they now stood in. She grabbed his hand and was running down the stairs before she could even process how they were going to find the ship or where it might be now.
But she wasn’t going to let the empire take her friend from her again. And, this time, she had magic to help her.
The group was following them, with Holve right at their heels asking several questions at once.
“Where are you two going? And what’s the plan? Are you going to even tell us?”
Blume was sure the old man hated not being in charge. He would have to deal with it for a moment. They crashed through the doors and saw the immediate threat to Death’s Gate: no fewer than thirty ships were out in the harbor, inside the massive arched gate. Every single ship had cannons firing relentlessly on the city.
Some of the Death’s Gate fleet was responding, but it seemed to be working in slow motion. But Nerashi was not going to let the red sailed ships out without a scratch. The bellowing dragon was winging her way to the ships, spouting flames at any of the ones she could see.
