Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow (24 page)

“It still smells of Morgathian backing”
Gallanth interjected
.
“While there are rogue drow, a dark elf sorcerer does not usually travel alone, or without at least two or more drow men-at-arms bodyguards; this one was trying too hard to look independent.
”

“That and the fact that the orcs did not even have a tribal standard, which likely they were attempting to project the image of being just a large raiding party. They are not attacking Alliance forces directly, only neutral, lightly defended villages and caravans that did not want our protection. This is likely some type of deeper plan than simple pillage or want of treasure or food,” Jodem surmised. He looked slightly puzzled as a small scowl came across his broad face, and he ran his fingers through his coarse dark gray hair.

“Were you able to take any prisoners, sir?” Mkel asked Colonel Sykes.

“No, the mountain giant managed to dive into the river and make it downstream,” the colonel replied. “The orcs were killed outright, for they were not in a surrendering mood.”

Mountain giants were excellent swimmers and could hold their breath for almost an hour, with some being able to breathe underwater.
That was an impressive feat for a creature so large to be that nimble
, Mkel thought to himself. They were the aloof but arrogant specimens of the giant races, taking on the very human trait of being either evil or good. Both types, however, considered themselves above all other races of giants. They were large powerful creatures, being second only to the thunder giants in size and strength. They could be up to eighteen feet tall and weighed five thousand pounds or more. They had bluish-white to granite gray skin and silver to bluish hair with clear blue or gray eyes. They were almost as diverse as men and were excellent strategists in war. The unique situation that there were both good and evil mountain giants almost led them to their destruction during the last Great Dragon War, for they attacked their counterparts relentlessly. Many had the spell ability of at least a mediocre cleric or sorcerer.

All mountain giants could throw good-sized rocks out to an effective range of one hundred fifty yards, inflicting great damage. They mostly preferred gargantuan spiked maces or metal clubs that inflicted crushing wounds due to their great strength. These agile brutes were very tough, being three times as resilient as a griffon, and they had a naturally thick skin. Most of the Morgathian or independent mountain giants inhabited crude mountain peak castles. Many of the remaining good mountain giants inhabited the Weirs or lived in mountains close to them and had defense pacts with the metallic dragons of the Alliance. Evil ones usually formed temporary alliances with chromatic dragons, especially red, blue, and greens, but they were careful, for often a chromatic turned on a giant for its treasure or to enslave it. They often headed up war bands of the other lesser giant races and evil creatures such as orcs.

“The drow wizard would have been an excellent source of information. I know this is difficult, but you should have your men try to take a prisoner if they can,” Jodem told General Daddonan.

“That drow was too powerful, and Andellion was barely able to defeat him, let alone try to capture him,” Daddonan said with authority.

“I realize that, but if drow are involved, this is the beginning of something larger. I’m surprised that you did not encounter a chromatic dragon or two,” Jodem said.

“We were lucky, even though nine land dragons could have countered a red dragon,” Daddonan replied.

“Yes sir, but you would have suffered heavy losses. Did the Dragon Council in Draconia tell you when you can expect to have a metallic out here anytime soon?” Mkel asked, tipping the hand on what they knew the general was going to ask.

“No, but I did hear it will either be one of the young coppers from Talinor Weir, with a brass dragon, or one of the new Avenger dragons from the capital,” the general answered with a raised eyebrow.

“We will feel more comfortable when we get some type of dragon support way out here, Captain,” Colonel Sykes said nervously but with a slight indignation.
Again that slight anxiety, almost animosity toward dragons and riders from higher ranking Alliance officers,
Mkel thought to himself, while not displaying any emotion or reaction.

I share your sentiment regarding the good colonel’s attitude toward dragons, my friend
, Gallanth said to Mkel telepathically as he tried to conceal his smile from his rider’s silent comment.

“Captain, you are going to Draconia for the monthly Senate and Dragon Council gathering?” General Daddonan interjected, to redirect the tone of the meeting, as if he could also detect Colonel Sykes’s growing attitude but did not want to correct him in front of his guests. He would reserve that task for later.

“Yes sir, Gallanth, myself, Jodem, and the other key leaders of Keystone Weir are going. Do you need transportation?” asked Mkel.

“No, a dragon from the Capital Wing is supposed to come and take me and my adjutant, although our teleportation circle is almost ready,” he replied. “I am looking forward to seeing the new Avenger dragons and to make sure that stationing dragons here at Battle Point is a priority. This also brings me up to the point I wanted to talk to you about.” He paused. “I know we will be getting a dragon dedicated to our city soon, but until then, I would feel a lot more comfortable if we had an interim defense agreement with a dragon and rider, like one of the most powerful dragons in the Alliance, for example,” he said with a smile.

“Sir, you know that Gallanth and I are supposed to be solely dedicated to Keystone Weir, the town of Draden, and its regiment under Colonel Wierangan,” Mkel explained with all sincerity. “I would not enter into another agreement unless I talked to the colonel. Now I will tell you that if Battle Point ever needs us or even the whole Weir garrison, we will be more than willing to fight with you and reinforce your legions.”

“Yes, and that is both comforting and appreciated, but you also know, as I do, that as the senior dragon and rider and leader of a Weir, you are not totally bound by the Alliance military code. You enjoy a certain limited freedom and autonomy, in that you have flexibility in how you align yourself and those who you command. You are not bound to the Draden regiment,” the general said with a softer, more convincing tone.

“I do understand that, sir, but it would not be honorable to make deals behind Colonel Wierangan’s back that would leave him high and dry. The forces stationed around Draden are only a regiment, not a legion, like Colonel Lordan and Talonth have at Eladran Weir. The garrison at Keystone Weir is an integral part of the Draden regiment’s forces, and I have made a defense allegiance agreement with Draden and its regiment. A dragonrider’s word is his bond. I know that if we talk to Colonel Wierangan, we can come to some sort of agreement,” Mkel answered.

“We can pursue that course of action, but again there is a simpler solution,” Daddonan responded. “The increased trouble we have been experiencing in our region could be abated or put to rest if hostile forces would see a metallic dragon flying and patrolling the skies over our lands, especially a gold dragon.”

“While that might be true in the short term, General,” Jodem chimed in, “I feel there is a new threat rising, and just a show of force by Captain Mkel and Gallanth would only delay the inevitable. A fight is brewing and likely cannot be avoided, only dealt with and won.” Jodem usually sat back and analyzed the situation before weighing into the discussion, but he spoke up sooner here.

“Plus, if my rider and I started to patrol the skies tomorrow,”
Gallanth added,” sufficient force might be brought against us so that we would need to call for reinforcements ourselves. Surprise would be the key in this situation. Also, there is a great threat currently looming in the Fire Mountains that we, Haldrin’s elves, and Eladran Weir are currently keeping an eye on. This could pose a significant threat to Alliance territory if left unchecked.”

“Master Dragon, being the largest gold dragon, and the most powerful dragon in the world other than Michenth, you would inspire great fear in any chromatic that would dare venture anywhere close to your Weir or our territory,” General Daddonan said.

“Yes, General, you would think, and nonaligned or independent chromatics usually respond that way; however, there has been an increased coordination growing in their ranks as of late, and this means a likely Morgathian connection,” Gallanth added.

“We have been witnessing an unholy alliance between many of the closer orc tribes and the giants in the southern elbow where the Gray Mountains meet the fire caps,” Jodem added. “We are expecting a major battle any time soon. There have been signs that several red and blue dragons have been working in concert in this gathering, along with you slaying a drow sorcerer, as Gallanth said, a dark force is rising under a suspicious cloud. If there is an organization of all the forces we have been discussing, especially chromatic dragons, we along with Gallanth will need reinforcements. The problem is where the next strike will come from and how spread out our forces are. This will determine a great deal. What is the true situation of the northern clans and the southern kingdoms?”

“Master Wizard, I know you know of the growing hostilities between the nomadic clans and many of the southern kingdoms,” General Daddonan said. “Ten years ago, the horse clans were striking deep into the eastern lands and Morgathian territory, taking both wealth and resources from those areas. With the Morgathians and their Southern Ontaror kingdom puppets still reeling from the losses they suffered at our hands in the Great Dragon War, they were vulnerable to the rapid quick strikes of the Kaskar clans.

“Lately, however,” the general continued, “with the combination of orc and drow pressure, and the ever increasing number of chromatic dragon attacks along with their own internal problems, the Kaskars are on the defensive. They are only organizing small raiding parties into Morgathian-protected lands, which has been only enough to keep them slightly off balance. The orcs and drow are under Morgathian control, with the dark armies led by errant death knights, Morgathian sorcerers, and scattered chromatic dragons. They are attacking deep into the eastern portions of the Kaskar lands but are still being driven back, with both sides incurring heavy losses.

“The Kaskars can drive the white, green, and black dragons away with moderate success,” Daddonan said, “due to those types possessing weaker magic shields and the effectiveness of their obsidian arrowheads. Blues and especially reds, however, give them a great deal more trouble. The Kaskars, as you know, are mostly mounted cavalry, using their dismounted infantry as fodder. While their saber-toothed tigers and riders are feared, and the mammoths they employ are like our land dragons, they are not as effective or nearly as coordinated. The giant snow hawks and ravenhawks that make up their aerial wings, while numerous, depend on mass attacks, unlike our hippogriffs, giant eagles, and griffons. They are very mobile on the plains, however, and Morgathian cavalry is too heavy to chase them, and the orc’s dire wolves are too slow. They’ve learned to react well to dragon attacks, being able to scatter quickly to minimize their breath weapons and spell effects. Like I mentioned before, their leaders do not seem to mind taking a great deal of casualties, as long as the outcome is in their favor.

“Lately, King Reshdon, in their capital city Elsidor, is losing his ability to bring the clans together when the situation is required,” General Daddonan concluded. “The Kaskar Empire is suffering from a great deal of internal strife and in-fighting. There is an unusually aggressive atmosphere among clan leaders that has weakened the region.”

“How are they countering the Morgathian and drow sorcerers along with the chromatics?” Jodem asked.

“They swarm the diving chromatic dragon with a barrage of obsidian-tipped arrows and hundreds of the mounted snow and ravenhawks,” General Daddonan explained, “which eventually either drives them off or fells them. The whites usually attack until they are killed or severely wounded, as do the blacks. The greens are more cautious but still are aggressive and sadistic, but they usually retreat. Blues are much more deliberate and will usually fall back after both inflicting and taking a great deal of damage. Red dragons, as you know, are the most dangerous, and it takes several clans in concert to drive one off. The drow and Morgathian sorcerers are just as hard for them to fight, especially if they are on a flying mount. Again, barrages of arrows and spears finally break their magic shields. The Kaskars do have a few moderately powerful sorcerers that have bastardized dark crystals or pieces of a young chromatic’s synthensium as a source of their magic. Their crude craftsmen do synthesize weapons from dragon parts of the chromatics that they manage to kill.” General Daddonan explained. The general moved to show his guests a large map on the wall.

“It is very dangerous to use a dark crystal,” Jodem said with concern, “for its malevolent powers can either seduce or destroy the wielder. Are they getting them through trade or warfare?”

“A little of both,” Colonel Sykes interjected, “but their sorcerers don’t usually last long enough for their crystals to overtake them.”

“This is why now is the time for you, Gallanth, and your whole garrison to come out here. It would be a great bargain, not only for protection but to set up the Alliance for a speedier negotiation to bring the Kaskar clans back into the fold,” General Daddonan added.

“It is also well known that the Kaskars are very distrustful of the Alliance and especially dragons. This is not easy to understand, because they and the kingdom of Freiland share a common ancestry, with the Freilanders being our strongest ally,” Jodem said.