Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (22 page)

"Once the dragonspawn realize there will no longer be anyone traveling through the mountains to harass, they will come looking for victims." Damarius predicted knowingly.

The freckled face boy shrugged. "Let them come! They will not be able to penetrate the wall that protects this city, and we have plenty enough food and fresh water to last us for several months. Why not just sit back and await Damion's return?"

"We can use that time to devise a few more addition
s to the city's protection." Damarius mused thoughtfully. "I have a number of inventions that I designed for just such an occasion. This could be the opportunity that I need to finally put them to use!"

"Such as?" Sly asked curiously, dipping his tankard into the barrel of ale once more.
"The land outside the walls is already bristling with spikes to prevent anything from approaching too closely! The only thing left unprotected is the road itself!"

"Then shouldn't we do something to protect it?" Damarius inquired. "I can think of a number of nasty little tricks that
would make life difficult for the dragonspawn if they try to attack!"

"I'm
far more concerned with shadow dragons!" Lady Skie told them, her normally calm expression replaced with a worried look. "What kind of defenses will work against them?"

Damarius smiled. "I may have a few ideas on that. I have a
design that may aid us against just such an attack."

"Tempest said she would make sure that Sevria was well guarded." Dar reminded them. "I'm sure that the scarlet dragons are watching over
the town."

"It
still wouldn't hurt to have a few extra defenses in place." Sly said, agreeing with Damarius. "What did you have in mind?"

"I've designed a kind of oversized
crossbow that can pierce a tree at a thousand yards!" Damarius said excitedly, unrolling a detailed sketch of a strange looking machine. "I designed it many, many years ago."

"Does it really work?" Lady Skie asked curiously.

Damarius shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've never had any reason to actually build one!"

"
Well," Sly decided. "You have just found a reason! How long will it take to construct one of these contraptions?"

The old wizard shrugged. "
I'm not sure. I've never built one before!"

"
Then you had better get to work! If the machine actually works, we can construct a number of them to place around in strategic places to watch over and protect the city."

"Is this going to be like the time you destroyed the storage shed outside the cottage back home?" Lady Skie asked
her father, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"Storage shed?"
Sly asked in confusion. "I don't remember there ever being a storage shed near the cottage."

"That's because
he blew it up!" Lady Skie laughed.

Damarius's face had grown red.
"That was an accident! I mistakenly mixed two rather innocuous substances together and discovered when combined they became rather... unstable."

"Believe it or not, he used to have a full head of hair before the accident!" Lady Skie was still laughing.

The old wizard gave her a dirty look. "You didn't have to tell them that!" He growled at his daughter, trying to ignore the laughter of his friends.

It took three weeks to construct Damarius's design to the old man's exact
specifications. The result was a heavy machine built from wood and steel that had been constructed atop a wagon modified for the experimental weapon. Several twelve foot long steel tipped projectiles, which looked quite similar to oversized arrows, had been painstakingly crafted to be fired from the powerful machine, and were stacked neatly nearby to await the test firing.

The day finally came to fire the machine
for the first time, and the entire town had gathered to witness what the strange old wizard had constructed. The machine was towed by several horses to a vacant field at the edge of town and carefully set into place.

Damarius motioned to a pair of burly w
orkmen who placed a long pry bar into a slot on the machine, and slowly began to draw back the thick rope. After a minute or so of strenuous labor, the machine was finally ready to be fired, and the workers carefully loaded one of the oversized arrows into place.

The old wizard
took his seat behind the controls of his creation, then took careful aim at a wagon loaded with empty crates that had been wheeled into place five hundred yards away. He pressed the lever that released the arrow, and was rewarded with a heavy twang as the machine launched its projectile with deadly precision.

The wagon and crates he had targeted suddenly
disintegrated into splinters as the steel tipped projectile passed through them without slowing, continuing another two hundred yards before it buried itself a foot deep into a large oak tree.

The crowd watching stared
in disbelief for several moments, then suddenly burst into cheers, clearly amazed and impressed by the wizard's contraption.

"Right on target!"
Damarius looked a bit rattled, but otherwise quite pleased with himself.

"What target?" Sly asked in a stunned voice. "There isn't anything left!"

The old wizard smiled modestly. "It worked rather well, didn't it?"

Sly turned to the two workmen. "Find us another target!"

"Whatever for?" Lady Skie asked in confusion. "We know it works! Why test it again?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sly snorted, rolling his eyes. "Do you really think I'm going to sit back and let
him
have all of the fun?" He smiled as the two workmen reappeared leading a team of horses that was pulling a cart full of rough timber.

"These logs should work, milord." One of the workmen grinned. "They were going to be split and used as firewood anyhow
!"

Sly laughed. "They'll be perfect! Take it about
eight hundred yards from here, then get the horses clear!"

He climbed up into the seat as two workmen began the process of
cocking the powerful machine. He took careful aim at the cart of thick logs, then squeezed the trigger. There was another heavy twang, and the oversized arrow was launched from the machine with blinding speed. It struck one the rough logs with such force that the cart rolled over onto its side, sending its contents flying.

The crowd cheered again, laughing in delight as they watched the strange old wizard's machine
fire flawlessly.

"Whoa!" Sly exclaimed, a look of surprise of his face.
"This thing has a bit of a kick!"

"Enough playing
, children!" Lady Skie chided disapprovingly. "That is
not
a toy!"

"Hey! Don't I get a turn?" Dar objected.

"Ah, she's right." Sly said regretfully as he hopped down from the machine. He looked to Damarius. "Can you make more of them? I would really like to have a number of these set up to over look the city!"

The old wizard nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Now that I know that the design works, it shouldn't be a problem
to build a number of these machines in short order."

"Do you really think it would be powerful enough to actually
kill a dragon?" Lady Skie asked as they all slowly began to make their way back to the castle.

"I would think so, but I'm
not exactly sure. Dragon scales are as strong as steel! I'm afraid that the only way to find out if it's effective is to test it on a real dragon."

"Let's hope we never have the opportunity to find out
then!" Dar said fervently.

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

The brood mother was lazily stretched out next to the river of molten lava that flowed through the main chamber of her volcanic cavern lair. The tremendous heat did not have any affect on the huge serpent, but it helped to detour most other creatures from attempting to bother her while she rested.

She opened her eyes as a smaller dragon clawed its way through the narrow opening
of her lair carrying a dead horse its gaping maw. It deposited the carcass before the larger dragon, then back away fearfully.

"For you, mother." Tar whimpered, cringing back as
the larger dragon's gaze fell upon her.

"What news is there on the search for this so called
dragon man?" She asked, ripping into the dead horse and tearing off a large hunk of flesh.

"He is on the
northern continent making his way through the great forests." The smaller dragon told her hesitantly.

"So he does exist?" The brood mother looked up from her meal. "There
is
a dragon man, and he carries a sword that controls our enemies?"

"There is such a man, and he carries a sw
ord that contains great power, Mother." Tar told her. "If it controls the scarlet dragons, we do not know."

The crippled dragon snarled, tossing aside the half eaten horse. "If the man exists, then why hasn't the sword been brought to me?"

The smaller dragon backed away fearfully. "He is far more powerful than we could have expected! He injured Onyx, and killed Smoke! "

"I care nothing for excuses!" She roared in fury. She stared at Tar few several long mom
ents. "You say he killed Smoke? How is it that a mere human was able to defeat a dragon?"

"This is no mere
human." Tar whimpered. "He wields magic unlike anything we have seen, and the sword he carries is able to pierce our flesh!"

The crippled dragon's voice grew thoughtful. "Perhaps there is more to this
dragon man than I first thought."

"The spawn are following him as we speak, keeping track of his movements until you can decide on how to proceed."
The smaller dragon told her, still cringing in fear.

"Good." She grumbled, her mind working quickly. "Order them to gather for an attack."

"May I ask what you have planned, mother?"

She glared down at the smaller dragon, her eyes cunning. "I think I need to see this
dragon man for myself."

Chapter 9

"How much farther is it until we reach the border of Veiria?" Damion asked as he butchered the large buck that he and Veren had spent the last two hours tracking.

"At least three more days." The one eared man replied
, cooking a couple of thick steaks over their fire. "It is about a day's ride once we have reached the eastern edge of the forest."

It had been two weeks since they had escaped from the Black Feather
clan, whose people were still in disarray since the shadow dragon's attack. They only rarely encountered other travelers as they continued to follow the trade road as it gradually turned to the east. What few people they did encounter did not speak when they passed, instead they watched Damion and Veren warily, their hands on their weapons.

"This meat should last us for several days, at least."
Damion commented, hanging strips of the butchered deer over the fire to cook, then rinsing his hands clean in the tiny stream that ran next to their well concealed camp. "I'll ask Snowfeather to catch us a couple of quail while he's out hunting tonight. That should help replenish our supplies."

They
had been hoping to purchase supplies in a small village marked on the map they had obtained in Jaghera, but when they approached the village earlier that morning they found it destroyed and the people all dead. The buildings had all been burned to the ground and was still smoldering in many places. The smell of charred flesh was nearly overpowering, so they had pushed on without stopping, desperate to reach fresh air.