Dragon Apocalypse (The Berserker and the Pedant Book 2) (3 page)

“You can pay for them?”

Maximina pulled out a small sack and dumped its contents out onto the table.
 
A large pile of coins and gems stacked up on the table.
 
The proprietor gave her a strange look.

“It’s a magic sack,” she explained.
 
“It can hold rather more than it appears capable of holding.”

“I see.
 
I may have some other items for sale you’d enjoy owning.”

“Do tell!”

Upon leaving both Gurken and Maximina, Pellonia realized she had no idea how to find the town leaders.
 
She stood in the middle of the street, contemplating her next move when a woman carrying a load of soiled clothing in a basket happened by.

“Excuse me miss!” Pellonia shouted, walking over.

“Who, me?”

“Yes.
 
Sorry, but I’m looking for the leaders of the town.
 
My friends and I are going to go and kill the dragon.”

“Well, arn’t you the cute lil’ dragon slayer,” the woman cooed.
 
“Thir’teen years ol’ and all ready to go hunt the dragon, eh?
 
‘Fraid it’s gonna be your turn to feed the beastie next are ya?”

“No, I—”

“Well, now.
 
There’s a simplah way to make sure you aren’t the next maiden to take a turn wit’ him.
 
If ya know what I mean.”

“Not really,” Pellonia said, shaking her head.

The woman grinned.
 
“The dragon only eats maidens, lil’ girl, so ya best be making’ sure that you’re not one when your name gets called.”

“Thanks for the relationship advice, but I’m really just looking for the town leaders.”

“There ya go, then.
 
That’s your solution.
 
The town leaders can be found in the same place you can go to take care of your dragon problem, the Cat’s Meow.
 
It’s a brothel, also a bar and laundry, but mostly a brothel.
 
I’m walkin’ that way now, you’re welcome to tag along.”

Pellonia scrunched up her face.
 
“Thanks, but I’ll pass.
 
Does anyone else know where the dragon lives?”

“Oh, everyone knows that, lil’ girl.
 
They’re taking a virgin to be sacrificed tomorrow.
 
Leaves from the Horny Dragon Inn at dawn.
 
I know, I know, it’s a shame about the name of the place, but it was called that long before the dragon started eating virgins.
 
Dragons do have horns, after all. At least, I think they do, never bothered to see it for mahself.
 
Perhaps I should go tomorrow.
 
They tried ta change the name o’ the inn once, but the Flaming Dragon Inn drew a different sort of crowd, so they changed it back.
 
Now all kinds of people meet there.
 
Lil’ girl? Where’d you go?
 
Huh.
 
She seems to have wandered off.”

Gurken arrived at the wizard’s tower.
 
It was a stone structure three stories tall.
 
The tallest building in town.
 
There was no visible door at the bottom of the tower and the only windows were up on the third story.

“Hullo!
 
Wizard!” Gurken shouted, straining his neck to look at the windows.

There was a blinding flash and a plume of smoke in front of Gurken.
 
When the smoked cleared, there was an extraordinarily skinny man standing in front of him, leaning on a staff.
 
He wore silken wizarding robes and a pointed hat typical of his order.
 
One of the wizard’s eyes was blue, and the other seemed slightly larger and had a brownish-red tint.

“Who dares intrude upon the mighty Magdar?” The wizard coughed.
 
“Upon my domicile!
 
What do you want?”

“It’s my axe, wizard.
 
It’s magic and it stopped working.
 
I was hoping you could have a look at it.”

“Magic has changed, young dwarf,” the wizard said in a kind voice.
 
“Those that have spent years practicing wizardry have suddenly become unable to wield it.
 
However, it’s quite uncommon for enchanted items to cease functioning.
 
I’ve not heard of it before.
 
Let me have a look at your axe.”

Gurken handed over his axe to the wizard.

“Mmmm, yes, I see,” said the wizard.
 
“Here’s the problem.
 
These are dwarfen runes and with the recent changes in magic, they should be dwarv—
 
Hold on, then.”
 
The wizard looked up at Gurken and squinted, his voice deepening. “Are you Gurken Stonebiter?”

“Aye.”

“Templerager of the Stonebiter clan?”

“Aye.”

“Avatar of Durstin Firebeard?”

“Aye.
 
It seems that you know me, wizard.
 
What of it?”

“We’ve been looking for you.”
 
The wizard hissed, his tone changing.
 
The wizard smiled, his tongue sticking out slightly between his teeth.
 
Gurken saw it was no tongue.
 
It was a pink tentacle writhing across the wizards teeth.
 
“And now you have no magic and I have your axe.
 
I am the bearer of the Eye of Venka and you’re at MY mercy.”

At that, the wizards brownish eye turned entirely red and protruded from its socket.
 
A red haze seeped from around the eye as it glowed and pulsed.
 
The wizard raised his staff and the ground trembled.
 
Smoke spewed from the end of the staff, circling up and around the wizard’s head.
 
Lightning crackled.
 
Thunder boomed.
 
He laughed a deep, echoing laugh.

Gurken flicked a dart into the wizard’s eye, walked over, retrieved his axe from the corpse and walked off.
 
“Phage,” Gurken said, shaking his head.

Maximina, Gurken, and Pellonia met back up in the town square.

“I didn’t get the dog’s food.
 
I got something so MUCH better.”

“I didn’t find the town’s leaders, but I do know how to find the dragon!”

“I didn’t get the axe fixed.
 
The wizard was Phage.
 
I killed him.”

Maximina and Pellonia stared at Gurken.

“Can’t I let you alone for five minutes without you killing someone?” Pellonia asked.

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

The Pedant and the Unnamed One

ARTHUR GIMBLE SMILED. It was a wry smile of self-satisfaction with a task well begun.
 
He looked out over the city of Arendal from his tower, watching as people ebbed and flowed below like so many fish in the sea.
 
Swimming around, living their lives, unaware of the danger that stalked them.
 
The tentacle that had replaced his tongue when the Phage took him writhed reflexively in his mouth, its suckers attaching to the roof and popping free as it pulled away.

Why couldn’t these people see that their time was numbered, that the Phage were inevitable?

There was a knocking at the door.

“M’lord Gimble,” came a hesitant voice from the door.

“Enter,” Arthur said.

The door opened slowly, a long creak punctuating the silence in the room.
 
A face popped around the side, looking into the room as if to weigh it for potential danger.
 
Then, seeing that Arthur stood relaxed and waiting, a man entered the room.
 
He was a young man, pale with a matted head of black hair.
 
He was over six feet tall and bulky.
 
His black woolen wizarding robe, patched many times over the years, covered his muscular frame.

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“Sire, our operative has returned.
 
She somehow managed to retrieve the Orb of Skzd from the temple, as commanded.”

“Excellent.”

“Bring her and the orb to me.”

“At once, sire.”
 
The young wizard backed out of the room, bowing as he went.
 
When he reached the door he pulled it closed behind him.

The young wizard returned with an object draped with a black cloth.
 
He bowed before Arthur, holding the object up.
 
“Sire, I’m sorry but she left before I returned to fetch her.”

Arthur let out a long sigh and shook his head sadly.
 
“When did you pay her?” he asked.

“She requested payment before I came up to inform you.
 
Why do you ask?”

Arthur crossed his arms and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose under his glasses.
 
“It’s so difficult to acquire good minions on this world.”

He lowered his hands.
 
“Look, Doofus-“

The young wizard interjected, “It’s Rufus, sire.”

Arthur continued, paying the interjection no notice.
 
“That is, at least, the expected orb in your hands, is it not?”

“Yes, sire.
 
At least, I believe it is.”

“Ah.
 
Did you check?”

“I wouldn’t say that I checked, if I were being precise, sire.
 
I might say only that I took steps to discover its veracity.”

“That step wouldn’t be asking the thief, would it?”

“Yes, sire.”

“Good. Wait… yes it isn’t or yes it is?”

“You are very precise, sire.”

“Some might say I proceed with an overabundance of caution.”

“Just so, sire.
 
Might I be so bold as to suggest you look under the cloth?”

“Very well, Doofus.”
 
Arthur pinched the center of the cloth with his fingers and raised the cloth.
 
Underneath was a metallic cube with smooth and reflective surfaces.