Empress's Endgame (Book 5 and final of the Death Incanate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  “Cody and Eoin said to come this morning. Apparently I was busy?”

  Metak rolled his eyes. “As would I if all my mates were holding my lance at the same time in front of everyone, just to force me to go to my bed and mate them till they sang to the spirits.” They both chuckled.

  Cage opened a thick wooden door that was attached to a tall stone wall he made which limited sounds made by forging. The first thing he and Metak noticed was Cody singlehandedly lifting a chunk of steel that weighed a good thousand pounds. His newfound strength and the solid ground allowed him to do so with ease. Two boys were busy splitting wood along with two extremely bulky male dragons who’s heads fit inside the much larger home. Just like human blacksmiths, these two reptiles were clearly blacksmiths in their own right. Inside the expanded forge rang powerful blows of metal on metal, the speed of which indicated multiple workers. “Well, damn, this place sure has changed. What are they doing?”

  The man at his side simply smiled.

  Cody stepped back outside through the wider entrance and waved when he noticed “Cage, Elder Metak! Good of you to come.”

  “What’s going on, Cody?” Cage asked the muscle rigid man slick with sweat, carrying a crystal coin on a necklace which protects him from the dangers of forging. “What is going on in there?”

  The weapons smith smiled and led them to the entrance. Inside Cage watched as the mountain of a man, Eoin, and two other men with hammers, striking metal one after another with blows no normal human’s strength could allow. To the left and right the dragons blew their fire breath into a hole in the ground which funneled the flame though tunnels which turned the flame up through and into a forge that the three hammered on. Next to the men and dragons were Utala women using magic to aid them under Eoin’s instruction as he shouted orders. Around everyone’s neck glowed crystals to protect them from being killed by the heat produced inside. Metak’s spear glowed to protect him and Cage intentionally protected himself as a large spark of metal began raining down from the powerful blows working in perfect rhythm. Children kept throwing wood into a pit below where the men worked, using dragon flames to rapidly burn wood so its carbon could turn iron to steel.

  Cody tapped the crystal coin at his chest and all those inside felt a nudge of power which caused everyone to abruptly stop and look around for the person whom made them do so. The dragons pulled their heads away from the tunnel contraption and withdrew from the building itself to stretch out aching muscles. Soon they all realized who came and the men on a small platform walked down and sat their hammers and tools on a rack as Eoin said “Ten minute rest.” to earn many grateful smiles.

  “Eoin, I see you kept your scar.” Cage commented as the man of large muscles in the right trade threw cool water on his face and toweled off.

  “Not my choice.” Eoin said as he touched his jaw. “Lanna had our mates do it to me, not that they hesitated.” The six females all smirked as they helped the heavily pregnant Lanna outside for some fresh air. “They said they liked my scar and put it back on as I slept. I really wish they hadn’t.”

  “Good luck telling a Utala woman no. Let me guess, they even threatened no sex if you didn’t stop complaining for them to get rid of it?”

  “Too true. Just because Lanna hasn’t bonded because of our child doesn’t mean our mates don’t listen to her.”

  “Lanna is an alpha female like my Brooke. It’s best to just nod and say ‘Yes, Dear.’”

  “Ha! My father used to tell me the same thing.” Eoin found camaraderie in the warlock.

  “So just what have you all been doing while we were all away?”

  Eoin elbowed his business partner. “Cody and I bound ourselves to two dragon master metalworkers from the Vlaran Mountain colony. Big Blue is my friend Eakklan and that is Cody’s partner Jakkzo.” He pointed to a beige, flesh tone dragon. “Their fire breath and our strength makes forging objects weeks sooner. I asked you out here this morning to show off some things Cody, I, our partners and our women came up with while all of you were flying everywhere.”

  They moved over to a second building that looked more like a long shed. Eoin opened the door and pulled a lever which opened slats to let light inside. The smiths moved on confident feet to a shelf containing leather and metal bound together. Cage and Metak stood quietly as Eoin began strapping and tightening the leather on thick clamp buckles around the man’s thigh, chest and arms. A ring dangled from either wrist as Cody used his long fingers to get a hold on them while Eoin placed a contraption to the small of the man’s back.

  Cody said “We came up with a harness system to help us men fight.”

  “Oh? How does it work?” The warlock was impressed.

  Eoin said “First we need to know the man’s center of gravity. Since naturally a man’s is higher up the body. Our women can fly briefly now, but all we can do is jump with our legs. We designed this with aerial combat in mind. Since we cannot fly, but can leap great distances, this creation has three parts that aids us. We’d better come outside for a demonstration.” He realized. Soon enough that was easily accomplished. Eakklan and Jakkzo eagerly awaited along with everyone else.

  Cody turned to the wall and said “Our mates made these canisters full with compressed air, from Jakkzo’s insight. The air inside this” Cody pointed to a foot wide cylindrical canister at the small of his back with three tubes coming from its nozzle. “thing goes to these large circular discs here above it. When I pull this ring,” Cody showed it hooked round his thumb. “a hook shoots out and is so sharp it can penetrate nearly any material. After the second shoots the air pulls us in fast.” Cody pulled it and Cage instinctively backed away as there was a hiss when a spike shot from the left vertical disc, carrying a thin, but heavy line of wire. It bore through the stone better than a high powered bullet. The second fired and after it made an impact, Cody was jerked forward, taken off his feet and slammed chest first into the wall, but his crystal prevented a deadly impact. He then showed there was plenty of maneuverable room as he stood on the wall. “And to release it I pull both at the same time while standing. Only massive strength on a wider surface can pull the line out.” He did so and fell ten feet.

  “AWESOME!” Cage clapped his hands. “So what is the weight capacity and how do you aim?”

  Eoin said “Five hundred pounds give or take. It can hold a fully armored soldier and carry another. As for aiming, your body must face the target. It takes time to lean the trajectory since every man is different. It can hold weapons and shields comfortably as the straps distribute weight evenly. Since dragons are so big it will be hard to miss when we pounce. And in close combat we can hit at point blank. Because the projectiles are so sharp the enemy won’ feel anything till we strike. Also they can pierce magic as breakers so long as I place my crystal in behind the chamber.”

  “How many shots can you get off?”

  “A hundred without being replenished or loss of pressure. It takes but a moment for our partners to make the pressure right to where it’s needed. The only issue is accidental firing as the ring can be pulled easily.”

  “Why not a pulley system under tension that need no less than forty pounds to pull?”

  “Of course!” Eoin slapped his forehead. “If we make small pulleys, shorten the string and add a spring near the valves it will work. Excuse me, I need to draw designs.” The blacksmith ran off back inside the forge as Eakklan stuck his head back into the hole to give valuable input.

  “Do you have more than the harness?” Cage asked Cody as he began undoing the straps.

  “Huh? Oh, yeah.” The man said, straightening. “We were going over the armor soldier dragons wear which protects against any vulnerable weaknesses and I designed a seat at the small of their back that also holds a storage box the person can use to hold their gear. This harness will even serve as a link to hook us in the seat so that there is little chance of falling out. It’s right at the weakness Chief Moril stabbed Xamii. There is little danger by bein
g impaled by spikes there.”

  “And what of a caged system so that if your companion falls on his or her back? If you include an enclosure, it could also aid protection without magic.”

  “Great idea, Cage. What do you think, Jakkzo?”

  “Idea has merit, Cody Two-legs. It would be convenient and easy to make a bar system around the seat. It can also be spiked so if an enemy tries to rip you from my back, they will regret trying.” The beige dragon scratched his chin. “Yes, work this will. Gratitude, Cage Two-legs.”

  “Also try to add rubber or some adhesive to the bottoms of your shoes. Slick dragon scales cannot be overcome no matter how strong you are. No friction, no attack.” Cage added.

  “Rubber? What is rubber?” Cody asked.

  Jakkzo gave a toothy grin. “So it shall. I will procure fresh rubber for the paw pads of our two-legs’. Adhesive will not work once wet, especially on blood and bare human feet will slip or become torn on scale.” The dragon then up and left.

  “Productive aren’t they?” The elder said, watching the behemoth fly off.

  “Really? Hadn’t noticed!” Cage chuckled. “You guys have been busy while we were gone.”

  “But of course.” Cody snorted as he put his harness away. “While most of our women were off gallivanting, we were busy making arms and trying to learn how to control our new strength. Shorty is by far the most adept while Bryan is our strongest, next to Eoin and Me, if we weren’t so damn busy making armor, harnesses for every man and redesigning weapons for our strength so it won’t shatter after a few blows. We don’t pass out as often as we first did and we’ve needed to reinforce our tools because of it. I can crush wood in my bare hand so now all tools are solid metal. So far we’ve made the harness’ for the men, but our women are making the air systems and wire since their magic can more rapidly produce what forging by hand cannot. The only ones to have yet be measured for their harnesses are Gregory, Bern and four other men that went with you on the journey.”

  “So do I get a set too?” Cage asked.

  Cody’s brow drew together. “It wasn’t planned since you can fly. You do not need this.”

  Cage crossed his arms. “Really, but magic isn’t infallible. Sometimes you need more than spells. I really could have used one of those when my ass was stuck down in The Deep. I could have swung from the cave ceiling, climbed faster and gotten home to my family weeks earlier if I had thought to come up with something like that. And if the enemy deploys Floranna smoke, our abilities will be stripped to their most basic strengths. And that doesn’t require spells the enemy will sense. I want one, even if I need to make one myself.”

  “Alright, alright. You made a good point.” Cody turned around and gestured. His three lovely mates walked over. They all gave greetings and afterwards he said “Ladies, Cage needs to be measured for one of these.”

  “There is no problem.” One said as she left quickly and came back with paper and rope in one hand and charcoal in the other. She passed two other ropes to her sister-mates and knelt right in front to wrap the marked rope around his naked thigh while another asked “Straighten your arms out please.” He did so and she began measuring and calling out exact measures as displayed on the rope.

  “Don’t worry about making me the gas tanks or valve assembly.” The warlock said to Cody as he wrote down what they called out. “I’ve already figured out how to make my own, but leather you can cut and spare steel I’ve got plenty of at the house.” The blacksmith knight simply nodded.

  After his chest, waistline and cross-sections were jotted down Cody turned to one of his mate’s daughters and handed her the paper with which she and two boys and another girl went over to the leather sections and began cutting with sharp knives. “I’ll have it ready by sundown. I also made sure to leave room if you need to wear armor. You will be able to make adjustments as you need with the minimum strapping able to snugly fit you as naked as you are.”

  “Just Jump the materials outside my house when it’s done. I know my center of gravity so I’ll make my own necessary adjustments and add a few bells and whistles.”

  One of the women nodded she could teleport it as she was the fourth to succeed in the task, but Cody asked “Bells and whistles? They won’t serve a function.”

  “I wasn’t being literal.” The warlock chuckled and shook his head. “No, but on my world we had scuba for breathing underwater. I had missions aplenty that required something similar to this system you’ve created. I’ll add regulators to adjust pressure depending on the distance and force needed to expel the hooks so you can get more life out of the tanks and maybe add a quick exchange system so it can be replaced or resupplied without need of a mage or dragon. I’ll also think on a hand compressor you can wind up that’ll take outside air and pressurize it by hand, also making it undetectable magically… Eakklan!” the cobalt dragon withdrew his head from inside the building as he heard his native language roar from the warlock and cocked his head questioningly. “Do you have chromium here on Raliea?”

  “Negative, but I procured four tons a millennia ago from a world I once resided on for six hundred cycles. Raliea only has traces of the ore in which you speak. I have half reserved since then.”

  “Well break it out and mix some with the steel to make it stainless. It will at least aid the retention of the materials and retard oxidation for rust. It will save time to not need oiling and polishing the steel each day or two. I would also like to acquire a few ounces for my personal use.” Cage continued in Draconian. “And if Chromium is so rare, at least make the nozzles and the cables shot out of the harnesses. Rust will weaken and sometimes proper maintenance will be overlooked in a battle. The joints and connections will be less vulnerable to the elements.”

  Everyone was silent as they communicated, but Eakklan reached forward and magically pulled out five ounces of the shiny, but purely processed ore in an ingot that was more of a grain of sand in his blue claw. “I give this as a gift. Use it well for I hadn’t considered blending this metal with the others. The joints and couplings along with the cables will be redone so oxidation doesn’t endanger anyone.” Cage grabbed the metal and teleported it instantly next to his front door.

  “And just what is going on?” Cody asked. “What metal was that just now? It wasn’t silver or platinum for sure.”

  “Eakklan will explain, but you’ll hate me.”

  “What now?” the heavily muscled man whined.

  “Bring all the canisters, cables and joints. They need to be fixed. You’ll hate me now, but you won’t need to fear rust or rain if mixed with what he gave me.”

  “No rust? Truly? It can be done?” the man was hopeful and skeptical at the same time.

  “Yes. In the long run things will be better if you don’t need to polish all the time. Just like the javelin and hammer I gave you before we left.”

  “Fine, if it will not let the gear rust I’ll not complain, but if it does I’m coming after you for reparations for lost time we could have put to better use.”

  “Then I’ll be waiting for your eventual answer, but here’s another piece of advice. Shorten the tubes as safely as possible. You’ll have less loss of pressure.”

  “Understood. I have nothing else to show off.” Cody turned around and raised his voice. “Back to work!”

  Bryan was busy swinging his great war axe and hammer defensively as Fredrick pressed him hard with a blur of rapid strikes from his twin style short swords. Fredrick lured his larger comrade forward in an feint by leaning back, but just before Bryan was run through he jumped twenty feet high and arched over while using the weight of his heavy weapons to adjust his position as he landed and his giant seven foot tall frame bulged with strained muscle as the flat side of his hammer and axe came together with the intent to sandwich Fredrick into jelly. But just before it happened Fredrick kicked sand in Bryan’s face and barely missed becoming human pulp, but the sound of the superhuman force of metal on metal loosed an eardrum blowing �
�boom!’ Fighting the pain, Fredric got up and behind the flailing man and hooked one sword around his throat with the second ready to spear through the back of his skull.

  Bryan lost the heated, minute long match.

  Both dropped to the sand, gasping for air after the exhausting endeavor. Itching inside the ear canal made Fredric grit his teeth to not scream to stop, but as soon as it was over he opened his eyes to see his four mates clapping alongside his opponent’s four, who all smiled with lustful pride. Next to them he noticed Cage and his family there, Sean and Ollai standing behind them. Meeka was the only one to hold her arm out to do the healing and he tuned to see the few wounds on Bryan’s body healing with a rich blue.

  “Not bad you two.” Brooke said admiringly.

  “Not bad?” One of Bryan’s more deadly mates laughed. “They were like hopping rabbits a child might try catching with their bare hands! Few could catch, even using the best skills… But sex last night made my hips numb. Their new strength will make strong babies for certain.” Her sister-mates laughed.

  “Fredrick’s stamina lasted all night.” One of Fredrick’s busty beauties boasted. “The spirits had to plug their ears.”

  “Good thing you girls know the silencing spell.” Tohka smirked as her tribal sisters giggled and taunted their men, knowing their golden tan mates still embarrassed easily at their brazen lack of feminine decorum.

  “I cannot wait to be as you are, Tohka Sister.” One said. “But judging from Bryan’s lust for us while we were away… will not be long. Magic has made him not tire in any way while we all made love.”

  “Keep embarrassing me why don’t you!” Bryan called out as he stood and lifted his great weapons.

  His smallest mate, yet deadliest, put her fist on her round hips and challenged “Make us!”

  Bryan’s beard couldn’t hide the grin that spread as he lifted both weapons. Cage instantly wrapped his arms around all three of his women and leapt. Sean was just as quickly as he grabbed Ollai around the middle and flew a feet up with not a moment to spare. Bryan maneuvered the axe in a way he learned by trial and error, impacted the ground at an angle and struck it with his hammer to cause a shockwave though the ground that sent all four of his women and Fredrick’s to their asses from over a hundred feet away. The wielder controlled the direction and the force of the generated shockwave.