Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (2 page)

"Has there been any trouble while I was gone?"

The soldier shook his head. "It's been quiet, although there have been a few reports of a one armed shadowspawn lurking somewhere in the area."

"That would be Slither. He shouldn't cause any problems
," The huge man frowned. "but it's unusual that he would allow himself to be seen. He must be trying to get my attention. Where was he last seen?"

"Along the edge of the forest on the other
side of the trade road. The creature appears whenever someone approaches the city gates, and lingers long enough to insure that it has been seen, then disappears back into the forest."

"It
definitely sounds as though he's trying to get my attention."

"Do you wish me to summon some men to accompany you to confront the creature?" The captain
asked respectfully.

The huge man shook his head, causing his long chestnut hair to fall into his eyes.
"I had better check in at the castle first. I'm sure they will want to know that I have made it back safely. I'll go find out what Slither wants a little bit later." He remounted, then continued on through the gates and towards the massive castle that overlooked the settlement.

Sevria was a unique little town, built along the only trade route that passed through the Godstear mountains.
It was a necessary haven from the numerous dangers that plagued the land, threatening the lives of those who attempted to make their way through the mountains. The city itself was completely enclosed inside of an immense granite wall that cut across the valley, protecting the people from the dangers of the wilds. A number of strange looking siege machines were positioned along the top of the wall, providing another layer of protection for the sleepy little settlement.

The
people of Sevria were a sober, industrious folk, fiercely protective of their tiny slice of heaven. The entire town had been destroyed several years before, but the people had returned to rebuild their homes and businesses, refusing to allow themselves to be driven away. Even an attack by an army of dragonspawn and several shadow dragons could not drive the determined townsfolk from their homes.

Overlooking the town and its inhabitants was an immense fortress carved into the mountain
side itself. Named 'Serpent's Keep' by the people, it had been constructed by dragons as a symbol of the bond between the majestic scarlet serpents, and the man who released them from their enslavement.

The huge man moved slowly through the quiet town. It was well after midnight now, and the people had long went to their beds. The only activity he found as he moved through the city was at the local tavern. As he approached, two men suddenly burst out of the doors, reeling drunkenly as they clung tightly to one another
in an effort to hold each other up.

One of the men
, a short, wiry fellow with a scraggly beard and dirty, unkempt hair, suddenly stopped, his bleary eyes going wide. "Damion?" He roared, releasing his grip on the other man, allowing him to topple to the cobblestones. "What are you doing back so soon? I thought you weren't due back until tomorrow?"

"I thought I'd come home a little early." The huge man laughed. "I didn't want to miss
the celebration. It isn't every day that your daughter celebrates her first birthday," He looked at the little man and his companion. "but by the looks of it, the celebration has already begun."

The little man waved his hand dismissively. "
Me and Veren were only having a couple of nightcaps." He gestured to the unconscious man, who was still laying face down on the cobblestones. "We'll be ready to
really
let loose when it comes time for the celebration tomorrow."

Damion laughed, then slid down from the huge warhorse and walked over to nudge the unconscious man with one toe. "I think Veren may need a little help making it back to the castle." He observed, nudging the man again.

"He can't hold his ale." The little man shrugged. "He thought he could out drink me," The little man snorted in amusement. "I guess he didn't know who he was dealing with!"

The huge warrior
knelt down and rolled the unconscious man onto his back. He was an odd looking fellow, with a cleanly shaved head, and dark swarthy skin. His eyes were strangely slanted, and at some point in his life he had lost an ear. He was dressed in a tight fitting leather armor that was was bristling with numerous daggers, and he had a short sword belted securely to his waist. "How many drinks did he have?"

The scruffy little man shrugged. "We lost count after the first dozen or so."

"Sly," Damion sighed plaintively. "Didn't I ask you to stop dragging Veren along with you when you go drinking?"

"It's his own fault
." The little man said defensively. "He said he could handle having a few drinks."

"You know every time that
he accompanies you drinking it takes him days to fully recover." The huge man sighed heavily. "I guess we had better drag him on up to the castle. We can't just leave him here in the center of the street." He heaved the unconscious man onto his shoulders. then carried him over and draped him across the warhorse's saddle.

They set off to
wards the castle on foot, leading the warhorse along by the reins. They stopped in the courtyard, and Damion gently pulled the unconscious man down from the warhorse.

"Take him to his quarters and see that he's looked
after." The huge man told the servants that tended the livery. "He's probably going to need a bucket for when he wakes, and make sure he has plenty of coffee waiting on him when he finally regains consciousness."

"He's going to need it!" Sly snorted in amusement.
"The last time we went drinking, he spent the entire next day emptying his stomach into a potted plant."

Damion rolled his eyes, then sighed wearily
. "You'd better find your own bed. It's late, and the celebration for Leia's first birthday will start bright and early."

"That's not a bad idea." The little man agreed, swaying unsteadily on his feet. "
I'll need my energy for all the celebrating I'm planning on doing."

Damion watched in amusement as one of his oldest friends disappeared into the castle, then turned and led the shaggy warhorse towards his pen.

Sly never seemed to change. He had known the scruffy little man since he was a child. After demonstrating an ability to use magic at an early age, Damion had been sent away to a secluded valley to live with his nanny, Lady Skie, and her father, Damarius, who was an powerful old sorcerer. Gabriel Quickhand, or Sly as he preferred to be called, had journeyed to the valley to take up Damion's training in the art of combat. When Damion's father was murdered, the little man stood with him as he pursued the murderer across the continent, recovering the mythical Dragon Sword and Dragon Gem in the process. His wisdom and expertise as one of the fore most master swordsmen in the entire world had proved invaluable, which more than made up for the fact that he was also a drunkard, a womanizer, and a thief.

The huge man led the prancing warhorse into its pen, then removed the saddle and bridle, much to the massive beast's obvious relief. He picked up a hand full o
f hay and began to rub the huge stallion down, removing the majority of the rain from its shaggy coat. He was just finishing when the servants returned from tending to Sly's unconscious companion.

"We managed to drag C
ommander Veren to his quarters, and woke one of the castle clerics to watch over him until he wakes." One of the servants reported, eyeing the warhorse warily. He gestured to the shaggy beast. "Storm bit another servant the other day. I swear he spends all his spare time waiting for his opportunity to sink his teeth into someone!"

Damion laughed, stroking the warhorse's neck fondly.
"It's just his way of being playful. He's actually quite gentle, when he wants to be." The huge warhorse had been a gift from a Deolan clan chief as thanks for saving the man's life, and was one of Damion's most cherished possessions. The Deolan warhorses were bred for war, and were well known for being extremely temperamental and aggressive. The Deola guarded the beasts jealousy, rarely allowing one to be sold to an outsider, and only then for enormous sums of gold. "Make sure he has plenty to eat and drink, and check his back left hoof for any stone bruises. He seemed to be favoring it a bit, although he may have just been faking it. He definitely wasn't happy that I decided to ride through the night to get home." He turned to the great shaggy horse. "Get yourself some rest." He murmured fondly, stroking the stallion's shaggy neck again.

Storm
nickered at him happily, then turned to gaze at the servant aggressively.

Damion laughed. "And stop biting the servants. No one
's going to want to feed you if you keep terrorizing everyone."

The huge warhorse
ignored him, pawing at the ground with one hoof as he continued to stare at the servant with hostile eyes.

************

Damion slowly crept through the doorway leading to his private chambers, which was located in the upper levels of the massive fortress. The storm outside had finally made its way out of the mountains, and the moonlight broke through the remaining clouds and streamed through the large windows that looked out over the quiet town below.

A huge bed
, elaborately designed to look like a dragon resting on its back, had been placed against the far wall of the room, and small fire burned in a fireplace, helping to ward off some of the dampness from the drizzling rain.

He
tiptoed through the darkness towards the bed, then paused for a moment to gaze upon the beautiful young woman and child who were sleeping together peacefully beneath the soft blankets.

"You should know by now that you can't sneak up on me." The young woman murmured in a qu
iet voice, a playful smile hovering about her perfect lips. She opened her eyes and gazed at the huge warrior. "I could smell you as soon as you entered."

Damion chuckled quietly. "It's the armor." He opened his cloak to reveal a suit of armor made up of overlapping steel scales
. "It definitely has its own fragrance. Besides," He gestured to the sleeping child. "I didn't want to wake Leia."

Raven smiled. "She just fell asleep an hour or so ago. She's becoming quite a handful.
She had Lady Skie and I running around the fortress after her all night long. She's growing quite skilled at escaping her playpen."

Damion laughed again. "I was exactly the same when I was her age. My father tried everything short
of padlocking me inside of a cage to stop my wandering. Don't worry," He assured her. "once she has roamed around a bit and seen all there is to see of the fortress, she'll settle down. She's merely curious about her surroundings."

"She's so much like her father." Raven smiled l
ovingly at their tiny daughter.

"
And as beautiful as her mother."

The dark haired woman blushed at the compliment. "I thought you were not returning from Sierra until morning?"