Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (8 page)

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They had been at sea for two weeks
when they sailed directly into the heart of a fairly intense tropical storm. After enduring three days of being violently tossed about their quarters, they finally emerged into clear skies and calm waters.

Later that day
the captain noticed a dark object on the horizon. He stared at it for several minutes through a telescope until it was finally close enough to get a clear look.

"It's another ship." Veren grunted, squinting for a better look.

The dark ship had set course directly for The Fearless Lady, and seemed to be crowding on as much sail as they could in an effort overtake the ship.

Captain Harper cursed, then
tossed aside his telescope. "Pirates! Every man at his station!"

The sailors all jumped into action, raising their own sails and gathering weapons for battle.

Damion, who had been below decks checking on their horses, rushed to the main deck to find the sailors preparing for battle. After several moments, he located Captain Harper, who was up on the bridge bellowing orders to his men.

"What's
happening?"

"Pirates!" The captain gestured to the approaching s
hip. "There's no way we can outrun them. I'm afraid we're about to have a fight on our hands!"

"Maybe there's some way we can avoid that." Damion said
, walking to the railing and staring back at the pursuing ship. He drew in his magic, and concentrated it on the sails of the pursuing ship, then made a small gesture with one hand.

T
he sails on the pirate vessel suddenly burst into flames, and there was a number of shouts of alarm that could clearly be heard across the distance. Men began to scramble across the decks as the approaching ship quickly lost momentum, and The Fearless Lady steadily began to pull away, leaving the distressed ship far behind.

"What just happened?" Captain Harper asked in confusion. "How did their sails catch fire?"

Damion shrugged. "It looks like we just got lucky."

The captain looked from Damion, to the smoking ship in the distance, then back to Damion. "You did something to cause their sails to burst into flame, didn't you?"
He asked accusingly.

Damion gave him a look of exaggerated innocence. "Why
, Captain! What a thing to suggest!"

Captain Harper continued to look at him with suspicion.

"Would you rather the pirates catch up to us?" Veren asked mildly.

"Of course not!" The braided haired man said. "But I know something out of the normal when I see it!"

Damion sighed. "I may have... encouraged the sails to catch fire."

"Encouraged?" The captain gave him a blank look, then understanding
suddenly dawned on his features. "Y-you mean magic?"

Damion groaned. "Don't say it like that! It's not like I turned them all into toads or anything
!"

"Could you
actually do that?" Veren asked curiously. "You know, turn someone into a toad?"

Damion shrugged. "I've never had the opportunity to try."

Captain Harper continue to stare at him in disbelief. He finally looked to the heavens. "What have I gotten myself into?" He asked of the uncaring sky.

Veren
laid a hand on the man's shoulder. "Try not to think about it." He said reassuringly. "Just try to ignore it. Trust me, it's much easier that way!"

The captain gave them one last look, then ordered the sailors back to their posts. He stalked away mumbling audibly to himself and gesturing wildly with his hands.

They arrived at the port city Whilhom five days later without encountering any further problems. They pulled into the docks after an ship inspector from the city made sure that were not carrying any illegal goods. Once satisfied, they paid a rather expensive docking fee, then were finally allowed to tie off to the dock.

Damion and
Veren unloaded the horses from the ship's hull, then led them down the gangplank. Storm pranced happily as he emerged into the sunlight, and a number of sailors the who had been assigned to look after the horses breathed an audible sigh of relief as they watched the shaggy warhorse depart the ship.

Captain Harper met them at the
end of the dock, a large smile on his face. "Did I not tell you that The Fearless Lady would see us safely here, milord?"

Damion smiled. "That you did, Captain. The Fearless Lady has proven to me that she
deserves the name! Thank you for your help."

The captain smiled happily, th
en swept off his hat with an extravagant bow. "It was my honor to serve you. I hope you remember me in your travels, Dragon Lord."

"I wish people would quit calling me that." Damion murmure
d to himself as he waved farewell once more to the captain.

They decided to start fresh early
the next morning, and found a nearby inn in which they were able to purchase rooms for the night.

Damion saw almost imme
diately that Veren had not been exaggerating when he spoke of his people's obsession with order. The streets of Whilhom were arrow straight and free of the normal trash and debris that littered many other small cities. The people all seemed polite and reserved, and there seemed to be a pair of soldiers on every street corner vigilantly making sure that no one was breaking any laws.

The inn
Veren led him to was near the center of town, and though it was nearly a two mile walk, they chose to lead the horses rather than ride them to draw less attention to themselves. They rented a pair of tiny rooms adorned only with rough cots, then went in search of some food and refreshments.

The
inn's large common room was crowded with patrons, and Damion, who had Snowfeather perched on one shoulder, drew a number of suspicious stares as he made his way across the room to an empty table. His face grew stony as the stares continued, and he flinched slightly when he heard someone in the crowd mutter the word 'freak'.

A dimpled young girl with mud colored hair
and slightly crossed eyes hurried up to their table with a slightly frightened look on her face. "Would you like something to drink?" She asked them in a nasally voice, her crooked eyes locked on Damion.

"Bring us
ale, and whatever food your cook has prepared." Veren requested quickly, handing the girl a coin and sending her on her way.

The people who were still staring gradually returned to their drinking, though there was still an occasional distrustful glance thrown in Damion's direction.

Veren shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "I guess that happens a lot, huh? Having everyone stare at you wherever you go?"

Damion snorted. "I can ignore the stares
. It's being called a freak that gets under my skin."

The dark skinned man grunted. "I can't imagine that would be easy to swallow."

"It's not." Damion answered flatly.

The serving girl
returned with a large tray heavy with bowls of stew, fresh bread, and butter. There was also a large platter of sizzling meat, a large slab of fragrant cheese, and two large foaming tankards. The dimpled young girl's face was red as she struggled under the weight of the tray, made more difficult as she tried to make her way through the crowd.

Damion jumped to his feet and easily took the
heavy tray from her, and sat it on their table.

She cocke
yed girl smiled gratefully. "Thank you, milord." She was panting heavily. "I thought I would bring you a little of everything." She gestured to the tray of food, which Veren and Snowfeather had already begun to help themselves. "I figured it took a lot to feed a man your size." She gave him a hesitant smile.

Damion chuckled. "That it does." He agreed.

She seemed to relax a bit. "I also wanted to apologize for staring earlier. My manners seemed to have left me."

"I'm
kind of used to being stared at." He replied, returning to his seat.

"Yeah, me too." She gestured to her eyes. "I've heard all the jokes. Most don't even wait until my back is turned before pointing and laughing." She shrugged. "But that's my burden to bear
. I can't fix my eyes, so I've learned to ignore the snickers and pointing." She suddenly brightened. "None of that really matters, though. Please let me know if there's anything you need." The girl bustled off to return to her work.

Damion quietly thought about her words as he ate,
and he slowly realized that there
were
others who were sneered at and ridiculed for how they appeared. All they could do is move on and try to live their lives.

After eating his fill, Damion sat back with his tankard in hand.
"So let's discuss our next move."

Veren
shrugged. "We'll make our way north towards Livingston. That's the capitol city of Jaghera. We'll pick up what information we can along the way."

"How far is it to your farm?" Damion asked before draining his
tankard and motioning to the dimpled serving girl.

"About ten days of hard riding."
Veren's face grew sad. "I was hoping we could avoid it, if you don't mind. The wounds of what occurred there are still too fresh."

Damion nodded.
"Of course. But we should still ask around in the area to see if there have been any other sightings."

"There are a number of villages
along the trade road heading north, and merchants traveling south are always a good source news from the north. With any luck, we can find out if there have been any sightings of the beast that killed my family."

"Did I hear you were planning on heading north?" The
serving girl asked as she returned with two more tankards of foaming ale. "Are you going to Livingston to join with the king's army? I hear they are planning for war!"

"War? What war?"
Veren asked with some concern.

The crooked eyed girl leaned in closer. "War with the Dragon Lord!
His beasts have been attacking villages and farms all over the area!" She whispered to them in a hushed tone. "You've heard how the Dragon Lord freed the dragons and now controls them, right?"

"We may have heard something about it
." Damion murmured quietly.

"He's apparently decided to use his dragons to conquer the world!" The dimpled girl looked frightened. "All sorts of foul creatures are being reported, and the
people are all frightened! And it's not just here! I've heard sailors from the west claiming it's happening there too!"

Damion and
Veren exchanged glances.

"Now
, I've heard the king has called all of his generals to Livingston!" The girl continued. "Everyone claims that we'll be going to war!"

"Shut your mouth, girl!" A dirty man in a tar smeared smock snarled at her suddenly. "
No one wants to hear the gossip of a cross eyed serving wench!" He reeled back and forth drunkenly.

The serving girl flinched
, and her face grew pale.

"You should really mind you manners
, friend." Damion growled menacingly, fixing the man with a gaze that promised death.

The tar smeared man gulped loudly, then quickly made his way out of the common room.

"Thanks," The girl said quietly. "but please don't get yourself into any trouble on my account." She smiled weakly, then quietly returned to her work.