Dragons' Onyx (11 page)

King Arik pulled the Sword of Heavens free of its sheath. Jorgel’s eyes grew wide, and he started backing away, fear clearly evident in his face.

“I am not going to harm you,” smiled King Arik. “You asked a question and I am getting you the answer. The Sword of Heavens points to the Dragons’ Onyx.”

“The sword tells you where to go?” questioned Jorgel.

“It does,” nodded King Arik as he swung in a complete circle.

When he got to the east, the Sword of Heavens vibrated heavily. The sword also rose up into the air at a sharp angle. King Arik’s surprise clearly showed on his face.

“It has never done that before,” he commented, “but it is pointing towards the gem right now.”

“That makes sense,” agreed the old man. “The dragons have their lairs up in the mountains to the east. Most of them that is. You can find dragon lairs all over Grakus I hear. Still, you don’t want to go through that meadow. I can tell you a safer way. It will not be safe, mind you, but it will be safer than sticking your nose into that meadow.”

“Then I would be indebted to you,” declared King Arik. “Which way do we go?”

“You will owe me no debt,” smiled the old man. “You have probably saved my life today. What more could a man ask for. Alongside the creek is a trail heading south. Going along the creek is good cover from the dragons, too. They can’t hear you unless you make a lot of noise. Just keep out of the creek itself. Any place that is visible from the sky is dangerous.”

“I understand that,” nodded King Arik. “How far south do we go?”

“Several leagues,” answered the old man. “If you follow the creek directly, you will see where it joins with another creek heading for the coast. Just past that is a narrow trail heading eastward. It is not a well-used trail so it might be hard to spot, but I am sure that you will find it. It is an old miners’ trail. It winds through the woods a bit before it starts to climb up the mountain.”

“Will it eventually bring us back to the north so we will be able to get to where we are going?” asked Prince Garong.

“Depends on where you are going,” shrugged Jorgel. “The mountains are full of trails. The problem is that not many of them have any kind of cover. You will be terribly exposed up there.”

“It sounds like good advice to me,” decided King Arik. “No matter which way we go, we will be exposed sooner or later. It is something that we must be prepared to deal with.”

“You have no idea what you are getting yourself into,” Jorgel shook his head. “It is a deadly trip that you are planning.”

“King Arik did not win the loyalty of the dwarves by sitting in a chair,” interjected Prince Darok. “He faces danger every day.”

“The humans call him the Warrior King,” added Pioti. “He will get us there safely.”

“I think Jorgel gets the point,” King Arik shook his head. “This discussion is not about me. It is about the Dragons’ Onyx. We still have to think about how to approach the dragons about it.”

“Approach the dragons?” gasped Jorgel. “Are you crazy? If you must do this, find the gem and steal it before the dragons discover you on that mountain. These are not pet goats that you are talking about. I have seen the human carcasses that they discard. It is not a pretty sight.”

“I am not a thief,” replied King Arik. “I might end up having to steal the Dragons’ Onyx in order to fulfill the Ancient Prophecy, but it will be last choice in ways to approach this. I think the first should be to talk to the dragons.”

“Talk to the dragons?” echoed the old man. “What are you going to do? Can you breath fire out of your nostrils? Can you screech like some flying demon? They won’t understand a word that you say.”

“I believe that they will,” countered King Arik. “I have seen a vision of the dragons, and they were talking the same as you and I do. It is worth a try.”

“That is right,” nodded Prince Darok. “I didn’t even think of that. I hope we find a friendly one.”

“Well if they can understand you,” scowled Jorgel, “Tell the one that tore my leg up that I am not happy. Tell him to leave me alone. If he agrees, then I will believe you.”

King Arik grinned at the old man and nodded. “I will tell him just that,” the king chuckled. “Leave my friend, Jorgel, alone from now on.”

Jorgel lost his scowl and began laughing.

“Hold,” called Bin-lu as Tedi rode through an intersection of roads.

Bin-lu reached into his pouch and extracted a small map while Tedi and Natia turned around and rode back towards the Lanoirian.

“What is it?” Tedi asked as his eyes scanned the surrounding trees.

“I think this is where we part company,” frowned Bin-lu. “You are heading too far west for me.”

“We must follow the rock maps,” apologized Natia. “It is the only way that we will every rejoin my people.”

“I am not complaining,” smiled Bin-lu. “I am sad to part company with the two of you. It has been a very enlightening trip. I hope to spend some time with the gypsies when this is all over.”

“If any of us are still around,” frowned Tedi. “I am not thrilled about the Knights of Alcea splitting up like we are.”

“It is necessary,” shrugged Bin-lu. “Nobody could accompany me on this mission anyway.”

“I guess not,” agreed Tedi. “You never did say why you were so anxious to speak with Prince Garong when we left Tagaret. Did the elf prince have something of yours? Should I try to retrieve it for you if I return to Tagaret first?”

“No,” Bin-lu shook his head as he dismounted and placed himself behind his horse as he disrobed. “I asked a favor of Prince Garong. I was just anxious to find out if he was able to comply with my request. It is not something that you should concern yourself with. How do I look?” he asked as he stepped around his horse and displayed himself to his friends.

Tedi’s face split into a wide grin as he examined Special Officer Bin-lu of the Lanoirian army. “You look great,” Tedi replied. “You bring back memories of our mission into the palace in Ongchi. Is it wise to wear that uniform before you reach the Lanoirian army though?”

“It is the only way that I will ever get there,” shrugged Bin-lu. “They would not let anyone else through their defenses.”

A green fairy yelled and crawled out of the pocket of the tunic that Bin-lu had taken off. “You forgot about me again!” accused the little man. “Someday I may end up drowning in the wash. You have to be more careful.”

“I am sorry, Shrimp,” apologized Bin-lu. “I do forget about you. I will try to remember in the future. I promise.”

“Give him a break,” countered a small blue fairy that was sticking her head out of Tedi’s pocket. “These humans are not any more used to carrying us around than we are to being carried.”

“Perhaps if Shrimp spent more time getting to know Bin-lu instead of trying to cavort with you, Button,” giggled Natia, “Bin-lu would remember about him easier.”

“He does like me,” giggled Button.

“What’s not to like?” quipped Shrimp. “You are as pretty as a…”

“Button,” finished Tedi. “We know Shrimp. We have heard that line every night since leaving Tagaret. You have to learn to be more original.”

“There might be another way for you to infiltrate the Lanoirians,” offered Natia as she changed the subject.

“How is that?” inquired Bin-lu as he lifted Shrimp and placed him in the pocket of his uniform.

“The gypsies are going to be raiding the Lanoirians,” explained the gypsy princess. “You could mix in with one of the groups that we attack during the battle. You could make up some story about you having just arrived before the battle. When they return to the main army group, you will be seen as just another Lanoirian returning from a patrol.”

“That might actually work better than my original plan,” mused Bin-lu.

Bin-lu’s eyes went skyward to judge the time of day. He frowned when he realized that they were back under the Darkness.

“I do that, too,” chuckled Tedi. “Even though I grew up under the Darkness, I have quickly grown used to looking at the sun to tell the time. It is late enough in the day that we could camp for the night to give you time to think about it. We would not ride much farther today anyway.”

“I like that idea,” chirped Shrimp. “Surely, another night together could not hurt anything.”

Natia rolled her eyes and giggled in unison with Button.

“Your plan actually makes sense,” nodded Bin-lu as he walked behind his horse and began removing the Lanoirian uniform. “I will accept the offer to camp for the night and think about it.”

“Not again!” complained Shrimp as a green streak shot upward from behind the horse and hovered in the air. “I wish fairies had stingers like bees. That would remind you that I live in your pocket.”

* * *

“We are not getting out of this,” whispered Fardez as he peeked out from behind the trees at the Lanoirian army. “We should have left for Trekum earlier.”

“You are probably right,” Captain Orteka nodded in agreement. “We cannot change our past actions. One of us must get through the Lanoirians to report to General Mobami. He needs to know what is coming against him. We should split up to better our chances of getting to Trekum.”

“That is agreeable to me,” whispered Fardez. “I still don’t think that we can get through, though.”

“A lot of people depend upon us to get the word back to General Mobami,” sighed the mercenary captain. “Many of them will die without our information.”

“We are all going to die anyway,” frowned Fardez. “Nothing can stand in the way of this army.”

“We may indeed die,” frowned Captain Orteka as he peered out at the enemy encampment that blocked their escape, “but it will not be here and now.”

“Unfortunately,” Fardez shook his head, “you do not get to choose the time and place. I know that you are thinking of climbing back up the mountain and looking for another route down, but I know this country well. I grew up not far from here. There is no way past this army that will get you to Trekum before they attack.”

“But there must be a way,” insisted Captain Orteka. “Too many people depend upon us. They won’t have any chance at all if we do not get word back to them.”

“The only chance of living that they have is to abandon Trekum and flee,” Fardez sighed. “I understand what you are saying, though. They will not know enough to do that if we fail to report in. Well that settles my question for me. Mount up and prepare to ride.”

“What do you mean?” questioned the mercenary captain. “We can’t just ride out of here. We will be cut down before we can get a tenth of the way across their camp.”

“Something like that,” nodded Fardez as he mounted his horse. “I will draw them off of you. Ride like the wind, my friend. Get word to Trekum so our people can flee.”

“No,” protested Captain Orteka even as Fardez charged into the camp.

The young soldier rode into the enemy’s ranks, screaming at the top of his lungs. He did not pull his sword, but tried to draw as much attention to himself as possible. Captain Orteka uttered a foul oath under his breath as he leaped atop his horse. While Fardez was drawing the attention way from him, the mercenary rode deliberately in the other direction, pretending to be calm. Shouts and laughter surrounded him as everyone was focused on the crazy Sordoan.

Captain Orteka avoided the light as he wove an undetectable pattern through the maze of campfires. He could feel perspiration dampening his skin, and he found it hard to swallow as the sounds of Fardez’s escapade faded into the background. The encampment seemed endless, and he realized that the campfires that he rode by now were probably not even aware of the diversion that Fardez had created. His chance of escape appeared hopeless.

After minutes of trying to ride calmly through the Lanoirian encampment, the stress began to show signs of giving him away. The mercenary’s hands began to shake, and he tried to make his mind focus on something other than the enemy’s camp that he rode through. He wanted to kick into his horse and charge for freedom, but he knew that he would never make it. Any quick move on his part and he would be immediately captured or killed. He had to ride calmly as if he belonged there. He drew some slight relief from the very thing that frightened him, the size of the Lanoirian army. With so many men, it would be impossible for everyone to know everyone else. For the first time, he began to believe that he might actually make it out of the camp.

If he was going to make it back to Trekum, he reasoned, he might as well check out the Lanoirian army up close. Captain Orteka gazed surreptitiously around the encampment as he rode. Most of the Lanoirians paid no attention to the strange rider. Some of the soldiers did look his way, but only curiously.

Suddenly, Captain Orteka felt his left foot being forced upward. His mind spun with confusion and he tried to turn his gaze in that direction, even as he fought to keep his body on his horse. Both efforts failed miserably. Whatever had forced his foot up, it was done with such force as to toss the mercenary off of his horse. Orteka hit the ground hard, stars swimming around in his head.

“I thought there would be two spies,” snarled a soldier. “They never send just one.”

The mercenary tried to make sense of what had given him away, but he could not think clearly. He felt himself being kicked hard. As his head spun, he became aware of a large crowd gathering around him. Someone pulled his sword from its sheath. Someone else kicked him again. He winced with the pain to his side.

“So this is how a Sordoan fights?” laughed one of the Lanoirians. “It looks like he is trying to go to sleep.”

“Feel the blade of his sword,” jeered another. “It is so dull that it could not scrape the dung off of a stone street.”

“Let him know the sharpness of a Lanoirian blade,” swore another.

Captain Orteka felt cold steel slice into his left cheek. It was not a sensation of pain as much as it was cold, a cold that chilled him to the bone. Someone kicked him again, and then he felt his other cheek exposed to the cold.

“Stop this,” ordered a commanding voice. “Are you men so refreshed that you have time for sport instead of sleep? Perhaps you shall walk further tomorrow then?”