Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) (20 page)

"Good morning, ladies." Captain Repheth greeted them in a cheery tone.

"Good morning, Captain." Lady Skie smiled. "You look like you're feeling better."

"I am, thank you." The old man nodded. "I have found that ever since I took Edwin on as my assistant, I have a bit more time on my hands, which I've been using to catch up on a bit of sleep."

"How is Edwin working out?" Leia asked curiously as she took a seat at the long table where they gathered every morning to go over the day's tasks.

"Surprisingly well. I had thought you mad when you insisted that he assist me with my duties, but I have to say that it has made things quite a bit easier. He is able to handle most of the minor problems that tend to crop up, leaving me free to focus on the more serious issues. It's working out quite well."

"I'm happy to hear it." The young girl carefully concealed a smile of satisfaction.

"What do we have on the agenda today?" Sly asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Not much." Lady Skie shrugged. "Why? Do you have something planned?"

"I finally managed to secure a large enough supply of honey to use in my next batch of ale. We're planning on brewing it this afternoon."

"There's really not anything that can't be handled without you." Leia told him. "Captain Repheth and Aunt Skie will still be here to help deal with things. Go ahead and go take care of your business."

"Thank you, little one, but I think I'll linger, at least until breakfast. It's going to be a long day, and I'm not sure if I'll have time to eat later."

After a quick breakfast of hotcakes and freshly toasted bread smothered in jam, they quickly set about completing the day's tasks. It didn't take long for Leia to pen a response to the trade proposal that Ignan and Zayan had sent them from Crete, then she quickly settled a minor disagreement between a pair of merchants that involved the disputed ownership of a walkway which led to both of their shops. After informing them that the walkway belonged to the people of Sevria, she sent them on their way, both looking a bit crestfallen.

"I think that's all for now." Lady Skie informed them as they watched the merchants depart. "Is there anything else that you gentlemen need to discuss before we adjourn for the day?"

"I wanted to speak with you about the goblins that have been seen lurking in the area." Captain Repheth told Leia, "They're becoming more bold. A dozen of the filthy creatures were seen less than a mile from Sevria. It won't be long before they begin attacking travelers."

Leia looked to Slither. "Any luck in locating any of the dragonspawn? We could really use their help eliminating these goblins."

"SSSlither hasss been unable to locate the ssspawn." The huge shadowspawn hissed, holding out his claw tipped hands helplessly. "It ssseemsss that they have abandoned the mountainsss altogether."

"Have you ever heard of them doing such a thing before?"

Slither shook his horned head. "Never. The ssspawn have alwaysss dwelt in thessse mountainsss. They would never willingly leave."

"What could have the power to force all of the dragonspawn out of the mountains?" Captain Repheth asked, his expression baffled.

"I can only think of one thing that would have the power to force the dragonspawn to flee the mountains." Sly murmured with a frown.

"The Dragon God?" Lady Skie asked in an expectant tone.

"Draco." The scruffy little man nodded. "I'd wager a hundred gold pieces that He has something to do with their disappearance."

"Do you have any idea where they may have gone?" Leia asked Slither in a worried tone.

"Nay," The huge beast shook its head. "SSSlither hasss ssscoured every place that the ssspawn usssually frequent, but there isss no sssign of them anywhere."

"I guess that means that we'll have to deal with the goblins on our own." Leia sighed unhappily. "We can't allow them to begin attacking the caravans traveling through the mountains."

"We don't have the manpower to chase the goblins away from Sevria," Lady Skie said helplessly. "and we don't have the funds to hire any more men."

"I'll figure out something." Leia told them with more confidence than she felt. "Just give me a bit of time to think things over. I'll come up with a way to drive the goblins away."

"I hope you can think of something soon." Captain Repheth told her. "If the goblins begin attacking caravans, the Merchant's Guild won't send any more until the problem has been dealt with."

"If there isn't anything else," Lady Skie said, rising to her feet. "the caravan from Kainpre should be arriving anytime now. We should hurry if we want to be there to greet them."

"I'm off to the brewery then." Sly told them with an eager expression. "If all goes well, I'll soon have the most sought after ale in the entire region. I'll be one of the richest men on the southern continent!" He laughed a giddy laugh.

"It'll never happen." Leia told the others as the scruffy little man hurried off with an excited expression. "He'll end up drinking away all of his profits like he always does."

"Aye," Captain Repheth agreed with a grin. "but at least he'll be happy."

They quickly made their way out of the castle, then hurried down to the main guardhouse that had been constructed above huge gate leading in and out of the city to provide the men protecting the wall an unobstructed view of everything that approached.

"Has the caravan from Kainpre arrived yet?" Leia asked one of the guards watching the trade road.

"Not yet, milady," The man replied with a shake of his head. "The only caravans that have arrived so far today have all come from the north. But it's still early. They'll be along soon enough."

"It looks as though everything went well with the planting." The young girl commented, gesturing to the freshly plowed field across from the battlements.

"It went quite well." The guard confirmed with a nod. "It only took one of the work crews a couple of days to clear the field and till the dirt. They laid the seed a few days later."

"Let's hope that it produces enough to help restore the reserves." Leia frowned. "It takes a lot of food to feed an entire city for the winter."

"It really was a good idea." Captain Repheth told her approvingly. "I'm surprised that no one thought of it before now."

"I agree." The soldier nodded. "The land was underutilized, and beginning to become overgrown again, making it difficult to see what may be coming from the forest beyond. Now we have a clear view of the forest, and the land is being put to good use. It was the perfect solution."

"Why, thank you, gentlemen." Leia blushed slightly at their praise.

It wasn't long before a train of wagons appeared in the distance and slowly began making its way towards the city gates. There were nearly a dozen wagons in total, all pulled by large shaggy oxen which plodded along at an agonizingly slow walk, and a dozen mounted warriors in black armor who trotted along side of the wagon train as an escort. They finally rolled to a stop just outside the gate leading into the city, and waited.

Leia and the others hurried down to greet the awaiting caravan leader, who climbed down from his place on the lead wagon with a tired expression, but everyone stopped as a sudden roar drew their attention to one of the mounted warriors.

"Greetings, Lady Leia!" The warrior slipped down from his horse and hurried forward with a huge grin on his unshaven face.

"Juco?" Leia suddenly smiled as the odd looking warrior stopped before them and performed an elaborate bow. "What are you doing here?"

"The people of Kainpre hired the Silent Shadows to protect their caravan of gems from being attacked by bandits and such." Juco replied, still grinning from ear to ear. "When I heard that the caravan was heading to Sevria, I decided I would accompany them myself and pay you a surprise visit."

"I happy that you did!" Leia smiled, giving the strange little warrior a huge hug. "It's been too long since your last visit."

Juco was a leader of a gang of fearsome mercenaries called the Silent Shadows, who fought along side of Leia's father during their struggle against the Etask. Hailing from Shirk's homeland of Arleia, Juco was a strange little warrior, standing barely five feet tall, with long matted hair had been pulled back in a loose ponytail, exposing a long, jagged looking scar that ran down one side of his neck. Though he was surprisingly short, what he lacked in height, he more than made up for with his overly developed arms and chest.

"Ever since the battle in Sierra, we have had more business than we can handle." Juco explained with an apologetic shrug. "We have been so busy that we've even had to take on some new recruits." He suddenly grinned. "I'm not complaining, though. We're making so much gold that we were able to purchase a new headquarters, and even outfit everyone with new armor." His armor, like the armor of his fellow Silent Shadows, was made of a thick, heavy leather that had been dyed a dull shade of black, and then carefully molded to his heavily muscled body.

"It nice to hear that everything is going well for you and your men." Lady Skie smiled. "The people of Kainpre couldn't have more reliable warriors watching over their gems."

"Thank you, Lady Skie." The odd looking warrior bowed to her once more. "I hope that our friend Trep over there feels the same way." He gestured to the tired looking man who had led the caravan.

"Welcome to Sevria, Trep." Lady Skie greeted the weary looking man. "I hope your journey was uneventful."

"We're lucky to have made it in one piece, if truth be told." The man grumbled darkly. "We encountered several roaming bands of dragonspawn in the grasslands, but Juco and his warriors managed to drive them all away."

"Roving bands of dragonspawn, you say?" Captain Repheth asked, his expression concerned.

"Aye," The man nodded. "The damned creatures appeared a few months ago and have been terrorizing everyone that they encounter." He glanced at Slither nervously. "The Deola took action immediately, of course, but the beasts always retreat underground where the tribesmen cannot follow."

"Underground?" Slither asked in surprise. "Are you sssure?"

The caravan leader jumped back in surprise, obviously unaware that the huge shadowspawn could speak the common tongue. "A-Aye, I'm sure. We spoke with the leader of one of the Deolan patrols who had been chasing some of the beasts, and he mentioned that they always retreat into goblin hollows."

"And the Deola don't follow?" Captain Repheth asked with a disapproving expression.

The weary looking man shook his head. "The Deola won't go anywhere that their horses cannot carry them. They collapse the entrances to the hollows instead, though I doubt if it makes much of a difference. The goblin hollows are said to run for hundreds of miles throughout the mountains and foothills. There are probably thousands of entrances for the dragonspawn to emerge and disappear."

"That would explain where all of the dragonspawn went." Leia frowned. "It also explains the sudden appearance of the goblins. The dragonspawn must have driven them out of their hollows, leaving them with no place to go."

"Has that ever happened before?" Captain Repheth asked Slither, who suddenly looked troubled.

"Occassssionally," The huge shadowy beast admitted with a worried growl. "When the goblinsss begin to infringe on the ssspawn'sss territory, the ssspawn will raid a few goblin hollowsss and ssslaughter their inhabitantsss. But they have never taken the hollowsss for themssselvesss before."

"We saw some of those goblins as well." The caravan leader informed them darkly. "A dozen or so of them appeared from the underbrush and began to follow us at a distance, but they disappeared after a couple of miles." He shook his head. "I don't know what has gotten these beasts so stirred up, but I have the feeling that this is only the beginning."

They finished welcoming the caravan leader, then had one of the castle soldiers lead the line of wagons to a suitable area to set up business, and returned to the guardhouse above the gate with Juco following close behind.

"Where is Shirk?" The short little warrior asked curiously. "Has he grown so lazy that he won't even leave the keep now?"

"Of course not." Lady Skie laughed in amusement. "He had to accompany Damion, Raven, and Damarius on a mission to the Elven Island. They have had a bit of trouble there as of late, and they sent a pair of emissaries to ask Damion for aid."

"It seems like there's trouble just about everywhere in the world right now." Juco grunted sourly. "The dragonspawn have the Deola in an uproar. I've never seen the tribesmen so agitated."

"It is grave news, indeed." Captain Repheth murmured with a expression of concern. "It appears that the spawn are up to something, though I'm not sure what it could be."

"Whatever it is, I'm certain that the Dragon God is behind it." Leia murmured with a sigh. "He is the only one who could have persuaded the dragonspawn to abandon the mountains and take over the goblin hollows."

"Why would the Dragon God have the dragonspawn take over all of the goblin hollows?" Juco asked in confusion.

"I don't know." Leia admitted, her eyes narrowed in thought. "We'll have Slither go and see what he can turn up when we return from hunting."

"I don't know if it's such a good idea for you to be out hunting with those goblins lurking so close by." Lady Skie told her with a worried frown. "What would you do if you encountered a group of them out in the wild?"

"I'd kill them like all of the others that I've encountered." The young girl shrugged. "Slither and I have come across a number of the foul smelling creatures while out hunting. An arrow in the throat is usually enough to eliminate them, although the arrow is unusable afterwards." She frowned. "The fletchers have been working overtime making arrows to replace the ones I'm forced to abandon after dispatching a goblin."

"How long have you been encountering goblins?" Captain Repheth asked in surprise.

"We've been coming across them for several weeks now." The young girl admitted unconcernedly. "Usually in groups of eight or ten. It doesn't take much to kill them, as long as you're careful."