Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (29 page)

"I noticed." Damion replied, cursing himself for dropping his guard. "I guess we had better start being a bit more cautious for now on." He glanced up to Snowfeather, who was returning from his hunt.
"You missed all of the fun!"

Snowfeather gently landed on one of his shoulders.
"I noticed! I'm sorry I missed it. I was busy trying to find something edible in this unpleasant sea of sand."

"Any luck?"

"A couple of small lizards. They didn't taste very well, but they were far better than the salted rabbit you've been giving me."

"It's better than nothing."
He gestured to the dead men scattered around.
"They came from that formation of rock just ahead. Do you mind taking a look for us?"

"Of course."
Snowfeather launched himself into the air.

"Be careful!"
He warned his friend in a slightly worried tone.
"They have bows."

He waited for several minutes before Snowfeather finally reappeared overhead.
"It appears that those who fled from battle ran straight to the haven we were seeking. There are a number of other men assembling, presumably to renew the attack."

Damion relayed this news to the others.

"What do you want to do?" Raven asked retrieving her arrows from her victims.

"What else?" He said with a large grin.
"We attack them
before
they attack us!"

Veren
laughed. "Sounds like a solid plan! How many are there?"

"Thirty or so. I'm going to try to make as much noise as possible when we attack, so don't get excited." He told them as they continued toward the rocky outcrop.
"I would rather scare them off than slaughter them all."

"Here they come!"
Snowfeather hooted from overhead.

The troop of poorly armed men
dressed in rags appeared from behind a formation of stone, then froze in their tracks as a bolt of lightening blasted down from the clear sky, striking the ground before them with a tremendous crash. The lightening struck the ground again and again, leaving behind enormous smoking craters in the sand between the stunned attackers, and the companions.

"Wow!" Raven exclaimed in astonishment
, struggling to keep her horse under control. "That's a new one!"

The charging men suddenly turned and fled in terror, disappearing back around the formation, chased by another bolt
of lightening that crashed down at their heels. They followed the men around the formation as Damion continued to harass them with several more bolts that appeared from the clear morning sky. The last of the tribe, which had remained behind to watch over their camp, took one look, then scrambled to escape, leaving most their belongings behind in their haste to flee. They disappeared north into the desert, their frightened screams slowly fading into distance.

"I thought you were just going to make some noise?"
Veren complained, banging on the side of his head to get his ears to stop ringing.

Damion shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

Raven merely stared at Damion with slightly frightened eyes, then turned to lead the way into the jagged hole that was gouged into the stone.

"There's no water source for the horses."
Veren reported as they scoured through the belongings left behind by the fleeing men. "It looks as though they were running low themselves." He pointed to a shallow depression in the stone floor. "It appears it may have once had a small spring here, but it has long since dried up."

Damion frowned
, then led Storm over to the empty depression. He stared at it in disappointment for several moments, then watched with surprised curiosity as the huge war horse slowly walked over and began to sniff at the stone wall, scuffing at it with one fore hoof.

He went over to examine the stone wall that had stolen Storm's attention, and immediately noticed
the stone was much colder than it should have been.

Storm continued to scuff at the wall
for another moment, then turned and nudged him insistently.

"What is it
?"

The shaggy beast nudged him again, then scuffed the wall with one hoof.

Damion stared at the wall for another second, then drew in his magic and sent a probing thought into the stone. After a moment or two of scanning, he located the natural spring that had once flowed into the shallow cave. He shifted a few stones deep in the earth, freeing up the spring to come gushing to the surface once again.

"Did you find something?" Raven asked curiously, noticing his intense interest in the stone wall.

Damion withdrew his probing thought, and took Storm by the reins. "You may want to back away." He told her, quickly leading the warhorse away from the stone wall.

"
Oh, okay," She said dubiously as she followed him over to a spot some distance away.

"I can't believe it's
already getting hot!" Veren complained as he wandered about the abandoned camp, gathering anything of value that he could find. "I've got sand in places that I never even knew I had! I would give this entire pouch of coins for a nice cold bath right now." He held up a large pouch he had collected in the debris.

A rumble vibrated through the ground, and there was a loud crack that echoed through the desert
. A small fracture appeared in the stone wall, and a large puff of dust expelled from the fissure, obscuring everyone's vision for a moment.

"
That was strange!" Veren exclaimed, waving away the dust. He stumped closer to the crack in the stone and knelt down to take a better look.

"You may not want to do that!" Damion warned him.

But his warning came too late. There was another loud crack, then a blast of water suddenly erupted from the wall, catching the one eared man full in the face. He was hurled backwards off his feet by the sudden gush, where he landed hard on his backside. He sat up coughing and spitting up water, his eyes wide with shock.

Damion and Raven were laughing uproariously, watching with
amusement as the Deirian struggled to his feet.

Damion calmly walked over and plucked the pouch of coins from
Veren's hand. "Enjoy your bath?"

"Very funny." The one eared man grumbled sourly.

"At least you should dry out quickly!" Raven giggled, her eyes dancing in glee.

After the initial blast of water, the
pressure of the stream slowly lessened until it was merely a small trickle that flowed down the wall to quickly fill the shallow depression.

Since the
cave was too small to accommodate the horses as well as the companions, they once again raised their canvas sheets to help provide shade. The cool air that flowed from the cave helped to ease the heat, combined with the the cold sweet water that now flowed openly down the wall, the campsite ended up being quite adequate for their needs.

They left Snowfeather to keep watch from his perch in the shadows, and stretched out in the cool darkness of the cave
to get some badly needed rest. They awoke a couple of hours before sunset, and each took their turn at washing themselves in the cool refreshing water of the newly created pool.

"We should reach the escarpment after another
night's travel." Raven informed them as she chopped up several large pieces of salted pork to add to the stew she had whipped up from their dwindling supplies. "It'll take a day or so to make up the escarpment, then it's three more weeks until we reach Arleia." She looked at Damion for a moment with an expectant look, then smiled as he used his magic to heat the stones beneath the cooking pot.

"Do you think the clan controlling the area near the escarpment
may have heard of our encounter with their fellow tribesmen?" Veren asked as he busied himself examining the horses for stone bruises or other injuries.

Raven shrugged
as she began to stir the bubbling stew. "Possibly, but if they
have
warned them, that may help frighten them into leaving us alone. They are a superstitious people and are terrified of magic users."

"
I think we should stay here for one more day." Damion decided, using a rag soaked in oil to clean his armor. "Another day's rest would probably be prudent before trying to force our way up the escarpment."

"I agree."
Veren grunted, wandering back over to join the others. "This heat is really taking its toll on the horses. They could really use a little rest before we continue. We still have a long way to go, and I don't much fancy the idea of walking."

Raven finished preparing their dinner, then they all sat back to enjoy their meal.

As soon as the sun set, Snowfeather disappeared into the darkness in the hopes of locating something to dine on while Damion and Veren built several piles of stones which Damion then set aflame, providing plenty of heat and light to hold off the cold.

"You are a very useful person to have around
." Raven murmured to Damion as she relocated her blankets and pack closer to the flaming stones. "You seem to have an answer for every problem."

Damion shrugged. "There'
s usually a solution for most of the situations that I encounter."

"So what do you plan to do once this is all over?"

Damion stared into the flames thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess if I am able to destroy the shadow dragons, I will return to my home in Sevria. I'm sure they are all completely panicked by now since they haven't heard from me in a while, but I'm sure my friend Sly will be able take care of anything that arises."

"Sly?"  The young woman asked in confusion.

"Gabriel Quickhand." He told her with a smile. "I grew up in a small valley in the Godstear Mountains, across the sea on the southern continent. As soon as I could lift a sword, my father found me the best swordsman in the land to train me in the art of combat. That ended up being my friend, Gabriel, or Sly, as he prefers." He laughed in amusement. "He threw a fit when he discovered I was leaving him in charge of Sevria. He has traveled with me everywhere since the day I first left the valley, but there was no one else that could do the job. My aunt Skie sent for her father, Damarius, the wizard who taught me how to control my magic, to help run the day to day business of the castle, but I needed Sly to remain there to overlook everything."

"He sounds delightful!" She smiled,
placing her bedroll next to his.

Damion
snorted in amusement. "Actually, he's a grouchy, ill mannered drunkard, but,
on the plus side, he smells
really
bad."

Raven laughed, inching a bit closer.

"He's a loyal friend," He continued. "and one of the most fearsome warriors you will ever see! I trust him completely. I even left him the key to the treasury. An entire dragon's hoard left to us when the scarlet dragons created the new fortress, carved into the mountain side itself, to replace the one that was destroyed. There should be enough in the treasury to keep him well drunk while I'm gone."

"So
, this Damarius taught you how to use how to use magic?"

"I started displaying my powers when I was still very young." He explained quietly. "
I was sent to live in the valley with my aunt Skie and her father Damarius. He taught me how to control my magic, and use it to do things that others cannot."

"And your mother?"

Damion frowned. "She passed away after giving birth to me. The dragonspawn attack that marked me had also left my mother very weak. She didn't have enough strength left after I was born." His voice was sad.