Now Abalyon not only wanted Zerus Maldhor, but he was also making sure the other races were not going to be fighting as one. Moreover, if he could keep the current trend going between the orc clan and the humans on the borders, he may even be able to start a larger conflict, seeing to it that the two races fought each other. While this plan was still in its infancy, the early signs were proving worth his efforts. Already the orc clans had made several raids deep into the human held border territories causing wanton destruction during their pillaging. As a result of these actions, the human king had already diverted a large number of reinforcements to the area, although Abalyon needed him to send many more yet.
Having taken the mother of Zerus Maldhor captive his next move would be to bargain with the halfbreed for his loyalty, with the threat of her death if he did not. If his mother’s death had caused him such grief before, surely he could use such a powerful emotion to aid his cause. However, Abalyon had yet to divulge the capture to Zerus Maldhor just yet. The fallen god was somewhat intrigued as to why the being had been venturing high into the dwarf mountains.
Surely there was no purpose for him being there, and such a move had taken Abalyon somewhat by surprise. As a result, the God had decided to wait a little while at least and see what materialised from this little excursion before playing what he deemed to be his trump card. While he was sure someone would try and rescue Zerus Maldhor’s mother, he was confident he had placed his guest in a secure and defendable place. Anybody trying to do so would be in for a huge surprise if they tried.
Abalyon thought the other Gods foolish. Always taking the high ground with their morals he knew it would be their lack of interference that would ultimately see him have domain over all. Whereas he was banished for breaking their own rules when he had first created the dark beasts known as Balgraf, they remained resolute and kept faith in their own original creations. He felt the other races were all inferior to his own, especially now he felt he had finally mastered the beasts. Adding intelligence to what was already a far superior specimen to any of the other races, the balgraf would be the domineering breed. Stronger than orcs and dwarfs, agiler than elves and now with the capacity to think logically like the humans, Abalyon was certain this time he had gotten the balance right.
Moreover, making just slight modifications and giving them the ability to fly had now allowed him the opportunity to strike fear anywhere in the world. No longer were his troops tied down to just one battlefront, now they could hit deep into the hearts of the enemy and strike fear into the populace.
Chapter 21.
Finley awoke from his night of broken sleep. The cave was not particularly comfortable, although it did keep him out of the cold biting wind that seemed to be picking up again. Noticing his fire had all but burned out, he placed a few more small pieces of wood upon it before leaning forward and blowing into the embers revitalising the flames.
Once more his dreams had been devoid of any interference from any of the gods, and he was beginning to worry something must be wrong. Abalyon especially had hounded and pursued him relentlessly now for such a long time, yet of late the visits seemed to be somewhat more sporadic. Perhaps the God had given up on him and had found another poor soul to annoy, although as much as Finley hoped that was the case, he somehow doubted it.
After boiling a small kettle of water over the fire, he made himself a hot drink. Not wanting to stop for too long once started, he thought it might be a good idea to have his fill now while the opportunity arose. Taking the pan, he carried in the backpack, he found a couple of sausages and a little bacon all wrapped in paper. Both sizzled as he dropped them gently into the hot pan and Finley rubbed his hands together excitedly as the aroma drifted up.
He turned his head as his attention was drawn to a noise just outside the cave entrance. Finley was not startled or worried as from his new link it could sense it was Arach returning. As to where the dragon had been all night he did not know but judging by the feeling he was getting, the beast appeared to have been feeding. Finley wasn’t sure if the dragon’s size was any different or not, and thought he would need to ask how long growing actually took.
With his food cooked and tea ready to drink, Finley rinsed the pan clean before settling down to eat. Adding a thick slab of buttered bread to his breakfast, he savoured the taste, feeling his body appreciating the warmth. While he ate, he ran his plans for the day through his mind. Being as Arach was still unable to carry him, or at least that is the way it would appear to be, walking was his only mode of transport. Although he did not usually mind travelling that way, the sooner he could get out of the cold weather the better as far as he was concerned.
Satisfied with his fill, Finley gathered his things and after checking the cave and making sure his fire was safely out, he grabbed his staff and headed out into the bitter chilly wind. Arach was stood patiently waiting for him, “Hello. Busy last night were we?” he asked somewhat tongue-in-cheek, indicating that Finley thought he had been out killing things.
“I need to feed” Arach replied clearly not understanding the light-hearted way the comment was made.
“So, Arach. I forgot to ask you just how long it takes for you to start growing?” Finley enquired after they had walked for several minutes in silence.
“Do you not think I look bigger?” the dragon asked, stopping for a few moments to allow Finley to look.
“Honestly? No, you look exactly the same as you did yesterday.”
Finley could sense a strange feeling from the link with Arach, and it took a few minutes for him to realise what it was; disappointment.
“You know it takes as long as it takes. I was only asking because I wasn’t sure if dragons grew like we do. I mean look at me, sixteen years to get to this size.” Arach explained that it would take a little longer, and the more he ate, the more he would grow, and while it would not take years, it might take a bit longer than Finley was hoping for. However, there was another way that growth could be accelerated, which caused Finley to stop dead in his tracks. “Tell me!” he said surprised the dragon had not mentioned it before. Only Arach reminded him that he had told him from the outset that there was another way.
Apparently, the dragon stone around Finley’s neck, not only allowed the link with the dragon but through the use of magic could achieve other things as well. The knowledge stored in the dragon stone would know what to do, it just needed a vast amount of magical energy to power it. “Why didn’t you mention this before?” Finley asked.
“I did, but you never asked about it,” the dragon replied.
Finley turned to face the beast, “We need to work on our communication. What do I need to do?”
As the pair started walking again, Arach explained that dragons all shared the knowledge of their predecessors, meaning teaching the next generation was not necessary. This, of course, was just as well as dragons lived a long time. The dragon stone had been cast by the gods and the dragon king an age ago, but for whatever reason had not been seen or heard of for a very long time, and it was assumed lost when the trolls died out. “Apparently the trolls are not as dead as we thought. Some still live far to the west on some islands off the coast.” Finley said recalling some of the dragon’s earlier comments.
Arach seemed surprised by the fact Finley had remembered. “Interesting,” was the only word he used to describe what he had just been told, before returning to the main topic of their conversation. The dragon stone though required a certain magic to power it, and there were apparently very few who had such a gift. The stone was originally sent to the trolls to try and help their bid for survival, although for whatever reason it never arrived. The intended recipient never got the stone, nor did they ever make a link with the dragon.
“So you are telling me I am the first?” Finley asked as he looked over to his left, hearing a noise amongst the trees. “You are!” was the short reply, as Arach stretched out his wings and flapped immediately going airborne. Finley, already using his staff as
a walking stick, lifted it from the ground and held it in two hands. “Check what it is?” Finley asked, although thinking the words not speaking them, using the link as it was supposed to work.
Arach circled overhead, just twenty or thirty paces, before darting like an arrow towards the trees and stopping in mid air, showing a level of manoeuvrability Finley had never thought possible. “Danger!” was the message sent back by the dragon, and although Finley was getting tired of fighting thought it was only something he would have to do far more of if he was to play his part in defeating the darkness.
Closing his eyes just for a few seconds, Finley could see that which Arach could see. Dragons apparently saw things in a very different way to other creatures, and Finley was almost unable to see what it was Arach was looking at. Rather than the clear picture he was used to seeing with Sessi, he was shown an image of colours, some of which were moving about. “Dwarfs!” came the next message.
Finley stopped, unsure as to why dwarfs were stalking him. “Don’t attack, but stay up in the air just in case,” he asked Arach. The dragon obeyed and hovered a little higher as he told Finley to get ready, as at least six of the strange looking people were about to charge towards him. Finley continued slowly stepping forward, all the time looking toward the tree waiting for the ‘surprise’ attack.
Just as Arach had forewarned, a number of dwarfs ran shouting and yelling towards him holding swords and axes aloft. Finley stopped as they circled around him, before one of them, whom he assumed to be some kind of leader stepped forward. “Now what is a human boy doing wandering the hillside on his own?” the dwarf asked although Finley could barely make out what he was saying, so strong was his accent.
“Wheres your horse you were walking alongside?” the dwarf asked.
Finley could have laughed at the question, not sure how anybody could mistake a dragon for a horse. “I don’t have a horse. That was a dragon!” he said, deciding, to tell the truth.
However, the leader seemed to get somewhat irate, “Don’t take the piss boy. Now we’ll be taking those supplies of yours, and I’d wager a pretty penny you got a bag of coins somewhere, so we’ll be taking that to.”
Finley sighed. Dwarf bandits, whatever next, and although he did not want to hurt them, he would be left with little choice if they tried to get much closer. With the circle of dwarfs closing in around him, Finely gave them one last chance, “Look I don’t want any trouble. Just go back into the trees and do whatever it is you do and leave me to my journey.
“Okay Arach time for you to make an appearance, but try not to hurt anybody.”
The dragon did not hang around, and within a few seconds was letting out a deep screeching sound, diving down just above the dwarf’s heads causing them to drop to the ground. However, rather than turn and run, the lead dwarf seemed to take offence and lunged forward towards Finley, holding his axe aloft as if preparing to strike. He was left with little option but to defend himself, and with a flick of his staff sent the dwarf hurtling backwards. “I don’t want any trouble!” he shouted again, although now losing his patience.
A couple of the other dwarfs backed away as they realised this was clearly no normal human boy. Dealing with any kind of magician was clearly beyond their comfort zone, although their leader seemed intent on wanting a fight. “Come on, you cowards,” he shouted standing and collecting his axe from the ground, before marching quickly over towards Finley again. “Why won't you listen? I don’t want to hurt you, but you are making it very difficult for me not to.
“Arach perhaps a little fire? But keep it away from them,” he asked. The dragon once more obliged willingly and swooped down, sending a thin jet of flame around his master as a demonstration of what he could do. All the other dwarfs now seemed to want to live another day and turned about running back towards the trees. However, the leader was having none of it, and after yelling several more expletives, some of which Finley did not understand, held his axe aloft again and charged.
This time Finley did not need to act. Arach swooped down and using his taloned claws knocked the dwarf to the ground. Finley was about to ask what was going on when he watched on in disbelief as Arach snapped down his powerful jaws, biting and ripping out the dwarf’s throat, killing him instantly. As if that was not bad enough, he felt his stomach turning, and was sure his lovely breakfast would soon make a reappearance as Arach swallowed what he had bitten off, before taking another bite, tearing the dead dwarf’s flesh from his bones.
Arach showed a side to dragons that Finley had not seen before, as he tore relentlessly, ripping through the dwarfs clothes to get at the flesh beneath. Each bite was quickly followed by another, devouring the dwarf quicker than a pack of hungry wolves would have done. Knowing he could not watch on anymore, Finley felt sickened and turned away. Checking the other dwarfs were now all out of sight, he left the dragon to finish his meal, and continued on his way, walking at a quick pace trying not to think about what he had just witnessed.
Over twenty minutes had passed by when he sensed Arach swooping back down beside him. However, Finley said nothing, though the dragon obviously felt the need to explain. “We are carnivores and will eat what we kill.”
“I told you not to hurt anyone!” Finley snapped turning to face the beast,
“The dwarf would not have stopped until he had killed you. I could not let that happen.”
“How do you the dwarf was going to kill me? I could have thrown him aside again, and he could have run like the others.”
Apparently another dragon skill. The ability to know when somebody means to kill you, he thought scoffing at the idea. However, Arach seemed to show no remorse for his actions, and Finley now thought the link with this creature had been a mistake. Was it any surprise that the dragons were kept to a minimum by the gods, and not allowed to interfere with the world. Such brutal behaviour and it would appear he had released a monster.
“I sense you are not best pleased with me?” Arach finally asked dropping down and walking beside Finley, tucking his wings behind his back. He did not reply, keeping his eyes front and walking much quicker than he would otherwise do. “I warned you that when we are released upon the world, we need large amounts of food to survive. The dwarf was not going to give up, and eating him means one less other animal or person I have to kill.”
Finley froze in place. “You mean to say you eat people?” he asked sounding even more disgusted.
“I think you already know the answer to that. I will eat what is available to me.”
“Right. Stop! You are supposed to be linked to me and do as I say. Now I order you not to eat any more people!” he shouted.
The dragon moved his head a little closer, and Finley could sense its confusion. “Very Well, if that is what you want,” it eventually replied.
Finley took a deep breath and continued walking. While he needed the dragon to get bigger, he was now unsure whether that was a good thing. If he used the dragon stone and his magic to make it happen even quicker, did that mean Arach was going to start eating his way through the dwarf population? Perhaps even the elves and humans? He shuddered at the thought.
Chapter 22.
The young crown prince stood atop of the battlements that gave Carison its defence, gazing upwards as those guards he was stood beside did. Still circling above and seemingly not yet at least doing anything, were the strange flying creatures. If it was panic they had wanted to cause, then they had certainly achieved that, although by showing themselves they had lost any element of surprise they might have had.
King Willem had still been in a meeting when the news had reached him of their arrival, which as it happened consisted of the very people who would have discussed the matter with anyway. As to what these flying beasts were was still up for debate, but it was assumed they were the work of Abalyon and were hence creatures of the darkness. As to their purpose or reason though, they could only guess, but to a man, they knew it would be nothing good.
Even w
ithout attacking, Abalyon had already forced the king to think twice about sending more troops to aid the elves in the western outposts. His own people were now at risk, and his troops would need to be here to protect them. “Can’t we shoot them down?” he asked his two military men sat beside him.
“They hover just out of range Sire,” said the one who commanded his city guard.
“They have not yet shown any sign of aggression,” added one of his civil leaders from the other side of the table.
“They didn’t need to,” the commander of his Elite Guard replied sharply. “Look at the panic and unease they have already caused,” he added raising his voice slightly and slamming his hand down a little too hard on the table.
Willem raised a hand as if to calm everybody down. “All we can do is increase the guard on the walls. Have them armed with bows. If the creatures make a move shoot them out of the skies,” he added before standing and shoving his chair back across the wooden floor. The commander of the Elite Guard did likewise and fell in behind his king as they headed for the door. “Ensure my family are safe. Check where James is,” Willem ordered, glancing only briefly over his shoulder to give his orders to the man following.
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