Dragons, Power, Courts, And War (Book 2)

by Vic Broquard

  “Dad, we’ve got six permanently blind women. There must be something that we can do to help them learn to live again,” Nadia complained bitterly.

  “Say, I know of a blind woman in Brn who gets around really well. Her name, as I recall, is Eva,” Zdenka spoke up in a flash of recognition. “I am going to see if she will be willing to work with the six and help them adjust to life. I know that later on if their magic training goes well, they can then use Morph spells on themselves to recover their sight at least temporarily. Of course, if they run into a Dispel Magic, their spell would be cancelled and they’d be sightless again. Still, this may well help them in the long run.”

  “Right, while they are studying magic, we can Morph them ourselves, otherwise, they won’t be able to read,” Nadia traced her mother’s line of thought further on down the line.

  “Say, the blind woman from Rehor, Andrea, she refuses to go back to Rehor. She wants to stay here with us and get her magic training from me,” Zdenka volunteered since they were discussing the futures of the women. “I’ve agreed, dear. I hope this will not become a political issue.”

  “What Storm doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Mum’s the word then,” he replied with a wide grin. “Okay, although we’ve not heard from Tomas, I think I ought to get back to the High Council meeting. I’ll take Bernard back with me, the rest of you can stay. I don’t envy the work load that you are facing. I’ll try to get some volunteers to return with me as well.” After a pair of loving embraces, the two men Shadow Walked back to Castle Hadwig on Dietmar. By now, it was suppertime and they were just in time. Bernard didn’t feel much like eating. His insides still ached and Zoran favored his left arm, still sore at his shoulder.

  “Hi dad. Glad you are all safe,” Tomas welcomed him back. “Just heading off to dine. We’re dining in shifts now just to play it safe. Baron Adolf has suddenly gotten extremely paranoid. His nice tidy world was turned upside down by the appearance of the dragon among the musicians. He swore that no dragon could possible get into his castle here. He’s had to publicly eat crow. Now he’s going overboard on new security routines such as eating in shifts. Well, that one I kind of agree with — no sense in having us all together in one spot unless necessary.”

  Over diner, several other barons dropped by to thank Zoran for having taken charge. Already Tomas had spread the word of the rescue. He loved telling the story over and over to keenly interested men and women. “Say, we still have to meet tomorrow. I plan to call for a vote on the mutual defense pact,” Baron Cadfeel declared. “Any other bright ideas for what we actually can do now?”

  “Keep on building the underground towns where they can’t get to us,” Zoran answered. “Perhaps other bright minds will supply some more tomorrow.”

  In the morning, they finished dining and were in their room preparing for the morning session when another Mind Link message came. Almost at soon as Zoran acknowledged it, his daughter, Nadia appeared bringing Jarka with her. “She insisted and we agreed. Bye dad, got babies to deliver and women to save.” She vanished leaving Jarka collecting her physical self from the unnerving Shadow Walk.

  “I wish a teleport would work. I hate these Shadow Walks. Anyway, glad to see me?” she finally returned to her old self. “Had to come back. Nothing more I can really do for the women at the moment. I am working on some new potion ideas though.”

  “Glad you’re back, but Nadia said you had to see me?” he inquired.

  “Yes, before the meeting starts. I’ll explain as we walk. You see, I got to pondering the motives of that dragon yesterday. It did not attack us or make any such move, unlike that red did last fall. I asked myself why?”

  “How did you answer yourself, dear?” Bernard jested her. He was feeling better this morning, though his ribs still hurt if he took a deep breath.

  “Spying, my love. Yes, you see, it was really keen on getting out of here fast. I didn’t detect any real fear from it, though it ought to have been very scared — what with all the Archmages present. No, in fact, it didn’t even morph to its dragon form before it Shadow Walked or whatever it calls what it did. Why? The only answer I can handle is that it was spying on us for the dragons! It had collected a lot of information on what you barons are planning and it had to get that back to the other dragons! Now that makes its behavior understandable, don’t you think?”

  She rattled on, “Besides, if it was able to so infiltrate this Castle Hadwig, it might have done some other things as well before playing music. Considering the magic usage that we saw being employed with their captured women, I am suspecting that it used more while it was here.”

  “What are you saying, Jarka? That it was spying on us before while we were in the meeting room?” Zoran asked, finally seeing where she was headed with this.

  “Precisely! I’ll make a good thief out of you yet, though you are still a little slow on the pickup,” she teased him.

  “Well, there was no one who is unaccounted for that I could see, yesterday at the meeting, I mean. I’ve seen all those advisors before. So have you.”

  “Oh sure. I always double check their current faces with those in my eidetic memory of pervious sightings. I agree, all checked out down to their eye colors and no one has reported any of their advisors having gone missing or such. No, I don’t think that it impersonated an advisor. What if it planted a magical listening device somewhere in the meeting room?” There, she’d finally gotten to the key point that had so driven her to come back so quickly.

  “My god! I think you have a valid point! Come on. Let’s hurry up and check this out.” He sent a quick Message to Baron Adolf, asking him to meet him just outside the meeting room by the huge doors.

  Adolf’s eyes looked blood shot. He’d been up all night worrying about nearly everything, checking and rechecking everything around his Circle of Ascension and Castle Hadwig. “What’s so important now?” he growled.

  “Find a clever excuse to get those who are already in the meeting room to quietly evacuate it. We think that the dragon might have planted a scrying device or worse in there,” Zoran came right out with it.

  “Crap! Well okay, I see your point. We’ve search it, but found nothing. I will concede this request, if it will make you happy.” Using a loud voice, Baron Adolf called out, “Barons, Baronesses, and staff. Would you all please follow me to the dining room? We have some very special morning tea for us all before we tackle our monumental problems.” Several wanted to decline, but saw Adolf frantically waving at them and the followed the others out, wondering what was going on? Another dragon attack? Once in the long halls, Adolf explained what Zoran had just suggested. They stood around talking in hushed voices.

  When the room was empty, Jarka and two of Adolf’s men, assassins she was sure, entered the room. She began casting her detection spells, while the men redid the search that they had done yesterday, grumbling in low voices that this was pointless. After a few minutes, a big smile replaced Jarka’s intense look of concentration. She walked over to Baron Adolf’s table and cast another spell and then walked straight out of the room and up to the baron.

  “I say, did you know that you were drinking out of a magically enchanted mug?”

  “What?”

  “Yes, it has been enchanted to act as a sort of microphone, broadcasting what was said in the room to its listener, probably that dragon who fled yesterday. I believe that it is safe to say that the dragons now know absolutely everything that was said within that room yesterday,” Jarka pointed out.

  “My god. They know about the magical rods, how they work, all our preparations!” Adolf said flushing red.

  “Worse, they know that we are declaring war on dragons,” Zoran pointed out the very worst detail that had been revealed. “Now they know what we are planning and will be taking strong countermeasures.”

  “Dieter! Vanish that foul thing!” He fairly screamed at his aged Archmage, who shuffled into the room and did just that. The water mug vanished from sight.

>   Five minutes later, the room had filled and the morning session of the High Council finally began, ten minutes late, but now secure. Many mages cast Anti-scrying spells. Paranoia now ran high!

  As promised, Baron Cadfeel made his proposal for a mutual defense pact. “When any baron or baroness needs help, they are to send a Mind Link Message to other barons who will relay it to all of us. We will come at once to their aid, bringing our Archmages with us. I call for a vote.” It passed, though not unanimously. Several barons abstained, including Ailfird. All of the Archmages present swore that if they were notified of the request for help that they would answer it promptly. Zoran took that as a very good omen indeed. After all, the best defense against the powerful dragons were the Archmages, who of all people stood the greatest chance of breaking down the dragon’s inherent resistance to magical spells.

  Zoran repeated his call to continue the construction of subterranean towns and to stockpile food and water, just in case. All agreed, but Asami needed additional aid and the barons discussed their unique situation the rest of the morning. Asami had the smallest population of any of the sixteen planets due primarily to the distinct lack of land on which to survive. Still it was the vacation planet of the federation and many wanted to offer them a helping hand. Just at lunchtime, the council passed a resolution that if the dragons attacked Asami, all of the barons would join together and work out a mass evacuation of the people to other worlds. Baron Goro was pleased with this and promised them all free vacations — after this whole dragon mess was finished, that is.

  During the afternoon session, many barons wanted to assemble an attack force to go after the dragons, to carry the fight to them by going on the offensive. “Look, all Zoran has done is fight reactive, defensive battles. We need to strike these dragons in their hearts! Put some fear into their oversized minds!” Baron Strom Clav argued. Many barons agreed with him and such a resolution passed by a narrow margin. Of course, who would make up this attack force was problematical.

  “Look, Strike Force One will use tactics that have been developed by Baronesses Chan and Wen. Move around, locate an isolated dragon here or there and wipe it out!” Storm slammed his huge fist hard onto the table for emphasis, cracking the polished mahogany. Adolf gave him a very dirty look before quietly casting a Mend spell. By late afternoon, the council voted to fund and supply Strike Force One, to have Zoran equip them with enchanted blades, and for each planet of the Federation to supply one hot Duska fighter to man up the force.

  Chan pointed out that she would be hard pressed to meet that requirement. Jing had just lost thirty thousand soldiers, all their mages, and many of the court Duskas. The council agreed to waive Jing’s requirement to send one Duska, but asked her to help train them in her methods of combating the dragons. This she could handle. Zoran voted against the whole concept, but lost. Far too many barons were totally paranoid now and frightened. They saw this as a way for them to somehow be seen as doing something against the dragon threat but without putting themselves in danger. Baron Ailfrid was a prominent supporter of this motion, as Zoran expected.

  The whole of the third day was spent on working out where the Strike Force One would be based and who would be responsible for their maintenance, supplying them with food, for example. Barons John and Arcangelo volunteered to supply all the food they could desire. Baron Gaspard of Gonda volunteered to supply all the horses they might need, should they need them. He didn’t want to be seen not supporting the Strike Force One. Naturally, Baron Storm Clav insisted that Strike Force One be based on Rehor, claiming many of the dragons that had to be fought lived on Rehor. Zoran wondered if he merely wanted to get rid of the dragons that they’d asked to come to his planet in the first place. Evidently their trading agreements had completely broken down.

  Zoran at last raised his protest. “Look, if you are insisting that I provide the sixteen fighters with enchanted blades, then all of you who have been promised enchanted blades will have to wait quite some time until we can acquire more blades to enchant. We simply don’t have that many weapons to just give out fifteen without giving them some of those we’ve promised to you barons.”

  This had the desired effect. Jarka worked hard to keep from smirking at the barons. Quickly one moved and called for a vote, passing an amendment that said Zoran would provide an enchanted weapon to those fighters who could not be so supplied by his ruling barons. Zoran hoped that would lower the total number he’d have to give up on what he saw as a lost cause, ill thought out at best.

  The fourth and last day was spent on more mundane trading arrangements. Zoran was very glad to finally head home. However, Karel was none too pleased about the weapons loss and Zoran now had a hard decision to make. One of his Duska would have to join the Strike Force One, which was more than likely a death sentence. Whom should he send?

  A day later, Evsen, Bernard and Jarka’s youngest son came to chat with him. “Look, I heard about the Strike Force One and that you have to send a Duska member. I want to volunteer. I am eighteen and have some experience already helping fight them and I have my own enchanted bastard sword as well. I can always keep you posted on what’s going on and all that. I’d be a valuable spy for you as well, especially if we are based on Rehor. What do you say? Please?” Evsen begged.

  “Son, this is likely a foolish mission, a death sentence. What have your parents said? Have you discussed this with them?”

  “Well, no, but I am sure that they want me to do my part. After all, you gave me the Duska gift and this is one way that I can repay you for that. Please, baron.”

  “Well all right, but only if Jarka and Bernard agree.” A half hour later, Evsen headed off to find his fiancé Katerina and tell her that he was Adapazan’s official member of Strike Force One!

  Chapter 19 The Spring United Council

  Aldrick once again summoned the leaders of the dragon species together for a parallel Spring Council. He was furious with the green’s slaughter of thirty thousand plus men and women on Jing. He knew that the barons would most certainly take some kind of retribution on dragons, though he did not know just what. He still held out hope that a war between their races could somehow be avoided. To that end, he called for the United Council once more.

  He made his arguments first, outlining the devastation caused by the greens on Jing. “What do you expect from the humans when you burn down their villages, steal their valuable mines, and abduct their women and breed them and mutilate their bodies? Of course, you are forcing humans to attack you!” Aldrick, the gold, argued.

  Alistair, the green, countered, “We greens have been hunted to near extinction on Jing! Do you realize that among all the planets there are only thirty of us greens left? We were only trying our best to preserve our race.” He didn’t mention the many male slaves who were forced to mine for their gems and gold. “The humans are committing genocide on us greens. Are you going to stand for that?” Many supported him, particularly the reds, blacks, and whites. However, now the browns tended to agree. The idea of genocide bothered the brown representatives, Donatello and Pietro.

  After more discussion, Werner, the black, played his Ace card. “We sent in a spy to their High Council meeting. The barons have now declared war on dragons!” This sent a shockwave of growls through the entire group, as he expected. When it died down, he continued, “There can now be no doubt about the true intentions of the humans: extermination of all dragon-kind! Worse, their Archmages, who the golds so love, have now produced two hideous weapons that have already been used against us!” He described in detail the Rod of Dragon Slaying and the Gem of Dragon Control.

  “Yes, you may well one day soon become a puppet to the human who wears the Gem, doing his bidding as his dragon slave!” This created even more of an uproar, for a dragon fiercely loves his freedom of action and choice. Aldrick began to see the neutral dragons sliding over to the reds and blacks and greens.

  “Look, thus far, these power weapons have only been used by the h
umans when they went to rescue the women that you had kidnaped! Not once have they launched a war against you. The greens cannot argue that the retaking of the mines that they stole from the barons on Jing was an attack. The humans there were merely defending their mines. If the humans truly wanted a war with us, they would send out attacking forces, which they have not done as yet,” Aldrick attempted to persuade the neutrals, having given up on the others. “Please, please, we need calm here. Stop provoking the humans by burning their villages and stealing, breeding, and mutilating their women.”

  “He does have a point, Werner,” Bolivar, the blue, pointed out. “It is clear to us that you and the reds and greens have been seriously provoking the humans on many planets. After all, Werner, if someone stole my mate, I would go after them with all I could muster to get her back. I would be very angry indeed if when I got her back I found that her wings had been cut off or her legs. I am sure that you would be too. If we do not provoke them, perhaps things will settle down and remain quiet and peaceful. After all, we have so much food here that life is quite enjoyable now.”

  Donatello, the brown, and Aeton, the grey, both agreed with Bolivar, the blue. Aldrick wanted to call for a binding vote, now that he’d regained the support of the neutrals, except the whites. However, he knew that it would result in a tie vote. If only Cezar, the white, would see reason and side with his fellow neutrals could Aldrick hope to win such a vote.

  “I call for a vote,” Werner, the black, seized the initiative from Aldrick, the gold, knowing that at least it would be a tie vote and thus non-binding. His attempts to sway the neutrals had almost succeeded.

  “Wait a moment, Werner. Cezar has not voiced his feelings and opinions,” Aldrick, the gold, barely managed to avoid the vote.

  Cezar, the white, one of the smallest dragons present, cleared his throat, rather enjoying his pivotal role, seldom experienced by the whites who were always considered the lesser dragons by the others. “I say that Werner should be commended for his efforts to learn just what the true intentions of the humans toward we dragons actually are. I am appalled at these horrific magical weapons they have invented, whose use is solely and only against we dragons.” Werner, the black, thought that Cezar was finally going to side with him. However, the white’s next sentence blew all such thoughts away.