(Dragonkin) Dragon Rider (36 page)

   What he found beyond the wall of brush caught him off guard, and he stood there, frozen in amazement at the sight. The brush and brambles ended abruptly, and he could see the golden trees that grew in a ring in the middle of the glade. Deer and antelope grazed among the trees all around him, and a feeling of peace and tranquility came over him as he stood there. It was the last thing that he expected to find in this wild and overgrown region of the western realm, but it was a welcome sight after the last few days. It was a place of peace and beauty, and it made him feel much better about his plight, but it seemed very out of place with its surroundings. He did not know it then, but the glade would change his life forever, and he would become what he had started out to be in his youth. He would be known all across the empire within a few years, and in the lands beyond as well.

*****

   Saesic watched from his window as the dragon landed in the garrison, and dropped the captured man to the ground. The sight of the dragon earlier that morning had caused him to worry about his plans to rule the realm, and now the messenger from the ruins had been captured.

   The prisoner would talk, he had no doubt about that, and all of his plans would be found out. He would have to leave the castle for a while, but he would return when the battle was over, and take his place as the regent.

   He walked from the window, and opened the secret passage beside the fireplace that he had found as a boy. Closing the door behind him, he made his way to the small door at the back of the castle, where he gathered the supplies he had stored there for just such an occasion, and walked to the horse he had hidden in the trees. It did not take long for him to saddle the horse, and he was soon ready to ride from the castle, but was not sure where to go. The battle was coming, and he wanted to be close enough to return when it was over, but far enough away to avoid being captured, himself.

   Saesic rode south across the great road, and through the town of Argnon, before riding into the trees and turning southeast. He rode to a camp he had hidden on a hill several miles from the castle, where he could watch the coming battle in relative safety. The trees had been cleared well back from the castle, to create open ground for the enemy to have to cross to reach the walls, and give the defenders a larger kill zone. From his vantage point on the distant hill, Saesic could see the entire area around the castle, and would watch the battle as it unfolded.

   Three escape routes were planned for if the battle was lost, but he did not believe the empire could stop the forces that would face them. The dragon was a big problem, and the warrior that was his rider proved hard to kill, but he believed the forces of the mage king to be too strong for even the dragon rider.

   He had not been able to get the information to the messenger before he was captured, but the camp in the northeast did not know that. As long as the messenger was dead, he could tell them anything he wished and no one could dispute it. Everything seemed to be proceeding according to his plans, except the capture of the fool at the ruins, but it was a minor set back he thought. Soon his father's reign would come to an end, and his would begin, all he had to do was, wait.

   He had several camps hidden south of the great road, and most had enough supplies in them for several weeks. He gathered them all together and returned them to his camp on the hill. Now he had enough supplies to last him for several months, but he did not expect to be there for that length of time. He expected the castle to be taken within days of the arrival of army in the north, and his father's fate sealed soon after.

   As the days passed, and the battle drew nearer, he would not be so confident as he was now. The events he would witness in the days to come would change everything, and he would have to make a choice, but it would not be an easy choice to make, and he would find that out soon enough.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

   Menimeth walked through the doors of his rooms, and out into the courtyard where his dragon waited, as the gray of early morning began to chase away the darkness that shrouded the land. Several minuets later the dragon was in the air, and headed for the entrance to the city. Danorathin landed in front of the Sword and Dragon as he usually did, but did not sit above the gates of the city to wait for his master. Instead, he disappeared into the wild lands in the north, and did not return for some time. When he did, he went to the Dragon Tower to curl up in his favorite corner, and go to sleep.

   Menimeth followed the aroma of Blackbeer as it drifted through the morning breeze, and entered the tavern of his friend. Farlin worked behind the bar, getting the mugs cleaned and ready for the morning crowd, and he greeted the dragon rider when he entered.

   "You look like you could use a steaming mug of Blackbeer." He said, as he poured the mug, and walked to the table Menimeth used when he was there.

   "You are right about that." Menimeth replied, following the innkeeper to the table. "It was a long day yesterday, and a short night."

   "This will help to get the morning started." Farlin said, as he placed the mug in front of the chair that the dragon rider always used. "It is from the latest batch brewed this morning."

   "Just what I needed." Menimeth said, as he lifted the mug. "Thank you Farlin."

   "Anything for the king." Farlin replied with a smile, and walked back to the bar, and his work.

   Menimeth sipped from his mug, and the weight of the empire seemed to melt away for a time. The aroma of the drink, and the warmth of the fire which burned in the fireplace, added to the peaceful atmosphere of the tavern, and the dragon rider enjoyed every second of it.

   Eventually the tavern began to fill with the usual patrons of the morning, and Litlorn was the first of his friends to find him there.

   "Where in Donderan?" Menimeth asked, as the elf took his seat, and sipped from his mug. "I have not seen him since before the battle in the north."

   "Who knows? That dwarf disappears all the time." Litlorn replied. "He could be anywhere."

   "I had hoped he would join us in Argnon." Menimeth said. "But one dwarf will not make that much of a difference, I guess."

   "You never know with Donderan." Litlorn said. "He may yet show up."

   "If he does, he had better do it soon." Menimeth said. "We will be leaving for the west when the solders of the remaining realms arrive."

   "He will turn up again when you least expect him." Litlorn said. "He is funny that way."

   Feran, and the men he commanded through Commander Fracher, rode from Glansford later that morning. Two days had passed since the ambush on the raiders, and Menimeth needed them in the west as soon as they could get there. He believed that they still needed training to fight from the back of a horse, in the way the Dragon Guard would fight, but it would have to wait until they arrived in the west. He did not know when the forces of the northern and eastern realms would reach Glansford, and he needed warriors near the castle at Argnon in case the enemy arrived early.

   The solders from the southern realm had arrived, with the horses Menimeth needed to replace the ones taken by the men of Feran's army. All of the warriors of the empire would ride into battle, for the tactical advantage that it gave them, as well as for the mobility, but that would leave too few horses for the men who still trained at the garrison. With the horses being sent by the eastern regent, and the ones being sent by the northern regent, they would have more then enough for the newer men to train with.

   The land around the dragon rider capital that was once overgrown from the walls to the great river, was now only dotted with trees, and the remains of many fires. The tents of the solders from the defeated kingdoms, replaced the brush and bracken that once filled the space east of the walls of Glansford, but even those had disappeared when the second army rode west. The men of the southern realm set up their camp close to the city walls, when the warriors Feran commanded were gone. Captain Quinly, as well as the other officers that were with him, were given rooms in the officer's barracks, while they waited for the solders of the other realms to arrive.

   Menimeth walked through the Dragon Tower, and into the offices that Brylen used to conduct the business of the empire. The prince of Davinly sat behind the desk, with a stack of parchments in front of him, and went through them methodically.

   "I am sorry I have kept you so busy." Menimeth said, as he walked through the door.

   "It is nothing." Brylen replied, and stood from his chair. "Just the daily business of the empire."

   "That stack of parchments is a daily occurrence?" Menimeth asked with a look of horror.

   "Well, yes, but they do not take that long to complete." Brylen replied. "It is the ones on the table, which take all my time."

   "There are more?" Menimeth asked, as he turned and looked at the table against the wall.

   The table was more than six feet long, and was stacked with various parchments from one end to the other. Each stack was three times taller than the one on Brylen's desk, and Menimeth could not believe his eyes when he saw them.

   "You cannot do all this by yourself." Menimeth said. "And there are people in the refugee camp that could help. You should use as many as you can."

   "I could use the help." Brylen agreed. "But I do not have the time to waste looking for them."

   "I will send them to you, and you can decide where to use them." Menimeth said. "Those you do not need in the offices, you can have

assigned to other positions elsewhere in the castle."

   "We do need the help." Brylen said. "In many different areas of the castle."

   "Then I will start sending people as soon as I can."

   "What I need is someone who knows from experience the kind of people we are looking for." Brylen informed the dragon rider. "Someone who has lived in a castle."

   "I think I can find someone with that background." Menimeth replied. "And that should help you to take care of the empire while I am in the west."

   "As long as you are not gone too long." Brylen said. "There are decisions only you as king can make."

   "I have taken care of the ones that you sent to my office." Menimeth informed Brylen. "And you can send someone to pick them up when you get the time."

   "What do I do in the unlikely event that you do not return from the west?" Brylen asked. "It is something that all kings who go to battle, must consider."

   "If I do not return form the battle, Chanry will become the king."

   "The boy?" Brylen asked, surprised by the choice.

   "He is more than he appears." Menimeth replied.

   "Then it will be as you command." Brylen said, and wrote down the information on a parchment he took from the desk. "But still, it would be best if you returned, to keep the empire running smoothly."

   "I will try to survive the battle." Menimeth said, with a very serious look. "If it will help to reduce your stack of parchments."

   "You are not so funny as you think." Brylen said with a grin. "Now go find me some help."

   "Yes sir." Menimeth said smiling and turned to walk from the room.

   "Great, I come to work for the king, and he turns out to be the court jester." Brylen said. "With a dragon."

   Menimeth was laughing when he walked from the offices of the Dragon Tower, and made his way from the city. It was not long before Menimeth found Caladon and Banadar in the market, looking at the items for sale, as well as the girls who sold them. It was the first place that he looked, because it was where they were always found during the daytime.

   "You two can always be found here." Menimeth said, as he walked up behind them.

   "Did you know that you could purchase magical items, here?" Banadar asked with wide eyes. "They even have different powders and potions for almost everything you can think of."

   "I have seen things I never knew existed." Caladon added. "And things only heard about in stories back home."

   "Yes, the marketplace in Corlindum is the best in the empire." Menimeth said. "And everything in the empire is found here."

   "Everything is so grand in the empire from what we have seen, and we like it very much." Caladon said. "The cities are built to keep enemies out, and are much stronger than any cities we have seen before."

   "The defenses are well thought out, and any army that attacks these cities would not survive long." Banadar added. "Yes, it is very impressive indeed."

   "Glansford was built long before Corlindum, and it the strongest by far, but they are both well built." Menimeth agreed.

   "We have talked to our sister, and she agrees that we should stay." Caladon said. "Though we do not know what we will do."

   "We have no skills outside of the castle." Banadar said. "As prince's we were expected to be solders."

   "You are my guests for as long as you stay." Menimeth told them. "There is more than enough time to think about that later, besides I have a problem I had hoped you could help me with."

   "How may we help you?" Caladon asked. "You but need to ask."

   "The castle needs people to fill positions in many different areas. I need someone to talk with the people of the refugee camp, and send those that have the knowledge and wish to work, to see Brylen in the Dragon Tower."

   "That is easy enough." Banadar said. "Besides, there are pretty girls in the camp."

   "He did not ask us to find you a girlfriend." Caladon said. "He asked us to fine workers for the castle."

   "Pretty girls work in castles too." Banadar said defensively. "All castles have the prettiest girls, you know that."

   "That is true." Caladon said. "But it is not just the pretty girls we will talk to."

   "That is because the pretty ones will not talk to you." Banadar said. "You will have to stick to the ugly ones."

   "At least they will talk to me." Caladon said. "All the girls do to you is, laugh."

   "That is because they are speechless." Banadar said.

   "No, they just think you are funny looking." Caladon replied. "And so they laugh."

   "It is you they laugh at." Banadar said. "And your pony ears."

   "No, it is your dog face that does it." Caladon replied.

   Menimeth watched the brothers as they walked away, totally oblivious to all else around them, and in the direction of the refugee camp. They did not even realize that the dragon rider was no longer with them, and he smiled at their youthful antics. Turning, he walked from the market, and made his way to the garrison.

   Tukhal proved to be a very good trainer, and within days, the training grounds were transformed into the military camp it was designed to be. Menimeth made the decision to use the sashes as a way to show that a warrior's training was complete, and that he was a member of the Dragon Guard. Now he could tell who was available to fight for the empire, and who was not. Menimeth did not plan to take any more men from the new army west, but planned to use them to guard and protect the cities instead. Tukhal would have to run the garrison as well as the training grounds, and assign the warriors of the guard to duties until Menimeth could return. When he did return from Argnon, he would form the different parts of the Dragon Guard to be used to protect the empire, and the people who lived within its borders.

   Several days later, the two hundred men from the northern realm rode into the garrison, and Kyler sent them to set up their camp, beside those from the south. The horses that were sent to the king were led to the stables in the garrison, and would be used by those that had completed their training. Hobie was offered a suite in the Dragon Tower, but he refused, staying in the officers building instead. He would not accept special treatment until all of his men were out of danger, and the battle was over.

   Kyler worked with the solders of the northern and southern realms, and trained them to use the spear as well as the bow from horseback. He was surprised at how fast they learned to use the weapons, and how fast they could change from one to the other while attacking. Even though he had only a few days to train them before the solders of the eastern realm arrived, he was confident in their ability to fight as an army.

   When the solders of the east arrived, it did not take Kyler long to have them trained, even though he had little time to accomplish the task. By the time Menimeth was ready to leave for the west, the men of the three realms had become an army. They were all given the cloak and sash, as well as the weapons and shield of the dragon guard, and they were soon transformed into warriors of the empire.

   During the days they waited for the solders of the realms to arrive, Menimeth and his dragon made daily trips to the northeast, to check on the progress of the enemy. They marched east to the fords of the Grayling River as he expected, but took longer to reach them than they should have. He did not believe that their slow pace would continue, and was proven right after they crossed the fords. Adjustments were made, and the overly large siege weapons were able to move faster, which allowed the army to speed up as well.

   The solders of the east arrived in Glansford, two days before the enemy reached the fords of the Grayling River, and were trained and ready to depart the day the enemy began their crossing. When Menimeth returned to the Dragon Tower, he gave the order for Kyler to have the men ready the next morning, to begin the ride to Argnon. He knew that he would reach the castle weeks before the enemy, but he needed the time to familiarize the men with the battleground, and discuss the plans with all of the commanders at the same time.

   Javen was in command of the first army, and would be the first to reach Argnon. He was too set up his camp around the castle, and send out patrols to the north and west. Feran was in command of the second army, and was only four or five days behind Javen. He was too set up his camp in the trees east of the castle, and far enough away to be hidden from the eyes of any spies who reported to the enemy. Commander Rayden and the Lost Cavalry, was to have his men in several different camps south of the great road. His men were to patrol the lands around their camps, but were not to cross the great road until Menimeth gave the order to move as an army. Kyler would be in command of the third army, which was made up of the solders of the realms, and would be at the castle as well.