Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) Page 5

  "We always assumed that the spawn were nothing more than blood thirsty savages who delighted in feasting on the flesh of men." Brody murmured with a frown.

  "That'sss repulsssive." Slither grunted, stuffing a fist full of bacon into his gaping maw. "The ssspawn do not feassst upon men. They prefer deer, or rabbit, or pig." He gave the elven man a sidelong look. "Although SSSlither hasss never tried elf before." He ran his forked tongue over his razor sharp teeth suggestively.

  "How quaint," Brody murmured, seemingly unfazed, although his face was dangerously pale. "It even has a rudimentarily sense of humor."

  "What's on the agenda for the day?" Damion asked as he shoveled another bite of potatoes into his mouth.

  "We have a number of caravan leaders that have gotten together and formed a new guild independent to the Merchant's Guild." Shirk grumbled sourly. "I think they're planning on demanding that you lower the taxes on their caravans, or they will start bypassing Sevria altogether."

  "Let me guess," Lady Skie said in a knowing tone. "Each of these caravan leaders have been caught attempting to sneak out of Sevria without paying their taxes."

  "Good guess." The old bandit grinned. "Most of them have been caught multiple times. Two of them were even banned from trading in Sevria for a short time because of their multiple offenses."

  "Just tell them that we'll make sure to wave to them as they pass by." Raven told him dismissively. "I remember those men. They were the same merchants responsible for all of those shoddy gnomish goods that flooded the city a few years ago."

  "We won't be losing out on much if they decide to pass us by." Damion agreed. "We don't need them trying to foist anymore of their inferior goods to our citizens." He glanced back to Shirk. "Anything else?"

  "Let's see," The old bandit grumbled, pulling out a piece of parchment from his vest. "There's a problem with the work crews that are charged with maintaining the trade road. Ever since the battle that took place in Sierra, a number of goblins have been seen skulking around. In the last few months, they have began harassing the work crews as they pass. There haven't been any actual attacks as of yet, but it's probably only a matter of time before they begin ambushing our people."

  "SSSlither will look into it." The huge shadowspawn promised with a hiss. "The ssspawn will run them off before they caussse any problemsss."

  "That would be helpful." Damion nodded to Slither approvingly.

  "We also have a trade proposal from Kainpre." The bearded man continued with a smile. "Those few who survived the city's destruction discovered that they were sitting on a large gem deposit when they were clearing away the ruins. They are all well on their way to becoming very wealthy."

  "I'm happy to hear it." Damion smiled. "They deserve it after everything that they have been forced to endure."

  "You'll be even happier to hear that they wish to open a market here in Sevria to sell their stones. It's their way of thanking us for the aid that we have provided them for the last few years."

  "That's good to hear." Lady Skie said happily. "A gem market here in Sevria would be certain to bring in more caravans. More caravans will mean more taxes."

  "Is that all there is for the day?" Damion asked Shirk curiously.

  "Let me see," The bearded bandit quickly scanned the piece of parchment for a moment. "The stable hands were complaining about Storm again. He has apparently taken quite a shine to one of the mares, and refuses to let anyone near her."

  "I'll go look in on him." Damion chuckled. "He's probably just feeling a little cooped up, and is just trying to amuse himself."

  "That's about it." Shirk shrugged. "That's all that we had scheduled for the day. I guess things are finally beginning to run smoothly around here."

  "This is a rare treat." Damion smiled to their elven guests. "It's not every day that we find a bit of time for ourselves, let alone an entire day."

  "It's much the same on the Elven Island." Delilah smiled. "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if everyone in charge around the world just decided to take the week off and enjoy themselves."

  Shirk let out a snorting laugh. "The world would probably stop spinning!"

  Damion finally sat back from the table patting his stomach in contentment.

  "Finally had enough?" Sly asked sarcastically. "I didn't think you were going to leave anything for the rest of us."

  "It takes a lot to keep someone my size fed." The huge warrior shrugged. "Not all of us are suited to living solely on ale."

  "We ssshould get moving." Slither hissed to Leia. "The sssun isss ssshining brightly thisss morning. It ssshould provide usss with plenty of ssshadowsss in which to practice."

  "I just need to go slip into my armor." Leia quickly hurried away, only to return a few minutes later wearing her new armor.

  "Some of my best work." Damarius told Brody proudly. "I created it from the scales of a shadow dragon. They still retain their ability to absorb the surrounding darkness, giving the wearer a distinct advantage at night."

  "Intriguing." For the first time since arriving, the elven man looked genuinely interested. "Was it difficult to obtain the scales?"

  "It wasn't easy." The old wizard admitted dubiously. "We managed to kill a couple of the shadow dragons that attacked the city using the siege machines I designed. The rest were killed by Damion and the scarlet dragons. I have been experimenting with their remains ever since. When I realized the potential that the scales had when fashioned into armor, I set about making a set for Leia." He smiled smugly. "I'm not too proud to say that it came out better than I had anticipated."

  "I still think that you and Damion are being unreasonable." Sly grumbled to Damarius unhappily, staring at the shadowy armor with open envy. "Don't you realize what kind of an advantage that armor could give a person in battle?"

  "We're not hunting down anymore shadow dragons, Sly." The old wizard told him firmly. "You heard what Damion said. We don't want them reemerging and starting the slaughter all over again, just so you can have your own set of shadow dragon armor."

  "But..."

  "Enough, Sly!" Leia barked at the scruffy little man, causing him to jump into surprise. "They said no! Quit pouting like a child and get over it already!"

  Sly sighed in resignation, then returned to his spiced wine, still grumbling under his breath sourly.

  "Would you care to accompany me to the stables?" Damion asked his guests politely, rising to his feet. "Once I have looked in on Storm, I can take you on a tour of Sevria."

  "I would be interested in seeing a bit more of the city." Brody agreed with a nod.

  "I believe I shall remain behind with the other ladies, if I may." Delilah said, smiling at Raven and Lady Skie. "I'm still a bit weary from my travels, and it's been some time since I enjoyed the company of other women."

  "We would enjoy that very much." Lady Skie said happily. "It gets a bit tiring listening to the men gripe all day long."

  "I think I'll join you." Shirk murmured to Damion. "I need to stretch my legs anyway."

  Damion and the others left the ladies to their women talk and made their way down to the stables in the main courtyard outside of the massive castle.

  "Is it true that the scarlet dragons carved this keep out of the very mountainside?" Brody asked, looking around with a moderately impressed expression.

  "It is." Damion told him with a nod. "The original keep, Castle Rosewood, was destroyed during the search for the Dragon Sword. The construction of this keep was the scarlet dragons' way of repaying my freeing them from the Dragon Gem."

  They arrived at the stables to find a small crowd standing around with fearful expressions.

  "What's going on here?" Damion demanded of one of stable hands, who jumped nervously when he saw them approaching.

  "Storm is up to his same old tricks again, milord." The stable hand told him, holding out his hands helplessly. "He somehow managed to open the gate to his stall, and is refusing to let anyone enter the stables. He even grabbed poor old T
homas by his tunic and slammed him into the wall." He gestured to another man that was sitting on a nearby bench with his head wrapped in bandages, and a dazed expression on his face.

  "What set him off this time?" Shirk asked in amusement.

  "We just tried to take Lady Skie's new mare out so she could be groomed." The stable hand shrugged. "He appears to be completely smitten with her, and won't let anyone get close to her."

  "That brute is a menace." Sly grumbled to Damion sourly. "I think he sits around all day planning his next terror spree. It's getting to the point that we can't find stable hands willing to work for fear of Storm targeting them!"

  "What kind of horrid beast are they talking about?" Brody asked nervously, glancing first to Slither, then to the open stable door.

  "You'll see." Damarius replied with a mysterious grin.

  The crowd around the stable watched with bated breaths as Damion placed two fingers to his lips and blew a shrill whistle. Almost immediately, an enormous smoky grey stallion emerged from the stable and trotted up to the big warrior.

  "That is, by far, the largest horse I have ever laid eyes on!" The elven man said in astonishment. "It's huge!"

  "That's Storm." Leia informed him, hurrying forward to allow the massive warhorse to nuzzle her hand. "He's a Deolan warhorse. They're some of the largest horses on the planet." She nimbly scampered up onto the stallion's broad back. "They're bred to be vicious, and are unbeatable on the battlefield. Each one is worth a king's fortune, but the Deola rarely part with them. Only their finest warriors are allowed to ride them."

  "How did you get one?" Brody asked the huge warrior enviously.

  "I saved one of their chieftains' lives." Damion shrugged. "He gave me Storm as a way of showing his thanks." He turned his attention to the huge stallion, who was staring at the stable hand with aggressive eyes. "I hear that you're down here causing problems again." He murmured in a disapproving tone. "Haven't we talked about this?"

  The huge stallion looked away innocently.

  "I've also heard that you have a new love interest who you are refusing to let anyone go near."

  Storm threw his head back and nickered excitedly, then turned towards the stable doors and watched as a white horse suddenly appeared in the doorway and whinnied in response.

  "You old dog!" Damion laughed. "I'm happy you've found yourself a new girlfriend, but you need to allow the stable hands to do their jobs. You can't keep slamming them into walls every time you get annoyed."

  The massive stallion gave the injured stable hand an indifferent flick of his tail.

  "I'm serious." Damion told him firmly. "No more tormenting the stable hands. One more incident and I'll have them move your girlfriend to another stable."

  Storm stared at the huge warrior for a long moment defiantly, then the huge stallion sighed in defeat and stepped aside, allowing the stable hands to pass.

  "We'd better get ssstarted." Slither hissed to Leia, glancing up at the rising sun pointedly.

  "I'll see you later, father," She wrapped arms around the massive horse's neck in a quick hug, then scampered back to the ground.

  "Have a good birthday." Damion called after her as she hurried off with Slither in tow. "Try and stay out of trouble."

  "What should we do about Storm, milord?" The stable hand asked as he led Lady Skie's mare out into the courtyard to be groomed.

  "Why don't you start grooming both Storm and Aunt Skie's mare together from now on." Damion suggested as Storm trotted over to stand next to the mare. "And move her to the stall next to his so that they'll be close. That should calm him down a bit." He glanced at Storm. "Would that make you happy?"

  Storm nickered happily, and pawed at the cobblestones, sending sparks flying out from his steel shoes.

  With the crisis at the stables averted, they spent the next several hours touring the city and battlements, then they slowly started to make their way back up to the keep.

  "This is my stop." Sly told them as they reached one of the local taverns.

  "Isn't it a bit early to start drinking?" Damarius asked the scruffy little man in disgust.

  "For your information, the tavern owner and I are developing a new ale from a recipe that I obtained from a dwarf some years back. If we can perfect it, it could make us very rich men."

  "Ale is a drink for lesser races." Brody sniffed with a faintly disapproving expression. "Everyone knows that wine is the drink of the superior mind."

  "Is that so?" Sly's face darkened as he considered the fussy elf. "Well, I think..."

  "It's getting close to lunchtime," Damarius quickly cut him off. "I think that the cooks are preparing pheasant today."

  "Pheasant, you say?" The elven man asked with an interested expression, following the old wizard as he started off towards the castle, leaving Sly to stare after them with an irritated expression.

  When they reached the courtyard outside of the castle once again, they found Leia awaiting their return on the steps leading up to the towering keep.

  "Where's Slither?" Damion asked as they approached.

  "He wanted to go have a look at those goblins that Shirk mentioned." The young girl shrugged. "He said that he'll be back in a few hours."

  "How did your lesson go?"

  "Not as well as I would have liked." She admitted with a frown. "It's a lot more difficult to move silently through the shadows than I thought. I kept making so much noise that even a deaf man would have heard me."

  "You'll get better with practice." The huge warrior assured her. "It takes time to become proficient at such a thing."

  "How did the armor perform?" Damarius asked eagerly.

  "Perfectly." Leia smiled. "I can hardly even notice that I'm wearing it. I just can't seem to move through the underbrush without making a bunch of noise. Slither makes it looks so easy!"

  "Perhaps you do not have the aptitude to develop such skills." Brody suggested to the young girl in a dismissive tone. "You should stick to activities more suited for a child of your age."

  "Such as?" Leia asked, a dangerous gleam in her eye.

  "Most elven children spend their days perfecting their archery skills. There are no better archers in the world than the elven people, and I hold the honor of being among their very best."

  "Is that right?" The young girl murmured in a bland tone.

  "Would you care for a demonstration?"

  "I would, actually." Leia nodded.

  "Do we really have time for this?" Damarius complained sourly. "The pheasant is going to get cold."

  "Let them have their fun." Damion murmured to the old wizard quietly. "Besides, I think that Leia is planning on using this demonstration as an opportunity to put Etha Brody in his place. You wouldn't want to miss that, now would you?"

  "Well," Damarius conceded reluctantly. "since you put it that way, I think lunch can wait."

  It took a few minutes for the necessary equipment to be gathered, and for a pair of servants to erect a small target on a post at the far end of the courtyard, then Leia and Brody both stepped forward with bows in hand.

  "What do you think you're doing?" The elven man asked in bewilderment.

  "I thought we might have a bit of a contest." The young girl said innocently.

  "Really?" Brody couldn't keep the amusement from his voice. "What makes you think that you can hope to best me in an archery contest?"

  Leia merely shrugged, a small smile playing about her mouth.

  "Very well." The elf agreed. "I will be happy to give you a lesson in humility." He glanced at the target at the far end of the courtyard. "First to hit the target dead center wins. Agreed?"

  "Agreed." Leia nodded. "Would you care to put your money where your mouth is?"

  "Leia," Damion started in a disapproving tone, but stopped as the elven man held up one hand.

  "What would you care to wager?" Brody asked in an amusement.

  "How about this?" The young girl asked, gesturing to the pendant which dangled from her pal
e neck. "It's a Dragon's Eye, one of the rarest stones in the world. It's worth a king's fortune."

  "Against?"

  "If I win, I want your bow." The young girl said immediately, gesturing to the beautifully crafted weapon that the elf was holding.

  The elf's amused look crumbled. "This was my great grandfather's bow. He crafted it out of elder wood, a type of tree that hasn't existed for over two thousand years."

  "You can wager something else if you'd like." Leia murmured. "I'll understand if you're too afraid of losing it." Though she said this in a friendly tone, the taunt was obvious to everyone gathered.

  "Very well," Brody's agreed through clenched teeth. "Winner takes all."

  The young girl smiled broadly. "Consider it a wager."

  "Are you certain you want to do that?" Damion asked doubtfully.

  "Your daughter has reached the age that she must learn her lessons for herself." Brody told him in a lofty tone. "The loss of her pendant should help drive that point home."

  "I wasn't talking to her." Damion informed him in amusement. "I think you may regret this wager."

  "We shall see." The elf turned to Leia. "Shall I go first?"

  "Be my guest." The young girl smiled, then stepped back to allow him room to shoot.

  Brody stepped forward, his chin held high as he stared at the target at the far end of the courtyard. He wet one finger to test the wind, then slowly withdrew an arrow from his quiver and notched it to the string. He stared at the target for another long moment, then slowly drew back on the bow and let the arrow fly.

  The instant that he released his shot, Leia stepped forward with a look of determination on her face. In one fluid motion, she notched an arrow, drew back on her bow, and released her shot. Her arrow quickly overtook the arrow fired by the elf, splitting it clean in two before it had even traveled halfway across the courtyard, then continued on to bury itself deep in the center of the target.

  Brody stared in disbelief at his arrow, which lay in two separate pieces in the center of the courtyard, then he whirled to face Leia. "How did you do that?" He demanded, his face pale with fury.