Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (34 page)

It wasn't long after
midday when the large force finally appeared in the distance, led by a hard faced warrior, an overweight man in traveling clothes, and a short stocky dwarf with a long, fiery red beard that was tucked neatly into his belt.

"I knew it!" Dar laughed in delight, leading the others out of the guardhouse and hurrying down to greet the dwarven monarch.

"Dar!" Garth roared in greeting, stumping up towards the city gates. "I was wondering if you were going to be here!"

"Your majesty," The childlike sprite gave the dwarf a surprisingly graceful bow, then laughed and hurried forward to greet his old friend. "How's Gretta?"

"She's well. She is looking after things for us while we help drive the Etazk back to where they belong." He looked over to Lady Skie. "And you must be the beloved Lady Skie Meadowdown. You are a legend among my people, my dear lady."

"I am?" The young woman asked, blushing slightly. "Whatever for?"

"For helping to raise Damion, of course. He is a hero among our people, as are you and your father." The stocky little dwarf turned to stare curiously at Shirk.

"This is Shirk." Dar supplied helpfully. "He assisted Damion in
tracking down and destroying the shadow dragons in Arleia, then decided to return with him to Sevria. He's been a part of our little family ever since."

"Damion
has spoken of you." Garth told the old bandit, grasping his hand in greeting. "He thinks quite highly of you."

"I'm honored, your majesty." The old ban
dit gave the dwarf a stiff bow.

"These are my traveling companions," The fiery haired dwarf turned and gestured to the two men who were accompanying him. "This is Ignan," The fat man bowe
d gracefully. "and Zayan." The hard faced man nodded to them politely. "They were essential in gathering the forces to help face the Etazk."

"You are all welcome here." Lady Skie curtsied to them.

"I have a gift for you from one of our citizens, your Majesty." Shirk gave the dwarf the bundle containing Axel's carving. "An artist by the name of Axel carved it from dragon bone. He would have been here to present it to you himself, but he was injured while attempting to thwart an Etazk assassin that had snuck up behind me with a dagger. He asked me to make sure it was presented to you as a gift."

The dwar
ven monarch carefully unwrapped the bundle, then gasped as his eyes fell upon the incredibly detailed carving. "It's magnificent!"

"Axel is quite talented.
" Dar told him as the dwarf carefully examined the dwarven figure. "His carvings are growing quite popular, and are fetching outrageous amounts of gold." The childlike sprite chuckled. "When he heard that you were coming, he nearly killed himself trying to drag himself out of bed. He was devastated that he wouldn't be able to present it to you in person."

"Please, send him my thanks." Garth murmured, his eyes still taking in the details of the carving. "And tell him I would like to meet him
as soon as we have this business with the Etazk settled. A craftsman that can create something as detailed as this is rare, and his works would be highly prized among my people."

"Don't tell Sly that." The childlike sprite snorted in amusement. "He has been making fistfuls of gold by supplying Axel with dragon bone for his carvings. If he gets wind that the carving would be prized among your people, the prices for the pieces will triple."

"How was Damion when you last saw him?" Lady Skie asked in a worried tone.

"He was angry." Ignan answered with a frown. "Word reached us that Kainpre had been had been overrun by the Etazk, which forced us to change strateg
ies."

"Kainpre has fallen?" Dar gasped, his expression stunned.

"I'm afraid so. A fairly large force of Etazk somehow managed to infiltrate the city. They slaughtered the soldiers guarding the gates, then let the rest of their forces into the city." The stocky dwarf shook his head sadly. "It was a slaughter."

"How did the Etazk make it so far south?" Shirk asked in disbelief.

"Apparently the small groups of Etazk that kept breaking away from the main force made their way to the southwestern coast." Zayan informed them in a grim tone. "We suspect they must have discovered a hidden cove somewhere south of Kainpre, and ferried their men to shore in smaller boats." He scratched at his unshaven cheek. "We're guessing that they've been arriving in small groups for quite some time now. Once they finally had a large enough force, they marched on the walled city."

"Were there any survivors?"
The old bandit looked as though he may be sick.

"If there were, they're still being held by the Etazk."

"Damion and Bativa took the tribesmen south to go deal with the Etazk in Kainpre," Ignan said, picking up the story. "We're bringing the rest of our forces to Sierra to help fortify and defend the city until they arrive."

"What news is there about the Etazk in Salastar?" Lady Skie asked, her face pale.

"Their entire force has sailed out of Salastar and is currently on course towards Sierra."

"How many men?"

"At least a hundred thousand."

"
A
hundred
thousand?" Shirk choked. "How long do we have before they arrive?"

Garth frowned. "Two months, at the very most."

"That's doesn't leave us a lot of time to finish our preparations." Dar murmured, his childlike face worried.

"How many men do you have with you?" Shirk asked, his mind working quickly.

"Around fifteen thousand." Ignan supplied helpfully. "Ten thousand regular forces, and another five thousand dwarves. Damion and Bativa took around twenty thousand tribesmen south with them to Kainpre."

"That means we're still dangerously outnumbered." Shirk frowned. "
I fear there's little chance we'll be able to hold Sierra."

"Don't give the city up as lost just yet." Garth laughed heartily. "You'd be surprised at how much my kinsmen can accomplish in two months time. By the time we're done, the city will be virtually impregnable."

"Let's hope so." Dar said, his childlike face still worried. "I don't much fancy the idea of having an army of religious fanatics pounding on our gates."

"Will you be stopping here to rest before moving on?"
Lady Skie asked curiously.

"I'm afraid we can't." Garth sighed regretfully, motion
ing to the line of grim faced warriors who continued to trudge passed the gates without slowing. "It takes a lot of careful planning when moving a force of this size, and we still have quite a ways to go before we finally reach Sierra."

"Are you sure, your majesty?" Ignan asked, his expression hopeful. "We could rest here for a couple of hours while the main force continues to press on."

"Out of the question." The stocky dwarf shook his head firmly. "There is far too much to be done for us to be lounging around. We need to keep moving. The quicker we get to Sierra, the quicker we can get to work."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." The overweight man muttered in a crestfallen tone.

"Then we shall not delay you any longer." Lady Skie curtsied to the dwarven king. "I hope we will see you again soon, and under more pleasant circumstances."

"And I as well, dear lady." Garth bowed to her deeply.

They watched as Ignan, Zayan, and the fiery haired dwarf disappeared into the crowd of passing soldiers, then slowly began to make their way back to the keep in silence.

"
A hundred thousand." Dar sighed, finally breaking the silence. "That's
far
more than we ever expected."

"And Damion has taken most of the forces south to deal with the Etazk that took Kainpre." Shirk frowned. "Let's just hope he can deal with them and make it back to Sierra before the
real
battle begins."

***********

"Get back!" Damion roared at the Deola, trying to make himself heard over the raging chaos. "Pull back! Get our men back!"

The wild tribesmen reacted
instantly, drawing their horses back to the edge of the open plaza, then turning back to face the gathered Etazk, ready to renew their attack at the big warrior's signal.

Damion looked across the
sea of Etazk warriors to the raised altar, where the remaining priests had gathered to fend off the raging army that had descended on them out of nowhere. Looking closer, he could see that the robed men all looked exhausted from their efforts to defend themselves, and a couple of them had collapsed unconscious, pushed passed the limit of their endurance.

Two of the unearthly wolves that had been harassing the tribesmen as they retreated suddenly turned and charged directly at
the huge warrior, their gnashing teeth bloody from their previous kills.

Damion rolled clear of the charging beasts, who sailed harmlessly passed, then scrambled back to his feet and readied himself as they skidded to a stop and whirled back around to renew their attack.

The two creatures exchanged a glance, then split apart, each circling to attack the huge warrior from opposite sides. They suddenly lunged forward, their oversized jaws snapping viciously, but Damion threw himself clear at the very last instant, and the two beasts collided with bone crushing force. Before they could struggle to their feet, Damion dashed in and cut the unearthly creatures down with two massive blows of the Dragon Sword, eliciting a cheer from the tribesmen.

Damion turned away from the dead beasts and saw a
number of the Etazk warriors charging forward, their eyes blazing with fury. He started forward to meet their charge, but paused as a searing bolt of energy suddenly erupted from the fingertips of one of the priests near the altar. He batted it away with the Dragon Sword, causing it bounce back and strike one of the charging Etazk in his chest. The resulting explosion threw several of the Etazk warriors to the ground, and showered the others in bits and pieces of their former kinsman.

Damion looked
back to the altar as another flash of searing energy sizzled through the air at him from the fingertips of another priest, and once again used the legendary sword to deflect the blast, then he quickly drew in his magic and focused it onto the Dragon Sword, which instantly leapt into flames. He pointed the blazing sword up at the cloudy night sky, focusing with all his might to control the tremendous force that suddenly filled him, then he released the magic through flaming sword.

A
lmost instantly, an enormous bolt of lightening suddenly shot down from the dark clouds and struck the center of the raised platform, reducing the altar to rubble, and shredding two of the priests with jagged pieces of debris, reducing them to little more than a few scraps of cloth and flesh. A second bolt of lightening struck down amongst the stunned warriors, enveloping an entire platoon and reducing them to charred pieces, leaving only a massive smoking crater in their place.

One of the
surviving priests sent an enormous fireball streaking through the air, where it struck the ground at his feet and exploded, engulfing him in searing flames, but Damion ignored them, knowing the dragon's blood flowing in his veins protected him from the effects of fire, and called down another lightening bolt, and then another, and another, reducing a significant portion of the plaza into smoking ruins.

He
was breathing heavily when he finally lowered the Dragon Sword. It took nearly all of his effort to control the staggering power of the legendary blade, leaving him on the verge of exhaustion. He drew himself up and looked around, surveying the results of his handy work.

The Etazk were now in total disarray. The
ir warriors scurried back and forth in panic, expecting yet another bolt of lightening to come crashing down among them, while the last few priests dove for cover behind the remains of the upraised platform.

A cheer erupted from the Deolan tribesmen, and they suddenly charged back into the plaza, crashing into the remaining Etazk and cutting them down with a brutal efficiency. The remaining priests emerged from
their hiding places and attempted to put up a resistance, but the horsemen quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered them before they could cause anymore devastation.

The sounds of battle soon died away, and the tribesmen gave another great cheer as the last Etazk warrior finally fell.
Damion watched as they began to celebrate their victory, a heavy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Everywhere he looked he could see the dead and dying, and the screams of agony had that cut through the noise of battle were still fresh in his ears.

The city was now in complete ruins. The few building
s that had remained standing after the Etazk had invaded had somehow been set aflame during the battle, casting an eerie glow up into the night sky that could be seen for miles. Bodies of both the Etazk and the Deola lay scattered among the smoldering ruins, many of them mangled and unrecognizable after falling victim to the unearthly beasts that the Etazk priests had loosed upon their attackers.