Rising Thunder (Dynasty of Storms Book 1)

by Brandon Cornwell

  Jenna's halfhearted smirk softened, and she looked sad. “You will never be nothing, Elias. You've got too much greatness in you.”

  Elias shrugged. “Right now, I just want to kill pirates and Felle. I'll figure out the rest when I'm done.”

  She nodded again. “You'll have plenty of time for that on your trip to the mainland.” She looked out to the sea, at the Slingstone. “Well, let's get everything loaded up. We're traveling fast and light, I take it?”

  He nodded. “Very. How long until we're loaded, do you think?”

  Martin turned from some dock workers. “Three hours to load the food and water we'll need. I figure you can drum up some volunteers in that time. Should be ready to cast off in four hours.”

  “Good. We'll meet on board then.”

  The five companions parted ways for the time being, going about their tasks. Their core circle was shrinking.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  7th Waning Summer Moon, Year 4369

  The Slingstone was not the most comfortable vessel for long voyages. It had no hold, no lower decks, no forecastle or aftcastle, just the cargo deck and oars. The wind was strong, blowing to the west, so they had no issues with speed, but the sun baked them as they skimmed over the water.

  At this rate, the voyage only took three days. By the end of the first day, they passed the straight between Greenreef and the other islands. By the second day, they approached the end of the island chain before the second long straight. They sailed straight through the night, taking shifts at the helm, and by dusk on the third day, they saw the low mountain on the Cursed Island at the horizon.

  The sun was well below the sea, and the moon was bright in the sky by the time they landed, at the original beach where he had landed with his army a bit over a week before. The Slingstone was small enough that they didn't need a landing vessel, but still large enough that they couldn't run it right up to the beach. The waves were still up to Elias's thighs when he jumped over the edge and forged through the surf to the shore.

  They followed the path to the top of the cliff immediately, wasting no time in waiting for the dawn. They each carried their own torch, but did not light them on the beach. Instead, they waited until they stood at the mouth of the cave. The hot air still came out of the opening like a dry wind; the twenty elven sailors milled about the opening, hesitant to enter the recesses of the earth.

  Elias bid them stay, but make no fires that could be seen by passing vessels. He lit five torches within the cave, one for himself and each of his companions that would accompany him down. Jenna, Geoff, Marl and Martin all took one.

  “I've got a bad feeling about this,” said Martin, looking pensively into the cave.

  Geoff shrugged. “I've just got a bad feeling. I don't like being this close to the Fortress.”

  Jenna stepped past them. “Bad feelings or not, this is why we are here. This cave could hold the key to our victory. There is no time to waste.”

  Marl was quiet, holding his torch. He stood near Jenna, waiting, and watching Elias.

  Elias held his torch high. The flickering light illuminated the cave around them, reflecting off of the smooth obsidian walls. “I told the dragon, Sargoth, that I would free him. He will help us destroy our enemy here. Now that we know the Felle have a presence here, we'll need all the help we can get... and Sargoth could be that help.“ He turned to Martin and Geoff. “You can stay here on top if you like. I am going down below.“

  He started down the tunnel, Jenna and Marl falling in step behind him. Martin and Geoff weren't far behind, despite their initial misgivings.

  The trip down seemed to be significantly faster than it had been the first time, at least to Elias. Perhaps the fact that he knew what was coming made it seem shorter. By the time the red glow of the lava pits was visible, they were all sweating from the heat. He paused at the entrance to the chamber. On the ground in front of the final turn were several charred skeletons, their flesh and clothing burned away to ashes. Several swords lay on the ground, melted against it as if they had been made of wet paper and dropped unceremoniously as their owners were slain. The weapons were all of the type favored by the pirates, basket-hilted, with single edged, slashing blades.

  Elias looked back at his companions, nodding to them in reassurance before he entered the chamber. Jenna and Marl followed closely, Martin and Geoff trailing behind. Sargoth was lounging on the stone in front of the lava, his giant form sparkling in the light of their torches. He looked almost red in the darkness.

  He rolled to his side, propping up his chin on his giant claws again. He moved in a very humanoid manner, Elias thought, marveling again at the sheer size of the dragon.

  “So you have returned. I'll admit, I had started to wonder if you would. I suppose I just assumed that 'I'll be right back' meant the same thing, whether one was a dragon or an elf or a human.”

  “There were some complications... our fleet was under attack when we got outside, and the ship that held the pendant was fleeing. We didn't get back to our island for four days, and when we did, we had been attacked.” He choked a bit, his memory of what he had found at the Seagate threatening to rise up, but he pushed it back down.

  The dragon looked at him, tilting his head to the side. “I knew about the battle outside; I did not know about the battle at your home. I am sorry to hear that.” He gestured one clawed hand towards the charred skeletons in tunnel that had entered through. “That lot chased someone in here, and threatened to kill us both. Such things don't sit well with me.”

  Elias looked aside at Jenna and Marl, who glanced back. There had been a survivor from the destruction of their fleet? Perhaps someone left behind on the island?

  Sargoth smirked at their puzzlement. “He should be back soon. We've been helping each other out since he came here. He brings me pigs, I cook them for us. He is, apparently, about as fond of raw meat as the rest of you are.” He looked up the tunnel past them, and sniffed twice. “He should be returning shortly. You may wish to step out of the tunnel... it's going to get rather hot there.”

  Behind them, they could hear the faint squealing of pigs, and a voice shouting at them to keep them moving. Elias stepped aside, allowing the other four to enter the chamber, and step to the side of the entrance. It wasn't long at all before several terrified pigs bolted down the tunnel towards them, hooves clattering on the smooth stone. The dragon inhaled slightly, then spat a ball of fire at the animals.

  The pigs squealed in agony as the fire (and then the dragon) consumed them. His head and neck moved like a snake, snapping forward and grabbing the pigs in single bites. One by one, the animals disappeared down his gullet, until just one animal lay twitching on the ground, smoldering. Sargoth Reached forward and plucked off its legs, both front and back, then ate the torso and head. As he breathed searing hot breath on them, they could smell the pork flash cooking.

  Footsteps came up the tunnel, and the man who chased the pigs into the chamber came into view. A shade under six feet tall, he had black hair and a scruffy beard. His clothing was from the mainland, dirty and smudged with soot.

  “Jonas!” Jenna cried, and ran out from behind the stone outcropping that had sheltered them from the worst of the heat. She threw her arms around the man, almost tackling him to the ground.

  Jonas cursed in surprise, staggering to the side, catching her in his arms. Elias stood in shock, watching as Jenna drug Jonas's head down to hers for a deep kiss. Marl, Geoff, and Martin stood by, equally shocked.

  Jonas finally extracted himself from Jenna's embrace. “By the Gods, woman, what are you doing here?”

  She shoved him, violently. “What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I've been going mad for a week! I thought you were dead!”

  “I thought I was dead! I've been stuck on this island for a week and a half, feeding this dragon!”

  Sargoth snorted, licking his claws clean, as Elias stepped forward. “Jonas.”

  Jonas turned and saw the four
of them standing off to the side. “Elias! Martin, Geoff, what are you doing here? How did you get here?”

  Elias filled Jonas in on the events that transpired after the battle, the journey home, and the attacks at Greenreef and the Seagate. In return, Jonas told them how he survived. After the Iron Oar was destroyed, he and the elves on his ship attacked the pirate vessels, allowing the Leviathan to escape along with the rest of the ships bearing the slaves. His ship was destroyed like the Iron Oar was, with the cannons that the pirate vessels had fitted into their ships. All hands were lost, except for him. He swam for shore, making it to the sandy beach before collapsing.

  “High tide woke me up when it hit me, and I crawled farther up. I wasn't wounded, not really, except for some cuts and scrapes. There are sharks in these waters; I don't know how I survived. Maybe they were too busy feasting on our fallen...“

  He shook his head. “The days here are hot. This island doesn't have the trees, nor the same size of mountain on it that Greenreef does, so it doesn't get the same rain. There's a spring not far from the mouth of the cave, and I used the cave for a shelter. Pirate ships have been circling this island for days, so I needed a place to hide. I guess they saw my campfire.“

  Sargoth chuckled. “I had smelled him for days. He didn't reek of fermented wheat or corn. When he came running through, I knew he wasn't with the ones who had me chained here.” He held up his wrists. “Still chained here, to that point. In any case, when he saw me he ducked to the side, and I... greeted those who were chasing him in a fitting manner.” The dragon inclined his head towards the charred remains at the entrance of the chamber. “I think they honestly thought I wouldn't burn them. No, I simply wouldn't eat them.” He picked his dagger-like teeth with a claw. “I have standards, after all.”

  Jonas sat against the back wall, Jenna sitting close to him, his arm around her waist. “We had an arrangement, I bring him pigs, he cooks them for me. We keep each other company, and he doesn't eat me.”

  Sargoth snorted again, raising a horned eyebrow ridge. “I said I have standards. Some may say your kind taste like pork, but I disagree.”

  Jonas chuckled. “Aye, fair enough. Anyhow, he told me to sit tight, that he figured you would be back, and I sat tight. The pirates have more or less stopped patrolling this island... it no longer brings them food or repairs their vessels. However...” He looked over at Elias. “I have seen many ships sailing in from the south. It looks like they've called in their forces, one way or another. While I've been here, I've counted no less than ten ships come by, and that's just between here and the Fire Mountain. Who knows how many have come in from the east.”

  Sargoth drummed his claws against the obsidian floor, like knives tapping on glass. “Not to put too fine of a point on it, but I will say that being chained up in here for a century does sort of drag on, especially when the end is in sight.” The dragon tapped the emblem on his forehead. “If you release me and take me to the mainland, as per our deal, I'll help you destroy the residents of the Fortress. That works for both of us.”

  Elias pushed off of the wall where he had been leaning, listening to Jonas. “Yes, of course. I should have done that right away. My apologies.” He reached into a pouch hanging from his belt, and removed the medallion he had recovered from Port Greenreef. He held it out to Sargoth. “Here is what I promised.”

  Sargoth shook his head. “I cannot do it. You must release me.” He lowered his head, setting his chin on the ground, his body sliding into the pit of lava. There was a hissing sound as he did so, and the smell of hot metal rose from the molten stone. “Press the medallion against the insignia on the lock between my eyes. Make sure the chain is coming from the point that you put towards the top.”

  Elias slowly approached the dragon, whose head was as tall as a horse, though it was sitting on the ground. The chains ran on either side of his eyes, and around behind his jaw, hooked behind his thorny spikes. The clasp between his eyes had the same eight-pointed star insignia, but upon closer inspection, it was indented in the same shape as the medallion, with a notch on top for the chain. Gently, he set his left hand on Sargoth's snout to steady himself, reached up, and pressed the medallion into the impression.

  The medallion instantly grew hot, so hot that Elias could hear the sizzle as it scorched his fingers. He jerked his hand back, shaking the heat away, which was harder than it would seem, even in the heat of the room. The medallion flashed bright red, and melted, pouring out of the indentation. The red heat spread to the rest of the chains, and they too slowly started melting off, first at the indented clasp, and then spreading to the rest. It fell off like putty, liquefying on the ground. The manacles on the dragon's arms behind his claws, also started to glow red, melting off and sliding back into the lava. Sargoth began pulling himself out of the pit and onto the stone floor entirely, and Elias could see truly how massive the dragon truly was. Not counting his tail, he was at least forty-five feet long, from his nose to his haunches, with his tail at least that long.

  Sargoth's wings stayed tightly clenched to his back, making him rather slender, somewhat smaller than the circumference of the tunnel leading to the chamber they were in. “If you don't mind, it's been a long time since I've seen the sky. I'm going to step out for a moment.” Slowly at first, then with an increasing speed and urgency, the dragon moved towards the tunnel, then through it, his claws digging into the stone, leaving long, deep scratches in the volcanic glass.

  Elias looked between the other occupants of the room, each of which was sitting back against the walls, having given the dragon all the space he needed to vacate the chamber. “I think we had better follow him.”

  They made their way up the cave to the surface, Elias and Marl leading the way, Jonas and Jenna behind, Martin and Geoff bringing up the rear. The night was still dark when they reached the cool open air, refreshing after the stifling heat of the volcanic caves. Sargoth was perched on the cliffs by the sea, his nose up, his tail extended behind him. The small group walked down the path that had been freshly cleared by the dragon's passage

  As they approached, Sargoth spread his wings. Elias had never seen them completely unfurled, and was struck again by the sheer size of them. Easily a hundred feet from wingtip to wingtip, the span was incredible, almost half the length of the Leviathan itself. There was a sound like timbers snapping and groaning, and Elias realized it was the dragon's joints.

  “Oh, I haven't been able to do that in so long...” Sargoth breathed, his words ending in a rumble of satisfaction. “I need to fly.” With that, he pushed off of the cliff, his wings catching the air as he dropped.

  Elias stood on the cliff as the rest of his group approached from behind. The dragon was a silhouette against the stars, the moonlight reflecting off of his silver scales as he wheeled and looped above the water.

  “Someone is bound to see that,” Martin said from Elias's left.

  “Let them see. We're going to burn them all into the waves. When we're done, every single pirate in these islands will be dead or so afraid to come back, they will consider this places cursed.” Elias set his jaw, watching Sargoth turn back and forth, gliding on the tropical air currents. Soon, very soon, his war would come to an end.

  ~ ~ ~

  Sargoth kept pace with the Slingstone as they sailed, but the progress was slow going. Two hundred years underground hadn't kept the dragon in peak physical condition, but the winds were favorable. They had to stop at each island for him to rest, so the passage back to Port Greenreef took five days rather than the three it had taken before. They took this opportunity to notify the settlements on each island that they should relocate to the main island of Greenreef, Rapa Matomato. It was considered safer if they weren't spread out amongst the islands, as several other major settlements had been struck as well, and a few more ships had been lost.

  They paused at Seagate for Sargoth to land; it had been decided that a nearly one hundred foot long dragon walking about Port Greenreef might not be th
e best idea for a population that had just been attacked. As Elias and his crew pulled away from the arch, Sargoth perched on the Seagate, watching them go. There were plenty of wild pigs running around, now that the herds kept by the sea elves there had been set loose during the raid, so Sargoth would have plenty to eat. Elias couldn't bring himself to disembark. He had made a decision to never return to the ruins of the village at Seagate; there was far too much pain there for him. He would keep his residence in the captain's quarters of the Leviathan.

  It was four hours' sail from there to Port Greenreef. Elias spent the trip going over the plan. They would rally their forces from every island on the way. This battle was going to be held mostly at sea; the plan was to obliterate the Fortress in one strike with the explosive ship. It was the same tactic that the pirates had used against them when sinking the Papaya's Vengeance, Jonas's ship, during the battle where they sank the Leviathan. This time, however, it should be scaled up enough that the explosion would obliterate the buildings that had been made in the inside of the defunct volcano.

  However, all of the ships that had been called in would be anchored around the island as a defense, so they would need to cut a pathway to their gigantic gates first. Luckily, if there was a strong westward wind, they should be able to tie the rudder into place and sail the ship directly into the gates, and hopefully through them before Sargoth set it on fire.

  They had captured enough cannons that they could outfit each ship with ten of them, which wasn't much, but enough that they could cause significant damage while Sargoth caused chaos from the sky. A dragon turned the tide significantly in their favor, even with the added forces Jonas had seen sailing past the Cursed Island. Though, by all estimates, there could be as many as thirty ships waiting for them. Their forces had been significantly depleted during the raid on the Cursed Island... they had lost many warriors and a number of ships. Of the ten ships that had sailed east, nine came back, and one more had been captured. However, in the raids that had occurred while they were away, they had lost five more ships, one at each island. This brought their total down to thirteen.