Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (14 page)

The old man turned around
and gave them a helpless grin. "Most folk don't seem to pay much attention to us old folk. I was hoping to get closer without drawing your suspicion." The old man was dressed in a stained, but otherwise clean smock, and a pair of crude pants made of what seemed to be some sort of rough burlap. His hair was an odd shade of translucent white, and his face was deeply wrinkled and weathered from years of toiling in the sun.

"And what were you hoping to discover?" Damion asked curiously.

The old man shrugged. "I was hoping to overhear something interesting. There isn't much for an old timer like myself to occupy his time."

"So you spend
it eavesdropping?"

The old man laughed. "
I guess you could say that! You would be surprised how much you can learn if you keep your head down and your mouth shut!" His face took on a cunning look. "I couldn't help but overhear that you were heading north. I might have some recent news on that there area, but I've grown awful thirsty, and I find it a little difficult to speak with a dry throat."

Veren
rolled his eyes, then motioned to the serving girl. "Bring us another round of ale, and bring one for the old man as well."

"Why
, thank you, my young friends!" He tottered over and took a seat next to Veren. "The name's Alfrid. I'm the resident busybody."

"Pleased
to meet you, Alfrid." Damion replied politely. "I'm Damion, and my friend next to you is named Veren."

The old man stared up at Damion with
surprisingly young eyes. "You're a big one, aren't ya?" He looked at Damion a little closer. "You know, just two evenings before, a rider stopped in for a tankard or two and he was going on and on with some outlandish story of a giant of a man who destroyed the Royal Sorcerer, Sorsos with a bolt of lightening! He said it was the Dragon Lord! I had thought him disturbed, but now..." He stared at Damion with a speculative look.

Veren
snorted in amusement, but remained silent.

The serving girl arrived with their drinks, and the old man smiled happily. He took his tankard in both trembling hands
and took a long drink. He sighed lustily, then wiped his mouth with one sleeve. "That's the nectar of the gods!"

Damion smiled. "You may wa
nt to bring us another round." He told the serving girl, nodding to the wrinkled old man.

"Thank you again, young master
!"

"So what news have you for us from up north?"
Veren asked, leaning back in his chair with his tankard.

Alfrid smiled, causing his already deep
wrinkles to deepen. "Well sir, it just so happens I overheard some traveling merchants discussing the troubles they encountered on the road the Deiria. It seems their forests are being burned, and their hunting camps are being attacked. There're only a handful of survivors from these attacks, and the accounts are sketchy." His face took on a sad expression. "It seems these attacks are much like the attacks happening around our fair land! Their people are afraid, just as ours are! Large groups of soldiers are patrolling the roads stopping all that travel through their lands! We are living in dangerous times, I fear!"

"This may complicate things."
Veren murmured worriedly. "I was hoping we'd be able to avoid any complications in Deiria, but this seems to dash those hopes!"

Damion shrugged. "We'll worry about that when the time comes."

"And where is your destination, if I may be so bold to ask?" The old man asked curiously.

"Arleia.
"

The old man nearly choked on his drink. "Are y
ou mad, son? No one goes to Arleia, unless they're involved in the slave trade!"

"H
ave you heard anything else that may be of interest?" Veren asked.

Alfrid scratched his head thoughtfully. "Only that those dragonspawn creatures seem to be everywhere nowadays. I mean
, they've always been a problem in Deiria, all the forests and such are the perfect hiding place for those nasty beasts, but I guess they have become much more aggressive as of late. They will attack anything that they encounter!"

Damion exchanged worried looks with
Veren, then handed the returning serving girl several coins. "Keep our friend here drinking until he falls under the table."

"Why
, thank you, young master! That's mighty generous of you!"

"Thank you for the informati
on." Damion replied.

The old man leaned forward. "So tell me," His voice had dropped to a whisper. "Did you really destroy Sorsos?"

Damion shook his head. "Sorsos still lives."

Veren
laughed. "But the form now fits the man!"

Alfrid gave them both a
baffled look, then rose from his seat and shuffled off to return to his own table.

*********

"Pick up that shovel and get back to work!" Sly bellowed at the overweight merchant who was busy resting against the newly constructed stone wall. "There is still a lot to do before you can think about rest!"

The fat merchant gave the little man a look of pure hatred, then slowly rose to his feet and rejoined the work crew still laboring nearby.

"You definitely haven't made any friends since starting this project." Damarius commented, wandering up to join Sly as he supervised the wall's construction. The old wizard had immediately answered his daughter's plea for help, arriving in Sevria with Dar a few days after Damion and Veren departed. His extensive knowledge of architecture and engineering had quickly proven invaluable in the design and construction of the new city wall.

"I'm not here to win any popularity contests." Sly grunted sourly. "I'm supposed to help protect th
is city, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, even if that means some overstuffed, over pampered merchant has to get his hands a little dirty in the process!"

In the
weeks following Veren and Damion's departure for the northern continent, Sly had focused all his time and energy towards the safety of the city. Every able bodied man was put to work on the construction of a new wall that would completely encircle the town and overlooking castle. The stone cutters and masons that worked the various quarries throughout the mountain range were suddenly overwhelmed from their demand for quality stone, and there was soon a steady flow of freshly cut granite moving to their town by the wagon load, including dozens of monolithic blocks for use as the base of the fortified structure.

Using Damarius's design, they had b
egan construction by digging down until they hit solid bedrock, then they began to lay the enormous foundation stones into place. Many in the town failed to see the necessity of building such defenses until Sly pointed out the fact that if Sevria were to suffer some sort of attack by dragonspawn,
they
would be expected to fight. There very few objections after that.

Damarius's design for the new city wall was actually quite simple.
After they the finished laying foundation, they began building it up using heavy granite blocks that had been painstakingly cut into interlocking pieces. The result one month later was an imposing structure, sixty feet tall and twenty feet thick, that cut across the fertile valley and encircled the city. Following the old wizard's instruction, the masons overlapped each stone by several inches, and the result was a wall slanted outward at such an angle that made it virtually impossible to climb.

Every fifty or so feet along the top of the wall, they
constructed a guardhouse to keep watch over the area outside of the city and manned them with a number of well trained archers armed with long bows.

There was only
a single entrance through the imposing stone structure, which was three wagons wide, and twenty foot tall. It was protected by several heavy steel gates that were operated by an ingenious wench and pulley system devised by the old wizard.

A sunken walkway ran along the top of the wall, providing protection for those standing guard, but
still allowed for full vision on any advancing force. Cunningly angled slots were cut into the top of the wall permitting archers to fire out, but preventing enemy arrows from entering.

After toiling day and night until the point of near exhaustion
for nearly two months, they were finally nearing completion. The finishing touches the masons were now completing were more for aesthetic purposes, rather utilitarian. Sly had thought these touches were frivolous, but the townsfolk had insisted the structure be adorned with a number of dragon statues that had been sculpted by several of the master masons that had been involved in the construction of the wall.

"The people are going to want to celebrate the wall
's completion." Damarius commented casually, watching as a number of stone sculptors began engraving elaborate designs into the stone on either side of the gate. "My daughter suggests that we have the women of the town begin preparations for a feast."

Sly snorted. "I don't know if there is enough in the coffers
to pay for a feast! We've pretty much emptied the treasury paying for everything! The masons were generous and only charged us double for their labor, but the wagoneers were quite greedy in their negotiations. They wanted triple, until I mentioned that the Dragon Lord had commanded the wall's construction." The little man smiled evilly. "They quickly dropped their price!"

Damarius laughed, then gestured to the stone sculptors. "How much are they charging for their services?"

"Nothing. One of the master stone masons wished to display his work for all to see. He agreed to provide his services for free. He seems to think it'll be good for his business."

"
Well, I suggest you squeeze out a few more coins and have the ladies of Sevria begin preparation for a celebration. Otherwise, you'll have to explain to Skie why you didn't."

Sly flinched, then nodded in agreement. "Maybe you're right. But Damion's going to faint when he see how much
of the hoard Tempest left him has been spent."

"Damion cares nothing for that." Damarius disagreed. "He cares more for those who were left in his charge. But he also feels a tremendous
responsibility for what is happening to others outside of these mountains. These attacks by the shadow dragons would not have been possible if he had not released the scarlet dragons. He knows that he could have never anticipated such an outcome, but it's the end result that matters to him."

"His sense of responsibility is going to get him killed one of these day
s." Sly growled unhappily.

"Do
n't say that around my daughter!" Damarius warned. "She'll never shut up if she hears you talk like that!"

Sly motioned to a passing page who usually worked in the castle, but had bee
n pressed into service as a laborer on one of the work crews. "You! Boy! Come here!"

The miserable looking boy hurried over with a resigned expression.

"What's your name?" Sly barked harshly.

"A-Azel,
milord." The boy answered nervously. His clothes were caked with filth, and there were dark rings under his eyes. He looked as though he hadn't eaten or slept in days, and stood trembling on the edge of exhaustion.

"I want you to get yourself cleaned up, then gather the ladies of
the town and arrange a celebration for the people to take place in two days." Sly ordered, looking the boy up and down. "The arrangements will be your responsibility, so don't fail in this task. Report your progress directly to me. Now, move!" he watched the boy scurry off, then grinned at the old wizard. "I guess planning a celebration was a little easier than I thought!"

**************