Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (30 page)

They reached a section of camp that looked remarkably different from the rest. The tents and structures in this area were significantly smaller, and had been constructed of an unusually dense grey fabric that Garth informed them had been woven from a durable moss that grew in their caverns in abundance.

"It's called merilith." The fiery hair monarch told them. "It's light, thin, wat
erproof
and
fireproof. It can even be eaten, if need be."

"That sounds like it could be some useful material." Bativa murmured thoughtfully, testing the feel of the fabric between two fingers. "It might be nice to get through entire rainy night without getting dripped on while I sleep." He looked to Garth. "When this is all over, I..."

The huge chieftain was cut off as an earsplitting roar echoed through the foothills, causing everyone to jump in surprise. Nearly every man, tribesman, and dwarf stopped in their tracks and began staring up into the sky with apprehensive expressions. Many turned to look at Damion nervously, watching as he scanned the horizon for any sign of the incoming beast.

"That was a dragon!" Garth growled, staring up into the evening sky.

"Which kind of dragon?" Raven asked in a worried voice.

They all turned to look at Leia, who had a look of extreme concentration on her tiny face. "It's not a veiled dragon." She reported finally as another roar echoed through the area. "I would be able to feel it with it being this close
."

"There!" Leia exclaimed suddenly, pointing to a dark smudge that had appeared over the looming mountains.

They watched as they dragon quickly drew closer and began to circle above the massive encampment.

"It's Tempest!" Damion told them, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

They watched as the great serpent dropped from the sky and landed nearby in an open clearing, then hurried over to greet her.

"Tempest!" Leia squealed in delight as she scampered up the huge dragon's armored back to perch on her broad shoulder.

"Hello, little one." The massive scarlet dragon greeted her in a grave tone. She looked around at the massive encampment, then down at Damion. "I see your army is beginning to take shape. I hope it's going to be enough."

"Why?"
Damion asked, a sinking feeling suddenly appearing in the pit of his stomach. "What is it? What has happened?"

"The Etazk army
set off out from Salastar two days ago heading southeast towards Sierra. If the weather holds out, they'll be there in about two months time."

"Of course." Bativa muttered in disgust. "They must have timed their departure from Salastar to coincide with their attack on Kainpre hoping they could catch us out of position."

"Unfortunately, there's more." Tempest rumbled regretfully. "More Etazk have been pouring into Salastar for the last week. Their army has swelled considerably."

"How many men do they have?" Damion asked grimly.

"At least a hundred thousand," The great beast sighed. "All packed aboard ships bound for Sierra."

Chapter 13

"I don't care how long it took your stone masons to build!" Sly roared angrily, pounding the table with his fist, and causing the merchant to flinch back nervously. "The stone your mansion is built from is needed to reinforce the breakwater."

They had encountered Relgin the
Merchant earlier that day after the fat little man had discovered Juco's Silent Shadows hard at work disassembling the granite wall that enclosed his lavish estate. He promptly tracked Sly and Fedrio down at one of the abandoned tavern's along the waterfront to protest.

"But I don't understand why you need the stone from
my
home." The pudgy little merchant whined, wringing his hands helplessly. "There are dozens of other stone buildings in town that have been completely abandoned! Why do you need the stone from
my
mansion?"

"Because
your
mansion was built from granite." The little man told him in an exasperated tone. "Most of the other stone buildings in town were constructed out of limestone or coral. They're simply not suitable to use as building material for a defensive structure. Granite is far more dense, and can withstand the tremendous forces generated by the crashing waves. Since your mansion is one of the only structures in the city constructed of granite..." He held out his hands helplessly.

"But... But
there must be another way!" The merchant pleaded, tears streaming from his eyes.

"For gods sake, Relgin," Fedrio told the pudgy man in a scathing tone. "Do you want an Etazk priest to stretch you across an altar and carve out your heart?"

"Of... Of course not!"

"Then quit worrying about your home. It's a small price to pay to be able to keep breathing.
"

They watched as Relgin stormed away in fury.

"Why
did
you insist on using Relgin's home?" Fedrio asked Sly once they were alone.

"Because he's been an insufferable jackass ever since we got here." The little man snorted in amusement. "All he has done is whine and complain. I decided I would give him something to
really
complain about."

"
You're an evil little man, did you know that?"

Sly grinned mischievously, then hurried off in search of Damarius, who was busy
with the blacksmith, Stephan, pouring over one the many blueprints the old wizard had brought with him from Sevria.

"I think steel will be more effective." Stephan was telling Damarius with a frown. "With the forces produced by this machine, wood just wouldn't be strong enough. The first time you tried to fire it, it would shattered beneath its own power, probably killing everyone nearby." He shook his head firmly. "Constructing it entirely from steel would be the only way to make it functional."

"That's a
lot
of steel." Damarius frowned in disappointment. He stared at the plans for another moment, then tossed them aside a withdrew a new set of plans. "What about this?"

"What are you doing?" Sly asked curiously, stumping up to stare at the complex designs spread out on the table before them.

"We're trying to devise something that will help protect the harbor," The old man grumbled sourly. "but Stephan here has managed to find problems with every one of my designs so far." He glanced at the scruffy little man, who looked even more tired than usual. "How's the work coming along at the waterfront?"

"Better than expected." Sly yawned. "The men have created a wall of jagged debris in front of almost half of the slots along the docks. If any Etazk
ship tries to land, it'll rip their ship's belly wide open, and send them to the bottom of the harbor."

"Now,
this
may work." The burly old blacksmith murmured suddenly, carefully looking over the old wizard's designs.

Damarius hurried over to look at the
blueprints. "Oh yes, I'd forgotten about this one."

Sly leaned in closer to get a better look at the design, and saw what appeared to be a sketch of a long heavy log that had dozens of thick shafts
affixed with sharp steel points protruding from it in evenly spaced intervals.

"It should be fairly simple to construct
," Stephan continued, his eyes narrowed in thought. "but how will we deploy it?"

"It's really quite simple." Damarius explained, absently brushing his brow lock from his eyes. "We'll attach cables to each end, then sink several of these across the mouth of the harbor. We'll run the cables through
pulleys, then attach weights. When the Etazk try to sail into the harbor, we can drop the weights, which will raise the spiked shafts and impale their ships, then we can drop the counter weights, which will drag the impaled ships under. If we're lucky, we may be able to clog the opening to the breakwater with the debris from their own ships."

"It's genius!" The burly old blacksmith smiled. "It should only take a few days to construct,
and then we'll just have to figure out how we are going to set it into place."

"That still leaves a whole lot of unprotected
water inside of the harbor." Sly pointed out with a frown. "Got any ideas of what we can do to make it a bit more difficult for any ships that happen to make it inside?"

"Hmm," Damarius
quickly began leafing through his stack of parchment. "I have this." He pulled a smaller parchment from the rest, then placed it on the table. "They're essentially nothing more than wooden barrels that have had a number of holes drilled into their sides which have been plugged by cork. We fill the barrels with a few substances that I have created, then tether them to weights and set them out in the water."

"What will they do?" Stephan asked curiously.

"When the Etazk ships bump into them, it will dislodge the corks, and allow water to seep into the barrel. The chemicals I created react to water, and will explode, blowing any ship nearby to bits."

"Now
that's
more like it!" The little man nodded approvingly. "It's about time you blow up somebody other than yourself!"

"Ha hah." The old wizard murmured in a flat tone.

Juco and Langsten appeared as they continued to go over the old wizard's designs, both looking exhausted from laboring to secure the waterfront.

"How
's everything coming along?" Sly asked.

"Slowly." L
angsten yawned wearily. "We simply do not have enough men to complete all the work. We've been working around the clock, and we're not even close to being finished blocking all of the slots along the dock, let alone starting work on reinforcing the harbor walls."

"
Reinforcements should be here soon." Sly reassured them. "Damion and the others should have reached Crete by now. It may take them a few days to get a force prepared to march, but then they'll send them straight here. We should have plenty enough manpower then."

"Let's hope they get here soon." Juco groaned,
wiping the sweat from his brow. "My men and I aren't accustomed to such labor. If it wasn't for all of the loot we have gathered from the houses we are demolishing, my men would have probably revolted. We're much better at splitting heads than demolishing houses."

"It's good for
them." Sly told him in an uncaring tone. "A little hard work is good for the soul."

"You and your men will be able to rest once reinforcements have arrived." Damarius murmured absently, still
staring at the plans spread out before them.

"I hope so. We won't be much good against
the Etazk if we're all too exhausted to fight."

You had better hope you're not too tired," Sly cautioned in a grim tone. "Otherwise you and your men may find yourselves bent backwards
over an altar with a Etazk priest ready to carve out your hearts."

Juco frowned. "Maybe we should get back to work." He murmured to Langsten
in a worried tone.

Langsten sighed in resignation, then turned and followed the mercenary back to the towards the waterfront.

**********

"How is he?" Dar asked Lady Skie in a hushed tone. "Is he going to live?" He stared at Axel's
lifeless form with worry. The young man had been unconscious ever since he had been stabbed trying to save Shirk from an attack by an Etazk spy.

"It's hard to say. He lost a lot of blood, but the blade didn't appear to damage any vital organs.
"

"He's going to make it." Shirk grumbled in a rusty voice
, his expression stubborn. The bearded old bandit hadn't left the young man's side since they had brought him up to the castle. It was quite obvious that he felt responsible for the young man being injured.

Axel suddenly moaned faintly, causing everyone to rush over to his bedside.
They waited anxiously for several long moments, then he moaned again, and his eyes fluttered open. "W-What happened?" He asked in a weak voice, seeing everyone hovering around his bedside with worried expressions.

"You were stabbed." Dar smiled down at the young man, who tried to sit up, but winced and fell back into his pillows. "One of those Etazk spies snuck up behind Shirk and tried to kill him, but you managed to save the old bandit's hide before he could strike."

"You saved my life, Axel." Shirk told him in a thick voice, grasping one of the young man's hands. "If you hadn't tackled that spy, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"You would have done the same for me
." Axel patted the old bandit's hand weakly.

"We should let him get his rest." Lady Skie told everyone, laying a gentle hand against the young man's forehead.

"I think I would rather have some wine," Axel said in a hopeful tone. "and maybe some food. I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"You haven't." Shirk snorted in relieved amusement. "You've been unconscious for four days." He waved it off. "It doesn't matter
now. All that matters is that you get better. I'll have a servant bring you something to eat immediately." He hurried off in search of a servant.

"He hasn't left your side in days." Lady Skie smiled fondly as she watched the old bandit disappear. "He was terrified that you weren't going to make it."

"Really?" Axel looked surprised. "I never knew he cared that much."

"Are you kidding? You just saved his life
! I don't think he would have forgiven himself if you had been killed." She sighed. "Shirk tries to portray himself as rough and gruff, but he's really just a big teddy bear."

"I'm sure it didn't help to know that Sly was going to murder him when
the little thief found out Shirk allowed you to get yourself killed." Dar snorted in amusement.

Axel chuckled, then went pale as his wound gave a fresh throb of pain.

One of the castle clerics hurried into the chamber to check on his patient and immediately shooed Dar and Lady Skie from the room. They quickly left the room after assuring Axel that they would be back to check in on him a bit later, then started to make their way up to Damion's office.

"Have you spoken with Captain Repheth about what his men found when he finished sweeping the city for spies?" Lady Skie asked th
e childlike sprite.

"I spoke with him earlier this morning." Dar nodded. "He reported that they found nearly a dozen more Etazk by the time it was all said and done."

"Were they able to take any of them alive?"

"I'm afraid not." The childlike sprite frowned. "As soon as they realized
that they had been discovered, they attacked, forcing Captain Repheth's men to kill them all."

"That's unfortunate." Lady Skie sighed. "They could have provided us with
some valuable information."

They slowly began to make their way up the huge sweeping staircase that led to the upper levels of the keep, then stopped as they foun
d their way blocked by a large burly servant.

"Is something
wrong?" Lady Skie asked the man as his expression suddenly became angry.

The man didn't reply, but instead, withdrew a wicked looking dagger
from beneath his robes and lunged at her, his eyes burning with hate.

Lady Skie instinctively shrank back from the man's wild lunge, and her foot slipped
off the edge of the step on which she was standing, sending her tumbling backwards down the unyielding stone staircase. She crashed into a heap at the bottom of the stairs where she lay unmoving

Dar
reacted instantly to the man's attack by throwing himself at the attacker's legs, tangling them both up, and sending them both tumbling down the stairs after Lady Skie. They crashed to a halt at the base of the stairs with Dar on top, who immediately untangled himself and scrambled clear.

The man had been dazed by the fall, and slowly pushed hims
elf up onto his hands and knees, shaking his head in an effort to clear his wits. His eyes fell upon his dagger, which had been knocked from his grasp in the fall, and he slowly began to crawl forward, obviously planning to renew his attack.