Damion exchanged worried looks with Veren, then handed the returning serving girl several coins. "Keep our friend here drinking until he falls under the table."
"Why, thank you, young master! That's mighty generous of you!"
"Thank you for the information." Damion replied.
The old man leaned forward. "So tell me," His voice had dropped to a whisper. "Did you really destroy Sorsos?"
Damion shook his head. "Sorsos still lives."
Veren laughed. "But the form now fits the man!"
Alfrid gave them both a baffled look, then rose from his seat and shuffled off to return to his own table.
*********
"Pick up that shovel and get back to work!" Sly bellowed at the overweight merchant who was busy resting against the newly constructed stone wall. "There is still a lot to do before you can think about rest!"
The fat merchant gave the little man a look of pure hatred, then slowly rose to his feet and rejoined the work crew still laboring nearby.
"You definitely haven't made any friends since starting this project." Damarius commented, wandering up to join Sly as he supervised the wall's construction. The old wizard had immediately answered his daughter's plea for help, arriving in Sevria with Dar a few days after Damion and Veren departed. His extensive knowledge of architecture and engineering had quickly proven invaluable in the design and construction of the new city wall.
"I'm not here to win any popularity contests." Sly grunted sourly. "I'm supposed to help protect this city, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, even if that means some overstuffed, over pampered merchant has to get his hands a little dirty in the process!"
In the weeks following Veren and Damion's departure for the northern continent, Sly had focused all his time and energy towards the safety of the city. Every able bodied man was put to work on the construction of a new wall that would completely encircle the town and overlooking castle. The stone cutters and masons that worked the various quarries throughout the mountain range were suddenly overwhelmed from their demand for quality stone, and there was soon a steady flow of freshly cut granite moving to their town by the wagon load, including dozens of monolithic blocks for use as the base of the fortified structure.
Using Damarius's design, they had began construction by digging down until they hit solid bedrock, then they began to lay the enormous foundation stones into place. Many in the town failed to see the necessity of building such defenses until Sly pointed out the fact that if Sevria were to suffer some sort of attack by dragonspawn, they would be expected to fight. There very few objections after that.
Damarius's design for the new city wall was actually quite simple. After they the finished laying foundation, they began building it up using heavy granite blocks that had been painstakingly cut into interlocking pieces. The result one month later was an imposing structure, sixty feet tall and twenty feet thick, that cut across the fertile valley and encircled the city. Following the old wizard's instruction, the masons overlapped each stone by several inches, and the result was a wall slanted outward at such an angle that made it virtually impossible to climb.
Every fifty or so feet along the top of the wall, they constructed a guardhouse to keep watch over the area outside of the city and manned them with a number of well trained archers armed with long bows.
There was only a single entrance through the imposing stone structure, which was three wagons wide, and twenty foot tall. It was protected by several heavy steel gates that were operated by an ingenious wench and pulley system devised by the old wizard.
A sunken walkway ran along the top of the wall, providing protection for those standing guard, but still allowed for full vision on any advancing force. Cunningly angled slots were cut into the top of the wall permitting archers to fire out, but preventing enemy arrows from entering.
After toiling day and night until the point of near exhaustion for nearly two months, they were finally nearing completion. The finishing touches the masons were now completing were more for aesthetic purposes, rather utilitarian. Sly had thought these touches were frivolous, but the townsfolk had insisted the structure be adorned with a number of dragon statues that had been sculpted by several of the master masons that had been involved in the construction of the wall.
"The people are going to want to celebrate the wall's completion." Damarius commented casually, watching as a number of stone sculptors began engraving elaborate designs into the stone on either side of the gate. "My daughter suggests that we have the women of the town begin preparations for a feast."
Sly snorted. "I don't know if there is enough in the coffers to pay for a feast! We've pretty much emptied the treasury paying for everything! The masons were generous and only charged us double for their labor, but the wagoneers were quite greedy in their negotiations. They wanted triple, until I mentioned that the Dragon Lord had commanded the wall's construction." The little man smiled evilly. "They quickly dropped their price!"
Damarius laughed, then gestured to the stone sculptors. "How much are they charging for their services?"
"Nothing. One of the master stone masons wished to display his work for all to see. He agreed to provide his services for free. He seems to think it'll be good for his business."
"Well, I suggest you squeeze out a few more coins and have the ladies of Sevria begin preparation for a celebration. Otherwise, you'll have to explain to Skie why you didn't."
Sly flinched, then nodded in agreement. "Maybe you're right. But Damion's going to faint when he see how much of the hoard Tempest left him has been spent."
"Damion cares nothing for that." Damarius disagreed. "He cares more for those who were left in his charge. But he also feels a tremendous responsibility for what is happening to others outside of these mountains. These attacks by the shadow dragons would not have been possible if he had not released the scarlet dragons. He knows that he could have never anticipated such an outcome, but it's the end result that matters to him."
"His sense of responsibility is going to get him killed one of these days." Sly growled unhappily.
"Don't say that around my daughter!" Damarius warned. "She'll never shut up if she hears you talk like that!"
Sly motioned to a passing page who usually worked in the castle, but had been pressed into service as a laborer on one of the work crews. "You! Boy! Come here!"
The miserable looking boy hurried over with a resigned expression.
"What's your name?" Sly barked harshly.
"A-Azel, milord." The boy answered nervously. His clothes were caked with filth, and there were dark rings under his eyes. He looked as though he hadn't eaten or slept in days, and stood trembling on the edge of exhaustion.
"I want you to get yourself cleaned up, then gather the ladies of the town and arrange a celebration for the people to take place in two days." Sly ordered, looking the boy up and down. "The arrangements will be your responsibility, so don't fail in this task. Report your progress directly to me. Now, move!" he watched the boy scurry off, then grinned at the old wizard. "I guess planning a celebration was a little easier than I thought!"
**************
The celebration took place two nights later. The citizens of Sevria were finally able to put away their tools and relax, secure in the knowledge that they were that much safer from the danger of attack than they had been before. Members of the castle guard patrolled the top of the wall, and an entire detachment of mounted soldiers now stood watch over the gate, prepared to respond to the first signs of aggression.
Sly, Dar, Damarius, and Lady Skie toured the celebration as the people cavorted through the streets, enjoying the extensive feast that had been hastily prepared by the town's womenfolk. Wine and ale flowed freely while music filled the streets as several men gathered their instruments and entertained their fellow party goers. Colored buntings decorated the storefronts, and there were dozens of floating lanterns tethered so they would float silently overhead, providing a golden light that
would allow them to continue their celebrations deep into the night.
As they were walking, they happened upon the page that Sly had ordered to arrange the celebration sleeping face down on a bench. Azel had worked himself tirelessly to make sure that everything was prepared in time, and hadn't slept the entire time since taking on the task.
"Do you think we should wake him?" Lady Skie asked in amusement. "He did go through the trouble of planning everything. It would be a shame if he missed all of the fun!"
"Maybe we should let him sleep." Dar replied. "I don't think the poor boy has slept for days!"
Sly nudged the boy several times with one foot. "I don't think he's gonna wake up for a week!"
Damarius crouched over the unconscious page and pulled back one eyelid. "Nonsense! I've just the thing to wake him!" He produced a tiny blue bottle from one of the many pouches at his beltline and popped the cork. He then waved it under Azel's nose several times, making sure the unconscious boy inhaled the invisible fumes.
Almost instantly the boy sat up choking and gagging. His face was oddly pale and his eyes were blank, seeming to be completely void of thought. The old man looked around and picked a tankard of ale on a nearby table, then without hesitating, he threw it full in the boy's face.
"Wha...?" The boy sputtered, falling backwards off the bench to land hard on the cobblestones. He looked around in confusion, then his eyes fell upon the old wizard. "Lord Damarius!" He saw the others staring down at him with amused expressions. "Lord Quickhand! Lady Skie! Lord Dar!" He scrambled hastily to his feet. "I-I'm sorry! I must have dozed off!" He wiped his face with one sleeve, and looked around in confusion.
"You've really outdone yourself here, Azel." Lady Skie complimented him. "The people all seem quite happy." She gestured to the floating lanterns. "The lanterns were an especially nice touch."
The boy smiled gratefully. "Thank you, milady. I wish I could claim credit for the idea, but my family has been releasing these at the end of our celebrations for centuries. I just thought they would lend a special touch to the celebration."
"You did a good job, boy." Sly grumbled, handing the page a tankard of ale.
"Thank you, milord!" He sighed in relief. "I had hoped everything would be to your satisfaction."
"You did a great job." Dar assured him.
"Thank you, sir!" Azel beamed happily. He wandered off towards the castle, weaving slightly as he made his way through the crowded streets.
They watched the boy disappear, then continued their walk through town. They had just reached the new city gates when a detachment of soldiers rode through, many of them injured and bleeding. The soldiers came to a halt before them, and their leader gave them a weary salute.
"We encountered some problems during our patrol." The man reported grimly. "The dragonspawn are up to their old tricks again, but this time there are even more of them! Several of them were oddly colored, and much bigger than the one's we normally encounter."
"Where did this attack happen?" Lady Skie asked worriedly.
"Less than two miles to the north." He answered wearily. "We rarely encounter groups of more than a dozen, but there were nearly a hundred of the filthy creatures that fell upon us! It was sheer luck that we escaped with our lives! They pursued us for a half mile or so, then disappeared back into the forest."
"It sounds as if we finished the wall just in time." Sly said, his face troubled. "If those beasts grow much bolder, they'll soon be at our walls!"
"There are still a few more things we can do to help protect the town." Damarius commented. "We can have the work crews start clearing all of the obstructions from the area, and use the wood to create a sea of sharpened stakes to force any attackers to stay on the road, or to spend valuable time trying to force their way through while our archers rain arrows down upon them." He smiled evilly. "I also have a few other tricks that will make anyone very sorry that they decided to attack us!"
"But all of these preparations won't help if a shadow dragon decides to attack." Sly grunted. "Let's hope Tempest remembered to ask a few of her brethren to watch over Sevria. Otherwise, we could be in some serious trouble!"
"Don't worry." Dar told him reassuringly. "Tempest will have made sure we are watched over. There will be no shadow dragons attacking us without immediately being exposed to the scarlet dragons."
Sly looked back at to the soldier. "Go get yourself cleaned and patched up, then warn the watch to be on the alert. We'll send out a force to deal with those dragonspawn first thing in the morning."
The soldier nodded, then led his men towards the castle.
"The dragonspawn are growing bolder under the leadership of the shadowspawn." Dar murmured as they slowly began to make their way back up to the castle. "They could cause some serious problems if they continue to gather together in larger and larger numbers. An entire army of dragonspawn could wreak some major havoc if they were led by the shadowspawn!"
"Let's hope Damion is able to locate the shadow dragons and stop them before that happens." Lady Skie said worriedly. "If what Tempest said was true, the shadowspawn should go back into hiding once their masters have been destroyed."
The force that rode out the following day consisted of over a hundred riders. They were out in the wilds for five days before they finally returned reporting that they were unable to find any signs of dragonspawn anywhere along the trade route. Then, two days following their return, a merchant caravan was attacked. They managed to fight their way to Sevria, though they lost many men in the battle. Once again, the soldiers rode out from Sevria, only to return after several days reporting having no encounters with the dragonspawn.
With each report of an attack, the soldiers would ride out to confront the creatures, but the dragonspawn would merely disappear back into the forests along the trade route, leaving their pursuers behind to flounder through the tangled underbrush. This continued for several weeks, until they were finally forced to send a detachment of soldiers to Sierria twice a week to protect the merchants as they attempted to move their goods through the mountains.
They gathered together one morning in Damion's office to discuss the situation with the captains in charge of the mounted patrols protecting the caravans.
"It does us no good to try and attempt to locate these beasts!" One of the captains explained to Sly, who lounged in the large cushioned chair behind Damion's desk. "They are quite skilled in moving through the forests without leaving any traces. We can flounder out there for weeks and never see a thing!"
"But as soon as they encounter a small party of travelers, they attack." The other captain stated. "I've never seen these creatures fight like this before! They have never shown this amount of sophistication in their attacks! They have become quite methodical in their choice of victims!"
"What are those people who were attacked reporting?" Lady Skie asked while she sat at the large table, sipping her tea.
"The dragonspawn appear from the forests, led by several of the larger black beasts, and attack. They continue to attack in waves until they are finally beaten off, then merely vanish back into the forest to await for their next victims!"
"Their sudden use of military tactics is worrisome." Damarius noted, brushing his long brow lock from his eyes. "It's seems rather odd these shadowspawn are so well trained."
"What's truly odd," The captain continued. "is the fact that the dragonspawn do not seem intent on destroying the caravans, but rather on just harassing them. There have only been a handful of deaths reported out of all of the attacks. They have always been vicious in their attacks, but as of late, they seem more intent on harassing those that they encounter. It's almost as though they are looking for someone specific."
"That is odd!" Dar exclaimed in surprise. "I've never known the dragonspawn to be anything but lethal in their attacks!"
"This new behavior has been quite effective in disrupting the commerce of the region." The first captain informed them grimly. "Even with our men escorting the c
aravans to and from Sierria, the merchants are growing concerned for their safety. It won't be long before they refuse to travel through the mountains all together!"
The captains finished their reports, then left to ready themselves for another journey to Sierria.
"These latest attacks have me baffled!" Damarius said, shaking his head and causing his brow lock to fall into his eyes. "What could be behind this sudden change in behavior?"
Dar climbed up into a chair across the table from Lady Skie. "The captain said that they seemed to be looking for someone specific. Anyone have any guesses who that someone may be?"
Sly laughed. "Aye, that would probably be Damion! He slaughtered that shadowspawn on the trade road a few weeks before leaving for the northern continent. They must be trying to cause a disturbance in the hope that he will return to face them again."
"For what possible reason?" Lady Skie asked. "Revenge for killing the shadowspawn?"
Sly shrugged. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. But it appears they are going to continue these attacks until they get what they want."
"It could be months before Damion returns! If these dragonspawn keep attacking those traveling on the trade road, the caravans will refuse to pass through the mountains, and we'll be cut off completely!"
"And if I know the dragonspawn, they'll keep stepping up their attacks the longer they don't get what they want." Dar added grimly. "They will eventually end up at our walls!"
Sly sighed. "Maybe if we increase our patrols it will help discourage their attacks."
"We can send out work crews to clear the lands on either side of the trade road as we discussed." Damarius suggested. "If we remove the trees and brush for a hundred yards or so on either side of the road, it will definitely put a hamper on their attacks."
Sly scratched his chin. "We'll have to be sure that the crews are well protected, but it would certainly make surprise attacks more difficult." He agreed. "It may help buy us enough time for Damion to return."
Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons Page 9
