The Exodus Sagas: Book II - Of Dragons And Crowns (24 page)

The noble highborne elf thought to get her matching shortblade, but the leaves were thick and her friends were fighting without her aid.
She made a motion to go down the slope and
put her blade through Alec, but the cost of moments was not worth it. Not wasting another second
,
Shinayne ran up to the ledge of the plateau as fast as her legs would take her, hoping she was not too late.

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Saberrak threw the shamshir
,
pommel over blade
,
into the ribs of a salisan warrior,
then cleaved another
in half with the greataxe. It
s hissing mouth and body fell down the slope while the lower half slumped at the gray minotaur
’
s feet. The gray gladiator swung his axe two-handed now, hacking into the shoulder of another black scaled beast as it closed, followed by an upward smash with the handle that shattered its jaw. Saberrak kicked it in the chest and sent it sprawling back into the dozens more that still clamored and crawled after the horned warrior and his allies. He felt his many cuts from razor sharp claws and daggers, even a few spears that had left their poison smudge on his scale armor but had
not
pierced throu
gh it or
his tough hide
. Feeling no effects, the minotaur continued to withdraw up the mo
untain, keeping pace with Lord Cristoff and J
ames. He had not seen the elf in some time, but Saberrak knew she could handle herself as well as anyone else on the field, probably more
so.
It was
Azenairk
he was worried abo
ut, for he had not seen where the dwarf
had gone
.

Cristoff stood side by side with James, backpeddling up the slope and cutting down salisan warriors as they went. Cristoff’s men had fallen minutes ago, overwhelmed by the lizard horde of hunters and savage mob tactics they employed. The noble lord had even seen his horse, Leonis, get ravaged along with the other steeds. Had he not been leaning on Sir Andellis already from the poisoned spear wound in his shoulder, he would have killed the salisans that butchered his helpless stallion. His longsword parried a dagger from an orange eyed reptilian warrior, cutting it down with a wicked slice that split it from nostril to groin. Three more rushed in, one of them falling from a backswing cut from James before it reached the lord. James held Cristoff up as he began to fall again, deflecting and riposting with quick cuts and piercing attacks to fend off the enemy more than kill. He had been in this position before, and he remembered well his Lord Arlinne falling to the ogre so many years ago. James was not about to let Lord Cristoff suffer the same fate.

“James, let me stand. Run for the entrance and leave me to figh
t here, I only slow you down.” t
he Lord of Saint Erinsburg thrust his blade into another screeching
lizardman hunter.

“I am afraid that is not an option my lord. You can die in the next battle if you would like, but not this one.” James cut across at a salisan, severing its arm that held a spear. The veteran knight looked around, not seeing Shinayne
nor Zen. He guessed that thirty
still pursued over the trail of dead they had left on the side of Soujan Mountain. He was amazed for a moment that they were still alive and had killed so many. His head turned, seeing the stone opening at the summit only a hundred feet away now, and maneuvered to the left side of what looked to be a pool of some sort. When he turned his head back, James saw Shinayne running up the side of the slope headin
g right toward them. Only thirty
or so salisans stood between them. The Knight of Chazzrynn smiled, realizing that the flat ground here by the entrance would allow the enemy to surround them before she reached them. Having cheated death a few times, James surrendered in his mind that this time he might be so lucky.

“
Adreamir leandramil vanoush!”
f
lames erupted from the ground in front of James and the poisoned lord, causing them to stumble back and cover their faces. Another arcane blast of fire bolted from the ground high into the blue sky on the mountain. The flames lingered like a
set of pillars, burning several black reptilian hunters, and forcing the mass to move around. Gwenneth Lazlette raised her staff, levitating off of the ground now and int
o the air. She drew all the sal
isans attention toward her as they maneuvered around the flaming walls and readied their spears to throw at the dangerous woman. Gwenne’s dark hair blew across her face, almost d
isrupting the
utterance of an incantation that brought forth a swirling green mist around her. The spears flew, dozens aimed at her, revenge for turning many of their kinsmen to statues
and dust
on the slopes. As the poisoned projectiles neared their target they smoldered and disintegrated into ash that covered her black robes. Gwenne smiled as the reptiles rushed ahead, many realizing that she had just bought her allies more time to re
ach the top by distracting them, and desperate moments for Saberrak to stand with James and Cristoff.
The wizard also saw salisans begin to drop in the rear, as Shinayne was coming
from behind,
cutting them down as she snuck through their ranks.

A massive and monstrous
roar stopped every creature dead in their trac
ks; the minotaur crouched low, J
ames and
C
ristoff dropped to the ground, Shinayne turned behind a tree, Gwenneth turned to look behind her as the mass of salisan hunters shook in fear.
The ground shook as a dragon,
hundreds of feet in length with dark red scales and black stripes
,
closed its
yellow fanged
mouth and glared at the lizardmen. Her eyes were bright red with silver
markings
, her leathery reptilian wings stretched out the length of two galleons while she perched at the opening to the cave on all four claws
, the massive opening that the dragon filled
entirely
. The ancient dragon looked down at the humans, the minotaur, and the elven woman, then took in a quick brea
th. From fifty feet in the air she lowered
her head adorned with small horns
at the end of a long spined neck. T
he dragon
’
s mouth opened as orange and red light shone from her throat
, pulsing light like a thousand torches in the wind
. With a heave of air and
chest muscle, the beast aimed
its head
down the slope
as flame and molten ash shot forth in a stream. The bodies of dozens of salisan warriors erupted and incinerated from the blast of
inhumanly
intense fire. Sticking to their bodies as if they were covered in oil, the lizardmen hissed and screamed as they burned and fled
in terror
down the mountainside.

“Friends of Kalzarius, get inside. I w
ill be back in a few moments.” h
er soft female voice was contradictory to the roar she
had
issued just seconds before. Ans
harr flapped her gigantic wings
and dove off the top of the mountain sending dust, leaves, and debris whipping into the air. She went to hunt the pesky salisans that dared to come to her mountain, and
she would
leave none alive.

Shinayne looked at Saberrak, who looked at
J
ames and Cristoff, who looked at Gwenne and then to the entrance. Shinayne had seen dragons
from great distance
before in her homeland of Kilikala, but nothing close to the size of Ansharr
, not even half that size in fact
. They all remained still for a long moment, not believing what they had seen.
They tried to move, as if it were an unnatural effort to do so. Saberrak forced himself
to
step over and take Cristoff from J
ames to
carry him
to the summit
. Wounded, poisoned, exhausted and covered in the blood of their enemies; they rushed into the cavern to find Zen. Fires burned on the mountaintop from the great breath of the ancient dragon, and more below as she scoured her territory for the survivors.
Smoke and screams rose high in the air.
As they reached the summit, the roars and blasts of flaming breath echoed from the cliffs below.
Black ash fog
, like pillars of gray mass reaching the heavens, filled two sides of Soujan Mountain.
The heavy beat of giant wings and the occasional screech of terror cut the silence quite regularly.

They passed the entryway
and saw Azenairk inside the cavern alone
lying
still in a pool of his blood.
Quickly, they rushed to the side of their unmoving friend in hopes they were not too late. He was not moving,
and the blood looked to be more than a dwarf could have inside. Shinayne and Gwenne wept as
Saberrak and James stood over the dwarf.
Cristoff
searched the sky from atop the mountain
in disbelief
that they had survived, in disbelief of the dragon that he had not thought real until just now.

Exodus II:VII

Castle L’Herrim, City of Harlaheim

Richmond sat patiently, writing several documents in his royal bedchamber. False letters to the cardinal, the king of Caberra, his wife the queen, and others; all making mention of his suspicions of Lady Florin possibly trying to take the throne since he had no heir. Lies, deceits, and blames that could have only been his were heaped onto this woman. The King of Harlaheim dated most of them week
s and months prior to this day
and sealed them with wax and the crown signet of the kingdom. He had placed more damaging documents on the bishop, Savanno and Rosana, the knights, and even Kalzarius. The young king had little skill with a blade, less love in his heart than most, but lies and corruption had been his mainstay in the throne rooms for as long as he could remember. He would see the order unite under him, the knights free him, using who he could to regain power; but it had to be done where the people could see it. Richmond knew his downfall had been the people of Harlaheim, he had not
given them the king they wanted, and now he shall. Blood, blame, revolution, he would give them what any downtrodden people wanted, and then some more.
His ally in this above all, was Florin herself, for she had helped in staging much of what had transpired per their agreement.

The door opened
by the royal guard who kept him under close eye at all times, an
d Javiel bowed as he walked in. The room was adorned with busts and small statues of former kings, tapestries depicting the glorious battles of the old kingdom, and books upon tomes that lined the walls. Richmond did not look up at him he noticed, sitting on the edge of his elaborate bed of marble and pillared bedposts. “Your majesty, you sent for me?”

“Bishop, how have I failed you?”

“You have not, my king. It is Florin’s madness that has overtaken you and the throne. Many saw it rising, and many thought you were part of it. Until now, we had suspicions that the two of you were in some strange unison. Truth be told, so did I. But this is madness sire, what can I do?”
Javiel came closer to Richmond
and looked with him out the window at the sunset over the city. He knew that Richmond was in league with Florin, his spy Balric had proven that much
many
months ago. Yet if this was a ruse, it was far beyond anything he could understand.
With
the
cardinal and Balric gone, J
aviel knew he had to be very careful in any decisions he made.

“I thought I was doing best by taking a wife from Caberran royalty, by keeping Florin and her skills in power to protect the throne, and by
rooting out the old allegiances that were holding the kingdom back. I never saw any of this coming, never. Stay the execution Bishop, I will not see the queen beheaded in public for following her heart.”
Richmond cried softly
, believably, and held his hand to his face to try and hide it.

“Yes your majesty, I will make sure it does not happen. However, this will place me at odds and in danger of Seneschal Florin’s wrath.
What can I do to protect myself and the queen?
I will need protection,
royal
protection sire.
”
Javiel went fishing
for information
, trying to take advantage of Richmond in his vulnerable state and root out more of his allies. The bishop knew full well that the Crossguard Legion would be arriving to place the cardinal on the throne
within the week
. The more allies of Richmonds he found out, the better his place in the new monarchy.

The king stood up from the bed, walked over to his desk and opened one of the drawers. His eyes full of sorrow and shame, he looked to the bishop pleadingly with a sealed scroll in hand. “This is my confession in writing, Javiel, and an order for you to take those knights loyal to the church and place the power of the kingdom in their hands, behind you.
Take my royal guard if you need them.
”