Over the next several days, this pattern repeated itself. Tu’luh would circle around the army patrolling it and protecting it from the young dragon. The young dragon would appear, using magic and curses in order to destroy as many orcs and humans as he could.
Tu’luh had no chance to rest until he finally managed to escort his army into Stonebrook. There, the dragon was able to command his troops to take up proper defensive positions. They built ballista launchers from the wreckage of old catapults. They were also able to find more suitable armor to protect against a dragon.
Tu’luh took particular pleasure in pillaging Tillamon’s house. He had heard of the dragon hunter many times, and relished the feeling of satisfaction as his own troops carried out the very weapons and armor that would have been used against dragons such as himself in order to prepare for the meddling, black dragon. This satisfaction was only heightened when Tu’luh burned the house to ashes in a single breath.
To his dismay, the black dragon did not approach Stonebrook. Tu’luh spent two days waiting for him to return, but the black dragon was nowhere to be seen.
The great dragon summoned Salarion to him on the third day. There was no need for words, her mind and will were connected to his, entwined with his desires. Still, she retained her body and abilities, which was more than useful. Tu’luh equipped her with a set of Telarian steel armor to protect her body from the black dragon’s attacks. Without Gilifan, Salarion was the only talented magic user he had in his army. The other zombies were essentially walking swords.
After she was dressed and equipped to his satisfaction, Tu’luh compelled her to use her magic on him. His form shifted and changed. His body became pressed, squeezed from all sides, until he was no bigger than a large orc. His wings flattened to his body. His bones compressed. His fangs shortened into the characteristic orcish tusks. His silvery scale took on the appearance of a pale green skin. When the spell was complete, even he was almost fooled by the disguise. He now looked no different than any other orc in the army.
Next he compelled one of the orcs to come near. Salarion weaved a spell over him and transformed him into the exact image of Tu’luh’s new body. The orc took up no more space than he had before in reality, but he now looked as large as Tu’luh had. Great silvery scales shone brightly in the sun, and he even breathed with the low, lumbering sounds that a dragon did. Soft tendrils of smoke snaked out from the illusionary nostrils and Tu’luh grinned.
He willed half of his army to stay with the fake dragon, including Salarion. The other half he commanded to march with him to the north. If the black dragon would not come to him, then he would hunt it down and flush it out of hiding.
The trap worked perfectly.
The following day as Tu’luh marched with the army northward, the young dragon appeared from the west just before sundown. The black scales reflected the last rays of the sun as it swooped down to attack. The young, four-horned dragon tore into the army laying waste to hundreds at a time. Tu’luh bode his time, making sure that the black dragon didn’t suspect anything before he sprang into action. As the young dragon swooped down for a strike, Tu’luh leapt into the air and his real form became known just as he collided with the young dragon. He ripped at the young dragon clawing at his wing with his right foreleg and biting at the dragon’s neck. His spiked tail whirled around fast and slammed into the young dragon’s hindquarters. The black dragon fought back with all of his might, throwing spells and magic and curses at Tu’luh in rapid succession. Tu’luh felt the lightning course through his body. One of the ice spikes jammed into his hind leg, but it was not so deep to worry about it. The black dragon even managed to stab one of its tail spikes into Tu’luh’s side, but the wound went only skin-deep underneath the scale it pierced. Tu’luh did not disengage from the young dragon. He answered each attack with one of his own, and very soon won the upper hand.
They tumbled down toward the ground spiraling in a death grip. Finally the young dragon was able to score a hit just under Tu’luh’s eye. The large silver dragon recoiled just enough that the young dragon escaped. The young dragon immediately shifted form back to that of a human. A gash in his back dripped blood down his shirt, and just before he finished transforming Tu’luh saw the dragon had a broken wing. Tu’luh sent a whirling tornado of fire at the young dragon, but a portal opened and it escaped.
From that point on, Tu’luh knew the black dragon would not harass him again.
He flew back to regroup with Salarion and the others. Salarion wore the amulet around her neck and led the army forward. Tu’luh would let her dominate the enemy soldiers while he would remain in reserve in case the young dragon, or another threat, arose during battle.
Within days, Tu’luh and his army overran several small villages. Whatever stragglers they found, they either killed or turned. Using Salarion’s skill as a stealthy scout, Tu’luh would send her forward into some villages alone. She could then sneak in and capture all of the inhabitants without a single blade being drawn or any alarm being raised. This saved Tu’luh the time of resurrecting dead bodies all of the time, which also preserved his strength. Tu’luh’s army grew, albeit incrementally. Soon the massive army crossed to enter Grobung, a city, just south of Fort Drake.
When Tu’luh found the town, it appeared as though Master Lepkin had already evacuated the city. The stores were empty, some buildings were boarded and shuttered up, and the streets were void of anything save for a random gray cat. Tu’luh decided that he should send Salarion forward while he holed up in the city in case Master Lepkin had a surprise for him.
The dark she-elf approached Tu’luh. No words were spoken between them. Words were unnecessary as the power of the amulet connected each slave directly to Tu’luh’s brain. In fact, the only reason Tu’luh brought Salarion to him was to give her better armor. He knew that the fight ahead of his army would be fierce. He gifted Salarion with a set of steel mail. Then, he sent her to the north.
*****
Lady Arkyn sat next to a smoldering campfire between two other scouts. She took the last morsel of bread, turned it over between her fingers and then placed it into her mouth and chewed. She kept her eyes toward the south. She could just make out the outlines of the buildings in the city of Grobung. Just before dusk she saw the first ranks of the army marching north on the road. She spied orcs and humans alike, wearing full body armor and heavily armed. It was a formidable force. On the flanks she even saw resurrected goargs with riders bearing spears and bows. She sent the other two scouts immediately toward the fort to warn the others. She, however, stayed behind and readied her bow that she had taken to replace the one that was broken when she had tried to kill Gulgarin.
She knew that if she saw the dragon, she would stand little chance of defeating him, but she hoped to find the source of his power. The amulet that Dimwater had spoken of was something that could be taken, or possibly even destroyed. The only question was whether or not she could get close enough to destroy it without falling victim to its curse.
Her hopes were dashed apart when she realized the one who wore the amulet was a dark elf riding upon a great goarg. The elf was heavily protected amidst ranks of orcs, and Lady Arkyn knew there would be no way to get close to the elf without being exposed to the amulet’s magic. She turned northward and fled, hoping to warn the others before the army could reach Fort Drake.
*****
Marlin stood in a tower, watching all the soldiers stand and march toward the enemy army. This was not a plan that he had hoped for nor one that he was particularly fond of. Still, even Marlin had to acknowledge the fact that standing inside the fortress would afford the heroes little protection, if any, once the amulet came close enough to enslave them. Their choices were simple. They could run out to meet the enemy and hope that somebody stopped the dark elf who wore the amulet, or they could flee northward. The latter choice was not an option. The farther north they fled, the more innocent civilians would fall to Tu’luh’s power. Marlin knew tha
t Aparen would also join the fight. If the heroes could use archers to slow the enemy army, then perhaps Aparen could get close enough to take the amulet.
As the archers drew back their bows and catapults began to fire, Marlin scanned the enemy army with his special vision. He noted that his army, those fighting for the freedom of the Middle Kingdom, all had bright, colorful auras. The enemy army, on the other hand, had almost no auras at all. They were a pale, sickly gray. Marlin saw no emotion in them. There was no fear, no pain, and certainly no love or hope. It was as if they were nothing more than animated corpses. Marlin watch them fall as the missiles rained down, pummeling the enemy. Still, they came onward. Their marching footsteps thundered over the road despite the onslaught of their comrades. It did not matter how many fell before them, they continued to advance.
Out of the corner of his eye, Marlin saw Lady Dimwater. She was up on the fortress wall. Resonating within her aura was a strong, fierce anger that shone brightly in red hues. From her vantage point on the wall she fired spells to attack the enemy army. Scores of enemy orcs and humans fell, yet even the magic did nothing to slow them.
As the enemy closed within one hundred yards of the defenders, Marlin watched in horror as the enemy dead were raised again. Salarion carefully picked her way through the field and used the amulet to bolster the enemy army. The freshly raised zombies joined back in their ranks without hesitation. There was no shouting, there were no orders spoken, and there were no trumpets or bugles to sound their advance or their maneuvers. The enemy army acted by someone else’s will. Marlin knew they were unstoppable. He could see no spell that could halt them, even those that were burned, unless they were completely disintegrated into ash, were resurrected only a short while later to rejoin the ranks and continue the fight.
At this sight many of the archers broke their ranks and fled Fort Drake. There was nothing any of the officers could do to save their faltering lines. Those men who were valiant enough to remain steadfast in the face of such formidable danger were soon taken over by Nagar’s curse.
Marlin studied the battle scene. He watched the zombie Salarion carefully and soon discovered that the amulet had to be within fifty yards of a target in order to enslave it or resurrect it. He didn’t know how, but he knew that he had to try and stop the amulet taking all of the people from Fort Drake. Luckily, at that moment he saw Aparen running out to the field. Before Marlin’s very eyes the young man shifted into a grotesque figure, like that of a monstrous beast with spikes, horns, and demented wings. He leapt into the air over the enemy army and rained fireballs upon them. He called down lightning and even made the earth shake tremendously so that the enemy army could not keep their footing. He started to run towards Salarion. Marlin watched intently. When Aparen came within fifty yards of Salarion, Marlin thought for sure that Aparen would fall subject to the amulet, but he did not. Aparen ran directly toward Salarion.
A great flash of light struck out across the sky like a bolt of lightning, but it did not disappear or vanish. Instead the great light spread, flattening and broadening like a great blanket over the enemy army. The blinding light dropped covering the immediate area around Aparen, Salarion, and most of the enemy army. When the light faded Aparen was stuck. He stopped advancing toward Salarion. He cut down many orcish soldiers around him and flew into the air above the enemy army. He continued to rain fire and lightning down upon the enemy but he did not strike at the amulet or take it.
Marlin watched, confused for a moment why Aparen was failing to attack. Then he studied Aparen’s aura and realized that Aparen was confused. Only then did Marlin understand that Salarion had used an illusion spell. She made it appear as though all of the soldiers around her were her. Now Aparen had to guess which the real Salarion was.
Marlin called out to Dimwater upon the wall, “Do you see Salarion, the dark elf?”
“There are hundreds of her,” Dimwater replied
Marlin tried to shout to Aparen and identify the correct image for him, but Aparen was too far away to hear him. Aparen became locked in a great battle as the entire enemy army turned on him. Marlin knew that Aparen had been wounded in his dragon form when he had fought with Tu’luh, therefore he was not likely to take the dragon form again as it would leave him without the option of retreat. Marlin decided that he would lend a hand to Aparen, hoping that his magic would help the young warlock wade through the enemies until he finally found Salarion and could take the amulet from her.
Marlin caught a glimpse of something on the southern horizon. When he focused on it, his heart sank in his chest. Aparen would not have enough time to find the amulet, for Tu’luh was coming. Marlin could see the dragon’s aura as clearly as if it had been the noon day sun. He glanced to the battlefield and saw that as quickly as Aparen slayed the enemy, the amulet resurrected them. The battle was all but lost.
Despite his best judgment, the prelate decided to act. He leapt from the tower and called upon the grasses below to catch his feet as he landed harmlessly on the ground. He ran forward, ignoring Lady Dimwater’s shouts. Using his magic, he disguised himself with a spell that made him appear like a rabbit. He picked up a javelin on his way through the battlefield and ran for Salarion. Aparen was obviously not trained well enough to find the real Salarion, so Marlin would do it for him. He knew not to come too close to the amulet. He came within throwing distance and let loose with the javelin, using his magic to make it invisible and help guide its trajectory. The javelin struck true and Salarion took the point in the neck. She fell back off her mount crashed to the ground. Marlin watched as the energy in her aura faded and disappeared. Now, those who fell in battle, remained dead. The amulet still held the spell, but without either a slave or a master to direct it, the amulet neither resurrected the dead nor enslaved the living.
Marlin looked up to Aparen and shouted, “Do not let the enemy take the amulet.”
Aparen dove down, bathing the area in brimstone and fire. Lightning crashed all around, thundering as it created an electrical cage of blue and yellow and white. The enemy turned from Fort Drake, concentrating fully on retrieving the amulet. Marlin and Aparen fought side-by-side as they kept the enemy at bay. Arrows and catapults continued to fire down upon the enemy. For a moment it looked as though they might succeed in destroying enough of the enemy army to capture the amulet.
Then there was a great thunder. The ground shook. Marlin lost his footing and fell. He looked up in time to see a massive, silver tail sweep through the electrical cage that Aparen had created and smack the shadowfiend through the air. Aparen sailed over the walls of Fort Drake and out of sight. Marlin stretched out his hand to grab the amulet, but it was too late. A silver talon slipped through the amulet’s gold chain and picked it up from the battlefield. Marlin looked up into the great and terrible aura of Tu’luh the Red, and his spirit filled with dread. The dragon smiled and great pain crept into Marlin. The sensation of thousands of burning needles pierced through Marlin’s head and heart. He fought the spell with everything he had in him, but it was no use.
“Don’t do this!” Marlin pleaded. Marlin’s gift of sight was taken from him as the spell ravaged his mind. In a fluttering moment, his normal vision returned. Instead of seeing Tu’luh’s aura, he saw the silver scales on the dragon’s snout. A strange numbness took hold of Marlin’s legs and spread up through Marlin’s body. The last thing Marlin saw before the spell completely captured his spirit was the evil grin on Tu’luh’s wicked face.
A moment later, every corpse within a fifty yard radius was resurrected. The amulet was placed over Marlin’s neck, and Salarion was commanded to guard Marlin as he wielded the amulet. Tu’luh used his fiery breath to destroy the arrows coming down toward his army. He used his claws and tail to bat away the large rocks hurled by the catapults. Tu’luh leapt into the air, sending a great wave of fire over the remaining few archers that had not fled. He did not bother to resurrect them. Instead he opted to turn them to ash.
“The fortress i
s mine,” Tu’luh said. “I will give you two hours to surrender. Submit to me and there will be no more death. You know you are already defeated, but I do not wish to rule a graveyard. I want only to prevent this world from falling into the chaos that mine did, which led to its ultimate demise. The great prelate of Valtuu Temple is now fallen, never to be seen nor heard from again. I have taken not only his life, but also his soul. This is the end that awaits all who oppose me now. Join with me, and you shall live a normal life. Fight against me, and I will destroy body and soul.”
Tu’luh watched as a large man moved on to the wall next to the sorceress, and waited for him to speak.
“You know me, dragon,” Lepkin said “I am the Keeper of Secrets. There will be no surrender. Not to you, or to anyone else who wishes to use that despicable curse upon the Middle Kingdom.”
Tu’luh snarled, wisps of smoke snaking out from his nostrils along with sparks of blue fire. “You are a fool. Even if you could defeat me, you cannot defeat what comes behind me. The life I offer is the only way to save this dying world. I will give you two hours to reconsider your fate.”
“Come at me now dragon, and I will show you who will die.”
The lady next to him gathered a great spell and sent it forward. Man and orc started to writhe in pain and agony as their bodies twisted and contorted. At first, Tu’luh was unaware of what was going on. Then he saw the truth of the dark magic that was being used. The sorceress had sent soul fire down to the army and it was devouring not only the enemy’s bodies, but also their souls. It was a spell that would leave their souls and bodies unusable again. Not even the amulet would revive a body from such a spell.
Tu’luh did the only thing he could do, he reached out and snatched Marlin and Salarion into his talons as he turned and fled from the battlefield. Soul fire was as effective on dragons as it was on other creatures. The only way to escape it was to flee. He glanced over his shoulders and wings as the last several hundred soldiers were consumed by the soul fire, screaming in agony and dropping dead on the ground.
Return of the Dragon (The Dragon's Champion Book 6) Page 26
