Order Of The Dragon (Omnibus 1-4)

by Jason Halstead

  Geja lashed out at the other standing ogre time and again, using his strikes to distract him while scouts flanked him and struck together in unison with their swords. They thrust them up and into the ogre’s sides, sending him leaping through the air to escape their bite and then falling to the ground as Geja leapt to the side. He finished the fallen ogre by thrusting his sword into the back of his neck.

  The ogre leader snarled and swung his hammer back and forth with both hands, keeping the elves at bay. The last elf to come up the path, the same one that had been knocked back down by his fallen comrade, fit a fresh arrow to his bow. He drew it and fired, burying the smooth point in the ogre where his shoulder met his neck. The ogre spat an ogrish curse at him and raised his hammer overhead. The elf was grabbing a fresh arrow when the ogre's hammer flew through the air and smashed into his belly. The elf doubled over as momentum brought the shaft of the weapon up into his face and sent him falling backwards.

  Hafnirrin leapt in and cut three of the ogre's fingers off with his first slash, and then reversed his cut in a thrust that slipped between the ogre's ribs and made the large miner stiffen. Hafnirrin pulled his blade free and stepped back. The ogre stumbled a step and then turned slowly. Blood bubbled out of the latest wound in his chest where the prince's sword had pierced his lung. The ogre tried to speak but he only coughed and gagged, blood running from his face. He turned on Hafnirrin again and pointed at him with his whole hand. He spat at the elf, his bloody sputum landing on the dusty ground near his foot.

  Hafnirrin ran forward and, after two steps, leapt into the air and thrust his sword past the injured ogre's rising arm. He felt the blade pierce flesh and then grate off the ogre's spine at the back of his throat. He planted his foot on the ogre leader's belly and leapt away, tearing his long saber out in the process. The ogre stood still for a moment until Hafnirrin turned back around, his blade held up in a defensive gesture. Then the miner fell forward and crashed into the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

  Gejallrim walked towards the wounded ogre, his blade held out and a sneer on his face. The ogre's eyes were narrowed and his normally ruddy face pale with lost blood. He clenched his teeth and, with his lips twitching in agony, he rose up to his feet and stared at the elf.

  "Kill him," Hafnirrin ordered from where he stood above the leader of the ogres.

  Geja and three other elves fell on the ogre, stabbing and slashing until he fell and moved no more.

  * * * *

  Ketten hurried to keep up with Graak as the ogre stormed through the tunnels. He was about to break into a jog when they stepped into the large cavern that ran through the dormant volcano the queen of the north had claimed as her seat of power. Queen Rosalyn was walking alongside the paladin of Leander, Aleena.

  "My ladies," Ketten beckoned to them and halted to bow to his mistress.

  Graak ignored him and stormed across the hall towards the queen. "The elves have declared war!" he snarled.

  Rosalyn looked up at the imposing ogre and tilted her head. "I wondered if losing your manhood would make you more civil," the emaciated queen said. "I see it has not. Does that also mean you've forgotten respect for the person who saved your life?"

  Graak gnashed his teeth together and dropped to a knee. "Forgive me, my queen," he growled. "A band of ogres were ambushed and butchered by the elves in the west."

  Aleena looked back and forth between the two. Her brow furrowed with unasked questions.

  Rosalyn offered a cold smile to the ogre. "Rise, my general. Tell me more. We've had no dealings with the elves."

  "Ogres have—always battle," Graak grunted. He pulled out the remains of a broken arrow that was tucked into his belt and offered it to her. "This time they were miners setting up a new camp. Elves attacked for no reason."

  Aleena stepped forward and reached for the arrow. "May I?" she asked, glancing at Rosalyn first and then Graak. He thrust it towards her and let her have it. She studied the arrow's point and frowned. "They don't use bladed tips on their arrows?"

  Graak snarled and said, "No. Never have, always like these."

  "How many?"

  Graak shrugged. "Seven of my people."

  "Were they from your tribe?" Rosalyn asked.

  He shook his head. "No, different tribes, but ogres. Your people."

  The queen smiled. "I'm proud of you, Graak. You've come a long ways in a short time, acknowledging the great good we do here. Yes, this attack must not go unavenged."

  "No sign of the elves, save the arrow?" Aleena asked.

  "Blood on rocks and weapons," Graak said. "They took their dead with them."

  Rosalyn frowned and then nodded. "Gather a raiding party. You're not to destroy their homes or land, but I expect seven dead elves before you return."

  "Your Majesty, perhaps this is a misunderstanding?" Aleena suggested.

  Rosalyn turned to her and tilted her head. Her hair, once full and vibrant, fell in loose strands around her skeletal face. "A misunderstanding? They have invaded my realm and butchered my people. This cannot be allowed! They will know that we will retaliate!"

  Aleena pressed her lips together for a moment and then said, "Let me go with them. Before more blood is shed, let me talk to them. Perhaps further harm can be avoided."

  Rosalyn studied her with eyes that looked deep and haunted. "What does the church of Leander care for the lives of elves?"

  "Saint Leander cares for the lives of all who would embrace the light," Aleena said. "There is never a good time for war, but with your nation still a fledgling, I think this would be a horrible time to be so diverted."

  Graak snarled. "We would crush them!"

  Rosalyn raised her hand to silence the massive warrior. "Dame Aleena speaks the truth. Your men are needed, keeping the peace among our people as they learn to get along. If we are distracted, others who do not trust or understand us might seek to gain in our moment of need. The barbarians and the dwarves, in particular, I do not trust. They refuse my emissaries."

  "Have you sent an ambassador to the elves?" Aleena asked.

  Rosalyn shook her head. "I have not. I paid them no mind since they are a small people I believed more concerned with frolicking in the woods than in worldly affairs."

  "Then I will serve as your messenger and, hopefully, a harbinger of peace."

  Rosalyn smirked. "Perhaps you shall. But if you are met with steel instead of wine, can I trust you to take the right action?"

  Graak's knuckles popped as he clenched his fists for emphasis.

  Aleena nodded. "Seven elven heads will fall," she promised.

  Rosalyn smiled. "Go then, Dame Aleena, and may you and Graak have the blessings of the saints on your journey."

  Chapter 2

  "You've been too quiet since we found Namitus," Patrina said to her betrothed.

  Alto stared into the water and kept his pole at the ready in case the barge they'd taken veered too close to the northern edge of the river and risked running aground. He grunted.

  "Damn your eyes, Alto!" Patrina snapped at him. "Talk to me! Tell me what your plan is? We can't just walk into the palace and ask for her!"

  Alto shrugged. "Found out where they'd been taken that way."

  "That's why we can't do it again," Patrina hissed. She stepped in front of him and grabbed his pole. "By the saints, I could strip my armor off and you'd still not see me!"

  "I would!" Garrick called from the other side of the barge where he was performing the same task Alto did.

  "Mind your pole!" Patrina snapped at him.

  "I could use some help," the massive northerner called back. "Care to help me with my pole? You'll need to use both hands."

  Patrina rolled her eyes and ignored the snickers from their companions. She continued to stare at Alto and then reached up to rub her hand on the scruff of his cheek. "My lord, Caitlyn isn't the only one who needs you. Remember that."

  Alto turned to meet her gaze. His eyes focused and he nodded. "Of course. I'm
just—wait, what did you call me?"

  "My lord," Patrina said. "You are Lord Alto, even if Rockwood is not yet rebuilt. You are its thane."

  "But you're a princess—"

  Aleena scowled. "I'm the jarl's daughter, but when we're wed, you'll stand to inherit. You are my lord and someday—soon, I hope—my husband."

  Alto blinked and nodded. "I hope so too," he offered.

  Patrina smiled and leaned into him to hug him. Alto wrapped an arm around her while he held the pole in his other hand. Patrina glanced over and saw the others watching them. Her eyes fell on Garrick last and she said, "See, Garrick, a real man can hold his pole in one hand!"

  A few chuckles and gasps arose from the rest of the unlikely heroes who followed Alto. Garrick, not to be outdone, smirked and said, "If it's a shorter rod you seek, that's fine. My people are known for their wood."

  Namitus, still not recovered from his ordeal as a prisoner of the Order of the Dragon, laughed hard enough to launch himself into a coughing fit. Karthor, the priest of Leander and arguably Alto's closest friend, hurried to check on the man.

  "I judge we'll reach Mira by mid-afternoon tomorrow, assuming we rest the night out," the group's wizard, Kar, said while judging the sun in the west. "Hottest part of the day. A fine time to be stuck in that infernal city."

  Karthor glanced up at his father after channeling some of his divine energy into the rogue to settle his coughing down. "I thought you liked Mira because of all the wizards there?"

  "Bah, they're like old women gossiping and fighting most of the time," Kar muttered. He puffed on his pipe and fiddled with something in one of his pouches absentmindedly.

  "You seemed to get on well enough with that witch we visited," Carson, the group's newest member, said.

  A smile twisted Kar's lips up around his pipe. He cleared his throat and sent a disapproving glance at the woodsman. "Mind your own affairs, young man!"

  "Or you'll turn me into a frog?"

  "No, a sheep. Then you'll have nowhere to run to escape Garrick when he gets that look in his eye!"

  The companions, even Alto, dissolved into laughter. After a few moments, Garrick stopped laughing and glared at the wizard.

  "So what is your plan?" Kar asked Alto as the members of the Band of the Dying Dragon settled down.

  "Do they know what we've done?" Alto asked.

  Mordrim belted out a hearty laugh and said, "Are ya daft? We killed their pet dragon and when he fell off the mountain, the tremors could be felt for miles!"

  "Some pet," Garrick muttered.

  "Aye, that was no pet. Myskrakoth was their deity in the flesh," Kar said. "And just as the mountains had been abandoned by all but the scavengers and the dwarves of the hills knew of it, word will have reached Mira by now."

  "A rider would have to kill a half-dozen horses to beat us there," Garrick argued. "And we'd have seen them since the road runs along the Khalalid River."

  Kar muttered something and shook his head. "You killed a dragon, you thick-witted oaf! That means they've got more tools at hand than riding horses hard enough to kill them."

  Garrick frowned. "What, like messenger pigeons? I've heard of those before."

  Kar threw his hands up in the air and turned away from the barbarian. Patrina opened her mouth to explain things to Garrick when she saw the twist of his lip. She shook her head and turned away. "Saints save us if Garrick has learned how to mess with the wizard."

  "Teach him to call me a sheep lover," the northman grunted.

  Alto stared to the east, where the capital of the desert kingdom of Shazamir lay. When they'd last been there, they'd been chased and harassed by assassins, thieves, and even the city guard. They had every right to expect their reception would be worse this time, given the ties between the Order of the Dragon and the nobles ruling the kingdom. The same nobles who had taken his sister from him.

  "The thieves’ tunnels under the city," Alto reasoned. "They'll get us back in the palace."

  "The sewers?" Carson asked.

  Alto nodded.

  The tracker chewed on the idea a moment and then wondered, "Don't you think they'll have those guarded?"

  "They don't know that's how we escaped," Alto said. "And even if they did, would we be fool enough to go back in them?"

  "Apparently," Kar said. "And dumb enough to add a vile stench to the heat we'll endure."

  Alto ignored the wizard's jibe and used his pole to keep the raft moving down the swift flowing river. The dwarves had given it to them when they showed up and offered proof of Myskrakoth's death. They'd been more interested in rushing to take the abandoned mountain palace themselves than worry about the river or hills.

  "The sun will be down soon. We should get what rest we can. We'll leave before first light to try to reach Mira in the morning."

  "Don't be running us aground in the dark," Mordrim growled.

  "I won't," Alto promised. He looked at Patrina and smiled. "I've got a lookout who can see in the dark."

  Patrina gasped and glanced down at her armor that gave the ability to see in the dark. She looked back up at him and tried to glare at her betrothed. "Another reason I should drop my armor," she said.

  "Your father would have a fit if you weren't a maiden on our wedding night," Alto said.

  Patrina winked at him and said, "What my father doesn't know won't hurt you."

  Garrick chuckled, reminding the two that they were far from alone. Alto cleared his throat while Patrina blushed and turned away to stare off the bow of the barge. There were many miles ahead and even more unasked questions plaguing their minds.

  Patrina pointed a few minutes later to the northern shore. "We can run the raft up on the shore and camp near those trees."

  "Good choice," Kar said as he studied the trees.

  Patrina narrowed her eyes at the unexpected praise from the wizard. "Why?"

  "Food, my dear princess! There are dates and fig trees scattered about. Not only will we have that, but no doubt there will be wild animals having dinner that we can hunt."

  Patrina scowled and turned back to the shore. The waning rays of the day's sun lit the tall golden brown grasses along the river's banks but revealed no animals. The wizard was right about the clumps of red and yellow dates that bore down the branches of the palms.

  Alto handed his pole to Carson so the hunter and Garrick could push the barge closer to shore. He grabbed a rope tied about the barge and leapt off when they were within a few feet of shore. He grunted as the cool water came to his mid-thigh, proving the river was deeper than he'd expected.

  After climbing onto the shore, he hauled on the rope and pulled it up onto the bank. The others joined him on the ground and, with Garrick and Carson's help, they pulled the barge high enough onto the bank they had no fear of losing it downstream. Alto turned away and saw Kar was already munching on dates he'd plucked from the trees.

  Garrick scowled and turned away, studying their campsite. Patrina moved to a clear area between some date trees where the grasses had been pressed down. She turned around, frowning as she looked at it.

  "Animals," Carson said as he walked up to her. He nodded his head respectfully when she jumped at his unexpected approach. He pointed at the grasses after she returned the nod. "Look close and you can see their tracks in the dirt. Hooved animals, some kind of deer most likely."

  Patrina followed his finger and knelt down to part the grass with her hands. She saw the tracks and nodded again. "This is sheltered; we can clear the grasses and rest here."

  "No," Alto said as he walked up to them. "They know we're coming; there's no sense in telling them where we are with a fire."

  Patrina turned and gestured at the trees and taller grasses around them. "We're sheltered! Even the wind is lessened here. A mile or less to the north and the ground is naught but sand. We can find dry wood that won't smoke to burn."

  Carson nodded. "She's right about that at least. Much of the grass away from the river is dry enough we can b
urn the ends of it without fear."

  "Besides, how are we going to eat without a fire?"

  Kar wandered up to them, snacking on a date. "Don't need a fire for these tasty morsels!"

  "Deer," Garrick called over to them from where he stood staring to the northwest. "They're staring back at me but not smart enough to run."

  "I've often thought the same of you," Mordrim offered.

  Garrick scowled at the dwarf.

  "All right. Carson?" Alto asked.

  The woodsman nodded and slipped his bow off his back. He strung the powerful weapon smoothly and fitted one of his arrows to it before he crept up next to Garrick and studied the dark colored deer and the wind that blew out of the southwest.

  "Too far for a bow," Garrick said. "You circle around them and spook them to me. I'll get one as they run past."

  Carson jerked his head to look at Garrick. He chuckled. "No offense, my imposing friend, but a rat whose nose was ruined by filth would smell you out. The only reason they haven't run is because they aren't downwind of you."

  Garrick sniffed at himself. "I smell like a man!" he boasted.

  "And that is why they will run," Carson said.

  "Me too," Patrina offered.

  Carson and Garrick both turned to hush her. The nine deer that were picking through the grass all had their heads up and were looking at them.

  "So what then? They’re more than a stone's throw away and I can throw a stone further than any man I know," Garrick asked.

  "Watch," Carson said as he bent his bow back and raised it. Garrick snorted as the hunter shifted his aim to the left to account for the wind and then let his arrow fly.

  Both men watched and saw the entire herd of deer crouch low as the sound of Carson's string twanging reached them. His arrow followed less than a breath later and sent the deer it struck leaping into the air. It spun and tried to follow the rest of its herd as they galloped away but its strength was gone. The deer crumpled to the ground after less than a dozen strides and lay still.