D& D - Mystara 02 Dragonking of Mystara

by Thorarinn Gunnarsson

  "I cannot forsake my duty," Thelvyn insisted. "I cannot give you the armor of the Dragonlord. Before I would ever surrender, I would be required to fight you, and I think you know the Immortals support me. Perhaps you would prefer to take yet another day to consider that."

  Marthaen paused in his response, suddenly aware that companies of dwarves and elvish archers were filing out through the towers along the city wall to take their places behind the parapet, joining the Flaemish defenders and the Ethengar archers already there. The dragon couldn't easily guess their numbers, but he could see that they were spreading out all along the wall. Then, to the dragon's obvious dismay, the griffon riders began to take to the air from the barracks just beyond the main gate, less than a hundred yards away. Thelvyn had to resist the urge to smile when he saw Marthaen lay back his ears to reconsider the matter.

  "Yes . . . perhaps we will discuss your offer," he said at last. "Your plan has much to recommend it, not the least being that it is likely to force the dragons and the Dragonlord to make peace. You will have our answer in the

  morning."

  Marthaen turned and withdrew, flying back across the fields. Thelvyn was glad no one along the wall cheered or taunted the dragon as he departed, suspecting that it could only have had a detrimental effect on a potential truce.

  Thelvyn didn't deceive himself into believing that the dragons would conclude that they no longer possessed the strength they needed to take Braejr. Marthaen would wait only until he could make some determination about the number of elves and dwarves now within the city. Possibly he would also make certain that there were no companies hidden in the forests waiting to attack them from behind. But the dragons would not be discouraged from their plans simply because of the presence of the dwarvish and elvish defenders, or even the griffon riders. The best he could hope for was that it would influence their decision about whether or not to accept Thelvyn's latest offer.

  "Well, at least we've bought ourselves another day," he told the others. "That leaves us tomorrow to worry about. If we can hold out till then, the forces from Darokin should be here. I'm just not sure what we can do about getting them across the river and inside the city. Korinn, I never did find out how you were able to get your own people across the river, especially after the Ethengar slipped through only the day before."

  "It was simple enough," the dwarf insisted. "The elves tied a rope to an arrow and shot it into a wooden post on the other side of the river, down along the docks on the south side of the city. After that, they needed no time at all to get a couple of rope bridges in place."

  Thelvyn said nothing. That might have worked for the ingenious elves and dwarves, but it wouldn't get the soldiers from Darokin across the river. The dragons had been taken by surprise the first time, but they knew of the approach of the forces from Darokin, and they weren't about to allow another entire army to slip across the river.

  "Are the dragons likely to accept your offer?" Solveig asked.

  "I have no way of knowing," Thelvyn admitted. "Marthaen will go along with it, I'm sure, but the others won't be so easy to convince. That's the trouble with dealing with a dragon of integrity. A red dragon like Jherdar would have simply told his followers what he had decided. Jherdar wouldn't even consider moving the Dragonlord into his own home unless Marthaen was there to argue the matter."

  Korinn made an impatient noise. "I don't like the thought of you going off alone with these dragons."

  "He won't be alone," Sir George interjected. "I plan to go with him. The dragons don't have to agree to take me; I have the rare privilege of being able to claim that right. And Kharendaen will be there as well."

  "I never much trusted her either," Solveig remarked softly.

  "You wouldn't want her to hear you say that," Sir George warned her.

  A watch was kept at all times now in case the dragons attacked without warning. Thelvyn suspected privately that it would do no real good. The dragons were so swift and they were camped so close, at least by dragon reckoning, that they could be over the wall before anything could be done to stop them. But the dragons had never yet pressed their advantage since they had first come into the Highlands, and he didn't believe that they would now. Either they remained supremely confident or else they knew that they wouldn't have to fight.

  The day passed slowly, with nothing to do but wait. There was no longer any hope that the Collar of the Dragons would be found and their enemy would be appeased, and there was nothing more they could do to prepare the city for battle. Thelvyn wished that there had been more optimism among his companions and advisors, but they understood the reality of the situation only too well. Sir George seemed to believe that battle was now unavoidable, and Thelvyn was increasingly inclined to agree. Korinn, like Alessa, Captain Gairstaan, and the other Flaem, actually preferred to have a chance to bash the heads of a few dragons. Only Sellianda still seemed to believe that the dragons didn't want to fight, and since she was privy to the guidance of the Immortals, Thelvyn wondered if she knew something that the others did not. That wasn't to say she was hopeful about the situation; indeed, her mood was best described as one of weary resignation.

  The dragons made their response to the arrival of the dwarves and elves that same evening. Thelvyn and the others had been called to the wall because the dragons were gathering again in the fields, waiting patiently. At first Thelvyn wondered if Marthaen was ready to give his answer early, but the First Speaker never approached the city.

  Then, just as the first stars were beginning to appear, rank upon rank of dragons began to approach from the north, more golds and reds, and more blue, black, and green dragons than ever. As the defenders watched from atop the walls of the city, an entire second army of dragons arrived in a matter of only minutes, sweeping down from the north in wave after wave, like the autumn migration of birds. In a matter of minutes, the force of dragons had doubled. The army that had been in the east to deal with the Alphatians had returned, and Thelvyn felt certain that Marthaen was through waiting.

  The dragons weren't through demonstrating their strength, however. While they had done nothing more than show themselves in the past, flying well within sight of the city, they had never before engaged in any openly destructive or threatening gestures. Now they prepared a more violent demonstration of their fury, to remind the defenders of Braejr just how fierce and dangerous dragons could be.

  Through most of the early night, waves of red and gold dragons hurtled out of the darkness to sweep in low over the hills, striking with their flames against any target they could find. Barns and homesteads were swept by deadly blasts of dragonfire so intense that the buildings actually exploded from the sudden buildup of heat. Soon all the farms surrounding the city, previously spared, were in flames, and the lights from their fires ringed Braejr on all sides.

  The attacks on the countryside finally began to diminish, and the people of Braejr at last began to retire to their beds. But just when things had been fairly quiet for a time, a new

  and more deadly attack commenced. Late that night, several hours after midnight, fire began to drop from the sky to crash in small explosions of sparks and flame on the roofs and streets of the city. Sir George had guessed correctly. The dragons were taking the bundles of straw and branches they had gathered up to a great height, then setting the bundles aflame with their breath and dropping the burning debris more or less at random throughout the city.

  Fortunately most of the roofs of the city were made of slate or clay tiles, and much that might have fed the fires had already been moved to safety. At first it was little more than a nuisance as the flaming bundles hurtled down from unseen heights. But then the deadly barrage became unexpectedly intense as the city came under a hail of flame, hundreds of bundles of fire descending like shooting stars. As well protected as Braejr had been, flames soon began to shoot up throughout the city, especially in the more vulnerable workshops and warehouses near the rivers. For nearly an hour, it was as if the legendary R
ain of Fire had descended upon Braejr. Fear began to spread faster than the flames themselves. Although great stores of water had been set aside to battle this very threat, no one dared go outside to fight the fires while so many of the burning bundles were still falling.

  Unfortunately, there was little that either Thelvyn or the Fire Wizards could do to stop it. The dragons were flying extremely high, so high that even Thelvyn's sharp eyes and night vision could not easily identify them, and they were beyond the effective reach of the weapons of the Dragonlord and the Radiance. And yet, Thelvyn knew, this was merely a statement, not a full-fledged attack. The dragons ended their barrage after about an hour, having proven the point that they could act against Braejr with relative impunity.

  Once the danger had passed, the people of the city hurried to put out the fires before they could spread. Because of advance precautions, and also because the Flaem had built the city mostly of heavy stone, the flaming bundles had started relatively few actual fires. No more than three or four dozen buildings had burned throughout the city,

  although some of the fires had spread from lack of attention. The flames cast an eerie flickering light across the city, illuminating the bottom of the dense curtain of smoke that hung over Braejr.

  "I don't know what else I can do," Thelvyn told his companions as they watched from one of the towers of the king's palace. "I should have expected that Marthaen would call in reinforcements if the odds were no longer strictly in his favor. I'm still not certain this is an indication of his willingness to fight as much as an added incentive for me to accept a settlement on his terms."

  "You don't plan to surrender yet, do you?" Alessa asked, concerned.

  Thelvyn shook his head. "I told Marthaen that I could never simply relinquish the armor and weapons of the Dragonlord, and I'm sure he believes me. What I expect is that he put on this show tonight to remind us of what the dragons are capable of. He'll make his own counterproposal in the morning. At least I hope so. The others, especially the red dragons, might demand more than I can give them, and if Marthaen can't convince them otherwise then we will have a battle."

  Korinn frowned fiercely, still staring at the dragons as they resumed their attacks on the countryside beyond Braejr. "We've been in some rough places before, and we always came through. I thought that the Immortals protected you."

  "It's not so much that they protect me as they have plans for me," he explained as he sat wearily in an opening in the parapet. "I've always expected that I would eventually end up among the dragons, which is apparently where I have to be to fulfill their prophecy. Perhaps now is the time for that to happen. My duty doesn't require that I win all my battles, only that I do what is best to suit the ultimate goals I have been given. My only concern now is that we must not go to war over this."

  "That depends a great deal upon the stubbornness of dragons," Sir George reminded him. "Marthaen might be fairly reasonable, but the last thing most dragons want is for you to become directly involved in their affairs."

  Thelvyn nodded. "Unfortunately, I know that only too well."

  As the night of danger and fear deepened toward a dawn of uncertainty, the defenders began to hope the dragons would grant them at least a few brief hours of peace. Thelvyn sent his companions home to rest, knowing that the next day would begin early and might prove to be an especially long day. He himself found it impossible to rest; not being human, he had discovered that a good night's sleep was far less important to him now that he was older. He had too many questions yet to confront, and the time had come that his decisions had to be the right one. He couldn't predict whether Marthaen would accept his proposal or demand war, and he had to know the best way to respond however things turned out.

  More than ever Thelvyn regretted that the Immortals wouldn't advise him as they would true clerics. There was so much he needed desperately to know. He had provoked the dragons, mostly on the advice he had received from his own mother in the dream he had shared with Kharendaen. As a result, he had inflamed their deepest fears, and now he was afraid they would not rest until they had defeated him. If it had been his choice, he would have given them the armor of the Dragonlord if that's what it took to placate them. And yet he knew that only the Dragonlord could stop them if they once again went on the rampage as they have five years before.

  For that reason, Thelvyn felt certain that he had to retain the armor no matter what. He wasn't afraid to fight dragons, but he was very reluctant to inflict the injury and death such a battle would require of him. He was just as reluctant to allow the destruction that Braejr would be forced to endure.

  After a time, he went back up to the wall to watch the dragons. The fires they had set earlier had since burned themselves out, although dragons continued to circle and dart in mock attacks, their flames flashing in the darkness. He was surprised to find Sellianda sitting in one of the openings along the parapet, calmly watching the dragons. She glanced at him as he approached, then rose to face

  him.

  "Are you worried?" she asked.

  Thelvyn shook his head. "Just impatient. I won't know what to do until Marthaen gives me his answer to my proposal. I just don't know whether or not the other dragons are going to allow him to come to any peaceful solution."

  "I doubt that there is any such contention among the dragons," Sellianda told him. "They made their decision even before they left the mountains to come down into the Highlands. They know Marthaen's policies, and they have long since given him their trust. Contrary to what everyone thinks, that dragons are fiercely independent and driven by violent impulses, they would not undertake such an important matter as going to war without first being very certain of their intentions."

  They turned back to the opening in the parapet to watch the dragons for a time. Sellianda sat close beside Thelvyn, not to deliberately distract him but as a natural and unintended expression of her affection. She had been an enigma to Thelvyn since her arrival in Braejr. He felt certain that she loved him, but she was obviously waiting for the conflict with the dragons to conclude, never permitting her personal interests to interfere with her duty as a cleric.

  "I know you do not want to fight the dragons," she said at last.

  "I just wish I knew what Marthaen is going to do," Thelvyn said wearily.

  Sellianda glanced down, as if considering a difficult decision. "Perhaps I should not be saying this, but I think you are looking for complex answers when the obvious one is correct. Do you not suppose that the dragons know what you can do to them if they force you to fight them without constraint?"

  "Of course they do," Thelvyn answered. "That's why my first inclination is that they have no intention of fighting me. The cost to them would be too high."

  "Then what alternative do they have?" she asked. "They know that the Fire Wizards nearly defeated you by impeding the enchantments of your armor. They know little about the Radiance, but they know their own magic. The magic of dragons is unlike all others, and the greatest of the dragon sorcerers command powers nearly those of an Immortal. Perhaps they think they can subdue or even destroy the enchantments of the Dragonlord."

  "I hadn't considered that," Thelvyn admitted thoughtfully. "Is this something your patron has allowed you to know?"

  "No, I am only guessing. But—" she hesitated, glancing down—"I do love you, and I intend to stay at your side and share your fate."

  *****

  Once again the city of Braejr began to prepare for battle before dawn. The crews readied their catapults, and archers lined the parapets. All the wooden roofs were wetted down with water from the river, and the water set aside for fighting fires was refilled. At sunrise the dragons responded with a new tactic. They gathered in ranks according to breed in the field before the main gate, just beyond bow shot. They appeared from a distance almost like the squares of a chessboard, all in different colors, with red and black squares but also many of gold, green, and blue. More bundles of wood and straw had been laid out in rows before
them.

  In spite of Sellianda's assurances, Thelvyn still didn't know whether they had come to fight or to talk. If they had come to fight and he tried to force the dragons to retreat with a minimum of death and injury, then the battle would only be prolonged and Braejr would suffer all the more. Or, like the first Dragonlord, he could wreak ruthless destruction upon the ranks of the dragons and settle the matter quickly. He considered all he knew about dragons, about how much they feared the Dragonlord and how much they valued life, and he couldn't believe that they would drive themselves to certain death in a hopeless battle. And yet they had once before, a very long time ago, almost to the destruction of their kind.

  Thelvyn went up to the main gate as soon as the dragons began to assemble. Marthaen would want to talk with him one last time, if for no other reason than to demand his surrender. He had been watching them for some time, trying to see what they were doing, when Sir George joined him.

  "An elvish scout entered the city just before sunrise," the old knight said. "He reported that other bands of elves have been watching the approach of a small army of ores and goblins out of the Broken Lands. They're up in the hills across the river, still hours away."

  "Have they been summoned to serve the dragons?" Korinn asked.

  Sir George shook his head. "Only renegades make alliances with ores or other such creatures. Other dragons consider them beneath their dignity. I would say that our new friends have gotten wind of the upcoming battle and are waiting to pick through the spoils of Braejr after the dragons have taken what they want."

  "Well, I certainly don't need to ask them what they think of our chances," Thelvyn remarked dryly.

  "You don't seem too concerned, lad," Sir George observed.

  "Me?" Thelvyn asked. "I feel as if the world is about to end, but I've been expecting it for so long that there seems to be nothing left for me to do but wait for it to happen."

  "You don't believe that we can win?" Solveig asked.