(Dragonkin) Dragon Rider (11 page)

   "Yeah, you are one of them goodie goodie wanna be solders like I thought." The highwayman said.

   " I said we would not hurt you, but I said nothing of what he will do to you." Menimeth said, and pointed to Danorathin as he appeared over the trees, and landed in the road. The great dragon dropped the body he carried to the ground, and it landed with a loud thud. He raised his head and looked at the two brigands, as if he were about to eat them. The men turned white, and then a sick bluish color, as the dragon's head inched closer and closer.

   "My god man, you cannot let him eat us." One of them screamed.

   "You are of no use to me, if you will not tell me what I want to know." Menimeth said. "If you will not talk, you can at least feed my dragon.

   "We will tell you what you want to know, just do not let him eat us." The first bandit said.

   "Yeah, we will talk, just get it away from me." The other one screamed. "Just get it away."

   "Thank you my friend for your help, you do not have to frighten them any further." Menimeth said to his dragon, but out loud where the two wounded bandits could hear him, he said, "You may go now, beast."

   Danorathin withdrew his head from the brigands and looked at his master.

   'This beast is going to the stream and wash his mouth out." He said, and shook his great head before turning, and walking to the stream to plunge it into the water.

   "Who sent you?" Menimeth asked the broken and defeated bandits.

   "Mareston, but it was Avren who gave the orders." The second, and less brave of the two said quickly.

   "Who are these men, and where do I find them." Menimeth demanded.

   "Mareston is at the old chapel with the rest of his men, waiting for us to come back, and report." The first man said, trying to give as little information as possible and still not be eaten

   "How many men are with him, and where do they camp?"

   "More than a hundred, and more are coming." The first, and bravest of the two said.

   "He's lying, there are no more than thirty, and half of them are usually out of camp." The second brigand said, with a look of fear.

   "Shut your mouth, fool!" The first bandit said.

   "I don't wanna die, and you're the fool if you lie to him." The second brigand said.

   "I'll kill you, you traitor!" The first brigand said, and pulled a knife from his boot. He tried to plunge it into the other bandit, but missed when the man rolled away. Before he could make another attempt, Kiler put an arrow through his throat, and the man made a gurgling sound as he died.

   "Where do they camp?" Menimeth asked, after waiting in silence for the bandit to die, and he hoped the surviving brigand would get the message.

   "Beside the chapel, and inside the wall. It was once a monastery but some of the walls have crumbled over time." The man replied, with fear in his voice.

   Danorathin pulled his head from the water and looked at his master before spreading his wings and leaping into the air.

   "I am going to find some deer, I am hungry"

   "Then I will see you when you return, my friend."

   "Who is this Avren you spoke of, and where can he be found?" Menimeth asked the brigand.

   "He waits at the camp in the north, and is the second in command." The man said, as he watched the dragon fly away.

   "Where is this camp in the north, and what does he wait for?"

   "I do not know, I have never been there. I was sent here from the southeast, but I do know it is west of Argnon. He waits for the men who come from the east, to reach him."

   "Who are these men, and why do they go to this camp in the north."

   "I do not know why they come, but they travel in small groups, and they have been coming for months. Some of them are like me, but most are trained solders, that is all I know, really."

   "What are you, other than a killer, and a thief?" Menimeth asked him, with a disgusted look on his face.

   "I am no thief, but I have no choice but to kill when I am told. If I did not, it would cost me my life."

   "It has almost cost you your life already, and still may. However that is for Argnon to decide."

   "But I told you what you wanted to know." The bandit pleaded.

   "You are a brigand and cannot be set free, but you could live through it if you continue to cooperate." Menimeth told him. "You said second in command, who is his captain?"

   "I'm not sure, but I overheard the name Chidren once." The man said, hoping his answers would save him.

   "Chidren?" Menimeth hissed.

   "You do not like this man Chidren?" Danorathin asked.

   "No my friend, he is our enemy." Menimeth informed his dragon.

   "That is the name I heard. I was hiding in the bushes and they did not know I was there. The man they spoke of is in Kath, but he is expected to be in the camp in the north soon." The desperate, and wounded highwayman said.

   Litlorn, Javen, and Feran, arrived with the packhorses and stopped at the bridge. Menimeth left the wounded brigand with Kyler, and joined them in the road, to decide where best to camp. Chanry who had been standing beside his master, followed close behind as he did.

   "Get your pony Chanry, and help Litlorn and the others with our camp." He said, as he looked down at the youth.

   "Yes Sir, Meni." Chanry said smiling, and ran to get his pony.

   Menimeth searched the bodies, and the weapons and armor he stripped from them were put in a pile at the side of the road, and then he began dragging the bodies into the woods to be buried. He located their horses and found their camp, just beyond the trees where they had waited in ambush. He loaded what he found on their horses, and led them to the camp.

   The companions stayed by the stream that the bridge crossed, just far enough to be out of sight from the road. Litlorn tended to the wounded man, and by the end of the second evening, he was well enough to ride back to Argnon with Kyler. Kyler took the extra horses, and everything from the brigand camp, as well as their weapons and armor. The horses and all that was on them went to Farlin to sell, and a special request was to be asked of him. The prisoner was to be taken to Captain Brannor, and a note was to be given to him in private. Nothing was to be said about the things taken to Farlin, and no one was to know about Danorathin, yet.

   The rest would wait at the camp they now used, and scout the old monastery until he returned. The church would wait for a few days, and he needed to know the habits of Mareston and his cohorts. They learned about a tunnel, which led to the dungeons under the chapel, which they could use to get inside. There were few guards in the dungeons, and only two at the entrance to the tunnel, which was well away from the monastery.

   Menimeth spent most of the time the companions waited for Kyler's return, with Danorathin, away from the camp. He learned a lot about dragons he did not know in a short amount of time, and rode him for the first time on the third day after Kyler's departure. Every morning after that until Kyler's return, they flew to a feeding ground to let the dragon eat.

   Litlorn was in the road with the others of their group the day Kyler arrived with Captain Brannor and thirty of his men. He had not seen Menimeth at all that morning, he was telling them, but he was expected to be back soon. Danorathin and his rider flew in low, and with a rush of air, landed on the road in front of them. The horses of the solders from Argnon were startled, and it was all their riders could do to stay in line. Captain Brannor sat with his mouth open, and watched as the rider drop from the great bronze dragon, and walking in his direction, stopped in front of him.

Chapter Nine

   Mareston paced the floor as he waited for a messenger to arrive from the north. Avren was sending fifty more men to his camps, but there was no explanation as to why. The towns south of here were too small to require the extra men, and there was no place to put them with the fifty he already had. He had more than three hundred men in camps all across the south of the empire, and things were going as planned.

   The people were terrorized daily by his men, and robbed whenever they were caught on the road. The men that were old enough to fight were killed outright, and all the others were badly beaten. Slowly the towns were cut off from the markets, and the regents were powerless to stop it. The regents would have to work together to mount a defense now, and they never agreed on anything. It would take weeks to get to the capital across from Glansford, and another two, to agree to disagree.

   Mareston estimated there was close to seven hundred men posing as bandits across the western part of the empire. The camps were mostly in the west, but they were moving to the more populated southern realm as the men became available. The north was the second most populated of the four, but it was being used to move the men.

   So far the solders dressed as brigands had reached the southern part of the Great North Road, and were from the Great West Road, to the Purple Mountains in the south. Men still crossed the empire in the north, and Avren wanted the attention to be kept away from them, so he did not allow any of his men to cross the great road in the north. He had been here more than a year now, and he had started the campaign with only twenty men.

   Mareston was a veteran with more than twenty years of fighting behind him. He was average in height, but was close to two hundred pounds, and he had several small scares on his face. He wore the cloths of a brigand, but his armor was the best in the camps. His head was shaved, and he wore a beard to cover the scars, but his eyes were bright and intelligent when he looked at you. He ran the camp like the commander he was, and kept the men in line. None of the other camp Commanders were military trained officers, and had some trouble keeping their camps running smooth. He was leaving soon to straighten some of them out, but he waited for the messenger now, and it held him up.

   Avren was incompetent as far as Mareston was concerned, and he was also a coward, which was why Mareston disliked him so much. Chidren however, was neither, and though he did not like Chidren at all, he respected his abilities in combat. The man was a cold-blooded killer, and would kill women and children as fast as he would kill men, and had done so on several occasions. No one survived in a fight against him, regardless of the reason.

   The messenger arrived three days later, and had new orders for Mareston. He was to go to the old monastery south of Argnon, and take forty men along with him. Avren wanted a box that was hidden in the chapel, and it was to be found without destroying anything. The chapel was to look the same to any that showed up later, looking for the box. Mareston was suspicious of the whole thing, but the chapel would work as sleeping quarters and headquarters for him while they were there.

   "At least it was not a tent." He thought.

   He arrived at the monastery two days later, and began the hunt for the box soon after. The search went on around the clock until they found the dungeon, and then the men began working in shifts. Three days after that, the escape tunnel was discovered by accident, when a torch was pulled from its holder, and the wall opened beside it. Inside, a small storage room was discovered, as well as a tunnel that began on the opposite side of the room from the secret door.

   It came out behind a small waterfall, on the opposite side of the hill from the back of the monastery, and the stream that flowed over the falls was the one that the bridge crossed north of the chapel. It was out of sight, so Mareston posted two guards at the waterfall, to keep his men from running off with the box if they found it. The dungeon was far larger than they expected, and they had only just begun to explore it when the rider showed up on a lathered horse. A group of five men were coming in their direction, and the mage king himself wanted the leader. Mareston was ordered to send twenty men to ambush them at the best place that he could find to accomplish the task, and send his head to Avren when it was done.

   In the end, twelve men were sent to the bridge to set the trap for the group that was coming their way. That was two more than twice their numbers, and the men he had faced in the empire were far from being trained, solders, by his standards. Two days passed before the messenger he sent returned with the news. The party had been spotted, and had camped less than a mile from the bridge. The ambush was set for the next morning, but they were in place if the intended target pushed on through the night. They expected them to arrive at the bridge early the next morning, and would return with the head before breakfast.

   The day ended with Mareston pacing once again, as he waited for word from his messenger. He needed a report on the progress of the ambush, and was growing angrier as the day turned into night, and still no messenger appeared. The last report that he had received had been two days ago, and the men should have returned from the ambush that morning.

   It was early in the morning, when the rider arrived from the camp in the south with the news. The fifty extra men Avren had sent from the north had finely arrived at the camp southwest of the monastery. They were coming up the road now, and would be there by midday, if not sooner. Mareston saddled his horse, and was about to ride out of the monastery, and in the direction of the arriving solders. He thought that they should be less than a mile away by now, and he wanted to greet them when they arrived. He was giving his men their orders when the loud roar sounded, and the camp erupted into chaos. Arrows poured into the camp from the north, and men were falling all around him. Mareston turned, and bolted down the road to the south, as fast as his horse would go. When he came to the solders sent by Avren, he sent them to repel the attackers, and as they moved forward and to the monastery, Mareston turned southwest, and rode to his camp and did not look back.

*****

   Commander Rayden Pulled the man from his horse, and tossed him to the ground. He despised brigands and highwaymen, almost as much as the evil mage king, and had brought more than a few to justice. When he captured one or more, he sent them to the castle for trial, however, if he caught them in the act of rape or murder, they were executed immediately. This one was guilty of both, and Commander Rayden had witnessed the whole thing.

   He was in a strange land for from home, and in command of an army that had no country. The men elected him to the position after all of the officers had been killed, because leadership was needed for them to survive. Only one thousand and thirty-six remained, of the more than ten thousand cavalrymen of the army, and none of the infantry. Some of the horsemen were lucky that they were not slaughtered by Arnoran's forces in the battle, and escaped. Anyone on foot, however, was quickly overrun, and killed mercilessly for opposing them.

   He did not look like the Commander of more than one thousand battle hardened, solders, but they all respected him. His hair was brown, and cut short in the style expected of officers and leaders in his kingdom. He was dressed much the same as his men, and his blue eyes showed intelligence as well as kindness. His height was about average, as well as his build, and his face was clean-shaven unlike most of the men. All thirty-seven of the men he promoted to officers, when he became the Commander, were clean-shaven as well. Commander Rayden followed the officer's code, and expected those he had promoted to do the same.

   A new camp had been found less than half a days ride southeast of where he now was, with plenty of water for everyone, and enough game close by to feed them for weeks. All that was needed was some flour, sugar, and beans, if they could find them for sale in a large enough quantity. Commander Rayden decided to take Dorben, and ride the road they had stumbled on, north. They were close to the southern borders of the empire, and the gateway to the Purple Mountains in the south. That was the road to where the Dwarves lived, but they felt it would do them no good to go in that direction.

   That was when they witnessed the attack on the road. The bandit attacked the wagon and killed the driver, before dragging the woman that was with him into the back, and raping her. He scrambled from the wagon, and jumped on his horse, when he heard the riders approaching, but was too slow to avoid being captured. The woman was young and still alive, but in need of a doctor as soon as possible, if she were to survive. A town that could help them was just a few miles north along the road, but to watch for more highwaymen, was all they could get out of her before she became unconscious.

   The town of Frothing was farther south than any other town in the Great Empire, and far from Magdrin, the seat of the southern realm. Thadric, the regent of the southern realm, was a good ruler for the most part, but was limited in what he could do for his lands. The brigands had depleted his forces over the last two years, and what he did have, were spread too thin to do much good.

   Commander Rayden sent Dorben to bring a patrol back, and informed him to wait out of sight of the town for him, to the south. He would meet them there, if he were not already waiting on them when they arrived. He took the woman into the town, to get her to a doctor and to gather information about the kingdom they were now, in. He wanted to speak to the Commander of the armies, as well as the ruler of this land, to get permission for his men to camp here.

   Frothing was a thriving town before the brigands began showing up and terrorizing it. Since then, they had been cut off from all trade with the north, or any other direction, which they depended on for survival. Several of their residents were murdered on the old roads, both north and south, as well as the newer roads to the east and west. The brigand's camp was only ten miles north of town, but the road was blocked that way to all.

   When Dorben and the patrol arrived, Commander Rayden was waiting for them on the road south of town. Dorben was his best tracker and the only one from his hometown, still alive in the cavalry. They enlisted together when they were just seventeen, and served together until the war. He was close enough in looks to be Commander Rayden's brother, until he became the commanding officer, and adopted their customs. Dorben understood why he did, and respected him more for the sacrifice that was made for the good of his men. Dorben wore the longer hair of a tracker and scout, and his hair was tied back at his shoulders with the standard issue clasp of his rank. The common solder wore his hair at shoulder length, as regulations specified.

   Two of the men in the patrol were sent back with orders to the officer on duty, instead of just one. Commander Rayden learned of the large outlaw population from the town, and decided to make the men ride in pairs from now on. The two men that he sent were to return with two of the battle groups, fully equipped, and ready to fight. Each of the battle groups numbered one hundred men, as well as three officers and two scouts. There was a stream that crossed the great road south of town, and they were to meet Commander Rayden at that stream, two miles east of the road.

   When they arrived, Commander Rayden sent one of the groups south of town, to drive the brigands north. Commander Rayden would attack from the east, and they would drive the remaining outlaws west, and away from any chance of escape to the east.

   The brigand's camp was in turmoil when the solders started driving their men north, and into the camp. The bandit leader was getting the camp mobilized for a stand, when Commander Rayden smashed into the camp from the east. Those that could mount their horses fled west, but the cavalry cut those that could not, down where they stood, as they swept through the camp. Commander Rayden ordered one battle group to sweep the area, and capture or kill, any remaining outlaws they found. Then they were to return to the main camp, after setting up twenty man patrols to keep the roads open, and wait for Commander Rayden to return.

   Commander Rayden would drive the brigands that had escaped to the west, until he captured or killed them all, unless forces from the empire intervened. Then he would return to the camp, and interrogate the prisoners that they had managed to capture, before seeking out the ruler of the empire.

   Several of the outlaws had been captured in their camp, and were taken back with the first battle group. Commander Rayden was in pursuit of the remaining brigands, and continued west as they attempted their escape. Two weeks later, and with more than thirty outlaws fleeing in front of him, another force of highwaymen was seen advancing in their direction from the west. Commander Rayden halted his men, until he could form a plan to overwhelm them all, and end the chase for good.

   Then as the two groups of brigands came together, everything changed.

*****

   Falendor watched the warrior and his companions as they rode from Argnon. He stood in the window of the tower, far above the treetops, where he was able to see the road in both directions. His attention was drawn to the east this morning however, and the men who rode from town along that great road. The task he had given the stranger was accepted too quickly, and he had asked no questions about his destination, or how to retrieve the item that was requested. Falendor was no fool, and he was not to be taken lightly. He was a hard man to those who crossed or cheated him, but somehow, he did not believe that this was the case with the stranger. He believed the warrior would accomplish his quest, and return to Argnon.

   In all his life, he had never seen anyone with skills like the stranger with the old empire style, dragon armor. The problem was evident. He could not afford to loose men trying to arrest him, but he could not have his authority challenged by him either. Dragon armor had not been worn in hundreds of years, and was reserved only for dragon riders of the realm, to wear. Since there were no dragons, he was of course, breaking the law. Falendor's forces were far to spread out, for him to bring in enough troops to subdue the warrior, and tales of his deeds were spreading from town to town, increasing his popularity.