Dragons trial, p.14
Dragon's Trial, page 14
part #3 of The Demon's Blade Series
The somber mood persisted throughout the morning, as the party traveled away from the city of Cupernous, then started on a course around the city. The traveled a wide arc around the perimeter of the basin, and by afternoon, the city lay well behind them. They trudged onward through the empty desert in silence. Around midafternoon they came to a road, or at least that was what Skarn called it. It amounted to little more than a path marked by squat smooth dome shaped stones that wound from one isolated rock formation to the next, but it was better than nothing, as long as it took them into the Burning Lands.
They had traveled just a short distance along the road, when Darien caught sight of movement in the sky, a dark black just barely visible against the darkening northern sky. He brought the group to a halt, and surveyed the area around. The nearest rock formation was over two hundred yards away, too far to reach without running, and the dragon would surely notice that. There was no chance to hide, and no chance to escape. Nothing to do but wait, and hope it didn’t see them.
Darien raised a hand. All understood his meaning and came to a halt. They stood, still as statues. From a distance, they might be mistaken for a rock formation. The shadow grew larger in the sky as it drew nearer, obviously a dragonkin, but the angle of the sun made it impossible to see anything but the basic shape. Our good luck continues, Darien grumbled to himself. At least there’s only one. His hand moved silently and almost invisibly to his aetherblade. The dragon wheeled in a circle above them. It paused, then veered towards the party and descended.
“Well, it’s obviously seen us now,” Tobin said. “What should we do?”
“There’s only one,” Darien said. “I don’t think it’s hostile. If it were, why engage when obviously outnumbered. It’s probably an Ebonscale sentry watching the road. We just have to convince them we’re not enemies.”
“And if it is hostile?” Tobin asked.
“Then it will have made a very foolish decision to approach us alone.”
The dragon descended with impressive speed, set down about thirty yards ahead, and walked slowly toward them. The dragon wore crimson armor, with yellow diagonal stripes across it. As it drew nearer, the dragon removed a helmet, to reveal a head of long fire red hair that nearly matched her helmet, a woman. Skarn let out a low, murmuring growl, but the rest remained silent, as Darien strode forward to meet her. He stopped when he was within about five feet, and regarded her. She stood several inches taller than he, and looked down towards him, meeting his stare with yellow green eyes that shimmered in the dim light.
“I am Tzia.” The dragon warrior spoke with a purring hiss to her voice, rather like a cat, a voice that was calm and pleasant, but gave hint of a harsh power lying just beneath the surface. “I am a sub-commander of the Ebon Legion. You are Darien the Executioner, are you not?”
Darien gave no response at first. How this dragon knew who he was, he had no idea, but this was not the first time a secretive and isolated race had recognized him instantly. He knew better than to lie to a dragon, so he nodded his head and answered. “I am. My companions and I are on an errand to the north, in the Burning Lands. We come from the south, from the city of Trinium. We have come to speak with the Ebonscale, to your Greatmother, if it is possible.”
“I know of your errand, and your origins. Lady Niarie has informed us of your coming. I am glad that I found you before you encountered the enemy. She feared you would attempt to enter Cupernous to look for her. It is good that you are not so foolish.”
Darien struggled to keep his face from giving anything away. Lady Niarie? What was going on? He started to ask a question when a gasping Jerris ran in front of him.
“Niarie! Do you know where she is? What happened? Is she alright?” Jerris rambled and stuttered, barely able to contain himself.
“Jerris, not now. Just let me handle this.” Darien grabbed his erstwhile apprentice by the back of his shirt and hauled him unceremoniously backwards, deposited the young half-elf roughly behind him, and turned back to Tzia. “I apologize for my companion’s outburst. He is young and has forgotten his manners.”
“Jerris. So this is the young mage who defeated three Copperhide warriors.” Jerris picked himself up off the ground, mumbling and scowling at Darien. Tzia watched him carefully as she spoke. “No apology is necessary, and I will answer your questions. She is alive, and has done us a great service. She is our honored guest. She waits for you in the fortress of Kilnar, some two days march north of here. I have been sent to search for you, and see that you reach Kilnar as soon as possible.”
Darien’s mind filled with questions. How had Niarie gone from being captured by the dragon, Kalasz, to being an honored guest of the Ebonscale, and what service could she have possibly done, useless as she was? Were it any race besides a dragon standing before him, he would have suspected a lie. “So, what has happened? When last we saw our companion, she had been captured by an enemy.”
“Yes, I understand you have questions, and I will answer, but first I have a personal message for him.” Tzia looked over to Jerris who was still standing stiffly behind his teacher. When the young half-elf realized that she was speaking to him, he stood up straight and moved beside Darien. “Jerris Tolmirran, Lady Niarie asked that you be brought to Kilnar as soon as possible. She is concerned for your safety.”
“You, wait what?” Jerris stammered. “Immediately, you mean you want me to… you want me to fly with you?”
“With your permission of course,” Tzia said. “Lady Niarie was particularly interested in seeing you as soon as possible.”
“Darien, is it alright if I go?” Jerris had begun his furious fidgeting.
“I have no objection,” Darien answered rigidly. In fact, Darien had many objections, but none were worth the risk of insulting the Ebonscale and ruining any chance to learn where the Star Sword had been hidden. By some stroke of luck, the Ebonscale seemed to be expecting him, and they were friendly. Perhaps my luck has turned after all, he thought.
“Alright. I’ll go, but how are you going to fly me there and escort everyone else to Kilnar at the same time?”
“Actually, I’m not.” Tzia smiled and took a small chalky blue cylinder from a pack on her belt, then raised it over her head, and put her lips to it. A spark of fire escaped her lips and engulfed the cylinder, which then caught and flashed into a large blue ball of flame. The blue orb rose into the air perhaps a hundred yards then exploded in a cloud of blue sparks like tiny stars. She then looked back to Jerris. “The honored elder Gransz, consort of Greatmother Zela, will carry you. I was to signal him when I found you, and so I have. He should be here in a few minutes.”
Darien walked the few yards back to where the rest of the party waited, and explained the situation. The various members of the party exchanged looks of astonishment and relief that Niarie was safe. Even more inexplicable was Niarie’s apparent newly-exalted status with the Ebonscale. Ceres barely even objected to Jerris flying with an elder dragon, seemingly resigned to the fact that she couldn’t control him. Geoffray made several irritating comments about the Divinities favor and the path of righteousness that Darien struggled to ignore.
After a short few minutes, another dark shape appeared in the northern sky heading towards them. This one moved faster, swiftly getting closer and larger. Within a frighteningly short period of time, the elder dragon was upon them. It landed a dozen yards away with a thump that shook the ground beneath them. Each enormous wing stretched out a dozen yards from the dragon’s body, which was lean, tough, and bulging with muscle. Black scales shimmered in the twilight where the light of the evening touched them, and faded into the darkness where it did not, blurring the edges of the dragon’s form.
Jerris gulped audibly, and Darien leaned in quickly, whispering in his ear. “No backing out now. We don’t want to insult them.” Jerris nodded weakly and stepped forward. He seemed utterly perplexed as to how to reach the dragon’s back, which was well above his height. The dragon seemed to anticipate this difficulty, and whipped his long, snakelike tail around, coiled it round Jerris’ chest under his arms, then lifted the young half-elf, and deposited him between two large, triangular scales. Jerris had time only to give Darien a weak and nervous nod before the dragon lifted off into the air, and flew off to the north.
“He is a courageous one,” Tzia commented. “Truthfully, I doubted he would agree to the flight, but Niarie insisted we ask.”
“His courage seems limitless where Niarie is concerned,” Darien said aloud. If only he had the wisdom to match it, he added silently.
A company of Ebonscale soldiers appeared a few minutes after Jerris left. They established a perimeter around the area and patrolled the skies. They took the watch and gave the party some badly needed rest. For the first time in days, they ate at leisure while Tzia explained the situation at Cupernous, and how Niarie had spotted the advancing army. She left out a great many details regarding the exact circumstances of Niarie’s escape. Darien knew that anytime a dragon failed to tell the full and complete truth, it almost certainly meant they had been ordered not to divulge certain details. However, he was in no position to press the matter. He contented himself that the Ebonscale appeared to be receptive to talking. Once they reached Kilnar, perhaps he would get some answers.
Chapter 17: On the Dragon’s Back
Jerris struggled to hold on to the dragon’s large triangular scale as the world below sped away beneath him. Within seconds, the figures of Darien and the others shrank, blurred, and disappeared. The massive elder dragon gained speed beneath him, and the force of the air nearly knocked him off, but once the initial burst of acceleration had passed, Jerris stabilized himself, and lowered his body close to the dragon’s back. The wind whipped through his hair and roared in his ears as the dragon sped across the open plain. With each upbeat Jerris felt massive muscles churning beneath him, then felt the dragon rise slightly after each downbeat. It was a uniquely thrilling experience.
The world flashed beneath them, a blur of tan, yellow, and gray. The sun in the western sky seemed far larger from this height as it drew lower to the horizon. As they sped northward, Jerris began to notice strange rock formations far below. They cast long shadows out eastward, shadows that seemed to take the form of dragons in flight, long spears, and battle axes. It seemed an odd sight. Amazingly, the shadows seemed never to touch one another, and as soon as one disappeared behind them, another would appear ahead. Suddenly, Jerris realized that the rock formations must have been placed purposefully by the dragons, who might use them as a kind of road map that they could easily see from far above. What a marvelously clever system, he thought.
As the sun descended in the west, stars appeared in the eastern sky. The twilight created a mystical world from so high up. The ground seemed to be painted in colors almost as varied as those in the sky. Soon Jerris noticed the land rising, or was the elder dragon simply descending? It was difficult to say. Either way, the ground was definitely growing closer, and more than that, a dark wall had appeared in the distance in front of them, perhaps a sheer cliff face. Within a few minutes, the wall had grown closer, definitely a cliff. The land beyond the wall to the north was higher. The cliff seemed to mark the edge of a plateau. As the dark cliff face grew larger ahead, the young half-elf began to see the shapes of individual spires of rock along the top of the cliff, the teeth of the dragon, Skarn had called it, beyond which lay the wastes of the Burning Lands, and the territory of the Ebonscale.
Jerris gained a sense of the frightening speed of the dragon’s movement. He realized with wonder that miles upon miles had passed beneath them. The two days’ march that Darien and the others would make had vanished in just minutes. What a marvelous freedom the dragons must have, Jerris wondered, to travel across the world in hours instead of days.
Soon, their destination came into view, a city, somewhat similar to Cupernous. The buildings were shaped in a similar way, but these seemed more varied both in color and size. Most of them had were black with a metallic sheen, but some were copper colored as those in Cupernous, while others were violent red, and still others almost silver. It had to be Kilnar.
A path wound back and forth up the steep side of the cliff to the city. The city lacked walls on the southern side, where the cliff provided better protection than any constructed walls could. The walls around the rest of the city were high, and strangely shaped, angled steeply outwards, and Jerris wondered how they managed to remain standing, and indeed what purpose walls served for a race that possessed flight. Though it was hard to judge at height, the city seemed rather smaller than Cupernous, and far smaller than the human cities Jerris had passed through in the South. It was a few dozen large round buildings gathered around a larger one at the center. They had called Kilnar a fortress, so perhaps it’s only function was to guard the plateau. Strangely, almost the entire city, walls, buildings, and all seemed to be metallic. Jerris had never seen so much construction with metal. It lent the entire city an air of formidability, like the city itself was a weapon, forged of hard steel just as a sword or a shield.
Jerris felt the beast slow beneath him, and begin to descend toward the city. Soon Jerris could make out the tiny forms of ordinary dragons scurrying about the city, along with several elders who towered above most of the buildings. It looked like they were preparing for battle.
They flew towards the largest building, a black dome far larger than the others. The dragons below hurried away, clearing a large open area for them to land. Seconds later, the elder dragon touched down with careful and surprising gentle grace. The elder dragon wrapped his tail around the young half-elf and placed him gently on the ground. The dragon turned briefly to Jerris and moved his head in what Jerris guessed must be some kind of nod, but said nothing, then leapt into the air again, the rush of wind from his wings nearly knocking Jerris to the ground. He must have other business elsewhere, Jerris thought. I would have preferred he at least say something, like where Nia is, or where I can rest.
Jerris’ legs shook unsteadily beneath him. The flight had been more strenuous than he thought, or perhaps his sense of balance was off. Either way, the world seemed to sway slightly beneath him, a rather disturbing feeling. What am I supposed to do now, he wondered? He started off toward the large building in the center of town, reasoning that would be the best place to start looking for Nia. Dragons passed back and forth all around him, going about their business, oblivious to his presence. A few were obviously warriors, large and strong like those he had fought before, wearing crimson and black scaled armor with various decorations. Others were smaller, some his own size, and some no larger than children. It was strange to think that creatures of such different sizes could all be the same race. The smaller ones wore humbler clothes, brown linens and dark dyed wools not unlike what had been common in his home of Kantu. These had to be the commoners, born in the usual way to dragonkin mothers, rather than hatched from eggs laid by broodmothers. The dragon life cycle seemed strangely complicated.
Jerris became so fascinated by watching the dragons, he scarcely noticed a familiar figure approaching.
“Jerris, it is you, isn’t it?” The voice was familiar. Jerris turned to see a young man with brown hair. At first, he did not recognize, but then he remembered waking up with a headache some weeks ago.
“Hey, you’re the one that was spying on me in Trinium. Nielas wasn’t it?”
“Yes, I’m glad that you remember me.” The young man did not smile, and gave the impression that he was not particularly pleased to see Jerris. “They told me Gransz was coming, so I knew they must have found you. The Golden Shield is in your debt for aiding Niarie in her time of need. Your heroism is respected, and the Archmage asked me to convey his personal thanks.” Nielas bowed stiffly and formally, then took Jerris by the wrist and started to lead him away, but Jerris jerked back.
“Hold on a minute,” Jerris protested. “Nia’s grandfather is here? For that matter, what are you doing here?”
“There will be time for explanations, but let me take you to Nia.” Nielas grabbed Jerris’ wrist again. “She was worried, and she will be glad to hear that you are safe.”
“How did she escape?”
“I’ll let her tell you that story, if you’ll just come with me.”
Jerris dropped his protests and followed Nielas. He walked towards the large building at the center of town, but veered off to the right towards a smaller structure, a square building, gray brick, about three stories high. It looked terribly out of place in the dragon city. It looked like any common human structure, and Jerris guessed that it had not been built by the dragons.
Inside, the building was simple, a small common room with a fireplace and dining area on the ground floor, and a long hallway with rooms on either side. Nielas led Jerris to one of the doors and knocked. A few seconds later, the wooden door creaked open. Jerris almost cried when he saw her.
“Jerris?” The voice sounded beautiful, a music he’d thought lost forever. “Oh, they found you! Thank goodness!” She ran forward and wrapped her arms around him. Jerris responded by pulling her close. He would have dearly loved to hold her that way for hours, but she pulled away, her face red and decidedly nervous, though she allowed Jerris to hold her hands at least.
Jerris suddenly remembered that Nielas was still standing in the open doorway. He gave no outward sign of disapproval, surprise, nor even a hint of awkward discomfort. He just stood there stonily, a disturbing lack of reaction. He had suspected the Golden Shield would not approve of his relationship with Nia any more than Ceres and Darien.
