The Binding Stone: The Dragon Below Book 1

by Don Bassingthwaite

  Something, some dark pebble, fell to the ground where she had stood.

  Dah’mir’s huge, lithe form stiffened. “No!” he roared. “Medala!” Green eyes burned. Geth stumbled back from the sheer rage in the dragon’s gaze. He heard Orshok cry out in fear. Dah’mir’s scaly lips peeled back from his muzzle. “Khyber claim you all!” he snarled—and spat out a word that made Geth’s ears ache. A greasy, clinging foulness—less than smoke but more than shadow—burst out of the air.

  Geth shouted as it groped and slithered across his skin, sliding into his mouth and down his throat, making him gag. From the corner of his eye, though, he saw Batul snap a gnarled hand into the air and shout an angry word in response.

  Nature answered his prayer in a blast of wind that tore across the battlefield, scouring away the foulness of Dah’mir’s magic, and raising a cloud of stinging dust that brought renewed squeals out of the dolgrims. Geth’s clothes flapped around him. Dandra, eyes fixed on Dah’mir, was caught by the wind and shoved to her knees. Singe yelled something and leaped for her, staggering in the gale.

  Dah’mir roared again and recoiled, his wings folded tight against his body, his eyes squeezed tight against the wind.

  “Geth!” said Batul. “Now!”

  Gatekeeper magic and Dhakaani sword. Geth clenched his jaw tight. He darted to Singe where the wizard knelt with his arms around Dandra. “Run!” he said over the wind. “Get everyone away!”

  “What?”

  “Do it! Do it like Robrand gave the order himself!” Geth reached to his belt, tore free the pouch that contained Tetkashtai’s crystal, and thrust it at him. “Give that to Dandra!”

  He spun away and leaped for Dah’mir without looking back. He heard Singe call his name once, then the wizard began shouting commands at Natrac and the others. The shifter heard Batul shout something as well—another prayer, an invocation that throbbed with power.

  The wind rose to a storm in answer. The grit it carried became painful, like a rain of needles. Geth reached deep and forced his tired body to shift once more. Renewed energy surged through him and the piercing pain of the wind eased as he plunged through it. Around him, though, the dolgrims that Dah’mir had commanded weren’t so lucky. They screeched and tried to flee from the druid’s magic, but it was as if nature held a special fury for the twisted aberrations. The creatures tried to flee, but the wind tore at their exposed skin, stripping it raw and bloody. They tumbled before nature’s wrath like autumn leaves.

  In Geth’s hand, the Dhakaani sword began to glow with a dim twilight radiance, an ember fanned by the angry wind.

  Geth pushed himself hard, racing with the storm. Dah’mir crouched back, hissing in frustration at the lancing wind that cut between his scales. Geth clenched his teeth. Batul was right, he thought—they had no hope of killing the dragon. If he was fast enough, though, maybe he could hold out against Dah’mir long enough to buy Singe, Dandra, and the others the time they need to escape.

  He swept up the ancient sword and hurled himself forward.

  “This is for Adolan, you bastard!”

  Eyes still closed tight, Dah’mir roared back at him—and lunged, not at the shifter, but up, toward the sky. His body uncoiled. His wings cracked open. Muscular hind legs strained and thrust against the ground …

  Geth didn’t hesitate for a moment. He threw himself into the air, leaping to meet the climbing dragon.

  His body slammed into a foreleg as thick as a tree trunk and he grabbed onto the scaly limb as the ground whirled away beneath him. He was lifted out of the raging stream of Batul’s magic, and the air that rushed against him was cool, not stinging. Overhead, Dah’mir’s chest thrust and pushed. From his shoulders all the way along the length of his body and tail, his great wings swept the night. For a moment, Geth felt a rushing thrill at the experience—then Dah’mir shook his leg violently. Geth wrenched his head around, his hair whipping across his face, to look up. Dah’mir’s neck stretched out straight as he flew, but the dragon had managed to twist his head around enough to look down at his own massive chest. One angry green eye fixed on Geth and went wide.

  “Get off me!” Dah’mir roared. He shook his leg again, but Geth clung tight, trying not to slash himself with his own sword. Dah’mir flexed, folding both legs to scrape them together. Geth clenched his teeth against the wind that tore at his breath and thrust himself higher, beyond the dragon’s awkward reach. Dah’mir roared again. His wings snapped out, his neck arched and his entire body rolled as he swept into a turn.

  For a moment, the night sky, clouds breaking, swung below Geth. The Ring of Siberys flashed past in a shining arc, then Dah’mir righted himself and the Ring was replaced by moonlight reflected in water far below. The long loops of the river streaked by; the Bonetree mound, still lit by Dah’mir’s magic, grew like a swelling boil.

  “Cling then!” said Dah’mir over the wind. His legs folded close and his wings beat even harder, speeding him forward. “Cling like a flea and watch your friends die before me!”

  A blue-black flash caught Geth’s eye. One arm and both legs hugging the dragon’s thick foreleg tight, he twisted his head and looked up at Dah’mir’s massive chest, straining not much more than an arms length above him. Just as it had glittered against his leather robes as a man, a single Khyber dragonshard seemed set in Dah’mir’s chest as a dragon. The scales surrounding it were gnarled and misshapen. Geth clenched his sharp teeth tight.

  “Fleas bite, dragon!” he snarled.

  He leaned out and swung his sword as hard as he could at the dragonshard and the twisted scales around it.

  The Dhakaani blade flashed with a dull glow, as if nature’s rage still clung to it, as if the Gatekeeper magic had breathed anger into the metal. Its jagged edge shattered the Khyber shard and bit deep into Dah’mir’s flesh—deeper than Geth would have hoped or expected.

  Black blood burst out of the dragon’s chest, drenching Geth in a hot, steaming spray. Dah’mir twisted and crumpled in midair, the thunderous rhythm of his beating wings out of time. A grating howl louder than anything Geth had ever heard burst out of his jaws. The shifter caught a brief glimpse of a dark cloud bursting up from the banks of the river—the black herons of the Bonetree—before Dah’mir’s wings stopped beating altogether and he tumbled out of the sky, plunging toward the rising herons.

  Geth’s guts pushed themselves up into his throat and he choked on a scream as he fell along with the dragon. He felt Dah’mir’s leg wrenched away from him. Talons slashed at him, but fell short. Geth caught a glimpse of acid-green eyes, the bright light of madness in them dimmed by agony but still sharp and now tinged with hate as well.

  They flickered—then shifter and dragon were plunging past the darting wings of the black herons. Greasy feathers surrounded Geth, obscuring even Dah’mir’s writhing bulk.

  A scant moment later he fell out of the whirling flock. He had only long enough to realize that he was falling alone before the water of the river slammed into him.

  CHAPTER

  18

  A blaze of agony woke him, a fire that cut through the darkness and throbbed through his shoulders and torso. Hands held him tight, dragging on him. The sound of a dragon’s roar echoed in his ears. He cried out and struggled, trying to defend himself.

  The dragon’s roar gave way to cursing. “Twelve moons! Someone get that sword away from him!”

  Singe’s voice, Geth realized. Then Dandra’s. “Hold him out of the water and I’ll lift him.”

  A moment later, a gentle pressure surrounded Geth’s body. The hands that had held him let go and he rose slowly from water into air. His body turned. There was some pain but not as bad as it had been moments before. Geth’s eyes flickered open.

  He hung suspended in the air. Beside him, Singe, Ashi, and Dandra crouched in a wide, flat-bottomed boat. Dandra’s gaze was focused on him. Her yellow-green psicrystal hung around her neck. Her fingers flickered and his dripping body slid sideways, then down into the b
oat. Hard wood pressed against his back and he coughed out a groan of pain.

  Dandra bent over him. “Geth, can you hear me?”

  Geth coughed again and water spattered out of his mouth, but he nodded. The air was gray with the light of early morning. “Where—?” he asked.

  “On the river south of the ancestor mound,” said Singe. “Lie still.” He prodded Geth’s torso gently. The shifter gasped and writhed at the touch. His arm snapped up—and the Dhakaani sword with it. His fingers were clenched around the weapon’s hilt, wrapped so tight they were white and numb. Singe cursed, grabbing his arm and forcing it back down. “Careful!”

  “Natrac? Batul?” asked Geth. His head was still reeling. Stringing more than a few words together hurt.

  “Here,” said Natrac’s voice. There was a bump as another boat nudged up against theirs. Geth turned his head enough to see the hooked ends of hunda sticks slip over the sides of the boat, holding the two craft together. Orshok and Krepis peered over, then Batul pushed them aside. The old orc looked tired, though Geth thought maybe he looked worse.

  “We’re all here,” said Dandra. Geth stared at her, then fixed his eye on Singe.

  “Told you to run,” he said thinly.

  “We did at first. But after you took Dah’mir for a ride, there wasn’t much point—the dolgrims and the Bonetree hunters were scattered.” The wizard looked down at him. “Ashi led us to the Bonetree boats when we saw you fall.”

  “You and Dah’mir,” said Batul. The druid’s face was somber. “What did you do to him?”

  “I hit him.” Geth started to lift the Dhakaani sword again, but the strength seemed to have gone from his arm—from all of his limbs. A vague memory stirred inside him of plunging beneath the surface of the river, then splashing back to the surface and holding tight to a floating log as the river currents bore him through the night. “The sword … Gatekeeper magic and Dhakaani weapons. The sword wounded him.”

  Batul looked startled. “You brought Dah’mir down with one blow? That’s more than Gatekeeper magic.”

  “There was a dragonshard in his chest—a weak spot in his scales.”

  “But one blow?” Batul stared at the sword in Geth’s hand.

  “We saw him disappear,” said Singe. “How badly was he wounded?”

  The last glimpse of madness and hatred in Dah’mir’s eyes returned to Geth. A chill sank deep into his belly. “Not badly enough,” he said.

  Banging on his cabin door and Karth’s shouts dragged Vennet out of sleep. “Captain! Captain!”

  It took a moment before Vennet realized that the big man’s voice was tight with fear. Though they’d accepted Vennet’s explanation of events in Zarash’ak, most of the crew had been on edge since leaving the City of Stilts. Vennet had even switched Lightning on Water over to a Sharn-Trolanport run, hoping that some time well away from the Shadow Marches would ease their tensions. Through it all, though, Karth had been one of the few solid, sensible members of the crew. If he was frightened of something …

  Vennet sat up sharply in his bed. “What is it, Karth?”

  “Birds, captain! Dozens of them!”

  “What?” Vennet threw aside the bedclothes—and froze.

  Dawn’s pale glow glimmered through the shutters over the cabin’s window. Thin lines of light fell across a tall black heron with shining, acid-green eyes that stood in the shadows of the cabin. Something black and wet dripped from its narrow chest to puddle on the floor directly over his hidden strong box and the two precious dragonshards it contained.

  Vennet felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

  “Captain d’Lyrandar,” said the heron. “I have need of you now.”

  APPENDIX 1

  GLOSSARY

  Adar: A small nation on the continent of Sarlona. Homeland of the kalashtar.

  Adar! Adar! Bhintava adarani!: An Adaran battlecry that translates to “Adar! Adar! Defend those who seek aid!”

  Adolan: A druid of the Gatekeeper sect, protector of Bull Hollow and guardian of the Bull Hole.

  Ashi: A hunter of the Bonetree clan, one of the clan’s most capable trackers and fighters.

  ashi: A dark gold reed. The inhabitants of the Shadow Marches use its starchy pith to make a type of bread.

  Aundair: One of the original Five Nations of Galifar, Aundair houses the seat of the Arcane Congress and the University of Wyrnarn. Currently under the rule of Queen Aurala ir’Wyrnarn.

  Azhani: The language shared by the human clans of the Shadow Marches.

  Batul: An elder orc druid of the Gatekeeper sect and the spiritual leader of the Fat Tusk tribe. He is blind in one eye, but gifted with prophetic dreams.

  Bear: A cultural hero figure among shifters based on one of the animal forms of their lycanthrope ancestors. Usually referred to as “Cousin,” Bear embodies the attributes of strength and caution.

  Blademarks: The mercenary’s guild of House Deneith.

  Boar: A cultural hero figure among shifters based on one of the animal forms of their lycanthrope ancestors. Usually referred to as “Cousin,” Boar represents tremendous endurance, but also unrestrained and reckless enthusiasm.

  Bonetree clan: A human barbarian clan of the Shadow Marches, worshipers of the Dragon Below. The heart of their territory is an enormous earthen mound built over generations. The Azhani term is Drumasaz.

  Breek: An eagle, companion to Adolan.

  Breff: A hunter of the Bonetree clan.

  Bull Hollow: A hamlet on the far western edge of the Eldeen Reaches, just below the Shadowcrags.

  byeshk: A rare metal, hard and dense with a purple sheen. Weapons made of byeshk are capable of inflicting great injuries on daelkyr and their creations.

  chuul: Monstrous creatures larger than a man, resembling huge crayfish with four powerful legs and enormous claws. The tentacles surrounding a chuul’s mouth are capable of paralyzing its prey.

  crysteel: An alloy created from iron and a rare crystalline substance. Crysteel is used to make weapons favored by those skilled in psionics.

  d’Deneith, Robrand: A dragonmarked heir of House Deneith, once leader of the Frostbrand company of the Blademarks, disgraced after the Massacre at Narath.

  d’Deneith, Toller: A dragonmarked heir of House Deneith, nephew to Robrand d’Deneith, in training to become a commander of the Blademarks.

  d’Lyrandar, Vennet: A dragonmarked half-elf of House Lyrandar, captain of Lightning on Water.

  daelkyr: Powerful lords of Xoriat, the daelkyr are madness and corruption personified. After the Daelkyr War, surviving daelkyr on Eberron were bound in the depths of Khyber by Gatekeeper druids.

  Daelkyr War: An invasion of Eberron by creatures from Xoriat, led by the daelkyr, approximately nine thousand years before the present. Centered around the Shadow Marches, it ended with the defeat of the daelkyr by the united forces of the orcs of the Shadow Marches and the hobgoblins of the Empire of Dhakaan, but left both races decimated.

  dagga: An orc expression of affirmation commonly used by folk of Zarash’ak. A more intense version, “Kuv dagga!” is akin to swearing a minor oath.

  Dah’mir: A priest of the Dragon Below and leader of the Bonetree clan, he has a strange power over kalashtar.

  dahr: An Adaran expression for something or someone vile; pl. “dahri.”

  Dal: A hunter of the Bonetree clan

  Dandra: A kalashtar, hunted by the Bonetree clan after being captured by Dah’mir. She wears a yellow-green psicrystal, wields a spear forged from crysteel, and specializes in whitefire, augmented by her skill with vayhatana.

  Deneith, House: A dragonmark house bearing the Mark of Sentinel. House Deneith operates services offering various forms of protection, including the mercenary companies of the Blademarks and the law enforcement services of the Sentinel Marshals.

  Dhakaani Empire: see Empire of Dhakaan.

  dolgaunt: Horrid creatures created by the daelkyr from hobgoblins during the Daelkyr War, dolgaunts have long, powerf
ul tentacles springing from their shoulders. They have no eyes but perceive their surroundings through sensitive cilia that cover their skin.

  dolgrim: Foot soldiers in the armies of the daelkyr, dolgrims were created by the daelkyr from goblins. A dolgrim has four arms and two mouths and resembles two goblins crushed together.

  Dragon Below, the: see Khyber

  dragonmark: 1) A mark that appears on the surface of the skin and grants mystical powers to its bearer. 2) A slang term for the bearer of a dragonmark.

  dragonshard: A form of mineral with mystical properties, said to be a shard of one of the great progenitor dragons. There are three different types of shard, each with different properties. A shard has no abilities in and of itself, but an artificer or wizard can use a shard to create an object with useful effects. Siberys shards fall from the sky and have the potential to enhance the power of dragonmarks. Eberron shards are found in the soil and enhance traditional magic. Khyber shards are found deep below the surface of the world and are used as a focus binding mystical energy.

  Eberron: 1) The world. 2) A mythical dragon said to have formed the world from her body in primordial times and to have given birth to natural life. Also known as “The Dragon Between.” See Khyber, Siberys.

  Eldeen Reaches: Once this term was used to describe the vast stretches of woodland found on the west coast of Khorvaire, inhabited mostly by nomadic shifter tribes and druidic sects. In 958 YK the people of western Aundair broke ties with the Audairian crown and joined their lands to the Eldeen Reaches, vastly increasing the population of the nation and bringing it into the public eye. Inhabitants are known as Reachers. Among themselves, Reachers refer to their homeland as “the Eldeen.”

  Empire of Dhakaan: An ancient empire ruled by hobgoblins, the Empire of Dhakaan stretched across southern Khorvaire millennia before the arrival of humans. Dhakaan was weaked by the Daelkyr War and collapsed about six thousand years before the present.