Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (2 page)

There was an epic battle betwee
n the inhabitants of the forest and the goblins and dragonspawn that were under the madman's command, and Kaviel was finally sealed alive in stone, though Damion lost the woman that he loved in the process.

After much convincing by his friends and loved ones, and
Tempest's own assurances that the dragons would never willingly harm an innocent, Damion joined the Dragon Gem and Dragon Sword, releasing the enslaved serpents back into the world.

Since that day,
Damion had carried the Dragon Sword. Although the dragons were now free of the gem, the sword could still control the mighty serpents, so he was careful to always keep close to him, determined that it never fall into the hands another madman.

He slowly turned away from the window and slipped on his boots, then carefully strapped the Dragon Sword
to his waist. He glanced at Snowfeather, who was perched on the edge of the bed preening his feathers. "Do you think anyone would noticed if I just locked the door and hid under the bed?"

Snowfeather looked up from his preening.
"You wish. I'm surprised someone isn't already pounding on your door over some insignificant issue!"

As if on cue, there was a loud knock at the door.

Damion shot the owl a dirty look as if the intrusion was his fault, then sighed and walked over to the door. There was a short wiry little man standing in the doorway, swaying slightly back and forth. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes slightly disheveled, but it looked as though he had made some attempt to groom his thinning hair and scraggly beard.

"It's about time you go
t up." The little man grumbled.

"Good morning, Sly.
" He looked his friend over. "Did you have a hard night?"

Sly shrugged. "I don't know. I don't remember."

Damion laughed, then shook his head. "I thought you had learned your lesson last time you woke up in the stables with that mule."

Sly ignored him.
"Are you planning on hiding in your room all day?"

"I thought about it." Damion replied truthfully.
"I'm growing a little weary of trying to solve everyone else's problems."

"That's what you get when you're the leader of men. People actually have the nerve to expect you to lead. Don't know where they would get that
idea from!"

Gabriel Quickhand, or Sly
, as he preferred, was one of his oldest and most trusted friends. He had taught Damion everything he knew about the art of combat, hunting, tracking, and the world in general. He had stood loyally by Damion's side during the hunt for his father's murderer, and was an crucial part of the rebuilding of Sevria. He was also a drunken lecher with little morals, and unquenchable fondness for dwarven ale.

Damion
followed the little man down the corridor to the dining hall where they found Lady Skie sitting at a table, sipping her tea contently.

"Good morning, Aunt Skie." Damion
greeted her as he took a seat across the table.

Lady Skie smiled
. "Good morning." She glanced at Sly, who had flopped into a chair and ordered a passing servant to bring him some bread and a pitcher of spiced wine. "What's the matter, Sly? Wake up in the stables again?"

Damion laughed
again, then began to eat from a platter of sizzling sausages and eggs that one of the cooks placed before him.

"We have a meeting with one of the liaisons from Sierria today." Sly grunted, filling a large tankard with wine. "There's a caravan from the north that would like an escort through the mountains. The merchants in the caravan refuse to leave Sierria without some sort of protection."

Damion sighed. The rebuilding of an entire town had been far more
complicated than he had realized. After leading the refugees from Kaviel's rampage to the remains of Sevria, they began the lengthy process of removing the remnants of the old village and rebuilding. Survivors from all over the continent had fled into the mountains, and that first winter had been tough. Many were forced to stay in the castle, and extra food was scarce, but they somehow managed to survive. Now that they were reestablished, the caravans moving through the mountains from the port city of Sierria were their main source of supplies and revenue.

"Why don't they hire some bodyguards?" Lady Skie asked as she sipped her tea.

Sly shrugged. "Damion can ask that himself once the liaison arrives."

It was nearly noon before the
liaison for the city of Sierria finally arrived in the company of a number of badly injured soldiers, and he was immediately brought to meet with them in Damion's office where he conducted most of his work.

The
liaison was a tall thin man with a mane of shockingly golden hair. His face was clean shaven, and smeared with dirt. His ill fitting clothing was splashed with mud, and the poor man looked as though he hadn't slept in weeks. He stumbled into Damion's office, his face pale and his hands trembling. "Milord," He attempted to bow to Damion, but nearly fell.

Damion rushed forward and caught the man, then
carefully helped him over to a chair. Sly brought the man a large tankard of ale which he drained without pause.

After a few moments,
and another tankard of ale, his trembling subsided and some color returned to his face. "Thank you. I'm feeling a bit better now."

"You and your men seemed to have ran
into a bit of trouble." Sly observed blandly.

The
blond haired man snorted humorlessly. "Aye. There was a bit of trouble on the road. Dragonspawn attacked us four separate times during our journey. They just wouldn't give up!" He shook his head. "We managed to fight them off, but we lost several men in the process!"

Damion and Sly exchanged looks.

"I'm afraid there won't be any caravans moving though these mountains as long as those vile creatures continue to attack everything they encounter traveling on the trade route."

"I wonder why they're becoming so bold all of the sudden?" Lady Skie mused. "
Ever since the dragons were released from the Dragon Gem they've been rather docile. I wonder what's changed?"

Sly shrugged. "It's hard telling what motivates those creatures."

The liaison shook his head once more. "I've encountered dragonspawn before, and I've never seen them behave like this!"

Lady Skie gave Damion a worried look. "
What are you going to do about this? We can't just ignore this problem. Those caravans have to make it through these mountains. Something has to be done!"

Damion nodded. "It looks as though I'm going to have to try and track these creatures down." He was secretly elated at having an excuse to get away from the castle for a while, though he was careful not to show this to the others. "I'll leave tomorrow. I'll try and discover what's going on and put a stop to it."

Sly nodded. "I'll alert the captain of the watch. We'll take a dozen or so soldiers with us."

"I don't think so." Damion shook his head. "There's no need. I'll go and investigate alone. There's no sense in getting a bunch of men killed. Besides, they would only be in the way."

But Sly steadfastly refused to allow him to travel alone. The next morning, Damion found him and the golden haired liaison saddled and ready to ride. He had also saddled Storm, Damion's abnormally large and aggressive warhorse.

"That d
amned horse bit me!" The little man complained, giving the warhorse a nasty look. Sly had obviously made the decision that he was going to join Damion whether he wanted him to or not, so Damion decide not to argue.

"
He was just being playful." Damion laughed as he climbed atop Storm's back. "It means he likes you."

"I could live with him not liking me so much."

"It's a Deolan warhorse, is it not?" The pale faced liaison inquired.

Damion nodded.
"He was a gift from a friend." He gave the liaison a pointed look. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Of course
! Besides," The man laughed. "I'm probably better off traveling with you than with my men! I don't think they'd really be up for the fight!"

They started off from the courtyard
with Snowfeather gliding silently overhead, and made their way down into the small mountain town.

Sevria had grown quite a bit in the three years since it had been
destroyed. The refugees slowly rebuilt their lives, reopening their businesses and rebuilding their homes, and the town was soon bustling with life once more.

Several merchants and townsfolk shouted greeting to them as they passed, and they were stopped
a number of times before they finally made it to the trade road just outside of town. They slowly began making their way north, taking their time on the snow covered road to avoid injuring their horses.

It was late evening when they finally stopped to make
camp. Damion deliberately built up a large fire so as to make their presence known, then sat back and waited. They slept in shifts, each taking their turn in keeping watch over the camp, then after a long uneventful night, they picked up and continued towards the north.

They we
re only on the road for an hour when Damion heard Snowfeather shout a warning from above.
"There are a number of dragonspawn ahead! It looks like they're planning to attack!"

"We've got company!
" Damion warned, drawing the Dragon Sword from its sheath and spurring Storm forward.

"Stay out of the way!
" Sly warned the liaison as he drew his own sword and charged after Damion.

The dragonspawn came boiling out of the forest, snarling and hissing, each carrying
a crude club or rust splotched sword. The monstrous creatures stood over seven feet tall, with dark red scales covering their sinuously muscled bodies and long whip-like tails. Their heads were similar than that of dragon's, with razor sharp teeth and long spiraling horns. They charged with vicious roars at Damion and Sly, who met them head on, their swords whistling through the air.

Storm crashed through
into the group of the howling creatures without slowing, crushing several beneath his churning hooves, then wheeled around and kicked another dragonspawn square in the face. It flew through the air and landed in a twitching heap at the side of the road.

The Dragon Sword was a blur as it danced through the air, shearing through flesh and bone alike.
Damion chopped several of the creatures down as Storm rode yet another into the ground. Bones snapped loudly as the warhorse trampled the squealing beast, making double sure that the dragonspawn would not recover from its injuries.

Damion lopped off the head off another
dragonspawn, then whirled around to see Sly fighting desperately to keep three more at bay. He instantly drew in his magic and sent a bolt of energy sizzling through the air, blasting one of the creatures into bloody chunks.

The other two hesitated
as they saw Damion and Storm charging towards them, which was a fatal mistake as it turned out. Sly quickly took advantage of their hesitation and drove the point of his sword into one of the beasts' throats, then kicked it in the hard in the chest, sending it flying. The last dragonspawn raised a rusty sword, but the little man was far too quick. His sword crunched into its body and it suddenly stiffened. The little man ripped his sword loose, and the scaly beast fell to the ground twitching.

"There are more coming!" The
golden haired liaison shouted in warning.

Damion turned to see at least thirty more dragonspawn boiling out the
forest bordering the trade road. He swore, then turned to Sly. "You'd better stay out of the way!" He slid down from Storm's broad back, then handed the little man his reins.

Sly
nodded and took the warhorse's reins, then turned and went to join the liaison.