Dragonia: Dragon Stone (Dragonia Empire Book 3)

by Craig A. Price Jr.

  “We cannot,” Devarius said. “But if that is the case, our tactics will have to be different. Instead of joining them prior to the empire’s arrival, we’d have to arrive behind the empire as they’re pillaging the cities to fight them off. This way, we can be the heroes, and they won’t have a chance to betray us.”

  Tynaer nodded. “Good plan.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’d rather have an alliance prior to battle. It’ll be much more efficient if we could plan a defense with them.”

  “And now the most important question,” Tynaer said. “Are we ready?”

  Devarius scratched his chin. “We’ll have to be.”

  “I visited your sister and the spell casters yesterday. They’re improving, but they’re a long way away from perfection. We still haven’t been able to get the dragon stone to work on everyone. And remember, most of the resistance isn’t warriors. We’re blacksmiths, woodworkers, glass makers, shoemakers, chefs, and several other occupations. We may have around two thousand men and women ready for battle, the majority of those being sword, with less than two hundred archers, fifty crossbowmen, and the rest other types of weapons like maces, pikes, and the like.”

  Devarius nodded. “On top of that we have just over two hundred wyvernriders now. How many spell casters do we have?”

  “I believe the count was just over a hundred, with almost a dozen of them able to use the dragon stone’s magic,” Tynaer said.

  “What else do we have at our disposal?” Devarius asked.

  “We have a hundred dragomen sitting at the wyvern camp,” Paedyn said.

  Devarius scowled. “Men we can’t trust.”

  “No, but—if we’re heading to battle, the wyverns are coming with us. Who’s going to be watching them? We don’t have enough cells for the dragomen,” Paedyn said.

  Devarius gritted his teeth. He hadn’t thought of that, and Paedyn did bring up a good point.

  “I’d rather give them a choice. Help the resistance once more, and more importantly, help the people of Kaeldroga. That is the reason they began their addiction with the wyvern oil. They wanted to help fight the empire. I say, we let them. We give them each a single vial of the wyvern oil of their preference once we reach Kaeldroga, and tell them it will be all they will receive. The rest will be needed for other arrangements in the battle. Tell them their actions will determine whether they are a hero or a prisoner once the battle is over. Put their fate in their own hands,” Paedyn said.

  Devarius tapped his chin as he considered the proposition. “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “I’m more than just a pretty face,” Paedyn said.

  Devarius shook his head. “Well, I’m just not used to hearing good ideas come from your lips.”

  “I have them from time to time, but you’re right. This is way too good of an idea for me. It isn’t normal. Curse you for giving me a leadership role in the resistance for the last month. It’s clearly messing with my head.”

  Devarius chuckled.

  “What about those creatures you just sought out?” Tynaer asked. “Drakes, right?”

  Devarius nodded. “They can’t communicate like the wyverns, but it seems the wyverns can influence them a little. But for the most part, it will be us trying to tame them. They’re like wild horses, once you can get on them, and show them dominance, they settle down. I think it’ll be worth taming them, but I think it’s more going to be the future generations of more tamed drakes that will be the larger benefit. But for now, we can tame a few wild ones to bring with us. I think their presence on the battlefield could give us an edge.”

  “How so, if they’re not tame?” Tynaer asked.

  “I believe if the empire sees mounted drakes in battle, it’ll shatter their confidence some.”

  Tynaer nodded. “I can agree with that. So, how many do you think we could round up in short notice?”

  Devarius titled his head back. “I would say, fifty.”

  “Now we just have to find fifty people crazy enough to want to ride a giant lizard into battle,” Tynaer said.

  Chapter 40

  Paedyn loved flying. It was his favorite thing to do. He’d always thought he’d love to steer ships or boats, but after the last time he did that, when they found Adeth Peak Isle, he’d reconsidered his dream. He knew it was a unique situation as they were fleeing the empire and headed deep into stormy waters. Most of the time he’d just stood behind the helm without actually being able to steer it because of how powerful the winds were. However, now that he had a wyvern, he could steer it. The wyvern listened much better than a boat did.

  The morning breeze felt good against his cheeks. It was cold, sure, but he rode a fire wyvern. His seat was always warm. There was nothing quite like having a warm rear end and a cold face. A unique experience to be sure. He’d decided to fly through the night so they could arrive at Vaereal in the morning. The red sun made its peak over the eastern sky when Paedyn and Pyro landed in the center of the city.

  People had just gotten up for their day and began walking through the city when they saw Paedyn and his wyvern. Paedyn didn’t get the warm welcome he’d hoped for. Instead, people ran all over the city screaming. Doors were slammed, shutters closed, and militia approached him.

  Paedyn waved.

  “Who are you?” one of the men asked him, a leader by the looks of him.

  “I have an appointment with your governor.”

  “There are no appointments this week with the empire,” the man said.

  “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not with the empire,” Paedyn said. “I’m with the resistance.”

  The man’s eyes bulged. “The resistance? So it’s true then. You have dragons.”

  Paedyn shook his head. “Not dragons, my friend.” Paedyn slipped off the saddle and patted Pyro’s nose. “Wyverns.”

  “Wyverns?” the man asked.

  “A cousin of the dragon. A little smaller, and two legs instead of four. Also, a bit smarter, if you ask me.”

  “Incredible.”

  “May I have that meeting with your governor?” Paedyn asked.

  The man nodded. “I will fetch him.”

  Paedyn nodded and waited as the man rushed away. The other militia looked at him warily, and that’s when Paedyn noticed their armor and weapons. It was clear they weren’t soldiers. None of them except the leader carried swords. Most of them carried pitchforks and shovels. Their armor was barely considered armor. They wore thick clothes, and a few had leather armor, but it wasn’t battle armor.

  “Do you have a blacksmith?” Paedyn asked.

  The remaining militia nodded.

  “Does he know how to make swords?”

  “We have never had the need. The empire has always left us alone,” one of the men said.

  Paedyn shook his head. “Then the empire has you right where they want you. Unarmed and clueless about battle. Tell your blacksmith to make hammers, large hammers. It should be the easiest for him as he should know how to make a hammer. Large war hammers will be good for battle.”

  The men nodded.

  Paedyn looked to the rest of the village. People began coming back out into the streets, whispering about the resistance, and gaping at Pyro in awe. Word had spread fast about Pyro being with the resistance and not the empire. He could see the hope in the people’s eyes. Word had spread all over Kaeldroga about the first and second times the empire met the resistance. Both times, the resistance came out on top. It brought hope to people. And likely gave people the confidence they needed to stand up against the empire. Once they knew it could be done, they’d be more willing to join the resistance. It was part of the resistance’s plan all along, and it seemed to be working.

  The leader of the militia returned with an older man by his side. They rushed over to Paedyn. The governor nodded his head to Paedyn with respect.

  “My captain tells me you’re the leader of the resistance?” the governor asked.

  Paedyn smiled. “I wouldn�
��t go that far. I suppose I am a leader, but I’m not the leader.”

  “And you’re here to talk about an alliance?” the governor asked with hope.

  “Yes,” Paedyn said.

  “Could we speak in private?” the governor asked.

  “What is your name?” Paedyn asked.

  “Haeldrov,” the governor said.

  “Certainly, Haeldrov, would you care to step onto my wyvern? We can have a meeting in the sky away from everyone here.”

  Haeldrov glanced nervously at the wyvern. “I was thinking something a little more grounded.”

  “Ah, I see,” Paedyn said. “Well, can my wyvern come?”

  “I don’t think it can fit through the door.”

  “Ah, well that’s a shame. Well, nothing better happen to him or me while I’m out here. I made sure to not feed him breakfast yet, and he gets a little hungry when people threaten him or me.”

  “Of course. You both will be perfectly safe, I assure you.”

  “I hope so, and I hope you understand our skepticism over trust within the resistance.”

  “Certainly.”

  Paedyn followed Haeldrov into the town hall and into a small room with a round table. Besides Paedyn and Haeldrov, there were three others who sat at the table. Paedyn grinned at them as he took his seat. He fought to keep a serious face and tone. He knew Devarius was counting on him.

  “Good morning,” Paedyn said.

  Haeldrov smiled. “Mr…” He tilted his head as he looked at Paedyn.

  “Paedyn.”

  “Mr. Paedyn here is with the resistance and would like to speak with us about an alliance.”

  Everyone’s eyes lit up, and several smiles appeared on faces. Paedyn studied them, watching the corner of their smiles carefully to detect if the smiles were hopeful or menacing. As far as he could tell, every smile was hopeful.

  “I don’t know everything that is going on here, as we have been busy training and preparing to face the empire, but we got word that the empire has attacked the northern cities and villages, and are now marching south. Is that correct?”

  “Yes,” Haeldrov said. “The claim is the resistance stole something from them, and they are demanding the villages and cities tell them were the resistance is so they can get it back and destroy the resistance once and for all.”

  “The dragon stone.”

  “What?” Haeldrov asked.

  “We took the dragon stone from them.”

  “What is a dragon stone?”

  “It is a color changing stone that takes away the intelligence of dragons, making them mindless beasts so the empire can control them. And it also gives power to some humans, allowing them to use magic. Without it, the empire won’t be able to strip the intelligence from any more dragons, and they won’t be able to create an army of spell casters.”

  “Magic?” Haeldrov asked. “Magic is real?”

  Paedyn smiled. “We have over a hundred spell casters. The resistance has been quite busy preparing to take down the empire.”

  “Incredible.”

  “We also heard that you and the other southern cities were interested in creating an alliance with us.”

  “We are. I have spoken with the other southern cities, and we all agree. We’re tired of being pushed around by the empire. The taxes, the threats, and the killing of innocents. We know what they did to the north. They’re coming to attack us next, and for no reason. All because they believe we may have knowledge of the resistance, which we don’t. However, we’ve seen they don’t care whether we do or not, they’ll attack us regardless.”

  “And why should we believe your plan isn’t to turn us in to the empire?” Paedyn asked.

  “I will admit, the thought did come to a few of us. But we’ve also heard about the victories you’ve had against the empire now. Twice you have defeated them. And while we’ve heard threats from the empire about how you were not a problem and would be squashed, as far as I’ve heard, they’ve never been able to defeat you in a conflict. If we turn you over to them, they’ll just continue to treat us like they have, or without someone to fight them, it could be even worse. We cannot let that happen.”

  Paedyn smiled. “The first victory we had over them was a small one. It wasn’t their entire army, but yes we defeated them. The second victory, when they marched on our city, they brought their entire army, including their emperor. And yes, we defeated them.”

  Haeldrov’s eyes widened. “Impressive.”

  “We’ve since left our last city and moved elsewhere. We’re hidden while we train and find more ways to defeat them. We were hoping to continue training for a while longer, but we couldn’t just sit back when they were going to attack you. We want to help.”

  Haeldrov grinned. “I’m so glad to hear that. What are your numbers?”

  Paedyn frowned. “At this time, I don’t want to disclose that. Even if I believe you as sincere, I am not entirely convinced there aren’t empire spies in every city and village.”

  “Understandable,” Haeldrov said. “Well, we should come up with a plan.”

  “I’ve studied the map of Kaeldroga. Now you say you have an alliance with all the southern cities to make a stand against the empire?”

  “Yes, we have a contract alliance with Laeraed, Kaedur, and Mustafae.”

  “Do you know which direction they’re traveling? Are they coming with just dragon riders, or are they bringing an army as well?”

  “As far as we can tell,” Haeldrov said, “they’re traveling due south along the Trevium river to strike Laeraed first. They’ll reach Uriah soon. Then from there, they’ll continue south from there. We have maybe three days at their pace before they reach Laeraed.”

  “And do you know how many they have?”

  “Two to three thousand.”

  Paedyn scratched his chin. “All right. This is what I see. We need to evacuate Laeraed. Send the families either here or to Kaedur. We will join all of our armies west of Laeraed between the large mountain and the small forest. This will create a v point where the empire will have to funnel in a little at a time to us, making it an easier place to fight from. There we can make a stand. We’ll have to make sure they take the bait by positioning a few of our wyvernriders at Laeraed to lure them to the pinch point. Make sure all the families are safe, and make sure every abled body who is able to fight is there.”

  Haeldrov bit his lip as he nodded. “That sounds much better than any of our ideas.”

  “How many able bodies do you believe you have that can fight between all the villages?”

  “Around two-thousand. Though, we’re not fighters, and don’t have much for weapons.”

  Paedyn nodded. “Have all the blacksmiths focus on making hammers to equip everyone with. Large hammers. We’ll bring some extra weapons we have to help equip people. We’ll mix the less experienced with our experienced to even it out.”

  “That sounds good. When can we expect you?”

  “Three days,” Paedyn said.

  “What if they arrive before then?”

  “Pray,” Paedyn said. “We have a lot of people to move. We’ll travel as fast as we can, but try to have everything ready by the time we arrive.”

  “Understood,” Haeldrov said.

  “Well, at this time, I must depart. I need to bring news to the resistance immediately.”

  “Paedyn?” Haeldrov asked.

  “Hmm?”

  “Thank you.”

  Paedyn nodded as he left the room. When he opened the door to the outside, his head reared back at the sight. His mouth dropped open.

  “Pyro?”

  The wyvern was lying on his back as more than a dozen children climbed over him. He laughed the whole while, smoke coming out of his nostrils. When he saw Paedyn, he coughed, and the children climbed off of him and ran off back to their homes.

  “What in all of Kaeldroga are you doing?” Paedyn asked.

  I was getting a massage, Pyro said.

  “
Ah, is that what you call it. Well, come on, we need to go.”

  Paedyn climbed atop Pyro’s saddle, and they flew up into the sky while everyone around them watched.

  Are they sincere? Pyro asked. They seem to be from my view.

  As far as I can tell, Paedyn thought toward Pyro. But, we’re going to hang around for a little while. How good are your ears?

  Well enough.

  Good. We’re going to make it look like we’ve left, but we’re going to stick around and listen out for any signs of deception before we travel back to Adeth Peak Isle.

  Sound like a plan, Pyro said.

  Chapter 41

  Devarius paced the shoreline as he stared at the ships. They had twenty of them now, and if they were to help the southern cities, they would need them all. He was still waiting on word back from Paedyn, but he didn’t want to delay just in case. No matter what, if the rumors were true, if the empire was going to attack the southern cities, Devarius wanted to be there. He wanted to help. The question was, when would their help be needed. Timing was everything.

  Crates of wyvern oil had already been loaded, as had the dragomen, though, they’d been loaded into a different ship than the wyvern oil. He made sure to explain to them in explicit detail how they would have to earn their freedom, but they were given a chance. A few still seemed upset over the whole ordeal, but the others looked grateful to be given another chance to prove themselves.

  Besides the dragomen, the rest of the soldiers and spell casters had been separated into several different ships. Devarius didn’t want all the spell casters on one ship, in case any of them would be needed. He coordinated with Zaviana and Naveen to come up with a list of good separation to keep the training going on. Each ship had a few of the spell casters, and a leader would was a little more skilled than the others, so they could continue their training, though, as Devarius explained to all of them, they were to keep their training light. They needed to conserve their energy for the impending attack.

  Devarius walked back over to the wyverns who awaited at the edge of the city. The wyverns and wyvernriders would not ride the ships. In fact, the purple wyverns would be needed in the air behind the ships to use their ability to help push the sails faster. Time would be important, and they needed not delay more than required. It also opened up extra room for as many soldiers and weapons were needed.