Trendan looked up into the clear blue sky beyond the trees. “It is true the rains are scarce this season, but as soon as we pass Cedar Falls back into the woods, the rains will pick up and settle the dust on the road.”
Dorenn nodded, pulled on his tunic, and started to pack up his sleeping roll. After he put the roll away, he helped Trendan dismantle the tent and pack his belongings away on the wagon.
After a brisk walk, Dorenn found the creek and washed up. He returned to camp in time for Tatrice to bring him his breakfast.
“Thank you, Tat.”
“You are welcome; just don’t get too used to it. I will expect you to wait on me hand and foot next time,” she said with a demure laugh. Dorenn rolled his eyes and ate his breakfast of ham and flat bread.
The next two days and nights continued smoothly without incident. Lady Shey was over her bad mood by the second night and began to talk to Gondrial again. Speaking at length with him over a game of nine cards, even Rennon relaxed his suspicions somewhat, although Dorenn knew it would still take some time for Rennon to relax and actually trust the tall half-elf. Trendan and Rodraq shared the scouting duties while Vesperin and Rennon, and sometimes Rodraq, drove the wagons. Dorenn knew Trendan too well to believe he would be content driving the wagon for long. When Rodraq took the reins, Vesperin would sit near the rear of the wagon and pray. Dorenn never quite understood the cleric’s dedication to prayer, but he never questioned it either.
On the third day from Symbor, the small caravan entered the large wooded area between Cedar Falls and Soldier’s Bluff. Rodraq estimated that the party would reach Soldier’s Bluff in the late afternoon.
Just after the midday meal, the loaded down ale wagon hit a rut in the road and cracked a spoke. Dorenn and Rennon repaired the wheel to the best of their ability, but the stop delayed the caravan for several hours, putting their arrival in Soldier’s Bluff after dark.
Lady Shey, remembering that the area was the same area Fadral had claimed to run into vicious animal attacks, decided that the caravan should try to make it to the village rather than camp in the woods.
The sun began to set, and Dorenn could hear strange howls in the distance. At first, he credited the howls to a pack of wolves, but when the horses began to get antsy and spooked, he began to feel nervous. “How much farther? Can we step up the pace a bit?” Dorenn shouted to Trendan who was now driving the first wagon.
“Another two or three hours yet, maybe longer,” Trendan shouted back. “We shouldn’t press the teams much harder with the load they are pulling. If the horses tire too quickly, we may find ourselves in trouble; besides, we can’t risk that broken spoke.”
Dorenn sat beside Rennon uneasily. “I will be glad to get into the village. I have a bad feeling.”
Rennon nodded. “I won’t argue with that.”
A few moments later Rodraq returned from scouting ahead and called a halt. “There are some riders up ahead all killed. From their wounds I would say by Dramyds.”
Lady Shey stepped down from the wagon. “Are you certain they were attacked by Dramyds?”
“Aye, my lady, the fallen riders bare the bite marks of Dramyds.”
“What is a Dramyd?” Tatrice asked, her voice quaking.
Lady Shey’s face went ashen, and she swallowed hard before she answered. “Dramyds are creatures created in the dark days before the War of the Oracle by Toborne the Betrayer. It is said he stole eggs from the dragons and twisted their offspring into stunted drakes complete with razor sharp claws and teeth to match. Their bite eats away at the flesh, leaving nothing but bone, and their claws are poisonous. Some say the god Aedreagnon bestowed Toborne with the ability to create life, and Toborne’s twisted vision spawned the Dramyds. Either way they are very dangerous creatures.”
Dorenn had heard the stories before but he was still skeptical. “I thought the Dramyds were all killed off.”
“Aye, I thought they were only myth,” Vesperin added.
Lady Shey moved to the rear of the wagon and climbed up. “The Enforcers and others hunted them down and slew them, but not all of them. Some of them escaped into the Mountains of Madness in Ishrak and to the Jagged Mountains of Symboria and Abaddonia. Those howls behind us are driving us into a trap.” Lady Shey reached for the small chest containing the tome she had brought from Symbor. “I wish they were mythical.”
“There are no roads through these woods save this one, my lady, unless we make one of our own. I doubt we will reach a farmhouse or village inside of an hour, and those howls sound close enough to overtake us by then,” Trendan said. “Or we can dig in and prepare for a fight.”
“Out of the question. If those howls do come from Dramyds, they will tear us to shreds if we try to fight them off ourselves,” Rodraq interjected. “They are like nothing you have ever fought before.”
“We had better think of something,” Dorenn pointed out.
“We only have one smart choice. We run!” Lady Shey said as she returned to the front of the wagon. “Rodraq, you will lead us through. We will make a run for Soldier’s Bluff, and we shall not look back for any reason.”
“Do you think that is a wise course of action, my lady?” Gondrial asked. “We do have one last alternative.” Gondrial pointed at the small chest Lady Shey held.
“Do you think that particular course of action would be a better idea?” Lady Shey asked, her eyebrows rising as she glared at Gondrial.
Gondrial exhaled loudly. “As a last resort, I suppose. We could be so much more useful if we could wield freely!”
Lady Shey gave Vesperin a sharp stare. “Now would be a good time for you to pray, cleric!”
Vesperin nodded and began muttering a prayer under his breath.
Rodraq unsheathed his sword for the first time this trip and held it high. “Onward!” he shouted. Gondrial stepped up onto the back of the ale wagon as it passed. Rennon and Trendan let their teams speed up to a slow canter, but they were careful not to let the horses run at full speed or they would tire quickly and become useless. The patched spoke seemed to be holding for now. The two guards at the rear also unsheathed their swords and began combing the trees alongside the road, searching for any sign of movement.
Tatrice flinched in fear as she heard a loud howl. The harrowing screams were closing fast on their position.
Rodraq reined in his spooked horse beside Dorenn’s wagon. “That howl came from the road behind.”
“Look out!” Tatrice screamed from the rear of the dry goods wagon. A dark figure swooped down from a low tree, took one of the rear guards from his horse, and sent him crashing to the ground behind the ale wagon. The second guard reined in his horse and slashed wildly at the creature just before darkness enveloped them as the wagons pulled away. At first, Tatrice and Sylvalora just stared at each other stunned, and then Tatrice screamed and pushed herself backward into the interior of the wagon.
“Something has taken the rear guard! They are on us!” Sylvalora yelled.
Beating wings thundered in Dorenn’s ears as a dark shadow descended down from a tree onto his position. Rennon reined in the team of horses and veered the wagon to the right; the creature missed its target and slammed hard into the side of the wagon. It clung to the wooden panels, almost unbalancing the load.
As it passed, Dorenn saw the creature up close for the first time. It was black and slightly larger than a full-grown man. Its black, bat-like wings were leathery and thick. A forked tongue hung loosely from a scaly, horned, dragon-like head, and its red eyes were determined and focused. Rodraq spun his mount around and rode full speed at the stunned creature. With an awful crunch, he smashed the creature’s skull with the hilt of his sword and then sliced off its head with a counter stroke. “Ride! Ride as if your life depends on it!” he shouted.
The second guard rode up fast behind the caravan. “Sir Rodraq, Greft is dead,” he cried.
“Ride, Freg, and stay fast to guard the rear left. I will take the right front,” he yelled
back.
Dorenn saw another creature come down from the trees. “Look out, Rodraq!”
Rodraq swung with deadly accuracy, slicing the creature’s wings as its teeth came to bear on his shoulder. The creature tried to sink its huge jagged teeth into Rodraq but could not pierce his armor. Another creature came to bare on Vesperin and Trendan. The guard, Freg, rode at it, piercing its tough, thick, scaled neck with his sword, and the effort almost unhorsed him. Trendan veered the wagon left, and Rennon had to rein in his team to avoid colliding with the dry goods wagon. He felt the wheel wobble and feared it was about to give way. Another Dramyd took advantage of the situation and flew directly at Vesperin, wrapping its deadly maw around his arm, which he had held up for defense. The creature planted its scaled hind legs squarely on the edge of the wagon, which spooked the team into a full, wild run. The hideous creature clamped down its jaw solidly on Vesperin’s arm, and Vesperin screamed in pain as its sharp teeth tore into his flesh. The hair on the back of Dorenn’s neck stood up as if a bolt of lightning had struck nearby, and he had the unmistakable feeling that something strange was happening. Rennon’s face contorted as he saw the creature attacking Vesperin. Rennon exploded in helpless rage, and Dorenn shrank back from him. Vesperin slumped over in the wagon ahead as the creature bit down again, getting a stronger hold on the cleric’s arm.
“NO! Vesperin!” Rennon screeched. Tears obscured his vision and he wiped them away with his sleeve. “I won’t let you take him!” Dorenn felt a release, and he watched in awe as the Dramyd’s head exploded in a bloody mist, nearly taking the rest of Vesperin’s arm with it. The Dramyd’s headless body fell to the wayside.
Shocked, Dorenn turned to his friend and then gazed ahead in fear as hoards of Dramyds choked the roadway. Dorenn worked to suppress his fear.
“To thunder with all this hesitation!” Dorenn heard Gondrial say as a bolt of lightning streaked past him from behind, striking several of the Dramyds down. He turned back to see Gondrial standing up on top of the wagon, arms held high in the air, and then another bolt streaked past, causing Dorenn to shrink down further into his seat. The smell of burning flesh and the bright spots in Dorenn’s vision made his senses reel.
The dry goods wagon crashed first, turning over and busting up from the jolt of running over several dead or wounded Dramyds. Dorenn felt the wagon beneath him lurch, and the broken wheel cracked and gave way. The ale wagon faltered as the wheel disintegrated, and it crashed in a heap, parts of it rolling to a stop beside a tree. The two teams of horses broke loose from the toppled wagons and ran into the woods wildly. Dorenn, Rennon, and Gondrial all fell clear of the wreckage. Dorenn stood and dusted himself off. His left elbow hurt but he felt well enough. Without checking to see what had happened to Rennon or Gondrial, he picked up and unsheathed the sword he kept under the seat, which had fallen from the wagon onto the road, and shook off the shock of the crash. He reacted first to the scream of Tatrice coming from the dry goods wreckage. Frantically, he sprinted to her.
“Tatrice!” he shrieked, attracting the attention of one of the Dramyds bearing down behind him. He turned and slashed at the pursuing beast in vain as it dodged his blade. The Dramyd opened its gaping maw and pounced on Dorenn. He closed his eyes, preparing for the attack, but suddenly the creature stopped short and fell to the ground convulsing. Dorenn turned to see Sylvalora with her hands outstretched and a determined look on her face. “Go on, boy!” she bellowed.
Dorenn nodded and rushed to where Vesperin lay wounded. Tatrice was kneeling beside him. Dorenn could hear Rodraq wildly slashing the Dramyds from somewhere ahead. Even though he was frightened, Dorenn broke away from his fear and stabbed his sword into one of the creatures as it tried to reach the wounded Vesperin. Tatrice tore a piece of cloth from her dress and began tending to Vesperin’s grave injury. Lady Shey managed to find a skin of water among the wreckage, and she gave it to Tatrice to wet the cloth.
Dorenn caught the blur and felt the swoosh of something streaking past him. Trendan’s arrow found its target just behind Dorenn and another Dramyd fell. Dorenn knelt down next to Tatrice who was dabbing Vesperin’s wound. “Vesperin, is he?” Dorenn asked, not wanting to know how bad his wounds really were.
“He lives, but he is in terrible shape,” she answered.
Dorenn’s resolve strengthened as he assumed a protective position in front of Tatrice and Vesperin.
Trendan used the broken dry goods wagon as cover as he fired off arrows, his half-elven sight allowing him to distinguish targets in the darkness. “Where is Rennon?” Trendan yelled over the wagon to Dorenn.
“I didn’t see what happened to him,” Dorenn shouted back.
Gondrial stumbled to the wreckage and fell in beside the others, holding his arm. Both Sylvalora and Lady Shey tried to examine his bloodied wound, but he snapped it away from them, stating that it was from the wagon crash and not a Dramyd. Vesperin weakly reached up with his good arm and grasped Gondrial’s hand. He mumbled a few words, and Gondrial felt the pain subside. “Thank you, friend, but save your strength for yourself.” He smiled thinly at Vesperin. “The Dramyds seem to be retreating. Do not worry yourself with our fate. You will need your strength to help us get you to Soldier’s Bluff.”
Dorenn heard Gondrial’s words, but he saw no sign of the Dramyds retreating. The guard, Freg, fought ahead of Dorenn, giving him time to frantically search behind him for some sign of Rennon. He spotted him stumbling out from behind the ale wagon wreckage and breathed a sigh of relief.
Dorenn called out, “Rennon, get to this wagon as fast as you can.” As Rennon made his way forward, Dorenn watched in horror as three Dramyds descended upon him from behind. Lady Shey, Gondrial, and Sylvalora all three stood with incantations on their lips. “Rennon, behind you!” Dorenn yelped. Rennon turned and stared at the creatures. He threw his hands up in defense. Dorenn watched in astonishment as Rennon’s skin surged in a faint, pale light. There was a flash, and the advancing Dramyds fell to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.
“The wild magic!” Gondrial whispered as Rennon fell to the ground himself.
Dorenn ran to his fallen friend and dragged him back to the wagon where the others had gathered.
“Vesperin has gone unconscious,” Tatrice sobbed, trying to hold on to Vesperin’s still deteriorating arm. “Rennon, can you do something?”
“I lost my apothecary bag in the wreck.” He said.
Lady Shey closed her eyes and mumbled a few words. Vesperin’s arm glowed a pale blue for a moment. “That should hold him, but not for long. He needs a cleric. Brookhaven is too far, and there is no help at Soldier’s Bluff. I think we should go to the Vale of Morgoran. The clerics in the temple there should be able to help him if we hurry.”
The night air abruptly became deathly quiet as Gondrial stood next to Dorenn. Trendan cautiously ventured out from behind the wagon to join Dorenn and Gondrial. “Where did the Dramyds go?” Trendan asked.
“Come with me, swords and arrows ready,” Gondrial said. He patted Dorenn on the back. “Let’s get Vesperin some help before the Dramyds return to finish the rest of us off.” Gondrial immediately went to Lady Shey. “Rodraq is dead,” he stated grimly. “I saw him fall in the thick of it all. I’m sorry, Shey.” Lady Shey bowed her head and sobbed as Gondrial put her head to his chest.
“Three dead and one mortally wounded then,” Sylvalora whispered.
“Are there any horses left?” Dorenn asked.
“They all either ran off or were killed,” Gondrial replied. “There are likely two or three Dramyds in pursuit of any that did run off. No, I don’t believe we’ll find one alive.”
“No, not likely,” Lady Shey agreed. “We have to gather what we can and get to the Vale as quickly as possible. We cannot afford to linger while there might be more Dramyds lurking about.” Lady Shey dried her eyes with the sleeve of her dress. “Dorenn, help me find something to carry Vesperin on.” Dorenn nodded and began scanning the wreckage.
For the first time, Dorenn began not to fear the presence of wielders as Lady Shey, Sylvalora, and Gondrial spoke incantations in turn to make sure the wood ahead was clear of danger. In fact, no one from Brookhaven complained about feeling uncomfortable about the wielders now. The wielders intentionally used spells nearly undetectable by the Enforcers, who were undoubtedly aware of wielders in the woods, if any of them were near enough to hear Gondrial’s lightning bolts.
Quietly and slowly, the wary group inched along through the woods for the rest of the night and into morning. As the sun climbed into the sky, Gondrial decided it was time to rest, so he stopped under an outcropping of trees near a stream and clearing, hoping that Dramyds were less likely to travel in daylight. Tatrice and Lady Shey took turns tending to Vesperin, and the rest of the party began discussing the best way to get to the Vale. Rennon collapsed into a deep sleep as soon as he could find a suitable place to rest his head. Dorenn found it difficult to sleep with the images of the battle flashing in his mind. He had never seen anyone die before, and he hoped he would never have to experience it again.
Dorenn awoke to Tatrice gently shaking him. Her brief attempt at a smile made him feel better. At least she was trying to comfort him. “Gondrial asked me to wake you. It is time to get moving again; Vesperin’s condition has worsened in the last hour, and Lady Shey still fears for his life.”
Defenders of the Sacred Land: Expanded and Re-Issued (The Sacred Land Legacy Book 1) Page 17
