Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons Read online

  The dragon's shrieks suddenly stopped, and the enormous beast shuddered, its eyes wide with disbelief. Its massive legs trembled, and it took a staggering step forward, its flames suddenly replaced by the blood that had filled its massive lungs. It leaned heavily against one of the burning buildings, its large eyes glazing over.

  Damion tore the sword free, then leapt aside as the shadow dragon collapsed twitching to the ground.

  The carnage left behind by the attack was dreadful, and the injured and dying lay scattered about in the burning ruins that, only minutes earlier, was a thriving town. Several of the burning buildings had collapsed in on themselves, completely consumed by the intense flames.

  Damion backed away from the shadow dragon's corpse breathing heavily. He examined the dead beast carefully, noticing there was little difference between it and a scarlet dragon, except that it was smaller and much less muscular than their fellow serpents. The most distinguishing feature was the dragon's dull black coloring, which even in death seemed to pull the shadows in to obscure the body from clear view.

  He returned the Dragon Sword back to its sheath, then turned away, wondering if he could catch up with Veren before the Jaghern travelled far.

  "Damion!" A woman's shout rang through the smoke and haze. "Damion! Wait!"

  He turned to see Raven, who emerged from the smoke, choking and coughing. She started towards him, but a burning house suddenly collapsed into the street, blocking her from advancing any further.

  They stared at one another for several long moments through the flames, then Damion turned away.

  "Damion! Please!"

  He ignored her as he drew in his magic, and shifted himself into the form of a panther. He disappeared into the shadows of the forest to search for Veren, leaving the Deirians to try and salvage what remained of their settlement.

  After a few moments, there was a sudden flutter of feathers as Snowfeather swooped down from the darkness. "Are you okay?" He hooted worriedly. "That thing materialized out of nowhere!"

  "I'm fine." Damion replied, silently making his way through the forest. "I was wondering how it managed to get passed you with you giving me some sort of warning, though."

  "I never even saw it, until after it struck!" The huge owl chirped helplessly. "I don't know how it was able to avoid my detecting it, but it somehow slipped passed without me even noticing!"

  "Don't beat yourself up over it." He told his friend. "I'm sure you won't let the next one get passed you."

  Damion continued to move through the shadows, his keen eyes alert for any signs of danger, and it wasn't long before he found the one eared man impatiently awaiting his arrival on the trade road. He slipped back into his own form, then stepped from the darkness.

  "Wahh!" Veren yelped in surprise, leaping so violently that he nearly fell from his saddle. "Dammit, Damion!" He scrambled to straighten himself. "I wish you would give me a little warning before popping out of the shadows like that!" He shook his head in exasperation. "So is it dead? Were you able to kill the shadow dragon?"

  Damion nodded, vaulting into his saddle. "Why so jumpy?"

  The one eared man pointed out into the surrounding forest. "I don't think we're alone out here. There's something moving through the forest, but I haven't been able to see what it is."

  At that moment, Snowfeather appeared from the darkness. "The fun isn't over yet!" He hooted, landing on Damion's shoulder. "There are a handful of shadowspawn lurking nearby in the forest."

  "Does it look as though they plan to attack?"

  "Nay. I got the impression they were just scouts. Several of them were apparently watching the battle from the darkness and immediately disappeared when you killed the dragon, but a number of others remained behind, apparently to observe you."

  "That's odd." Damion murmured aloud.

  "What is it?" Veren asked worriedly, looking out into the dark forest nervously.

  "Snowfeather says there are a few shadowspawn hiding in the forest." He replied.

  "What's so odd about that?"

  "They seem to be more interested in watching us than attacking us. Several of the beasts were apparently watching the battle. They disappeared once I killed the shadow dragon, but several others remained behind to apparently keep an eye on us."

  "What should we do about them?" The one eared Jaghern was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of being watched.

  "What can we do?" He asked, shrugging. "Let them follow. Eventually they'll slip up and reveal themselves and we'll be able to rid ourselves of them then."

  Veren looked back up the dark road to the orange glow of the burning city, then turned back to Damion, his face curious. "Do you think that the attacks will cease now that the beast is dead?"

  Damion shook his head. "I doubt it, very much. That was not the same shadow dragon that we encountered a few days ago! I seriously wounded the other one we encountered, but this beast was unmarked!"

  The bald headed Jaghern sighed heavily. "Then we will never know which beast was actually the one that killed my family." His voice was sad.

  "I'm sorry, my friend." Damion murmured quietly.

  Veren drew a deep breath, then exhaled. "It's time we moved." He said decisively, nudging his horse with his heels. "The Deirians will eventually send out riders to try and track us down. I would rather not make easy for them by remaining right here for them to discover!"

  ************

  They gathered in Damion's office around the long table, eagerly awaiting Sly to read the message that had arrived that morning in the company of a number of strange barrels of liquid bearing foreign markings. The letter bore a mark in the shape of a dragon pressed deep into the wax seal, which was Damion's insignia, presented to him by the people of Sevria for saving their lives.

  "It's definitely from Damion." The little man commented as they gathered around him in curiosity. "That is the seal from his ring!" He broke open the seal and quickly read the message.

  "Well?" Lady Skie demanded impatiently. "What does it say?"

  "He says that they have discovered that the attacks seem to have originated in Arleia, and that they are traveling there to try to locate where the disturbances first began." He read to them aloud.

  "Arleia?" Damarius shuddered unconsciously. "The land of the serpent people? I don't envy him the journey!"

  "What do you mean?" Lady Skie asked, her expression worried.

  Damarius pushed his scalp lock from his eyes absently. "To reach Arleia, they must cross though three other countries. First Jaghera, Veren's homeland, then their neighbor across the border, Deiria. They are always hovering on the brink of open warfare, but somehow a tenuous peace exists between them, at least there was the last time I heard any news from the northern lands."

  "This letter is from the border town between Jaghera and Deiria." Sly informed him, continuing to read. "He says that they were about to attempt to cross into Deiria."

  "Is there any other news of attacks by the shadow dragons?" Dar asked, his freckled face worried.

  "He's says the northern lands are being ravaged, but few seem to know what is really behind it."

  "What land lies beyond Deiria?" Lady Skie inquired, looking to her father, who still wore a grim expression.

  "Veiria. It is a desert land inhabited by pagans who worship their dead ancestors. Temperatures can become unbearably hot during the day there, and the night's so cold that they can cause a man to freeze to death. Even if they make it through Veiria and reach Arleia, I fear there is little chance that they will allow Damion and Veren to enter their land. They never allow outsiders to enter their lands, except for one small town just inside of the borders where they conduct all of their trading."

  "What do they trade in?" Sly asked curiously. "Perhaps we can eventually establish a trade treaty."

  Damarius snorted. "I doubt it. They are strange folk, heavily involved in the slave trade. They don't really produce much from their swamps other than alligator and snake skin. They
also grow a few rare herbs there which are highly treasured by those who dabble in alchemy, but otherwise, they really don't produce anything that we would be interested in."

  Sly shook his head disapprovingly, then returned to the letter. "Damion sends his love, and promises to send more word as soon as possible."

  "What about the casks of liquid?" Lady Skie asked, gesturing to the large barrels near the door. "Why did he send them?"

  Sly reread the letter quickly, then turned the parchment over. "There's a message on the back." He quickly read the message and a grin slowly spread across his face. He jumped from his seat and dashed over to the barrels, his eyes dancing with anticipation.

  "What is it?" Dar asked Lady Skie, who had retrieved the letter and was reading the note scribbled on the back. "What does it say?"

  "Have a drink on me!" Lady Skie was shaking her head in disbelief.

  "It must be good ale if he took the time to send it a thousand miles across the sea to give us a taste!" Sly told them, grabbing several empty goblets and filling them to the brim. He handed one to each of them, then raised his own tankard high, his eyes alight with excitement. "To Damion! May he remain safe, and return home to us soon!"

  Everyone raised their tankards, then took a long drink.

  "Oh my!" Lady Skie exclaimed in surprise. "That is quite good!"

  Dar, Sly, and Damarius said nothing as they each drained their tankards, then quickly reached for seconds.

  "That boy has good taste!" Damarius commented, smacking his lips. He took another long drink, then burped thunderously. "I hope he doesn't expect to find any left when he returns!"

  They all laughed.

  "Is there any chance that this plan of his will succeed?" Lady Skie asked in a worried voice.

  Damarius shrugged. "I'm not sure. We are far out of my depth. There is only one person that I trust when it comes to dealing with dragons, and I'm afraid he isn't available right now."

  Dar snorted in amusement. "We'll just have to trust that Damion knows he's doing."

  A man dressed in heavy chain mail armor appeared at the door. "We have news from Sierria, milord." The man informed Sly, who hovered in front of the barrel of ale protectively. "The merchants are no longer willing to risk their caravans with all of the attacks. They will no longer be traveling through the mountains until the problem has been solved."

  Sly cursed venomously. "I had hoped that the escorts would help."

  The armored soldier shook his head. "The dragonspawn have overwhelmed the road through the mountains. The merchants won't risk sending their goods through these mountains until the problem has been brought under control."

  The man finished his report, then left the office.

  "We need to figure out away to put an end to these attacks!" Damarius grumbled seriously. "They cannot be allowed to continue to disrupt trade!"

  Sly raised his hands helplessly. "I'm open to suggestions. We have put every available soldier into groups that patrol the roads, but the dragonspawn just vanish until the patrol has passed. Those creatures know the mountains far better than we do, so they have little problems avoiding our scouts. I have run out of ideas!"

  "There isn't really much more we can do." Dar pointed out. "Those creatures have made it obvious that they will continue to harass us until they get what they want. There will not be any further caravans moving this way anytime soon, so why don't we just pull back inside the walls and wait for Damion to return?"

  "What?" Sly asked in confusion. "You just want to do nothing?"

  The freckle faced sprite shrugged. "Why not? It's better than wearing out our soldiers by forcing them to chase around shadows! Let's bring back those patrols, and use the men to garrison the wall. Why waste the manpower to protect a road that no one will use?"

  "Once the dragonspawn realize there will no longer be anyone traveling through the mountains to harass, they will come looking for victims." Damarius predicted knowingly.

  The freckled face boy shrugged. "Let them come! They will not be able to penetrate the wall that protects this city, and we have plenty enough food and fresh water to last us for several months. Why not just sit back and await Damion's return?"

  "We can use that time to devise a few more additions to the city's protection." Damarius mused thoughtfully. "I have a number of inventions that I designed for just such an occasion. This could be the opportunity that I need to finally put them to use!"

  "Such as?" Sly asked curiously, dipping his tankard into the barrel of ale once more. "The land outside the walls is already bristling with spikes to prevent anything from approaching too closely! The only thing left unprotected is the road itself!"

  "Then shouldn't we do something to protect it?" Damarius inquired. "I can think of a number of nasty little tricks that would make life difficult for the dragonspawn if they try to attack!"

  "I'm far more concerned with shadow dragons!" Lady Skie told them, her normally calm expression replaced with a worried look. "What kind of defenses will work against them?"

  Damarius smiled. "I may have a few ideas on that. I have a design that may aid us against just such an attack."

  "Tempest said she would make sure that Sevria was well guarded." Dar reminded them. "I'm sure that the scarlet dragons are watching over the town."

  "It still wouldn't hurt to have a few extra defenses in place." Sly said, agreeing with Damarius. "What did you have in mind?"

  "I've designed a kind of oversized crossbow that can pierce a tree at a thousand yards!" Damarius said excitedly, unrolling a detailed sketch of a strange looking machine. "I designed it many, many years ago."

  "Does it really work?" Lady Skie asked curiously.

  Damarius shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've never had any reason to actually build one!"

  "Well," Sly decided. "You have just found a reason! How long will it take to construct one of these contraptions?"

  The old wizard shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've never built one before!"

  "Then you had better get to work! If the machine actually works, we can construct a number of them to place around in strategic places to watch over and protect the city."

  "Is this going to be like the time you destroyed the storage shed outside the cottage back home?" Lady Skie asked her father, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

  "Storage shed?" Sly asked in confusion. "I don't remember there ever being a storage shed near the cottage."

  "That's because he blew it up!" Lady Skie laughed.

  Damarius's face had grown red. "That was an accident! I mistakenly mixed two rather innocuous substances together and discovered when combined they became rather... unstable."

  "Believe it or not, he used to have a full head of hair before the accident!" Lady Skie was still laughing.

  The old wizard gave her a dirty look. "You didn't have to tell them that!" He growled at his daughter, trying to ignore the laughter of his friends.

  It took three weeks to construct Damarius's design to the old man's exact specifications. The result was a heavy machine built from wood and steel that had been constructed atop a wagon modified for the experimental weapon. Several twelve foot long steel tipped projectiles, which looked quite similar to oversized arrows, had been painstakingly crafted to be fired from the powerful machine, and were stacked neatly nearby to await the test firing.

  The day finally came to fire the machine for the first time, and the entire town had gathered to witness what the strange old wizard had constructed. The machine was towed by several horses to a vacant field at the edge of town and carefully set into place.

  Damarius motioned to a pair of burly workmen who placed a long pry bar into a slot on the machine, and slowly began to draw back the thick rope. After a minute or so of strenuous labor, the machine was finally ready to be fired, and the workers carefully loaded one of the oversized arrows into place.

  The old wizard took his seat behind the controls of his creation, then took careful aim at a wagon loaded with empty crates that had
been wheeled into place five hundred yards away. He pressed the lever that released the arrow, and was rewarded with a heavy twang as the machine launched its projectile with deadly precision.

  The wagon and crates he had targeted suddenly disintegrated into splinters as the steel tipped projectile passed through them without slowing, continuing another two hundred yards before it buried itself a foot deep into a large oak tree.

  The crowd watching stared in disbelief for several moments, then suddenly burst into cheers, clearly amazed and impressed by the wizard's contraption.

  "Right on target!" Damarius looked a bit rattled, but otherwise quite pleased with himself.

  "What target?" Sly asked in a stunned voice. "There isn't anything left!"

  The old wizard smiled modestly. "It worked rather well, didn't it?"

  Sly turned to the two workmen. "Find us another target!"

  "Whatever for?" Lady Skie asked in confusion. "We know it works! Why test it again?"

  "Are you kidding me?" Sly snorted, rolling his eyes. "Do you really think I'm going to sit back and let him have all of the fun?" He smiled as the two workmen reappeared leading a team of horses that was pulling a cart full of rough timber.

  "These logs should work, milord." One of the workmen grinned. "They were going to be split and used as firewood anyhow!"

  Sly laughed. "They'll be perfect! Take it about eight hundred yards from here, then get the horses clear!"

  He climbed up into the seat as two workmen began the process of cocking the powerful machine. He took careful aim at the cart of thick logs, then squeezed the trigger. There was another heavy twang, and the oversized arrow was launched from the machine with blinding speed. It struck one the rough logs with such force that the cart rolled over onto its side, sending its contents flying.

  The crowd cheered again, laughing in delight as they watched the strange old wizard's machine fire flawlessly.

  "Whoa!" Sly exclaimed, a look of surprise of his face. "This thing has a bit of a kick!"