Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (24 page)

"What is it?" He asked, watching as she
scanned the forest ahead with a look of concern. "What's wrong?"

"Something doesn't feel right." She
murmured quietly. "It's a little too quiet, and there is a peculiar scent in the air."

Damion stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, then glanced up at Snowfeather, who was perched on his shoulder, his head tucked beneath one wing.
"Would you take a look, and let us know if you can see anything?"
He asked politely, knowing the huge owl had been working for weeks with very little sleep.

"
I suppose,"
Snowfeather yawned as he stretched his wings wearily, then launched himself into the air.
"but we need to talk about taking some time off after this is all over
.
"

"Where is he going?"
Veren asked curiously.

"He's going to take a look around." Damion replied, still watching the young girl closely.

It was only a few moments later when the huge owl reappeared, swooping low over their heads.
"Dragonspawn!"
He warned with a hoot.
"Dozens of them! Led by ten or twelve shadowspawn!"

"Where are they?"
Damion asked, his hand flashing to the hilt of the Dragon Sword.

"All around you! They're keeping pace with you in two groups, one on either side of the road
, and appears they blocked the road ahead! They already have you surrounded!"

"It seems that we're surrounded by dragonspawn
." He told the others in a quiet voice. "They are keeping pace with us, just out of sight."

"Why haven't they attacked yet?"
Veren asked, reaching for his sword and staring closely into the underbrush.

"There's a road block ahead. I would guess that they plan on attacking once we reach
it."

"What do we do?" Raven asked, trying to look casual as she readied her long bow. "Do we turn back, or try to fight our way through?"

They both looked to Damion, who was thinking quickly.

"Let's get a look at this barricade." He decided, nudging Storm ahead at a trot.

They crested a hill and found their way blocked by a barricade that had been constructed of huge logs freshly cut from the forest and stacked atop one another.

"Are there many
dragonspawn hidden behind the barricade?"
Damion asked Snowfeather, who was hidden in the safety of the canopy above.

"About twenty of them, plus four or five of the shadowspawn
!"
The snow owl told him in a worried tone.
"What are you planning?"

"I think I'll remove that barricade."
Damion grinned suddenly.
"Just stay somewhere well out of the way."

They cautiously approached the road block, ready to act at the first sign of attack. They stopped about two hundred paces from the log b
arricade and Damion pulled the Dragon Sword from its sheath.

"What are you planning?"
Veren asked, recognizing the look on Damion's face.

"Just keep a tight rein on you horses
." He warned them with a smile. He drew in his magic and focused it carefully, then released the power through the Dragon Sword.

The resu
lting explosion shook the earth, and leveled the forest surrounding the trade road. The barricade disintegrated into millions of tiny splinters which sliced through everything on the far side for two hundred feet. The shrapnel ripped apart the dragonspawn and their leaders, shredding the scaled creatures as they hid waiting to spring their ambush.

Raven's jaw dropped open in stunned surprise. "By the gods!" She turned to stare at Damion, who was carefully watching the surrounding forest for the first sign of an attack.

"I bet they felt that back in Jaghera!" Veren laughed, though his face was just as stunned as Raven's.

"What are they doing now?"
Damion silently asked Snowfeather, who had reappeared overhead.

"They're
fleeing!"
The owl replied in surprise.
"They're breaking off into groups and disappearing deeper into the forest! I think you scared them off!"

"The dragonspawn are clearing out.
" Damion told them, sliding the Dragon Sword back into its sheath.

"I guess that they didn't want to play with you anymore."
Veren laughed again. "They must have realized that you don't play well with others!"

"I don't know
where they would get that idea." Raven said sarcastically.

They continued down the trade road
at a trot with Snowfeather still gliding overhead to keep watch. It began to rain heavily enough to drizzle through the thick forest canopy overhead, but they ignored it and continued to slog through the mud towards the east.

That evening they set up camp in a large
hollow in the roots beneath an ancient grove of trees. The hollow was large enough to comfortably house the companions and their horses, and showed some evidence of being used as a shelter many times before. The entrance was obscured by a curtain of hanging moss that grew in long florescent green strands, and had a strange spicy scent that was quite pleasant to breathe.

They dined that evening on a stew Raven whipped up
using the last of the deer meat and a number of strange roots and vegetables she gathered in the forest.

"We may want to take a few days to rest here before we enter Veiria." The dark haired woman
advised them as she slowly stirred the stew with a long wooden spoon. "The only town between here and the border was Mapleton and it was destroyed months ago, so we should take some time to prepare before we enter that desolate land. We can find most of what we need here in the forest to replenish our supplies."

"What about water?"
Veren asked. "We'll need plenty of water for ourselves and the horses once we enter the desert."

"There are a number of
springs along the trade route. They're not hard to miss in the sea of rock and sand because it's the only places where trees grow."

They both looked to Damion, who shrugged. "I don't see the harm
in resting up a bit before entering Veiria. We've been pushing our horses pretty hard for the last several weeks. It probably wouldn't hurt to give them a day or two of rest."

Storm, who was
corralled with the other horses, neighed loudly in agreement, causing them all to laugh.

"I guess it
's unanimous then." Veren nodded agreement. "We'll spend the next day or two resting and foraging for supplies, then we can leave rested and refreshed and make our way across the border."

They finished their dinner, then laid back on their bedrolls wearily.

"We may give some thought about travelling at night once we cross into Veiria." Raven suggested in a tired voice. "The heat during the day can become unbearable on a good day, and deadly on a bad day. Its much cooler during the night, sometimes cold enough to freeze your water supply solid."

"Have you ever traveled through Veiria?" Damion asked curiously.

The dark haired girl nodded. "Once. We were following a thief who had murdered one of my cousins. We made it halfway across the cursed land before we found the man already dead. He had apparently froze to death during the night." Her voice was somber. "We barely made it back to Deiria alive."

"I guess we will listen to the voice of experience then."

Raven smiled, then jumped nervously as Snowfeather appeared through the curtain of hanging moss.

"I think the shadowspawn are back."
The huge owl chirped in agitation.
"I haven't actually seen them, but there is something definitely moving around out in the forest that is very skilled at remaining hidden."

"Damn creatures!" Damion cursed aloud. "I'm getting a little tired of them dogging our steps!"

"What is it?" Veren asked, leaping to his feet.

"Snowfeather says there is something moving around out in the forest, but he can't seem to locate it." He growled, climbing to his feet. "I think I'm going to go find out what it is and make sure it will not follow us any further."

"I'll come with you." Raven volunteered.

Damion shook his head firmly. "I need you to stay here with
Veren and guard the camp and the horses. I'll take care of this alone."

"I know these forests better than anyone
!" She objected with anger. "You need me!"

"You wouldn't be able to follow me." He told her, smiling
mischievously. "You would just slow me down." Before she could reply, he drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a panther. He disappeared into the night, leaving her with an astonished look on her face.

"Don't worry."
Veren assured her. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

Raven continued to stare at the hollow's entrance with a look of disbelief. She finally turned to look at the one eared man. "Does he al
ways go around blowing thing up, and transforming people into trees, and changing his forms, and such?" She asked in a weak voice.

Veren
considered the question for a moment, then nodded. "Aye. I've only followed him for the last six or eight months, but I have heard many stories from his closest friends." He laughed. "Apparently, this a fairly common occurrence when you associate with Damion!"

She shook her head
in disbelief, then sat back with her bow in her lap to await the unusual warrior's return, wondering what she had managed to get herself into.

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

Damion relaxed as the sounds and smells of the forest engulfed his senses.  He slipped into the shadows with Snowfeather ghosting silently through the tree tops overhead, his keen eyes alert for movement. It wasn't long before Damion located a strange reptilian scent in the air, and quickly tracked it to a pair of shadowspawn who were drifting silently through the forest, obviously in search for where he and the others were camped.

He drifted up behind the unsuspecting creatures on silent paws, then paused as he slipped back into his own form. He struck quickly, knowing that the creatures were ferocious in battle, and
within a few moments, the shadowspawn lay dead at his feet. He slipped back into the form of a panther and slipped back into the darkness, determined to be rid of every creature that continued to follow them.

He located the next group
of four shadowspawn less than five hundred feet from their hidden campsite, and fell upon the creatures from the darkness, lopping off two of the beast's heads before they could react. He charged at a third shadowspawn, the Dragon Sword whistling through the air. The shadowspawn tried to dodge clear, but the sword bit deep into the beast's waist, shearing through scale, meat, and bone with ease. The shadowspawn fell twitching to the forest floor, its scaled body sliced cleanly in half.

The fourth shadowspawn tried desp
erately to flee, blindly crashing through the thick underbrush in an frantic attempt to escape, but Damion easily caught up to the terrified creature and cut it down with a massive overhand blow that dropped the beast in its tracks.

H
e searched for another hour in the forest surrounding their campsite for any other creatures, but only located one last shadowspawn slowly making its way through the forest, presumably in search of its companions. Damion slowly circled the creature until he was directly in its path, then returned to his own form and awaited his prey.