* * *
Bridgett sat on a rock formation near the tree line, calmly watching the dragon laying next to the massive tree Machai had described. She had not seen any guards patrolling, so it could be only a matter of moments before they arrived, and she needed to work quickly. She pulled several vials from her belt, and began mixing and grinding herbs in a shallow bowl. “Pebble, come up here for a moment, I want to teach you a new game.”
Pebble hopped up onto the rock with an excited grin, “What sort'sa game?”
“We are going to play a game with the men that work here. Do you remember that really scary thing that Osric killed in the woods?”
“Yep! Pa said's it was a paun!” Pebble held his claws up and bared his teeth in a comical impression of the beast.
“Yes, I want you to think about how scared you were when the paun came. We are going to pretend that one is chasing us, alright? Do you think you can be really scared when we go talk to the men?” Bridgett smiled at him, and then donned an expression of terror to show him how she wanted him to act. Pebble rolled over onto his back, laughing at her expression. “Pebble, if you laugh, the men will know that you are not scared, and we will lose the game. Can you look really scared?” At the mention of losing, Pebble stopped laughing and his face got very serious.
“I's can be scared, I's never loses at games!”
Bridgett caught a glimpse of a guard approaching, and she poured the powdered herbs into her hand and closed her fist tight. She did not want Pebble breathing them in by mistake. “Pebble, are you ready to play the game? Pretend the paun is right behind us, and we are going to run over to that man and ask him to save us, alright?” They climbed down from the rocks, and Bridgett took a deep breath. She said a silent prayer that Archana would help them succeed, and she ran out of the woods with Pebble close behind her.
The guard was whistling as he made his rounds, and twirling his wand in his fingers. He stopped suddenly as he saw her burst from the forest and run toward him. She crashed into him, tears streaming down her face, crying out for help.
“Whoa, little lady, where did you come from?” He looked around suspiciously, but he did not restrain her.
“The forest. It was terrible! Please help me!” Her words were vague and nearly unintelligible between sobs, and she wore an expression of sheer terror. “A beast attacked us. It killed everyone!” He stared at the tree line behind her, and then glanced down at Pebble clinging to her dress.
“What sort of beast?” He drew his sword, but his attention was on the forest. The other guard had come around the corner, and was approaching them quickly to see what the trouble was. Bridgett cried hysterically, stalling until both men were close.
“It's was a paun!” Pebble said in a frightened voice, hiding in the folds of her skirt and whimpering. The second guard was close enough to hear Bridgett crying and ran the rest of the distance to them.
“What's the trouble?” He directed his question at the first guard, drawing his own weapon and eyeing Bridgett.
“The lady says a paun attacked her.”
The guard laughed, “A paun? They're just a legend used to frighten children.” He stood next to the first guard and frowned at Bridgett. “Who are you?”
“Really, it is true. Look!” Bridgett raised her hand and both men looked intently at her closed fist. She opened her fingers and blew the powder into their faces. As they gasped in surprise, they inhaled the herbs. Bridgett danced backward, as both men attempted to lunge at her with blades raised. They staggered to their knees and their weapons clattered to the ground as they fell face first in the dirt.
Bridgett scooped Pebble up in her arms and walked quickly toward the final bend in the path that led to the entrance of the volcano. She slid to a stop as she came face to face with the largest dragon she had ever seen. Smoke curled up from the dragon's nostrils and he looked past her at the guards lying unmoving on the ground. Before the dragon decided to eat her, Bridgett pulled the small wooden box from her belt. “Your acquaintance, the stone dweller, bid me soothe your wound with a salve of willow bark and fairie tears. Does your foreleg still pain you, mighty dragon?”
He turned his large, swirling eyes back to her, and regarded her with a cool stare. “No, the fairie paste did all the dwarf promised it would. Has he returned to make a foolish attempt to free us from our indentured existence?” A low, deep laugh rumbled from the dragon's chest, and his words dripped with sarcasm.
“Yes,” Bridgett replied, “and he has brought help. Will you aid me in ridding this mountain of those guards, and ease their task?” She nodded toward the two men, “They are unconscious, but they will wake soon, and then they will continue to pose a threat to you and your kin.” The dragon stilled, all humor gone from his eyes, and glared at her.
“And what do the charitable dwarf, the pretty little Empath, and a pup think they can do to help us?” Bridgett was not surprised that the dragon was aware of her ability as an Empath. She sensed the great age and wisdom of the creature as easily as she sensed his doubt that Machai could free them. The dragon probably had more experience and intuition when it came to reading people than any Araseth Empath. If she had not given the Aduro Amulet to Osric, she suspected she would have been able to communicate with him telepathically.
“My role was to distract the guards and seek your aid. Machai has the power and magical abilities of many others with him, and they intend to interrupt the spell holding the dragons. The fewer men there are to stop them, the more likely they will succeed. Will you help us?” Bridgett had no doubt that the dragon would suspect her words were intentionally vague, but since they were true, she thought he may overlook it. Dragons were well known to be superstitious, and so she continued, “The man leading the incursion is prophesied as the greatest wizard to ever walk Archana. This may be your only chance at freedom.” As she concluded her plea, one of the guards behind her moaned, and she turned around quickly to see that they were both still lying on the ground.
Bridgett felt a wave of deep hatred radiate out from the dragon as it walked around her and stalked toward the guards. “These men will never wake.” The dragon gripped each man with the sharp claws of his front legs, and took flight. Bridgett watched as the dragon spiraled higher and higher into the air, and then quickly covered Pebble's eyes as their bodies plummeted toward the ground over the forest.
Pebble snuggled against her hand, “Did's we win's the game?”
“Yes, Pebble, you did wonderfully. Thank you so much for helping me win the game.”
20 – Dragon Fire
Osric crouched down in the forest on the south side of the volcano. He saw the dragon raise up into the sky to the west, and head for the forest with two men clutched in its claws. He gave Gus the signal to take his place in a bush up on the ridge-line of the volcano. Bridgett had cleared the guards for them, he just hoped that she and Pebble were alright, and that the dragon had not harmed them. Only time would tell, and he had to focus in order to make sure the rest of them survived.
The long sprint up to the rim of the volcano was all that was left before they could survey the interior and make their move. Gus waved at them, signaling from his high perch that there were no patrolmen in sight.
“This is it,” Osric whispered, as he looked at Kenneth and nodded, then glanced at Machai, who wore a disturbingly excited expression. They sprang out from behind the trees they were using for cover and jumped from boulder to boulder, quickly making their way up the side of the volcano. Kenneth arrived first, followed quickly by Osric and then Machai. Gus sat a short ways away, peering over the edge of a large rock, and they lowered themselves to their stomachs at the edge to look down at the interior of the volcano.
Osric could see four guards from his lofty position. One manned a sentry tower that stood in the center of the hollowed crater, one stood near the entrance, and two sat at a large table near the tower playing a game of bones. A man in a bloody apron entered the chamber from an adjacent roo
m, set a platter of meat and bread down on the table, and then left again.
“I need to get a closer look. You three stay here and I will be right back.” Osric whispered, then he vanished, and a few small stones were disturbed as he stood. “Eo ire itum.”
Kenneth grinned over at Gus, “Now that he actually gets to use the invisibility trick, maybe he will stop practicing it by sneaking up on us.”
Osric was crouched down on the far side of the guard tower from the two men at the table. He knew the men could not see him, but he still felt exposed and feared they would hear him. He held as still as possible, and tried to keep his breathing even and silent.
He estimated the main chamber to be about one hundred and fifty to two hundred paces across and fairly circular in shape. The fifty dragon cages were carved into the stone of the volcano, their metal doors making up about three quarters of the curved wall. Osric took note of the entrance, although most of the daylight was blocked by the trunk of the massive tree that stood just beyond the only opening to the outside. There were four archways leading off of the main chamber to the left of the entrance. Three of the rooms beyond were dim, and he had a hard time distinguishing what they contained, but Osric assumed the man with the food had come from the kitchen. The room closest to the entrance was obviously the armory, for he could see torchlight reflecting off of various weapons and equipment. A crude staircase, carved into the stone to the right of the entrance, led to what appeared to be small chambers on a second level above the cages. Osric could not risk climbing the stairs and attracting attention, but he was relatively sure that the rooms would be sleeping chambers for the men.
Five guards were unaccounted for, and assuming that they worked in shifts, they would most likely be asleep. Osric hoped that Machai's information was correct, and that one of them was still recovering from an injury and would not pose a threat. They needed to move fast if they were going to have control of the volcano by the time the spell cycled for feeding. Osric intently pictured the ground he had been lying on when he traveled into the volcano, and whispered as quietly as he could, “Eo ire itum.”
Kenneth jumped slightly at the sound of a grunt and Osric appearing at his side. He had managed to travel to the correct location, but rather than lying on his stomach, he was still in the crouched position and his hands and knees had contacted the stone harder than he intended. Osric drew his wand and cast a protective spell around them so the guards would not hear them conversing.
“What did ye see?” Machai asked, staring down into the volcano.
“Not a whole lot more than what you can see from here, but there are several rooms carved into the wall over there,” He said, pointing down and to the left, “and I assume the row of doors above the cages over there lead to sleeping chambers. Hopefully that's where the other five guards are.”
Kenneth studied the layout while he spoke. “So, if anyone is going to surprise us, it will be from there.”
“Ye see that arrogant brute that be cheating at bones? That be Aron, the leader. He be the one to watch out for.” Machai clenched his fists as he regarded the men below, “Me guide, the pathetic arse, probably be in a dark room torturing a small animal. I be looking forward to seeing him again.”
“So what is our best course of action?” Kenneth asked.
“I don't want to kill anyone if we don't have to.” Osric stated, “Machai, can you handle Aron?”
“Aye! Just be giving me the chance.” Machai grinned wickedly. “Gus, ye be a fine wizard, but ye may be better able to knock them from the walls upon waking, than restraining an armed man.”
“Well I never had any intention of trying to match swords with a half trained Vigile.” Gus dismissed the statement abruptly before he continued. “I can knock a flea off a mouse's ass at this range, so I think a little target practice would be the perfect job for me!” He took out his wand and jabbed it in Machai's direction.
“Kenneth, that be leaving ye and Osric with two a piece. Do ye think ye be up to it?” Machai jested.
Kenneth ignored the dwarf and turned to Osric, “I'll take the guard by the door, and the one at the table. You keep the one in the tower from picking us off, and could you grab me some lunch when you find the guy with the food?” Osric grinned at his friend's attempt to ease the tension leading up to their attack.
“Spread out along the rim, but you will need to crawl to avoid detection, and I don't want to see any of you use magic until I give you the signal. The last thing we need is for you to wear out too soon.” Osric gave the orders and they each nodded in agreement and began to move. Only Kenneth remained behind for a moment, and Osric looked at him curiously.
“Be careful, Os. You still owe me a stein of mead from last Harvest Festival. Like it or not, she kissed me, and you lost the bet. Nothing short of death will get you out of paying up.” Kenneth smiled, “By the way, when this is all over, you get Leisha to serve me that mead and we will call it even for me taking credit for breaking the vial.”
“I could have sworn I bought you a stein or two to ease the pain of the smashed finger you got her to kiss, but if we manage to succeed today, I will buy you another one.”
Kenneth winked, and then began his silent journey to his post.
Osric waited patiently until they each reached their positions, and then he gave the signal. He saw Machai and Kenneth disappear from the rim of the volcano, and he looked down at the man in the sentry tower. Osric traveled to the tower; he wanted to keep the guard from loosing any arrows from his high perch.. “Eo ire itum.”
Osric appeared suddenly in the tower, and the guard activated an alarm as he spun around, dropping the bow and arrow in favor of a knife from his belt. Osric was much faster and knocked him in the head with the butt of his sword, catching him as he collapsed to keep him from falling from the tower. Then he dragged him quickly to the center of the platform and began binding his hands.
Osric heard a battle cry from the ground below him. He peered over the edge quickly and saw that Machai had Aron lying on the ground and was tying his hands. Kenneth had the guard near the door restrained, and the guard that had been playing bones with Aron had his hands held up in the air with Kenneth's sword tip pressed between his shoulders. Osric saw movement from the corner of his eye, and glanced up to see the guard in the bloody apron running toward Kenneth with a cleaver raised high over his head. Kenneth was unaware of the advancing attack, and Osric had no time to travel the distance to save his friend. In a panic, Osric threw his sword with all of his might at the attacker, praying silently to Archana that it would hit its mark. Shock and relief filled his mind as the blade sunk deep into the man's chest. The guard's eyes went wide with surprise as he stopped his advance and stared down at the protruding sword. His mouth hung open in shock as he fell to his knees, then awkwardly toppled to his side.
Osric lashed the sentry's ankles and grabbed his arm, traveling with him to the chamber below. He retrieved his sword, cleaning the blade on the guard's apron. Kenneth and Machai stood in front of him, having both secured their men. The cook was the only man that lay dead, though the sentry and the guard near the door were unconscious. Machai had managed to secure Aron awake and he glared at each of them with hate filled eyes. Osric looked up at the second story rooms, as Gus appeared next to him.
“They're all sound asleep. Stop worrying, boy! Not a natural sleep either. They'll wake, but they'll have a terrible headache.”
“We need to bring all of them down and tie them together so we can watch them.” Osric said, as Machai looked around the volcano for signs of more guards. Kenneth vanished almost as soon as Osric completed the statement and reappeared crouched on the floor holding the arm of a sleeping guard. He quickly tied the man's hands behind his back and left him sleeping on the ground while he went to retrieve another guard.
Both Kenneth and Gus traveled up to the small chambers, bringing back an unconscious guard with each trip, while Machai stood watch. Osric dragged the sleeping s
oldiers over to the wall near the stairs; two irua guards and three humans, and tied them to each other. The last man Kenneth brought down had his arm in a sling, and Osric carefully bound his torso and his ankles rather than his hands. At last, they had accounted for all nine men in the volcano, and Aron's glare grew more intense as they worked.
“You will never get away with this!” Aron spat at Machai with a disdainful snarl.
“Ye keep silent, or I will be cutting out ye'r tongue. Or maybe I will be feeding ye to the dragon. I do not doubt he would love to be repaying ye for ye'r kindness.” Machai lifted Aron's chin with the edge of his axe as he spoke.
Osric was about to begin questioning Aron about the cycle of the spell when he heard a man's voice, shouting from just outside the volcano. He quickly turned and stood shocked as two men stepped through the entrance and walked to opposite sides of the chamber. One held Bridgett before him with a dagger at her neck, and the other held a horrified Pebble in one hand with a small knife at his belly.
“Nobody move! You make a move toward one of us, and the other will kill his hostage!” He was stepping to the right, holding Bridgett securely across her stomach, his head barely in view over her shoulder.
“Now, untie Aron, or this little one is my next meal!” The second man spoke in a high, shrill tone that sent chills up Osric's spine.
“You harm him and I guarantee I will be eating your eyeballs for my dinner!” Gus stepped forward in a fearful rage. “You will still be alive and I assure you, I will enjoy your screams!”
“No! Gus, stop.” Osric studied the men looking for a way to free Bridgett and Pebble. He grudgingly admitted to himself that they could not move fast enough to stop both men before one of them killed their hostage.
“Ye be a lucky bastard.” Machai seemingly came to the same conclusion, as he moved slowly toward Aron and began to untie the ropes binding his hands and feet.
The Wand-Maker's Debate: Osric's Wand: Book One Page 21
