Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (32 page)

"Lord Quickhand!" The young castle guardsman burst into Damion's office breathing heavily, his eyes wild. "Lord Quickhand!"

"Calm yourself, man!" Sly exclaimed, staring at the panicked man in surprise.
"Take a moment to catch your breath, then explain yourself."

The guard took a long trembling breath. "Our scout
s have just returned from their patrol. They're reporting that a army of dragonspawn are massing a few miles from here! They say there are hundreds of them gathered together, and more are appearing every minute!"

"That can't be good." Damarius commented, stroking his beard absently.

"Are there any reports of shadowspawn?" Dar asked, his childlike face pale.

The young guard nodded. "They
report that there are dozens of them mingling with the dragonspawn. They appear to be the one's that are in charge!"

"It appears that our fears were well founded." Lady Skie noted. "
I guess all our preparations have not been for nothing."

"I just hope they
will be enough." The freckle faced boy's face grew concerned. "A thousand dragonspawn pounding at the walls is nothing to dismiss! Add the fact that the shadowspawn are commanding them, they could become a serious problem!"

"Ho
w far away are they gathering?"

"About five miles
from our walls, milady. They are gathering in a large clearing a mile or so off of the trade road."

"Have there been any reports of shadow
dragons?"

The young man shook his head. "
Not as of yet, although we have a number of men watching the skies for any sign of dragons."

"Return to the wall and relay the news
to everyone." Sly ordered. "Make sure that everyone stays alert! I don't want those creatures sneaking up on us and catching us unaware!"

The young guard nodded, then hurried off to the wall.

"The gathering of so many dragonspawn can only mean one thing." Damarius said, his face grim.

Sly nodded. "They are planning an attack."

"Shouldn't we try to attack them first?" Dar asked. "You know, try to catch them by surprise?"

Damarius shook his head. "Out of the question. We would be too outnumbered to make such an assault. Our best
plan of action is to sit tight and allow them to come to us. We should be safe as long as we can hold the wall."

"But
will
we be able to hold the wall?" Lady Skie asked in concern.

Sly nodded confidently.
"We should be safe enough. We have been preparing for this for quite some time now. Every available person has been enlisted to help defend the walls. I've even seen several of the castle maids practicing with bows. They seemed determined to try and help defend their home."

Lady Skie nodded knowingly. "The people have labored hard to rebuild their lives here in Sevria. They'll not see it destroyed without a fight!"

"I think we shall be safe enough." Damarius agreed, brushing his brow lock from his eyes absently. "I've devised any number of nasty little surprises that will make them quite sorry for attempting any attack!" He gave them an evil grin. "I've designed dozens of different devices over the years that could prove to be quite useful in battle! I'll finally have a reason to use a few of them!"

They didn't have to wait long before the old wizard had his chance to use his devices. It was sunset two nights later when the hoard of dragonspawn appeared boiling out of the growing shadows of the forests
surrounding the outskirts of Sevria.

The workers had cleared the forest outside the wall for
several hundred yards in every direction to use in the creation of the sea of deadly stakes that surrounded the town, allowing no possible chance of concealment, so the beasts chose to boldly rush forward, making no effort to try and hide their presence as they continued to spill from the forest.

"Dragonspawn!" One keen eyed boy of about fourteen yelled from his lookout in one of
the guard towers along the wall. "The dragonspawn are attacking!"

The other guards quickly responded with a practiced reaction, sending word down the wall from guardhouse to guardhouse
by runners who raced along to speed the alert. One large red faced man produced a tarnished horn and began to trumpet a loud warning which echoed through the mountains. The people of Sevria reacted without hesitation to that warning, dropping whatever they carried and retrieving their weapons. Men and women alike rushed to their places along the wall, their faces pale, but determined, while those unable to fight stood ready to assist by supplying extra arrows, or preparing the supplies they would need assist any wounded. A large group of riders rode out from the gate to help protect the workers who labored outside the wall, then quickly retreated to safety once everyone was clear of danger.

The hoard of dragonspawn was still continuing to pou
r from the surrounding forests when Sly, Damarius, Dar, and Lady Skie arrived at the main guard house that had been constructed on top of the wall to overlook the gate.

"I guess it was just a matter
time until they made their move." Sly commented grimly as they inspected the growing force that had them surrounded. "It was too much to hope that they would just return to wherever they came from."

The growing throng of creatures had halted their advance across open fie
lds to gather in one massive mob just outside the range of their crossbows. Thousands of the snarling creatures had spilled from the forest and now stood trembling with eagerness as they prepared to make their way across the sea spikes that separated the city wall from the open field.

"The people have reacted remarkably well." Lady Skie noted as she
watched several men rush by to take their positions along the wall. "They almost look professional!"

"We have been preparing for this for months
now." Damarius shrugged, causing his brow lock to fall into his eyes. "They know exactly what they are supposed to do, and the fact that their lives hang in the balance encourages them to take their responsibilities seriously."

"The scouts were right." Dar reported, his keen eyes scanning the
mass of creatures. "There are shadowspawn mingling throughout the crowd. They are doubtlessly the one's that are in control over the hoard."

"
There are more of those creatures than we first thought." Sly muttered, his face troubled as he watched the dragonspawn continue to gather in the growing darkness. "Those creatures must breed like rabbits!"

"They'll probably attack sometime after midnight." Damarius predicted. "We should probably light their way
, don't your think?"

"Good idea." Sly motioned to one of the passing guards. "Send the word to bust the barrels."

The order was quickly passed along and dozens of barrels of lamp oil was brought forward and emptied into large channels cut into the stone that travelled through the wall, and down into open clay gutters that twisted and turned throughout the sea of spikes outside of the wall.

"Light it up!" The little man roared in a shattering voice.

A dozen torches were dropped into the trenches below and the oil burst into flame, quickly travelling through the gutters, and lighting the area for hundreds of yards beyond the wall.

"I had thought this idea mad when you first showed me the design," Sly told the old wizard grudgingly. "
but I have to admit that it was a stroke of genius!"

"I thought it may come in handy once night had fallen." Damarius replied modestly.
"Those creatures seem to prefer the cover of darkness, so I thought this may help discourage any nocturnal attacks."

One of the guard captains entered the guard house, his face flushed with excitement. "Everyone is prepared milord." He reported. "The machines are all manned, and we have a dozen watchers scanning the skies in case a shadow dragon appears
!"

"What happens now?" Lady Skie in an uncertain voice.

Damarius turned to fix her with a stern look. "Now, you return to the safety of the castle. I'll not allow you to place yourself in danger by remaining here any longer. You can watch what happens from one of the castle verandas."

"
I don't think so!" She exclaimed heatedly. "I'm not some child you can send off while you men play! I'll stay here with everyone as long as I bloody well choose!" She cut off her father when he opened his mouth to speak. "If you want to go hide in the castle, go right ahead! I'm not going anywhere!"

"You are so stubborn sometimes!" Damarius scowled at his daughter. "You're just like your mother! She never listened to anyone either!"

"You shouldn't have raised me to be so independent." She answered, giving him a kiss on his scruffy cheek. "Next time you have a child, have a boy. Maybe he'll listen to you!"

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

"Time to be moving on?" The tattooed Deola asked as Damion, Veren, Raven, and Snowfeather gathered outside the livery, eagerly awaiting the sun to set.

Damion nodded. "We still have a long way to go."

Ole scratched his head. "I know it isn't any of my business, but you should be careful if you plan to continue your way east. The clans are riled from all of the chaos. You may find the way more difficult than you had planned."

"We really don't have much of a choice."
Veren replied as he checked over the supplies that they had replenished and packed on their spare horses.

"Well, I wish you the best, my friends." He patted Storm gently on the neck, a wistful look in his eyes. "It was nice to talk with some civilized folk for a change
!"

They left on foot, leading the horses as they made their way towards the closest ramp leading up the escarpment, ignoring the looks from the locals that were hurrying about their business.
They paused only for a moment to marvel at the massive complex of platforms and supports that led to the top of the massive escarpment, then started their way up, still leading their horses on foot.

"I'll meet you at the top."
Snowfeather hooted, launching himself into the air.
"I'm going to go try and hunt up something fresh to eat in this barren wasteland."
He quickly disappeared into the darkness.

The platforms were all quite crowded as they moved through
the milling mass of unwashed bodies. The ancient platforms were constructed of massive timbers that had been placed together eons before, and a surprising number of crude buildings had been constructed against the rock face, taking up a large amount of the already narrow space. The pathways along the platforms became so narrow in places that they were forced to walk in a single file line as they led their horses forward, slowly making their way towards the top of the escarpment.

"Where are all of these people going?"
Veren asked irritably, glaring at the surrounding crowd with distaste. "It's almost like the only reason they're here is to stand around and take up valuable space!"

"They're various tradesmen
that live in the area." Raven replied. "They spend a large portion of their days running from platform to platform to ply their trade. Some of them live in the village above, some in the town below."

Their presence did not go unnoticed
as they continued the climb towards the top of the escarpment. People watched them with unfriendly stares as they moved frustratingly slow through the crowd. Damion's massive size and strange appearance made it virtually impossible to blend with those around them, and many that they passed stopped to stare openly with hostile expressions.

It was nearly midnight when they finally reached the third main platform that had been constructed on the face of the cliff side
. They found it to be much larger than the first two, so it was slightly less crowded as they stopped to rest and water the horses.