Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (11 page)

"You really saved our hides back there." Arl commented to Damion that evening as they crested a hill to see Crete spread out before them. "It was a stroke of luck that you four happened along when you did. Those bandits would have surely butchered us if it wasn't for you."

"We were happy to be of assistance." Damion assured him.

"But that doesn't mean you don't have to pay us!" Shirk
added quickly.

After renting some rooms for the evening
at a large inn near the center of Crete, they gathered in the common room to enjoy dinner.

"I think this is where we will be parting company
." The old teamster told the companions, handing Damion, Raven, and Shirk each a small pouch of coins.

"
You'd better not even think of trying to stiff me." Dar growled at him aggressively.

The old man stared at the freckle faced boy in disbelief.

"You'd better listen to him." Shirk suggested, gesturing to the serving girl to bring them another round of ale. "He may look like a child, but Dar has got the nimblest fingers I have ever seen. If you try and stiff him, he'll wait until your back is turned, then steal everything of value you have."

Arl's expression grew
shocked. He looked at the childlike Alena. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Dar fixed him with an icy stare.
"Just try me."

The old man flinched back, grasping the pouches at his waist protectively, then with a
heavy sigh, he produced another small pouch of coins, which he reluctantly tossed to the fiery haired child.

They finished saying their goodbyes with the other teamsters, then watched as the men retired to their rooms for the evening.

"That couldn't have gone much better." Dar commented, opening his pouch, and carefully counting its contents. "It shouldn't be too difficult to locate Faldor's plantation from here."

Damion nodded in agreement. "
It was a real stroke of luck that they asked us to escort them the rest of the way. We now know that Faldor is receiving the weapons at his plantation a few miles east of here."

"All we have to do
now is figure out what he has planned for them." Raven pointed out.

"I think I'll do a little snooping around tonight
." Shirk murmured, draining his tankard, and rising to his feet. "I might get lucky and stumble across whoever is behind the highwaymen ambushing those wagons."

"Just try not to start any trouble."
The huge warrior warned him.

"Who? Me?"
The bearded thief laughed innocently.

Damion groaned.

"Don't worry." Dar assured him. "I'll go with him and keep an eye on him. I can play the thief as well as he can. Between the two of us, we should be able to locate the closest gang leaders and find out if they had anything to do with those bandits."

Damion and Raven retired to the small sleeping chamber that they
had rented for the evening and settled in for the evening. It wasn't long before they heard a loud tap at the tiny window that looked out over the muddy trade road that ran in front of the inn.

Damion quickly went to the window and popped it open, allowing Snowfeather to hop into the room.
"Have you learned where those wagons are bound?"

"They're heading for a plantation a few miles east of town." Damion answered him aloud, settling
down on the bed next to Raven. "I was hoping that you would go check it out for us."

"I'll
investigate it while I'm out hunting."
Snowfeather agreed with a hoot.
"In the mean time, I just thought I should let you know that Storm has sent another stable hand through a wall. That beast is a walking natural disaster!"

"He's just having a little fun." Damion laughed dismissively. "I think he gets bored easily, and finds that terrorizing those who get too close enormously entertaining."

"Whatever you say."
The huge owl chirped, hopping back to the window.
"I'll go grab a quick bite to eat, then go investigate that plantation. I'll return by morning."
With that, he launched himself into the air, and disappeared into the night.

They met up the
next morning in the common room, and chose a secluded table to discuss what had been discovered while they enjoyed breakfast.

"Snowfeather located the plantation." Damion told everyone as he began to pile eggs, bacon, and potatoes onto his plate. "It's little more than a few rundown buildings surrounded by some poorly maintained fields.
Snowfeather says there are quite a few men lingering around the place, though."

"Our night was fairly productive also." Shirk grunted, tak
ing a long drink of spiced wine, then belching thunderously. "Dar and I managed to gain an audience with one of the local gang leaders. What he had to tell us was very enlightening."

"It appears this Faldor has been quite busy attempting to recruit every person he can." Dar told them, yawning hugely. "He seems to think he can put a large enough force together to take
on the Deola."

"Is he mad?" Damion asked in disbelief. "No one in his right mind would try and go to war with the tribesmen!"

"From what we've heard, Faldor isn't exactly the sanest of people." Shirk snorted into his wine. "I guess he believes that they can wipe out the nearest tribe, and take their horses and cattle. He even tried to get the other gang leaders to join with him, but they had too much sense to try and face the Deola."

"How many men has he convinced to join him?" Raven asked, chewing on her lower lip in thought.

"About five hundred or so. Most of them are just petty thugs who have never even seen a real battle, but he
has
managed to convince quite a few mercenaries to join with him, although I have the feeling they are only there because he's paying them."

"Did this gang leader know who was behind those highwaymen
attacking Ickor's caravans?" Damion asked between bites.

Shirk shook his head. "He didn't have any idea. At first, he
said he believed it was one of the other gangs just trying to disrupt Faldor's activities, but the local gangs held council, and we discovered that no one knew who was actually behind the attacks."

"If that's not strange enough," Dar
chimed. "he swore that Faldor must have someone backing him. I guess he's never been known for his generosity, but here lately it appears he has an almost unlimited budget."

"Does anyone know who may be backing him?"

Both Shirk and Dar shook their heads. "All they knows is that it isn't anyone local." The bearded thief grunted. "But the gang leader said that he had a spy within Faldor's group that reported that this would be the last shipment from Sierra. I guess his plans are almost ready to set into motion."

The huge warrior's eyes narrowed in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Raven asked Damion, recognizing the look on her husband's face.

"I thought you and I
might just trot on ahead and pay a visit on the Deola, while these two keep an eye on things here." He grinned. "I think Bativa may find this information interesting."

Dar burst out laughing. "I think Faldor
and his men are going to be in for a bad time! Bativa's horsemen will slaughter his ragtag army!"

Once they had finished their breakfast,
Damion, Raven, and Snowfeather left Shirk and Dar to keep an eye on Faldor's plantation, and continued south towards the expansive pastures that the nomadic Deola called home. It took them two days of hard riding, but they soon emerged from the foothills into the rolling grasslands, which stretched on for hundreds of leagues to the south.

They pulled off of the main road that evening
and set up camp, building up a large bonfire to alert any of the local tribesmen in the area of their presence.

"See anything interesting?"
Damion silently asked Snowfeather as the huge owl glided in from the darkness.

"
There are a number of horsemen heading this way."
The huge owl hooted, landing on one of their packs of supplies.
"They should be here in a few minutes. I thought you may want to know."

"Some tribesmen are on the
ir way here." Damion told his dark haired young wife. "They're rather fierce looking, but they are a fair and honorable people. These lands here belong to the Avonte tribe. The clan chief is Bativa, an old friend of mine. I figure he'll want to do something about Faldor."

"I remember Bativa." Raven smiled. "I met him at our joining ceremony
."

They patiently waited for the tribesmen to make their way through the ocean of grass to the
ir campsite.

"Greeting
s, warriors of the Deola." He greeted the tribesmen as they appeared from the darkness, their horses moving silently through the tall grass. "We have been expecting you."

The leader of the group, a lean
man that was heavily tattooed with the traditional Deolan markings, reined his horse in surprise. "Lord Omensent?" He broke into a grin. "It's a pleasure to see you, milord. Bativa will be overjoyed by your visit!" He turned to Raven. "Greetings, mate of the Dragon Lord. Your presence honors us."

"
Mate
of the Dragon Lord?"

Damion groaned
. "Her name is Raven." He told the warrior quickly, who chuckled and nodded in understanding.

Raven's eyes narrowed as she glared at Damion, but she remained silent.

"We were hoping to have a word with your clan chief." He continued, trying to ignore her stare. "Does the clan happen to be settled nearby?"

The warrior smiled broadly. "We are settled less than a mile from here. Our herds have
multiplied, and this is pristine feeding grounds for the cattle to graze."

Damion and Raven rose to their feet. "
Let's go pay Bativa a visit. I have some information that he is going to be
very
interested in hearing."

They quickly broke camp, then set off towards the west, following the
fearsome warriors' swift moving stallions through the endless pastures until they reached a fair sized settlement of odd looking domed structures with large wheels jutting out from the sides, making them mobile.