Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (4 page)

They arrived in Sevria the following evening, just as the sun disappeared
behind the mountains surrounding the valley. As always, the town was bustling with activity and a number of people called out to them as they passed, but they somehow managed to make it to the castle without being stopped too many times.

They dismounted in the castle courtyard, and Damion handed Storm's reins off to a
stable hand. "You play nice." He murmured to the shaggy warhorse, stroking the brute's neck.

Storm flattened his ears back against his
head and bared his teeth, then started off towards the stables, dragging the stable hand along behind him.

As they started up the
stairs that led up to the main corridor of the castle, a figure dressed entirely in black leather suddenly stepped from the shadows and rushed forward, a wicked looking dagger clenched tightly in one hand. It was only from his years of training that Damion was able to avoid the deadly thrust aimed at his heart. He side stepped the leather clad man and kicked him hard in the stomach, stopping the man in his tracks and causing him to drop his dagger.

The man groaned pitifully as all of the air whooshed out of his lungs
, and he dropped to his knees grasping his stomach, gasping desperately for air.

"Why is it every
time you go somewhere, someone or something tries to kill you?" Sly asked, drawing his sword and leveling at the gasping man's chest.

"It must be my overwhelming personality.
" Damion muttered, looking the kneeling man over closely.

He was a dark skinned man with a clean shaven head
, and a rather flat looking face. His hooded eyes seemed  slightly slanted, and he had lost an ear sometime in the past. His heavy leather clothing was bristling with daggers, and a wicked looking short sword hung at his side. Dar prudently relieved him of his weapons, then bound his hands tightly behind his back.

The man
continued to gasp for breath for several moments, then he stared up at Damion, his eyes full of hate. "What are you waiting for, Evil One?" He snarled savagely. "Kill me quick, and be done with it! Just know that I curse you with my last breath!"

"Huh?" Damion blurted in confusion. He lo
oked over to Sly, who shrugged, then back down at the man who was still staring up at him hatefully. "What are you talking about? Why did you attack me?"

"You
are
Damion Omensent? The Dragon Lord? The Master of Serpent's Keep?" The man spat his name as if were a curse.

"I am." Damion
said, his eyes growing hard.

"Then you are the man who slaughtered my family!" The man trembled with fury, and his voice dropped to a whisper. "
I lived in a small town across the sea in the kingdom of Jaghera. Three months ago I left my home to purchase supplies and when I returned, I found my home engulfed in flames!" Tears began to flow from his eyes. "As I approached, an enormous dragon emerged from the darkness spouting flames. It destroyed everything, then disappeared into the night!" He dropped his head and sobbed. "My wife and children perished in the inferno!"

"I'm truly sorry for your lost, but it's
impossible that it was a dragon." Damion said flatly. "When I released the dragons back into the world, they were sworn to never hurt an innocent. They are still bound by the power of the Dragon Sword, and cannot disobey."

"It was a dragon! I saw it with my own eyes
!" The man roared. "A great black beast, its scales as dark as the night! After it destroyed my home and killed my family, it disappeared like it had been swallowed by the darkness!"

"Black?" Dar asked in
surprise. "There isn't any such thing as a black dragon! They are all various shades of crimson! Are you sure that is what you saw?"

"I'm sure." The man said in a defeated voice. "Everyone has heard of how
the Dragon Lord released the dragons from the legendary Dragon Gem. I knew that you were the one responsible for death of my family, so I vowed to see you dead, or die trying."

"What do you want to do with him?" Sly asked, his sword still leveled at the man's chest. "Should we hang him?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Damion stared at the man for several long moments. "Find a room somewhere with a stout door, and place a guard outside." He decided. "We'll decide what to do with him once we find out the truth."

Sly ordered several guards to lock the man away, then
the little man turned to Damion with a grim look. "Seems quite the coincidence, don't you think? First, we encounter a black dragonspawn, and now we hear stories of a black dragon. It seems like a little too much to hope that they're not somehow connected."

"In all
of my years of friendship with the dragons," Dar stated quietly, his face worried. "I've never heard of a black dragon."

"I know someone who will be able to answer these questions." Damion turned and started back down the steps.

"Where are you going?"
Sly called after him.

"I'm going to see
if Tempest is home. Maybe she will know what's going on."

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

Damion quickly made his way to the edge of town
, ignoring several merchants who called out. The instant he was out of sight, he drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a sleek black panther, then melted into the shadows without a sound. He was able to move much faster through the unforgiving terrain in this form, and it wasn't long before he lost the sounds of the city amidst the noise of the wilds.

"
Snowfeather?"
He silently sent his thought out to his familiar.
"Where are you?"

"I'm right here."
The huge snow owl ghosted through the treetops over Damion's head.
"I'm always here. You should know that by now!"

Damion quickly made h
is way across the valley towards Tempest's new lair, just few leagues deeper into the wilds of the Godstear Mountains. Her new cavern was nearly twice the size of her cavern in the Endless Forest, and was very nearly inaccessible by land.

After several hours of travel, Damion and Snowfeather finally reached the mouth of the great scarlet dragon's lair
, located high up on a steep ridge side. They slowly entered the cavern, then paused as Damion returned to his normal form. Snowfeather settled gently on one of his shoulders, then they began to carefully make their way deeper into the cavern.

It was soon too dark to continue safely, and Damion was forced stop and draw in his magic once more. A fist sized ball of light formed in the air and hovered near the ceiling, casting a gentle light that led the way as they continued to move deeper into the mountain side.

After several minutes, they
reached the main chamber where they found Tempest curled up comfortably along the far wall, sleeping gently amongst her hoard of treasure. The great serpent was massive, with gleaming red scales and a body rippling with muscles. Two spiraling horns sprouted from the back of her huge armored head, and two great bat-like leathery wings were folded closely to her sides. Her long whip-like tail had a number of sharp spikes protruding down its length, and was casually swishing back and forth unconsciously while she rested.

As Damion moved closer, she
suddenly raised her head and gazed down at him with surprise. "Dragonkin!" She exclaimed, her voice booming through the empty cavern. "This is unexpected!" She slowly rose and stretched her wings, then settled back down before him. "You didn't have to travel here to see me. You could have just used the Dragon Sword to summon me! I would have came to you!"

Damion shook his head. "I am
not
your master. I will not use the sword to keep you at my beck and call."

Tempest gazed down at Damion with respect. "I am honored that you would show me that
kind of consideration, but there is no need. Feel free to call upon me whenever you wish. The dragons are indebted to you, and I will always strive to honor that debt."

"That's what I've come
to discuss with you." Damion said seriously. "The power of the Dragon Sword is still in effect, is it not?"

T
empest nodded her great head. "The chains of that cursed sword still bind my kind." She gave him a curious look. "Why ask what you already know?"

"We've had a couple of odd
occurrences here as of late, and we're at a loss to explain them." He described his encounter with the black dragonspawn.

"
Shadowspawn!" The scarlet serpent spat, causing twin coils of smoke to drift up from her nostrils. "I didn't think there were any left! I thought they had all long since died off!"

"Then when we returned to the castle,
" Damion continued. "I was attacked by a man who claimed a dragon had attacked and burned his home, killing his family."

"That's not possible. We are bound by your command never to harm
an innocent."

"What was really strange was he claim
ed it wasn't a scarlet dragon. He said this dragon was black as night. He claimed he witnessed it with his own eyes." He looked at Tempest seriously. "He seemed genuine with his claim. I really don't think he was lying."

Tempest shook her head. "H
e could not have seen what he claims." She declared adamantly. "What he describes is a shadow dragon."

"A shadow dragon?"

Tempest nodded. "They were cousins of the scarlet dragons. Dark creatures, shadow dragons were. They were banished from our world over four thousand years ago, never to return."

"
I wouldn't be so sure about that."

The great serpent fell silent for several long moments.
"I would dismiss his claim as nonsense if not for your encounter with the shadowspawn." Her eyes were lost in thought. "They were the underlings of the shadow dragons, fanatically loyal, and much more intelligent than a normal dragonspawn." She shook her massive head. "If the shadow dragons have somehow returned to this world, chaos will soon follow in their wake!" She rose to her full height and unfurled her wings. "I need to go investigate these claims. If they are true, there will be no place left in this world that will be safe from their taint!"

Chapter 3

Damion arrived back at the Serpent's Keep as the sun was rising above the mountain peaks. He asked a passing servant to have the cooks bring some food to his office, then wearily made his way to the upper levels of the castle. He wasn't surprised to find Sly, Dar, and Lady Skie awaiting his return as he opened his office door.

"So
was you able to speak with Tempest?" Dar asked, his boyish face alight with curiosity. "Was she able to identify the black dragonspawn that attacked you?"

Damion nodded,
wearily dropping into a chair across the table from Lady Skie. "It's called a shadowspawn. Apparently they were once as numerous as the normal dragonspawn we are accustomed to encountering. Tempest was quite surprised to discover that they still exist. She had thought that they had died out thousands of years ago."

"Great!
Just what we need!" Sly snorted sardonically. "As if a typical dragonspawn wasn't bad enough!"

"And what of that man's claim of a black dragon attacking his home and killing his family?" Lady Skie asked. Dar and Sly had obviously filled her in on the recent events that had transpired since they had last spoke.
"Is there any truth in that?"

Damion shrugged uncertainly. "Possibl
y. There was once a race of black serpents that were banished from this world. The shadowspawn were their loyal followers."