“It wouldn’t hurt to assign a dragon to assist each ground patrol with a dragon rider,” said Belham.
“I’ve thought of that,” said Gresham. “At first there were too few of us to risk it, but now that we have a good sized air force we can chance it, particularly in light of the fact that a patrol has gone missing. We need to be vigilant.”
“We have been using dragons to patrol along the Jackal River,” pointed out Arch Mage Norma, “but going farther afield would be a good idea.”
“Initially we didn’t want the enemy to know we had control of dragons,” said Gresham, “but once word gets out that we sent dragons to the north against the ogres, it won’t matter that we’re seen with them here.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Belham. “Let them know. Maybe they’ll give up and go home.”
“Or they’ll devise a way to harm our dragons and make us withdraw where we will be ineffective,” said Gresham.
“My biggest concern,” said Norma, “is how the other dragons will react when they are drawn into the battle. I think our attention will be on defending ourselves from them.”
“You could be right,” said Gresham. “We can only hope some of them will be convinced to join us.”
Suddenly Belham laughed.
“What is it?” asked Gresham.
“Fillith just told me she has relatives who won’t harm her if they see her. She thinks they might side with her if she can persuade them we are friends.”
“That’s great news!” exclaimed Gresham. “When we get back, I’ll get all of the dragon riders to talk to their dragons to see if they can obtain allies!”
The trio flew for a considerable distance. At one point Gresham shook his head. “We’ll have to turn back. We haven’t seen any sign of the missing patrol, or anything else for that matter. It’s doubtful the patrol has gone this far afield.”
“We’re also getting close to enemy territory,” added Belham.
“We can go back on a different trajectory,” suggested Norma. “We might spot something we may have missed the first time around.”
“Good idea,” said Gresham. He signaled his dragon to start a turn.
“I think I’ve spotted something!” called out Belham. He squinted through the overcast sky to his right.
As the trio neared the spot, they could see signs of a battle below. Ravens and vultures circled the area.
“Something happened here, all right,” said Norma. “I’ll wager our patrol was ambushed here.”
The group prepared for landing and Gresham did a spell check for magic. “Hmm,” he said. “There was some magic present here recently, but I can’t determine what it was or where it originated.”
“Are there any threats now?” asked Belham.
Gresham shook his head. “No. It’s safe to proceed.”
The three dragons landed and the mages hopped to the ground. As they went to investigate the bodies, Norma called to them. “A dragon was here recently. These marks on the ground are definitely from a dragon.”
Gresham and Belham examined the area Norma had pointed out. “There are footprints here too,” said Gresham, pointing. “One larger set of boot prints and a medium and smaller set as well. Those last two aren’t from a soldier’s boot. They may have been from either civilians or mages.”
“I doubt human civilians are this far away from human territory,” said Belham.
“If it were mages or clerics,” said Norma, “it would explain the traces of magic you detected.”
Gresham nodded. “Perhaps.” He looked at the others. “It looks like they weren’t in any danger, since their prints are evenly spaced. They must have come upon this scene and investigated like we are doing right now.”
“Who were they?” wondered Norma, “and how did they get here?”
Gresham recalled his earlier encounter with a dragon and its riders. “I have a feeling we’re not alone out here.”
“What do you mean?” asked Belham. He looked around. “Is someone watching us?”
Gresham shook his head. “No. I suspect they’re long gone.” He sighed. “But I suspect we’ll run into them eventually.”
“Are they enemies?” asked Norma.
Gresham shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m thinking - and hoping - they’re allies.” He turned and led them to the place where the bodies lay. A head count confirmed the entire patrol had been wiped out, but they seemed to have done well, taking the lives of three times as many orcs.
“We’ll report this back to the search patrol and call off their search,” said Gresham. “There’s nothing they can do for them anyway.”
“Are we just going to leave them here?” asked Norma.
Gresham clenched his jaw. “As a rule, we don’t leave our soldiers unburied, but we’re too close to enemy territory here. It’s too dangerous to spend any length of time here, even for burying bodies. It’s better if we didn’t. If the enemy returns, they’ll assume we don’t know about this skirmish yet. They could potentially return and set up another ambush, waiting for our search patrol to arrive. It would be wise to make them wait for nothing.”
“That’s too bad,” said Norma, looking around at the bodies. “They deserve better.”
“They took a great risk coming out so far,” said Gresham. “I’m sure their orders to stay within a reasonable distance of the encampment were ignored. They knew the risks of venturing so far afield.”
“But still,” said Norma.
Gresham put a hand on her shoulder. “I know. I feel the loss as well. It’s obvious they fought well, given the odds. They must have fought while they were dying, judging by their badly beat up bodies. They will be remembered. We have lost some valuable soldiers.”
Satisfied that there was no more left to learn, Gresham and the others mounted their dragons and returned to alert the rescue patrol.
Chapter 30
Harran used his cavalry as effectively as he could. After blowing the dragon conch shell, he sent them in to strafe the front lines of the ogres as they marched south into human territory. Although doing considerable damage, the mounted dwarves were cut down a few at a time, reducing their effectiveness with each successive attack. He then decided to change tactics, or his forces would be decimated before the infantry arrived. He signaled his forces into two fronts. Each front would then charge the sides of the multitudes of ogres. But instead of from the front, they attacked from the rear. This forced the forward-moving ogres to stop and turn to meet the oncoming tide of cavalry. Failure to do so would leave them vulnerable and unable to retaliate. This had the desired effect. The sides of the ogre army were forced to stop and fight while the center of the army still forged ahead. Instead of one big mass of bodies, the ogre army became long and strung out. This lack of depth was important when the infantry finally arrived.
As if on cue, the first ranks of the dwarven army crested the hill to the northwest. Cheers could be heard by the thinning ranks of cavalry at the sight of the reinforcements.
Olag came riding up to Harran to report the news. He had been riding his horse hard. Unable to use a weapon himself in his dwarven form, he chose to use his horse to run down ogres in his path. Even if he didn’t kill very many of them, he did succeed in upsetting their balance, allowing the dwarves they fought to gain the upper hand and finish the job. “The infantry is approaching.”
Harran nodded. “I saw them.”
“The lizardmages are still hiding in the middle of the group,” reported Olag. “We can’t get near them.”
Harran clenched his jaw. The lizardmages were his biggest problem. Their magic was the thorn in his side in this battle. They continued to down his cavalry with magic unmolested, despite the extra resistance offered by the dragon conch. They did nearly as much killing as the ogres, but without suffering any casualties. “We’ll have to break through with the infantry.”
“It’s funny,” mused Olag. “There are no lizardmages wielding bows. They are all capable of using magic. A few generations before my time, many lizardmen no longer had the ability to cast spells. My race was created due to this inequality.”
“Kazin said that magic in these days was stronger,” said Harran. “I suspect it was no different with your race. As their magical power waned, some of them must have lost the ability entirely.”
“That’s probably the case,” said Olag. “Things have certainly changed since then.”
A female lieutenant rode up to Harran. She was the one who was present when Harran had come out of the mountain. “The infantry has arrived, Sir.”
Harran nodded. “Have them form a wedge pattern. We need to penetrate through to their lizardmages.” He handed her the dragon conch. “Here. Use this after you’ve passed on the orders.”
The lieutenant saluted. “Yes, Sir!” She took the conch and rode to meet up with the infantry leaders.
As she rode off with her instructions, Olag pointed. “A dragon!”
Harran looked up into the sky to see a dragon approaching the scene. Soon others followed. There were only seven or eight of them, but Harran knew it was only the beginning. Ahead to the south, oblivious to the approaching dwarven army, he saw the advance forces of ogres as they met up with the meager defense of the town of Shara. Even with the handful of mages, the humans there had no chance to defend themselves. Even as he watched, the tide of monsters did not stop as they crashed through the barricades and overwhelmed the villagers. Black smoke rose to the sky as the village went up in flames. The sight was not unlike the burning and plundering at the Velden Iron Mine, which had fallen before Harran’s forced had arrived.
Now the dwarven infantry made their debut. Exhaustion from the forced march was put to the back of their minds as they saw their severely depleted cavalry battling an army much too large for them to handle alone. There was no honour in allowing their brothers at arms to do all the work alone. The dragon conch was blown and they surged forward with renewed energy and cries of battle. They charged into the throng of ogres with a vengeance that belied their stature.
Harran was happy to see the influx of dwarves and moved to join the remaining cavalry. From what he saw, the ogres were still far more numerous than they. There were undoubtedly more dwarves assembling for the war, but no one knew when they would arrive. Navigating through the collapsing tunnels in the mountains was undoubtedly a severe hindrance to the remaining reinforcements.
Now the dragons swooped down to attack. Not surprisingly, they concentrated their fire on the lizardmages who were steadfastly using their magic. Finally the lizardmages experienced casualties. This took some of the heat off the dwarves and they were able to concentrate on the ogres before them. Cries and shouts could be heard all across the battlefield.
In the distance, ogres could be seen heading south toward the human town of Velden. The village of Shara was now nothing more than a smoking ruin.
More dragons appeared in the west and flew to meet the front lines of the ogres. As a unit, they seared the ogres in their tracks. This uniform attack caught Harran’s eye. He didn’t expect dragons to attack in unison. All of the dragons flying around in his area were attacking randomly and chaotically. The dragons in the new group fired a few more fireballs into the oncoming ogres and worked their way closer to Harran and his dwarves. Half expecting an attack from above, Harran shouted to his troops to prepare for the devastating attack he had seen upon this group’s arrival. But as the dragons neared, he saw riders on their backs. The lead dragon was a large black one. The rider on his back sought out the dwarven leader and flew toward Harran. When he was spotted, the rider waved down to him. These dragons were friends!
Harran hailed the dragon and beckoned the female lieutenant to come to him.
She rode up to him, her horse’s nostrils flaring from exertion. “Sir?”
“Change tactics to encircle the ogres!” he commanded. “These new dragons won’t be effective if we are mixed together with the enemy!”
“But the lizardmages -,” began the lieutenant.
Harran waved his arm. “Don’t worry about them! We need to allow the dragons to do their work!”
The lieutenant nodded. She liked this new king. He was no stranger to battle tactics. She rode off to give the orders.
A new battle was suddenly underway, causing Harran to wonder whether his decision was the right one. Above, in a crescendo of shrieks and cries, the first dragons clashed with the ones who had just arrived. Some of the original dragons sided with the newcomers, while the rest turned to fight them. Fire lit the sky as though the sun burned brightly. Fire rained down on those below them, randomly burning friend and foe alike. Screams rent the air.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, a new force of creatures joined the fray. Coming from the northeast were the most fearsome creatures yet. With bellows loud enough to be heard across the entire battlefield, the minotaurs announced their presence.
The ogres, who were content to continue fighting their way south despite the pesky dwarves, had no choice but to turn back to meet this new threat. Now they had to deal with someone their own size.
The arrival of minotaurs was not regarded as good news by the dwarves, who were sworn enemies of the minotaurs. The only good thing was the fact that the ogres didn’t like them either.
Now true chaos began. Each race fought the other. There were no alliances except that of the dwarves and humans, and the few dragon riders above them. The humans in the town of Velden had to fight for themselves because the dwarves had their hands full. The smoke rising from the town was evidence of their lack of success. The dragon riders above them tried to break away from their battle above to do what damage they could to the ground units, but had to take back to the air as soon as more wild dragons appeared on the horizon. At least they were able to drive the wild dragons away successfully for the most part.
One dragon, burning with flames, plunged into the ground with a thunderous crash, crushing creatures and dwarves and sending many others flying with the impact.
Harran was too busy to notice, leading a cavalry charge into an area filled with ogres and minotaurs. He ordered a nearby lieutenant to recall the cavalry on the far flank to bring them away from the bulk of the minotaurs. He reasoned that using the ogres as a buffer would keep more dwarves alive. As his group hacked their way through the chaos, he heard a voice he knew well.
“Having fun yet?”
Harran turned and saw Zylor, grinning from ear to ear. “Zylor!” exclaimed Harran. He rode up to the minotaur. “No, I’m not having fun. I’d like to get out of here. Things are getting too chaotic for my liking.”
Zylor’s grin widened. “Isn’t it glorious?”
Despite himself the dwarf laughed. “You would say that, wouldn’t you?”
“You could have used the ring anytime,” said Zylor.
“The only reason I’m still here is I was waiting for the real king to show up. I can’t leave until -,” he broke off as his lieutenant rode up to him.
“Sir!” she cried above the commotion. She eyed Zylor warily while pointing to a group of dwarves on the horizon bearing a flag.
“At last!” said Harran. He turned to his lieutenant. “That’s your new king, lieutenant.”
The lieutenant looked bewildered and started to object.
Harran saluted the lieutenant. “Lieutenant, you have done well. I have to go now. You should report to the king at once. I was only here as a substitute. My duty is finished.”
The lieutenant started to shake her head. “But Sir, you are -.”
“That’s not important,” said Harran. “Go! Your king awaits!”
Meanwhile, Zylor was busy with some ogres who had gotten too close, so he didn’t see as the lieutenant looked back at Harran as she rode away
. She rode slowly, looking forlornly at Harran several times. Finally she stopped, saluted Harran, and turned to report to the real king. Her horse increased its speed and she rode proudly, not looking back at the dwarf who she admired and would never see again.
“Goodbye,” said Harran sadly. “In another life, in another time -,” he shook his head. “In another time, indeed!” He turned to Zylor, who had dispatched the ogres. “Let’s get Olag.”
They didn’t have long to search. At some point Olag had been knocked from his horse and he was forced to find an outcropping of rock behind which to hide. It was only a matter of time, however, before he was spotted and attacked. Hunkered down low, in his original form, he fired arrows one after another into any enemy that approached.
Zylor was astounded at the accumulation of bodies the skink warrior had piled up with arrows protruding from their necks. He simply gaped at the pile in astonishment. “He must have shot fifty ogres here!” he exclaimed.
Olag recognized the minotaur’s voice and lowered the arrow he was about to shoot. “Zylor? Is that you?”
Zylor grinned. “It is I.” His arm waved over the mound of ogres, with a few lizardmages thrown in. “Did you do this?”
Olag hissed. “What do you think?” He spotted Harran with the minotaur. “Do we get to go now?”
Harran nodded. “Yes. Let’s get out of here.” He glanced over to where the new king stood, watching the battle before him. The lieutenant was almost there. The king would have one mystery he would never solve, thought Harran. He pulled out his ring and Olag and Zylor followed suit.
“What if someone sees us?” asked Olag suddenly.
“I don’t care,” said Harran. “Kazin may need our help and we’re not much use to him here.”
As one, the three companions rubbed their rings, and vanished, with the sound of the dragon conch ringing in their ears. As they disappeared, the earth trembled and chaos resumed on the battlefield.
Chapter 31
“All familiars are unanimous in their reports,” said Arch Mage Sallow. He twisted the tips of his long mustache nervously. “The war against the entire ogre army has commenced.”
Spirit Blade: Book III of the Dragon Mage Trilogy Page 34
