Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 20

  "Thank the gods!" Axel sighed in relief, rubbing the place the huge owl's talons had dug into his flesh.

  "Let's go find Captain Repheth." Shirk grumbled, leading the way towards the village. "He needs to be alerted about the Etazk immediately."

  They quickly made their way through town and found the silver haired captain talking with a group of riders who had just returned from patrol.

  "What is it?" The older man asked, noticing the grim look on Shirk's face. "What has happened?"

  The bandit quickly told him about Damion's encounter with the Etazk. "They were posing as travelers, and were on their way here to try and spy on our defensive capabilities."

  "But Damion disposed of them, right?"

  "Of course, but there is an entire army of those zealots running around loose somewhere, and they have surely sent a number of groups out to infiltrate Sevria."

  "Well," Captain Repheth drew himself up proudly. "Those savages are going to have to make it passed me and my men first."

  "They may already have." The old bandit sighed. "Axel thinks there may already be some Etazk already here in the city."

  The silver haired old soldier looked to Axel curiously.

  "When Lord Shirk mentioned that the Etazk that Lord Omensent encountered were disguised as simple travelers, it reminded me of some travelers who had appeared a few days ago. They seemed normal enough at first, but they soon began to ask a lot of questions."

  "What type of questions?" Captain Repheth asked suspiciously.

  "How many men we have, and how the siege machines Damarius designed operated. They were also trying to find out what other types of defenses we have in place."

  "We need to round every one of these spies up before they are able to pass on any information." Shirk said in a firm tone. "We can not let even a single Etazk slip through our fingers."

  "I can guarantee they won't slip away once my men have searched the city."

  "That may not be the wisest course." Shirk advised, his eyes narrowed in thought. "If your men start tearing the city apart, the Etazk will surely notice and try to flee."

  "They won't be going anywhere." The old soldier promised, turning to look at several of his men who were busy guarding the gate leading in and out of the city battlements. "Seal the gates immediately, and have the men form up!" He barked in a commanding tone. "We have some uninvited guests, and we're going to root them out and make them sorry for showing their faces in our city!"

  The soldiers reacted instantly, and the three heavy steel gates that protected the only entrance into Sevria were quickly lowered into place, sealing off the city from the rest of the world.

  The castle soldiers on duty quickly formed ranks, and then set about searching the city, building by building.

  "There!" Axel hissed, gesturing to a pair of men who were busy talking with one of the local blacksmiths. They were dressed in plain nondescript clothing, and had swords belted firmly to their waists. "Those two men were with the group of travelers who were asking all of the questions."

  "How do you want to handle this?" Captain Repheth asked, gritting his teeth angrily.

  "Tell your men to hang back." The old bandit told him after a moment's thought. "Let's see if I can goad them into revealing themselves."

  The silver haired old man quickly gave the order to his men to hold back, then he and Axel followed Shirk, who strolled right up to the men fearlessly.

  "Did you just make it into town?" He asked the pair casually, a friendly smile plastered across his bearded face.

  The pair turned to face them with strained smiles.

  "A few days ago, yes." One of the men answered him in a thickly accented voice. "We were passing through and found this city to be quite interesting."

  "Interesting, yes." Shirk nodded in agreement. "What brings you south?"

  "We're travelers." The other man said evasively, his voice as thickly accented as the first. "There is much in the world we wish to witness with our own eyes."

  "You're awfully brave to be traveling with the world in the state that it's in." The old bandit told them in an impressed tone. "With the Etazk preparing for war, no one is safe."

  The pair exchanged glances.

  "The Etazk?" The first man asked, trying hard to sound as though he had never heard the word before. "Who are the Etazk?"

  "Oh, you haven't heard about them?" The old bandit feigned surprise. "They're a blood thirsty race of religious crazies who live on the western continent. They worship Etaz, the God of the Underworld. He's one of the foulest, most retched deities ever to curse mankind with His presence."

  The men frowned, and their eyes grew hard, but otherwise, they didn't react.

  "I've heard some disturbing rumors about them too." The bearded old thief continued relentlessly. "I heard that their women are all as ugly as trolls, but twice as hairy, which doesn't really matter since all of their men have had their manhoods removed so they are not distracted from their religious duties."

  "That's not true." One of the men growled, his hand straying towards the hilt of his sword.

  The other man quickly stepped in. "He means that can't be true. If their men couldn't breed, then they would have died out centuries ago."

  "I heard that their priests use magic to impregnate pigs, which have entire litters of Etazk. That's how they are able to reproduce, and why there are so many of them."

  The men were both beginning to grow visibly angry, but they still somehow managed to keep themselves under control.

  "And that's not all." Shirk continued relentlessly. "I also heard they feast on the flesh of their sacrifices, and bath in the blood." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "It's not such a hard thing to believe, the Etazk being a bunch of eunuchs born from swine and all."

  Both men were trembling in fury as they stared at the scruffy little man, who pretended not to notice their furious expressions.

  Captain Repheth and his men quietly spread out to surround the men, who were too preoccupied with Shirk to notice the soldiers.

  "And don't get me started on their god!" The old bandit laughed in disgust. "Etaz is..."

  "You shall not insult our god, infidel!" The second man suddenly roared, enraged beyond all reasoning. He ripped his sword free from its sheath and charged passed his companion, his blade poised for a killing blow.

  Shirk nimbly skipped aside and threw out one foot, tripping the man up, and sending him tumbling to the hard cobblestones, then, without waiting for the other man to react, the old bandit whipped out a heavy dagger and drove it deep into the man's throat.

  The Etazk's eyes suddenly widened in surprise and pain, then glazed over as he slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap.

  Shirk turned back to the first man, who was scrambling back to his feet, and with a deceptively casual toss, he sent the heavy dagger whistling end over end through the air, where it buried itself deep in the man's chest with a meaty sounding thud.

  The stranger stopped mid-step and stared down at the dagger in confusion, then he dropped his sword and grasped the blade by the hilt and wrenched it free. A great fountain of blood suddenly erupted from his mouth, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, then he dropped dead to the unyielding stone.

  "Look out!" Axel cried, charging forward at another Etazk who had appeared from the shadows with his sword poised to kill.

  An instant before the man struck, the young man collided with him a full speed, sending them both crashing to the cobblestones in a tangled heap.

  Shirk rushed over and grabbed a firm hold of the Etazk's head, then twisted it violently, snapping the man's neck with an audible crunch. He released his hold and let the Etazk dropped lifelessly to the cobblestones, then stood over the body breathing heavily for a moment.

  Captain Repheth and his men hurried forward and quickly checked the men for any signs of life, then several men grabbed the corpses by their legs and dragged them off to be disposed of.

  "I would have been a goner
if you hadn't stepped in." Shirk grunted as he turned to Axel, who was still sprawled out on the cobblestones. "I..." He stopped as his eyes fell upon the hilt of the Etazk's sword, which was protruding from Axel's lower abdomen. "Oh, damn!" He quickly knelt down and checked the wound.

  "H-How bad is it?" The young man asked weakly, his voice trembling.

  "It's not good." Shirk told him truthfully, tearing a strip of cloth from his shirt and placing it around the blade. "We need to remove this sword."

  "Just g-get it over w-with."

  Shirk sighed heavily, then grasped the blade firmly and slowly pulled it free.

  Axel cried out in pain, then his eyes suddenly rolled up into his head, and he fell limp.

  Shirk quickly peeled back one Axel's eyelids, then gently checked the pulse in his neck.

  "Is he still alive?" Captain Repheth's expression was grim.

  "Yes," Shirk sighed in relief. "He just passed out from the pain." He turned to the silver haired old man. "We need to get him up to the castle immediately."

  They quickly located a litter and gently placed the young man aboard, then they carefully carried him up to the keep to his private quarters, and alerted the castle clerics, who immediately set about tending to his injuries.

  "What's happened?" Lady Skie asked in a worried voice as she and Dar came hurrying into the room to join the others.

  "Axel has been stabbed." Shirk informed her gravely. "One of those men he warned us about appeared from the shadows and tried to stab me in the back. If it wasn't for Axel, I wouldn't be here right now." He turned back to Captain Repheth. "Go ahead and return to the search. Make sure you root every one of those spies out of their hiding places, and lock them away somewhere. We'll stay here with Axel."

  "As you wish." The silvery haired soldier cast one last worried look towards Axel, then hurried from the room.

  Shirk, Dar, and Lady Skie watched in silence as the healers continued to work on the unconscious young man, until one of the wise old men finally shooed them from the room.

  "I can't believe Axel saved your life." Lady Skie told Shirk, her eyes wide with amazement.

  "I can't either." The old bandit grumbled, scratching his beard thoughtfully. "I hope he pulls through."

  "You had better hope he lives." Dar warned him in an ominous tone. "You know how much Sly likes Axel. If he dies, Sly's going to pluck every hair of your beard out, one by one."

  **********

  "I wonder what's taking Snowfeather so long." Damion frowned as he and the others finished breaking camp. "It shouldn't have taken him this long to carry word to Sevria."

  Damion, Raven, Leia and Slither had spent most of the previous evening visiting with Gwynth after she had delivered her message from the Serpent Mother, Estheryal, but she soon had to return to her duties, and left promising to return for another visit as soon as she was able.

  "What could be taking him so long?" Raven asked worriedly.

  Damion shook his head. "I'm not certain, but I'm beginning to grow concerned."

  They continued to wait for a few more minutes, then the huge snowy owl finally appeared from the treetops, and dropped down to settle on a nearby tree branch.

  "There you are!" Damion breathed a sigh of relief. "I was beginning to worry about you! What took you so long?"

  "It took me a while to get inside of the castle." The huge snow owl hooted. "Apparently one of the servants decided to make sure that every single window in the keep was shut tight. I couldn't find a way in!" He fluffed his feathers in irritation. "I finally located Axel, and he took me up to see the others. Once I made sure they had read the message, I set off hunting. I haven't even had time to rest yet."

  "Well, there's no rest for the weary, I'm afraid." The huge warrior shrugged helplessly. "We have to get moving, and we need you to keep a look out for any danger."

  "I figured as much." Snowfeather chirped, sounding a bit tired. "I'll do my best, but I'll need to rest sometime. I won't be able to help you if I fall asleep while I'm gliding and crash beak first into a mountain."

  "Has that ever happened? I mean, have you ever fallen asleep flying?"

  "Once or twice," The huge owl admitted. "but I've always woken up before I crashed."

  They spent the next several days making their way south along the well maintained trade route with Snowfeather gliding high overhead on the lookout for danger. They soon emerged from the mountains and rode down into the rolling foothills that bordered the expansive mountain range.

  "How much further is it until we reach Crete?" Leia asked her father curiously. The young girl had spent most of the trip riding with mother, but that morning had insisted on riding with her father.

  "Three more days, unless the weather turns bad." He pointed to some dark clouds that were on the horizon. "If that storm decides to head this way, it's going to slow us down a bit."

  "I hate the rain." The young girl wrinkled her nose in distaste. "It makes everything look so dreary."

  "Not to mention the fact it just makes a terrible mess of my hair." Damion said in an outrageously girlish voice, causing his daughter to laugh uncontrollably.

  "It getting a little late," Raven pointed out, eyeing the storm clouds with a frown. "We should start looking for shelter soon. I don't think our tents will be enough to keep us dry from that storm."

  "I don't think there are any settlements near here," Damion told her in a dubious tone. "other than the ruins of the farmsteads that were destroyed by Tempest when she was still under the control of Kaviel. I doubt there will be much left standing."

  "A little shelter is better than none at all."

  "Very well." He relented, looking up at Snowfeather, who was circling high over head. "It looks like there is a storm heading this way."

  "I noticed. It appears it's going to be an unpleasant evening."

  "Do you happen to seen anything nearby that could be used to help shelter us from the rain?"

  "There's an abandoned farmstead just ahead." The huge owl tilted one wing and sailed over to circle above the ruins. "The main house is in complete ruins, but there in an outbuilding that was constructed from stone that still appears to be standing."

  "Snowfeather has found some shelter." Damion reported to the others. "Hopefully it'll be good enough to get us through the night."

  They quickly made their way to the ruined farmstead and found it to be little more than a few stone walls which had long since collapsed, and a single standing outbuilding which appeared to have once served as both a blacksmith's shop and a barn. Its roof had been burned away in a fire, and its interior was littered with debris, but the walls were still firmly mortared together, and the forge's fireplace was still functional.

  "With a little bit of work we can this make this place suitable." Damion told them after a quick inspection. "We'll even be able to fit the horses inside."

  "What about the roof?" Leia asked, looking up at the charred remains of the wooden beams that had once supported the roof. "I don't think that this one is going to keep us dry."

  "We'll take a couple of tarps and toss them over the beams to form the roof. They should be enough to keep the worst of the weather off."

  Damion and Slither quickly set about making their make-shift roof, while Leia swept up the piles of litter which had cluttered up the interior, and Raven gathered a large enough supply of firewood to last them the night.

  "This should work just fine." Damion told them, leading Storm into rear of the structure. "At least we'll all stay dry."

  "But we may be a little hungry." Raven murmured searching through their packs with a frown. "We don't have much left in the way of food."

  "Why does it seem like we're always running out of food?" Leia asked with a scowl.

  "Here we go again." Damion sighed, then turned to look at Slither. "Would you mind going to hunt us up some food before Leia tries to gnaw off one of the horses' legs?"

  "Not funny." His daughter growled, giving him a withering look. />
  "SSSlither would be happy to go hunting." The huge shadowspawn hissed from the shadows. "SSSlither will return ssshortly." He slipped off into the growing darkness on silent feet, only to return an hour or so later with a half a dozen plump geese, which he dropped near the forge.

  "Where in the world did you find geese around here?" Raven asked as she quickly set about gutting and de-feathering the birds.

  "Here and there." Slither answered vaguely.

  "Here and there?" Leia stared at the huge beast with a skeptical expression. "That sounds a little evasive, if you ask me."

  "She's right." Damion grinned, watching as the shadowspawn shifted uncomfortably. "That did sound a bit vague. Come on, where did you find the geese?"

  "Would you believe SSSlither found them?" The huge shadowspawn hissed hopefully.

  "No," Damion laughed. "I'm afraid we wouldn't."

  The shadowspawn sighed a long hissing sigh of defeat. "SSSlither ssstole them from a farm a few milesss to the wessst."

  "You stole them?"

  They were all laughing now, except for Slither, who looked rather embarrassed.

  "SSSlither could not find any game nearby." The huge beast held out his claw-tipped hands helplessly. "The farm wasss clossse by, and the humansss there had numerousss birdsss in one of their outbuildingsss, ssso..." He shrugged.

  "I don't really care where you got them," Raven declared in a happy voice. "Roasted goose sounds divine!" She suspended three of the plump birds on spits over the forge, then started to work dressing the remaining geese for later use.

  Once they had finished feasting on the succulent geese, they settled back and listened to the rain fall upon the canvas roof as the storm finally reached their makeshift camp.

  It was just after midnight when Damion was awakened by Leia, who wore a fearful expression on her tiny face.

  "What is it?" He asked, quickly sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

  "I think they're back." The young girl whispered, running her hands over the skin on her arms. She saw her father giving her a blank stare, then sighed impatiently. "The veiled dragons! I think they are nearby!"