By the time they finally reached the Jaghern city of Livingston, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The winter was drawing close, and the farmers of Jaghera had switched their focus from farming to preparing for the upcoming cold.
They made their way through the crowded city streets to the royal castle, then quickly made their way to the main hall. The king and queen were overjoyed to see them, and immediately dismissed everyone from the hall, and led them to their private quarters.
"You must tell us everything that happened!" Queen Ann insisted, rushing forwards to embrace Veren and Damion, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness. "And you had better not leave out a single detail!"
They spent the next several hours recounting the events that had transpired since they had last spoken, and the royal couple seemed completely stunned by what they heard. When the story was finally finished, the pair just sat staring at the companions in shock.
"So now the scarlet dragons are searching for those shadow dragons who managed to escape." Damion finished with a shrug. "With the brood mother dead, they won't be causing any more havoc. They'll be too busy concentrating on trying to survive!"
King Atorius had been rendered speechless, but Queen Ann seemed quite pleased by the outcome of their quest. "That means there shouldn't be any further attacks on our farmsteads! The people will be quite relieved by that! They have been so nervous lately that they will run in terror from a sparrow flying overhead!"
"The shadow dragons will no longer be a problem." Damion assured her. "Tempest and the other scarlet dragons will make sure that they don't dare show themselves."
"This is happy news indeed!" The king agreed with a broad smile. He turned to Veren. "Does this mean you shall be returning home and taking up your former post as Commander of the Royal Forces?"
Veren shook his head regretfully. "I'm afraid I cannot, your majesty. I still owe a life debt to Damion. Jaghera holds too many memories for me. Sevria is my home now. Besides," He smiled, and nodded at Damion. "I'm pretty sure he would get lost on the way home without me!"
Chapter 20
They arrived at the port city of Whilhom a couple of weeks later, and after locating an inn that wasn't already crowded with a bunch of rowdy drunken sailors, Damion and Veren took a stroll along the extensive docks in search of a ship preparing to sail to the city of Sierra on the southern continent.
Winter had come early this season, and dozens of ships had made port, unwilling to brave the rough seas until the weather became more bearable. Most of the ships that they found were bound for the east and warmer climate, but none that were heading to the south.
After nearly three hours of searching, Veren suddenly nudged Damion and gestured to one of the docked vessels. "That ship looks rather familiar."
Damion broke into a large grin. "Well now! That looks like the Fearless Lady!"
They hurried over and found the ship's owner, Captain Harper, busy over seeing the loading of his cargo.
"Good day, captain!" Damion greeted the distracted man. "Could you spare a moment?"
"Go bother someone else!" Captain Harper snapped impatiently, looking over his clip board to make sure he hadn't missed anything. "I'm not looking for any extra sailors this trip."
"We would only like a quick moment of your time, Captain." The huge warrior persisted, trying not to laugh.
"I said I was bus...." Captain Harper's roar cut off instantly when he whirled around to see Damion staring down at him with a smile. "Milord!" The man suddenly exclaimed with a laugh, grasping his hand in greeting. "I had wondered what had become of you! Was your journey a success?"
"As successful as one could hope for, I guess." Damion replied with a shrug. "How fares life at sea?"
"It's rough, it's tough, it's challenging, and I wouldn't have it any other way!" Captain Harper answered with a laugh. "The sea can be a volatile mistress, but she is the only woman that have ever truly loved!"
"Where is your ship bound for, Captain?" Veren asked curiously.
" I'm taking a shipment of silk to Namith. It's an island off tip of the southern continent, a few leagues west from Sierra. They export exotic spices that are prized all around the world. I stand to make quite a profit on this venture!" His face took on a knowing expression. "Let me guess, you need to book passage back across the sea to Sierra now that you've finished your business here, correct?"
"You're a man who can see right to the heart of matters." Veren said approvingly.
Captain Harper laughed again. "I'm sure we can accommodate a couple of old friends, for the right price, of course."
They set sail with the morning tide, even though the light snowfall had become a swirling blizzard during the night. Captain Harper steered the Fearless Lady confidently away from the docks, then out to open sea and directly into a howling maelstrom, assuring them repeatedly that they were in absolutely no danger.
The companions remained below decks for the majority of the journey across the sea, trying desperately to retain the contents of their stomachs while the ship was rocked and tossed about violently on the crashing waves. They finally emerged into calmer water a week or so later, much to everyone's relief.
After a brief stop at the island of Namith, where Captain Harper oversaw the unloading of his silk, then the loading of several dozen barrels of his prized spices, they finally arrived at the port city of Sierra.
"Finally!" Veren exclaimed, stomping down the gangplank to the dock, his face an odd shade of green. "I don't think I could have spent another day aboard that ship!"
"It wasn't that bad!" Raven objected. "At least we made it here in one piece!"
"There was nothing to fear aboard the Fearless Lady, my friends!" Captain Harper assured them with a barking laugh. "I've yet find a storm that could best her on the open sea!"
"But that doesn't mean that you have to search out every storm in the area and challenge it to sink us!" The one eared man declared, some of the color returning to his face.
"I never realized you had such a delicate stomach." Damion snickered as he and Shirk led their horses down the gang plank.
"I didn't, at least not until the good captain here decided to sail straight into the teeth of a howling storm!"
"That was nothing but a minor squall." The captain said dismissively. "There was never any real danger."
They paid the good captain and thanked for all of his help, then slowly made their way to the inn that they had frequented during their last stay in the port city. After an extended visit to the bathhouse, they gathered in the common room to enjoy a hot meal, which was quite welcome after spending several weeks at sea with only sailor's rations to sustain themselves.
As soon as they had seated themselves, the innkeeper and his plump little wife appeared with pleased expressions on their faces. "I see you have chosen to visit us again!"
"We found that we were in desperate need of a fine meal," Damion smiled in return. "and perhaps a little something to wash it down with!"
"Of course, milord!" The innkeeper laughed as his wife bustled off to the kitchen. "It's nice to see the ships and caravans returning, now that things have gotten back to normal around here!"
"Has something happened?"
The innkeeper's face grew grim. "Indeed there has, milord. There have been dark things afoot since we last spoke."
"Such as?"
"All of the dragonspawn throughout the mountain range suddenly seemed to go wild, attacking anyone who attempted to travel through the mountains along the trade road! The caravans refused to take the risk of attack, so the ships carrying them started avoiding Sierra!"
"The dragonspawn are always a nuisance." Veren grunted sourly. "That's nothing new."
"They have never behaved like this before, milord." The man assured him emphatically. "An entire army of the creatures descended upon Sevria and the Serpent's Keep!"
"An army of them?"
"Thousands of them, milord!"
"And Sevria? Was it
destroyed?"
The innkeeper laughed. "I should say not! They had been preparing for just such an occasion for the last year! Built an enormous wall around the city, they did, and that army of dragonspawn could do nothing but throw themselves against the stone in vain and wait to be killed!" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "The smoke from when they burned the corpses was ghastly! We could smell it all the way here in Sierra!"
"So no one was harmed in the attack?" Damion asked, his face worried.
The innkeeper scratched his head absently. " I heard that there were a few deaths, but I'm fairly certain they all perished when the dragons attacked."
"Dragons attacked Sevria?" Damion's face lost all color.
"Aye! That they did!" The innkeeper told him. "Several black dragons appeared just when it seemed the battle with the dragonspawn was over, and attacked the city."
"Black, you say?" Raven asked, exchanging glances with the others.
"That's right, milady. Big brutes, though not as large as the scarlet dragons, if you can believe what the witnesses say."
"So what happened when the black dragons attacked?" Damion inquired, encouraging the man to continue his story.
"Well, from what I have gathered, some clever old wizard designed a number of large siege machines that can kill a dragon in a single shot! They used them to bring down one of the beasts before one of the scarlet dragons appeared to deal with the others."
"Was Sevria destroyed?" A cold knot suddenly forming in the pit of Damion's stomach.
The innkeeper shook his head. "It took some damage, certainly, and it took them weeks to dispose of the two dragon corpses that fell inside of the city walls, but they were able to repair what was lost, and the trade road is once again safe for the caravans to travel."
"So you are saying that there are two dead dragons in Sevria right now?" Shirk asked, taking a tankard of ale from the innkeeper's plump little wife, who had returned with a tray heavy with food and drink.
"If you don't believe me, you can go see for yourselves." He told them seriously. "Apparently, the people took it upon themselves to mount the skulls on the outer wall on either side of the main gate leading into the city. I guess you couldn't miss them if you wanted to! I haven't seen them yet, but I plan on making a trip to Sevria for the sole purpose of seeing them for myself!" After making sure they had everything they needed, he bustled off to look to his other customers, leaving them to enjoy their meal.
"It looks as though a lot has happened during our absence." Veren commented as he dove into the feast before him. "But it sounds like they were able to handle everything that was thrown at them!"
"The innkeeper mentioned something about some old wizard?" Raven looked at Damion quizzically.
"That would be Damarius, my old teacher." Damion said fondly. "He was the person who taught me how to control my magic when I was a child. Before he began to teach me how to harness my magic, it would just burst out of me at random moments, completely uncontrolled."
"Would he actually be able to design a machine that could kill a dragon with a single shot?" Shirk asked, his eyes wide in amazement.
"If anyone could, it would be Damarius!" Damion shrugged. "He has spent years hidden away in his valley, perfecting his formulas and designs. I once saw him experimenting with some highly explosive powder that he had mixed together and tossed in a fire. The resulting blast blew his eyebrows clean off of his forehead. It was almost a year before they finally grew back!"
"It's sound as if he's quite a character!" Raven laughed. "I can't wait to meet him!"
"You won't have to wait long." He promised her with a smile. "We'll be home sooner than you think!"
***************
Sly, Damarius, and Dar were gathered in guard house above the main gates leading into the city, overseeing the arrival of a line of caravans that were scheduled to reached the city that afternoon.
Once the cleanup of the dragonspawn bodies had been dealt with, they had immediately sent word to Sierra that it was safe for the caravans to resume using the trade road. It wasn't long after that the first batch of traveling merchants arrived in the city.
"The work crews have finally finished their work on the roads to the south." Dar reported with a sigh of relief. "And not a moment too soon. This snow was beginning to make their jobs nearly impossible!"
"That's what happens when you winter in the mountains." Sly snorted in amusement. "You tend to get snowed on occasionally."
"Has there been any reports of any dragonspawn sightings lately?" Damarius asked curiously.
The childlike Alena shook his head. "There haven't been any dragonspawn sighted in the area for weeks now. I think Damion's pet shadowspawn convinced them to move elsewhere."
"Slither is not so bad," Sly commented philosophically. "for a shadowspawn, that is. He did make short work of the dragonspawn attacking the city, and there hasn't been a single attack since we told him Damion wished those traveling the trade road to remain unharmed." He looked to the old wizard, who was watching the heavy snow fall with faint interest. "How goes the experimenting with the dragon scales?"
"It's going well." The old wizard told him happily. "The scales are composed of an amazing substance that's far tougher than steel, and completely unaffected by extreme heat or cold. It's no wonder it's so difficult to injure a dragon! It take a weapon of unearthly power to even scratch the surface of one of those scales! It is going to make some incredible pieces of armor," He suddenly frowned. "as soon as I can figure out how to cut them into useable pieces, that is."
"I can't believe how quickly those traveling merchants jumped at the chance to purchase some of that dragon meat!" Dar said with an expression of revulsion. "The thought of actually eating a shadow dragon is beyond disgusting!"
"I don't know." Sly disagreed. "I thought it wasn't that bad. Kind of tasted like chicken."
"You didn't!" The Alena's freckled face was horrified.
The little man shrugged. "How many chances will I actually get to try a bit of dragon meat?"
"That's revolting!"
"It may be revolting, but the gold that we made from the sale of that meat has helped to replace what we used up paying the work crews." Sly pointed out reasonably. "If we hadn't sold the meat, Damion would return to find the vaults completely empty, instead only mostly empty."
"I still think it's disgusting!"
Sly shrugged again. "The local artisans seem quite pleased with the bones as well. Even the smallest figurines carved from dragon bone are fetching huge sums of gold. We made as much from the sale of the bones as we did for the meat!"
A soldier suddenly came rushing into the guard house, his expression excited. "I have news, milord!" He blurted out breathlessly.
"Calm yourself, man!" Sly admonished. "You look as though you have a dragon on your tail!"
The soldier took a moment to catch his breath. "Sorry about that, milord." He apologized a bit shame faced. "I guess I got a little excited."
"What's gotten you so worked up?"
"We have riders approaching, milord!"
Sly shook his head in exasperation. "Why does that have you so excited? It's probably just another caravan of merchants from Sierra."
The young soldier shook his head with a smile. "They're not merchants, milord!" He gestured out the window. "Look for yourselves!"
Sly, Damarius, and Dar went to the window and gazed out through the falling snow curiously. There were four riders approaching the city at a brisk trot, being trailed by several horses carrying the group's supplies. Leading the group was an enormous warrior dressed in heavy scale armor, riding atop a huge smoky grey warhorse. A large white owl was perched sedately on one of the warrior's enormous shoulders, preening its gleaming white feathers.
"Is that..." Sly started in disbelief.
"It's Damion!" Dar roared, dashing out of the guard house and down the staircase to meet the riders as they entered the city.
Sly and Damarius quickly followed
him out the door and down the stairs, both laughing with joy.
There were many tears shed as they greeted one another, then they quickly made their way up to the castle to allow Lady Skie to join in the long overdue reunion.
They spent the next several hours exchanging accounts of their adventures while enjoying a sumptuous meal prepared by the castle staff in honor of Damion's return.
"So once Tempest ripped the brood mother's head off, and the other scarlet dragons eliminated the remaining shadow dragons, Damion decided it was time for us to come home." Veren finished their story with a shrug. "We made our way back into Jaghera, and jumped on that maniac captain's ship, and spent a few weeks being tossed about the waves. We finally made port after a stop off at the island of Namith so the good captain could take on a load of spices."
"I see you have been busy since we have been gone." Damion commented, leaning back in his chair and patting his full belly with satisfaction.
Sly shrugged. "We spent a great deal of time and money preparing ourselves in case of an attack." He suddenly grinned. "By the way, you may want to have a couple of drinks before you visit the treasury."
"It was for a worthy cause." The huge warrior said dismissively. "Those machines were a stroke of genius, though. Was you really able to kill a shadow dragon with a single shot?"
"Aye, that it did!" The little man confirmed with a grin. "Damarius's machine proved to be quite the difference maker when it came to dealing with the shadow dragons!"
The old wizard frowned. "It's a shame Tempest destroyed the designs, but a promise is a promise, after all." He quickly went on to explain how the scarlet dragon revealed the secret of killing the dark serpents in exchange for the designs to the siege machines. "We thought it seemed like a fair trade at the time."
"The only part of the castle that sustained any real damage was your own private quarters, I'm afraid." Lady Skie informed him regretfully. "The shadow dragon turned pretty much everything inside into ash."
Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons Page 35
