Dragons' Onyx (32 page)

“Queen Trana wanted to invite the elves of Sorelderal,” sighed Sayrak. “I wish I had not advised her against it. We could use their skill in archery here today.”

“You dwarves of Lanto have too much dwarven pride,” chuckled Zemo. “At Dorgun, we have learned to treat the elves as kin.”

“It took a hundred years to develop that relationship,” noted the young scholar, Kail. “We have only known them for twenty.”

“True,” nodded Zemo. “You will learn.”

“How much time do we have, Pebble?” asked Sayrak.

“An hour,” chirped the female fairy. “That should be when the vanguard arrives.”

“There is not enough time to invite the elves now,” sighed Sayrak.

A broad grin washed over Zemo’s face as his nose expanded and lifted to sniff the air. “We shall have at least one elf with us today,” he said. “I smell Elandros.”

“Your nose is far better than your ears,” quipped the old elf as he stepped from behind a boulder. “If you were an elf sentry, you would be listening to your punishment for failing to detect me.”

“If you were a dwarf,” countered Zemo, “you wouldn’t have been detected at all. I think it has to do with your diet, but your smell travels farther than a rabbit.”

“Rabbit is a staple of our diet,” laughed Elandros. “I understand that we are having company today.”

“How could you possibly know that?” questioned Sayrak. “And what do you mean we?”

“Actually,” grinned the elf, “I didn’t know, but I do now. How long do my people have?”

“There is not enough time to fetch them,” frowned Kail. “We were just discussing it. There are fifteen thousand humans an hour away.”

“Well, that is plenty of time,” grinned Elandros. “My archers are only five minutes away.”

“How many archers?” asked Sayrak.

“Three thousand,” answered Elandros. “Queen Trana told us that you had advised against inviting us, but she thought better of it after you had left. I am glad that she did.”

“As are we,” nodded Sayrak. “My advice to the queen was not well thought out.”

“I am sure that you could handle them without us,” smiled the elf, “but now that we are here, where do you want us?”

“Both sides of the pass,” answered Zemo. “The trap we have set is one league long. It stretches from here southward. There is a tunnel under the road half way along the trap. You do not want your men to scale the sides of the pass. They must use the tunnel.”

“I will see to their placement and return here,” stated Elandros as he turned and ran off.

“Will the elves be enough help?” asked Pebble.

“More than enough,” grinned Zemo. “With three thousand elves, we could handle thirty thousand humans if they could fit in the trap. Their arrows have a much greater range than we can manage. Without them, we would have had to descend into the pass to clean up.”

“Kail,” ordered Sayrak, “alert our people about the elves and the humans that are coming. I want everyone prepared.”

The young scholarly dwarf nodded and ran off. Zemo and Sayrak stood in silence as they mentally prepared for the coming conflict. A half hour later, Elandros returned. He said nothing, but he pointed northward. Zemo and Sayrak followed the elf’s gaze and nodded.

“It begins,” Sayrak said softly.

Climbing up the mountain road was a huge column of Lanoirian cavalry. The road snaked around the side of the mountain until it got to the summit where the elves and dwarves waited. The dwarves had spent days modifying the sheer cliffs at the summit of the pass. For a distance of a league, the vertical walls had been undermined. Huge slabs of stone hung delicately, attached only at the top with spacers under the slabs to keep the pressure from cracking the stone. The road itself had been undermined in two spots a league apart.

The far section of road was so delicately undermined that the weight of two horses would collapse it into a pit twenty paces deep. The near section of road would require dwarf miners to smash the pillars holding the slab in place. That pit was also twenty paces deep. When the signal was given, there would be no way to ride out of the pass.

“Here comes the vanguard,” Sayrak announced softly as Kail returned.

Zemo turned and looked anxiously along both ridges to see if any of the warriors were visible. He swallowed hard, but nodded in satisfaction when he could not see his men.

“Kail,” whispered Sayrak, “head to the knoll now. When you see the far slab of road fall, catapult that torch. Be quick about it.”

Kail nodded eagerly and ran towards a high knoll about half way along the trap. It was situated far enough back from the edge of the cliffs that he would not be seen. Placed there earlier was a simple wooden catapult. The only load that awaited it was a simple torch. When Kail saw the road slab fall under the weight of the vanguard, he would launch the torch high into the air. That was the signal to begin the attack.

Zemo, Sayrak, and Elandros held their breath as the vanguard passed below them. The riders had to move closer together as the road narrowed through the steep vertical cliffs of the summit.

“I have told my archers to spare the horses if they can,” whispered Elandros. “One can never tell when we might need them.”

Zemo nodded silently and watched the riders closely. So far, they did not appear to notice the modifications, and it was important that they did not. The trap required all of the Lanoirians to be in the summit at the same time. Otherwise the battle would get bloodier than anyone wanted. Neither the dwarves nor the elves were equipped to chase riders through the mountains.

Zemo watched the end of the column come into view. Sweat started to form on his face and his large nose began to itch. As he watched the last riders approach, he saw the torch flying out of the corner of his eye. Almost immediately, the sounds of a thousand dwarf hammers echoed through the pass. The riders looked around in alarm and the horses became skittish. Zemo concentrated on the last two rows of Lanoirians who had not crossed the trapped slab yet. The hammers continued their deafening song until the sound of sliding rock overpowered it.

It was the sliding of one slab at first and then it rose to a thundering roar as slabs all along the league of the trap crashed onto the road. Zemo watched as the last two rows of cavalry disappeared in a cloud of stone dust as the road beneath their horses disappeared into the pit.

Shouts and screams reverberated through the pass as the falling slabs crushed horses and riders alike. Chaos reigned throughout the summit as the Lanoirians tried to flee, but there was no room for them to maneuver.

Suddenly, the air came alive with a thousand songs as elven arrows filled the air. Bowstrings twanged repetitively as the elven archers swiftly sought out targets and dispatched them. Dwarven throwing axes whistled as they tumbled into the gorge and imbedded in the Lanoirian soldiers.

As suddenly as it started, the sounds of silence fell over the pass. Horses, still panicked, struggled to find safety. Eventually the horses calmed down, and the only sound was an occasional moan followed by the snap of an elven arrow speeding through the air. The Lanoirian cavalry that had been sent to Lanoir had ceased to exist.

Kaz and Yorra glided through the moonless sky, the peaks of the Southern Mountains passing them by on both sides. Kaz led the way as he banked sharply into a narrow ravine, the walls closing in as the unicorn rapidly lost altitude. Kaz leveled off and flared his wings, his hooves dancing lightly on the moist bed of moss. The soft sounds of his footfalls echoed like thunder in the still night sky. Yorra followed seconds later, and the humans dismounted from the backs of the unicorns.

“Do you think she still lives here?” asked Alex. “We have not heard of her in close to twenty years.”

“Funny that you should ask that after we have traveled all the way here,” giggled Jenneva. “Why don’t we just go in and find out?”

Alex smiled sheepishly and nodded as he lit a torch. “I guess that was a foolish question,” he admitted. “I will go first.”

“Not a foolish question at all,” persisted Jenneva. “It was just a foolish time to ask it. I wonder if she will remember us?”

Alex didn’t respond as he led the way into the Cave of Winds where he and Jenneva had found the Sword of Heavens. It was shortly after the Collapse when they encountered Wyka, the Keeper of the Sword of Heavens. Alex laughed to himself as he remembered that trip so long ago. The dragon had suspected that Alex was a thief and had threatened to eat him. It was only their common bond with the Mage that had finally allowed them to become friends.

As Alex led the way deeper into the Cave of Winds, other memories were forced upon him. He scrunched his nose as the winds started assaulting him with the foul odor of the cave. He knew the smell would get worse as they progressed deeper into the cave. He also knew that the winds would get stronger. Jenneva tapped Alex on the shoulder and he stopped.

“This brings back memories,” giggled Jenneva as she held her hand for Alex to see. “Give me you sword.”

Alex saw the glow from Jenneva’s ring, and he nodded knowingly. He extinguished the torch and drew his sword. As he held the sword towards Jenneva, she cast a spell upon it. Instantly his sword glowed as bright as Jenneva’s ring.

“How quickly we have forgotten,” he smiled.

“Quickly?” chuckled Jenneva. “Tanya was just a baby when we were here last. Look at her now.”

“She has turned into a fine woman,” Alex nodded as he turned and started along the tunnel again.

A half hour later, the wind had become brutal. Alex grabbed Jenneva and turned into a tunnel running perpendicular to the main tunnel.

“Let’s rest for a moment,” Alex said. “I do not want to be exhausted when we reach the chamber. You can never tell what lies ahead.”

“It won’t be much farther,” commented Jenneva. “We stopped in this tunnel the last time, too.”

Alex looked at Jenneva and shook his head, “You have a great memory.”

“I have to,” she replied. “If I forgot spells that I didn’t use regularly, what good would I be? There is another cross tunnel just before Wyka’s chamber. We can hide there if things seem amiss. Let me fire protect you with a shield.”

Alex stood and waited while Jenneva cast a series of enchantments upon him. When he saw that she was finished, he led her back into the main tunnel and the roaring wind. A short time later, they halted by the last cross tunnel. Not far ahead was the huge form of a sleeping dragon, its head facing directly towards the tunnel. The dragon’s body rested on a large pile of shiny and tarnished metals. Alex laughed inwardly as he remembered looking through the pile on his last visit. Some items in the pile were very valuable, while others were fairly common items, like hinges and door bolts.

As Alex and Jenneva stood watching the dragon, one of its eyes opened and quickly closed again. Alex frowned when he noticed the upturned corners of the dragon’s mouth. He grabbed Jenneva and quickly pulled her into the cross tunnel, just as a roar of flame cascaded into the main tunnel.

“Stop that, Wyka!” shouted Alex. “Have you no manners?”

“Oh,” roared the dragon in response, “we have a thief who demands manners. Well, good manners would have dictated that you don’t sneak into someone’s home. That tunnel does not lead anywhere, you know. You might as well get this over with. Come out and I promise that I will toast you quickly.”

“Wyka,” shouted Jenneva, “it is Alex and Jenneva. Don’t you remember us?”

“How could I remember you?” snorted the dragon. “I can only eat a thief once, although more than once is an interesting proposition.”

“Enough, charcoal breath,” growled Alex. “Are you so quick to forget the initials that I carved on your back? Or do I need to teach you another lesson?”

“Hmm,” demurred the dragon. “I doubt any human could teach me a lesson. Carved did you say?”

“Yes, carved,” shouted Alex. “I would tell you to take a look for yourself, but we both know your weak spot now, don’t we?”

“Come point it out to me,” suggested Wyka. “Maybe that will jog my memory.”

Jenneva started laughing and Alex looked at her with concern. “What is so funny?” he frowned.

Jenneva shook her head with laughter and could not answer. Finally, she regained her composure and walked into the main tunnel. Alex raced after her, but Jenneva walked right up to the dragon’s head.

“Sorry, Wyka,” she laughed, “but we have little time for fun on this trip. We need your help.”

“Hmm,” sighed the dragon. “How did you know that I would not eat you?”

“There is no way that you could forget who we are,” explained Jenneva. “How many humans do you interact with that you do not eat?”

“Do you mean she was toying with us?” Alex asked with raised eyebrows.

“I could have been forgetful,” postulated the dragon. “You should not take such chances.”

“Dragons have excellent memories,” retorted Jenneva. “Besides, you have probably slept most of the last twenty years away.”

“I have slept a lot,” sighed Wyka. “The skies are always dark and not very friendly.”

“The skies overhead are beautiful and full of stars,” countered Jenneva. “You do need to get out more.”

“Really?” questioned Wyka. “You have found the Children of the Ancient Prophecy then?”

“We have,” grinned Jenneva, “and one of them needs your help.”

“My help?” echoed the dragon. “Why would my help be needed?”

“King Arik must kill Gorga,” answered Alex. “I do not know if he can do it alone.”

“Gorga,” repeated the dragon with obvious distaste. “That old grouch has never been a friend. Still, I do not countenance the murder of a dragon. Who is King Arik and why should I help him?”

“He is one of the Children of the Ancient Prophecy,” explained Jenneva. “He seeks the Dragons’ Onyx. The other dragons told him that he must kill Gorga.”

“So,” mused Wyka as she nodded her eyelids, “the Dragon Prophecy begins. I wondered when someone would get around to that. Did these other dragons call your friend anything special?”

“They call him Dragon Heart,” nodded Alex.

“I must go talk with these dragons,” Wyka decided after a pause. “I must be sure that they are right.”