Dragons' Onyx (28 page)

“There is no reason that you cannot go to the roof and prepare the last batch of men to evacuate,” suggested Tanya. “We know the drill of evacuating a level by now.”

“After this level falls,” nodded the lieutenant. “Battlement levels are the trickiest to evacuate. The outside men and the inside men must coordinate closely, or there will be many deaths. If either group leaves too soon, they doom the other group.”

“Not this time,” retorted Alex. “This is the last battlement before the roof. It is time to use the fire glue on the stairwells. The smoke will rise quickly, so we need to make sure that everyone not needed is already off on a unicorn.”

“I will see that the roof is cleared of defenders,” replied Lieutenant Montbalm. “Let Bantam come with me, and I will send her down when we are ready.”

Alex nodded and Bantam leaped onto the lieutenant’s shoulder. Alex raised his bow and shot a goblin that had reached the battlement just as Lieutenant Montbalm was leaving.

“Spread the word,” Alex said to Tanya. “Let everyone know what is going to happen. I fear for the last of us to get off the roof. It is going to be a close call.”

Tanya nodded and took off running. Alex looked along the broad expanse of the battlement and frowned. The men were all tired. Even though the men had been rotated from battlement to battlement, the day and night had been long. Few had slept, as the danger was ever present. Again he raised his bow to kill a goblin that had made the climb from below. More goblins were reaching the battlement, as the men removing the hooks took longer to respond. Alex would be glad when the battle for the Castle of Man was over. Tanya completed the circuit of the battlement just as Bantam returned.

“The rooftop is secure and ready,” Bantam reported.

“So are the men of the battlement,” added Tanya. “Jami, Bart, and Stan will use fire glue on their areas of the battlement to buy us some more time. This doorway will be the only one accessible.”

“Very well,” nodded Alex. “Light the stairwell up, and get the inside defenders heading upstairs. Tell them to depart immediately. I will send Bantam to the Rangers in a count of five hundred.”

“I’m gone,” called Tanya as she ran into the castle, numbers ticking down inside her mind.

She slid to a halt at the top of the stairwell as four men were pushing a large boulder into the mouth of the stairwell. A score of others were in varying stages of rolling boulders towards the stairwell from a pile at the end of a dead corridor. Tanya reached into her pack and pulled out two glass jars of fire glue. She held one in each hand. The soldiers looked at her questioningly as the howl of a yaki echoed up the narrow stairwell.

“It is time to go to the roof,” she shouted over the sickening howl.

Before the men could release the next boulder, Tanya hurled one of the jars down the stairwell. The bloodstained steps burst into a fiery oven. She looked at the men and nodded toward the stairwell going up to the roof. The soldiers needed no further hints. The men ran up the stairs as Tanya heard the approach of another howling yaki. She placed the second jar of fire glue on the floor and moved behind the boulder that was abandoned at the top of the stairwell. Tanya put her back to the boulder and shoved with all her might. She felt the boulder slip away as it dropped onto the first step going down. She bent down and picked up the jar of fire glue as the boulder bounded down the stairwell. She turned and threw the second jar as far as she could down the stairwell. The howls of the yaki had ceased. Tanya ran back along the corridor to the battlement just as Alex directed Bantam to leave.

“Will the fire hold them?” asked Alex.

“A yaki was trying to charge through it,” sighed Tanya. “I sent a boulder and a second jar down. That is the best we can do.”

Alex merely nodded as men came running around the corner of the battlement. Stan Fargo was leading them. Alex pointed upward as Stan led his men toward the doorway to the corridor. Stan nodded and led his men into the castle. Before the last of his men had gone through the doorway, men rounded each of the corners of the battlement. Bart Larmin led the group on one side and Jami Witzak the other. Alex could see smoke emanating from both ends of the battlement.

“This is it, men,” shouted Alex as he pointed upward for the running men. “We are the only side of the battlement not on fire. As soon as the groups running pass you by, fall in behind them and get yourself up to the roof.”

Alex handed a jar of fire glue to Tanya and nodded to the right. Tanya ran towards the far end of the battlement. Alex took another jar and ran to the left. As he neared the end of the battlement, he could hear screaming goblins. He could picture the inferno in his mind that must have existed around the corner. Making sure that the defenders were leaving their stations, Alex tossed his jar of fire glue to the floor. It immediately erupted in a great ball of flame. He retreated at a run and met Tanya back in the center of the battlement.

“Do you have any jars left?” he asked.

“Just one,” answered Tanya. “Do you want it here?”

Alex turned and gazed into the castle corridor and nodded.

“Do it,” he said. “Let’s get ourselves out of here.”

Tanya tossed the jar of fire glue straight up into the air. She turned with Alex and ran inside the castle. Smoke was already filling the inside of the castle, and the air was heavy with the smell of burning flesh. The two Knights of Alcea bolted for the stairwell and ran up the five flights of stairs to emerge on the roof.

Fifty men stood standing as they waited for unicorns to land so they could mount. Lieutenant Montbalm and the three Rangers stood facing the stairwell with bows ready.

“We are the last,” shouted Alex as he emerged from the stairwell. “Lieutenant, get your men, and get off this roof.”

“There were more men than unicorns,” Lieutenant Montbalm replied. “The roof will be cleared soon. I got the king and Jenneva off moments ago.”

Alex and Tanya grabbed their bows and joined the Rangers in a semicircle facing the stairwell. Alex kept turning his head and checking on the number of men still waiting for a unicorn. He never saw the grappling hook that snared the edge of the roof behind him where the lift passed through to bring supplies up. When he saw that only a few men were left, he gave the order to retreat. The Knights and the Rangers turned as one and saw the goblins pouring out of the lift hole. Five arrows flew into the massing group of goblins.

“Get off the roof now!” shouted Alex as he saw Lieutenant Montbalm and a handful of defenders turn to attack the goblins. “Double up if you have to. Just leave.”

Lieutenant Montbalm hesitated, but soon followed Alex’s orders. The goblins were quick to unleash their own bows. Two of the defenders went down with arrows in their backs. The rest managed to leap on top of unicorns and flee the roof. Kaz and Frea raced over to stand alongside the knights while they waited for three more unicorns to transport the Rangers. Arrows flew back and forth as the five remaining humans in the Castle of Man battled the small knot of goblins.

Alex dropped his bow and reached into his pack. He pulled out his last jar of fire glue. With an arm-wrenching throw, he hurled the jar into the hole in the roof where the lift was. Seconds later, screams drifted skyward, followed closely by small tendrils of smoke. A goblin arrow thudded into Bart Larmin’s chest and he fell to the rooftop. An approaching unicorn screamed and spiraled out of sight with a goblin arrow piercing its neck. The two other unicorns landed behind the Rangers.

“Jami, Stan, mount up and get out of here. One of you take Bart with you,” Alex shouted as he picked up his bow and nocked an arrow.

The Rangers dutifully complied with the order while Alex fired an arrow into the remaining goblins. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind tore across the rooftop and slammed into the goblins. The ghoulish bodies were swept up in the wind, which carried them across the roof and over the edge.

“Mount up,” sighed Alex as he turned and leaped on top of Kaz.

Tanya was already atop her unicorn, and Kaz and Frea lifted off the roof in unison. Alex stowed his bow as they flew over the Boulder Mountains. He turned and looked at the smoking remains of the Castle of Man as it disappeared behind them. Bantam darted down from the sky and landed on Tanya’s shoulder. Tanya smiled at the small fairy and opened her breast pocket.

* * *

Pog was a small city, or a large town, depending on your perspective. It was nestled in the far northwestern corner of Lanoir where the Southern Mountains met the Targa Sea, and blocked the Great Sordoan Desert from infringing upon Lanoirian territory. Over the ages, it had been a trading port, gateway to the desert, and military outpost. Since the Collapse, it had fallen to little more than a fishing village.

The wagon of Master Khatama carried Boris, Mustar, and Podil as it pulled into town. Niki and Fredrik rode close behind. Master Khatama halted the wagon at the end of the dirt road where it met the thin beach of shells. The old merchant hopped down off the seat and walked to the rear of the wagon. He opened the flap and immediately spread a blanket on the ground.

“What is he doing?” Mustar whispered to Podil. “Is he really going to sell common wares to these villagers? I cannot believe that he would waste his time on such nonsense in these times of peril.”

“I have learned not to question his ways,” shrugged Podil as she climbed down off the wagon. “One could easier understand the mysteries of the universes.”

“My nature is to question everything,” countered Mustar as he climbed down. “I thought I knew what he was about when I joined him in Dubar, but he seems even more distant than before. I am worried.”

“About him?” questioned the elf magician. “Or about yourself?”

“About what we are doing,” frowned Mustar. “Leaving my home to battle the demon, Alutar, was appropriate, but there is nothing in this village that I would waste my time examining.”

“Then perhaps you would miss some of the finer things in life,” retorted Podil. “Not everybody is so focused on a narrow path as you are. There is more to life than a scientific tome.”

“Not to a great mage,” Mustar shook his head. “Life is short enough as it is. One cannot waste his time on the frivolities of the common man.”

“Is that how you see it?” inquired Podil. “You place yourself above others merely because you have a talent that they do not?”

“There is no other way to look at it,” shrugged Mustar. “Someone has to further the arts. Because of our skills, it has fallen to us to do so. Why do you deny it?”

“I guess in my multitude of years,” sighed the elf, “I have come to learn that life has many faces. Magic is only one of them. Have you never taken time away from your studies to have a family?”

“I have no time for such nonsense,” scowled Mustar. “Magic is the essence of life and must be studied until it is conquered.”

“Conquered?” echoed Podil. “An interesting choice of words. Although I have been married before, I tend to look upon magic as I would a mate. Certainly not something to be conquered or ruled over, but rather something to be shared and enjoyed. I wonder how Master Khatama views it?”

“As a game,” frowned Mustar. “Everything is a game to him.”

“I suppose,” mused Podil. “And his opponent is the Great Demon, Alutar.”

“And the rest of us are pawns,” sighed Mustar. “I should not have come on this trip.”

“You have no choice,” stated Podil. “When the Mage calls, you cannot refuse. Pawns can be discarded, even if they are not in play.”

“Pawns?” questioned Fredrik as he and Niki dismounted. “Are we to play a game tonight?”

“I nominate you to take my place,” snarled Mustar as he turned and stalked off towards the beach.

“What is the matter with him?” Fredrik asked the elf. “I was hoping for some more lessons tonight, but he appears to be in a foul mood.”

“I think it is my time to teach you tonight,” smiled Podil. “We shall see what your aptitude is for healing.”

“I have healing skills,” interjected Niki as she tied the horses to the wagon. “I have performed great feats of healing for Master Khatama.”

“Really?” smiled Podil. “Perhaps I will test you both then.”

“I have to take care of the horses first,” smiled Niki as she headed for the rear of the wagon.

Humming to herself, Niki reached the rear of the wagon. Boris looked at her and smiled. He moved away from the rear of the wagon so Niki could retrieve a pail.

“What spices do you have?” asked a villager.

“I have what you are looking for,” smiled Boris as he handed a tin to the woman. “Master Khatama carries the finest spices. Here, look through this tin.”

“You are not the normal merchant who comes this way,” declared another woman.

“No,” smiled Boris. “It has been many years since I have been this way. Tell me, how are the fish biting these days?”

“Gets worse every season,” shrugged the woman. “Some say the return of the sun will change that.”

“And who would that be that would say such a thing?” smiled Boris.

“A lot of the men,” replied the woman, “but mostly Balamor. Of course, he always manages to catch far more than he can eat anyway. Some people are just lucky that way.”

“Indeed they are,” smiled Boris. “I could use some fish for the next village. Where might I find this fisherman who catches too much?”

“Oh, he is a strange one,” the woman replied. “He lives outside of town. Not sure if he would sell his fish. He might give you some, though. He is a generous man. Follow the beach north until you see the stream coming from the woods. You can follow the stream to his house.”

Boris smiled and turned to see Fredrik watching the villagers. He stepped over to the lad and put his arm around his shoulders.

“Take care of these villagers,” Boris whispered.

“You want me to sell your wares?” questioned Fredrik. “I am unfamiliar with your prices and your goods.”

“Prices do not matter,” smiled Boris. “These villagers deserve inexpensive goods. Be generous.”

Fredrik stared at Master Khatama, but the old merchant just smiled and walked towards the beach. He spied Mustar examining shells and purposely avoided him. Boris walked to the water’s edge and removed his boots. Leaving his boots on the sand, he waded into the salt water and wet his feet. With a last look at Mustar, Boris turned and began walking northward.