Spirit Blade: Book III of the Dragon Mage Trilogy (30 page)

The patrol leader smiled. “Good. When you do, ask to join the patrols. Then come and see me.”

“I’ll consider it,” said Sherman.

The patrol leader nodded.

“That leaves one left to check,” said Amelia, checking off her list.

“What do you mean?” asked the patrol leader, standing. He had overheard her and strode forward to look at her list.

“The patrol master gave us a list of the patrols on duty in the south in the last two days,” explained Amelia. “We’ve spoken to all but one.”

“This group here?” asked the patrol leader, pointing to her list.

“Yes.”

“They’re not here right now,” he said.

“We know,” said Kazin. “They’re patrolling in the west right now.”

“That’s right,” said the patrol leader. “My group would have been out there, but they wanted to trade shifts with us.” He scratched his head. “Why they did that I don’t know. That’s the most dangerous area to patrol.” He looked at Kazin. “I was glad to make the trade. My group needed the break. We’ll be well rested when we get our next shift.”

A group of horsemen suddenly rounded the bend and rode past. A patrol led by a heavy set woman rumbled by.

The patrol leader waved as she rode past and she nodded in response. “Helen’s group will be relieving the one that’s out in the west. If you follow them, you’ll find the west gate. If you’re lucky, you can catch the other patrol as they return from their shift.”

The companions thanked him and followed the patrol led by the big woman, Helen.

Along the way, Sherman stopped to smuggle supplies from one of the food tents. A fat lady working there caught him in the act but fancied the big warrior, so she wound up helping him to pack a few extra bread rolls. Before leaving, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off. She stood watching him, blushing shyly in the light of a nearby lantern.

“You’re smooth,” said Amelia, laughing.

“What?” protested Sherman. “At least some people know how important food is. Besides, she could be my great, great, great something grandmother.” He turned and waved to the young lady, who waved back. Kazin and Amelia chuckled.

Amelia looked at Kazin and saw that he was in better spirits than before and was glad of the change.

As the companions reached the west gate, they discovered a small commotion in progress. The relief patrol was ready to go out, but the guards at the gate were holding them back.

“We can’t let you go out until the previous patrol is accounted for,” said the guard at the gate. He was a burly man with dark hair.

“But if something has happened to them we need to go and find them!” objected Helen, the patrol leader of the relief group. Her eyes were angry and unyielding.

“The procedure is to alert the standby patrol,” said the guard at the gate. “I cannot let you pass until they are ready to accompany you.”

“Then alert them!” snapped Helen. “Time is being wasted!”

“They’ve been summoned,” said the guard. “You’ll have to wait until they get here.”

Helen swore and her horse whinnied impatiently.

By now a small group of soldiers had appeared and milled about nervously, chattering about the cause of the delay of the returning patrol.

“Move aside!” called a voice. “Move aside, please!” The mage Kazin recognized as the one with the pointed hat pushed his way to the front with a few other arch mages behind him. “What seems to be the problem?”

He was informed by the guard about the patrol that had not returned on time.

The mage nodded. “Has the standby patrol been notified?”

“Yes,” said the guard.

As he spoke, a group of riders appeared and threaded their way through the crowd.

“It’s about time,” snapped Helen.

“Group seven reporting for duty,” called the reserve patrol leader.

“Good!” said the gate guard, relieved. He gave Helen a nod. “Now you can go.” He turned and gave the guards in his command a signal and the gates were opened. The two patrols turned and charged out of the compound, the muddy ground splashing the guards at the gate, much to their dismay.

Kazin noticed that the reserve patrol was additionally comprised of a few mages and clerics should their services be required on this mission.

The mage with the pointed hat turned to the arch mages with him. “Have any of your familiars spotted anything amiss out there?”

One of the mages shook her head. “Nothing has been reported to me. Even my own familiar came back around midnight and never saw anything of importance.”

“Strange,” said the mage with the pointed hat. He turned to the crowd and began shooing them away. “Nothing to see here, folks. Back to whatever you were doing. Be alert!” To the arch mages he said, “I think we’ll run a patrol of our own.”

Kazin and the others turned back with the crowd so as not to stand out. He didn’t want to be recognized by the mage with the pointed hat.

“What now?” asked Sherman.

Kazin didn’t have a chance to respond. A hand tugged at his sleeve.

“Kazin,” said Amelia quietly. He turned to her to look into her big blue eyes. He would have been entranced had it not been for the concern those eyes held. She lifted her cloak to show Kazin the red, pulsing orb. “Something is happening out there,” she said, pointing over her shoulder. “Our quarry is out there. I can feel it.”

Kazin nodded. “I figured as much. We’ll leave shortly, but first we should find a secluded spot. I’m going to have to try to make us invisible. Then, when we’re clear of the compound, we’ll make a break for it by air.”

“Can’t you make yourself invisible as a dragon?” asked Sherman quietly.

“No,” said Kazin. “You know how when someone who is invisible draws their weapon and the weapon becomes visible? Well, the same thing holds true for a dragon mage. If an invisible mage becomes a dragon, that dragon is the weapon. Once I turn into a dragon, my whole body becomes visible since I am the weapon.

“How do you know that’s what will happen?” asked Amelia.

“I tried it before,” said Kazin.

“That’s too bad,” said Sherman.

“A little walk will do us good,” said Kazin. “It won’t take long to get out of sight of the gate.”

“And how do you propose to get past the locked gate?” asked Sherman. “You said we’re not flying out.”

“We’re going to levitate out of here,” said Kazin.

“Levitate?” asked Amelia. “You can do that?”

Kazin nodded. “It’s another spell I’ve been practicing. Ordinarily, it is a simple spell for druids, but not black mages. The spell I’ve discovered on one of my quests is meant for black mages, and differs significantly from the magic that druids use. It is much more complex, but it effectively does the same thing. I’ve never used it on multiple people before, but I’m fairly certain I can make it work.”

“Fairly certain?” asked Sherman.

“If it doesn’t work, I have other tricks up my sleeve,” said Kazin.

“You never stop learning, do you?” asked Amelia.

Kazin turned to her and smiled. “That’s one thing you’ll learn about magic, Amelia.”

“We’d better go quickly,” said Sherman suddenly. “Daylight is not far off.” He pointed to the brightening sky in the east. The others needed no further urging, quickening their pace accordingly.

Sherman noticed Kazin’s limp again and hoped their quest was successful so that Kazin would walk normally again. He was more determined than ever to see this quest through.

Chapter 26

T
he patrol consisted of approximately three dozen orcs. To them, this puny contingent of humans was no match for them. What they didn’t count on was the fact that these humans would not die. Numerous stabs and blows with their weapons did not prevent them from rising back to their feet to continue to attack. Instead of going on the defensive as any normal force would do when outnumbered, these humans came on with a reckless vengeance. Before long, orcs began to fall. These, too, rose back to their feet, only to attack the orcs nearest them. The confusion had the desired effect. The orcs were unprepared as orcs they had fought alongside moments ago were now attacking them instead.

Galado pressed his opponent back and his quick reflexes easily cut down the orcs, who were bigger but much slower than the agile human. He paused to look around as his team took over one orc body after the next. Their human bodies had long since been hacked beyond usefulness, and now it was all orcs against orcs. Galado wondered how his team could identify one another amid all the chaos, but they managed it somehow. They were also cognizant of Galado’s whereabouts and went out of their way to ensure he did not have more orcs to face than he could handle. Indeed, Galado hardly broke a sweat with the handful of orcs he had dispatched. Now, as the last of the orc patrol battled for their lives, Galado’s crew was more careful not to damage these last survivors as these would be the ones whose bodies they used henceforth. When the last orc was slain by strangulation, Galado’s crew reported to him. They were a disgusting conglomeration of drooling, shambling orcs.

“This body is awkward,” drooled one orc, moving about clumsily.

“So is this one,” said another.

“But the arms are much stronger,” said another, flexing its arm.

“You’ll have to get used to them,” said Galado. “When we get to the main army, there will be plenty of other bodies to try out.”

“Good,” said an orc beside Galado. “What are your next orders, Boss?”

“You’re One?” asked Galado.

The orc nodded and grinned stupidly.

Galado nodded. “We continue west. We have to reach the main army.”

“What about the bodies?” asked another orc.

“Leave them,” said Galado. “Anyone coming upon this scene will assume the orcs won this battle, since they don’t bury their dead. Any human patrols coming upon this scene will be leery about going further, once they see what happened to their patrol.” He looked around at his crew. “It makes sense, since everyone still standing except myself is an orc. Besides, you’ll have to act like orcs now anyway.”

“Good,” said a different orc. “Hiding the bodies was always extra work.”

“What about the horses?” asked another orc.

Galado surveyed the carnage around him. Two horses were killed in the exchange, a third one lay on the ground injured, and the rest had run off. Galado’s horse was only one of two unharmed horses still in the area. “We’ll have to leave them,” said Galado. “Orcs don’t use horses.” He went to his horse and swung himself into his saddle.

“How come you get to have a horse?” asked an orc.

Galado smiled at the creature who spoke. “I’m not an orc.” His smile left his face. “I want all of you to head west. I’ll take this horse north for a bit and then rejoin you a bit later.”

“Why?” asked One. “Where are you going?”

“If I walked out of here with you,” said Galado, “an alert patrol might spot my footprints among yours and wonder why a human is traveling with orcs. Orcs aren’t known to take prisoners without some ulterior motive, so it would look very suspicious. By riding out in another direction, my tracks will simply appear as though a horse was fleeing the scene much like the others have already done. When I rejoin you later, we should be well beyond the safe zone as far as the humans are concerned.” Galado waved his hand around him. “Once they count the number of dead humans in this area, it will be obvious the entire patrol has been slain. They won’t be looking for any human survivors by then.”

“Good point,” said One. He looked at the others. “You heard the Boss. We head west on foot. Our bodies are much more powerful than the human bodies we had, so it won’t be as bad as any of you think.” He turned and trudged off in a westerly direction. The others followed, some of them grumbling quietly about having to walk.

Galado smiled. They were already acting like orcs without realizing it. He paused to kill the injured horse, not because he felt sorry for it, but because orcs never left anyone or anything alive. Then he led the other remaining horse from the scene in a northerly direction at a run. A short time later, he released the horse and continued riding his own horse in a northwesterly direction. This would continue for a while before he headed southwest to rejoin his group. As he rode, plans were formed in his mind as to how to get close to his real body in order to prevent his early demise. He yawned, but pushed thoughts of sleep from his mind. There was simply no time to rest.

*      *      *      *      *

The warlock clenched his fists in anger. Why had Harse acted so soon? He should have waited for word from him first! The ogres were supposed to attack on his orders! Now he had to put his own plans into action sooner than expected. He turned to Gorc. “Tell the commanders we have to move out within the next few hours. We will move the entire army one day closer to the humans and break camp again. Hopefully this will keep the humans off balance while they try to figure out why we did that, and at the same time it will give our forces something to do so they will stop grumbling. The expectation of imminent war will make them happy. I expect word very soon from Saliss. As soon as his forces are in place with the trolls, we will sound the horn for the attack. It’s time we got ready for the inevitable.”

“Yes, Sir!” said Gorc nervously. He fled from the room to carry out his orders.

Chapter 27

H
arran wasn’t happy about the delays, but there was nothing he could do about it. Several detours had to be made since the recent earthquakes had collapsed some of the tunnels. Fortunately, they had managed to get back onto their chosen route each time, but the last time was unnerving. It had taken nearly a day to catch up to where they had last left off. Furthermore, teams of mini oxen were traveling down the same tunnel as they were. They moved at their own speed. The oxen couldn’t be rushed, but they had such stamina that they rarely needed to stop.

The convoy threaded their way along, destined for the heavily guarded mountain entrance that lay at the end of their journey. Harran was beginning to doubt whether Zylor’s maps were correct, yet major intersecting passageways were marked amazingly accurately. The minotaur did an incredibly amazing job on his maps and Harran was determined to congratulate him on his work when he had a moment to speak to the invisible companion alone. The fresh air coming in from outside was the first indication they were nearing their destination.

“I smell rain,” said Olag.

Harran nodded. “So do I. I can also feel the humidity. It must be raining outside.”

About twenty minutes later, they finally reached the entrance. Then it took a good half hour for the oxen drawn carts to be redirected to where they could be unloaded. The companions were surprised when the carts were uncovered for unloading. The carts were laden with weapons, bows and arrows. There were even magical weapons among the loads, including ice axes similar to Harran’s own weapon. It was during the commotion of the unloading and distribution of weapons that Zylor returned Harran’s ice axe to him, while obtaining one from the carts for himself. No one noticed as the weapon disappeared from sight as soon as he sheathed it.

When the carts were out of the way, Harran, Olag, and the invisible minotaur moved past them to step outside. What they saw then made their jaws drop in astonishment. Beyond the fortifications on the mountainside was a vast army of dwarves. Harran had never seen so many dwarves assembled in one place. Even his army in the future paled in comparison to this.

Torches flickered in the drizzling rain, but did not go out as battalions grouped together in formation, waiting for something. A couple of high-ranking battalion leaders and lieutenants were conversing in hushed tones nearby when one glanced in the companions’ direction. Upon seeing Harran, she nudged the dwarves closest to her and said, “At last!” She straightened up and gave the customary salute, right hand on the left shoulder. “All hail King Ironfaust!”

Her companions repeated, “All hail King Ironfaust!”

Harran looked behind him for a moment but saw no one. He looked at Olag, who returned the gaze with wide eyes.

“I think they’re hailing you,” said Olag quietly.

Harran looked down at himself as he realized too late his mistake. He had not removed Ironfaust’s chain mail and now the soldiers in front of him thought he was Ironfaust! “Oh, no!” he groaned.

As word trickled down to the forces below a chant could be heard from the assembled dwarves. “Ironfaust! Ironfaust! Ironfaust!”

“Ah - I’m not -,” began Harran too feebly to be heard.

“We could use the rings and get out of here,” suggested Olag, close to Harran’s ear.

“And how would the dwarves react when their king disappears right in front of their eyes,” said Zylor. “I’m sure history would record that event.”

Harran clenched his jaw as he spoke. “Zylor’s right. I can’t just vanish right now. If the real Ironfaust shows up, I can find an opening and try the ring, but not right now.”

“What are we going to do?” asked Olag.

As if in response, the female lieutenant approached. She had to yell to be heard above the chanting, which continued to cascade down the mountainside. “What are your orders, your majesty?”

Harran looked into the lieutenant’s eyes and had to admire her beauty, which was highlighted in her sharp looking uniform. “What is the scouting report?”

The lieutenant nodded and beckoned a young scout forward. “Report what you told me, master scout.”

The scout saluted nervously. “Your- your majesty! The northern human guard posts have been overrun and the Velden Mine is under attack. By now it may already have fallen. The ogres have amassed into one large fighting group and are in league with a number of lizardmages. They are moving south next in order to attack the human settlements. The humans have most of their forces to the west to deal with the warlock. There is no way they can hold off the ogres for long, even if they have more mages to aid them.”

“We must move at once,” urged the lieutenant. “If we wait too long, we may be too late. Right now our forces have speed on our side. If we send the cavalry in first, they might slow the advance until the bulk of our forces arrive. This will put a significant strain on our cavalry, but it is the only way to slow the ogres down.”

“Don’t forget the minotaurs,” whispered Olag to Harran.

Harran looked to the east where the sky was beginning to lighten. The mountains he was used to calling home did not exist yet, but even the low-level range he had seen the last time he was here had changed. Some parts of it had risen substantially, while others had fallen. The valleys were sure to contain large forces of minotaurs who were itching to get involved in the battle. If they got involved, even the legions of dwarves below were no match for the combined forces of ogres and minotaurs. If Harran led the charge to aid the humans, he would be leading thousands of dwarves to their doom.

This thought was not lost on Zylor. He placed a hand on Harran’s shoulder. “I have an idea.”

“Sir?” said the lieutenant. She had heard and assumed it was Harran who spoke.

“I have an idea,” said Harran, “but let me converse with my advisor first.” He pulled Olag aside where they wouldn’t be overheard.

“What’s your idea, Zylor?” asked Harran as he looked at Olag.

“I can’t stop the minotaurs from getting involved,” said Zylor, “but I can redirect their attention. I’ll have to go and have a chat with the minotaur advance guard to do that. You’ll have to go on without me. I can meet up with you later. If not, use the ring to get back to Kazin. We’re clear of the mountains now so the magic ought to work. You just do what you have to do. The minotaurs will not be attacking the dwarves here.”

Harran sighed. “Very well. Good luck, Zylor.”

A hand momentarily touched the dwarf’s shoulder and then the minotaur was gone.

Harran grasped Olag by the shoulders. “Well said.” He turned to the lieutenant and spoke loudly. “We ride at once!”

The lieutenant nodded and proceeded to give orders to get the army underway. Before she left, she pulled an object out of her pouch and handed it to Harran.

He looked down at it as it was placed into his hands. It was a dragon conch. Harran’s eyes widened at the sight of the object. A dragon conch was a seashell that had magical properties that benefitted the dwarves in a myriad of ways. When used in battle, it had the power to increase the courage of the dwarves on the battlefield and rally them to the one who blew on it. It also had the added effect of increasing the dwarves’ immunity to magical attack. It was a revered artifact and was one of their most precious relics. “How - where did you get this?” asked Harran.

The lieutenant smiled. “It has been in the army’s possession for many years. Didn’t you know about it?”

Harran nodded. “Of course,” he lied. “I just forgot. Excellent. We will make use of it soon.”

The lieutenant left to get the troops moving.

Harran looked at the forces gathered below. “How could so many dwarves have been prepared for this so soon? We only just left the castle where Ironfaust was starting his revolt. Did these dwarves know what was going to happen?”

Olag looked at Harran. “You forget, Harran, that we were delayed several times by cave-ins. We spent almost two days just trying to get back to our route. There were undoubtedly many other routes to this location that were not as affected by the earthquakes. Another thing you forget is that news travels fast. Most of the dwarves you see here were probably closer to the mountain entrance than we were. There were many tunnels branching off to different communities well before the city with the castle. I suspect there will be many dwarves coming here after we are gone, including King Ironfaust himself.”

Harran nodded. “You’re right, Olag. My sense of timing is off.” He shook his head and looked down at himself again. “I told you this chainmail was going to get me into trouble. If only I had removed it, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

“I’m thinking it’s fortuitous,” argued Olag. “If Ironfaust is delayed too long, the humans will be overrun and history will be changed. Your error seems to be very timely indeed.”

Harran turned to the pleasant looking dwarf beside him. “Are you saying that we are supposed to be doing this?”

Olag smiled a wicked grin. “It feels right, doesn’t it?”

An earthquake brought them back to the matter at hand. The lieutenant came running up to them. “Your horses are ready!”

Harran checked to see that his ice axe was secure in its sheath and nodded. “Lead the way!”

*      *      *      *      *

Scaling the wall and sprinting past security was easy for the invisible minotaur. He was delayed more by the navigation down the steep mountain face. His hand and footholds were not the greatest, being wet from the rain. An earthquake made his task more difficult. It caused him to lose his grip and slide down the mountainside in a shower of pebbles and rocks. Fortunately, the recent earthquakes made this a common sight along the mountainside and no one paid any heed to it.

The tumble to the bottom was rough but quick, and Zylor immediately got to his feet and dusted himself off. Then he got his bearings and turned to go east. Being cramped and plodding along in the tunnels was not his thing. Instead he yearned to run and stretch his muscles. So, after navigating around some dwarven barricades, he broke into a run. The rain splashed against his face and the wind blew against his body and it felt good. Suppressing a howl of glee, Zylor picked up speed and ran as fast as he could. He knew he could keep this pace for a few hours. His body was well toned and a good workout was long overdue. If only he could use his fighting skills.

*      *      *      *      *

General Hyrock stood and stretched his aching limbs as he sent off the last detail of guards to their assigned areas of the fortifications. He was a burly dwarf with dark, curly hair and a well-trimmed mustache that was the envy of those who served under him. He had come back on duty as part of his rotation just as the new king led the bulk of the army south to the aid of the humans. His lieutenant was in charge prior to that and, as expected, things had gotten out of hand with the arrival of thousands of dwarven troops. It took a full hour and a half to reorganize his guards so they would be ready should the minotaurs or ogres take it upon themselves to attack. It wouldn’t do to have disorganized dwarves defending their homes while the bulk of the army was out on a mission. His fortifications could potentially be the last stand for the entire dwarven realm. If his fortifications were breached, there was no one left to defend their realm from attack, or worse, looting.

Hyrock’s lieutenant came up to him to inform him of new arrivals at the tunnel entrance. The lieutenant was a fairly young dwarf, as dwarves go, but his wrinkled face belied his age. The stress of having a command at such a young age had taken its toll.

Hyrock looked at his lieutenant as he spoke and noticed a look of uncertainty in his eyes. “You know what to do,” said Hyrock. “Send the new arrivals south to join the army.”

“But - I think you had better come and see these dwarves for yourself,” said the lieutenant timidly. “There’s - a problem. A big problem.”

Hyrock sighed. “Alright. Lead the way, Sid.”

The lieutenant led his superior officer to the cave entrance where a number of dwarves milled about in agitation. Right away Hyrock recognized the attire of the dwarves who stood there. It was a number of the king’s personal guards.

Hyrock strode up to them and saluted. “Ah, gentlemen! I see you have found a route to the entrance! If you seek your new king, he has already left with the entire army. You will have to make haste to catch up with him.”

A fairly large dwarf spun on him. He had fire in his eyes and his visage was one of wrath. “What?! What king?! I am the new king!” he hollered, pointing to himself. “I am King Ironfaust! Don’t tell me Hammarschist was behind this!”

The hairs on the back of Hyrock’s neck stood on end. He turned to his lieutenant. “Sid! What is he talking about?!”

Sid gulped. “Um, Sir, it wasn’t Hammarschist - I’ve seen him before. It was another dwarf. He wore - he wore the same chainmail that he is wearing!” He pointed to Ironfaust.

Hyrock looked at Ironfaust, then back at Sid. “Are you sure?”

Sid nodded. “I’m sure of it. The chainmail was identical.”

“How can that be?!” demanded Ironfaust. “My chainmail was specially crafted for me and me alone!”

Hyrock scratched his head. “Are you saying that an imposter is in charge of the army?”

“It must be!” shrieked Ironfaust. “No sooner have I become king when my authority has already been usurped! How could you allow this to happen?!”

Hyrock straightened. “Neither I nor my lieutenant can be blamed for this error! Neither one of us has ever seen you before.”

“When the new king - I mean imposter - showed up,” stammered Sid, “the army’s lieutenants made the assumption that he was the new king, so I had no reason to question whether he was the one. He spoke to his advisor for a moment and then proceeded to give orders just like a king would. He had the whole army organized so efficiently that none of us questioned it.”

“He had an advisor?” asked Ironfaust. He shook his head. “No matter. We’ll get to the bottom of it. Give me your fastest horses. I will go after them.”

“Unfortunately that won’t be possible,” said Hyrock.