Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God

by Barry Gibbons

  "How will we be able to see them then?" Raven asked nervously.

  "Leave that to me." Damarius declared firmly, helping Damion pile dirt onto the fire to douse the flames.

  They spread out to give themselves plenty of room, then waited for the ambushers to appear.

  "They're about twenty feet from camp!" Snowfeather reported, circling over head, his keen eyes easily locating their would-be attackers.

  "Here they come!" Damion hissed to the others.

  The hair on the back of Damion's neck stood on end as Damarius drew in his magic, and a tiny sphere of light, approximately the size of a marble, suddenly appeared a few feet away. "Let's get started then!" The old wizard exclaimed in an excited voice. With an almost negligent gesture, he sent the tiny orb shooting high into the air above them.

  "I don't think that's really going to help much." Sly snorted sarcastically.

  An instant later, the tiny orb exploded, lighting the entire sky for miles. Millions of brightly glowing sparks slowly drifted down, revealing a dozen roughly dressed men with rusty swords, all of whom had frozen in mid-step, expressions of surprise and fear on their faces.

  "For the glory of Sarath!" The twin knights roared, charging at the closest group of men, their sword flashing.

  Several of the stunned ambushers suddenly dropped twitching to the ground with Raven's arrows protruding from their throats, as the young woman unleashed a barrage upon the frozen men.

  Sly waded into a group of four men, his sword dancing in the sparkling light as he slashed and chopped at the men, leaving a path of destruction in his wake.

  Damion stepped out from behind a grove of bushes and used the Dragon Sword to remove one man's head, sending it bouncing off into the brush, then drove the point of the fabled blade directly through another's eye socket, deep into his brain. The ambusher's entire body suddenly stiffened, then collapsed in a twitching heap when the huge warrior ripped the sword free to search for another victim.

  Within seconds, only two men remained standing. They both dropped their weapons and turned to flee, but one of Raven's arrows suddenly thudded into the center of one man's back, dropping him mid-step.

  "Take the last one alive!" Damion roared to the others before anyone could kill him.

  "I'll get him." Raven told them, drawing an arrow with a heavy lead ball fixed firmly to the tip. With practiced ease, she notched, aimed, and fired the strange projectile in a single fluid motion. Her aim was flawless, and the blunt arrow struck the fleeing ambusher solidly in the back of his head, sending him tumbling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

  "Nice shot!" Damion complimented his wife.

  The twins hurried to the unconscious man and quickly bound his hands and feet to prevent his escape, then dragged him back to their campsite.

  Damarius examined the comatose man for several moments, then glanced up at the sparks overhead, which had slowly began to fade, allowing the darkness to overtake them once again. "Could someone build the fire back up so I can examine our visitor a bit more closely?"

  Sly quickly rebuilt their fire, then they all gathered around their unconscious prisoner.

  The unconscious man had a shortly cropped beard, and long hair which was tangled and matted with filth. He was dressed in rough armor made from horse hide, and a number of scars crisscrossed one side of his face, evidence that the man had been living a harsh existence.

  "He's just a common mercenary." Jarom sniffed disdainfully, nudging the man with one foot.

  "They're as numerous as flies on manure." Jacom added, his voice dripping with contempt.

  Damarius continued to examine their prisoner for several more moments, then grunted and withdrew a small brown bottle from one of the many pouches that hung from his belt. He removed the cork that sealed the bottle shut, then waved the bottle several times beneath the man's nose.

  The man awoke with a start, then began coughing and retching uncontrollably.

  "What is that stuff?" Raven asked the old wizard, who replaced the cork on the tiny bottle and returned it to its pouch.

  "It's an unusually fragrant substance harvested from the intestines of whales. It's called Ambergris. Perfume makers distill it and use it as the base substance in the most expensive perfumes. Mixed with smelling salts, however, it's foul enough to raise the dead!"

  The bound man continued to choke and gag for several long minutes, then seemed to slowly pull himself together. "I see I have been taken prisoner." He grumbled finally, shaking his head in an effort to clear the cobwebs. "I guess our little ambush didn't quite work out as we planned."

  "No, I'm afraid not." Damion told him in a conversational tone.

  The man sighed heavily. "I told the others that I had a bad feeling about taking this job." He shook his head in resignation.

  "Who put you up to attacking us?" The huge warrior asked, though they all already knew the answer.

  "A huge man approached us a few nights ago while we were having a few drinks at a tavern in Sherish. He wanted us to keep an eye on the road leading into the city for anyone resembling your description, and to make sure that you didn't make it any further. I warned the others that we should pass this job up, but the man offered us a fair sum of gold, and the pickings have been rather slim as of late." He shrugged helplessly. "We agreed, and have been watching the road ever since."

  "Was this man alone?" Raven asked, her voice tense.

  "I thought so at first," The man muttered dejectedly. "but then I noticed a hooded woman with a young child nearby. I had the distinct feeling the they were together, but I can't be sure."

  "Where is the man now?" A slight note of desperation had crept into the young woman's voice.

  "He was at the tavern where he found us on the east side of Sherish. A place called the Silver Gull. It's not hard to find. It's the only place in the world that you can purchase dragon's milk. But that was nearly a week ago. He could be anywhere by now."

  "Dragon's milk?" Sly sounded curious.

  "It's an unusually powerful concoction brewed by the gnomes." Jarom told him with a frown.

  "It's ten times as powerful as a good strong ale." Jacom informed him, his expression disapproving.

  "Ten times, you say?" The little man's expression was one of longing.

  "What should we do with him?" The twins asked Damion in unison, roughly dragging the man to his feet.

  "Let him go. He's told us all he knows, and we're not cold blooded murderers." He gave the man a hard look. "I would suggest that you don't try and return with more friends. Next time, we won't be so merciful."

  Jarom cut the man's bonds free, then stepped back to stand next to his brother, his eyes wary.

  "I won't, milord." The man thanked him, bowing over and over in gratitude. "I promise you shall never lay eyes on me again!" He turned and dashed off into the night, leaving the bodies of his fallen friends where they lay.

  "At least he didn't asked to be allowed to serve you." Sly snorted in amusement, watching as the mercenary disappeared into the night. "We're running out of empty rooms in the castle."

  Damion chuckled, then he, Sly, and the twins dragged the bodies of the fallen mercenaries away from their campsite, and they settled back down for the evening, each taking turns standing watch while the others slept.

  Chapter 11

  They reached the wall surrounding the city of Sherish early the following morning, just as the huge iron gates were being opened from within.

  "Welcome to Sherish, friends, home of the gnomes." The twin knights proclaimed in booming voices, a slight mocking overtone marring their grand proclamation. They led the way through the massive gates laughing gaily, seeming eager to see the companions' reactions.

  Though they had heard many stories about the sprawling city, the companions were still in awe at the sheer overwhelming size of the massive metropolis. Huge buildings towered high into the air, many with strange looking mechanical contraptions jutting from their sides. Some of these dev
ises were smoking and clanking loudly, while many others lay dormant, apparently in need of repair. Most of the buildings only had entryways suitable for the tiny little gnomes, though occasionally they would pass a building that had doorways that were constructed for the use of the many humans that visited the city.

  The twins motioned for everyone to stop, then dismounted.

  "It would be best if we walk from here." Jarom told them. "It's safer for the horses and the locals."

  "Gnomes are infamous for not paying much attention to what's happening around them." Jacom added, shaking his head in bemusement as a group of gnomes wandered by, chattering loudly in a strange babbling language.

  Thousands of gnomes wandered back and forth through the streets in a chaotic mob that strangely hypnotic to watch. They were strange looking little creatures, with enormous black eyes and light green skin which sagged from their frames in unattractive folds. They were dressed in rough cloth robes made from burlap, and many wore thick leather aprons that were burned and scorched in numerous places. Most of the little creatures were completely bald, though every now and then a gnome with white or grey hair bobbed through the crowd, seeming almost out of place with the majority.

  "Do they shave their heads for religious purposes or something?" Raven asked curiously, noticing a gnome with long white hair standing amongst a group of bald ones.

  The twin knights burst out laughing.

  "Nay, milady." Jarom snorted. "They are not bald because of any ritual or religious obligation."

  "Most of them have just had a couple of their contraptions blow up in their faces." Jacom giggled. "I guess their hair just stops growing after they've blown it off a few times."

  As if to emphasize his words, a loud rumble suddenly echoed through the city, and smoke began to pour up into the sky in the distance.

  Damion felt distinctly out of place as they waded through the milling gnomes, all of whom would need a step ladder just to reach his knees. Most of the little creatures didn't even seem to notice him and Storm as they slowly followed along behind the others, pausing now and then to allow the more unobservant gnomes to pass without getting trampled.

  After several miles, and several incidents of gnomes wandering between his legs, Storm began to grown unruly, gnashing his teeth in frustration every time one of the little creatures stepped too close.

  "Easy, big guy." Damion murmured to him, though he felt much the same way.

  Storm ignored him, his tail twitching back and forth irritably. A few moments later, a distracted gnome wandered a bit too close, and the warhorse suddenly kicked out with a rear hoof, catching the little creature square in the chest, and sending it flying through the air. It crashed into another group of gnomes who had been milling nearby, knocking nearly a dozen of them from their feet.

  "Uh oh," Damion stared at the tangle of tiny bodies for a moment, then turned to Storm, who looked back at him unabashed. "Did you really have to do that?"

  The huge stallion snorted contemptuously, dismissing the little creature with a flick of his tail.

  "Don't worry too much about it." Jacom reassured him.

  "Gnomes are tougher than they appear." Jarom gestured to the gnome Storm had kicked, who had somehow regained its footing and was busy brushing the dust from its clothing absently.

  Damion watched as the little creature disappeared into the crowd, then turned back to the prancing warhorse, who was already looking for his next victim. "I know these creatures are a little irritating, but try to take it easy on them."

  Storm ignored him, and trotted sideways several steps so he could stomp on another gnome's foot.

  They pressed on until midday, then paused to allow the horses to drink from an elaborate fountain that had been constructed in the center of a large public square.

  "I've never seen anything like this before!" Raven exclaimed in wonder, looking around at the numerous contraptions being constructed by several different groups of gnomes. "What drives these little creatures to build such devises?"

  The twin knights shrugged in unison.

  "Why do bees buzz?" Jarom asked philosophically.

  "Why does the wind blow?" Jacom pondered. "It's just what they do."

  They ate a quick lunch of cheese and dried beef while they watched as the little creatures continued to labor on their odd looking machines. Though the gnomes were quite small in stature, what they lacked in size, they made up for in sheer numbers. Dozens of the gnomes swarmed forward to aid in assembling a huge catapult, which had been constructed from massive iron beams. Within minutes, the huge siege machine was ready to be tested, and the tiny gnomes quickly began to draw back the catapult's enormous arm.

  "I have the feeling that we should retreat to a safer distance." Damarius told everyone, leading his horse a bit farther away from the catapult, whose long throwing arm was beginning groan under the tension of being drawn back. "Something doesn't look quite right about that machine."

  They retreated a hundred or so yards, then turned to watch as the gnomes finished drawing back the catapult's arm. One of the gnomes, who was dressed in a strange looking, heavily padded suit, carefully climbed up into the basket that had been constructed at the end of the enormous arm and settled down.

  "They're not actually going to..." Damion started in disbelief, just as one of the other gnomes yanked back the handle controlling the catapult's trigger.

  The massive siege machine's arm suddenly lashed forward, launching the padded gnome from the basket, and sending it hurtling through the air. The little creature travelled the length of the large plaza in the blink of an eye, then slammed into the side of a building with bone crushing force.

  "Ouch!" Sly winced in imagined pain. "That had to hurt!"

  "Huh." Damarius grunted. "I guess it did work."

  A solitary gnome suddenly came wandering up from the crowd, and walked straight up to Damion. It circled the huge warrior several times, rambling all the while in its strange rattling language.

  Damion stared down at the little creature in confusion. "Can I help you?"

  The gnome ignored him, and instead, produced a long tape measure with which it quickly began to take measurements.

  "What's it doing?" Raven asked nervously.

  "It seems that it has taken an interest in Damion." Damarius laughed, watching the little creature with interest.

  Damion looked around at the others helplessly, then sighed in exasperation. Reaching down, he grasped the odd looking little gnome by the back of its robe, and lifted it up until they were eye to eye. "What are you doing?" He growled at it irritably.

  "Taking measurements." The little gnome replied in a squeaky voice, blinking its large black eyes rapidly. "What's it look like I'm doing?"

  "Why are you taking my measurements?" Damion asked, ignoring the others, who were snickering in amusement.

  "I was trying to calculate how much force it would take to launch someone of your size exactly one mile from this plaza."

  "Why would you want to do that?"

  The little gnome rolled his eyes. "We're trying to develop a way to travel from plaza to plaza without being forced to walk. There is another plaza exactly one mile to the south of here with a large net set up for catching someone. I need to have your exact measurements so I can figure out exactly how much mass makes up your person, and how much force it would take to fling you exactly one mile."

  "You want me to climb into one of those things?" Damion asked incredulously. "Are you insane?"

  "It's not so bad," The little gnome assured him quickly. "as long as you don't hit any buildings along the way."

  Everyone turned to look at the gnome who had just flown across the plaza, and was amazed to see it was back on its feet, though it still looked a bit unsteady.

  Damion looked back at the little creature with a flat expression. "No, thanks." He told it in a bland tone.

  The gnome looked crestfallen. "You're not a very helpful fellow, are you?"

  It w
as Damion's turn to roll his eyes.

  "What is it about you humans that makes you so unhelpful?" The little creature gave him a stern look. "And the bigger the human, the more unhelpful you are. The last human that I encountered was almost as big, and just as unhelpful. He tried to boot me across the plaza, however." Its eyes suddenly grew doubtful. "You're not going to try the same thing, are you?"

  Of course not." The huge warrior lowered the odd little creature to the ground.

  "At least you're kinder than the last fellow," The gnome rattled, straightening its robe. "and you smell much better too."

  "What did this other human look like?" Sly asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.