The Exodus Sagas: Book II - Of Dragons And Crowns (23 page)

Cristoff pulled his longsword from the lizardmans mouth where he had plunged it through the back of it
s head. He backed up two steps
and glanced around. He saw stone statues of salisans around Gwenne, yet his archers were all dead but one
, swarmed with the enemy
. He had lost three of his men here despite the pile of scaled corpses they had sent down the cliff. The minotaur had backed up from the edge, a score of bodies scattered around him. Saberrak’s body was covered in blood and wounds, still fighting the beasts as they tried to drag him down
to the ground. James was withdrawing, swinging wildly on the right flank at more reptilian warriors that streamed toward him. The Lord of Saint Erinsburg did not see the elf anywhere, yet he saw at least fifty that had begun to surround and push them back. He looked up the mountain behind him, and spotted Zen climbing, stumbling, then climbing again as if he were drunk, scroll in hand and being pursued by two salisans. More flaming projectiles of white heat seared past Cristoff’s head and into the lizardmen as Gwenne continued to unleash arcane fury upon the horde.

“Fall back! R
etreat up the mountain! Leave the horses, get to the summit, now!” the noble lord knew that being surrounded would be the end. They could fight at the edge of the cliff and have advantage, but there were too many, and they had been overrun on the left flank and lost their archers. The veteran of many wars, Cristoff knew when the battleground was lost.

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Sweat poured from every part of Azenairk’s body, the poison coursing through his veins. His breath was short, and he knew he was being chased up the slope at the top of the mountain. Blue and green flashes of light dulled his vision and his stomach felt cold on the inside. Chills swept through his bones, followed by heat in his chest that nearly forced him to fall. The dwarven priest of Vundren pushed on, his warhammer used as a crutch to keep him upright as he ran. He saw tall trees in rows on the right and left of a pond, a stone
encircled pond that was far from natural this high on a mountain. The trees were at least a hundred feet high, dark brown bark that swirled around the trunks, and flat green leaves of enormous size far above. Zen felt smaller now
more
than ever before upon seeing this courtyard with an engraved stone entrance into the side of the rock face. It too was magnificent, half a circle fifty or more feet high, carved with symbols of dragons and leaves and wreaths of vine.
The tip of the mountain above him, he tried to stay conscious.

Azenairk fell to a knee, dropped his shield into the pool, and fell to his chest. He could faintly hear the sound of hissing salisans behind him, his hearing coming and going with the cold chills. With whatever strength he could muster, the dwarf pushed himself up to his knees, then to his feet.
He turned to see the two lizardmen rushing toward him, his vision blurry and strange in color. His steel warhammer weighed a thousand pounds it seemed, but he lifted it with both hands.
Taking aim, he saw his friends withdrawing far below, swarmed with enemies they could not defeat. The lizard
closed in, and he swung th
e desperate swing of a dying dwarf
.

The black reptilian hunter ducked under the blow, and leapt onto his prey, sending the two rolling to the ground.
Zen’s heavy plate armor crushed the lizard warrior to the earth, and the dwarf raised his warhammer with both hands, eyes closed. He heard the sound of cracking skull, and smashed down again and again until the movement from under his legs stopped. He opened his eyes in time to be face to face with the second salisan. He felt the dagger dig deep into his side, and felt the cold steel pull out of him as the creature went for his throat. The last of the Thalanaxe family reached out and grabbed the scaly warrior by the throat first, squeezed, and threw it into the pond.
“Aaarrhh!” he had been cut deep, poisoned, his body needed something to continue.

After the splash, Zen began to stumble toward the entrance again, now feeling his hot blood cool and dampen down his left side. One eye open, the dwarf staggered into the entrance into whatever lay in the mountain. It was dark, yet he saw glimmers of light far ahead and down. His blurred vision could make out immense stairs
that led down where two torches burned. His eyes were accustomed to the dark, yet as the poison coursed he could only make out a few stalagmites in the gargantuan cavern. He heard movement from behind him, he knew that the salisan was out of the pool and following him into the cavern.
The sound of battle and magical blasts continued far behind him down the mountainside.
Azenairk’s warhammer fell to the stone floor, his hand could not hold it any longer, and he fell after it. He heard footsteps and the drag of a tail, the shadow of the lizardman savage stretched out from the entrance, casting him in darkness.

Zen reached for th
e scroll under his breastplate
, pulled it out and tossed it far into the dark of the cavern from where he lay. “Vundren, bless me and take me to the mountain of my family. Bring me the grace and honor you bore me with, and allow me to keep it in death. Have I not lived to your wishes, or t
hat of my people, forgive me.” t
he black scaled salisan knelt down over the dwarf, its orange eyes shining in the dark as it grabbed Zen’s black beard with its clawed hand and raised his chin. It smiled, weaving the dagger back and forth as it saw the
outstretched neck of its prey.
“And if it be your will Vundren, take this bastard with me, so I may battle him in your divine hal
ls within the great mountain.”
h
e closed his eyes and prepared to die, unable to
respond to the murderous reptile that held him helpless as the poison worked his body.
He tried to raise an arm, to move at all, but he could not.

The creature looked up, both of them heard the heavy breathing and steps that were far too
loud for anything human
. Red eyes illuminated the cavern, reptilian eyes as big as a horse, and the roar that followed shook the stone and caused the salisan to urinate on the dwarf he was about to kill. Fast
er than a blink of an eye, the
reptilian killer was gone, followed by a flash of movement, and a guttural crunching of bones and flesh. Muffled hisses followed by the clanging of the steel dagger on the stone ground were all the dwarf heard beyond the chewing. He strained to look up, shaking from the poison and the cold chills as a result of his wound losing so much blood. His breath was short, but he held it in as he tried to sit up before he was also eaten.

“Durum thim adrol eckix moorest vyrr?”
t
he deep resonating voice asked a question, that much he knew, and the voice was
feminine and soft
yet deep
. The eyes were inches from his face, glowing red with silver lines and a silvery black slivered pupil. Zen stared, as it looked like glowing rubies with etchings of silver veins, and the proximity cast warmth around him as if the eyes radiated heat.

“I don’t know what you just said, but it sounded pleasa
nt, m’lady. I sure hope yer
Ansharr, I hope ya don’t eat me, and I hope you can help my friends.” Zen fell back down, dizzy and swooning. A pool of blood had collected under him from his punctured side.

“Why are you here, dwarf? What trouble have you brought to my mountain?” the dragon responded in the darkness of her cavern at the summit of the mountain, sniffi
ng and observing the armored dwarf
in her home.
She spoke in perfect Agarian, realizing that this dwarf obviously could not know her native tongue.
She smelled his blood, his sweat, and even
detected
the poison in his veins.

“The scroll
…of Annar
…the salisan army…Kalzarius sent us…
to Ansharr…
my friends-“ his voice stopped, his breath going into a deep comatose state as he bled out on the stone.
The last thing he saw was the claw of the dragon touch his head, dark red scales gently caressed in the dark, and golden light surrounded him. He felt warm, cleansed, free of pain and very tired. Azenairk closed his eyes and drifte
d off into a warm place of the unknown
as the dragon carefully walked past him and out the engraved opening.
All went still and black.

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Shinayne stepped over the salisan warrior’s black scaled corpse, blades free of it’s chest, and strode toward the one Alec had called Vimm.
She saw many scars, necklaces of bones and teeth, and a confident poise in the way he held his spear.
The elven swordswoman looked past the slaisan chieftain and saw Alec circling to the right, moving to flank her. She could hear the sounds of battle getti
ng further away, and had heard C
ristoff’s order to retreat. She had no choice now but to face off against these two that led the hunt against them. Her steps moved quickly to the left, keeping the reptilian leader inbetween her and the sca
rred agent of the White Spider, safely away from the remaining scaled horde that pursued her friends.

The spear shot forward, a two handed lunge aimed at her chest which Shinayne simply turned aside to avoid. A second thrust, and another sidestep, then a third. The elven woman was antagonizing the veteran salisan warrior, hoping he would charge in before the young swordsman of Harlaheim got into position behind her. Vimm dove forward, feinting with the spear and drawing a bone dagger with his right hand. Shinayne parried them both, blades connecting with the spear and dagger of her savage opponent. She feigned to retreat back, moving downhill quickly then stopping abruptly. The momentum of the lizardman carried him sliding forward down the slope at the elf as he tried to stop. His spear and dagger arced out at her in a vicious double strike as he went past. Shinayne stepped to the left, her footing sure and solid, and ducked under the spear. As Vimm slid by, she cut upward with both weapons, then turned and walked up toward Alec Silverblade.

The young agent swordsman waited for Vimm to stand back up from his slip, so they could take her together.
Vimm stood up, and looked at the back of the beautiful elven woman as she walked toward the human. The salisan felt his neck and right arm, then felt the blood pou
r out of the two razor sharp
deep lacerations. He took a step forward then fell face first into a pine tree and slid into darkness. His throat cut clean through
on each side unbeknownst to him
, only
a small hiss escaped as he fell
on
to
the mountainside awaiting death.

“I think Vimm is going to let us dance alone.” Shinayne stepped cautiously close to Alec Silverblade, waiting for him to make the first move again.

“I owe you elf, one good cut to scar that pretty face of yours like-“ his guard was up as two curved elven swords cut across at him, and were met with his swords.

The rapier rang loud back and forth against the longblade of the elven woman, as she pushed him up the mountain with driving precision. His straight edged shortsword lunged out only to be parried with her curved off hand weapon each time.
His eyes were set on her chest, the purple and black clothing with fine chainmail underneath. Her arms and legs moved in unison, deadly steps that he barely kept pace with. Alec feigned a slip, then cut high with his rapier, cutting a small lock of golden curl from his opponent.

Shinayne lunged forward with both blades, hoping to be parried and have a quick counterattack, but Alec did not take the bait and merely backed up a few more steps. She heard the sounds of battle once more from above as the two trained duelists crossed blades and fought up the mountain. Alec attacked her from above with high point stabs, and she would go low with sweeping arcs at his legs and abdomen. Parry after parry, lunge after feinted lunge, she backed him up closer to the battle and closer to her friends. His shortblade cut across at her chest, and she met it with her weapons crossed and then turned her arms and wrists to the left and dove his sword into a tree. With his weight behind it, the tip dug deep into the pine and stuck.

Alec’s rapier pierced through her garments as she turned to her right. Her blades sliced across his thigh and flank, the rapier parrying only one attack. He fell to a knee as his thigh was gashed open
, but he still reached up and dislodged his off hand shortsword from its pine tree sheath. The assassin threw his shortblade end over end at the elven woman, which met her curved shortblade and knocked it out of her hand and off into the leaves. He stood and balanced himself with his free hand, and lunged forward with his steel rapier.
He hoped he could take her with one blade on one blade.

Shinayne parried his thrusts and cuts, switching from one hand to the other to throw his guard off. He parried to the left, and her attacks came from her right hand, then he turned to properly position himself only to have her switch her blade with a quick flip from one hand to the other. She backed him up with quick and constant steps as his attacks and parries became wild and exaggerated. Shinayne lunged, then halted halfway through as his counterattack swept out at her neck. She quickly followed his blade, cutting his rapier and forcing it into another tree. The elven swordswoman spun in full circle, slashing the White Spider agent across the upper chest and followed it with a kick to his face with her heel. Alec Silverblade went head over backwards rolling and sliding down Soujan Mountain
, weaponless and bleeding heavily
.