He submerged himself as best he could before turning around to walk back to the point where he entered the river. The soldiers were still staring at him in amazement. Not often would they get an opportunity to stand so close to one of the largest dragons in the world, especially after seeing what he did in battle today. After he fanned his immense membranous wings, Gallanth walked back to the grass field where he landed and settled down.
Jodem placed Vorgalla in the center of the small hall and the rest of the group gathered around her, while several soldiers stood guard at the doors. A few town members came in to place the food and drink on the table at the back of the room. The portly wizard stood in front of the dark elf and raised his staff as the sapphire dragonstone head piece started to scintillate and glow. The drow she-elf reacted abruptly, attempting to fight Jodem’s renewed domination spell, but after a couple of seconds, she went back to her calmed state, falling to his magical control.
“She is very stubborn and has a strong resistance to magic,” Jodem stated, “but I think this will make her a little bit more amenable.”
“What were your objectives at Handsdown?” Colonel Sheer asked her angrily.
“We were to take the town and hold it to draw out the forces from Battle Point,” she replied with an unemotional tone.
“Why this village?” he again asked.
“It is a small but important secondary trading post in the unsettled lands, and it is still under protection of the Alliance, but closer to Morgathia, the Kaskars and orc lands,” she answered.
“Draw out our forces for what purpose?” Sheer yelled angrily. She did not answer and her face contorted in an attempt to resist the spell.
“What were those new thorny dragons, and what was the source of extra power of the blue dragon that Gallanth killed today?” Jodem interjected to get her off balance.
“The talon dragons are a successful experiment by the drow and Morgathian sorcerers to counter the Alliance Avenger dragons,” she replied with less resistance. Jodem was shocked that she knew of the Avenger dragons. “The blue dragon, Evtrex, was a destroyer or demon dragon. His heart was successfully melded with a piece of dark crystal and a drop of Tiamat’s blood,” she further explained. Looks of surprise and shock came over all the faces in the room.
“How is this done?” Mkel asked, puzzled.
“The strongest dragons volunteer for the ritual for the melding with the dark crystal, but many do not survive,” she replied.
“What powers does this bestow upon the recipient?” Jodem asked.
“The successful ritual will affect the destroyer in one of two ways,” she explained. “It gives it a tremendous energy boost to its breath weapon, which it can use one to two times per day. The destroyer dragon’s spell casting ability also increases. The other way it can affect the dragon is its magic shield will double in strength, and its physical strength increases as well. It can also cast a destruction spell once per day that can shatter castle walls or fell dozens in a single burst.”
“How common is this?” Colonel Sheer asked, more inquisitive than angry.
“There are not very many chromatic dragons who have survived the ritual, but the slave miners of the drow have discovered a major vein of dark crystal in a new chamber they unearthed deep below the city of Shanaris, and Tiamat has been empowering it,” she further explained.
“Sir, where is Shanaris?” Colonel Sheer’s second in command asked.
“It is the drow capital underground city, Captain,” Sheer snapped.
“What of the black dragon?” Mkel inquired. “Why was it so ferocious? It was stronger and faster than normal.”
“The black dragon was in a fury, like barbarians who go into a berserker rage. This is a skill that we helped the more chaotic species of chromatic dragons perfect. They are given a potion that contains various ingredients, also including a small amount of Tiamat’s blood. This allows the dragon to burn up a portion of its own blood for the extra speed and strength. This does exhaust the dragon though and has a longer term effect of shortening its life,” Vorgalla answered.
“So Tiamat is still alive?” Jodem asked with some shock in his voice.
“She lives but is still recuperating from the severe wounds that Michenth inflicted on her during the Great War,” she replied.
“So she lives, but what does this mean for us?” one of Sheer’s officers asked rhetorically.
“It means that there will be another war as soon as she regains her strength,” Colonel Sheer answered. “But this time, we are much weaker. We only have a third of the army and one sixth the number of dragons we did during the Great War,” he finished. Sheer had been a heavy infantry soldier during the Great War and saw the Morgathian hordes first hand that were eventually defeated, but only after a bitter fight and a great deal of casualties.
“What is the overall plan, priestess? Handsdown is only a small part of Morgathia’s goal. What are the objectives you are looking at?” Jodem asked directly while also refocusing the interrogation back to the drow.
“We will attack you by sssseh …, she …, destroying your cities in a storm,” she yelled, fighting hard to resist the questioning and not reveal any more secrets. Jodem could tell that she was resisting his spell and knew he could not maintain the domination over her much longer.
“She’s fighting hard not to reveal anything else,” he explained. “I will need help from the Wizard’s Council of Thirteen, and maybe Eladra, to get more information. She has vital knowledge of the Morgathian plan but she is still very strong in her resistance to my spell.”
“It doesn’t matter. I was told that we were to have the prisoner ready to be taken to Draconia for further questioning by the senate,” Colonel Sheer said, sounding irritated. “They will be sending a brass dragon sometime tonight.”
“How did the senate hear about her and this battle this quickly?” Mkel asked.
“Likely General Daddonan talked to General Becknor when we left. I have been sending him information about the battle from time to time. It is his job to keep the premier and the senate informed of such events. It is the POE senators who are demanding to have the drow brought back to Draconia immediately. Likely so they can defend her position in a tribunal, bastard arbitrators!” Colonel Sheer exclaimed. This sentiment surprised Mkel but he also felt a small sense of relief in that the colonel felt the same way about the Enlightened senators and their arbitrator friends as he did. “I will talk to General Daddonan and see if we can delay sending her back to give you, Gallanth, and Andellion a little more time to get a few more questions answered,” he added.
Mkel, danger! Gallanth warned telepathically as a one of the Battle Point soldiers from outside the window raised a small wooden tube and blew a dart at Vorgalla, striking her in the neck. She immediately collapsed to the floor. Even as Markthrea sprang from the wall it was leaning on and flew into Mkel’s outstretched hand, the soldier had disappeared from sight.
Mkel sprinted to the window, cocking his crossbow in the process. As he lifted it up into position, he checked to make sure the bolt was a standard nonexploding tip. He quickly scanned the vicinity for the perpetrator while he heard Colonel Sheer yell to not kill the soldier for he wanted him for questioning. The other soldiers in the room ran toward the main entrance to make sure there was no attack coming and to help apprehend the soldier who had fired at the prisoner.
Mkel saw the legionnaire in question face off with one of the soldiers who came running from the river. As they engaged in a melee, he took aim on the assassin’s leg and fired. It was a very easy fifty-yard shot, and the bolt caught him on the upper thigh and spun him around onto the ground. Within seconds, four Battle Point soldiers had him surrounded and at spear and sword point. The soldier quickly sat up and bit the ring on his right index finger; within seconds, he was convulsing and twitching on the ground and
then fell silent.
The whole group that was in the meeting hall emptied out except Jodem, who stayed with Vorgalla, attempting to neutralize the poison. Mkel was right behind Colonel Sheer, who was surprisingly fast for a man of his size and age, being six foot four inches and well into his upper forties. They crowded around the soldier lying on the ground. “Do not touch him!” shouted the colonel. “He could still be very dangerous.”
Mkel thought to himself that he looked pretty much dead, but it was better to err on the side of caution, for whatever he used, both on the drow and on himself, seemed like a very potent poison. Colonel Sheer ordered spears and swords pointed at the now still man’s hands, midsection, legs, and throat. With heavy gloved hands, the senior soldier present pulled off the assassin’s helmet and face scarf. He had darker features, with thick black hair and a large nose. His deep tan and distinctive tattoos under his armor were not normal for an Alliance legionnaire.
“This man was a Shidanese assassin,” Colonel Sheer exclaimed.
“The colonel is correct, the poison blow pipe dart and black scarab tattoo are very telling,” Jodem said as he walked up behind the group.
“Is the priestess dead?” Colonel Sheer asked.
“Yes. I could not save her. Maybe if our cleric Watterseth was here or I knew which type of poison he used, but it worked very quickly. Apparently the same poison he used on her, he used on himself. Judging by the purplish black liquid in the small reservoir in his ring and with him likely being a Shidan black scarab assassin, it was either wyvern poison, Death’s Dawn extract, or a combination of both to work as fast as it did,” Jodem exclaimed.
“Death’s Dawn?” Mkel asked.
“It is a rare lotus-like plant that grows in the deserts of Shidan and the Southern Ontaror kingdoms that is used both as a very virulent poison and for medicinal purposes. However, it is favored among their assassin guilds,” Jodem expounded.
“Captain, call all of the commanders and tell them what happened here,” Colonel Sheer ordered, “Have them check their men for spies and infiltrators. Any soldier not recognized by someone, or doesn’t have his identifying seeing crystal, is to be placed under guard until he can be identified. This assassin likely took the armor from one of our captured men to get inside our defenses. Get to it.”
“Yes sir,” the senior captain replied; he then saluted and turned toward the legion soldiers, grabbing his seeing crystal.
“Who do you think his target was, Wizard?” Sheer asked as he turned toward Jodem.
“It wasn’t me or Mkel,” Jodem said, “for even apprentice assassins know that a gold dragon and many master wizards have the power of foresight, which warns of such activities. Gallanth, Mkel’s sword Kershan, and I did not pick up a threat to us, which is the reason he succeeded in infiltrating this area. His target was the drow.”
“Why her?” Colonel Sheer asked.
“I assume that someone was afraid we would get her to talk, and it was only a matter of time before we learned too much, likely about their plan or the overall Morgathian connection. It had to be something they were willing to go to great lengths to protect, for the killing of a drow high priestess must have been ordered by the Morgathian Talon Council itself,” Jodem theorized.
“All right, let’s get this cleaned up and get back to the keep. We have things to discuss, and I need to talk to General Daddonan,” Colonel Sheer explained as he urged all present to move back to the hall.
The colonel started to explain to the general what had happened with the drow and the assassination through his seeing crystal. He replied to Colonel Sheer that he had set out with a regimental size force that would be at Handsdown by nightfall.
“Gentlemen, General Daddonan will be here by nightfall with almost half of the legion,” Colonel Sheer proclaimed. “We have to discuss the plan to rescue our captured men.” The group sat down at the central meeting table.
“How many total are missing, sir?” Mkel asked.
“At least a dozen; we are still getting final numbers on the missing from the company commanders and the small garrison that was stationed here,” Colonel Sheer replied.
“Do you have any information from the rangers and the hippogriff scouts, sir?” Mkel inquired.
“Thank the Creator for the hippogriffs’ and griffons’ keen eyesight. They are keeping the retreating attackers in sight, because our mounts have better vision than a manticore or an orc, and definitely better than those disgusting hymenoid creatures. So far they are still fleeing toward the southeast,” explained the colonel.
“Sir, I can have the whole Keystone Weir garrison here, battle ready, by tomorrow morning,” Mkel volunteered.
“I don’t know if we need them, Dragonrider,” Colonel Sheer replied. “We will have to see what the ranger scouts find, plus since these are Battle Point soldiers that are prisoners, Battle Point legionnaires will want to rescue them or die trying.”
“Yes sir, I understand, but we are available to you, as well as my council leaders, who are a very powerful group unto themselves,” Mkel added.
“Yes, I know of all of them. Your reputations precede you, and if their talents are needed, believe me I will call. Between the over five hundred soldiers I have here now, and the over two thousand on the march to reinforce us, I have confidence in our ability to handle this situation. Unless there are chromatics or giants, we should have enough strength. However, with you, Jodem, and of course Gallanth with us, I’m not as fearful of them as I used to be,” Colonel Sheer answered.
“The planner of this attack did not expect to have a gold dragon and a senior wizard so readily available to help the Battle Point legion,” he continued. “The unexpected arrival of you three and all our forces that you teleported in definitively upset their time table and plan. They are reeling but will regroup quickly. I don’t think they will hold the prisoners for long. Likely torture them for whatever information they can get and then kill them, or perhaps they will wind up as dinner for those dragon spawn or the orcs. That means we must strike them as quickly as possible. “Jodem, do you think they will bring in any more chromatics?”
“I cannot tell right now,” Jodem replied. “Gallanth is asleep and they are out of my range, even for my seeking eye spell.”
“General Daddonan also said that a dragon from the Capital Wing will be coming in tonight to aid us in the rescue, as well as several coppers in two days to claim the chromatic dragon corpses. Colonel Lordan will be coming as well, since he shares your border problems,” Colonel Sheer added.
“Colonel Lordan? That’s good news. Gallanth works well with Talonth, and he will be happy to see him,” Mkel explained.
“That will be impressive, to see the largest gold and largest silver dragons in the Alliance fight side by side,” Colonel Sheer commented.
“They haven’t had the need to since the Great War. Everything since then has been minor skirmishes,” said Mkel.
“I had the privilege to witness Talonth and the then Lieutenant Lordan, take on two large red dragons and send them both plummeting to their doom during the fight at Battle Point,” Sheer said. “That was after Gallanth went to attack the drow and Morgathian capitals. They both turned the tide for us. I didn’t want to bring this up, Captain, but I saw your father fight that day as well. He fought valiantly right up to the end. Michenth would be dead if it weren’t for him. You should be proud, as I know he would be of you. Has Gallanth ever determined how he wasn’t killed by the death rays from the dark crystals on the Morgathian capital’s black spires?”
Mkel was taken aback by this sudden story from the colonel’s youth; he didn’t quite know how to respond to it. He fought back his emotions enough to clear his throat to answer the Colonel’s question. “For some reason, sir, the crystals wouldn’t fire on him. In his state at that time, with his magic shield depleted, he would have c
ertainly been killed if only one of the beams had hit him. He doesn’t know why, he only remembers being blinded by the rage of the loss of his rider and by the thirst for justice and revenge,” Mkel answered.
“Well, maybe one day we’ll see the Alliance flag fly over those dark spires,” Colonel Sheer stated with a blank look, like he was seeing other events or was in another place. He quickly returned to his normal focused self, as if the very brief interlude never had happened; Mkel could tell he felt bad for bringing that memory to him, knowing that it must be painful to hear about his father’s death.
“I hope you are right, sir, but I think some of the Alliance’s own people don’t want to deal with this problem anymore or don’t have the focus for the struggle,” Mkel said.
“You’re referring to the Party of the Enlightened and their mindless followers,” Colonel Sheer snapped. “Since the Great War, life in the Alliance has been made increasingly easy. The proliferation of the heating, cooling, seeing, and lighting crystals from the dragons’ own blood and the unprecedented bountiful harvests we have enjoyed with our partnership with the halflings, along with our trade relationships with the elves and dwarves, have made us the envy of the world. The teleportation circles make travel within our borders instantaneous. Our lands are now practically free of evil creatures and have been almost totally safe from any substantial outside threat, until very recently. People tend to forget that just over thirty years ago, we faced a force that almost annihilated us. The short memory of some in our republic is incredible. Thank the Creator that they are still only a minority, a very vocal one, but still a minority. There is a reason that the Founding Council members put in our Articles of the Alliance that you must have contributed to the republic, or be a veteran, to be eligible to vote or hold political office. Anyone who wants to serve is accepted; we find them a place. This all brings stability to our government and the Alliance.”
Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow Page 27
