Wizard's Blood [Part Two] (86 page)

“
Dragondammit, they’re real!” Jolan heard someone say off to one side. Hearing of the dragon’s existence was far different than seeing them in person. He was reminded of his own sudden exposure just a few days ago. Now he didn’t think about their appearance and considered them only as friends.

He heard more than one dragon expletive, and was amused by the shocked silence that surrounded it. Jolan had made the same mistake himself, and Iach-Iss had found it amusing and a bit sad that they had become the source of various words, both favorable and not, as their true involvement in the history of Gaea had been lost. He reminded Jolan later that evening that the true history must be made available to the people so they would know what had really happened in their past.

Jolan could see that Shyar was anxious to run out and greet them, but the formalities of the moment as well as her need to maintain her exceptionally strong shields around the Chancellor held her at Vaen’s side. When they drew near, a number of the people waiting unconsciously drew back as the sheer size and power of the dragons became obvious. Vaen, however, was her usual unperturbed self and waited with a small smile as they approached. After almost four hundred years very little surprised or scared her, and Jolan knew that next to Asari she was as fascinated by the reality of the dragons as anyone he’d met. Finally Shyar couldn’t restrain herself and stepped forward to wrap Jolan into an embrace, which brought a few smiles to those nearby. Releasing him, she laid her hand on Iach-Iss’ huge arm and led him forward to meet the Chancellor. Asari followed not far behind with Den-Orok with whom he was engaged in active conversation, his hands moving to simulate some of the motions of the attack runs they had been practicing earlier. Asari was flushed with excitement. He was obviously completely comfortable with the great beast next to whom he walked, which provided some reassurance to many of those shocked by the size of the dragon.

Vaen stepped forward with a merry twinkle in her eyes and a smile on her face. She dipped her head in respect, something Jolan had only seen her do to the King or Queen, and said, “It is a great honor to actually meet one of the individuals who has had such an impact on the history of this world. Shyar has told me briefly of the truth behind some of our legends, and I look forward to the chance to talk with you at length. Welcome Iach-Iss and Den-Orok. I only wish more of your brethren were here with you. I am to escort you to the Queen, who is anxious to meet with you as well. She would be here but for the security her advisors insist upon which keeps her away from crowds.”

The dragons bowed in return, and Den-Orok grinned. The sudden display of teeth caught a few off guard, but Vaen didn’t miss a beat. She reached out and touched both on the arms as Shyar had shown her, and the group headed inside, but not before Vaen took a long look at Jolan to reassure herself that he was indeed fully recovered from the toxins that had almost killed him. “Come,” she said to the group.

Whatever architect had designed the Council building had mimicked the overly large doors and hallways of the old buildings without realizing the real purpose. Now, that decision served to allow the dragons to pass easily into the interior. While those outside were unhappy to see the dragons disappear so quickly, the Queen waited and so there was no time for extended greetings in the open.

There was no escaping the royal command, and the entire group which included Shyar, Jolan and Asari were escorted to the castle to meet with the Queen and the senior members of the court. After the rather stuffy formal greetings, the atmosphere relaxed a bit. A formal dinner was brought out while the complete story of the group’s adventures that led to finding Dragon’s Nest was told along with a very brief history from the dragons. Their story would take far too long to go into any detail. Jolan felt bad that the crew of the
Wave Runner
couldn’t be here, as their part in the adventure should not be overlooked. Unfortunately, they had barely started on the way home, and could not be expected back in Cobalo for at least a month and a half. The dragons ate huge amounts of the food that was provided for the feast to the amusement of all that attended the affair, but even then the intake didn’t compare to the amount of food Jolan had seen them pack away back at their base.

It was late when the party broke up, but that had been expected. One of the reasons they had chosen to arrive later in the day was the certainty that whatever portion of the day remained upon their arrival, it would be lost in formalities. By intentionally arriving later in the day as they had, those distractions were minimized, and they could look forward to productive meetings the next morning. Vaen had already told them when to meet in the Council conference room the next day.

Major Wylan had found a place for the dragon scout ships inside the military compound area, which would provide far more security than leaving them out in the open courtyard. After they slipped away from the feast, the dragons moved them to their new locations. Jolan was with Buris and Gene who hadn’t yet had a chance to meet personally with either of the dragons, and waited for Iach-Iss to exit the ship so he could introduce them. When the dragon appeared, he had a large slab of meat in one hand from the FoodSynth.

“
I was still hungry,” he growled a bit embarrassed. A moment later Den-Orok appeared with Asari from the second ship, also snacking as he walked. Clearly even the large quantities of the Queen’s delicacies the dragons had eaten at the feast had been insufficient.

Jolan introduced his friends and explained who they were as they walked the dragons to their quarters. They had discussed whether the dragons would simply use the portal to go back to Dragon’s Nest for the night, but given the hurried and extensive preparations the Queen had made to see to their comfort, they felt it would be a poor gesture to do so. Buris, as usual, had lots of questions and indicated he hoped to spend some time with the two dragons back at his lab at some point. Gene was fascinated to meet intelligent creatures that were not human, which in his mind answered once and for all the matter of other intelligent life in the universe.

* * * *

As hoped, the next day they were able to start planning, all the formalities and ceremony having been satisfied the previous day. A small group had assembled in Chancellor Vaen’s meeting room where Vaen and Major Wylan were bringing the dragons and Jolan’s small group current with events that had taken place since they had lost daily contact several weeks before.

“
We have lost Kimlelm once again,” Major Wylan explained. “Our troops have been pushed back across the stone bridges that Tishe created and we watch each other from either side of the river. Their triads, especially when they appear in numbers, are hard to deal with, and the reach of their power makes them especially difficult to counter. They were killing our people in large numbers and we had no choice but to retreat back into Seret. Their wizards can’t get close enough to do much damage without crossing onto the bridge where they are exposed, and we don’t dare send troops their way without exposing them to the magic.”

“
The triads are a major concern,” agreed Iach-Iss in his deep rumble. “Their appearance significantly changed the war before, and almost lost the war for us. As it was, we suffered severe losses. These triads are far weaker than those of the past, but they still represent a threat. Our ships should be able to handle anything they can conjure up, and we should be able to lessen their effectiveness. Both the ship’s weapons and some hand weapons we will talk about in a bit are effective against them. Fortunately there are few that have the power of Cheurt. A triad with a wizard of his level would be more worrisome.”

“
The resistance movement inside Kimlelm is also dying out,” Kavel added. “We have been virtually unable to support them for some time now that the portals are no longer a viable means of moving in people and supplies. Ale’ald has an effective watch on the portals within the country, which makes it very dangerous to attempt to slip in that way. Without our support, the groups have been falling apart. Cheurt’s people have been brutally effective at discovering the groups and thinning them out.”

“
The skimmers can help,” Den-Orok said. “We will have to make bringing them here and training the crews a high priority. They are not nearly as fast as the portals, but they can carry a large number of people or supplies and can fly high enough or at night that they would be undetectable. They are also quite silent, so you could begin your resupply activities that way.”

Kavel nodded. “That would help immensely. The resistance movement was becoming very effective at hindering Ale’ald’s progress, but once they felt cut off and lost access to some of the things they needed from us, their effectiveness started dropping off markedly. If we can show them we are back, it will make a serious difference.”

“
Today you should start searching for a dozen men who will be your first group of pilot trainees. Jolan can help you understand the kind of traits that will be necessary since he is a pilot himself. The skimmers are very unlike the scouts and are relatively simple to fly, but they are somewhat open and the men chosen must not be afraid of heights or a bit of turbulence. We will bring the first of the skimmers here in the morning, and start classes within a couple of days. It won’t take long to train the group.”

Jolan looked over at Asari who was struggling with his decision not to volunteer for the pilot training. As much as he wanted to fly, he had explained to Jolan the other night that he wanted to stay with the dragons and be part of the effort to capture or kill Cheurt. He was going to become Den-Orok’s gun-man for the scout. Iach-Iss had already asked Jolan to be his flying partner, so the four of them would become a team. Any flying ambitions Asari had would have to wait for a later time.

“
The wizards and some of their triads have also stepped up a program of assassination against the leaders of Seret and Angon,” Chancellor Vaen explained. “Four members of the ruling party in Seret have now been killed, and two failed attempts have taken place here in Angon. We know they are slipping in using some of the portals. Once again, we have had marginal luck against the triads, but because of the more powerful weapons and a far larger number of mages available here in Angon, we have thus far been able to prevent any deaths. I doubt we will be able to remain so successful if this keeps up. Since both you and Shyar have sensed that Cheurt knows we have made contact with you, I expect Ale’ald’s efforts are going to increase in the coming weeks.”

“
Two immediate actions should help against these kinds of attacks. Jolan and I have already discussed a more permanent shutdown of much of the portal system. This should be possible. It was designed with the capability, which would leave only those portals you want to use available. Neither Den-Orok or I were actually involved in the building of the system, but Tur-er was very proud of the system she created, and told me a great deal about it once it was completed. A control center was built near the Nexus in Tilano that will provide us access. I realize that you haven’t wanted to use the Tilano portals for good reason, but we can take a crew there in the scouts and see what can be done. No one will be able to track us there, so the secret of the great lake will be retained.”

“
You said there were two actions,” Wylan said.

“
We have a number of weapons with us. One is something that was designed for individual use. Unfortunately it was built to our personal scale, as we were the primary users of the devices, but a two man human crew can use one easily enough. The weapon will bring down mages or wizards, whether they are triads or not. Their shields, even the metal barrier you have described, will not afford them any protection against it. Even the more powerful triads in the past could not resist the weapon. It’s only drawback is the relatively short range. One must be within a few hundred yards for it to be fully effective.”

“
You brought a number of these devices,” Vaen asked hopefully.

“
I found fifteen in the stores before we came here,” Iach-Iss rumbled. “I would have thought we had more, but the rest must have been on the ships that attempted to make orbit. I do not think we have the means of making more.”

“
I will start getting teams together,” Wyan said. “Some of Samm’s sniper trained people would be a good start. We have more people than weapons, so those without rifles would be the first two-man teams to be trained.”

“
What about your scout ships?” Wylan asked.

“
There are a number of weapons on the scouts which could be used. There were other weapons, but all those that used projectiles of one kind or another are no longer useful because ammunition has been expended and there is no way to make more. Those weapons that used energy pulses, similar in some ways to your magic, still function. While it would be possible to use the ships to attack ground troops from afar, it is not an approach we favor. Wholesale slaughter of the enemy soldiers might win the war, but it won’t solve the larger problem. A means must be found to eliminate the enemy command structure. All of the upper level wizards and all of the triads must be destroyed or the problem will eventually resurface, just as it has now. The scouts can target the wizard triads on the battlefield and take them out from significant distances. Asari and Jolan will be flying with Den-Orok and myself to do just that. A few such encounters will make their wizards fearful of appearing on the battlefield, which should help resolve one of your problems.”

“
Such actions are likely to make you targets,” Vaen observed.