Vegenrage: Dragon Reclaim (31 page)

“Oriapow, this is very bad.”

“What is, Logantrance?”

“The book we read in the Mystical Erkens, it is happening.” Oriapow looks at the ground, concentrating.

“That’s right. I remember too, Logantrance, but there is no Staff of Barrier Breath.” After Glimtron says this, all the dwarves ready their Foarsbleem weapons because they remember what was read from the book. Farrah falls unconscious in Vegenrage’s arms. Oriapow, Persen, Logantrance, and Vegenrage notice the Staff of Barrier Breath rise from the ground in the center of them all. Persen yells “My staff!” and reaches for it. “No,” yells Vegenrage, but he is too late. Persen grabs the staff, and his body and life force is absorbed into the staff just the way Vergraughtu was. The staff starts to transform, and it now takes on the shape of Persen, looking like a human, but it is still just a round three-and-a-half-foot-long staff. The writing on the staff begins to move around, and the gold lining on the staff starts to glow brightly. The words change into dragon words, and the gold inlay stops its glow.

“No, it is happening.”

“What is happening, Logantrance?”

“Vegenrage, you must leave here. You must take Farrah and get out of here now.”

Boom … boom … boom … boom … boom … boom …
The ground starts to shake. The large thuds of footprints make their way toward the Erkensharie great wall. The elves on the wall can see trees in the forest being thrown in the air. They can hear the walking beast heading their way.

Shastenbree yells to Thambrable, “What is it? Can you see anything?”

“I can’t see it yet, Shastenbree, but whatever it is, it is big. Very big.”

“Vegenrage, and all of you, it is Vemenomous. We have to get out of here now.”

“No, Logantrance. It comes for us, and we should face it now. If we run, it will keep searching for us, and it will find us. We are all here, and we are as ready as we are going to be. We face it and destroy it now.” The elves and dwarves unite behind Vegenrage and take up defensive positions around the courtyard.

Sure enough, Vemenomous is walking through the Erkensharie Forest. There is a swarm of young Treestriders around him that have no effect on him at all. Vinegrowers are wrapping him up, but he is so big and strong he rips them from the ground and trees and throws them off like they were spiderwebs. The midsize Treestriders have no effect, and he kills them like swatting flies. The adult Treestriders are able to make wounds to Vemenomous, but he rips them apart and heals very quickly from the wounds. Vemenomous is now twenty-two feet tall. He pulls the trees out of the ground and pushes them over as he walks through the forest toward the great wall. Vemenomous starts to laugh. “Now is the time, my queen. Come to me. This is your destiny.” Farrah regains consciousness and sees the Staff of Barrier Breath laying on the ground in front of her. She sits and moves toward the staff, while everyone is focused on getting ready for Vemenomous. Vegenrage notices at the last moment that Farrah is about to pick the staff and yells “No, Farrah!” He is too late. Farrah picks the staff, and she turns to face Vegenrage. She is obviously under a charm spell of some sort. Her eyes are blank and her face emotionless. She walks toward the gate, ignoring Vegenrage.

“Farrah, stop. Stop. Where are you going?” Vegenrage tries to grab Farrah, but there is a force around her, and he is thrown back. “Farrah, stop. Don’t go. Fight it. Fight the charm. You have to.”

Farrah turns to look at Vegenrage on the ground. “Vegenrage, do not follow me. This is what he wants. This is how he plans to capture you and steal all of your magical abilities, leaving no one strong enough to face him. Do not follow me, or he will kill you.” Farrah turns around and starts to levitate over the wall. “No, I will not watch and let him just have you. I won’t.” Vegenrage flies toward Farrah.

“Vegenrage, no. Stop,” Logantrance yells at Vegenrage but watches as Vegenrage catches Farrah in midair, and the two of them vanish. The Staff of Barrier Breath falls to the ground and sticks standing straight up and rocks back and forth.

“Hey, you guys!” yells Thambrable from the top of the wall. “Hey, you guys. This is one mean-looking dragon.” Vemenomous has made his way to the wall. He has grown. His wings are massive, extending up and wide. His head fierce and focused. His legs and arms strong, and his tail ready to whip anything within fifteen feet of him. Thambrable watches as Vemenomous tears apart Treestriders and Vinegrowers like they are nothing. Thambrable jumps from the wall as Vemenomous reaches it and starts to punch it with his fists. Cremsblyle runs toward the staff, and Logantrance and Oriapow yell “No!”

Logantrance yells. “Do not approach the staff. You cannot touch it. It is now powered by the soul of Persen, making the staff lethal to all the races of man. It can only be held by dragon now.”

“That cannot be true.”

“Cremsblyle, don’t touch it.” Cremsblyle ignores the warning from Oriapow and grabs the staff. His hand starts to burn, and he has to let go of the staff, falling to his knees and holding his right wrist with his left hand. Oriapow runs over to aid him and pull him away from the wall that Vemenomous is punching holes through, and it is crumbling before those in the courtyard. Vemenomous quickly punches and kicks right through the wall. He enters the courtyard and laughs. He looks down to see the Staff of Magic Engulf at his feet. He kicks it up in the air with his right foot and catches it. He looks at it in his hand, and all the dwarves, elves, and Logantrance watch as Vemenomous says, “I summon Persen consume all magic.” He actually says this in dragon tongue. The top of the staff blooms like a beautiful rose, and the pedals wilt and fall off, leaving the exact head of Persen, and it moves and looks at Vemenomous. Vemenomous holds the staff high in the air in his right hand, laughing and looking at all those in the courtyard.

“I have done it. I am Vemenomous, and I have the Staff of Magic Engulf. It is done, and there is nothing any of you can do to reverse this now. Your doom has been set. You all have just witnessed the beginning of the final days of the races of man and dragon. There is nothing any of you can do to change this now.” Vemenomous laughs.

“Oh yeah, try this on.” Rifter runs forth and shoots magical arrows from Fearpierce at Vemenomous, and the arrows simply fly by his side, missing him every time.

Blythgrin is holding the Sapphirewell and calls to Trybill. “Trybill, help me. Let’s give this beast something he won’t forget. Let us cast Dancing Dynamite on him.” Trybill and Blythgrin say the words in unison as they both hold the Sapphirewell. “Dyne bite lingerine dyne blite an gimble linger.” Magnificent white and blue lights shoot from the Sapphirewell, tons of lights looking like lightning bolts, and they shoot from the Sapphirewell, heading right for Vemenomous. This is horrifying for all those here that watch as Vemenomous holds the staff out and says, “I summon Persen consume all magic.” Persen’s head on the staff opens his mouth and consumes all the lights and magic, and there is no effect other than Vemenomous absorbing the magic and getting stronger. Vemenomous laughs as he turns around and walks away. “There is nothing you can do now the prophecy has been fulfilled. The Staff of Barrier Breath has become the Staff of Magic Engulf. You don’t remember reading about that, do you? Ahahahahaha. That is because we set you races of man up all the time, and the dragons have shown you exactly what we wanted you to see. Vemenomous jumps forward and flies through the air with his enormous wings. He flaps his wings powerfully and rises high into the sky before disappearing into a Dimension Door.

CHAPTER 25
Vegenrage Gets Farrah to Vollenbeln

“Oriapow, do you have any idea where he would have taken them?”

“The only thing I can think of is that maybe he took them to his lair. It is probable. The dragons had Persen the whole time, and the whole time, they had planned on using him in this way. But why? It was the black dragon that dropped Persen. He just made Vemenomous stronger against the dragons. Why would he release Persen here? What was he thinking? Do you have any idea, Logantrance?”

“None. I am at a loss, but we have to save Vegenrage and Farrah if we can. We cannot lose them.”

“Logantrance, I am bound to the Great Erken. I cannot go, especially now. You must go and see if you can save them, but I cannot go, my friend.”

“Oriapow, I need you. You are the perfect elf for this type of situation. I know you wish to go and not be stuck here.”

“I know, Logantrance, but I swore to protect the Great Erken, and it is done. I cannot leave during the Dragon Feast. I wish you all the best, but I cannot go. Tunull and Whenshade can go with you if they like. You may take anyone else who may wish to travel with you as well, but I must stay and protect the Great Erken and King Ulegwahn.”

“Logantrance, we will travel with you.”

“Thank you, Glimtron. We must travel light so we can travel dimensionally.”

“I understand. Myself, Rifter, Silgeqwee, Krimzill, Reger, Dormins, Blythgrin, Grenlew, and Trybill will travel with you.”

“Sounds good, Glimtron. Are there any elves who wish to travel on to find Farrah and Vegenrage?”

Shastenbree speaks up, “This reminds me of the stories of our ancestors that banded together and set off to fight and hunt dragons. Of course, they were led by none other than Oriapow. Now he is the protector of the Great Erken. I will go with you, Logantrance.”

Elkwar adds, “Me too.”

Cellertrill says, “And me.”

Shastenbree and Kearsebe say in unison, “And me.”

When all is said and done, Logantrance has the six dwarves carrying Foarsbleem weapons, along with three of the Dagi who have the Sapphirewell. Six of the Erkensharie elves decide to travel with him as well. Elkwar and Cellertrill who both have new swords that have been forged from the Foarsbleem that Glimtron has brought to Erkensharie. Also, Shastenbree and Kearsebe who have fantastic Foarsbleem bows just recently forged will travel with the party and just to round things off. Tunull and Whenshade will travel with Logantrance as well. This is a little out of the ordinary for Tunull and Whenshade who generally stay in the Mystical Erkens and the Great Erken. This is a rare adventure for them.

“Come on. Let us put our minds together. There has to be some way we can track their whereabouts. Blythgrin, can you use the Sapphirewell to track them? Oriapow, can you use the power of the Octagemerwell to track them? Can anyone track them? I have no sense of where they have gone. I am not able to send telepathy to either Vegenrage or Farrah.”

“Logantrance and the rest of you, come with me to the Mystical Erkens. Cremsblyle, you stay here and watch over the courtyard, just in case any dragons decide to make a sneak attack.”

“No problem, Oriapow. We are going to call for help to begin rebuilding the wall that Vemenomous has destroyed.”

“Okay. Come with me.” The party of sixteen follow Oriapow to the Mystical Erkens, while Cremsblyle stays behind, gathering elves to repair the great wall. Ulegwahn has been updated, and he knows that Vemenomous has taken Farrah and Vegenrage. He also knows the great wall has been destroyed and has many workers and craftsmen on the way to begin repairs. Oriapow and everyone with him gather in a tight circle in the Mystical Erkens. Blythgrin pulls out the Sapphirewell, and Oriapow instructs him to place the Sapphirewell on a small four-foot tree that has a bowl formed in which the Sapphirewell will fit perfectly in. This allows for the Sapphirewell and the Octagemerwell to work together and draw strength from each other. Everyone notices that once the Sapphirewell is placed in the bowl on the tree, the Mystical Erkens seems to come alive. The grasses and trees sprout and bloom for many seconds like there is a sudden growth of all the vegetation. This is very noticeable, and then it stops.

“Okay, everyone. Let us concentrate.” All the magic users are standing around the Sapphirewell, while all the users of weapons are watching from a distance. The magic users concentrate, combining their magical strength, and look into the Sapphirewell as it begins to show forms inside of it. They can see Vemenomous as he enters Erkensharie, and they can see him picking the Staff of Magic Engulf, and he points the staff at each magic user looking into the Sapphirewell. He points the staff at each of them like he is pointing a gun at them and shooting. Then Vemenomous disappears, and they all see a bright light shooting from the sky. The light is shooting fast right at the ground, looking like a fireball, and they are all captivated, waiting to see what is going to happen, not realizing it is happening for real. Vemenomous has this fantastic ability to control time. He is streaking to the ground where the Sapphirewell is, and just before he hits the ground, everyone can see him in slow motion. He is over twenty feet tall now, so his legs easily straddle the small tree that the Sapphirewell is sitting in. Everyone watching Vemenomous is in slow motion, and they can do nothing but watch what is happening. Vemenomous lands feet on the ground, bending his knees, and cups the Sapphirewell in his hands. As his feet hit the ground, a massive expulsion spell expands in a circle from him. Everyone in the area is thrown backward but in slow motion, and they are caught by the time spell, and they cannot control their movements. They fly backward like they were hit in the stomach with their feet and arms following. It is amazing how Vemenomous was streaking to the ground fast as lightning, and when he hit the ground, he stopped like he was barely moving at all. Vemenomous watches as all the elves, dwarves, and Logantrance fly back up and in the air, unable to do anything about it. Vemenomous is only concerned with the jewels. He needs them to hold Vegenrage. Then Vemenomous can mate with Farrah, and then she will consume Vlianth, and she will mutate into the queen Vemenomous is looking for to bring in the new generation of dragons. Vemenomous studies the Sapphirewell. He looks deep into the jewel, and sure enough, he has the magical savvy to locate the Octagemerwell. He takes off for the top of the Great Erken tree. All that were around the Sapphirewell will follow through being thrown back, unable to change the fact that they are caught in a time phase that will take thirty-five minutes to complete. By then, Vemenomous will have stolen both the Sapphirewell and the Octagemerwell. By the time all the elves, dwarves, and Logantrance get back to the Mystical Erkens, it is too late. Vemenomous is gone, and both the Sapphirewell and the Octagemerwell are gone as well. Of course, all the elves know both jewels have been stolen, and Ulegwahn and the most high-class elves have come to the Mystical Erkens.

“Oriapow, I guess your talent is needed in the field yet again.”

“I cannot believe this, my king. I have already failed you. Already, the Octagemerwell has been stolen by Vemenomous.”

“Yes, well, no time to sulk about that. He obviously has no interest in the elves right now. You get out there, and you get it back, and you put an end to this Vemenomous. All of you here in this party of elves, dwarves, and man, help Oriapow get back the jewels and kill this Vemenomous. Erkensharie is powerless without the Octagemerwell as the dwarves are powerless without the Sapphirewell. Go get them back.” They all bow to Ulegwahn and exit hastily, sensing his anger. The party follows Oriapow to the front door in the courtyard that is already being worked on by the elves.

“Oriapow, do you feel it?”

“Yes, Logantrance, I feel it.”

Blythgrin feels it as well and says. “So do the rest of us. Vegenrage has gone home, and he has Farrah with him. His magical power is growing at an incredible rate.”

Logantrance shakes his head in agreement with Blythgrin. “Is everyone ready? We go to Vollenbeln, and Vemenomous will certainly be looking to kill all. Is everyone ready for this battle?”

Vegenrage sees Farrah levitating over the great wall, and he flies toward her. He knows there is a force spell around her, preventing him from touching her, so he casts a Dimension Door spell before he reaches her. Once he touches her, they will both be shot through the dimension spell, and this will negate the force around Farrah. Vegenrage has cast the spell to bring them to Vollenbeln where his magic is at its most powerful. Vegenrage reaches Farrah, and they are shot through the Dimension Door. This is very different from any other Dimension Door spell he has ever traveled through. First of all, they do not instantly appear in Vollenbeln. Instead, they seem to be traveling through a tunnel, swerving to the left and right, back and forth, and up and down. There are beautiful streaks of light in reds and purples and whites, looking like streaks of lightning they are traveling through. They seem to be passing the light, implying that they are traveling faster than the speed of light. Vemenomous has placed a dimensional spell on Farrah, directing her to a destination of his choosing, but Vegenrage has cast his dimensional spell on Farrah as well. Now both spells are competing to take Farrah to their destination. Vemenomous is stronger than Vegenrage, but Vegenrage is now holding Farrah and guides her to his destination, fighting Vemenomous’s magic until his magic wins out. He and Farrah fall in front of his home in Vollenbeln. It is not snowing anymore, but there is three feet of snow on the ground, and it is very cold. “Farrah. Farrah, are you back? Are you with me?”

“Yes, Vegenrage, I am with you. I do not feel Vemenomous anymore. Are we in Vollenbeln? I feel cold.”

“
Yes, we are in Vollenbeln. Watch this. Revum urnt flipstring byurun opsoposite!” The sky starts to spin around Vollenbeln. The day sky becomes the night sky, and the night sky changes back to the day sky, and all the snow begins to melt. The water runs right off the edge of the plane and right into space. This whole process takes about three minutes. It happens very fast, and the trees sprout like spring has sprung, and less than five minutes later, it is warm and nice like Farrah first remembers Vollenbeln, only now there are trees here.

“Vegenrage, I love it. This is so nice. Will Vemenomous be able to find us here?”

“Well, if he does, I will know about it.” They start to walk into Vegenrage’s home when Vemenomous appears standing right behind Vegenrage. He has the Sapphirewell in his right hand, and he has the Octagemerwell in his left hand, and he slams both hands, jewels first, into Vegenrage. This is an amazing scene. Vemenomous kicks Farrah with his right foot, and she falls as he brings both hands down on Vegenrage. Vegenrage turns to see Vemenomous, and he only has time to raise his hands as the two jewels slam into his body. They hit him and stop dead. His body begins to freeze in a blue and green ice. His movement slows as the green and blue jewel ice hardens around him. The jewels form a cocoon around Vegenrage and unite, forming one complete jewel that starts to melt like wax and drip down the silhouette of Vegenrage’s body. The dripping slows, and finally, there is a frozen statue of Vegenrage that only takes a couple of minutes to form, and Vemenomous steps back, raising his arms in the air and extending his wings, laughing, saying “My queen, it is almost done.”

Farrah looks to see Vegenrage has been frozen by the Octagemerwell and the Sapphirewell. She stands and yells, “Die, you monster!” pointing both hands at Vemenomous and shooting her Dragonslaying Hands at Vemenomous. Vemenomous returns with his breath attack, and the two spells hit, negating each other. Farrah casts her spell over and over, trying to hit Vemenomous, but he is quick enough with his breath attack that is really the same spell to negate her attacks. Farrah changes her tactic, moving to the side and casting her spell on Vegenrage to see if it breaks the jewel ice he has been frozen in. Vemenomous reaches behind his wing and pulls out the Staff of Magic Engulf, yelling “Consume all magic!” and he puts it directly in the line of Farrah’s spell. The head, which is Persen, opens its mouth, and the spell is consumed by the staff. Vemenomous raises his head and shakes like he is getting stronger. Farrah tries over and over, but Vemenomous always catches her spell with the staff. When Farrah finally stops, Vemenomous points the staff at Farrah and shoots purple ringlets of light that just about hit Farrah in her right arm, but thanks to Cleapell, she avoids this spell. She draws Quadrapierce and, with an amazing speed, slashes a half dozen serious wounds to the front and back of Vemenomous’s right leg.

“I have chosen you to be my queen. Do not make me have to kill you. Accept this gift, the greatest gift offered to any female ever in the Maglical System.”

“I will never serve you. I will never be with you. I will destroy you.”

“We will see about that.” Vemenomous blows his breath attack onto the back of Persen’s head on the staff, and from the mouth of the staff flies a spell that Farrah cannot evade. It grows wider and wider as it spews from the mouth on the staff, a red and yellow light that grows like a cone outward, and it catches Farrah in its light. She is swept off the ground, and in slow motion, she sheathes her weapons and is charmed. Vemenomous now controls the female with tainted mind. He starts to draw Farrah close to him, laughing. He then swings Farrah through the air and stands her by Vegenrage. She cannot move and is motionless but stable, standing by Vegenrage. Vemenomous levitates above the mound, which is Vegenrage’s home, and begins to speak enlightening words as he points the Staff of Magic Engulf at the earth. “The staff carved by the hand of human to subdue dragon. The staff remade by dragon and filled with the human soul that carved the staff to subdue the races of man. Staff of Magic Engulf, open the earth to bring forth the knowledge needed to form the one true book, the
Wogenkeld
. Let the mating of human female and Demonian dragon blood begin. Bring forth the
Wogenkeld
. Staff of Magic Engulf, bring forth the
Wogenkeld
.” Vemenomous points the staff at the earth, and a brilliant yellow and orange light shoot from the mouth on the staff, digging and separating the earth above Vegenrage’s home.