Dragons Descended Upon the Wicked (9 page)

“Of the three of you, I did not expect you to be married and have kids,” said Nick.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” asked Tyler.

“It means that you act like a child,” said Ron.

“If I act like a child then my kids will always think it’s okay to never grow up,” said Tyler. “That’s a win, win for me.”

“Where is your family?” asked Nick. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

“Well, they’re obviously with us here in camp,” said Tyler.

“I’ve never seen you talk to any children here, let alone a woman,” said Nick.

“It’s simply one of the precautions of the king’s men policies,” said Tyler. “We’re allowed to have families, but we are not allowed to make contact with them in public. That is for good reason too. We have enemies, it is known. We keep our families safe by keeping them away from us. See Jeffrey over there?”

Tyler pointed out Jeffrey in the crowd of people handing out loafs of bread.

“He has a family here too,” said Tyler. “He has a wife and two lovely young girls. They are the sweetest. But you nor anyone else would never know that because he does not so much as look at them. It’s hard to do at times, but at the end of the day we know we are putting our families first.”

“Makes sense. Thank you all for sharing,” said Nick. “I suppose I could tell you guys about myself if that’s okay with you all.”

“The floor is yours, young Nick,” said Dani.

“I am a single child to two loving parents. My mother died when I was pretty young, so my dad raised me. He was one of the finest blacksmiths in all of Hentrio. I was very proud of him and he pushed me to follow my dreams, which was to become a Refect. Once we joined myself and Thomas trained everyday to be at the top of the class. One night someone who was a part of the six’s movement murdered my father in front of my eyes. I killed him brutally in retaliation. I was sentenced to two years in the arena. With Philip’s help, I fought through the mental and physical torment the arena offered. After a few months of being in the arena the king’s men got me out in the hopes that I could help them. I don’t regret anything. Life has a funny way of playing itself out. At the end of the day I’m doing what I love: helping Hentrio.”

“Bravo,” said Tyler. “I almost shed a tear. So now that we are all aquatinted with one another, we should get drunk.”

Tyler pulled out a canteen filled with some foreign type of rum Nick had never seen before.

“I’m not much of a drinker, thank you,” said Nick. “But I get a kick out of watching people around me get drunk and do stupid things.”

“Suit yourself, Nick,” said Tyler. “On second thought...it’s a bit early to be drinking. I’ll save it for tonight. You can all witness the almighty drunk Tyler later - stay tuned.”

The group laughed and bonded a bit more before they heard Jeffrey’s booming voice telling the camp to continue the trek before more daylight was lost. So on they went. Day soon turned into night and the camp slept, but not before witnessing Tyler being belligerently drunk. Night turned into morning, and the trek continued. Over and over, the cycle continued.

Every night the king’s men instructed their camp on how to use the bow and arrow. Dani led the training every night. Nick even joined in as his archery skills were lackluster, to say the least. Jeffrey was adamant about the use of the bow and arrow rather than sword combat. He never told anyone his reasoning, but at the same time no one was bold enough to question him. They all knew that he had constructed some sort of plan in his mind. He wanted everyone who was able bodied to be able to shoot a bow and arrow with efficiency.

On the tenth night the camp had just finished their training. Nick was stretching out his arms and saw Phillip and Thomas standing on a hill by the side of the camp. They were now fairly deep into Terrel and getting deep into winter. Snow was falling from the skies and wind gusts brought a chill factor they had not dealt with yet. They were in an area of open terrain with only a few hills. The landscape looked as if it were a desert with sand and few trees. It was not busy like the terrain found in most parts of Hentrio, but rather simple.

Nick walked up the steep hill to greet Phillip and Thomas.

“How’s it going?” asked Nick.

“We’ve become good friends,” said Thomas as he looked at Phillip.

“Thomas reminds me a lot of you, Nick,” said Phillip.

“That’s great to hear,” said Nick. “What are you guys doing up here?”

“We came up here to get a glimpse of the beauty found in the forbidden lands of Terrel,” said Phillip. “I never imagined I would ever step foot in this place.”

“That’s what we came up here for, but then we saw something peculiar,” said Thomas. “I saw a raven flying out from camp. It headed south.”

“There are thousands of people here,” said Nick. “Surely someone here has a raven or two to send messages to loved ones.”

“That is what I hope,” said Thomas. “The worst case is that someone is sending messages to the six. Why would someone wait until it was dark to send out a raven?”

“I should bring this up to Jeffrey,” said Nick.

“I don’t think it is necessary to alarm anyone,” said Phillip. “I think we should just be wary about who we are sharing camp with. We should be on the lookout for suspicious activity, but we shouldn’t bring chaos to a situation without a solution.”

“Right,” said Thomas. “It wouldn’t do much good if we tell people that the best thing they can do is start questioning people.”

“At the very least, allow me to do the same thing you two just did to me,” said Nick. “I’ll tell one king’s men what you both saw. Would that be alright?”

“I suppose that would be alright,” said Thomas. “But just one person. The one you can trust the most. I’ve seen things like this get out of hand. I don’t want anything to disturb those around us.”

“Deal,” said Nick. “I just want to say I am grateful that you two are here and helping the cause. It means everything to me, really.”

Nick placed his hands on his friends’ shoulders and smiled at them. He walked down from the top of the hill and found the secluded Jeffrey sharpening his sword by a lone rock. The night was getting later as he approached the man. Tired eyes and tired legs filled the camp. Jeffrey was no exception. Nick told Jeffrey what his friends had told him a few minutes ago. Jeffrey did not seem too moved at the news. He was rather calm and collected and simply thanked Nick for giving him news of the suspicious activity. Jeffrey then had the chance to tell Nick of a few people from camp who wished to become supreme Rezas. He expressed the gratitude for their commitment, but at the same time he was conflicted with the idea that these people would be risking their lives. He continued to deny the chance for more people to become supreme Rezas. He assured Nick that he had a plan that would be unveiled when the time had come.

Nick took his leave and made his way to Penny’s side as he strived to do every night. They stayed up and talked for a while about the present and the future. There was nothing that kept them going more than the thought of a peaceful and lovely future that they could spend with one another. They would get lost in time when they talked about all of the places they could live one day. The thought of the people in the present living in Hentrio could not be avoided. They both felt heartache for all of the innocent lives that were being commanded to stay in the city from which they were from. Some people were being sold as slaves. Some people were recruited into an army of slaves. It was a dark time. The promise of a brighter future not only kept them going, but many in the camp going as well.

Penny and Nick drifted off to sleep together. Their tired bodies needed rest. The next day, and the day after that, were to be full of grueling work.

***

It was the end of day thirteen of the trek. Jeffrey and Thomas estimated that they were only two days from reaching the city of Terrel. The tired bodies of the camp were grateful to lie down and sleep. The healthier people had began to help the sick and elderly quite a bit more as the trek grew on. They took turns carrying or lending a hand to those who needed it. It took a toll on everyone involved. But, like clock work, the days were getting colder and colder. Snow fall was becoming more common. Freezing temperatures grew to be an increasingly devastating threat. That along with the dwindling supplies of fire wood and meat made everyone that much more tired. The camp was all but asleep except for two.

“Did you hear that?” asked Thomas.

“I did,” said Phillip. “It came from past the hills right over there.” Phillip pointed his finger in the direction of the nearby rock filled hills just north of their camp. They heard the sound of rocks falling or hitting something on the other side of camp.

“I say we check it out,” said Phillip. “It could be the man sending ravens.”

The two men got to their feet and walked around the countless sleeping bodies towards the hill. The last bodies they stepped over were the king’s men. They were always stationed at the northern most point in camp. As the two men climbed steadily over the hill, trying to avoid any slippery rocks, they heard an ever growing sound of heavy breathing. It was a hauntingly familiar sound. They eased their heads over the top of the hill with their weapons drawn. Two green dragons were at the base of the hill.

“Whose dragons could they be?” asked Thomas.

“Either someone’s dragon or they are wild dragons,” said Phillip.

Phillip looked back towards camp to discover two men dressed in black with swords in their hands walking stealthily towards the king’s men.

Thomas and Phillip quickly ran down the hill and rocks started to tumble with them. The noise made the two men dressed in black turn around.

“Hey, stop right there!” yelled Thomas.

Thomas and Phillip were just ten feet shy of the two men. The king’s men and the camp quickly woke up from Thomas’s shout. The king’s men sprung to their feet as Thomas and Phillip met their swords with the two men in black. Thomas and Phillip were dueling two Reza’s. They quickly used their destructive magic on both Thomas and Phillip rather than using their swords. Thomas and Phillip had to duck and dive out of the way to avoid the oncoming attacks. The king’s men soon joined the fight. It became an eight versus two situation.

“Put down your weapons; we have you surrounded,” said Jeffrey.

The two men placed their swords on the ground.

“Place your palms on the ground and stay there,” commanded Jeffrey.

The two men in black cloaks did as he ordered.

“Never underestimate the will the six has over you all,” said the man in the hooded black cloak.

Ron suddenly yelled in pain. An arrow protruded out of his back.

“Thomas and Phillip, keep your weapons on them. Kill them if there are any sudden movements. The rest with me,” said Phillip. The king’s men quickly scrambled and ducked for cover. The men in black cloaks had reinforcements from within their own camp.

It was a chaotic situation in the dead of night. It was dark and the king’s men were running in every direction to find the archers who were hidden in plain sight.

Phillip noticed the man below him move his hands along the sandy ground.
He could be a supreme Reza
, Phillip thought to himself. Phillip kicked the man’s hands away from the ground so that he could not conjure up the walls of fire. Phillip put the man’s arms behind his back and placed a cloth over his hands.

Thomas began doing the same to his captor. The man placed his hands behind his back, but then he suddenly punched Thomas in his ribs. The force of the punch dropped Thomas to his knees. The man then kicked Thomas’ sword out of his hands. Phillip swung his sword at the man but he easily escaped each lunge with a swift move to the left or right. The man was as quick as the wind. He ducked, blasted a dark wave attack at Phillip, and then rolled to pick up Thomas’ sword. Phillip went chest first to the ground to avoid the attack.

When he looked up both men stood above him. Thomas had been knocked out cold; Phillip had not seen anything. The king’s men were deep into camp and Phillip could hear the slashing of swords. Phillip raised his hands to surrender to the man. He received the end of the handle of the sword along the side of his head. He was hit with such force that he was knocked out. The two men dressed in black cloaks hoisted Phillip and Thomas on their backs and headed for the rocky hill to the north.

Nick and the king’s men had cornered three archers at the south end of camp. They had their arrows drawn but put them to the ground when they realized they were surrounded with no chance of escape. They were familiar faces to Nick. Two male Reza and one female Paplon that he had seen walking around camp. It was a strange idea that two Reza would elect to use a bow and arrow.

Something caught Nick’s peripheral view. Two dragons arose into the night sky. Nick immediately ran towards where Thomas and Phillip had been. He couldn’t find them. No one could find them. No one could find the men in hooded cloaks. He realized that his friends had been captured trying to save the lives of the king’s men.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Phillip’s eyes slowly opened. Saliva dripped from his cheek as he lay on his side. He slowly rolled over and heard the familiar sounds of chain being rattled. Steel bars surrounded him. His hands were handcuffed together and a chain weaved through them and went around a few steel bars behind him. He was chained and imprisoned once again. He looked around to get his bearings. Surprisingly, Thomas was in the same cell with him, handcuffed and chained in the same fashion as he was, although he was still asleep.

Screams of pain and anguish echoed through the halls of the dark and mysterious place. Phillip rose to his feet, carefully raising his hands with him along the steel bars. The hall of cells he was a part of stretched as far as his eyes could see. The very build of the cells reminded him too well of the Vincot Arena cells, but he knew that he was not in those cells. His clothes had been changed; he was only wearing black pants. He saw that Thomas was changed into the same attire.

“Thomas,” said Phillip. “Thomas, wake up.”