Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 25

  "It's genius!" The burly old blacksmith smiled. "It should only take a few days to construct, and then we'll just have to figure out how we are going to set it into place."

  "That still leaves a whole lot of unprotected water inside of the harbor." Sly pointed out with a frown. "Got any ideas of what we can do to make it a bit more difficult for any ships that happen to make it inside?"

  "Hmm," Damarius quickly began leafing through his stack of parchment. "I have this." He pulled a smaller parchment from the rest, then placed it on the table. "They're essentially nothing more than wooden barrels that have had a number of holes drilled into their sides which have been plugged by cork. We fill the barrels with a few substances that I have created, then tether them to weights and set them out in the water."

  "What will they do?" Stephan asked curiously.

  "When the Etazk ships bump into them, it will dislodge the corks, and allow water to seep into the barrel. The chemicals I created react to water, and will explode, blowing any ship nearby to bits."

  "Now that's more like it!" The little man nodded approvingly. "It's about time you blow up somebody other than yourself!"

  "Ha hah." The old wizard murmured in a flat tone.

  Juco and Langsten appeared as they continued to go over the old wizard's designs, both looking exhausted from laboring to secure the waterfront.

  "How's everything coming along?" Sly asked.

  "Slowly." Langsten yawned wearily. "We simply do not have enough men to complete all the work. We've been working around the clock, and we're not even close to being finished blocking all of the slots along the dock, let alone starting work on reinforcing the harbor walls."

  "Reinforcements should be here soon." Sly reassured them. "Damion and the others should have reached Crete by now. It may take them a few days to get a force prepared to march, but then they'll send them straight here. We should have plenty enough manpower then."

  "Let's hope they get here soon." Juco groaned, wiping the sweat from his brow. "My men and I aren't accustomed to such labor. If it wasn't for all of the loot we have gathered from the houses we are demolishing, my men would have probably revolted. We're much better at splitting heads than demolishing houses."

  "It's good for them." Sly told him in an uncaring tone. "A little hard work is good for the soul."

  "You and your men will be able to rest once reinforcements have arrived." Damarius murmured absently, still staring at the plans spread out before them.

  "I hope so. We won't be much good against the Etazk if we're all too exhausted to fight."

  You had better hope you're not too tired," Sly cautioned in a grim tone. "Otherwise you and your men may find yourselves bent backwards over an altar with a Etazk priest ready to carve out your hearts."

  Juco frowned. "Maybe we should get back to work." He murmured to Langsten in a worried tone.

  Langsten sighed in resignation, then turned and followed the mercenary back to the towards the waterfront.

  **********

  "How is he?" Dar asked Lady Skie in a hushed tone. "Is he going to live?" He stared at Axel's lifeless form with worry. The young man had been unconscious ever since he had been stabbed trying to save Shirk from an attack by an Etazk spy.

  "It's hard to say. He lost a lot of blood, but the blade didn't appear to damage any vital organs."

  "He's going to make it." Shirk grumbled in a rusty voice, his expression stubborn. The bearded old bandit hadn't left the young man's side since they had brought him up to the castle. It was quite obvious that he felt responsible for the young man being injured.

  Axel suddenly moaned faintly, causing everyone to rush over to his bedside. They waited anxiously for several long moments, then he moaned again, and his eyes fluttered open. "W-What happened?" He asked in a weak voice, seeing everyone hovering around his bedside with worried expressions.

  "You were stabbed." Dar smiled down at the young man, who tried to sit up, but winced and fell back into his pillows. "One of those Etazk spies snuck up behind Shirk and tried to kill him, but you managed to save the old bandit's hide before he could strike."

  "You saved my life, Axel." Shirk told him in a thick voice, grasping one of the young man's hands. "If you hadn't tackled that spy, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

  "You would have done the same for me." Axel patted the old bandit's hand weakly.

  "We should let him get his rest." Lady Skie told everyone, laying a gentle hand against the young man's forehead.

  "I think I would rather have some wine," Axel said in a hopeful tone. "and maybe some food. I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

  "You haven't." Shirk snorted in relieved amusement. "You've been unconscious for four days." He waved it off. "It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that you get better. I'll have a servant bring you something to eat immediately." He hurried off in search of a servant.

  "He hasn't left your side in days." Lady Skie smiled fondly as she watched the old bandit disappear. "He was terrified that you weren't going to make it."

  "Really?" Axel looked surprised. "I never knew he cared that much."

  "Are you kidding? You just saved his life! I don't think he would have forgiven himself if you had been killed." She sighed. "Shirk tries to portray himself as rough and gruff, but he's really just a big teddy bear."

  "I'm sure it didn't help to know that Sly was going to murder him when the little thief found out Shirk allowed you to get yourself killed." Dar snorted in amusement.

  Axel chuckled, then went pale as his wound gave a fresh throb of pain.

  One of the castle clerics hurried into the chamber to check on his patient and immediately shooed Dar and Lady Skie from the room. They quickly left the room after assuring Axel that they would be back to check in on him a bit later, then started to make their way up to Damion's office.

  "Have you spoken with Captain Repheth about what his men found when he finished sweeping the city for spies?" Lady Skie asked the childlike sprite.

  "I spoke with him earlier this morning." Dar nodded. "He reported that they found nearly a dozen more Etazk by the time it was all said and done."

  "Were they able to take any of them alive?"

  "I'm afraid not." The childlike sprite frowned. "As soon as they realized that they had been discovered, they attacked, forcing Captain Repheth's men to kill them all."

  "That's unfortunate." Lady Skie sighed. "They could have provided us with some valuable information."

  They slowly began to make their way up the huge sweeping staircase that led to the upper levels of the keep, then stopped as they found their way blocked by a large burly servant.

  "Is something wrong?" Lady Skie asked the man as his expression suddenly became angry.

  The man didn't reply, but instead, withdrew a wicked looking dagger from beneath his robes and lunged at her, his eyes burning with hate.

  Lady Skie instinctively shrank back from the man's wild lunge, and her foot slipped off the edge of the step on which she was standing, sending her tumbling backwards down the unyielding stone staircase. She crashed into a heap at the bottom of the stairs where she lay unmoving

  Dar reacted instantly to the man's attack by throwing himself at the attacker's legs, tangling them both up, and sending them both tumbling down the stairs after Lady Skie. They crashed to a halt at the base of the stairs with Dar on top, who immediately untangled himself and scrambled clear.

  The man had been dazed by the fall, and slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, shaking his head in an effort to clear his wits. His eyes fell upon his dagger, which had been knocked from his grasp in the fall, and he slowly began to crawl forward, obviously planning to renew his attack.

  Before he man could react, the tiny little sprite dashed forward and launched a kick that caught the dazed man square in the jaw with an audible crack. The man slumped back to the cold stone floor, momentarily stunned by the sudden blow, then once again began to push up, an angry expression on his p
ale face.

  Dar scrambled over and scooped up the wicked looking dagger, then spun back to see the man had almost regained his footing. With a strength born of desperation, he swung the dagger with all his might, driving the sharp blade deep into the top of the man's head as he was pushing himself up to his feet.

  The man suddenly stiffened horribly, and then collapsed twitching to the ground, the hilt of his own dagger still protruding from his head.

  Shirk, followed closely by several of the castle guard, hurried into the hall, attracted by the commotion. "What the..." He stopped as his eyes fell upon Lady Skie's prone form. "Skie!" He rushed over to her side and gently took her into his arms, then looked to Dar, who was slumped against the staircase banister.

  "Assassin." Dar gasped, holding his ribs, which had been injured as he tumbled down the stairs. "He tried to stab Lady Skie, but she fell back to avoid the strike and tumbled down the stairs."

  "Grab him before he wakes up!" The bearded thief snarled to the castle guard, who hurried forward.

  "I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon." Dar told them, gesturing to the dagger protruding from the top of assassins head.

  "Are you okay?" Shirk asked, glancing up at Dar.

  "I think so." The tiny sprite groaned, gingerly probing his ribs with his fingertips. "I may have fractured a couple of ribs though."

  Shirk gently scooped Lady Skie up, and hurried up to her private quarters, ordering several different servants along the way to summon the castle clerics. He finally reached her private chambers and gently slipped her into her bed.

  "How is she?" Dar asked in a weak voice as he limped into the room.

  "She's still unconscious," Shirk murmured in a worried voice. "but nothing appears to be broken."

  Lady Skie suddenly moaned, and her eyelids fluttered open. "What happened?" She asked, trying to push herself up into a sitting position.

  "We were attacked by an assassin posing as a servant." Dar told her, slowly lowering himself down into a chair. "You fell back down the stairs and were knocked out."

  "How do you feel?" Shirk asked in concern.

  "My entire body is screaming like an abscessed tooth," She laughed weakly. "but I don't think anything is broken. I'll probably be one huge bruise by morning though." She glanced over at Dar. "What happened to the assassin?"

  "I threw myself into his legs and sent us both tumbling down the stairs after you." The childlike sprite winced, and placed a hand against his ribs. "I managed to land on top of him, then scrambled to my feet and kicked him in the face, hoping to knock him senseless, but he still kept trying to get up to attack. I finally had to kill him."

  "He's dead?"

  "Don't worry, dear one." Shirk reassured her, his face full of suppressed fury. "Dar made certain he won't be able to hurt anyone else. He drove the assassin's own dagger straight into the top of his head."

  "That's too bad." Lady Skie frowned. "He could have told us if there any more spies still left here in the city."

  "Don't worry about the spies." Shirk assured her gently. "We're going to take steps to make sure that none of them will be able to get close enough to you to try this again."

  One of the castle clerics hurried into the room and quickly shooed Shirk away from Lady Skie's bedside so she could be examined.

  The old bandit watched for a moment as the cleric began to inspect the young woman, then made his way out into the hall to speak with Captain Repheth. "I want this entire castle and city searched from top to bottom for any more spies or assassins. Anyone who has joined the castle staff in the last year needs to rounded up and questioned, and I want your best men posted outside Lady Skie's chambers day and night. I don't want this to happen again."

  "Understood." Captain Repheth gave him a brusque nod, then ordered several of his men to stand watch outside of Lady Skie's chambers, and hurried off to begin the search.

  "He didn't look happy." Dar commented, watching as the captain hurried off. "I think he may be a little angry that an assassin managed to make it passed his men. I don't envy the men that let him slip into the castle." He winced and rubbed his ribs gingerly.

  "How's your ribs?"

  "They hurt, thanks for asking." The tiny little sprite winced again. "I feel like I've been ran over by a herd of horses."

  "You should have the cleric take a look at them."

  Dar shook his head. "It wouldn't do any good. I'm not human, remember? Besides, there's really not much he can do for busted ribs. Luckily, Alena heal quickly. I should be fine in a few days."

  The cleric appeared in the doorway to Lady Skie's chambers.

  "How is she?" The old bandit asked in concern.

  "Lady Skie is going to be fine." The robed man informed him in a clinical tone. "Her left wrist has a slight fracture, and she has fairly extensive bruising, but she should make a full recovery. I wrapped her wrist in a splint, and gave her something to her ease her pain. She's resting now."

  "That's a relief." Dar sighed, then winced in pain and grabbed his ribs.

  "Injured ribs?" The cleric asked in mild curiosity.

  "I'll be okay." The little sprite insisted. "I just fractured a couple of ribs as I bounced down the stairs." His tiny face grew pale as a fresh wave of pain nearly overcame him.

  "Come, come," The cleric told him. "Let me take a look. I may not be able to heal them, but I may have something that will ease the pain a bit."

  Dar allowed the cleric to guide him into a nearby chair. "I hope Damion and the others are having better luck with the Etazk than we are."

  "So do I." Shirk agreed, sinking into another chair with a weary sigh. "Otherwise, we all may be in big trouble!"

  **********

  "What can you see?" Damion silently asked his familiar as the huge snow owl circled over what remained of the Walled city of Kainpre.

  "It's not a pretty sight." Snowfeather informed him, staring down at the carnage below. "Half of the city has been burned to the ground, and there are piles of dead bodies everywhere. The Etazk have built a large altar in the center of the city, and they appear to be sacrificing the survivors."

  Damion cursed vehemently. "Half of the city has been burned to the ground," He informed the others in a furious tone. "and they have built an altar in the city's center. They're sacrificing the survivors as we speak."

  After receiving the news about the Etazk's attack on Kainpre and the departure of their main army from Salastar, Damion and the others, accompanied by Bativa and his tribesmen, immediately set off to the south, while Garth, Ignan, and Zayan took the dwarves and the remaining forces north to assist in fortifying Sierra.

  Damion and the others finally reached the remains of Kainpre after nearly two weeks of constant riding through the seemingly endless expanse of the Deolan grasslands. They rose early every morning, long before the sun had even risen, and rode long into the night in an effort to reach the walled city, which was now overrun with enemy soldiers.

  They had been quite impressed at how efficient the tribesmen were at setting and breaking camp. It usually took an army of their size hours to set up and break camp, but the tattooed tribesmen were able to accomplish it in less than an hour, helping them gain valuable time in their panicked dash to Kainpre. The Deola were also able to travel far greater distances than normal horsemen due to their superior horses, enabling them to reach the walled city far sooner than the huge warrior would have ever expected.

  After ordering the main force to remain out of sight, Damion, Bativa, Raven, Slither, and Leia took a handful of warriors and slowly made their way closer to the ruined city. Once they had crept within eyeshot of the massive battlements, the huge warrior sent Snowfeather ahead to investigate the situation.

  "They're sacrificing the survivors?" Raven asked, her voice trembling with fury.

  "They're probably the poor souls who refused to convert to the worship of Etaz." Damion murmured, his mind racing. He turned to Bativa. "How long will it take your men to surround the
city?"

  "Not long," The chieftain replied with a frown. "but surrounding the city won't do us any good. The walls that surround the city are thirty feet thick, and hundreds of feet high. The tribesmen have always joked that the Lords of Kainpre were envious of Mercedia, and wanted to build a city that rivaled it. As long as the walls stand, my tribesmen are going to be useless."

  "Well, we need to something soon if we want to have any hope of rescuing any of the survivors." Raven declared in an anxious voice. It was obvious that she had been extremely distressed by the news that the Etazk were sacrificing the survivors.

  "I'll take care of the walls." Damion assured Bativa in a grim tone. "Just have your men surround the city and prepare to attack."

  "Are you going to... well, you know," The big tribesman made an elaborate gesture.

  "Yes," Damion replied, ignoring his daughter's giggles. "unless you have another way of bringing down those walls."

  The tattooed chieftain made a show of thinking it over. "None that I can really think of, no." He said finally. "Go ahead and blow it up."

  "That wouldn't work. The debris could injure our own forces."

  "What are you going to do then?"

  It was Damion's turn to make a show of thinking it over. "Do you remember when we destroyed Faldor's warehouses?" He asked finally, a huge grin on his face. "Remember how we removed the fence that surrounded the corral?"

  Bativa suddenly laughed, then turned and quickly spoke with one of his tribesmen, who immediately hurried off towards the rest of their forces.

  "What ever happened to Faldor anyway?" Raven asked curiously.

  "He is still working off his debt to the Deola." Bativa smiled broadly. "I have to admit, the little weasel has proven to be quite useful. He started by shoveling manure from the horse pens, but after a couple of months he suggested that we started stockpiling the manure and selling it to the various farms in the outlining foothills as fertilizer for their crops. I decided to take the chance and allowed him to run with the idea. He's been making my tribe thousands in gold ever since."