“So what’s problem?”
“The greenskins have been attempting nighttime raids on the city walls. The citizens are terrified—the orcs have gotten bolder now that King Nar has a nearby foothold in the east. The mayor has decided to seal the city gates permanently—the gates will never be opened at night again. Merchants will only be allowed to enter the city in the morning. It’ll cripple the trade here.”
“That’s unfortunate, but it’s partially their fault. All of this could have been prevented if the other races of Durn had bothered to help the dwarves. Ironport has a large militia—thousands of men. They could have helped the clans defend the mountain, but now it’s too late.”
“You’re right—the other kingdoms should have helped the dwarves. But they didn’t,” Tallin said. “It’s been a terrible year for the dwarf clans, but it’s going to get bad for the other races of Durn too.”
The barmaid placed a mug of ale in front of them. She winked at Tallin, staring openly at the dragon stone on his chest. The serving girl had blue eyes and pouty lips, which she puckered up into a flirty smile. Tallin shook his head and waved her away.
Kathir raised an eyebrow. “That girl was interested in you! Why did you reject her?”
Tallin shrugged. “It’s not as fun as it seems.”
Kathir looked wistful. “I wish I could attract women so easily. Don’t you enjoy the touch of a willing woman?”
“Yes… sometimes,” Tallin said, looking down at his drink, “I can find female company, but women are only ever interested in my position. All they care about is that I’m a dragon rider. I’m just a novelty to them. Eventually the novelty wears off. That becomes tiresome quickly, so now I just avoid the situation altogether.”
“Even so, I would trade places with you in an instant. Most women won’t even look at me. They can’t see past my scars.” His finger traced the marks on his cheeks.
Tallin took a drink before answering. “Everyone’s got some scars.” He pulled back the neck of his tunic, exposing a long, raised weal that disappeared under his collar. He also raised the cuffs of his sleeves, exposing deep scarring on his wrists and forearms, which he had received while he was held captive during the war.
Kathir gulped and looked away. He’d seen marks like that before, and he knew instantly that Tallin’s wounds were from struggling against iron cuffs. “I worked for the emperor during the war,” he admitted. “I’ve done a lot of things that I’m not proud of.”
“I know that,” said Tallin, shaking down his sleeves. “A few years ago, I would have killed you without a second thought. But times have changed, and so have I. The Dragon Wars are over, and the emperor is dead. What good would it do for me to track down everyone who had ever worked for him now? We have bigger problems on our hands.”
“Do you still think about the war?”
Tallin leaned back against the chair with a weary sigh. “Yes. I still think about it. I've tried to forget, but I’m plagued by nightmares and memories that keep me awake at night. We were tortured and left to die in Vosper’s dungeons. It was sheer luck that I escaped.”
“That’s how I feel about my time as a slave,” said Kathir quietly. “I’ve tried to move on with my life, but the memories just won’t go away; it’s as if the bad ones are carved in stone.”
“There’s no sense in looking back if it only causes pain. Only the future holds promise and challenge,” said Tallin.
The two men sat in silence for a moment, watching the flames dance and sputter. The barmaid walked over and added more wood to fire and then hung her apron and her towel to dry.
Kathir waited until she was out of earshot before he spoke again. “Do you think our plan will work?”
“I’m not sure,” Tallin replied. “There’s a lot that could go wrong. But we don’t have many options at this point, so we’ll just have to take our chances.” He looked up at the ancient water clock on the mantle. “It’s late. Let’s go to sleep. We need to be off before the sun rises.”
Their party awoke before dawn, and they started moving again as soon as the horses were saddled and ready. Soldiers opened the city gates so they could leave.
From Ironport, the carriages moved onward toward their destination. They were approached by bandits several times, but the would-be robbers always ran away as soon as they caught site of the dragons. Even so, they decided to begin posting guards at night, and the dragon riders took turns on patrol. Because he was awake so much during the night, Tallin often listened to the dragons speaking on the edges of the firelight.
Although the elves remained aloof throughout the journey, their dragons were relatively friendly. Brinsop and Blacktooth grew closer with each passing night and sometimes paired off alone. In fact, no one was surprised when the two of them slipped off into the dark together one evening around the time of the last watch. Nagendra seemed the shyest of them all; she was not hostile, but she stayed huddled next to her rider Amandila most of the time.
Everyone grew noticeably somber when Mount Velik appeared in the distance. There was a cap of white snow on the mountain, and a belt of grey clouds circled its peak. A dark fog hung around the mountain and clung to the tops of the trees.
Their breath steamed in the cold air, and their horses’ footsteps echoed in the silence. A sense of urgency and impending doom seemed to fall over the group, and all idle chatter ceased. Snow and sleeting rain fell intermittently as they rode through the ravaged forest. Evidence of the orc’s presence was all around them. Barren trees stood stripped of their bark and branches, and the streams were tainted with ash.
“The countryside looks ravaged,” Kathir said quietly.
Skemtun nodded. “The orcs did this. They’re scavengers.”
“It’s difficult to stomach.”
The dwarf nodded. “Yes, it is. The orcs are living inside my home… It just feels so… wrong. To be honest, I don’t have much hope for this mission. I’m not sure we’ll be able to drive them out.”
“The dragon riders have a plan,” said Kathir, “you have to give them a chance.”
“But the flooding might destroy everything. Then our home will be ruined.”
“Don’t let that worry you. Everything will work itself out.”
A few days later, the roads changed abruptly. The cobbles had been torn up, and the land had been burned in every direction all around them. There was smoke in the air, blackening the skies above, and the pounding of war drums could be heard faintly in the distance.
Late in the evening, the dragon riders saw a raiding party of orcs waiting by the roadside. The travelers redirected their course in order to avoid them, but the discovery put everyone on edge. They moved cautiously along the damaged roads and were always careful to keep themselves hidden.
After a while, the road became too bumpy to use, and they had to make the hard decision to abandon the carriages. They unhitched the horses, and everyone was forced to ride horseback. The dragons burned the wagons to ash so that they wouldn’t be discovered. Without the wagons, they were more exposed to the frigid weather, but no one dared to complain about that.
A light rain was now falling steadily, and the silence among the travelers was broken only by occasional thunderclaps in the distance.
The next day, the group was attacked by orcs as they were watering the horses. The roving pack of greenskins moved forward warily, grunting and snorting as they stalked them. Bolrakei and the High Council members stepped back from the fray.
Kathir drew his sword, and Skemtun drew his axe. Druknor also decided to join the fight. He drew a magnificent short sword from his saddlebags. It was crusted with jewels all the way up to the blade. The dragon riders circled cautiously above them, waiting for the orcs’ first move.
Kathir attacked first, galloping forward with his blade raised in the air. He struck the first orc in line, shouting as dark bloo
d spurted forth from its severed arm. The orc howled in agony and fell forward. Druknor’s dogs bounded forward, tearing into the injured orc while Druknor stabbed at another with his sword.
Another orc hit Kathir’s horse with a flanged mace. The terrible weapon tore mercilessly into the horse’s neck. The horse screamed and pitched forward before crumpling to the ground. Kathir rolled away just in time to avoid being crushed. As he struggled to rise, a flash of dragon fire behind him told him that the dragon riders had landed and were joining the battle.
Kathir knelt by his fallen horse, scrabbling to reach inside his saddlebags. The poor animal was in agony, and he would have to put it down after the battle, but there was nothing that Kathir could do to help it now.
Kathir drew his crossbow from his bags and swiftly fitted a bolt to the string. He tried to steady his ragged breaths as the orc who had attacked his horse rapidly approached him. Kathir exhaled and let the bolt fly. The orc dropped down dead, a fletched arrow jutting from its eye.
Tallin blinded the orcs with a brilliant flash as he jumped from Duskeye’s back with his falchion in one hand and a small shield in the other. One of the orcs staggered forward and swung his sword at Tallin’s chest. Tallin parried the blow, twisting his hand to move the sword away from his body. The orc stabbed outward, but Tallin’s sword glided along the orc’s weapon and hit the creature in the chest, stabbing deeply.
Swinging his axe, Skemtun moved in to join him as the elves and their dragons joined the fight. The elves drew their bows and fired at the greenskins. Several fell from the arrows, but many of them were protected by their metal armor.
“They have armor?” said Kathir incredulously.
“Stolen from Mount Velik,” said Skemtun. “That’s dwarf armor—they’ve broken up the pieces and attached them with leather straps.”
The orcs struck back and hit the travelers with another vicious assault. An orc fighting Skemtun swung a great club and struck the dwarf in the head so fiercely that he was knocked unconscious. The orc screamed in victory and jumped over Skemtun’s body to deliver the killing blow.
“Stop him!” screamed Kathir, who turned just in time to watch a see a blast of blue flame topple the beast before he could strike. Kathir glanced over to see Councilor Komu looking very pleased with himself. Kathir jumped forward, grabbed Skemtun by the arms and dragged his limp body back to where Komu and Delthen stood behind their shield.
Tallin shouted for everyone to move back. Duskeye reared up on his hind legs and sent a stream of flame in the orc’s direction. The other dragons stepped directly behind Duskeye and let loose their own mouthfuls of fire, bringing the battle to an end almost immediately. Several orcs were burned to a crisp, and those that survived ran away in fear.
The two elves jumped on their dragons and pursued the fleeing orcs, killing them before they could return to their camp and give away the convoy’s location.
“That was a good shot,” Tallin said, walking toward Kathir. “It’s a pity about your horse.”
“The poor thing,” Kathir said, patting the horse’s trembling flank. The horse’s face was streaked with blood, and its pain-crazed body twisted and turned wildly. Blood shot from the horse’s neck in spurts, leaving crimson splashes on the snow. “Can you do anything for him?”
Tallin shook his head. “I’m sorry—I don’t know how to heal horses. Animal healing takes special training—you have to understand the anatomy of the animal to heal a serious injury. I can heal dragons and minor wounds in some animals, but this injury is beyond my skill.”
Kathir sighed. “That’s it, then. Poor beast. I must confess, I don’t feel good about having to shoot this fine horse… but I have to put him out of his misery.”
“Wait! Don’t be so sure about that,” said Komu, tottering forward. The old wizard cracked his knuckles and placed a glowing hand on the terrified animal’s neck. “I can save him. This is a chance for me to practice my healing skills. I don’t get to work with animals very much these days.”
Komu kneeled forward and pet the horse’s face gently. “There now, boy, you’ll feel better in a moment.” Komu pulled a scarf from around his neck and draped it over the terrified horse’s eyes like a blindfold. The animal immediately calmed down. He placed a glowing hand on the horse’s neck. There was a flash, then the horse shuddered.
They all watched in amazement as the horse’s wounds disappeared. Minutes later, the startled horse was back on its feet. Kathir went to it and patted its nose gently. “Amazing!
“He’s a little worse for wear,” said Komu, “but he’ll be sound enough to ride.”
Even Tallin was impressed. “How did you do it?”
“I studied animal healing in my youth,” Komu said, rising stiffly. “I can heal almost any farm animal. Those skills came in handy when I was younger—my parents were sharecroppers, and their animals were always getting hurt, so I learned how to heal them. We had to do work ourselves, you know. That was a long time ago, but I still remember.”
“This is all very touching, really,” Druknor quipped, “but shouldn’t we get out of here? More greenskins are sure to be nearby.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped a blotch of dark blood from his face. “For each one we killed, there are five more out there, and they’re just waiting to attack us again.”
Druknor was right, they did need to move. Everyone mounted their horses and dragons, and they were off again.
They rode through the day and into the night and rested only when necessary. After a while, the road became a narrow trail that began to slope upwards. And they soon found themselves just a few leagues from Mount Velik.
The elves and the other dragon riders landed near the horses, and they all gathered together to discuss their strategy. The smoke was even thicker than before, and scorching sparks flew all around them.
Bolrakei coughed and covered her nose with her sleeve. “The air smells awful! I can hardly breathe!”
Tallin nodded. “The orcs cleared the forest by slashing trees and burning them. I flew ahead and saw that they’ve cleared the entire circumference of the mountain. They’ve burned the ground vegetation too. The earth is scorched black for leagues. We won’t have any cover as we approach, so we’ll be forced to use strong concealment spells for the remainder of the journey. It’s too risky to continue in daylight. We should approach at night, since even the strongest concealment spell won’t hide our shadows. There’s really no other option. We can’t afford to be seen, heard, or smelled. All of us will have to work together,”
Delthen looked shaken. “That’ll be exhausting! I can’t maintain a high-level concealment spell for hours!”
“I can,” said Tallin. “So can the elves. We will help you if your protective shield falters.”
“Are we going to stop here for the night?” Kathir asked. “It doesn’t seem safe enough.”
“Yes, “said Tallin. “This is our last chance to sleep, while we still have some forest cover. Everyone’s tired. We must eat and rest before we try to enter the mountain. We’ll continue on after midnight.”
Bolrakei looked around nervously. “Is it safe to stay here? This area must be crawling with orcs!”
“The air is hazy and full of smoke. That will conceal us somewhat,” Sela said, “There’s a secluded cave nearby. I found it while I was patrolling. The entrance is narrow, but the inside is just large enough to hold all of us and the horses. We won’t be able to light a fire, but at least everyone will be able to sleep and stay dry. There’s no room for the dragons, but they can fly to a safe location further away. We’ll tackle the final leg of our journey after we’ve rested.”
Delthen folded his arms. “That’s all well and good, but what happens after that? The greenskins are guarding every door and every entrance. How are we going to get inside the mountain?”
It was a practical question and one to which
there seemed to be no easy answer. Finally, Mugla spoke up.
“I know a secret entrance into the mountain,” she said quietly. “I told Tallin and Sela about it when we started this journey.”
“You know a way inside Mount Velik that I don’t?” Skemtun asked, surprised.
Mugla nodded. “This entrance is private and warded, and it can’t be seen from the outside. It leads directly into the spellcasters’ chambers. Hopefully, the wards are still active, and none of the orcs have discovered the chamber. We’ll need to leave the dragons outside though. The passage isn’t large enough for animals to squeeze through. But they’ll be waiting outside if we run into trouble.”
Amandila’s eyes widened. “Going into Mount Velik without the protection of the dragons sounds incredibly dangerous.”
“There’s no other way to get inside without being seen,” said Tallin. “We’ll rest for the night, then we’ll need to push on to the southern side of the mountain. That’s where the spellcasters’ entrance is. The dragons will monitor our progress from above. They’ll stay within the cloud cover. We will all need to go on horseback from here on. Mugla, Sela, and the elves are lighter than the rest of us—they can share a horse.”
Everyone agreed to this plan, and they soon found their way to the cave that Sela had mentioned. The elves volunteered to keep watch, and everyone else fell into an exhausted sleep. They rose shortly after midnight and saddled the horses in the dark.
It had rained heavily while they were asleep, so the smoky air had cleared some. The mountaintop was visible in the blue moonlight, its snowclad peak rising up into the sky like a glittering white pyramid. The smaller peaks that surrounded it looked unimpressive in comparison.
Skemtun hung back so that he could ride alongside Kathir and talk.
“All our caverns are going to be destroyed, I just know it,” Skemtun whispered dejectedly. “Thousands of years of hard work—for nothing.”
Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) Page 14
