Jason could still see the shops, the blacksmith forge, carpenters wares behind glass windows, and the Winged Owl Tavern and Inn as they led the horses toward the outer city fortifications. He did not notice the Raven with all of the commotion, or the fact that the Raven’s mind was sealed with strength far beyond that of a Raven. It flew from building to building, following the small band of hunters.
“Whoa, Missy. We are not here for you”, said Rolph as the beautiful young whore sidled up toward the Prince. She could have been no more than fifteen.
“I not interested in you”, she said to Rolph while eyeing Jason up and down.
Jason flipped a Royal Gold piece to her and said, “Here, take some time and find another line of work. Do not waste your youth and beauty upon the basest lust of men.”
She caught the piece and held it tightly in her hands, staring in disbelief as they moved off. Then she tucked the treasure away, and walked toward her mother’s house to change clothes. Not knowing that Jason had compelled her to it, she was headed to the Palace to apply as a handmaiden or cook’s apprentice. There were openings because of two accidental deaths, which had not yet been filled. She was to say Prince Jason sent her.
Out of the shops and lodging district, they remounted and trotted up to the main Northern Gates. These were double gates, set on each side of the enormously thick and high wall that surrounded the entire city. The wall was thirty paces high and forty paces thick. There were large machines of war spaced along its length, on great wheels so they could be moved from place to place on the walls. Great Trebuchets to throw burning pitch covered rocks or iron balls. Great Wyrm Bows to take down war birds and “Black Dragons”. These were not true Dragons, but flying snakes partial to the spawn of darkness and their sorcerers. True Dragons seldom attacked humans, and then only if severely provoked. There were spring-powered portable rams to dislodge siege towers and ladders. There was a passageway in the wall all around the city, with apartments and Army barracks inside of the wall structure. The wall continued to bedrock below ground, so tunneling under it would be very difficult.
At one time there were only the two human Capitol Cities, Windhaven in the South and Snowden the North. Before that, only Windhaven, whose walls they saw before them, a product of centuries labor. When mankind first landed upon this mainland two thousand generations ago, it was on Longboats they rode. It was said a great cataclysm sunk mankind’s great islands in the sea, and only two hundred Long Boats had escaped, full of refugees. Rather than build their main city upon the seashore, only sixty leagues further to the South, they had built it here in the low hills, the first hills to be found north of the Sea. They did build a town there, Southport. They demolished the ships and built the first town with the planks from the ships. Southport had been destroyed by storms and tidal waves countless times since then, but it was always rebuilt. The natural harbor affords the only safe seaway access point for three hundred miles in either direction, with the wide river Great Aconda that runs from the Mountains down to Southport providing riverboats access through the heart of the mainland. Windhaven sat in a bend of the river along the West side of the city. The West Gate was a river gate, with a man made canal running through the gate from the Palace to the river. Security and fortifications along that vulnerable access were formidable, and if all else failed a deadfall of rock waited to seal the canal just outside of the gates.
As the hunting party approached the inside Northern Gate, the gate was already opened and a contingent of six soldiers eyed the comings and goings, sometimes stopping a traveler or wagon for questions or a search. They saluted as Jason and the Elite Guardsmen trotted past. Inside the wall, torches along the walls helped with the dim lighting. They passed soldiers and travelers, wagons, mules, oxen and horses. A natural breeze moved through the enclosed spaces, denoting the genius of the original architects and their painstaking plans for ventilation, sewage treatment and aqueducts throughout.
The Raven waited patiently to see if his quarry would leave the city safety once more. Before long the trap would fall.
After leaving the wall behind, Jason and his Guard veered northwest into the adjacent wood. This area was the King’s forest from here to the river and five Leagues Square. All other forestlands in the area were open to the general public, unless privately owned. The canopy was high in the King’s woods, allowing little low growth except along the spring beds, the river and a number of large man made fields kept with summer and winter crops to help keep a healthy wild grazing population. These crops also fed the people of the city in uncommon hard times of war when the far-reaching communities fell back to the city proper.
The wood was full of wildlife. Justin’s senses were almost overloaded by many vibrant life forces. After penetrating the woods nearly a mile the light began to fade into dusk. A flock of crows flew noisily overhead, and Jason detected something strange among them, a small glob of darkness, impenetrable. But then it was gone with the crows, just as he started to concentrate on it.
“What’s wrong?” asked Rolph. He had been looking across the huge bean field when he noticed Jason staring up with concern at the flock of crows that squawked their way past.
“Oh nothing I guess. We should camp on the other side of that field by the hill. There is a nice gently sloped glade with a small stream close by”, said Justin. “The main creek is about two hundred yards past that, not far from the river. We will go out at first light and I will set up with my bow near the creek to wait for that stag.”
Rolph kept it to himself, but he trusted Jason’s senses more than the boy did himself. He was now more concerned than ever about this hunt. He had agreed to stay at least a hundred yards away from Justin while he was hunting. The King would have him skinned alive if something happened to Jason, not to mention he would not even let himself live long enough to face the King. "Better to die with the boy if that happens", he thought.
They trotted the horses across the large bean field into the woods on the other side. They set up three tents, and their cook stove and other camping gear. Then they staked the horses on the edge of the bean field in reach of both water and the soybeans.
Jason and Ender went out to gather wood, both with axes to chop up fallen branches. There were many of those lying about.
“Pomroy said he sparred with you last week. Was he telling true?” asked Ender.
“Yes. He put up quite a fight.” Jason knew that Ender was called Ender because he did just that. He was the best swordsman in the Elite squad since Daffor had left so unexpectedly. Pomroy was very good to, and usually sparred with Ender. They were both born in Southport, and learned to fight young as all did there. Pirates were a problem on the ships.
“He says you tore him apart with those two skinny swords you carry. His shield only delayed things some, he says.”
“They were gifts from Mary, Elven. She won’t tell me where or how she got them“.
“Yes. I have seen the Elves fight with such, faster than men. Not as fast as you though. How do you do it, Justin?”
Ender had stopped chopping, and gathered up his cuttings, looking at Justin with the question in his eyes.
“If I tell you then I will have to kill you”, said Justin with a smile.
“Never mind then”, he laughed. “It will all wash out.”
They gathered stones and placed them around the kindling so fire would not spread. The fire was healthy and warm in short order, with enough wood to last the night stacked near by. The men shared a large bottle of wine over dried venison and greens with biscuits and molasses, a prized import from the north.
“Tell me Rolph, have you seen any action against the Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, Ghouls damned and possessed, you know, the dark ones?” asked Justin who had never seen one.
“He is only fourteen after all”, thought Ender. “He is past deadly with his swords, but only fourteen.”
“Sixteen years ago I was with the General Army Elite Unit under Kirkland’s father Edgar, t
he King at that time. My Captain’s name was Tracker Olsen”, said Rolph. “We were returning with a group of miners and about six hundred pounds of star metal from the Northern slopes, just entering the Elven Forest with permission from them. It was a cold, gray day, and snowing. Sixty seasoned troops rode to protect one hundred miners, their equipment, and the priceless metal. Our two Magi, Melinda and Albrite, were the first to warn us by casting a counter spell that destroyed a cloaking that had hidden the ambush. Over a hundred fell creatures were exposed, lying in wait within the trees ahead. The damned were the worst though. They were human once, and they can be what were called Malagae instead of Magi. We formed a wall in front of the miners with our pike men to the fore while Melinda and Albrite attacked the Malagae with powerful lightning bolts, heat flashes, frost bolts, everything they had. We were half blinded by the magic, yet none of the enemy’s blood magic reached the troops. The beasts were not yet ready to attack, so we did instead. We fired a volley of arrows that managed to take out all the damned except not the Malagae. Then we charged into them with pikes and swords, killing the toothsome goblins, and the fleshy ghouls. There were a dozen Orcs with long axes and two Trolls with giant clubs. I saw men eaten alive, swarmed by those vermin Goblins and their companions the Ghouls, so engrossed in their feeding that they hardly noticed as we cutoff their heads or ran them through from horseback. The beasts swarmed over the dead horses, becoming mindless feeding things easier to dispatch. There was blood everywhere and the screams were maddening. Tracker was killed by a Troll, and he died in Troll’s arms with his sword through its brain. That left me in command. I ordered retreat and those left formed in front of the miners again. By this time the miners were in the battle with picks and malls, life or death, some covered in blood. Melinda obliterated the remaining Troll and passed out. Albrite set half the Orcs on fire to cook in their own juices, and then he passed out too. No more help from magic. At least the damned Malagae were dead. That left ten soldiers and two-dozen miners against six Orcs, a few Goblins and Ghouls. I think we could have won on our own at that point, yet the Elves stepped in from behind them with a cloud of arrows to finish things. The Orcs and the rest were dead before they hit the ground. Ender here was with us, one of the few survivors. He was a great swordsman even then.”
“The goblins and the ghouls work in tandem”, said Ender. “The ghouls hit at you with a club so you cannot defend against the Goblin, which simply eats you alive with that big maw of a mouth and those long talons on hands and feet. After you cannot defend yourself at all, the Ghoul joins in the meal. It takes two to battle a Goblin and a Ghoul. From what I hear the Orcs and Trolls prefer us cooked.”
“How awful”, said Justin. “Were they after the metal, or just on a killing spree, these creatures?”
“Both”, said Ender. “They hate us like they hate everything, unless they are eating it. Hate is what they are, and killing us is easier with better weapons. It makes me hate them twice as much back.”
“Then we become no better than them if we let hate drive us”, said Justin. “We must defend our loved ones and protect the Maker’s law as best we can. But leave hatred to them, Ender. No mater what, remember that the Maker loves us and will protect our souls so long as we still know love.”
“Yes, my Prince. Of course you are right”.
They talked into the night until Rolph mentioned that. ”Dawn comes early. Best we get our rest.”
With that, they left the embers to smolder and retired to their tents. The Raven was watching from some distance. He feared the boy would be more alarmed next time he was seen. When the campers retired, he flew to the river and then North to where his master’s General, Brog, waited with his Black Dragon Serpent and twenty magically concealed Orcs. “Brog strong, much magic”, thought Raven.
Justin woke well before dawn. He slipped out of camp with his bow and his hunting gear. He had planned this from the start. The stag he was after would pick up on any mistake and bolt. He did not trust the others enough in that regard. After removing his Glamour, he could see in the starlight as well as any Dragon. He strained his senses as he slipped quietly through the woods. Dew on the carpet of pine needles and leaves made them easier to negotiate with only the slightest of sound. There were does moving away from the field not far away, upwind. Several Elk were headed away north. They did not sense him. A fox watched as he slipped by, noting his presence.
“Good”, thought Justin. “No Mountain Lions to scare the stag away”.
Before long, he located the tree he had spotted last time he was here. It was only thirty yards downwind of where the stag tended to cross the creek ahead. Perhaps he would stop and drink, giving Justin and even better shot. Justin tied his bow off and climbed the tree, situating himself in the fork of two massive branches. There was a thin cover of leaf in front that he could shoot through if he was careful, so he pulled up the bow and began his wait.
He sensed the stag moving slowly and quietly toward the creek from the northeast, where the Elk had gone. It was perhaps half an hour before dawn, when the magnificent beast stepped out of the brush by the stream. Justin knocked his arrow and drew without making a sound.
“Only a few feet further”, he thought. But then he heard a fallen branch snap as if some large beast had stepped on it. The stag bolted, wheeled and raced off back where he had come from.
“Darn. What comes?” thought Justin. Casting his passive senses in the direction of the noise, only darkness was there. Darkness deeper than the woods in starlight was moving in his direction. He could hear many two legged creatures approaching, yet he could not see them. He was about to force his senses beyond the barrier when he remembered Rolph’s tale. The darkness slipped past him and he could now see the tall, broad and ugly form of Orcs. He faded into the tree with a passive cloaking spell not even their Malaga or the huge winged serpent would detect. It was the serpent that was making most of the noise. Knocking down saplings, it would have to fly soon because the forest was tight toward their camp.
“I am up a tree”, he thought with alarm. “There is always the Change”. Justin cast his mind toward Rolph: forcing his way through his friend’s weak shields.
“Rolph. Wake Up. You are in danger!”
“Wha, huh.....Who is that? ... Justin? Where are you?”
“I am at the creek up in a tree, well concealed. There is a Malaga with about twenty Orcs headed toward the camp. They are cloaked by the Malaga. He has a Black Dragon Serpent. Get your weapons and the horses and retreat. They will not see me, and I can cloak my presence. Hurry, they will be upon you soon.”
“We will NOT leave you, Justin. We will wait on the other side of the field.”
“Just GO, NOW!”
The Black Dragon spread it’s wings and with great effort rose from next to the stream so nearby that wind from it’s wings buffeted the tree Justin was hiding in. As it cleared the trees, Jason spotted the darkened Raven clearly, following. The Dragon was gone, so he reached out and stripped away the Raven’s shields and ripped the life force from the bird with a high spell. The Raven squawked as it fell from the sky, and a stream of alien memories were stripped as its mind was silenced. “I don’t have time for this now”, though Jason as he tucked these bird brained images away.
Jason removed his clothes, his swords and tied them along with the bow. He then leaped out of the tree with his arms wide, and changed into a burnt orange yearling dragon. He flapped his wings and quickly rose higher and higher over forest. It was then he heard a different mind: A powerful mind. Another Dragon!
“I am coming, Justin”.
“Who is coming?”
“I am Denise. We are both of the fourteen. I heard your pleas to Rolph because I am so much like you and was out hunting as a Dragon for practice. Save your friends. I will be there soon, and I will warn the King”.
Justin was higher than the Black Dragon now, and he could see the field below. The Orcs had not quite reached the field but the camp was b
urning. His friends were still in the field, galloping to the other side with his horse in tow. They would not make it. As the Black Dragon swooped down on them, his friends turned to fight. Jason uttered a strong defense spell and caste it over his friends just before the Black Dragon blasted them with flames. He dove from above, folding his wings back. He would hit the Malaga from above and behind.
When the flames did not fry them, the Malaga sent a rippling bolt of black lightning that crashed against the ward. Justin felt the draw of power weaken him, but he was committed now.
“We are dead for certain”, thought Rolph as the dragon swooped upon them. In defiance, he ordered the reversal and attack, and they sent four arrows into the beasts head and neck just before the flame consumed them.
“Wha... we are saved”, he screamed. “Shoot again!” The flames had hit wards that had come from nowhere. They fired four more arrows before the lightning struck. Again they were saved, so they fired once more. The beast screamed in pain as an arrow pierced thought its open mouth into the skull above. Then Rolph could not believe his eyes, as their savior appeared overhead. The rust colored dragon hit the black dragon from above at tremendous speed. The impact cut the Malaga in half as the rust dragon clamped his fang filled jaws upon the black serpent’s neck behind its head and they both slammed into the ground at his feet. The black serpent thrashed this way and that, turning over and over, but the smaller dragon would not let go.
Dragons Shining Page 5
