In Treachery Forged (The Law of Swords) (46 page)

A loud crash and an explosion interrupted him. “Rest time is over,” Sir Leno sighed. “We have to break out of here and cut through their line back to the forest. Then we run to safety.”

“I will take the vanguard position, I will,” Wangdu declared. “I have certain Elven skills which may be useful in that role, I have.”

“Good,” Sir Leno said. “Tur’Ba, I want you to stay at her highness’ side and keep her safe. She’s powerful with magic, and from what I’ve been told can handle herself well with hand-to-hand, but given how much intense magic can exhaust a person she may need periodic rest and recovery periods. I’ll cover the rear. Uwelain, bring the prisoner. Forge, Mogs, protect the flanks. Milady, we’re going to be protecting you so that you can unleash whatever magic you have – but don’t hesitate to rest if you need a moment to recover. The rest of us should be able to hold them off for a while. It will be much worse if you strain yourself to where you’re left defenseless.”

“Thank you, Sir Leno,” Euleilla said, taking her position in their impromptu formation. She wasn’t sure she liked being so far out of the action, but then again she was at a disadvantage at close range despite her skill with the quarterstaff.

With their small party organized, the counter-attack began when Wangdu blew out a wall so that they could ambush the ambush around the door.

Once out of the building, Wangdu continued to lead the counter-attack, using his Elven magic to call forth a growth of vines that surrounded the house. With a great tearing sound, the vines dug into the wall, crushing it and throwing the remaining pieces from the house

“Quickly!” he urged. “The roof cannot hold for long without the wall’s support, it cannot!”

They made it about fifty paces before they were swarmed by the attacking soldiers. Euleilla and Leno shielded the others from enemy weapons as best they could with their magic, while Wangdu, Forge, and Mogs attacked.

“Fools!” the person Euleilla recognized as the attackers’ mage declared. “What do you hope to accomplish against all of us? Do you actually think you can escape? I am a mage, and can make each of our soldiers as strong as any ten of you! You are nothing against me!”

“So, a First Class mage is nothing against you?” she replied, sending a blast of magic his way using the mage dueling skills Maelgyn had taught her.

“Er, First Class?”

“And an Elf, perhaps?” came the call from Wangdu, who grew vines to secure the attacking mage in place.

“While not as powerful as her ladyship,” Sir Leno declared, launching his own magical attack. “I also have some skill in the art of magic, myself, and would formally be rated Second Class.”

Their three-pronged attack literally crushed the opposing mage, killing him instantly. Their lone mage gone, the other attackers faltered briefly before redoubling their efforts.

Sir Leno’s group had gained the advantage, but Euleilla feared her strike on the mage had tired her prematurely. When she rested, things would be tough for them and she knew it. Still, she knew enough of combat to obey her orders, so when she started to feel herself tire she knew what she had to do.

“My magical defenses are going to collapse in a moment, Tur’Ba,” she warned. “Prepare yourself.”

“Right,” the Dwarf said, clutching his axe tighter and bringing it to a more defensive position. “I’m ready.”

With a sigh, Euleilla withdrew her magic to the tightest circle she could. Her
schlipf
senses were so full of dangers that they were useless except for detecting immediate, direct attacks on her person. What little magic she was still expending told her that Leno was still providing enough of a shield to prevent archers from shooting arrows at her, but hand-held weapons were still getting through. However, beyond the sounds of the battle, she couldn’t tell what was going on around her.

At one point, someone came close enough that even her withdrawn senses could detect him. She blocked a sword strike with her staff, but her planned counterattack was rendered moot when an axe swung in and nearly chopped the swordsman in half. Blood and other visceral matter splattered on her, but she knew better than to react. It was, she supposed, the first time she was in a battle close enough to feel the blood spill on her as she fought instead of in the aftermath, but she’d dealt with worse.

By the time she had regained her powers enough to return to the battle, it was almost over. To her amazement, there appeared to be a wall of bodies around her. The only loss they had taken was Forge – though she wasn’t even sure of his fate, since she couldn’t seem to find him alive or dead.

On the other hand, the small remainder of the soldiers who had been attacking them were routed and fleeing. Euleilla hesitated.

“Is it over?” she asked.

“For now,” Uwelain answered. “We need to get out of here, though – I don’t know if they have any forces in reserve, and if so how soon they can regroup.”

“Right,” Leno said. “Come on, people, let’s go.”

“Where’s Forge?” Mogs asked.

“I don’t sense him, anywhere,” Euleilla sighed. “Although I cannot find his body, either.”

“I don’t see him around, alive or dead,” Uwelain agreed. “Either he ran, or he was killed. Either way, I’m afraid we don’t have time to find him. Let’s get going.” He walked over, pausing at the circle of bodies surrounding Euleilla, then turned to Tur’Ba. “I apologize for my earlier remarks. Your skills as a Dwarven Axeman matched those from the myths of my childhood.”

“Thank you, your highness,” the Dwarf replied, breathing heavily. “Though I think I need to do some endurance training to really qualify for the title. A true Dwarven Axeman would be able to run all the way back to the ship after a battle like that... I don’t think I could go for more than an hour.”

Laughter erupted at that comment, and Uwelain clapped him on the back. “Come on, let’s get going.”

Chapter 27

Maelgyn sighed. Euleilla was back, thankfully, but was exhausted to the point of collapse. So were most of the others from that aborted mission, although Wangdu professed to be perfectly fine, but the news they brought was not as good as Uwelain tried to make it. Paljor, who styled himself as “Sword King of the Borden Isles,” knew they were coming. He would be on the defensive for certain, and that would complicate Maelgyn’s plans for dealing with the dragons. Not to mention all hopes of restoring the Borden Isles to Svieda.

Nevertheless, Maelgyn was duty-bound to try. He’d have to leave immediately, before Euleilla even woke up from her rest, and hope that they made it to the Lair of the Golden Dragons before the whole island was alerted. It would be difficult, he was certain, but they’d manage it. He hoped so, anyway.

Donning the Nekoji-fur cloak he’d been given, Maelgyn went out on the ship’s deck to meet with the others who would be joining him. Wangdu had declared he would be going, despite having had little rest from the meeting with Uwelain. Maelgyn still hadn’t received a full report about the venture, but the fact that the baron was now aboard the
Greyholden
instead of hosting Maelgyn’s delegation as planned was telling. Onayari, unafraid of the heat of the caves, also intended to accompany Maelgyn into the lair. Uwelain also would ignore his exhaustion and accompany him as well, representing the Borden Isles and testifying that indeed the rebellion might soon be over. Euleilla had earlier professed a desire to accompany him, as well, but given her current state Maelgyn figured it would be better to let her rest. However, that left him lacking one intended party member – something he wasn’t quite sure what to do about.

As he made his way to the deck, he passed by El’Athras. “I understand you’re one person short,” the Dwarf said.

“Well, sort of,” Maelgyn answered. “Truthfully, we’ll probably move faster without Euleilla, though I would have loved to have her with me for this one. But there is no set number of people required for these negotiation.”

“I would have thought there was,” the Dwarf answered. “Isn’t there some kind of tradition – every meeting of the Dragons with other races, the two ambassadorial teams consist of five individuals? And aren’t Dragons creatures of tradition?”

Maelgyn hesitated. “Well... yes. But I’m sure they will understand.”

“Yeah, right, of
course
they will. And perhaps Paljor will simply surrender the Borden Islands because we ask nicely.” El’Athras snorted. “How about I come with you, instead? I understand you’ve got more of those fancy furs, and while they may not quite fit me perfectly I suspect I can manage in it.”

“I was under the impression Dwarves and Dragons didn’t get along too well.”

“We don’t,” the Dwarf agreed. “But then again, neither do Elves and Dragons. And neither do Nekoji and Dragons. And they don’t exactly welcome Humans with open arms, either. So what? Someone’s gotta ease the tensions between us. Might as well be me.”

“I’m more worried about what the Dragons will think of me for bringing you along,” Maelgyn snorted. “But if you want to come, you can. Get your gear – I need to talk to Ruznak.”

“Ruznak? I didn’t think he was coming along,” El’Athras mused.

“He’s not, but I have an important job for him.”

“What is that?”

“Telling Euleilla that I left without her.”

Thankfully, the hike to the Dragon Caves was far shorter and required far less running than the one Sir Leno’s expedition had to make – they were close enough that Maelgyn hoped he’d be able to get there and back before Euleilla awoke. It was unlikely, he knew, but she actually needed the rest... and he might be in less trouble with her if he got back before she had time to start worrying about him.

However, as much as he wanted her to rest, he also found her absence disturbing. Maelgyn had grown quite used to having her at his side during his travels, and he missed her even when she went to Iggleton with Leno. Before he could follow that trail of thought further, however, Sekhar began speaking to him.

We’re nearing a great source of fire,
the plant warned him.
I’m unable to contain all of my fears even though I was aware we were planning for this meeting.

Maelgyn adjusted his cloak.
Don’t worry – thanks to the Nekoji, you’ll be better protected from the fires then I am. If you want a way to get your mind off of it, though, perhaps you could come up with something for me to tell Euleilla when I get back.

Oh, that’s an easy one,
Sekhar mentally chuckled.
Blame it on me being an overprotective parent. I know my daughter would
never
be able to stand being this close to Dragonfire without driving the both of them crazy. See? Easy.

Speak for yourself,
Maelgyn thought back, but then shrugged.
Well, maybe it’ll work. How are the others doing?

You’re the one with eyesight
, Sekhar replied.
I can only sense potential threats. What I can tell you is that none of them are lagging behind, so they’re all probably in good shape.

Maelgyn looked around at the others, trying to see if there was anything more he could see from their appearance. He was not nearly as good at reading or interpreting magical auras as Euleilla, but she had taught him enough to make a few observations which the naked eye wouldn’t catch.

For example, Wangdu was laboring more heavily than he was letting on. Maelgyn had been told that some Elves sometimes picked up minor Human magical abilities after centuries of experience, and he seemed to have some, but it didn’t quite exceed the strength of a fourth rate wizard. One thing it did do for the Elf, however, was give him a more defined magical signature, which Maelgyn could usually follow... but, at the moment, his energy was so low that it was almost undetectable.

An odd twist he discovered was that Onayari, the Nekoji, was actually growing stronger the closer they got to the heat. In an odd way, it almost seemed to almost refresh her. Maelgyn also noticed that her magical aura would sometimes flicker into being more focused than it should be whenever they did something that required more than the usual amount of exertion – something he had never sensed before. He would have to ask Euleilla if she had encountered this sort of thing before, but that was a puzzle to be solved later.

El’Athras, however, was completely unreadable. Dwarves were not magically inclined in the way Humans were, and El’Athras was no exception, but Maelgyn should still be able to detect the kinds of fluctuations which heavy exertion should induce. There was nothing, despite the sweat pouring from his brow, to indicate that he found the journey to be any hardship at all. Apparently, the reputation the Dwarves had for hardiness was well-founded, especially given that after more than two centuries of life, this particular Dwarf was considered past his prime even for
his
kind.

“Who enters the Lair of the Golden Dragons?” a voice boomed from above them, interrupting Maelgyn’s thoughts.

The echoes rattled his bones, but Maelgyn refused to be intimidated. He knew that Dragons of all types sensed fear the same way Sekhar sensed danger, and would not respect someone who could not face them with courage. So, steeling himself for the encounter, he raised his own voice as much as he could.

“I am Sword Prince Maelgyn of Svieda, Duke of Sopan, come to make a request on our treaty of old for this time of war.”